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Joanna Lindenbaum

A Foundational Formula for Marketing ANYTHING

May 18th, 2012 by Joanna

No matter what you’re wanting to gain visibility for – your next new program, your book, your private client offerings, your clothing line – it’s VITAL that you market yourself and your offering in one way or another.

And, whether you let people know about your stuff via your website, blog, social media, prospect calls, inquiry letters, or presentations, you want to make sure that you are incorporating an effective strategy into your marketing. If you aren’t using a strategy in your marketing that really connects you and your target audience, then chances are you’re having a lot of trouble attracting in new clients, new publishers, new boutiques to sell your clothing line, etc.

I want to share with you today a highly effective and easy marketing formula I use and teach all of my students and clients. I use it every single day in my own business, whether I’m writing web copy or giving a teleclass or speaking with a prospective client.

The thing that makes this formula so effective is that it allows you to connect fully and deeply with your ideal client/target audience. And after all, the key to good marketing is about making an authentic, intimate connection with your prospects.

Let me walk you through this foundational marketing formula step by step:

1) Connect your prospect to what’s missing in her life : Your prospect/target audience is looking to you to help fill a void or bridge a gap in her life that she can’t fill herself. For example, if you’re a health coach, your ideal client’s void might be that they are exhausted all the time, or that they feel terrible about the way that they look. The best way to connect in with this person is to let them know, through your copy and words, that you get it. Instead of avoiding the pain they’re in, gracefully name it or ask them about it.

2) Connect your prospect to what she wants for her life: Once you’ve made space for your prospect to see what’s missing for her and how it feels, then you want to get her really connected to the possibilities that could open for her. By doing so, she’ll not only feel even more connected to you and that you understand her, but she’ll also then be in a position to get excited about making a change in her life. So to continue the example of the health coach, your ideal client might want to feel energized or beautiful or active or in full well-being. No matter what marketing avenue you are using, you want to really activate your prospect’s vision and create the space for her to get excited about possibilities for her health and well-being moving forward.

3) Let Your Prospect know how you can help them get from where they are now to where they want to be: Now that you’ve really helped your prospect understand what’s missing for them currently, as well as what possibility they envision for their life, then it’s time to get really clear and specific and tell them how your product or offering can help them get from where they are to where they want to be. You’ll want to talk about or list all the ways that you can help them specifically.

4) Make a Powerful Call to Action: This is the final step. It’s the step that so many leaders and entrepreneurs skip over, and it is so, so important. You want to clearly and confidently invite your prospect, potential publisher, potential buyer, etc. into a next step with you. Perhaps the call to action is a connection call or perhaps it’s an invitation to buy your service or join your newsletter community or to have lunch with you. Whatever it is, state the invitation clearly with as much detail as possible.

There you have it! I’ve given you the quick, down and dirty version here. There are, of course, many more details to consider and add in, but you’ve got the structure now.

I hope you start using it right away!

Your Soulful Coaching Call to Action

It is definitely an art and a skill to craft effective, soulful marketing materials…and it is so necessary to do. So if you’ve got a soul-centered project that you’d like to put out into the world and you would like powerful support around creating your marketing and visibility plan, get in touch at info@soulfulcoach.com, and we’ll get you set for a 45-minute, complimentary and private Intuition Activation call so you can get crystal clear on your visibility needs and how a Soulful Coaching program might be able to help you.

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Posted in Money, Productivity, Success | No Comments »

Love and Networking: Perfect Together

April 23rd, 2012 by Joanna

love_and_working_togetherThis month I’ve been immersed in conversations about love and reflecting on how love can open doorways to success, fulfillment, and joy. Love can even help create networking opportunities that might not be there otherwise. You may be wondering, what does love have to do with my soul-centered project or business? Well, a lot. And especially the kind of love you show yourself.

What is Love, Anyway?

I’m not talking about giving yourself a little pat on the back once in a while or treating yourself to a brownie when you’re feeling blue. I’m talking about deep, authentic self-acceptance that comes from a place of compassion and understanding.

None of us is perfect, but maybe you beat yourself up about your perceived failures or lesser qualities. Maybe your inner critic is at full volume most of the time, telling you that you don’t have the talent, you don’t look the right way, you don’t know enough about success to ever find it. You keep telling yourself that you’ll never reach your goals. In short, you are not being loving and nurturing to yourself at all, and this is hindering your willingness and ability to get out there and network effectively. These negative, destructive thoughts are major obstacles to your success!

You Always Hurt the One You Love?

Take a moment to write down your most distressing self-criticisms that prevent you from networking. Some of these might be:

  • you don’t have appropriate clothing or clothes that you like
  • you don’t have business cards or a website
  • you feel too young or too old, and are worried others will think this
  • you will only meet professionals in your field who are more knowledgeable than you, and they will not respect you
  • you worry that others will think you’re terrible or a waste of time

We all need to live in the present – we can’t try to live up to a standard that’s in the future, or simply isn’t happening now, such as “I can’t get new clothes until I’m thinner.” Image is important and a reflection of how you feel about yourself; at first, “image” might not seem soul-centered, but it 100% is. You need to present yourself in a way that reflects how you feel about yourself and also how you want to be perceived. This isn’t just about your energy and personality, but literally the clothes on your back. Feeling like you don’t have the right clothes or don’t look a certain way is a serious issue that can hold you back. And being perceived as an expert is part of your physical image.

Love Can Lead the Way

Now, think about how you might combat these obstacles, and make a list. Write it down. Perhaps you could shop for a new outfit (and bring a friend who is an expert bargain hunter!). Maybe you could research free business card providers and just get the basics printed. Examine whether or not you actually need a website – many people think that it’s necessary, but depending on what your project is, you may only need the briefest of contact information.

The most important thing to address, however, is the way you treat yourself. When you are able to bring as much love, compassion, patience, and encouragement to yourself as you would to a friend, you give yourself a stable base of self-esteem you can build on.

The Power of Love

Treat yourself well by making sure you have what you need. If your business cards haven’t arrived, make sure you get other people’s contact info so you can follow up with them. If it makes you feel good, get a special case for collecting business cards.

Have one or two outfits for networking that make you feel really good. Before you go to a networking event, take the time to make yourself look beautiful, whatever that means for you. If it’s about applying makeup, do that. If it’s about styling your hair a particular way, do that. It really helps your confidence as well as the image you put forth in the world.

Finally, don’t let your inner critic tell you that you can’t do it. One of my favorite lines from the TV show Lost, is when John Locke, a paraplegic who has regained the ability to walk, is challenged by someone. To whomever tells him that something he wants to achieve is impossible or beyond his capability, he bellows, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” Kick out that mean critic, and let this be your mantra instead!

When you let your love for yourself be your guide, you become more confident in your abilities and powers, and you make a far more positive impression on those around you. That positive energy causes prospects, clients, co-workers and partners to become magnetized to you, and you can create genuine inner and outer abundance in your life!

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Posted in Intuition, Personal Development, Stress management, Success | No Comments »

Up-Level Your Project with Affiliates

April 1st, 2012 by Joanna

I am so thrilled to introduce Erika Watson to the Soulful Coaching community! While spending nearly four years behind the scenes developing and managing 6 figure affiliate launches for coaching industry leaders, Erika became the go-to authority for their coaching clients, partners, and their partners’ team members for Joint Venture and affiliate marketing consulting. In December of 2011, she launched her first Affiliate Partnerships 2.0 program and has been helping entrepreneurs just like YOU own their value and authentic message, connect powerfully with ideal partners, and reach more people for deeper impact and financial abundance. For more information on creating a sacred alliances and affiliate partnerships, visit Erika here. You can also connect with Erika on Facebook.

Up-Level Your Project with Affiliates

Erika Watson

Erika Watson

I love seeing women (and men) step more fully into their purpose, create an online business, and serve hundreds and thousands of people. For many online marketers, this can create a fury of insecurity, competition, and fear. However, these “competitors” actually become our most valuable resource when we learn how to create sacred strategic alliances that allow us to:

  • reach thousands of our ideal clients overnight with their promotions; leveraging our time for deeper impact and freedom
  • create more money for everyone, a 30% higher ROI over other marketing strategies
  • stay in your zone of genius, while supporting your clients by connecting them to partners who excel in other areas of expertise.

It’s a Triple WIN!!

Partnership positions your mastery with credible testimonials that connect you to your potential clients with a higher level of trust, warming cold leads! As you build greater partnerships of influence, you are able to connect with thousands of potential clients overnight, filling your programs with much more ease. With time freed up, you can focus on providing incredible value, new partnerships, and living your lifestyle by design!
If you are in the beginning phases of your business, this strategy not only increases your sales conversions, but also costs less money up front! Having the right structure in place allows you to incentivize your partners on the back end and is the perfect solution for the entrepreneur who is just beginning to build their list and generate sales.
Living an empowered life of choice, also means having the freedom to choose who you work with or don’t. Having an affiliate structure in place that clearly defines your core values, your ideal tribe, and your terms and agreements will help attract the right partnerships to you so you can experience greater fulfillment and less stress and struggle in growing your business.

If you are ready to create fulfilling relationships to support your message, impact, and financial goals you’ll want to begin with the following inquiry.

  1. What am I creating this year in my business to make a bigger impact? Begin to list the different projects, events, programs etc. that you desire support on.
  2. What are my goals for partnership? This could be seeking contributors with expertise outside of your genius zone to add value to the project or simply promotional goals.
  3. What are my core values? Seek partners who share similar qualities and energies to create harmonious passionate and long term relationships.
  4. What business practices (or established levels of excellence) need to be met in order to support the work? Seek partners that have a solid business foundation to match or elevate your success.

Don’t be afraid to create boundaries or say NO.
As you enter the world of partnership you will become approached by many invitations. Make sure to stay connected to your vision and goals for your business and only accept offers that will allow you to accomplish these goals, feel expansive in growth, and are in alignment with your principles.

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Soul-Centered Networking 101

March 23rd, 2012 by Joanna

networking-101“I’d rather get a root canal than go to another networking event!”

Does this sound familiar?

You know you “need” to network. So, you begrudgingly pay the $40 for the event, you put on your uncomfortable “networking” outfit that makes you feel awkward, make sure your lipstick is on, and get to the networking meeting. The room is filled with strangers, so you nervously get yourself a drink because you’re not sure what else to do… Maybe this time you find one person who seems somewhat friendly and you latch onto them for dear life. Maybe you feel anxious about your experience, so you don’t talk to anyone. Or maybe you get trapped in a conversation with someone you immediately know you can’t stand. And you wonder, WHY am I doing this? Why can’t I just email people from the safety and comfort of my sofa (while wearing my Snuggie!)?

And there you are, back at work the next day, with $40 less and nothing to show for it.

So, why should you network? Because you – and your business or your Soul-Centered Projects – don’t operate in a vacuum. No one can achieve great success alone. It’s really difficult to attract in prospective clients, business partners, suppliers, and even employees if you aren’t willing to connect with others and create relationships.

Yet sometimes, traditional networking can feel uncomfortable, scary, weird, or unnatural. Many of us lack the confidence to walk into a room and “work” it because to do so requires an act or set of behaviors that are unfamiliar and feel inauthentic. What you need is to learn how to network in a Soul-Centered way that is aligned with YOU.

Networking and How I Hated It!
When I first started networking, I absolutely hated it. I hated showing up to events that were often early in the morning, slapping on a nametag, and performing my one-minute elevator speech. I was scared of going to networking meetings and telling people about my coaching practice because I didn’t want them to reject me or judge me. I was scared of making myself vulnerable by letting people know about what I did and that I was looking for business. It was a RISK for me to put myself out there without knowing how my networking might turn out.

After WAY too many unsuccessful networking endeavors that ended up with me feeling like my time would have been better spent doing ANYTHING else, I decided it was time to network in a different way. In a “soul-centered” way. And once I did that – everything changed. All of the sudden, I started looking forward to networking events and I’d leave the evening with many new contacts and prospects. I even started to have FUN at networking events! And the more fun I had, the more successful an evening it was.

Soul-Centered Networking: What it’s Not
Soul-Centered networking is NOT about making up stories about who you are or what you do. It’s NOT about trying to sound like someone else or saying what you think the other person wants to hear. It’s NOT about attending a meeting or event that feels misaligned or tedious for you (even though you think your target audience will be there). It’s not about giving your contact info to people you don’t feel connected to or don’t want to speak to again; it’s not about talking only about yourself or having a conversation with someone and talking only about them. Throw all these ideas away.

What It IS
Soul-centered networking IS about bringing yourself and your work authentically and confidently to a conversation with another person, and being genuinely interested and curious about that person. Networking and marketing are all about creating relationships – that is what’s MOST important. It’s that simple! My gift to you, below are three Soul-Centered networking practices that will help you have much more effective, much more fun networking experiences. You can start using them TODAY:

Three Simple Practices:

  1. Write It Out— Before you go to a networking event, make a script of what you are going to say about yourself and your business. Be clear on how you talk about yourself and your work – and who you work with. The exact words aren’t essential, and you should be able to adapt to different groups or individuals you are talking to, but what must come through is your PASSION. Talk about how you help people. Connect to the part of you that is confident and KNOWS what an impact you are here to make.
  2. Go Where You’re Happy—Network in places that are aligned for you. If you’re not into formal networking events, then skip them! Think about environments where you naturally shine: volunteer events & associations, your kid’s school or parent groups, your place of spiritual practice, parties, conferences, even attending a class that interests you. Be open to the fact that networking can happen anywhere.
  3. Make the Connection—When you meet someone at a networking meeting or event, allow a heart connection to emerge – don’t put up your defenses. Each person is there to connect, just like you. First and foremost, remember that the other person is a human being – not some evil robot! Before any words come out of your mouth, allow for an energetic connection to happen. This works in business networking but also for all human relationships – even dating!

Finally, believe in yourself and follow your instincts. When you meet people who you feel no connection with, it’s okay to politely move on. But when you feel an energetic connection, absolutely engage, allow your curiosity to open the conversation, and don’t forget to follow up!

I have many, many more Soul-Centered networking tools that I will share with you in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, here’s my homework for you: make a goal right now of attending one networking event in the next month. Connecting in a Soul-Centered way will bring more people into your circles, create more powerful relationships, and reveal ways these people can help you. Get out there, and let me know how it goes!

Posted in Gratitude Project, Uncategorized | No Comments »

5 Easy Time Savers

February 24th, 2012 by Joanna

No matter what your soul-centered project is – from your coaching business to the self-help book that you’re writing, from your artwork to your yoga teaching practice – time and having time is important.

There are so many ways that you can waste or lose your time when you’re working on a passion project, and when you waste time, you are less poised for success. I see this happening for folks time and time again when they first come to me for mentorship and coaching.

Having more time = Having more opportunity for success

Period.

So, here are 5 of my absolute favorite time-saving tools that I use in my business on a daily basis. These tools help keep me grounded and create more time in my day and week, which allows me to continue growing, expanding, and have time left over for myself!

5 Easy Time Saving Tools

  1. File Emails in Digital Folders: If you’ve got 1000+ or even 100+ emails in your inbox, that causes clutter, confusion, and difficulty in referring back to old emails you might need. The best way to find old emails quickly and efficiently is to create folders in your inbox, and this is KEY: file those emails as soon as possible.

    So, for example, I have digital folders for each of my clients, each of my programs, each of my events, each of my partnerships, and so on. I file my emails daily into their proper places for easy recall.

  2. Schedule Tasks into Time Slots: The more organized you can be about chunking your work down into short tasks, and them scheduling them into your calendar, the more time you will find you have left over for yourself.

    This is a simple yet often overlooked technique: make a list of everything you want to accomplish for the week. Chunk each item down into a 1-2 hour pieces, and then schedule each piece in. Voila! You will accomplish more!

  3. Schedule in Facebook Time: Let’s just be honest – if you are like most folks out there, you get sucked into the latest post or video craze or random cute kitten pictures on Facebook at least 3 times a day (if not many more!). That amounts to minutes upon minutes, if not HOURS of unnecessary Facebook time (because REALLY, even though the kittie picture are cute, you’ve got a business to run!).

    You don’t need to cut Facebook out altogether, because after all, it can be really fun and awesome, and it’s a great business building tool. What I do suggest, though, in order to get your time back, is to schedule 10 minute periods throughout the day where you check in on Facebook. Perhaps you check in once in the morning, once at lunchtime, and then once right before your work day ends. That way, you get your FB time in, and get in the know, and connect with others, but it doesn’t distract you from that report that needs to be written or that proposal that needs finishing touches.

  4. Take a Real Lunch Break: You might think you’re saving yourself time by working through lunch – believe me, I really understand that temptation! But the truth is that when you work through lunch, or eat lunch at your computer, and you don’t really give yourself a break, you are going to feel drained, tired, and not-so-fresh for whatever you’re tackling in the afternoon. I’m sure you know what I mean by this: that time around 3:30pm where you’ve just been staring at the computer screen for 10 minutes because you’re in a daze.

    Even just a 20 minute break away from the computer with a quick walk around the block will help you be more efficient, thus creating more time for you in your day.

  5. Keep Your Personal Email separate from Work Email: If you’ve got your personal and professional emails coming through on the same account, I encourage you to change that asap! When you’ve got them coming through on the same account, it is WAY too easy to get distracted in the middle of your day by your friend’s birthday invite or the latest gossip among your high school buddies.

    Instead, save the personal emails for the end of the day or for scheduled times throughout your day.

There are, of course, lots more time saving goodies, but in the interest of time, these are 5 of my favorites that I wanted to let you know about today!

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Posted in Productivity, Success, time management | No Comments »

5 Keys to Your Visibility Plan

January 31st, 2012 by Joanna

No matter who you are or what your soul-centered project is – entrepreneur, writer, teacher, artist, etc (even if your project is attracting a romantic partner!) – a powerful visibility plan is essential to being able to get seen, be prosperous and get what you want.

When you don’t have an effective visibility plan, then chances are you are under-earning, not getting the acclaim or acknowledgment you want, or doing work that doesn’t fully satisfy you.

I hear this time and time again from women who come to me for help – you have a service, product, artwork, idea that you are in LOVE with. Yet, the clients aren’t coming, or the agents aren’t coming, or the press isn’t coming, or the prospective employers aren’t coming. And here’s what usually happens next: you start beating yourself up, or judging yourself, or feeling victimized or in despair. Not a great way to move forward!

Instead of re-acting in these ways, I want you to take action! And the best way to take action is to create a visibility plan that is effective, soul-centered and powerful.

For my business, as well as the businesses, career changes, creative careers, and world-changing initiatives that I support women with, your visibility plan is one of the most important foundations for success.

Here are 5 Keys to creating & executing a powerful visibility plan:

  1. Have a plan in advance: Ok, I know for some of you this might be obvious, but it is important to mention. You need a plan. Not just a plan in your head, but an actual, concrete visibility plan that you’ve written down, plotted and calendared out. My recommendation is to plan out at least 6 months in advance (but no more than 12 months in advance) so that you have time to prepare, time for contingency, and time to re-work any new ideas into the mix.

    If you don’t plan in advance, you’re going to find you’re always rushing to catch up, or two days too late for that conference application, press release submission, networking event, or community email.

  2. Make it Personal: I meet way too many rising leaders out there who write marketing copy, create video or prepare talks that speak to what they think people are looking for and what they assume people might want from them. Instead, I want you to share your message from a place of what is true and authentic for you and who you are, as well as speak directly and personally to your audience.

    Your clients, viewers, readers, and press will be much more likely to walk through your door if you reveal YOURSELF through your marketing and speak directly to their hearts and souls (not their minds).

  3. Choose Visibility Strategies that Match Your Strengths: There are so many awesome visibility strategies out there: newsletters, email, video, in-person workshops, Facebook, networking meetings, blogs, audio, referral program, Twitter – this list goes on and on. This is one of the things I absolutely love about visibility and marketing: the sky’s the limit on your creativity and how you choose to make yourself known, and nothing is pre-set or cookie cutter.

    But here is an important tip: choose those strategies that make the most sense for you and your soul-centered project. For example, if your newsletter and blog are your biggest visibility strategies, but you just hate writing and it takes you hours to write a paragraph – choose a different strategy! Or, if you’ve been mainly focusing on social media, but you’re the type of person that folks are immediately attracted to when they meet you in person, go to more networking events or do in-person presentations. The most effective visibility strategies are the ones that match how you show up best as well as how your ideal clients HEAR your message best.

  4. Enlist Partners: You can’t bring your big message and vision to the world alone. There is not one single person (unless they’ve already reached Oprah status) who has so many people in their sphere of influence that they can attract in visibility without creating partnerships and joint ventures.

    Partnerships are one of the best visibility tools out there. When you enlist other individuals, organizations and businesses to help promote you and spread the word about your project, your ability to reach your ideal client increases exponentially.

  5. Activate “P.C.A.”: P.C.A is a beloved Soulful Coaching acronym for Persistent and Consistent Action. P.C.A can make the difference between a successful and non-successful plan.

    Consistent Action = taking at least 3 actions towards your visibility strategies each working day. If you aren’t taking consistent action, then even the best laid plan in the world isn’t going to work. Think about it in terms of a flower: you need to water that flower regularly in order to keep it alive and see it grow.

    Persistent Action = following-up. I know – for some of you, this is the “F” word of marketing. It feels way too scary to follow-up on an email you sent out with a call to action or a talk you gave where you want to send folks more info about your work. Yet, often times folks don’t “buy” or “connect in” on the first bit, so follow-up is 100% necessary in order to reach your visibility goals.

Now that you’ve got the 5 Soul-Centered Keys for Visibility, have fun letting the world know about your sacred purpose and message!

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Posted in Goals, Productivity, Success, time management | No Comments »

Let Your Anger Flow, Let it Flow, Let it Flow

December 19th, 2011 by Joanna

angerAs a soul-centered leader and entrepreneur, as a healer, as a mother and a daughter and wife, as a friend, as a woman – I will be the first one in line to tell you the importance of love and compassion and patience and forgiveness. In this day and age, with all of the wonderful spiritual and self-development teachings we have, the idea of cultivating Love (with a capitol “L”) is nearly a given. Of course, of course, of course – this is a vital Woman Wisdom principle that is essential for success, forward movement and happiness.

However, there is another Woman Wisdom principle that is foundational when it comes to being happy as well as highly successful in your business, not-for-profit, artwork, or anything else you’re pursuing.

The principle: Connect in with your Anger, and let if flow.

Now, this Woman Wisdom principle is, unfortunately, often overlooked. It’s barely spoken about in all of those books about self-development, spirituality, and success. And if it is actually mentioned, it is shunned, rejected, and judged. Anger has become the hidden step-child, veiled in the shadows of Love. But in actuality – and most successful soul-centered leaders know this – Anger goes hand in hand with Love, and learning how to connect in with your anger can actually help you become more calm, grounded, and cultivate love that much more quickly. Learning how to connect with your anger will make you a much more effective business owner, leader, and parent because it allows you to know yourself and love yourself deeply, and be very clear on the boundaries you set up for yourself.

I know this might sound radical (and indeed it is), so let me explain a little more: Anger, just like Love or Joy or Peace, is a natural emotion and energy that all human beings experience from time to time. And just like any other energy – it needs to be expressed and allowed to flow through your body. So in fact, it is actually HEALTHY to get angry.

Healthy expression of anger allows you to:

  • Be in touch with your emotions and impulses
  • Set aligned & firm boundaries for yourself & others (for those of you who are yogis out there, think about Warrior Poses: they are all about setting healthy boundaries)
  • Release self-judgment or shame because of the anger
  • Unlock energy in your body that was getting stopped up because of the stuck anger
  • Connect in with your innate power
  • Create clarity so that you make decisions that are aligned with your highest self

There are circumstances that cause human beings to become angry. It’s just a fact. People mis-behave and sometimes betray or take advantage of you. Losses happen. Frustrating situations occur. If you don’t allow yourself to experience that anger consciously and allow it to flow through you, the anger just gets stuck in your body, and that’s when illness, self-sabotage, and self-destruction happen. Or, if you don’t allow your anger to flow, it festers and festers inside of you like a covered pot of boiling water, until it explodes all over the place, causing hurt feelings or destruction or pain.

Here are some examples of hidden anger that you might know for yourself:

  • A good friend arrives late for meetings time and time again. Instead of letting her know that it angers you when she’s late and being clear about your time boundaries, you act passive-aggressively and end up in an argument about something unrelated.
  • Growing up, your parents showed you love but they also did a lot of things to damage your sense of confidence and freedom in the world. There’s a part of you that’s angry about this, but you don’t acknowledge it because you fear it means you won’t love your parents anymore or you don’t want them to feel guilty. The result is that you end up parenting similarly to how they did. Or perhaps you unconsciously distance yourselves from your parents.
  • You had a bad day at work. Everything went wrong, and your boss acted like a jerk. Instead of creating some private time and space to let off some steam, you stuff it all in. But it comes out without your control as you scream at the top of your lungs at the dog that evening for chewing your slippers.
  • A colleague betrays you in a very terrible way. Instead of connecting in with your anger at this colleague and safely letting it flow through your body, you notice that you start berating yourself harshly for being “naïve”, “stupid”, “not good enough” and a “pushover”


So, why don’t we allow ourselves to get angry?

Because society has deemed Anger a “wrong” or “inappropriate” emotion – particularly for women, who are traditionally expected to be quiet, demure, and ever-compliant – it has become feared, judged, and hidden from view. As a result, we pretend like we’re not angry, or we become angry but are too embarrassed to let others know we’re angry, or we don’t even realize we’re angry, but take it out somewhere else.

Now, just to be clear: when I invite you to “Let Your Anger Flow”, I don’t mean to scream at someone else or to physically hurt someone else or yourself. Allowing yourself to connect with your anger and experience means doing it in safe and sacred ways – alone or with a group of supportive individuals, and creating a space where you can release the anger from your body, spirit, and mind in transformative, healing and protected ways. If you don’t have a practice of allowing your anger to be expressed and flow, I recommend working with a coach or other professional who can help you unlock it in safe ways that support you in opening up your body and energy level, get clear on your boundaries, and help you make aligned decisions for yourself.

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Posted in Empowerment, Intuition, Stress management, fear | 5 Comments »

Guest Post - Lessons of Gratitude

December 1st, 2011 by Joanna

rebecca_picYesterday, I announced that we still have some inspiration posts on the topic of gratitude. Why should November get all the glory? We’re grateful in December, too! Rebecca Ramirez is a blogger at Everything Goes With Pink. She is a stay-at-home-mother to 3 daughters and is expecting her 4th daughter in January. She’s an educated mother who has a passion for writing about family life, her varied interests, and the occasional intellectual topics ranging from philosophy to social consciousness - it’s a good thing she’s a freelance writer! Rebecca is determined to raise her 4 daughters with all the care and dedication that they deserve, and is focused on helping them to be the best individuals they can be. Learn more about Rebecca by joining her on Facebook, Twitter , and her blog, Everything Goes With Pink.

Lessons of Gratitude
by Rebecca Ramirez
In this hectic, fast-paced life, it is easy to get lost in the inexorable negative experiences we will face. No person will escape some form of suffering in their life, and many people will continually experience suffering and hardships on what seems like a never-ending basis. Although we cannot always avoid these potentially personally devastating occurrences, what we can do however, is find it within ourselves to harness the power and wisdom to allow ourselves to experience gratitude, despite the situation in which we find ourselves.

While it also takes wisdom to find gratitude in many of life’s positive experiences, finding the silver lining of one’s raincloud can be quite the liberating experience. We do, in fact, already possess within ourselves the mental capacity to choose whether we will allow a certain situation to invoke a paralyzing sense of victim-hood, or whether we use the energy and convert it into a more favorable experience, be it on a psychological, emotional, or a spiritual basis.

One may not be able to avoid the platforms from which suffering presents itself, such as personal illnesses, detrimental acts of others, or the daily hassles of life, but this should not equate to our lack of control when it comes to how we respond to these events.

There is a lesson of gratitude to be found in all suffering.

While it may not always offer the immediate comfort one would hope for, there is still always room for finding a way to experience some form of gratitude. For the mother who has lost her child, no amount of gratitude can erase the pain, but in this experience, she can still look to the lesson of suffering and be thankful for the love she was able to experience that only a mother could understand. For the individual who is forced to deal with illness, it is in these moments of sometimes agonizing pain that we most appreciate the delicate frailty of life and the peace of mind that comes with good health. Should this individual persevere through their bout with a physical affliction, it is highly doubtful that much in life will be taken for granted.

It is through a lesson of suffering that we can grow to appreciate and have gratitude for the most important things in life. This wisdom of gratitude can transform our thinking on a daily basis, and we can grow to appreciate much more of the simple beauty that life has to offer us all.

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Guest Post - Gratitude for the Little Things

November 30th, 2011 by Joanna

africas_blogThe Gratitude Project may be completed but I still have some very inspirational stories left to share! I love getting the chance to showcase new voices on my blog and I am so excited to introduce you to Debbie Mc Loughlin. She is the owner of Africa’s Blog, which can be found at www.africasblog.com. She’s a 30-something Soul African exPat living in Minnesota who enjoys blogging about life and whatever comes her way! As a permanent American resident, she has a unique view on life. Debbie is also a hockey player, hockey referee, CPA, CMA, MBA student, blogger, mommy to 2 fur babies (min pins) and is happily leaving in the mid-west with her partner. You can connect with Debbie through Facebook and Twitter!

Gratitude for the Little Things
by Debbie Mc Loughlin
As I’ve aged, and yes I’m only 31 but still, I’ve realized that in life there are so many things to hold dear, so many things to cherish and so many things for which one should show their gratitude. I’ve definitely learned that this gratitude thing should not only be thought of once a year during Thanksgiving week, but that we should really value all that we have on a daily basis.

I think we often sit and think of the things for which we should be grateful and we default to our families, our life partners, our children, etc. What I have started to do is to let these “big picture” individuals know that I am extremely grateful they are in my life, and for all they do or have done for me, as often as I can.

However, I now also take time out of my day to think of the “little things” I have in my life to show gratitude for. There are so many things and without daily (I try to do it daily) reflection time I wouldn’t remember to be grateful that I have remained injury free with regards to my playing/officiating hockey, that although my little dogs barking is annoying it means that they are healthy and love me enough to want to protect me, and that after a long hard day in the office, a friendly chat with a stranger on my way to the car can really brighten up the evening!!

These are just examples of the “little things” in my life, but I really do feel that our lives are much happier when we take time out of our busy lives to truly reflect on all that we in our lives that we really should be showing gratitude for.

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Guest Post - Gratitude on Life’s Terms

November 22nd, 2011 by Joanna

alisa_starkweatherToday I want to introduce you to one of my dearest friends and mentors, ALisa Starkweather. She is the founder of the Red Tent Temple Movement, Daughters of the Earth Gathering, Priestess Path Apprenticeship, the Women’s Belly and Womb Conferences and co-founders of Women in Power; Initiating Ourselves to the Predator Within. She is a contributor in the newly published anthology, Women, Spirituality and Transformative Leadership; Where Grace Meets Power and is working on launching her new internet show, She Loves Life. She is featured in the upcoming documentary, Things We Don’t Talk About. This springtime ALisa is hosting a teleseminar among the wisdomkeepers to bring women and men together in a global dialogue of “It’s Time for a New Story”. According to ALisa, I am one of her “most beloved and treasured sisters on the path of life.” What a HUGE compliment! I’m so excited for her to share her wisdom today. To connect with ALisa, follow her on Facebook. You can also follow the Red Tent Temple Movement on Facebook. You can experience ALisa’s programs by visiting www.alisastarkweather.com.

Gratitude on Life’s Terms
By ALisa Starkweather

Life, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…

As a young teen I once read that if I woke up every morning and began to say thank you until sleep it would never be enough time to count my blessings. Now that was a gratitude lesson into wide-awake consciousness. Why? Because a couple of things dawned on me pretty quickly; the likelihood of following through with this practice of a chorus of thank yous echoing in my mind as a backdrop to my senses seemed a remote possibility. Also I did the math and realized that with my present viewpoint, I would run out of good things to say pretty quickly. That is, unless I changed my perspective on what I was appreciating about life. This pivotal moment however woke me up as a teenager to what we likely take for granted when we are not noticing the dawn, our ability to breathe, our constant beating heart, the vibrant colors or the things in my lifetime that I would not yet know were ephemeral like the abundance of songbirds, the honeybees, and with the birds and the bees, the ending of my virginity. By seventeen I became the single-parent mother giving birth to this magnificent gift of life while being on my own to discover where one finds good when life turns into hardships.

Yes as you can imagine, poverty, lack of continuing education, low self-esteem, depression became the internal dumping grounds in my psyche where my dreams were trashed. Did that ever happen to you too I wonder in some way? I would go there and pick over little chards of who I once was or wanted to be and bring them home again with a deeper sense now of what it means to find treasures in life in the most forgotten places inside. Gratitude was no longer a good idea for a spiritual practice or a learned courtesy of “hey thanks” but an actual means of survival where one remembers that no matter how hard things become to live at all, to breathe at all, to be part of this mad horrific beauty is everything…. everything. Unlike the generations to come, my life then was not about stuff that I materially desired but rather a simpler ground of do I have the courage and the faith and the will to live this day? Each moment of “thank you for this life and all the beauty, all the miracles, all the tiny triumphs” gifted me with the next ability to face hardship graciously and strengthened my resolve to live into the wisdom that would become my bedrock as the mature woman in my fifties today.

Little did I know then that by walking that path, anchoring to the wisdom of gratitude I would later be a teacher for women’s empowerment and on the path of the ecstatic wild woman where sleeping on the floor of a cave with dripping waters flowing off rock walls is a phenomenal experience that I say wholeheartedly, “Wow. Thank you. What an unforgettable night!”. Or dealing with whom many might consider a difficult personality in my work has me exclaim sincerely, “What a great woman. What a teacher for me to examine my own vulnerabilities!” I admit that sometimes I am like the baby of life who wants to spit out the mouthful of food that it spoonfeeds me while saying that it is yummy. I am not going to lie to you because you know as well as I do that it doesn’t all taste good. What is remarkable however that with choice, with finding our ground for digesting life on its terms, we have the opportunity to take the energy life gives us and do some amazing turn-arounds if we choose to.

Thank you for my mother’s criticism and shaming remarks that helped me to learn the importance of kindness and how to create safe containers for people to know unconditional love. Thank you for my father’s rage that taught me the importance of patience, tolerance and how not to blame or project on others when one is innocent. Thank you for disempowerment and the feminization of poverty that brought me to my work with women so that I could lift them up and ask them to believe in their power and their worth. Thank you for the places I have been violated as a woman because I found my compassion for others, my leadership, my strength, my courage and resolve to stand up and to fight for women and children around the world. Thank you for the ones I have loved and lost through cancer and illness because it has taught me to value every second that I have with anyone I have ever loved. Thank you biased media for the altering the reputations of brave global citizens who fight for their families and children because you taught me to discern for myself the goodness of who you diminish. Thank you for my broken heart and betrayals in past relationships that brought me to experience the truest of loves. Thank you for my son who is my master teacher of how to persevere. Thank you for living now at a time in human history when we are faced with our own extinction because it helps us all collectively to wake up and not take anything, even our tomorrows, for granted. Thank you, thank you, thank you…

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Joanna Lindenbaum is a life coach, wedding officiant, and inspirational speaker.
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