"I never talk about 'free necks' - I abandoned that years ago." ATSuccess Week - March 2014

This week we danced along together, some resting, some pirouetting, some in partnerships - but all in different stages of building the engine of each person's practise. How? By creating a well-articulated and compelling invitation to a focused group of people who have a specific set of problems. You can review this series any time you join the coaching group. Click here now to find out more. *** On Having A Lot of Doubt Your process is perfect. Stella Adler, a legendary American acting coach, once told me that her business friends always felt right, always knew what they were doing "...but the artist" sighed Stella "...the artist always doubts." On The Restorative Power of Tears I also was one who never cried - but now I am a huge fan. I was sobbing this morning - of the nose-blowing variety - but now I feel wonderful and energized. It wakes me up to my heart. I think of it like a chemical bath - it is SO GOOD for me. Right now - like you - I have so many balls in the air that crying is another form of meditative relief. Please keep crying, it's good for you. Lots of love. On Telling Your Story Personally, the more dramatic your story the better. Look at Peter Grunwald. He is a vision expert. However, when he tells his story he says: “I was technically blind.” That is like you in coma, right? Can’t move? Now you do marathon! It is a wonderful story, and you must tell it. It is not a choice between “my story” or “other people’s story” - DO BOTH! Your story first, then stories of students who you have helped. Add testimonials too - you have them? People want to hear from other people who have helped. That reassures their concern about making a positive decision. On A Good Sales Letter A good letter NEEDS to be revisited again and again. Once it is tweaked right, it's a license to print money. They can, and are, that powerful. Even one written by an Alexander Technique teacher. On Having A Biz Card Actually I do have a biz card - but that is because Japan is the kind of place where it's a ritualistic beginning to any relationship. But in the English-speaking countries, I am meeting more people at networking events who don't bother. They text each other on the spot. They say their twitter handle, ask you to Friend them, text you right there. Varieties of that. On Asking For A Free Neck I never talk about "free necks" - I abandoned that years ago. I noticed that most pupils obsessed about it, then ended up with the opposite result - stiff necks. It was a natural consequence. Asking for a "free" neck is asking for a feeling, and our system simply isn't wired that way. You think, you move THEN you feel. To put getting a feeling first "short circuits" the whole process. It's giving a motor function to sensory perception, so it is doomed to fail because it involves a fundamental misuse of the design of our nervous system. I can't believe people still use it. On the Trembling Lips Of An Oboe Player I'd also ask "What is he thinking (believing) when he brings the reed to his lips that he is not thinking when he is not trembling?" Bit of detective work required here. Simple Advice for Wind Players Air up is really useful direction for all wind players. So often they think of air out in a horizontal, so I point out that reality of it. Their job is to push air up, not out. Out does itself - it's not their job. This new thought often reorganizes their head/spine relationship in a way that brings significant improvement in their ability to produce the wind pressure they need to make sounds. On Computer Crashes and Other Obstacles Yeah, I have this weird thing about computers. About once every year or so EVERYTHING GOES WRONG! Nothing works. Haven't really figured that one out yet, other than hearing it as "Well, I am not meant to be doing this now. Because I'm not." Simple logic, but reassuring by connecting into the reality of it. Giving empathy to my illogical emotional Self is the next step! On ATSuccess I love the gratitude and thanks, but honestly I had no idea what I was starting here - you make that happen, not me. I am glad I had the foresight to realise something was necessary, and grateful to you all for letting me know what that is. Of course - how do I tell outsiders about this? I don't. I think that's the hidden secret of the group that you find out once you come in. It is still about marketing (aka as communication) but the truth is you can only be who you are - connecting with that is the essential work that facilitates the critical decision-making and strategic thinking that allows you to manifest that to benefit others. On What Is A Great USP? Test your USP (Unique Sales Point) out with those in your niche. Do their eyes immediately light up in recognition and interest? A really great USP will start to affect people in your niche that way. An accurate description of what you do is not quite the same as a USP. A USP is the centre piece of a successful business, and describes a tangible, concrete benefit, not a feature. Cracking it does take time, as it is a diverse combination of your passion, skill, the market/niche need, your location, service and abilities. Never give up, it will emerge from sustained focus. On BodyChance and Golden Week Come to Japan's Golden Week in May on your way to the States! We are the bastion of Marj's work today, no question. Bastion in the sense that it her legacy is safe, strong and growing every day as a new paradigm in the communication of Alexander's discoveries. Japan is seeing something happening in Alexander's workDid you see the video? http://tinyurl.com/mt8c6on On How To Read Facebook Posts In A Busy Group My technique is just start at the top (whatever is there has the most recent comments) so actually I think it is helpful, not inconvenient, that Facebook continuously reorganizes the order. My method is to work my way down the page - never renewing it - until I start seeing the posts I already saw. I know they are unchanged because they are further down the page. My technique works when you cover it all in one session (which I do) because if you go away for an hour - the order of everything has changed! Now that I can see that could be frustrating. Also - when you see a post you already saw sitting back at the top again, it means someone added a new comment. So I scroll through the comments till I get to the place where I see the new comment. Also, I tend to like everything, so when I see all the comments with "Unlike" showing then I think "Oh, I read that already" and skip right past till I find comments I have not liked. But I don't like EVERYTHING - that would be too much. Enough so people get I am reading it all. My Personal Facebook Group [NOTE: The second half of to-day's blog contains posts from my ATSuccess Group in Facebook. They contain personal or specific information that is inappropriate for public consumption. You can join the group by becoming a member. Participants of enjoy privacy protection to express opinions openly. It gets interesting. Trusting each other creates a context to take risks. In ATSuccess no-one cares where you trained, they only care you succeed.]

On Calling Sales Letters Invitation Letters Jennifer - I like "invitation letter" a lot as a replacement description for "sales letter". I also have associations with sales letter that have negative connotations, and I have toyed consciously with renaming it. My thinking currently is along the lines of acknowledging the elephant in the room, and asking people to question their beliefs around words like "sales letters" and "selling" and "marketing." My concern is that replacing the word still leaves people believing things that may get in their way later. But at this point, I'd be happy to talk about your "invitation letters" - which would be IL right Cecile? (Who introduced the SL abrev. before) On Whether You Need a New Sales Letter for Every Workshop Not each workshop Susannah, each niche. A good SL will be adaptable to different products - short version, long version and the other difference being the offer. The offer is incredibly important, and something I will get to once I've covered the technical stuff in Facebook adds. Also - your SL is about inviting in new people. Those who are already "sold" on you do not need such extensive courting. For them it's the offer that is critical - where, when, how long, how much etc. Those factors are more critical to their decision. So if you are sending out to them, really work on the offer side. Make sure your structure fits their structure so they can easily come. On Where To Situate Your Blog Yes Barbro - blog to your niche (Musicians) and do it regularly. Whatever you decide, stick to that. Once a week is a minimum - on a specific day even better. Please make habits, so encourage that. Lesson stories with imbedded learnings make the best blogs. You can move between the physical (body mapping) and the mental (dealing with audiences, stage fright) and dazzle them with the breadth and range of your work (Alexander's discoveries). Whether you hook up your blog to this group depends on these factors: 1. Do you have independent control and ownership of your content? 2. Will you be permitted to gather names and emails - THAT YOU OWN - by a sign up form on the blog? 3. What happens to you if they change direction? While there are obvious benefits hooking up with these people, you must factor in the pain of separation. What would happen if they decided they were going to give the "blog job" to someone else? Make sure you have control over the url, your content and how it is displayed. If you can do that, yes - go with them. If you cannot, create your blog at your website. It will be slower to gain traction (but they link you into their site for sure, right?) but in the long run the SEO benefits of your blog content will flow to you, not to them. It is a better positioning strategically for the health of your long term business. This will be a blog for years, get it right at the start. Very important. *On Crafting USP for Musicians Wow Jennifer - that one has way more impact, no question. It sticks. One way to figure out if you want the "going towards" (ease, freedom, great playing) that you had previously, or the "going away" (suffering, stage fright, bad playing) that you are playing with now, is by analyzing the reasons people come to you. Which is more prevalent? Which seems to motivate them most strongly? Also, as an example of two totally different USPs that work in the music environment in Japan (to different sectors of the market - can you guess which?) 1. "Non-violent Music Education" and 2. "Stop practicing and start playing - it's time to love your music!". Keep working at it, I like this one way better that your original one. *On Aniko's Push To Transform Dentistry Heart-warming Aniko, and wonderful to see. I am totally transfixed by this journey you have initiated. I am thrilled by the possibilities, and have a million more ideas for you when you are ready to hear them! Think 100 years, think after your death. Make sure you have a legacy plan. *On Being Inspired By Cecile's Sales Letter That's OK Cecile - vent away! It's great to have a place that won't react or judge you for that. It gives permission for me to do the same here. Thanks. And you are - I have to say - a total inspiration in your dedication to making this process work. Perhaps you don't get this part - but your passion is pulling along everyone else. I am sure of it, but I'd love to hear how others have been tracking Cecile's effort to get her SL written well. She needs to hear this right now... *On How To Tell A Story I'd be finding the simplicity within your story. And yes, elaborate if it is a story others can vicariously identify with? However, imagine you are explaining it to children rather than adults: simple, not patronizing. That's the way to go. *On Specifity In You USP Jennifer - I love Dana's suggestion to look for your USP in the words of your students. As you start meeting these new clients, listen. What happens to me when I read your USP is I don't get a picture of what "extraordinary ease" is. What does that look like? How do I know when I've got it? In marketing research they discovered that giving a "lifetime" guarantee is not as effective as giving "10 year guarantee" because people can understand the latter, but not the former. What does "lifetime" mean? I can't get a picture of that. But "10 years" feels more concrete to me. Can you get some specificity into your USP? It could be something that "disqualifies" people in the way you were describing in your IL post? Now it feels almost too wide to be effective as a USP - who DOESN'T want that? It's like you're ratcheting it up a level or two to prove you are better. *On How A USP Can Appear Great Dana - I expect to be reading lots about USP from you. I think it is a brilliant plan to look for your USP in the words of others, rather than in your own mind. Your dancers speak what they want, you just need to listen well. One day, it will just appear like magic (but it's not magic, it's constructive thinking). *On Troublesome, Nosy Parents Dana - it is so wonderful to have parents that care so much; that even know what you are doing; that poke around and want to change everything so you will be their happy little girl. Yes, no age. I get it. It's an intense love that seeks so much knowledge about what you do. "Hamper" it may have done, but there are so many children crying out to be "hampered" by parents who care and love them, instead of living indifferently to their lives. Rejoice in your troublesome parents who are always asking "Where's Dana?" and that you could still cry for them, 500 miles away. It's beautiful. It brings tears to me. *** Anything to add? A new thread? https://www.facebook.com/groups/ATCSProMembers/