Meta-Morphosis - In Search Of Something Bigger
December 30, 2009
If you’ve been following my blog lately, you know that I am on Creative Retreat, what I am calling my 42 days in the desert.
Today I received several very beautiful comments on my recent blog posts about the creative retreat. These folks really seemed to get it and I wanted to share that with you.
I believe they express it much better than I could because they are looking from the outside and I’m still in the cocoon! So enjoy these beautiful thoughts….
The first from a blogging friend Carrie on Skirt, who said, ” Annie, your recent posts have grabbed my attention! I’m in the same place and to hear it expressed with different words…it’s like what happens when you read a poem. Which, reminds me of the poem Metamorphosis, which begins: “Called beyond the confines of this chrysalis by a force I cannot see or name, I am compelled by pain and something bigger than myself to leave the protection of all that I have known.”
Isn’t that gorgeous? Compelled by pain and something bigger than myself. I love that part. That is exactly it, the pain of staying the same and not doing anything different calls us either into depression or into change. I’m choosing change, exactly because I want more for myself, for others and for the world.
The second from my wonderful fellow Speaker and Storyteller Max Brown wrote, “Annie I love your questions. I love your ability to face fear and publish it for us to experience with you as well. I love your heart and willingness to push for somethign more. I love your desire to push beyond comfort and all the while knowing things will get harder, yet you relish the challenge of it all.”
Bravo Max! That’s it too. The desire to push past the comfort and relish the challenge. Yes, that is saying YES to life!
It is darned easy to be lazy and let change come to you. It is much harder to seek it out and go right into the challenge, knowing that you will find gold. Everyone who wants more out of life needs this kind of challenge.
Last but not least was wonderful Eva Snijders, Coach and Storyteller from Spain with a quote from May Sarton, “It always comes back to the same necessity: go deep enough and there is a bedrock of truth, however hard.”
Exactly! That’s what I’m banking on and I’m also counting on all of you to create great new things in the new year. As I go back down under into quiet retreat for the next few days, I’m thinking of all of you. Continue to send your stories, encouragements, poems and comments.
I know what you are made of. You have great things inside of you wanting to get out and be expressed in the world. I’m here to say - You can do it. We just need to find the quiet, tackle the inner critic (by the way we’re par now) and do what mystics have always done which is go to the desert. And no that’s not dessert!
But please do send chocolates as I will really need them once I come out!
I’m thinking of all of you and the gold that you are made of.
Yours in seeking out the bigger and better in life, Annie
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Taking Your Business Global - Tips From Women Who’ve Done It (including me)
December 29, 2009
Recently I was featured in a wonderful article by the National Association of Women Business Owners on taking your business international.
Going global was a dream of my for a long time but I could never create the access that I wanted to, until I starting to blogging and using social media.
Within six months, no kidding, I had attained an international presence. I was making contacts in Spain, Italy, England, France, Australia, New Zealand and my biggest blog following was in Sweden. How cool is that? From this I’ve started to develop client relationships and new work opportunities. And who said that social media was only for children!
Here is the article, hope you enjoy it:
Taking your small business global is no easy feat. It requires lots of research, loans, connections and patience. Here are some tips from fellow women business owners who have already expanded their businesses overseas that will make your transition easier.
When it comes to taking your business global, there are three main things you must have: a support system, knowledge about yourself and networking skills. According to Annie Hart, personal coach, consultant and owner of “Stories Change the World,” taking your business overseas is tricky, but feasible. “Breaking technology barriers was probably the most difficult part,” says Annie of taking her business global.
She began by using social media as a way to communicate with potential clients and make connections. Through this, she was able to expand her business to Europe and gain clients from Sweden, France and England.
As a personal coach and consultant, Annie feels that when expanding your business globally, you need to simply be yourself. “People try too hard,” she says. “Hone in on who you are in a simple and natural way.” This will help you brand yourself and make real connections with potential clients.
As for Penny Barr, M.D. and CEO of Barr Management Consultancy, she recommends conducting an in-depth study of the market and targeting who your competitors are. This will lend valuable insight as to whom you will be working with and against. By knowing the strengths of your competitors, you are better able to reformat your business so that you stand out among the others.
Barr also recommends The Ease of Doing Business Reports by The World Bank. In this report, economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 to 183, with 1 being the easiest. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is conducive to the operation of business.
The main thing that both Annie and Penny agree upon is the importance of having a support system and networks of colleagues who will offer advice to help you through your global expansion. Penny says, “the most important lesson that I’ve learned was to ensure that I had a well-experienced, knowledgeable contact in that market for advice when needed.”
From Annie: They are a wonderful organization and if you are a women business owner you might think of joining. And if you’d like to help getting over the social media hump, feel free to contact me!
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Report From Down Deep: The Unfolding
December 28, 2009
The insights of the spiritual masters may seem quite surprising when you realize that they saw only with the naked mind. We have long held a view of spiritual knowing as something that happens randomly. However, study has shown that like science, the other way of knowing involves a clearly proscribed and rigorous discipline. Although it may sound contradictory, we are realizing that mystical seeing can be learned.
I am coming up for air for a few days. Just a little though because I am eager to go back down under into the deep. It has been very calm and peaceful here and I may never want to come back out. But I know that it’s not enough to just float off to other spiritual worlds. It’s about what you bring back to the world that counts.
So while I am enjoying my time deep down in, I am also keenly focused on producing something. That sounds like a paradox doesn’t it? Totally letting go and yet vigorously producing something at the same time? It is a paradox usually, one which our everyday world doesn’t embrace.
It’s usually either all or nothing - I either totally relax or I’m totally going for it. We desperately need vacations because we never really let go in our daily life. But sometimes even on vacation we can’t truly relax!
I am really letting go and something deeper and softer is emerging. I’m taking naps on the couch with my little dog, staying in my pajamas most of the day, drinking lots of hot lemonade and eating Tofurkey (which was really good by the way!)
It’s lovely.
And the inspiration is steady in coming. Every morning I get up and jot down all my ideas from the previous day. So far I have 10 days of notes and ideas compiled.
I’m still in the messy phase of not really knowing what this is going to be, but it’s all part of the creative process. That’s exactly why we need to go into the desert - to let life unravel a bit and not have everything so logically figured out. Creative inspiration comes from that place where life unravels.
It is a slow, soft unfolding of something that wants to come through me, sent by the Universe.
I’m sure that you have something in you that wants to unfold, unfurl and unravel as well. That is why I’m doing this. I hope to create a path that others can follow as well - how to go down deep and come up with the gold to share with the world.
We all have something inside that we want to give to the world, but we never really take the time or have the way to get it up and out from down in deep out into the places where it really matters.
I am unfolding and it’s a beautiful nourishing process. I’ll be back again in a few days to give you another report.
THANK YOU to all of you who sent me comments, ideas and encouragement. Keep ‘em coming! The Inner Critic hasn’t gotten the best of me yet. We’re going head to head but she ain’t winning and I’m learning a lot in the process.
Yours in the beauty of life unfolding,
Annie
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Writing From the Desert: Report From the Creative Retreat
December 23, 2009
I am in the desert. Boy is it dry in here at times. Big stretches of emptiness with no growth on the horizon. Today I woke up to only 3 notes scribbled on my page. That means it’s time to face one of my bigger fears of - Eeek, what if I have absolutely nothing to share with the world? What if I leave nothing behind?
Don’t try to talk me out of this fear. For facing one’s fears is exhilarating, awakening and deeply scary, if you do it well that is. The purpose is to scare myself awake and into action. Facing one’s fears is a vital and necessary endeavor which we have little time or place for in our world.
We are too used to putting on the mask, looking heroic and going off to do the same things we’ve always done before. I’m putting the brakes on that automated behavior and daring to delve down deeply into the things that really scare me.
Why?
Because I want more out of life for one thing. I want to give more, share more and be more. And I can’t do that from the operating position of comfort and safety. Being in the desert isn’t my idea of a good time, but I am doing this on purpose.
Yesterday I share with someone that it is going to get even tougher in the future. He wanted to change my language to say instead, “It’s going to get interesting.”
BUT NO! That is exactly the kind of linguistic trick that keeps us from fully experiencing our real fears, the ones that are stopping us from bigger life. If we can’t fully experience them, we can’t change them.
I meant IT’S GOING TO GET HARDER. But if you listen carefully to what I’m saying, which he obviously didn’t, you realize that I’m doing this on purpose. It’s going to get harder because I am going to purposefully keep diving deeper into the muck.
My Inner Critic is going to hurl even worse insults at me. Today for example her whammy was, “What if you have absolutely nothing to share with the world?” Thanks a lot! Don’t worry, I’m going to deal with her later. We have a tango every night now :>)
I am actually having a good time challenging myself. I want it to get harder because I really want to get to the gold. I am not a person who induces needless pain, but I am one who loves a creative challenge and the juicy results that come.
So that is my report from the outback. I’m having a good time, feeling dry, confused, unworthy and incapable! Whew, what an enlivening ride.
I’ll report again in a few days so you know I’m still alive. Day 6 and I’m still going!
Yours in the spirit of that which brings life,
Annie
P.S I’d love to hear your comments and needs for creative retreats for yourself. No critiques please, the inner critic has that covered for now!
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Featured Video: An Entrancing Video
December 21, 2009
Here is to an en-trancing New Year for you! 
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Going For the Gold, A Creative Retreat To Tackle the Inner Critic
December 21, 2009
Eureka Moment
when the lightbulb goes off
It is that time of the year and I am going on creative retreat. I had a Eureka moment this weekend in which I realized that I never truly get traction on the bigger projects in my life.
WHY NOT?? I asked myself. And I had a revelation about it.
I realized that even though I am NLP Trainer and a master Hypnotherapist, I don’t know how to control my own brain!
Yes I know how, and I do this very successfully for my own clients, but I don’t access this power fully for myself.
WHY NOT?
Actually it is MUCH harder to do for yourself. At least on a regular, reliable and consistent basis. So that is my quest. To find a way to do this for myself - a way that works anyone, anytime and for anyone. That is my goal, and if it works on me than I will share it with you and everyone….
and if it doesn’t, then I will die trying!
This is a big one. I can feel my inner critic pulling out all the punches already and I’ve barely even gotten started! I know they may sound completely ridiculous to you, especially to those of you who know me, but trust me she’s got a LOUD voice and she knows how to hit right where it hurts. Try to hear these critiques in the acid-dripping tone in which she delivers them. Then maybe you’ll know what I mean.
Here is the list of her top three hard hitters:
- “Haven’t you tried this before?” You do have a whole set of notebooks filled with other great ideas don’t you?”
- “What are you doing this for? Haven’t things like this already been done?”
- “Who is going to want this anyway? You’re going to go to all of this trouble….and for what?”
As I said, she really knows how to hit where it hurts. She knows that I do have a cabinet of notebooks filled with my millions of great ideas. She knows that what I am working on is not rocket science and is in fact very simple. And worst of all she knows that my deepest fear (and everyone’s) is that all of our hard work and effort will be for nothing.
The biggest fear is that NO ONE CARES!
But HA! Don’t worry folks, I have the tricks and the tools to handle this. At least I hope I do. Here’s how it’s gonna work - as she throws me a hard ball, I will devise a creative process to work with that. So bring it on inner critic! I’m ready for you. (I know I’m gonna be sorry I said this!)
I am going to let myself be wrestled to the ground, strangled by her acerbic words and brought to the edge of giving up. This is my test. Can I do it? Can I face all of my foibles, failures and fears of inadequacy?
The fun is that I may die trying. Not literally but figuratively. Part of me will die, the part that has been afraid all along.
It’s much easier to pay someone to change your mind. That is what my clients do every week and they get great changes. I’m going to do it the hard way. It’s just going to be me, myself, my inner critic and my journal. Plus my bag of creative tricks that I’m going to use to tackle this problem.
If I can’t do it, maybe no one can. I don’t mean that in an egotistical way. I mean that if I, who has all of the tricks of the trade, can’t do it for myself, then maybe it’s time to find a way that it CAN be done.
I want to create a reliable and repeatable process that can be used anytime, anywhere. No more muse! The inspiration has to come when I call it, not just show up when it wants to! That’s too fickle for my purposes.
So this my goal for my creative retreat. I will be back with the results in the new year. Promise to love me no matter what happens. Promise to stand by me whether I produce something or not.
Please admire for me just for going for it! I would really appreciate that.
I appreciate you already, for being here every week reading my blog. Thank you from my heart. Stay tuned for more in the new year. Anything good that comes my way, will be naturally passed on to you.
Happy New Year my friends….here’s to renewed Light in your life.
Yours in the creative incubator of life,
Annie
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Need A New Pen?? Get the World’s Best Pen For Only $3!
December 17, 2009
I have just gotten back into journaling and I have a super cool artistic new journal. So I am in the market for a new pen and I was wondering to myself what is the absolute best pen to write with??
Someone suggested that it is the Mont Blanc which is a $200 pen. Eeek! I don’t think so! But I found this hilarious article on how to transform an ordinary pen $3 pen into a Mont Blanc.
Transform a $3 pen into a $200 pen in just seconds.
Mont Blanc pens are the worlds finest writing pens but they make specialized refills so you must buy their $200 + pens to use their amazing ink…until now. This is the easiest adaptation to give anyone the king’s writing ink. Here’s how:
Step 1: Go out and find a Mont Blanc pen you like. Ask the salesperson to let you write with it…nice, huh? Now ask the price. When you’ve gotten over the sticker-shock, leave and go back to your good old G2. Remember what life was like before G2? The pens were cheap and the ink was like cheese. G2s were the best thing since clickable mechanical pencils. Even after we all had G2s, I still admired the uber-extravagant Mont Blanc people. Their pens were so smooth, they nearly wrote by themselves. Alas, at $200-$2000 a pen, that miraculous ink was out of the reach of the common man…..until now.
Step 2: Buy, don’t shoplift. Purchase the brand new G2 Pro and Mont Blanc Rollerball refills from your local office supply store. Cost: G2 Pro=$3, double Mont Blanc refill = $12
Step 3: Consider the Lillies. Think about your life…are you pretentious? If you are, buy a standard retractable G2, so you can see the Mont Blanc brand name through the semi-opaque handle. If you are not, congratulations, you live for function and not form.
Step 4: Dissemble the pen.
Step 5: If you don’t have a 5 year old. Make one. (this step may take awhile)
Step 6: One of these is not like the other. Laying inks side by side, notice the similarities…hmmm…notice the difference? You’re right. The Mont Blanc has about 1/8 inch of extra plastic on the end.
Step 7: I hope you spent more time noticing the similarities than the differences because we all have a lot more in common than different, even though we aren’t all pens….
Step 8: Dial 911. (Due to the violent nature of this step, we have not included a picture) Using any sharp implement (scissors, knife, axe, etc) cut the refill to be the same length as the original ink. (please use adult supervision)
Step 9: Compare again. When you are done with step 8, it should look like this.
Step 10: Here is the tough part. Now here is where it gets tricky, reassemble the pen. Now, before you do that, switch the refills so that instead of the original ink, you put the Mont Blanc refil inside the G2 pen. If it doesn’t work properly, repeat step 8.
Step 11: Save the world. Save the world by taken your original ink and recycling it at your local ink recycling center…or give it to a homeless person so they can take notes on their rantings.
Step 12: Enjoy. Enjoy the fact that you have one of the world’s finest writing instruments without the pompous shiny band names and logos on it. Way to go, common man.
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I’m Unwrapped For Christmas
December 14, 2009
Good news folks. I’m unwrapped for Christmas. Before you jump the gun and think hey did she get lucky? It’s not what you think.
I’ve unloaded the usual packaging that I wrap myself in this time of year. You know all of that unnecessary strain, stress and expectations that we place on ourselves this time of year? I’ve shed all of that. Woo-hoo! I’m free. Free to experience this day as it wants to be.
I realized that I don’t need to make a big deal out of it. Miss Sweetie (mini dachshund) and I are going to pass a nice quiet Christmas with our Tofurkey roast. That should be enough to keep us warm and nourished.
A Tofurkey roast? What’s that you ask. It’s some kind of tofu concoction that looked so good on the box that I couldn’t resist. It’s probably awful and Miss S and I will need to dump it in the trash, but I wanted to have an adventure so I bought it. I’ve got pasta on hand in case it’s inedible…don’t worry.
But since I’m unwrapped for Christmas, that means that I’m FREE to do anything I want - including eat a fake turkey. I’m not sure I like it. Even though I’m a vegetarian, I don’t really like tofu.
But fun and freedom is the name of the game. Being unwrapped means that Christmas doesn’t have to be any of the things that it usually means to me. That way I don’t have to feel sad, lonely or sorry for myself (boo hoo) that I’m not going to visit my family this year. Nope that’s not a useful state of mind. So I’ve left that behind and am open to discover what this day wants to bring me.
At the very least it will be an experiment in living. I’ll let you know.
Yours in accepting everything life has to offer,
Annie
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We Need to Get Our Voices Out Whether Dripping with Honey or Stinging with Hot Sauce
December 13, 2009
Annie: We all have a voice. But how we use it is up to us. Are you speaking out loud and proud in your world? Are you saying what you need to say in just the right way? Sometimes we need to be strong and straight like a shot of espresso. Other times we need to be simple and sweet like a bit of honey. My blogging buddy elizabeth Cassidy and I are going to share about speaking out.
elizabeth: Some voices come with the sugary, succulent juice of kindness slipping off the chin. And some voices look at the seeds of a fried jalapeño pepper as their daily multiple vitamin.
We all have a voice that the world needs to hear. Some of us bellow from the rooftops while others talk right into their chests allowing only their heart to hear. Those are the people who drive me to distraction and back. To deny one his/her voice takes away from what the rest of us have been hammering home about.
A wonderful Italian proverb makes its case against silence: Silence was never written down. I say don’t leave this planet without the benefit of your voice being heard. If you are willing to see how your voice sounds, your words could change the world. Can you imagine a world without Sylvia Plath, Tennessee Williams, Lennon/McCartney or myself? I always wanted to be in the same sentence as with John Lennon. See what having a voice does? It gives you permission.
Annie: We need to be proud and speak without fear. Our biggest fear is of not being liked or accepted. Isn’t that silly because not everyone can like us. When we stay small and don’t dare to rock the boat with our words we live in a wizened little world. Like a crazen (a dried cranberry raisen), we feel a little more trapped every day.
We gotta take risks to speak what isn’t spoken. I like to call it speaking raw and real. Do you want people to get the fake you or the real deal? It’s up to you.
elizabeth: Fear is one of those roadblocks that prevents a pile up of thoughts from going anywhere. Blogging has allowed me the freedom to say whatever I want. Okay, I am one of these people who will never hurt or put down (except for a few politicians and then I can’t help myself) others but I will tackle an idea that rubs me the wrong or right way.
I will be sassy, sarcastic and over the top but then there are those moments (and they are rare) where I will be loving and selfless to the point where my family and friends won’t recognize me. But if it calls for it, then I can allow that writing side of me out of the trapdoor. And then I am only too happy to lock it up again.
So I am a blogger who lives to find the right phrase or word that can turn someone’s life around by making them stop and think. And making them laugh out loud. So if that makes me a lover of five alarm hot sauce, then please pass me the bottle.
Annie: I will pass you the bottle as soon as I’m finished with it. Ok here it comes, I just poured it all over my computer to make sure that I don’t skimp on the spice in my blog. I dare to say it raw and real because that’s what the world needs . Even thought it is scary, hey I like to be liked too, I’d rather risk than die unlived.
And that’s what happens when we don’t speak truth. We die with bundles of words tied up inside of us. There is a story about an Italian mailman who felt his mail bundle was too heavy. Every day he would stop by his house and drop off a few letters so his load was lighter. Years later they found a mountain of undelivered letters at his house!
Don’t let your words go undelivered. Take courage, team up and go for it. Spicy, hot, sweet, straight and juicy. That’s our style and we hope it makes a difference in your world.
Yours in speaking loud and proud,
Annie and elizabeth!
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Everything I Needed to Know About Buying Cars, I Learned From Schlocky Car Salesmen
December 10, 2009
Years ago when I was single and had to buy my first car on my own, I realized that I had enormous trepidation about car salesmen, particularly since I am a woman. Gee I wonder why? The reason is because I should have good reason to be afraid of fear them. They are very scary!
But thanks to my training in the blessed field of NLP (which is the structure of the mastery of everything), I decided that before I could buy a car, I need to study the structure of how salesmen sell cars. Boy was that a riot!
This way of thinking however changed the situation from being freaked out to having fun in an instant. Instead of feeling like prey to predatory car salesman, I took on the role of secret agent. I decided that I was going to let them work their shtick on me and that way I would know what they were up to.
Definition: Shtick (Yiddish) (שטיק) comic theme or gimmick. Sounds like a car salesman right?
So off I went to car land ready to be mauled by the big bad car selling bears. First stop on my tour was the Philly Auto Mall. This place is known for both the best prices AND the most sleezy salesman - a two-for-one bargain! If I wanted to see great shticks in action, this was the place. I was not disappointed.
One of them was so good he almost had me buy a car that I didn’t even want! His trick phrase was, “I’m pretty sure this great car is going to be gone by this afternoon. You’re not gonna find another deal like this.” Now I’m no dummy but this stupid trick almost worked on me. I realized later that his dumb suggestion had gone right into my unconscious mind.
I found myself driving home thinking, “Hmm, maybe I better go back there.” Then it hit me, WHAM, this was one of those shady tricks that salesmen use to get you to buy. It wasn’t a great car. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t like him or the car dealership. It wasn’t even the best deal. There was no real reason I should have bought that car. But he used the famous scarcity principle of act now or it won’t be here later and it almost worked on me. Me who usually knows what I want and is not a pushover. DAMN!
This made me mad enough that I decided to up the ante on them. Now I was determined that not only were they not going to work their tricks on me, but I was going to learn their tricks and then work them back on them!
So here’s what I did. I realized that I needed to find the one key thing that gets car a salesman down on his knees practically begging you to buy his car while giving you the best price.
In other words what is the real secret to their negotiations? What has them bargaining to win you as sale, not just pretending to? By going to yet one more car dealer and focusing on just this aspect of the deal, I discovered the trick to getting a trul amazing car deal.
Want the secret? Here it is.
Car salesmen get down on their knees when they think that you are going to buy the car right now. Timing is everything. You can’t be looking around, can’t be fact gathering, can’t be comparing prices etc. If they think you’re still shopping around, they will play with you like a cat bats around a mouse but doesn’t kill it.
But if you walk in and are ready to buy right now they will jump in for the kill. My key phrase was, “I am ready to buy a car right now. What can you do for me?” When you use this phrase car salesmen will:
1. start salivating
2. not be able to stop salivating
3. go for the kill
And in the car world, the kill means getting a good deal. They will be so eager to sell you a car that they won’t even notice that you are working a deal on them! Because they believe you are truly ready to shell out your hard earned cash, they will do everything they can to help you with that. And they won’t even notice (tee hee) that you are forcing them to the drawing table.
When you are ready to buy, they are ready to sell. Before that they are basically taking a nap while pretending to walk around awake.
I tried this out at a Kia Dealer. I had absolutely no intention of buying a Kia, but boy did I generate a good deal for one. When the deal was finally on the table and I was able to see how far they would go, I simply said, “Oops, I changed my mind,” and walked out. Boy were they pissed. But what could they do? I figured it was their own karma boomeranging back on them. Because they in fact taught me everything I needed to know about buying cars. Thanks gentlemen!
After that I went straight to the Honda dealer and bought my fab new car with nearly no effort. Woo-hoo! And I’ve had her for over six years and she’s still driving strong.
Later after I had bought it a male friend said to me, “You got the car for that price??? How did you do that!” And that’s how I knew I had hit the bullseye.
So if there is anything you want to do better or learn the secrets of then study, study, study. Then go out and use it and report back!
Yours in learning from everything life has to offer, Annie
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