Business and Marketing Success Strategies
That’s part of what I’ve been up to these past couple months. It’s amazing how time flies when you’re having fun, ignoring your own blog…
Twitter Business Strategies is a training and support program that’s designed to help entrepreneurs and small business owners and managers learn to use Twitter as a highly effective tool in the context of their existing business. This sequential-learning program is coupled with the “All About Twitter: Set Up & Profit From Your Twitter Account” hands-on 102-page pdf document and 60-minute audio training. Together, these two trainings pack a Twitter wallop!
Business and Marketing Success Strategies is a new Web site dedicated to helping entrerpeneurs and small business owners and managers learn the principles, strategies, tools and techniques that make for a successful offline or online business. The site is also the home of the “Biz Boost” workshops which are offered “virtually” via teleconference and in the “real world.” (The first several “Biz Boosts” are being held on the 57-foot motor yacht “Concordance,” the home of Settlement Works, in Marina Del Rey, CA.
In future posts, I’ll write more about all of these. And more, becuase there are exciting things brewing…
I hope you’ll leave your comments or questions here or on either of those other Web sites, and look forward to reading them.
Jay Aaron
Strategic Visionary / Visionary Strategist
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
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All contents international Copyright Jay Aaron 2009. All international rights reserved. Permisssion granted to reproduce the contents of this article in part or in whole with appropriate credit to the author and a link to this Web site: http://JayAaron.com
Tags: business, entrepreneur, Jay Aaron, marketing, small business, strategy, Success, Twitter, Twitter Business Strategies
This is a time of turning. Summer becomes Autumn. For Jews, the new year begins.
It’s a perfect time to take a deep look inside.
At the core of each of us is the single question:
“Why am I here?”
Put in other words:
“What’s my purpose?”
It could be argued that we’re all here for the SAME purpose. Perhaps simply to experience life as a human on planet Earth at this time. Or to experience giving and receiving love. Or…
And it seems that each of us may have our own unique purpose.
In my experience, either my purpose changes over time, or my awareness or perception of my purpose changes.
So while I explore this question far more often than once a year, I find it particularly valuable and particularly poignant to visit the question of “Why am I here?” each year as my year turns, as Summer turns into Autumn.
Why are YOU here?
I’d like to know. I hope you’ll share your personal purpose as a comment on this blog post.
Jay Aaron
Strategic Visionary / Visionary Strategist
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
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All contents international Copyright Jay Aaron 2009. All international rights reserved. Permisssion granted to reproduce the contents of this article in part or in whole with appropriate credit to the author and a link to this Web site: http://JayAaron.com
“Better be fun, or…”
Yesterday, my friend and colleague Warren Whitlock was tweeting about one of his core messages: creating a fun path through life. I joked with him about whether work could be fun (of course it can!), and he replied to me via Twitter:
“Better be fun or I ain’t doing it. If you can tell the difference between work and play, you aren’t doing one of them right”
So many people get caught up in work that doesn’t fulfill them emotionally or spirtually, stating as their reason that it “puts food on the table.”
Of course, physical sustenance is extremely important.
So I have without hesitation advised people to do any legal and moral thing to make money when whether or not there was a next meal was their primary concern.
And I’ve also advised people to do what makes money NOW – even if you aren’t passionate about or don’t enjoy what you’re doing – while you’re laying the foundation for being able to transition into replacing (and then exceeding) your income by doing something that evokes more passion and is more fun.
Although it may not always feel like the truth, what you do with each moment of each day is your choice. Even working at a job that doesn’t feel like “play.”
So with great respect for any reason you might have for doing work that you don’t enjoy right now…
What would be the harm of thinking about what you’d like to do for work that would be more fulfilling, and imagining how you could design a way to bring more of that into your life? Maybe as a hobby from which you make a little money – and then transition over time into having what’s fun also be what you do “for a living.”
Become a Master at the Art of Living
People who do what they love and love what they do are “masters in the art of living.”
Warren Whitlock is such a master.
My interchange with Warren reminded me of one of my favorite quotes. I’ve seen it attributed to François-René de Chateaubriand, and to Orison Swett Marden, the founder of Success Magazine (although Mr. Marden may simply have been quoting Mr. de Chateaubriand).
You’ll excuse the male-only reference, I’m sure, as I’m quoting the original. It applies just as much to women, of course.
“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.”
Are you striving to become a Master at the Art of Living? If you aren’t yet, perhaps it’s time to begin heading in that direction.
Your thoughts?
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All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” at http://JayAaron.com
Tags: art of living, play, Sexcess Mastery (TM), Success, work
Today is Thursday, August 13th, 2009.
Every day since my most recent blog post on (GULP!) May 15th, 2009, I’ve thought about writing a new post.
And every day, I’ve had a “good reason” why I didn’t. Mostly, I’ve been focused on other projects. Projects that have been a greater priority than writing on my blog. About that, I feel OK.
But I don’t feel great that I’ve allowed myself to get out of the habit of writing blog posts regularly.
Each day that I didn’t write added to the energy of not writing. Some days I would actually say to myself (inside my own mind, of course): “I’ll never get caught up.” As if getting caught up had any importance whatsoever. Which it doesn’t, of course. But that didn’t keep me from having the most inane thoughts, that I’d use for justifying why I hadn’t written on any given day, or wasn’t going to, instead of just writing my next post.
And it’s also been easy to remain distracted. I’d start the day thinking: “Today’s the day I’ll write on my blog again,” and then arrive at the end of the day having not done so, simply because I’d prioritized whatever I had done that day over writing on my blog. Yet after looking back on the day, I’d realize that I’d allowed myself to be distracted by other things that weren’t as important – in my mind – as writing on my blog. But that hadn’t stopped me from acting as if they WERE more important. And that’s what counts.
It’s really simple, of course.
What I think is most valuable, I prioritize. What’s at the top of my list benefits by my commitment. What’s I value less, falls further down the list. And while I might have an “intention” to do what’s further down my list, there’s a WIDE gap between “intention” and “commitment.”
Want to know what your priorities are? Want to know what you’re truly committed to?
It’s easy. Just look at your actions. Without judgment. Just be “Joe Friday” from Dragnet. “Just the facts, Ma’am.” What are you DOING, regularly? THAT’S what you’re committed to.
If you allow yourself, as I do, to be distracted, then what you think you might be committed to is no more than an intention. True commitment trumps distractions. True commitment allows you to “just say no” to whatever is not in alignment with your commitment.
OK, so now I get to find out. Does my desire to write on my blog, regularly, move up on my priority list? Does it change from “intention” to “commitment?”
Now I get to use my favorite response, when someone – even myself – attempts to predict the future:
“We’ll see!”
One thing’s for sure, however. This post is no longer an intention. It’s very real – the result of my commitment to write it.
Your thoughts?
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All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” at http://JayAaron.com
Tags: action, commitment, inaction, intention, priorities, results, Success
I have a “learning orientation” toward life, so I read a LOT.
In this article, I’m going to tell you about my friends and colleagues Judith Sherven & Jim Sniechowski, who have just published their most recent book:
“The Heart of Marketing
Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back!”
http://www.TheHeartOfMarketing.com
I HIGHLY recommend it. And right now, you can also get 62 additional personal and professional resources just for getting a copy from Amazon, where it’s already shot straight to #1 in several categories.
One of those resources is from me, so I encourage you to take advantage of that. It’s in the 29th box in the left column at:
http://www.TheHeartOfMarketing.com
AND…
This coming Tuesday, May 19th, 2009, I have the honor and the privilege of interviewing Judith and Jim LIVE as my Featured Guests on this week’s Twitternar Tuesday Presentations. They’ll be talking about “The Heart of Marketing,” and during the second part of the presentation, we’re going to dig down into the LANGUAGE of Heartful Marketing that’s different from “hard-sell” marketing.
And before you attend that interview live, or listen to the recording, I strongly encourage you to visit:
http://www.TheHeartOfMarketing.com
to learn more about Judith and Jim’s business-changing (and possibly life-changing) book and the additional resources that you’ll get when you purchase it from Amazon today.
Here’s a bit more about the importance of this topic, and why it impacts your business and your success:
If you market and promote your business, products or services, it’s absolutely essential that your message and the words you use to inform, inspire, motivate and encourage the members of your audience to take a specific action that adds value to their lives AND puts profits in your coffer…
* reflect who you are – your core values, your desire to serve, and your (and your company’s, if you have one) authentic personality;
AND…
* resonate with your audience members, so that they feel as if they’re part of your community (they are!), and truly know that you’ve got their best interests at heart (you do!) and that they’ll get more value from what they invest with you than what it costs them (they will!)
Think about this for a moment:
Not all marketing and promotional language works for all people.
Some people like to be TOLD politely what to do.
Some people like to be ASKED politely to take an action.
Some people like to hear or read “logical” language – FEATURES, facts and figures, comparisons and contrasts.
Some people like to hear or read “emotional” language – how they’ll FEEL when they receive the BENEFITS of your product or service.
All people want to build a RELATIONSHIP with you, so that they feel comfortable and confident when the pull out their wallet. And you may need some – or many – more interactions with them before they do. So if you lose them on the first attempt to communicate with them, you won’t get a second chance.
So if you know and use only one approach (”hard-sell” OR “soft-sell”) to marketing and promotion, and you use only one kind of marketing language, you’re limiting YOUR possible profits. Plain and simple.
So regardless of which style of marketing you’re most familiar with, most comfortable with, or even thinks works best for YOU, stop limiting yourself and throwing away the opportunity to serve EVEN MORE people and make more money.
Expand your audience, your influence and your customer base (customers, clients, patients, attendees, members, students, etc.) simply by communicating in a VARIETY of marketing styles and languages, instead of limiting yourself to just one.
So what do you think? How would your business do better by serving more people and making you more profits if you CHANGED your current marketing and communications style or ADDED new marketing and communications styles to your existing ones?
Leave a comment, and let me – and others – know.
Jay Aaron
http://JayAaron.com
Founder: http://www.Twitternars.com
Are you following me on Twitter yet?:
http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
Some things to consider doing:
Read Judith Sherven’s and Jim Sniechowski’s great book on “The Heart of Marketing”
Listen to my interview with Judith and Jim about “The Heart of Marketing” and “The Language of Heartful Marketing”
Learn from Judith and Jim about “Soft Topic Copywriting Secrets” and put them to use in your marketing and promotions.
Tags: book, Business Success, clients, customers, Judith & Jim, Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski, making money, marketing, marketing lanugauge, marketing styles, patients, Professional Success, recommended reading, The Heart of Marketing
I hold a Masters Degree from the University of Santa Monica, a private university which mission is “communicating the principles and practices of Spiritual Psychology worldwide through the process of Soul-Centered Education.”
Ron and Mary Hulnick, USM President and Vice President, define “Spiritual Psychology” as “the study and practice of the art and science of human evolution in consciousness.”
In association with the University of Santa Monica, Dr. David Paul and Bonnie Paul created “Freedom to Choose” (also known informally as the “Prison Project” – a three-day weekend facilitated by volunteer graduates of the University at Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, CA. Inmates and USM facilitators interact using some of the Soul-Centered communication skills taught in the Master’s Program.
Watch the short form of the award-winning video of this compelling journey into the hearts and minds of the remarkable female inmates who participated in the University of Santa Monica’s Freedom to Choose workshop at the Valley State Prison for Women right here.
Freedom to Choose short form from University of Santa Monica on Vimeo.
You can also read about Eli Davidson’s experience as a USM volunteer in her April 24, 2009 article on the Huffington Post Web site entitled “What I Learned From Prison Inmates: The Freedom To Choose” Eli Davidson is a “Reinvention Expert, Coach and Speaker” who you can learn more about by visiting her Web site.
One of the most significant meanings in this program is how much the volunteers – who have been asked to “give” of themselves in this way, get in return.
How about you? Have you adopted a giving orientation to life? Have you recognized that the more that you give without expectation of return, the more you are blessed with the rewards of giving?
Share your stories (as comments here at JayAaron.com) of how you have given of yourself without any expectation of getting anything in return, and ended up feeling that you got the better end of the deal.
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All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” at http://JayAaron.com
Tags: "Freedom to Choose", "Prison Project", Dr. David Paul and Bonnie Paul, Eli Davidson, giving, giving orientation to life, giving to get, Huffington Post, Ron and Mary Hulnick, Spiritual Psychology, University of Santa Monica
Twitternar Tuesdays are a weekly series of Teleseminars / TeleWebcasts presented by me (Jay Aaron), featuring world-class experts in the arenas of personal, professional and business success.
On Tuesday evening, 21 April 2009, I have the privilege of presenting my friend, colleague and Mentor Rick Raddatz, Founder of Xiosoft, during not just one, but two “Twitternar Tuesday” Teleseminar / TeleWebcast Presentations.
Both events are a coup – and an amazing opportunity for you, the listener. Although Rick Raddatz is extremely generous with his knowledge, he seldom does public teleseminars.
Our first hour together is FREE to attend!
Tuesday, 21 April, 2009
6:00 PM Pacific / 9:00 PM Eastern
Duration: 50 minutes
Most of you know Rick Raddatz for the software he’s created alone and in partnership with people like Armand and Alex Mandossian.
But you may not know that Rick is someone who lives his life fully dedicated to his own personal and professional growth and development, and he’s going to reveal that side of himself on this call, and share with you how his approach can benefit you, directly.
As part of his “BREVITY” subscriber program in which he summarizes one book a week, Rick reviewed one of his most beloved and influential books: “Think and Grow Rich.” He’s agreed to devote this public interview tothe same topic, which we’re calling:
“BEYOND Think and Grow Rich: The Six-Step Framework for Personal and Professional Success!”
If there’s anybody who knows about personal and professional success, it’s Rick Raddatz.
An early inside influencer at Microsoft, Rick designed, developed and marketed technologies that power the Internet today.
In 2003 he launched Xiosoft, which offers Web tools like Instant Teleseminar and Xiosoft Lead Generator to entrepreneurs. In 2009, he plans to launch three new companies.
This doesn’t “just happen.” Learn Rick’s Six-Step Framework for how to achieve success, and put it to work for YOU!
ATTEND ABSOLUTELY FREE!
http://www.Twitternars.com/presentations
(The call WILL be recorded and made available by replay. Details can be found on the registration page.)
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Our second hour and a half together is a fee-based PREMIUM Presentation!
Tuesday, 21 April, 2009
6:00 PM Pacific / 9:00 PM Eastern
Duration: 90 minutes
This teleseminar, too, is a coup – and an amazing opportunity for you, the listener. Although Rick Raddatz is extremely generous with his knowledge, he seldom does public teleseminars. And during this call, which he’s calling, simply:
he’s making himself available to answer any of your questions about:
“BEYOND Think and Grow Rich: The Six-Step Framework for Personal and Professional Success.”
His “BREVITY” weekly book summary subscription service.
Business Strategy and Development (I know no-one more knowledgeable about this than Rick)
Any of his software programs, including:
Instant Teleseminar / Xiosoft Presenter
Xiosoft Lead Generator / Marketing MakeOver Generator
Xiosoft Audio / Instant Audio Generator
… and more!
This is your opportunity to ask Rick Raddatz your questions and have him answer them, personally!
This is a fee-based, “Premium” Twitternar Tuesday Presentation.
Register to attend Rick’s FREE “BEYOND Think and Grow Rich” Public Presentation, and learn how to attend his Premium “GRILL RICK!” Presentation as well!
http://www.Twitternars.com/presentations
(This call WILL be recorded and made available by replay. Details can be found on the registration page.)
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I look forward to having you Join Rick Raddatz and me for these highly informative and inspirational events!
Jay Aaron
http://JayAaron.com
Founder: http://wwwTwitternars.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
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All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron: “Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” at http://JayAaron.com
Tags: Business Success, Jay Aaron, Personal Success, Professional Success, Rick Raddatz, Teleseminar, TeleWebcast, Think and Grow Rich, Twitternar Tuesdays
Are you Sexcessful?
That’s probably a question you’ve never asked yourself before.
But it makes absolute sense, doesn’t it?
One of my mentors taught me: “How you do one thing is how you do everything.”
So how you live your life – what you think, feel and believe, and how you act – has both a direct and an indirect impact on your relationships, including your most intimate relationship, and in the most intimate of ways.
Moreover, the way you relate to your partner or spouse IN the bedroom – the caring and respect you demonstrate, the way you communicate, the self-judgments you hold and the judgments you place upon your beloved, the self-confidence you bring – these and more translate directly into and impact how you relate to yourself and others OUTSIDE of the bedroom.
Do you want to experience a more highly fulfilling, deeply satisfying connection and more highly fulfilling, deeply satisfying sex with your partner or spouse?
If so, join my friend and colleague Karen Brody, Creator of Sexcess Mastery (TM), for her inaugural eight-week TeleClass entitled:
“The Seven Secret Keys to Great Sex: Total Fulfillment for Women and Deep Satisfaction for Men!”
Classes will be held LIVE on Mondays at 6:00 PM Pacific / 9:00 PM Eastern for eight weeks beginning Monday, 30 March, 2009.
Each week, Karen will reveal one of the Seven Secret Keys and share with you exactly how to implement it in your life, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask Karen your most burning questions about love, relationships, sexuality, sex and lovemaking.
Each class will be recorded, so you don’t have to be able to attend the classes live in order to benefit from Karen’s teachings. Enroll and join in even if it’s after March 30th, because you’ll still be able to catch up via the recordings and other resources available to you as a “Seven Keys” Student.
Class enrollment comes with several bonuses, including a free 15-minute consult with Karen any time during the eight-week period.
Visit:
to learn more and enroll in this life-changing class!
Here’s to your great sexcess!
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Jay Aaron
Strategic Visonary / Visionary Strategist
http://JayAaron.com
Founder of http://www.Twitternars.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
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All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” at http://JayAaron.com
Tags: Are You Sexcessful, Karen Brody, Personal Growth, Recommended Resources, Relationships, sexuality
Jay Aaron: What’s He Up To?
In general, I operate in the background, out of sight. I like it that way. I’m good at it. And in general, I consider the impact of the projects in which I’m involved or support to be more important than people’s awareness of my role in them.
But many of you have asked what I’m up to these days. Here’s a short list, just to make it easy for you.
1. Helping You Achieve Greater Personal, Professional and Business Success
One of the things I am most passionate about is – and has been – assisting people to achieve ever-increasing personal, professional and business success.
Over the past 30 years, I’ve done numerous interviews and interview series featuring my friends and colleagues and others who have a similar orientation in their desire to serve via what they offer professionally to customers and clients.
In that spirit, each week I interview one of my friends and colleagues in a series I’m calling “Twitternar Tuesdays.” Each Tuesday you can listen in on a live interview at 6:00 PM Pacific / 9:00 PM Eastern, absolutely free, and each of my interviewees also offers the opportunity to participate in a more in-depth exploration of her/his topic – or the unique opportunity to interact more directly with her or him – on a “premium” Twitternar interview immediately following (7:00 PM Pacific / 10:00 PM Eastern.
To date, I’ve interviewed:
Marty M. Fahncke, Founder of Conference Call University, about “Seven Ways to Promote Yourself, Your Products, Services, and Events on the Internet, With – or WITHOUT – a Web site.
Robin M. Powers and Linda Allen, Founders of Biz Recipes, about “The Five Questions You MUST Ask Prior to Creating ANY Product, and “How To Create And Profit from Your First Three Products – In Just ONE Week!”
Ken McArthur, Founder of JV Alert and JV Alert Live, about “How to Have a Massive IMPACT Through Your Life and Deeds”
Jeff Herring, “The Article Marketing Guy” about the Article Marketing System Solution to Growing Your Business and Serving More People.
April, May and June, 2009 will include interviews with Marc Harty (PR), Judith & Jim (The Heart of Marketing), Noah St. John (The Secret Code of Success), Cathy Perkins (Wordpress Wizardry), David Mathison (Be The Media!) and many more!
Sign up for your daily informative, inspiring and motivating Tweet about using Twitter on your quest for success by visiting http://www.Twitternars.com
While you’re there, learn more about and register to attend Twitternar Tuesdays free of charge by clicking the link to Twitternar Tuesdays on that page.
2. Helping You Experience GREAT Relationships
My colleague Merle Singer and I are developing some very exciting products and events for later in 2009 that are devoted to assisting you to experience greater fulfillment and deeper satisfaction in all areas of your most intimate relationship, in and out of the bedroom.
We’re redesigning “Making Love Simply Divine” from the ground up, based on what we’ve learned from our prior experience when this program was launched in association with my friend and colleague Karen Brody.
And we’re developing projects dedicated to helping single men and women in their search for a fulfilling long-term relationship, and for helping both sexes better understand and more easily and effectively relate to one another.
Watch for more later this year.
3. Helping to Save Marriages and Relationships in Economically Troubled Times
Merle Singer and I are creating a workbook designed specifically to help couples save – and enhance – their marriage or relationship in the context of these troubled economic times.
This workbook is the first in a series of products designed specifically for the increased exposure we will be creating for it through sponsorship and partnership arrangements.
If you’re interested in helping us make this workbook available to the greatest number of couples, I’d love to hear from you.
4. Karen Brody: Sexcess Mastery (TM)
I’ve been assisting my friend and colleague Karen Brody to launch her new brand and to expand her personal-service business by adding a one-to-many informational model.
In my opinion, Karen Brody is far and away THE best counselor, coach and teacher when it comes to assisting you to learn about yourself in the context of your sexuality, and vice-versa. She’s helped hundreds of one-to-one clients to address and heal their sexual problems and issues through her personal counseling and coaching, and now is claiming her rightful position in the public marketplace as a TeleClass presenter, writer/author, public speaker, and more.
Visit Karen’s new Web site / blog and learn about and enroll in her 8-week TeleClass entitled “The Seven Secret Keys to Great Sex: Total Fulfillment for Her?and Deep Satisfaction for Him!”
Karen’s ground-breaking work is VERY impactful, and I’m excited and honored to be part of helping her to launch this next phase of her career.
And There’s More…
Indeed, there are more very exciting projects that I’ve got on front and back burners at this time.
But I’ve promised my “short list,” and that’s it for this post.
I always welcome your questions and feedback, and – most importantly – your stories related to the challenges and successes you experience as a result of implementing something I’ve written about.
Submit your comments to my blog. Remember: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results!”
Jay Aaron
Strategic Visionary / Visionary Strategist
http://JayAaron.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
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All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” at http://JayAaron.com
Tags: Jay Aaron, Karen Brody, Relationships, Sexcess Mastery (TM), Twitternar Tuesdays, Twitternars
The Cobbler’s Shoes
“The Cobbler’s Shoes” refers to a story about a cobbler who is so busy making shoes for his customers that he doesn’t make the time to make shoes for his own children.
Be Self-Serving. First.
For more than 30 years, I have taught and reminded people that it’s absolutely essential to invest in self-care FIRST, so that you have the health, energy and other resources that allows you to then invest in helping others. It’s often difficult for “care-givers” to think, much less act, this way. But it’s a critical piece to being “successful,” whether that success is financial or measured in other ways.
You receive this very same advice each and every time you board a commercial airline, right before take-off: If the oxygen masks fall from the ceiling, put yours on FIRST, so that you make sure you’re around to put the oxygen masks on your children, AND to make sure that later, you’re still around to care for them if it’s the oxygen that will save your life.
In addition to the general concept of “self-care,” there’s an overlying concept having to do with priorities and discernment.
Of all the ways in which you can demonstrate care for yourself, what is most important? How do you discern what choices to make on your own behalf, when there are so many possibilities, and when each moment seems to be accompanied by some amount of internal or external “pressure” to react to the seeming demand of the moment?
There is a much longer, more in-depth answer. But for this, the answer is that when you have a sense of “purpose” for yourself in the world, and have a “vision” for how you wish your life to unfold as you live it into your future, then your purpose and vision will act as touchstones to guide your decisions in both the short and long term.
Evaluate Constantly and Consistently
So why am I writing about this particular topic, today?
Because I have been invited to submit a proposal to participate in a program to which I know I can make a significant contribution, and that my contribution will serve a great many people.
The proposal application requests that I list my Web site. (Intriguing, by the way, that in this day and age of “Web presence” we’re still being asked to list our “site” – singular…)
Although my primary role in projects in which I’m involved is “in the background,” earlier this year I determined that it might be a good idea to create a more public presence for myself, personally, and imagined it to be my “NewThoughts” blog.
Yet on a day-to-day, moment-to-moment basis, my determination that devoting time to my blog is NOT my highest priority in relationship to my current personal and business purpose and vision, and my 30+ year habit of not making myself the focal point of my endeavors, have resulted in my not updating my personal blog on a regular basis.
As I write this, of course, I’m investing my time not only in updating my blog with this post, but also in consciously evaluating whether it’s important to change my strategy and devote more time to my personal presence, and to what end, and how much time and energy I’ll want to devote to that as a result.
What About You?
Are you conscious and conscientious about your decisions as regards how often you blog, how many articles you write and submit to online article directories each month, how much time you devote to your Facebook or LinkdedIn account, or to using Twitter?
Or do you do these things because they’re trendy, but not without a conscious purpose and vision and commensurate conscientious approach?
Or do you NOT blog or tweet or have a Facebook or LinkedIn account, simply because you have a habit of not using those things to your benefit, or to the benefit of your customers, clients, patients, and others whose lives you could influence in some positive manner?
Become Conscious and Conscientious
In my past, I would likely have felt remorse and other negative self-judgments for not having updated my blog as often as I thought I might at the beginning of the year.
But those kinds of feelings and judgments are far from self-serving, and in direct contrast to the spirit and intent and purpose of this article.
Like you, I am a constantly “evolving” person (not biologically, of course, but intellectually, emotionally and spiritually). So I have adopted a “learning orientation” to life, and I strongly encourage you to do the same.
Today, I’m re-evaluating the role of blogging in my personal and professional life, in relationship to my personal and professional purposes, and in relationship to my personal and professional visions.
As a result, I may blog more. Or not. The results will be evident not only to me, but to you, my readers.
I encourage you to do the same for yourself. Take some time to reflect upon – or consciously “create” – your personal and professional purposes and visions. And then use these as your touchstones to guide your choices and your actions in a world that constantly bombards you with choices and seeming demands. Make your choices in harmony with your sense of purpose and in the context of whether acting upon them will bring you closer to what you envision as your most highly desired future, or divert you from arriving there.
Open your eyes, mind and heart to also be guided by new opportunities that my not be in harmony with your existing purposes and visions, but instead present new, better options that you hadn’t previously thought of or envisioned.
Committing to having a learning orientation to life, and to the process of living a life that has purpose and vision as your guideposts will make life more meaningful, and more fun.
Let Me Know…
I always welcome your questions and feedback, and – most importantly – your stories related to the challenges and successes you experience as a result of implementing something I’ve written about.
Submit your comments to my blog. Remember: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results!”
Jay Aaron
Strategic Visionary / Visionary Strategist
http://JayAaron.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://Twitter.com/newthoughts
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All Contents International Copyright 2009 Jay Aaron: “Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” All International Rights Reserved.
The Author grants reprint permission without further inquiry only to those who provide proper Copyright credit and include a link to Jay Aaron: Think New Thoughts. Get New Results.” at http://JayAaron.com
Tags: Discipline, getting focused, Goal-Getting, Jay Aaron, living a life of service. success mastery, Personal Success, Professional Success, Purpose, Service, Success Actions, Success Principles, Success Qualities
