It snowed. The supplier was late, delivered the wrong thing, or in the wrong colour. The schools were shut so you had the kids at home. You got a cold. The dog died. You got tangled in the duvet and couldn’t get out of bed…..

You’ve heard them. You’ve given them. What are they?
They are excuses.

Noooo, I hear you yell. They are not excuses! They are valid reasons. They are REAL!

The economy IS bad. Customers ARE harder to find. There just isn’t as much money around so we’re bound to be struggling.

So why is it that in a bad economy, with fewer customers with less money, some businesses are doubling or tripling their turnover and profits? Are they in a special “lucky” market? Do they just have more resources?

Well they might be, but this modern age with the internet and social networking is a great leveller. Even the little people stand a good chance. So what are those thriving companies doing that the struggling ones are not doing?

It’s simple. They don’t accept or give excuses.

When you set a goal it’s pretty simple. Either you achieve it or you don’t. You either get the result you want or you don’t.

If you find yourself not getting the results you want it’s very tempting to look for reasons. But what if those reasons were just excuses? And what if those excuses were preventing you from achieving many of your goals?

What if you gave up your excuses? What if all those reasons that you gave for not getting the results could be overcome, bypassed or even turned into opportunities.

We learn to give good excuses when we are children. We learn that if the cat had kittens on our homework we get an extension. If we broke an arm we get off the 4 mile cross country run.

But this seeking out excuses doesn’t serve us at all in adulthood. And when you’re running your own business it’s a disaster. You can’t pay your staff with excuses. You can’t take them to the bank. You can’t take them to your customers

Let’s take this idea of “the economy” as an excuse not to grow a successful business. I’m not saying the situation isn’t real, or that it can be changed but the way you approach it can be. Yes people are spending more cautiously, the low hanging fruit isn’t there anymore. But what you do have, higher up are very committed and keen customers. They may be harder to find, but when you find them they are like gold dust.

So here are some ways you can start to give up your excuses.

Are you being impatient?

In this age of instant gratification we sometimes forget that some things just do take some time. Maybe you haven’t failed, but rather the results just haven’t had time to show up yet. For example in a marketing campaign there is a time lag between taking action and the clients showing up. In this middle time you need to protect your mindset. Doubts will stop you taking the very action you need to take, you need to continue to market until you can reasonably expect results then decide whether or not you have failed.

Is it time to try something different?

If your actions are not giving you the desired results try taking different action. The reason many people don’t do this is because it’s risky. They know what to expect with the tried and tested methods, even if those results aren’t great. But when you try something new you have no clue what to expect. Be brave, take a risk try something different.

Do you have a limiting belief?

The beliefs we hold shape our reality. They affect the thoughts we think, the things we say and, most importantly the action we take. The result is, just like a self fulfilling prophesy, we make them real.

The reality that you experience is a direct result of the underlying beliefs. For example having no money is the reality, and no, that’s not a limiting belief. If you have no money, that’s a fact or real. But underneath that might be a limiting belief like “I can’t make money” “I’m no good at selling” “people don’t want to buy from a small company” “people don’t spend money in a recession”

Let’s take the belief “people don’t spend money in a recession”. If you believe this, how motivated do you think you will be to get out there and sell? Probably not that motivated.

So you won’t make your sales calls, stop writing web pages or sending e-mails, and generally stop taking action around getting sales. Then it’s a foregone conclusion that you won’t have any sales thus proving yourself right.

Now you have a choice you can be right or you can be successful, but you can’t do both. Are you willing to go bankrupt to prove yourself right? No thought not. So decide that you are wrong about some things. Believe and think something different and take the action you know will get you the results.

Be brutally honest with yourself

As a coach one of my less fun tasks is to be brutally honest with people, and the get them to be honest with themselves. Be honest about where you are, the resources you have to hand and the action you can take. Pretending that it’s all going to be alright if I just say enough affirmations or do enough “positive thinking” is simply putting your head in the sand.

Use the resources you do have, take the action you can take, and you will get results. But most importantly, give up your excuses.

And now I would like to invite you to claim your free instant access to my emotional resilience online course

By Dr. Lisa Turner

Yet later when we were back in our meeting, a chance interruption from a one of the hotel staff and playful mention of ice cream and what should show up? Only two dishes of delicious creamy vanilla. Perfect. And I hadn’t even ordered it.
The hotel staff just took it upon himself to deliver my request.

Magic? Well – yes actually.

Every time we speak we send out an energetic vibration into the universe, which then sets in motion whatever it is that you are speaking about. The universe is a supportive place that conspires to give you whatever you ask for. With one, very important provision, that you stick to your part of the bargain and follow through. Every time you speak your intention and then follow through with action in alignment with your words you strengthen the power behind your words. Eventually your word becomes law or even God like.  So that you barely need to utter a desire and the universe will deliver.

In spiritual orders the power of words is demonstrated by the phrase “I have spoken”.

And it’s gospel too: John 1 vs 1 “In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the Word was God”.

That’s the same God who spoke the entire universe into existence starting with “Let there be light”

Are you bleeding your power away with idle talk?

Just as words have power, they can be a power leak.

If, for example, you get into the habit of saying you will do things or want things, but FAIL to follow through with action you weaken your word. Eventually your word will be meaningless and powerless. This is what happens in relationships or meetings when others don’t listen. It can be because others unconsciously pick up that your words have no power behind them.

You will be literally bleeding your energy away with idle talk.

Here are some ways you could be weakening your word without realising it…

• You say you will call a friend and then don’t.
• Those tipsy conversations where you dream up big plans that in the cold light of dawn you back away from.
• When you say you will attend an event, meeting, party or date but don’t show up.
• When you say you will do something but fail to deliver on time or at all.
• When you buy things and then return them under the guarantee for no good reason other than you would rather have the money back.
• When you say you will sign up for a training programme but never do.
• When you tell yourself you will quit smoking, eat healthily, take more exercise etc and never do.
• When you say to yourself you will take a break, but keep on working anyway.

Why does this bleed your energy and weaken your word?

Well think about it like this. If I were to invite you to dinner and you say “Yes”. I would then go out and buy the food for your meal. I will tidy the house (and believe me that will take some time). I will lovingly prepare your meal.
If you don’t show up this is not only a breach of trust but also a waste of energy (food and effort). The universe will seek to restore balance so if you create energy loss for another then it will have to be repaid in some way at some point in the future, by you, and usually with interest.

This is true no matter what you say you will do but fail to do. Broken promises cost.

Think how much extra work someone has to put in to regain trust once they have broken it. It’s much more than the work they did to build the trust in the first place. This is the work you will have to do even when it is the universe or even yourself.

What can you do to strengthen your word, build trust with the universe and make your word law?

Step 1. Become conscious and aware of the words you speak. Before you agree to anything pause, think, ask yourself “do I REALLY intend to follow through?”

Step 2. When you have spoken, follow through with action EVERY time. No excuses, no buts, no “I’m too tired” Do the thing that you said you would do.

Step 3. If for some reason your circumstances change, go back and re-negotiate the agreement. Ask for extra time and then add in some extra bonus as a thank you for allowing you the extra time.

Step 4. Stop all idle talk of actions you have no intention of carrying out. Make no promises or agreements that you do not intend to keep. This is the hardest part as we’re so used to those white lies and platitudes. We are so used to saying “I’ll try to….” when we really mean no. We are so used to saying “I’ll do that….” when we know we’ll never see that person again and so we think there are no consequences. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. And you can say no with compassion and kindness.

The more you follow these simple steps the more you will strengthen the power of your word until all you need to do is say “let there be ice-cream” and it just shows up. Next time I think I’ll mention chocolate fudge topping too.

1. Not enough paying clients

By clients I mean people who are willing to pay you pay you for your time, as opposed to those who will happily call you to “find out a bit more about what you do” or those who will come for your free introductory session and go away to “think about it”, never to return.

A client is a client when they agree to pay you. They are a prospective client when they call. They are a prospective client when they see your brochure, or website, but they are not your client until you book a session and pay you for your time.

If you don’t have a steady stream of people who will pay for your time then you have a marketing problem. If you spend more time finding clients than working with clients then you have a marketing problem.

2. Trouble convincing clients to come to come to you.

There are a lot of psychics who are great at lead generation, they get lots of people calling up for a chat or more information, but who never seem to tip over into becoming a paying client. usually this is around fear, fear of change and particularly with psychics, fear of knowing a truth they would rather pretend wasn’t there. Rapport and communication skills is a way to solve this problem.

3. Clients that don’t pay

Depending on how you run your practice you can have clients that simply don’t pay their bill. They may argue the price, claim they didn’t benefit, and worst of all – blame you for not solving their problem for them. Solving this requires simple business boundaries like a contract or terms and conditions. Get them to agree to them before you start working together and make sure they stick to them.

4. Client makes the change but rejects you or your role in making the change

Sometimes a client comes to you makes fantastic changes to themselves and their lives. They are healed. But later they deny that they ever had a problem, or that you ever helped them solve their problem. They might say things like “well it was never that bad” – Even when they had cancer and now they don’t! Or they might say “it was getting better anyway I don’t know how much what you did had to do with it”

In addition it is not uncommon for a client to completely avoid you, snub you if you run into them or reject you. They do this because you remind them of their old problem. This isn’t anything to be concerned about and can be quite healthy for the client. If your ego demands recognition and accolades then it’s you who has the problem.

5. Your client stays stuck

For example you or your client may have identified a problem, a limiting belief or a behaviour that does not serve them or an emotional response that is inappropriate, and no matter what you say or do with your client they don’t change. You know what they have to do but they can’t or don’t seem to do it. Solve this by learning more change and healing techniques and working with higher levels of energy. The more energy you have access to the greater the change in your client.

Another way a client can get stuck is they keep coming back with new problems. This can be genuine, that you have unlocked deeper parts of their unconscious mind and their issues are finally being allowed to surface so they can be dealt with, but sometimes it can indicate they have become dependent on you, and this is a problem. Working in a way that empowers the client and doesn’t disempower them will solve this one.

6. Your client rejects what you offer

Psychics are in the business of getting information that will help your client solve problems, avoid mistakes and make the most of their lives. So why is it that they then reject this very information? It might be that you have presented it in the wrong way, or it can be that they need help to integrate it in a way that supports their karmic journey.

7. You take on your client’s karma

Have you ever noticed that your client has gone away healed, their problem is completely solved, but somehow you start to develop problems that are similar or exactly the same?

When this happens you have inadvertently taken on their karma. Because the laws of karma are so little understood it’s very easy to do this. Usually their problems are an opportunity for them to grow. Find ways to helping them their problems in ways that encourage them to grow and evolve. This is the difference between showing them how, and doing it for them, or the difference between offering a helping hand, and carrying them. Find a way of working that is empowering and you will avoid taking on any client’s karma ever again, and even “work off” some of your own.

If you have experienced any of these problems as a professional psychic, healer or coach, then go ahead subscribe to my newsletter. It’s packed with insights and tips just for you.

Whenever the law of Attraction is mentioned, someone usually pops up and asks –“so did the Jews ask for the holocaust? Did they deserve it?”

Few people ever seem to have a good explanation for this so I had a bit of a think about it and attracted this one!

According to the LoA we “attract” (personally I prefer the word create) outcomes with our ENERGY and our thoughts. Not only what we are consciously thinking about, but our UNCONSCIOUS thoughts, create our outcomes. Indeed over 2000,000 of our thoughts are unconscious (about 99.9999%). Also LoA is clear that we create what we DON’T want, by fearing it. What we resist persists.

The clue there is in the title. The fact that thoughts and emotions are in the Unconscious mind, means (as the name suggests) out of conscious awareness. So NO the Jews didn’t sit around thinking the holocaust into existence.

How did it come about then?

Bad things happen when we fear them, and give the energy / thought of a bad or unwanted outcome attention. I’m not suggesting that 6 million Jews sat around thinking about mass extermination, but it COULD have happened like this….

Hypothetical explanation begins….

It starts with low level antagonism against the Jews, an individual Jew starts to dread certain interactions with other people or just low level disquiet. This sets up negative, but probably not specific thoughts and feelings of fear.

The universe complies and gives him more signs that trouble is ahead for the Jews. He begins to fear for his freedom to trade, to live where he chooses. He begins to worry that he’ll be able to support his family. He’s really worried now. Other Jews also begin to worry, and fear. The energy of fear is very unattractive, creates fear (of Jews) in others, who then start to persecute them even more, and use these feelings to justify their actions. So the Jews become more fearful, so the persecutors feel more fear from and of them. The persecutors act on their fear to repress the Jews.  And so on in this cycle until we have a holocaust. 

LoA is always clear to explain that we create with the energy of our thoughts – not necessarily the specific outcome that we are thinking of – and that you must focus on what you WANT, not on what you don’t want. It’s phrased in various philosophies as “What you resist persists” 

The mind cannot process negations directly. I’m sure you’ve heard of the “don’t think of a blue butterfly”. So if the Jews were giving a lot of unconscious emotional energy to “don’t persecute us” or something similar – then they did, unintentionally and without blame or fault, attract persecution into their lives.

Not because they deserved it, but because they feared it.

Taking responsibility of your own creation is a tough one. I was abused at the age of 13. I own it. I take responsibility for my part in the creation of that experience. It wasn’t my “fault” but it was my choosing as part of my Karma. And my experience, and how psychic, empathic and compassionate I became made me the damn good therapist I am today. I choose that too.

All in know is that if I take responsibility – I take control of my life. Personally I prefer to believe I’m the creator of my experience, not some hapless victim of circumstance.

But how you live your life is for you to choose. But why not choose a way that works and empowers?

Until next time

Lisa