ATSuccess 1st Fortnight - May 2014

Most of the comments from the last two weeks are directed to specific situations of ATSuccess participants, so I keep those comments behind closed doors. Sorry it is so brief this time. Join up if you want to know more! Click here now to find out how. On Emotional Release My personal experience is that my fear and sense of vulnerability has nothing to do with current circumstances, and that is important "conscious" information for me to include in the midst of my experience. As a teacher, this is part of the process I use to include safety around the vulnerabilities that are surfacing. As with all feelings - it is a record of the past, not the present. Language The "we will cover" section is can be more niche targeted. Talk immediately about how you address the "keeps-me-awake-at-night" issue that (dancing? walking?) people in heels have. In fact, you even throw in an Alexander jargon term "hands-on" BUZZZZZZZZ!!!!! Imagine these people don't know AT, they just wanna feel good in heels. The Chance Mafia In AUSTAT (Australian STAT which I formed, my lawyer mum helped with the constitution and my sister with the conference) they used to call us "The Chance Mafia". How did it happen? I don't know - we are a family of lawyers (3) actors (3) and AT teachers (3). And there are plenty more nephews, cousins and in-laws to bolster those numbers. I think the three go together, don't you? Actors and lawyers certainly do, AT teacher is the new kid on the block. *** ATSuccess Facebook Group [NOTE: Today's blog contains posts from my ATSuccess Group in Facebook. They contain personal or specific information that is inappropriate for non-members. You can join the group by becoming a member. Participants of enjoy the protection to express private opinions openly to the group. It gets interesting. Being within a walled garden - knowing who else is there - creates a context to take risks. In ATSuccess no-one cares where you trained, they only care you succeed at it.]

*Do I Stay In ATSuccess? I am glad Sarah took the leap and shared her situation. It's how we know about each other, it's how we connect. Part of the strength of ATSuccess comes from the relationships and understanding we each have of other people’s situation. That takes time to build, but it is worth doing. In terms of Susan’s comments (for those who read her document) I made these clarifications about my ATSuccess outlook… I advocate groups because it is hard to make 121 pay without using a lot of hours in the week to make it work, or charging a high amount - you may need a combination of both. It’s hard yakka, and it's not scalable if you want to expand to support other teachers in your venture. My assumption is that you need enough income to support a 2 child family, a car, a mortgage, health insurance, take an annual holiday and put a little away for savings every month. That's basic, but you may not need that? My second assumption is that you don't want to spend your entire career being a hamster in a wheel, working a lot but never getting anywhere. Students come, students go - keeping them around for a long time is part of the ATSuccess model. I am not good at the short term fix. I coach people to create a lifetime career, and it can take 12 months just to get your head around that to start. I am not sure of your age, but I am nearly 60years (gosh it looks funny writing that!) and I feel I have at least another 25years in me, so plenty of time to re-engineer a career that will sustain my family and me till the end. If you are younger than I, then the way I ask you to think is not about the next few months, it's about the next decade. *An Employee Or An Entrepreneur? Wow - you are all quick, and Cecile, you seem to have arrived at a place of clarity. I can safely express my opinion! I am glad, because I love the freedom that comes with creating, running and being the Master of my own biz. College smells of politics, egos, administrative burden, insecurities (what if you are axed after blotting you Yoga niche?) and only the students are the bright spot. Students you can find on your own - give your Self that job and have a retirement plan made. No brainer in my opinion. Tommy as in Thompson? Let him know your decision, and thank him all the same. Tell him Jeremy said he should join ATSuccess too! He knows why. *Shall We Dance? In your mini SL Dana, the opening question "Do you dance?" is not clearly connected to the flow of questions that follow it. Who is your audience? People who wear heels, or people who dance in heels? I think the former is a big catch, but the latter a better focused niche. I am not sure which is sustainable, but let me know which one you are going for...? (I assume dancers, but then the questions need to reflect that more.) *What Is An Avatar? Oh - sign up for the 30 Day Challenge again at the link below, Day 5. I can post the essay to the list if you prefer. http://bodychance.ontraport.net/f/1/12944/32/810ad666179f8c964f4dafea5d771852 *How To Use ATSuccess? Well Sarah Warman et al - I strongly suggest you sign up for the 30 Day Challenge and post to the group every day. Everyone who joined ATSuccess at the beginning did this course. It kicked us all off. The secret to progress is a disciplined approach based on a clear structure. When you sign up for the 30 Day Challenge, you'll get an email each day which asks you to do something, think about something, post something - you can not always act on each request given, but by the end you will have a clear idea of where you are needing to focus more. Here's the link to sign up: http://bodychance.ontraport.net/f/1/12944/32/810ad666179f8c964f4dafea5d771852 *Being A Deer In the Headlights I get what you mean about email systems AND it is an essential ingredient to create a sustainable biz over the long term, so keep chipping away at it bit by bit. When I started, I had the same "deer in the headlights" feeling. And I still do about the next learning edge I face: reliable numbers that give me predictability. *On Biz Models I am guessing that it has been hard to get "taken up" with ATSuccess because you came into a pre-existing group. I am asking the question quite often these days: how I can support lone wolfs joining the pack? Pardon the metaphor. Still, that's the model I have now. Your "joining in clusters" idea is an answer to that, but that involves a biz restructure which puts me into overwhelm ever time I consider it. Perhaps there is no other way ? We are social creatures after all. Still considering it… *Being a Guru Cecile - I know you did not mean you wanted to be the guru, but I think you need to consider fashioning (positioning?) your Self as the expert. Quote your Self, not other people. Be the authority you want them to see you as. Authority is claimed, then bestowed - not bestowed then claimed - in the marketing world at least. The point is: you do know. First show these gurus confirm your POV. Then just talk your POV... To set your Self up as the Guru may be too extreme, but you can certainly shape your image as the expert - the one who knows. Why? Because you do. *Weird and Wonderful AT Elyse - I love this comment: "This is kind of why I still like the label "Alexander Technique" and our weird old fashioned terms like primary control, inhibition and direction." This could be true for the AT niche itself, that's an interesting perspective! Doesn't apply to niching though - you take the PROBLEMS and use THAT vocabulary with people. The benefit is specific - the Pilates, Yoga etc people who use similar term are making the mistake of generalizing too much. *Games In Group Workshops Too late for your two workshops Dana, but did you remember that there are two files now in the ATSuccess Facebook archives on games for AT workshops? Here's one of them: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATCSProMembers/238694966294877/ *Clarity Is Power Wow Elyse - that's an important thing you just wrote up there. Huge. To be serious about this, you need first to make a short-list of what is possible. Are you willing to move towns? If not, what is locally available? Please - fact me up on this. You have a marketing/selling challenge, same as all, but your "niche" is a person working in an institution who has power over employment. In getting to this position, you might discover that you love the process more than the final result! Let's go for a ride… *Doing Something With Nothing Build your list Adrian. There must be ways - focus on that. Share one simple method + remind me of your USP again...? Or your niche if you are not there yet...? I know at one level of course, but I want to read your most recent articulation of it. *The Next Generation Love the story of the 8yo asking: "What's the take away from this workshop Dana?" Wow. Kids are catching on fast, the next generation huh? *On How To Give A Radio Interview Late to the party Sarah , but I can endorse a lot of the advice being given, specially Constance’s advice. The advice that was missing above - WHICH IS CRITICAL - is gathering data about the listeners... Who are they? What interests them? What concerns them? THAT is what guides your content... My guess is that not many will go directly to a workshop from listening to an interview - there needs to be a "further interest CTA" that is easy to act on. For any opportunity like this: BUILD. YOUR. LIST. For example - if you can set it up beforehand, tell you'll make available a mp3 file of what you said, or tell me about your ["3 Exercise To Improve your Posture" ?] i.e. something that would interest them to do a search, find your website, join your list. That's an easier path than going ahead and spending money directly on a workshop. Get them on your list first, then sell your workshop, Intro or whatever. *What's Wrong With Us? Bless you Peter! Your description is everything that is right and everything that is wrong about how the work is taught to day. Trouble is, you can't make "them wrong" without becoming one of the "them" of the "them wrong" club, if you get my drift. Backwards looking, or "fixing" this, isn't the game - it's what you do from now that matters. *** Anything you want to bring urgently to my attention? I’m working to maintain a delicate pace - not too intense, not too relaxed. Keep the string taut, but don’t let it snap: that’s how we make our music! https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATCSProMembers/