Archive for Spirit in Your Business
What is Prosperity to You?
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“Prosperity is not just having things. It is the consciousness that attracts the things. Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just having money or things. Poverty is a way of living and thinking, and not just a lack of money or things.“ - Eric Butterworth
WHAT IS PROSPERITY TO YOU?
We have been having exceptional weather for us here in Ireland – snow, ice, flooding, water shortage. The news is full of recession, hardship, people being very angry with the government.
We’ve been unable to get out of the house for days on end, and haven’t had water for a few days. The lack of water threw me for a bit I must admit – it seems I have a great attachment to clean hair, and until I found a way to wash it using buckets etc, I found it hard to function! I realised that in the greater scheme of things this wasn’t a great hardship, but it was the focus of my discontent for a few hours! However, for the rest of the time, I have felt very PROSPEROUS throughout this period. I have had such a feeling of gratitude for:
the blue skies
the beauty of the snow
having a warm home
having a house full of food
the internet
having great family and neighbours……… and much, much more
The main thing that I have been grateful for is because I work from home and for myself, I have been able to walk with my dogs every day in the snow and to see them bounding through the snow and over the ground. And still work!!! I was thinking on one of the walks of the years I worked in London and had to spend hours getting to and from work to get to work in the snow, now I just get up and go to my computer. Arrange my work to give me time to see friends, go to the beach, walk the dogs, cook nutritious meals – and still earn a good income. If that’s not prosperity, I don’t know what is.
I’m not a millionaire, I don’t have unlimited resources, I work very hard (sometimes much longer hours that when I was employed) – but I have a sense of prosperity that I didn’t have 10 years ago.
I think a lot of the reason why, is the increasing sense of gratitude I have developed – through practice. I’m not going to lie to you and say that I feel grateful for everything all the time – I don’t always manage it in the moment. For instance , initially, I wasn’t at all grateful when the water went off for a few days. What I find happens now is that I am less comfortable when I feel that I am complaining, and I just don’t want to stay there for too long. I used to be a lot more comfortable being angry about the system and injustice etc, so was happier to stay in that state. Nowadays, it doesn’t take long for me to choose to go into a more grateful state and to see what God might have been trying to tell me in the situation I was complaining about. (in the water instance, I became much more conscious of the privilege of having water arriving in a tap, hot and cold, most of the year – not many people in the world have that).
All of this helps me to feel more prospserous. To be aware of I have, rather than what I don’t have.
Do you feel prosperous now? What would help you to feel more prosperous? What can you do in the next 24 hours to help you to feel more prosperous?
Be Grateful for Your Life
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the best ways that I know to do raise your vibrational level, is to
be GRATEFUL for what you have. If you can develop
the habit of really showing gratitude for what you
have in your life, you’ll find a massive difference in
your vibrational level and what you attract in your life.
Even if it seems that there is not much to be grateful
for, you will find something – even if it is that you are
breathing. If I’m finding it hard to think of anything to
be grateful for, I find this Nina Simone song,
a great inspiration.
What music, pictures, memories bring you a sense of
gratitude if you are finding it hard to feel grateful?
Like all new habits, it may seem strange at first, but
the more you practise it, the more natural it will seem.
What I do, is to write down 10 things every night that
I am grateful for. I really feel the gratitude and let myself
fully experience it.
You could commit to writing down each night for the
next week, 10 things that you are grateful for in your life.
How do I Build My Own Website? – free call with Christina Hills this Thursday.
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I started to work more on-line, I knew that I would need a website. This all felt very daunting to me, because at 50 years+ I knew nothing about web-design or anything other than basic word-processing at all.
I made many mistakes along the way, and I want to help you to avoid them!
In the beginning, I paid someone to set up a site for me, but it never really looked as I wanted it to, and it always took weeks for any of the changes that I wanted to be made. This was very frustrating, as I was learning about my business myself, and wanted to change things regularly.
I found this so frustrating that I tried to set up a website myself using Front Page. I found free tutorials on-line, and spent weeks struggling about how to do things. I paid people to do the things that I couldn’t manage, like making a header and adding links. I must have spent hundreds of hours slogging over the computer, getting a headache – and I still didn’t like the design and look of my site.
Eventually, I took the step which I wish I had taken a year earlier – it would have saved me a lot of worry and time. I found a teacher, and learnt how to do things properly!
I learnt to use WordPress – which is so easy to use. I have my blog there, and also everything that I need for my website. I can add pictures, images, videos – in a couple of minutes. There are so many themes to choose from, you’re bound to find one that you like. I used to think that WordPress is just for blogging, but I have discovered that it is so much more versatile. I can make changes very easily, I don’t have to ask anyone, or wait weeks to have things happen.
So if you want to build your own website, the way that YOU want it, and to make changes as and when you want to, I would really suggest that you look at learning how to use WordPress.
If you do decide to start simply with WordPress – it is advisable to start with WordPress.org and find your own hosting company. This will give you much more control over what you can do on your site, and much more versatility. You can start by setting up a blog, and then seeing how you can use it more as a website, by using the Pages.
You can do a lot on your own, but you may want to think of finding a teacher who will show you how to get the most from WordPress.
The teacher I found was Christina Hills. I had heard her recommended very highly by other people, and I can understand why now that I have trained with her. I wish I had taken her course a year earlier!! She is an outstanding teacher, very committed to her students. Christina is offering a free call this Thursday, 11th Feb 2010 at 2pm EST, so you can see for yourself You can get the details here http://www.bestwordpressteacher.com .
Know your market
Posted by: | Comments“Who is your market?” was a question I was often asked when I was working with coaches when I was setting up my business – and one that I never felt very comfortable with.
In the first place, it took me a long time to time to come around to the fact that I was running a business – I had a “practice”, I saw people, but I couldn’t see it as a business. Consequently, I was often worried about money, because I wasn’t very efficient or business like about what I was doing. After several years of resistance, I now run my coaching practice as a business. I can honestly say that none of the things that I feared have happened – I still care very much about the people I work with, I work to my standards of integrity and I haven’t turned into a raging capitalist!! What I do have is a much more relaxed attitude to money, a lot less anxiety, more help in the areas I need it – and I can serve more people with the time I have.
The second resistance I had was to seeing people as a “market” – it seemed like it was demeaning people in some way. I wanted to offer what I had to everyone. That was great in some ways, but there were definitely people who I preferred to work with and who seemed to resonate more with the way I work. When I started to work on-line, it became apparent to me that I would need to focus on working with a particular group of people – if only to make it easier to make all the decisions that I had to make. When I started off I was always changing direction – I’d ask people what they thought about something, and be influenced by what they thought and slightly change my focus. This lead to a lot of time wasting, worry and expense as I changed things around again.
About a year ago, I finally realised that I wasn’t spending enough of my time doing the things I love – coaching individuals and groups – because I wasn’t focussed enough on who I wanted to work with.
So now I know that I work with women 30+ who are on a conscious spiritual journey and wanting to either: a) find their life purpose b) grow their business in a spiritual way c) become their own boss, or d) increase their sense of prosperity. This has helped me immensely, as I now know who I am talking to and I can really focus on these areas.
Something happened today that really brought home to me what a relief it is to “know who my market is”. I am working with my VA, to design some new graphics. I had a couple I was looking at and emailed them to a friend, for her opinion on the changes I was thinking of. Whilst she was looking at them, her 23 yr old son came in and she asked him to take a look. He didn’t like anything about them!! Especially the name “Good Vibrations Coaching.” He didn’t think it sounded serious enough for coaching and a few other reasons. I felt great, because I could listen to his opinion, but not feel that I had to have a response to it or to change because of it. He’s not my market!! I have had a lot of positive feedback from people who are my market, and they’re the people who matter to me. It was a great lesson.
So if you don’t know who your market is – whatever it is that you are doing – start getting clear now. It will really help you in your decision making in all aspects of your business.
Flexibilty
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I was planning on spending a few hours working on the internet, adding some things to my website. I find that it really helps me to spend blocks of time doing similar tasks, rather than doing them a bit of each every day. So for instance, I write several articles at one sitting, and do several recordings at one sitting. This means that I am in the swing of the technology and programme that I am using, when I go from one thing to another, I always seem to be starting from scratch, and learning the process again. It’s a much more efficient use of my time. So, yesterday, I was all geared up and excited about doing the things that I had been planning.
I started and things were going ok and I was making good progress. Then my internet connection started playing up. It was coming and going, dropping and re-starting. Pages were taking ages to open, and it was becoming very frustrating. I could feel my energy dropping and my irritation growing.
I looked outside the window and was watching my dogs playing around, and the birds flying backwards and forwards in the bushes. Not getting irritated or frustrated by anything. Initially, I was reluctant to give up my vision of the day – but then I realised that I could just change things slightly. I had no plans for the evening, so I could see how the internet was then, and see if I could get the things done in a more relaxed way.
So, I left the computer and my “plans” for the day and went and made a large pot of vegetable soup and then took the dogs out for a long walk. We had a great time. All my frustration and irritation left me – how can you feel frustrated and irritated when you are watching 4 dogs running so joyfully!! I walked, listening to a great talk by Christina Hills on my ipod, and came home to a beautiful pot of soup.
That evening the internet was up and running again, and I got done what I had wanted to. I know that if I had stuck to my plan, I would have got it done, but my vibrational level would definitely have been lowered and probably those around me would have suffered also from my frustration.
Being flexible, let me do what I had planned whilst keeping my vibrational level high and giving me the bonus of a great walk!
I really appreciate the gift of having been led to do that.
Clear Clutter to Raise Your Vibrational Level
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are working and living in a place which you find
visually appealing, functions well and is healthy, your
vibrational level will be raised. On the other hand if your
environment is depressing to you, cluttered and toxic,
your vibrational level will be lowered. Of course, there
are many degrees of all of these states.
1. VISUAL APPEAL
How do you find your environment? Do you love to be in
it or does it depress you?
You may have some limits of what you can do to change it-
money, landlords, bosses etc. But there will be some things
which you can do easily. Bring in some uplifting colours with
cushions, swathes of fabric – easily found in thrift stores.
Having plants or fresh flowers can help. Changing the layout
of furniture, so that you have easy access to all areas. Covering
up any areas that are an eye sore.
2. FUNCTIONABILITY
Can you easily use the space for what it is for? For instance, can you
find the clothes you want to wear today easily, or do you have to
go through your favourite dress from 1988 and other things to
get to them? Is your closet full of clothes that no longer
fit you? Do your children have too many clothes?
If so, sort them out! Ask yourself – Have I worn/used this in the
last year? If not, do I absolutely love it?
If the answer is no to both questions – pass it on.
My friends and I regularly meet to have clothes swops – we all bring
clothes or other small items we no longer use and anyone can take
what they want. The rest is bagged up and goes to charity.
We have great fun and it keeps things flowing.
You can do this in all areas of your life.
If you have closets you can’t get into – sort them out, asking the same
questions as above. Be careful about keeping things because they may come
in useful one day!
You don’t have to do everything at once. Start with one drawer, one shelf,
one box. That’s all you have to do to make a start.
3. HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
Make sure that you keep your environment as healthy as you can. Open the
windows regularly to let fresh air circulate.
Avoid using plug-in air fresheners – they are pumping chemicals
into the air al the time.
Turn off electrical items when you are not using them.
Plants can help to clean the air of toxins. The following have been
found to be beneficial.
Areca palm
Reed palm
Dwarf date palm
Boston fern
Janet Craig dracaena
English ivy
Australian sword fern
Peace Lily
Rubber plant
Weeping fig
What can you do today to increase the vibrational level in
your work or office space?
Where do you have too much clutter in your life? What could you do to clear it?
Chose one small thing -and DO IT.
What Is the Current State of Your Business?
Posted by: | CommentsI’m going to ask you a few questions, to help to focus you on what is actually happening with your business at the moment.
When I say business, I am referring to anything from which you wish to make a profit – it could be sales, services, health, art, craft, music, coaching – anything at all by which your aim is to make a profit.
The answers are for your eyes only, so be truthful. I know that 5 years ago I would have been embarrassed to answer these questions, even to myself, because I knew that I was living in denial of the reality of how things were – and I didn’t want to face the truth. As the saying goes “The truth will set you free.”
If all is well in your business, you’ll have that confirmed to you. If all is not ok, you’ll have a lot clearer idea of what is happening, and you’ll be able to take action to change things.
So take a deep breath, and answer as best you can.
| YES | NO | NEED MORE INFORMATION | |
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| 15.I believe that my business is of value to the world. |
I am sure that there are some points of interest in that exercise for you. It is one that I like to do from time to time as an inventory of how I am with my business.
ACTIONS
Write down the main things that you have learnt from doing this exercise.
If you’re happy with what the answers showed you – brilliant, just keep on doing what you’re doing.
If it has highlighted areas that you need to change – commit to one thing that you can do to start to change things.
For more ideas as to how to grow your business, you may want to subscribe to my blog, so that you can receive notice of future posts, which will give ideas on how to develop your business with spirit.
Or sign up at the top of the page for my free report – “Grow Your Business with Spirit.”
The Importance of Choice and Action
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I was talking about how I changed m mood and my vibration by using my voice, and singing and having fun playing around with the different sounds I could make.
I was so inspired by the change I found in myself that I decided to embrace the day as summer, whatever the weather was like and to make it a holiday, even though I had some work to do. So I took my camper van down to the beach and turned it into my mobile office for a few hours.
I know that I’m really lucky
a) to live near to a beach.
b) to work for myself and to be able to work where I choose and
c) to have a camper van
This hasn’t always been the case. I was brought up by the sea, but lived way for a long time. Somehow though, a part of me never felt right, being away from the Atlantic. In 1991, I left a job I loved to move to Ireland, to be by the ocean again.
I worked in a variety of jobs – none of which I loved as much as the one I’d left, but was very happy to be in a place I loved. I was also learning new skills, doing more self-inquiry and moving towards being self-employed and working with people in the ways that really inspired me, and to work the hours that suited me.
Last year, I realised that I had been saying for years that I wanted a camper van – and I decided that I’d better get one – I couldn’t bear to still be saying it in another years time! I had been looking at the possibilities over the years and knew what I wanted. As soon as I decided, the one I wanted turned up on Ebay for a great price! She’s 20 years old, and I love her. I’ve had great fun having tea with friends and family, visiting new places. But yesterday was the best! I found a spot where there was free WiFi and worked and made calls whilst right by the side of the ocean. I took part via the phone in a great call I subscribe to with Amy Scott Grant on clearing limiting beliefs – all in m y mobile office. Then I went for a great swim in the surf with my teenage nieces before having a takeaway in the van with friends and a long evening walk on the beach!!!
I was, and still am, SO full of gratitude, I could burst. I am also amazed, as always how dramatically things change once I change my vibration!
Although I know how lucky I am – I also know that I made choices and took action to bring about the luck I have. If I had made different choices and taken different actions – who knows where I might be now.
How can you turn up your vibration today?? What choices and actions can you take today to take you closer to where you want to go?
What Is Your Unique Role in the Universe?
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the things that I have found really helpful in both my own spiritual growth and my business growth has been ACCEPTANCE. Especially self-acceptance – the hardest the find often! I can still remember vividly the feeling I had when I had my astrological birth chart read for the first time – a huge feeling of relief washed over me, as I realised that “this is just who I am” - I don’t have to be like everyone else, or to excel in the things that other people excel in – I am Christine Jenkins, the only person on earth born at exactly the same time and in the same place and circumstances that I was. I am unique – which means I have a unique gift to bring to the world. I have my set of unique strengths and challenges. It is up to me to be the best ME that I can be – not an inferior copy of someone else.
More recently, I had a greater understanding of this when I was working with my spiritual coach. We were receiving some guidance and I got the image of myself as a single cell in the greater orgasm of the Universe. As every cell in our bodies, each has a vital function to play. Cells are separate, but interdependent on each other. They will compensate if other cells aren’t functioning as well as they can – but ultimately, this will stress the system. The whole system will function at its best if each individual cell is working to its strengths and being the best it can be. So, all I have to do is to be the best cell that I can, doing my unique task. This really helped me to understand the struggle I have often felt between my individual needs the inter-connectedness of us all.
This has helped me so much. I have a much greater understanding of myself – as I am. I can see the skills and talents that I have innately. I can see the challenges I have and the areas in which I could function more efficiently. Knowing that by improving my functioning I am also improving the functioning of the whole of humanity gives me a great impetus. I have stopped becoming as angry as I used to at the things that I see as being wrong in the world. It’s not that I no longer care – but I now know the best way that I can help the whole of our organism to function as well as possible.
It is also up to me to deal with my own waste and negativity. We have tended to give other people in society the job of dealing with our waste – the prisons, streets and hospitals are filled with people to whom we have assigned this role. Once we accept that we are all one, we have to learn to love both the “acceptable” side of ourselves and the”unacceptable”. Thich Nhat Hanh’s poem below, really helps me to understand that, so I would like to share it with you.
It is also up to me to deal with my own waste and negativity. We have tended to give other people in society the job of dealing with our waste – the prisons are filled with people to whom we have assigned this role. Once we accept that we are all one, we have to learn to love both the “acceptable” side of ourselves and the”unacceptable”. Thich Nhat Hanh’s poem below, really helps me to understand that, so I would like to share it with you.
What is your role in the universe?
Are you fulfilling your function as well as you can?
Are you taking on a role for others in society that they are choosing not to take? Do you want to keep doing this, or is it time to relinquish this now?
What parts of yourself do you try to ignore? How can they find a positive expression?
What actions can you take to really make sure that your cell is functioning as well as it can?
How do the choices you make affect you?
Posted by: | CommentsI was just watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with some friends who are visiting.
I was really struck the final quote from Professor Dumbledore - “We are not defined by our abilities, but by the choices we make.”
It set me thinking about the choices that I make, and what they say about me. In the past I definitely made a lot of choices that didn’t seem to be the best for me – but as I look back, I can see the great lessons that I learned from some of those experiences. It is from some of the more difficult experiences of my life that I have learnt some of the greatest lessons. Yet I can see if I had not learnt those lessons, and had carried on making the same choices that I had before, I would be experiencing life in very different ways now – I would be drinking too much, partying too hard and not giving myself the time and space to reflect and to deepen my spiritual connection. It takes practice and constant choice to do the things which I know nurture me in deep ways.
I don’t know what I might have been and done if I had made different choices when I was younger. I was watching some of the World Athletics Championships over the weekend, which is always really inspiring to me. I’m not sure that I did have the ability to be an athlete – there isn’t much to suggest that I did! – but watching those athletes, I was really aware of the choices that they made, that got them to where they are today. They would have to decide to get up and train whether they felt like it or not, to forgo some social events to train and to make choices about what to eat etc. They would also have to decide about whether they would use drugs – how that fits in with their personal standards of integrity. Whether winning at all costs is what matters to them, or whether it is something else that motivates.
One of the big areas in which I am challenged in the choices I make is in the area of health and fitness. I struggle to make healthy choices about the food that I eat and the amount of exercise that I take. I know what is best for me and what suits my system best, but I don’t always make the optimal choices. This affects me in many ways. I am heavier than I would like to be, and not as fit or supple as I could be. I can make up lots of stories about why this is, but basically it is down to the choices I make. The choices about what to eat, how I spend my time etc. If I am committed to changing, I need to make different choices. If I keep doing the same thing, I will keep getting the same results.
I find it really helpful to ask myself strong, empowering questions when I want to bring change about.
Questions such as – How can I improve the choices I make about the food I eat? What has worked for me when I have felt fitter in the past? What exercise do I really enjoy doing? What foods do I love, which I know are beneficial to me? How can I eat well when I am travelling? etc.
It also really helps me to have a partner to work with – either a friend, a coach or group – to whom I am accountable. If I commit tom doing something, I also check in with them as to whether I have achieved it or not.
Shifting some of the beliefs that I have held unconsciously about health and fitness has also helped me greatly to raise my vibrational level in this area, and to motivate me to make the changes that I want to.
In what areas of your life are you making choices that don’t support you being where you want to be in your life right now?
What can you do to improve the choices you make?
Do you have any beliefs in place about this area of your life that could be influencing the choices that you make? How can you shift those beliefs?
What choices do you now commit to making? Who are you accountable to in regard to these choices?
