The ezPalm Blog

Have you ever felt a jolt of envy to see a competitor - or even a friend - grinning up at you from a newspaper or trade publication?

It kills you, doesn’t it?

And you know why: you need to become that authority. Prospects will gravitate to the authority on a subject they are interested in.

If you can establish yourself as an expert in your industry, qualified prospects will be attracted to you. Why?

Everybody wants to do business with an expert.

As an entrepreneur, a majority of your focus is always on securing new customers. While it is true that your repeat clients are the backbone of your success, you need to add new clients to your existing client base if you want your business to grow.

You must learn to sell yourself as an expert. When potential buyers see you as a knowledgeable professional whose opinions and guidance truly matter, they are more likely to hand over their hard-earned money.

There are several ways to position yourself as an expert in the eyes of the public. The first thing you have to do is:

Be Confident in Your Expertise

Stop taking your skills for granted. You know a lot more than you think you know.

It’s self-confidence that plays a large part in determining your happiness through life.

And self-confidence is a necessary ingredient for success because it sells. It’s something you can sense about a person upon entering a room. It’s evident through body language and speech. If your confidence is lacking, try these tips:

Set goals and create a plan to achieve them Use powerful affirmations such as “I am the expert;’ “My information is valuable;’ and “People desire to work with me.’ Practice confidence by emulating others. Take a look at the people who you think are the most confident. Try to find things they do in their body language and tone of voice to mimic until you find your own style. Be prepared. Create a Powerful Brand

In an overcrowded marketplace, if you’re not standing out, then you’re invisible.

The best way to captivate your audience is with an authentic and powerful personal brand. The benefits of a strong personal branding will give you an edge over your competition and enhance your value in the global marketplace.

Branding identifies and differentiates you, your business and your products and services so you stand out from the crowd and get noticed.

Once you have a powerful personal brand, the next step is to consistently communicate it through your brand identity: logo, business cards, letterhead, web site, invoices and any other outward communications you have.

Put it in Writing

We have all heard the saying, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?’ If you are sharing your expertise and no one hears it or reads it, does it make a difference?

There are several ways to build your reputation just by writing about what you know best.

Articles

Whether you’re telling readers how to grow gargantuan tomatoes or how to stay out of trouble with the IRS, “how to’ articles are an excellent way to call attention to your talents and establish yourself as an expert. They give you dozens of column inches that you might not be able to afford if you had to pay for an ad. They draw traffic to your web site. And if your articles are compelling and convincing, they can lead to thousands of dollars in sales for your products or services.

People love solutions so try to start with quick tips sheets. For example, I wrote an article titled “5 Tips to Quickly and Easily Improve Your Brand Identity’. Then as you become more comfortable with writing, try a positioning piece where you comment on an industry trend with your thoughts. Provide your expert opinion.

EZines

Electronic newsletters are one of the most profitable ways to build your credibility to establish yourself as an expert. More commonly known as eZines, they let you offer helpful advice, market to a global audience, communicate easily with thousands of people as often as you wish, and promote what you’re selling. All that without expensive postage or printing costs, an advertising budget, keeping track of subscription renewals, or other tasks associated with print newsletters.

Your eZine, distributed 1-4 times per month, will become a portfolio of your work and showcase your expertise.

I highly recommend using an email contact program like www.emailbrain.com . They are inexpensive, look professional, and can help you track what works in your campaigns and what doesn’t.

Books

Catapult your business to a higher level by writing a book. Speakers, consultants, coaches, therapists and other small business owners are learning that publishing a book is one of the most powerful marketing strategies available. A book has the greatest potential to open doors.

There are two routes to go with book writing. The first is the traditional publishing route. This is a long and arduous process, however, being published by a well-known publishing house is like the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.’

The other avenue is to self publish with a company like iUniverse. If you don’t feel like you have the time and energy to take on a whole book yourself, you can also create an anthology of works from a combination of authors.

This year I launched my own publishing company Inspiration Place Publishing which published my latest book, an anthology, ” Visionary Women Inspiring the World: 12 Paths to Personal Power.’

Get on Your Soapbox

You may never see your name in lights or dazzle the crowd at Carnegie Hall. Yet there’s no doubt that you can achieve celebrity status among the people who matter most to your target market when you start presenting.

This kind of “stardom” means prospects recognize your name as soon as they hear or read it, you are looked upon as an expert in a particular area, and your business is 100% referral-based. The benefits of this kind of business are obvious: extraordinary credibility that leads to countless introductions and natural, easy prospecting conversations plus the bonus of knowing you are truly outstanding in your field.

And doing presentations is lucrative. According to the Internal Revenue Service, “Those who speak about their industry earn an average of 50% more than those who don’t.’

Public speaking

Public speaking enhances your credibility and your reputation as an expert while providing important information to your target audience. It is important that your speech does not turn into “sales pitches.” Keep references to your company’s products and services low-key while personally projecting your desired image. The key to successful speaking is making sure that you are in front of the right audience and then provide value to them.

When you are giving a speech make sure you do the following:

Inform your audience on your subject. Establish yourself as an expert and a resource for further information. Encourage your audience to take action. Create a compelling leave behind with information about your product or service offerings. Perhaps include an article you have written. Collect their information through business cards or a raffle for a free hour of consulting or a product. Ideas for getting the word out that you are available as a speaker:

Create a speaking resume that includes your bio and three compelling talks that you can give. You can see a copy of my speaking resume at www.journeyavenue.com. Send your speaking resume to professional trade organizations, civic groups or non-profit organizations. Send announcement letters or network to let groups know that you are available and which topics you can address. Hold Your Own Seminar or Tele-Seminar

Another venue to speak publicly is by holding your own seminar or tele-seminar. Create a program based upon your expertise and promote it heavily.

While giving the seminar, make sure that you use a system like Dan Janal’s Great Teleseminars ( http://www.greatteleseminars.com/ ) to record the program so you can turn it into an audio product for passive revenue.

Become a Media Magnet

I worked in publicity for more than ten years and first hand saw the power of the media. Publicity is mention in the media. Organizations usually have little control over the message in the media, at least, not as they do in advertising. Regarding publicity, reporters and writers decide what will be said. This can be a little scary, however, this is exactly what leads to your credibility. And, PR is free, unlike advertising.

When you are quoted in the media it is another expert seal of approval. Each time you have a story to share or an announcement to make, consider which of the following media relations vehicles would be most helpful:

News Release Pitches Bylined Articles Special Events Contests, Quizzes Seminars/conferences Fundraisers Ribbon-cuttings/groundbreakings, open houses, etc. New product launches A news release is your most important publicity tool for securing story placements. It serves to assist an editor or reporter in writing a story and should tell your story in a simple, factual, straight-forward and informative manner (infusing your personality, as long as it doesn’t take away from communicating your key points and product features).

It’s important to pay attention to details when preparing a news release. In my e-book Profitable Public Relations I detail how to write an effective news release and pitch it to the journalist.

Another excellent way of attracting the attention of reporters and editors is to write a pitch letter. A pitch letter is a brief letter outlining a particular story angle, or sometimes several related story angles, for a reporter.

This kind of letter can be sent as a cover letter with a news release or media kit, but often it is sent alone. The idea is to grab the reporter’s attention by providing a story idea and the important facts surrounding the story (often bullet points are used to present information so that the letter is easy to read). After mailing a pitch letter, it is important to follow up with the reporter to determine his/her interest and provide further information.

Working with the media on a regular basis is key to keeping your name in front of your customers’ and prospects’ eyes and being at the top of their mind when it comes to awareness.

Create Promotional Campaigns and Info Products Awards

Awards provide an opportunity to strengthen your reputation and credibility. If you do not feel comfortable nominating yourself, ask fellow entrepreneurs, your advisors, your friends or your family to nominate you.

Special Events

Special events such as charitable fund-raisers and public celebrations of your company milestones allow you to communicate your message in an active, participatory manner.

InfoProducts

What is your secret to success? How have you become a subject matter expert? Success sells, and if you have your own personal method to getting there, others will pay to hear it. InfoProducts include e-Books, Audio and Video Projects, Special reports and books. Did you know that e-books on how to succeed are topping the sales charts? Put together an InfoProduct and start collecting revenue while you sleep. I have several examples of InfoProducts on my site. Check it out.

Are you ready?

When you become known as an expert in your field, whatever your field, you will find that the world will beat a path to your door. The tips in this article have merely scratched the surface of the strategies and tactics you can use.

By being the expert:

You immediately distinguish yourself from the competition You offer your clients something of value that competitors can’tand don’toffer You can charge more for your services You become the first choice Now it is time for you to plan your road to becoming known as an expert. What actions will you commit to each month to achieve this? How much time will you devote? Use the ideas I’ve given to help you devise a plan that works for you and become the star in your field!

Copyright 2005 UpLevel Strategies

Business & Marketing guru Kelly O’Neil is passionate about helping entrepreneurs succeed in business through her Business Mastery Success System.
For more information, or to subscribe to O’Neil’s Arrive! E-newsletter filled with countless tips and resources for creating more profit in your business, visit http://www.uplevelstrategies.com . Please contact UpLevel Strategies at (408) 615-8150 for a Complimentary 30 Minute Strategy Session.

Why do you think one needs a helmet while riding a bicycle or skating or horse riding or even playing?Well,some say that helmets are unnecessary as they cannot save a persons life or prevent accidents.True,safety helmets cannot prevent or stop accidents but they can in some measure safe a person’s life when met with an accident.

According to the statistics calculated recently in U.S, about one fourth of the people brought in emergency rooms have head injuries and one out of every eight of them are reported to have brain injuries. This may not have happened had they been wearing a safety helmet. So at least brain injury would have been prevented which would eventually cause death.

A single head injury can also make a person handicapped for life. Even while at work especially where there are a lot of construction work, a safety helmet is a must. It should be the responsibility of the employer to provide these helmets to his employees as many to prevent any such head injuries.

Choosing the right helmet:

There are different kinds of safety helmet available as different sports require different helmets. But the key here is to wear the right fitting. A loose helmet cannot protect the head as much as fitted ones. A helmet should always fit the persons head. It should touch the head all the way around and should be stable enough that even in jerks it should not move.

When it comes to buying for kids many a times we tend to feel that we should get a bigger one as they would grow anyways but that is wrong. The brand is also important. One should never compromise on price when it comes to safety. Comfort is another thing that you should keep in mind as if it is not comfortable then you are very unlikely to wear it also.

All parents, coaches, trainers and organizers should be made aware of this safety precaution. A lot of injuries also occur during horse riding and the statistics of accidents is very alarming. Even though other factors may also be involved from falling off a horse like slipping and back riding but the height from which the person falls is what jeopardizes the injury. If he falls from a height of 2 feet he is likely to have brain damage but if he falls from a greater height as the horse tends to elevate him up to 8 feet from the ground then his skull would be shattered. So, one should never ride a horse without wearing a safety helmet.

Bicycle helmets are made from foam polystyrene, and this polystyrene though is rigid it can be molded into virtually any shape. This can be easily damaged by crushing as it has a quite a high number of tiny air pockets. This process of crushing absorbs energy thus making it ideal for the construction of bicycle helmets. This helmets tend to get a bit warm during hot days but nowadays there are more expensive ones that are available and these helmets have more air vents to keep you cool but this can reduce the amount of energy absorbed as the amount of polystyrene is reduced.

Whether wearing a helmet is necessary or not depends on the individual. But you should never underestimate the use of it because there are benefits of using a safety helmet. It is always better to take precautions then suffer the consequences. You should take responsibity of young ones in your family and educate them about safety helmets after all it is always better to have knowledge about things then be careless about it. Always wear helmets and be safe.

Helmets Resources and Information around it

Power boating as an activity, hobby or used as a corporate device is extremely worthwhile. There are also particular sailing events that make it equally refreshing and can be something that the whole members of the family equipped to go & experience all together. One of the leading weeks of the yachting year is the Cowes Regatta Week; this power boating event takes place each year & has been operating since eighteen twenty-six which makes it the longest running sailing event on the planet. With more than eight-hundred sailing boats and seven-thousand competitors partaking, being studied by more than 80,000 viewers each day Skandia Cowes week has been given the grade as one of the major sailing corporate hospitality & social event of the whole year. Find great offers on Cowes Week 2008 corporate events from Ondeck Sailing.

The eight thousand five-hundred participants are a mixture of Olympic and European class experienced sailors to recently qualified sailors. Nonetheless, if you’re not joining in yourself, observing the sailing, having fun at the social gatherings & live events, and to experience the unique ambience, makes it a one of a kind event.

With Ondeck Yachting School, 2008 begins the introduction of their most recent Regatta Division. Strengthen on their exceptional position in the yachting charter market, this has seen Ondeck Yachting School, run several fashionable events for companies, they have at present teamed up with Britannia Events, the chief organisers of industry events within the United Kingdom.

The track of the race itself will differ each day as problems such as the climate state of affairs, tidal torrents & pace of each series of boat is taken into making the final decision. A familiar Skandia Cowes Regatta has over thirty-five commences a day for participates of cruiser racers, one designs & keelboats; adding up to over eight-thundered sailing boats. At some stage in this occasion the Solent which is a very busy industrial channel, is jam-packed with yachts of all categories and is principally vivid in colour as a result of the yachts spinnakers. As high lighted earlier besides of the power boating activities the week comprises of a big number of onshore activities including live festivals & cocktail parties. From private or commercial house parties & nominally private yacht associations & boats, there are big marquees setup in the harbours giving out canap©s and wine.

Einstein had a theory that human beings, are a complex network of energy fields interfaced with physical body systems. He eventually proved to scientists that energy and matter are dual expressions of the same universal substance. The universal substance is the vibration from which we are composed. If the vibrations of our physical and emotional energies are balanced we experience good health.

“Illness is a human condition which indicates that the patient is no longer in order or in harmony at the level of consciousness. The loss of inner balance manifests itself in the body as a symptom. The symptom is at one and the same time a signal and a vehicle for information, for its appearance interrupts our life’s familiar flow and forces us to give the symptom our attention” (1)

Have you ever wondered why you always get two colds every year, or why whenever you do not have time to get sick, you do. Our bodies give us what we need to look at our lives. Now sometimes that is not what we consciously think we need or want, but we get it anyway. Our belief systems and the subconscious patterns we have created mould our lives. Our needs and supply for emotional contact with people can decide the fate of our physical health and presence or lack of illnesses.
Dr John Harrison illustrated the reason people get ill it well when he said “People get ill to get what they want (caring, etcetera)” and “People do not get what they want (caring, etcetera) so they become ill.” (2)

Have you ever reflected on what was happening emotionally in your life when you “caught” an illness, or have you listened to your self-talk and how it seems to reflect your health? You may say frequently that a guy at work is a pain in the neck, and by coincidence you frequently suffer with a pain in the neck. When your emotions are manifesting as physical symptoms you have handed over control of your life.

The best way I have found of explaining this lack of control of life is with the “Triangle of health.”

The Triangle of Health

The effects of emotional and subtle stresses in life on our physical being are profound If you think of your life like a triangle and you are able to keep the three points of the triangle in a positive state you experience that wonderful sense of well being. If the three points of the triangle drift into the negative you experience physical ailments. I believe that life really is that simple. It is the energy it can take to stay in that positive state that sees most people drift off track and be very human at times.

The three points of the equilateral triangle are as follows:

Physical/Circumstance

Attitudes & Beliefs

Emotional State

Attitudes and Beliefs

This is the matter that we have ingested subconsciously over the years, creating our attitudes and our belief systems. These attitudes and beliefs hang around in the subconscious waiting to be used. For instance remember your mother telling you not to go outside in the cold weather without a singlet on, or you would catch a cold? Statements like these were projected onto us in our childhood and adult years - not just from parents, but also from many others of significance in our environment. We took in the material consciously and subconsciously and it is now stored somewhere in our memory banks.

Nowadays, we don’t pay it any conscious attention, but it is still there having an influence on how and why we do the things we do in life. The statements, manifested as a belief on some level, can come alive at any time influencing our physical and emotional health.

My clinic experience has shown me that they influence all areas of our lives. Have you ever heard yourself say something you have not thought of in years, yet remember hearing your parents say the same thing to you? Where did it come from? You do not consciously decide to do it, yet I know that as a child I heard myself saying I was not going to “be like that”, or “act that way when I grow up.” But before I knew it, I was repeating those behaviors. Then I started looking for, and noticing, these patterns. I started to catch myself out and correct these behaviors and attitudes that did not work for me. I regained control of my life.

There is a saying that goes: “What you resist, persists” and this is relevant here. The more you try to not be like your parents, for instance, the more you become like them. Our attitudes and beliefs come from our experiences, consciously and subconsciously, in life. And if we focus on not doing a particular thing, our bodies only hear to do that thing. We give away so much of our personal power trying not to do it, that it gains the upper hand and wins. So the first thing to do is to recognise the pattern and then not empower it with any unnecessary negative energy or attention. We are all human and have many learning experiences in life. The thing to do is to recognise what they are really about and then manage those life experiences. When you do you can then stay in control of your life instead of allowing it to control you.

Emotional State

The second point of the triangle is that of your present emotional state. Have you ever heard people say they caught a cold or flu, just when they did not have time for it? Or, that they always catch “two colds a year”, or “everyone at work is sick, I bet I catch it too”? It is almost as if they are subconsciously setting themselves up. I am sure they do not really want the cold, but on some level they like the attention that sick people attract. The time that most of us received that extra attention as a child was when we were sick or injured.

Our self talk can be reflecting how we emotionally feel about life and our bodies listen to it. We are more susceptible to “catching” ailments when we are running negative stress and using negative self talk. Personally, I think stress is a catchword for life, and the way we choose to react or respond to what is happening. Again, we can call the experience negative or positive. Stress is what helps keep us alive, it is just that positive stress does not have a negative impact physically and emotionally on our bodies where negative stress does. Everything in life is simply how we want to look at it, we can choose to consciously turn around any negative situation into a positive learning experience. If we refuse to listen to our bodies and keep pushing them beyond their limits something has to crack. If we do not stop and listen to our bodies, it will bestow an ailment upon us. This ailment has manifested to stop us, and make us listen. The secret is to listen to our bodies as we move through life and make corrections to any imbalances that may be happening before they turn into a physical ailment.

“The body itself has no power to generate illness; illness is merely the shadow thrown by the mind. A healthy mind will shadow forth a healthy body; an unhealthy mind will shadow forth an unhealthy body. Every new cell created in the body is either negative or a positive thought in form. In the older days, it was customary to say that cells are “built under the influence” of either negative or positive thought. In reality, the cells are the thought itself. Healthy thoughts mean healthy cells; sick thoughts mean sick cells. (2)

It is the well known story of Norman Cousins (the man who laughed himself well in 1964) that shows how simply changing your mindset and attitude or emotion towards an illness even the nastiest ailments can be reversed. His book Anatomy of an Illness is an inspiring read.

Physical

The third point is that of the physical or circumstance. This is the event or happening that collided with you. Take the not wearing a singlet on a cold day scenario. The circumstance/physical is the cold weather. You could be out playing golf and having a great time, but it may also be cold and raining. You are not dressed warmly, but you are having such an enjoyable, positive time that you do not have a chance of catching anything negative that day. On the other hand, you could be caught late after work and tired from your day at the office, when the car breaks down in cold and wet weather. You have the emotional “too hards” or the “poor me’s”, and you are running plenty of negative stress. Guaranteed, this is the time you will catch the cold.

With the triangle, consider what patterns or incidents you may be setting up for yourself without actually thinking about it. When you are struck down with an ailment, think about what is coming up or has just happened that could have caused enough stress to manifest, or exacerbate, an ailment.

My passion for aromatherapy comes from the fact that essential oils have the ability to work on all three points of the triangle of health. Because essential oils have the talent to work on both physical ailments and the emotions behind them, they can be used to rebalance a person’s life.

CASE STUDY

Carol was a woman who presented herself to my clinic suffering with what her doctor had diagnosed was psoriasis. The symptoms covered over 70 percent of her body and had been present for the past three years. The psoriasis would fluctuate between red and inflamed to dry and scaly. Carol was a 24 year old woman who seemed happy enough in herself. She was engaged and a full time psychology student at university. In the initial consultation she was just concerned with obtaining something to use topically to relieve the burning itch that occurred at night. Being a naturopath as well as an Aromatherapist, I conducted a consultation looking at the effects of her diet on the physical symptoms. What I found was that her diet was balanced 95 percent of the time. The only place I identified she could improve was with the increase of essential fatty acids. Carol chose to do this with a supplement, the supplement I selected was a balanced Omega 3:6:9 capsule to re-establish a balance of “good” essential fatty acids in her body.

I explained the Triangle of Health to Carol and discussed with her the possibility of her emotions influencing her skin condition. As it turns out, through our conversation we discovered that information she was studying was pushing buttons and mirroring her own childhood and present adult life. I decided to use the Aromatherapy Insight Cards to identify where she was emotionally at this time. I had Carol think about her skin condition and intuitively select three Insight Cards. The cards she chose were German Chamomile Matricaria chamomilla, Tea Tree Melaleuca alternofolia and Pine Pinus sylvestris.

Now, working as an Aromatherapist and looking at this woman’s skin, the combination of these three essential oils would not usually be chosen to work on the physical symptoms she was experiencing. Carol chose, Chamomile for letting go, Pine for raising self esteem and to stop rescuing others so she could start to rescue herself and the Tea Tree to understand why she was reacting the way she was and to release the struggle she was experiencing. The emotions she was experiencing were manifesting because she was holding herself back in negative past experiences which were fulfilling her belief that she was not attractive and reinforced her low self esteem. The skin ailment manifested for Carol to hide behind, when it was really bad she had the perfect excuse to skip her classes, not having to front the issues.

We set a plan to work on the skin topically and also for Carol to use those three essential oils in a vaporizer as well.

Carol applied the blend twice daily to affected areas as a regular treatment and as required for any times the irritation was exacerbated. I saw Carol weekly for an aromatherapy massage using the same blend of oils and by the third visit (two weeks later), the skin had improved where the inflammation had reduced 90% and it was not causing irritation at night. During the first week of treatment she had 3 days off university to settle herself. The remainder of the time she was attending classes and preparing for exams. After the first two weeks we used the Insight Cards to check if there were any additional oils to work with, and the result was to add Palmarosa Cymbopogon martinii. I use Palmarosa for being adaptable to changing circumstances and to release past insecurities and hurts. I added 0.25 percent to the blend and continued with the other ingredients. I used some Aromatic Kinesiology with Carol, verifying the blend of oils was suitable for her condition and she continued to have weekly massages. At the end of a six week period Carol was free of psoriasis except for a little in her scalp. Carol continued treatments at monthly intervals and it is now 12 months since I first saw Carol. Her skin is now clear and she uses essential oils for their subtle talents helping her to manage and work through emotional issues as they arise. She admits to being very human and still has buttons pushed. But now days she can recognise her body and triangle are getting out of balance, she then focuses on her essential oils and regains control of her life, not allowing it to control her.

“Those people who take great joy in the power they have over their own lives can fulfill their dreams. These people will become successful in what they want for themselves and will have little need for diseases. They may from time to time suffer acute complaints because of environmental hazards which combine with old childhood messages they have chosen to retain, but they will not put themselves at risk for major trauma or serious illnesses” (4)

The bottom line is that we are all responsible for our own health. Yes we all have experienced some pretty interesting physical ailments and learning experiences in the past. But the past is the past, like Anthony Robbins says, “nothing from your past will influence your future unless you let it.” You can decide today to work on balancing the points of your triangle to regain your personal power and restore a sense of wellness you most probably have not experienced in a long time. Don’t let an unbalanced old person move into your body.

References

(1) Dethlefsen T. & Dahlke R. - The Healing Power of Illness - P10 Element Books USA (1991)

(2) Harrison Dr J. - Love Your Disease - P37 Harper Collins Australia (1992)

(3) Bailes F.- Your Mind Can Heal You - P6 DeVorss & Co USA (1971)

(4) Harrison Dr J. - Love Your Disease - P54 Harper Collins Australia (1992)

Life Balancing expert Jennifer Jefferies is one of Australia’s best-known authors and speakers. Jennifer’s simple, practical and proven 7 Steps to Sanity can help bring balance to anyone who wants to have it all without sacrificing their health, sanity or sense of humour along the way.
Jennifer is a qualified health practitioner, who speaks to corporations throughout Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, sharing practical real-life strategies that help people to improve their health, wellbeing and productivity by finding balance in their lives.

Jennifer has also written numerous books and e-books and life balancing products. You can contact Jennifer at:

Jennifer Jefferies International Pty Ltd
Po Box 4298,
Elanora, QLD 4221 Australia
Phone: +61 7 55986035

http://www.jenniferjefferies.com