The Lily- The Principle of Being

Some thoughts on the teachings in my book The Garden of the Soul. Click HERE to find out how to purchase the book today.

Over the past months, I have been sharing with you some of the life lessons from my book, The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. The main body of book is divided into four sections, each one represented by a particular flower. You might think of these flowers as my “guides” or “mentors”, who teach me four spiritual principles:

• The Rose teaches the Principle of Giving
• The Iris teaches the Principle of Receiving
• The Daffodil teaches the Principle of Becoming
• And finally, the Lily teaches the Principle of Being

Today I would like to share some thoughts on the Lily and the Principle of Being.

Last month, I spoke about “The Principle of Becoming” (lessons from the Daffodil). The Principle of Becoming calls us forth to let go of “old stories” and allow change to occur for the purpose of expansion and growth. The Principle of Becoming is extremely important because without the conscious act of letting go, we tend to hold on to old patterns of behaviour, old emotions and old belief systems that no longer serve us and keep us stuck in so many ways. The Principle of Becoming is vital to our ability to adapt, experience joy and actualise our own creativity.

While the Principle of Becoming is all about our need for a sense of change, regeneration and rebirth so we can grow and have a sense of aliveness, the Principle of Being reflects our need for a sense of continuity, serenity and timelessness so we can feel safe and have a sense of identity. And while the Principle of Being is the seeming opposite of the Principle of Becoming, it is actually its essential counterpart. Without a firm hold on the Principle of Being, change in our lives can often make us feel vulnerable rather than free. But when both of these Principles are present and working together, they provide that much-needed balance between our desire for outward expansion and our desire for inner stability.

“Being” refers to continuity.
Our “Being” is that which is constant throughout our lives.

Being is…

• That safe place to which we can return reliably no matter what else is happening around us
• Our sense of Self that is not dependent upon time or circumstance
• Our inner knowing of who we are regardless of changes in our age, occupation, education, marital status, achievements, belief systems, social circles or economic status
• Our personal wellspring of serenity, wisdom, peace, inner tranquillity and satisfaction

In other words,”Being” is our sense of eternal identity, and is independent of our ever-changing personal relationships and roles in life.

To assess your own connection to your ”Being”, a good question to ask yourself might be, “Who am I when I remove all the labels about myself?” In other words, “Who am I when I am not the mother/father, daughter/son, husband/wife, boss/employee, this profession/that profession, rich/poor, young/old?” etc. In a quiet moment, ask this question, without self-judgment, and you will begin to get an idea of how much (or how little) you are in touch with your own essential “Being”.

At an even deeper level, true “Being” means an awareness of who we are beyond even more subtle designations of “self”, such as our intelligence, our talents, our nationality, our faith, our ethnicity or even our gender. Now ask yourself “Who am I without these designations?” and look more deeply into yourself to get a sense of that “Being” that lies at your centre. How easy or difficult do you find this?

Now go even deeper still and strip away all designations whatsoever, even to the point of letting go of the boundary between Self and the Universe. At this point, you realise at a deep level, and not merely with your intellect, that you and everything around you is Spirit. You come in touch with your own essence-your own eternal, pure consciousness- where you can see your connection to all of Creation, and is not dependent upon being within a particular bodily form at all. This ultimate understanding is at the core of the Principle of Being.

Some of us might find this perspective shift very challenging, if not scary, if we are at a point in life where we feel little inner connection to our own Being. We might fear that without some kind of “label” we will lose all sense of identity completely, and simply slip into a feeling of “nothingness”. If we dig down to discover the underlying cause of our fear, more often than not we will find it is triggered by a deep-rooted feeling of unworthiness. We do not feel we are “enough” without our worldly attributes. In other words, we have become accustomed to defining our worthiness through our roles, achievements and designations. We feel that we need these roles and designations to feel worthy of love, abundance-to be worthy of “Being”. When we have this underlying belief in our own unworthiness, it stands to reason that we would fear the loss of Self if we were to lose our labels.

But in actuality, the truth is just the opposite. Far from losing the Self, when we reach a state of genuine connection with our “Being-ness”, where no designations are needed to define who we are, our sense of identity is profound. At this point, we are able to find immense peace within the understanding that our identity is no longer dependent upon any external factor and is not subject to circumstance. When we finally release the need to identify the Self with “things” that come and go throughout our lives, we come into contact with our true Self, embracing it as eternal, and  transcending all change. And there is an immense sense of safety within this sense of “Being”, which is both immutable and indestructible.

The lessons I learned from the Lily in The Garden of the Soul (and especially in the story in the book called “Message on the Bridge”) guided me gently and lovingly through my own fears and attachments, so I could return to the essence of who I truly am. And the Lily as an image is an inviting and appropriate symbol for the Principle of Being. In the west, the Lily is frequently used in funeral ceremonies as a symbol of eternal, spiritual life. In the east, the water lily (or lotus) is a symbol of eternity and divinity, used to represent the soul, the spiritual master and even the spiritual world itself. In my own personal experience, back when I used to live in Arizona, I remember seeing a very special type of cactus that only bloomed one night a year, during a full moon. While I don’t know the name of this flower, it seemed to me that its white, star-shaped blossom was yet another kind of Lily, who appeared like a solitary hermit praying to the moon itself, shining brilliantly against the dark night for only a few hours. In fact, some of the imagery in my book where I meet the Lily come from my memory of that remarkable cactus flower. To me, the Lily, in all of its lovely permutations, was the perfect metaphor for the Principle of Being, as its beautiful, strong, white petals look like a hand of outstretched fingers, reaching upwards towards the heavens, providing a bridge between the earthly plane and the Divine.

The Four Principles of Give, Receive, Become and Be provide an easy model to check balance and flow in our lives. When we learn how to recognise these Principles in ourselves, we are more easily able to know how to recover from the inevitable upsets that come into our lives. The Principle of Being, like all the other Principles, helps us to enter into a deeper and more meaningful relationship both within our own Self and with the world around us. By tending to the Four Flowers within the Garden of our own Souls, it becomes very easy for our true Selves to blossom.

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[NOTE to readers: this blog post originally appeared on my social network "Lynn Serafinn's Garden of the Soul" on Ning. When I refer to people by name as "our own" and "right here", I am referring to that network, which can be accessed at http://gardenofthesoul.ning.com. Come JOIN us!]

This evening on my radio show, Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul, my guest was our very own GAIL SUSSMAN MILLER. For those of you in the Garden who have not met her, Gail is a coach, writer and public speaker, living in Chicago. I met Gail about a year ago when I attended one of her excellent teleseminars about reaching your target audience. At that time, I found her energy to be so warm and loving that I simply had to become her friend. On the spot, even though she didn’t know me at all, she volunteered to be one of my “beta readers” for my book (which was, at that time, unfinished). Since then, she has not only been one of my readers, but also a reviewer, a joint venture partner, a friend, a guest on my show and NOW (as of tonight’s show) we are talking about doing a workshop together sometime soon. How cool is that?

Anyway, if you don’t know Gail, become her friend because she is one fabulous lady who really knows how to make you feel welcome. And that is probably why she is so good at what she does. One of Gail’s many specialties is working with small groups to develop “Emotional Intelligence”. The term, she says, was originally coined by Daniel Goldman. On the show, Gail explained how we generally equate “intelligence” with the brain and measure it with “IQ”. This kind of intelligence is fairly static in life. That is to say, we all have a certain amount of “brain” intelligence, and while we can study and learn, brain intelligence itself does not generally increase to a great degree as a result of learning. Our bodies also are great repositories of intelligence (Luis and Fran you are always talking about this!). Lastly, however, our emotional bodies are also great bodies of intelligence. And unlike brain intelligence, emotional intelligence CAN be increased. And a good thing too! Most of us grow up with vastly underdeveloped emotional intelligence. We simply “react” rather than learn how to “respond”. Through development of conscious awareness, however, we can learn how ot separate ourselves from this reactionary modus operandum, and move away from feelings of being controlled by our emotions, and into a place where we feel at choice and within true selves at all times.

These are the ideas that Gail spoke with me about on tonight’s show. She also gave 3 of her 10 “secrets” to developing emotional intelligence. I’m NOT going to tell you what they are!!! (ha ha). If you want to find out these first 3 secrets of emotional intelligence, well you’ll just have to listen to the show by CLICKING HERE..

AND… Gail also wrote an eBook called (as you might have already guessed) “!0 Secrets to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence”. AND… here’s the very cool thing. She is giving it away to everyone who buys my book during its launch. Now, the launch was SUPPOSED to be over today (Wed 8 April) but I have decided, as it is Easter week, that it will run through Easter Monday. That means, if you buy “The Garden of the Soul” on or before this coming Monday, you can STILL get access to download 26 beautiful mind-body-spirit gifts from my friends and colleagues…. many of whom are right here on this site like Gail, Fran Stockley, Amber Rojas, Kathleen Schulweis, Gina Marks, Sheila Finkelstein, Jessica McGregor Johnson and Glenn Smith (did I miss anyone?).

To get Gail’s great eBook, along with all the other wonderful gifts from our friends here in the Garden (and many others besides, just go to http://tinyurl.com/lynn-bonus and find the links to Amazon to buy your copy of my new book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Then come back to that same site and enter your name, email and purchase code. That’s all there is to it. you will then be able to “unlock” the bonus page and download all the goodies. Remember…. this page will ONLY be online until Easter Monday, so be sure to claim your copy of the book and these bonuses now.

To find out more about the wonderful Gail Sussman Miller how she teaches women solopreneurs, executives and companies how to turn obstacles into opportunities by boosting their emotional intelligence her many courses, training, coaching and other skills, visit her websites at:

www.InspiredChoice.com
www.HowToLoveSpeaking.com
www.HowToLoveNetworking.com

You can also connect with Gail on LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/in/gailsussmanmiller
And follow Gail on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GailSussmanMill

Lynn Serafinn
8 April 2009

P.S.: If you missed Gail’s show and you don’t have time to hear it now, you can access it “on demand” at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn or subscribe to “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul” via iTunes.

P. P.S.: NEXT WEEK on my show on BlogTalkRadio, my special guest is our own BRUCE MORSE, American artist, photographer, poet and author of the book “Forgive Myself”, which I JUST read last week. Bruce will be sharing his personal story of how he found peace with personal crises in his own life, including the death of his young son, through the pathway of personal forgiveness. Bruce will also share selections from his book. His story is remarkable. Be sure you tune in next WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 6.30 PM UK/1.30 PM EDT at www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn

AND… don’t forget to check out my book and all those great bonuses before Monday at http://tinyurl.com/lynn-bonus

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You’ve made it now to the end! Here’s Part 10…

STEP 10: Follow up! Ok, you have read so much over the past 10 days that I am going to make this one a very short one, to give you time to assimilate all that information. But while I might not be writing as much today, step 10 is quite possibly THE most important step to take if you are to make an actual career out of public speaking. So in this case, size doesn’t matter!

So, here’s the deal. If you are serious about building a following, the most important thing to do is to FOLLOW UP with your guests. Communicate with them regularly (at least once a month) so that they get to know you personally, and will want to come see you again some day… even if it’s some time down the line. Keep the “buzz” rolling with them. Don’t just tell them where you will be appearing next. Send them bits of inspiration on a regular basis.  Make your communications something they look forward to. Make yourself stand out from the crowd. And then, of course, by all means do publicise your upcoming events, and make them feel like they are part of your VIP list. You will get a loyal following if you are also loyal to your followers. Treat them like gold.

If you are communicating via email and you are really serious about doing this right, I highly recommend investing in a proper email deliver system/autoresponder and stay away from sending out bulk emails from your personal email account. Here are a couple of links below: 

GetResponse (I have used them for 2 years now)
AWeber (I have not used them but they come highly recommended)

Both of these systems are not just email delivery systems. They also can set up automated messages in a series to your subscribers. Learn how to set up capture pages on your website, and give people good value for signing up with you. This will all help to grow your list, and establish your career. It’s not the goal of this series to get into a whole discussion on Internet marketing, so I’ll leave you with that for now.

OK, that is all part of PHASE 1.

Next, it’s time to move on to the next stage. You have an event under your belt, a growing mailing list and a handful of testimonials. It’s time to get on the phone to a couple of those organisations who hire speakers and start SHOUTING ABOUT YOURSELF!

That’s one way to get started from the ground up. How you can take this further and make money from this is another chapter.

That’s the entire series!
Please leave your comments so
I know how this is working for you…
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Want to take this dream further?
I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

Coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

Related posts

• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 9 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 7 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 6 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 5 (0)

Whew! You’ve done the event, so why is there a Part 9?

STEP 9: Ask for endorsements. OK, it’s time to remember the focus of this article series is about BECOMING a motivational speaker, not making a motivating speech. It was never about doing a single gig. This is about your career. And as a career, you need to think about how you are going to get your next gig.

If you were going to a job interview, you would take your CV with you to your potential employer. You would put all your employment experience and references. Making a career in public speaking is not very different. You also need a “CV” of sorts, except we are going to call it a media kit. And you don’t list your employment history, but rather you list your speaking engagements. AND you don’t list your references, but rather your endorsements/testimonials.

There are several ways to get endorsements from people. One of the easiest ways to do it is to have feedback sheets at the event. This is a common method, but in my experience these kinds of endorsements don’t usually contain the type of rigorous material you need. People are in a hurry to get home, or they want to talk to other people, so they tend to just say things like, “It was great!” Well that might be a nice ego boost, but it doesn’t do much for you in terms of telling a potential speaking host about why you are so great. So to get those really juicy, lovely endorsements, you have to target the right people and ask the right questions.

So what are the right questions to ask? Basically three things that break down into past, present and future:

1. PAST: What were there expectations before the talk?
2. PRESENT: How did the talk meet or exceed their expectations?
3. FUTURE: What impact has this talk made upon them? The impact could be how they felt as a result, how your talk will help them, or how it raised their awareness.

So if you don’t get enough endorsements via feedback sheets at the event, when and how do you get them? Well, you could send out an email follow up to all your guests. Again, in my experience this does not always produce the desired effect. People are so inundated with emails that they simply don’t get around to it. Surely you can do this, but don’t expect this to be your best sort of endorsements.

The very best way to get endorsements is to call people up on the phone.

YIKES! Call people up and ask them to sing your praises? Yes! Here’s how.

If, at the event, someone casually tells you how much they enjoyed your talk, then ask them if you can call them up to get an endorsement from them, to use in your marketing materials. If you have genuinely made an impact on them, they are generally all too happy to honour your request. Try to set up a few of these calls before people leave your event.

If you haven’t made too much contact with people at the event (or you got cold feet about asking), then the next day call up a few people you know by name and ask them how they enjoyed the evening. Be sure to ask them the three questions above, reworded of course so they sound more natural and in your own voice. Take notes as they are talking and try to write down exactly what they are saying. Then pick out the best bits and read it back to them and ask if you can quote these words to use it as a testimonial/endorsement for your website or marketing material. Also, be extremely courteous and ask if you can use their full name. Most will give this permission, but some might prefer initials only.

Something you need to remember is that once people have seen you speaking in public, you have already raised your image in their eyes. You are now on a different level to them. Remember always: you ARE a public speaker now. Not everyone can do what you do. People like to listen to good speakers. What that means is that when you ask for endorsements, people will probably be so flattered you have asked, they will even ADD more compliments to their feedback. And also, don’t’ forget, if your endorsers own businesses or websites, you can always put their business name or links on your materials. It is a win-win situation.

So don’t be shy about getting endorsements. They are easy to get and vital to your success as a motivational speaker. And, yes, they ARE an ego boost!

Step 10 (the final chapter) follows tomorrow…
Subscribe to this feed to ensure you receive all 10 tips.  

Want to take this dream further?
I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

Coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

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• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
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• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 4 (0)

10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker – Part 8

Drum roll!! It’s time for the best of all! Part 8…

STEP 8: The big night. This event is not just about your speaking. It is about the entire impression you leave behind. Believe me, sometimes I have not given the proper care and attention to a particular gig, and frankly I was received with the corresponding lack of care and attention. Remember that, yes, people will be listening to what you say, but the truth is they will already start to decide what they think about your talk the minute they walk in the door (and before!). It is highly important that you bond with your audience in whatever way is your style. It is also extremely important to plan and oversee the flow of the event so that it ensures you will have an audience for another one in the future. Here are some suggestions.

I highly suggest that you create a mailing list template for the event so you can take people’s names and emails (or addresses/phone, if you prefer). This will be at the door as people come in. Don’t just LEAVE it on a table. Have someone (not you) is at the door collecting the entry charge (if any) AND people’s names and emails for you. This is extremely important. If you omit this step in your planning, your event will not give you the desired result because you have no way to follow up with your potential audience. Of course, if someone else has planned the event for you and the guest are members of their list, you would have to ask their permission to do this. Be sure that you have tick boxes on the opt-in sheet that asks if people would like to subscribe to yours newsletter or hear about upcoming talks, etc., according to you situation.

Another thing I highly recommend is to prepare a short 1-page article with you photo and contact info on it, and have the entry person hand it to people as they come in the door (or you could put them on the chairs in the audience so they are there before they sit down). The article should be in some way related to your talk, and have a short “call to action” at the end where you briefly let people know how to contact your about your services, your book or your availability for talks. The power of putting an article in the hands of your audience (as opposed to just a business card) is immense. It already establishes you as an expert AND people will come up to you and want to speak with you even before you begin your talk. The last time I used this strategy I got a new client and two paid speaking engagements. Use this tip. It works.

The night/day of the talk, show up an hour early to the venue. Bring a few people along to help you prepare the space nicely and make it welcoming. As mentioned before, thing aesthetically. The space is just as important as you are.

Here is the MOST important thing. Don’t sit in the wings waiting to “go on stage”. Use the first half-hour to socialise with your guests. When the doors open, greet your guests at the door personally. Shake their hands and get to know their names. Use the time to feel relaxed. Believe me, you DON’T need to go over your notes one more time. You already know your topic. Too much rehearsal will make you MORE nervous, not less.

Then give your talk! Make sure it is lively, interactive and interesting. Hold the room by establishing eye contact with different people at different times in the talk. Don’t stare out into space. If you get “stuck”, don’t ever apologise to the audience. Don’t say, “I’m really nervous.” You don’t want the audience to take care of you. You want to lead them. Remember: they have bothered to make the time to come here to hear what you have to say, so they are already open and willing to hear you. You don’t have to work as hard as you might think.

Never EVER read from a book and never use a script (unless you are doing a book reading, and then you really should practice on your “performance” to make if full of life)! The best talks are those when the audience is engaged, and when they go away with a new skill or outlook. If you simply talk “to” them, they will switch off. Think of ice breakers. Think of things you can get them to do in pairs. Engage them in dialogue as you are talking (if the group is small enough). They will feel connected to you. They will want to come back the next month.

Did I say “next month”? YES… make sure you have a follow up date set up, and be sure you tell them about your next event before the end of the meeting. We’ll talk more about that in the next tip…

Step 9 follows tomorrow…
Subscribe to this feed to ensure you receive all 10 tips.  

 Want to take this dream further?
I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

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• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 7 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 6 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 5 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 4 (0)

Here’s lucky number 7 (and it IS a good one)…

STEP 7: Call a few “influential” people. Ever see the old 30s film 42^nd Street with Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Ginger Rodgers? It’s one of my absolute favourites of all time (side note: if anyone knows how to find it on UK compatible DVD, please let me know!). The running joke in the film is how supposedly unassuming Ruby rises to fame via a series of accidents. And every time she gets asked to do something that puts her out on stage, she says, in the most innocent (and possibly totally fake) way, “Who? ME?” It’s great. I love it.

When I say to you now that it is time to call a few “influential” people to your gig, you might also say, “Who? ME?” And the answer is, “Yes, you. Why not?” I was a freelance musician for almost 30 years. I also spent 4 years setting up promotional speaking tours for a very prominent spiritual leader from India. Between the two of them, I have either “landed” or set up from scratch hundreds of “gigs”. In both of these cases, I learned pretty quickly that it doesn’t help at all to be shy about yourself or your event. You must learn to put on your promotional hat and just start shouting about who you are. Of course, when I say shouting, I don’t mean that you must become aggressive or unsavoury. There is a way to be both polite and confident. If you try to promote your gig without both, people will either get turned off or they won’t believe it is of interest to them.

Start with people who actually WANT to know what’s going on in the world. Make contact with a few people from the local press or media and invite them to the gig. They are always looking for a good story. Tell them WHY it is a good story and they will come. If that is too daunting for you, then call up some local businesses or charities who are interested in your target audience. In other words, if you are talking to a group of people on health issues, then see if people from health charities or businesses would like to come. Tell them that they are welcome to bring their business cards.

Once you start calling such contacts, you will be amazed at how easy it gets, and how open they are to finding out more. Always remember, in their eyes, your event is a story. Make your story a good one and influential people will be interested and come to your event.

Step 8 follows tomorrow…
Subscribe to this feed to ensure you receive all 10 tips.  

 Want to take this dream further?
I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

Related posts

• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 9 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 6 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 5 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 4 (0)

10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker (Part 6)
By Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
author, speaker and personal transformation coach

Here’s step number 6 of 10…

STEP 6: Get ready for the event. It’s now time to get ready to send out your invitations or event announcements. After you speak to people on the phone, you should also send out personal invitations between 2-3 weeks in advance. I believe in working on a shoestring budget whenever possible. So, yes, you COULD go out and buy a stack of really pretty invitations and post them all if that expresses your style and approach, but I prefer email as it is cost-free and enables you to send reminders before the event. Generally, I send the reminders about 1 week before the event, and then again 2 days before.

Regardless of which approach you use, be sure to put some attention into the LOOK of the invitation. Make it reflect the character of the event you are presenting, as well as the impact that you wish to create. For instance, I know many online marketers who use plain text for their marketing materials, but personally they don’t always catch my eye and I am sure I miss some interesting events. That is why, recently, when I wanted to hold a Christmas event, I created an e-invitation with an animated candle on it. It was fascinating how many people told me that this email-based invitation made them feel warm and welcome to the event. One of them even cancelled another event she was going to simply because my invitation looked more… well… inviting. It cost me nothing to do, and even though it took me about a half hour to make, that is nothing compared to the time and cost of sending out posted invitations, or making dozens of phone calls.

If your event is also going to be open to the public, make some low-cost flyers and place them in places where the kinds of people you are targeting “hang out”. Better yet, find places to hand it to people personally.

Time your event carefully. Hold it in the evening if you are targeting working people. Hold it in the morning or afternoon only if you are running a business network type event, or you are targeting retirees or young mums. Any kind of general public event where people who are employed are invited should be in the evening. The best evenings for speaking events are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, although Mondays and Thursdays can also work. Make sure you don’t schedule your event on the same night as a major sporting (or similar) event! Be sure you tell people that the doors open at 7 PM, and plan to start your talk (or talks, if you have more than one speaker) at 7.30.

Step 7 follows tomorrow…
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Want to take this dream further?
I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

Related posts

• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 9 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 7 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 5 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 4 (0)

Almost half-way there. Here’s step number 5 of 10…

STEP 5: Create the SPACE. It’s time now to locate and book a venue for your talk. Don’t think big and expensive. Make it a small, cosy place. Having 20 people in a small venue feels a lot better than having the same amount of people in a larger room. Rent out a church hall or a small hotel board room. Look for inexpensive but aesthetically pleasing places. The atmosphere of the venue is just as important as your talk, believe me! It is a commonly quoted axiom that people forget what you say, but they don’t forget how you made them feel. So make sure they will feel good as soon as they enter the venue.

Be sure you do a “rekkie” before the day so you get an idea of how the tables, chairs and other items in the room would be laid out. Pay attention to where the electrical mains are. Be sure the venue is accessible to all and there is ample parking. Think about how you will “create” the space that will set the mood for the evening you wish to present. Fluorescent lighting might be fine for an up-tempo business talk, but it might not at all be right for a talk of a more reflective nature. Take time to plan how you will set the room up for impact. Think about whether you need kitchen access, PA system or other resources.

And speaking of resources, don’t think that you need lots of “props” to make your talk more “exciting”. It is your job to inspire the audience, not to “impress” them. So here’s a tip… if you want to be a motivational speaker, don’t make your debut hiding behind a visual presentation (unless pictures are absolutely essential for your talk). While I have done some pretty funky things with a PowerPoint presentation, there is the old adage “death by PowerPoint”.

And flipcharts? Good heavens no! Not unless it is absolutely essential to express something you cannot say with words alone. There is nothing LESS motivational to an audience than the sight of a flipchart waiting in the wings. Don’t die before your career even starts. If you are using any kind of visual aid, make sure it is attractive and used sparingly.

Step 6 follows tomorrow…
Subscribe to this feed to ensure you receive all 10 tips.

Want to take this dream further?
I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

Related posts

• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 9 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 7 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 6 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 4 (0)

Here’s do-it-yourself step number 4…

STEP 4: ASK for names. Before you hang up on your contacts, ask them who else they know who might like to come to the event as a member of the audience. Be specific about what kind of people you want. Say something like, “I’m looking for people in their 20s and 30s who are getting ready to move from full-time care to an independent living situation” (or whatever it is you are looking for) and ask them who they know who fits that category. Gather names/emails and telephone numbers. Ask them to call these people to ask if you can speak to them. Believe me, people will be very helpful if you are giving them something free of interest to them. Call the secondary people and start to make connections with them. THEN, ask them who THEY know and continue building your special interest group. If you do this correctly, you could end up with an invitation list of about 30 people for your first event. AND, find one or two people amongst your invitees who would be willing to help you run the event.

Step 5 follows tomorrow…
Subscribe to this feed to ensure you receive all 10 tips.

Want to take this dream further?

I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

Related posts

• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 9 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 7 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 6 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 5 (0)

2 down, 8 to go. Here’s step number 3…

STEP 3: Talk with people you already KNOW. Next, write down the names of all the people you already know who fit this description. You might only personally know 3 or 4 people in this category. Fine. Call them up and say that you are arranging a talk on a topic that fits the range of interest you have in common. Don’t feel compelled to make it entirely free; a small charge at the door to cover your costs is acceptable. Tell them the topic, and what they will gain from it. You might have a prize draw, coffee/tea, wine reception, whatever. ASK this person if he or she would like to give a short talk too. Get them enthusiastic. Tell them that you intend to set this up for 1 month from now, but you’ll give them all the details later. Repeat this until you have about 4 speakers for the event, including yourself.  

Step 4 follows tomorrow…
Subscribe to this feed to ensure you receive all 10 tips.

Want to take this dream further?

I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

Related posts

• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 9 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 7 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 6 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 5 (0)

Here’s Step 2 of 10…

STEP 2: What do YOU want to say? Once you identify the kinds of people who make you feel motivated, it’s time to get more specific. What kinds of things you like to talk about with them? What topics turn you both on? What is your common ethos? What do you life for? For what specific issues do you want to be known as an expert? Don’t make it too broad, or you will dilute the “image” of your expertise in people’s eyes. In your case, if you go with mental disabilities, for instance, what specific disabilities would you want to work with? What is the impact you want to create? What stage of their lives will they be? Young, old? Are they in care? Are they in transition to independence? Or do you want to work with parents/families? Think of what motivates YOU and then select something that would sustain your interest.

Step 3 follows tomorrow…
Subscribe to this feed to ensure you receive all 10 tips.

Want to take this dream further?

I teach all these techniques and more in my course “Light Your Fire Without Burning Out”, where you learn how to set up your own social and business networks that can also help position you as an expert in your field. This course will be running again sometime in the spring of 2009. If you wish to receive a calendar announcement for when this (and other) courses are running, just set your RSS feed to receive this blog or sign up in the box at the left of this page.

You can find more information about my courses on my Create-a-Life website.

coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

Related posts

• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 9 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 7 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 6 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 5 (0)

Many of us have things we learned in life that we’d like to share. For that reason, we might dream about becoming a motivational speaker. And in reality, while the competition is stiff out there, not everyone is a gifted speaker. Being able to hold a room and really inspire people is a gift-and if you’ve got it, I say, GO for it!

 Some people think that the hardest thing about public speaking is the actual act of getting up and speaking in front of an audience. Well, if that’s your edge, CALL ME– I’m a coach, remember? I have coached many people through that blip known as self-doubt and helped them to find their wings. I myself know all about such edges as I had a really severe case of stage fright between the ages of 18-21, right when I was starting my music career. NOT a very good thing for a musician to have. But for the purpose of this article, I’m going to assume that nerves are not your primary issue, and you just want some practical tips on how to get started in public speaking.

I am a motivational speaker as well as a coach and author. I started dipping my big toe into public speaking about 2 years ago, and now it is starting break through, and I am averaging about 2-3 paid engagements a month, with the aim of getting 2 paid gigs a week before the end of 2009. These days I get calls from organisations that want me to speak at their events, but that is NOT how I started my speaking career. It is very “difficult” (sarcasm intended) to get asked to be a speaker when no one knows you and they have no idea of your speaking abilities. So, rather than take on this “difficult” energy and say it can’t be done, I am going to give you some tips on how turn your perspective around so you can CREATE your own public speaking career from scratch. As I come from a creative artist background and take an “inside out” approach to business building, some of it might be a bit different to what other marketing consultants may have told you in the past. But as I said, this is “my” plan. Feel free to lift it, tweak it and succeed with it (or even ignore it, if you want!).

But before we start, the very first thing you need to do is ask yourself WHY you want to speak? Is it just because you want to stand in front of the room and have people’s rant attention? It might sound like fun (or sheer terror) but that isn’t going to sustain you OR your audience. You have to know WHY you want to speak publicly. Are you dedicated to spreading a message? OK, then what do you wish to achieve by speaking about it? Are you after social reform? Do you want to empower people? OK, that’s all well and good, but why else are you speaking? What’s in it for YOU? Are you looking to make money from speaking itself or will it bring you residual income? Are you looking to sell books to your audience? Are you looking to find 1-to-1 clients from your audience? Do you want people to do training with you? Are you looking for corporate contracts? Or are you actually looking to make a full-time career from speaking? It is extremely important that you know why you are going into public speaking, so that you can be aware of whether or not it is serving your bigger “dream” for your life.

 OK, once you have a really clear idea of why you want to be a speaker, move on to my 10 steps to getting started…

STEP 1: What motivates YOU? Many marketing experts will tell you that before you launch any marketing campaign, you have to start by determining your target audience to see if there is a need for what you are offering. While that is true in a way, actually I find it more functional to think of it in the opposite way. In other words, instead of thinking who I can please, I like to start with what kinds of people make ME happy, driven and fulfilled when I am around them. Ask yourself:

• Do you like to be around quiet, introspective people?
• Do you like to be around intellectual types?
• Do you prefer lively, gregarious, spontaneous people?
• Do you like people who are into spirituality?
• Do you prefer conservative, serious, business types?
• Do you like creative types?
• Who inspires you?
• Who would you like to inspire?

Really ask yourself what kind of environment would sustain your interest and motivation. Many people tell me that they are “quitters” on projects and they wonder why. Usually I find it is because they didn’t bothered to do this vital step before they embarked on their project. Of course we quit when we are not connected with our focus. If you start with SELF, you are actually NOT being selfish because you will serve more people and get more done if you are intrinsically motivated and connected to your goals.

Tip 2 follows tomorrow…
Subscribe to this feed to ensure you receive all 10 tips.

coaching info: www.create-a-life.co.uk

Related posts

• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 9 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 8 (1)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 7 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 6 (0)
• 10 steps to becoming a motivational speaker Pt 5 (0)