Walter Lippmann once said that “ It requires wisdom to understand
wisdom: The music is nothing if the audience in deaf. “

Many of us fail to seek out improvement because we get so caught up in
our daily lives that we don’t see not only that WE CAN improve, but what improvements we can make. Take some time out of your  day today and look at yourself and your life. What in you would you like to make  better? What desires do you have that can be addressed by a little self  improvement? Would you like to have better communication with family and  co-workers? Would you like to be able to concentrate more on the things you love to do? Do you need more organization in your life or even in your mind? Really ask yourself what needs you have not met yet that will improve something about  you, then take action to meet those needs. Take a class, go to a seminar, and especially…Get a Coach.

Recently I was looking at a pond that has
several Lotus flowers growing in it. I’ve admired their beauty many times in the
past but, this morning, while enjoying the rising sun I noticed that the flowers
were closed. It wasn’t until the actual rays of light from the sun kissed the
Lotus petals, that they began to open right in front of me. I guess I have been
too busy in the past to really notice this. As the flowers opened, I realized
that the outside of the white leaves were bruised a bit and had little brown
spots. They weren’t really pretty. However, as each pedal gently separated from
the others, their true beauty was exposed on the inside. Inside, the petals
appeared to be flawless, soft and bright.  

A gradient yellow color started bright in the flower’s center and became
lighter and lighter as it rose toward the petals tips. One by one, the flowers
many layers opened. The flower appeared to have it’s own light coming from
within its center. So beautiful! 

I did some research on my phone while
watching this amazing flower bloom before my very eyes and found that:  the lotus flower signifies a flawless
and timeless divine beauty. It’s opening petals, the potential for the soul to
expand and blossom into beauty and divinity. They symbolize the surrender of the
mind to the powers above and an openness and submissiveness even as the roots
are mired in muddy worldliness and sin. It is said they also symbolize not only
creation, but the timeless and continual process of birth and rebirth. And to
me, this morning, they represent how no matter where our roots are planted, if
we carry our fire and light inside, we can shine no matter where we are. 
We carry our lives in our own hands. 

What symbols do you have in your lives that remind you of who you are and where you are going?

How is it that things don’t go the way you plan? Why is it that one person can accomplish something when another can’t given all the same opportunities and resources? It is because of an idea called the Golden Circle: it’s a simple idea coined by Simon Sinek.
This idea explains why some people are able to inspire and others are not.

What? – Every single person or organizations knows what they do. 
How? – Some know how they do it. 
Why? – Very few people or organizations know why they do what they do. 

Why? doesn’t mean “to make a profit. That is a result of what you do. By why I mean what is your purpose, your cause, your belief? Why do you or your organization exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care?

Looking again at the Golden Circle, the way we think, act and communicate is from the outside in. From the what to the why. We go from the clearest thing to the fuzziest thing. The inspired leaders, the inspired organizations all think, act and communicate from the inside out. 

The mass majority of us who have something to offer communicate like this:
“I have a product” 
“It is beautiful, its perfect and it will meet all your needs.”
“Want to buy it?”
 
The response is usually “no” or even “maybe” with no action step in site.  This is how most of us communicate, it’s how most marketing is done.  We say  what we do, we say how we are different and we expect some sort of response,  some type of action. We expect someone to buy our products, or sign up for our
services or even vote for us and agree with our ideas. This is very uninspiring. 

Inspired leaders, practitioners, mentors, sales people and organizations take the opposite approach. They start with why. This makes them stand out from the masses. An example would be:

In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. How do we do this? 

How - We create products and services that are packaged well, simple to use and
meet your needs.  
What – The product.

People do not buy what you do, they buy why you do it. 

The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs your product; the goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe. That’s your market, that’s your niche. 

All this information is grounded in the science of Biology. Not Psychology, Biology. 

If we look at the cross section of the brain from the top down, you will see that the brain is separated into three components. These three components correlate directly with the Golden Circle. 
The homosapien or neo brain aka Neocortex corresponds with the “what” level. The Neocortex is responsible for all of our rational thinking, analytical thought and language; the middle two sections make up our limbic brain and are responsible for all of our feelings, like trust and loyalty. They are also responsible for all human behavior, all decision making and it has no capacity for language. When we communicate from the outside in, people understand vast amounts of complicated information like features, benefits, facts and figures. But this does not drive behavior. 

When we communicate from the inside out, we communicate directly with the part of the brain that controls behavior. Then we allow people to rationalize the “what” with the tangible things we say and do. 

The limbic brain is where “gut” decisions come from. You can give someone all the facts and figures you want, they can totally understand, yet you hear the phrase “It just doesn’t feel right”. Why would we use that verb? It is because the part of our brain that is actually responding doesn’t understand language and it’s the best it can come up with. The limbic is the part of the brain that controls decision making, not language. 

If you do not know why you do what you do, how will you ever get anyone to buy your product or services or even be loyal? Apple customers are very loyal. AT&T customers are very loyal. Both of these companies make good products, provide good customer service but so do many others in the same industries. 
These two companies also have higher priced items then other companies
too. So, why are their customers so loyal? People don’t just buy their products,
they want to be a part of what they do. 

Again, the goal is not just to sell to people who need what you have. The goal is to sell to people who believe what you believe. The difference between inspired leadership and not, is that inspired leaders are driven by a cause, a belief. They are not driven by money or notoriety. They believe that they can make a significant change in the world or in the lives of others. They are not in pursuit of the result or the riches. If you talk about what you believe, you attract those who believe what you do. What you do simply serves as the proof of what you believe.

Its no secret that the treatment process for Cancer negatively affects the body casing severe nausea, upset stomach, inability to eat or taste feed. Several of my clients have benefited from hypnotherapy to reduce these symptoms. Most are adults and several are children. Studies show that hypnosis "...is effective in the treatment of ANV in children." 




Hawkins P, Liossi C, Ewart B, et al. Hypnotherapy for control of anticipatory nausea and vomiting in children with cancer: Preliminary findings. Psycho-Oncology. 1995; 4: 101-6. Summary: Pediatric oncology patients often experience significant chemotherapy related nausea and vomiting (NV). A number of controlled studies have shown that a variety of behavioral interventions are effective in treating both anticipatory and postchemotherapy NV. The present randomised, controlled-design study aims to assess the possible therapeutic gains that may be derived from hypnosis while controlling for gains that may be derived from non-specific therapeutic factors. Thirty paediatric oncology patients (5-17 years of age), following baseline assessment, were randomly assigned to one of three groups--' treatment as usual' control group, therapist contact group, and a hypnosis training group-- during an identical chemotherapy pulse. Statistical analysis demonstrates the effectiveness of hypnosis for the reduction of anticipatory nausea and vomiting. Therapist contact alone was also found to be effective in reducing anticipatory nausea but it is suggested that this may be a statistical rather than a clinical effect. The results of the present study suggest that hypnosis is effective in the treatment of ANV in children. 

I can provide a personalized MP3 for nausea during and after cancer treatments.