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I recently spent 2 weeks in the woods just in the last month.

from may 25th-ish to june 11th/ 15th ish

I was gone. I was cracking up and thinking of ways to just get out of my life. I was super down.

In the middle of economic down times for me... I chose to chuck it and go to a cabin owned by a couple I know. I took some spritual books, business books and one art book _ the artist's way_ and proceeded to "figure out my life"

I went into the 2 weeks with that intent.

and I have found a shift happening in just the last 2 weeks.

To make some very long stories short... I have shifted - big time.

I know what I want to feel and experience on a regular basis. I know where I want to take my business and personal life. I know what the most important things in life to me really are.

I have renewed my faith in life and myself as well as the good of all humans.

I really really "got" that all this "reality" is molded and shifted by me and it's time to take stock, make a plan and let her rip. I got back to my own inner wisdom.

A lot of what I did was sit down with my schedule, figure out what I was always thinking about and using it to figure out what was always important to me. I got clear on all the messes in my life that needed cleaning. I was reminded of what I really loved about my life.

I got to know what was really special about me. It was beautiful. a challenge. but beautiful.

I wrote in my journal, kept things simple.

From this time away, I know what standing my ground feels and looks like.

I have total confidence in myself. I used to be so easily swayed by others advice, lives or opinions but now I just continue to trust myself and let go of what others say.

Faith in life was renewed.

I called it my "2-week long intermission between 2 distinctly different chapters of my life"

and the new, polished, more powerful me steps forward with unfailing confidence and gratitude.

I didn't read the whole darn thing but one thing caught my eye...

vip invites

if someone I really like personally invites me to their thing... and it doesn't sound all sales-y, they like, really friggin want me there because they just dig me and are excited about me

and its totally genuine...

I'll move heaven and earth to be there.

reschedule stuff

move things around.

make it happen in my schedule.

great event and a great venue to support. Good for lunch after or breakfast before.

spot-on type of event

well mediated

and grounded

in facilitating people to finding their own paths and truths

while also getting a ton of useful, experienced as well as intuitive information.

with a strictly business focus.

can just say...

oh yeah!

I don't care who you are - you will get good information from this group. it's mastery

Dude... I take myself very seriously.

and so should everyone else!

in fact - fun and jokes and laughter should be outlawed. banned! this is a disgrace to the world as we know it!! you people are having too much fun!
what would your mother say if she saw you now?

this clown nose business is crazy!!! just nuts!

insane!

does my picture look like you could "clown nose" it? huh? HUH? nope!
no way! not here!

I'm going to the library and sit in a corner and be serious! yeah! so there.
:P

insane clown posse! what is the world coming to?

I think the best way to get good sources of clients is to create real relationships with them.

There's a challenge in this as health care practitioners are often immersed in their own businesses and practices that they can't see easily past it.

I find the genuine, real and honest connection works the best. Be yourself and be bold and lay it on the line... say to the person you want a referal from to give it to you strait. You basically want them to think of YOU as someone who can help their clients.

That could be a combo of personal chemistry and flow with the doctor in question as well as how much you are getting in their consciousness.

You've got to be really really clear about what you want from them and be very bold in asking them if they can give it to you. Look at all the nitty gritty like location or your technique or what.

If you can't go the personal connection and chemistry route - them go for the uber-professional massage therapist route and send material about yourself and your practice to their office ALL THE TIME. Send them articles and newletters. Visit the office phsically.

You got to get in their heads. You have to think of ways you can be on their minds when they think of the ailments of their clients.

big things could be monthly chair gigs in the waiting room. staff and office appreciation chair gigs.

medium sized things would be your sweet-looking marketing materials sent to their office. Always stating clearly how your massage can help, what it can help, how to find you and maybe some citchy little piece of massage advice thrown in.

Send personal emails to the doc saying hello, how are you. Always check up on the relationship and say "hey, I have noticed you have not sent me any clients, is there any way I could help you think of me when you are helping your clients?"

heck - tell them you are in need of cash flow, pure and simple: "hey would you mind sending some clients my way - I'm getting slow and I could really use the financial support of a more bookings"

see if they respond. see HOW they respond. The next thing to consider is making new contacts ALL the TIME. meet new practitioners, reach out, ask for what you want and follow up.

Massage therapists often have the reputation of being flaky - show them they can rely on you by following up QUICKLY.

Send newsletter emails to all the staff of the office - short messages on how massage is great for such and such along with a case study - not more than a few paragraphs, contact info and always get permission to send stuff.

it's trickle affect. These guys are friggin busy. They have a billion things to consider everytime they see a client and you just have to get into their heads and figure out how to get YOU to come to their minds when they are seeing their clients.

how about the magic of a referal pad of paper that has your logo and contact info along with blank spaces for client name, number of massages and diagnostic codes, pip claim codes and other such nonsense.

-or just a plain pad of paper with your logo at the top - that says "massage referal" at the top. you can give this to them to help them keep you in mind. imagine how powerful it would be to have a referral notepad sitting on the desk of their examination room and it has your logo at the top with all your contact info.

it's the little things. just build them up over time.

overall - I would say - come across as a real person and not just the identity of LMP. you just get lost in the shuffle if you do that. Make an impression and look for good chemistry. give up on the contact if they seem cold, flaky, looking down on you or just blowing smoke up your butt. check your gut - does this person seem to really be hearing me, do they seem truly interested in me and my work or are they just getting a free massage out of me?

HA!

simple

I don't want to look like an idiot.

Plus - I have had ideas but I often stop myself because I get overwhelmed with how to make it perfect and relevant so it will get posted.

I would rather not go thru the trouble only to find the content wasn't suitable.

I have, for example, thought of posting articles about all my massage experience and what I know of the industry.

I think some of my biggest mistakes have been burning bridges and getting my emotions involved in my dealings with people.

One of my biggest mistakes as far as logistics go was hiring the bookkeeper that I did. The whole reason I hired a bookkeeper was to end the stress I have around the whole "books" issue. The situation pretty much sucker punched me up you-know-what and I have been dealing with stress times 3000 million-cogillion all in a matter of a few months. (still waiting for the situation to resolve, in fact)

But any conversation about mistakes always leads me immediately into "lesson's learned."

I really see the universe responds, directly, to how we think it will - along with the beliefs we hold.

Upon writing this - in examination of the mistakes I have made - I have, naturally, seen the way to make a wiser choice in the future, stay away from such-n-such type of deal, contract or whatever... easy, right?

not only that - I have also seen that the WAY I believe is also manifested thru the type of results I get.

My above mentioned expample, for example, leads me to consider

WHY I chose to hire A bookkeeper at all.

I was afraid of stress... I didn't want to "deal" with it.

Since I BELIEVE that the "Why" behind any choice will effect the results of my choice - I also see the lesson of:

"don't make choices based on fear, laziness or qualities I feel in my body and in my gut are childish, immature and passive or submissive (in the not-good-clean-fun way) aka - not taking responsibility for things that are important to my business/life"

Choices I make in business that have the underlying WHY of these sort of qualities - will inevitably kick me in the you-know-what.

So I learn. The deeper I look for something GOOD to learn - the deeper I see me self in relation to Attracting the bad, crappy and mistake-like results that I get in my life.

Are these mistakes? or are they the things that I attract into my life by my thoughts and choices?

The trick, I think, is to remember about the situation:

what it felt* like,

*WHY I made the choices, as well as the choices themselves

And make sure I don't hit the repeat button. That I make choices that even FEEL different.

Mistakes are all about injury and healing. So dealing with a mistake is like an opportunity to look into the breaker box of my soul, unscrew some stuff and rework the wiring entirely. I usually receive counseling with Rachel Whalley or Teri Chiacci, journal, get a massage, vent to a friend and write down goals for the future.

I'm really taking up tons of space here but how often to I post, huh?

I think mistakes are the spice to life. The Babe was called the homerun king but he was also the strikeout king because he made lots of mistakes. Apparently he swung at everything... which is a great philosophy of life to consider.

Great wisdom of the day: do not hit the repeat button - and - if at all possible - remove the repeat button entirely. Use therapy and of course... get a massage (shameless plug inserted there).

I can't come this week. I am pretty sick and taking the rest of the week off. :(

sorry guys! sierra

Good stuff! I need to go to work on these suggestions right away!

to just add more thought - I don't know about your branding and identity tactics and strategies but I tend to think of those things as rather intimate work.

You have your work cut out for you. It's almost like soul-searching to come up with a brand and identity that really speaks the truth in a way that resonates with the audience.

it took years to get it out of me and, of course, one must leave room for growth, change and evolution of identity.

Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god... you say "YES!!!!"

-from ghostbusters, the movie

branding and marketing... yes they both do, indeed have some baggage.

YEs! come up with new words!

I think I start to snore and/or get nervous and tired when I hear both of those words.

They have a history of being something that:

*other people know how to do better

*is totally complex to do so you might as well give up trying to do either yourself

*has all sorts of public interface aspects (witch is totally scary for lots of folks - I mean - if we get all blown up in public... how long till some dirt is uncovered?)

Effective tools; marketing and Branding.

Seems to me like one is putting on the package

the other: making said package "the thing you should never ever live without"

so right there you have this whole resistance to being told what to think.

and man I don't want to tell people what to think.

yes

come up

with new words

that describe the process of

1. looking behind the scenes...

2.assessing the truth of the business/products/services etc,

3.creating the simple honest and intelligently perfect presentation for it

1. finding the best fit as far as the target audience

2. and then the implementation of "let her rip" marketing ideas that work deeply and effectively for all parties involved in the business venture in question. (best to have ideas that create the most return for the least amount of effort - I would figure)

Anyway - i should probably edit this comment to make it run smoother but that's my general opinion of your presented question. :)

lookin forward to meetin you mr. travis. :)

ok!

New picture to replace a really old antique picture of me that I used long time ago...

now very new! yay!

and I'm gonna get a new hair do next week.

I'll have to take a new picture again! :)

my birthday is the 19th of october

the day of prudent economics

how about that?

dear god, I'm random

Best pet sitter in the world

her name is MILA and her number is:

206 384 7179