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I've been keeping a fascinated eye on the emerging changes in our global monetary system and when I hear that phrase, 'economic crisis', I picture this....
Meet Economy. He's the star of his time. He appears to be thriving to the outside world - growing ever more successful, beaming ever more brightly. Yet, if we look carefully, behind him there trails a foul smell and a dark shadow. Still he keeps going, until something inside starts malfunctioning. Something starts hurting. Reluctantly, he goes to the doctor who tells him that the years of self-deception and neglect have taken their toll and his health is in crisis. It is, in fact, life-threatening.
What does Economy do? If he has any sense, he stops, sits down, and looks with great honesty at his lifestyle. He uses this crisis as a chance to assess what's working and what's not and to give himself a fresh start, built on different foundations.
If WE look with honesty, we can see that our economic system hasn't been working. It's been eating up resources and changing our climate. Money, which was created as a means by which we could fairly share our skills and produce, is now often used as an excuse to do the opposite. Our perpetual-growth model makes little sense when we live on a planet of finite natural resources.
So, Economy has been none-too-healthy and needs to make some deep, far-reaching changes - and how about us?
Well, we've been seduced. Our economic set-up has tempted us away from our passion. We've made Faustian bargains, having been promised: "Do this job that's mindless, boring, stressful and pointless... and I'll give you security now and forever more". We work and work, waiting for pay-day or pension-day or holidays, believing in that bargain. Yet once we start to catch a glimmer of the possibility that we've been selling our soul to an entity which can't be trusted, what happens to that faith?
I know that people hire me as their coach because they're seeking faith in something new. They're fed up with wasting their lives and getting nothing reliable in return. They want to turn their inspirational ideas into reality and all the messages which say they should plod on and consume and earn their 9-5 wage to keep the cogs a-turning just aren't believable any more.
Maybe as the system falls, we'll all make new deals. Maybe we'll make deals with our planet, which really would always be there for us if we cared for, respected and attended to it. Maybe we'll make deals with ourselves, with our health, with others, and with those we love the most. Maybe we'll really hear that the world needs our passion, and needs it now.
Do Things Differently
This week, make a list of the deals you've made in relation to the economic set-up. What have you sold your soul for? What have you received, or what are you hoping to receive - as compensation? What's the deal with your bank? - what specifically do they do with the money you deposit with them for safe-keeping? If you don't know, ask them. What's the deal with your employer, your customers, your colleagues? Now, decide what deals you want to make. What do you want money to be for? What do you want to work for? What do you want to invest your time and energy in? What do you want to receive in return?
Finally, let us know of any inspirational finance systems you've come across. I've been a long-term investor with Triodos Bank who continue to give me hope in a resilient, sustainable banking model. I also enjoy using my local LETS scheme. I invite you to share your favourites with us here.
(c) Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2008
I'm delighted to be showcasing one of my favourite ever ventures: Morsbags. The story is - an inspirational young woman named Claire Morsman realised the devastating impact of plastic bags on marine animals. Rather than starting a campaign to stop people using plastic bags, she decided to create an alternative and came up with 'social guerilla bagging'. This involves groups of people getting together with a few sewing machines to turn recycled material into beautiful, useful bags and then distributing these outside supermarkets etc. Not only has she created a proactive solution to a problem, she's inspired people to connect and get creative - and ultimately become more alive and involved in their world.
I first made a bag at an event several months ago where Claire was guiding people through the process. I can't tell you how proud I am of that bag - if you see me in person, ask me to show it to you as I carry it everywhere I go. Apparently that one bag will save me using about 80 plastic bags and it's immensely satisfying to refuse a bag and put shopping in my home-made one instead. We managed to acquire a sewing machine via my father-in-law's colleague, my grandma visited to teach me how to use the machine, and then a friend and I got together to start a little creative pod here in Cambridge.
On her website, Claire has paired up a Sad Fact (over 1 million plastic bags are consumed per minute globally) with a Happy Fact (making morsbags will help immediately). We can see this problem/solution match being true for so many aspects of this venture:
Sad fact: Old sewing machines are sitting around gathering dust
Happy fact: This project is inspiring new generations to learn old skills and perhaps reconnect with our society's elders
Sad fact: People feel isolated
Happy fact: This is an excuse to get together with existing friends, make new friends and feel part of a community
Sad fact: People feel bored and sit in front of the TV all evening
Happy fact: Here's a way of spending time creatively, doing something enjoyable and unusual
Sad fact: People feel useless and unimportant
Happy fact: We can start seeing ourselves as needed, useful, able to make a difference
With this kind of inspirational project, we are powerfully matching up needs and solutions. This is what any business venture is meant to be about - using our genius to come up with win-win ways forward. Rather than simply 'what does the world need?' and 'how do we NEED to solve it?' - let's ask: What does the world need and how would I LOVE to offer a solution?
Do Things Differently
List the things that you feel most sad/angry/frustrated about in the world. Now list activities you would LOVE doing which would offer solutions. Then: What's the first step? What could you do right NOW - literally, in the next five minutes? Notice what it's like to be the solution. I invite you to share your thoughts as comments on this blog - to inspire others and create some momentum for yourself to get into action.
(c) Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2008
NB The idea of the world needing our passion is at the heart of the work I do with each coaching client - helping her connect with that passion and get in to sustained action to create an inspirational venture. To book a consultation to explore how you might benefit from this support, simply click here.
I've recently been reading a lot of advice about 'how to market your business'. One common message is: Focus on results. I thought this sounded sensible until I started really thinking about what motivates me. I'm a member of a private gym and go there most days; I swim, do Body Combat, and Body Balance. I do these because I love how I feel in the classes and in the pool. If the gym had marketed to me the messages: 'lose weight!' 'get toned!' 'get fit!', I would have ignored them. In fact, I did. However, when they allowed people to come along for free as part of their open weekend, I had a fantastic experience. I had endorphins zipping all over the place, felt strong, funky, relaxed, energised - and signed up. The fitness and weight loss have been bonuses but would never have got me parting with my money.
Likewise, today is World Car-Free Day, a time to showcase how our cities might look, feel and sound without cars. It's a hugely inspirational result to aim for - yet the result is not what motivates me to choose to travel by bike rather than car. I do so because I prefer the experience; I love how it feels to be out in the world, feeling the air on my skin, the sun on my face, to wave to people as I pass them by, to see my city up close and personal with all its precious nooks and crannies.
We're all different and it can be interesting to notice what we're motivated by - the results, the process... or both. I give away a lot of useful information for free; for example, there are now fifty posts on this blog. Often I get emails from readers who say that the insights and processes I've shared have led them to real results: changes in their life, big realisations. Sometimes there's a little fearful voice inside me which whispers: "But if you share all this for free, nobody will ever invest their money in your services." Yet the reality is that clients keep signing up for one-to-one coaching because of the process of coaching, as well as the results. That space of 40 minutes dedicated entirely to them every week or so. The feeling of being truly listened to. The experience of being seen and understood... and challenged! - given that "kick up the backside", as many call it :-) They keep attending workshops because of the feeling of a shared journey, the experience of interacting with other like-minded people, the space dedicated to exploration and discovery.
What I've realised is that once you're offering a service which brings both a fulfilling process AND fulfilling results, you know you are on to a winner.
Do It Differently
Notice what you're motivated by. The feeling of the process? The results? Both? If there's something you've been struggling with e.g. getting new clients, use your motivation as a guide. If you've been doing activities you hate, just to get the results, try focusing on the process instead. Do marketing activities you love and notice what that does to the results. Likewise, if you've been basking in activities you love, without any sense of direction, get clear about the results you're aiming for and channel your efforts that way (as I wrote about in Step 4 of the previous post). Additionally, in marketing your ventures, you might want to consider whether your clients/customers are more result or process oriented and then market in a way which truly speaks to them.
The World Needs Your Passion - The Monthly Ezine
I love sharing tools so much that I'm launching a new monthly ezine The World Needs Your Passion. This provides intelligent women with the motivation & practical strategies needed to create ventures which truly matter. The first issue is out this Friday and like this blog, is free and packed with value. To subscribe, click here.
In the early stages of developing your inspirational ventures, there are so many "How do I.....?" questions. I often get asked by fellow coaches: "How do you get your clients?" so I wrote a short report to answer them easily. One reader wrote me a huge long email, full of questions. She was curious because it sounded so easy and wanted to know the science behind the magic - how was I really doing it? What was my process, what qualities was I employing, what was making the difference between a one-off encounter and a solid, long-lasting business relationship? Bottom-line was, she wanted to know what my 'x factor' was.
I realised how unconscious we often are of our own magic. It's so 'us' that we're unable to see what we're up to. One reason I often hear for women not starting their own businesses is: "But I do this so naturally, surely it can't be so easy to turn that into a business!?" We seem to have swallowed the belief somewhere along the line that says: 'Everything has to be hard and a struggle', and so we avoid what's right there, under our noses.
Here's a 5-step process for becoming conscious of your own X Factor, so that you can amplify it , harness it, and share it with others.
Step 1: Do What You Do Naturally
For a day (or a few hours at least), stop doing any 'should' activities. Just do what you love, what comes naturally. Reconnect with what's instinctively there.
Step 2: Start Peeking On What Comes Naturally
Casually notice what you're up to. "Ah, I phoned ten people in the last hour" or "I brought a sample of my favourite food to work and then everyone wanted the recipe". Don't go changing anything, simply notice.
Step 3: Become Conscious Of What You're Doing Naturally
Move from casual observation to conscientious awareness. Make a note of your most obvious qualities & activities (Some of mine, for example, are: Talking with strangers, Writing tons, Being out and about in Cambridge often, Doing things differently, Following my heart).
Step 4: Do These Things With Direction
Employ your natural strengths in a direction of your choosing. Focus on what you want to achieve and use your natural strengths to get you there - e.g. I use my writing to share coaching processes with others. Be deliberate, conscious and consistent.
Step 5: Share Your Learnings With Others
Every one of us does things differently. However, if you can share your process with others, it gives them an access map to find and develop their own natural ways, e.g. Show someone who's struggling with disorganisation how you make lists and then prioritise; it may give them a key to unlocking their own most effective ways of working.
When you hear yourself asking: "How do I....?", interpret it as "How do I already.....?" (rather than: "How should I....?") Keep learning from others, but put the essential ingredients in place first. Each piece of new information you receive, you can then decide how it relates to the foundation of you doing the things, in the ways, that you naturally do.
Do Things Differently
Follow the five steps above, with the intention of discovering how you do what you naturally do. Become intimately acquainted with your very own X Factor. Notice what it's like to play from your natural strengths, rather than from a rule book. And if you're feeling brave, ask five people in your life: what do THEY see as being your X Factor?
And if you're feeling REALLY brave, leave a comment on this blog, letting us all know :)
(c) Corrina Gordon-Barnes, 2008
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New! - Monthly E-Zine, The World Needs Your Passion. Issue #1 due out Friday 26th September. Click here to receive issues straight to your in-box.
I've been keeping a fascinated eye on the emerging changes in our global monetary system and when I hear that phrase, 'economic crisis', I picture this....
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