… that will rock your world!

Check out this vid by a friend of mine, James Watson.

I agree with what he’s saying… and I think if we each keep this as our main focus for the next 12 months, we’ll be bringing in 2011 with a BANG!

check him out now – and let me know what you think

Fast Tube by Casper

Sitting at the breakfast table this morning the discussion turned to facebook, and how my cousin had lost his snake in the house, and how we found out about it by his sister posting comments on facebook.

So the discussion turned to snakes- their anatomy, evolution (Dad is a doctor) and the sneaky things they get up to. All very fascinating, but Jemima, the youngest and most lateral thinker of us all, concocted a clever theory. To this end, I asked her to tap it out here, so she can share her “creative logic” with the world.

Now, bear in mind she is a bit of a loon (“Oi!”, she just exclaimed as she stands over my right shoulder watching me type this), and had us all in stitches… just had to share it….

Brace, brace, brace.

Jemima :

First of all, you have probably noticed the date of this post…indeed a day on which, there is no post! So, on this day full of festivities, messtivities and sacks full of joy, may I wish you a Merry Christmas and a piratey ‘Ahoy!’

So, on a completely separate note, much in my style, I want to inform you of the ‘ah les cro cro, ah les cro cro, ah les crocodiles…’ and again, I digress slightly, but such is life. It is a common misconception that snakes evolved into reptiles avec limbs or appendages. THIS IS WRONG!!!!! If you believe this, you clearly need to get out more!

Let’s take it back to the beginning and in the wise, wise words of MC Hammer, let’s …STOP- Break it down!!

It has been found that snakes have evolved from reptiles as they have rudiments of limbs suggesting that limbs clearly aren’t all they’re cracked up to be…snakes also don’t have cracks, but this is a another tale/tail for another day altogether! Anyway, the reason for this is obvious to those who think, and in this thinking comes enlightenment…so I encourage you all to grow some brainage! The answer, is Bear traps. With all the bear traps in the world, the snakes (previously with limbs) KEPT getting caught…damn those pesky bear hunters! (On a slightly related note…why do we save the dolphins from fishing nets, but not snakes from bear traps, eh?) So, the snakes, sick of all of their loss of limbs, dying of gangrenous-related ailments, held a world conference and decided to lose the limbs, once and for all. Now I know what you’re all thinking, and there were doubts similar amongst the snake committees, but pretty gloves and socks from Accessorize were not reason enough to allow the suffering caused by these blasted limbs to continue. So, evolution took place, and the limbs were weaned out of the proverbial gene pool in snake-world. Now, with this insightful knowledge, you can understand why snakes slither and weave in the paths that they do…it is still in their basic instinct to doge those damn bear traps.

OK, so if limbs really are all that bad, why do creatures such as crocodiles still have them? Well, as they spend their time in the waters, watching…waiting…they do not need to fear said bear traps…bear traps aren’t placed in the rivers…that would just be silly, so they can keep their limbs…said the small spider in the corner of the room.

To this I respond, Merry Christmas Mr. Spider…Merry Christmas! x

It’s estimated that London’s West End will take a whopping £24 million in sales transactions in the last few days before close of play on Christmas Eve.

80% of shoppers will be men who have left their shopping to the eleventh hour.

Here’s a little exercise for getting ahead of the game when it comes to getting those perfect last minute gifts, curtsey of a well-practiced shopping friend of mine!

Make one master list of everyone you still need to buy a gift for. Add no more than 3 gift ideas next to each name.

Why? Because if you write just one gift down, the human mind will naturally fixate on getting just that one thing. You’ll then spend 4 priceless hours searching for the perfect light emerald V-neck cashmere sweater for Aunt Joan while telling yourself you need to buy other gifts too (that multitasking conditioning is really hard to break). You’ll end up looking for every gift at once, and return home confused and with nothing for anyone.

Say you need to buy 6 more gifts. Set yourself a time limit – say, 3 hours. Unless you need to visit a specialist shop, try to find a nice large department store, or at least a street with several different shops.

Please don’t take young children with you. You’ll spend your time buying them drinks or snacks, taking them to the toilet or dragging them screaming from the toy section. Hire or bribe someone trustworthy to look after them for 4 hours (3 hours shopping plus 1 hour to giftwrap or recover!).

Enter the shop/department store with your list to hand. Look at the gift suggestions you’ve written down. If you’re buying for, say, 6 people, there should be 18 different suggestions.

Now group them together, i.e. boxes of chocolates, or bottles of wine, or perfume. Count up how many times you’ve written down ‘box of chocolates’ (say, 3). Go to the relevant section in the store and buy that number. Cross the persons(s) you’ve bought them for off your list. You’ve just bought gifts for 3 people!

Then do the same with the perfume/cologne suggestions, or whatever comes next. If the store doesn’t stock the item you want, look at the other 2 gift suggestions for that person.

If you group like items with like, your torpedo laser mind will find it easier to home in on what you’re looking for.

It goes into goldfish mode when it’s faced with “..right then, I need Obsession perfume for cousin Kate, but I need to get that Bordeaux for Uncle Frank but that’s across the other side of the street…ooh, and I could get the Lego set for young Charlie, but that’s a 10 minute walk to the toy shop and, oh, wait – there’s the pink scarf I’ve been looking for….”

But it turns into an unstoppable force and your best ally when you say, “…Right then. I need 3 boxes of chocolates. Here they are. One of those, that one, and that one looks nice. That’s sorted. What next? Oh, yes….Obsession and Chanel. Those are downstairs. Great! Next stop, ground floor….good, they’re in stock. Got them! Now what? Ah, 2 pairs of leather gloves….”

And feel free to take a tea or coffee break halfway through your allotted shopping time. This is a good time to check your list.

At the end of your 3 hours, take everything home and giftwrap them as soon as you can, preferably that same day. Do name tags as you go, to avoid confusion, and just wrap things well – don’t waste time trying to make them perfect!

If you use this system you’ll keep focused and, more importantly, sane!

Let me know how you get on!

Blogger, social media and marketing expert and best selling author of Purple Cow, The Dip and many others….

It’s so true.

I know from my own experience as a blogger and internet marketer, I’ve put off doing a project or posting a comment or making a statement not because I’m afraid it wont work, or because I feel that the project will fail, but rather because I was afraid of what people might say.

The way I’ve been able to get over this is in the past is by looking at it logically.

No matter what I or you do, someone somewhere is going to absolutely love it and think that we’re awesome.

Someone somewhere is also going to criticize our efforts.

In fact, Dr. John Demartini even goes so far as to state in what he calls “The Great Discovery” that everything, everywhere and always is in perfect balance.

This means that even in a single moment there will be people supporting you and attacking you in equal amounts no matter what you do! Now there may be more people supporting you than criticising you in a meeting for instance, but those who are opposing you may be smaller in number and may simply not saying anything, but collectively, the degree to which they oppose you will be equal to the amount that the others are supporting you.

When speaks address an audience, they will find the same thing.

It’s weird, but start looking for it for yourself and you’ll see how real this is.

Anyway, back to the point.

No matter what you do in any situation, you are always going to have people for and against you. Furthermore, the same people who support you in one moment, may not in the next.

Have you noticed how people change their minds so reguarly and frequently depending on how they feel at the time, an experience they have just had, what someone else has said to them and how they want to be seen… Given that their opinions are so transient, why not add a bit of consistency into your life and always please at least one person you have to live with for eternity  – - – yourself!

Go with what you feel is right.

Put yourself out there, and included the praise and criticism as part of the course. Choose to not attach to any of it, and let go of hesitating and procrastinating because you’re worried about what people will say.

You have a legacy to build.

Your next step is the next piece of that increible monument. Go for it!

So, I’ve just back from a most awesome holiday in the Algarve.

It was perfect: sun, sea, pool, kick-ass adventure-packed off road jeep safari, sublime cocktails, friends, family and laughs.

This is a pic of me testing out a theory on the Lara Croft stunt where she parachutes into a moving jeep…

How did all this come about?

I set the intentions a few weeks ago, and programmed them into my Subliminal Power Software.

This software then flashes up the intentions every few seconds, almost invisibly whilst I work away on my computer, hour after hour, day after day, effortlessly allowing my mind to bring about whatever I desire.

Neat, huh?

So, what would you like to program into it so you can manifest effortlessly whilst you use your computer?

Would love to hear your answers: you can leave them in to comments section right here…

To living the life of your dreams!

Laura

P.S. if you haven’t already got this software you can download it at:

http://tiny.cc/subliminal

Dare to Dream!

Self-worth is the feeling of certainty about who you are and what you have to offer the world. It is about feeling you are worthwhile and valuable.

Others can pick up on whether you have high self-worth or not.  Its a feeling they get when they talk with you and get in your energy field – whether they realise it or not.

Do you ever get a good feeling about someone? It is likely that this individual has high self-worth.

As your self-worth increases, so does your ability to do things, attract opportunities and see the beauty in everything around you. You stop being bothered by other people, and situations that used to annoy you  – these frustrations come about only because you fundamentally lack love for yourself.

Having a high self-worth is like having a magic key to open doors, and an aura that just pulls people in like a magnet.

People love to be around people who love and value themselves. Part of this is because when one has a fundamental love for oneself, one doesn’t have anything to prove. There is no need to be boastful, or boring, or controlling. There is no need for “acting out” or getting angry or annoyed at people. People feel easy around you. There is no judgment, so they are completely free to be who they are and they in turn start to open up, and allow their self-worth to rise.

Tips to improve your self-worth:

1.Let go of beating yourself up. Every time you catch yourself feeling bad, let it go.

2.Talk positively to yourself.

If you’ve seen The Compass, you’ll have heard that when someone criticises us it takes 17 times of being told the opposite to get back to where we were. If you’re constantly telling yourself you’re worthless, or stupid or can’t do something you’ll find that you’re digging yourself deeper and deeper into self-loathing.

Not a good strategy!

Instead, try giving yourself some approval, for no reason,… just because, and then tell yourself you are worthy of all your success and more. Do this several times a day, whenever you think about it.

3.    Do you have a list of all the things you “should” get done?

Most of us do.

The longer you have stuff on that mental list, the more it erodes at your self-worth.

Get stuff off the list, either by getting it done, or making a decision that it doesn’t need to be done now, and declare it complete. You’ll find you’ll have fewer reasons to beat yourself up, and you’ll also discover a whole heap of energy for doing the things you’re actually focused on doing!

Sasha Xarrian wrote  a wonderful little ebook on mastering self-confidence, and in it she talks about letting go of guilt and fear, and what self-confidence (or self-worth) is or isn’t. I suggest checking it out….

Overcoming Obstacles in the Recession

Ok – so last post we talked about how to identify why you’re in a slump and everything has just stalled. This works weather you’re working on your own pet projects at home, your business or on projects at work… It can even work for all the different aspects of your life from relationships, fitness and having anything that you want.

In this post I’m going to outline exactly what to do with those obstacles you’ve identified, and how to overcome them.

There are several ways to deal with challenges - but the following process is something I’ve found particularly effective and useful. Let me know if you find the same!

1. Clear Up the Emotional Baggage Around the Situation

So, asking that all important little question we discussed in the last post: “The Number One Thing To Do When You Stop Making Progress”, you’ve identified the thing or couple of things that are holding you back. Let’s just work with the first item on the list for now. Now, when you think of that obstacle, you probably have some kind of emotion come up, no? Like a clutching in the stomach or chest, or a tightness in the throat.

This is normal.

It’s just an emotional reaction (maybe fear, or frustration) coming up in response to the lack of progress. You’re probably beating yourself up a little bit too, if you’re really honest.

The thing to do once you’ve identified this feeling is to become very aware of it. Sit for a moment, and let go of distracting yourself from it by doing something. Just allow it to be there. The thing is, emotions are there for us to feel and appreciate – and we have such a tendency to stuff them down and try not to feel them. Just take some time out to really feel and experience the frustration around your roadblock – because rest assured if you don’t, you’ll go on and on creating situations so that you have the opportunity to feel this emotion again and again.

Once you’ve really experienced it, and owned it, then you can decide to let it go. This doesn’t take any effort. Just be aware of this pent up energy and allow it to pass through – like steam passing through a trap door in your chest – gently leaving.

This will leave you clear headed to make better decisions. It will also free up a whole lot more energy for getting stuff done effectively.

2. Challenge Your Beliefs Around the Obstacle

Now in all likelihood – in order for this situation or obstacle to be seen as such, there are probably some beliefs that allow you to label it as “bad”. Now we already know that labels such as “good” and “bad” don’t exist anywhere other than in our mind, so if we let go of these notions and re-examine what we’re dealing with, perhaps we can see that underneath the frustration we have a belief that made the frustration and roadblock stay. By identifying and releasing this belief as a thought that is free to come and go, and not necessarily “true” we free ourselves up to take on a new belief about the situation.

3. What Would Be a More Empowering Belief?

So having examined the belief we used to have, and discarded it as not necessarily the way things are, is there a more empowering belief we could adopt. I suggest writing this new belief down – and then finding a couple of examples in your life to support it. After all, whatever belief or thought you can come up with, you can always find evidence to either prove or disprove it, right? So why not just choose thoughts in your favour to help you get where you want to go, and be who you want to be?

Finally I recommend going back to your original objective – but only now, having done steps 1 through to 3. Now you’ll be balanced and clear minded about the situation and will be in a much better position to make a good decision.

Examine if this original goal or intention is really something you want to go after. It may not be – and there is no shame in that – after all, the best place to quit is not in the dip…

Check out this awesome little interview with Seth Godin about knowing when to quit, and why it is sometimes a really good decision:

Read on to find out the one awesome little question that will sky rocket your success…

Ever find your projects are stalled by roadblocks?

Do you ever get into those slumps when all your best intentions and goals seem to be stalled? Nothing seems to be happening, despite all the momentum and excitement you had built up, and all the progress you had made in the weeks before.

Do you ever just feel that every project you’d been working on suddenly grinds to halt, or had been stopped and suddenly you’ve just noticed?

This certainly happens for me now and again… and I have a funny feeling I’m not alone.

Well, when this happens there is one little question I can ask myself that always seems to get me back on track… And I would like to share that question with you too.

Now, don’t get faked out by it.

This question so simple, it’s easy to dismiss it. But if you really consider it and write down a list of answers this little question can be the difference between your project’s success and the project’s death.

So do you think this question is one worth considering?

You bet it is!

This kick-ass, mystically momentum-building question is:

What’s stopping you?

Told you it was simple…

So, the first thing I do is take a rain check on whatever it is I’m doing – and say –

“ok – what is stopping me from producing the results I set out to produce?”

And then I make a list in my notebook/ diary.

Simply by knowing what it is that is getting in the way of you achieving the results you want is half the battle. (Whoever said ignorance was bliss!? Just frustrating if you ask me – much better to know what you’re dealing with so you can get on and deal, right?)

Give it a whirl and let me know how you get on. Next week I’ll post some further exercises you can do to overcome these obstacles.

Yep, I’m talking about the incredible Power of Detachment.

So what is it all about?

Detachment is about letting go and trusting that whatever happens you’re going to be ok. Its about training yourself to let go of wanting to be in control of everything and as a result, as if by sheer magic, you are instantly put in control of any situation.

It’s about being confident in the outcome no matter what happens and what other people say. Its about trusting your instincts and staying in flow.

If you can do this, you will find that you step into you personal power and become so attractive that the right people and circumstances won’t be able to get to you quick enough!

People are attracted to people with certainty and those that don’t want for anything. If you’re wanting to sell something, or wanting to take from someone, you’re going to be putting out a dodgy vibe.

If you’ve got absolute confidence in your product, for instance, or if you don’t mind whether someone gives you their phone number or not, you’re certainly going to be more attractive!

Ladies, you know how it is when you know you can get a guy to come over and talk to you. You give him the eye, and if you’re not that bothered about whether he comes over or not, you’ll normally find he, and indeed a few others also wander over to see how you’re doing, right? But what about that guy that you have been trying to pluck up the courage to speak to for the last three times you’ve seen him?

Different energy right?

Little tip – let go of being that attached to speaking to him or not. I’m not talking about feigning indifference – I’m talking about genuinely being not that bothered by it one way or another. Watch the energy shift when it happens… believe me, do this right and he’ll be taking you for a drink in no time.

The same goes for your goals.

The universe picks up on it to. If you’re wanting and wishing constantly and worrying about whether or not you’re going to achieve your goal, you automatically restrict your ability to manifest it.
Goals are best set, visualised, connected with emotionally, flooded with gratitude as if it’s already happened, and then released. You can then rest peacefully in the knowledge that if it’s the best thing for you at this time then it will come to pass. Turn your goal over to the universe without worrying about the how its going to happen. Let go and trust.

For serious players only: a golden tip that will change your life if you apply it.

If you don’t get your goal – sit down and write down a hundred reasons you have to be grateful that you didn’t. Doing this you will learn many valuable lessons that will make you more effective, more detached and 10 times more attractive next time. In fact, this little exercise will by-pass tens of cycles of you making the same mistakes in different areas of your life, and really accelerate your personal growth.

Guaranteed!

Strangely enough – if you know this, you’ll start to notice that people with similar energy will be attracted to you and those with higher or lower energy will be repelled. For instance, I noticed this quite dramatically at the Entrepreneur’s Business School in Bali. People on this course had a heightened awareness, and so it was much more pronounced.

I noticed quite dramatically, when I was in flow and high energy, people of the same energy would find their way to me… in session, out of session, at dinner, at the bar, in the pool, on the beach… it was spooky.

When I was out of flow and processing, there was a tendency for people of a similar energy to be able to find me and lock me down in conversation! Now if that’s not an incentive to shift your energy up a notch or two, I don’t know what is!

Everything in our external world is a perfect reflection of our internal one.

Just ask yourself the question now and again – the space you’re in, emotionally…

… would you want to hang out with you?