Dancing Saguaros

An Underlying Sense of Blah...

2011-12-09T09:05:00.001-06:00

I am currently struggling with an underlying sense of blah-zi-blah...some days it boarders on despair, other days it feels like a little heart burn, still other days it spills out as a day of over or under eating, over-producing or under-producing...

I've noticed that all of these different "expressions" of the blah still seem to be the same blah.

It's uncomfortable, really.

I feel like I want to stuff it down and RUN AWAY.

It's like I'm constantly looking forward...waaaaay forward to see what will get me out of the discomfort.

Last night the theme my yoga teacher chose for class was courage & patience. We worked on the courage to root down and raise our hearts into deeper and deeper backbends.

We worked on the patience to allow our hearts time to open. Allowing time for the juiciness to flow into the little cracks created.

I'll admit... I was antsy.

I didn't have TIME for patience, but there was no where else to go in that 90 min class - so I stuck it out and asked myself, "as a little experimnent, how about trying to be WILLING to be patient?"

Oi....

And here I sit this morning - the blah is still be there, but that juice... that grace also seems to have creeped in.

What I want for us, what I want for myself is that willingness.
What I want for us is that unfolding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
currently meditating on...
Practice and all is coming...Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009)
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matthew 21:22 (NIV)

Soften & become more expansive

2011-06-28T11:09:00.012-05:00

I've been doing a lot of Anusara® Yoga lately, and am so grateful for the practice.

In reconnecting with Anusara®, I've had the chance to read some writing/blogging from teachers and folks in the Anusara® community, and came across Elena Brower's blog post - the Mindful Smack.

Today, she's talking about some core Anusara® teachings that are in line with the I>E>S heirarchy of Intrinsic Coaching® (which works with best thinking, intrinsic thinking).

Soften and become more sensetive, not because you "should", but because, when you do, there's more expansion, more resources, more aliveness, more to work with, more, more, more... more there than what's merely apparent.

For me, the combination of the clarity of thinking the intrinsic brings, along with Anusara®'s system of working with my body, mind & soul brings an aliveness and connection to Grace & God, that is humbling and mind-blowing.

So often we travel through our moments, barely breathing, literally & spiritually "hunched" and contracted. What would happen if we were all softer, more senstetive, fully alive?

Check out Elena's post & video here...Mindful Smack: Inviting http://thedailylove.com/mindful-smack-inviting/

Dave Meslin: The antidote to apathy | Video on TED.com

2011-04-12T15:15:00.010-05:00

Are people really apathetic? Are people selfish, stupid & lazy? How do we engage people and not continually feed cynicism? Dave Meslin: The antidote to apathy Video on TED.com

Highlights & paraphrases from Mr. Meslin:

...people have trouble seeing themselves as leaders because a heroic effort is a collective effort, number one. Number two, it's imperfect. It's not glamorous and it doesn't suddenly start and suddenly end, it's an ongoing process you're whole life. Most importantly, it's voluntary... And as long as we believe leadership and the hero's journey is a journey of one "chosen one" with a few followers, we're missing the most important characteristic of leadership, which is that it comes from within. It's about following your own dreams, uninvited and then working with others to make those dreams come true." Mr. Meslin talks about how "we live in this environment where are these obstacles are put in our way.

As we're discovering, these obstacles are a result of our dominant way of thinking, which we're now understanding is the way our brains are wired.

In my studies of Intrinsic thinking, and the Intrinsic Coaching® methodology, I've come to understand another name for this problem...this "fault" that our brain and though-process has. It's a dominant thought process called S>E>I (C.Marshall, 2006). That is Systemic thinking >Extrinsic thinking>Intrinsic thinking.

This is too much to explore in one blog post...suffice it to say that S>E>I thinking is what makes you sometimes feel like a "nothing" or "just another cog in the wheel" when you work for a major organizatios, or what makes you feel like you've just been sucker punched when someone is talking AT you instead of with you.

This S>EI thinking is good for things, but not good for people.

In my experience, the work Ms. Marshall and the countless others who are learning I>E>S (the opposite of the dominant way of thinking) is revolutionizing the way we live, lead our lives, accomplish health and business outcomes and speaks to what Mr. Meslin is making the case for -- people are amazing!

We all want to be live our lives fully alive and what we're fed from the world of dominating systemic thinking is gunk that gets in our way, demands that we're perfect, and that we have everything planned out, or it's not worth even attempting.

Get real...

Since when have any of our lives gone "as planned"?

It's like reading a parenting book, and then planning to use it on our children, if only our children would just behave as the book says the would...DOESN'T WORK! Or like reading a self-help book and feeling all nice, but then turning into our lives, and realizing for the umpteenth time it's just added more of the "well you could do this... or you should do that..." kind of thinking into our brains, and doesn't help us get out of the muck.

More obstacles & barriers, as Mr. Meslin says!

Can we change all this?

Yes we can change all these things - open up city hall, reform our electoral system, democratize our public places. As Mr. Meslin says, we do this by redefining apathy as a complex web of cultural barriers that reinforces disengagement, clearly identifying the obstacles & work together to dismantle the obstacles. Then, he says, anything is possible.

I'd like to add one more piece.

We also do this by learning how to understand the processes of our own thinking, each of us. So that when we do work together we don't continue to create more of the same, oppressive systems.

Think about what happens to big non-profits that initally were formed to do good, but also end up squeezing people, and burning them out...

When we can do that along with Mr. Meslin's ideas, not only is anything possible, but we will be able to unleash each person's unlimited potential to achieve the outcomes that are truly important to us!

Relationships, God & Azure Skies

2011-01-04T11:15:00.033-06:00

Lately I have been incredulous about how life is moving, especially as I notice relationships, and specifically as I notice what seems to be relationships in repair. My relationships with friends & family, with God and spirit, with myself... Perhaps they were never broken or in disrepair, but rather, were just out of sight?

Perhaps the "mending" I've been experiencing, is the mending of my own interaction to relationship or with my idea of the relationship? It's like looking at a mountain or tree and thinking it's the same mountain or tree that it was yesterday...which is completely not true.

I feel God at work or that I'm back in step with God. Remember being a kid and playing games to stay in-step while walking with a friend? Left, right, left, right...or if you're holding hands then it's right-left-right for one, and left-right-left for the other, so that you can swing your inside, joined hands in time with your legs.

It feels like that with God and me right now. There's a rush and it feels like I'm feeling the rush for the first time in a long time!

"You mean to say that I am plugged into the same socket as that electric blue
sky, so vibrant that I want to lose myself in its azure height?
You mean that the same juice that runs the universe flows through me like a love song or a bolt of lightning? You mean life isn't about being good or perfect or virtuous, but daring to freely follow energy?"
~Danna Faulds

Perhaps I unplugged, or just gunked up my socket (maybe you've felt that way before)!

(By the way, I read the above lines by Danna Faulds in an e-newsletter from one of my fave yoga instructors in Minneapoilis, Ronna Rochell. She's a Certified Anusara Yoga Instructor at Bodywisdom Yoga (http://www.bodywisdomyoga.net/) and Co-Founder/The Om Collective (http://www.theomcollective.com/) Please check her out, get in one of her classes/intensives, she's amazing, and she'll help you plug in, for sure!!!)

This Christmas, spending time in Joshua Tree National Park with my sweetie & my family, it was, as Danna Faulds said, the universe flowed through me like a love song.

We hiked and clambered, and stood and gazed and marveled at the Colorado & Mojave deserts, the plant life abound in such a seemingly "dreary" place - what a rush!

This indescribable "rush", joy and delight seems to come with feeling "in step", and it's been coming at any time, sometimes sneaking up on me, sometimes building to a noticeable crescendo - pretty awe-some.

May the New Year continue to bring the awe, the azure skies and the "in step" rush.

No More Setting Intentions...?? Reflections of a Yogini

2010-10-31T22:01:00.010-05:00

I just realized the other day that I've been a yogini for 10 years.

From Wikipedia: Yogini (Sanskrit: योगिनी, yoginī, [ˈjoginiː]) is the feminine form containing the masculine yogi. Yoginis are female practitioners of yoga, the disciplined pursuit of transcendence and steadiness.

Besides maybe my student career as a competetive volleyball player, I'm not sure I know of anything else that I've been or done for that long.

In a recent class at Zenergy Yoga in North Scottsdale (www.ZenergyYoga.net), the instructor asked us to set an intention for our yoga practice that day.

I dutifully "looked within" to set my intention, and discovered my mind and body were blank...

If my "bodymind" had a face, it would have looked at me quizzically for even asking it to set an intention for my practice.

For a brief moment I panicked at being so "blank".

"But I'm supposed to have an intention!!" my mind wailed. "Do I even know what I'm doing here or how my practice will go if I don't have an intention?? Is there something amiss? Should I be worried that I have no intention to set?"

Inside the "blankness", underneath these whirling thoughts, a little "ah-ha!" came to me.

In the blank, what came was - "What are you talking about?! There's no intention to set, this is you. There's no where to go, nothing to strive for. This is all there is!"

I realized that Yoga is no longer something I'm supposed to do because it's good for me or something I do because it keeps me fit and strong, etc...(though all of that is true). Yoga is me, Yoga is an intrinsic part of me, it's indescribable. I can be in yoga, just as I am in my life.

In other words...no intention necessary.

I can't tell if I'm even explaining well what happened in that moment of "blank" when I was asked to set an intention.

Side note: For all you Intrinsic Coach(R) professionals out there using the Intrinsic Coaching(R) methodology and working with the I>E>S hierarchy, I had a realization afterwards that those initial, rapid-fire thoughts were a product of my E & S thinking...they were not anything to grab onto or "believe" as real. I could leave room for a second thought!

In the days of my yoga practice since...I am still "intention.less". Only now I'm not worried about it.

My practice is me.

My yoga is me.

Never in a million years could I have imagined this for myself, but I am so grateful.

Namaste.

Making Friends as an Adult

2010-10-29T12:36:00.009-05:00

Remember in Kindergarten how you literally could ask someone, "Wanna be friends?" and it was totally normal and natural?

If the answer was yes, then you would carry on, share your crayons and from that moment on, you would move forward as friends.

How do I do this as an adult? Go into a library, a coffee shop or a restaurant and when I spot a person who looks nice, ask, "Wanna be friends?"

Maybe I should bring some crayons and ask someone if they want to color with me.

In my move from Minnesota to Arizona this past June, I've been thinking about making friends as an adult in a new city.

This morning I saw a segment about a book by Lesley Blume called "Let's Bring Back" - and one of her tips to regenerating or rejuvinating things from days gone by was to bring back the calling card.

No, not the kind of calling card that you put on the buter's tray when you arrive at someone's house, which he then whisks away to the host or hostess to let that person know you've come calling.

More of a modern-day calling card that you would give to someone as a way of saying, "Wanna be friends?". I envision that it could have your name, e-mail an cell phone number...it would be something more intimate than handing out a business card. It's a way of saying "I'm inviting you into my life in a more personal way." with a little more flair & sophistication.

I would feel good getting someone's calling card, and I think I would have fun having my own to give to others.

In an age where we are doing more and more electronically, I'm LOVING the spin this idea from Ms. Blume's book brings - I think I'll try it!

To see more about Let's Bring Back:
http://www.lesleymmblume.com/new/lets_bring_back

To order the book on Amazon.com, go here:
http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Bring-Back-Encyclopedia-Forgotten-Yet-Delightful/dp/0811874133

Why Saguaros?

2010-06-19T20:27:00.014-05:00

I just moved to the desert and I'm facinated...I feel like saguaros (pronounced /səˈwɑroʊ/) have a lot to teach me...

Growing a mere one foot in the first 45 years of life, saguaros take a risk living in the desert. It definitely feels like I'm growing too slowly, at times.

These dancing saguaros produce beautiful crowns of flowers and vibrant magenta fruit right before the monsoon rains wash them away in the hopes of finding a place to grow.

Just when I think nothing is happing - KA-POW! - I've got blooms in my life! Turns out, I was storing nutrients, water, and energy, getting ready for the next step, or perhaps waiting for the monsoon rains. :)

See a saguaro with one arm?? That took 75 years to grow!

Which brings out the whole nature geek side of me wanting to truly know about the saguaro and it's natural history. What range do they grow in, why do their flowers bloom at night, who is their pollinator, are there different forms or species, can you transplant them?

I guess all of these questions are just like the questions I ask about myself... about how I think or why I do the things I do. Heh-heh...can I be transplanted? Perhaps that is a topic for the next post...

Emily K. Hanka, MA, Intrinsic Coach®

emilyhanka.com
intrinsiccoach.com
totallycoached.com

Volunteer for Project Homeless Connect - Minneapolis 3-29-10!

2010-02-23T17:21:00.003-06:00

(Originally from a letter by Patricia McHugh, Volunteer Coordinator, PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT)

Dear Friends,

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED - Ending homelessness, one person at a time.

1300 volunteers needed for Monday, March 29 for Project Homeless Connect

Project Homeless Connect is a one-stop shop for delivering services to people experiencing homelessness. Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis are partnering with service providers, businesses, citizens, and faith communities to bring multiple resources to one location where people can come to find the services they need, including: housing providers, employment specialists, medical care, mental health care, benefits specialists, eye care, haircuts, transportation assistance, food and clothing.

What to expect:

If you can help at the Monday March 29 event, you will find the Convention Center space will be set up with many tables, rooms, and areas for the various services available and volunteers will assist the guests in connecting with the assistance they need or request. With about 1800 participants expected for this event, at least 1300 volunteers are needed to make the day successful. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age.

Project Homeless Connect

Monday, March 29, 2010, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Minneapolis Convention Center

Volunteer Shifts and Training

The March event will start at 10 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. with two shifts for volunteers: (1) 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and (2) 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

All volunteers are asked to arrive by 9:00 a.m. A 90 minute fun and informative training for Project Homeless Connect is required for everyone except those who trained and volunteered for a previous event.

At this training, Cathy ten Broeke, the project director, will orient the volunteers and answer questions about the event. Attendance at one of the training sessions is strongly recommended for all volunteers in order to make the volunteer experience more satisfying and to offer the best service to the guests.

Training sessions are scheduled for:

Monday, 3/15, 10:00 a.m.Brookdale Public Library6125 Shingle Creek ParkwayBrooklyn Center MN 55430
Tuesday, 3/16, 7:00 p.m.First Universalist Church3400 Dupont Ave SMinneapolis, MN 55408
Wednesday, 3/17, 10:00 a.m.Lutheran Social Service2400 Park Ave SMinneapolis, MN 55404
Monday, 3/22, 10:00 a.m.St Mary's Greek Orthodox Church3450 Irving Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408
Tuesday, 2/23, 7:00 p.m.Ridgedale Public Library12601 Ridgedale Dr,Minnetonka, MN 55305

Please choose one training session.

To volunteer for March 29, please click here or go the web site http://www.homelessconnectminneapolis.org/.
Click on the bar in the heading that says, "Please join us as a volunteer."

That will take you directly to a new and improved volunteer registration page. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age. Please share our e-mail with anyone interested in helping us reach our goal of 1300 volunteers!

You WILL NOT receive a confirmation email, so please make note of the date and location of your training as well as the volunteer shift for which you registered. You will receive an email in late March with a reminder of the training dates/times.

To make a donation to Project Homeless ConnectEmail us at : projectconnectmpls@gmail.com or visit our web site to donate securely online through Network for Good. The only donations being accepted for the March 29 Homeless Connect are cash contributions. Neither clothing nor any other goods will be accepted for the March 29 Homeless Connect

We are counting on you. Please be the one to help a person experiencing homelessness remove barriers to having a home!

How did it go last year?
At Project Homeless Connect on December 7, 2009, about 1650 individuals experiencing homelessness were assisted by more than 1500 volunteers in accessing services at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Of the guests visiting the housing area, 175 completed housing applications and 179 were placed on a housing wait list while 16 received rent assistance. In the various health care areas, 102 people received urgent medical care and foot care, 64 people received a mental health evaluation and 305 saw a dentist. Over 92 received prescription eyeglasses with 200 receiving reading glasses. In the legal area, 393 received legal consultation. In employment, 100 enrolled in job training programs, 19 completed employment applications, and 65 received assistance writing resumes. Over 580 guests received state IDs and birth certificates, 163 connected with specific veterans services, and 214 received assistance with Social Security. Seven hundred- eight guests obtained vouchers for shoes and 224 received haircuts.

Special Notice: Relief for Haiti

2010-01-14T17:37:00.001-06:00

Dear Friends & Colleagues,

I am saddened by the devastation in Haiti this week and concerned for those living and traveling there. I want to provide you with this list of several organizations currently working to provide aid and relief.

Please help if you can!

Emily

The American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/
Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 (billed to your phone)

The United Nations World Food
Programhttp://www.wfp.org/

The Salvation Armyhttp://www.salvationarmyusa.org/

Action Against Hungerhttp://www.actionagainsthunger.org/

Project HOPEhttp://www.projecthope.org/

Partners in Healthhttp://www.pih.org/

Why Play is Vital, No Matter Your Age -- Stuart Brown at the TED Conference

2009-12-16T20:21:00.000-06:00

A pioneer in research on play, Dr. Stuart Brown says humor, games, roughhousing, flirtation and fantasy are more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults -- and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age.

Click here to see the talk!

Changing Thoughts

2009-08-22T13:46:00.015-05:00

I got caught in a rain & lightening storm last night - IN ARIZONA!

Being someone who lives in the midwest, I had NO idea there were storms like this in AZ. I thought it didn't rain much at all in the desert!? Just when I thought I knew something...I find a fault in my thinking...

I was then told by my colleage (who lives in AZ),"Oh, no...we have a monsoon season."

My idea of Arizona has nothing to with monsoons?!?!

That evening, with lightening cracking and illuminating the mountains, I was watching the weather report to see the storms on the radar. I saw a big, red blotch with little lightening bolt symbols west of where I was staying. "Oh geez," I thought to myself, "we're going to get pounded again!"

WRONG! Because the weather patterns move from west to east in Minnesota, I automatically assumed the weather would move similarly in AZ.

In Arizona, the weather patterns move from east to west. The storms on the radar that were west of us were traveling west and were the very storms that we had already pounded us.

Just when I thought I knew something...it changed!

But what, really, was the thing that changed?

I think this kind of thing happens to us all the time. We have a scheme of things in mind -- about our jobs, our managers/leaders, our families, our spouses. If they would just fit into our scheme of things, we could continue thinking about them in the way we already do. And when they don't fit into our idea of them, we think THEY changed.

Sometimes we take this "change" well. We're able to be flexible, and we're able to endure the 'pain' of these new thoughts. (and yes, there really is pain involved...I'll leave that topic for another post).

Oftentimes, however, we dig our heels in to try finding SOME WAY to keep our thoughts the way they are. "No, my family really IS judgemental." "No, my spouse really IS incapable of paying me the attention I want. "

In reality, by setting aside our "scheme of things" for even a moment, we can let in another way of looking at things. This can change the way we think, the way we see things, and perhaps even the way we put together our scheme of things. i.e. By setting aside my Minnesota scheme of things I could think in a new and different way about being in Arizona.

So give it a try! Set it aside your thoughts of "It should be different!" - even for a moment - and see what happens with your thinking... you never know what could change!

Meditation Workshop - A Success!

2009-07-25T12:13:00.009-05:00

Meditation Workshop - A Success!

~ A group of women had a unique opportunity to study with a Vedic Master June 27 & 28, 2009 at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis! ~

Joan Dickenson, M.Ed, RYT, traveled to Minnesota from Florida to make a special appearance in the Twin Cities to teach Primordial Sound Meditiation - the style taught by Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. David Simon at the Chopra Center.

Practiced for thousands of years, meditation is a tool for rediscovering the body's own inner intelligence. We each had a private ceremony with Joan to receive our Primordial Sound meditation - which was based on our specific date, time and place of birth. Thinking about ourselves as "multi-dimensional beings" and becoming intimate with the various dimensions of our nature, we learned, is what enables us to live with vitality, creativity and happiness.

Just like we wash our clothes, clean our homes, and wash bodies - meditations is a way to wash our minds. So the purpose of meditation is not to have some sort of "high" experience DURING the meditation, rather it is to experience that peace and calmness and "high" for the other 23 hours of the day.

I thought I had been meditating before...I would sit on my yoga mat after my home yoga practice and...well...I would sit there. I didn't even know if what was happening actually was "meditation." And I didn't feel like anything was different in the rest of my day.

Since the end of June, my own meditation practice has come to me effortlessly and beautifully. I use my mantra and

For me, with practicing meditation I am able to:

manage and have less stress
nurture better relationships
touch my inner peace
have less anger control me
enjoy nature with more alive.ness
be more light-hearted
be more detachment - can just let things go that would have bothered me before
experience more connectedness to Spirit and that "river of peace" that flows through each moment
experience more self-acceptance

If you're interested in learning to meditate individually or with a group - drop us a note!
info@journeyconsultingandcoaching.com

Namaste!

Connect with Your Tribe - An Event for Inspired Entrepreneurs

2009-06-15T21:03:00.006-05:00

Bring in the Reinforcements

June 23, 2009, 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.Networking + Happy Hour FREE entrance and refreshments.
11900 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 214 Minnetonka, MN 55305 RSVP

We have a lot on our side right now as we grow our entrepreneurial endeavors: sun, green growth and the sounds and energy of Spring.

No matter what season it is, there's one constant in our worlds that we all have access to -- people. Whenever want to do better in our lives and businesses we need a boost from people.

Real-life reinforcements who remind us why we're doing this, that we are making progress and that business can be fun when we help and inspire each other.

Please join me, Emily Hanka, and my co-hosts...
Stephanie Robeck, InnerSourceSolutions.com
Alice Barry, EntertaininingTheIdea.com
Mary Rugani, BuyersRealestateGroup.com

...on June 23, 5PM-7PM, in our beautiful office suite and deck surrounded by nature for a happy hour and networking event that promises fun, relaxed, supportive connections from business owners just like you.

Alice will be there leading a networking mixer or two to ensure you leave with new entrepreneurial friends, and there'll be plenty of food and refreshments to keep you fueled and energized.

Please RSVP for this event by Noon on June 23 so we are certain to have enough refreshments just for you.

To Build or Not to Build...

2009-05-17T15:41:00.009-05:00

Have you ever noticed, that when things go wrong, and you're in a hurry - thinks KEEP going wrong? You hit all the red lights...you spill coffee down your shirt...you forgot the ONE thing you actually needed for the day at home.

This same condrum can also happen on the 'good'side. As good things start happening in your world, you breeze through traffic, you're always on time, you feel like you can listen and be heard in all your meetings and coversations...more and more good things build more an more momentum!

If you're like me, you're more partial to the 'good' side of that equation, you want to build a following that inspires and continues to snowball in a good way! I call this "Building A Following" and I believe that we all want to build a following of one kind or another - for our businesses and for our careers, for our families and even for our new ideas and to support our dreams...

Patti Keating's "5 Tips to Build Your Fan Club" is another take on building a following - scroll down, check out her article and see what resonates with you for building YOUR following.

To continued joy and success on your Journey,
Emily

Emily K. Hanka, MA,
Holistic Business Consultant and Intrinsic Coach(R)
Journey Consulting and Coaching

And then GO AHEAD and build, baby, build!

5 Tips To Build Your Fan Club
By Patti Keating

One of the questions my clients ask is how to get people to notice them in the midst of the millions of marketing messages that zips past us everyday. Grabbing someone's attention requires more than a glitsy website and a catchy message.

You must understand EXACTLY who your customers are. You have to feel their pain and offer solutions to them that solve their problems.

Check your marketing plans against these 5 tips. Fill in whatever is missing or needs a boost, and create your own raving fan club!

1. Identify the values and characteristics of your perfect customers. What do they hold in high regard? Make a list of everything your customers want, that you provide. Make sure the items on your list are high priority items for them. People invest in what they value. Make sure your target market values what you offer. If not, you may want to switch markets, or fine tune your offerings.

2. Let your IDEAL customers say "yes"! When marketing your services talk about the benefits of what you do. Use emotion and feelings to describe the results people receive. Don't waste time explaining your services. No one cares about the materials used to make their car when they are off to a family occasion or fun night out on the town. They want the ride to be smooth. Talk about smooth rides rather than belted radials.

3. Give your customers want they want from you. Be who they expect you to be. Show them the side of you that motivates and encourages them to work with you. Be the person they expect to receive the highest quality experiences from. Let them see beyond your marketing and give them a glimpse of your personality.

4. Amplify your strengths to really stand out in the crowd. What are those natural strengths and ability that you take for granted. This is where your gold lies. What your strength's are is less important than you understanding them and using them to help others! Are you a natural at problem solving? Can you see solutions in unique ways? Maybe you have an eye for talent. Whatever you are great at, plug into it and use it to provide your own unique skills as a service.

5. Do one thing that is big, bold, and beyond what you thought you could do. What would your customers like to see from you, that you would love to grow into, yet have not yet had the courage to say yes to? Go for it. Think big and be big. Everyone loves courage. Talk about it on facebook, twitter and in your ezine! Let the word spread about your latest courageous leap!Spruce up your marketing with these 5 tips and watch your fan club grow!

Patti Keating publishes the award winning ezine “Focused Intentions” filled with hot tips and free tools to help you grow your business quicker than you may have thought possible. If you are ready to increase your income, create your ideal business and experience personal freedom... get your FR*EE tips now at http://www.intentionscoaching.com/

Friendship Among Women

2009-04-27T17:29:00.001-05:00

Why do women live longer than men? Is there really a science behind the need for "girl time?"
Read below to find out more about a landmark UCLA study on Friendship Among Women.

Rock on, ladies!

Emily

Emily K. Hanka,
Holistic Business Consultant, Intrinsic Coach (R)
Journey Consulting and Coaching, Inc.

******

UCLA Study On Friendship Among Women
Gale Berkowitz

A landmark UCLA study suggests friendships between women are special. They shape who we are and who we are yet to be. They soothe our tumultuous inner world, fill the emotional gaps in our marriage, and help us remember who we really are. By the way, they may do even more. ]

Scientists now suspect that hanging out with our friends can actually counteract the kind of stomach-quivering stress most of us experience on a daily basis. A landmark UCLA study suggests that women respond to stress with a cascade of brain chemicals that cause us to make and maintain friendships with other women. It's a stunning find that has turned five decades of stress research---most of it on men---upside down. Until this study was published, scientists generally believed that when people experience stress, they trigger a hormonal cascade that revs the body to either stand and fight or flee as fast as possible, explains Laura Cousin Klein, Ph.D., now an Assistant Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State University and one of the study's authors. It's an ancient survival mechanism left over from the time we were chased across the planet by saber-toothed tigers.

Now the researchers suspect that women have a larger behavioral repertoire than just fight or flight; In fact, says Dr. Klein, it seems that when the hormone oxytocin is release as part of the stress responses in a woman, it buffers the fight or flight response and encourages her to tend children and gather with other women instead. When she actually engages in this tending or befriending, studies suggest that more oxytocin is released, which further counters stress and produces a calming effect. This calming response does not occur in men, says Dr. Klein, because testosterone---which men produce in high levels when they're under stress---seems to reduce the effects of oxytocin. Estrogen, she adds, seems to enhance it.

The discovery that women respond to stress differently than men was made in a classic "aha" moment shared by two women scientists who were talking one day in a lab at UCLA. There was this joke that when the women who worked in the lab were stressed, they came in, cleaned the lab, had coffee, and bonded, says Dr. Klein. When the men were stressed, they holed up somewhere on their own. I commented one day to fellow researcher Shelley Taylor that nearly 90% of the stress research is on males. I showed her the data from my lab, and the two of us knew instantly that we were onto something.

The women cleared their schedules and started meeting with one scientist after another from various research specialties. Very quickly, Drs. Klein and Taylor discovered that by not including women in stress research, scientists had made a huge mistake: The fact that women respond to stress differently than men has significant implications for our health. It may take some time for new studies to reveal all the ways that oxytocin encourages us to care for children and hang out with other women, but the "tend and befriend" notion developed by Drs. Klein and Taylor may explain why women consistently outlive men. Study after study has found that social ties reduce our risk of disease by lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol. There's no doubt, says Dr. Klein, that friends are helping us live longer.

In one study, for example, researchers found that people who had no friends increased their risk of death over a 6-month period. In another study, those who had the most friends over a 9-year period cut their risk of death by more than 60%.

Friends are also helping us live better. The famed Nurses' Health Study from Harvard Medical School found that the more friends women had, the less likely they were to develop physical impairments as they aged, and the more likely they were to be leading a joyful life. In fact, the results were so significant, the researchers concluded, that not having close friends or confidants was as detrimental to your health as smoking or carrying extra weight.

And that's not all. When the researchers looked at how well the women functioned after the death of their spouse, they found that even in the face of this biggest stressor of all, those women who had a close friend and confidante were more likely to survive the experience without any new physical impairments or permanent loss of vitality. Those without friends were not always so fortunate. Yet if friends counter the stress that seems to swallow up so much of our life these days, if they keep us healthy and even add years to our life, why is it so hard to find time to be with them?

That's a question that also troubles researcher Ruthellen Josselson, Ph.D., co-author of Best Friends: The Pleasures and Perils of Girls' and Women's Friendships (Three Rivers Press, 1998). The following paragraph is, in my opinion, very, very true and something all women should be aware of and NOT put our female friends on the back burners.

Every time we get overly busy with work and family, the first thing we do is let go of friendships with other women, explains Dr. Josselson. We push them right to the back burner. That's really a mistake because women are such a source of strength to each other. We nurture one another. And we need to have unpressured space in which we can do the special kind of talk that women do when they're with other women. It's a very healing experience...

* * * * *

Taylor, S. E., Klein, L.C., Lewis, B. P., Gruenewald, T.L., Gurung, R. A. R., & Updegraff, J. A. Female Responses to Stress: Tend and Befriend, Not Fight or Flight" Psychol Rev, 107(3):41-429.

Biobehavioral Responses to Stress in Females: Tend-and-Befriend, not Fight-or-Flight. (Full article in PDF)

Geary DC, Flinn MV. Sex differences in behavioral and hormonal response to social threat: commentary on Taylor et al. Psychol Rev 2002 Oct; 109(4):745-50; discussion 751-3

Cousino Klein L, Corwin EJ. Seeing the unexpected: how sex differences in stress responses may provide a new perspective on the manifestation of psychiatric disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2002 Dec;4(6):441-8.

UCLA Researchers Identify Key Biobehavioral Pattern Used By Women To Manage Stress

Spring Cleaning - Article & Resource Series

2009-04-14T12:23:00.014-05:00

This spring, do some cleaning!

Photo: "Ah Spring!" by Laurie York

· Clean the clutter out of your mind and off your desk
· Dust off those professional and business goals,
· Take inventory, personally and ask yourself,
o "This spring, what do I want to clean up in my personal life?"
o What am I wanting to pursue NOW to plant the seeds that will
grow and help me reach my goals in the future?"

Whether you are someone looking to start your own blog and get some practical business tips, find money and motivation to make a major shift in your life, learn how to meditate, or increase your personal and professional effectiveness - there's an article, event or link for YOU in our Spring Resource Series:

--Teleclasses and calls for Small Business People
--Financial Alchemy: Create a New Relationship with Money
--Worried about the Economy? Get out and speak!
--Get Your Small Business Blog Going
--Five Ways to Nuture Your Inner Fire
--The REAL way to results in your REAL Life.
--Open the Door - Workshop for Women
--Learn to Meditate

To your continued success, wherever you are on your Journey,
Emily

Tele-classes and calls for business-people

Nicola Bird, of Fingertips Coaching has been hosting and posting tele-classes for small business-people. I've just finished the call with CJ Hayden on her 3 favorite ways to get clients now. It was packed full of information and ideas on:

how to use referral partnerships,
speaking and writing and
hosting groups to get more clients - already I've had some fantastic feedback.

Buy the call with CJ Hayden

FR*EE Registration for upcoming classes

Financial Alchemy: Create a New Relationship with Money

Photo: Money by TW Collins

Are you exploring your patterns and relationships with money? Try this article from Morgana Rae, who says, “Your current financial situation is a direct reflection of your inner relationship with Money.”

If you don’t like your finances, something needs to change in your relationship. This is where Alchemy comes in. Click below to read about 3 guidelines from the aclhemist’s tradition to create a new relationship with money.

Click here to read more…

Worried About the Economy? Get Out and Speak!

By Lisa Braithwaite

Here's an understatement: the uncertainty of our current economy is making people tense. As an entrepreneur, you might be a little more anxious than those who are getting a regular paycheck. You're independent, self-reliant and self-motivated, but the feeling of not having control in times like these can lead to worry and stress about keeping your business strong and profitable.

Click here to read Lisa’s article about adding speaking and in-person networking to your marketing mix.

Click here to read more Speak…

Get Your Small Business Blog Going! Five Keys to a Great Start

Part of Caroline Melberg's marketing strategies

Are you a small business owner or entrepreneur who would like to have a blog to get the word out about your business? Check out Caroline Melberg’s post to read about five keys to getting your blog off to a great start.

Abraham Lincoln said, “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend 6 hours sharpening the ax.” In other words, preparation makes a hard job easier. It’s no different when it comes to creating a small business blog. Here’s a few tips to help you get your blog off to a great start.

Click here to read more Small Business Blog…

5 Ways to Nurture Your Inner Fire

Photo: Fire by tina_manthorpe

Do you feel “stressed out” more often than not these days? Are you overwhelmed with the news of the day and with balancing work and life? We know that these factors, and more impact our well-being greatly. With stress-related illness on the rise and toxic news, attitudes, and food affecting our daily-living – it’s time to stoke and nurture your inner fire. Read on, to explore 5 ways to nurture your inner fire, from the Chopra Center.

Given the crucial role of agni to health and well-being, how do we keep our inner fire burning brightly? The essential step is living life more consciously, making choices that nurture the flow of life energy, while minimizing those that deplete it.

Click here to read more Inner Fire…

The REAL Way to Results in Your REAL Life

Are you someone who has tried every “self-help” and “Law of Attraction” method that there is? Do you want to be able to apply all of this stuff that you “know” and get results in your life? Then working holistically with Journey Consulting and Coaching is for you.

Journey offers services professionals and life & business leaders for REAL people – people with REAL lives, REAL businesses who REALLY want to take some action and achieve results in a sustainable way.

You know the learning you have done over your lifetime, is what sticks with you. Journey brings you the methodology and space to do REAL learning and make the BEST decisions about what’s most important in your REAL life and work.

Click here to read more Results…

Local Business Profile

2009-03-30T21:09:00.009-05:00

Journey Consulting and Coaching

Local Business Profile: Inner Source Solutions

One of Journey's goals is to connect you, your business and your life with my network:

to tap as a resource on your Journey
as inspiration
as a model of success and what's available in our local, small business community.

Given the above, we've included our first installment of a profile of local business owner.

Name: Stephanie Robeck

Title: Owner/Founder

Current Business: Inner Source Solutions, LLC

What does you/your business offer? In the process of life people sometimes lose their way, get stuck, and lose track of their dreams and sometimes even who they really are. Inner Source Solutions guides individuals back to those lost or buried places so they may come back to life and allow that inner brilliance or “inner source” to shine!

Inner Source Solutions specialize in creating time and space for individuals to explore, dream, connect, heal and play their way through life transitions.

Contact Info/Website: www.innersourcesolutions.com (coming soon, under construction)

Length of time in this business/as a practitioner: I’ve been in business since 2007. I’ve been a Therapeutic Coach since 2006, Reiki Master practitioner since 2004 and an Intrinsic

Coach since 2008.

What inspired you to be a business owner/entrepreneur:

My own journey of wanting to have more fun, enjoy life and explore who I really am, allow that part of me to reveal itself and understand where I fit “IN”. I am an experimenter and creative and intuitive type that likes to try many things. I like to have a wide array of people around me and never really fit in to any one particular group or mold. It’s taken me a lot of years to embrace myself for who I am. I want to inspire and guide others to the same!

What type of client/service/product is your “Sweet Spot”?

People who are in transition and really curious about what that inner calling is. Also people who are curious about what has brought them to this point in their life that is suddenly re-kindled – often from childhood. Most of these individuals are helpers and healers and are just discovering that about themselves. They have new work – their true work to do now. I assist in their own healing process, so they can move about more freely and embrace themselves!
What are the advantages of working in this sweet spot?

It comes naturally and easily. Plus it’s needed in this current environment.
I know that “No Matter What you Think you Are, You Are ALWAYS more than that!” It’s one of the therapeutic coaching principles from the Meta and so true.

Why I exist –

I’ve been told that I’m a healer/nurturer and I agree with that. However, more than that, I believe that I exist to provide individuals the time and space to be guided to their best selves, so they can do their own healing and live their fullest life. Everyone already has that innately inside them already and sometimes that inner light just needs to be dusted off or the overgrown path re-discovered again. It’s been there all along, I help them re-illuminate it or clear it.

Why I am successful –

I’m warm, welcoming, calm and patient as well as light-hearted and fun. I love to play, explore and watch the process unfold as I gently guide and work with individuals.
I love people!

How do you add value to your client’s lives or make their lives easier?

I allow them to “BE” who they are and offer a safe and nurturing place for that to unfold. I also connect people to each other through the classes and workshops I teach so that they realize, “hey, I’m not alone in all of this.” There’s actually a community out there of like minded individuals.

Talk some about what you want to accomplish in your business for clients and the community?

I want to be a resource for my clients not only through the work we do together but also to connect them with other practitioners, websites, books, etc to assist and support them on their path – whatever that is.
Be a resource of inspiration, exploration, healing and fun!

Are you working on a specific business initiative/niche/business development now?
I am in the process of narrowing my niche and really focusing in on how to better serve the community and my clients. I’m in the development stage, stay tuned. I’ve got lots coming down the pike.

What are your future ambitions/goals/? To travel and host workshops outside of the Twin Cities, California, Colorado, Northern Minnesota, etc. I have definite plans to expand to Colorado.
Besides offering valuable service/products, how else do you consciously add value to your business, clients and yourself holistically?

Continually learning, reading, networking and working on myself. My clients are really an extension of myself and the continually bring me opportunities to grow and learn more about who I am.
I also strive to be an example. I believe that life is meant to be enjoyed, spent with friends and family, exploring, learning and growing. I just spent a month in Colorado because last year I set the intention to do that. I honored that intention, even though I had a lot going on in my life, moving into a new office, etc. I gave myself that time and it was much needed. I encourage others to honor their intentions whatever they may be.

What articles, links or resources for our readers?

Thoughts from the Universe – very inspirational and Free sign up at www.tut.com you pick how often and messages are emailed to you. I look forward to reading mine each morning! They are tons of fun!

Where the hell is Matt – Matt has danced all over the world a very goofy dance – very heart warming and makes you want to dance! Life is not to be taken so seriously, let’s celebrate! I love the 2008 video: www.wherethehellismatt.com

Top Ten Social Networks for Entrepreneurs

2009-03-12T14:04:00.004-05:00

Top Ten Social Networks for Entrepreneurs

Are you an entrepreneur who is using social networking sites to do business directly or indirectly?

If so, check out this this article outlining the top 10 social networks for entrepreneurs. Each helps entrepreneurs succeed by providing them with the guidance and resources to setup their company.

http://mashable.com/2009/03/12/entrepreneur-networks/

Have you tried any of these SN sites?
How do you decide how many social networks to join for your business?

What do you think all you business folk out there!?

Post a comment or send me an e-mail at emily @ journeyconsultingandcoaching.com

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

Why The Business Coaching Market is Thriving

2009-03-02T13:36:00.003-06:00

A Special Industry Report
(from http://www.instituteforbusinessgrowth.com/)

“Why The Business Coaching Market is Thriving In Spite of the Global Recession”

Business coaches see opportunity
to grow their businesses in 2009

By Andrew Neitlich –

Who would have predicted that business owners would still invest in executive level coaching in the middle of a recession? When backed against the wall, smart entrepreneurs know that access to solid, practical advice is more than worth their time and money.

In fact, savvy business owners see economic slowdowns as an opportunity to reconnect with their clients, create new product offerings and position their businesses for success amid an inevitable economic recovery.

In 2009, small business owners will rely on trusted business coaches to help them weather the storms ahead. Already, our IBG coaches are watching their appointment calendars fill up. This puts them on the winning side of a brutal economic rollercoaster ride.

Why Are Business Coaches Thriving?

Certified business coaches from the Institute for Business Growth (IBG) points to the services that they offer their clients to withstand the economic crisis and position them for the recovery. For example, savvy IBG coaches are providing the following services:

Traditional Business Coaching: one-on-one or group sessions that focus on showing business leaders how to grow their businesses, improve performance and be more effective regardless of the economy.

Specialized Consulting Solutions: designed to pinpoint revenue and profit bottlenecks.

Group Training Programs: shows business leaders how to improve bottom line performance while focusing on specific solutions for common client problems and to help business owners get reconnected with a passion for running their business.

Moderated Leadership Circles: brings business leaders together to share their successes and challenges in a noncompetitive and confidential setting.

Proprietary information products: focusing on specific solutions for common client problems.

Specialized Consulting Solutions: Leverage by deploying a team of certified trainers to dominate a marketplace or niche.

This “service diversity” gives the flexibility and nimbleness required to quickly adapt to changing market demands. Even now the Institute for Business Growth is training business coaches to provide “recovery” coaching services to struggling businesses. Adapt or die is the mantra and business coaches have the tools to prosper.

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

Three Hot Ways to Network and Get Clients Now!

2009-02-26T20:06:00.006-06:00

Nicola Bird, of More Than Your Time (http://www.morethanyourtime.com) recently spoke with business coach, CJ Hayden, (www.getclientsnow.com) on her 3 favorite ways to get clients now, and it was packed full of information and ideas on how to use referral partnerships, speaking and writing and group seminars/coaching to get more clients.

This tele-class talks about coaches getting clients, however the tips are applicable to small business owners and anyone interested in bringing in clients across the board.

Here's the link for you to listen and learn, please do drop me an email to let me know how useful you found the call.

http://www.morethanyourtime.com/audiodownloads/

To your continued success!

Emily K. Hanka, MA
Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic Coach®, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

5 Ways to Create Meaningful Experiences With Your Customers

2009-02-19T16:39:00.003-06:00

5 Ways To Create Meaningful Experiences With Your Customers

1. Respond Immediately

Celebrate their decision to invest in you. When a customer decides to use your products or service let them know that you are excited to share your wisdom with them. If they make the purchase online give them an immediate thank you and a sneak peak at what they will receive. When I coached individual clients I sent out their prosperity plan, empowering language document, and values list the moment they signed up even though we sometimes would not meet for weeks. It gave them a taste of what was coming and got them involved in the experience of being a coaching client. What can you give your clients and customers the moment they say “YES”?

2. Make It Personal

Personalize your responses to them. Know their names and recognize them. Tell them you appreciate them. Customize your emails to include their names. Call them by name when you speak to them and ask about their children, pets, or a project, whatever you know is special to them. To quote John Maxwell “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

3. Ask Them What They Want

Let them know you care about them and their needs. Ask your customers to identify their biggest challenges, what stops them, what areas do they most need support, and where do they really shine! Not only will you create more meaningful relationships, your customers will tell you what products and services they will buy from you! When you deliver what they ask for your clients will adore you!

4. Give Them Gifts

Everyone loves a little extra gift. I have purchased more than one lipstick or eyeliner to get that “Gift with Purchase” set. Give a little extra bonus when they buy. Giving them an extra info product when they opt in to your ezine or teleseminar is also is a great way to create memorable customer experiences. Send them birthday cards (or write on their Facebook wall) Everyone likes to be recognized and appreciated with a gift.

5. Share your Secrets

My 10-year-old son LOVES to hear stories about my childhood and the activities and antics I was up to when I was his age. The juicier the better! I tell him the secret feelings I experienced behind the story. He lies frozen in time and wide eyed next to me as I reveal my soul. I’m talking about a 100lb linebacker who is tough to stop (other than at meal time.) It got me thinking. If I can captivate his 10-year-old attention, maybe my customers would like to know more about the “behind the scenes” secrets too! Let your clients know how you felt when you were learning what you are teaching them. They will love you for it and feel more connected and less critical of themselves.

The point is… by giving a little extra you will create long-term relationships in your business and personal life. As you give more in the world, the world gives more back to you and in the process everyone is elevated. Our world blooms and transforms before our eyes. This is the path of Conscious Wealth.

WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE? See Patti’s blog

Mindset Mentor Patti Keating publishes the award winning ezine “Focused Intentions” filled with hot tips and free tools to help you create wealth in ALL areas of your life. If you are ready to increase your income, create your ideal business and experience personal freedom get your FREE tips now at www.intentionscoaching.com

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

New Study Reveals Meaning Trumps Money...Significance for Life and Work?

2009-02-04T13:15:00.009-06:00

New Study Reveals Meaning Trumps Money...Significance for Life and Work?
(See also, original post by Barb Reindl)

In the face of transitions and obstacles, large and small, there are some major themes that many of my clients - individuals or businesses - revisit over and over:

Feeling in limbo/not knowing what direction to go
Wanting to do/be something that matters
Wanting to make a difference, belong and be important in the world.

Out in January 2009, the MefLife Mature Market Institute (MMI) released a new groundbreaking study entitled: Discovering what Matters; Balancing Money, Medicine, and Meaning. MMI applied a market research approach to the philosophical concept of "purpose" based on the work of Richard Leider and his best-selling book with co-author David Shapiro, Repacking Your Bags.

The study found the "Purpose Matters" " Regardless of age, gender, financial status, or life stage, the majority of people assign the most importance to Meaning-related activities and, above all else, spending time with friends and family. "

However, the study did clearly show that priorities change with age. So, for those of still in midlife, who want work we love, but also want work that financially supports the life we live, it is quite expected that we will wrestle with whether it is still important for us to pursue financial stability first, and purpose second.

The study does suggest otherwise….yes, even for those in mid-life, in-transition and self-empoloyed.

Please sign up as a follower to this blog to ensure that you hear more about this study and those like it!

If you want to see MMIs study summary and related workbook, here is that link!

Please comment to this post!

So you’ve got a business idea… Now what?

2009-01-16T16:13:00.000-06:00

So you’ve got a business idea… Now what?

(Original post by Steve N. under Starting Up)

Everyday people come up with thousands of great business ideas that could have produced multi-million dollar companies. But these ideas go nowhere because people aren’t sure where to begin.

The biggest excuse people use for not turning an idea into a business is that they aren’t sure if it will be successful. Instead of immediately succumbing to those fears, follow these five steps to figure out if your idea is externally worth taking to the next level. (Next month we will discuss the five steps to figure out if your idea is internally worth taking to the next level.)

1) Decide if potential customers would be willing to buy your product/service
The first step is to do a quick and dirty evaluation of whether your business idea has potential. Find five people or companies who could actually be potential customers. It is important that you make sure that these people are truly representative of your target customer, so choose wisely.

Have them sign an NDA and then tell them a bit about your product/service. Don’t use too many details, like information about your business model and competitive advantages. Just be sure to give them enough information so that they can make an informed decision as to whether or not they’d be willing to be a customer. Then, ask them for their opinions. Would they buy your product/service? If so, why? If not, is there something that you could do that would make it more appealing? Make clear to them that you want their complete honesty. You don’t want them to tell you that they would be interested if they really wouldn’t.

2) Perform some initial market research
If at least one of the five people/companies previously mentioned had said they’d be willing to buy your product, then I think your idea is worth moving forward and putting together some market research.

So many people talk about how difficult it is to perform market research. In actuality, it is anything but difficult. It is, however, a bit tedious. Start by typing your idea, or variations thereof, into any of the search engines (Google, Yahoo, Live, or Ask). Your goal here is to determine if someone else is already providing the product or service that you envision. Make a thorough list of each company that you would consider a competitor and take note of their web address, their location, their product/service offerings, and most importantly their pricing. Compile all of this information into a spreadsheet and save it!

Here are a few things to look for after you’ve compiled your list of competitors. How many competitors are in the marketplace? What do you think is the total sales per year for your industry and how much marketshare does each competitor have? Does it look like the companies in this market are making money (i.e. are they located in big beautiful buildings, or in someone’s garage)?

3) Accurately cost out how much it will cost you to create your product/service
Don’t skip this step and just say that since Company X can sell it for a certain amount of money that you can sell it for slightly less. For all you know Company X could be not properly costing their products/services and losing money on every product that they sell. Or, they could be offering this product/service as a loss leader. In any event if you skip this step, it will come back to haunt you.

If you are offering a service, calculate exactly how much money it will cost to provide your service. To come up with this number, add up direct labor costs, all of your overhead, and any other costs that you’ll incur providing your service. When calculating overhead, don’t skimp. If you work out of your home now, but will need to work from an office once you start your business, add that expense. Account for phone lines, internet connectivity, power/energy, computers, printers, copiers, equipment, supplies, etc. The biggest error that I see people make here is that, by not figuring for the expenses once they are in operation, they underestimate how much it will cost to offer their service.

If you are offering a product instead of a service, talk to a few engineers and contract manufacturers. Have them give you prices for designing/producing your product. From there you can figure out your total overhead and expenses. Finally, take a good guess as to how many products you expect to sell and amortize your overhead into each product by dividing the total annual overhead expense by the total number of units that you expect to sell.

4) Figure out who will sell your product/service and how much they’ll charge
It is important to decide who is going to sell your product/service and to establish what sort of costs will be involved in marketing and selling the product. This will vary greatly depending on whether you’ll be selling at retail, selling through a sales force, or relying on direct marketing.

If you plan to offer your product/service through a retail outfit, call the company and find out who the buyer for your product/service is. Call the buyer and ask for a 10-minute meeting. Too many people think that companies like Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, Home Depot, and others are unapproachable. In fact, they have hundreds of buyers whose job it is to find the next hot trends and items. So call them and discuss your idea. See if they have any interest. If they do, tell them that you are in the exploratory phase of launching your business. Ask them for some rough guidelines regarding what sort of margin they expect, whether they expect co-op marketing money, and whether they sell on consignment or if they purchase your products outright. This will give you all of the information that you need to complete your analysis.

If you are going to offer your products/services through a sales force, find one or two salespeople who are in a similar but non-competitive line of business. Offer to buy them lunch or coffee so that you can ask them a few questions about what sorts of commission they make, how the sales are handled, and what they might expect for a commission and final selling price on your products/services. There are very few salespeople out there who aren’t always looking for a great business/selling opportunity, so getting a meeting with them is a pretty safe bet.

Finally, if your product/services will be sold through direct marketing, call up a few smaller/mid-sized marketing firms who specialize in direct marketing in a business similar to yours. Setup a 30-minute meeting with them to hear about their qualifications. Ask about their company. Get their input on how much it would cost to market your product. Again, tell them that you are in the exploratory phase and that you’re looking for rough numbers. This usually allows people to let their guard down and offer accurate/honest advice without having to listen to the whole dog and pony show.

5) Add up the numbers and decide if you want to proceed
The final step is to add up everything—the total cost involved in producing/offering your product/service, the selling costs (or retailers margin expectation), and any other expenses that you’ll incur (on a per-unit basis). Now compare your costs to those of your competitors. Just because you may be more expensive doesn’t mean that your idea isn’t worth pursuing. If you have something that really differentiates your product/service from the competition, people may be more than willing to pay extra for your product. However, if you are offering the same widget as your competitors for a substantially higher price, then this is a red flag.

The above research can take about a week, depending on how you use your spare time, and you’ll eventually appreciate every second that you spend on this.

Now that you have the numbers and have performed a thorough assessment of the external marketplace, you're ready to move to the next step of of assessing your internal readiness as to whether or not it is worth moving forward with your idea.

Next month we will discuss the five steps to figure out if your idea is internally worth taking to the next level.

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

Journey In the Community: Gift Bags for Women of Nations

2009-01-01T16:22:00.010-06:00

Gift Bags for Women of Nations

This holiday season,
Journey Consulting and Coaching, Inc partnered with Buyers Real Estate Group, Inc to purchase and pack gift bags for Women of Nations - a domestic abuse shelter, crisis intervention, and advocacy for Native American and all families in Minnesota.

Knowing that many women leave their homes with nothing but their children and the clothes on their backs, our bags were filled with everything from gloves, socks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, to lotion, bodywash, pens and journals.

Wishing you and yours an abundant and prosperous New Year!

Women of Nations

Mission:
Rooted in American Indian Tradition, Women of Nations welcomes and honors "All our relations" as together we inspire hope and healing to embrace a vision of peace and justice.

Women of Nations provides support to Native American and other battered women, their children and family members, as appropriate through:

Services including crisis intervention, advocacy and safe, confidential shelter
Advocating for them and educating the public on domestic abuse issues.

http://www.women-of-nations.org/

Navigating Chaos and Uncertainty

2008-12-18T10:00:00.002-06:00

Sonja’s Story

"This past summer, we were grilling on the deck, we had a routine, good jobs and I remember thinking “This is it! This is life and it’s great!”

Now, only a few weeks later, everything is crazy. We have to move out of our house. My partner just took another client in Costa Rica AND I found out I’m pregnant! I’m so sick, I can hardly eat anything.

I don’t know what we’re going to do. My life is in such chaos. I can’t figure out what we should do next."
__________________________________

What feels like uncertainty to Sonja, is actually the chaos of life calling her to a new consciousness. Chaos theory tells us that life is not the dualistic “back-and-forth” between chaos and order.

In fact, chaos is the oscillation between order and disorder. The rhythm of life into order (Sonja’s proclamation of “This is it!”) through chaos, around the horn into randomness & disorder (“My partner took another client, I’m pregnant and we have to move…”) is headed back through the middle around the horn and back into order.

My hunch: Sonja and Kurtis will move into their new home, get everything set up (order!) and then the baby will come and they will swoop around the horn, back into the disorder and randomness of life.

Order ////////////// Chaos ///////////// Randomness & Disorder

EVERYTHING IS CHAOS!

Just when you think you can’t breathe in the hectic, frustrating, uncertain disorder and randomness of life – you’ll move into the next wave of order.

And just when you can’t breathe in the stifling, orderly life you’ve built, a new event, person, circumstance will enter into your life to knock you back into the messy, often growth-filled arena of randomness & disorder.

Navigating Uncertainty

So how do you navigate the uncertainty? Remember that to cling to either order or disorder is to deny the natural rhythm of life. If you are feeling the uncertainty of order at work:

“I don’t think I can do this job anymore. The 9-5 is killing me, and it’s the same thing day in and day out. But I’m UNCERTAIN about how to move forward! There’s got to be something more…

Congratulate yourself! And ask yourself:

“What is important to keep in mind to surf this "order" with more grace?”

If you are feeling the uncertainty of disorder, like Sonja:

“I have to figure out how to move in a week, plan for a new baby, see if our deal on the foreclosure property is going through AND we have to pack and leave for Costa Rica the following day!”

Congratulate yourself! And ask yourself:

“What is important to keep in mind to surf this wave of disorder with more grace?

The Fully Alive Bottom Line: As you recognize how chaos – the rhythm of order and disorder – comes into your life moment-by-moment, day-by-day, practice riding the ever-increasing waves with grace and elegance. Your ease in navigating uncertainty will grow and expand as you practice, and you will be able to live a life that is fully alive, no matter what wave you are riding!

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties." - Erich Fromm

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

Ten Tips for Thriving in this Economic Winter

2008-12-08T10:46:00.001-06:00

I've seen many lists of tips for growing through "these times" and I really appreciate this list from James Ray.

Wishing you optimum health, vitality and success,
Emily
________

Well, you asked for some quick, easy-to-apply tips on how to thrive in this economic winter and on how to apply the knowledge you learned during our conversation... So here you go!

Clearly define what inspires you.
There's a big difference between taking action out of inspiration versus desperation. Use this season as an opportunity to hibernate into the recesses of your own mind and define what you choose to create in your next spring.
Control your focus.
Energy flows where attention goes. Are you focusing on lack or opportunity?
Feed your mind.
What's your constant mental diet? Do you spend hours in front of the scare news or are you reading good books, attending more positive seminars, watching uplifting DVDs and listening to powerful CDs?
Strengthen your body.
Your physical health and vitality have a tremendous impact on your performance as well as your mental and emotional fitness. Exercise releases stress as well as strengthen your body and mind.
Inventory your friends.
Doom and gloom attracts more doom and gloom. Jettison those "energy vampires" around you and surround yourself with opportunity seekers.
Quiet your mind.
Take time to meditate daily and to slow down if only for a few minutes. Ten to fifteen minutes of meditation will relieve hours of stress and increase creativity and resourcefulness.
Rid your life of escapist activities.
Overindulgence in TV, sleep and alcohol only accelerate the problems you're attempting to avoid.
Make a daily gratitude list.
Focusing on all the good, gifts and God in your life puts you in the right line of thought, feeling and their subsequent actions, which will attract and create more good, gifts and God.
Change your attitude.
Realize that everything that's happened in your life thus far is here to serve you, teach you and help you grow. Find the lessons in your past results, forgive yourself for anything you could have done better and apply the lesson to move forward and create a better future.
Get resourceful.
For the next three days, go to a place where you can have uninterrupted time... Come up with 20 new ideas to grow your income, create new results and improve your life. You cannot leave your spot until you have twenty. And no editing! All ideas are good ideas. Do this for three successive days with 20 new ideas each day.

Now take your list of 60 unique ideas and pick the three to five most powerful and leveraged ones to put into action. Pick these three to five based on: ease of implementation, rate of return and speed of return.

And so during this winter season, remember: It's not about resources... there are plenty of them. It's about resourcefulness. Get resourceful and get busy.

To your continued wealth and happiness,

James Arthur Ray
President/CEO
James Ray International

Read full post

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

Just Let Go

2008-12-02T12:12:00.002-06:00

By Sally Kempton (from the Yoga Journal)

Sometimes the simplest advice can be the hardest to take. Here's how to practice detachment without giving up on life.

I'll never forget the first time I seriously considered the relationship between detachment and freedom. I was in my 20s, staying with a friend in Vermont, trying to recover some equilibrium in the midst of a difficult breakup. One evening, bored with my moping, my friend tuned in the local alternative radio station, which happened to be broadcasting Ram Dass. He was telling a famous anecdote about the way you catch a monkey in India. You drop a handful of nuts into a jar with a small opening, he explained. The monkey puts his hand into the jar, grabs the nuts, and then finds that he can't get his fist out through the opening. If the monkey would just let go of the nuts, he could escape. But he won't.

Attachment leads to suffering, Ram Dass concluded. It's as simple as that: Detachment leads to freedom.

I knew he was talking directly to me. Between my two-pack-a-day cigarette habit and my painful relationship, I was definitely attached—and definitely suffering. But letting go of my fistful of nuts seemed unthinkable. I couldn't imagine what life would be like without the drama of a love affair, without cigarettes and coffee—not to mention other, subtler addictions, like worry, resentment, and judgment. Still, the story of the monkey and the jar stayed with me, a depth charge waiting to go off.

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

Achieving Ultimate Success

2008-11-17T10:37:00.001-06:00

When you hear the word "success," what comes up for you?

What does success look like to you?

You might tell me success has everything to do with being financially wealthy. I would agree that financial abundance is a piece of being successful. And where else do you experience success in your life?

Consider success in,
-Your physical health,
-The health of your relationships,
-Your spiritual life,
-Your emotional and intellectual well-being.

Take a minute and jot down where you are experienceing success in your life right now.

Now, define what ULTIMATE success in your life would look like. Paint a picture in your mind and write down what success is to you:
-Physically
-Mentally
-Spiritually
-Relationally
-Financially

Make it specific and real in your mind - what is your ULTIMATE success in all areas of life?

REMEMBER: Success is a journey toward the life YOU choose. You will not "arrive" at some end-point of where you are finally "successful" because you are always growing, expanding and changing to be reaching to ever-greater heights.

Does this kind of self-work excite you? Propell you to continue reaching toward your dreams and your succes?

If so, join me for Open the Door - That's "IT"! - a workshop for women to discover what they truly want in one area of their lives and take it to the next leve. We are looking for any and all women who KNOW there is something more, who are FULL of positive energy, despite what may or may not be going on in their lives.

Join us - Tuesday, January 6th from 7-9pm in Edina at The Meta Institute.

Let's take it to the next level of TRUE wealth in all areas together.

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

Three Daily Success Habits that Transformed My Business...and My Life!

2008-10-26T10:41:00.001-05:00

I recently read this article from Patti Keating and I want to share it with you!

As you read, pnder the following questions:
-What are you thinking in terms of your own habits?
-What are you wanting for yourself in creating successful habits?
-What is important to keep in mind going forward to implement successful habits FOR YOU?

E-mail me (emily@journeyconsultingandcoaching.com) with your insights and "ah-ha" moments - I'd love to write them up in a future blog entry and share them with clients and colleagues.

3 Daily Success Habits That Transformed My Business...and My Life!

Over the past several years I have immersed myself in personal development. My business is small business development and marketing. So most of the talks I give are on those subjects. But the more I explored personal growth and development the more I saw the connection between those small business owners who really take off a soar and the level of personal work they have done.

Why?

Your business will grow and expand in direct proportion to your willingness to grow and expand. Actually you must work harder on yourself than any other part of your business.

These are 3 Daily Habits I use that I learned on my personal growth path. I want to share them with you because they have helped to catapult my success.

1. Make Decisions Based Upon Who You Are Becoming Rather Than Who
You Are Now.

Once you know exactly what you want in your life, it's time to live from that place. This includes thinking, acting, dressing and most importantly feeling like the person who has achieved what you are intending. Study those who have reached your goal. Notice their confidence, their willingness to ask for what they want and to say no to what they do not want. Notice their generosity. Put these attributes in place in your own life and you will attract to you the very thing you want.

2. Surround Yourself With People Who Are Performing At The Level You
Want To Perform

Jim Rohn says that you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. (Yikes!) Are you spending time with peole who are complaining about the weather and how broke they are? Add some new friends and peers to your group. Get out and meet people who are making things happen in the world. The best place to find them is at seminars and workshops. Successful people never settle for mediocrity. They invest in themselves and are continuously learning. You must also,. if you want to reach your goals.

3. Make Sure To Create Your Environments To Support Your Bigger Game

We always adapt to our environments. And our environments are always a reflection of who we are on the inside. This ongoing exchange powerfully creates our results. One quick way to expedite change is to makeover your environment. You can do this yourself with a quick check list or hire a professional organizer to assist you. Here is a sample of the check list I use. Once you have completed this test and cleaned up your environments, do a quick daily check in to make sure you are keeping yourself heading toward what you want!

Physical:
Is my car, home and office clutter free?

Are they a bold expression of who I am and the goals I have set for myself?

Do they pass the "I love it" test?

Consciousness:
Do I carefully filter everything I watch, read and listen to?

Have I let go of my limiting beliefs?

Do I have access to the information I need when I want it?

Self:
Do I know your unique talents and strengths?

Do I use them to reach my goals each day?

Am I authentic and confident about who I am?

Do I consider myself worthy to be loved, cared for and nurtured?

Body:
My clothing, hairstyle, eye glasses look great and reflect who I am.

My physical energy is high.

My body is strong and fit.

I am in excellent physical health.

The combination of these 3 simple success habits will help you stay focused on creating your business success and support you in living a joyful life!

E-mail me (emily@journeyconsultingandcoaching.com) with your insights and "ah-ha" moments - I'd love to write them up in a future blog entry and share them with clients and colleagues.

(c) 2008 Patti Keating
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patti Keating, is a Speaker, Success Trainer, and Mindset Mentor. To learn more about her and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.pattikeating.com

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach

What's LUCK got to do with it?

2008-06-20T15:56:00.001-05:00

My hair is on fire!

My world is vibrant and full. I am truly living my god-given life, and luck has absolutely NOTHING to do with it.Truly living your purpose is not about luck - it's about continually expanding and growing.

I attended a recent workshop in Chicago, called Harmonic Wealth Weekend. James Ray lead 500 of us through 30 hours of consciousness-expanding, life-giving work. He also shared a new acronym for luck:
L = Living
U = Under
C = Correct
K = Knowledge

And what is correct knowledge, you ask?

It's about consciously using the ever-present and unchanging laws of the universe. The Law of Perpetual Transmutation of Energy, The Law of Relativitly, The Law of Polarity, The Law of Cause and Effect, The Law of Rhythm, The Law of Gender. It's about understanding how big your mind is, that everything is 99.9999% energy, that energy flows from high to low, and that energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Everything that ever was and ever will be is already created. So what is it that you are focusing your attention on in your life.

How are you using the laws to create the life of your dreams?

As James would say, "When would NOW be a good time to step forward in faith to live your life of limitless possibilities?"

Emily K. Hanka, Holistic Professional Coach, certified Intrinsic ® Coach, Holistic Business/Organizational Coach, Health Coach