Out of the Blog, Into the Light

Ladybug Books

Hi everyone!

Haven't written in a while. I've been bogged down in learning and delivering my weekly radio show.

I did want to share a few things with you today though.

Ladybug Books/magainze is printing one of my personal development articles in her February magazine. February 1st it will also be on their website for reading. If you want to read, visit for the February issue:
http://www.ladybugflights.com/

On another note:

I'm reading, "You Can Sell Anything By Telephone!" by Dr. Gary Goodman. True, its an old book but it was recommended by the professional sales closer that was a guest on the radio show this past week.

Here are a few tips that I picked up from that book...and tried over the past week -- and they still work. Hurrah!

* Whenever you call someone, always credential hourself, even if they know you. Use a title. I sat down and made a list of 20 titles I could use, some formal, some informal. Here are a few of those:

Senior Master Coach with Eagle Communications, Inc.
Master Coach with Eagle Communications, Inc.
CEO, Eagle Communications
Producer, "Let's Talk Marketing" radio show
Host, "Let's Talk Marketing" radio show in Fairfax, Virginia
Producer & Host, Let's Talk Marketing" radio show in Virginia and on the Internet

Having fun with this...

Catherine Franz, Generation Me buyer (of course they might not know what Generate Me means, and maybe you don't either, this builds curiousity if you do it correctly and tell them if they want to know more on that topic visit your website). In my case, I have an article in the "Let's Talk Marketing show page on this very topic. http://www.AbundanceCenter.com Click on the radio logo at the top of the page. They are the notes for my radio show given earlier this month on the three different generations and how to sell to them and why and how they buy.

* If you are callng long distance, say so. Especially if you are getting to the receptionist or administrative assistant. Even though long distance has been around a long time, people still spark up when you say this and you might get though when otherwise you wouldn't. And if they are screening their voice mail calls you might even get them to pick up.

Well, that's all I have time for at the moment. I have to get back to writing a requested article for the Restaurant Profitability magazine and then dive back into my next radio show scipt. I can't wait to give it on Tuesday, I've got some exciting stuff.

Next month, February, the show's focus is "Writing and Selling Your Book." We will be having guests on the show that are experts at writing nonfiction books or marketing nonfiction books. Our goal for the month is to help professionals write a book in 30 days. I hope you tune into the show. Remember, you can listen to the show on the Internet on Tuesday at 10 Eastern Standard Time (even at work). If you want more on the who the guests are and the shows focus, visit the Abundance Center's link after today (still in the mist of getting the copy written) for the latest news.

Till my next few minutes...and yours...

Have a sensational day and maximize it, there will never be another day like today (and some of you later today might say, thanks goodness to that). But before you do say this, think of all the decisions you made in allowing it to get to that point.

Catherine

Identifying Your Target Market

Let's Talk Marketing
Radio Show

with Host, Catherine Franz

...a talk show about marketing!

Every Tuesday
WEBR Fairfax, Virginia
Channel 37 Comcast Fairfax
Channel 10 Cox Reston

Now you can listen on the Internet
www.fcac.org/webcasting/webcast.htm

January 17 topic: Identifying Your Target Market

Topic notes and forms are located at: www.AbundanceCenter.com
Click on Radio Show at the top of the page.

Embrace Your Overall Vision – It May Be Hiding in the Strangest Places

Thinking back on it, my lifestyle change journey really began about eight years ago. But I didn't become aware of it until about three years ago when I consciously decided I needed to lead a "lighter" life and started by cleaning out the medicine cabinet.

It seems so simple now, but it took three months before I could let go of the contents of that 14 x 16-inch space. Every time I went in that cabinet, a more honest assessment yielded more trash. Soon it became easier to be honest about the clutter of my life, at least the old stuff. Memory stuff was not so easy--things my parents gave me, my ex-husband, old boyfriends, friends--I'm sure you get the picture. Of course, the kids' stuff was the hardest. But practice does make perfect, and in time I was able to make hard choices about what was really important to me. Slowly but steadily over the next three years I conquered the rest of my house--purging and cleaning every corner, cabinet and room.

Happy with what I'd accomplished, by fall of 2005 I was ready to focus on other life shifting goals. It was as if cleaning out the medicine cabinet and the rest of the house was the catalyst for other, bigger changes.

And the messages to make changes were all around me. Early in November 2005, I started hearing them. “It’s time to really shift.” I heard Dr. Phil, television’s well-known therapist, say whenever I clicked on his show. I didn’t watch him very often but when my intuition said tape it or turn on the tube, I did, and there was the same message, “If it isn’t working for ya, change it.” The timing was always impeccable. Of course, he expressed the message in different words.

But even with these coincidences, I heard the bold words but didn’t take any action. Then the messages started bombarding me. Small, soft, large and loud. They kept coming. In early December, while in a meditative state, I heard it. This time very clearly, very direct AND very, very loud, and firm. “Its time to really commit and get bold. Its time to reinvent yourself, Catherine.”

All I could do was give a throat chuckle. The message scared the heebie jeebies out of me. Over the space of the week my feelings transitioned into, “Okay, I’m open, what do you mean by that?” I asked even though I had a good idea what it meant. The vision of selling everything and changing my environment to be much lighter, more Zen-like. I’ve needed to lose a lot of weight (that was always a goal). But this time it was different, it wasn’t the weight at all. It was, “Get healthy. There’s a lot in store for you, and you need to be healthy in order to get there.”

The picture got clearer as each week progressed. Key items appeared, I got nervous, questioned it, mulled over it, ran and tried to hide for a few hours from it, shared my doubts with my best friend, Brenda. The doubts faded but my lack of trust in myself didn’t totally go away. I kept wanting all the answers. I want to know exactly what I was to do and how to do it.

The New Year is here now and I know what I need to do, although I still have no clue of what it all means. The thoughts of measuring up to the vision is still a little nerve- wracking. Doubts come and go but only when I really don’t want to eat healthy or exercise. One step, now, is all I can focus on. Eat healthy now. Exercise now. Sell one piece of furniture now. Its replacement will come. I know all will come at the right time. And I think that is the only thing that keeps me in the "now" of working towards wherever this “reinventing Catherine” message is leading me. I hold on to the vision that has been there for the last few months as I really like its picture.

Yesterday, I spent some time working on my 2006 Attraction Board. It had been in the works since early November but the pictures weren’t clear. Yesterday, while in the craft store things began to mesh. This week I plan on test-driving new cars, deciding on which one I like, and placing its picture on my Attraction Board so that the universal laws will bring it to me.

When messages come of steps that you want to take, allow yourself to go through the emotions, but don’t get stuck in the feelings. Keep the door open because the message you receive may only be a partial picture. If you block it because it seems too big or impossible or unimportant, then the next message, the one that explains it or gives it additional clarity, won’t get through to you. Even profound decisions often mask themselves as many simple choices – like cleaning out a medicine cabinet – and only take a few moments to make. So be ready. Keep the doors open to the possibilities and listen – messages can come from the strangest places – a television program, a child, a piece of music, a memory or your own behavior. It really isn’t difficult. It is a decision though. It is a choice.

(c) Copyright 2006 Catherine Franz.