Success Mindset

Your business may suffer in 2012 if you don’t consider this…

November 8, 2011 By Kathleen Gage 3 Comments

This is the time of year many people begin thinking about the coming year. Often the focus is on how to build their business beyond where it currently stands.

Before you can grow your business you have to know your business. Actually, what you really need to know is where your greatest throughput is.

What this simply means is, “Where are you getting the greatest results for your time, money and efforts?”

To get the most out of 2012 evaluate 2011.

How did you use your time?
Were you as productive as possible as much as possible?
What were your greatest profit centers?
Which were your least profitable projects?

As we move closer to 2012 have you given thought to the necessary changes you need to make for the coming year?

A powerful question to consider is this, “What’s one thing that I can do to improve productivity and increase profit margins?”

Based on your answer when will you begin?

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Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Success Mindset

Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing

October 17, 2011 By Kathleen Gage Leave a Comment

Expert Guest Blog from Janet Esposito

How do you feel when you step up to speak or perform? Are you nervous? Worried? Panicked? Feeling dread and terror?

If you are like most people, you likely experience some degree of stage fright, as the fear of public speaking is one of the most common fears people report. While some people have only a mild case of the jitters, many others have a much higher level of performance anxiety.

While preparation and practice can do wonders in helping people feel less anxious when stepping up to speak or perform, I have found this is often not enough to quell the higher level fear and anxiety that so many people feel. For these people, more is needed to help calm the Fight or Flight reaction that gets triggered when they perceive speaking or performing to be such a threat.

I find that a holistic approach is most helpful for those who struggle with stage fright. Below are some ideas you may find useful based on the approach I write about in my book, Getting Over Stage Fright: A New Approach to Resolving Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing.

BODY: Most people feel very worried about people detecting their symptoms of high anxiety when speaking or performing. The good news is that these symptoms are not as detectable as you may think, though they can certainly be very uncomfortable and unpleasant to bear.

Here are some tips to work on easing your physical symptoms:

1. ACCEPT YOUR ANXIOUS FEELINGS and learn to ride the wave when fear arises. Your fear will begin to ease naturally when you don’t fuel it by being afraid of it.

2. BREATHE DEEPLY AND SLOWLY and focus on releasing and relaxing any tension that you are holding in your body.

3. CREATE A BODY POSTURE and facial expression that conveys a relaxed, natural ease and a “Can do” attitude.

MIND: It is important to remember we have a choice in how we think and it is up to us to think in ways that support us rather than undermine us.

Here are some tips to help your mind work for you rather than against you:

1. DIRECT YOUR MIND away from any negative, fear-inducing thoughts and toward more positive, empowering thoughts and images.

2. KEEP A GOOD ATTITUDE throughout this process, no matter how challenging your experience may be.

3. GET PERSPECTIVE on yourself and your situation. Smile and lighten up as you remind yourself you are not giving the State of the Union address nor are you competing in the Olympics.

SPIRIT: Your fear can act as a catalyst for your personal and spiritual growth and lead to many hidden blessings when you approach this challenge in a more conscious and mindful way.

Here are some tips to help you access your spiritual nature:

1. RELAX YOUR NEED FOR CONTROL after doing the prep work. Learn to go with the flow and allow whatever happens to be okay, trusting that things will work out fine.

2. BE A WILLING SPIRIT and let go of any resistance you have to speaking or performing. Do whatever is being asked of you with an open and generous heart.

3. DO NOT MAKE THIS A PROVING GROUND for yourself. Take the focus off yourself, connect deeply with others, and remember, It’s not about you!

Albert Einstein once said, “Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them.” In order to resolve our fear of public speaking and performing we need to adopt and practice a new approach.

Janet Esposito, M.S.W.

Janet is a bestselling author, coach, and workshop leader with more than a decade of experience in helping people who fear public speaking and performing.

Her first book, In The SpotLight: Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing, has been an Amazon bestseller for over 6 years. Janet’s second book, Getting Over Stage Fright: A New Approach to Resolving Your Fear of Public Speaking and Performing, offers a new, holistic approach to help you get beyond your speaking or performing fear, whether you have just a mild case of the jitters or a full-blown case of stage fright.

Janet also does phone coaching with people from all over the country and abroad and leads Getting Over Stage Fright Workshops for people to practice the methods she teaches.

To learn more about Janet has to offer, visit www.performanceanxiety.com

Filed Under: Success Mindset

What will it take for you to make the changes you know you need to?

October 16, 2011 By Kathleen Gage 4 Comments

Have you ever had reality hit you smack dab in the face yet chose to deny it.

A quick look around would indicate virtually everyone has done this at some point or another.

The fact is we may know there are changes we should make to live a more quality life, but don’t. We often postpone taking the initiative to make the change because the thought of the change is more painful than continuing a behavior that may not be serving us at the highest level.

This thought came to me as a result of a discussion with a friend who is a nutritionist. We were discussing the health choices (or lack thereof) people make.

A mutual acquaintance is in dire need of lifestyle changes. Changes that may be the difference between life and death. Yet, our acquaintance is not taking the necessary steps to make the change.

When I asked our acquaintance what his behaviors were costing him he rattled off things like energy, lack of focus at work, not feeling good about himself and the looming threat of long-term disability.

I then asked him what it would take to live a healthier lifestyle? He was quick to respond that changing his eating habits and incorporating exercise into his daily schedule. Just as quickly as he rattled off the solution he gave reasons why now is not the best time for him to make any changes.

With the very real threat of longterm disability looming this gentleman is not willing (at this point) to admit the truth and make much needed changes.

Makes me wonder what it will take, if anything, for him to do things differently.

Sadly, there are things we all know we would benefit from changing, but for our own reasons we don’t.

I speak from my own experience. For years I had very destructive behaviors that ended me up broke, homeless and helpless. I was in my twenties at the time.

It wasn’t until I got so sick and tired of being sick and tired that I began the road to a better way of life.

The fact is, we may know we need to make changes yet for any number of reasons we don’t. A primary reason may be we somehow feel safer doing what is familiar (even though it may be deadly) than getting out of our comfort zone to make the change.

The bottom-line is we have more control over the quality of our life than many people care to admit. After all, it’s in this admission we can no longer live the lie. It’s in the denial we can blame outside forces for why our lives may not be where we want them to be.

Do you live with any level of denial of what you need to do to have a better quality of life? Whether it be to do with your health, your finances, emotional or spiritual well-being, your business or job, or any area that is not where you desire it to be – is there an immanent change you need to make?

The first step is to decide what it is you want. Then you must take intentional action that moves you closer to your desire with each passing day.

As a quick fix, instant gratification society we may get discouraged when the results we desire don’t happen immediately.

The fact is, whatever needs repair likely didn’t get in the shape it is in overnight. Nor will it be fixed overnight.

However, if one takes daily action toward your vision you may be pleasantly surprised at how quickly things do change.

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Filed Under: Success Mindset

Time Management Strategies Quiz: Are you Productive or Are You Busy? How can you tell?

October 7, 2011 By Kathleen Gage 15 Comments

Expert Guest Post – These days, not having enough time has become commonplace. Everywhere you go, people find themselves constantly in a rush, over-booked and over-scheduled with no time off. Life is accompanied by the ongoing stress of not having enough time.

Sometimes doing too much and being too busy can actually be our way of numbing feelings of loneliness or emptiness; not knowing what we want; feeling unfulfilled in our work; masking anger, even depression. Keeping “busy” can be our way of feeling productive. But is this the case? Are we really being productive with our time, or are we just keeping busy to pass the time?

Though it may not always seem so, how we fill our time and how we spend our time is our choice.

Answer “True” or “False” to the following questions in this time management strategies quiz to discover if you’re caught up in the “I’m too-busy” cycle:

1. I constantly find myself doing “urgent” things and trying to catch up.

2. Even though I’m always busy, I feel like I’m going nowhere with my life, business or career.

3. I rarely take the time to do anything for myself.

4. I allow myself to be interrupted and distracted from what I’m supposed to be doing.

5. I don’t follow a clear set of time management strategies for myself or my work.

6. I never have a moment alone, yet I have this nagging sense of loneliness inside.

7. I have a hard time saying “no” to others.

8. I find myself running from the time I get up in the morning until I go to bed at night.

9. I’ve given up on my dreams because of other obligations to my family, job or business.

10. I allow myself to drift into projects without knowing how much time or energy they’ll require.

11. I’m always tired and never feel like I accomplish enough.

If you answered “True” more often than “False,” then you may want to re-examine whether you choose to spend your time being “busy” or being productive. You may need to make a change in your life in these areas.

One difference between being productive and being “busy” is how you feel about how you spend your time. Feelings create thoughts, which result in actions. When you complete a task or project, do you have a sense of satisfaction? Do you feel like you’ve accomplished something with your time? Does your work make you feel energized and excited?

Another difference between being productive and being “busy” is the result you get with your time. T. Harv Eker says, “You either have reasons or you have results.” Are you making a contribution or are you making excuses? Are you adding value to your business/for your employer? Are you moving forward in your business or career, or are you spinning your wheels?

Being productive with your time requires that you set short-and long-term personal and professional goals. Otherwise you’ll feel like you’re going nowhere and accomplishing nothing day after day.
Being productive means you follow proven time management strategies and set up systems to measure and reward your accomplishments.
When you’re productive, you monitor your progress daily to see if what you’re doing with your time is on track with your goals, priorities and what you want to accomplish with your life. If not, you do something about it and correct your course.
Using your time productively makes you feel energized and excited about the work or tasks you choose to engage in. You’re in alignment with your purpose, values and aspirations.
When you’re productive with your time, at the end of the day, you feel good about yourself and how you spent your time. You feel optimistic about your future even if you don’t always know where you’re going.

No matter what you’d like to accomplish, the secrets to using effective time management strategies and achieving success are the same…

Develop Awareness. This is the first step toward being productive using effective time management strategies.

Decide what you want. Be as specific as possible. What can you change? The clearer you are about what you want in your life, the more you’re likely to achieve it.

Get Perspective. Most people don’t tell anyone what they want or what they’re struggling with. So they don’t have an outside perspective. They can’t see their way out of their current situation and they stay stuck.

Get Support. Very few people achieve anything great alone. Be willing to take responsibility for your life and how you spend your time. Ask for help and support starting today!

If you’re not productive with your time, if you’re not using time management strategies, if you’re not achieving the goals you’ve set for your personal and professional life, then what’s keeping you busy?

Comment on this and let me know.

For more information, Sign up for Kathryn’s Ezine and receive a Free Chapter of her New Book: Triple Your Time Today! She shares her secret Time-Saving Strategies, Tips and Techniques.

For help right now, pick up a copy of her New Best Selling Book in its Category on Amazon, Triple Your Time Today: 10 Proven Time Management Strategies to Help You Create and Save More Time!

For personal one-on-one coaching, training and consulting integrating effective Time Management Strategies into your life, career or business, contact Kathryn today at support@Kathryn-McKinnon.com

Filed Under: Coaches & Consultants, Success Mindset

Top Reasons a Mastermind Group Can Fail

September 28, 2011 By Kathleen Gage 1 Comment

Guest Expert Blog Post from Cathy Demers

Being in a mastermind group rocks! There’s no doubt that the collaboration, synergy and accountability that comes from gathering together with your peers in a mastermind group is powerful beyond measure. It is almost guaranteed to help you and your business grow in ways, and at a speed, you may not have thought possible.

Add to that, the fact that the vast majority of extremely successful business owners got that way with the help of a mastermind group, and it’s no wonder that right now people around the world are gathered together in mastermind groups – because they work!

Sadly, I’ve spoken to hundreds of people who have been in a mastermind group (or several) that failed. They were then were faced with the time-consuming task of finding or building another group, hanging in hoping to squeeze some tiny bit of value for their time, or giving up on having access to the power and support of a mastermind group altogether.

One of the most common reasons a mastermind group fails is because the group contains the wrong mix of people to start with. Unless someone has been designated the job of sifting through the credentials of people who are available to join, and ensure there is a good match for everyone in the group, it will start off on the wrong foot. Because that task requires time and effort, almost all mastermind groups are formed based on only a minimum of criteria: a potential team member is available and wants to join. Not a good start for a truly productive mastermind group.

The second most common reason a mastermind group fails is because the commitment of individual members of the group changes over time. It’s inevitable that, for some of the members, their business goes in a different direction, life interferes, they no longer make the meetings a priority, or whatever. If this happens to more than one or two members of your group…you may soon find yourself spending time in meetings that would be better spent elsewhere. When it comes to “masterminding” size does matter. Too big and the group is in effective…too small, or poorly attended, and you miss out on valuable information, support and collaboration.

While there are certainly more factors that lead to mastermind group failures, it’s important to mention another important one: a lack of leadership or structure. The symptoms of this appear in many forms but most notable are rambling conversations and stories that are off-task and unproductive, lack of accountability, control-freaks who hog the “mic” , helpers who support others but get little support for their own businesses, and participants who find they have to “put their elbows up” to get any attention at all. Such mastermind groups are doomed to fail.

So, what do to about it?

First, ensure that the mastermind group you join is a good match for you based on criteria that is important to you. Not geography (who lives within driving distance) or availability, but important criteria such as type of business and market, levels of business growth and experience, and similar challenges and motivation.

Second, join a mastermind group “system” where there is a steady supply of new members who are just as committed as you. Such a system should not only match you up with the best team members for you at the onset but if for any reason your group starts to fizzle or is no longer working for you, you can be placed in a new group without lifting a finger – so you can spend your precious time growing your business.

And third, you want your mastermind group to have some structure. Not so much that it stifles creativity, but enough to keep the group on track and highly productive. You don’t want to be stuck running each meeting and you want mastermind system where the groups have good guidance and an experienced facilitator to ensure everything runs smoothly and productively.

The power and synergy of a mastermind group is far too important to toss the baby out with the bathwater. Avoid these problems and join a mastermind group that rocks for you!

About Cathy Demers

To help small business owners everywhere find a great mastermind group, without any of the usual problems, Cathy has developed a very unique mastermind group system: Business Mastermind Teams.com . It’s like a dating service – but for small business owners! Your “perfect” mastermind group is waiting for you now and now is good…very good. www.BusinessMastermindTeams.com

Cathy also hosts the weekly business education series www.BusinessSuccessCafe.com. Only 20 minutes and free – it’s the perfect coffee break for busy business owners.

Filed Under: Coaches & Consultants, Success Mindset

How’s your back-end?

September 15, 2011 By Kathleen Gage Leave a Comment

One of my favorite shows is – America’s Got Talent. I really enjoy watching raw talent come up from the ranks.

There’s great talent and there’s… well, let’s just say, less than great. Week after week acts are eliminated until one stands victorious as the winner.

The mere fact that a singer, dancer, magician, or any act makes it to the top ten is against the odds.

Even if elimination happens along the way contestants build a fan base due to all the visibility. What I find most amazing is how often the opportunity to build an online fan base is missed due to a few missed steps.

Oh no! She’s not prepared

Tonight I saw a posting on Facebook from one of my favorites, Lys Agnès. The posting announced her new website. I anticipated a well developed site and was disappointed to find very little information with the final line of about six reading, “Stay tuned for updates to this site.”

I was saddened to see this. After all, Lys had visibility in front of millions of people over the last few months. Too bad she had not been advised on the importance of having her “backend” in place and ready to receive visitors.

Lys is not alone nor unique with this. Countless individuals miss incredible opportunities because they have not set up the right infrastructure for their marketing efforts.

About a year ago a contestant on The Shark Tank had a really unique product she was seeking funding for. I was so intrigued by what she created I hopped over to her website and found very little information and almost every link was dead. Whoa!!!! Another poorly developed backend.

Then you have someone like Jackie Evancho. Her website is definitely set up to optimize her fan base and online presence. http://www.jackieevancho.com/

The questions that beg to be answered are:

How’s your back-end?

Is your blog and website set up to receive visitors?
Do you have a way for people to access something of extremely high value in trade for their name and email address?
Do you have more than one way for them to do this?
Do you have your product offerings visible?
Do you have information that establishes your credibility and expert status?
Do you have a plan for follow up with those who want you to hear from you?

If you can’t answer a resounding YES! to each and every one of these questions, you have work to do. And fast!

Anyone who knows me knows I am a stickler about consistent marketing to grow a business. However, before you begin extremely proactive marketing you absolutely must have your foundation in place.

Don’t be counted among the casualties of those who had a great shot at building an online following but may have missed the mark. Stand among the winners!

What’s your favorite way to prepare and optimize your back-end?

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Success Mindset

Are you really holding yourself accountable for your success?

September 13, 2011 By Kathleen Gage 23 Comments

I returned home yesterday after 4 days of intensive training at Experts Academy with Brendon Burchard. By intensive I’m talking 12 – 14 hours of non-stop learning, networking, and brainstorming for three of the four days. The final day was only 8 hours and it literally flew by.

For over 9 hours I drove from San Jose, California to Oregon. I love a long drive after an intense learning experience. I have time to assimilate what I experienced.

If you know who Brendon is you know the guy’s a genius. His whole platform is to serve one’s market and make a GREAT living in the process.

What has changed?
In the time I have been a member of his private mastermind group (5 months) I have noticed some significant shifts in myself and my business. My focus has increased (it was already great compared to many entrepreneurs and now it’s even better), my revenues have increased and I am loving what I do even more.

The thing I love the most is really serving you with great information much of which I give away. I love sharing and my commitment to my market is to help as many people as I can.

In the last few months I have met some amazing men and women who are also involved in the mastermind group. They too are experiencing amazing shifts. As we’ve shared with each other what the greatest contributors to the changes are it boils down to a few things.

1. Committing to the change.

2. Making a financial investment to learn from the best.

3. Taking action each and every day.

4. Letting go of the activities that eat up time in the day.

5. Hanging out with those who also want massive change.

6. Willingness to work (and work hard) for what we want.

What are you willing to do?
It’s amazing how many people want a change in their business but they are making no change in their day to day activity. Their day goes something like this; turn on their computer, check their emails, play around in social networks, get distracted, check their emails again, go back into social networks, talk about how slow the economy still is and then wonder where the day went.

The fact is, if you want to take your business to the next level you MUST make changes. All of us have to do this.

Is it different for you?
Every day I get emails from people who are still saying how tough it is to make money in their business. When I ask them what they are doing differently than a month, two months, three months ago they don’t have an answer. If you want change you BETTER change what you are doing. There’s no beating around the bush on this.

Here are a few things you can do that will significantly impact your bottom line.

1. Quit reading all your emails first thing in the morning. Your mornings need to be used for monetizing your business.

2. Organize your office for the highest level of productivity. If this means cleaning out your work area then do it.

3. Let go (and I mean really let go) of the day to day activities that are not producing results for you. This might mean reducing the amount of time you spend in social networks. Social networks are great … to a point. Often they are a huge time waster and do not contribute to your bottom line.

4. Surround yourself with high achievers. This likely means you need to join a mastermind group, take stock of how much time you spend during your workday having nonproductive conversations with those who continue to want to talk about how slow things are, and raise your own performance bar.

These are only a handful of recommendations. The fact is, there is so much business available for virtually everyone. I know there are those who will say, “But Kathleen, things are slow for me.”

I don’t discount this fact. What I do ask you is this…

How productive are you really being in your day?
Who are you hanging out with (both in person and in cyberspace)?
How much time are you using to really monetize your business?
How much time are you using to look at the latest funny video on YouTube that is an incredible time waster?
What are you willing to do differently to achieve the outcomes you desire?

Believe me, if I didn’t make a conscious effort each and every day to continue to build a lifestyle business, I would be singing the, “Business is slow, you just don’t understand” melody.

Rather, I look for every conceivable way to move to the next level while continuing to serve my market fully. Do you?

Take a look at this short video I created on how to be more productive in your day. This is a strategy I learned from Brendon and one of the main contribution factors to why things have shifted so dramatically for me.

What is your experience with this type of change? Have you consciously focused on what you need to do differently to achieve better outcomes? Sharing of best practices welcome.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Success Mindset

There is no “perfect moment” to start your lifestyle business

September 10, 2011 By Kathleen Gage 1 Comment

Recently I conducted a survey to find out the #1 challenge people have getting their online lifestyle business off the ground.

A common theme for many is not knowing where to start. One reason many people have no clue where to start is they have never taken time to evaluate who they are, who their market is, what makes them uniqe in the market, and what they bring to the party.

It’s amazing how many people become incredibly immobilized with this process. It’s actually quite simple, but many people never take that first step. They seem to be waiting for the perfect moment.

If you wait for the “perfect” moment you will never get off the ground. You have to be willing to begin now. And you have to be willing to make a few mistakes along the way.

You need to identify who you are, what your expertise is, who is interested in your expertise (your market) and why you are their solution.

Rather than thinking this information will somehow miraculously fall from the heavens in a neat little package wrapped in a pretty bow you need to spend some time digging deep into these areas.

The digging deep can be as simple as getting a pen and paper and simply writing down answers to the following:

Who am I?
Who do I want to be viewed as?
What experience do I bring to the table that others would beenfit from?
Who do I want to work with?
Who wants to work with me?
What is their problems as they relate to my expertise?
What solutions do I offer?

If you have never taken time to dig deep to find the answers to these questions isn’t it time to start?

What is your #1 challenge in getting your lifestyle business off the ground?

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Success Mindset

One simple step to a better quality of life

September 1, 2011 By Kathleen Gage 3 Comments

There are ways I can set myself up for a more joyful, happy and productive day. When I fail to do these things upon waking my day usually doesn’t go as well as it could.
A primary activity is to recognize what is good in my life. If I wake up and simply begin my day with no recognition of all my blessings it’s amazing how different things will turn out.

Rather, when I take as little as five minutes first thing in the morning to acknowledge what I have to be grateful for I have set the tone for the day.

In years past I struggled with this concept. I was so focused on what wasn’t working that it was very difficult for me to find even one thing to be grateful for.

My spiritual teacher
It was during a period of great struggle Gloria, a woman about 20 years my senior, came into my life. As one of my most influential spiritual mentors, Gloria taught me it is the simplest things we express gratitude for that allow us to open the floodgates for more to be grateful for.

When I met Gloria I was struggling in many areas. I lived in a tiny studio apartment housed below the main living quarters of a house located across from the Russian River in Guerneville, California. The place I lived in was barely 400 square feet with a single room that doubled as a bedroom and living room. The kitchen was enough to cook in with an old refrigerator that was ready to give out at any time. The bathroom was big enough for only one person to be in it at any given time.

At the time I was doing odd jobs to make ends meet. My goal at the time was to simply survive from day to day. I didn’t get to this place by chance. It was due to poor choices I had been making for years that landed me in this place of difficulty.

Although I had read dozens of books by that point that would fit in the genre of Law of Attraction, I hadn’t grasped the simplicity of one powerful concept. I couldn’t figure out why I was struggling so much to make it from day to day.

Wanting was not enough
I desperately wanted to have a better life, but couldn’t seem to figure it out. Not until Gloria showed me how truly simple it is.

Repeatedly she would say, “It begins with the recognition and expression of gratitude for what you have rather than bemoaning what you don’t have.”

Simple enough but there was so much I didn’t have. It was easier for me to notice what was missing rather than what I had to be thankful for.

Gloria held steadfast with what she said would change my life in ways I couldn’t fathom.

It’s so simple
With one simple daily practice and the willingness to spend time upon waking and before retiring each night taking this action, she assured me my life would change.
The practice? A gratitude list. It all seemed a bit too elementary and simple to have as much power as she claimed it had for her.

“Kathleen, your best thinking got you to where you are at. Don’t you think it’s worth trying things a different way?” she would unwaveringly hold to the power of gratitude.
I’m not quite sure when I finally became willing to try it her way but eventually I began the daily practice of writing down at least three things I had to be grateful for.

What started out as a conscious process many years ago is now a part of my DNA. Today my life does not at all reflect the person I was in my thirties. Today, in my late fifties, I am in awe of the life I live.

It’s not so much the outward life, but rather my thinking, beliefs and level of understanding that it’s not at all what is going on outwardly that determines the level of happiness we experiences.

Granted, my outward is pretty darned good, but I am fully aware that the outward is a reflection of the inward.

Gratitude is at the core
Early on when I was grasping the concept of gratitude I was under the mistaken belief that if I focused on all I had to be grateful for nothing bad would never again happen in my life.
It’s not that life won’t happen, it certainly will. But when we are in the space of gratitude, even the most painful of life’s experiences becomes something we recognize as the tapestry of our life that allows us to grow into the being we have always been meant to be.

My "kids" I am so grateful for

The most incredible part of this “gratitude thing” is this; the more I express what I have to be grateful for the more I have to be grateful for.

One of the things I am most grateful for is that I finally became willing to do things differently based on what Gloria taught me. When I get busy, caught up or I think there are more important things to do first thing in the morning, I simply need remember how much of a struggle life was all those years ago.

This is usually all it takes for me to simplify by focusing on what I have to be grateful for. As soon as I do I have shifted my perception and regardless of what is in store for the day, it’s all good.

What is your experience with gratitude? Your thoughts and insights welcome.

Filed Under: Success Mindset

Why in the world would someone pay you for your knowledge?

July 20, 2011 By Kathleen Gage Leave a Comment

Earlier today I received an email from a woman who has been in her industry for over 20 years. She is definitely an expert, extremely accomplished and highly respected in her industry.

Her inquiry was about who to offer membership programs to. Initially she thought of her market; her customers, but said it just doesn’t feel like this is the answer. I didn’t hesitate to agree with her.

Who’s the best fit
The fact is, your current customers may not be the best fit for your membership program. Rather, it could be others in your industry who view you as an expert and are willing to pay to learn from you.

Let’s say you are an extremely successful artist. Your art clients may not be a good fit for a membership program, but other artists are.

Perhaps you never considered this side of membership programs – training your peers. This is actually one of the best choices for a membership program.

Do you know what you know?
However, before people are willing to part with their money they have to know you know what you know. This is where your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) comes in.

In a nutshell, a USP is what makes you stand out from the crowd. Regardless of what industry you are in there are likely others who do what you do. In the consumer’s mind you are one among many unless you can effectively clarify what makes you different.

Lots of competition out there
In my field there are thousands upon thousands of people who do what I do – authors, speakers, consultants, Internet marketers. However, only I have the experience and background I have. My job is to articulate this in a way that makes others want to pay me for my knowledge.

It is the same for you. Rather than thinking, “There’s nothing unique about me or in what I offer,” switch that to “What makes me different?”

There are likely lots of people in your industry who are no where near your level of knowledge, success and experience. They want to succeed, but don’t have all the information they need to do so. What do you know that they need to know and would be willing to pay to learn?

To find out carry a notepad with you for the next seven days and keep the focus on these two questions:

“What makes me different?”
“What do (fill in with the group you would work with) absolutely need to know to become successful?”

No matter what comes up (how trivial it may seem) write it down. At the end of seven days you will likely be amazed with what you have written down. However, you must be very open minded and not discount anything.

You never know when the gems of uniqueness appear. The very gems others are willing to pay for.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing, Success Mindset

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