change

Are You Listening?

October 20, 2009 By Cara Lumen

This summer I moved from Santa Rosa, California above San Francisco to Olathe, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City to be nearer my children. That meant I had to release possessions, handle everything I own, focus on moving rather than my business, and then settle into my new apartment and find my way around my new city. Everything was about making choices. With every picture I hung, every drawer I filled I made a conscious choice to keep it or hang it. And that opportunity to make consistently new and thoughtful choices is still overflowing into my business. And I’m listening.

I’ve always been spiritual and I have a strong metaphysical background that is mixed in with everything I do. I have a radio show www.blogtalkradio.com/passionatelyonpurpose and I recently wrote a script for it called “Do You Believe You Can? And Why Not? As I wrote I thought to myself “This is pure metaphysics, not business.” I recorded it and got an enthusiast post from a listener saying “Wow, great show Cara, very inspiring.” Isn’t that what we want to do – touch the hearts of others and make a difference in their lives? I’m listening.

I looked over the number of listens to my various shows and the personal growth ones on stress and exceeding boundaries rated high. But then so did the ones on the sales cycle and energizing your business. I’m listening, but I’m confused.

So here’s the way I figure it. My work is a bit of both – the spiritual and the practical so sometimes I’m going to write about information products and marketing and attracting the people you are meant to serve, and sometimes I’m going to write all about the changes we can make inside. But it will always be about how we can stay Passionately on Purpose.

I love to listen to the messages from the Universe. The unexpected word from someone that triggers a new idea, the door closing in your face so you have to go look for a new one, the swelling of your heart when you get it right and are aligned with your choice. Are you listening? What do you hear? And what are you going to do about it?

How to Create Positive Change

May 15, 2009 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

It’s funny, we do it all the time but we only try to maneuver it when things start looking scary. I’m talking about our life, our business, our circumstances. We attract to us everything we experience simply by our thoughts and actions. So if something is unpleasant we have to make changes inside in order to change the outside.

You get what you look for

I know someone who expects the worst – and she gets it. She expects to be slighted and she is. She expects to be ignored and she is. I know someone else who feels deserving and she attracts great opportunities. Your life begins and ends within – with what you believe you deserve and what you believe can happen.

How to change your life

Some changes are happening in my life and I get to make new choices and attract new opportunities. How do I get to vote on what shows up? By my expectations. For instance, I’m ready for more clients and as I review my Red Velvet Rope policy I know that I want people who value my work, believe in the coaching process, do their assignments and are eager to serve others. Oh yes, and have the funds to pay for it. As I move through my day I keep the image in my mind of people like that calling me and signing up for sessions. Then I will recognize them when they call.

Some of my projects are coming to an end and there is room for new ones. How do I choose? How do I attract the best ones possible? In my case, I’m going to take more contemplative time – time to draw a mind map, to list a zillion possible projects, to look at my business and see what it needs and see that my passion is still high about how I am in service. And I’m going to particularly look at what people are asking me to do for them. It’s like checking the engine of your car – is every part of your business in working order? Will it take you where you want to go?

What does your life/business need now?

What’s missing? What have you been putting off? What would you love to do if you had time? What would make your heart sing? The funny thing is that we make up our life by our choices so why shouldn’t you simply choose to do what you love to do? See what you need to stop doing that you only think you should be doing and start doing what is calling you.

Overcome your reservations

Interviewing others for a podcast has been on my list for a year. It would be a great way to reach out and get to know others and it would be fun to do. But it has yet to make it to the top of my "I’m Doing It!" list. It’s time consuming, it means committing to a regular schedule, it means pushing through to another level of technical knowledge. Gee, that’s a pretty good list of reservations standing in my way. All of which are made up by me. And I’m just the person who can undo them. Look at what’s stopping you and push it aside. There’s too much fun waiting on the other side to delay moving forward.

Stay open to the unexpected

About the time I get my list prioritized and have a clue where to start an unexpected opportunity will come up and the whole scenario will change. That’s the fun part – being surprised and being invited to move in a direction you hadn’t considered.

You do need to know your core purpose so you can keep your choices in alignment with where you want to go, but at the same time, let the new opportunities open new doors for you. Go exploring, you can always change direction after you check it out.

Be willing to change

You have to make room for change to occur. You have to make it OK for things to be different. I know I’m at a crossroads. I know things have to change – are changing and I’m willing to change. I want to invite new elements into my life. So I’m going to take time to journal and mind map, listen to what people are asking me to do for them, overcome my own reservations, and explore every opportunity that shows up. That’s how I’m going to create positive change.

Does Your Business Need a Bigger Frame?

October 19, 2008 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

I was holding my business back. I was staying comfortably within the framework I had designed. Sure, my business had grown from my original idea but my original idea wasn’t very big. And then someone handed me a larger frame and I had to think bigger….

I added a certification to my credentials – a certification that allows me to think bigger and play bigger. Actually, it demands that I do. And I m now fitting what I have been offering into the bigger business and expanding the service I offer.

I Started Out Too Small

I started from a very small place – both inside and outside. My web designer complained that her clients didn’t know what copy they wanted on their web pages and I said, "I can help with that." So I started positioning my business as a content developer – someone who helps focus services, clarifies navigation, and develops compelling copy for a web page. In the course of that I found myself continually coaching people in the foundational steps of marketing – helping them discover their target market, defining their benefits and features, creating tag lines, etc.

My next marketing step was to expand and offer the clients additional services. So I started coaching people in other marketing strategies and information product development.

And then it all changed. A new frame was offered and I jumped at it.

I’m now playing in a bigger vision – and it’s someone else’s. And oh, how that has made me grow!

You see, I’m now part of a bigger group and the founder of that group is really thinking big. And now I am too.

Thinking Big Widens Your Stance

What I was doing is now just a piece of what I now offer. You see, I’ve recently been certified by Michael Port to be one of his first Book Yourself Solid Coaches. And Michael is known for Thinking Big. So what happened is that all I was doing in the form of content and web development, and information product development is now a small piece of a coaching a system that helps people get booked solid. See how different that feels?

Expand Your Vision by Joining in Another’s Vision

My vision has been freed to expand because I am now a part of someone else’s bigger vision. Coaching the BYS system gives me a powerful method that has already been proven successful. I’m not saying you have to go out and get certified in anything. I am saying that you might want to consider looking around at the bigger players in your field and see how you might add to what you already offer. Place your business in a bigger frame.

My framework changed. I started thinking bigger.

My target market expanded. I raised my red velvet rope policy and upleveled the description of my ideal client

My web site got more focused. I was no longer promoting all the bits and pieces of the many things I do, it all came under one umbrella – the steps it takes to get yourself booked solid.

My pricing and packaging changed. I thought in terms of a 15 week program rather than the shorter segments I had been offering.

My branding changed. I could add credentials that identified me with a very large brand.

My expectations changed. I was coaching a system that was proven to bring success. I now expect even greater results with my clients.

My possibilities expanded. Having certified coaches is only part of Michael’s big vision but because I’m in on this next step, I have new opportunities I wouldn’t have had by myself. We’re offering online interactive coaching services that allows easy financial entry to the BYS program by adding levels of self-coaching, and e-mail coaching to 1:1 coaching. That opens up Michal’s work to everyone because the self-coaching can be done online very inexpensively. I will be able to serve people I couldn’t before.

My leveraged opportunities expanded. I want to train to teach the BYS program as a teleclass. I have the potential to expand into doing workshops with this work.

All of this is because I widened the framework that was holding my business.

What Else Can You Offer to Your Clients that Places You in a Larger Frame?

I had already been looking for how I could engage my clients longer. I looked at what services I could offer before they were ready for a web site. I looked for ways to continue helping them after they had received my web content development services. But it was the addition of this new skill set that exploded my vision into a new framework that took me way, way further than anything I had ever conceived of before.

Look outside the box. Look at what others are doing. See how what you are now offering fits into a bigger picture.

Vision from a larger framework and see what doors open. Think bigger, grow bigger be bigger. That’s what happens when you place your business in a bigger frame.

Six Thoughtful Ways to Make Room for Change

June 23, 2008 By Cara Lumen

by Cara Lumen

My quest for a way to make room for change was prompted by the need to schedule more time to do copy writing for my clients. The first question was how much time do I schedule when I don’t know how much time it will take to do the job? In order to make room for change, I had to rethink what I already had in place.

1. Rethink your own rules

I have used an Excel spread sheet to block off times for client appointments, creating new information products, writing client copy, writing and posting articles and working my business. I have been setting Mondays aside to work on expanding my own business. But maybe I should rethink that. Maybe Mondays are not the best day, maybe I need to choose Fridays instead. Maybe I have to spread my business development time over several days. I began to let go of what I had in place and began to rethink my own system.

2. Make use of your fritters

The first thing I noticed in creating my new self-schedule was that I like to watch The View on TV every day at 10 AM. Now frankly, 10 AM is too early for me to take a break and as I looked at my schedule I thought, "That could be a whole hour out of my work day. Unless…." I very much need to put more exercise in my life so guess what…I’m going to bend and stretch and move my body while I watch the intelligent women on The View. It’s a win-win solution.

I started tracking my "fritters" — those things I take time for that do not move me forward in my business or my work load. I began to look at why I was doing them – was I putting off something hard or did I simply need a change of tasks?

Not every time out is a fritter. I talk to my friend/ web designer partner every day. We talk about our lives, our families, our clients and our business decisions. Every conversation nourishes and balances me . It’s a meaningful pause in my productive day.

3. Get real about what’s NOT working

Just as I found a way to add another dimension to an hour of TV that would make it contribute to my life, I began to look at what’s NOT working.

It recently took me a long time to create an introductory email to a new client about an element of my services. I have now saved that in a New Client Start Up file and when another new client appeared I found that it was easy to adjust.

I have developed very strong intake forms that make starting with a new client easy and effective for both of us.. I have another intake form for gathering the information I need to write strong sales pages. And every time I have to write a lengthy explanation about something to one client, I create it as an article for my Magnetic Marketing Coaching Library so it’s ready for the next time that question is asked. I keep an eye out for information I am repeating that could be automated, even if it’s as simple as having a few often needed responses already written than only take a few minutes to adjust and send.

I need to keep myself clear from interruptions, particularly when I am writing copy. What are my choices? I could use my voice mail if a call comes in. I can look at my email at noon instead of first thing in the morning so I use my fresh, creative mind time to its best advantage. I could go to my desk earlier and get in an hour or two of uninterrupted time. I can set boundaries with my clients so we agree on a time to call rather than have them call me spontaneously.

I have options. I have choices. I can make changes.

4. Do the math – what do you need to attract

What does it take to create the income you need and want? How many clients? How many hours of copy writing? How many actual income-producing hours do you need to schedule into your week? Get that number in mind, hold that intention and make room for them in your weekly schedule.

Be clear about what is producing income. I may love writing articles and doing podcasts but I also need to be clear about how much income they are measurably generating and balance the time I spend on them accordingly.

If I want more copy writing assignments then I have to be certain my web site reflects that. That may mean additional keyword research, new copy, and setting up new intake systems so I can do the job efficiently and effectively.

Your job is to stay close to the money. Put your time into actual client/customer interaction. Farm out the administrative stuff if you need to. Stay active where you can most affect your business.

5. Re-think your system and be willing to change

Cluster your clients and pick specific session times to fill. Mine are 11, 1 and 3 PST on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. That leaves me Mondays and Tuesdays plus other times to write copy for others, prepare talks, write more information products and work my own business.

A fellow copy writer who does ghost writing said he knows he has to write 1,000 words a day to finish a book in four months so he blocks off his entire morning. He doesn’t answer the phone, he doesn’t answer email, he just writes. His afternoon is more flexible. When his children come home he does his Dad thing but he often returns to work in the evening when his family activities have slowed down. I often fit in another two hours of work in the evening.

Create a schedule that works for you and your family.

6. Make a new plan and try it out – then schedule a time to check it again

Your plan is just a plan; it’s one way to do it. I always love it when the Universe hands me an unexpected opportunity. I lovingly rethink my whole system to accommodate the new invitation.

I also follow my moods. If I’m in the mood to devour a new business book I sit down and do it. If an article starts popping in I sit down and write it. If an idea shows up I stop and take time to write down enough about it so that I have captured its essence. I definitely allow for the creative muse.

Take one step at a time. Get that never-ending "to-do" list out and schedule some of those things onto your calendar every week. Allow them to organically pop to the top. If they don’t get done in a reasonable length of time, take them off the list, they’re not going to happen..

My new plan feels great. It has given me new perspectives and new priorities. I’ll try this one out for awhile and then reexamine, rethink and recreate and make room for more change.

The Leaf at My Feet

December 20, 2007 By Cara Lumen

It lay there as a sign to me—the large green leaf. Larger than any leaf I had seen. “It’s a sign,” I thought. I love signs.

I looked up to find its origin and every tree around me was bare. Not a leaf left. I looked back at my “sign” and asked myself, “What does this mean?”

It’s nearing the end of a year, a time when I look at where I’ve been and where I want to go. I had just journaled the realization that what I needed to do was to shift my consciousness to make my business grow and my life richer. But to what? Always the question.

I think it has to do with my sense of personal value (or lack of it) and my trust that whatever shows up I can do. I get to play with people who are playing much bigger than I am and in the process add value to what they are doing. I get to trust my talent and my skill and believe it when people tell me how good I am at what I do. I get to seek out others and suggest a collaboration. I get to expect more.

“This leaf is telling me to play bigger,” I thought. “This leaf is telling me to drop any fears or apprehension about moving into new venues. This leaf is telling me to have a bigger vision and to believe in it.”

I continued my walk, admiring the leaf in my hand. It was a spring green although I knew it was actually a dying green. And it certainly was big. There was not a tree in sight that could have produced it.

And then I saw them. A half dozen more of these very large green leaves, larger than the one I held in my hand, all scattered in a cluster on the ground. I picked up two of the largest ones and looked around to see where they could have come from. And then I saw it—a tree in the back yard of a neighbor, hidden from view by a tall fence. And I thought, “What tall fence am I hiding behind? If this leaf is a sign of my huge talent, from what have I constructed the fence that hides it from view?”

Fear? Uncertainty? I want to tear down that fence. I want to take my large talents and spread them all over the neighborhood – all over the world, in fact. I want other seekers to find my large green leaf and get the message – everything is possible. We live in a world of infinite possibilities. We are given gifts that only we can give to another. We must get to work. We must play big. We must live our vision.

And so, my friends, this story is my large green leaf to you. In the coming year, let’s both come out from behind the fence and spread our gigantic talents throughout the world.

Have a great Winter Solstice!

Cara Lumen, The Vision Distiller, helps you distill your vision into a specific and profitable course of action. Her specialty is internet marketing, content strategy, and signature product development. Through her Magnetic Marketing Method, Cara offers innovative, inexpensive, and impactful ideas for the pro-active entrepreneur. Learn how you can become a Success Magnet at www.caralumen.com