A Surprising Lesson from Downton Abbey

 

From the very first episode, I was hooked.

I loved the sets, the costumes and the characters. It made me laugh out loud, it even made me cry. I remember when I got hold of the entire first series on a disc. I sat down one evening to watch a single episode, it was already late and I had a some meetings the following day, but I reckoned one episode would do no harm. Five hours later, and 3 in the morning, I dragged myself from the couch and reluctantly when to bed. I was totally hooked. The following few nights, despite myself, I worked through the rest of the first series and then the second and third.  I just loved it!

And I wondered what was the magic.

Now, like I mentioned already, it’s a very high quality production. And the characters really are well developed. But in truth it’s more than that.

You see we love to get drawn into an imaginary world, we love to get emotionally moved and involved with a fictional existence. It’s human nature. In truth we just love to feel and whether it’s fiction or fact, we crave those emotions, we are reminded of how we feel about places and people. These emotions bring us home to ourselves, actually the story brings us home.

And why is this important for our business?

Well, if your business tells a good story and you learn to use great stories, then you too can get your clients hooked; remind them of the places, people and things that are important in their lives, you get to bring them home.

You see, the job of the storyteller is to take your listener on a great story, an adventure to a faraway place, where anything can happen, where there is great possibility. And the more important job of the storyteller is to bring them home safely.

Here’s what happens when you use storytelling in your business.

When you talk about what you do, you create amazing possibility about the impact of your work (program or service). You describe a world where your client can have exactly what they want (could be happiness, great relationships, end of pain…you fill in the blank). When you tell a good story, that world feels possible.

And then you get to bring them home safely. That means that you describe the story of where they are now and how they can begin the journey (hopefully with you) to achieving all they want to achieve. They get to be ‘at home’ in the reality of their situation, but inspired to take the journey to their desires.

It’s incredibly powerful. When you tell a powerful story, your client will be magnetized. And they’ll be hooked.

So, think about it. Are you telling a story in your business?

What magic can you create as you describe how you can support your client.

Where do you need a more powerful story?

Leave a comment here:
http://story-coach.com/a-surprising-lesson-from-downton-abbey/

And I’m off to watch an episode of Downton Abbey... just one!

Lisa Bloom, founder of Story Coach, supports organizations, entrepreneurs & coaches to use storytelling as a powerful approach to impact their clients and grow their business. She is a professional Storyteller & Speaker, accredited Coach, Author, Mentor and Leadership expert. Lisa is the author of the Amazon best-seller "Cinderella and the Coach-the Power of Storytelling for Coaching Success!" and the creator of the Business Story Mastery & Certified Story Coach Programs. She is delighted to offer you the FREE ebook "Using Stories to Get Great Clients" at http://www.story-coach.com 
 

Press Release Based Marketing Revealed

Julia Widdop will be guiding eight lucky participants of her workshop, Press Release Based Marketing Revealed, through the process of writing, designing and effectively using a press release as a powerful social media marketing tool. Learn how to use your press release with twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many other social media platforms.

This class is offered once per month and is limited to eight participants to provide personalized instruction.  You will be shown not only how to write the most effective release, but how to insure the widest distribution and most versatile design for your press release. Upon registration at the Talk Story Media website you will be sent advance instruction to complete ahead of the workshop.

Talk Story Media produces radio and TV shows and webinars featuring writers, artists and healers. For promotional opportunities and access to educational marketing webinars subscribe to Talk Story Radio chooses guests from subscriber profiles at: TalkStory.Media.

Mind Body and Soul = Holistic Health

Health is wealth as the popular saying goes, but how many people actually take their wellness into consideration as well? Wellness encompasses not only physical health but also mental health. Talking about spiritual products these are products aimed at helping you relax, release pent up tension and restoring balance to your body. These could be anything from bath salts, vitamins to anointing oils. It is now easier to get these products right from the comfort of your home by simply shopping online.

Natural Wellness Products

The body gets beat down by the numerous processed substances it is subjected to. To restore balance to the body it helps to take natural and herbal supplements. Imagine if you could avoid a wealth of medical complications that come about from not taking good care of the body, simply by incorporating a few natural supplements to your diet. The best thing about these products is that buying them in bulk is a possibility and this greatly cuts down on the overall cost. Think about it in the long run, you will have saved a lot on medical costs just by simply incorporating wellness products to your lifestyle.

Spiritual Products

One of the other ways the body gets beaten down is mentally and spiritually. Life gets tough and it wears down on the mind and body. Not many people take the time to stop and restore balance to the body and mind. It is easy to restore spiritual wellness by incorporating a few spiritual items into your life. Anointing oil has been used since time immemorial during ordination of priests and later on kings and prophets. Christians now use anointed oils as part of their devotional practices. What of other spiritual products that give you a piece of mind about your spiritual safety? The All Seeing Eye Pentagram is one of the spiritual amulets that most people incorporate into their lives as a means of safeguarding their spiritual safety.

Healthy Dietary Products

Living a healthy lifestyle also includes adapting a healthy diet. Again, life can get in the way of being mindful of what you choose to eat. You can make eating healthy easy by stocking up on healthy foods. It is easy to do the shopping online and have it delivered to you so that you do not have any excuses such as ‘not being able to go to the grocery, but the drive through is right on your way home.’ It is simple steps like this that can help you adopt a healthy lifestyle. Now most people have busy lives, with 8 to 5 jobs and having to battle with traffic to get back home. At the end of the day all most people want to do is get home take a shower and get to bed. Weekends are a time to catch up with the family and this leaves little time to just take stock of your mental and physical health. Websites like Healthy Absolutely allow you to conveniently shop for all the wellness products you need during your free time. You can get these products shipped to you right at home, giving you access to all the wellness products you need to restore balance to your life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LM9VxpVRn8

Submit Your Book Proposal for Free Review by John Riddle

Creating a book proposal is an exciting and often times a challenging journey, especially for new authors. Before you send your book proposal to a publisher or an agent, you can have it reviewed at NO COST by an author and ghostwriter of 34 books.

 “The book proposal needs to be perfect,” said John Riddle, author, ghostwriter and Founder of I Love To Write Day. “It never hurts to have a second set of professional eyes review your project before you submit it.”

 I Love To Write Day was launched as a grassroots campaign by Delaware author and ghostwriter John Riddle to have people of all ages practice writing every Nov. 15. Last year over 30,000 schools all across the U.S. held special ILTWD events and activities. Bookstores, libraries, writing groups, community centers and even a few malls joined in the fun. The Governors of 9 states have officially recognized Nov. 15 as I Love To Write Day, and urge their residents to celebrate the day by writing. Learn more about I Love To Write Day at www.ilovetowriteday.org

 Please contact johnriddle@sprintmail.com for information on how to submit your book proposal for a NO COST review.

The Frugal Publicist hosts book marketing webinar for self-published authors

Jennifer Vanderslice, author of "The Frugal Publicist: How to promote your self-published book on the cheap!", is excited to announced that she will be doing a live webinar on August 18th at 5 p.m. (ET). The program is called Frugal Publicity and will help self-published authors learn how to promote their books.

 This one hour webinar will teach self-published authors how to get the exposure that your masterpiece deserves. Topics will include: how to write a successful press release, get interviews, hold a profitable book-signing, networking with ease, and so much more. Registered participants in this webinar will also receive the following: ·Copies of Jennifer’s book, The Frugal Publicist: How to promote your self-published book on the cheap! will be available as a free eBook on Amazon on August 17-18 as a study guide and course companion. ·

 Every registered participant of this webinar will receive a free press release written by Jennifer Vanderslice about their book and posted on PRLog. · Those participants signing up for a free Basic membership in www.AuthorsSchool.support will get a 50% discount on tickets. For more information and registration, go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/frugal-publicity-with-jennifer-vanderslice-tickets-16815340135

Jennifer Vanderslice is the owner of MoonGlow PR. She has successfully promoted self-published authors for over eight years. Jennifer is the author of two books: Journey Along the Abbey Road - the true story of her four day silent retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani; and The Frugal Publicist: How to promote your self-published book on the cheap! She lives in southeastern Pennsylvania with her husband Craig. Follow her on Twitter @FrugalPublicist and www.Facebook.com/TheFrugalPublicist.

Ivan Figueroa-Otero, MD - Spirituality 101

Bestselling author Ivan Figueroa-Otero, MD surprises us with an updated version of his very successful first book, Spirituality 101. Relying again on his unique insight as a scientist and a spiritual researcher with a heavy religious upbringing, he developed a guide to help our understanding of concepts like self-identity, our origins and our purpose in life. With “Spirituality 1.2; For The Disconnected From The School Of Life – A Tekkie Guide”, he now explains it all using a technological approach that bridges the “tekkie” world with the world of spiritual research with an eclectic and original delivery. Figueroa-Otero will appear the Authors School Show on TalkStoryTV.com on April 30th at 11am MT.

After the success of his first book, Dr. Figueroa-Otero wanted to ensure that his message could reach young readers and those who immerse themselves in the world of computers and internet. He incorporated technological words and concepts into his philosophical guide for understanding our spiritual nature. The result, Spirituality 1.2; For The Disconnected From The School Of Life, is a deliciously funny, tongue-in-cheek version of his work, where every concept, idea, image and advice is carefully defined with technological elements like virtual domains, bits, and RAM. Like its predecessor, this book includes graphs, caricatures, exercises and even a final test. The author plans to continue the series until it reaches seven guides altogether.

The original book, Spirituality 101: For the Dropouts of the School of Life, was a long time dream of Dr. Ivan Figueroa-Otero, a retired Pediatric Surgeon. A year after self-publishing his book, Dr. Figueroa-Otero reaps the rewards in the public recognition awarded by three prestigious international organizations:

 a finalist at the 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards for self-published books, one of the only two awardees in the Religion/Philosophy Non-Fiction category of the 2014 Reader's Favorites, and a finalist at the USA Best Book Awards 2014. Its cover won the Inspirational Book Cover Poll by Storyfinds. It was favorably reviewed by Focus on Women magazine and Kirkus Book Review, among others. The book is still a bestseller in local bookstores, remaining among the 10 best sellers in the category of Spirituality.

“In the School Of Life there are no grades or organized curriculum. Everyone comes to learn and progress in specific areas, and your lessons are structured by your daily life. It’s as if the curriculum were created while you learn. Imagine our Universe as a big computer, where the quality of its computation is directly proportional to the quality of the input data. And where every programming error is reversible and re-programmable, with a little bit of patience!” says Dr. Figueroa-Otero.

Dr. Figueroa-Otero is a self-publishing author. Spirituality 101 was published and distributed worldwide as of January, 2014, and is available in print and electronic formats. Spirituality 1.2 will be published in May, 2015.

About the Author: Retired from the practice of pediatric surgery, Dr. Figueroa Otero is currently engaged in his private practice in San Juan, Puerto Rico and continues in his role as an educator, trying to achieve full integration of traditional Chinese acupuncture courses in the curriculum of medical schools and to incorporate meditation techniques in preventive and therapeutic medicine.

THE NEW AGE AND SPIRITUAL CONTENTMENT ©Norman W. Wilson, PhD

With the entrance of "New Age" in the late 1960s and early 70s and the plethora of rambings, rumblings, and ruminations of what is and what ought to be more questions were raised than answered. What exactly was this New Age? Was it communicating with a yucca plant, or laying bare-assed with an erection on a rock in an Arizona desert attempting to soak up mother earth's energy and crying out "I am Man?" Or was it getting stoned on pot, LSD, or crack cocaine, or blown out of one's skull with hallucinogenic mushrooms. Was it wearing long hair, beads, faded jeans with the knees cut out, a hole just below the right rear cheek to show you were naked underneath? Did it mean being bearded and spouting esoteric poetry? Is it the philosophy of "if it feels good, do it?" Ah yes, it is said to have been an effort to return to a more natural world. Okay, but why all the trappings? Why all the pretense? Why not just be? Just be? Didn't I say take from each dogma that which helps you feel spiritual? You got me there; I did. So, why am I so critical of the New Agers? Aren't they seeking the spiritual? Remember I said there was a catch. I have even repeated it. So, what's the catch? Their quest is self-centered, ego based and primarily communal. From one viewpoint, man is advised to love his neighbor as himself. Not bad. In fact, it's pretty good. The Hippies of the 60s and 70s preached "Love." Unfortunately it degenerated into irresponsible sex and drug use, both of which have continued into the 21st Century. Love your neighbor has been interpreted to mean don't be selfish. You know, give it all away. Such an attitude relies upon the notion that Self and selfish are one and the same. And there in lies the rub. They are not! To love your neighbor as yourself means you FIRST must LOVE your SELF. Now you have it! The ultimate secret of secrets. You have to love your Self, that inner being, that which transcends all other identifying attributes. Any demand that negates the value of Self denies Selfhood. Recognizing the value of Self is essential for Self Love. If Self Love is not present how then can you possible say you love God (any name you choose to call the Divine), let alone love your neighbor. Without Self Love there can be no spiritual contentment. If you accept the tenant that you were created in the image of the Divine, how can you negate that which IT created by demanding that you love your Self less. You can't and remain spiritually whole, that is, spiritually content. Suppose these concepts of individuation of the spiritual experience were to catch on what might the logical projection be? It would become organized, with specific procedures, ceremonies, and demands. Traditionalism would rear its ugly head and again threaten the individual experience. What has to be understood is that all spiritual experience is personal. the late Ayn Rand's statement regarding a collective stomach eating the same meal is appropriate here. There is such a thing as a collective stomach; likewise there isn't such a thing as a collective experience. You may participate in a group that claims such experience, but the GROUP did not have the experience: Individuals within the group did and that extent it is individual—always.