Intuition
I was scared to post this….
In lieu of a full blog post, I wanted to share with you a recent post I wrote on Facebook.
I was scared to hit post on it because I know it’s a little controversial….
and I wasn’t sure if it would trigger some people…
but I ultimately decided to post it because I feel so strongly about it.
It’s about coaching & coaching skills & ethics & so much more.
You’ll see it got some attention and a lot of folks commented very passionately on it.
Here it is: https://www.facebook.com/joanna.lindenbaum/posts/10155812738623437
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Tales of Woe From The First Retreat I Led By Myself
The first retreat I ever led by myself was 2-days long, and a massive learning lesson for me.
Before this retreat, I had led other retreats…but they had always been co-led. I hadn’t done them on my own.
It was the first retreat of five in a 9-month mastermind. 20 incredible women.
I wanted very much to serve them well. And if I’m honest with myself, I also wanted to impress them. I wanted them to like me. No, to adore me. And to think I was brilliant. And to feel they had made the right choice by investing with me.
So that meant that even though I was so excited about this retreat….I was also ridiculously nervous.
I spent weeks preparing like crazy for the curriculum and buying supplies. I put in hours to memorize parts of what I was going to say. And finally the night before the retreat came.
I crawled into bed at about 10:30pm so that I could get a good night’s sleep, and…didn’t fall asleep until after 5am. I was so nervous that my thoughts were moving way too quickly for my brain to settle down and let me rest.
I got about 90 minutes of sleep that night, ran out the door in the morning with barely any breakfast inside me, fueled by adrenaline.
I could feel my heart beating so strongly inside of me the entire subway ride to the retreat site. My underarms were totally sweaty. And I found myself wishing to be anywhere but on my way to this retreat.
I got to the retreat site before anyone else was there, set up the room, and then ran to the bathroom to hide in a stall and calm myself down enough to do the work I was there to do.
Sitting on the toilet, I practiced breathing, told myself all was well, and prayed a lot to be able to show up fully and open to be able to support the women in the room.
Still shaking, I emerged from the stall and walked into the retreat room, reminding myself to smile big and open my heart
In many ways, that first day went phenomenally well.
We created sacred space together, the women were open and engaged, the rituals I led inspired great emotion and breakthroughs. They were learning a lot and beginning to create trust and sisterhood with each other.
But…I didn’t give them (or me) much of a morning break. I didn’t eat or drink anything during that break.
We also paused way later than I had anticipated for lunch. After 1:30pm. I was still so nervous and so pumped with adrenaline that I barely ate or gave myself moments to rest.
And…I was exerting myself more than I needed to. Using all of my life force energy to hold the space instead of allowing the space to be held.
We continued on that day until close to 6pm.
And I was hosting a dinner for them that night at a restaurant across town.
All of the women left to rest and then head over to the restaurant. I stayed in the retreat room, cleaning up everything all by myself. I hadn’t made sure to have help with me.
I packed up my little suitcase full of all the items I had brought (we did a lot of experiential exercises), and running late, ran outside to try and catch a cab to the restaurant.
But it was rush hour in NYC and there wasn’t a cab to be found.
So I walked. It took me 30 minutes, lugging my suitcase, to walk to this dinner that I was hosting.
On the walk to the restaurant, my exhaustion hit me.
It wasn’t a normal exhaustion. It was the most tired I had ever felt in my life. A worn-out-ness that took over my entire body and mind.
I arrived to the restaurant late, sweaty, totally drained….and in no shape to hold the space for everyone, let alone even stand up straight.
So instead of enjoying this celebratory dinner that I had worked so hard for, and instead of getting to connect with these new women I was serving….I let all of my clients know that I was tired and I hopped in a cab back to Brooklyn.
All at the same time, I was so relieved to get into that cab….but also I felt like I had failed by leaving early.
And within 2-3 minutes of being in that cab, my stomach started to feel extremely queasy. I wanted to tell the cab driver to stop and to jump out immediately, but that wasn’t an option because I didn’t even feel strong enough to say a word out loud.
It was somewhere on the Brooklyn Bridge that I began vomiting profusely. I just vomited all over the back seat of that taxi. The driver, rightfully so, was not too happy.
We finally arrived at my apartment, and Jon had to come downstairs and help me up. I collapsed onto our bed, weeping, not knowing how I’d make it to the retreat for the second day.
Somehow, though, after a nice warm bath with Epsom salt, and a hearty meal, I slept that night. And stepped into a beautiful, powerful and transformative second day of the retreat.
That retreat was a potent learning experience for me. Here are some of the biggies:
- Always make sure you eat enough and that your body is nourished before, during and after a retreat.
- Take actions to calm down and balance your nervous system before, during, and after retreats.
- Get enough sleep.
- Get support for setup and clean up at retreats, even if it feels easy-peasy to do on your own.
- Take lots of bathroom breaks, eat during snack times, break for lunch at a reasonable hour.
- Give yourself and your participants plenty of open time.
- Be fully present, yet don’t fall into the belief that you need to hold the space all on your own.
- Serve because it is your mission and passion, not because you want to impress.
It would be a lie to say that I don’t still get nervous before retreats (& I’ve led dozens and dozens since that first one!). Nervousness is more than OK. It’s how you handle the nervousness and prepare for it that counts.
Would love to hear from you on some of your retreat tales of woe and what you learned!
How to Honor and Protect Your Time
A colleague of mine recently confessed something that truly shocked me. She is a hardworking professional, someone I respect and admire, someone who exudes competence, authority, and wisdom – yet she told me this unbelievable story:
She had just agreed to work with a new client, and to begin their partnership she was to attend a training to familiarize herself with the client’s policies and procedures. The meeting took over three hours, and at the end of it, she examined the contractor’s agreement that the client had drawn up. In it, the terms of payment were outlined clearly, but nowhere was there any indication that this training session was to be paid. The client expected to not pay her for the training, and to never let her know upfront. Stunned and speechless, she signed the document, and that was that. She said nothing to change that expectation.
Does this sort of thing ever happen to you? Do you find yourself allowing others to eat up your time in ways that don’t feel right to you?
So, how can you help others to recognize that YOUR time is sacred? To RESPECT it? The key here is to address it head on. When you establish rules & boundaries for your time, you make it clear to others that it is valuable.
Each group of people in your soul-centered project and life needs to be educated in different ways so you can honor and protect your time:
How to Protect Your Time with Clients:
Once you realize that your schedule isn’t working for you and that you want to change it, (see Part 1 of this article on how to determine this) you need to communicate that to the people in your community. This can make even the most confident of us quail a bit, but take heart: I have never lost a single client due to changing my schedule. The key is to let clients know that your schedule will be changing with integrity and in a way that’s aligned with your energy. The new schedule will benefit both you and your client because with a schedule that TRULY works for you, you’ll have even more energy to serve them.
Let your clients know that your schedule is changing by sending an email that says something like this:
“Dear X, I’m excited to let you know that as of October 1, my hours are changing. My new hours are [insert new client hours here]. This schedule will allow me to focus even more fully on you, and serve you in even stronger ways than I have in the past. If you have any questions at all on this, please don’t hesitate to contact me.” This is a simple, fuss-free way to create new boundaries with clients.
How to Protect Your Time with Clients in Session-Based Appointments:
With session-based appointments, it is easy to run overtime, and if it happens once, it tends to continue over and over. It’s easy to get annoyed at clients for this or to get frustrated, but the truth is that it’s on YOU to end your sessions at the appropriate time.
Here are some tips:
- Five minutes before the end of the session, directly tell the client that the session is ending and it’s time to wrap up
- Lead them to this with some wrap-up questions or instructions
- If the issue persists: Send clients an email letting them know that while you’ve been giving extra session time until now, that starting immediately, you’ll be honoring your session time. Let them know that this will help you serve more effectively, and will help you act as a model for them.
How to Protect Your Time with Team Members:
I hear from many folks that there are sometimes team members who haven’t been taking on responsibility, or are doing something the wrong way over and over, and those mistakes are costing time & money. If you have trouble setting boundaries, you might feel awkward, uncomfortable, or guilty about rocking the boat and letting that person know they have to take responsibility. But in your heart, you know that saying nothing will never solve it. The process here has a few steps.
- Get clear on what the team member hasn’t been doing or has been doing incorrectly – both for yourself and for the team member. I highly suggest doing this in person or over the phone – NOT over email.
- Let them know the consequences or repercussions of this: for example, “Every time you make a mistake with scheduling, it costs me time and my clients are not happy” or “I am up all night worrying that such and such did not get done; I am exhausted from it.” It is important that your team members understand exactly how their mistakes are affecting you, your clients, and your business.
- Ask what support they need so they can do it correctly and in the right time, and give them a clear timeframe by which the issue needs to be resolved.
- If the problem is a recurring issue then it may be time to acknowledge that the job is not a good fit for that person, and you need to let him or her go.
How to Protect Your Time with Partners Around Childcare or Household Duties:
If you’re taking on more responsibility at home than you want to, get clear on your need. Then get clear on why your need is so important. For example: I’m very busy with the kids and the house, and in all my extra time I’m working, but I really need time to exercise. If I had time to exercise 3 times per week, I’d be more relaxed, more energized, and not feel stressed and cranky all the time.
- Set a time to speak with your partner – springing these conversations on people is never conducive to success! Make sure you have enough time and space and no distractions to have this conversation about your needs.
- Speak from your heart lovingly about your need and why you need it. Ask your partner to either take on the task or to help find an alternate resolution. The key here isn’t to blame, but to make an aligned request. You might need to tweak or negotiate or brainstorm together from there, but the important thing is to make the request.
When you show others that your time is valuable by setting boundaries in these ways, you create a paradigm that fosters your ability to work efficiently, and promotes success in all your efforts.
How to Create Soul-Centered Relationships
Is there a person in your life or at work who consistently lets you down? Does this person fail to give you the support you need, or make you feel resentful about the fairness of your relationship? Even if you really like or even love this person, do you suspect that this person is in some way detrimental to you or your soul-centered project?
Relationships are absolutely essential, even fundamental, to the success of any soul-centered venture. Soul-centered relationships are vital to any performance you’re in, any book you want to write, exhibition you want to create or participate in, conference you want to organize, or project you spearhead.
Relationships are so important because when it comes down to it, you can’t succeed alone. To be fair, maybe you can “get it done” by yourself. But it takes way too much energy and is not as much fun if you do it alone.
Additionally, the bigger you get, the bigger your vision, and the more expansive you become, you literally cannot do everything yourself. Just as a timely example, the President of the U.S. would not be able to run the country without help and support in various ways from others!
What often happens is that you set out to do it alone or you have others’ help, but something isn’t quite right. Maybe there’s imbalance or resentment, or something missing. That’s not a soul-centered, aligned relationship.
When your relationships are misaligned, you are going to have a lot of problems.
To understand what’s happening in your relationships, it’s wise to assess where you are (or not), and to get more clarity on how to really uplevel those relationships. This way, not only can you accomplish your goals, but you do it with a heart filled with love, energy and joy.
The first step is to define the different kinds of people with you in relationships, and to identify what about the relationship makes you feel off-kilter or uncomfortable. It’s that hard-to-pinpoint feeling of discomfort when you know something isn’t working. A mentor of mine calls it a “wiggly-niggly” feeling. You know it when you feel it!
- Team members. These are employees or any other people helping you on an ongoing basis. The wiggly-niggly with these people might be that no matter how many times you give them instructions, they just don’t get it right.
- Partners. These can be business partners, collaborative partners, and joint venture partners. Oftentimes the wiggly-niggly is unspoken resentment or that things are not quite in balance. One person is working hard and the other person is slacking off. Or one is really promoting the venture and the other isn’t.
- Clients. Anyone who has come to see your performance, a reader of your book, a viewer of your artwork, or someone who hires your services. The wiggly-niggly there is if you get annoyed easily at one of your clients. Does this client show up late and expect you to go overtime? Do they not pay? Or do they get intimidated or anxious if you reach out to new prospects?
- Contractors. Similar to a team member but not someone on an ongoing basis. Maybe this person is a logo designer, a caterer for an event, or the rep for a venue you’re renting. Those types of relationships can get wiggly when someone doesn’t follow through on a contract. Or they might be hard to contact once you paid them. Or you feel you overpaid and you resent it but you never say anything or try to negotiate.
- Employers. This could also be a supervisor. Often there can be resentment or feelings of unfairness in these types of relationships.
- Your mentors & teachers. The wiggly-niggly energy here can make you feel shy, scared, entitled, or not deserving.
- Main emotional support relationship. This could be your spouse, sister, parent, best friend, etc. There are all kinds of possibilities for wiggly-niggly with these relationships!
Assessing: Evaluate the Relationships
Ask yourself the following questions. Let your inner Wise Woman answer. Don’t try to overthink anything. You already know the answers.
- Of the different relationship types listed above, which are the ones where you have the strongest relationships? Where do you feel on target, you know it’s soul-centered and you’re really clean in your energy?
- How are those so aligned? What makes them so good and aligned?
- Which types of relationships give you trouble currently and consistently?
- For each of these, how would you characterize the trouble, the misalignment, or the unclean energy?
- What’s the result of this trouble? How does it impact your soul-centered project? Be as specific as you can get with current situations.
- Which of those categories are vital to your soul-centered project? Which ones are game-changers for your project, such that you truly need for them to be aligned in order to move forward?
- Why are those vital? What result will it yield if you are able to create or deepen a soul-centered relationship?
This is where I see leaders falter and self-sabotage repeatedly. It happens with team members, or a client relationship, or a partner. Maybe you end that relationship, but you don’t heal it. And you end up recreating it elsewhere with someone else experiencing that same dynamic.
Creating Your Ideal Relationships
Identifying and evaluating your relationships is the first step to healing them. The next step is to get clear on what your ideal relationships would look like. To do so, journal on the following questions:
- What do you want this relationship to look like? How do you want it to change?
- What is required of you on an outer level to make that change happen?
- What would be required of you on an inner level?
Put Your Awareness into Motion for Soul-Centered Success
The Next Step is to take action. What are your next 3 baby steps to create Soul-Centered Relationships, and soul-centered success?
Happy Monday Wise Women!
A chunk of my time lately has been spent preparing for the Wise Woman Leadership Program (WWLP) that begins next month, and I wanted to bring you in behind the scenes on it.
I think of WWLP as THE foundational program for soul-centered women who are either beginning their entrepreneurial journey or ready for a serious upgrade in their developing business. It’s kind of like a 1-stop experience for the inner and outer tools you need to become visible, profitable, and poised to grow.
Because the beginning phases of business growth are so vital – there’s so much information to learn, skills to master, and fears to overcome – I take very special care with both the curriculum in WWLP as well as making sure that each woman in the program is held, seen, heard, and supported. The individual attention is so important to me and is also what makes Soulful Coaching programs unique, and I am working with my team on some pretty exciting new ways to take that to an even deeper level.
One thing we look at very carefully in the program is how to market effectively and soul-fully. That leads us to last week’s article – all about the best practices for obtaining the best testimonials. Don’t miss it and enjoy!
Big hug to you,
Joanna
Glowing Reviews and Testimonials: How to Get Them
Enthusiastic reviews for your business or soul-centered project are a key way to support your marketing efforts. Marketing testing has demonstrated again and again that showcasing the positive opinions and comments from real clients can help you gain more new clients by over 150% versus not using testimonials.
Why are good testimonials so effective? Because your prospects get to hear, straight from the mouth of your satisfied customers, how beneficial your product or service is and why others should buy from you. Testimonials can be very powerful.
If you aren’t currently using testimonials in your marketing materials, or you are using testimonials but you sense they could be improved, here are some tips:
Ask for Testimonials
It sounds pretty obvious to ask clients for their thoughts at the end of a program or service project, but there are far too many entrepreneurs out there who don’t routinely do this. I hear from folks that you are often scared to ask for referrals – you either don’t want to take up someone’s time or you’re scared they don’t want to give a referral. 9 times out of 10 folks will be HAPPY you asked them – Make sure you ask for testimonials!
You can contact people individually or as a group via email, snail mail, or by distributing forms by hand when you are meeting with people. Always remember to give clients a deadline by which to hand their testimonial in to you, and also always remember to let your clients know how much you appreciate them and their willingness to support you in this way. Gratitude is SO important.
Guide Your Client through the Testimonial Process
The best testimonials are specific, detailed, and have a purpose in mind. I always recommend that you give your clients specific questions to answer about their experience with you.
Although it might allow respondents to answer more quickly, don’t ask only yes/no questions. Ask questions such as:
–What were things like before we started working together?
–How have things improved and changed through our work together?
–What have you enjoyed most about my product/service?
–What would you want other people to know about me/my product?
A powerful testimonial talks about a specific problem the client experienced before coming to you, and describes how you solved the problem. Structure your questions in such a way that people can’t get away with being vague. A testimonial that simply says “this class was awesome” doesn’t tell you much. A testimonial that says, “before I came to this class I couldn’t manage to sing in key, but now I can carry a tune all the way home” is far more compelling because you know why the class was so awesome.
Capture Organic Testimonials
Occasionally, clients will reach out to you rather than the other way around, just to let you know that they appreciate your service. When this happens, ask them if you can quote them. Tell them you’d like to share their comments so that others can benefit as well. Most people love to give advice and make recommendations, so being a source of information about your business allows them to do that. They will be flattered that you want to quote them, and more than happy to help you gain more business.
Where To Use Testimonials
You can and should use testimonials everywhere! The words of your clients can sell your product or service just as effectively – if not more so – than your own marketing materials. Here are some possible places to use testimonials:
- on your website
- on your resume
- in your portfolio
- on your quotes, order confirmations and invoices
- in your print ads, sales letters, direct mail
- when you encounter a barrier while talking to a client
- on Twitter – in bite-sized pieces
- on your blog – tell a success story about a client
- in Facebook and Google+
- in preview teleclasses and workshops (invite your testimonials to be with you live!)
Final Testimonial Tips
It’s ok to edit testimonials, especially if they are very long, and it’s definitely a good idea to correct any spelling mistakes. But try not to over-edit. Even if grammar errors make you cringe, they give some personal flavor and help remind people that it’s genuine.
Spread your testimonials out over your marketing materials. If you strategically place testimonials with relevant content they can have a big impact on how well the content is received.
Finally, whenever possible, use your client’s full name. It is important to get permission from your testimonial to do so, and using a client’s full name + either location or their website lends much, much more credibility to their testimonial because readers and prospects will see that your testimonials are real people celebrating you!
Autumn Equinox Update
Happy Autumn Equinox! (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere)
I love, love, love this time of year – I love the smell of Autumn, the crispness in the air, delicious apples, and getting to wear sweaters. Yay!
And this week, the week of the Autumn Equinox, is an especially powerful time. It’s the moment where we cross the threshold from Summer to Fall, from the long days of socializing and being outdoors to the shorter days and drawing inwards. Many healers, shamans, astrologers and spiritual leaders believe that this week is a magical time for connecting more deeply to your dreams, your insights, and your intuition. So – keep a dream journal by your bed over the weeks to come!
I enjoy tapping into the elevated energy at this time of year, and I spend time in ritual, working on creating a powerful transition from Summer to Autumn and on letting go of whatever is standing in my way of moving forward. I’ll be sharing this energy with the women who are beginning Soul-Centered Leadership 2 this week; so excited for that.
And we’ve got just a couple spots left in the Wise Woman Leadership Program that begins next month. This 8-month training is for women who are ready to learn the foundational principles of launching a successful soul-centered project, from getting clear on exactly how and who you serve to visibility and marketing strategies.
If you’ve been curious about the program, but have been wanting to learn more, I’m excited to invite you to a special Preview Teleclass where I’ll be sharing some of the secrets you will learn in the program. The teleclass is my gift to you, and you can register HERE.
Big hug to you,
Joanna
An Autumn Ritual Just For You: Release Obstacles Now!
Autumn is the perfect time to clean out and let go of what no longer serves you in your life. And letting go through ritual can be very powerful!
Look around and notice that the days are getting shorter and the leaves are falling from the trees. Soon, there will be less bounty and abundance being offered from the flowers and plants. Nature is letting go of excess and stripping down to the essentials – to what is really necessary to get through the long, dark winter. These cues from nature are beautiful invitations to help you in identifying, releasing, and letting go of the excess. Nature is signaling that it’s time to let go of the things that are perhaps weighing you down in your life.
It’s important to “clean house” on an inner level every now and again, and take stock of what you’re holding onto.
So often, you hold on to old fears, resentments, habits, patterns, limiting beliefs, and ways of being because they FEEL comfortable, but that’s only because you’ve been holding on to them for so long. However, when you take a closer look, you can begin to see that these things no longer serve you, and in fact are standing in the way of your moving forward.
The tree metaphor applies here: imagine what might happen if trees never shed their leaves? Yes, they might not ever look bare, and there is comfort in always looking full and abundant. However, if the trees never shed their leaves, they would never have a chance to grow new leaves – new ideas, new projects, new beliefs, new opportunities. See where I’m going with this?
I’ve created a simple and special autumn ritual to be able to identify and let go of the things in your life that are ready to be released for you:
Autumn Ritual for Release
First, reserve some special time for yourself. Go to an outdoor place that feels sacred to you: a park, a stream, a path in the woods. Any place that feels safe and supportive for you. Bring paper and a pen.
In sacred outdoor space, sit down in a comfortable place. Connect with nature. Feel your seat on the ground, and take a couple of nice, deep breaths in – taking in the autumn air and feeling the energy of releasing and letting go.
Next, use your paper and pen and answer the following questions. Take some time to really feel into these questions:
- What in your life or work currently feels like a burden to you?
- What habits or patterns leave you feeling tired, overwhelmed, or bored?
- What is currently wasting your time?
- What are you most scared of right now?
Review your answers, and create a list of 3 things that you know you are really ready to let go of. This list should be things that you know in your heart are no longer serving you, even though they might feel comfortable for you.
Next, find 3 rocks or pebbles. Each of these rocks will represent one thing that you are ready to release, surrender, and let go of. Be clear for yourself what each rock represents. Take a moment as you pick up each rock or pebble from the ground, close your eyes, feel the rock in your hand and say to yourself, “this rock represents my fear of success,” or “this rock represents my addiction to sugar” or “this rock represents my relationship with my boyfriend.” Allow each rock to truly take on the energy of each thing you want to release.
Then, go on a mindful walk with your three rocks. On this walk, observe all the ways that each of your “rocks” have hindered your happiness and success. Then, as you are ready, let each rock go, one by one. Drop them to the ground, really feeling that you are symbolically letting go of each. If you are near water, you can throw each rock into the water, listening to the splash each rock makes as it hits the surface and sinks down. Then take a moment to notice how it feels in your body to commit to releasing each of these things.
Finally, write down a next action step for each of your items. For example, if one of your items is your addiction to sugar, a next action step might be to cut sugar out after 7pm. Bring your action sheet home, and keep it somewhere convenient, where you’ll be reminded of these steps often.
Action follows intention. This autumn ritual is a great way to partner your inner and outer energy to create positive change in your life!
Sacred Rituals for a New Year
Over the next few days, I’ll be spending sacred time with family and friends for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
This month is considered the holiest time of the year because it’s a time of assessing where you’ve gotten off track over the year, re-setting intentions to step into your biggest most aligned self, and focusing deeply on up-leveling your commitment to yourself, to spirit, and to supporting others in your circles and communities.
I love this time of year because it reminds me that I have not just an opportunity, but a sacred invitation, to be a better person, a better wife, a better mother, a better daughter, a better friend, a better leader and a better coach. It reminds me that I can always start again, that there is no need to harp on what hasn’t worked out, but rather to focus on what can happen next, and that who I am counts very much.
I apply all of these principles to my business each and every day, and I’d like to teach you to do the same. These principles have helped me to joyfully grow my business way beyond my expectations, and to feel aligned with my work consistently.
Join me on October 4th for a very special and complimentary teleclass – “6 Essential Strategies for New and Emerging Entrepreneurs”, and I’ll share with you my “new year planning process” that I use for my business each year. It’s nearly 75-minutes of pure content, and you’ll want to take lots and lots of notes!
