Self Managing Emotions Using The “Power of Now”
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to exercise freedom of choice in my emotions over a fried but still under warranty laptop.
In a sense it was a good time to incorporate what Eckhart Tolle calls being in the NOW from his book “The Power of Now”. 
Experience is a wonderful teacher and I had learned that Plan B in the form of an external hard drive that automatically backed up all my data everyday to this “safe place” was good data management practice. Clever me or so I thought.
So on the Thursday when the laptop decided to suddenly die (as in not boot up), I was only mildly concerned.
Still under warranty-check, got external hard drive back up-check, got great service support from Chris and the crew at Compnow-check.
On Friday afternoon, I picked up my laptop complete with new hard drive replacement, went home to migrate my data back onto it.
This is where it got interesting; it stalled and duly informed me that there was NO external hard drive recognized.
It was one of those surreal moments where I could see all the data I had painstakingly accumulated (personal and professional) disappearing into cyberspace never to be seen again.
I did a mental calculation of the amount of time it would have had to take me to put together the digital files again-a month (if I worked on it 3 hours a day) for information that existed as hard copies.
More worryingly was the rest of the data that could not be replaced the word “priceless” came to mind).
A flurry of phone calls to Chris at Compnow and arrangements were made to have the external HD and laptop back with them first thing Monday morning to remedy the situation, provided the external HD had not been corrupted.
That left me with an entire weekend to contemplate my navel or play over and over again the worse case scenarios. Neither was palatable.
Instead, each time my thoughts turned to the dreaded “what if I have lost all my data” situation, I remembered that I had in each moment a choice.
I could either work myself up into a state of anxiety or breathe deeply and ask, “How am I feeling at the moment-has the sky fallen in?; am I still walking and talking?”
I firmly believe that where our attention goes, our energy flows.
I had a choice of whether I would to use my energy to feed my sense of well being, gratitude for what I already have and therefore lift my emotional and psychological state or direct my energy towards the highly unproductive doldrums and remain mired in the mud.
I had ALL weekend to do this, to practice conscious awareness of every moment of my day. Yeah, thank you Universe!
So, whenever I was reminded that my laptop was flat lining, I made the conscious decision to enjoy the moments of a work related dinner filled with interesting conversation with people from other cultures on that Friday evening.
Saturday morning-I made a conscious decision to have a relaxing coffee at my favorite local place, and really tasting the flavor of a well made coffee.
This was after the usual weekend grocery shopping expedition, but this time, I marveled and gave thanks that I had the financial means to shop and that there was a variety of fresh fruit and produce available.
And rather than go through the motions of loading up my trolley with the usual grocery items and in a sense sleep walk through the whole process I gave thanks and expressed gratitude for each moment.
Sunday was filled with much laughter and lunch with my retired folks who were heading off on their annual overseas holiday because I made a conscious decision to be present physically, mentally and emotionally to my folks.
Monday morning- bright and early at Compnow and a mildly tense wait to see if in fact the situation could be remedied or that it was off to the nearest pub to drown my sorrows.
Wonders of technology in the able hands of Chris meant that all was well and I left a happy and relieved customer. Data transfer complete and intact!
This was a lesson that was made available to me and it was that I had a choice as to how I wanted to respond in every minute. Powerful realization.
In the final analysis, this means that whichever situation we find ourselves especially those we consider negative or bad, we have the power of now.
Julie Steelman Interview: Sales is Not a Dirty Word
Julie Steelman knows a thing or two about selling; by choosing to see her sales role as one of giving overwhelming value and service to her clients it has made her debt free and allowed her to retire (at a very young age) to tropical Hawaii.
If you want proof, how about being able to generate $100 million in sales (this is not a typo) from clients such as Apple, Microsoft, Toyota, CBS Sony and Universal Pictures.
And this is when most people are struggling to make commissions and targets.
In her new book “The Effortless Yes: Get the Sales You Want and Make All You’ll Ever Need”, Julie shares her “a ha” moment after the very lean first two years in the business.
Her Road to Damascus moment can be summed up in one sentence, “It’s not about you, it is about the customer”.
Julie Steelman Interview (unlinked)
Julie’s advice: “Get over yourself because it is not personal; you’re here because you have something unique to give that can make someone’s life a lot better”.
Can’t argue with that kind of logic.
So if you have been finding the whole “selling” thing awkward, uncomfortable and downright icky (a technical term in the sales game), do yourself a favor and invest in Julie’s years of wisdom and practical know how-NOW!
Find Julie Steelman at:
http:// www.juliesteelman.com
Interview with Nick Cownie: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Finding Financial Freedom
As a young 21 year old Nick Cownie came face to face with his own mortality when he and a friend were held up at gun point and robbed after a night out to celebrate his birthday. Diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he decided that being held hostage by this condition was cramping his life, even if it did not feel that way then.
Fast forward 10 years and Nick shares his journey of not being able to leave his bedroom at his parents’ house for weeks at a time as he grappled with PTSD, to living his ultimate dream life of running a successful coaching business complete with gorgeous wife and little daughter in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia.
Using the various Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques to overcome PSTD, the added bonus Nick discovered was that NLP helped him uncover his mental blocks to manifesting a lot of money almost without effort (try $99, 000 in 60 minutes).
In this in depth interview, Nick shares his strategies of leveraging his time to the degree that he only needs to work 3 days a week to maintain this amazing lifestyle.
Listen to him speak Nick Cownie Interview (unlinked)
Nick has generously offered to teach and guide you through the exact same techniques he used to become the happy, wealthy and fulfilled person he is today.
Check it out at http://expertmindset.com/manifest
Nick Cownie is an internationally acclaimed expert in the fields of mindset improvement, neurolinguistic programming, and personal development. He graduated from Sydney’s University of Technology with a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Traditional Chinese Medicine (B.HSc.TCM). Nick and his brother Andrew co founded the Success Dynamics Institute. As its Director, Nick’s specialty is in helping you get the right mindset from the outset so you can cut through the mental chatter and do what really matters in your life.
How To Ask For and Get A Payrise Using The Kiri Waiata Green Method: Kiri Waiata Green Interview
Kiri Waiata Green is not your conventional business and life coach. Professional qualifications aside this remarkable lady has a God given and unique gift to help her clients find their voice (literally). 
If you are one of the silent majority who struggles to ask for a payrise or promotion and feel you have hit a glass ceiling (I’m talking to you ladies), perhaps it is time to consider alternative methods of approaching your boss for that pay increase and promotion.
So, in corporate speak you are requesting a review of your remuneration package such that it is commensurate with your current roles and responsibilities.
In reality you don’t feel you have the right to ask.
This problem of massive self doubt is one that Kiri regularly helps her clients banish and shatter using her novel and incredible program called “Breaking the Sound Barrier”.
Kiri Waiata Green Interview (unlinked)
Listen to my interview with Kiri as she explains the physics of using sound and vibrations generated at the molecular level to remove limiting self beliefs and emotional blockages to wealth creation.
Kiri is a Beyond Success Qualified Coach, a NLP Certified Practitioner (Success Dynamics Institute), holds a Diploma in Counselling (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors), and a Certificate IV in Small Business Management.
Find her at
Robert Jordan Interview: Six Success Tips for Aspiring Billionaires (How They Did It)
If you are like me, you too will wonder about what sets these seemingly ordinary people apart from the rest in terms of their capacity to recognize and identify a need, develop a service or a widget that addresses that need and then go on realize their goal of turning their ideas into millions of dollars.
I asked Robert Jordan who has compiled interviews with 45 billionaire entrepreneurs and published his book telling us how they did it. Below are six indispensable tips that helped them succeed. 
Click here to listen Robert Jordan Interview (unlinked)
Robert Jordan is an entrepreneur and author who has made it his mission to discover the “secret sauce” used by self made billionaires to launch themselves from growing an idea into $100 million dollar companies or if it suits, taking their pride and joy public to the tune of $300 million or more.
Robert’s entrée into their world is paved by his own success when he launched and grew his startup company, Online Access, the first Internet-coverage magazine that made it on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies.
As is quintessential a characteristic of all serial entrepreneurs, he then sold his highly profitable Online Access and proceeded to start up a couple more companies, RedFlash, a project implementation team, and interimCEOinterimCFO, a worldwide network of interim, contract, and project executives.
Robert’s gift for getting consensus saw 21 of the eventual 45 founders agreeing to meet and freely share their insights, occasional pain and billion dollar experiences.
Their collective wisdom has been distilled into his latest book, How they did it: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America. 
He freely admits this book was a labor of love, driven by an insatiable curiosity to know the minds and passions of this select group of diverse individuals.
All aspiring entrepreneurs who believe they are billionaires in the making will do well to heed the advice of the 45 who have gone before them. Here are just six tips to steer you to success:
1. Do not be afraid to fail; if and when you do, make sure you fail fast.
2. Do not be precious about your idea, be willing to tweak it
3. Leave your ego at the door; be astute enough to hire people smarter than you
4. However, make sure they are nice not just smart.
5. Honestly is still the best policy, so be on the level when communicating with the people who work for you because no one becomes a billionaire on their own.
6. Believe in the goodness of your angel investors but have Plans B, C and D just in case they decide to bail
Find Robert Jordan on http://www.HowTheyDidItBook.com
Female Friendly Investment Strategies: Stock Trading with Louise Bedford
Previously I explored investing from the female perspective. The idea of bricks and mortar i.e., residential or commercial property investing has great appeal to most women. It is tangible and can be tizzed up with an exterior paint job or reasonably priced landscaping to the front garden. In doing so, extra value (capital growth) can very quickly be added.
In this article I want you to consider the diametrically opposite. I invite you to get your head around the idea of investing or more specifically trading the stock market.
So I asked Louise Bedford the question: What makes a successful share trader?
Her definitive and emphatic response: “Mindset is God”.
Louise Bedford Interview You can download the mp3 recording and pdf transcript of this interview by going to http://yourmoneyandyourmindset.com/online-store/
Louise arrived at this conclusion after being struck by a serious illness that left her without the use of both arms. Unable to work, she looked to share trading as a means of making an income.
Thankfully Louise fully recovered the use of both limbs and has gone on to not only understand but also conquer the market. Her burning desire to share her knowledge resulted in Louise authoring not one but four best selling books on how to read and profit from stock market trends regardless of whether the index is up or down. Trading Secrets, Charting Secrets, The Secret of Candlestick Charting and The Secret of Writing Options, are without a doubt “must reads” for anyone wanting to successfully trade the share market.
Her invaluable insights into how not to lose your shirt trading include having a strategy and being disciplined enough to stick to it. She explains how we can be our own worse enemy, when unbridled emotions scupper our ability to trade analytically and sensibly. Besides understanding the charts, self awareness and personal development make up the equation of a winning trade.
Louise is a woman after my own heart as she believes that wealth and philanthropy are inseparable. As she rightly says, “Give a hand up and not a handout” as part of her commitment to international programs that disburse and administer micro loans to women entrepreneurs in developing countries.
Louise and business partner Chris Tate offer a mentoring program to guide the novice and even the experienced become successful traders. If you would like to know more about this remarkable lady, find her at http://www.tradingsecrets.com.au
Dal LaMagna Interview: Failure Is Not Final
If you subscribe to self-development eNewsletters, round about this time of the year, (late January of 2011), your inbox will be inundated with a ton of emails with subject headings like “10 reasons why your new year’s resolutions have failed” and that is usually followed by an offer of “How we can help”.
If you have stuck with your resolution to improve your health, fitness, finances, and personal relationships then kudos to you.
Okay, so the title of this article may sound like one of those motivational, “Come on people, pick yourself up when you’re down” types.
Maybe it is, may be it isn’t. It all depends on your perspective.
Dal LaMagna Interview You can download the mp3 recording and pdf transcript of this interview by going to http://yourmoneyandyourmindset.com/online-store/
You see, we often make the mistake that successful people (millionaires) burst on to the scene as readymade straight out of the box (overnight) successes.
Some of these erroneous assumptions are engineered by the popular press because of the higher drama impact it has on the reader and hence circulation, and revenue (ooh, isn’t that cynical).
The reality is more boring, but nevertheless equally important.
It isn’t sexy to talk about the hard yards, sacrifices and sense of self belief and faith these people showed in the face of adversity.
Show me a person who claims to have just thought up an idea, implemented it and cashed in the millions of dollars without breaking into a sweat and I will show you Pinocchio.
So, I am going to throw you this idea. If you don’t fail, you will not know how to succeed. No, it’s not a mind bender, it actually occurs with predictable frequency.
I have made it my mission to ask self made millionaires how they arrived at their current situation.
Not a single millionaire has glossed over their multiple attempts before finally getting the right business plan, system or model to work well for them. Their candour and honesty is indeed refreshing.
Therefore, I would like to share with you the following interview with Mr Dal LaMagna, the founder of Tweezerman. He is actually a funny guy.
Mr Tweezerman
I have included a synopsis and titled the interview: How to fail your way to success
Dal LaMagna speaks honestly about his sixteen failed business ventures including turning down an offer from Coca Cola and saying no to being involved with the Woodstock Music Festival before he made his fortune from his company Tweezerman.
Tweezerman started as a one-man operation with seed capital of $500. By using head and heart business principles to grow his venture, he was able to walk away with millions when he sold it years later.
Dal shares his wisdom and insights on how to succeed as an entrepreneur in his new book Raising Eyebrows: A Failed Entrepreneur Finally Gets It Right (John Wiley & Sons).
He has done a huge favor to all the budding business tycoons out there by being up front and authentic when he tells it like it is which means you have to do the hard yards and own up to your mistakes, and that’s just for starters.
What more, the man shows that you can be a capitalist and have a social conscience.
I found Dal’s leadership style inspirational-there aren’t many CEOs who genuinely care and will take onboard every employee’s suggestion to grow a business.
Tweezerman flourished because Dal had the foresight to make each and every employee a partner in the business. Yes folks, they got a share of the revenue, not just a monthly pay check.
Do yourself a favor, get the book and read Dal’s many tips on how to succeed in business, and maybe just maybe you will not need to fail 16 times before hitting the mother lode.
Find him at his website:
http://www.dallamagna.com
What has leadership got to do with becoming wealthy: Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I finished with the statement that a good leader demonstrates emotional intelligence in his/her daily dealings with their staff.
A good leader realizes and publicly acknowledges that they cannot achieve their goals on their own, and a good leader learns to place their well-founded trust in their staff.
This folks, is another form of leveraging of your time (as in time equals money) to succeed in whatever business you are in.
So, how do you recruit good staff who share the same values, ie work ethic and general outlook in life. In other words, how do you find the best people who will fit nicely into your business organization.
Well, I am a firm believer in asking questions beyond the standard run of the mill enquiries so beloved of human resource types, during a formal interview process.
Without straying into the “no go” zone about their personal life, and orientation which is none of my business, I want to know what makes them tick, what inspires them to get out of bed in the morning to come and work for me.
This is because I can then get a better sense of the person. To me they are not a number or a drone but real people who have real feelings, fears and aspirations and hopefully a burning ambition and a bit of fire in their belly.
It’s a bit like being on a first date, a lot of this time is spent talking, shooting the breeze and when a person is at ease, they reveal themselves.
All I have to do is shut up and listen and observe. So, a good leader knows when to speak and when to be quiet. I’d hazard the ratio is a 20:80 split. Do you get my drift?
Do yourself a favor and read up on body language; believe me that speaks volumes when it comes to getting an honest response from your interview candidate.
As I previously said, people are not motivated by money as much as feeling that their contribution is worthwhile and publicly acknowledged.
This is the human connection that you are looking for. If you get this right, your people will go the extra mile for you, simply because you have gotten them wholly involved in your vision.
And it all comes down to the “C” word, communication.
For the old school types, communication consists of me (the boss) talking and you (the minion) listening and carrying out my wishes. It does remind me of one of those typical army movies where the drill sergeant yells at the recruit, “Hey, meathead, if I want your opinion, I will give it to you”.
For the rest of us who do not subscribe to this method of communication, stay tuned and I will share with you some worthwhile ideas.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
What has leadership got to do with becoming wealthy: Part 1
Answer: Everything!
Leadership, or more importantly good leadership underpins your ability to succeed.
As a great leader, you are the inspiration, visionary and literally the soul of your business.
Click here to listen to the full recording Leadership and Wealth Part 1
It applies equally across the spectrum should you be the CEO of a multi national corporation or a solopreneur with a red hot idea.
The most reliable way to creating wealth is to build up a business that turns over significant dollars and selling it as a viable concern, or have a business model that can be replicated many times over, then licensing these as franchises.
The caveat here is that your business must provide exemplary value for a service and/or product that is second to none, and that the consumer is willing to pay top dollar for what you offer.
I use the example of your toothache and your smiling dentist, Dr Fang.
If you had a toothache you’d probably ignore it for as long as it is possible. Show me a person who enjoys sitting in the dentist’s chair with a high speed drill on their teeth and I will show you someone who is flat lining.
However, there will come a time when all the pain killer tablets in your bathroom cabinet will not stop the sharp shooting pain that makes you want to grab a hammer and hit your toes with it because that is the only thing that will take your attention away from your toothache. This usually occurs round about 9 PM on a Sunday evening.
At this stage you will not care if you have to take a second mortgage on your house to have your toothache dealt with.
Dr Fang is more than happy to oblige, fixes your toothache and makes the pain go away (for a fee).
Dr Fang knows that toothaches do not occur between the hours of 9-5 on weekdays only. In fact, he/she has noticed that if their dental surgery was open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, there would not be a shortage of patients in their waiting room.
Because Dr Fang cannot be at more than one place at a time, they hire other dentists and support staff to replicate their service across town or even the country.
Their secret weapon is that they are able to leverage their time. Another equally important component is that they aim for staff members to have the same passion and work ethic.
If you are a heart centered businessperson, not only will you be looking at a bottom line of increased profits or revenue, but as importantly, that increased productivity has not come at the expense of your employees’ well being.
Put yourself in Dr Fang’s shoes and ask yourself, how do I get my staff to share my big picture goals and visions for my business?
Here’s where effective, strong and good leadership becomes vital to a business not only surviving but thriving, GFC or no GFC.
Just reiterating, as a great leader, you are the inspiration, visionary and literally the soul of your business.
Essentially, leadership is firstly knowing yourself (and being wholly comfortable and accepting of who you are).
Secondly having a clear vision of what your (business) goals are.
Thirdly, it is being able to clearly communicate this vision to your staff and getting total buy in from them. They have to do this voluntarily or else it will not work (think Captain Bligh and the mutiny on the HMS Bounty).
This includes building trust, getting your workers to function as a cohesive unit and motivating them to perform at their highest level, and to do so on a consistent basis.
Impossible, you say?
Not if you are an emotionally intelligent leader.
People are not motivated by money as much as feeling that their contribution is worthwhile and publicly acknowledged.
More on this in my next post; until then
Yours in health, wealth and happiness
Women Executives: Leadership Role Models (Part 4)
So, you have arrived at a position within your organisation that has some degree of autonomy and responsibility. In fact, you now lead a team of individuals, with unique talents.
Your boss has handed you a brief that requires your team to deliver on an important project on time and on budget. You know that it is the make or break opportunity and you really want to prove that you have what it takes.
This is your springboard to making it at the executive management level, your holy grail.
However, you also notice that you are going boldly to where no other woman has been, in fact your company is devoid of women executives. So, nada and zip in terms of finding a role model or a mentor in a skirt and killer heels. Bummer!
You are a modern woman (read resourceful, and confident), and you take it upon yourself to hire a career or executive coach to fast track your ambitions.
Any coach worth their salt will start with working out what makes you tick.
I am fond of quoting this line from Sun Tzu, “If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle”–Art of War
In other words, if you want to achieve (and earn) more, you have to become more.
You cannot expect to operate on a higher level without first making the necessary changes in the way you think, behave and conduct yourself. If you are expecting circumstances to adapt to suit you (as you are now), you are going to be waiting a very long time to become successful.
Have you given some serious though about what it means to be a well respected and effective leader?
In your present role where you work for your immediate boss, ask yourself what is it that you admire about him/her. Conversely what do not like very much about the way they run their unit or department especially in their daily interaction with their team.
List what you consider as the traits of your ideal leader, a person that you’d happily become. What are the interpersonal skills that you would like that person to possess?
Remember, to be an effective leader means getting your team to carry out a piece of work to a standard and level above what they would normally deliver. More importantly, it is getting them to do this willingly without cajoling or the threat of unemployment!
Bottom line: It means being influential and having your people opt in to your vision and goals.
I shall leave you to ponder this for the time being.
Yours in health, wealth and happiness