IPAs for Tuesday, April 25, 2007

It's Tuesday already! Are you ready to work your business with an income producing activity today for just 15 minutes? Make a phone call, stand outside the grocery store and pass out your flyers... just 15 minutes today (or more if you want!) Post what you did today here.

I got an article in my inbox today that I thought was great. Enjoy!

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Focusing on The Secret
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You've got to hand it to Rhonda Byrne, creator of the DVD movie
and author of the book, "The Secret." She's gotten tremendous
PR, including two Oprah programs dedicated to The Secret.
(Some would "kill" for that kind of exposure!)

Everyone seems to be talking about it.

The downside is that when you get a lot of PR, you get a lot of
flack as well. "Is it real or is it hype?" Well, in promoting
something like this, there's inevitably going to be some hype, but
the important question for me is "Does this stuff work and how
does it relate to attracting clients?"

Here's how I look at The Secret or what many call "The Law of
Attraction."

                 What you focus on tends to expand.

If you put more focus on things that bring you joy, fulfillment and
success, you'll tend to get more of those things. However, if you
put your focus on complaint, struggle and failure you'll tend get
more of those things.

People sometimes read some pretty wild things into the law of
attraction: "If I get cancer, does it mean that I attracted it?"
Well, I don't know, but when I'm sick I certainly know I don't
make myself any better if I obsess on how bad I feel.

The classic metaphor for the law of attraction is when you plan to
buy a new car - say a blue Honda. And then you start to notice
blue Hondas everywhere you go, when before you didn't used to
notice them at all.

Did you manifest blue Hondas showing up? I really doubt it, but
with a shift of focus on blue Hondas you simply notice them more.
You're tuned into blue Hondas and there they are.

When we focus on something, such as a goal, a plan, a wish, we
start noticing things that start to lead us towards our focus.

When I teach people about marketing, they start to notice
distinctions about marketing they weren't aware of before. For
instance, they begin to focus on marketing messages and how
they work. Before long, they are creating marketing messages
themselves that consistently attract more clients.

The law of attraction isn't a big mystery, yet it is true that we
don't usually take full advantage of it. We can do simple, yet
powerful things to increase our focus - on anything.

One of my favorite techniques is writing down your marketing
plan. When you get it on paper, out of your head, clarity
increases. You notice where you are now, where you're going,
what you need in terms of resources and the next logical steps.

But how many people actually do this? Very few in my
experience.

Another way to increase focus in your business is to both write
and speak about your expertise. Again, clarity increases and as it
does, new, related ideas tend to flow in effortlessly. Confidence
increases and this also tends to attract more clients.

When was the last time you wrote or spoke?

Everyone's heard of visualization. But have you ever really applied
it? Before a sales conversation, a presentation or workshop I
always take a few minutes to visualize a positive and uplifting
outcome.

Now I'm rarely surprised that things turn out so well.

And what if you want to buy something that you don't currently
have the funds for? Make a commitment to buy it. Set a date.
That's another kind of focus. In the wake of that commitment, I
promise you that all kinds of ideas and plans will pop into your
mind about how you can get the money together.

Most people say, "I can't afford it," and just give up.

As I see it, the secret about the law of attraction is that you
actually need to do something to kick it into gear. It doesn't take
a lot of struggle and effort but a simple understanding that what
we focus on tends to expand.

What do you want to expand in your business? Start focusing!

                                         *

The more clients bottom line: The law of attraction is the simple
but powerful action of focus in your life. As focus and clarity
increase you start to notice that you no longer need to struggle to
get what you want, but that it happens naturally and joyfully.

                                         *

By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit
Robert's web site at Action Plan Marketing for additional
marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional
service businesses.