How to Ask THE Questions

So you've got everything going in order to be an MLM rockstar. You've watched the amazing videos by some of the best trainers, you've memorized the scripts, you're using the products and so on. You have your business cards with you at all times and your opportunity CD, and whatever else you need in order to rock it.

But when push comes to shove, and we need to do the most important thing possible, ASKING if someone is interested, you suddenly choke. It's on the tip of your tongue, your lips are forming the first words, your heart is pounding, but it stops there.

The conversation ends, you go your own way and, more than likely, berate yourself and mull over it the rest of the day, convincing yourself that tomorrow will be different. Only, it's not.

Does this sound familiar? Do you have team partners who do this?

Trust me, I know the feeling, because I did that. My heartbeat gets going still, every time.

A few things I have learned is that your language and how you present things can make a world of difference in how you are received.

Here's a few of my favorites when approaching people that helps take the edge off of you and them, and still produces some rewarding results.

1. First, I don't ask the person directly if they are interested. Well, sometimes I do, but for the most part, this puts a person on the spot and can be uncomfortable. Here's what I say:

"Do you happen to know anyone who ___________ "(is trying to release weight, burns scented candles, loves chocolate, takes supplements, is looking to created extra or replace their income, etc.)

I've learned that, no matter what, we humans like to help out when we can. By me asking this question, 'do you know anyone who...', it takes the person directly off the hook and puts them into a position of being able to help one of their friends out.

Most of the time, they are contemplating their situation and whether they can take advantage of the product line as well.

I ask the question and then I wait. I stop talking and wait. I give them a moment to think about it. I have yet to have the person respond with, 'No. No I don't know ANYone like that.'

Now, granted the product line I represent is a very popular and widely used product, so the chances of someone using it is pretty high. Regardless, more than likely they will know SOMEone.

When they answer, 'yes, of course.' I then pull out a business card, or a sample, or a catalog, information, whatever I have, but I DON'T hand it to them yet.

I then ask the 'If...would' question.

"If I give you this ___________ (catalog, sample, catalog, etc), would you give this to them and have them contact me?"

If they, themselves, are the ones who are interested I will then say, 'If I give this to you, will you ____________(go through the catalog, read the information, watch the CD, try the sample, etc), and get back to me?'

I ask them this in all honesty. If they say 'no', then I don't want to give it to them. I'll hang on to it. I'll say, 'well if you can think of anyone, just let me know.'

Really, I've yet to have someone say no, and I know that they are taking a genuine look at the product, or trying the sample and getting back to me with feedback.

Sometimes the feedback is, 'may I please have more information' and sometimes the feedback is, 'Thanks, I'm not interested'.

Regardless of the answer, it's taken the paralyzing feeling of fear out of the approach.

Finally, this person will continue to think of you and your product because now they know what you have to offer.

For example, if a friend approaches them and says, "ugh, I'm trying to lose weight again." Immediately, you will pop into your friend's mind and the chances of them recommending you to your friend is pretty high.

Eventually, you'll start to lose the fear of approaching people, and you'll discover what works for you in regards to talking to people about your product and opportunity.

Have fun!

~Namaste'

Jhanna

Welcome to the Tribe

Ooh, it sounds so Survivor-ish, doesn't it?

And it kind of is. Except instead of booting people off the island, we're bringing people ON to the island.

Last night, I got onto the webinar that I told you about in my last post to learn more about tribes, tribal syndication, and what it all means.

Well, WOW. I am not kidding you, my head was still spinning while dreaming last night from all the value packed content this webinar held.

So here's the premise of tribes. Tribes are created in order to support and promote others in the same tribe. We visit each other's blogs, throw down some content rich comments, create back links, get on twitter and retweet each other's tweets, blogs, and sites, and more.

It's a support system and it's GREAT.

This tribe that I belong to, and now plan on getting WAY more involved with, has an incredible group of leaders and contributors I think I have ever seen. I mean, this group has got it going on.

For almost three hours last night, trainer after trainer got online and discussed their specialty, giving examples, ideas, tips, suggestions and little known, but easy, tricks to creating a better, more effective, and yes, more profitable social media experience. It was intense.

And it was all free. When was the last time you attended a three hour webinar that was interesting and helpful ALL the way through for FREE?

It was in support of their tribe. They gave all of that away to help support their tribe. Giver's gain. They are really go-Givers. I love that philosophy and therefore want to be a part of it.

The question is, do you? Do you want a piece of that action? It's not just about taking, and this isn't a sales pitch. Don't come on board unless you are willing to give.

So with that in mind, here are some people that I HIGHLY suggest you follow on twitter, friend on facebook, and get on their blogs. You can find out how to connect on all the social medias with them via their pages listed below:

www.karyrogney.com
http://jonalfredsson.com
www.michaelfeil.com
www.createwitheric.com
www.thenetworkdad.com
www.meetnicklogan.com

If I missed anyone directly involved, please leave a comment and I'll get their info up here.

Again, another tribe that I dig on is:

www.thatmlmbeat.com

Great mlm content, great people to work with.

By presenting a tribe, access to new people, and having them help each other, brings some amazing results to all of our business endeavors, whatever they may be.

If anyone has ANY additional information they'd like to contribute regarding tribes, I'd love to hear it. I'm still totally green to this and am looking to soak up as much information as possible.

As I learn more, and meet more leaders in this field I'll be sure to bring them on and write about them and the results I'm personally seeing using a tribe.

~Namaste',

Jhanna

Meet My Posse

Ok, well, not really a posse, but my tribe. I have a few, actually.

Tribal Syndication seem to be the latest and greatest for online social networking. The premise is, a tribe is created on a social page, such as facebook. We, as members, post our blog posts on our tribe page (I belong to a few) and then get to look forward to our tribe visiting our posts, therefore creating new eyes reading our blogs, fresh opinions, search engine exposure, blog exposure, and stellar growth in our businesses.

That's what I'm guessing.

To be honest, I'm not quite solid on that understanding, though.

But I'll tell you what. I'm going to find out. I'm going to find out for you and for me.

I'm attending a webinar this evening held by Kary Rogney, one of the tribe 'leaders' on facebook, where he'll be explaining the benefits to belonging to a tribe.

I'll report back and fill you in on all the details. In the meantime, if you want to check out a tribe or two, and you have a blog that you'd like to promote, here's a really great site besides Kary's.

www.thatmlmbeat.com

George is a fantastic person to work with, promotes the site like crazy and is really pro-active in this endeavor.

Here's Kary's website. Get in on the webinar if you can. It's tonight, so short notice, but I think you'll walk away with some great information.

http://karyrogney.com/my-tribe/

And here's his facebook Tribe Syndication page.

http://www.facebook.com/tribesyndicationnetwork?ref=mf

There's a lot of tribes out there, these are just two of my favorite. :0)

Namaste'

Jhanna

Release That Party Diva

Ok, you might think this is a post about hosting a party or party plan ideas. And, you'd sort of be right.

So then you'd think, 'well, I'm not IN a party plan company. I wouldn't do one of 'those'.

Sweet. But I'm going to suggest here that you CAN and it would be WISE of you to hold at LEAST one party. You're own open house or home party.

Just to back up a bit here, the reason why home parties are so successful, aside from the high quality products and good time everyone has these days at them, is the distributor is able to get in front of many prospects at once.

Instead of talking to one or two people at a time, the distributor can now be in front of 10 or more at a time. Do two or three parties a week, we are talking 20-30 people a week the distributor is introducing their business and products to.

Now, perhaps there are some non party distributors who, when they open their mouths, everyone is fair game to hear about their products and opportunity but that ain't how most of us roll.

With a party plan, a distributor can potentially get in front of thousands. No wonder someone can skyrocket right up the line in a short amount of time in a party plan.

Ok, so there's the concept behind party plan companies. Now here's YOUR chance to hold at least one party.

Remember when you signed on with your company and you wrote up your warm list? It was necessary to contact each one separately and talk with them each about your new opportunity.

I'm going to suggest that, whether you're new to your company, or have been with it for a while, to hold an open house or party with your products and opportunity as the star.

Create a simple evening with a two hour window or so, and put your products on display. If your company offers a diet plan with shakes, make those shakes! Let people taste what you have to offer. Delicious and healthy chocolates? Great, put them out. Put out ALL of your products as samples, if possible. Put out a kit so they can see and touch what they get if they sign with you. Get the computer out and show the website.

Juices? Put it out. If it's something other than food, make a grand display and offer samples. You are smart enough to get into the MLM industry, I know you're smart enough to come up with something to show off your products and offer your guests a small sampling of it at the same time.

With the parties I've done, I always offer a theme. So come up with a theme. Fiesta theme, wine and chocolate, relax and chill (I've had a massage therapist show up for one of the parties and give shoulder massages), and so on. It doesn't have to be expensive either. Just like with MLM itself, keep it simple.

To get more people to the party, offer incentives. Pull some ideas from the party plan companies. For example, offer up prizes.

If someone brings a friend, they get a gift. If someone purchases product, they get a small gift, and so on. These gifts can be something from your product line or a small something from the Dollar store. You pick.

When everyone is there, give your speech. Now if you're not from the party plan industry, you might not quite know how to do this without sounding like a sales pitch. There are loads of qualified party plan trainers that you can tap into to help with this. And really, if you learn from one of them, you'll discover that you can use the techniques and language all the time, not just that one time, when discussing your opportunity.

JulieAnne Jones is the one trainer that comes to mind immediately to learn about the ins and outs of party language. Her website is www.julieannejones.com and she offers a LOT of great information on her website for free.

Now you have the potential to introduce your product and opportunity to a larger amount of people in a very small window of time, and it gets the word out about what you're up to. Remember, word travels. Your mailcarrier might not be interested, but the next day that person can be talking about what they did the night before and it goes from there.

When you sign a new distributor on, you can help them with their own open house/party, to show them how easy it can be. It's easy and totally duplicatable.

So learn from the party plan and party your way to success. Oh, ya, and have fun!!

~Namaste'

Jhanna

STOP IT.

Two words is all it takes, if you could just take it to heart. Two words could change the course of your world, if you allow it.

But Bob Newhart explains the process better, so I'll let him take over from here.



Now this is tongue and cheek, but imagine if you made a conscious decision to just 'stop it', without bringing up your childhood, or dreams you've had, or other excuses?

So let's try it some time. Next time you start to feel that fear or hesitation...STOP IT, and see what happens.

Namaste'

Jhanna

Fall Down 100 Times....

Get back up 101 times, right?

As I've mentioned in previous posts (perhaps I haven't) I can be a slow learner. So here I am getting back up again.

I love this industry and I love writing about it and giving tidbits to help people out along the way. Hell, I'll give you the farm, if I think it might help you along. I take that back, I won't give you the farm, I'll teach you how you can get your own.

But you've heard the saying, 'Dr., heal thyself', right? That can be me.

I had a TON of stuff spooned onto my plate this holiday season, and while I was able to keep it together overall in a positive way, I would look over at my MLM business and think, 'I just can't do something else right now.' and look away.

The more I did this, the more the old voices started chanting their old songs. Suddenly, I started hearing the whole choir in my head saying things like, 'well, you've disappointed your sponsor and upline.' 'perhaps this isn't what you are wanting to do.' 'why is it THAT person is wildly successful?'

Then the REAL demon showed up and plopped one word right into my lap. FAILURE.

There it was, like an elephant in the living room. The feeling of failing. Man, that can be a real heavy word if we allow it to be. But, I just let it be and kept reading blog posts, and books, and articles about our industry. For a couple of weeks I did this. I even examined the thought process of the feeling. Whose voice WAS that? Who was telling me that?

Then, I got a message from my old sponsor. "how ya doin, kiddo?" She asked. She's been through quite a bit lately herself, and interestingly enough, as much as I tried talking with her about how SHE was, she just gently brought the conversation back to me. She asked me how I was doing with my business, and I told her.

"I know you've got the passion, the drive to really make this big", She told me. "You see the big picture. You get it. You can do this. I believe in you."

She believes in me. What a GREAT thing to tell someone. ANYone. It can make the difference between getting up 100 times and getting up 101 times. It kicked the word 'failure' right in the ass and out the door.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this post, if there's a point, or if I'm just trying to get back into the habit of writing.

I guess it's enough for me, with this post, to just pass on my experience of how things sometimes go in this industry. Perhaps one of you will be able to relate and think, 'It's ok. I'm ok.'

And if that's the case, and even if it's not, know that I believe in you. I know you've got the passion and you have the ability to make it big in this business.

I. Believe. In. You.

~Namaste',
Jhanna

I Have a Dream

Today, is MLK Day. What a day. Below, I've posted the "I Have a Dream" Speech, originally delivered on August 28th, at the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, DC.

I've also embedded the video because, while the words are powerful on their own, MLK delivering those words make it one hundred times more powerful.

You know, up until last year, I had never heard the full speech. A local radio station playe it and, while I was filling up my truck with gas, I turned it up and listened to it.

I was riveted. And, as MLK spoke those infamous words of, 'Free at last, Free at last, Thank God Almighty, we are free at last,', I had tears in my eyes.

Truly moving, to say the least.

So, I encourage you to read the words, and watch the video. And give a moment of silence. ~Namaste'

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I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

What Game Are You Playing?

Are you playing to win? Most people would answer 'yes'.

More than likely though, people are playing another game. I'm going to suggest that many are playing the 'Not to Lose' game.

Eyew, huh? That game doesn't sound like there's much success or empowerment involved, for yourself or others.

The Not to Lose game is what most of us play, by being content with where we are in life. It's our safety zone. What we're really after when we play the not to lose game is comfort and convenience. We don't want to rock the boat, so we settle. We don't want to lose.

This is the game we play when we're afraid of sticking our necks out there. This is the game when we live in fear of rejection, and it can appear in lots of hidden places in our lives.

It appears when we continue to work at a job we can't stand.
It appears when we don't talk or call back those prospects.
It appears when we don't live our passions.
It shows up all the time, throughout our lives.

The Not to Lose game puts our fears in control. We don't want to lose and be miserable, we just want to keep on keepin' on, whatever that may be.

So what game ARE you playing?

How to Make More Money? Become a Cre8tor

Robert Pagliarini, the author of 'The Other 8 Hours', was kind enough to offer to take the controls of this blog this morning.

"The Other 8 Hours" is a brilliant read and offers excellent advice, tips, and insights on how to work those other 8 hours we tend to let slide by. No wonder his book has been endorsed by Seth Godin, David Allen, & Tim Sanders!

Needless to say, I'm honored to have him contribute to this blog. Please enjoy, and be sure to check out the contact information below to enjoy the free goodies Robert is offering on his website.

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Make More Money and Live Your Passion: Become a Cre8tor

Your financial life has a certain trajectory—similar to a train on a track. There will be twists and turns, but you can easily determine where you will end up if you stay on the financial track you’re currently on. What if the traditional methods of working hard, cutting expenses, and saving don’t work for you? Brown bagging it every day won’t cause you to jump tracks and end up somewhere completely different. The guy living in the mansion overlooking the ocean didn’t buy that house by clipping coupons, and the chick passing you in a $400,000 Maybach didn’t get that way by eliminating her morning latte. For most of us, the gap between where we are and where want to be is so wide that we’ll never be able to close it by following traditional financial advice.


What’s the solution? If you’re tired of scraping by you’ve got to create. If you want to move out of your apartment or make more than minimum wage, you’ve got to create. If you want a big house overlooking the ocean, to travel first class, to quit your job, or to drive your dream car, guess what? The answer is in the other 8 hours. The answer is to shift from being a full-time consumer to being a part-time Cre8tor.

A what? A Cre8tor is a creative entrepreneur who has a day job but wants more. He isn’t content with the status quo, and is less than thrilled with the thought of working another 40+ years. He knows that the only way to “jump the tracks” to get to a new financial level is to do something different during the other 8 hours. A Cre8tor utilizes his strengths, passions, and/or expertise to create something unique and valuable—maybe he’ll start a blog, work on an invention, write a screenplay, or start a business. If you settle for a paycheck, you’ll only be worth what your employer pays you. But if you create something valuable, there’s virtually no limit to your worth.

A long commute, brainless boss, and an empty bank account can wreak havoc on your outlook, hope, and purpose, but a side project or venture can bring inspiration to your life. When you’re passionate about what you’re creating during the other 8 hours, you can endure even the worst day. It will change your whole morning routine.

Creating provides purpose and it provides a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It provides the hope that life can improve. When you create, it engages your mind and your soul.

Should you really spend some of your precious other 8 hours creating, or would we be better off having fun and enjoying ourselves? Studies show that most of us are not fulfilled mentally or emotionally in our day jobs. We work, not because we are passionate about what we’re doing, but for a paycheck. Even though you might be stuck at your day job doing something that doesn’t fully capture your mind and heart, that doesn’t mean what you create during the other 8 hours has to feel like work. In fact, it shouldn’t feel like work at all. I want you to be excited and passionate about what you create and about the potential results you can achieve.

With very few exceptions, anybody who has attained any level of financial success has created something. It might be a book, a CD, an invention, a website, or whatever. Look around you. Everything you see was originally just an idea in someone’s head.

You are living in the most exciting and mind blowing time we have ever experienced. It is rich with opportunities that literally didn’t exist just a few years ago. Unless your last name was Rockefeller or Carnegie, it used to be incredibly difficult to become rich. Becoming a millionaire wasn’t even a dream or an ambition. It was such an impossibility that it wasn’t worth a moment’s thought.


Because of technology, efficiencies, and a global economy, it’s much easier to become wealthy with much less effort than at any other time in history. As a Cre8tor, you’ll add more excitement and purpose into your life. You will live your passion and make more money.

The benefits to becoming a Cre8tor are clear. Now let me show you step-by-step how to become a Cre8tor. Go to other8hours.com to discover how you can become a Cre8tor and experience new wealth and purpose in your life.

P.S. - As an exclusive bonus, get four free critical resources that will help you live your richest life. Go to other8hours.com to get an Other 8 Hours assessment, poster, video, and audio now!

About The Other 8 Hours & Robert Pagliarini

In his new book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose (http://www.other8hours.com), Robert empowers people to live life to the fullest by radically changing the way they spend “The Other 8 Hours” – the 8 hours not spent sleeping or working. With Robert’s guidance, people will begin looking beyond their job, hour-long commute, credit card debt, or even just that gnawing feeling that life is sometimes passing them by. They’ll get fresh solutions for carving out more time. And they’ll find the inspiration to spend that free time in a more productive way -- whether it is starting a business, writing a blog, losing weight, or developing a hobby.

Robert is obsessed with making the most of his other 8 hours to create an ideal life. He’s also obsessed with sharing what he knows, inspiring others to achieve their ideal life, and learning from others who are improving their lives.

Robert has appeared as a financial expert on 20/20, Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, ABC Morning News, NPR’s Marketplace and in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Money Magazine and many others.

Release That Which Holds You Back...

Sounds pretty powerful, doesn't it?

I decided that for my first post of the new year, 2010, I thought I'd explain what the Burning Bowl Ceremony is and how to go about it. Even though we're into the new year, you can do it any time. It's about the ceremony and intention, not the time of year.

The Burning Bowl ceremony is an opportunity to take a look at what might be holding you back from stepping into your greatness, and releasing it back into the universe. If all things are pure energy, then this energy can be released, and recognizing and consciously accepting other energy into your life that will help you grow and learn can be done.

So, what has held you back? Has it been fear? Doubt? Lack of self-respect?  Negative thinking? As I've brought up in the past, most of us have 'things' that have held us back for what we can accomplish. Even just a lousy childhood can hold us back, if we allow it. And, it could very well be that these traits have served us in the past, for some reason or another.

But you want to continue to grow and become a bigger person, so now is the opportunity to let it go and give it up. Burn it up and release it with gratitude.

The Burning Bowl Ceremony is a native american tradition, that has been recognized and used by the Unity church for years.  I've had the honor and pleasure of experiencing this ceremony several times through my local Unity.

But this time, however, I noticed a step that I had missed in the past.  A step that changed how I approached this ceremony, and changed how I released things this time.

For this ceremony, you'll need the following, if you choose to do it.

1. Two pieces of paper
2. pencil
3. Lit fireplace, BBQ, or something else that will safely hold a flame

Ok, here's the steps:

Take some time to quiet your mind and listen to what it is you want to release from your life. It can be something like ~ Worry, regret, victimhood, lack, beliefs surrounding money, jealousy, etc.

Really take some time to discover what you'd like to let go of. It can be different for everyone.

Now here's where I learned something new that made a profound difference in how I handled the ceremony this time.

Don't just write down on paper what is holding you back. I want you to take the time to think about how those things served you, or what you learned from it.

These things and energy came into your life because you needed to learn something from them. You invited them in, manifested them into your life. Recognize how they served you and appreciate that.

For example, for me a big one to let go of was victimhood. As ready as I was to let go of that, I took some time to thing about how being the vitcim served me. I appreciated it, because it did serve me, when I needed it, and I did learn from it.

However, it doesn't serve the person I am anymore. So I released it back to the Universe.

Write all of these down. Take as much quiet time as you need.

Then go to your fire, and drop the paper into it. As it burns up really let go of it. Thank those energies and know you are being washed clean of it. Stay and meditate on it as long as you'd like. It really is a purifying experience.

When done, grab another piece of paper. Again, sit quietly and think about what you would like to manifest into your life this year. Now, I know usually the first thing that comes to mind is material things such as money, a bigger house, a leaner body, etc.

But you know what? You're more powerful of a being than that. Really dig deep. If you're into it, ask your higher power, whatever that may look like to you, and ask to be given those answers.

What would it take from you to create the truly abundant life you are looking for?

Here's a few of what came to me: Creativity, Pure Love, Joy, Abundant thinking.

These are qualitites that I believe I am to manifest this year.

I've got big things on my plate that I'm looking to create this year and I do know I'll need all of those to manifest what I'm looking to do.

So write all of those down. Place it in an envelope. Now, you can either give it to a friend or a family member to mail back to you in six months, or just hang on to it. Hang it somewhere, so you can see it through the year. This way you can be reminded that you are looking to bring some amazing qualities into your life.

The final step. Within the following 24 hours of you releasing, I want you to tithe to the organization of your choice. It is important that the flow of energy continue to moves, so find an organization that you love whether it's your church, the humane society, salvation army, whatever, find what feeds your soul and tithe to it. This is hugely important as it's recognition that energy moves through us, as we give, we receive.

And that's it! Simple yet powerful steps to releasing and accepting.  I've done this ceremony with friends, and with my four and six year old. My kids LOVE doing this ceremony, even as young as they are.

Let me know your thoughts with this. I'd love for you to give it a go, and get back to me on it.

In the meantime, Happy New Year!!

Namaste',
Jhanna