Marianne’s Top Ten 2009

Marianne's Top Ten Resources - 2009


 (In no particular order #9 rocks though)

So many amazing resources in 2009, where to begin?  I am sure I have missed some but here are 10 to get your teeth into and some links to get you started with some fre*bies too. 

1. NLP In Reality - Making 2010 Your Best Year Ever (Questionnaire) by: Shlomo Vaknin, C.Ht NLPWeekly.com The purpose of this process is self alignment. The results - forgetfulness. Yes, I believe that in order to make significant progress through a time period such as a year, we need to forget all about it - and let it just happen http://nlpweeklymagazine.com/uploads/nlpweekly.com-NLP-In-Reality.pdf .
2. Back by popular demand… Paperbackswap.com Your source for swapping books online - Read...Swap...Save! I have been swapping up a storm and it is enabling my reading addiction, I think that's a good thing! http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php
   
3. Get Clients Now by C.J Hayden (Book) I have been using this myself and with clients and it's fabulous. If you are looking for some extra accountability contact me and we can work on it together. http://www.getclientsnow.com/
   
4. Fr*e Play Music a great source to download music at no cost. I have used it to add music to the beginning or end of my podcasts and also for some of my videos. http://freeplaymusic.com/search/
   
5. Flat Belly Diet http://flatbellydiet.prevention.com/default.asp?sname=DefaultOffer&mktSSOfferId=FBD24911&mktBKOfferId=PVN24251 I have used it and lost weight BUT more importantly I have enjoyed the food and MUFU's rock.
   
6. Aweber This is an email marketing software that I love. You can have multiple lists and the open rate exceeds the competition including Constant Contact. Go to http://motivatemyself.com/Effective_Newsletters.html
                    
   
7. Eventbrite Events made easy. A fabulous online solution that tracks attendance and takes money for your events. I use it all the time. https://www.eventbrite.com/r/eventsnow
   
8. Twitter Feed connect your blog, facebook and twitter and make your life easier and more efficient. http://twitterfeed.com/
   
9. Discovering Your Intentional & Exceptional Life by Marianne Emma Jeff (Book & Interactive Program) Alright I know perhaps I am a little biased on this one but this year I have created an interactive program as a companion to the book. What does that mean? It means I hold your hand and interactive with you weekly as you go through the program, I answer questions, ask questions and help you deepen and clarify the work as you design your year of abundance and joy for 2010. Get started now at http://motivatemyself.com/Your_Exceptional_LIFE.html Come on buy the book already what are you waiting for!
   
10. Art Guidance Cards by Karin Bauer. View these beautiful cards and do an interactive session at http://motivatemyself.com/Coaching.html
    

When will you begin?

When will you begin? Inevitably at the beginning of a new year people feel the sense of possibility in the air and resolve to change, add habits or elements of their lives. I see it as a blank slate, a covering of virgin snow glistening with opportunity. Over the last 20 years, I have approached the New Year with excitement. Some years I have sat right down after the stroke of midnight with a pen and paper other years I have lingered with the holiday spirit, literally, and began my resolution quest on the 2nd, 3rd or maybe even later in the month. One year I sat on a sled with a bottle of wine, red of course and a pen and paper and a candle until my balance was thrown off and the sled took off down the hill, ditching me and my paper on the way to be rescued by my Step Mum Tess. One year I participated in a New Years time capsule which we dug up the following year to review. Inside the capsule, the following year, I found my request of “to be or not to be” referring to with child or not. I smiled as I read it clutching my four week old child, Sofie.


Every New Year holds this excitement for me but this year especially as we are on the dawn of a new decade. Ten years is a huge chunk of time. Think of all the things you have done and all the changes that have occurred in the last 10 years. Life is change and nothing is more constant than change. This decade began with an even bigger dawn, the dawn of a new century. I remember the anticipation and excitement as we approached 2000. At first, I found myself stumped with how to refer to this new era, but quickly left the fear of end of the world behind us and got into a new stride for the new millennium. I remember my Grandad’s wish to see the turn of the century, unfortunately he didn’t get to see his wish come true. Desires come and go. Some come to fruition, some lay by the roadside forgotten and some always seem to slip elusively through our fingers.

With years and years of dreams and desires behind me, I have developed a system to empower me, keep me focused and enable me to learn from each year as it ticks by. I have refined this process for 10 years and put it all together in one book, “Discovering Your Intentional & Exceptional Life”. For years, I had searched for a system that included all the key elements and came up empty handed. And so I created my own. To me the three key elements are:

1. To review and take stock of the past year. I like to get them down clearly in black and white. This way I can build upon the challenges and opportunities of the past to leverage my progress in the future.

2. To check in with my core values and priorities. This way I am setting goals or intentions in alignment with who I am. By doing this, I achieve my goals easier and enjoy them more when I attain them.

3. To set clear priorities and have systems to remind me of them for the next 12 months. There is no point in setting clear goals if you forget them. I work with priorities as an umbrella for all the goals that are important to me. It is so much easier to keep in mind one to three priorities than a long list of goals. I always surprise myself at the end of the year with how much I have accomplished. What is also important to me is flexibility. As Joseph Campbell said, “If you see your path laid out in front of you, it is not your path.” My theme this last year was to forge my own path using Joseph Campbell’s words as inspiration. This was a challenge for me, the planner, but it allowed me to be flexible and to begin to learn to stop worrying so much about how. After working on myself and with hundreds of clients, I have found that is we are clear about “what” we want and take consistent action towards it the “how” takes care of itself and can surprise us sometimes. Using priorities and keeping them in mind allows for this flexibility of “how”, it allows me to stay focus but not at the same time to let the universe worry about the details.

There is no right way in life. There are lots of different ways of attaining the same thing. Just like when you are driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco. You can take the scenic route or the freeway. The coast route, the scenic route, is beautiful to drive through the coastal cities of Monterey and Carmel. Stopping off to take in the picturesque view and enjoying some of the wonderful food along the way is a treat. If you are heading off on a business trip and need to get to San Francisco fast or perhaps are in a hurry to get back to spend time with your family then the scenic route is not for you. With a reserve of time and money in your pocket meandering down the streets of Cambria or spending the weekend at a romantic bed and breakfast is fun and comfortable but without either you will be anxious and strapped for resources. You will most likely not enjoy the experience. It all boils down to being clear on your priorities. Then you can decide which route would work best. As a coach, I specialize in working with people to take the most direct, efficient route all the time checking in with the client and keeping them on top of their game, moving them forward but not at the expense of their wellbeing.

As the new decade lies ahead I wonder will you take the scenic route or the freeway. If you are looking for a co-pilot, give me a call. But first make sure you decide when to begin, set a date and take the first step. It starts with a thought, then a word then comes the action.

When will you begin?

Your Coach,

Marianne Emma Jeff
coach@motivatemyself.com
http://www.motivatemyself.com/

Creating & Giving Powerful Testimonials

The road to visibility for you and your business is paved with solid relationships. The days of hard selling and spam tactics have been left behind as we enter the new era of permission marketing and truth telling instead of “selling”. Although they want to develop strong relationships a lot of my clients get stuck on how you actually do that.

“How can I build relationships with people I do not know very well”, “I don’t want to be pushy”, and “I don’t have anything to say” are common topics my one-on-one clients bring to our coaching sessions. One great way to build relationships is solid, compelling and well written testimonials.

As a lot of you know, I am a huge fan of Deepak and his “Seven Spiritual Laws of Success”. Testimonials are a great way to embrace law #2:

The Law of Giving

“In our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives”

It boils down to this; if you want something, then give it.

Do you want people to speak highly of your business and services? Would you like them to point out the benefits that you offer, would you like them to do this in a personal and specific way using examples that other people can really connect with? Then guess what, if you give these wonderful testimonials you will receive them in return (not necessarily from the same people I might add). As always with things I recommend they should be grounded in authenticity: real, heartfelt words not lip service!

The benefits of giving testimonials:

• A reason to get in touch and follow up with someone

• People buy from or hire people they know, like and trust. Not only are you getting to know someone you are helping build their level of trust with their consumers.

• A great way to find out more about that person
• Every time they see that testimonial or someone mentions it they think of YOU

• Your name and contact info get in front of a whole new group of people


What to do with testimonials you receive:

• Add them to your Website, Newsletter, Brochures, Share them in an email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tweet them
• Place them around your service, products and promotional materials

Before you dash off and start writing and requesting testimonials. STOP. The way they are written is extremely important. Here are a few tips to get you on the right track.

Tips on Creating Powerful Testimonials
 Tip 1  Ask the person you are writing the testimonial for what service or product they would like you to highlight.

Tip 2  Find out what the THREE main benefits of this service or product are. This is key information that anyone in business should know about everything they do.

Tip 3  Write it as if you are speaking to their audience not to them

Tip 4  Briefly cover these five key points (I recommend one sentence each)
           a) How are you like the audience (one or two things you have in common with them)?

           b) What problem did you have and what benefit did you want to receive which the audience can relate to?
           c) Express your concerns about what you should do about your problem and how you wondered if anyone could help.

          d) State how the product or service provided the solutions you desired and/or benefits.

          e) Call them to action by recommending what they should do next.
How do you get great testimonials?

• When asking for testimonials request that they use the same key points as above.
• Be very clear and specific about what service or product you would like to highlight.
• Ask them to share the benefits of your service.
• Feel free to send them a link to this article as a reference.

Most importantly be sure to share your gratitude with them. Maybe even send them a hand written card or note. Do you see how this tool quickly begins to develop and strengthen your contacts and relationships?
If you would like to create a personalized strategy to increase your visibility factor than contact me to set up an introductory consultation and take advantage of my end of year special.

P.S. If you are looking to practice your new testimonials skills and have read my annual life analysis book “Discovering Your Intentional & Exceptional Life” than please feel free to send me a testimonial. I am looking to highlight the following four benefits of the book. You would only need to hit on one or two of them.

1. How it empowered and motivated you to take action?
2. How it shifted your attitude and uncovered things to celebrate which you had forgotten?
3. How it gave you clarity for the following month or year?
4. How easy it was to use and fit into your life?

Please send them to me at coach@motivatemyself.com and include your business name, website address, name as you would like it to appear and a photo of you to publish with it.
P.P.S To give you a sense of how the key points work I have created three real life examples below:

Terrie Silverman – Writing & Performance Lab
http://www.creativerites.com/
I have always loved writing and as an actress was drawn to the idea of creating my own material to perform and being in control of my own content. I began writing some pieces about my life but when I tried to perform them I felt a lack of connection with the audience. I knew there was a specific technique to writing and performing one person show’s but there were little resources to guide me and most of those were written. I wanted to test out my material in a safe environment and learn how to craft it from a professional with experience in this particular arena. Thanks to a friend of mine, I found out about Terrie’s class. In the very first class, I learnt so much about writing and performing and it was wonderful to have a supportive audience to test it out on. Terrie creates a safe space allowing you to trust your creative instincts and ignore your self-sensoring critic. Her teaching style gently draws out more of the story from you giving it depth and unique character. My creativity was stirred up and I wrote more than I had ever before. She also built my confidence and empowered me as I realized I had something valuable to say.  Recently, I performed my first one person show “The Zen of Red Wine” to a sold out audience in Los Angeles. The audience loved it but I got so much more than applause out of the whole process.  It was a great way to process and learn more about myself, priceless. If you have dreamt about writing your own piece or perhaps a book than sign up for Terrie’s class or better still her Private Coaching now. Don’t let the story die, share it with the world.


Nicola Borland – Professional Photographer
http://www.nicolaborland.com/

After having my daughter Sofie, who is now four, I have put on a few pounds. When I was younger, in my career as an actress, I loved being photographed. Now with the extra weight I feel more self conscious but using my old pictures in my marketing materials on my website embarrassed me. I wanted to look like my picture so when I met clients they would recognize me! I kept thinking that I would wait till I lost the weight but time kept ticking. I met Nicola at a Networking Coffee in South Pasadena. I instantly liked her. She is very fun and easy to talk to. I found her to be extremely professional but at the same time very down to earth which instantly makes you feel comfortable. During my Personal Portrait Session it was obvious that she loves what she does and her passion got me excited about the whole process. I am thrilled with the photos. Now I feel excited to hand out my marketing materials. I am much more confident when I meet clients knowing that I look just like my picture. If you are using outdated photos or have a new look and need new pictures call Nicola to set up a portrait session. I know you will be thrilled too.

Tambra Gutschall - Axis Chiropractic
http://www.axischiro.com/

I care a lot about my family and hate to see them in pain. When my husband hurt his back mowing our lawn, quite a task as we live on a hill! I didn’t want him to be in pain. He tried stretching and iced it but wasn’t getting any relief. Like a lot of men in my life he doesn’t like to seek outside help and I wasn’t sure how to help him. Then I thought of Tambra whom I had met at a networking event. She has a wonderful easy going down to earth manner which I thought my husband might be receptive to. I mentioned her to my husband and still in pain he was open to the idea. When he returned from the appointment, he was in good spirits and from just one session already his back was feeling much better. He was eager to share the experience with me and told me all about his chiropractic adjustment. He was especially impressed with the thoroughness of Dr. Tambra. His back is now pain free. If someone you love is in pain than send them to Dr. Tambra. They will be in great hands!