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AfterGlow Salon in Portland, OR – Oh, my!

December 22, 2009 | No comments

I found it! All by myself, I found it! A little bit of Heaven on Earth. And it’s available to you, too! It’s the AfterGlow Salon at 4247 SW Corbett Avenue in Portland.

Customer service and going the extra mile to attract business are attributes we should all pay more attention to.  Here’s a story for you.

I follow Crave Portland.  A little bit ago they had their Holiday Giveaways and among the prizes were some wonderful services from AfterGlow. I’d honestly never heard of them being so new to the area. I had a little trouble finding the entry form so wrote to the person who had posted the notice of the contest for help because the entry date was fast approaching. I got the information quickly, and then within hours received a phone call from Randi who owns AfterGlow telling me she was sorry I had had so much trouble with the entry and as a consolation, she’d like to gift me with a back treatment. Can you believe it? Talk about going the extra mile.

Now, I love prezzies. I never met a gift I didn’t love.  So, armed with my trusty, if recalcitrant GPS, I drove on the appointed day to get my prize. I had no idea what I was in for, but I’m adventurous at the very least.

Corbett Avenue is in the St. John’s neighborhood which reminds me very much of my beloved San Francisco with it’s steep hills and lack of parking. After 4 times around the block to find a spot in the pouring rain, I found one a block away, hopped out of my car and walked to one of the quaint shops.

I was immediately greeted by Stacey who offered me my choice of beverages and immediately began explaining where everything was for my comfort.  I filled out their information form and was then introduced to Randi who would be doing my treatment.

Talking to Randi while she was giving my back the equivalent of a full facial, we discovered we had a lot in common. We both have poured our blood, sweat and tears into creating our businesses and we’re up for a lot of the same things: empowerment of women, instilling possibility into every opportunity and living a life without limits and without Oughta-Pilots(tm).

AfterGlow is now going to be a big part of my “Create and Guard Your Sacred Time” commitment. I look forward to some serious enjoyment in 2010! They offer a full range of services from hair and nails to waxing and facials by certified estheticians. I personally recommend the back treatment.

AfterGlow Salon & Day Spa
4247 SW Corbett Avenue
Portland, OR 97239
503-208-2022
www.afterglowsalon.com

If you talk to Randi – tell her I said hi!

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Book Review: Why Epiphanies Never Occur To Couch Potatoes

October 30, 2009 | 1 comment

I sometimes receive books to review, and usually it’s a chore to get them read and reviewed, but “Why Epiphanies Never Occur To Couch Potatoes” not only exceeded my expectations, it gave me a serious kick in the backside to get moving.  This small but powerful paperback embodies the message delivered by author, speaker, consultant and radio host Mark Amtower at the annual Merit Direct client conference in Westchester, New York in 2005. Normally known for his expertise on marketing to the federal government, this speech was a departure for him, a stretch out of his comfort zone and has quite possibly become a major cornerstone of a legacy rich and robust he will leave behind.

The book is full of wonderful caricatures drawn by Dave McCoy that are dead on to the topic at hand. It’s a very quick read, but so full of wisdom you might want to read it a second and third time — I know I did, highlighter and pencil in hand after the first perusal.

He offers 10 Laws for Success that are so simple, so obvious, I challenge anyone out there to say there’s anything new in them – yet Mr. Amtower expands on them in a way that touches a very deep nerve, especially if you’ve been sitting on it for awhile, that will galvanize you into action.

For example:

Law 8 – The Law of Communication

The Law of Communication is simple: be able to succinctly state who you are and what you do9. Keep it simple and always be truthful. If the person or group you are talking to is interested in what you say, they will ask for more.

Poor communication leads to diminishing returns. Communicate well or die a slow death.

Good  communication lays a solid groundwork.

Great communication lays a great foundation for bigger things sooner.

Great communication also leaves an audience that will be more receptive the next time they see you.

I am a WYSIWYG, a one-song jukebox. My tune does not change from audience to audience. What I say in the boardroom with the executive team or the Board of Directors is the same thing I will say in the cafeteria with the marketing staff. I am too simple for subterfuge, and I like myself too much to lie.

And I have found that my opinions and my candor expand my audience, they do not shrink it.

Be straight and keep it simple.

I recommend this small yet mighty book to anyone who’s stuck, uncertain or procrastinating. You won’t be that way for long!

Why Epiphanies Never Occur To Couch Potatoes

(c) 2007 by Mark Amtower

ISBN: 978-0-9764867-I-8

LCCN 2007936390

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Skype it – Freetalk Everyman headset rocks!

October 19, 2009 | No comments

I’m in love! I just got to try the new Everyman headset by Freetalk(r)!

I’ve been using Skype for over a year for just about everything. The way my life changes and shifts, this way I have a set access for making all the calls, doing my radio show, recording podcasts and returning phone calls without any interruption.  I normally use a Logitech headset I bought at WalMart two years ago that had excellent pickup and sound, but unfortunately the boom microphone has seen better days and it’s now duct taped into place and snaps and pops in protest.

I was visiting a friend, had forgotten my headset and had to make an important call. I was on my new netbook, one without the standard green and pink connectors and  OH – I MUST HAVE ONE. This model is one I believe that is on the way to release.

I checked out the Skype website and there is one that looks like the same one, that’s available now for $22.88. Here’s what I love about it:

It connects via USB

It has it’s little sound “card” inline with the cord so it’s independent of whatever sound card you got with your system

It has a really sweet microphone that is truly noise canceling – even without a spitshield (that’s the little foam covering that keeps coming off that keeps the snaps and pops from showing up).

In the immortal words of Will Smith in Independence Day – “I gotta get me one of these!”

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Event review: Magnetic Personalities Abound

May 8, 2009 | No comments

I just returned from attending the Magnetize Your Audience workshop in Richmond, British Columbia.  What a pleasant surprise – I had seen Callan Rush and Justin Livingston in action before at the Master Trainer Camp I talked about on Solopreneur Insider. What a delight to see them step into their own and create the vision they spoke to there.

The weekend was packed with much more actual, USEABLE information than I had expected. What a wonderful surprise. I’m so used to going to marketing workshops and having it be all about marketing the speakers and their products. Callan and Justin each had their sections to present and admirably played to their strong suits to do it!

Justin is much more the technical, methodical, nuts and bolts side of the business and Callan is much lighter, emotional/empathic side. Together they address the whole banana and truly deliver an experience that I recommend to anyone whether you’re actually speaking to groups or not. When you walk away from this weekend, your head is  full of ideas and anticipation for your own dreams becoming real and you have a binder full of templates, tools and information that you can refer to when the emotional high dissipates.  (How many times have you come out of a workshop ready to rock the world with all the information you were exposed to, you get home and look through your notes and wish you could remember what A –> 45 means?)

I met some incredible people there. I can’t say I had a favorite, since they were all so very individual. There was Gio, the image consultant – (watch this guy, folks, he’ll be huge very soon!) Kala, a delightful gal who uses Huna to maximize human potential, JoAnne, a life coach who was such a little spark of excitement, you could definitely tell when she entered a room.  And the list goes on and on.

I learned TONS of great tips, crafted some solid information pieces (watch for my new ebooks and reports) but I got the biggest bang of the weekend during an exercise on Sunday night, led by Cindy Bertrand. (Her site’s not live yet, but keep clicking). This diminuitive dynamo is a professional puppeteer, therapist and author and has made a huge difference in my life.

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The exercise we did (and one I will definitely include in my own workshops) was one where we worked in teams, recognizing that there was a part of ourselves we withhold from others, preventing us from playing full out and being authentically present with our audiences. We blew up balloons and with each tap we said goodbye to whatever it was we thought we were hiding. (For me, guess what, my secret is I’m fat! -never would have known to see me, huh?)  So simple, yet so powerful.  After the exercise was over, I felt and still do feel completely at ease with myself. There were other awareness exercises and experiences, too.  The whole weekend was very illuminating.

So now, my dear friends, here is the plan. I’m taking my show on the road.  I have the teleseries, Disconnect Your Oughta-Pilot beginning again 5/12 and 6/17.  I’m creating a 2 day workshop to be offered in July in the Tri-Cities area of Washington (Richland/Kennewick/Pasco) not sure which venue yet, but it will be special! I’ll let you all know the details as soon as I get them firm. Please send me an email or sign up for the newsletter so I can keep you informed easier than by blogging, and as always, please listen and comment on my radio show, Living A Created Life, Thursdays on Bitwire Media

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Wow. New President, More Positive Future?

November 12, 2008 | 1 comment

We have a new President. Barak Obama, citizen of the world and proud American is our leader. I’m sitting here after watching the coverage on TV and i feel drained. I feel exhausted, I feel hopeful and nervous.

I’m hopeful that President-elect Obama can fulfill his vision and if he stands in the possibility of healing the world “one block at a time”, as he says, I believe he’ll do it.  I feel a sense of pride and belonging like after 9/11 when parties didn’t matter and we were all just Americans.

I’m nervous, though, because I don’t trust George Bush not to do something stupid in the time he has left. Megalomaniac that he is, I’m not sure he won’t create a real mess in the Middle East (as if the one we’re already in isn’t enough) and walk away from it and drop it in Obama’s lap.

I’m usualy not the activist in the family.  I tend to be more a-political, personally, because i’ve been so disillusioned by what I have seen being done from the White House in the name of security but hs been mostly and obviously ego. I’m sure we all are feeling a renewed sense of hope and I pray the groundswell will carry us all high into prosperity once again.

I do not follow Democratic or Republican ideals – I follow human ideals.  I wonder what will happen now for really small business such as my own.  Both candidates spoke of tax breaks/cuts, options, rebates, and stimulus checks, but neither mentioned the really small fry, the solopreneur. Even Business Week was talking about the small business impact according to the SBA, but they were still talking about businesses that make over $250,000 a year.

Many of my clients don’t make a quarter of that, yet. What do they have to look forward to?

We’ll have to see.

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