Browsing Category: "Abundance"
Unique Path To Prosperity
Your Unique Personal Differential
This is a concept I came up with back in the early 1990s, inspired by marketing guru Harry Pickens, who said that the secret of marketing success was to find the one thing that sets you apart..and then let people know about it.
I was reminded of this by Rupa Cousins, one of the most unique women I know, with whom I am now brainstorming about where she takes her important and transformational work as an Alexander Teacher and practitioner of the Rubenfeld Synergy Method (you can find out more at
www.rupacousins.com). This is also impacted by her deep involvement in Peace Dances, and sacred dance practices, as demonstrated in her highly regarded workshop When Dance Becomes Prayer.
Rupa and I have separately come to the conclusion that this unique synergy of mind-body-spirit work, rather than needing to be a difficult challenge to explain, can be celebrated for its unique difference from anything else anyone else is doing.
So How Are You and Your Work Different?
Which brings us to you, and what you can take from this exploration. Rupa talks about uncovering your uniqueness, and suggests two important questions that we can all ask ourselves as we want to take our lives to the next level:
What is in the way of being your unique self, of living your unique vision?
What am I that is just me, not anyone else?
I wrote back in 1991:
You can do yourself a great service by exploring and exploiting your own uniqueness. What about you is unique, special, unusual, remarkable? When I ask myself that question the answer isn’t that I am successful or prosperous, but rather that I seem to have a lot more fun than a lot of other people have.
One of my all time favorite quotes is from Christopher Morley:
There Is Only One Success:
To Be Able To Spend Your Life In Your Own Way
And isn’t a new year in a new decade, in what I like to think of as a new start to The New Millennium, the perfect time to uncover and discover your own unique personal differential?
Jerry
And by the way, though not always focused on prosperity, you might also enjoy my more personal blog at www.JerryGillies.net
Prosperity Is About More Than A Decent Living
How About An Indecent Amount Of Money?
It just came up in one of my coaching sessions. The client was reminiscing about a time back in the 1980s when he was making “decent money.” I immediately interrupted him and said, in effect, “That’s nothing to brag about–what’s wrong with making some “indecent money?” Like those executives with the huge bonuses on Wall Street, about whom people say, “What an obscene amount of money he makes.” “Decent money” is a limiting concept, as if you need to not offend or incite someone who doesn’t think you deserve to earn that much that easily. I want to go far beyond earning a decent living, far beyond making decent money, and demonstrate that someone producing large piles of money can be a very decent person. In fact, I have found that a decent person making an indecent amount of money can be a pretty decent human being much more easily than can an
indecent human being earning just a decent amount.
And this is more than mere semantics. It’s about labelling your intention–an important aspect of an evolving prosperity consciousness.
And while I fully expect to earn an indecent amount of money, I’m not there just yet. But the whole concept has inspired some of the cartoon gags I supply for four top magazine cartoonists. Like:
TEEN BOY TO FATHER:
“So, do you think the obscene executive salaries and indecent bonuses will come back by the time I get my MBA?”
ONE CEO TO ANOTHER IN EXCLUSIVE MENS’ CLUB:
“I feel mildly guilty about my multi-million dollar bonus. Meaning there’s not a chance in hell I’ll give any of it back.”
BOSS HOLDING REPORT AS HE SPEAKS TO EMPLOYEE:
“There’s one thing you don’t seem to understand, Barton, I get the huge bonuses so I don’t have to pay attention to even the good ideas from employees.”
I remember in one workshop having a participant say he would really like to own a Rolls Royce, but would be embarrassed driving it to the homeless shelter where he volunteered several times a month. I told him that was his issue, not that of the homeless people, who would probably flock around his luxury ride with lots of “Oohs” and “Ahhs”. You worry about resentment from those less fortunate? Then teach them how they too can achieve your level of success. My old friend, the late, provocative, and controversial Reverend Ike, was a great example of this. He did not hide his expensive cars or multiple homes from the lower income members of his church. He used these as props to inspire them “If I can do it, you can do it.” And it worked. I personally met several of his church members who made the amazing transition from being on welfare to being millionaires.
Of course, there is no such thing as “indecent money” or “decent money”. Only indecent people and decent people–and it has little to do with the amount of money either makes.
And this coming holiday season, I am ready, willing, and able to receive any indecent gifts.
Jerry
Prosperity Has A Price – What Are You Willing To Pay?
What Purchase Of Wisdom Or Knowledge Gave You The Most For Your Money In 2009?
I’ve been working, as some of you know, on one of my life’s ongoing projects: the end-of-an-old-year, beginning-of-a-new-year questionnaire. This has been a popular instrument for self-awareness for over thirty years, and friends, colleagues, and clients have reported back some profound results in terms of gaining insight on what they have been doing in the year gone by, and what they would like to do in the new one beginning.
The above headline constitutes one of the most interesting of my 110 Questions For 2010, in that it speaks to the business I and I’m sure some of you conduct. Teaching, coaching, training, inspiring, motivating. To try and put a price on any of these services or related products such as courses, CDs, DVDs, webinars, podcasts, seminars, is not always easy. If they work, they can be priceless. If they don’t give you information you can use to improve and change your life for the better, they are worthless. Like you, I’m sure, I’ve paid for more than my share of the worthless ones. On the other hand, the priceless ones were a huge bargain and more than made up for any disappointing experiences.
I’ve been blessed in getting some powerful positive feedback, some of it from notable figures in the motivational, inspirational world. As I prepare for the first time to offer a regular coaching program, and price it at what I think is a very low, reasonable price, $97 for a one hour session with follow-up built-in (I know, most people offering such coaching prefer to be coy and tease you with what it will cost, but I am into full disclosure at all times in my life and business from now on), I ponder the fact that in the past I charged as much as $1000 for the same service. And being less experienced then, it probably was not as valuable as what I offer now. And I honestly believe that this 2010 questionnaire itself, which will go out to every coaching client, and they will answer the 110 questions and get them back to me before we even have our session, is worth more than $97 just in the awareness it will create as someone answers the questions.
But I have some friends who have advised me to offer a much more expensive service, a high ticket item if you will, perhaps charging $1000 or $1500 for a package of prosperity coaching/consulting services. And I may do that, though I would want to take my time in putting something together I truly believe is worth that price.
A Confession
And here I have a confession to make, and the memory of it is what led to this particular post. In the past, when I was paid $1000 or more for a single coaching/consulting session, it was always by default. You see, I’m basically lazy, and I was earning a good income from royalties and other forms of passive income. To do real time coaching takes an investment of time on my part, in the session itself and in the preparation. So I never tried to market coaching, not ever. Every single one of those sessions in the past came about because someone who had read Moneylove, or listened to my tapes, or heard me speak in person or in a talk show interview, came to me and asked, “What would you charge to work with me in person?” And because I really didn’t want to do it, I named a figure higher than I thought they would be willing to pay, fully expecting them to walk away and leave me in peace. But I obviously misread my audience, because a majority of those people did not balk at my price at all. And if I continue to be honest about it, I must admit they accepted so readily that I wondered if I should have named a really outrageous figure, like $10,000 for an hour’s coaching.
The truth is some people who could have afforded $10,000 would have done it just so they could brag that they had paid the highest possible price for a single coaching session. But I’m not sure those particular people would have gotten much out of my session. And on the other hand, it is demonstrably true that charging a high price will sometimes motivate people into putting more attention on actually doing what the coach tells them to do to change their lives. We have so many emotional threads running through our consciousness about money, that it often produces strange behavior, like getting more value out of something that is priced outlandishly than out of a real bargain.
So perhaps another question to ask yourself is whether, in paying for the most valuable information you got in 2009, you took action in using it in your life. Money is actually the smallest part of the price you pay for personal growth, consciousness expansion, valuable knowledge. Your time and mental/emotional energy is much more significant in the whole exchange scenario. These factors of your participation dictate the success or failure of your experience. This can be humbling for a coach or trainer or teacher. To know that your client is much more responsible for whether the material you offer produces positive results. And the first aspect of your energy you exchange for this information or wisdom is your decision to get it, whatever the cost. And then you take action by ordering and paying for it. And then you listen and learn and devote some time to the process. Finally, and this is the big one, if you are going to be successful, you put some of the stuff into action in your life.
That’s what I mean by looking at the price you are willing to pay for information and wisdom–it is much more about your intention and attention and participation than about the money.
Jerry
The Riches of Thanksgiving – The Prosperity of Friendship
Ten People I Am Most Thankful For In The Past Year
Each year around Thanksgiving, I make the above list. You can check out my 2009 version at my personal blog:
www.JerryGillies.net
And as I re-emerge into the world of computers, cell phones, and commerce, it becomes increasingly clear to me that my friends are the real treasure in my life.
Friendship has always been important to me, as underlined by my earlier, now out-of-print but available in used editions via Amazon and other sites,
book titled:
FRIENDS–The Power And Potential Of The Company You Keep
Of course, in some ways, the idea of deep and lasting friendship has been diminished a bit by the superficial labelling of mere electronic contacts on the various social media as “friends.” But that doesn’t have to be..the superficial part I mean.
If you begin seeing these contacts as human beings worth knowing rather than mere lists of fans and followers, or people trying to sell you something, you can begin to enrich your life.
It is obvious to me, as it must be to you, that many people on these sites do not have much in their personal treasure chest in terms of friendship. Otherwise they would not have the time or inclination to post so many of other people’s quotes (even mine) or play so many online games (I’ve lost count of my invitations to play Mafia Wars). I see a real need to put out some guidelines for turning some of these contacts into real friendships. After I am finished updating and annotating and turning out a greatly expanded new edition of Moneylove, I am going to look at revising FRIENDS, perhaps with a new subtitle of:
The Power And Potential Of The Company You Keep on Twitter, Facebook, Etc.
A couple of friends I made via the social media are definitely on this year’s ten best list, so I know this upgrading of these relationships is very possible. One such friend was actually originally encountered discussing my possible death on Facebook with another fan of Moneylove. After all, my prison misadventure kept me invisible for twelve years, so many people probably speculated on my demise.
And I just heard from a lovely woman with whom I was involved in an MLM almost twenty years ago. Who knows what kind of friendship that renewed acquaintance might evolve into. It’s always, don’t you find, the unpredictable episodes in life that bring us the most riches. Which is why I always strongly emphasize leaving room in your busy life and overbooked schedule for new adventures and new discoveries.
Meanwhile, you might find it useful and enriching to make your own list of the ten people you are most thankful for in 2009.
And in terms of prosperity consciousness, there is nothing wrong with having friends who expand and enrich your business success. In FRIENDS, I talk about the value of “using” your friends, as long as it is done with complete openness and mutual benefit. I expect several of my close friends to help dramatically increase my income, and vice versa. And it can be much more fun as a joint friendship activity to play income-producing games out in the world than video or computer games in isolation.
I wish you a most joyous, prosperous, inspiriting, satisfying and warm Thanksgiving holiday–hopefully filled with the riches of friendship.
Jerry
Moneylove Quote Goes Around The World
A Friday Morning Surprise
So imagine my surprise, having been absent without leave from the world at large for twelve years, to wake up this morning and be greeted by The Motivational Quote Of The Day on my email from Nightingale-Conant, a quote that reaches tens of thousands of people, including many movers and shakers. It was one of my old Moneylove quotes, uttered more than a generation before the popularity of The Law Of Attraction. Here it is:
“Wealth Is Not A Material Gain, But A
State Of Mind.”
In some ways this is no big deal. After all, NC puts one of these quotes out every day. On the other hand, with all the top people in the field of human growth, motivation, and spiritual development–people like Wayne Dyer, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, even the late Napoleon Hill and Earl Nightingale and Dale Carnegie–they picked me, describing me as an author and speaker and radio personality (It’s been over 30 years since I’ve been on radio regularly.) I don’t know what archive they searched to find that quote, but as a good friend pointed out to me, they probably don’t even know I recently paroled from 12 years in prison.
So I am not going to let my head get too inflated with this, but I will allow it to re-inspire me, to remind me that a lot of my ideas have a degree of permanence unusual in this “here today, gone tomorrow” soundbite world we live in. And also, it will motivate me to come up with newer and more powerful quotes, as I think this one is a bit archaic, especially considering that it was once a cutting edge thought.
My prison experience taught me some valuable lessons that eventually will be featured in a book, but one thought I will share now, a quote I like even more than my old one:
“Freedom Is Not Wide Open Spaces, But A
Wide Open Mind.”
Jerry
Moneylove, Manifestation, and Money Expectations
YESPECTATIONS!
I love creating new words and phrases when I can’t find exactly the right one to convey what I mean. And “yespectations” fits perfectly for the point I want to make.
In Moneylove, I talk about the first step in achieving wealth is to want it, and to acknowledge that you want it, first of all to yourself. But there’s an important next step I have sometimes left out in my life–in fact, I would have to say it is the greatest single stumbling block to my achieving even greater prosperity. In addition to wanting it, you have to ask for it.
Ask And Ye Shall Receive
So Jesus had it right, and this is one of the greatest prosperity conscious statements of all time. But there’s still a third step–you have to have positive expectations that you will get it, what I often term as “robust expectations” of success. In other words, you have to expect a resounding “Yes!” to your request. And I call this
Yespectations!
My first lesson in this came at an early age, I was perhaps eight or nine, but I remember it vividly. My father had a friend named Art, who was a born salesman. The two of them had tried but not succeeded in a small business, and Art went on to take various jobs, mostly as sales manager of small companies. My father went into manufacturing as a foreman, then supervisor.
One day at my father’s company, there suddenly was an opening for the position of sales manager, so he called Art and told him about it. Art came in for an interview, marched in to see the president of the company and said he wouldn’t take the job for a penny less than $30,000. Now this was the 1950s, and it was more than three times what my father was getting. More to the point, it was twice what Art had ever earned. And he got the job and the $30,000. As you can imagine, that story was dinner table conversation at my home for several weeks. (Interestingly enough, some years later, I found myself working at the same radio station as Art’s son, who had some of the same positive expectancy energy as his dad. At a very young age, he became general manager of a major radio station in New York City and even hired me.)
Ask For The Money And Expect A Yes!
It’s not always easy. As I’ve said, I’ve struggled with this one for years. But I have a big advantage–I know it works and have seen it in action on numerous occasions.
My old friend, Mike Blate, author of the first book on fingertip acupressure, took his self-published book into ten publishing houses in New York–cold calling. He asked to see an editor, and got to see about eight of them, usually freshman editors assigned to walk-ins or over-the-transom manuscripts, as unsolicited ones were called. He asked the editors if they had any pain or discomfort. Most overworked young editors often had headaches, some had colds, and he demonstrated the quick healing methods he was teaching in the book. Three editors took his manuscript to consider it, and he soon got a firm offer from Holt, Rinehart, then owned by CBS. Chutzpah? Of course, but Mike is a gregarious guy and genuinely likes talking to people. And he was convinced he was doing the editors a favor by allowing them to take his book, and he was also convinced he would get a “Yes!” from at least one of them.
It takes nerve, a sense of self, a passion for what you are doing, a clear vision of what you will do when you get that “Yes!”, but most of all, the ability to see the results of your success. It takes Yespectations.
Jerry
The Moneylove Abundance Challenge
Moneylove Revisited–A Daunting, Provocative, Exciting Project!
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that my major project over the next year is to revise, update, and annotate my original bestselling book, Moneylove. The comments I get on a regular and frequent basis indicate that it would be a mistake to try to replace the book with an all-new version. So I am attempting a more challenging route–leaving the basic book as it is and has been (after all, with paperback copies selling for as much as $169.95 online, there seems to be a demand for a new edition at the very least). But the new effort, tentatively titled Moneylove Now! will probably be at least twice as long, and probably be published as several volumes, at least online.
My Challenge
So here’s my challenge: To make the book even simpler in concept, while expanding its content dramatically, to expand on those things worth expanding on. As I look through the book, I see countless statements that would provoke me to go on and on with my take on them if they were said or written by someone else. So this is what I will do, look at everything I wrote in Moneylove and make my comments to bring it into line with the Internet age and the new economy.
As I peruse the book, I can see where I could easily produce a volume of several thousand pages.
Just on the first page, for instance, at the beginning of the introduction, I have a list of eleven of the basic philosophical ideas behind my take on prosperity consciousness. I could write a whole chapter on just the first one:
Spending money is better for your prosperity consciousness than banking it.
This has a great deal of new relevance in today’s beleagured economy, and it is more true today than ever before in our economic history. We hear a lot of references to this now being a “consumer-driven economy,” but we rarely focus on what that actually means. And how we can prosper from that knowledge as entrepreneurs and innovators.
And I’ll confess to something you rarely hear from an author. As I go through the book, there are some things that surprise me, things I actually had forgotten I knew. This is great, as it affords me the opportunity to look at the text with new eyes and a fresh set of perceptions. And the biggest challenge of all? Making a new and expanded work that is as pioneering and profound as the original was. What will make that possible is the support, feedback, and suggestions from you. Go back to Moneylove if you haven’t recently done so, or download my new Moneylove Manifesto, and come up with those ideas and concepts you would like to know more about, those questions you would like to ask, those principles that you can use to transform your own life, but perhaps need some more specific methods to apply them to your personal situation.
In addition to seeking this support from readers and fans, I will be talking to some of the great prosperity teachers, and including some of their ideas in the new edition. In case I might miss a few, let me know who influenced your ideas about money and prosperity in a profound way.
And my primary commitment to creating an exciting new work, building on the base of the original, is to make it even more so. More so of what? More ideas and strategies readers can immediately start applying, more explanation of some of the basic premises, more provocative suggestions, and a lot more fun!
Jerry
