One of the CLC3 Apprentices recently asked me a very important question.

He asked about the problem of becoming attached to the outcomes of the client–in other words, “what happens if they do not achieve them? What happens if they do not hold up their end of the bargain [doing homework, reading, etc.], and what does that mean about us? How do I avoid this problem—and the discomfort of it all”.

“And what happens if–even worse, they have already paid in advance in full and it becomes clear they are not keeping up with the milestones that are necessary as sign-posts on the way to their destination we call ‘goals’ or ‘outcomes’? What do we do?”

This is an important question and it has a several-part answer. It is important because it comes up for most coaches and practitioners; at some point you really, really want XYZ for the client. Yes, they must be outcomes the client wants [not outcomes you see they "need" but they do not resonate with] but even still, with their outcomes we get emotionally engaged–we care–and we want them to have XYZ really badly.

Part of the challenge is that we are not responsible for the lives of our clients–we can’t be. They would get less out of the process if we were; at best, we would actually be inhibiting their growth if we take on that responsibility. They might blame us; they would take less responsibility for creating the life they want and deserve. It could become the coaches “fault” or for some, the coaching [or whatever you call the process] will be just another thing that did not work for them, etc.

And we created that with our attachment.

So the first part of the answer is to make clear to the client–practically–that they are not responsible for their life; that they are. How do we do this? We write it directly into the client-coach agreement that they “are responsible for the results of their life, business, relationship”, etc. And given how some people can be when they are making large life-altering decisions, we review the agreement and then we further clarify and have them initial each paragraph while reviewing it with them to make sure we have done our due diligence as a practitioner in making sure they understand the nature of the relationship is one of trusted adviser–nothing more—and that they understand the agreement in full.

That is the practical aspect.

What about the interpersonal aspect? The actual coaching dynamic? Because you see, to complicate matters if you seem attached [that is you start become emotionally attached to their outcomes, you may engage them in a way that has them polarize, dig in, and resist you--and they start to resist you in ways that will not serve the process overall.

Or worse...

Or worse--they do not do their "homework"--whatever that may be or represent--and they are scared to tell you. In the worse cases they may simply go missing in action. Or they become dishonest.

This is simply another reason I am not a "coach" I am a "Guide" and that approach is something I am careful to embody in every interaction--they do not do their "homework" I communicate to them--with a compassionate smile and a shrug--that I want them to get their outcomes. That I care; and I may even ask them how they best want to be supported. How they want to be held accountable--and I have them design the dynamic.

I have found this softer approach--with nothing for them to resist or push back against--is far more effective than any hard-nosed techniques by far.

Finally [and at times most importantly] is our own development as we, as practitioners, continue our path: who we are is not the results we assist clients in achieving [both positive, amazing over-the-top goals as well as “failures”. Who we are is not that.

Those are the results we assist them in producing, to be sure, and we are professionally responsible for that, but who we are is that which is experiencing it all. Who we are is that Witness; that locus of awareness. And as we come from that place, we will be even more effective, they will feel more freedom to expand and grow within that gentle, ever-present embrace. From that place, where universal beauty unfolds, we are reminded why we do what we do–for that expansion. And within that expansion a better, more joyous, more beautiful world awaits us all.

Coaching Resources, coaching practice tips, inter-personal dynamics, spirituality

Imagine being confused when someone asks you if you took something
personally. Authentically confused–as in, that interpretation is
actually confusing to you.

Imagine being free–finally–from the opinions of others defining
who you are.

Imagine when the sh** comes down in your life there is just the
sh** to deal with and your mind is fully in service–it is your
slave, rather than you being enslaved and imprisoned by your own
mind. I do not mean just in a specific context–personal evolution
is not context dependent as in a piece of change–but a core level
of evolution such that your natural emotional responses are more
free–in every context.

Imagine “reframing” being unnecessary–unnecessary because the
reframe is the frame that naturally arises.

Our ego and our emotions evolve in stages. Greater and greater
expanse. Ever-increasing levels of freedom. Wider and wider embrace
of all that arises–moment to moment.

This is important to you because your stage will determine how you
interpret events as well as your emotional reaction before any
re-framing can occur. In other words, it is what governs your
relationship to interacting with the world and yourself. As I like
to say, it is only important if you interact with yourself–or
others.

Let’s accelerate the process of movement through the egoic stages
so we can play more, love deeper, laugh longer–and hurt for only
as long as is necessary for us to learn what we must learn to
deepen our experience of ourselves.

And isn’t that what it’s all for anyway?

Because who we are is pure divinity. Pure Spirit. “God/dess”
manifest. Yet our particular manifestation is clouded.

As you touch your hand to your heart you may begin to feel Divinity
waiting, wanting to come out and play. Release your divinity.

Your Personal Evolution is the gateway.

Fuller, more grounded details [including when and where] click HERE.

What: Free Intro to Personal Evolution | The Evolutionary Ego
When: Tuesday May 19th, 7:15pm
Where: 582 Market Street  ||  10th Floor Conference Room  ||  San Francisco CA

Full Other-Flavored Details click  HERE.

ego, events, self-esteem, spirituality

Read this sentence to yourself in your mind or out loud:
“My life is the sum total of my own choices; the state of my business is the sum total of my choices”.

As you read that and re-read that, what is your experience? Do you feel excitement? Pride? Shame? Do you sense a burden on your shoulders? What does it weigh in your mind? Do you quickly move to insist it is not your “fault”. That it was out of your control?

Or do you experience a comforting and/or challenging level of acceptance. A “yup” with a quiet nod of your head?

One thing is for certain-your relationship to that sentence is a good indicator of your level of self-esteem, or your level of healthy egoic development in the positive sense. You see, it is not the big ego that needs defending or asserting in the world; it is the small ego. It is not the big ego that is arrogant, self-righteous, or deflects responsibility and blames others; it is the small, pre-rational, pre-conventional, vengeful, ego-centric ego.

It is a challenging re-frame for most to get their minds around. But just ask yourself this: what kind of ego could achieve a non-dual sense of reality; what kind of ego could be one with all things, moment to moment? A big, huge ego. An ego so large it can be a yes to whatever is arising moment to moment and relate to it, be a part of it. That takes an expanded sense of self. Yet that ego is also diffuse. It is large, but it is flexible. It lacks rigidity. It does not need defending or asserting; it understands its power. As a result, there is nothing to prove to anyone-not even itself.

“Ego” has fallen on such hard times, particularly in the West for precisely the same reasons that are implicit above: most people seldom develop beyond stage 1 or 1.5 with their own ego, and since that stage of egoic development gets all the press, as it is loudest and most offensive to the senses, and most people are intuitively [and rightfully so] hesitant to talk about stages, as sadly most people use it to imply superiority in the context of worth, we engage in false reductionism  and label all “ego” as bad.  In that moment we engage as well in a bit of self-hatred [we must] and create internal dissonance [again, necessitated by our thinking] and yet, if ego is the very seat of our consciousness, there is no way to “annihilate” or “transcend ” our ego. To attempt to do so is tantamount to philosophical suicide.

And there is insurmountable evidence proven by plenty of studies, from Dr Graves to Kolberg to Gilligan that these waves of unfolding are bigger in terms of how much they can contain and the number and breadth of what they can relate to; from ego-centric to ethno-centric to world-centric.

So, we can not truly or actually transcend it or annihilate it. However, we can evolve it.

So…what about stage 2? Stage 2 is not the vengeful ego, but an egoic consciousness focused on Justice. And stage 3 would be focused (or have a center of gravity around) or be Grace-centric and world centric. It is also often quietest–yet energetically “largest” or “Brightest”. Think of the force of the ego of Mother Theresa. Imagine her penetrating eyes. The light she must have been in the room. Meek only in the traditional quiet voice sense, but radical Spirit manifest; hardly meek in the egoic sense.

And if we consider that, sweeping aside our preconceived notions about what the word ego usually means in our popular culture, and we begin to get a grasp onto that very upward spiral we all inherently must climb as we ascend or deepen in our own developmental paths, we see the truth.

At this point you may be asking what the heck this has to do with being in business for yourself?!

Let’s look at self-esteem.

We use Dr Nathaniel Branden’s definitions that self esteem has two equal and necessary parts or components: knowledge of your efficacy [knowing you are competent and effective enough to handle what life throws at you] and your self-respect, or the feeling that you deserve to be here and have a good life; that you are “appropriate to life”. We could think of these two components as: your value (in the marketplace) and your worth (your divinity); your negotiated worth and your unquestionable worth; that which can be developed and improved and marketed and that which is unquestionably priceless. Your guilt [the feeling that we did a thing that was in violation of our own value set as Mr Mark Michael Lewis states] and our nervous system is more activated to be sure we do not do it again] and our Shame [the extra move of then judging ourselves as worthless or "bad" at our core as a result.

You must begin to understand that most have their value and their worth collapsed. This is why we engage in shame: we confuse our efficacy with our worth; our finances with who we are at our core; our social reputation with our divine nature. But your self-worth is a settled matter-no matter how much you attempt to outsource it to others and give them the apparent right to pass judgment on you and determine your "worth". At the end of the day, you have to agree or disagree with them to feel into their judgments.

No one can truly impact your self-esteem positively or negatively without you first giving them permission. Period.

Otherwise, we would call it "other esteem". Heh.

I have yet to find someone going into business for themselves for the first time who did not suffer unnecessarily from questions of worth, self-doubt, and/or inquiring "who are they to X, Y, Z.".

Who are you not to? Who are you to keep your gifts from the world? To make that global choice? That is the chilling question.

But on a more practical level, your self-esteem, or your level of egoic development in the healthy sense, will determine how quickly you rebound from negative and unexpected results. It will determine how well you are paid in relationship to how much value you offer others in their lives-and how easily you ask for what you are owed. It will determine how quickly you adjust and adapt to current fluctuating market conditions. It will determine how easily you accept and incorporate feedback. It will determine how easily you can admit errors and move on...

All necessary attributes for a thriving solo-preneur. All necessary attributes for you to thrive in a freer market economy. All questions ignored, stepped over, or only [if forced to] embarrassingly addressed by most courses in small business or even in courses like our CLC. Questions that in the Coaching the Life Coach program we spend an entire module on-and we do it first. Until these errors in thinking, as well as flashpoints in our past are addressed and resolved to a certain degree, teaching you how to build a business will only increase your anxiety and create internal dissonance.

And that would be…well…unkind.

Action steps:

Make a decision today to ask yourself these two questions any time you get results that are unpleasant or unwanted, and could be blamed on another external force, albeit the government, the market at large, your target market, or even God/dess Almighty her/himself:

1.    How am I responsible?
2.    What can I learn [that is positive or empowering; what structures can I put in place to resolve it?]

The first question may be hard to swallow. Good.  You will need to expand your sense of who you are to answer it honestly and usefully. And remember: responsibility does NOT equal fault or blame. Those are separate matters. Take this practice on and you will begin to evolve your ego.

Why?

Because to be able to step into a world-centric life or spiritual purpose, developing an ego that is large enough to take that on without internal questions of doubt and worth is essential for your happiness and your internal harmony. Both things which, even while stretching and challenging you, I hope these writings will increase.

In Service,

Jason D. McClain

21st Century Marketplace, Purpose, ego, intra-personal dynamics, self-esteem, spirituality

Who or What do You Worship?

The purpose of this writing is to lay out different “gods” or objects of worship as an outgrowth and/or expression of the mimetic stage [meme codes within values spheres] of individuals and groups using a rough sketch of the Spiral Dynamics model.

Be forewarned ::: this is serious personal evolution geek stuff.

I am also going to make the unusual move of saying the very premise of what I am about to lay out is inaccurate. That’s right. I am beginning by saying I am wrong in my assertion that there is an individual relationship between mimetic stage and what one “worships”. Why? Because we experience / interpret through and emotionally react from our stage of development—and an individual can therefore have an experience of a particular spirituality or spiritual expression that is the same religion and same “god” as another at a radically different stage and therefore experience it differently. However, I have noticed cultural clumps that gives us enough evidence to make these generalizations below for the purpose of engaging in this thought experiment.

To understand some of what I will say in this writing, one must have an at least basic grasp of the Spiral Dynamics model. There are two summaries attached for your downloading HERE and HERE. Source ::: LINK . Review those before reading further.

My favorite way of representing Spiral Dynamics comes from Dr. Claire Graves himself: The memes are “degrees of activation of the nervous system”. These are not types of people but rather ways of thinking that are holarchically emergent within people. Having established all of the above as our foundation…

The status of the world today is precarious.

All we need to do is turn on the television or spend a day reading the New York Times, WaPo, The Wall Street Journal, Instapundit, or google news, to see some article about humans attempting to force their value system—often expressed through religiosity—onto others.

Whether you are a Israeli having to worry about your existential existence while others in the name of Allah want to push you to the sea, or a secular humanist fearful of the Christian Right in America and some Nation States in Europe, or you are a secular Jew shaking your head at the expansion of settlements deeper into “Palestine”…or you were a New York Resident who watched the twin towers fall you are probably–to varying degrees—aware of and worried about religious fundamentalism and its perilous impact on the global web of life.

But there are other forms that are not as obvious and are more popularly accepted and advocated in today’s media and the latest social mimetic in vogue.

Regardless of which belief system you call your own, the dangers of religious fundamentalism are undeniable.  In all likelihood, you just think it is the fundamentalism of the Other that is dangerous. But what of your own? You may or may not worship a traditional god, but there is a 98% chance you worship something—and have your own attachment and identification to it.

Who or what do you worship? It may not be a god, a goddess, or a Great Spirit but it is something. Is it success, achievement, or the all-mighty dollar? Is it Gaia, Mother Earth, the biosphere? Is it the Nation State, government, or the democratic process?

What do you surrender your mind to? What are you an activist for? Put your worship into? Become irrational over or about? Deny evidence to the contrary for/of?

Once someone says anything is a settled matter—and are closed to debate or dialogue—and go so far as to say that those who do not agree should be tried and hanged, that, my friends, is religious fundamentalism regardless of the form of the deity. In fact, here is an organization advocating Nuremburg-Style Trials for Global Warming Skeptics. Lovely. Lovely example of fundamentalism, that is. Gaia as God/dess.  Apparently we are going back to burning people at the stake for being heretics. Only the deity has changed.

Now that I have your attention, the rest of this piece will be a geek-out session of personal evolution and the emergent in spiral dynamics coupled with cultural clumps and the waves a particular god/dess or “deity” is most inclined towards.

Purple or “magic/mythic” will worship nature and the spirits in nature. The trees talk to Purple. So does the wind. They may worship the great Spirit or the Directions and their elements. Red worships power, respect, might, and most notably, blows things up in the name of Allah. Their “gods” may be the gang, the dictator, the Authoritarian State and so on. Blue/Conventional is likely to worship a Christian/Judeo god in a fundamentalist way—taking the bible or the Torah literally. Orange will worship the all-mighty dollar, success, status, and achievement, and/or hard science. Green will worship Gaia or Community or Multiculturalism and “Diversity” with great fervor and no regard for real-world results.

And thus ends Tier 1, where the “Momentous Leap”, as Dr Claire Graves called it, emerges and occurs. At Yellow, or Integral—the first stage in Tier 2, there is little or no “worship”, but rather an appreciation of all forms of worship and all metaphors [yes I said it] for the highest form of consciousness; what some refer to as “God” or Goddess”.

Having said all that, it is possible for someone to rise through these emergent stages in one of any of the religions or forms of worship listed above—but the way they interpret it moves from maniacal and fervent to literal to obedient to questioning to rejecting to appreciating it for its metaphorical value–yet having choice around it. And as one rises through those waves, stages, or levels of development in relationship to it, its grasp and its “Truth-ness” becomes less and less rigid and less and less fundamentalist and therefore less and less violent both physically and metaphorically.

We hold our beliefs less rigidly and in relationship with them, our beliefs do not hold onto us quite so rigidly either. They lose their grip on us.

So…who—or what—do you worship?  Each memetic stage in the evolution of values [another way of thinking about and representing SD] has its own fixation and spiritual expression. Is it God? Jehovah? Allah? Is it the Market? is it Gaia? Is it Community or the State?

Consider this ::: your view, while accurate and valid, is incomplete. It is partial. It must be. They all are. I look forward to a day when we can all truly appreciate the value and beauty in all beliefs while creating a stable and sustainable dialogue between all of them as we transcend our fundamentalism in all forms and create an Integral and integrated world.

Beliefs, intra-personal dynamics, spirituality integral, integral religion, personal evolution, spiral dynamics, spirituality, wilber

One of the challenges I see so many coaches and solopreneurs struggle with is what they should charge for their services. Most do not know what they should charge. Many charge what they think they can get. Some charge whatever the next coach or practitioner charges. That is–”the going rate”. Many charge what they would be willing to pay themselves. Most charge less than they are worth–while improving the lives of others dramatically.

But why? And what are the solutions to this travesty of value? Read more…

21st Century Marketplace, Coaching Resources, Communication, Evolutionary Sales, Purpose, Uncategorized, coaching practice tips, featured, inter-personal dynamics, organizing principles, sales and marketing tips, spirituality marketing tips, practice tips, Purpose, sales tips, value perception

Be sure to read Part 1 of this article here.

Taking Responsibility

The more you take responsibility—for your emotions, your actions, your life the more you build self-esteem. It is not the person who upset you, it is that you became triggered—or that you lost facility. It is not that the cost of living is too high; it is that you are not generating enough income. It is not that someone treats you poorly; it is that you are ineffective at drawing appropriate boundaries. The locus of responsibility—and therefore power—is within you. Nothing is external. To blame someone is to give them tremendous power over you. When you forgo blame in favor of responsibility, you give up comfort, but you reap tremendous rewards—gaining power and building self-esteem.

Sadly, I have even experienced people whose ego structure [development of self-esteem] is so insufficient that they will severely distort facts to make themselves look better—all unconsciously. That is, they are not even aware they are doing it. Their ego is so small and fragile it can not include possibilities that do not put them in the most positive light. They also cannot hear feedback. They take things personally that take great leaps of irrationality to do so. They will also have trouble telling the truth of their experience—they are too fearful. And they have a strong — and at times desperate — need for approval and acknowledgment from others.They are in egoic hell.

Fortunately, the solution is simple. Not easy, but simple. And the more you do it the easier it gets and it is the only sure fire way to build your rational self-esteem; taking responsibility for your part in all things inter-personal. Seeing and examining your part—and ignoring the part the other person had to play in it. Blame serves no one. Responsibility gives you tremendous power.

“Do you want to be on the results side of the equation, or the excuses side of the equation? –Christopher Howard

Let’s leave that for now and move to identification. When you identify with an aspect of your experience: possessions, reputation, job, relationship, etc. you will experience extreme fear and perhaps panic if you think it may be taken from you or lost. You will then make choices and take actions out of a fight-or-flight state. Likewise, if it actually is taken from you or lost to you, you will experience loss, perhaps confusion, pain, at times even grief. Often depression and despair are not far behind.

Both of these emotional experiences: fear and loss are clear indicators of identification; a case of mistaken identity. Who you truly are is that which is experiencing all of that. Pure awareness. The Witness.

The ultimate spiritual practice is dis-identifying from that which you think is you.”—Ken Wilber

Taking a step back, let’s look at this in more practical terms. The Witness is simply another perceptual position. As we discussed in the Rapport Module, there are at least 3 that you want to become facile in navigating: self, other, observer; or first, second, and third person perceptual positions. Witness is akin to an associated observer. I like to think of the first three as concentric circles, and the Witness as an intersecting circle that crosses all three.

Mastery of this and the other perceptual positions will allow you to experience massive internal facility, emotional freedom, and the ability to relate to and understand many and multiple perspectives—even if you do not agree with them.

You will have a greater scope of resources emotionally. You will have greater flexibility mentally. You will bounce back from unexpected events far more rapidly, and you will react less and less and respond more and more. Ultimately, you will foster the kind of flexibility and fluidity necessary for the 21st Century Marketplace and frankly, be happier, physically healthier, and more productive.

Your clients and prospects will sense the difference—even if they lack the linguistic structures to navigate it or explain it—and that will translate to results for you.

So that is what it is and why it is important, and what it makes possible…but how, Jason? How?

You have to learn the set of skills that will allow you to observe your experience. That is: to have your experience without your experience having you.

Just as in learning a new language, immersion is best at first if you are serious about learning the skill. There is a practice that I recommend.

As in all things I recommend to you, I have either done it, am doing it, or practice it continually. I have experienced this particular immersion six times now. It is a meditative practice that has been working for the purpose of teaching witnessing faculties for 2,500 years now. No matter your religion, spiritual beliefs, or lack thereof, you will reap many benefits and those around you will take notice. And soon you will realize how critical a skill it is indeed and how positive its results can be.

Find out more about scheduling this kind of immersion for yourself HERE.

And then you will truly be an Evolutionary professional.

Communication, ego, emotions, intra-personal dynamics, spirituality

As I have written recently, there has been a shift in the marketplace. In the 20th Century marketplace sales people talked about “closing deals” at best. At worst they talked about “shooting their prospects down like they were ducks in a shooting gallery”. This is not exactly a metaphor we should be living into as we evolve as a culture–and not a metaphor the leading edge of the marketplace will any longer support in the profit centers of the global marketplace, or the Functioning Core, as Dr. Thomas Barnett would say.

I actually had a CEO [my boss] one time tell me that I should “pound their door down” to get a meeting. While people who watch me walk often ask if I was a football player, I responded: “how ’bout I dance my way through it?” He barked back: “I don’t care how you do it, just get the client!”

That CEO had a team of incredibly skilled top producers from other organizations. All of us were highly developed and into personal development as a lifestyle. Some of us had already led courses–even though we were barely 30 years old. We all left for other endeavors as a result of his management style. Not long after the company was in disarray and its assets and database had to be liquidated. That process only took two years once he had assumed control and had the sales team report directly to him.

Welcome to the 21st Century Marketplace. Evolve and come from a foundation of support and contribution, or wither away.

I have even recently heard sales trainers speak of manipulating your clients or “hypnotic” sales and other language that speaks of your treating prospects and clients as if they were objects, rather than a trusted adviser and powerful guide in improving their life, department, results, etc. Rather than a guide in assisting them in making their own dreams a reality. This subject-object way of relating to people is old thinking and it is sales for the last century.

I talked at length in the prologue about this shift in the marketplace–as well as the foundation you need to come from to be at the forefront of sales professionals and the evolving 21st Century Marketplace. Be sure you have listened to that prologue to get the most from the Evolutionary Sales podcasts. You may even considering listening to it over and over again.

In Episode 1 and 2, I talk about your emotional foundation and give you powerful tools that have been developed over the last 30 plus years to rapidly shift your emotional state to be of service to your clients and prospects. Not that your life still will not have ups and downs–it will–but you will be able to more rapidly move through them. Move through them more rapidly than many people even think possible.

And for what purpose?

Obviously, so you can produce greater results. But for what purpose? And what is “Evolutionary Sales”? Evolutionary Sales is defined as such: “inspiring another toward their vision of what is possible, and using advanced tools to leverage them beyond their limitations”. Once you are in service of a vision of what is possible with your product or service that comes from their own mouth, it then becomes your duty to leverage them beyond their limitations. That, my friends, is Evolutionary Sales.

This foundation allows you to use some of the most influential linguistic and interpersonal dynamic skills currently available while still being of service to them–and they will feel, see, hear, smell, and taste the difference. At least for now. I envision a time in the not-so-distant future when truly effective sales professionals and trusted advisers will need to be capable of truly trans-personal states. But that is another story for another time.

Why should you care? You may already be very good at motivating and influencing people such that you prosper well. The reason you shoul care is if you are already good, you will inherently be involved in improving, developing, and yes, evolving your self. But even beyond that, you will feel more fulfilled and frankly happier if come form the deeper structure of the Evolutionary Sales Process.

That is the purpose. To have a more fulfilling experience for yourself and provide a more fulfilling experience for your clients and prospects. Move from success to signifigance. Move from subject-object thinking to relational thinking. Move from the 20th Century Marketplace to the 21st Century Marketplace.

Want to start now? Subscribe to these podcasts. Don’t want to wait a year to get all the information? Buy Evolutionary Sales now and own the whole system as well as an opportunity to have me coach you directly on how to integrate it into your daily sales practices. Whether your challenge is how to be comfortable on the phone or how to increase your opening [used to be close] ratio, I would be honored to be your Guide.

Communication, Evolutionary Sales, Purpose, emotions, inter-personal dynamics, relationships, sales and marketing tips, spirituality evolutionary, marketing, nlp, sales, web 2.0

Welcome to the 21st Century Marketplace.

There has been a shift afoot in the marketplace for decades. A shift that is approaching critical mass. Consumers of products and services have so much choice and so much access to information that they are now free to choose those providers who most suit their preferences.

This…is good. It creates competition and depth like never before.

What is also becoming apparent is that people are no longer interested in disconnected and uncaring service and product providers. They want people to care for them, connect with them, and demonstrate that you care for their needs, wants, and desires over your desires for monetary gain. And the truth is, if you help enough people get what they want and need, you will eventually have more than you could ever want.

What is required in the 21st Century Marketplace is to come from a foundation of service, contribution, and yes, perhaps even Purpose. A life or spiritual purpose. Nothing religious, mind you–and you do not necessarily even want to share this foundation or purpose with your prospects or clients explicitly or verbally–just behaviorally. They will sense it. They will “feel it” if you will. If you do not, they may choose someone over you even though your product or service looks better on paper–and it will be a result of your failure to take on the 21st Century Marketplace Mindset; your failure to adjust to the modern requirements of the marketplace.

One thing is for sure: If you want to thrive in the 21st Century Marketplace, and not just survive, you will want to be sure to actively mine your own depths for the reason and deeper purpose behind the work you do and the benefits of the products you offer. You will need to understand the deeper values being tapped by your clients and prospects as they interact with their business–both so you can understand them deeper as well as assist them in bringing those values into realization in their lives.

The sites for the Evolutionary Companies, Coaching the Life Coach and Evolutionary Sales, will be grounded in this philosophy. A philosophy of combining the best of the East and their spiritual traditions of service and contribution as well as the best of the West: freedom, free market capitalism, entrepreneurship, agility, and technology.

This is your nexus.

There need be no division between money and purpose. Between fulfillment and business. If you feel hesitancy or guilt around money–this integration is the antidote. If you feel like you are not living as fulfilling a life as you could as you engage in your quest for prosperity–this integration is the antidote.

Coaching the Life Coach and Evolutionary Sales are about bringing you hard-cast nuts and bolts to build your business and become more effective with the people in front of you–through communication skills, technology, and specific and tangible steps to allow you to create explosive results. However all of that will less effective without the 21st Century Marketplace Mindset: a foundation of contribution, service, and a lack of any attachment to “closing that deal” if it serves you more than your client. The 21st Century Marketplace is about opening relationships and within that closing deals to be mutually beneficial.

I thank you for allowing me to be your Guide in the 21st Century Marketplace.

21st Century Marketplace, Evolutionary Sales, Purpose, audio, coaching practice tips, ego, featured, inter-personal dynamics, sales and marketing tips, spirituality ego, evolution, marketing, sales, sales tips, web 2.0

Part 1

Part 0 can be found here.

[Note to reader & disclaimer: as this series is comprised of excerpts from a book draft, is it not meant to be complete. Some ideas will be developed and others will be left for a later time. Moreover, some of you who are familiar with my work will wonder why I am not covering a certain concept or other. I am leaving pieces out intentionally. however, it is my hope that in revealing these excerpts free to you, that these I.D.E.A.s may begin to make a difference in your life…even now.]

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Living consciously is an infinite and life-time endeavor. Often in the West we think of being “conscious OR unconscious”. That is, we are one or the other. And, unless we are asleep or in a coma, we are thought to be “conscious”. Are we really? How many of our actions are conscious? How much of our existence is managed consciously? Do you order yourself to breathe every breath? Think every thought? Make every movement? Of course not. And it would be impossible to do so. Our conscious minds are not equipped to manage the millions of actions that are taking place at the cellular and molecular level. It is a good thing that this is all happening “unconsciously”.

What about those things we are supposed to be consciously controlling or at least consciously aware of? Driving, walking, eating, making love, conversing, our surroundings…have you ever been driving on the freeway and passed your familiar exit and it was miles before you realized it? We all have. Have you ever been driving, arrived at work or home and can not remember large portions of your drive because you were lost in thoughts? We all have.

However, living consciously is not just about being aware and being “present to” your surroundings or what is happening, although that is certainly part of it and good practice for your mind. A practice we will cover later. And it is not a binary experience—not digital, but rather it is analog. That is, it is not a question of whether we are living consciously or not, but to what degree.

Living consciously is about making conscious choices; choices that will increase the likelihood of our long-term happiness regardless of [and at times, in spite of] our short-term desires. In order to do this we must first define our values consciously. This is simple and easy enough to do, but is seldom actually done. How does one define their values? Define is actually less accurate than “discover” or “distinguish”. We can do this by asking ourselves a simple question repeatedly:

The type of answer we are looking for will be an abstraction—a nominalization—that is, it will be a process stated as a noun. Some examples are:

• Contribution
• Family
• Security
• Prosperity
• Love
• Freedom

I am not sure what they are for you, but we will soon discover them. The type of answer we are not looking for is a static noun. Examples are:

Read more…

intra-personal dynamics, spirituality

Part 0: Introduction

“When people are free to act, they will always act in a way that they believe will maximize their utility, i.e., will raise them to the highest possible position on their value scale. Their utility ex ante will be maximized, provided we take care to interpret “utility” in an ordinal rather than a cardinal manner. Any action, any exchange that takes place on the free market or more broadly in the free society, occurs because of the expected benefit to each party concerned.” –Murray N. Rothbard, Power and Market

“We must not be afraid to be free.”–Justice Black

Human beings have an inexhaustible spirit. Through wars, pestilence, oppression, disasters, genocide and personal tragedy, human beings continue to express creativity and ingenuity to the very degree that they are allowed the liberties to do so. It is an unquenchable and inexhaustible Spirit. It is the best—the Divine—within each of us that makes it so. And while at times, we have varying degrees of access to the divine within us, and sometimes the light is dim and flickers, the fact remains that there is a god or goddess in all of us waiting to come out and play.

What if we could integrate our work and our play? Our spirit and our finances? Our economics and our purpose? Our job and our internal worship? The mundane and the divine?

My assertion is that not only is this possible…it is necessary…for the conscious evolution of the planet and for our survival and thrival as a species. Not to mention our personal happiness. As many of us our satisfied–that is we have all the nice stuff. Cars, houses, fine clothing, computers, iPods, great relationships, money…but we remain unfulfilled. Read more…

Purpose, spirituality