A simple shift can change EVERYTHING.

Seriously.

It’s not an over-statement. If anything, it might be an understatement.

I wanted to get into this today because I’ve embraced one of those slight ‘shifts’ that is creating monumental change in my world. And, it’s only just begun.

A few weeks ago one of my close friends and business peers Patty Lennon shared a story with me about a friend of hers. Her friend, Lisa Marie Hayes, decided to create a challenge for herself, but instead of your standard ‘make a sales call a day’ type of challenge, she decided to go for 50 Rejections.

Holy Cr*p.

So, as is customary for me, it’s taken me a few weeks to align with taking this on. I can’t usually jump right in to something scary like this, so I took my time, thought about it, and then got a little prod from friends and now I’m ALL IN. (The prod from friends came when Patty publicly announced this challenge on a women’s networking group board and people started saying they were in… I decided, now or never – sometimes you just have to get off the pot, right? :- ) ).

I’ve created a form to write my rejections in, I’ve started looking for the opportunities for getting a rejection (they are EVERYWHERE) and I’ve started keeping track of the things I’m reaching for. Already, I’ve taken on a few challenges I’d been avoiding, like applying for a competition and calling a few people who told me they were interested in something I have to offer. We’ll see where it goes, but I can already feel the momentum shifting – even if these things don’t bear fruit, I know that some things will – I just have to be willing to embrace the opportunity.

What is SO BEAUTIFUL about this challenge?

It changes the way you think and feel about what you are reaching for. If you are AIMING to be rejected, you can reach for a whole different level of possibilities – which means you’ll ask far more often and for bigger things than you may have even considered before. If you’re going to be rejected, it might as well be for some big stuff, right? And, it’s hard to be too disappointed in being rejected when that’s what you were trying to achieve in the first place… HUGE mental shift.

Stay tuned for more on this – I’ll be documenting the experience as I go along.

Wanna play? You can take a look at some of the conversation going on about it here.

(P.S. I have a webinar coming up where I’ll be sharing one of my biggest tips to marketing that gets you more clients, more cash and, ultimately, puts you back in charge of your life and your time. You don’t want to miss it – you can register here: http://www.paysoncooper.com/webinar/# )

…

Imagine each breath you take in is the Universe offering you love. It is proof that you are loved, deeply, unconditionally.

And, as you release that breath you are returning your love to the universe.

A steady, regular cycle that simply says, “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,” back and forth with the Source of All That Is.

Flow is one of the most important elements in business… it may seem a little ‘woo woo’ to some of you who are looking for concrete and firm marketing information… but one of the most important things any of us can get is understanding that it is ALL energy.

The success? Energy.

The failure? Energy.

The clients? Energy.

The lack of clients? Energy.

So, when you feel like you need to take a couple hours to rest, relax and refresh that is about your energy. When you give yourself that space, to flow with whatever intuitively feels right to you – to rest now, to work on this piece, even if it doesn’t logically seem like the ‘best’ next step… following your ‘gut’ to take you where you really want to go, is about energy too.

If everything in business is energy, then taking the rest time is ‘working’ too… giving yourself that space is when you allow the big creative stuff to download from Source. It’s where the best new stuff comes from. It’s where the big breakthroughs happen – when you trust that you know what is best for you in this moment and flow with it.

You can’t get it done. You can’t do it wrong. Relax. Enjoy. Create.

…

I’m a HUGE Vitamix fan… I’ve had my Vitamix for years and use it almost every day. It’s the one kitchen tool I have taken with me to week-long vacation rentals and the thing I miss most when I’m away and can’t take it along. I’ve probably sold 50 of them to family and friends by talking them up so much.

Well… these videos might just make me consider converting to something else – and that’s SAYING SOMETHING! (Apparently the blending capacity for the 2 is about the same, based on several internet reviews.)

Check out the ‘Will It Blend’ videos from Blendtec.com… you can see more here: http://willitblend.com/

Here’s one of my favorites:

The fun music, the happy smile, the 70′s game-show feel – it all rolls into making one WONDERFUL and FUN marketing campaign. And, not once do they have to mention that this is a kick-ass blender that could make a pretty smooth smoothie… if it blends a laptop, I think it can take care of my frozen strawberries – what do you think?

Bottom line is this is a creative and fun way to show the power of this product. You can bet with 100′s of 1000′s of views (some well in the millions) these videos are having a great impact on getting the Blendtec name out into the world.

Enjoy! :- )

And, if you’re ready to start creating compelling, fun and frankly, kick-ass marketing for your own business, don’t miss my Marketing in the Morning™ webinar – you can register here.

…

I know it’s a terrible picture (I could probably get a better one at night without the back-lighting of the windows), but it’ll do the job for now…

It’s a NeuYear.net whole year calendar that displays the entire year (1 side is lengthwise, the flip-side is set up width-wise, as you can see on the photos on their website here). For the last couple of years I’ve used a simple large desk calendar from Staples to do my annual planning – and it’s helped tremendously.

When it comes to the marketing planning process, the one big issue I’ve had, is I don’t know what’s coming down the pike. I can’t see ahead to the marketing planning and work that is scheduled for bigger and longer-term projects. So, in the last week of Jan, as I need to be thinking about what’s coming up in the first few weeks of February, it’s hard to tell on a regular flip-a-month-per-page calendar.  (As you can see, the calendar is over my desk, so not that easy to reach to flip.)

This solves that problem!

As I’d already laid out the year on one of those regular calendars, switching to this one was quick and easy – I just cut or trimmed my post-its (the boxes are a bit smaller than the calendar I was using) and put them on the same date spots. There are categories for time off, business events and travel, program launches, planning dates for big projects, marketing start and end dates etc.

Being able to see the whole year will make everything flow MUCH SMOOTHER for me this year – and I know it will help me stick with the calendar even more.

Thank you NeuYear.net!

And, if you’re still figuring out your marketing planning process and you don’t have your year planned out yet (and you’d like to work on those things), then don’t miss my upcoming Marketing in the Morning™ webinar. We’ll be talking about getting your marketing in order, which is the start to getting your calendar and plan sorted out… and that leads to more clients, more time for you and more fun than you’ve ever had in your business before. Trust me… it’s working for me! Register here to find out more.

A few days ago I was in line at a store waiting to make a purchase. I was running a few minutes late and the woman in front of me was taking a lot of time putting away her money, wallet and other goods, so I reached over the magazine rack on the counter to hand the clerk my items. Generally that wouldn’t be an issue, but in this case, the woman took a great deal of offense, saying she had the ‘right to put her things away’ and telling me that this is how ‘stuff’ gets started.

Keep in mind, I hadn’t touched her or her belongings, she was clearly upset or having a bad day and decided this was a good way to express herself. I continued my process with the clerk, interacting with the woman as little as possible, and letting her have her anger.

As I left the store (she was still getting herself together), I had to take a few deep breaths to re-group. Once I got a handle on it, I started to think about how that kind of anger and frustration with the world can hold us back. Lashing out at the world, making someone else wrong (or, alternatively, ourselves), being angry… basically playing ‘victim’. It is probably one of the single most effective ways to DESTROY your success.

When you get caught up in that kind of loop, you can’t get excited, inspired or motivated. The great ideas don’t flow your way. People don’t want to spend time with you or hang around you – at least not the ones who are going places. The only people that want to be with you are the ones who want to gripe, complain and gossip with you – fanning the flames of the upset.

So, here’s my challenge to you… the next time you start to slide down that slippery slope, take yourself firmly in hand and SHIFT your perspective. I had to do it after leaving that store… for a few minutes I was really irritated. Then I decided it was more important for me to focus on where I was going, the people I was going to see and what came next. I pushed it out of my mind and it didn’t come back until I walked past the store on my way home, and then it only lasted a moment.

Do whatever it takes to let go and move onto something else in your mind. It’s ESSENTIAL to your success. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did… and just a little while later you’ll be wondering what all the fuss was about anyway. :- )

And, if you are ready to take full responsibility for your business growing the way you want it to, then you’ll definitely want to check out my upcoming Make Your Marketing Work webinar – we’ll be talking about the single most important shift you can make to bring in more clients and more cash this year. You can register here.

I’m FINALLY feeling like I’m getting back into the groove of work after a long holiday break. I feel refreshed and excited… and hoping you do too!

Today, I wanted to touch on some thing that have been percolating for me over the past few weeks, and even more intensely in the past week or so…

It’s about the stress I feel around work, around getting things done, around responsibilities and not wanting to disappoint people… figured it might be worth sharing as you might be experiencing some similar things… are you?

It occurred to me the other day that feeling that stress was a choice – 100% my own decision. It is self-inflicted pain. Habitual discomfort. It’s almost like if I’m not feeling it, I should feel guilty because I’m not ‘doing it right’ – it’s a bit hard to put into works, but I’d bet pretty much anything I’m not the only one having this experience.

So, yesterday I decided to feel differently. Every time I started to feel stressed out about some work I had coming up, or something I want to accomplish and that icky feeling in the pit of my stomach started to rise, I took a deep breath and DECIDED to feel differently.

I decided to feel ease and peace around it. I decided to know that whatever I do, I will do my best and it will work out great. I decided to let other people’s feelings be their own (heck, probably 99.99% of all the concerns I have are ONLY in my head!) and stop getting into their business, and keep my mind on my own.

Where could you decide to drop some of your stress? What would it be like if you felt as good as you feel on the weekend or on vacation EVERY DAY, even while you work and grow your business?

I’ve decided that’s the experience I’m ready to have, and I’m going to be shifting my mindset consistently until it is my habitual experience… until ease, peace and joy are the ‘norm’ as I come up on Sunday evening and spend time thinking about what is coming Monday morning.

Want to join me?

Oh, and, in case you are ready to take your business to the next level and know that 2013 is the year you want to put massive (and effective!) marketing into effect, you will want to check out my upcoming Marketing in the Morning™ webinar. We’ll be covering some of the most important keys to marketing that gets you more clients and more cash (which are the ultimate ‘stress-busters’!). You can register here (it’s totally free).

…

It might not seem like much of a marketing strategy, but it is… and it’s a principle that can help you energetically as well… it’s a Win-Win!

As a marketing strategy, claiming your success in a consistent and clear way (you don’t need to be boast-y about it, but you can share when things go well) lets people know you have traveled a path that they may be interested in traveling. One of the things that really influences buying is the perception of your success. So, when you do have success in certain areas, it’s important to put it out into the world.

Here’s an example…

My recent Marketing in the Morning™ program launch was my 2nd. Both were successful launches, but the 2nd one flowed even more smoothly and was even easier than the 1st. Why? There were several reasones, but a big one was because I was able to reference the successful 1st run… from the standpoint of some participants choosing to continue working with me (they must have been satisfied, or they wouldn’t have, right?), the successes some of the participants experienced and are experiencing from what they learned and because I can share about the fact that I filled the program before. All of those things add up to people having more confidence in me, the information I share and believing that it may help them and their business.

Here’s how it helps energetically…

When you claim your success, you begin to anchor it in a deeper way. As a brilliant fellow entrepreneur, Patty Lennon, said to me just this morning, “You have to be willing to claim that space in order to have it continue.” It’s so true.

We get more of what we focus on in life, and when we focus on the success we are creating, whether big or small, we draw more of that experience into our lives.

If you are interested in learning more about the Marketing in the Morning™ program, register here for an upcoming webinar – the next one will be pretty early in the new year.

…

Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see where it takes you…

In our businesses we get to walk a fine line between planning and taking action and following inspiration and going with the flow when the Universe puts something unexpected in front of us. What I’ve learned about going with the flow is that the easier I can let it be, and just take things in stride, while still holding my goals in mind, the faster I reach them.

Often, we don’t even know it, but the Universe is actually trying to show us a shorter pathway to where we want to go, and if we can allow it, we can find our way to even greater things than we imagined.

…

Why is it that some people can do something and get a big result, and when other’s do the same thing, they hardly see anything?

It happens with marketing all the time… and there are several different possibilities that could explain the phenomenon, including the people they targeted, the message they put together etc…

Then, there is something that is not discussed as often, but which is just as important – perhaps even more so… that is creating the energetic space for success and abundance to exist in your life the way you want it to.

What do I mean? Well, if you are finding that you are often focused on the lack of what you want in your life, then as you’ve probably come across many times, you are actually creating more of that ‘lack’ in your world. What you focus on expands, so if you are focused on the lack of clients, the lack of money or the lack of something else, then you will actually be creating more of that lack.

Try shifting your focus… even if you don’t have a lot, if you can just orient your attention to what you do have, focus on how much you appreciate it and really move into the emotional space of feeling that, you can shift things around and begin to have a different experience.

It does take practice and focus… but so did the habit of worrying and focusing on the negative or the lack. That’s just a habit you’ve developed. You can just as easily develop a habit around thinking positively, appreciating what is showing up in your world and opening up to having more and more of what you truly want.