Saturday 26 January 2013

Notes From A Millionaire




So, it’s been exactly 7 weeks and 6 days since I started editing and following the processes in Jacqueline Harrison's soon to be released book How To Create A Business From Nothing. That's also when I began blogging about my desire to set up four new business streams and hopefully earn a cool million (or more) in the process. So you might be interested to know where I’m at…?

So Far? So Amazing.

You may recall I began by creating a vision, which you can read in my blog Becoming A Millionaire: Step 2. From the vision I created a broad To-Do list which included connecting with new people, educating myself in the areas of business that interest me and starting to work toward earning more money.

The results have been mind blowing and are far more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined. In a relatively short space of time I've learned more about myself and operating a successful business than I can tell you.

So, let's get into it.

1. I want to edit bestselling books. 

As I educated myself on the business of self-publishing and changed my mindset from Freelance Editor to Publishing Consultant, I realised I already know a handful of people I could approach. The first person that sprang to mind is my very good friend Hedley Galt.

Hedley has already written a book called Real, Raw and Original, which I worked on as editor. That's how we met. Her second book Finding Paris is close to completion. Hedley had asked me to read Finding Paris (as a friend) and give her some feedback. Well, I was Blown Away. I devoured the book in four hours (despite having a pressing list of work that I was meant to be doing). I knew I had just read a bestseller. I was so excited I rang Hedley and we shared a high energy half hour jumping up and down and squealing with excitement about the idea that Finding Paris could be the next Eat Pray Love.

You'd think that having already worked together and with my enthusiasm for her second book, that taking on Finding Paris as editor would be in the bag?

Not so.

As most new authors will appreciate, Hedley had concerns about budget so had recruited someone else to edit her book at no cost. Fair enough, I thought to myself. But in my mind I knew I had to have this book in my stable. I knew this was a bestseller and being that I only want to edit bestselling books I put on my Millionaire Blogger hat and, just as Jacqueline Harrison suggests, I spoke to Hedley from that space. Over dinner one night, I told Hedley that I had something I wanted to communicate to her. Thankfully she was open to hearing whatever I had to say, so I told her:

"I reeeaaaallllly, reeeeaallllyyyy want to work on your book." (I said it in a very professional way…)

Within a split second Hedley's face lit up and with a high five she said "It's yours, honey!"

Turns out it was budget concerns (and a tiny bit of new author uncertainty) that had brought about the decision not to hire me. But with my mountain of self-publishing knowledge, a valley of marketing ideas and a river of motivating words, Hedley agreed to take me on as editor of her next (bestselling) book.

Yeeeeeeeeeee haaaaaaa!

So, ticked off my list is another book that I am thrilled to be working on. As well as How To Create A Business From Nothing and Finding Paris, I am also working on three other books, editing a series of poetry books called Poeology, and have two deals yet to close.

I feel confident about what I can offer and am approaching each conversation with 100% authenticity. Which seems to be paying off! I get thrills from the conversations I'm having with these authors and I know the excitement is reciprocated. One author told me that after a brainstorm we'd had, he went away and wrote 4,000 words the next day! I'd helped him unblock his creativity and now he's on a roll! Success!!

Isn't it amazing what 7 weeks and 6 days of (self) training can do!

2. I want to run a successful healing practice.

Last week as I mailed out letters to about 20 GPs and psychologists informing them of my healing practice, I actually realised my heart isn't in it. As much as I love doing hands on healing, I have recognised that I prefer it as a hobby. Managing a diary of clients and relying on people turning up in order to earn X amount of dollars is not where my heart lies. I prefer giving treatments to friends and leaving it at that.

What I really get a thrill out of is building a business that won't necessarily rely on me doing the work in the future. I don't want to run a cottage industry where the business is Me. So, with that lesson learned I have crossed it off my list. Happy days!

3. I want to run inspirational workshops.

In December last year I started something called The Love Circle. The second one will be in February. Only one person came to the initial Love Circle (it was two weeks before Christmas, so most people were busy. At least that's what they said…), but even with just two of us The Love Circle is now a reality and it was a great experience. The solitary attendee (my friend, Cass), and I, got a huge amount out of the evening and we closed the Circle with more love in our hearts. Success again!

The second Love Circle already has four attendees confirmed so it's moving in the right direction.

I'm also about to write a new Reiki I & II workshop. I ran a couple of Reiki workshops a few years ago but put them on hold after moving interstate and setting a million other priorities. But after a meditation this week, the idea to run them again popped into my consciousness like a Japanese bullet train. I'm currently researching venues and have already had one person say they want to attend, so I'll see where that leads. My previous Reiki workshops were about so much more than Reiki. They were about connecting to Divine Consciousness and learning tools to live a more spiritual and happier life.

Kind of an inspirational workshop, if you like…

4. I want to become a millionaire blogger.

To date I've received 1,186 page views and am loving the process of writing and learning about Who I Really Am through my blogs. Whether the blog will ever become a million dollar income stream I am yet to see. But within the process I am constantly increasing my knowledge around the art of blogging and connecting with people who would otherwise not be reading my work. So far my posts have been read by people in Australia, UK, USA, Germany, Spain, Korea and Israel. Not bad!

As a result of my blog I joined Twitter. Within less than a month I have 408 followers. Amazeballs! Almost all my followers are spiritually minded people who share a desire to connect with others of the same ilk. Some of them (like me) are working toward building new businesses and others are successful authors and business mentors. And some of them have read my blog – and my tweets! It's all good! I'm surrounded by at least 408 amazing new people and not only might they read my work but I get to read theirs!

It's a win-win!

You can make what you will of my successes so far, but what I've learned in 7 weeks and 6 days is that the million bucks+ that I want is almost by-the-by. What's really steering my success is a desire to Live, Love and Learn. I actually couldn't give a monkeys about the money because everything I've done so far has enriched my life in ways that money never could.

What I'm getting out of this process is boundless energy. Every day (bar one day last week when I felt like my head was full of fudge), I wake up with a massive smile and a bubbling, bouncing, bundle of sparkles that are simply bursting to jump out of bed and Get To Work. I virtually have to contain myself in order to meditate before switching on my Mac.

Truly, the process of Becoming All That I Am is far more exciting than any bank account, bestselling book or inspirational workshop could ever provide.

What really fills me with joy is actually just Doing What I Love.

PS wanna know a secret?

Shhhhh…

Elizabeth Gilbert, (author of Eat Pray Love) favourited a tweet I posted about how much I loved her talk at Sydney Opera House last week.

She's a bestselling author.

I know… It's. Too. Much.

; )



Monday 21 January 2013

The Egomaniac Strikes Back!




So, there I was walking home from a yoga class, repeating affirmations and mantras about wealth and happiness when – boom! – out of nowhere I was struck down by a sabre of light.

Standing in front of me was my Ego – and he wanted his mask back.

WTF?

I’ll fill you in on what happened…

Last year, a very good friend of mine gifted me with the book Be Here Now by Ram Dass. Up until a few days ago I hadn’t gotten round to reading it. But earlier that day I had ingested the intro and was inspired and moved by Ram Dass’ courage to rid himself of all sides of Self until all that was left, was, well… I don’t really know how to explain what was left, but suffice to say Dass somehow removed any attachment to his ego and from thereon began to live a much richer and more truthful life. What I would call a truly Spiritual existence.

Again, I don’t know how, but reading his story somehow embedded a new understanding into my consciousness that zapped through me as I walked home from yoga. As clear as day, I realised that this millionaire blogger, four business streams and a massive beach house in Queensland process was being fuelled by My Ego!

Busted!

Yeah, I know, looking at it now it’s as obvious as Hugh Jackman is gay (OK he's not, but say if he ever did come out we'd be kicking ourselves… I mean, come on… did you see The Boy From Oz?). Possibly a bad example… Moving swiftly on…

I’m not blasting the ego here, I am glad to have an ego that assists me in reaching my goals and fills me with a passion to do what I love. It takes a certain amount of ego to create ambition and we need the push of the mind and its perception in order to strive to do anything. I mean, if it weren’t for my ego wanting to remain fit and flexible, it’s unlikely I’d have been walking back from a yoga class in the first place.

Having an ego is not in itself a problem; it’s part of being human. But when the ego gets out of control and hides under a cape, masquerading as reality, it’s time to call in help. In this case, the help was my Inner Jedi and just as quick as a flash, it Ka-Zizzed my illusion and gave it to me straight.

It went like this:

Inner Jedi: Those millionaire dreams you have? They are not just a dream of being financially free. They are a desire to show the world you are capable of “success”.

Me: : /

Inner Jedi: Your desire to edit bestselling books? That’s not just a desire to publish truthful messages that will help people, that is also your need to show the world you are a bigshot.

Me: : 0

Inner Jedi: Your dream to live in a 4-bedroom house with two dogs, a loving husband and multiple business streams, with Mike Dooley as your good friend? That’s more your desire to mix with the rich and famous and less to do with living an authentic existence. See bigshot (above).

Me: But, I just…

Inner Jedi: And overall? The whole thing? You wanna know what that’s all about? You’re sending a very clear message to the Universe that even though you live in a beautiful apartment in a sunshine filled part of the globe, and get to do whatever you want day in and day out, you’re just Not Happy Enough with life as it is.

Me: [thud]

(That’s when I metaphorically hit the pavement.)

Me: Ohhhh kaaaaaaay then, let’s get this straight. All those dreams and goals I’ve been following, all those affirmations I’ve been saying, and the very reason I’m writing this blog are nothing more than an out of control ego trip?

Inner Jedi: You got it.

Me: Crap.

As I digested this information it quickly became clear to me that my Inner Jedi was speaking the truth. Every word that was revealed rang true. It was like I could suddenly see backstage and saw that inside R2D2 was actually a little man – my ego!

Undeterred by the fact that I’d just given myself a roasting, I mused on where that left me in terms of my blog, my business dreams and my hope of living in a beach house with sea views. If I removed the egocentric shell and peeled back my dreams to their seed, what was left?

What was left was This Very Moment: The Here and Now.

But what does that mean in everyday terms?

I conceived that beyond the ego I still had to Do Something. The message wasn’t to stop what I was doing and live in a cave; on the contrary, I summised that the work itself was not the issue. All I needed to lose was my attachment to any particular outcome. As Yoda wisely said; “To be Jedi is to face the truth and choose.”

So, I am choosing to still do everything I was doing before.

Which is a relief, because if I wasn’t doing what I’m doing i.e. working through the processes in Jacqueline Harrison’s book How To Create A Business From Nothing, and if I wasn’t writing this blog and exposing all these awkward sides of myself, or sending letters to doctors and psychologists informing them of my healing practice; or educating myself on the book publishing business so I can help authors sell more books, or waking each morning to the sound of birds and meditating before heading out for a sunrise stroll then I wouldn’t Be Me. And if I’m not Me, then who or what am I?

(Ooh, that's scary. Isn't that what Ram Dass said…?)

It was the final message from my Inner Jedi that really hit home. My Inner Jedi had pointed out that I obviously feel what I’ve got isn’t enough. Those words literally stopped me in my tracks because up until then, I had believed the absolute opposite to be true. I thought I was being grateful. I sometimes find myself in tears at the joy of drinking a cup of tea for goodness sake! But what's interesting about my ego trip is that it actually doesn't take away from any of my truth or light, they are not mutually exclusive. No, removing the ego just enhances the truth. Because truly, I am grateful for the life I have, but now that (yet another) veil has been lifted, I have found myself focusing less on future dreams and more on the Now. I just wasn't phrasing it very well.

Since that day when my Inner Jedi spoke, I’ve been far more centred and present. I’ve meditated on my heart space and simply observed what I sense, hear and feel instead of focusing on an amazing future. I’m just as excited about my life as I was before, (if not more so!). But ultimately, with some layers of my ego now removed, I can simply show up at my desk, open my Mac and do exactly what I was doing before, leaving the results to God, the Universe or whatever you want to call it.

I've put in my order with the Higher Powers (I'm sure they've read my blogs), so all I have to do now is carry on working through the processes and see what happens.

In basic terms, the main difference between then and now is that unlike Luke Skywalker and Princess Lea, I’m no longer using any force.


Wednesday 16 January 2013

What A Dodo




OK, so yesterday, I didn’t exactly show my best side…

The reason? Well, I spent five hours on the phone to my Internet provider trying to resolve a connection issue. Namely, I didn’t have one. To fill you in: I’d just signed up for a new Wi-Fi contract but for some reason the modem wouldn’t connect.

I pretty much lost it.

Before I start this blog, I’m going to begin by giving myself a massive break here. I’m going to presume that spending five hours on the phone to anyone, let alone to a phone or Internet provider, (with most of it being on hold and forced to listen to elevator music), isn’t going to be on most people’s list of Top 10 Most Fun Things To Do. So, permission granted for me to be a bit pissy. But it’s fair to say I went a bit over the top and used up a few more stress tickets than were necessary.

Yes, my new Internet modem wasn’t connecting, but did I really need to act like a spoilt teenager when the very helpful tech support guy told me I would have to test the modem at another location? Um, no. Instead of being grateful that that Mr Tech was troubleshooting my problem, I reacted as though he’d told me I had to run a three-legged race to Perth while carrying four small children on my back and get there under an hour, with nothing more than a Mars bar to keep me going. And I had to do it today.

If I didn’t? Well, then my Internet connection would remain as it was: idle.

Hmpf.

I felt outraged that I – the paying customer – after already spending hours inputting ISP numbers and passwords into my Mac, was now being asked to call a bunch of friends and potentially log them offline (during the work day) while I plugged my modem into their computer, insert more passwords and see if it was the modem that was the issue, or whether it was my connection at home.

I’m sure the neighbours heard my internal barometer screech its way up to What A Load Of Tommy Rot!

Adding to my huffing and moaning, I was then told that if it was the connection that was faulty then I’d need to pay $120 to have it fixed.

Whaaaaaaaaaat?

Why should I have to pay extra money to get the stupid thing working? I’m already paying (for nothing, so far) and have spent all day on the phone as well as been running around town with a modem on my back seat and now you wanna charge me extra? Wow, I didn’t realise I’d signed up for the F.U. package.

Love. This. Life.?

Not. So. Much.

It’s now 24 hours later and as I steal a peek at my modem to check if the little red light has turned green (which would indicate that I am connected), I’m actually feeling surprisingly calm, despite the light still being red.

How the turnaround?

Well, I realised – after I did test the modem at a friend’s house (wafting in and out in a ball of huff), that the only thing the internet company had done wrong was, well, nothing.

Yup. Nothing.

I realised that the only thing that really created such a day of frustration and stress was Me. That’s right – Me.

I’m actually not bemoaning my Internet provider (who if you’re interested is dodo.com.au). Everyone I spoke to at Dodo (and there were a few), remained calm and patient and were extremely supportive. They were the epitome of support and professionalism. The real issue was my reaction to Something Not Going My Way.

Before retiring for bed last night I reflected on my heightened stress response and asked myself why I reacted that way. I figured out that at the seed of my little hissy fit was the fear that I was going to have to pay more money to get my Internet connected. Money that I would rather spend on something more exciting than getting my wires fixed.

But then I considered that troubleshooting is part of everyday life, and if I had chosen to collaborate with the Dodo team instead of choosing to believe they were rubbish and not fulfilling their side of the contract, I would have probably been able to remain much calmer and had an altogether more enjoyable day. Granted, it wouldn’t have made it onto my Top 10 Most Amazing Days Ever, but I would most certainly have enjoyed feeling more Zen.

And so, having come to peace with the fact that Dodo actually were giving great service, I called them this morning to follow up.

I opened the conversation by apologising for getting stressed during the many conversations (all recorded due to monitoring purposes), and explained that the tech team had been fantastically helpful throughout. The guy on the phone thanked me for the positive feedback. What a nice man.

And the $120 fee? Well, would you believe, that got waived. So not only was my gratitude warmly received, but they even went so far as to offer a financial exception – because they value me as a customer. Amazing!

Which I guess brings me to the moral of this story and one that I am very happy to share, even though it involved almost a whole day on the phone listening to insipid on-hold music. And that is, that no matter what situation I find myself in, I have been reminded that it's up to me to take 100% responsibility for whatever is going on for me at any moment in time.

If I’m feeling stressed then it’s because I’m feeling stressed. If I’m losing my sh*t, that’s because I’ve lost control of my emotions, and the only way I will ever regain composure is by calling myself on it and pressing the reset button.

So now, with another 24 hours until a technician calls round to solve the problem once and for all, I kinda feel like I was the dodo. But with this new insight (and a bit more practice over time), I also feel confident that I will be able to extinguish any future exaggerated stress responses until I can look back and see that they are a thing of the past.

As from now, I deem the time for any unnecessary stress to be 100% extinct.



Monday 14 January 2013

Money, Money, Money…




OK, that’s enough now. This whole money thing – it’s boring me. It’s time to blast old limiting beliefs and wipe the money slate clean.

Jacqueline Harrison (who’s writing How To Create A Business From Nothing and the reason I’m writing this blog) is on holiday, so I haven’t received any chapters from her in a few weeks. However, the break has given me time to consider some of the comments that I’ve read in her book so far.

Tucked away in one chapter is the idea to start noticing subtle thoughts and behaviours and write them down. In the past few weeks (especially over Christmas) I’ve been doing quite a lot of this. And I’m amazed at what I’ve noticed. It turns out I have quite a lot of fleeting negative thoughts that I was previously unaware of. And a lot of them stem around a fear of and/or negative ideas about money.

Hmm…

What’s incredible is that these thoughts are so fleeting and subtle that if I blinked I could easily miss them. Which I guess is what I’ve been doing for the past 41 or so years. But now that I’ve tuned into this pirate radio frequency, I can definitely hear an army of fuzzy, crackly and parasitic thoughts that appear to have one thing in mind: Sabotage!

Aarrgghhhh! Batten down the hatches!

Little did I know that alongside my dream of running a successful business (or four) and living in a gorgeous 4-bedroom house in Queensland with a husband and two dogs, is a dirty great ship of treacherous thoughts. I honestly hadn’t previously taken any notice of these mixed messages that were residing in my mind. I guess I must have heard them, but I hadn’t consciously listened.

Here’s an example of the negative spin I tuned into:

1. Hearing about a friend who was trying on wedding dresses in the range of $6,000 my pirate station reported how that was a lot of money (too much) to spend on a dress that will only be worn for a day. The headline read something like: What A Waste! But who says? If money is just energy then why not enjoy wearing a beautiful dress that costs $6k? I bet she looked a million dollars – which if you look at it that way, means only paying six grand is cheap!

2. When I got cut up in traffic by a BMW 4-wheel drive, the subtle reaction I had was that BMW drivers (i.e. rich people) have no respect for others. Blimey! Talk about a sweeping generalisation! After meditating on that one I tuned into messages I'd heard as a child that people who drive expensive cars (or who happen to be rich) are "posh", unlikeable or stupid. That wording may not be exactly what I heard, but the essence is very real.

3. I passed a teenager driving a Lexus, still on his red P-plates. A bit like the above reaction, I had a thought that these kids don’t know how lucky they are, and why have their parents bought them a fancy car when they are still learning to drive. Good lord, why do I think that? Why not learn to drive in a nice car? Why should teenagers start their driving career in a rusty old banger just because I did?

4. When I imagined earning lots of money from my four business streams I noticed that I felt a bit stressed. Again, after a meditation I realised that I have a belief that in order to earn millions I must have to be stressed.

Right, well, I reckon that all needs to be bagged up and thrown overboard.

There have been numerous other instances that I can’t recall right now, but daily (very, very subtle) attacks occur when I’m paying for groceries or I know a bill is due. On the surface, I’m cool; I know I’ve had a bad year financially and that things will pick up. But, faintly detectable is a fear that This Is It. That I’m living hand to mouth and it won’t really ever pick up. Or if it does that it will be temporary and I’ll once again find myself in financial ruin, albeit having enjoyed spells of reasonable wealth.

I’ve noticed that a disbelief of lasting wealth (for me) is my story. But since I’ve recognised these subtle influences it’s time to start writing a new script.

And so it got me thinking. A bit like living next to neighbours who have late night parties on a weekday and never take out the trash, if I want to live in peace and harmony and enjoy financial freedom then it’s not going to happen while I’m harbouring Captain Blackbeard and his parrot-like thoughts now is it?

I don’t know for sure, but tuning in to the subtle frequency of those limiting beliefs must be a key to buying my way off the ship of financial doom. If I keep my future vision of living in a gorgeous house on the Sunshine Coast in mind, and make it my duty to begin each day stepping into that “space” and meditating on how it feels to have achieved all my goals, then surely that will help. As Mike Dooley (and numerous other geniuses including Einstein) say or have said: Thoughts Become Things. So if I can just notice these sneaky old beliefs when they pop up, I can swashbuckle them with my vision and feelings of a new and much more lucrative existence. And if I continue doing this on a daily basis, eventually those fuzzy old beliefs will atrophy and die.

Just as an athlete can educate his body to become faster by training regularly and staying focused on his goal, the same law must apply to thoughts and beliefs. All I need to do is be my own coach and notice when I’m slacking off or falling prey to old habits, then swiftly and easily shift my thinking, and if necessary, give myself a bit of a pep talk.

So, as I took my morning walk around Bellevue Hill this morning, I opened my eyes to the wonderful wealth that surrounds me – that I am already part of! I thanked my fellow Bellevue residents for being able to accept and receive wealth and to live in three storey mansions with tennis courts and swimming pools. I admired the streamlined Mercedes’ that line the streets and took a picture with my iPhone of the very cute BMW Mini that is on my wish list. Thank you very much!

As I said good morning to passing neighbours I thought about how great it is to live in such a nice area with such lovely people, and I tuned in to the frequency of wealth and abundance. I kept my mind on the luxurious life I am working towards and pictured bundles of $5000 dollar bills strapped to the fences on either side of me (I know they don’t really exist, but I’m allowed creative licence, this is my dream after all). I imagined collecting some of the cash until I had so much I had to imagine myself wheeling a trolley behind me so I could carry it all home. I made sure my mind stayed on the joy of having this cash and sent any guilty feelings off to walk the plank.

With these thoughts in mind I conjured up the following mantras that are based on what I’ve read in Louise L. Hay’s book How To Heal Your Life. They go like this:

I am willing to release my need to believe that I have to be stressed to earn lots of money. I choose to earn millions easily and effortlessly now.
I am willing to release my need to struggle with money. The Universe is overflowing with abundance and I am open and willing to receive it now.
I am willing to release my need to believe I can’t have everything I want. The Universe is abundant with gifts and I am open and ready to receive them now.

Whether any of this works for me is yet to be proven and until such time, I’ll keep blogging about it. 

In the meantime, I’ve given strict orders to tie up Captain Blackbeard and stick a reel of masking tape over his mouth. I’m the Captain of this ship and nothing, especially not an old limiting belief is going to stop me from landing this vessel on Treasure Island and digging up that chest of gold.

X marks the million dollar spot and I am determined to stay right on course until I get there.


Just you wait and see.