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Launching Radio 42 - The Meaning of Life, The Universe & Everything

January 20, 2010

I am so excited.  I am getting ready to launch my brand new radio show called, Radio 42 - the Meaning of Life, the Universe & Everything. Don’t you just love that title!

I know that it’s not completely original but several things coincided to bring this name to the foreground.  As my blog readers know, I have been on Creative Retreat for 42 days (I’m in day 32) and it has been amazing.

People have been asking me - WHY 42?

It’s a mystical number that I chose for several reasons (which I’ll talk about in my upcoming book), but what I didn’t know was of it’s association to the book, “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.”  I never read that book and had never heard that story about how a computer spit out the answer to the question, “What is the meaning of life?”

And it’s answer was 42!

Only recently did someone tell me this story and give me the title for the radio show.  Thanks to my fabulous colleague and his brilliance, Radio 42 was born and will be launched next week on Friday at 11 am.  Please tune in.

What will Radio 42 be about? Well that’s the cool thing - it will be about everything - the meaning of life, the universe, everything!  But in specific it will creative, everyday, practical tools to help you change from the inside out. I have take my mystical understandings of the world and translate them into easy to use tools.

We all need the ability to go away everyday. Mystics always went to mountaintops or into the desert to get a new perspective on life but I realized that we need ways to change everyday and so am bringing forth the tips, tools, secrets and stories from the masters.  Sound fun?  It’s gonna be, guaranteed!

For my first show, I will have a very special guest with me so so please do tune in for the fun, the frolic and a tour of the cosmos.  It’s on Blog Talk Radio, Friday at 11 am.

Yours in sharing the tips, tools and secrets of the masters,

Annie

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Creative Retreat Process: A Structure For Success

January 11, 2010

Wow, believe it or not creativity has a structure that you can access and follow to take yourself to new creative heights.  That is what I’m discovering on my Creative Retreat Process. *If you’re just tuning in and you want to read previous posts from the retreat they are listed under “Creative Retreat.”

Back at the beginning of the retreat (25 days ago) when I didn’t know what the heck I was doing.  I asked myself the singular question - Why can’t I get my bigger projects off the ground?  What gets in the way?

I felt like I needed to crack the code of what was in the way and more importantly to find out what would allow me to access my creative inspiration whenever, wherever and however I wanted to.  In other words, I didn’t want to sit there waiting  for the fabled muse to arrive.  I wanted to be able to access her whenever I needed to.

I started with a very simple process - a daily practice of writing, jotting down notes and a few other mysterious techniques that I invented on the spot.

I had one simple rule - that I would use everything that came up for creative fodder - bring on the inner critic, bring on the obstacles and challenges.  I actually wanted to see, feel and experience what they were so that I could learn to deal with them and create a method that myself and others could follow.

So I am delighted to report that IT IS WORKING - my theory, my hypothesis and my method are all working on me and today I brought on board a creative partner and we are going to begin to share the journey together.

What surprise to find my theory working already. If you remember I’m on retreat for 42 days, so I’m half way there.   Half way there and I’m already clearly experiencing the benefits and maybe soon you’ll hear from my partner in fun as well.

Most of all I want to encourage all of you to access the life-giving power of creative retreat in your life.  Even if it is only 1/2 hour a day - we really need this energy to revitalize and rejuvenate us to keep going on bigger projects in our life.

Buon viaggio as they say in Italian.  I am enjoying the creative journey and look forward to the moment when I will be holding the results in my hand.

Yours in the life that creative energy brings forth,

Annie

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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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Video of the Week, May 24

May 24, 2009

International Business Leader Robert Dilts
Founder of NLP University, Dilts Strategy Group and Robert Dilts Consulting

Robert was the man with whom I did my NLP Trainer and Consultancy Training. Robert is an exceptional human being and a man who is truly changing the world through his work.  He is one of 15 leaders in this weeks survey of the top business skill for our future.  Thank you Robert for all you do!

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The Power of Storytelling

May 7, 2009

I am trained in the field of NLP which stands for Neuro-linguistic programming. NLP is the study of personal mastery and how to harness the powers of the mind and it was modeled in part on the work of famous hypnotherapist, Milton H. Erickson, MD. Milton was known for his miraculous cures with thousands of patients and is legend for his storytelling abilities.

Several years ago, I spent twenty-one days and many thousands of dollars to take my NLP Trainer and Consultants training with the renowned trainer Robert Dilts. Twenty-one days is a long time and you would think that I would have learned something right? But I came out of that training feeling like I hadn’t learned a thing. How was that possible? I was so convinced however that I hadn’t learned anything, that I started to believe that I had wasted all of that time and money.

However about a month after the Training, I was hired to lead a one-day retreat for a hospital health center. As I leading the training, I noticed how much fun I was having and later realized that a good third of my program was new information. Where had it all come from? I thought I hadn’t learned anything. So afterwards I realized that maybe I had learned something after all, in fact I’d learned quite a lot.

It was at that moment, that I realized the power of story. Most of my twenty-one days of training had been taught using story. Some months later, I went to another training with Robert and I mentioned this funny phenomenon to him. I said “Robert, I hate to admit this but I thought I went to your training and didn’t learn a thing! But then a month later, I led a retreat, and I couldn’t believe all of the new information that just poured out of me.”

Robert just smiled and said “Annie when I used to go visit Milton, I would think that nothing happened. He would just sit there and tell me stories. But then three weeks later, my whole life would change.”

Milton Erickson definitely new the power of story….and I have dedicated my life’s work, to passing on it’s magic and power.

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