The second book in the Horse as Teacher book series is hot off the presses! The Path to Relationship is flying out the door. If you haven’t ordered your copy, click here to get it. If you would like to order both The Path to Authenticity and The Path to Relationship, I’m offering both for $30, a savings of $10 off the retail price. Click here to get both titles.
If you’ve been a reader of my blog posts, you’ll know that I’m merging my passion for technology, information, and spirituality. I’ve got the information part down, with my coaching, my writing, and my knowledge of how to create information products. What I was confused about was how to bring my passion for shamanism and energy medicine healing, as well as my more recent work with healing with horses, in alignment with technology. They seem like different ends of the spectrum. I finally had that a-ha moment a few days ago.
What I realized is that I’ve been looking at it from the wrong perspective. I had been trying to fit all the pieces together as if they were separate objects. What I finally asked myself is, “What is the common denominator of each of these important parts in my life?” The obvious answer? Healing.
However, you might ask how technology fits into that answer. I now see that as the most effective tool to share the knowledge that I’ve learned about healing with others. It’s one thing to have an ability to be a vessel for healing; another to let others know about what one does in that work. By creating information products about shamanism, energy medicine healing, healing through writing, and my work with healing with horses, I believe that my vision of helping healers become leaders and leaders become healers will be realized. By sharing that information on the internet, in my blog, through social media, online articles, and my e-zine, I can contribute not only what I know, but what other healers and leaders are discovering.
I will build from that platform into more live events, spreading the information to even more people.
This might seem like a simple realization, but because I was so locked into a specific perspective due to what people might think, instead of what I’m called to do, I had trouble seeing what was true. Sound familiar?
After a long gestation period (ironically, nearly 9 months), I finally have clarity about my next steps. I’m sure it has confused some of you to see my struggles. I’m usually at the front of the pack, charging ahead with purpose. But I realize now that my mission has been evolving, that all of the targets I had been shooting at had to come together for me to move forward with a clear focus.
How do I know this is different than other things I’ve aimed for? Other attractions have always left me with a feeling of immediate euphoria, a “high” if you will, about the pursuit of something new. However, after a short time, my interest has peaked and I’m soon searching for the next best thing.
What I feel right now is a calm knowingness, a certainty that at long last, I’m connecting with a deep passion by bringing together all that I have learned in my experiences with these seemingly disparate, but passionate directions.
So, I thank you for your patience, for sticking with me, and for all of your comments and support. Stay tuned for more!
The week before Christmas, where I live was hit by a severe snowstorm that lasted several days. That’s highly unusual for this part of the Northwest. We had almost four feet of snow, mixed with a dose of ice, making power lines throughout the area collapse. As a result, for five days I was without electricity!
At first, I was frustrated. I had several days worth of computer work that I had planned, and no electricity meant no computer (yes, we’ll be getting a generator!). As I took stock of the situation, I was grateful to have a huge fireplace with plenty of seasoned wood, lots of warm layers of clothing, a propane cookstove under a dry porch, candles and battery-operated lights, and a stocked kitchen. There were many more who were not so fortunate.
So, I hunkered close to the fireplace, brought out some journals and a trilogy I was reading, and relaxed into a quiet space created by what was beyond my control. The realization hit me that this is what I had been asking for — time with nothing to do that would allow me to write and reflect. Funny how spirit always provides what you ask for, even if it’s not in the form you expect.
What did I learn from having this experience? Many things…
• Accept with grace that some things are beyond my control.
• Even the best laid plans can go awry, so don’t put off what I can do when I have the resources.
• Be careful what I ask for! The universe always gives me what I want, just not always the way I expect it.
• I have choice in how I respond to unforeseen events. Look for the joy in the adversity, with gratefulness being the most direct route to joy. Find the things that make my perspective positive instead of stressful. Which leads to…
• Find ways to improvise; it’s a great way to refocus my mind from the adversity at hand. I kept thinking of MacGuyver and his Swiss Army knife.
• Charge my re-chargeable batteries frequently!
• Have at least one phone that doesn’t require electricity :-).
• Be grateful for those interchangeable gloves-to-mittens; they are sooooo useful.
Okay, now I’m getting off-track…
Seriously, the most significant lesson I got out of the past week is that it’s important to stop and appreciate what I often take for granted… heat, water, electricity, warm food. These are blessings in my life. At any point in time, I might not have them. If that happened to you, how would you respond? Will you gracefully adapt, or will you wilt under the distress?
For me, I’m going out and buying a fishing pole; we have a river nearby that just might provide food if the next time I’m stranded I haven’t been to the grocery store ;-).
A few years ago, I attended a college graduation ceremony. I don’t remember the speaker’s name, but I clearly remember the story she told. She had graduated with a degree from the college she was now addressing. After a few years of working in that field, she knew it wasn’t a passion of hers.
After months of soul-searching, trying to decide what to do as a profession, she was standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf full of cookbooks, picture books of food, and travel books related to eating. Her husband walked into the room and asked her what she was doing.
“I’m trying to decide what to do with my life,” she replied. “I just don’t know what my passion is.”
Her husband rolled his eyes, looked at the wall of books, and suggested that she look more carefully at what was filling her library.
Message received, she went into the food industry and is now one of the leading authorities in her field.
A few weeks ago, after having read The Passion Test by Janet Atwood, I stepped in front of my bookshelf to see if it reflected a direction I might follow. What I saw were shelves of books on spirituality: The Bible, texts on Buddha, the Baha’i, Native American, Jewish, Mormon, Islam, Shamanism, and many, many more. Alongside of those were books on healing and personal and spiritual growth. Almost as many, were books on writing and publishing.
This may be an odd time with the economic chaos surrounding us for me to take a leap of faith, but I am driven to follow that passion.
For the past 12 months, I tried to mold myself into a teacher of social media, then to meld that with writing, looking more at the “business” end of my business (read: follow the money). The result has been a feeling of frustration, emptiness, and regret, all resulting from my fear that using my genius and talents in a way that honors my desires and purpose would be a financial risk.
Ironically, the other path didn’t really bring that much financial return, because it’s hard to attract something you want into your life when the vibration of energy isn’t there.
The recent upheaval in the world due to the illusory picture of the economy has been the final piece that is leading me to move to a business that encompasses healing and spirituality. Ironically, what the world needs more of right now are those who can help bring a message of change to help shift perspectives, reduce stress, and come together as a global community to help make our way through this scary time. It’s a time for healing, personally, in our communities, and in our world.
My vision for years has been that leaders become healers and healers become leaders. I have been inspired by the changing paradigm to stop dreaming about it and take an intentional leap of faith that healing and bringing that message of healing leadership to others is truly what I am meant to be doing in my business.
For those of you who are looking for more information about writing, I am most definitely going to continue to bring that knowledge and experience to my readers and clients. More than ever, the messengers of transformation and healing need to know the strategies and vehicles that will bring their voice to life.
For those of you who are looking for information from me about social media and how to use it to build your business, I will still be using those tools on this new path, researching what works in this fascinating world of technology, and will continue to pass beneficial learning on to you.
You might say it will be an eclectic mix of discussion, information, and sharing of perspectives.
I welcome you to join me. Please enter your comments at the bottom of this post. Leave your information, so others can find you. Let’s connect. That’s what the internet and social media is all about – the coming together of like minds to share information. And remember to subscribe to the RSS feed so that you know when a post or comment is made in response to yours!
Thank you for letting me take a moment of your time to share my path with you. “As Gandhi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” It is my renewed intention to follow that wisdom.
I hope you will stay tuned!
Sincerely,
Marilyn
One of the most frequent comments I hear from clients and colleagues is that they are having trouble creating a focused marketing strategy. With the Internet and fast-paced technology advances, it’s hard to know which wagon to hitch your efforts to in order to grow your business. Does the question, “How do I focus when there is so much to consider?” sound familiar?
Following that question, I often hear a resigned sigh mixed with frustration. I know then that there is an additional hurdle to overcome: The client does not consider him or herself a marketer and can’t see doing the tasks they need to do in order to grow their business. They would much rather be doing what they love, why they started the business in the first place.
These issues are intrinsically related. Not only will resisting marketing keep you from seeing the best strategy, the thought of doing what’s necessary will seem overwhelming. Instead, it’s much more interesting and fun to find other things you can do, a sure recipe for business failure. Trust me, I know what this feels like.
If you don’t know how you’re going to get somewhere, you’ll probably end up somewhere else. If your business isn’t growing in the way you would like, now is the time to take a look at your strategy.
What’s amazing is how quickly things started to change once I knew the why and how of what I wanted to accomplish. As soon as that happened, the Law of Attraction was activated and the Universe opened up. Yes, there were obstacles that arose. But having a specific target and the plan to get there had enormous benefits. My clients increased, my teleclasses began to fill up, and my income soon reflected the changes.
Want to know more? Sign up for my newsletter and you will receive a free copy of my e-book, Multiple Streams of Writing Income, where I outline the process I’m talking about in this post. Just fill in the form in the upper left portion of my home page and you will be able to download the pdf of the ebook. Enjoy!
