Category: Strategic Plans

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Awakening

As a facilitator and speaker, it is both challenging and rare to find a team of like-minded individuals to collaborate with. Having been in a solo practice for many years, my learned independence has made me very specific regarding whom I choose to work with. And yet when I was approached recently by colleagues Lianne and Carol regarding the creation of the Awakening Festival, I did not hesitate to say yes.

Over the months of partnership in planning and executing the festival, I felt valued and supported by the team. Without any time to actually become a team, which from my past experience has been a vital component of any success, we simply swung into action. Carol the ever competent coordinator, Lianne the visionary leader, Joanna, Sharon and I the contributors and speakers – we were a team from the moment the conversation began. Perhaps it was a shared vision, our breadth of experience or simply synchronicity, but agreement and forward movement came easy. There are some lessons to be learned from this.

The event, held Saturday April 5th, was for me, a highlight of my career as a speaker. Each of the keynotes we were in harmony and built effectively on the messages of others. Suffice to say, I have never experienced this type of coordination before. The opening meditation with Eleanor, the performers Kathleen and Carrie, the movement and dance by Tiffany, the presentation by Brigitte of Pure Art Foundation, the drumming by Caitlan, as well as the support behind the scenes created a full symphony for the delivery of an amazing day.

I share this as there are moments in life when everything converges: your dreams, your gifts and strengths and the vision of how you wish to live. Awakening Festival, both in preparation and delivery has been such an experience for me. Through the years, I have defined with great clarity the qualities and characteristics of those whom I want to work with as well as those who participate in our programs. This event was the manifestation of this clarity.

It is no surprise to me that the event was called the Awakening Festival. Awakening simply means mindfulness, being fully conscious of what it is you want and aligning your life with these desires.

Clarity + Action = Unlimited Personal Power.

It all sounds so simple when written like this, a perfect prescription for life. Yet in the simplicity lies the complexity for as humans, we are not typically that awake or mindful.

This was a conscious event, built from clarity, the intentions and desired outcomes we had for the experience. Our actions were designed to create the experience, whether this was in our advance planning, setting up to room the day before or coordinating the different speakers and our messages. In terms of attracting the perfect venue, the sponsors and attendees, again we were intentional. Days before the event it was sold out, amazing sponsors appeared, and a hall filled by amazing natural light appeared after the first location fell through.

I know I make this all sound simple, and yes, it still involved all the planning that any event requires. That said, it was for me a profound example of the Law of Attraction and intentionality.

Teamwork, event planning, coordination, and all the things that typically bog us down in organizations can be shifted significantly with a different approach. Setting intentions and outcomes from the get go, CLARITY, and aligning action with those intentions, ACTION, gives unlimited and powerful results.

I have believed and practiced this at a personal level and have found this to be powerful. To experience it at a team level lifts my spirits and renews my faith that everything is possible, that soul connections can be forged with others when you are clear about who you want to attract in your life, and the event management can be inspiring.

I am left wondering what would happen if these same principles were applied to everything we tackle, in both our personal and our work lives. Something to consider…..

Until next time…

Betty

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Open for Business

In my previous post I discussed the steps in creating a Strategic Attraction Plan for your Business/life. Having written these words just a few days ago, I have been observing my colleagues and clients as the approach the new year. It is clear that many of them are going ‘gangbusters’, clearly they are open for business. In contrast there are the stallers, those holding their breath and hesitating to jump in. This raise an important issue for me as a coach and a word to you as a reader which is as follows:

You can plan until the cows come home and
if you are not Open for Business,
nothing will happen or
the results you are expecting will disappoint you.

I know – I have been there.

There are Four ‘C’s’ I have observed in myself and others:

1)      Conditions:
Conditions are linked to the great ‘BUTS’ in life, but I am not quite ready, but I need to sort out my finances, but I need to do more marketing… and so on.

To be attractive, you simply need to jump in. Frankly the Universe doesn’t care if everything is perfect, it simply wants to know if you are ready.

Being Open for Business implies that you are open to receive, believing in yourself and envisioning fully the possibility of what is to come. Conditions exist only in your head and are a distant cousin of fear. Don’t let them hold you back.

2)      Commitment:
The second stalling strategy is lack of commitment. Are you or are you not in the game? Are you or are you not Open for Business?
Commitment means making your business, or whatever other aspect of your life you are endeavoring to change, a priority. This will mean clarifying your boundaries, being clear on what serves your business and what does not.

When it comes to entrepreneurship particularly,  commitment requires that you view yourself as a business person, that you begin to keep business hours which respond to your perfect client’s needs, that you are prepared to say NO to requests that interfere with you creating and growing the business/life you want for YOU.

3)      Complaints:
You get started and things just aren’t going according to plan. Another stalling strategy as you get lost in what is not working.

Complaints are simply roadSIGNS and an opportunity to shift what is not aligned with what you want or expect to what is. A simple strategy is to take your complaint, for example, clients who sign up for your services and then cancel. Now make your complaint about them , then Flip-It and specify the qualities of your perfect client, for example, my clients are reliable and committed.

Complaints are simply contrast and give you the opportunity to clarify and to re-work your Strategic Attraction plan. Simply remember this, if you do not flip your complaints, you will continue to receive exactly what you are complaining about.

4)      Celebration:
This may seem like an odd one yet celebration is a key part of the equation.

Celebration evokes gratitude, an ability to be consciously aware of what is already happening in your business/life and acknowledging this. It is an important element of being Open for Business as celebration stokes the fires and fuels your passion.

Celebration/gratitude also allows you to inform the Universe about what appeals to you, allowing you to attract more of the same.

Final Thoughts
If you are feeling stalled with your business or your life, be aware of the Four ‘C’s’. You are the boss of YOU and Your Business, Your Life. You get to choose to be Open for Business.

Until next time….

Betty

Betty Healey, MEd, is a consultant-coach-facilitator of Conscious Communication. Learn more about her,  her business, her books and upcoming retreats at www.roadsigns.ca.

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Strategic Attraction

New Year’s Resolutions – I am not sure about you  but I am tired of being asked what mine are. Truth is, I don’t do them anymore – it seems to me that in a few short weeks they get broken. Now that’s not to say that I begin the New Year with a blank slate. Nope! In fact I am quite clear about what I want my year to look like, I just use a different approach. I call it building my Strategic Attraction Plan.

Open for Business
As you begin the Strategic Attraction Planning process, begin by being open for business!

Many people we know identify what they want, however, they are not really committed to manifesting their desires. They have numerous conditions on what they would need to have in place before they are ready for business, whether this is in life or work.

Conditions show up in the form of limiting beliefs, the ‘should’s, must do’s and have to’s’ handed to them by others or the great YES BUT!  It is time to make sure that the doors of your business/life are open, really!

Strategic Attraction
The Strategic Attraction Process is all about engaging the Law of Attraction strategically in your life. While we most often teach this in a business context it can, in fact, be applied to any aspect of your life from attracting perfect clients, friends, life partners, to attracting your perfect job, home, business partner.

Rather than setting resolutions, Strategic Attraction helps you to clarify what you want from your life and business and then step into it energetically. Years ago, with the appearance of the movie The Secret, there was much ‘to do’ about the Law of Attraction and, in my view, a great deal of misunderstanding. The notion that you can ask and then receive is solid, except that there needs to be a little mortar between those bricks of asking and receiving, like clarity, like belief that you are worthy, and like stepping into the reality that what you are asking for is in some way already reality. This is one of those simple-complex aspects of life.

Strategic Attraction is a four-part plan. Based on the book Attracting Your Perfect Customer by Jan Stringer, you begin by clarifying the relationships you want to have with others.

Part One: What are the qualities and characteristics of your perfect client/friend/life partner/relationship.
It may seem obvious to you that you know who you want to have in your life. Trust me, most people are not; there is an illusion that either you don’t deserve to attract great people to your life or that you are simply too picky. WRONG!

First don’t confuse the word perfect with perfection. Perfect simply means that you want to work or play with others who are closely aligned with you, who share your values, who see you for who you are and appreciate you. Second, why would you choose to live any other way? You are worthy and you certainly deserve to be surrounded by people who respect you and appreciate you.

Part Two: What is your WHY? What makes you TICK?
In his book, It Starts with WHY, Simon Sinek states that your WHY is more important that what you do and how you do it.

Your WHY is your raison d’etre, your mission, your compelling reason for getting out of bed every morning. It represents that which passionately engages you in life and work. It may include an important cause you want to influence/shift or change in the world around you.

Part Three – Your Intentions
Intentions are statements that describe what it is you want to attract to your life/your business. They differ from goals however, in that they do not have a fixed outcome. This is where Strategic Attraction Planning shifts gears from Strategic Planning. There are no concrete targets or timelines.

Intentions are designed to expand your energy and open you to new possibilities. Intentions do not make goals wrong, just different. Your intentions begin with I want….

Part Four – I AM Statements
The final part of the Strategic Attraction Planning process is to become clear on who you are choosing to BE. Being refers to creating an inner landscape that allows you to attract everything you desire from the external world, believing that it is not only possible, it has already begun.

This clearly differentiates Strategic Attraction form Strategic Planning, as Strategic Attraction is more about being that doing. It begins by turning all the I want statements into I AM Statements.

Visioning:
In addition to completing the Strategic Attraction Plan, I like to add in a Vision Board This helps with Part Four of the Plan, stepping into what you want as if it has already begun. Take time to create your vision board.

Vision Board

Final Thoughts
For a Strategic Attraction Plan, to work, must be written down. So many people I know hesitate to record their plans because then they are forced to commit. Exactly. Give yourself some time to make a commitment to yourself. Forget about the resolutions and simply step up and get started on clarifying what you want to attract in 2014. It promises to be an awesome year!

Betty Healey

 

Betty Healey is an award-winning author, coach and inspiring speaker Betty offers regular Strategic Attraction Planning Workshops. If you are interested go to www.roadSIGNS.ca or contact her at betty@roadSIGNS.ca.

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Three Feet at a Time

I am a Gardener. For some people, that may not seem significant that is unless you look at the size of our gardens. A large amount of summertime energy is dedicated to trimming, planting, weeding, grooming and creating, so much so that we rarely choose to travel in this season. Those who visit our home frequently ask us for the name of our gardeners at which point Jim and I simply share that they are looking at them and no, we don’t want any gardening contracts.

Despite the work involved in this rather large project, the garden is a source of many lessons. The most significant of these lessons is what I call, ‘three feet at a time’. This lesson first appeared in 2002 when Jim and I began construction of the Garden Labyrinth.

A labyrinth, in case you are wondering, is in the ‘maze’ family however, designed to lead you in and out without getting lost. It has been used by different cultures to represent a pilgrimage, for walking meditation and for community building. Our labyrinth is 40 feet in diameter, a gravel path separated by gardens filled with thyme and lavender.

Back to the building process; on day one I walked into the back yard where Jim had marked the pathway in the lawn. As I examined the size and the scope of my work for the week, creating the border garden, I felt myself in a state of overwhelm. A few unmentionable expletives erupted from my lips. Panic set in. Where upon Jim appeared with a yard stick, set it down in front of me and gave me the following instruction, “Place the yard stick down, mark off the first three feet, dig up the grass, till and add fresh soil. Pick up the yard stick, mark off the next three feet, repeat. Do not look up; keep moving forward three feet at a time until you are finished.” Four days later I looked up and realized I had completed my assignment.

Three feet at a time comes up every time we begin a new garden project, this year creating a shady glen at one corner of the property where scrappy grass, weeds, moss and wild violets needed to be cleared first. As I looked at the scope of the project, I reached for the yard stick and marked off the first three feet. It works every time.

I actually use this lesson over and over again in all aspects of life. As someone who tends to see the big picture before the individual parts, I can easily get lost in overwhelm. You may notice yourself in this zone as well. Overwhelm can lead to procrastination, a sense of being stalled or send you off in a tail spin.

The principle of three feet at a time can pull you out of both spinning and stalling every time. The idea of three feet is to break down the whole into chewable chunks, those bits which you know you can take on now and which when added together, lead you to accomplishing the whole. Along the way you get to experience a whole bunch of little successes, points in time where you can derive a sense of satisfaction for accomplishing the first steps of the whole. And this builds your sense of accomplishment and your self-esteem.

Much of my coaching practice is dedicated to helping people break down the overwhelming into chewable chunks. For some people it comes naturally. Not so for others. Here are a few suggestions for applying the three feet at a time principle:

1)    Name the project and the outcome you wish to achieve. Visualize it and make it as real as you can.

2)   Work backwards and look at what steps you need to accomplish to get there.

3)   Take each step and ask yourself what the first three feet are. Repeat until you have a sense of what needs to be completed.

4)   Take on the first three feet. Don’t look up – keep repeating until the first chewable chunk is completed.

5)   Celebrate and acknowledge yourself for what you have accomplished.

6)   Take on the next chewable chunk and repeat the process.

7)   Always remember to celebrate each step of the way. This builds you up and fuels the fire to continue.

The Glen - a plce for energizing and reflection
The Glen – a place for energizing and reflection

                  Final Word

I have been very grateful for the garden lessons I have learned and how they have leaked into other aspects of my life. I enjoy resting my head on the pillow at night and reviewing the day behind me and feeling grateful for each three-foot section I have accomplished. While three feet at a time may seem simplistic, trust me, it is a valid and powerful strategy. Are you ready to tackle your life three feet at a time?

Until next time…

Betty

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We have launched!

After weeks of concentrated effort we have launched our new website for roadSIGNS (www.roadsigns.ca) . I have no illusions now that creating a quality website happens easily. This is the first significant overhaul we have completed for several years and one that was badly needed. With the changes in our focus that have occurred through the years, our previous website was not supporting us.

Being Attractive
In the work Jim and I teach regarding Strategic Attraction, we have become clear regarding what we want. Although I am tempted from time to time to interfere, I am learning to leave the ‘HOW” the wants unfold up to the Universe. I am constantly schooling myself in the art of Patience and Trust as a result! An important part of Strategic Attraction however, is being the Lighthouse, helping people find you.; hence the website, with all the proper SEO behind the scenes, and clear attention to the details within the content.

A Labor of Love
While I occasionally forgot, writing the new content was a labor of love. As we launch our new conversation about Conscious Communication, writing helped me to understand what it is and how we want to share this with clients.

What is Conscious Communication
Conscious Communication is the process of learning to be fully present, aware and mindful both with yourself and others. The process is an essential one for understanding yourself, leveraging the best of who you are and ultimately, connecting effectively with others.

It is rare that individuals consider how they are connecting with themselves. They are unaware of the elevator music playing in their ears and the subliminal messages they are feeding themselves. Building on the new research in Positive Psychology, we are learning that these internal conversations must be brought into consciousness if we want to change them. We call this from Critic to Coach, re-programming the messages of your inner critic, the voice that puts you down, into that of your Inner Coach, that which lifts you up.

Once you begin to change your inner conversation, you show up differently in the eyes of others. You are visible and you have the opportunity to engage others differently, whether this is in conversation or simply in who you are being. This is the other side of Conscious Communication – how you are with others and who you are choosing to be from one moment to the next.

What’s in it for YOU?
If you want to feel better about yourself and think more positive thoughts, I invite you into this conversation.   Stay tuned for upcoming posts and I invite you to check us out at www.roadsigns.ca.

roadSIGNSUntil next time…

Betty

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Feather Your Own Nest

Maximillian AKA Max
Mr. Hobbs
Tasha Noel
My Feline Companions and Office Staff

The first winter storm of the season has arrived and with that an innate sense to hibernate. With the shortening days, crawling out of bed to work out has been an increasing challenge. Add on to that snow and wind – you guessed it – it is a pull the cover over your head kind of day.

As I write this my desk is cluttered with the pieces of a strategic plan I have committed to doing, designing the roadmap for 2010. Then there is my phone, my journals, coaching files for clients and three of my four cats (see above). They are smart enough to be sleeping, refusing to place one paw outside the door, content with their warm spot in the office.

Back to strategy. I was listening to an Abraham tape as I worked out the other day, actually my favorite material to walk on the treadmill with as I love the material and I laugh often. Ester Hicks, who channels Abraham, made the point that each of us are responsible for feathering our own nests.

I agreed. In fact this is what I teach, self-responsibility if you will. I had not heard it stated quite that way before. It conjured up a unique image for me, the nest and the feathering and I was left with the question, what is it I want to feather my nest with? This brought me back to the Strategic Plan I have been reflecting and, to some degree, brooding on.

I have not committed to writing goals and objectives since my health care days when, as a department director, it was required. Call me rebellious, but this was 12+ years ago now. You’ve got it, I have been in business as an entrepreneur all this time without a Strategic Plan. OMG!

Okay before you say, what were you thinking, let me be clear that I have always had a vision and certainly clear intentions, a corporate mission and values. Whew! Yes and, it is time to shift from a one extreme to the other  and back to the middle. It is time to raise the bar as I have great dreams for roadSIGNS and ME FIRST and I know that I need to return once again to a structured approach that still allows flow. Let me see, is a flowing structure an oxymoron?

  • This winter day has given me the opportunity to dive into reflection and lasso the thoughts that have so far lingered only in my head. It is time for pen to paper. The process:
  • My hundred Year Legacy
  • Clear intentions
  • Concrete outcomes
  • Concrete S.M.A.R.T. Goals
  • Aligned and Attractive Actions.

Sound complex, not really!  This approach simply honors all I used to do when practicing Management by Objectives, with all I have learned, the importance of living my ‘WHY’ and my intentions and marrying the  two. It really is no more complex, it simply allows me to attract that flow that I seek. And with each step, I am feathering that nest.

I would love to hear your comments on my approach and for you to share yours. There is no right way, there is simply the way that is perfect for me and you.

The fury of flurries is slowing outside my window yet the chimes keep singing. They only sing in an easterly wind, signalling more to come. I plan to snuggle into my plan- another round of clarity please!

Until next time…

Betty

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Feather Your Own Nest

My Feline Companions and Office Staff

Mr.Hobbs

Maximillian AKA Max

Tasha Noel

The first winter storm of the season has arrived and with that an innate sense to hibernate. With the shortening days, crawling out of bed to work out has been an increasing challenge. Add on to that snow and wind – you guessed it – it is a pull the cover over your head kind of day.

As I write this my desk is cluttered with the pieces of a strategic plan I have committed to doing, designing the roadmap for 2010. Then there is my phone, my journals, coaching files for clients and three of my four cats (see above). They are smart enough to be sleeping, refusing to place one paw outside the door, content with their warm spot in the office.

Back to strategy. I was listening to an Abraham tape as I worked out the other day, actually my favorite material to walk on the treadmill with as I love the material and I laugh often. Ester Hicks, who channels Abraham, made the point that each of us are responsible for feathering our own nests.

I agreed. In fact this is what I teach, self-responsibility if you will. I had not heard it stated quite that way before. It conjured up a unique image for me, the nest and the feathering and I was left with the question, what is it I want to feather my nest with? This brought me back to the Strategic Plan I have been reflecting and, to some degree, brooding on.

I have not committed to writing goals and objectives since my health care days when, as a department director, it was required. Call me rebellious, but this was 12+ years ago now. You’ve got it, I have been in business as an entrepreneur all this time without a Strategic Plan. OMG!

Okay before you say, what were you thinking, let me be clear that I have always had a vision and certainly clear intentions, a corporate mission and values. Whew! Yes and, it is time to shift from a one extreme to the other  and back to the middle. It is time to raise the bar as I have great dreams for roadSIGNS and ME FIRST and I know that I need to return once again to a structured approach that still allows flow. Let me see, is a flowing structure an oxymoron?

This winter day has given me the opportunity to dive into reflection and lasso the thoughts that have so far lingered only in my head. It is time for pen to paper. The process:
                                    –> my hundred Year Legacy
                                    –> clear intentions
                                    –> concrete outcomes
                                    –> Concrete S.M.A.R.T. Goals
                                    –> Aligned and Attractive Actions.

Sound complex, not really!  This approach simply honors all I used to do when practicing Management by Objectives, with all I have learned, the importance of living my ‘WHY’ and my intentions and marrying the  two. It really is no more complex, it simply allows me to attract that flow that I seek. And with each step, I am feathering that nest.

I would love to hear your comments on my approach and for you to share yours. There is no right way, there is simply the way that is perfect for me and you.

The fury of flurries is slowing outside my window yet the chimes keep singing. They only sing in an easterly wind, signalling more to come. I plan to snuggle into my plan- another round of clarity please!

Until next time…

Betty