The Power of Gratitude

What It Takes to Create an Amazon Bestseller

Our recent Amazon bestseller launch for Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income has created quite a bit of buzz and questions about what it takes to create a #1 bestseller launch of this magnitude with no joint venture partners. 

I'll be sharing the inside scoop with Kathleen Gage's VIP Club members on June 13th, but I will give you two key elements here. First and foremost it takes an amazing team of people!  Second, it takes thinking outside the box.

For example, this launch would never have been possible without the masterminding brilliance and copywriting of Lisa Rae Preston. Lisa was my right-hand-woman on this campaign and it was through brainstorming with Lisa that we were able to create a win-win-win for our contributors, our readers and the book. 

Lisa encouraged me to lift the lid on my thinking and come up with something that had never been done before, something so amazing, so compelling that people would be crazy not to buy the book. 

And that's what I'd encourage you to do when you're launching your book (or product or service). It's the tendency of humanity to copy someone else's successful system. In fact, people copy, copy, copy until they run things in the ground, and they're so overdone they don't work anymore. Instead of copying someone else, think outside the box and come up with something unique that has never been done before, something that is so win-win that people can't resist it.

Then, you'll be onto something! 

By the way, if you need help stretching your thinking outside the box so that you take quantum leaps on what's possible, I HIGHLY recommend working with creative genius, Lisa Rae Preston. There's nobody like her!

Oh, and if you haven't picked up a copy of Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income be sure to stop by www.TrustYourHeartSeries.com to find out how you can not only get a copy of the book, but also exclusive interviews with all 19 participants.

Here's what one of our readers wrote me this morning:

"I received the book and I love the info and life changing stories. I listen to the audios while driving to work. It's better than coffee to kick start your day." - R. Willams

 

Collect People Who Transform Your Life!

Some people collect dolls, figurines, or baseball cards. I collect people! There's nothing I love more than meeting someone new with an amazing skill or talent and learning from them. That's why I'm thrilled to announce my new book, "Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income" because I get to share with the world some of my favorite people and how they transformed their ideas into income.

There's so much we can learn from those who have "been there, done that!" These folks all had a dream, faced challenges head-on, and took action on their ideas to transform them into income. And they're sharing their stories in this book -- many of them for the very first time. Not only do each of the 19 contributors share their stories, but they also share tips, strategies and ideas that you can put into action right now to follow your own heart and transform your idea into income.

Last month at the Radiant Success Event, I was able to hang out with several of the contributors to the book. In this photo you'll see me with these wonderful people -- Laura West, Shannon Cherry, Adela Rubio, Janis Pettit and Jessica Swanson (I'm the tall one in the middle). I'd met Adela and Janis before at last year's Radiant Success Event and we planned this year's event together; but it was my first time meeting the others. I'd talked with them on the phone, done business with them online, but never had the chance to meet them face-to-face.  What an incredible group of women! 

I KNOW you're going to love meeting them too within the pages of "Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income." 

AND, on launch day (Wednesday May 18th), we're giving you something extra special... if you have a business that you want the world to know about, we want to help you! If you buy the book from Amazon on Launch Day, you'll get a listing for your "giveaway" on the bonus download page for the book. This means all the buyers of the book will see your lead generator! Find out more at www.TrustYourHeartSeries.com 

Marketing Strategy that Creates Raving Fans

• Have you been trying to get your product, service or message out in the world? 
• Is there a part of you that's deeply disappointed that your business dreams have not manifested despite your honest work and tireless effort? 

If so, you're not alone. It's harder than ever before to get messages through to your target arket due to the sea of text messages, calls, emails – dumped on us from every direction! Your market faces overwhelm and immobilization! Even if the answer to their prayer is right in front of them, they may be too paralyzed by all the options to choose that answer!

I LOVE promoting positive messages and helping people like you share unique solutions with the world! Thus, I've made it my quest to find out how to get positive messages through to the people who desperately need them -- despite the cacophony of noise. 

I'm excited to say that I've come upon a solution! May I share it with you?

I've put it all together in a program called "You Have a Message! Let's Get It Out There!" 

• If you feel you might have a message, but haven't quite articulated it so you can build an entire business around it . . . this is for you.  
• If you know what your message is, but need help verbalizing it in a way that connects with your audience and creates loyal followers . . . this is for you. 
• If you are ready to get your message, product or service in front of thousands of people  . . . this is for you. 
• If you don't want to waste thousands of hours and dollars on ineffective marketing tools . . . this is for you. 

I've put together this program to share with you what I share with my high-end consulting clients. You'll learn a simple, natural way to get

• more subscribers to your list, 
• more raving f.a.n.s and followers in socia1 media, 
• word of mouth referrals that capture the heart and attention of your targeted market 
• more sales for your products and services 

I've been helping people build loyal followings for over a decade, but never before have I put my method together in a succinct way that takes the mystery out of it for you AND shares my latest epiphanies about how to cut through information overload.

May I share a success story to show you what's possible?

"When I met Marnie, I was a Bob Proctor facilitator with no web site, no book, and no product of my own. Marnie helped me create a site, and encouraged and guided me in the development of ebooks and books. She made writing a book seem easy. It was just the encouragement I needed, and now I have three best-sellers under my belt. To this day Marnie continues to promote me throughout her network of sites. What has grown into a six-figure business all started with Marnie's consulting, guidance and promotion." -- Leslie Householder, best-selling author of The Jackrabbit Factor: Why You Can! and Portal to Genius 

As Kirk Duncan says, "Inspiration without expression leads to depression." 

Don't leave your message trapped inside you any longer! You have a message! Let's get it out there!

Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas Into Income

I'm grateful to announce my latest book, "Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income." Get the inside scoop on how Adam Urbanski escaped communist Poland to become a millionaire, how Denise Wakeman started her business on a lover's leap, and how Ellen Britt, Laura West, Kathleen Gage, Shannon Cherry, Janis Pettit, Adela Rubio, Lisa Rae Preston, myself and a total of 19 experts trusted our hearts and transformed our ideas into income!

Get Rid of the Overwhelm and Get Clarity About Your Path to Prosperity

Have you ever been to an event where it felt like 5,000 pieces of information were thrown at you all at once? You came away unsure how to practically apply it all to your business? It can be very overwhelming, can't it? This year the planners of the 2nd Annual Radiant Success Event have taken this into consideration and created an environment where you can not only learn, but also have time to practically apply what you learn to dynamically increase your income.

Each day of the conference will include a break-out session designed to assist you in creating an action plan for implementing what you've learned. At the event you'll come away with clear, concise steps you can take in your business to transform your ideas into income.

This year's presenters include Janis Pettit, Adela Rubio, Shannon Cherry, Felicia Slattery and Bob Jenkins and myself. This power-house group of presenters will be on hand to assist you through this process. Only 100 seats are available, so the presenter to participant ratio is high -- making this an ideal environment to connect, joint venture, and even find new customers!

For details go to http://www.RadiantSuccessEvent.com

Have You Found the Missing Link to Success?

Back in early 1990, my husband lost his job. We had two small children -- a 2-year-old daughter and a 5-month-old son with a medical condition. When my husband suggested I look for work since I had computer experience and might have an easier time finding a job, I started putting out resumes. After the first interview, I came home and sat at my kitchen table and knew -- just KNEW that if I went out into the workforce, I'd never be a stay-at-home-mom again.

That's when an idea struck. It wasn't a brand new idea, but one I'd rolled around in my head about a year earlier. The idea returned -- teach people computers the way other people teach piano lessons -- let them come to my house and tutor them.

The newspaper was open to the "help wanted" section, and there was a number I could call to place an ad. I didn't wait. I called it and placed one that read something like this:

"Are you being turned down for jobs because you don't know WordPerfect, Pagemaker and Lotus 1-2-3? If so, call ###-#### for personalized hands-on training."

It ran in the next Sunday's paper and only cost $5.00. The first time the ad ran I signed up two students. I had to book them two weeks out so I could scramble and create my course materials.

By November of 1990, I was working 50 hours a week from our little 1,100 square foot suburban home teaching 2-3 people at a time.

That single idea set me off on a trail that has made me who I am today. I didn't know in May of 1990 that one day I'd be the creator of IdeaMarketers.com and SheLovesGod.com or the author of 20 books. I didn't know I'd have a career that I absolutely adore -- writing, speaking and promoting some of the most amazing people on the planet.

All I knew was that I wanted to be there for my kids and that I had an idea worth trying. I didn't wait until I had all my course materials created. I didn't wait until I'd researched the marketplace or even my competition. I just had a hunch that people would pay for private tutoring. And they did! What's more, when my students went on to get jobs, they told their employers about me. From there I got programming and consulting contracts with top notch companies. The experience was incredibly valuable. I was able to learn about business from some very savvy individuals as I went into companies and computerized their systems.
 
In 1995, a friend suggested we go into business together creating Web pages. I followed my heart again and leapt into a whole new world.

So ... have you figured out what the missing link to success is yet?  You guessed it! It's taking action! Lots of people have ideas. It's the individual who takes consistent action whose ideas transform into successful realities.

Taking action is so important, five of my colleagues and I are putting together the "Take Action Virtual Workshop." It's online, free and starts February 22nd. You'll be able to listen to successful entrepreneurs like Shannon Cherry, Janis Pettit, Adela Rubio, Bob Jenkins, Felicia Slattery and myself share our stories of how we took our ideas and transformed them to income. We'll also share action steps you can take immediately to turn your ideas into successful realities.

So what are you waiting for? Take action! :) Register today for free at
http://www.TakeActionVirtualWorkshop.com

Business Strategy: 5 Tips from 20 Years in Business

In May, I celebrated my 20th year in business. I was 24 years old when I began my computer training and consulting business as a way to bring in extra cash flow when my husband's job situation went south. By November of 1990 I was teaching 40-50 hours per week out of my home.

My first clients were individuals who needed to learn computers to get better employment. Those people got jobs and then started referring me to their employers. A few years later I was consulting and programming for large companies in the Chattanooga area.

In 1996, a friend and I started an online marketing company, helping my clients get online with Web sites. One of the main ways we promoted our clients was by listing them in search engines and promoting them with articles that we sent to ezines editors for publication. That was back in the day when you could just submit your site to Yahoo! and get a listing and when people actually wanted to subscribe to a newsletter.

IdeaMarketers.com was born in 1998. I put my database programming background together with Web design to help writers and publishers find each other. According to my research, we're the longest running article and ezine directory around, now having expanded to content promotion of more than just articles and ezines, but also press releases, books, ebooks, audios, videos and expertise.

Along the way I've learned some important lessons that I'd like to share with you if you are or plan on doing business online.

Stay on the bleeding edge of technology.

One of the most serious mistakes I made with IdeaMarketers was staying with a Microsoft Access database instead of moving to SQL sooner. That may not mean much to you if you're not a database person, but bottom line, what that meant was that IdeaMarketers could only hold about 20,000 articles before it would slug down to a crawl. MS Access couldn't handle the volume. So I'd periodically go in and purge old or unwanted articles.

Other article directories came along and used SQL sooner and grew their databases without restraint. As a result, IdeaMarketers is the oldest article directory around,  but we're not the largest because I didn't adapt fast enough. Lesson learned the hard way!

Stay Open to Inspiration and Act Immediately

In 2004, I woke up at about 3:00 a.m. with an idea for how people could bid for position on the home page of IdeaMarketers. While I'd been keeping my eyes and ears open for new directions to take IdeaMarketers, I had never thought of doing something like this until it came to me clear as crystal that night.

In the morning I woke up and went to work. The bidding system was in place within about 24 hours. Of course it evolved over time, but it's become an innovative way for people to economically promote their articles, press releases, books and ebooks on our high-traffic site.

When inspiration strikes, act immediately!

Adapt, Adapt, Adapt

Over the last two decades, our revenue has come from dozens of different places. When the dot-com bust of 2000 happened, many of my friends with high-traffic web sites that generated revenue from advertising suffered greatly. They went from four and five figures a month in ad revenue to only a fraction of that. Because our revenues were primarily coming from memberships and content services, we survived.

Today, as small businesses and individuals struggle, PPC advertising is a more stable form of revenue for us than anything else. Remember that what worked yesterday, might not work today in business and you have to be willing and ready to adapt.

Keep Expenses under Control

I've seen internet businesses come and go. Those that have gone out of business were those who spent too much money too fast – assuming they'd have massive business growth overnight. They incurred big up-front expenses and then never generated the revenues fast enough to keep up with them.

Whether you're starting up or growing quickly, keep your expenditures under control. Things change fast on the Internet, and you have to be ready when they do. Those who were paying high dedicated server fees in the dot-com bust era went under when their ad revenues dried up. Today, of course, things can be volatile as well, but there's still good money to be made online. Just be wise with it when it comes.

Delegate

In 2003 I hired my first virtual assistant and it wasn't until then that our business really took off. Within less than two years of hiring her, our revenues doubled and have continued to climb ever since. You simply cannot take your business to the next level all by yourself. You need help. Delegate!

I could go on and on with the lessons I’ve learned over the last 20 years, but I hope you’ll take to heart the five I’ve shared. They could make or break your success.

 

Dang! Where Did That Creative Flow Go?

Sometimes the ideas, inspiration and words flow easily and effortlessly. Other times you couldn't connect with that place of inspiration for all the tea in China. At those moments, you feel like exclaiming, "Dang! Where did that creative flow go?"  or "Lord, where are you?"

I think anyone who has ever tried to create anything has wondered, “What’s wrong with me?”  Why was I able to do this before, but I can’t anymore? Why do I feel so uninspired?

I know I’ve asked myself plenty of times: What if I can never write another novel?  What if that was it, and it’s gone? Or I've had times when inspiration flows freely from heaven and then other times I feel like I'm left to grope in the dark by myself. I strain heavenward to catch even a crumb of inspiration. Neither state happens because I'm being particularly "good" or particularly "bad."

Many entrepreneurs and creative people have experienced a euphoric state where everything’s flowing. Ideas seem to rain down from heaven. Authors experience this as if they are tuned into some broadcast channel and what they’re writing isn’t coming from them but through them. It’s exhilarating!

Unfortunately, along with this, there are also times when you wonder whether you can ever write another word. Perhaps it was only a miracle you could the last time. In fact, many creative people are prone to depression, guilt and self-doubts when their creativity feels “off.” I believe it is because they do not understand what is happening to them.

Because they don’t realize there is a predictable pattern to creativity, they begin to doubt themselves. Perhaps they even let guilt and depression set in. Let me give you an example.

A friend called me in a tearful state. She was slaving dawn until dusk on a book that she'd been working on for several years. Coming down to the end of the project, she'd reached the final editing stage. She was feeling anything but creative. No matter what she did, she couldn't muster any creative flow to give her book the glorious zing she felt it was missing. What happened? Where did all that free-flowing inspiration go? Will it ever come back again? "Maybe I have ADD," she suggested.

There are two things happening to my friend in this situation. First, as anyone who has ever written a book knows, when you get to the end of the editing phase, you're so sick of it you could sling it across the room and stomp on it. It's garbage to you at that point and surely no one would ever want to read it. It doesn't matter how inspired it once looked to you or how great other people say it is, it's drivel to you now.  Second, she's not in a state of flow creatively. She's in a different phase of The Creative Cycle.

After talking with me for about 30 minutes, she knew exactly where she was in the creative process and her anxiety melted away like a boiling pot taken off the stove. Why? Because knowing where you are in the creative process can save you days of anxiety. I was able to assure her that….

• No, you do not have ADD.
• No, you are not clinically depressed.
• Yes, you will be able to create again.

There is hope shining brightly on the horizon. Just knowing this process can help you identify where you are in it and know that all will be well once again. So, without further adieu, let’s talk about the phases of the creative process.

1) Flow – this is when all the ideas are coming. Inspiration is at its height. It’s as if you’re a conduit for light and truth. You’re also in a time warp, able to accomplish an amazing amount in little time.
2) Chaos – being so wrapped up in the creative phase, your house, relationships and maybe even other aspects of your business have fallen into disarray.
3) Recuperation – if the state of flow was particularly intense, you’ll need a rest. Sorry, no one can be an Energizer Bunny forever! I have a friend who crashes on her couch for days after an intense creative period.
4) Organization – now that you’ve got your energy back, you’ll need to organize your world that fell apart during the creative phase. In other words, bring order to chaos. It wouldn’t hurt to organize those ideas you came up with in the flow state!
5) Productivity – here’s where you can get a lot done. It’s not intensely creative, but it’s the grunt-work that needs to be done, and you’re actually in the mood to do it. This is where my friend was. She was editing her book – it takes work, but it’s not necessarily highly creative work. Eventually, you start to feel like a rat on a wheel in this phase and you long for the creative phase again, like my friend longed for inspiration on her book.
6) Rest – After an intense period of productivity, you will need some time to rest. If you don’t take it yourself, your body may demand it. Many people get sick when they do not take their much-needed rest! If you’ve completed the project you started, this rest phase is also accompanied by joy of accomplishment.
7) Flow – And then you’re back to flow. Hopefully you can remember what you worked on in your last flow state and build on it instead of starting a new project and not completing it either!

All inspiration does not shut off in the organizational and productive phases. It just isn't free flowing. I've heard it said that God is like a woman – He wants to be pursued!  There is no pursuit in the Flow state; it's raining down like manna from heaven. Reach out, touch it, it's there. God has drawn near to you. Take advantage of it! In the other phases you must hunger, thirst and reach for His insights and inspiration. You must pursue Him!

So, where are you in this cycle? Knowing where you are can help you take advantage of it. For example, if you’re feeling the urge, to organize, do it! You’ll be happy you did!  Enjoy where you are with things and don’t fight the cycle. Trust it!

I’m currently working on a book to help people navigate this process with more grace and ease. I’d love to hear your stories and experiences with The Creative Cycle! Please leave your comments below or email me at [email protected] .

Is Your Business Sucking the Life Out of You?

If you feel more like a rat on a wheel than a successful entrepreneur of vision, then this video's for you. Maybe you've heard of the E-Myth and the 4-Hour Work Week. Here's my philosophy for having a successful business and enjoying your life!

If the video doesn't load, you can view it here.

I share more ways to get more done in a day and still enjoy your life here.

Please do comment. I love hearing what you think and your own experiences.