Getting ready for the World Domination Summit in Portland includes strategizing on how to keep the peace (in myself).
Using the Natural Professional Matrix, in this video I show you an easy-to-use tool to Keep the Peace (in yourself).
While I’m talking about peace here, you can use it for purpose, passion and peace!
Walking to the cafe this morning, we saw empty chairs lining empty streets in anticipation of the parade that will be passing by later today.
There’ll be marching Presidents (American Presidents of days gone by), service clubs, kids, and I don’t know. I’m not so into the parade scene unless it involves major amounts of percussion, costumes and wild dancing.
But today, a celebration of Independence Day is about so much more than the parade. We have much to be grateful for and…
I want more.
I want freedom from a corrupt banking industry. Freedom from insurance companies. Freedom from assholes. Freedom from bullshit wars. Freedom from petroleum dependency. Freedom from being villainized at airports. Freedom from all that other crap that’s been rightly called into question of late. Freedom from the status quo tainting government, policy and attitude.
I’m not alone. And it’s definitely not too much to ask, my friends.
We are so close. And there are so many efforts and projects full of people wanting the same.
I am also incredibly grateful for the freedom to express myself. Freedom to create my own business. Freedom to design my lifestyle. Freedom to choose my colleagues and partners (and they are awesome!) Freedom to connect with great peeps everywhere through the internet. Freedom to help others on their journey.
We do not have to choose between a functional, healthy society OR the economy. I have full faith in our ability, as a nation, to live authentically, cooperatively and with immense joy.
To this end, I will continue to encourage people to speak their truth and follow their dreams—for these are the people who are making it happen.
You never know when that one more person will be the one to tip the scale into critical mass. And we are soooooo close!
I’m in Susan Piver’s Open Heart Project Practitioner program and she sent this out this morning:
I am basically good.
All beings possess such goodness.
Knowing this, my heart opens.
When my heart opens, the world changes.
Doing a quick, and by no means comprehensive, search for the source of this, one of the top results was a blog post that author and meditation teacher Susan did a year and a half ago (which leads me to believe she is the source!)
Open your heart to change the world.
I am so grateful for this post as it gives voice to my own belief that the most fundamental and important thing I can do to help create a better world is be true to myself. To be good. To engage in a life of Service. To love fiercely and compassionately.
Susan is a beautiful gem in the sea of internet information. She brings wisdom, practicality, and open heart to the table for all to partake of.
For freedom, for You, read her post and if it speaks to you, give yourself the gift of signing up for Susan’s Open Heart Project (it’s free and I get nothing but the joy of knowing someone else will benefit from joining this online meditation community).
You know you’re screwed when you start boring yourself.
I was screwed. The words meant to inspire natural professionals were doing nothing for me.
How to experience a rich life, a fun life, a Great Life. How to live with purpose, passion and peace…
A part of me read those words and said, “Yah yah, sounds good but I’ve heard it all before. But come on, life happens. It has ups, it has downs. Whatever.”
So much so that I wasn’t prepared to dig in my claws, hold my ground and insist, “This is the most important thing ever!”
Which is ever-so-slightly problematic in the Purpose, Passion and Peace Department.
To be all natural professional about it, you could say that I felt something was amiss but couldn’t put my finger on what that was.
And since the Universe unveils what needs to be seen when it needs to be seen, you can imagine my relief and gratitude to stumble upon what seems to have been the missing piece this past week (big bucket of ice dumped on head is more like it).
It’s not like I’ve been way off track or anything. And the unconscious mind, being the sneaky hint dropper that it is, has been going through cases of spray paint just waiting for me to see the writing on the wall.
Oh, dear, now I’m all self-conscious about the build up and whether it’ll be anti-climactic.
Jeez. (And you know that this kind of self-conscious perfectionism is yet another sign that you’re close, oh-so-close to whatever it is that makes your heart sing??)
OK, whereas I’ve been focusing on the end result (Authentic Success! A Rich and Awesome Life!), I’ve been downplaying the beginning state.
In the past we’ve talked about disorganization, clutter, lack of clarity… But these skirt the issue as they are actually symptoms, and not the problem itself.
Now, I’ve hinted at a dark and sordid experience that rocked my world about a decade ago. (No, I’m not going into details here, you’ll have to stick around for the full story.)
Even though I’ve known that there was something about that experience… That it would somehow factor in a really major way… That the story would somehow tie it all together… But how do I talk about it? How do I explain it in a way that makes sense? How do I tie it into my business?
Not-so-sidenote: In case you’ve been in denial as we shift into a more feminine world paradigm, know this to be true: Your Story is the most compelling way to help and connect with your people!!
Last week I had a session with Biz Coach (the very one who triggered the switch from Project Simplify to the Natural Professional six months ago), and my story about that experience came out, in its full emotional glory.
After Coach kindly sat quietly for a moment after my heart-wrenching outburst, he said, “Sometimes language doesn’t do the story justice. What image comes to mind when you think of that experience?”
That was easy and I told him (not ready to share that here).
“And what’s the image of you on the other side, having healed from that experience?”
That was easy, too, and I told him.
“Between those two, that’s Your Space. That’s the journey you help others make.”
OMG. I feel it. I get it.
Now before you get your panties all up in a bunch about my withholding the images, let me share the more important part which is what those images represent.
The first one, the painful one, the part I wish NO ONE to have to ever experience happened because I didn’t believe in myself.
Because of that, I let others walk all over me, didn’t listen to my inner voice, let others take advantage of me, felt completely inadequate for any and everything. Basically, I went through Hell.
This is why I do my work. This is the reason behind the Natural Professional. Because I know, from experience, what happens when we don’t believe in ourselves.
We act small. We cannot reach our potential. We are tight and stingy with our real gifts or we give too much. We pass it on to our kids. We share it with our loved ones. We stay in situations we don’t love or downright detest. We cannot feel free. We continually worry. We make short-sighted and bad decisions. We let others speak for us. We let others tell us what we’re about because we aren’t willing to speak up for ourselves.
And that is such a travesty!!!
Because the world needs You.
**Being Big!**
**Realizing your Potential!**
**Feeling Free!**
**Living Courageously!**
**Helping others!**
**Being joyful and brave!**
This is the most important thing! For this I will dig my claws deep into the ground, snarl at those who try to get in my way, and will fight to the end for those attempting this journey. We will not be defeated.
You shine so brilliantly.
You are so incredibly beautiful.
Your spirit so fiercely strong.
Whatever it is that holds you back, whatever keeps you from believing in yourself, from standing tall and confidently… It’s time to let it go. It’s time to take a stand. It’s time for You.
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Photo credits: Shawn T
Walking down the street this morning at approximately 8:07 a.m. I saw what looked suspiciously like a flying flour tortilla jet across the street about 10 yards ahead of me.
Since I left town a week and a half ago for New York, this has apparently become a dangerous neighborhood.
But a tortilla? You ask. That doesn’t sound too dangerous. It’s not like it’s going to poke someone’s eye out or anything.
Normally I’d agree with you. Soft and floppy, the common flour tortilla isn’t going to make the TSA’s list of homemade weapons that will be cruelly confiscated from unsuspecting passengers anytime soon.
[Sidenote: If you hear an irksome tone here, you may be picking up on my displeasure of having to throw away an unopened bottle of bubble bath intended for my 2-year-old niece’s birthday. Apparently my brain’s neural pathways were either in denial or blissfully recalling pre-TSA days when you weren’t assumed to be a terrorist until proven otherwise.]
Back to our foray of flying food. You should know that this was no ordinary tortilla. It more closely resembled a round saw blade. It looked as though it could cleanly slice the head of a flower right off its stalk.
[In case you don’t know this about me, I’m a staunch supporter of the Flower Anti-Capitation League, an organization dedicated to protecting flowers from 5-year-old boys and rude tourists stealing flowers from my front yard to beautify their motel room.]
As soon as the tortilla hit the curb and settled to the ground (not unlike a quarter twirling on a table does as it slowly looses momentum), two baristas from the cafe from whence it came quickly followed into the street gesticulating and giggling in amazement.
“Did you see how far that went??” one was yelling to the other.
As soon as she saw me, though, her tone immediately became embarrassed. “Oh, no one was supposed to see that. How unprofessional!”
Not exactly the words I would expect to hear from such instigators of flying food (they were trying to see how far the thing would fly frisbee-style).
I laughed and kept on walking, thoughts of “professionalism” popping in my head.
What did she consider to be “unprofessional?” I wondered. My guess was that she was referring to being silly and throwing tortillas, which doesn’t immediately constitute as being unprofessional in my book.
Thus we enter the seemingly (but not) unrelated arena which addresses why people are choosing to risk security in order to grow their own heart-based businesses.
Some of the common complaints I read from corporate employees is that they are tired of not being able to be themselves. They feel stifled and unappreciated. They feel like their soul is withering away.
Check out the very successful Derek Halpern of Social Triggers. He was one of the guys I met and saw speak at Blog World (now called New Media Expo) last week.
You’ll either love or hate his unapologetic personality and he wants it that way. If you don’t Love him, he doesn’t want you around. His opinionated and polarizing persona oozes through all his blog posts and his podcast.
And you know what? It works.
Check out Ash at The Middle Finger Project. She swears like a sailor, constantly talks about vodka and rags on being boring. And I love her.
Personally, I’m still breaking free of the this-is-how-it’s-supposed-to-be-done and this-is-who-I’m-supposed-to-be chains. Getting heavy doses of fearless personality is like a yummy drug for me.
Those of us still feeling the burden of acting in accordance with what we think being professional means based on an outdated perception might wonder how people like Ash and Derek can be so successful when they probably offend just as many people (if not more) than they attract.
Does this mean I’m going to start swearing profusely and intentionally trying to offend you? No. Well, maybe a little.
Here’s the thing. My goal, as is Ash and Derek’s, is to help my peeps do things differently. You read and subscribe because something about the Natural Professional does something for you. You want more of it in your life.
You aren’t going to get that by my playing vanilla. You want the full dosage of natural goodness & soul-full wisdom for work and living.
Right? Right.
OK, but what about the potentially dangerous flying tortilla situation??
Any business worth a lick exists to enhance the life of its customers in some way. Another way of saying this is that it provides value.
In addition to providing value, in the case of the entrepreneurs like those mentioned above, the most important thing is to be true to one’s self. That is soooo natural professional!
In the case of a more complex business involving employees, what I believe to be most important is
Notice the order of these. In other words, being true to one’s self at the expense of the mission is unprofessional.
As a side note, a frequent source of problems I see in businesses is a LACK of mission statement. Hmm, that’d be a good subject for a post or video, eh?
Coming back to our frisky baristas, if throwing tortillas across the street to see how far they’d fly enhances the mission of the cafe, then in my book one’s professionalism isn’t called into question.
Truthfully, I don’t have a strong opinion on this particular situation. It wasn’t actually dangerous (except for me, it was a quiet, empty street). They were having fun, and as long as they weren’t neglecting customers to carry out this little experiment, I think ultimately, happy employees translate to better customer service.
(This does, of course, completely bag the question as to why they had a board-like tortilla in their possession in the first place. Let’s just leave that as one of life’s little mysteries, shall we?)
We’re in a time of personal and business brands. Be true to you. Unapologetically. Boldly. Luxuriously. And then rock your clients with such awesome value that they can’t help but say fabulous stuff about you to everyone they meet.
Do you agree with this take on professionalism? Why or why not? Comment below!
I’m writing you from New York, JFK to be precise. This week is the Blog World Conference and yours truly will be in attendance.
There are all kinds of folks here who are “famous” in the blogging world: Chris Brogan and Brian Clark are two who I’m particularly impressed with. Human values-based business are at the core of their projects.
From the Natural Professional persepective, the people here who’ve “made it” big like Brogan and Clark, are those who have worked their butts off, have dedicated huge amounts of time and effort to growing their biz.
Since this seems to be what’s required–you don’t grow an empire working two hours a day–what does this mean for the person who desires purpose, passion and peace?
Which brings me to my intentions for the week.
1. To be as conscious about being a natural professional as possible. This means I’ll check in regularly to ascertain whether I’m in my heart space or not, and if not, to do something to get back in it.
2. To talk with people, and hopefully get video clips, soulfull and sustainable work.
3. To post short Natural Professional Reporting on BlogWorld videos to Youtube over the week. Here’s the first one from the airport last night:
4. Have FUN!!!!!!!
Getting ready for the World Domination Summit in Portland includes strategizing on how to keep the peace (in myself). Using the Natural Professional Matrix, in this video I show you an easy-to-use tool to Keep the Peace (in yourself). While I’m talking about peace here, you can use it for purpose, passion and peace!
Walking to the cafe this morning, we saw empty chairs lining empty streets in anticipation of the parade that will be passing by later today. There’ll be marching Presidents (American Presidents of days gone by), service clubs, kids, and I don’t know. I’m not so into the parade scene unless it involves major amounts of […]
You know you’re screwed when you start boring yourself. I was screwed. The words meant to inspire natural professionals were doing nothing for me. How to experience a rich life, a fun life, a Great Life. How to live with purpose, passion and peace… A part of me read those words and said, “Yah yah, […]
Walking down the street this morning at approximately 8:07 a.m. I saw what looked suspiciously like a flying flour tortilla jet across the street about 10 yards ahead of me. Since I left town a week and a half ago for New York, this has apparently become a dangerous neighborhood. But a tortilla? You ask. […]
I’m writing you from New York, JFK to be precise. This week is the Blog World Conference and yours truly will be in attendance. There are all kinds of folks here who are “famous” in the blogging world: Chris Brogan and Brian Clark are two who I’m particularly impressed with. Human values-based business are at […]
