Sunday, September 28, 2008

Figure out Why You're REALLY in Business and Client Attraction Becomes Big-time Easy

QUOTE: "Living your best life is to find out what your calling is. Your real job on Earth is to find out what you were meant to be doing and to find a way to do that thing." -Oprah Winfrey

For years, I'd wondered what my life purpose was, what my calling was, especially in business. I've always known that I was good at marketing, but I also knew I was here for something bigger than I could dream, yet I couldn't figure out what that was. I'll admit I had a sometimes painful upbringing and early adulthood, and I always wondered WHY this was all happening to me. If there's supposed to be a reason for everything, then what was the reason I experienced so many deeply trying times? What was I supposed to do with all of it? I just couldn't figure it out.

In the last few years, I've made it a habit to TiVo Oprah on a daily basis and am familiar with her saying, "Use your life." Countless times, I've heard her inspire her viewers to look for the meaning in something that's happened to them, and then ask them to turn around and do something useful with it. The concept seems to be: Don't necessarily wallow in what's happened to you.

Instead, use the experience and the learning to help others, to make a difference, to create change. THAT is your life purpose. THAT is your calling, and it's super important for businesses like ours because we can affect people and businesses so directly.

Since then, I've realized why all that happened to me and why I'm here. From my experiences, I learned to overcome my once very low self-esteem, as well as the negative beliefs and playing small, to have more confidence and to really go for what I want in life. I also learned about having compassion for others (including my clients), to know that we all have painful experiences that shape who we are today; we all have fears and things holding us back, but these don't need to continue to hold us back.

At the same time, we all have massive potential for success, and to make a difference, especially being self-employed. It's just a question of getting out of our own way and then getting out there in a BIG way.

Using Client Attraction, I use my 'calling' on a daily basis with my clients. Yes, early on and for the majority of the time, we focused heavily on the marketing. (Listen, if you're sitting on the sofa WAITING for clients day after day, you're not going to make a big difference in this world.) You were given a gift, so you need to get out there to tell people about it and start helping people get results. Therefore, the marketing is absolutely crucial.

But once the marketing systems are in place, the 'calling' piece of it extends also to the other stuff that most entrepreneurs never put their attention to: increasing their confidence, getting out of their own way and into their true potential success (it's already IN them, they just haven't accessed it fully up to now). Especially women.

That might mean noticing how they get stopped by a chronic conditioning of playing too small, limiting thoughts, not deserving, subtle self-sabotaging behaviors, and fears that may or may not really exist, but are DEFINITELY getting in the way. In addition to the marketing, that's where I can make a massive difference in someone's business success and in his or her life. I'm a marketing junkie, but that's the juicy stuff for me. Best of all, it works and clients love the outcome.

When you're coming from your 'calling,' clients get better results, give you amazing testimonials, and more referrals. You begin to make a more substantial difference and that automatically translates to more success, more in-come, and all that stuff.

Wondering how to tap into your own calling? Here's what I learned about finding mine:
  • When you're NOT aligned with your life purpose, life is more of a struggle.
  • Hardship is actually good. It's a sign from the Universe that you're not necessarily on the right track. See hardship as a blessing and a clue.

It's not about necessarily CHANGING your business (I'm still doing Client Attraction and marketing, at least for now); it's a clue that you may need to change your direction a tiny bit or tweak it just slightly.

Your Assignment:

Find a way to weave your 'calling' into your work. Ask yourself these questions for clues on finding yours:

  • What section of the bookstore do you hang around in the most?
  • Look around you for signs about your purpose. They're everywhere if you look for them. Little happy coincidences aren't coincidences at all. They're ALL signs.
  • If you act upon the signs and take inspired action, you'll expedite your journey to living your purpose.
  • Find what comes easily to you, what helps others AND makes you feel good at the same time. If something brings you joy (like, for me, teaching and inspiring entrepreneurs to get out of their own way, play BIGGER and live a rich life) then it's something to pursue.

Once you've found it, start weaving it little by little into your every day work with clients, or start doing it a little at a time. Instead of doing a complete 180, test out the waters. Look for how you FEEL. Look for the subtle feedback. Then add a little more, so that it feels authentic to you. As you keep going, add even a little more of it until it feels really good and you'll notice a difference in your clients' results and how they relate to you. Start weaving it in your talks, your teleclasses, your networking, and your articles. Over time, when it feels right, you can start adding it permanently to your marketing materials. That's what I've done.

Your calling is to help others AND to feel good doing it. Once you find it, throw yourself into it. Success, clients, and increased revenues will naturally come to you when you do. You won't believe you get paid to live it. I'm still pinching myself.

All that said, I urge you NOT to forget the marketing. When you market authentically, Client Attraction becomes big-time easy. Not sure where to start? Try the step-by-step system that will feel easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ avoids all the extraneous stuff that could distract your growth and instead gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It's all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you're done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. So easy. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. You can get it at http://www.theclientattractionsystem.com/.

© 2008 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and http://www.clientattraction.com/, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit http://www.clientattraction.com/.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Your Mental Attitude Dictates Your Number of Clients AND In-come

QUOTE: "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson

You may be working your tail off to market your business and yet you're still wondering why it hasn't "happened" yet. I've seen this happen thousands of times. An entrepreneur is seemingly working HARD to get clients, working like a dog to bring in some good in-come and yet, the results just aren't showing up. It's like fighting an uphill battle and often seems like it's not really worth it, or worse, like something's wrong with us.

But the real battle that's going on isn't with the marketing, it's that something's wrong on the INSIDE. If there's a struggle on the OUTSIDE, it simply means that one exists on the INSIDE, and it's based on our conditioning. You see, how we are conditioned affects virtually every aspect of our life: our relationships, health, finances, success, even Client Attraction.

If you're experiencing struggle or results aren't happening fast enough, it just means there's an inner conflict that affects how you think and feel, as well as your beliefs and fears. It's the battle between your conscious and your unconscious.

"When your conscious mind thinks you want something but your subconscious mind thinks you don't deserve it (or any other limiting belief), you will fail at getting what you want. Instead you will actually attract what your subconscious feels is right for you. In order to attract what you prefer, your conscious and subconscious have to be in agreement." - Joe Vitale

If there's an exterior struggle, like clients not coming in fast enough or the fact that money is REALLY tight, then it means that PART of you wants something (your conscious) and PART of you doesn't (your subconscious). The bad news is, your subconscious has veto power over your conscious, always.

The GOOD news is, once you clear the interior struggle, the results you want happen almost instantly. That's what's happened to me in the past year or two and continues to happen. The more I match the inside with what I "say" I want, the more opportunities come my way, the more in-come shows up and the easier it all is. And I mean really easy. (And before you start going "there", just remember that I'm no different than you. Once you work on your own Inner Game of Client Attraction, you too can experience the same results. That's what we'll do together in Miami in September at my 'Mindset and Income Acceleration Retreat'.)

It's not about working harder! If you want different results, you must change your subconscious beliefs and get clear on the fears that are not congruent with what you SAY you want. Here's a few of the hundreds that I've come up with, based on a survey I did:
  • "They won't pay for this"
  • "I don't know enough"
  • "If I get bigger, they'll find out I'm a fraud"
  • "I'm a failure"
  • "If I get too many clients, I'll get overwhelmed"
  • "I'm not worth it"
  • "I can't have it all"
  • "My expertise is common sense"
  • Etc.

If this is what's going on in your subconscious, you're essentially driving with the parking brake on, and we've got to do something about that if you want to begin seeing different results. Otherwise, you'll continue to push really hard, work REALLY hard and not see the results you say you want.

Your Assignment:

If you want to succeed, get rid of this GUNK and SLUDGE inside. The key is to become AWARE of which fears and subconscious beliefs are sabotaging you on a daily basis, like some of the ones listed above. Once you're clear on them, figure out where they came from, process them and then release them. This will immediately change your behaviors, increase your in-come and new opportunities will start showing up, ones that you never expected. You'll wonder why you struggled for so long.

Now, if the struggle is just about a lack of ACTION and you don't know how to set up systems for marketing to attract ideal high-paying clients, I suggest getting a copy of the Client Attraction Home Study System™. It includes everything you need to know to prioritize what to work on first, clear the decks and set up simple, solid systems to consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It's all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you're done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. That's why my customers have gotten such great results from it. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. So easy. You can get yours at http://www.theclientattractionsystem.com/.

© 2008 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and http://www.clientattraction.com/, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit http://www.clientattraction.com/.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Stop Planning, Forget The "How", Just Go For It!

The last couple of weeks, we've been talking about aiming for MUCH bigger in our business, in our life, and in our purpose. We've stretched, looked into the fears of dreaming TOO big (is there such a thing?!) and looked at all the other emotions that come up once we've actually MADE the decision to play a bigger game. These are related to issues of safety, not rocking the boat, and self-doubt as to whether we really CAN play a bigger game in life and business.

But then, if this weren't enough, there's yet another thing that is likely to stop a lot of people right in their tracks. And that's trying to figure out the "how".

"How will I ever get from here to THERE?""But I don't HAVE the resources (the funds, time, help) to make that big dream happen.""I'm not qualified right now to take on this big dream. I just don't have what it takes yet.""Once I know HOW I'm supposed to do this, I'll do it. Until then, I'll just wait to be ready."

Problem is, this is EXACTLY the point at which most people give up, probably even YOU. Right there. You see, most people wait for the HOW before they make a commitment to accomplish their big goal. Being the good planner that you probably are, there's a part of you that feels this is too risky of a project or a goal to take on without having a plan, a solid plan, without knowing exactly how it's going to unfold.

You may have a dream of being on Oprah, for example, to share the message only YOU can share, and to give exposure to your book or business. You love the idea of it, you imagine yourself on her yellow leather sofa, talking to her and her live studio audience. You may even be able to feel the warmth of the studio lamps and the nervous feeling you would have in the pit of your stomach. Perhaps what you'll be wearing and what she'll say to you. Your imagination is strong about what it would actually BE like once you're there. And it feels great.

But then it all stops. Your imagination shuts down once you try to think about HOW you'll ever get to the Oprah show, or whatever else your big dreams are. Here are things I've heard:

"I don't have enough media training. They'll never pick me.""Everyone and their MOTHER wants to be on Oprah. There's too much competition.""Explain to me how it would ever happen and THEN I'll think about going for it.""Is there a guarantee this will even work? Probably not worth trying if I don't have a plan"

Now, if you've seen my Mind Movie on my Facebook page, you know that I have BIG dreams. Writing best-selling books, doing workshops to thousands of people, affecting millions, and having a global effect on helping women and children around the world, and yes, one day, even taking my message to Oprah's stage and sharing it with 10 million people.

I'm hearing it now... "Stop dreaming and GET REAL!"

And admittedly, some these things ARE "lofty". In fact, I would categorize as downright "scary big". Especially since I don't have a clue yet as to how I will write ONE best-selling book, let alone many, how to get thousands of people to come hear me speak, how I'll help on a global level (where, whom, what will I be helping them with???). And I certainly don't have a clue about how to get on Oprah's couch.

But I've decided to go for it anyway, because here's "what I know for sure". If you've got the commitment to do something, the intention is strong and you're willing to do anything it takes to get there, in a good way/not bad, then things WILL unfold before you, like a red carpet being unrolled in Hollywood. You just need to take the first step, accomplish the task that's right in front of you, and then the next task will show up for you to work on. Once you've done that one, just the right opportunity will land on your lap, followed by the right resource to take full advantage of that opportunity or to accomplish the task at hand.

But because we're bred to be planners (or in my case, sometimes a bit of a control freak - have you ever seen me in the kitchen right before a dinner party??), we want to have the WHOLE thing planned out first, in every descriptive detail. It's got to be all laid out and orchestrated ahead of time, in perfect order. Otherwise, we don't make the commitment.

Thing is, that's not how the Universe or life works. Your next step or the next opportunity will NOT show up until you've made the commitment. But once you DO, it shows up, and the more you do this, the faster things start showing up for you: the right operations manager, the perfect branding development coach, the spiritual guide with just the right message (even the bottle cap with just the confirmation you've been asking for) or simply, just the right book to get you to that next level.

That's what is happening to me right NOW. It's fascinating to be in the eye of the storm, calm (most of the time) and witnessing everything around me show up as it's supposed to, having everything around me rearrange itself to make that big dream come true. In fact, it's pretty humbling. It's almost as though my intention and commitment to getting this big dream accomplished has taken a life of its own, in a really good way. And now, it's just about taking the next step that presents itself, without thinking of the next HOW. In fact, it's a very reassuring process, once you begin to see the pattern.

Your Assignment:

Notice your mindset as it relates to your big dreams and goals for your business or your life. Is there a way that you might be stopping yourself or putting a hold on your big dreams because you haven't yet figured out HOW it's going to happen? Is the planner in you squashing the dreamer in you?

Instead, I'd recommend you gather your strength, deny your "smallness" and grab hold of the truth of yourself: that you CAN accomplish that big dream, that it's not a silly notion. Just the mere fact that you've thought of it means it can be done. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten the idea. Forgot the how! Just go for it. Each "how" and the resource needed at that time will show up exactly when you need it.

And I'm here for you to make it happen, with all the support you need.

If you're interested in walking this particular journey with me, come to the Mindset Retreat in a week and a half. I can't recommend this enough for you. THIS is what we'll be doing together, among many other things. Stepping up in a BIG way, upgrading our mindset, our businesses and our lives, and reaching big, despite the "noise". You have one week left to register. Are you game? ww.ClientAttractionMindsetRetreat.com.

© 2008 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

When Playing BIG, Old "Stuff" Will Come UP

Many people have massive doubt about their ability to do something really big in this world, including myself up until very recently. They wonder whether they have what it takes or whether they're "good enough." And last week, we talked about taking the great leap of faith, really expanding our vision of what's possible for our business, for our clients and for ourselves, and 'Going BIG or Going HOME'.

Now... that's all well and good, but what about ALL the emotions that arise when you take a great big leap of faith and step into your purpose? No one ever prepares us for that and it can be an uncomfortable process. You see, when you decide to step into your future in a BIG way, unexpected internal stuff comes up, even stuff you thought you'd ALREADY dealt with.

I'm going through this myself right now. You see, BEFORE we make a decision to go BIG, we have to get over our fear of failing miserably. But once we've actually made the decision to play a bigger game, then it makes way for lots of other feelings to come up.

As I get ready to launch a new division of my company, along with a new branding, I was surprised to see lots of "old stuff" come up, despite all the mindset work I've done. I want to share some of it with you too, because as YOU begin to recognize your potential for magnificence in business and otherwise, and then act upon it, stuff might come up for you too (in fact, it inevitably will).

Here's a snapshot of what came up for me:

"Will they really want what I'm going to be offering?"
"Perhaps I should just keep doing what I've been doing for years. At least I know I'm
good at that."

"Maybe I shouldn't 'break what ain't broke'; I mean, I'm doing really well now, why rock
the boat?"

"What if I fail and humiliate myself in front of thousands of people. It's not worth it."
"What if they reject my new idea, my new company?"
"Can I really be THIS big?""Do I really have it within me to DO this?"
"I'm scared."

Just telling you about what came up for me these past couple of weeks makes me feel icky inside. But here's what I also observed. When you break it down, there really are only 2 emotions in the world: Love and Fear. And there are origins for each of those emotions.

Love comes from your higher self, Spirit, Universe, God (whatever you want to call it.) Love is safe, there is trust there, it's synonymous with Faith. And when you have faith, you cannot express fear. They cannot exist in the same place. And your source WANTS you to grow, to be bigger, to dare to dream an even bigger dream. In fact, Spirit is always championing you to get to the next level, if you'll just get out of the way.

Fear, on the other hand, comes from the ego. And the ego only wants to keep you small, to keep you "safe" by slowing down your progress, by stopping you, by keeping you under its thumb. This is the only way that your ego can survive, and it's by controlling you and keeping you down. Yuck.

Now, go back up to the list of things I was thinking and feeling and review them. You'll see that every one of them is based in fear. Which means that each of them is ego-driven.

But here's what you must know: fear doesn't really exist! Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. And it's a bunch of nonsense, if you're willing to look beyond the fear as just a protection mechanism to keep you small. Who wants to be bullied by some little creepy ego to stay small anyway? Not me!

So if you can recognize that what you're experiencing or feeling is NOT REAL, then it cannot have a hold on you. And that's what I recognized this week. And I chose to go for it anyway. I hope you will too.

Your Assignment:

Notice what thoughts and emotions come up as you make a commitment to walk boldly into the next step in your business and purpose for being self-employed. Make a list. Write them down. Then, as you read your list, in the margin, I'd like you to label that emotion. 1) Love, or 2) Fear. Which is it based on? I'll bet just about anything that it's based on fear.

When you recognize this, you can choose to stay in fear or recognize that you are being "played" by your ego and that it doesn't actually exist. That all this is fake. And you can choose to act in spite of what's come up for you.

Listen, let's admit that this will probably happen a lot more in the beginning. But when you see this happen over and over again, and you recognize it, the hold the ego has on you will begin to diminish considerably. (It already has with me.)

Now, imagine yourself standing at the doorway of your BIG vision and future. You've got your hand on the doorknob. You're ready to step in but you hear "voices" behind you begging you to play small and stay safe. Inside though, you know that these are all smoke and mirrors, that they're not real.

You have two options: 1) Walk through the door anyway, because you have no choice but to be your best self and stop playing a mediocre game. Or 2) Stay small because of fear, living a beige existence for the rest of your life. You choose.

Personally, I'm walking through. And I'm betting on my faith that it will turn out OK, if not WAY better than OK. The alternative is just not acceptable. What about you? What will you do? I'm hoping you walk through that door with me.

I'm here for you to make it happen, safely and with all the support you need.

If you're interested in walking this journey with me, come to the Mindset Retreat. I can't recommend this enough for you. THIS is what we'll be doing together, among many other things. Stepping up in a BIG way, upgrading our mindset, our businesses and our lives, and reaching big, despite the "noise". Are you game? http://www.clientattractionmindsetretreat.com/.

© 2008 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and http://www.clientattraction.com/, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit http://www.clientattraction.com/.