Renaissance Entrepreneuring: How to Explore Yourself, Your Passions And The World And Get Paid For It
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If you are good at many things and have an avid curiosity to explore further and doesn’t want to settle on just one thing, this might speak to you. If you are in a second phase lifestyle business (rebirthing through business), this could be helpful to you. Everything I’m sharing here is intended to give you contrast between where you are and where you are being called to be – and, as a whole person, you bring all of you with you to your business. This is about getting paid to be who you are by entrepreneuring from passion - it flies in the face of traditional business. And it's just about the most fun an entrepreneur can have! ;=)
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Renaissance Entrepreneuring: How to Explore Yourself, Your Passions And The World And Get Paid For It
- 1. RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING HO W TO E XP LO RE Y O URS E LF, Y O UR PA S S I O NS A ND T HE W O R L D - AND G E T PA I D F O R I T Taught by Lynn Scheurell
- 2. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Our Agenda There is lots to learn! • About Me / About You • Telltale signs that you might be a Renaissance Entrepreneur • Why now is best time to be Renaissance Entrepreneur • How we got here • How the masters spent their time • The downside of becoming a master back then • Our path to self-actualization • Today’s reality, opportunities and the human brain • How you are like DaVinci • Why be a Renaissance Entrepreneur anyway • The 3 banes of Renaissance Entrepreneuring – and how to solve them • What you need to know before jumping into business • The business blueprint • Live brainstorming on ideas from YOU! ;+)
- 3. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING About Me From living between the lines to freedom as a Catalyst I have walked this talk since 1998 in my own life and business. “I believe business is our highest calling made manifest through service.” Business can grow only as fast as its’ owner. Non-conformity is what creates something that stands out. It’s not what happens – it’s how we choose to handle it and why we choose what we do that matters. My key to personal success is listening to the guidance I am given. I am a Manifestor. I create with what I am given – it’s my sacred responsibility. And I get to share it with you.
- 4. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING What I Do The life of a professional Catalyst ENTREPRENEURIAL ADVENTURES Getaways that are productive, profitable and fun! WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT Your digital platform made easy (including membership sites). IP DEVELOPMENT Pulling out your unique value, system and programs. COPYWRITING Putting your message together in various formats. BRANDING / MARKETING Positioning your business, persona and presence. I “SEE” YOU Your “secret sauce”, challenges and how to resolve them and your bigger destiny.
- 5. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING About You You are in the right place if you see yourself below PASSIONATE About Many Things What makes your cells leap? You’re curious and engaged with several interests in the world. Enthusiasm, excitement and joy are part of living for you when you are at your best. COURAGEOUS In Going Beyond Can you feel fear and still go for it? By venturing past the edge of convention, you will face your own limits, as well as those of others. It’s about being bigger than obstacles or judgment - and you’re ready. PROFOUND To Live Deeply What makes you YOU? Understanding yourself is the key to understanding the Universe. The little spaces in your inner life reveal rich rewards. You choose to face all of who you are in real acceptance. COMMITTED To Stepping Up Is it your time? There is no back door exit for you – the time is now. Your destiny waits and new freedom is calling you.
- 6. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Other Signs Symptoms that reveal you are a Renaissance Entrepreneur Your Business…You… Are creative, inventive, curious, vibrant and people remark on your good energy – but you aren’t making enough progress and/or money. Like to explore new things, try new solutions and see ways that things can be improved – even if others don’t see the opportunity. Find it may be difficult to describe all that you’re up to in a few clear sentences – it can feel scattered. Have been successful previously in at least aspect of life and know that you can not only enjoy that again but also get paid for it! Has multiple offers, products, ideas and projects – and at least one on deck that you want to launch. Has fragmented messaging and needs clarity in your unique appeal. Turns on a dime with your new ideas as you incorporate what you learn – but risk losing your client base (and need to attract new clients!). Isn’t generating a consistent return on your investment – as the key stakeholder, you’re not getting enough out to balance what you’re putting into your business. Mostly, you’re working too hard for not enough reward!
- 7. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Meet Others Like You You are not alone EMMA WATSON Actress “I could never really imagine myself doing one thing, and I'm pretty sure that I'll end up doing four or five different things. I want to be a Renaissance woman. I want to paint, and I want to write, and I want to act, and I want to just do everything.” David LaChapelle Surrealist / Photographer “Just as Renaissance artists provided narratives for the era they lived in, so do I. I'm always looking beyond the surface. I've done that ever since I first picked up a camera.” Richard Branson Entrepreneur “My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had — everyday I’m learning something new.” Lady Gaga Entertainer “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from or how much money is in your pocket… you can be whoever it is you want to be.”
- 8. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Why Now? Renaissance Entrepreneuring is surfacing because… LEVERAGE Other people’s learning curves Save time, energy and resources LIFE OF SIGNIFICANCE It’s time to BE more Need time to self-actualize DIGITAL TECH User-friendly Allows business owner to be global
- 9. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Future Of Entrepreneuring Mainstream media is talking about it "Now's The Time to Think and Act Entrepreneurially…“ ~ CNNMoney, June 2009 According to CNNMoney, about 30% of the U.S. job market – roughly 42 million workers – is made up of independent contractors, temporary workers and the self-employed. By the end of the decade, that number will rise to 40%. The Economist projects roughly 14 million people working from home in 2015. Why? Because companies want a work force they can switch on and off as needed. "There's no use trying to avoid the inevitable, so get ahead of this curve… Now's the time to think and act entrepreneurially when it comes to your career.“ ~ CNNMoney
- 10. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING How Did We Get Here The history of being human and how it all went sideways Originally, we humans were designed to be a whole person with many interests, talents and curiosity. Making money was a by- product of exploring those things. “The Dark Ages gradually ended six centuries ago with the Renaissance, which seeded new ideas for a different world. The Renaissance ideal dominated our culture until three centuries ago, from the 14th to the 18th century, when it was superseded by modernism. Not surprisingly, this human ideal has almost been forgotten in our culture. The Renaissance, literally “re-birth”, was a revival and rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman culture following the decline of culture, trade and technology during the Dark Ages.” ~ Jacob Lund Fisker What happened? The Industrial Age – it made us specialists in the name of efficiency.
- 11. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Pursuits This is what the masters focused on in their time ART & BEAUTY Translating pleasure, reality and truth through the lens of beauty into form and function. PHILOSOPHY & SYSTEMS The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence for the meaning of life. SCIENCE & NATURE The causal relationships and functions of natural rhythm discovered by scientific exploration and experimentation.
- 12. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING By The Clock Masters and time
- 13. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Downside It was not easy to become a master Usually the son of a shopkeeper or trader and served as an apprentice for MANY years to learn the craft. With luck, they graduated from sweeping floors to drawing sketches and copying paintings to assisting in greater commissioned works. A few would be recognized for talent and might attempt a masterpiece. If the local guild approved, they would become a master artist and be able to open their own workshop. At that point, they produced specific work for clients who directed the subject, materials and even amount of paint if it involved gold or other pricey elements. That was the business of mastery. “While I thought I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die.” ~ Leonardo DaVinci
- 14. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Path From conditioning to creative self-actualization As a result of modern “progress”, we became conditioned out of natural curiosity. We became molded into intellectual functions vs. free-flowing creatives. And we collectively became more ‘successful’ than ever before… by trading freedom for financial security. “Every renaissance comes to the world with a cry, the cry of the human spirit to be free.” ~ Anne Sullivan In the Western world, we have material success. Now that our survival needs have been handled, we are progressing into self- actualization which requires a sense of wonder, exploration and connection to all that is… a deep dive into what really matters. With few patrons, and in the spirit of freedom, we have to ‘hunt and feed’ ourselves at the same time.
- 15. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Sum Total? What conditioning has taught us We feel like we fail if we: • Get ‘off-track’ with our to-do list and what we ‘should’ be doing. • Have to make a living (so we get a job for “security”) – it’s a no-win. • Try to explore something outside of other people’s comfort zones. • Use our time differently than a ‘normal’ work day (or when we’re ‘supposed’ to be working). • Don’t fit the ‘mold’ of what is expected (think Cyndi Lauper on Celebrity Apprentice). In other words, to be a whole person – a generalist – living the full expression of life on our own terms means we fail by conventional standards. (Think: animals in a herd – which one gets picked off by the lion?)
- 16. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Today’s Reality How the masters would do it today Imagine Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo or any other Renaissance master walking around today. What would they do with the resources you have at hand right now? • You literally hold the world in your hand through your smart phone. • You have access to supplies fairly immediately (and you don’t have to dig them up to harvest them!). • You have unlimited potential ‘patrons’ around the world (vs. just in your backyard). • You have outsourced support for as little as $5 (vs. bringing on an apprentice that eats, sleeps and works with you). • You don’t have any institutions breathing down your neck to censor what you create (at least, in the Western world) (vs. the Church monitoring every move). It would be field day for any of these masters to come create with what you have at hand right NOW! At the same time, the speed of creation, marketing options and ‘info-besity’ would be overwhelming – much less doing it all without the advance certainty of commissioned works. It is a different world… and yet, our brains are wired just like theirs.
- 17. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING How You Are Like DaVinci You are a Renaissance Entrepreneur too! Explore / Engage Produce Value Make A Living DaVinci: question everything, find meaning, know truth, filter through his perceptions and talents He reached out to become more. You: seek insight, develop discernment, have unlimited resources, discover yourself through experience You become more to reach out. DaVinci: used his eye for detail and talent for drawing to create commissioned masterpieces He had patrons. You: access your natural talent to help others live a better quality of life (aka, be their masterpiece) You have clients. DaVinci: established a studio workshop that offered 36 different local services (from furniture painting to frescoes) He cloned himself with apprentices. You: build a business platform based on viable ideas in a modular way for global delivery. You clone yourself through technology. The key is in living deeper and strategically sharing that with those who can benefit from - and will pay you - for it.
- 18. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Why Do It? Why living between the lines won’t work for you Renaissance Entrepreneuring… • Challenges the status quo. • Pushes you harder than anything else you could do. • Requires resources that you aren’t sure are there. • Keeps you on your growing edge (aka, uncomfortable). • Is constant adaptation. Why put yourself through all that??? "Your real work is to figure out where your power base is and to work on that alignment of your personality, your gifts you have to give, with the real reason why you are here. Align your personality with your purpose, and no one can touch you." ~ Oprah
- 19. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Answer Life is bigger than someone else’s box for you In a word… FREEDOM!!! You can: • Set your own schedule. • Follow your instincts. • Use your living to generate livelihood. • Be who you are here to be. • Make your own rules – and live with the consequences (+ or -). • Go where you want to go. • Determine your own standard of living by making your own economy.
- 20. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Formula For Mastery What it takes to master anything Simplistically said, over the course of 10,000 hours: 1. Identify your direction. 2. Expect a purge. 3. Practice new learnings. 4. Resist stopping at basic competence. 5. Trust the process. 6. Stay open. 7. Claim your mastery as you achieve it. (And double it when you are mastering a subject along with mastering business!) The progression and result is: • Unconscious incompetence • Conscious incompetence • Conscious competence • Unconscious competence (aka, Mastery!)
- 21. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The 3 Banes Of The Journey The seeming curses of becoming a master today Fear: of what they don’t know / could happen / success / failure / being judged / leaving people behind, etc. Focus: they don’t know how / don’t want to leave something out / always have more interests, etc. Funds: don’t have enough money now / worry they won’t have enough later / aren’t sure how they can take on more obligations / already have debt, etc.
- 22. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Solving The 3 Banes Handling hurdles Fear: of what they don’t know / could happen / success / failure / being judged / leaving people behind, etc. Focus: they don’t know how / don’t want to leave something out / always have more interests, etc. Funds: don’t have enough money now / worry they won’t have enough later / aren’t sure how they can take on more obligations / already have debt, etc. Antidote to Fear: Action Antidote to Focus: Values Antidote to Funds: Leverage Through Strategic Systems
- 23. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Pre-Blueprint For Business Mastery What it takes to master making money In 5 words: Make money by helping people! Figure out how what you learn can be helpful, relevant, practical and timely to someone else who has LIA. Power Boosters: • Proper thinking • ABC down (vs. across) • Micronize your to do list • Watch for integrity gaps • Commodity or consultant?
- 24. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Client Stories At varying stages in their journey • A young project manager who has become a successful leader in defining the field of content management for Fortune 500 companies. • A city planner who quit her untenable job, moved to her ideal city to live her dream as a university professor and is now writing her industry-leading book on sustainable living. • A chiropractor who left her practice and, after a long year of transition, is in process of becoming a philosophical writer. • An audio engineer whose job unexpectedly terminated and, after 26 years of ‘practicing on the side’, has become a full-time professional faith healer. • An inventor and self-employed bookkeeper is now a published author, poet and radio show host. • A woman, formerly with years in ministry, was billing herself as a mainstream marketer but is now a professional muse offering workshops in inspiration. • A young man, trained as an actor, became a cancer care coach and, within months, is now working with gay thought leaders who want to maximize their impact and leave a bigger legacy. • A surgical technician, formerly a film studio owner, is now an infopreneur and consultant in her industry. • A grade-school teacher and artist is now leading workshops on proprietary corporate leadership strategy. • A mortgage loan banker is stepping into being a spiritual teacher (after 40 years of being a student!). • A corporate executive who was able to leave her job to write and teach her coaching programs full-time. • A librarian turned social-good entrepreneur who is now in her calling as an artist.
- 25. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING The Business Blueprint Turn your interests into money VISIBILITY Create website, online structure & content. Develop strategic traffic plan. Lead a conversation and engage people. VIABILITY Evaluate niche and market interest. Reverse engineer for business model. Choose name, pricing and positioning. VALUES Your compass, perception filter & life view. Determine your interests and options. Set your priorities.
- 26. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Values Exercise Decode your compass right now Please write the top 3 things that come to mind with the following questions: 1. What is most important to you? 2. What makes you really angry? 3. How would others describe your gifts? 4. List 3 words that describe how you live. 5. What do you pay attention to? Now look for ‘themes’ in your answers – circle any that are the same and ‘distill’ similar thoughts into one word. Now list your top 3 values – these become your barometer of resonance.
- 27. www.Renais sanc eE nt repreneur.c om RENAISSANCE ENTREPRENEURING Honor the truth of who you are – that’s what can change the world. Even more, you will be rewarded for it as a Renaissance Entrepreneur. www. R e na is s a nc eE nt r e pr en e ur. c om lynn@mycreativecatalyst.com
Editor's Notes
- Someone who is good at many things and has an avid curiosity to explore further and doesn’t want to settle on just one thing (it might be the wrong thing or turn into a trap or get boring) Someone in a second phase lifestyle business (rebirthing through business) You could be in a lot of places right now – the fact that you are here demonstrates your readiness to have a new result in life and business. Thank you for choosing to be here. May each of us get what we need from this connection. Before we get started, please know that everything I’m sharing here is intended to give you contrast between where you are and where you are being called to be – and it’s not about what I say but about what it brings forward for you. There will be time toward the end for questions and, if you’re on the webinar, you can send over questions and comments as we go via the box in the upper left-hand corner of your screen. I’ll check those periodically as we go. Now if you haven’t heard me teach before, I should warn you that I get pretty excited about your potential when I’m ‘in the zone’ and I might forget to breathe! Know that I didn’t drink any coffee before-hand… even so, the good news is that this is being recorded so we won’t lose anything if I’m in ‘inspired mode’! ;+)
- I will also be inviting you to join me in my newest program which is a pilot program for what will become a bigger program… you’ll be able to watch over my shoulder as I put this together so you can do it too. ;+) Ok – let’s talk about my least fav subject – me!
- I prefer talking about you and our topics vs. about me… but in case you don’t yet know me, the most important things for you to know are: * I believe we each have a unique destiny AND we’re all walking each other home in fulfilling it, whether or not we are aware of that. * I have known since I was 17 that I would be working to help others actualize their potential. * I know that I am fortunate on a daily basis for the life I get to live… it hasn’t been easy being a Catalyst before it was cool, but it’s been rewarding and I’m glad I’ve walked my crazy broken path to get to where I am now. I’ve taken the detours, hit the dead ends and gotten smooshed by big walls that popped up as I walked – and that’s all to your benefit because I’ve been where you are now. I’m living proof that you can be a Renaissance Entrepreneur and make 6 figures. It’s all about the experience you choose for yourself and then applying strategic leverage to make the most of it. ;+)
- Nobody has had the exact opportunities in front of them that are in front of you now – this is about your perspective, which is completely unique to you. I happen to be fortunate enough to have met or worked with many people here on this webinar – and I KNOW, without a doubt, that this is who you are, even if you haven’t known it like this. You are in the right place if…
- If you are mired in minutaie vs. exploring what really matters… you’re a Renaissance Entrepreneur that hasn’t found the right business model yet. Many people who don’t know they are a R E likely rely on being a serial entrepreneur struggling to get lift-off without clear direction. Or they have many ideas and don’t know how to ‘land’ them.
- People are looking for a way to have greater flexibility, live life on their terms and take advantage of the opportunities afforded by living in today’s digital economy.
- "Now's The Time to Think and Act Entrepreneurially … " CNNMoney, June 2009 More and more workers are leaving the rat race to work from home. And both business and freelancers love it … It's a growing trend … More and more workers are leaving their jobs – whether forced to or not – to work from home as freelancers … And more and more companies are very happy to hire them, rather than take on new (and costly) employees. According to CNNMoney, about 30% of the U.S. job market – roughly 42 million workers – is made up of independent contractors, temporary workers, and the self-employed. By the end of the decade, that number's expected to rise to 40%. Of those, The Economist says roughly 12 million were freelancers working from home last year, and that there will be 14 million by 2015. The reason for this explosion in independent contractors? According to an expert quoted by CNNMoney, "Companies want a work force they can switch on and off as needed." It's true. Full-time employees are costly to businesses. Some estimates have the real cost of keeping an employee on full-time, what with training, benefits, travel, and "workplace accommodations" at twice a given employee's annual salary. Which is why more and more businesses are turning to contract, or "freelance" experts. But workers are welcoming the change, too. Early this year, The Economist said: "Experts reckon this number will keep rising for several reasons, including a sluggish job market and workers' growing desire for the flexibility to be able to look after parents or children." CNNMoney quotes one human resource expert predicting, "Full-time employees could become the minority of the nation's workforce within 20 to 30 years." "There's no use trying to avoid the inevitable, so get ahead of this curve," recommended CNNMoney in a 2009 article. "Now's the time to think and act entrepreneurially when it comes to your career."
- When do we have time to do these things, right? We’re so busy driving our lives by what’s urgent that we don’t get to explore what’s important anymore…
- According to Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point… Michael Masterson, founder of Agora Publishing, says it’s only 5,000 hours – about 5,700 is a college education The elite don’t just work harder than everybody else. At some point the elites fall in love with practice to the point where they want to do little else. One approach: We could choose a field and practice for 10,000 hours. If we are currently working in our target profession, forty hours per week over five years would give us ten thousand hours. Or… We can look at the question in reverse. Where have we already logged 10,000 hours of practice? What is it that we do really well? What tasks do we perform so well that people ask: How did you do that? Sometimes when we fall in love with practice we don’t even recognize it!
- The only reason fear shows up is because you are in action – that’s the good news. Face Everything And Recover! Fear is fuel to let you know you’re going past your comfort zone and stepping into playing a bigger game in some way. And not everyone is going to keep up with you… that’s because a vibrational mismatch is created when you expand and the other person hasn’t kept up with you. Your choices are to stay small to match them or hope they will expand with you – in either case, it is about action. Action reveals your next step and when you’re focused on that, you’re not sweating the small stuff. In terms of focus, when you know what matters to you, you can make wiser decisions about where to spend your attention. Pay attention or you pay the price, whatever that might be – marketing the wrong thing to the wrong people with the wrong message… if you’re unconscious, you will get haphazard, inconsistent and/or unexpected results. But when you know what is most important to you, you’ll be able to focus more clearly. We will be doing an exercise on your values in a bit – you’ll see quickly how to pare your life down into just a few words that become your compass, your filter and your guide. The key to monetizing is really how to think properly – we’ve been conditioned to play by others’ rules – going up against everything you’ve been taught and yet, it’s your natural state to stand out and be a non-conformist. We’ve also been taught to work hard when, in fact, systems can help us leverage our time, effort and resources. Working smart is always the best way to monetize your initiative. The other part about monetizing that you need to know is your relationship with money – if you treat it like a hot potato, why would it want to stick around and grow interest for you, right? But, for now, our focus is on the tangible systems that you can put together to work for you. That’s things like your website, digital marketing systems, your shopping cart (which works like an engine for you) and the team you hire to outsource your work where appropriate.
- MUST break out of what others’ expect and follow what inspires you – I’ve often thought to offer a course on how to think like an entrepreneur… it’s really vital that you step out of the mindset of an employee and become an entrepreneur in your mind - If commoditize self, you are replaceable – unrecognizable for your unique talent – that often takes people down a path that’s one degree off where they should be for optimal life happiness
- Your past and even your present is not a predictor of your future – your greatness is always waiting for you – it’s always calling you toward and into it. You cannot sidestep who you’re here to be – you can only delay it and, sometimes, people delay beyond the point of being on this physical plane. Given this time in history, with all the resources you have to stepping into your destiny, you are really set up to excel in being who you are and what you’re interested in… and, with a little strategy and taking action, you can turn it into a revenue stream.
- Visualize the lifestyle you want in Values. Everything that happens is an opportunity for you to learn and grow through. I don’t want to make this too simplistic – it’s going to be a learning curve and it’s going to take some work. But I guarantee you that I’ve sorted out the fastest path to making this happen – mostly because I took all the wrong turns. Now I know a lot about every step of the way and I’ve been both doing and teaching it in some form or fashion since 1998. So what you see on this page took YEARS to distill into this simple but powerful blueprint.
- Values 1. ... are your personal truths that you stand on to live your life. 2. ... if not known leave you at the mercy of your needs which lead to selfish and often negative counterproductive behaviors. 3. ... only need to be discovered and clarified by you to become your best decision-makers. Values are at the heart of marketing - your marketing. Here are the list of marketing values that I do my very best to live by. They may fit you as well. Part I - The Approach to Marketing Honesty and Integrity Much of marketing and selling is seen as dishonest or, at best, "stretching the truth." Good marketing has integrity. It offers products or services that provide real value and that are actually delivered as promised (or exceed the promise). This is the foundation of all marketing. Straightforward and Clear Communication Much of marketing is convoluted and confusing. It doesn't have to be. To market oneself effectively, one needs to communicate simply and with clarity: "These are the clients we work with; these are the areas where they have problems; this is the solution we provide; this is how it works and this is what it costs." Education, not Persuasion All good marketing educates, rather than persuades or pushes. It gives a prospect the information they need to make an informed decision. When someone encounters good marketing, they feel elevated, not debased. Do no Harm The service you market should provide a real benefit, not only to the person who buys those services but to the community and to the planet. For instance, you could be great at marketing cigarettes, but that would miss the point entirely. You should never have to justify your marketing. It will speak for itself and will communicate true value. Part II - The Mindset of Marketing High Intention and Focus Most people market themselves in a haphazard, unfocused way. Successful marketing takes real intention (what do I want to produce and why? What is my plan? What are my obstacles and how will I overcome them?) This kind of clarity of intention and focus can produce extraordinary results. Expansiveness, not Constrictiveness Where you come from about your marketing activities is just as important as what you do (if not more). When you are being expansive, full of possibility and enthusiasm, you will be much more successful than if you are being constricted, limited and and cautious. Good marketing is fun and people can get great benefit just from being exposed to high-integrity marketing. Marketing as a Contribution Ultimately, the purpose of any business is not to make money but to make a contribution, to make a difference. The tragedy is that many small businesses are unable to attract enough clients to be a viable business and to make their contribution real in the world. Through effective marketing, this no longer has to be the case. A Bias for Action To get marketing to produce results, it takes more than words, values and promises. It takes action. But action is hard! It takes planning and a one-step-at-a-time approach to tackling the "Marketing Elephant." This makes the process manageable and helps people get marketing wins right away. I hope this summary gives a better idea of what I think marketing is about, and how you can approach it with dignity, and an understanding that marketing is not an evil to be tolerated but an art to be cultivated. * The More Clients Bottom Line: Take the time to think through the values that are important to you in your business and your marketing. Then work at applying these values in everything you do, from networking to the content of your web site, from selling to client service.