Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Power of Words


We all as spiritual entrepreneurs are aware that there is power in words. We know that what we put out comes back to us and that concept has a lot more to do with our thoughts, intent and words, than it does with physical acts. Nearly every spiritual belief system has something within its tenets that tells us about the power of our words to change our own worlds, as well as the world of those around us.

I personally discovered the power of words after having experienced a bad relationship breakup that put me into an 8-year cycle of negativity and skepticism where my cup was always perceived as half empty & I was sure to be heard telling everyone else that they were delusional if they thought theirs was half full. One day on FaceBook something prompted me to comment on a post one of my friends had just put up and she told me about a 40 day process she had once done where she focused on only the positive that came from or existed in every situation. She then made sure to use those positive feelings as her motivation throughout her day. At the end of the day she made sure to state how grateful she was for all of those positive things in her day. I was prompted by her description of the experience to do my own 40 day experiment just to see how it turned out (of course skeptical about whether it would make any sort of a difference). That experiment changed my life. The next thing I know, I'm watching spiritual films and seeing the point in an entirely different way, meeting Dr. Masuru Emoto in person and speaking with him about his water experiments and changing the world, loving The Secret Life of Plants and working with Colin Tipping. My life was radically changed by a multitude of experiences that came after that one simple 40 day experiment.

So why does all of this matter? Am I trying to tell you that social media changed my life? In a way... Yes that is exactly what I am saying... social media changed my life, but on a much deeper level than that.

SOMEONE JUST LIKE YOU CHANGED MY LIFE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

Do you see the difference now? The different choice I chose in my words made a complete difference in the perception.

It changed from a scenario where social media simply changed my life - which produces images of me all alone somewhere tinking around on the internet slowly but surely raising my rankings and little by little becoming the full time social media consultant I am today & blah blah blah blah. Whoopidy doo!

To a scenario where someone like you changed my life on social media - which produces images of someone with a depth of knowing on a spiritual and personal level, who has endured many years of training and learning in their own lives and who cares exactly what happens to every individual in the world because they care about the world - that person YOU sitting behind a computer sending LOVE through their wireless connection and saving my life like an electro-magnetic interference of the heart! WOW! That's all there is to say about that.... WOW - what a difference you can make by being here!

That is exactly what this video below is telling us in its simple way. Change your words, Change your World!! Notice the point of this video and this post. By simply changing your words to elicit a different vibration not only will you change someone's world, but there will begin a flow into theirs and your own life that brings exactly the abundance you believe exists.

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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Nothing Comes From Nothing

Last week I put out a post that was all about good things coming to those who wait. What does that mean? Do we have to do anything? Should I just sit around on FaceBook watching and waiting for someone to justify my presence? If what you put out comes back to you & good things come to those who wait and nothing comes from nothing then what the heck can I expect?

When I first started in social media, I created an account on all the various forums and then sat there wondering what to do next. At first my friends and family located me and friended/followed me and then that was about it. At some point (after observing what the other monkeys in the forest were doing) I started talking about whatever it was that I was thinking. I began speaking about what was important and then the people who cared about the same things came around to have discussions about it all. At that point I had created a following and a ranking but it was merely a presence. I had to do a lot more talking and a lot more believing and a lot more talking about what exactly it was I believed before anything monetary came of it and even that took 2-3 years. So you see, good things do come to those who wait, but there's something to be said about waiting for a response rather than waiting for a savior. We are all the savior we've been looking for - our savior exists within us and what we put out comes back. So let's discuss what you're putting out there into the social media universe.

MOST IMPORTANT - you must have & be actively working, a defined social media plan/strategy that defines your target audience, places you in the appropriate social media platform in which to reach that audience, gives you insight to the key topics that audience cares about & how they want to hear about it, and that enables you to have a timeline of what should be going out... and when.

INTERACTION - after putting your social media strategy into action the second most important thing, is your interaction with your target audience. Your inputs, comments and advice to your target audience are what is going to draw them in over time, in turn leading to increased conversations, added value and the eventual request for services.

If you're looking for a quick win - rethink why you're using social media. There's an old, but well known, saying in the urban community "don't start nothing, won't be nothing" and that saying however lacking in grammar, makes its point perfectly. Work your social media platforms with a defined strategy and good things will come.

Because I'm addicted to smiles and fun, I'll end this post with a video link to Billy Preston singing Nothing From Nothing - perhaps you remember it (if you're as old or older than I) or perhaps you can have a listen to something old but new to you, and have something to bop your head over while sitting at your computer wondering about your social media plan.

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Sunday, May 01, 2011

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

We all want our products and services to just fly off the shelves as people from all around visit our website seeking just what it is we have to offer. Is that what is happening for you? Probably not. Regardless whether or not you're using standard marketing, social media marketing or a combination of both there is generally a time gap between the marketing and the sale. So just how long does social media marketing take for you to see a return on your investment (ROI)?

For me, it took at least 2-3 years before I ever made any money worth mentioning via social media. That time frame isn't necessarily the standard for every person or product but it is a good time frame to keep in mind. Just last week, I listened to/watched two separate social media webinars. One of them was hosted by HubSpot and the other by David Riklan of SelfGrowth.com . Both of these people/groups are very well known and both of them referenced how both the general social media statistics as well as their own experience don't show a significant profit from social media until around the 3 year mark. Why is that? Part of the reason for that is because there is almost always a learning curve & the other part is because social media is a different kind of marketing than other marketing routes. So what is the reason for a person to make a go at social media?

First - everyone is moving toward social media and all of the experts are predicting that any company that is not consistently doing a portion of their marketing on social media within the next 5 years will not be lasting.

Second - social media is a perfect, tangible symbol of the spiritual concept of how we are all connected. I believe that all people are seeking that deeper connection and that quest to find a deeper connection is what pulls them toward social media like an moth to a light.

Third - Social media provides a lower cost of sale. With a properly functioning plan being put into effect, social media can be very cost effective in comparison to the cost of standard marketing. Whether you do your marketing on your own, hire a full time employee to take care of it all for you or hire an outside company, you are still spending less money than you would on comparable standard marketing endeavors.

Fourth - Social media provides you with the opportunity for longer client retention. In social media marketing, you are literally creating a relationship with your customers/potential customers and it is relationships in combination with a good product that creates loyalty in the hearts and minds of those customers. Social media is all about a personal, trust-based business relationship & it creates a feeling between the business and the client that is much like the small mom & pop shop where the owners knew everyone who came in & were willing to help them with much more than a simple sale.

That relationship and that connection is what social media is all about, it's what makes social media work, it's what attracts your customers and potential customers to it like moths to flames. In fact, even if marketing and making money are not the focus, I don't believe it makes sense for the spiritual community to not connect and inspire the world via social media. The general spiritual community believes that there is a deeper connection that unites us all & the world is seeking that connection through social media..... so why not you?

I'd like to share another video with you - This one was shared with me by one of you who receives my newsletter and it happens to go perfectly in line with the video you already watched in the article above. Where do you fall on the bell curve?

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