Cara Lumen | Sing a Deeper Song

Sing a Deeper Song

Self Awareness

Out With The Old, In With The New

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This is one of those times I get reflective about how I’m doing and where I want to go. How can I make the next quarter better? Or the next year? Or the next five years? Am I headed in the right direction for me?  Am I headed for success?

Am I still going where I want to go?

How has my vision changed?  Can I see myself playing bigger, reaching more people, touching more lives? Have new paths opened up that I want to follow or explore?  Starting right this minute, what do I want to attract, create, and manifest over the next twelve months?

Write it down. Make it concrete. Prioritize. What’s at the core of all you do that you want to keep doing? Why do you get up in the morning and do what you do? What is your passion and are you still following it?

What new skills have I learned?

We are constantly learning and changing. What have you learned, discovered, experienced that has brought a new realization or insight that you want to incorporate into your life and business?  Have you added a new credential? Is there a new venue you want to explore?  Have you met new people to partner with? Write down your skill sets, see how many ways you can use them. Prioritize them and build them into your business.

What’s working and what needs to be phased out?

Get real with your dollars and cents. What is earning you money? What is fun but doesn’t bring in income?  How can you streamline your costs? What help do you need to get?  Shed the worst 10% of everything you’ve got – that includes clients, products and time wasters. That leaves room for you to add 10% more of the great stuff.

What are my goals for the year?

Only take the steps that forward the goal you have chosen for the year. That will keep you on target and produce more relevant results. Do you want to get more clients? How many? What do you need to do to make that happen? Get a coach? Do more networking? Do more referral education?  Pick tangible goals with measurable results and track your success. That helps you know what to keep and what to toss at your quarterly 10% house cleaning toss.

Re-price, Repackage, Reposition

The easiest way to increase income is to re-price – as in raise your prices.  Don’t look at what you do according to the time it takes you to do it. Look at the value it produces and price accordingly. When I coach a person in developing an information product, it’s not about the time we spend together or the time I spend strengthening the content, it’s about the value of the results she will get with the content we produce. Even more important is the knowledge she obtained that she can reuse again and again to make more  information products. That changes our thinking, doesn’t it?

Repackage – position your offering so people sign for longer periods of time. That allows them to make the buying decision only once. I ask for a three-month commitment because the decision-making process takes time.  The completing of the project is a snap after the decisions are made.  Some coaches have a six-month or twelve-month commitment.  How much time do you need to get the results you promise?  The coaching process is about change and that simply takes time. If you are settling for a three month commitment, look for other offerings you can make to up-sell that client to a longer coaching package. Keep finding ways to serve those loyal customers who already know and love you.

Chunk your products up or down. Present the same material in new formats. I broke a five-week telecourse down into a series of eight ebooks so people can access the information at a lower price point.  Breaking that information down also gave me the chance to expand each topic.

Reposition your offerings to a new target market. As I move into semi-retirement I have discovered a whole new set of personal challenges.  How do I stay relevant?  Who am I if I am not my business?  My passion to learn and teach and write remains but my interest has shifted.  I now help entrepreneurs who are moving into retirement with all their creative juices still flowing, to re-purpose their passion and talent so they can slow down and still feel productive and relevant. I’m focusing on personal growth. I help my clients find balance.  My business background can help them downsize and reposition their business. My spiritual background can help them prepare for retirement.  It’s the same me with the same skill set. It’s simply a different focus for my offerings.

Move more deeply in service

If you continue to move more deeply in service, to continue to find ways to support, nourish, guide, encourage, inspire your target market, you’ll be happy and they will keep coming.  Don’t throw out everything. Don’t start over with everything new, but take time to reflect on how you’re doing and how you’d like it to be different. Then simply take the steps to make it happen.

One Way to End Procrastination

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There are many reasons for putting something off – it’s simply not time to do it, you are fearful of doing it, you don’t know how to do it, it feels like a huge undertaking or you plain don’t want to do it. All of these are reasons we use to put off doing something. If you play a few tricks on yourself, you may find yourself willingly doing exactly what you have been putting off.

Procrastination means “to postpone doing something, especially as a regular practice.” We have two types of procrastination – a one-time project and the embracing of a new habit.

Abraham-Hicks says, “When you feel enthusiasm to do something, it means you’ve lined up the Energy, and you are being inspired to take action from that point of alignment. When you don’t feel like doing it, don’t push yourself, because your effort is not worth it. But, when you line up the Energy, the feeling of procrastination goes away.”

Here are some ways to line up the energy so that you can move forward.

Change the timing

My first big ah-ha about procrastination came when I changed the timing on a habit I wanted to create but kept putting off. I wanted to spend a few hours one day a week cooking something that would serve as several meals throughout the week and provide meals for my freezer. I chose Saturday because I seemed to have less to do that day. However, several Saturdays went by with no action. Then one week I cooked on a Tuesday and it was perfect! It turned out that I play cards on Saturday night so there was always the pressure to be ready to go out. By switching the time to Tuesday, I had nothing else to do but enjoy cooking the meal and could take my time doing it.

Exercise is another activity that could benefit from changing the time. I planned to exercise at 11 AM while watching The View, but after a morning of writing what I really wanted was a cup of tea while I watched it. The tea usually won. When I looked closer at my day, I saw I really needed a physical break in the afternoon. I started taking a walk when I went for the mail at noon and began doing some yoga in the afternoon when I am ready for another break.

What timing do you need to change in order to stop procrastinating?

What if it feels like a huge undertaking?

I need and want to rearrange my web presence. That means absorbing one blog into another and repositioning my major web site. It’s a huge amount of work and my procrastination is compounded by the fact that I am still in the process of getting clear how I want to reposition myself. It is such a big job that even though I am a fabulous organizer, I blanch at the thought of moving all those pages. The first step is to figure out my new position, that alone may unleash a flood of ideas. Another is to see this new positioning as creating a better home for the direction I want to move in. It means moving a lot of posts and creating new opt in offers and new mini-courses and a lot of the links in a lot of places. Of course it feels huge – it is.

Part of my reluctance comes from the need to get clear about how to reposition myself. It also means I have to let go of some things to make room for the new. Once those decisions are made, I know I will jump in and get it done.

Let it unfold

My big Zen lesson in life is to allow things to unfold. Allowing it to unfold does have some action steps in it. For me that means to contemplate the idea on a regular basis, watch how I feel, see what steps I figure out and decide what I am willing to do. When the time comes, I will know what action to take. Set your overall goal, break it down into small steps and see where it leads you.

It may not be time to do it

The idea to consider giving up one of my blogs showed up a few months ago but I had to get used to the idea. One day, in a few hours time, I realized it was time to take action so I gathered information that would help me make it happen. In this case, it was choosing between keeping an HTML site versus converting it to a WordPress site and the feasibility of moving content from one to the other. That actually was a key step in unplugging the stopped up energy around this project – I uncovered my options and could make an informed decision. As I explore these options, I began to outline the order in which I could make the changes. I even know that I could do it all in a few days. Each new piece of information I gather adds to a gathering momentum.

You don’t know how to do it

I do know how to make these changes which is why I know it is a huge job. I have tons of products all with landing pages and delivery pages to move. I have to find a place to begin and start doing it. If you don’t know exactly how to do your project, spend a few hours gathering information. If I change my HTML site to WordPress there is some folder manipulation to be done and some page forwarding that I need to understand before I make my decision. I contacted people and identified someone to help me with the steps I don’t know how to do. Learn enough about what you don’t know how to do to identify what sort of help you need.

You are fearful of doing it

I’m not fearful but I am reluctant. When we identify ourselves though our work and we change that work, we are left seeking a new identity. The change I seem to be reluctant to make is about giving up a marketing position I’ve held. Or at the very least, emphasizing it less in favor of my new direction. Change is often a challenge. It means giving up something but it also means embracing something new. What do you need to give up in order to move forward? What fears of the unknown do you hold? Do some inner work. Find out how you feel with the change you are contemplating. That alone may help you put your fears at rest.

You plain don’t want to do it.

It is possible that whatever it is that you have been putting off is not yours to do. If you know how to do it, you realize that it needs to be done, and you still can’t bring yourself to do it, hire someone else to make it happen. I’m an idea person not a maintenance person and the project I’m stuck on feels like maintenance, not creativity. Ask yourself why you don’t want to do it. In my case, I do want to do it, but I have not been motivated to set up a specific time line. So I sit with the idea and let it unfold. One morning I’m going to wake up and know this is the day to begin making those changes. It will be done. I feel my interest and desire it making it happen increasing. It is unfolding.

Make a decision and begin

Out of all these reasons to put off doing something, the one that stops me the most is that of simply making a decision. Do I want it or not? What do I want to change it to? How will this change my life – or will it? What is my most pressing need and does this project/action address that? I know I want to move back into writing that is more philosophical. I know how my target audience has changed. I have a major book in progress just for them. There is a need to make a change. One of my blogs in particular does not reflect this new direction. However, the information on it is valuable. The first step is to move the information from that blog either into my other blog or onto my web site. Until the decision is made about where to move it, I can take no action. First, make the decision. Then the action will become clear.

Look at what lies beyond

Be patient with yourself as you search for the answers and decisions that will allow you to move forward. As I resist doing this work, as I do my research and explore my options, I look for the one concept that will focus all this action. In my case, what I really want most is to have more of my books online in digital format. That choice allows me to keep on writing (my favorite thing to do) and has the potential for some passive income. It also allows me to continue teaching though my books, which is my second favorite thing to do. I feel myself aligning with this idea of creating a new platform for teaching and sharing the topics I want to explore next. That is my motivator. That’s what I want to prepare – a new home base for this next part of my journey. Knowing where I am going will make me start getting this change made.

Ask yourself, if you do what you have been putting off, what door will open, what path will it take you on? Look at what lies beyond what you have been putting off and let that motivate you to action.

 

Why Is What You Do Important?

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We all want to feel useful. We all want to feel that what we do has meaning. How do we take what we love to do and put it in service where it can really make a difference?

Why do you do what you do?

We do what we do because we love to do it. We do what we do because we are good at it. I love to write. I love to teach. That has turned my life work into coaching and teaching and writing. Those activities fill my heart. They get me excited as I help people in person or through something I’ve written. I have this huge collection of ebooks and teleclasses and radio shows I’ve created and each one of them taught me something. I do what I do so I can learn and grow and be creative.

When I was a young housewife with four children I decided to find out why each of the men in our collection of friends did what they did for a living. One was in the same job he had gotten right out of school. Another was in his father-in-laws business. When I asked one of them what he would do differently he said he would work outside more. Too often we are unconscious about why we do what we do. But you’re in business, you’ve made a choice. Why did you make that choice?

What elements of what you do excite you? Are you interactive with people? Do you work by yourself to create something new that didn’t exist before? Do you love to use your organizational and management skills to turn around companies? Look at your passion – those things you have loved doing all your life – and be certain what you do today still contains that passion. Your passion contains your purpose.Why do you do what you do?

Why is what you do important to the people you serve?

Here’s the rub. If you love to do something and no one needs what you create you’re in a bit of a bind. Sure, you can create and keep what you do to yourself but that’s not what our life’s work is about. Our life’s work is about making a difference in the lives of someone else. That can be one person or it can be a country full of people. Whatever we do needs to be useful to others.

I’m suddenly attracting more people to sign up for my two blogs and I’m not certain why. I’m looking to see what has changed in me and what has changed in what I’m doing that is drawing more people to me. The answer is going to be in the topics I am writing about on my blogs and the fact that I am posting regularly in one article submission site. Those are the two obvious physical changes I have made – exposure and content. What is less tangible are the inner changes within me that have altered the topics I explore and how I express myself. My business focus has moved into helping people build their business from their inside out. My articles are self-examining and they are hopeful. That is important to the people who are fining me. And it is attracting new people e to my community.

Focus on the difference you can make in the lives of others. What do your services do for your community? My business is about helping people teach what they know. When you make a difference in people’s lives you make a difference in your life. Why is what you do important to the people you serve?

Why does the existence of your work matter?

We came into this world to give our gifts – those unique combinations of talent, skills, beliefs, personality and passion that make us individual. That we offer those gifts can make a difference in the lives of those around us. What is really special is when you put something out there and it makes a difference in the life of someone you don’t know. What I wrote recently touched new people and caused many of them to join my community. They wanted more from me. I have no idea what chord I touched but I do know that what I wrote came from my heart and the topics were about our inner work. My goal has always been to help those who set about to help others. My work helps them do their work better and they in turn can touch more lives. My purpose will never be about being the head of something, or running a huge organization. My purpose is about changing the world one powerful life at a time. And that is going to make a very big difference in the world. That’s why the existence of my work matters.

You never know when you will have an effect. In a telecourse I gave several years ago there was one five-minute section on forgiveness. One small section in the entire 90 minutes. At the next class one of the students shared that she had really heard that section and made moves to reconnect with her father whom she hadn’t seen for years. You just never know how your heart and your sharing will change a life.

Follow your passion

If you are passionate and excited about what you are doing you are working close to your purpose. The journey to find your purpose can be an adventure. You may explore many paths. When you find it you will sigh and settle into an inner serenity that you know will carry you forward one authentic step at a time.

When you identify your purpose and start focusing on it, others will get excited about it because you’re excited. Your enthusiasm will shine through everything you do and become contagious. When you have a purpose it helps you easily make decisions because if an idea or action doesn’t support your purpose you simply don’t do it.

Here’s your assignment, should you choose to accept it. In a quiet place center yourself and one at a time search for the answers to these three questions.

Why do you do what you do?

Why is what you do important to the people you serve?

Why does the existence of your work matter?

Out of that inner inquiry you will begin to find your true purpose. You will see why your work is important. Or you may identify the small changes you need to make in order to place yourself more deeply into service. This is your calling and it is worthy of giving it everything you have.

Are You Reading the Signs?

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The Universe has an interesting way to offer us guidance. It sends signs. Sometimes those signs are about bumping into someone on the street that creates an opportunity you hadn’t considered before. Sometimes it is a phone call or an email suggesting collaboration. It may be a surge of interest in a particular product or service you offer. And it may be an idea that simple floats in out of nowhere. These signs indicate an interest from somewhere directed at you and what you offer. They are worth considering.

Signs that say change direction

I’ve been moving steadily in one direction for about eight years. Before that I was going in another direction. What’s currently showing up are people interested in that original niche – those initial products and services that I still offer on my website. I’m wondering and watching. Part of me feels that if I moved back to that old niche it would feel like going backwards. Another part says maybe I’ve learned all I can from the niche I am in and have something more to contribute to my original niche. Since learning new things is more important to me than just about anything in the world I need to find the place where I can keep learning and be in service while I do. So the question becomes how can I approach this former niche and make a new type of product and service around it.

Signs that inspire new work

I began my online presence as a spiritual counselor. Then I decided to take that metaphysical approach out into the world as I helped people develop their online business. I became a business coach, curriculum developer and an educator. The spiritual part has always been in my work. The current signs are about increasing the spiritual work. I’m observing and thinking and considering.

I feel that a lot of my earlier work was about teaching what I had learned from others in my own unique interpretation – which is pretty much what we all do. But I have now developed what feels like a relatively original idea and would love to find more of those. However, my unique viewpoint has changed because I am more knowledgeable and experienced so if I went “back” to offering more spiritually oriented products they would be different than what I produced ten years ago. That’s a good thing.

I learn when I teach and since I’m going through an introspective period in my own life, I plan to write a new teleclass that will give people tools for self-exploration. That’s quite different from the practical courses I’ve been teaching. My target community is certainly going to be surprised!

What ideas are coming to you that seem a little off the beaten path that you would be interested in exploring?

Signs that a change is in the air

My Passionately on Purpose blog has always been a mix of practical and philosophical – like me. In the past year, I have written more personal development posts than practical ones. That was a conscious decision as well as an organic one. It seems that the Universe has been steadilly laying the groundwork for this possible change. Look at what you’ve been doing the past six months. What has changed? Is there a new direction being suggested?

Signs that suggest new relationships

Some of the signs are coming to me in the form of the people that are showing up to be coached and the products that they are buying – the older spiritual ones. As I examine the world around me, I see major, major changes and as I look carefully at what people want it seems like hope would be at the top of their list. Hope, spiritual awareness and a way to get control of their lives at least internally since, at the moment, the physical plane seem skewed. I could do that.

New people are also showing up who would like to collaborate. People are showing up for coaching who not only want practical guidance but help in defining their values and their passion and their deepest place of service. The people who are seeking me out are coming because they feel a spiritual connection. That’s always been that way it works but these people are expressing it in those terms. Who is showing up in your life that you are immediately drawn to, or who seek you out with collaboration in mind?

Signs that you should take the leap

I haven’t made this leap yet. I’m just reading signs. And I also realize it doesn’t have to be a complete leap, it doesn’t have to be an abandonment of what I do now. It can just be an addition to what already exists. I have to look at what I want right now. What do I want to learn? What do I want to write about? What do I want to teach? Who do I want to coach? And what do I want to help them to accomplish? I can offer a personal development class alongside a business class. It would be a stronger position if I stuck with one or the other but I’m just going to let it unfold. It may also mean that this is the beginning of a gradual transition. Are you being nudged to change directions? How does that feel?

Are you noticing the signs?

What signs are showing up for you? What are people asking you to do for them? What new need do you see out in the world that you would like to meet? How does your present focus need to expand or change in order to continue to be relevant and necessary? Read the signs and see if it’s time for change.

6 Ways to Use Open Time for Inner Work

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The pilots call it  “down time.” Musicians may refer to it as “between sets.” It could be the time between jobs or between tasks, but whatever you call it we’re referring to those unfilled moments in which you find yourself with nothing to do. How you fill those open spaces can make all the difference in what comes next. Here are six ways to use those open times for inner work.

1. Reflection: What did you accomplish?

I particularly like the week between Christmas and New Year. For me it is a time to examine the year just completed, to acknowledge what I accomplished and plan the year ahead. I begin by looking for what really worked. That acknowledgement is very important. If you take time to list all you have done you may be both surprised and pleased. Maybe you want to call it a “Gratitude List” rather than an “Acknowledgment List.” Write down your successes, you’ll find you have a lot to be grateful for.

2. Contemplation: What do you want to change?

Of course, some things didn’t work and we get to give gratitude for them too because they contained our lessons. We found out that we didn’t know how to do it, or people didn’t want it, or the timing was off, or, or, or… Looking at our less-than-successful ventures gives us insights into what not to do next time or how to do it differently if we choose to try it again. What lessons did you learn?

3. Decisions: What do you want more of?

Some things were absolute joys for us so of course we want more. What made them happen? What parts of it made it so invigorating? A little examination of what happened, what its components were and why it happened helps us take a giant step toward attracting more of the same. What do you want more of in your life?

4. Values: What qualities do you want to attract?

Whether you are contemplating next year or next quarter or next week or next day, what qualities do you want to be there for you? I’m a bit too much of a loner so I’ve decided to embrace the quality of willingness to be more social. Within 24 hours I had a most rewarding conversation with someone I knew only slightly. We deepened our understanding of each other and it warmed my heart. The next day another new friend felt comfortable in asking me to drive her somewhere. Another friendship expanded all because of my willingness to be more social. What qualities do you want to have evident in your life?

5. Choice: What you focus on you get

It’s very simple. What you look for you will see. What you focus on you will attract. If you look for negativity you will see a lot of it. If you look for positive reinforcement you will see how much there is of that around you. Notice the words you use. Are they “I can’t,” or “I can” phrases? Notice what you expect to happen – good things or bad. Once you are aware of what you are focusing on you have a choice to consciously start focusing on and expecting only the good.

6. Take charge: You are the director of your life

I play weekly cards with a woman that when I first started I found to be very, very judgmental about how I played the game that was new to me. It showed in the tone of her voice, in her judgmental sighs (you’ve heard those) and her attitude. Now I know that I always have a choice: I can hang out with people whose positive energy I like and not be with people whose energy is negative. I privately mentioned to another one of the card players that if that judgmental-ness kept up I might not play cards. It was just a concerned comment and the expression of an awareness on my part that I had a choice. I have a feeling she told the woman for the latter gradually began to change. And a few evenings later the woman said, “This is so much fun!” Because she had changed her attitude, that had changed our responses to her.

You are the director of your life. What you say, what you think, what you look for, what you do, all influence those around you and their reactions to you. If you do nothing else in those quiet, reflective spaces of time, look at what you want to change about yourself. What do you need to let go of? What do you need to do more of? How can YOU change? Then do it.

Use your open time to contemplate, to rest in the unfilled spaces and simply see what shows up. Look within and see how balanced you are. What does your body need? What does your soul need? Use these pauses to reflect and make new choices based on what you find within. Open spaces are for inner work. Use them wisely.