Do You Hate Marketing Yourself?

Learn to market your massage business and you will have success.

If You Don’t Market Yourself, You Will Have To Pay Others To Do It For You!

The reality is that most people never learn to market themselves and in fact many people are opposed to marketing themselves. This applies to all areas of life. If you have ever wanted someone to pay attention to you (called dating or mating) the defining principle is marketing. Marketing is completely natural. And yet, most people either aren’t very good at it or are even opposed to doing it.

I could spend time on why people have developed a dislike of marketing themselves but I’m not going to waste your time. The important part is this: If you want to succeed you must learn to market yourself. The fantasy that you will be so good at what you do that the world will beat a path to your door is just that, a fantasy. That’s not how the world works. Every successful person, including Einstein, had to market their idea.

You must embrace this simple truth: If you refuse to learn to market yourself, you are relegating your success to other people who will market what you do. Every successful business is founded on this principle. Massage Envy, Elements, Supercuts and others know that the people that work for them are incapable of marketing themselves. As a result, when you work for a successful marketing company you end up paying them. You will only be paid a percentage of what people are paying for your skill. The rest goes to the person who is doing the marketing.

How Much Are You Worth?

At a certain point you have to ask yourself, how much are you worth? If you believe you aren’t valuable, then why will other people believe you are?

The difference is marketing! Marketing is simply the way that you tell the world that you are valuable. It’s the way you educate the world in the value of what you know or do. It’s the ability to clearly articulate and deliver a message to people that let’s them know how they can benefit from what you know or do. That’s all it is.

It’s not easy. Marketing is changing all the time. But I can guarantee this: For anyone who understands that their success depends on mastering marketing skills, the future will open to you in a way that you can’t imagine.

I want to stress that I’m not a marketing guru and that this is something that I have had to learn through trial and error. It has been a long hard road and I constantly am being challenged to get better. It never lets up. And I have learned that it doesn’t matter how good something is, if you don’t market it, no one will know. There is no option B. You either do it or you have to work for someone who will do it for you.

So the first and most important step is to fully realize that to succeed, you must understand that you are in the business of marketing. That has to be your primary focus, every day!

Clarity Drives Prosperity

Being clear about what matters to you is very important to manifesting prosperity.

I was lucky to become aware of some simple basic values that have served me well over the years.

• Age 6: There is something called spirit that is important to understand.
• Age 14: If you take care of consciousness (awareness), everything else will take care of itself.
• Age 18: Always be a positive influence in the world.
• Age 21: You may die at any second. The way to make sure that your last act has integrity is to make sure that everything you do has integrity. (Therefore you must be very present at all times and focused on positive actions/thoughts. There are no do overs.)
• Age 25: Be involved with the most advanced and interesting technology that improves the world and people’s lives.
• Age 33: Learn everything you can about love. (This was an important realization as it prepared me for what followed several days later when I met Nancy Risley.)
• Age 36: Everything is energy. What you focus on you get more of so Gratitude is the most important focus to cultivate.
• Age 45: Being mission driven can be really good and it can also be consuming. Finding the balance is what’s important.
• Age 50: Live fully and well. (Take good care of your body, mind and spirit because the healthier you are the more you can experience.)

You are always at an important stage of your life. A lot is happening and it’s hard to know what is real and what is shadow. For example, right before and shortly after I had the epiphany at age 33 a person kept showing up at very significant times in my life. It was random but it was always at a pivotal relationship commitment moment. We had a very deep connection at a workshop I attended and it was very aspicious the way our orbits intersected at various important times. I was very perplexed by the synchronicity and wondered about the significance.

The question of why this person was appearing in my life at the same time I was falling in love with Nancy created a lot of questions. However, I kept affirming my values and trusted that the right thing would happen. The more I focused on the answer (epiphany) to what my life was about, and the less I focused on the question of why this person kept showing up, the path forward was clear. The relationship with Nancy quickly bloomed into a life altering experience that continues to transform both of today.

Prosperity is a Constant Opportunity

No matter what happens, there will be many decision points in your life where you don’t feel clear. Your life and choices are difficult because of your inherited legacy and the legacy you are creating for your future. It adds a lot to the weight of your process and future choices. Which is why it’s critical that you gain as much clarity about your values as possible. It is your best tool for making good life decisions that will support you.

So what are the values that rule your life? Do you know? Do you have clarity? Have you written them down? Do you meditate on it and study your life to see if your life is convergent with your values?

Clarity on your values ensures that at the end of your life you will be full and complete.

Kris Stecker
Spa Tech Institute

p.s. The job of your heart is to stay focused on your spiritual journey. The job of your head is to handle the logistics of getting everything you can to support you.

Why is Prosperity Lacking in Groups?

There is a hidden undertow in every business that undermines prosperity. It’s a phenomenon that creeps into all groups unless very careful attention is paid to how the group is managed. It’s known as Social Loafing. This is the natural tendency for most people to not exert themselves as hard in situations where they are working in a group. The exertion goes down as there are more people involved in the task.

Prosperity and Effort in Groups

The theory is that people don’t try as hard when they feel like their efforts are reduced by other people in the group who dilute their efforts. But it also points at a more important aspect of human nature that makes perfect sense. We are wired or encoded to always attempt to reduce the energy or resources we expend. Of course, if we were always trying to exert as much energy as possible, we wouldn’t have reserves. It’s always going to be the ones that learn to exert the smallest amount of energy that have more energy left to reproduce and proliferate.

The implications for business, government and societies are profound. It means that unless there are steps taken to counteract this phenomenon, any group will develop an increasing number of parasites that exert as little as possible until the group fails. I’m afraid we are seeing this take place on a global level in Europe, the United States and other developed countries.

Prosperous Solutions?

Interestingly, the solution for this problem is to create competition that reaches down to the individual level. The more that each individual is held individually accountable for their performance or individual contribution, the more motivated they become and the more they produce. This is not just a theory. It is science.

So whether you run a business, a team or a family, it’s imperative that you understand the phenomenon and the solution to prevent it. Go to the prior links and read about this and think about how this applies to you or your business. It’s also an interesting thing to think about in relation to your choices for the country as it moves forward on it’s journey. Are the laws, benefits and structure making us more accountable or making it easier for people to live off the system without being accountable.

So as you seek more prosperity, learn to manage the Social Loafing tendency and create more of what you want.

Sincerely.

Kris Stecker, President
Spa Tech Institute Schools of Polarity Therapy, Massage Therapy, Cosmetology and Aesthetics.

In the words of Loral Langemeier:

If you believe that either of the presidential candidates is going to substantially change your financial future I’m here to tell you that they won’t.

Unless you are very rich or very poor it doesn’t make much of a financial difference who wins because the middle class will pay either way.

But the good news is that YOU are the one that can control the financial security for you and your family. YOU have to take control and stop waiting for the economy to turn around before you start your life again.

If you don’t know who Loral is, it’s worth finding out. She has a no nonsense way of reaching the truth about creating prosperity. It’s partly esoteric but it’s mostly practical. Of course, in reality, they are really the same when you get right down to it.

But the point she makes is so important. For most of us, creating our future isn’t dependent on politics. It may be affected by taxes and policies but mostly only at the margins. If you are making a limited income with few options,the policies may make a large impact as a percentage of your income. But if you break out of the income and asset level that you are at, the policies will have a smaller impact on your finances.

That’s what this is all about. It’s about changing the way you think and live your life. Are you stepping over dollars to pick up dimes? How would a change in your thinking affect your future income? How would changing your understanding and getting new skills propel you into another whole level of living. Let me give you a for instance.

If you are working in retail, food and beverage or a large company, all that you can do is slowly move to higher levels of income while living under the uncertainty of not having control over decisions the company makes about pay, benefits or job security. However, if you were to enter into a profession where you could actually have your own business, it gives you the opportunity to grow to multiples of income rather than just your salary. If you have your own business, you can conceivably grow it to have multiple locations with multiple employees. That will have a substantial impact on your income.

Of course, not everyone has the drive or desire to have their own business or to grow it into something that’s bigger than their individual practice. Some people prefer to concentrate on becoming an expert at what they do and charging super high end prices. That works as well although your income is always tied to work that you do directly. Still a very good choice if you enjoy doing the work.

But the most important part is this. Waiting for an election or some other external event is only delaying getting started on the path to your prosperity. Every day that you put it off is another day of not moving closer to your goals. And the reality is that the longer you wait, the harder it is to get started and the less time (and energy) you will have to fulfill your dreams.

So it’s up to you. Get started as soon as possible and see how much better life is when you are proactive instead of reactive to the political and economic environment.

Kris Stecker, President
Spa Tech Institute, Schools of Massage, Aesthetics, Polarity and Cosmetology

Maine and Massachusetts.

http://spatech.edu

Watch this video. See how it changes your brain and awareness!!!!

This video as well as every awesome experience you have changes your brain and energy field. Music, visuals, emotions and experiences that are awesome change you FOREVER! It’s through awesome experiences that your entire being aligns with a much larger and more expansive reality. This is at the heart of prosperity.

Watch the video multiple times. Let it sink in. Let it change you. Let it expand you. And then look at the world through new eyes and ask to be shown Awesome in your life.

When you open to awesomeness you will find yourself on the verge of tears and laughter all the time. The more you perceive awesome the more you open and let in awesome and the more awesome you become.

The first step in having an awesome, prosperous life is to let awesome in to your life. Seek it out and consume it with your senses as deeply as possible. For example:

• When there is a beautiful sunrise or sunset, stop and take it in, deeply and completely. Don’t just take a picture. Watch it as it changes and transforms and goes through subtle and constant change. Look for the “green flash” and feel it inside of you. Perceive that the sun is not rising or setting but that we are on the surface of a revolving sphere. Can you feel the revolution as you watch the sun appear to move?
• When there are big waves, grab a Boogie Board and go out into them. Experience the strength of the water, the power of the swell, the force of the water. Feel how far this power and force has traveled and connect with the source of the energy.
• Watch as a child takes in something awesome or creates something awesome in a song, play, or story. Ride the wave of imagination and absorb the power of the moment that this small creature, who didn’t exist once is now a creative being that is tapping into something that is timeless and eternal. Then watch them when they are sleeping. Watch them very closely and marvel at the awesomeness of them breathing, growing and changing right before your eyes.
• Stand on a summit or the edge of the Grand Canyon and absorb the scale, sounds, feelings around you. It’s even better if you hike it as well. Make the goal to absorb as much awesome energy as possible, not to get done as soon as possible.

Recommendations for changes that will help you connect with more awesomeness are:

• Remove mindless media. Reality TV, celebrity train wrecks, fear, loathing, anger, drama and violence are all the antithesis of awesome. The more you eliminate it from your diet the more awesomeness you will absorb.
• Drugs that lower your vibration and awareness are robbing you of awesome experiences. Junk food, alcohol and any number of other drugs are all powerful anti-awesome, anti-awareness substances.
• Exercise more. It opens your senses and if you do it in nature, puts you in awesome settings. Even a small stream of water, flowers, animals and smells contain awesomeness.
• Get out of the house and away from your screens. Life in front of computers, smart phones and tablets can be source of information but true awesome usually comes from being out in the world.

The really important thing to remember is this: When you consciously align yourself with awesome experiences and influences, it will jump start your prosperity perception. It all hinges on perception. You can only absorb what you can perceive.

Make it a priority. Every moment counts. Break out of the mundane and become addicted to awesome. Become a maven of awesome and wake up everyone around you. Make it your mission to both absorb and share as much awesome as possible.

Do it all the time and you will see your life change in powerful ways.

Kris

Recently one of our students who is dedicated to being an incredible healer was looking to find ways to pay for a course she wanted but felt that she lacked the resources. As part of it she was looking for “odd jobs” that she might be able to do to help raise the money. My response was: You are too valuable to be doing odd jobs.

Manifesting resources to do what you want is an amazing process. Often the opportunities to realize your value are all around you but your perception of what you can do prevents you from perceiving the opportunities. This is something I have first hand experience with. It amazes me how easy it is to slip into looking for ways to cut expense by doing things myself instead of generating wealth through finding and using opportunities. Change your perception of your value and it forces you to see the world in a new way. In fact, when Nancy created RYSE, this is the truth that emerged out of the process.

RYSE 1-4 is all about manifestation. If you want to change your perception, it has to start with the energy system. Until you clear your energy patterns to the point where you can be more fully connected with your source, the harder it is to perceive the opportunities that are all around you. Once you connect with your source on a more profound level, the more you can see how to channel that energy into creating more of what you want.

My recommendation is to do a 30 day challenge. This is a test of your commitment. Can you actually stick to something for 30 days? If you miss a day, you have to start over. Just doing this will change your life. Most people cannot do it. See how many days you can go doing a simple commitment to your future. Notice when you break that commitment and why. Study your pattern and try again. Once you can make it through all 30 days, celebrate, and set a new short-term commitment goal.

Start with a notebook labeled: Thirty Day Challenge. This is going to be your journal where you track your progress and record your thoughts. They should be thoughts about your challenges with sticking with the commitment as well as things you see that are low or high value. It also can include strategies for doing more high value activity and finding ways to eliminate or delegate the low value activities.

For the first 30 day challenge, listen to at least 1 RYSE CD daily and do the exercises. That’s all. If you want to kick it up a notch, read at least one of these blog posts a day that has to do with prosperity. This will give you additional information to meditate on. But make the 30 day challenge focus at least on the RYSE CD daily. Sounds easy? Tell me about it when you finish.

From my perspective, doing the 30 day challenge with the RYSE CDs will be much more important for your future than doing “odd jobs” to make some extra money. Here’s why.

You are an amazing person who has valuable skills. My sense is that you do not perceive yourself as being powerful and having the ability to manifest on a grand scale. What I see is a person who has been taught to not see how incredible you really are. If I could extract my impression of you and inject it into your awareness so it would push your current perception out, your life would be radically transformed.

You need to feed your brain and consciousness with your awesomeness. When you do, and when you use the RYSE CDs daily and meditate on the prosperity blog material, you are going to start to see opportunities that are all around you. You are only seeing trees. It’s time to see the forest and the mountains and the oceans and sky. The way that happens is by immersing yourself in a new way of looking at the world.

When you do this you will begin to perceive your highest value activities. For instance, for some people they may be doing something like scrubbing a floor to save on having someone else do it. Or doing their own bookkeeping rather than paying a professional to do it, again, to save money. But during the time that these low value tasks are being performed, you could be spending that time marketing your skills or doing sessions that would produce far more income during that time than the expense of paying another person to do something you don’t need to do.

When your perception changes you will find yourself discovering a lot of “low value” activities that can be done by other people. It all starts within you. First you have to see your value and then focus on how to use that value to the fullest. This is not only financially beneficial, it’s also spiritually beneficial. Our spirit thrives when we are contributing our highest and best qualities to the world. Our spirit is diminished by doing things that come from a place of lack or limitation.

I look forward to hearing about your success with the 30 day challenge and seeing you manifest more of what you want.

Thank you for being.

Kris

The following headline is pretty daunting.

Global economy in worst shape since 2009

So how is this good news? We have been dealing with unemployment of over 8% for more than 41 months. The Federal Reserve is keeping the stock market afloat by dumping money into it (thereby creating yet another bubble) and with a global economy there is no where to hide. And therein lies the good news.

For the past 300 years we have been moving towards a global economy. The pace has accelerated with each new transportation and communications breakthrough. The last 30 years have seen a rapid increase in all areas with outsourcing and more countries and people entering the global economy. Look at the wealth in China, India and many other countries in the past 10 years. It’s astounding.

What’s happening now and how it is a good thing?

First, as production shifted to countries with lower costs, the countries who lost the production had to adjust. It appears this was done by inflating currency to make it appear that we were still at a high standard of living. It also involved borrowing money from the people who we were giving our money to.

Second, it integrated production in such a way that most countries are economically dependent on the success of the other countries they do business with. When countries were isolated from each other, conquering a country was a viable way to increase your wealth. As the number of isolated countries/economies decreases, the ability to gain wealth comes from increased cooperation instead of from vanquishing your neighbors. Shared interests creates security.

What does this mean for your prosperity?

It means that we are reaching a place of equilibrium. The biggest shift in the economic distribution has happened in the past 10 years. It means that the rest of the world is starting to catch up to us with their production, consumption and regulations. This will make it less profitable to do business in other countries in the foreseeable future. There will be less outsourcing and more retained value in the future.

It also means that the value of money will begin to normalize which will lead to less volatility. This one still has a few years or even decades to go and there will be pain associated with that in this country. We will continue to see our prices increase as the value of our money decreases and many people will have to pull back on their lifestyle.

But the good part is this: We are getting closer to the end of the disruptive cycle and entering into a new phase of the harmonious cycle where we can focus on a more reliable future. Of course, weather, natural disasters and the possibility of a rogue nation destroying human progress is always close at hand. And there will be many events that seem discouraging. But in the big picture, the global economy is maturing and with maturity comes stability.

But what does this have to do with your prosperity?

Thank you for your patience. There are so many ways this is good for you.

This is particularly appropriate for Independence Day.

For those of you who don’t know me, I decided to retire from work that was meaningless back in 1983 at the age of 28. I had already had a lot of great experiences and had done a lot of what I wanted, including working in the race car industry, the bicycle industry and several other things that were a lot of fun. I spent a summer hitchhiking around the country and spent a lot of time in the outdoors, doing music and doing sports. Then I spent a year working for Travelers Insurance and it was a major compromise of who I was. That’s when I decided to retire and ever since I have been having more fun and accomplished more than I would have any other way.

The new retirement can be a powerfully enriching time that goes far beyond what our parents experienced. But first, let’s look at what the old retirement really was. It’s a rather somber thing to consider but stick with it (or skip over it) and we will get to the new retirement.

Retirement used to mean leaving a profession or business that you had been in for most of your life followed by years of playing golf, vacationing and stretching your pension until you die. But for the majority of people that was never true. It was a fantasy that was sold to people to get them to continue to do work they hated or that was toxic to them. “Just hang in there until you retire and it will all be worth it.”

Meanwhile, they got high blood pressure, heart conditions, diabetes, depression or other conditions that made the “golden years” a series of giving their money to doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. This was a high price to pay at the same time that many people are seeing their pensions devoured by inflation and business bankruptcies. Now they find themselves competing for jobs as Walmart Greeters or other menial jobs just to make ends me.

Enough of this. Let’s get to the good stuff. The New Retirement.

The new retirement is filled with creative and interesting opportunities. It can be the most significant part of your life with more meaning and a larger contribution to your well-being and the well-being of the community than anything you have ever done before. At the heart of it is a sense of mission that drives you forward and makes everyday interesting and exciting. And because you are doing what you love, it doesn’t feel like work. It feels positive and creative.

The beauty of the new retirement is that it makes you healthier and stronger. It is typically more balanced and doing what you love is a powerful message to your immune system to take good care of you. When you are fulfilled by what you do you will find that you automatically follow healthier patterns with eating, exercise and rest. Happiness and higher energy are natural offshoots of this process.

First, decide what you want to retire from. Most people want to retire from commuting, stress, loss of control and many of the other things that are associated with the work environment.

Second, decide what you don’t want to retire from. Some suggestions are your creativity, having fun, making a contribution and being with people you enjoy.

Third, don’t wait to retire. Do it now or as soon as you can. Life is very short. Everyday is precious. Don’t wait to create what you want. Do it now. You can. It’s possible and doable. You just have to know what you want and then make a plan so it happens.

Start by imagining what your perfect life is like. Think about what you enjoy doing. Start by doing a treasure map to get more clarity. Don’t judge whether you can or can’t have it. Instead of being a master of limitation be a master of imagination. Remember that every great idea and success story didn’t exist until someone created it and the first place they had to create it was in their imagination. So start imagining what you want right now. It’s free, there’s no tax and no one can take it away from you.

As you perfect your imagination of your perfect life, you will begin to see how you can create it. It’s a phenomenon of thought that the more you focus your attention on something, the more you will notice things that are associated with your focus. It’s so simple that most people miss it.

As you begin to perceive things differently, the reality of creating what you want will come into focus. This is where it get’s really interesting. As you begin to realize that you have options, you will also start to notice the inner voices that will block you from moving forward. These are the negative tyrants that were implanted in your mind while you were growing up. This is what has been holding you back from doing what you love and fulfilling your potential.

There are ways to vanquish these petty tyrants that have held you back. It starts with you deciding to get rid of them (and any of the people who reinforce them) from your life. This is your next test. Do you really want to prosper and retire from the things you dislike or are going to be complacent and allow your life to suffer. It takes courage to separate from familiar things, even when they are things that are holding you back from what you want.

Throughout this process, having a support group or Mastermind group to help you stay focused is ideal. Working together to define your goals and stay focused can be very beneficial. Think of it as creating a personal board of directors. It’s a powerful committee that can change your life.

But it starts with you deciding that you want to do what you love instead of what someone has told you is what you must do. It starts with you deciding that you are going to start living your life now instead of waiting for a day that may never come. And it starts when you understand that you will be much more successful once you retire than you will ever be compromising your integrity, creativity and life force to fit into a role that is inappropriate for who you are.

I look forward to assisting you as you declare your independence from slavery and create the life you were meant to have.

Kris

One of our graduates was talking about how he has struggled to gain success that is equal to his skills. This wasn’t just in his new profession but also in a secondary profession that he has been dedicated to for his whole life. The question behind the comment was, why do some people make it and others struggle for a long time without success.

From my experience it comes down to a very simple thing: Having a plan and actually working the plan.

There are a lot of talented people that generally know what they want or have a desire for success, but they never seem to attain it. They may be perpetual students, always feeling like they need to learn more before they are ready. Or they may spend a lot of time thinking about what they want or even fantasizing about it, but just can’t move beyond this phase.

Some of what holds people back is the fear to commit to doing something. But the biggest thing seems to be a lack of a plan or the discipline to use it. In the hilarious movie, “What About Bob” the character has to focus on baby steps to overcome his fears and accomplish his goals. The lesson is that to succeed you need a plan but you also need to become a master of Baby Steps.

Focus on the next step. Don’t think about the whole plan and outcome. It can be overwhelming. Figure out what the very next step is and do it. It could be as simple as getting a notebook to record your plan. Is your plan written already? Then look at your plan and see what the very next step is.

Often people are not clear on the next step so they get stuck. This is where becoming a master of baby steps is crucial. Let’s break down and example.

• Your plan may call for getting financial backing to open an office but you have been stuck at that step without progress for some time. Why? Because that isn’t the next step.
• Your next step may be to decide what type of backing you need. But if you break that down you find that you actually need to learn more about need to learn more about what the different financing options may be. You may have been thinking about loans but don’t have a banking relationship where you can get a business loan. But you don’t know how to set up that type of relationship and a bank loan may not be the best route but you don’t know what else you can do.
• So the next step now becomes talking to people who can give you guidance. But who? Possible options might be found at the Small Business Administration, a local Chamber of Commerce or Business Networking Group, or from other successful people who you know or don’t know who are in the industry.
• So the next step is to make a list of who may be able to help you to come up with a plan to finance your business. (Of course you should  have a written business plan before you ask for their time and ideas.)
• And then the next step is to get the phone number, make the call and set up 2 or 3 meetings.

This is the process you must master. One step at a time. Everything that is has been accomplished one step at a time. Larger projects may have multiple simultaneous paths but each path is one step at a time. Some paths may be dead ends and others may have obstacles, but every path must be taken one step at a time. There are no shortcuts if you want a solid outcome. However there are a lot of detours if you don’t have a plan to start with.

Which brings up a very important point about baby steps and plans. Often the next step is to modify something in the plan. Plans are developed from the point in the journey where you are. You can’t always know all the opportunities or obstacles that may be around the corner. You will find them as you progress down the path, one step at a time.

When you see a new opportunity or encounter and obstacle, it’s very important to take the time to modify your plan. This is where using the S.W.O.T techniques is a powerful next step that should be built into your plan at important benchmarks along the way.

The final part of the process is personal accountability to act. Your progress is totally up to you. You have to take another step in your plan daily. The more steps you take the faster you will get to your success. Get rid of your TV. Get rid of all distractions. Any time you are not taking a step forward, figure out why. If two days go by without taking steps, you are in the danger zone. Your next step is to figure out why and to take the next step in your plan within 24 hours.

You have to be relentless about taking at least one step a day. Think of that. At the end of a year of taking one step a day, you will be 365 steps into your plan. Would that change your life? Would that make you plan happen?

I look forward to watching your success and hearing about your accomplishments. Your questions an perspective are always appreciated. Thank you for sharing them as comments on this post.

In Prosperity,

Kris

One of our colleagues was saying how the anti-business climate along with the challenges of running a business was harder than she anticipated and often had regrets about having her own business. She has been in the field for 8 years so this is an important time.

As far as the anti-business climate, I understand the challenge as we are up against it with all the government regulation of schools. The state and federal governments are very anti-business. They seem to forget that tax revenue comes from successful businesses that create jobs. Their focus is on two things: How to regulate everything and how to collect money from anyone who has it. That being said, the more important issue is this: How can you make your business succeed?

Nancy and I have been through huge financial challenges with the school in the past. A lot of people would have thrown in the towel but our mission to bring this work into the world kept us focused and strong. Recently we reached a place where things are more solid but we are still making less personally than we did as practitioners who were offering a weekend workshop in Polarity. We also have less personal time. However, both of these are conditions that we have chosen as we continue to reinvest everything back into teaching people to have successful careers that they love.

One thing that we have learned over the past 30 years is how much our business followed a similar sequence of changes that children go through. For instance, in the beginning, it is an infant that demands constant attention to do anything. As it gets to 2 or 3 years old it starts to be able to communicate more and gets stronger but is also more accident prone. Around 7 years it starts to have a life of its own and then come the teenage years. Oh boy those can be challenging times as it attempts to go it’s own direction without you. Then it becomes progressively more independent of you as it moves into it’s 20′s and 30′s. At this point it reaches a more stable and mature process. I would guess the next challenge comes when it reaches mid-life crisis but we have a few years to find out about that.

Franchises or businesses that have very accelerated business plans will have a different trajectory but the sequence of stages still remain relatively the same.

Why is this important? Two reasons: It’s important to understand that whatever phase you’re in, it will pass and just like a child, you have to stick with it. It’s important to never give up. Do not let your business die just because it’s going through a difficult stage. And also don’t lose your focus when it becomes more independent. Just like a teenager, you have to watch it very closely to make sure it’s making good decisions.

Remember, you are doing something amazing that a very small percentage of people know how to do. You’re not only creating something that’s good for the community you are also creating something that is good for you. But the question is, what do you do during the difficult times. How do you get through?

The challenge is that the problems in the business are often your primary focus. As you focus on the problems it can keep you from seeing the opportunities. To break out of it you have to face a very important fact. There are massage, salon and spa businesses that do make money and succeed. If some can succeed then that means it’s possible for your business to succeed.

This is a powerful and important lesson. It’s important to draw the correct conclusion: Not that you have failed but that you are still learning how to make it work. The challenge is to stay with it until you figure it out. Tenacity is the key to success. You have to keep educating yourself in business, marketing and communications and eventually things will happen the way you want. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.

This blog is full of ideas to help you succeed but it is only a small portion of what you need. I also recommend studying successful companies (including outside the industry like Disney, Olive Garden, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and others) to see what they are doing. You may not do it the same but there are lessons to be learned everywhere you go. When we would go to Disney with our daughter we were like sponges taking in everything we could. When we would get a call to go to a time share presentation we would go just for the value of seeing what they did right and what they did wrong. We went to the Inc Magazine conference and were surrounded by 1000 business people whose stories were all pretty much the same, no matter the size of their company.

Make sure you join your Chamber of Commerce and go to meetings so you get to be around other business owners. Join a business networking group (again to be around other business owners and professionals) and take some vacations to be around people who have succeeded. Make a personal board of directors that meets 2 or 4 times a year to ask you about your business and keep you focused. Work with a professional organizer to reduce the friction in your business and make it more efficient.

One of the most difficult and important things to do is to stay focused on what you want to create. It’s easy to focus on the work and the difficulties, particularly the bills, because they demand attention. It’s much harder to stay focused on the good you are bringing to your community, the jobs and opportunities you are creating and the fact that you have the freedom to have a business. This is an opportunity that many people do not have.

As my friend from India used to say, when he worked for another one of my friends who would complain about the problems in his business, “I will gratefully take your business and problems and opportunities.” He now has several of his own businesses. Some work out and others don’t. But he never gives up and he never complains. One day he is going to be very successful.

So remember, you are doing something amazing that most people don’t understand and never will. And when you figure out how to make it work for you as well as everyone else, people will tell you, “You sure were lucky.” Just smile and stay focused on your good fortune. It’s a gift.

Well-being and prosperity are one in the same. The flow of energy that creates well-being comes from a prosperous focus. Please check out the additional topics to help you succeed.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Kris Stecker

Spa Tech Institute