How to Market Your Business Without Hating Every Minute

This article is for you if:

• You find it hard to approach people and talk about your work
• It's difficult for you to represent the value of what you do
• You cringe when you have to go for the "ask," or offer a service or product to people
• You freeze when people ask you what you do, or you have to introduce yourself and your work to new 
• You avoid opportunities to share your work or business
• You shrink from connecting with partners to promote your work
• You're uncomfortable asking for support in getting your business out into the world

Marketing, at its root, is about connecting with people to communicate your value or the value of what you're offering.

Chances are that even if you're not the owner of your own business you still have to put yourself and what you do out into the world to boost your performance.

Here's the funny thing about being in business for yourself-- if you're not comfortable with visibility it can be really hard to put yourself and your business out there in a way that attracts new clients.

Marketing can be painfully uncomfortable-- and here's the piece that you're never going to learn from Harvard's MBA program (or any well- known business program)-- how you show up in the world as an adult has deep roots in what it meant for you to be visible when you were a kid.

So it's helpful to look at how it feels for you to be visible-- are you comfortable? Scared? Sick with anxiety? Excited? Focused?

Bottom line: if you have deep-seated fears or old beliefs that it's not safe or comfortable to be visible, it's going to be very hard to show up comfortably reppin' your business.

The inner pieces of why you do what you do in your business are as important (if not even more so) than the external pieces, which is definitely exemplified in looking at how difficult marketing can be if you have old fears or beliefs that hold you back from shining your true self.

Once you have your visibility piece sorted out (and this is an inner piece that is especially valuable to get professional support with- it's such a business investment to rid yourself of fears that hold you back from being loud and out there with what you do!), THEN we can move on to marketing without the "yuck" factor.

Here are a few valuable tips for you to take away on marketing without feeling like a door-to-door-encyclopedia salesman.

1. Stay connected to the "why" of what you do.
This is an important one- the more connected you are to the reason you do what you do, the better you'll be at conveying that excitement and passion to the person in front of you. People respond when you get excited- that energy ripples outwards and people want some of what you got.

So if you have a vision and mission statement, make sure it's up to date and joyful to you. Read it-- a lot. Re-visit it periodically and make sure that you're doing what you love, what you're good at, what you care about-- and if you're not, make tweaks to keep your work fresh and exciting and aligned. Because if you're not excited about it, it's going to be hard to get other people excited about it.

2. Stay connected to the benefits of your work
I once had a marketing coach assign me a list of 30 benefits women get from working with me. It felt really difficult, but you can bet for damn sure that at the end of that list I was SUPER clear about the value of working with me. And so is everyone I talk to-- because I keep that knowledge front and center when I talk to people about what I do.

One way to stay connected to the benefits of what you do include writing your own 20-30 item list of what people get from your work. A second tool is to ask for and save client testimonials or stories of client successes from your work with them.

Once you have these two things, spend a week or two reading through them every day until you really feel you've absorbed them and can cite them quickly and easily. Re-read though some before you have to show up in any business or networking situation to bring them to the surface again and tap into their value (and yours!).

3. Check yo' energy.
If you don't believe in yourself, ain't no one else going to-- I learned this one the hard way so spare yourself the trouble. The more I shine my confidence the more people feel the value of my work, and the more they're attracted to working with me.

Conversely, when I get stuck in a rut of fear, scarcity mentality, or self-doubt (yup, happens to all of us from time to time, Oprah -- can you sound in on this, please?), people turn around and walk the other way.

So energy management is another tool I teach that you're not going to learn in your average business program-- and it is one of the MAIN tools of a successful, joyful business. Really.

Now, go get visible and shine yourself and your awesome work out into the world!

MORE:

Bill Gates' Foundation Gives Its Largest Gift Ever To Combat Ebola Crisis

The fight against Ebola has found a deep-pocketed ally in Bill Gates.

The billionaire philanthropist's foundation has pledged $50 million to fight the viral outbreak in West Africa, according to a statement by the organization. The Associated Press noted the donation is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's largest ever toward a humanitarian cause.

The foundation's statement specified funds would immediately benefit United Nations agencies and international organizations involved in containing and treating the virus, allowing them to purchase necessary medical supplies and increase emergency operations. From the foundation's total pledge, $5 million has already gone toward the World Health Organization (WHO), while another $5 million has been allocated for UNICEF efforts in some of the hardest hit regions of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The historic pledge comes a week after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said "the world can no longer afford to short-change global public health," urging international organizations to help WHO raise the approximate $600 million needed for supplies in West Africa.

In a report released Sept. 5, WHO reported the overall death rate of the disease stood at 53 percent. The total number of cases reached 3,944, while 2,079 had died from infection in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- countries identified as "those with widespread and intense transmission."

Lionel Messi's Hometown Bans Parents From Naming Their Children 'Messi'

After Rosario, Argentina,
resident Héctor Varela named
his son Messi — in honor of
hometown hero Lionel Messi —
government officials banned
parents from naming children after the soccer superstar.
According to Mundo Deportivo, officials expected a flood of
babies named Messi could
“lead to confusion,” and they’d
apparently rather deal with
school rooms full of di Marias
and Cambiassos. The timing seems a little off
here. Lionel Messi is a four-
time World Player of the year,
and he’s been a superstar for
Barcelona for going on nine
years. Now we’re all of a sudden worried about too
many Messis?

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/09/lionel-messi-hometown-bans-parents-name

Breaking News. Oscar Pistorius Found Guilty Of Manslaughter

Yesterday Oscar Pistorius was found not guilty of pre-meditated murder and second degree murder because according to the judge, his conduct after the shooting was "inconsistent" with someone who intended to commit murder. 

But he has been found guilty of manslaughter this morning. He was also found guilty of second fire arm charge and found not guilty of the first and third fire arm charge.

The judge said no one submitted that there was an intention to pull the trigger, but that does not absolve him of the crime of negligently handling a firearm.

Support builds for Scotland to break from UK

For 307 years, Scotland has helped put the “united” in the United Kingdom.

That could change Sept. 18, as Scottish voters head to the polls to decide whether the nation should declare independence and break away from England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

It’s a question that evokes a historic rivalry and images from Scotland’s rich history, such as William Wallace leading an uprising against English occupation in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.

Proponents of separation, though, say it’s a more modern tale. Scotland is a country booming with oil reserves, ready to conduct its own affairs, they contend. There’s growing frustration among many in the left-of-center country who say the U.K.’s government, based at Westminster Palace in London, began moving to the right with the election of Margaret Thatcher and has not looked back.

“It’s not about teary-eyed Scots yearning for ancient soil, it’s about hoping to live in a civilized, caring society, and we’ve given up all hope we can do that with Westminster,” said Keith Aitchison, 67, a retired civil servant who volunteers at a busy pro-independence campaign office in Inverness. “Our two nations have moved apart.”

Yet critics – including the U.K. government led by British Prime Minister David Cameron – argue that Scotland benefits from the union and challenge the wisdom and the cost of going it alone. They’ve raised questions about what would happen if Westminster prevented an independent Scotland from using its currency, the British pound.

“We’ve been united for so long and it works,” said Laraine Johnston of Edinburgh, catching one of several shows at the recent Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the city’s famed performing arts showcase. “I prefer it together. I’m proud to be Scottish and I’m proud to be part of the U.K. I’m not sure people realize how entwined we are and what the costs would be for a divorce.”

Polls suggest a plurality of Scots agree with Johnston. But momentum appears to be with the nationalists, and the vote may be closer than many expected, said Richard Whitman, a European political expert at the University of Kent in England. A poll this week showed voters split 48 percent to 42 percent against independence, the 6 percentage point lead down from 22 in early August.

Divorce would not cripple the United Kingdom – Scotland represents just a small percentage of its population – but “third-party perception will be that the U.K. is greatly diminished,” Whitman said. It could lose clout on the world stage, at the United Nations Security Council and in the European Union.

Severance likely would cost Cameron his position, as he’d be considered “the man who lost Scotland,” Whitman said. Cameron conceded early in the debate that Scotland could stand on its own – words that the “Yes” campaign seized on to help the case for independence _ though Cameron argued that it was better off staying in the U.K.

The U.S. has said it’s neutral in the debate, but President Barack Obama in June made it clear the administration wants Scotland in the U.K., even as he said the decision was up to the Scottish people.

“We obviously have a deep interest in making sure that one of the closest allies that we will ever have remains strong, robust, united and an effective partner,” Obama said, speaking at a press conference in Brussels with Cameron at his side.

Among the shared interests has been decades of cooperation on nuclear weapons, which could be affected by independence. Much of the U.K.’s nuclear weapons arsenal, including four submarines that carry nuclear-armed Trident missiles, is housed in Scotland. But the Scottish National Party, which champions the referendum, wants the weapons removed.

Within Scotland, the debate has become all encompassing: Activists have held town halls across the country, in tiny villages and large cities. Two televised debates have drawn considerable interest, and signs of the campaign _ pro-independence “Yes” and anti-referendum “Better Together” _ are everywhere, even in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands.

Scottish actor Peter Capaldi tucked an independence joke into his much anticipated debut as “Doctor Who,” cracking in the BBC science fiction show that his considerable eyebrows “probably want to cede from the rest of my face and set up their own independent state of eyebrows.”

Other celebrities have delivered pleas: “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has urged unity, as have Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger and singer David Bowie. But Sir Tom Devine, Scotland’s most prominent historian, has endorsed independence. The Scottish Parliament has shown it can govern “and it represents a Scottish people who are wedded to a social democratic agenda,” he told the British newspaper The Observer.

Across Scotland, the campaigns have established dueling storefronts: Better Together offers pens and faux airline boarding passes: “Non-refundable,” the tickets say, warning that independence, once declared, is irreversible. The price of going it alone: “Unknown.”

The Yes movement has struck a chord with other regions in Europe looking to go it alone, including Catalonians in Spain, who hope to hold their own independence vote in November.

“We hope Scotland works because maybe it would be a good sign for us,” says Jaume Artes, a vacationing Catalonian who visited the Yes office in Inverness.

At times, the debate has become heated. Signs have been defaced. Eggs have been tossed. “No” voters say they’ve been accused of lacking sufficient patriotism. “Yes” voters say they’re accused of painting too rosy a picture of an independent Scotland.

Scotland’s national dish _ haggis, a blend of organ meats traditionally encased in a sheep’s stomach _ has even been part of the fray as Scots questioned whether the U.K.’s decision to use its clout to help convince the U.S. to overturn a ban on haggis imports was aimed at swaying Scottish votes to stick with the union.

There are fears, too, that if independence is soundly defeated, Westminster politicians will backtrack on promises made to give Scotland greater autonomy – a process known as devolution that got its start in 1979 with a referendum vote.

Popular Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith warned the vote has split the country.

“It’s a sad situation that Scotland has become so divided,” he told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Caoimhe Simpson has heard all the arguments but was still undecided as she sat with friends at Gellions, an Inverness pub. Behind her, where bands kick into Scottish folk songs, a banner proclaimed: “Now’s the day, Now’s the hour: 18 Sept 2014. Scotland’s date with Destiny” – a reference to the fabled Stone of Destiny, which played a central role in the coronation of Scottish kings and was later coveted by both the Scottish and the English.

Simpson, 19, a recent college graduate who works as a beauty therapist, takes great pride in her Scottish heritage and is convinced that Scottish priorities, such as helping the poor, get short shrift from Westminster.

But she says she’s worried voters are being asked to take too much of a leap of faith.

“I want to believe as an independent nation we’ll be better,” she said. “But we just don’t know.”

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/04/238707/support-building-for-scotland.html#storylink=cpy

6 Body Language Secrets Very Successful People Know By Janine Driver

Do: Hold Your Chin.

"It's something we see powerful people do -- Hillary Clinton, Steve Jobs on the cover of his biography. It's a thinking pose, a gesture that says, 'When times are tough, I'm going to come up with the solution.'"

Don't: Pull in Your Lips.

"Sucking in your lips until they're hidden in your mouth says you're holding something back. When Anthony Weiner said his Twitter account had been hacked, he pulled in his lips. So did A-Rod when he talked about using banned substances. I see many people do it when they're trying to hide an emotion too uncomfortable to share."

Do: Steeple Your Fingers.

"Put fingertips to fingertips to increase your authority. I call it steepling. Oprah steeples, as does Donald Trump just before he says 'You're fired.' President Obama does a modified steeple, like he's holding an invisible basketball, which suggests compassion."

Don't: Lose Track of Your Tilt.

"Never share valuable information with your head tilted -- it makes it seem as if you don't stand behind it. If you're just chatting and not divulging, feel free to tilt your head, but mind the direction: If you tilt to your right, you're seen as more attractive, and if you tilt to your left, you're viewed as more intelligent."

Do: Cross Your Arms.

"You've heard that crossing your arms makes you look standoffish -- which is true, if the person doesn't know you. But if you're among friends, cross away! It can help you figure out a problem, because the action uses both sides of your body, engaging both sides of your brain: the logical left and the creative right. Research shows that arm crossing makes us more likely to stay on a difficult task."

Don't: Wrinkle Your Nose.

"I once worked with a gorgeous woman who couldn't get a guy to take her on a second date. After watching her interact with men, I spotted the problem: When she laughed, she wrinkled her nose, a universal sign of disgust. Her dates later told me they didn't think she liked them, but none could say why. She stopped wrinkling her nose -- and is now happily married. That's the power of body language!"

Global Commission on Drug Policy Call For Liberalisation Of Policies On Cannabis And Other Hard Drugs

Global Commission on Drug Policy on Tuesday in New York, at its annual meeting, called for a fundamental change of global drug policies and decriminalisation of drug use.

Members of the commission are drawn from political leaders, including, former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo, former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria, former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss.

The group also includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group.
The commission called for a complete overhaul of the global drug prohibition regime and focus on the promotion of the health and welfare of people instead of continuing to criminalise drug use.

It agreed that there must be an immediate end to punitive enforcement of drug policies, including jail time for non-violent, low-level users and producers of drugs.
http://www.punchng.com/news/world-leaders-call-for-liberalisation-of-global-drug-policies/

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