Turning Dreams into Dollars

I've been watching the latest of the Emotional Freedom Technique videos (EFT) in my collection; EFT to the Palace of Possibilities. In one session, titled "Turning Dreams into Dollars" (and boy wouldn't we all like to know how to do that!).

Gary Craig, the founder of EFT, says that EFT will really take off once it is introduced into the sports arena. I think he's right and I also think that once other kinds of performers, ie actors, musicians etc start using and referring to it publicly, it will blow the gasket off what is probably the best kept self help secret up to now.

And one of the reasons that it is so well hidden is that EFT is still largely used as a therapeutic tool, rather than a peak performance tool. There are some EFT specialists who use it for peak performance, but generally speaking, EFT isn't widely used or known in that respect. I'd welcome your comments on this, but judging from the list of conditions mentioned on the main EFT website, you get a clear indication of what EFT is currently being used for.

However, in this series of DVDs, Gary Craig was waxing lyrical about how if he was starting out now (he trained as an Engineer in Stanford and ran his own investment business prior to developing EFT) he would definitely aim for the sports field. He was giving his audience (mostly EFT practitioners from a mainly therapeutic background) ideas on how to break into the business world and different ways to price their services, since no one was making the kind of money that they wanted.

What was fascinating was the seeming lack of interest within the audience for his ideas. He commented on it, saying that not only could he sense little enthusiasm about what he was saying, but also he could hear their energetic blocks. You could almost taste the resistance to what he was saying.

He was right.

One man did "admit" to having some kind of epiphany, but it really wasn't that obvious to anyone else.

My take is that Gary was barking up the wrong tree.

His stated goal when he developed and publicised EFT was to establish it within the therapeutic community. And to some extent he has done that, although there's plenty more ground to be covered.

But the kind of people who are therapists are generally not the kind of people who would want to work with individuals in multi-million dollar businesses, whether involved in sports or not. Although this is where the money is.

There are at least two reasons for this.

Many therapists have an anti-business stance.

There is a sense that making money involves exploiting others and is a "dirty" thing to do and that it isn't spiritual to make lots of money (has anybody told Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra or Wayne Dyer this, as Gary might state) therefore they make less money than they want. This idea isn't always stated, but it is energetically very present, hidden but very palpably close to the surface.

Therapists are more used to working with trauma.

Well, what does that mean? They are more used to using their skills to help others overcome their emotional difficulties, rather than using EFT for peak performance. In essence, they often turn out to be the same thing. Because fulfilling your potential often relies on addressing and dispelling those emotional blocks (often based in long forgotten traumatic events). What's important here is to realise that this is more likely to be the therapists' mindset, which hinders them working with businesses.

And............................................

The idea doesn't resonate with them.

A therapist's motivation is to help people heal, not help businesses make more money or an already rich basketball/football/baseball player become even more successful. Even if it does involve helping them over traumatic incidents.

And it doesn't matter how enthusiastic someone is about an idea which is certain to be profitable or take off if the audience isn't congruent or vibrationally aligned with it. I sensed that the idea of working with businesses would violate some of the audience's values. And working against your values takes up way too much energy and RAM to be worthwhile, no matter how much money is involved; it'll bite you on the butt in the end.

I also think that therapists tend to be quite private people by nature and the idea of working with large organizations (even on a 1-1 basis) may lead to more exposure than they are comfortable with. For instance, rather than them approaching businesses direct, Gary suggested that he would write introductory letters to open the door for his audience. The audience were seemingly more open to that idea, but the thought of approaching any business, even one to which they had been introduced still seemed daunting.

It seemed quite obvious that they were not enthusiastic about Gary's ideas, sound though they were. And it was intriguing to see that, in my opinion, he didn't quite understand why that was, although he obviously noted it. Because Gary Craig has a business background, he didn't quite understand the reluctance and resistance of his audience to get involved. What he was saying just seemed incongruent to many of their (often unstated) values. Publicising EFT to therapists is one thing. To expect those same therapists to open the doors in business, sports and entertainment in a major way is another.

I also suspect that Gary probably wished he had gone into the sports arena with EFT (he mentions his football coach with plenty of affection and is obviously a sports afficionado) and whilst he hadn't done it, he wanted to "pass the baton" onto someone who would.

And there just didn't seem to be many takers.

EFT has to be presented as a peak performance tool, rather than just a therapeutic one in order to make any real headway into the sports, business and entertainment world. If it isn't then it is more likely to be dismissed. People will happily pay more for something that is viewed as a peak performance technique and are more likely to see its immense value and potential.

When EFT takes off in those fields, it is more likely to be from someone already working in that field who can leverage their experience into the stratosphere using EFT and can see the fantastic potential. The same people who have used it in a therapeutic environment are not likely to do so.

Then again, I could be wrong................

If anyone is familiar with this particular set of DVD's (and even if they're not!) I'd love to see your comments.

3 Reasons to Set Goals

Oh no, not another posting on setting goals! I hear you groan.

Goal setting is the hardy perennial of personal development. Something which is seen as absolutely vital to create the life you want. I've been to both extremes - being both a dedicated goal setter and having few goals (if any) at all. Right now I'd say that I'm in the middle.

Steven Shapiro, author of Goal Free Living is of the belief that goals can actually get in the way of actually living, because they encourage us to focus on the future and can make us inflexible as to the hidden opportunities which await us now. He doesn't advocate directionless living. He states that we should have a general idea and direction of where we want to go, but to remain fully present, authentic and open to other possibilities.

This sounds good to me. And is a pretty good summary of where I am right now.

Even so I still advocate setting goals for the following reasons:

1. To discover your values

Now there are some schools of thought which suggest that you set your goals after you've discovered your values. I agree with this. But this can often feel a little vague. Sometimes it is good to set a goal that you are excited about working towards and achieving (very important) and then the values inherent within that goal often reveals itself. It is a process of discovery (different values at different phases of your life) and a fluid process.

2. To find out what you really want

How you feel about the goal shows whether it is indicative of whether it is truly aligned with what you really want out of life. Your feelings are a fabulous guidance system and you'll know if your goal resonates authentically within you. If it doesn't then the goal is likely to be a "should" "have to" or "ought to" and your spirit will not co-operate in successful achievement of the goal. You'll learn a lot from this process too. But you'll never know unless you set a definitive goal.

3. Goals give you direction

Well that's pretty obvious isn't it? But there's more to it than that. The process of achieving the goal leads you down a particular path and on the way you may decide that you want to go down another route. But setting the original goal was instrumental in bringing you there.

The process of achieving a goal should be just as compelling as its actual completion, if not more so. Because, if you're flexible and open, it'll draw you into avenues that you may not have considered otherwise and which could prove to more fulfilling, satisfying and lucrative. That is the mystery and beauty of life and why you should continue to set goals.

5 Ways to Conserve Your Energy - Part 1

Different governments, officials, environmental agencies exhort us to conserve the energy we use in order to save the environment and sustain our continued existence on the planet.

On a personal level I think that we also need to know how to conserve and focus our own personal supply of energy. We unconsciously dissipate and waste our energy on people, situations, thoughts, attitudes and events which do not serve us well. This leaves less space and energy for creating and attracting the kind of abundance that we want in our lives.

Interestingly enough I've also found that as I conserve energy, I tend to use less energy on craving and acquiring "stuff", thereby helping the environment.

So here are 5 Ways to Conserve Your Personal Energy and simultaneously enhance our Essential Connection.

1. Release Resistance

Releasing resistance will affect a profound change in your level of energy and how you view the world. Resistance often feels as though we are going against ourselves in order to satisfy some internal authority or a myriad of "shoulds" "oughts" and "have tos". It takes a tremendous amount of energy to be resistant.

Related feelings and behaviour include: procrastination, using willpower and discipline to effect change (otherwise known as "The Hard Way"!), stubborness, inflexibility, wanting to be right rather than happy (a very popular one:), holding onto self limiting beliefs way past their sell by date.

Releasing resistance can be as easy as just making a decision to let go of whatever you are holding onto. Energy therapy also helps release resistance at a very deep level.

2. Reduce time watching TV

Watching TV unconsciously is very exhausting. Haven't you noticed that when you watch TV continuously and do little else, you become extremely tired? That's because you are merely a passive recipient of information that you're not fully engaged with. On an energetic level, taking in all of those rays from the TV (similar to a computer) is overstimulating on a physiological level. Of course while you watch TV, it means that you're not doing something more productive.

Am I saying that you stop watching TV altogether? No, but to be more selective and watch only those programs that you are engaged with. I'd also say that stop watching the TV news - all of that manufactured fear really affects you on a cellular level. I find that my mindset, moods and overall energy improve significantly when I watch less TV.

3. Consciously create vacuums

Ever heard of the saying: "Nature abhors a vacuum". If you clean out an area of your life, you are giving the Universe a message to bring in something to replace it. This is otherwise known as energetic and/or physical clutter clearing. Start with either. Most people find it easier to start with clearing out the physical which has an effect on their energies. You are consciously creating the space for change to occur and inviting what you want into your life. This is much much easier than efforting to make things happen.

4. Avoid/deal with Energy Vampires

One of the quickest ways to get an energy boost is to disassociate yourself from those with those whose energy drains you. It is very effective. Unfortunately, it also becomes a little more difficult if they are your partner, member of your family, work colleagues or boss. It helps to develop a stronger set of boundaries and energetic protection, so that they are less likely to affect you in this way.

5. Create or prepare quiet time for yourself every day.

Not to do anything (unless it relaxes you), but just to clear and refresh your mind. We are human beings, not doings. There are times when our crowded schedule and minds don't allow space and time for the creative to be welcomed in. Einstein liked to go sailing in the afternoons after working in the morning. Okay, most of us don't have this opportunity, but you get the point.

There are plenty of other ways to conserve and increase your energy supply. What others do you have?