Success Happens - The Magic of Alignment

As we look out across the landscape of success and see the many who have reached the heights of what we might imagine is success, we so often think that success just happens. We sometimes get caught in the illusion that people get famous, successful or rich over night. Now there is no such thing as overnight success, unless you get on Australia's Got Talent or win at the lottery, and even then most people have been working all there lives to achieve the success that they finally receive.  However in some small way over night success can happen. In some respects there is a truth to this seemingly immediate success, there is some magic that can and does happen when the planets align.

In most cases those that reach success have been working at it for a very long time. They have fought through rejection after rejection trying to get someone of influence to recognise their talent. Be it a book they have written, a song they have sung or a program they champion, most of those that have reached success have worked hard at it. However there is a faster way to reach success, or at least to assist the process of the climb to fame and fortune.

There are a lot of things that need to come together for success to manifest, right product, right place, right time, right meeting, right connection, right attitude, right mindset, it can seem endless. In most cases there are a lot of things that need to line up for the magic of manifestation to deliver the success that you desire. In some respects when all the things that need to happen align, then often dreams do come true. Often when alignment happens dreams come true very quickly. This is the touch point that we are so very often exposed to since the advent of the internet and reality TV. 

So can we influence alignment or is it just right place and right time?

What if we could influence the planets aligning, train the ducks to get in a row and hit a bulls eye each time we through the dart? In my experience alignment comes down to four things.

Mindset

Is our ability to get clear and focussed, to be able to control those negative thoughts, emotions and feelings so that we can push through belief and self doubt. It demands that we have belief in our selves our product and the dream that we are aspiring towards.

Action

Is our ability to get off our back side and get moving and do what we need to do to get the job done. In most cases things don't manifest because people are waiting for it to happen... We make it happen by getting out there and facing the fear but doing it anyway.

Energy

Harnessing our energy and engaging in who we are and what we do at the deepest level allows us to attract all manner of good fortune towards us. Aligning our energy to the thing we are being called to do, that book, that song, that program, you know the one that sits there under the surface dying to get out. How we are being effects everything we are, or are not receiving. How we engage with the world will inevitably determine what we get from the world.

Potential

Unleash your true potential and believe in yourself, hell no one else is going to. Make things happen from that deeper part of who you are and live up to yourself, you only have now!

As we align it's like a rainbow appears, all the conditions are just right for all of the colours of the palette to shine, and when they do there is always a pot of gold at the end...

Have a great week and may all the instant success be yours, after all the work is done...

Cheers Marcus

Uncovering the truth about your USP!

There has been a lot of talk about discovering your Unique Selling Point (USP) and to be quite frank, I am sick of hearing about it. Most of the time it is spoken of by marketing experts and is externalised with a view to impressing your market. It is important but not for the reasons that they often profess. Even though most business owners understand and know of the value of having a USP, or at least have heard that they should, most still have not got it right.

We live in an increasingly competitive market place, with tighter margins and often more demanding clients. It is your USP that will help you to stand out in a busy and competitive market place. Where most business owners go wrong is that they look outside of themselves, analyzing and researching their competitors, trying to find a gap and in turn design their USP.

At Intrinsic Success we take a very different view of discovering you USP. In our experience your USP is more about the essence of you and your business than it is about marketing or competition. Your USP should really be your unique stand and place, and less about how you sell. If you really want to stand out and make a difference in the world then discovering the truth of your USP is essential.

So what is it that makes you unique? In a world of six billion people and millions of businesses what on earth could make you unique. Here is where the trick lies, for if you are trying to find your uniqueness in what you do then you are going to come up with the same thing as everyone else. It is interesting to note that so many businesses claim to be unique and then go on to do and say the same thing everyone else does. So what could make you unique? This is where the essence and energy of you and your business comes in. What is it that makes you, YOU? What is the uniqueness that makes you the special person that you are? What would your friends and family say about you that makes you, YOU? It is the same for your business, what is it about your business that makes it your business? What would your existing clients say about your business? What would your team, your friends and family say about the uniqueness of your business?

If you can nail these questions then you are most of the way to finding your USP. It is a little tricky I must admit and can seem like a never-ending pilgrimage to the end of the earth however, once you have it your business is guaranteed to take off. Now, you will know when you have it by the reaction of the external world, your clients, your team, your family and friends. One of the KPI's is when the clients come flocking then you know that you have it. When we get really clear about what we are then our potential clients can get clear about what we are and make a definite decision as to whether or not to engage us. It is when we are covered in fluff and same old same old that potential clients get confused and unsure about what we are and what we have to offer. Clients want businesses that are clear, definite and sure-footed. Our USP will give them most of this information.

Then you want to understand what it is that you stand for and make that stand. In our case we are interested in business owners who are ready to make a difference to their business and their lives. Those business owners who are truly ready to do what ever it takes to grow and expand and make a significant difference in their world and the world at large.

Once you have discovered the thing that makes you unique, are clear about what you stand for, you can then take your place in the market. So where is your place, or where do you want it to be? Go find the most comfortable and receptive place in the market and tell them what your USP is all about. Begin to attract your perfect client based on your USP. Let go of trying to find clients that do not fit into your view of yourself and the world. I guarantee you will be happier, less stressed and more successful. Oh and if you have some that don't fit I dare you to think about changing that...

So go out into the world and discover your true intrinsic USP, then go tell everyone…NOW!

Have a great week and may your intrinsic uniqueness shine for greater success.

Cheers Marcus

Finding your 'Inner Guru', it might just change your life…

I have spent the last few days, apart from trying to have a long weekend, downloading the video from my last Extraordinary Practice workshop that helps practitioners to Double their Clients and their Income in 90 Days. One of the main themes of this amazing, if I do say so myself, workshop program is the concept of inner guru. A lot of people screw up their face when I talk about the inner guru but if you can get yourself past the word ‘guru’ which, I use on purpose because it does cause many to rile up, then you might get to understand where I am coming from.

It might seem that most people move through life never looking for or finding their inner guru. Living lives that are not fully expressed or where full potential is not realized for without engaging with the inner guru it is not possible to reach or live your full potential.

Often we are told time and time again that it is not possible to find let alone connect and engage with the inner guru. The education system, our parents, our society all of which is not designed to help us to enter into this pilgrimage to find the inner guru. Some are lucky enough to fall into or over the inner guru. I remember a sister of an ex girlfriend of mine who when I knew her was only 10 years of age. Ever since the family could remember she said she wanted to be a Vet. She continually talked about it, dreamt about it and embedded this desire. In some respects she had already found her inner guru. I am pleased to say that now in her late twenties she is a qualified Vet living her inner guru. Unfortunately most of us are not as lucky.

For me I think I found my inner guru in my early twenties, however due to what i thought others expected of me I did not truly connect with it. it wasn't until I came down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome that I began to search, connect with and own my inner guru.

There are examples scattered all over the world that most can only envy. Every young singer who has been discovered on YouTube, just for living their inner guru. Every young adult who decided to build an Internet program to stay connect with their university friends, or every young entrepreneur who started a record label just because they had a passion. We look on with awe to these successful, seemingly enigmas of our society. But they are not different to us for they are just like all of us with one little difference, they had the good fortune, courage and luck to find and engage with their inner guru.

I have noticed, during my time as a coach and healer, that when people connect with and live this inner guru-ness magic happens. All manner of manifestation appears that helps them to become successful, abundant and often famous. I have also noticed that people want to be associated with those that are living their inner guru. They become magnetic, or gravitational for those that have been to my workshops, and attract all manner of good fortune.

So what is your inner guru asking you to do? Do you have the courage to go looking and engage with this inner guru? Some might call this destiny or passion or what you are meant to be doing, either way it is not only important for you but also for our society as a whole. If we were all living this inner guru we would all be fulfilled and in doing so be content with our lives. This would lead to greater health, wealth and prosperity, less depression, anger and anguish.

So this topic is important…no imperative!

It is time to entertain this idea so please don’t waste another moment…Age, colour, race any excuse is no barrier.

A client of mine sent me this video of a speech given by Sir Ken Robinson who echo’s this sentiment better they I can. His focus is around education and how this kills 'The Element' as he calls it. It is a very entertaining and funny talk, take a look...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJAL21IE9fY

So I hope you enjoy it and I hope you will think about what it might mean to find your inner guru…

Have a great week…May the inner guru be with you!

Regards Marcus

Easter Bunny Blues...

Well Happy Easter to you all I hope the Easter Bunny was kind to you?

In my household all holidays are meet with great excitement having three littlies, and Easter is no exception. So at the wee hours of this morning they all ran in to announce that the Easter Bunny had arrived and there were soooo many eggs. It is nice to hear the excitement in their voices even though it was 6:30 on a Sunday. Now we are all paying the price for those damn chocolate eggs feeling sick and disgusting, it felt good at the time! It's the Easter Bunny blues...

Anyway it is a public holiday so its time to have a break therefore there is no formal blog today.

Stay tuned for next week it's all about communication, the maker or breaker of success in any aspect of life. Until then enjoy the video and have a great long weekend or if you are reading this on Wednesday I hope you had a great long weekend?

More Lessons from Planet Earth

Even as I write this the lessons from last week, and it was a big week, are drifting off into the depths of my psyche. I remember it had something to do with the father wounding and the constant battle over the years to heal this wounding but last week a new insight appeared.

I had some confronting meetings last week that lead me to a realisation of the importance of emotional intelligence in business and in life. I had always known that my father was emotionally void and distant but I did not realise the depth to which that disease had afflicted me, until last week. Confronted with a situation where I had not lived up to expectations with tasks I had agreed to do, in a new business partnership. This greatly effected both of my partners as they where waiting on me to do what I needed to do in order for all of us to move things to the next level. Now I had real honest reasons why these had not been done. Business and making a living got in the way, but this was not the issue. My partners are both coaches and have a deep understanding of the human psyche and helped me to realise just how far I am from being able to connect my extrinsic world and my intrinsic world. 

The extrinsic world is the face we all put on when we go out into the world, and the intrinsic world is that deeper knowing self that would seem to be very fragile and hence why we don’t lead with this part of the self. When they expressed there disappointment and frustration at the situation I found myself getting angry and upset. Angry that they did not understand how difficult it had been for me and disappointed that i had let people down. This led to the realisation that the centre world of the entrinsic, as I have now termed it, is the most important part of self to understand. Now this maybe easy for a lot of people, however as I looked out into the world in pain, anger and frustration, I realised that it is void in much of our community.

This confronting meeting led me to the understanding that what people really want is to connect with the true self of others. In that I mean is that part of you that is the expression of whom you really are, vulnerable, scared, seemingly delicate and fragile. It takes a great deal of internal honesty with yourself to be able to express this fully to others. You see I have been trained to be a pleaser, anyone else with that affliction? My pleasing gene is so strong that it will over ride my true self, my real desires and place the feelings of everyone and everything above mine. It also leads me to be less honest with myself about what I can and cant do and what my true desires are. If I did connect to that honesty it may not be possible to live out the genetic desire to please. On the extrinsic side, the outer world, I am very honest however on the intrinsic side I sacrifice my honesty to myself so that I can fulfil the pleasing gene. 

So now what? It is one thing to have the realisation and another to integrate it so you can live it out in the world.

How do we break free from seemingly genetic patterns and subconscious subscripts handed down to us from generations past? The secret may lie in the entrinsic part of ourselves. There is a physiological side of the human body that is always trying to place the body in a state of homeostasis. That is our bodies attempt to balance our internal processes of things like hot and cold. This entrinsic side of ourselves is our homeostatic self trying to balance the inner emotional world with the expectations of the external world. So the secret may lie in our connection to our entrinsic or emotional, feeling self. In that sharing our true feelings about what is going on for us may actually help us to break free from these habitual patterns regardless of whether we found them ourselves or whether our parents and their parents handed them down the line.

Feelings in business, now there is a novel idea! 

So what am I feeling at this moment and what are the fears and hesitations that appear as I attempt to connect with them. As always the key is engagement, so if connection is the intrinsic identification of our feelings then engagement is the action to which feelings are expressed extrinsically. Sharing the fear, the hesitation that we may upset another or not please versus the desire to show the world that we are strong is not easy. It takes courage to live from the heart, but isn't this what makes life worth while?

I think writing a blog is a good way to over come some of this, as long as there is honesty and to the most part I am attempting to do just that. It’s not easy, it is not free from fear but it is cathartic. How will everyone take it, I don’t know, all I can do is be as honest as possible. Now this is not always going to please others. In fact it may often disappoint, but it is much better to disappoint upfront that to let down later on.

So how will connecting to and engaging with your true self, that inner world of emotions and feelings help you and your business? I believe we as a human race have a desperate desire to connect and engage with the true self of others, to know people at a deeper more real level. Let’s face it we all have fears, phobias, habitual patterns we are not proud of and those dark things hiding in the closet. I think when we engage with others at the real level of the entrinsic self we open up the ability for others to 'get us' and therefore employ us. I often talk about engagement as the most important thing in business and maybe in life. As the more we engage with anything the more successful we are likely to be. So what would happen if we engaged in the entrinsic self and opened up and shared the truth of our lives?

I have an amazing job that I am so grateful for as I get to connect with people like this on a daily basis. However it also gives me the ability to hide from myself as it is always about the other person, so in essence I have set this up beautifully so that I can continue the patterns of the genetic self. Well I wonder what would happen if this changed?

What would happen if you changed?

So with the all the fear and phobia that this blog may disappoint some of you planted firmly on my sleeve I post it for all to read....

Here's to honesty with the self...cheers.

Play from the front foot!

So here I am sitting on top of Mt Buller, the wind howling, the rain bucketing down and the temperature at near winter ranges and you ask why? As a volunteer of the Mt Buller Ski Patrol every now and then we are asked to assist at the National Mountain Bike Championships, and this is the weekend. These bike riders are some of the most committed, courageous and fearless individuals I have met. There is pretty much nothing that will stop them except for the loss of a limb or a comma in the case of the last event in Hobart.

These unique individuals spend most of their life on a bike, some 300km plus a week riding, $8,000 plus for a bike and that's just the start. Here is a great example of engagement in what you are doing, without this level of commitment and engagement in what they are doing there is no chance of success.

When I started Intrinsic Success I was enthusiastic, excited and passionate, then life happened. A few stormy days, a bit of heavy rain and a cold winter chill, which lead to a few knock backs, not reaching the success I had hoped for as soon as I had hoped, and then there were the family issues that are all a part of being a Dad. At some point during the middle of last year I had became complacent, lost and a little disheartened resigning myself to be comfortable but not abundant. The business had been flying but now it was doing just ok by all outside measures it was returning what most might call a good living. However complacency had set in which lasted until the realisation that I could not grow a truly abundant lifestyle spurred on by the fact that we had to move our son into private school so I now had the responsibility for his wellbeing.

It was actually here at Mt Buller where I turned things back around. I was riding a ski lift with a vey good friend of mine who is the owner of companies such as Car Sales .com and I was discussing my troubles and how hard it was finding work and getting myself going again. He gave me some wise advice, "it sounds like you need to stop bitching and start pitching". Interesting, stop bitching and start pitching, I thought to myself I don't bitch or complain I've been working hard, putting in the hours what did he mean? After taking a good hard look at myself I realised that I was doing a lot of peddling but not going anywhere. I realised that I had disengaged from my business no longer doing those things that needed to be done to get the work and do the stuff I love to do, coaching people and business to be, do and have more success. I realised that I needed to find the courage to put myself back on the line, to make the calls, spread the word and get out of my comfort zone and make it happen.

That was eight months ago and since then I have tripled my clients plus, had two amazing individuals sign on board to become Intrinsic Success coaches and help me to build the business and now for the first time I can see the true potential of my business. One might say that I have now opened up to the horizon of possibilities and wow what possibilities.

So have you become complacent, are you peddling but not going anywhere fast, are you not putting it on the line, putting you on the line? Where are you hesitating to make the calls, go to the meetings, take up the speaking opportunities? As I put it with one client last week, where are you not dancing on the tips of your toes, playing from the front foot?

As a tennis player and having played pennant competition tennis for Kooyong Tennis Club, I was taught that you need to play from the front foot on the tips of your toes. If you watched the Australian Open you may have seen players dancing on the tips of their toes waiting to receive a serve. Flat-footed players are slower, not as prepared and not ready for whatever opportunity may come to win the point. In a business it is no different, playing on the front foot on the tips of your toes allows you to be ready to take advantage of the opportunities. There are an abundance of opportunities out there if you are willing to put it on the line and truly see them. Playing on the front foot allows you to make it happen and be prepared to take advantage of those golden opportunities that will come your way. Be fully engaged in your business and in your life. Be prepared to do whatever it takes to make it a success, and most importantly keep peddling even when it seems all up hill as this is all part of running your own business, all part of life.

So the message here is to play from the front foot, be dynamic, ready and excited to hit the next ball. Get into action and be prepared at the start of each week to go out and create the opportunities and be ready to take advantage of them. Reconnect with the reason that you started the business in the first place; realize the importance of your work for you, your family and the planet. Dig deep and find the courage to put yourself on the line and do those things that need to be done and most of all keep peddling. I am always amazed at how fast things can turn around when you get your heart, heart and soul aligned and in action to manifest abundance.

So are you ready to make it happen?

Managing for Intrinsic Success - A core human experience!

Being the manager is an essential part of ‘being’ in business regardless of whether you have employees, manage a team or as a sole trader. Managing others is what we all do on a daily basis. Be it getting the kids to school on time, directing a contractor to develop your next marketing brochure, managing suppliers to have your product delivered in a timely manner or managing ourselves to get into action. Managing others is part of our day-to-day life. So how can we be more effective at the managing process?

The most important attribute in being a more successful human lies in how we connect and engage with the world. In the managing process how we connect and engage with others has a great influence on how others will respond towards us and in turn how well they perform for us. Intrinsic success is not possible without the help and assistance of others, every part of our lives depends on it. So how you deal with the management process is going to have a lot to do with the ultimate success you have. Here are a few tips that I use with my clients to help them manage others.

A solid theory!

One of the first things I teach clients is Motion Theory. Motion Theory states that everything in the universe is constantly in motion, the planets, time, weather, our age pretty much everything. At a quantum molecular level even things that appear to be solid like rocks, walls, floors etc, are constantly in motion. In respect to people and in particular those that work for us, Motion Theory is prevalent in that people are either doing one of three things. They are either moving towards our business and engaging ‘advocates’, moving away from our business and disengaging ‘detractors’ or hovering somewhere in the middle ‘fence sitters’ and some what appearing to be undecided as to the way they will move. Now if these people are moving towards our business and engaging then we are more likely to get the most out of them. If they are moving away from our business and disengaging then we are not going to get the most out of the relationship. If they are in the middle or fence sitters then once again we are not going to get the best out of them. As employees the same is true, employees are either moving towards the business, away from the business or sitting on the fence. In reality it is only possible to be moving towards or away from as even fence sitters are moving in one direction or the other.

So if you have employees can you identify which way they are moving? If you have other people you work with, suppliers, contractors or yourself can you identify which way they are moving? In respect to yourself it maybe that there are particular parts of your business that you either move away from or towards. For example I find a lot of small business owners moving away from the finance area of their business.

When employees begin to move away from a business they begin to become disenchanted, discouraged and disappointed. The further they move away from the business the more disgruntled and disappointed they become and in some cases become destructive sharing negative thoughts, feeling and emotions. This they need to share with others to feel that they are not the only ones and will often try to recruit the fence sitters. In respect of the business owner who moves away from the finance aspect of their business we find that eventually money becomes a major issue in the business. So what is it that leads us to engage or disengage and how can we manage the engagement process and have others and ourselves move towards every aspect of our business?

Core Drivers

As humans we are intrinsically motivated to move towards things that make us feel better and away from those things that make us feel worse. In essence there are five core drivers that underpin the things that we want to feel and engage with; we want to feel safe, worthy, inspired, self fulfilled and loved. We are motivated towards moving in the direction of things that increase engagement with these core drivers and disengage with those things that have us feel less of the five core drivers. So how does your business fulfill one or more of these core drivers for you and your employees’ contractors or suppliers? Once you have connected with this you can begin the process of enhancing those core drivers. In this process you can assist your employees to connect with the business and connect with how it enhances core drivers for them.

As an example I was coaching a call center manager who had 15 line staff who manned the inbound calls of a large call centre for a major telecommunications organization. As you can imagine a majority of his staff where either fence sitters or detractors, moving away from the business. One of the tools I taught him was the ‘Leap Frog’ technique in which we help the detractors to connect a core driver being meet in the future with what they are doing now. As you can imagine most of the call centre staff are on their way to somewhere else. Most of them are working in the call centre to fund another passion, dream or desire. Therefore we needed to connect those employees with a future, passion, dream or desire to the current reality and show them how the ‘Leap Frog’ effect works. We identified how the current reality was giving them skills, money and experiences that would one day help them and assist them to actualize there passion, dreams and desires. We connected and leap frogged their journey to reaching their end goal. Now in a call center environment every possible statistic is scrutinized. Our experience and coaching lead to a near immediate 25% increase in engagement, which in turn helped this team to be one of the most successful in the whole, call centre.

What we had done is turned a group of individuals from being detractors, because they could not see core drivers being meet, to advocates in a very short period of time. Once they could see how their current reality was actually helping them to have their core driver’s meet, they began to become more engaged in what they where doing and therefore performance improved.

So how does what you are currently doing have your core drivers meet? How does it do this for your employees, contractors or suppliers? What will it take for you to move towards all those things in your business that you currently disengage from?

In our next blog on ‘Managing for Intrinsic Success’ we will provide more tips and practical solutions to the management process. If you need any help in the management process you know where I am!

One Sick Child - Leads to a clear plan for success?

Happy New Year to all of you and I hope you had a great Christmas break, if you got a break that is?

I want to start the year off with a more personal blog and to set a tone of letting you into my life and also into my business life. I want to lead more by example rather than just through knowledge and a façade that we all put on sometimes. I want to be a little more ‘naked’ with my blog. So I hope the following mutterings help.

There were two reasons that I became a business coach, the first is because it is the one thing that allows me to express all of my skills, from business to counseling through to healing. The second was because of lifestyle and a desire to be there for my family…

So here is a story of our New Years holiday that thankfully has a happy ending…

We had a fairly quiet Christmas break together with the traditional family get togethers; lots of wonderful food, great company and many laughs. Once the Christmas craziness was over, and the dishes had all been done and the house once again back to a more ‘normal’ mess as apposed to a ‘crazy’ Christmas mess we decided to get away for the New Year. Having a house up at Mt Buller and a number of friends choosing to spend their New Years eve celebrations at one of the highest points in Victoria we decided to get away.

So on the Thursday we decided to pack up the car and the kid, just Lucy as the other two were with their dad, and off we went.  Now those of you that don’t know me that well I have three children, two beautiful step children Claudia 10 and Brendan 7 and one of our own little Lucy 2. So with Lucy in the car we headed off with a scheduled stop at Lake Eildon to visit some friends who have a houseboat there. I was hoping to water ski for the first time in over ten years, unfortunately the water was too rough much to my disappointment. Anyway after a nice day on the water jet skiing and general splashing about, Lucy loves the water, we headed on up to Buller.

On the way up the mountain Lucy began to become sick and half way up the mountain she threw up. Now this is not the best of stories to start the year but it is what happened and the moral of the story makes all this worth while. By the time we got to the top of the mountain Lucy was quiet unwell. Now our history of going to Mt Buller over the last year has not been a good one. I think we have had at least one sick child on nearly ever trip, so you can imagine our delight at the prospects of another sick one.

After two days of no sleep, Lucy being very unwell and a less than enjoyable New Years Eve for all concerned we decided to head back home early on the Saturday. When we go home Lucy had some concerning symptoms that seemed to be getting worse not better. The poor little thing lay on the couch not talking looking so sad and sultry with a high fever and not wanting to drink or eat. Lucy is normally such an animated kid and loves to talk and play and talk and play… So once again we head off to the Royal Children’s Hospital. I say once again as we had Lucy at the hospital a couple of times during September for an unrelated illness. Now I am not good with my children being sick, which, is quiet different from my normal way of being around sick people. I have spent most of my life helping sick and injured people; be it with a physical or mental illness, get better. Especially in acute situations where I am the person you want around. However when it comes to my little girl I am a bit of a mess. I just hate seeing her suffering and my heart just cried that day. Anyway we sat in the hospital for five hours while they did tests, rehydrated and observed her. After some water a cool lemonade icepole, and don’t icepoles just cure anything, she thankfully seemed to pick up and we were allowed to go home. It was a little worrying for the next 24 hours but I am pleased to say that she has now made a full recovery and back to her normal happy, laughing, dancing and talkative self.

I believe that there are lessons in all of life’s challenges and I think this one highlighted a few. When things are going well we can sometimes forget the ‘specialness’ of life and of the lives of those around us. In some respect it is why I decided to start my own business, so that I could be nearer those that I love most. To be there to see all the little changes, the new words, the new expressions, but mostly to be present when I am truly needed. Now I know we often make the excuse of starting our own businesses to get out of the 9 to 5 rut, working for the ‘boss’ but at the end of the day isn’t it about being closer to the ones we love? Isn’t it about having the freedom to choose when and where we operate our business?

At the end of last year I was stressed, over working and driving myself too hard. I find that it is easy to get caught up in my business, giving it far to much emphasis and energy. I also understand that this is sometimes a difficult balancing act especially for a male as we have the primal hunter-gatherer gene driving us to provide for our families. Now this is not to undervalue the feminine contribution it is just a primal programming that males have, it’s not real in our modern world but unfortunately still affects some of us.

At the end of the day life is all about balance. The business aspect of that balance is driven by the ability to build something, to be the master of our own destiny but most importantly giving us the time and freedom to be with the people we love most. Now January is a great time to get organized and to plan the year ahead. To take stock of the past year, learn from the mistakes, to celebrate the wins and to take the learning’s of all that has been. To then set clear intentions for a wonderful, connected and successful year ahead.

So what I want us all to do is to list all the most important things in your life and to schedule them into your business plans and business calendar. To not forget the real reason you decided to get into your own business, whether that was because of wanting to be closer to your children, animals or friends. To be able to spend more time with your significant other. To be able to spend more time on yourself or just because you had a burning desire to prove your tenth grade teacher that he was wrong! So apart from the business essentials, marketing, networking, finance, sales, product development and admin, place some emphasis on all those other much more important things in your life. Make the most out of them through the ability to organize your business around your life. Remember that if you don’t design your business then your business will design you. It is the same with your life, if you don’t design your life then life will design you.

So take charge of what you truly want to have happen this year. Make a plan to make time for the most important things in your life, in my case my family. And build a solid business plan to have the most successful year of your life, in all areas and in all ways! Oh and if your business is not allowing you the opportunity to have more time, more money and a greater quality of life then maybe you need a business coach…..if I can help you or anyone else you know give me a call marcus@intrinsicsuccess.com.

Here’s to a great year…. CHEERS!

Engagement Part 1: What has WELLBEING got to do with business?

It would seem like everything according to the Gallup organization, who have been tracking wellbeing from around the world since the mid 20^th century. In fact they track the wellbeing of the US on a daily basis. So what’s all the fuss about and how can it help us in business and career?

Wellbeing is not just about being happy but rather having a full life: according to Gallup ‘wellbeing is a combination of our love for what we do each day, the quality of our relationships, the security of our finances, the vibrancy of our physical health, and the pride we take in what we have contributed to our communities’. According to dictionary.com wellbeing is: a good condition of existence; a state characterized by health, happiness and prosperity.

So how is your health, happiness and prosperity?

Gallup found that the number one contributing factor to overall wellbeing is career wellbeing. Whether you are an employee or you own your own business the amount of enjoyment we get from our work has an enormous effect on the wellbeing of all other areas of our life. In fact people with high career wellbeing are twice as likely to be thriving in their lives overall. Not only does high career wellbeing help us to have ‘thriving lives’ it may also help us to live longer. The Gallup study also shows that high career wellbeing reduces blood pressure and the potential of head disease and also reduces anxiety and the likely hood of depression.

Now this is all well and good but how is this going to help us in business? Besides the obvious health and overall life enjoyment benefits it may also be good for our businesses health. There is a direct correlation between wellbeing and engagement. If you have employees you, as the business owner, can have an impact not only on their health but also the way that they engage with the business. I have a saying and that is ‘the more engaged we are with anything the more likely we are to be successful at that thing’. We tend to put more effort in into that thing and want to spend time and energy on that thing. We have a desire to become better at that thing and therefore are more conscientious. The more engaged we are with our career the more successful we are likely to be. This is why the most successful business people seem also to be the most passionate and engaged in what they are doing. In turn the more that you are engaged with your work the greater your wellbeing will be.

It is also true that those with careers where they get to use their strengths and do what they love are six times more likely to be engaged in their jobs and three times more likely to have a great quality of life. Therefore what you do, and the love you have for what you do, will help you to be more successful and could help you to live longer. Gallup conducted an ‘old age study’ and found that those who enjoyed what they did so much and did not retire until they where eighty lived until at least 95 years of age.

So loving what you do has a great impact on your health and overall wellbeing. It also has a direct correlation to your level of engagement with what you do. Therefore the more we can help ourselves and employees to engage with our business the more successful we are likely to be.

Maybe we need to have some focus on our wellbeing? Our life might just depend on it!

In part two, next week, I will discuss how we can assist the engagement process both providing practical steps to increase the wellbeing of ourselves and our organisation.

If you would like to increase the success of you or your organisation call me to discuss engagement and wellbeing in business.

Fatigue and the Busi-ness of Life?

I came to the end of another busy week feeling tired, exhausted and fatigued. Pushing myself from one meeting to another in a flurry of action, and as I came to a stop on Saturday morning I realized the pattern. Caught in a pattern that I have been running for many years now, flat out making it happen or fatigued to a stop. A wave of sadness came over me as I realized that my true self is the stillness that resides inside me. That peaceful self that meditates the wisdom of my life, and yet still I run.

It got me thinking of the sub-scripts that the subconscious brain runs that I often talk about with my clients. Those damn beliefs, patterns and fears that we choose to agree with over our lifetime. Now manifesting as a negative interference pattern. And I tell my clients that once you have a consciousness about a thing you can then decide to change that thing….right? Well as we all know it is not as easy as it seems and sometimes that comes down to the level or depth of consciousness we have about that thing. In my case I had some consciousness about it but not enough to completely shift my external experience of that thing, until today!

We had my nieces seventh birthday at a gymnastic centre followed by lunch at my brothers. It was a wonderful day, I got to run and play with my little girl Lucy and see our other two children, Claudia and Brendan, play with her. The love and care they have for her and each other whilst in a group of children is wonderful. Anyway when we got to my brothers the rest of the family had assembled including my Dad. Now I love my Dad but for most of my life he has been the one that I am trying to free myself from and today he gave me an insight. Now when I mean free myself please don’t get me wrong my Dad is a wonderful man, generous, caring and has supported me and my brother far and beyond most fathers. However like most boys and certainly first sons, I have the father wounding that I am trying to heal. So today was another chance but did I take it?

At one stage throughout the day, Dad I had a chance to chat alone for a few moments and in true form he asked me how business was going and again, true to form, I picked all the most positive points to tell him. The opportunities, the excitement of new clients and the underlining message of how well I was doing. At that moment I looked at him and noticed how far away he was from me. It was as if he had not heard anything that I had said. Oh there was the obligatory nod of the head and rhetorical murmurings of agreement and understanding but at the end of the day he was not there. Here I was sharing exciting news that things were going well and he had chosen to disappear. Now the disappearing is not the important part of this story, hell we all have those moments when we disappear from a conversation. No, it was the need I felt to once again prove that I was worthy and valuable….

Here was the driving force behind my need to run flat out and why it is not possible to keep up the pace. In truth this keeping up of the pace is me not living the truth of who I am but rather in the shadow of approval and acceptance of what my father might think is good. Sure like most I can keep up the pace with the best of them however I have had chronic fatigue so energy or the lack there of is my specialty. It is my calling, the reading of energy and sensing the state of myself and others, so now what to do with it…?

At the end of the day it is not the speed at which one moves that is the issue but rather what is going on inside that counts. It is possible to drive a car at 100 kilometers and hour however if you don’t change gear relative to the speed of the car then you are likely to blow up an engine. To complicate matters the alignment of ones own truth must match the energy so that the external performance matches the internal truth. In other words not only do we have to change gear so as not to blow the engine up but we must also have our gears aligned or we will destroy the gearbox. Now at 100 kilometers an hour that could be life threatening. In my case when my gearbox goes I get fatigued and literally have to stop.

There is a great understanding that comes from deep observation. Observation of your own internal scripts that continually run through your mind and observation of the scripts of those around you. To then bring awareness to how those scripts inter play with each other and the effect that these then have.

My Dad’s script is one of having to be perfect, which plays beautifully into mine, which is one of trying to seek acceptance by having the perfect business, life or what ever. Perfection to me is then played out through what I perceive as positive success, the bigger the positive success the better. This continual expectation is not possible to live up to. It is never possible to live up to others expectations. The only thing you can do is live up to your own, that is to meet your own inner expectation that in this life you will live as your true self as much as you can. That is the only expectation we have of ourselves at a deep level and it’s not really an expectation but rather a mantra, a desire to fulfill ourselves. Those that surrender fully to this internal expectation reap the rewards of a full, content and happy life. Those that don’t have to make do with whatever is left.

It is time to live my internal truth and to slow down, become clear, focused and move forward with grace and ease, regardless of the speed of the vehicle. Now I am going to take some of my own medicine and powerfully choose to make a difference. To live the peace that I am, calm and relaxed regardless of the speed of the outside world. I will allow myself to not have the need to impress, or be good, or be anything except that inner peace.

So how do your sub scripts interfere with your success and affect the living of your truth and, what do you choose now…………….?

So be brave and courageously share a little more of yourself this week. In a work or corporate environment it can be the scariest thing to do….but the most important. As one of my clients discovered last week, when you begin to let go and share your truth others are given permission to share theirs. Out of the darkest places the most amazing light often appears. So go and shine this week and let me know what happens and who else crawls from under the veil of a subconscious sub-script self.

If we were all free to perform from this place the world would certainly be better place…

Regards Marcus

Remember: Perform from your core, your truth and you will unleash your true potential...

The Power Of Energy

I am constantly reminded of the power of one’s energy when trying to manifest or create anything. Just this morning a relatively new client of mine shared the story of her amazing success over the weekend. After three sessions where we identified underlying blocks to her success, empowered a new paradigm and unleashed a new possibility she had the best sales ever in one event. This was all put down to her energy being in the right place.

So what is the energy that you go out into the world with? I see business owners spending thousands of dollars on advertising, hours of effort cold calling, or time sitting waiting for people to walk into their store all to no avail, and why? More often than not it comes down to the energy that we put out into the world. Whether we know it or not we are energy beings having a physical experience, just ask Quantum Physicist if you don’t believe me. We are constantly sending subtle messages out into the world, which is then picked up by others. This is then translated into the first point of approval to engage. If the energy is one of fear then it is less likely that another will engage, who wants’ to engage with fear? If the energy is one of being excited to meet others then we are more likely to want to accept. Now this energy goes deeper than just having a good feeling about others. It is one of those things that we can’t fake and we all have the ability to pick out a fake. So at a deep level it is about aligning with your true energy that gives you the best chance of success.

The most difficult part of getting your energy right is that because it is so subtle in its nature we often don’t see the energy we are portraying. Even if we feel positive, inviting and welcoming there maybe an underlying energy of ‘no not now!’ Now there are three ways we can monitor our energy: 1. Look at what is coming back to us from the outside world. Are we receiving the abundance that we know we deserve or world like? If not you have an energetic mismatch; 2. Have someone else guide us, preferably someone who can read energy and who can guide us back to our true energetic nature; 3. Have the intuitive ability to pick up on our own energy. This is much easier said than done as our own fears, beliefs and blocks often get in the road.

I have been called an energetic intuitive and have spent many years growing my intuitive abilities but I too sometimes need an outside person to connect me back to my core energy and to give me the courage to go live it in the world. I’m luckier than most as I live with another energetic bunny, my life partner Stephanie who helps guide me back. I know that when I am aligned and congruent with whom I truly am, things manifest easily and quickly. It is amazing that even if you have no idea where the next thing is going to come from, becoming aligned will have it emerge from the most unlikely sources.

A few months ago I was attempting to fill up one of my courses and was beginning to get frustrated that all the avenues and cold calls I was doing was leading to nothing. I realized that at some level my energy was blocking people from coming. I did some quick realignment processes and not long after a lady rang who had been given my brochure from a past participant and wanted to book 7 people into the course. Coincidence or the power of energetic alignment?

There are many, many examples just like this one and I am sure you would have your own if you think about it. An exercise that I often get clients to do is to imagine the last time things manifested easily or out of the blue. Try to remember how you were feeling, what was the attitude that you were sending out into the universe. What was the energy you were displaying? Now close your eyes and imagine creating that same energy, the same feeling right now. Now imagine focusing it towards that which you are trying to manifest, more clients, more money, no termites as in my case….but that’s another story for next time.

Remember for the most profound results align your energy with who you are and go live that in the world….It works and is more powerful than any advertising campaign!

If you want help with the identification and alignment of your energy call now 0419 538 320 or email me at marcus@intrinsicsuccess.com.

Intuitive Intelligence Part 2

Often when I speak to people about intuition and Intuitive intelligence I get the feeling that the common belief is that it is some mystical ability granted only to the gifted few. Well this could not be further from the truth. It is a fact that we all have an equal ability to connect with our intuitive intelligence, it is a birth right and an important soft skill that we have. It is a primal sense that we attained so as to survive and not be eaten by wild animals. As we began to gain more and more control over our world our safety and security increased and therefore the need for intuition decreased. Until now! As I discussed in my previous blog, our ever demanding world requires greater skill sets and abilities to stay ahead and be successful, intuition is one of these...

So how does intuition work and how is it that we all have the ability but only few choose to actively utilise this skill?

It might help to give you some background information on brain function and the role this plays in the intuitive process. If you take a look at a human brain you will notice that there a two distinct hemispheres, a right and a left. These two hemispheres are connect via a part of the brain called the corpus colosseum, a collection of millions or neural fibbers that sits low down in the centre of these two hemispheres. The two hemispheres of the brain have very distinctly different functions and working together, help us to do all the things that the human being can do.

There is an amazing video on the website www.ted.com, and if you haven't been on this site I highly recommend it, by a lady called Jill Bolte Taylor. I recommend you have a look at it here: 

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

Ms Taylor is a Neuroscientist who experienced a stroke and in the video she excitedly shares her insights and deeper understanding of brain function. This experience gave her, not just a theoretical understanding of brain function, which she obviously had, but also an experiential understanding of it's function during the stroke. In her video she gives us a view into the complex world of left and right brain function and inadvertently uncovers the brain - intuition connection. 

As an overview the left and right brains function like so...

The left hemisphere of the brain sees the world through organised, systematic steps, process orientated and determined to make sense of the world around us. It is analytical, structured and logic focussed. It tends to use language and words to describe it's relationship to the external world and in our modern day society is valued highly.  The left hemisphere sees us as separate from each other and is the part of the brain that knows me as 'I' and you as 'you'. It has separated and differentiated us from all other things and knows me as an individual alone in the world. It tends to concern itself with the past and the future.

The right hemisphere of the brain on the other hand has its focus in the abstract world preferring to make sense of the world through our sensory perceptions. It tends to use feelings and images to describe its relationship to the external world. It learns kinaesthetically taking in all of the energetic information through the senses so that it can experience its world. It knows us as one with everything, that we are all connected right here right now. It lives in the present moment understanding that there is only now. In this state it is the part of the brain that connects to our intuitive abilities accessing all of our senses both physical and subtle.

It is therefore possible that anyone with a right brain can access and utilise intuition. The issue we face is that we have grown up in a left brain focussed world where IQ is valued higher than all other forms of intelligence. It is a fact that the most academic and educated tend to get the best jobs and make more money. When we are born we tend to rely more heavily on our right brain as our ability to access speech and have ourselves understood by the external world is gained. This ability is then literally beaten out of us as we enter the external conventional world. This I have seen first hand with my children as they enter school and slowly but surely begin to rely less on their own intuitive nature preferring to analyse and quantify their decisions. However if we are to survive and move forward in the world we must reignite the use of our intuitive abilities.

Stay tuned for part 3 - How to consistently access intuitive intelligence... www.intrinsicsuccess.com

Doing what you LOVE!

I used to work for a company, actually I was a partner in the company, called Love Your Business which was started by an amazing guy called Peter Cook (check them out www.loveyourbusiness.com.au). His blogs are well worth reading and put mine to shame, love what you do Pete.

Now what I really leant from my time with Peter was that if you do what you love you have more energy. Having had Chronic Fatigue I know all about energy, what gives me more and what takes it away. When you have energy, and not just the physical type, you come alive. This aliveness leads to the expression of passion, enthusiasm, inspiration and a sense of excitement. These emotions are contagious and infectious and lead others to feel more energised.

Now the result of having more energy or being more energised is that you have more success...how you ask? Well people love to be around people who are inspiring, passionate and enthusiastic...don't we???? Well I know I do! These people seem to be magnetic, attracting all sorts of good fortune to themselves. So what does it take to be this type of leader...Loving what you do!

So how can you do more of the things you love? We all know that the accounts need to be paid, the reports need to be written, the trash needs to be taken out and the office needs to be cleaned. Now unless these are the things you love to do...STOP! The sooner you move into the things that you are passionate about, which are often the things you are good at, the sooner you will have more energy, become magnetic and attract all manor of good fortune to yourself. I see too many business owners who are tired, disillusioned and trapped in the thoughts of how do I get out of this mess. When we start our own businesses there is usually only us so we end up doing everything, marketing, accounts, sales, reception, PA, product development etc... But at some point if our business is to grow we need to make changes. These changes need to happen slowly and gently so begin with one small step. Where can you delegate something you don't love to do to someone who does. The bookkeeping is the first and obvious area that comes up. Bookkeeper don't cost much but you doing the books does. So begin to delegate to external providers first then eventually when the cash flow is right bring them back in-house.

I think the moral to this story is the faster you can do the things you love the faster you will have intrinsic success.

What is Intrinsic Success

If you look at the definition of intrinsic you will find the following: 'relating to the essential nature of a thing, inherent' (world english dictionary online). Intrinsic success is therefore the essential nature of success, a form of 'true' success in every aspect of life. I have meet some very financially successful people in my life only to find that their family is breaking down, to hear from their children the truth of there lives. What is the point of life if we are only successful in one aspect of our lives only to be Hippocratical in all others? Therefore intrinsic success is the ability to manifest success in all aspects of life, career, family, friendships, intimate relationships etc... It is a holistic view of our lives that leads us to living and expressing a full and complete life. This expressing inevitably leads to a deeper happiness and feeling of contentment that we are being the best version of ourselves that we can be, and why wouldn't you want to live this way?
There is a movement of inner connection and reflections that is happening on the planet that cannot be ignored. The more people I talk to the more I see this truth manifesting. In fact you may have started to explore this reality and experienced it's mutterings from deep within. The questioning of: what is it really all about? and; am I fulfilled in my life right now? Maybe these questions are spontaneously appearing, unanswered, opening up the preverbal can of worms.
My journey has been one of asking and answering just such questions. The finding of same opens up a new way of being that does lead to a life of happiness and fulfilment.