Your Prosperity Future

When times are tough, it’s more important than ever to use every tool you have to succeed. This has never been truer than now. Even though an economic meltdown has been averted, the hardest is yet to come.

We are in a global economy and the rest of the world is hungry to eat your lunch. This is the stark reality. The prosperity of the past two decades has been an illusion driven by a credit bubble. That’s over and now the gloobal playing field is more level. Therefore we are all faced with a new set of challenges in manifesting what we desire.  You have to bring your “A” game to be prosperous in this environment.

The challenges are many:

• With the exception of student federal aid, new government rules are making it harder to borrow money
• New jobs will not be created until businesses can borrow money
• Through taxes we will have to pay back the money the government borrowed: This will take a long time and reduce your personal income
• An increasing population will continue to increase demand for everything, making everything more expensive
• An expanding population increases the risk of disease and shortages in health-care
• The health-care system will become increasingly strained and therefore more expensive
• Every one’s stress will continue to rise making us more vulnerable to disease
• There is no easy way out

As an optimist, I hate to bring this news. However, that’s the reality we’re facing. But here’s another reality. There are people who are going to be thriving. They are the ones with the clarity to see the opportunities that are created by the chaos. But why will they thrive while most people will flounder?

Clarity, focus and health will be their advantage. These are all things that you have a high degree of control over if you choose them.

This is so simple it seems silly to repeat it, but I know without a doubt that only a few people are smart enough to do what I’m about to recommend. You see, the solution is simple but people have too many internal barriers to giving themselves what they really want. So instead they continue to justify their suffering by blaming external conditions instead of admitting that they aren’t really committed to success.

So here is all you have to do: Find a good Polarity Therapist and get at least 2 sessions a month for the next year. That’s all. Can’t afford it? I find that is rarely true. People will spend $50 to $100 a week getting coffee, going out to dinner, getting drinks and many other things that may be fun and relaxing, but moves them no closer to prosperity. They will spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a trip that gives them temporary relief and long term bills but they won’t invest in their health and prosperity. So again, it comes down to your choice.

Let me explain why Polarity Therapy will make you successful  and maybe that will give you sufficient resolve to get regular sessions.

First, clarity: Polarity sessions clear the energetic obstalces to listening to your intuition and information from your body. This is cumulative so the more sessions you get, the clearer the signals and messages become. This is a huge advantage over people who are walking in a haze and not noticing what is going on around them.

Second, focus: As your fears and other blockages are removed, your concentration is greatly improved and you are less distracted by the noise of your emotions and body. Your improved focus allows you to act on the information you receive from your improved clarity.

Third, health: You must have good health to have the energy to maintain your focus and accomplish your dreams. Some people are strong enough to overcome health issues and still succeed. But they do this by doing the most with what they have. Everyone needs to do the same. In this coming year with H1N1 and other diseases, it’s more important to do everything you can to stay healthy. Polarity Therapy is the best I know for doing this. Again, it starts with having the clarity to hear the signals from your body about what you need to stay healthy. A clear individual is more likely to eat right, get proper rest and exercise more.

By getting regular sessions your intuition and creativity will start working at a higher level and you will have the focus and health to put this information into action. You will also be better at avoiding problems and your success will multiply. It’s at the core of all success.

So it’s up to you. If you say you want to succeed it’s time to make the commitment. Don’t put it off. Contact Spa Tech Institute to help you find a great therapist.

There are no excuses. Only missed opportunities.

Wishing you a healthy and prosperous life,
Kris

p.s. If you would like to know more about how energy actually improves your ability to manifest on other levels, please submit your comments and I will be happy to share what I know.

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We have been hearing that people are doing well and this article in the NY Times confirms some interesting findings from spa industry leaders that supports what we have been hearing from our graduates.

The bottom line is that the current levels of stress are sending people to spas and clinics for stress reduction and well being instead of just pampering. Whereas the benefits of the pampering were appreciated during good times, the realization that coping with stress was essential, is changing the way the industry markets to clients. It also holds powerful ramifications for the future.

With the view that massage and spa treatments are a necessity instead of a luxury, the long term prospects for the industry take on new proportions. What has happened is a change in behavior on a fundamental level. Once behavior is changed, it is an enduring change. It also creates an even more loyal clientele who will be likely to refer others in the future.

Because of the length and depth of the recession and the amount of money that has been pumped into the system, when the economy starts to increase again, it could be dramatic. I expect the pace will pick up even more and the stress levels will continue to increase dramatically. As people try to make up for lost time the pressure to succeed will be even greater and people will need even better support systems. And that is going to increase the demand for massage, polarity and spa professionals.

Remembering that it is still a relatively low percentage of the population that realizes the value of this work is very exciting. It means there is still tremendous upside to the growth of the industry. And to see how well the industry has held up during economic stress is really exciting. It had never really been tested as severely as during this economy. But the word we still are hearing from many of our graduates (particularly those who have their own businesses) is that they are busier than ever.

Again, this does not mean that there are not practitioners or companies that are not having problems. Recessions always expose the weak and reward the strong. When some companies are thriving in a down economy it highlights that it is not the industry that has a problem, it’s the company or person who is struggling who needs to go to the next level.

This is why the school offers this blog as well as many CEU classes, the Merit Scholarship, RYSE and a 20% tuition credit for all of our graduates so they can continue to improve their skills in all areas. We know that continuing to learn and grow is essential to retaining and attracting new clients. Self-care is also incredibly important since being healthy, positive and uplifting is essential to giving your clients the best possible experience.

For people who have been thinking about becoming a massage or polarity therapist, aesthetician or cosmetologist, the future remains bright. The people who have been successfully doing this for 3 or more years are going to see their business expand dramatically in the coming years. They are going to need help. And the government has increased Federal Financial Aid because it knows that people need education to get better jobs. The really great thing about these industries is that they can never be replaced by the Internet or outsourcing.

So keep up the great work, continue to increase your skills and you will continue to prosper and help others to do the same.

Sincerely,
Kris

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Optimism is a powerful choice that is at the root of your prosperity. The reason is simple: optimistic people are healthier so they can act on opportunities. This was supported in a recent study that found optimistic people were significantly healthier and happier than those who were not optimistic.  

But the most important part to remember is that it is a choice.  I know from personal experience that this is true. When I was younger it was very fashionable to be pessimistic to the point of being cynical. The reasons for this are complex and important to understand. The facts are that until I learned to change my view to optimism, I was more frequently sick and unable to see or act on opportunities that could have changed my life.  

Understanding why people choose to stay stuck in pessimistic attitudes is a good starting place. As with all behavior there must be a perceived benefit or people would not choose it. Probably the most fundamental benefit is that it allows people to avoid responsibility for their reality or their failure. Or at least that’s the underlying belief. After all, if the world is fundamentally against you, then it’s not your fault that your life is difficult. It can be blamed on a wide range of external forces that you have no control over. 

This strategy works provided the people around you don’t understand the mechanics of manifestation. For those who have moved towards self-actualization it is clear that you create your reality by the choices you make. When people around you don’t give you a waiver for the difficulties in your life, you can’t get handouts and welfare. When the people in your life push you to be responsible for your life, you are forced to take action to change your life and succeed. 

For many young people a pessimistic attitude has served them well, getting teachers and parents to give them what they want. The reinforcement of this pattern results in pessimism being a default setting in people’s lives. This is seen in cultures that have relied on welfare for multiple generations.

So how do you break out of the pattern? 

1. You have to want to break out of it. This usually only happens when a pessimistic attitude stops providing the benefits that someone once got from this behavior. It often happens when people lose their safety net and have to create their future.
2. Some people come to it by studying successful people who are masters of manifestation. (“Think and Grow Rich” is a great book for stimulating this awareness.)
3. Others are brought up by parents and educators who teach this information from an early age. These are the lucky few.

After you have the realization that you are the creator of your reality, the next step is to maintain a positive outlook. Here are some pointers to help you stay optimistic.

1. Surround yourself with optimistic people. It’s very difficult to be optimistic around pessimistic people. They will actively attempt to make you pessimistic. Why: Because they know that you are going to change and improve and it will demonstrate their lack of ability to succeed.
2. Surround yourself with optimistic media. So much of the media is biased towards generating fear. I lived without a TV, radio or other mass media like magazines for about 10 years. During that time my optimism increased and I was successful at changing my perspective. I also became keenly aware of the use of fear in all media, particularly advertising. Just look at a series of ads and ask the question, how are they using fear? The message almost always shows that you will fail (to be attractive, smart, wealthy or healthy) unless you use the product.
3. Surround yourself with positive images and sounds. Pay attention to the pictures or view that you see and the music that you listen to. Is it uplifting, healthy and focused on success or is it about loss, harship and pain?
4. Actively write about your vision for a perfect future and break it down into next steps that will move you closer to what you want to achieve. Next steps are the most powerful way of staying positive because it keeps you focused on what you can control.
5. Know that just because you are optimistic does not mean that there will not be challenges or obstacles. While hiking in the mountains I realized that the people who get to the summit in the best shape are the ones who enjoy the challenge of exertion, not the ones who only have the goal of getting to the top.  They actually thrive on the challenge or stress of fighting gravity to make it up the mountain. Every step is a victory. Because each step is a victory they are propelled to the summit by thousands of victories.

By understanding and following these concepts, you can have more of what you want in your life. You will be healthier which will give you the energy to act on the opportunities that others don’t see. As with all things that are powerful, it’s really simple.

I look forward to seeing you succeed on many levels. 

Kris Stecker, President
Spa Tech Institute

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In the words of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, “Don’t Panic.” (If you have not read it yet, you owe it to yourself. It’s a good primer for living.)

Wall street and the global stock markets can be misleading. They measure speculation of supply and demand. The economy is not the stock markets. So when you hear a lot of doom and gloom about the markets, remember: Real value is what you do with your life.

Of course, there are a lot of people who are seeing their life’s monetary savings shrink. This is very frightening if you measure your value or your ability to survive by money. What’s the alternative?

How about measuring your value and ability to survive by:

• The number of people you love and take care of
• Your health and energy
• Your critical thinking skills and knowledge
• The number of ideas you come up with
• Your creativity
• Your resilience and ability to connect with spirit

These are the true measure of who you are and your ability to survive. Yes, having a lot of money may make it easier to do the things you want and act the way you want. But actually, therein lies the problem.

Have you ever noticed that most of the most balanced, aligned and wonderful people either do not have a lot of material wealth or it does not have much of an affect on them if they do have it? Have you also noticed that many of the most messed up, mean and unhappy people are the ones who grew up with too much material wealth and not enough opportunity to develop spiritually?

I’m just saying, I think what we are hearing about now may not be a bad thing. If it reconnects people with what’s really important, isn’t that good? If it reconnects us with our source, other people and taking better care of ourselves, isn’t that a positive development?

In some way, haven’t people been asking for things to be different? Isn’t that what was promised by the election? We were promised change and now we have it. Shouldn’t we be happy that we got what 52% of the voters wanted?

My theory on this is that everything had grown a little too intense and our lives were starting to behave like the Windows OS when it needs to be rebooted. It accumulates problems and gets unstable until the only thing you can do is pull the plug and start over. It feels like we are rebooting the economy. In fact, back in the depression, Roosevelt declared a Bank Holiday (a great euphemism for rebooting the banking system) because everything was so messed up no one knew what was going on.

When a computer reboots, it usually tries to save some data and put things in order before it starts again. That takes time as it shuts down services and gets ready to restart. And once it starts again with a clean slate, everything runs much better. It’s what the stock markets are doing now.

If this is the case, then what do you need to do?

• Take really good care of your health. Relax, exercise, eat well, do positive things like yoga, and get body and energy work to keep you aligned and balanced
• Set your goals and write an action plan to accomplish your goals
• Take good care of your family and friends
• Use SWOT techniques  (See earlier post)
• Do things to open and use your creativity
• Don’t be pulled in by the fear in the media (Be aware that it is a manipulation of your emotions to hook you in.)

By following these important steps you will be more prosperous. Why? Because you are going to be mentally and emotionally agile and prepared to see and act on opportunities that other people will miss. During times of change, this is what’s really important.

Be well and Prosper

Sincerely,
Kris Stecker, President

Spa Tech Institute

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Although only 5% of the population has their own business, at Spa Tech Institute we tend to have upwards of 30% of our students who are planning on having their own business. Add to this that 90% of our students are female and what you have is an amazing group of students who are going to be leaders in the industry over the next 5 to 30 years.

The primary reasons that people choose to be self employed are:

• To have control of their time and energy
• Want control of the product that is being created
• Need an outlet for their creativity
• Keep more of the money they make

There are many more reasons as well but these are pretty common themes. These reasons resonate particularly with women who may be raising children, found the “cubicle” environment stifling and wanted to be more creative or felt that they were not reaching their earning potential in their current occupation. There are also a lot of people who go the entrepreneur route because most work environments lack the spiritual or personal awareness that many people crave.

Since we have so many entrepreneurs at the school, we are constantly looking for ways to help them develop and grow their business, both while they are students as well as after they graduate. In fact, many of the new jobs for graduates are at successful spas and clinics that have been started by former students. This blog is part of our commitment to help them and you grow your business. 

With the current and future rise of the internet, your on-line presence is vitally important. It must be multi-faceted and personal. Social networking sites, email, blogs and websites all need to be employed to reach and stay connected with your client base.  It is somewhat time consuming but it is personal and the multiplier effect is powerful.

Recently I came across a great blog called Self Employed or Bust that focuses on helping people who want to have their own business.  The blog focuses mostly on ways to make money on line but also has extensive resources that will help you in many ways. Dave’s blogs are an excellent example of how to write for a blog as well as having links to other important blogs about getting found on the internet.  And it’s another source of support for people who are taking the pioneering journey into being self employed.

As always, it’s important to remember that you are not alone. We are all in this together.  I look forward to participating in your journey.

Sincerely,
Kris

p.s. Please include your comments about additional resources that you have found helpful.  Thank you.

© Copyright 2009, Kris Stecker – All Rights Reserved.

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SWOT is a powerful concept that you need to keep front of mind. Whether you apply it to your business or your life, it will help you to clarify and overcome the obstacles to success.

I have used the SWOT techniques repeatedly in dealing with the growth of Spa Tech Institute.

SWOT stands for:

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats: SWOT

This requires some work on your part but it can be a lot of fun as well. Be clear if you are doing it for your business, personal life, health, finances or relationship. By narrowing it down your questions will produce better results.

After you decide what category of your life you’re covering, make up a questionnaire for your friends and family to answer. It is really easy. Just make a heading for each of the 4 areas of SWOT and leave space for them to fill in their answers. Request that they be as honest as possible.

Once you receive the feedback, here’s how to use it.

1. Remember that you asked for their feedback so do not get defensive or feel hurt or rejected. Be really thankful and positive about the help. Again, do not challenge or defend yourself. Learn from it.
2. Anything that is not clear to you, ask for additional clarification or examples that may help you to understand what is meant. It’s not always possible to give that level of clarity.
3. Compile the information into a report to yourself.
4. Build a strategy for using the data to move that part of your life forward.

Now it’s time to use the information.

1. Remember that your Strengths and Weaknesses probably are closely related. Try to understand how your Strengths contribute to your Weaknesses and how you can use one to help with the other.
2. Threats are probably the hardest areas to address because it requires anticipation. This is where the feedback can be really helpful since it’s hard to see the problems that we may be headed for. It’s much easier to see an accident about to happen when you are outside the situation than when you are in the middle of it.
3. Opportunities are also challenging because they are usually hidden in our blind spots. The same way Strength and Weakness are closely aligned, Threats and Opportunities are also very close to each other. Again, the help of your friends and colleagues can be very valuable.

Now that you have the information, it’s important to put it into an action plan. The key work is ACTION. The plan should describe specific ACTIONS that you can take to turn Threats into Opportunities and Weaknesses into Strengths.

I will address how to develop effective actions plans in future posts. For now, start working on getting the information. Clarity is the first step in action. There is no point to acting if you don’t know what you need to change.

© Copyright 2009, Kris Stecker – All Rights Reserved.

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Being in balance is the starting point for manifesting what you want. When you are balanced and aligned, you’re able to access your connection with your source which in turn supports receiving the information you need to succeed.

Here’s why. When you aren’t clear, your mind and consciousness are often focused on what you don’t have, things that bother you and other distractions. This is all white noise that prevents you from having clarity on what you want to manifest. This comes from fatigue, drugs, emotional turmoil and other stresses. The bio-chemical reactions make it difficult to focus on what is important.

The ability to manifest requires crystal clear focus. It’s like rowing a boat. If you use both oars equally, you will make a straight line to where you want to go. If you switch back and forth between oars you will go in circles or a curvy line that will make the journey much longer. The difference is balanced or unbalanced force.

There are several ways of gaining balanced force, some of which are faster than others. A long vacation is one way but it takes a lot of time. Exercise (particularly endurance activities like hiking or long distance running, cycling, or swimming) will bring balance through repetition of opposite arm/leg motion that balances the nervous system. Tai Chi and other meditations can contribute to the balance as well. However, these all require a significant commitment of time.

If you don’t have the time you can fast-track the process with Polarity Therapy or RYSE. 

Polarity is all about balancing your energy to restore the optimal flow. The results are both immediate and long lasting. The more regular sessions you receive, the more your energy systems retain the correct flow. This is because your energy patterns are formed by habits. As a child you learn the patterns of those around you. Any dysfunctional patterns lead to problems that reduce health, vitality, creativity and the ability to manifest what you want in your life.

RYSE (Realizing Your Sublime Energies)is for repairing your energy patterns and learning to identify when they go off and how to bring them back into alignment. It’s based on Polarity theory but has been taken to the next level by Nancy Risley, RPP. As a Polarity therapist and teacher Nancy saw how her clients and students had more success manifesting what they wanted when they were cleared. She also saw what happened when they would forget and return to their previous energy patterns. The thing that was the most amazing was how fast it could be changed.

If you are tired of not manifesting what you want, there are several options. You can get a lot of sessions, you can learn to do RYSE on yourself or you can become a Polarity Therapist. The last option is the most powerful. In fact, there is an increasing number of artists, business people and others who are becoming Polarity Therapists because doing several sessions a week helps them to stay in the energy and manifest their creativity to new levels.

So to manifest more of what you want, start by getting clear. Get a session, learn to do RYSE on yourself and move forward with what you want in your life.  If you need more information about RYSE or Polarity, contact the Spa Tech Institute.

Enjoy restoring your balance and manifesting what you truly want.

Be Amazing,
Kris

© Copyright 2009, Kris Stecker – All Rights Reserved.

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