Are you sitting quietly somewhere?  Do a quick scan of your body.  What do you feel and where?  Is there any rigidity or tightness around your heart?  Any place that you are feeling rigid in your body or in your heart may mean that you are trying to control things. Control is a great thing when it is being used, propelled, and impelled by Spirit.  However, control when it is coming from you and your ego, because you are contracting in your business, afraid the resources aren’t there, saying to yourself, “I don’t know that I can do this” or “I would feel so embarrassed if this didn’t work” is control that mutes your purpose, deadens your business and squelches your dreams.  The Jesus story is told of John the Baptist coming along immersing Jesus through a water ritual and then Jesus hearing a voice saying, “You are my beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” This is the antidote to control. You know, all of us need to be reminded that we are pleasing to ourselves, to the Divine and that we are on our purpose. We need to know we belong. Most of control comes out of many fears, but the basic one is that we don’t belong.  So if your business is not working easily and you are feeling like you have to “tighten up the ship” to get through this economic storm, then you may want to check in with yourself about control. Not in judgment, but with compassion, offer yourself a new way of being. Check in with your body, where it is tight or rigid, for this is the area that is awaiting your compassionate reminder that “you belong”. Breathe into that tight area, reminding yourself that “it is safe to relax”.  The place that we often feel the least at home or welcomed is in our own body. All that tightness is just a sign of not feeling at home or belonging. When you know you belong, the grip of control softens and the energetic release needed for a mindset of prosperity is supplanted.  Mother Theresa was an Albanian nun who learned English in the British Isles. Her story says she was on a train going around a mountain when she had the vision of what she was to be doing, helping the poor in India. This woman, who didn’t belong, found a home among the poor in India. She had no trouble manifesting money for her work. She belonged even though many thought her mission foolish.  What is the grip that is draining your energy rather than renewing it? For each of us the particular spin that you have on control and how it seemingly protects you from something is unique to you. The release, however, can result in your business moving forward with more ease and more money. One of our clients contracted a large financial deal after clearing some old relationship pain with his father. By surrendering and releasing control in order to find a new frame for a childhood struggle, he allowed himself to make room for a new paradigm. He knew he belonged and the wealth was right there.  As I often teach people in seminars, it takes a lot of energy to hold a clinched fist. Relax your grip just for a moment, remind yourself you belong and see what happens. Your body, your heart and your business will appreciate it.  

“Dr. Kirk Prine and Donny Lobree, Body Story Experts, are founders of The Missing Thread. They are healers and entrepreneurs who help other entrepreneurs tap into the wisdom of their bodies to achieve greater abundance.  “Mindset is not just in the mind, but in the Body as well.”  To learn more, visit http://www.themissingthread.com to get your complimentary selection of Dr. Prine’s new book as well as a free subscription to the Body Stories ezine.”

Have you taken a trip in a small plane?  I mean truly small… the type that requires a limit of one carry-on bag only? Aside from the apprehension that I personally feel about bouncing around in a small airplane, I feel a slight anxiety about the packing of this all-important bag. 

“Carry on only,” the travel documents read; which means that one seemingly diminutive piece of gear has to contain absolutely everything that could be needed for the travel time and the destination.  What do you do?  It’s what we all do: lay out what you think you need and then…you pare it down. 

1. You eliminate the excess: you do away with every bit of clothing that doesn’t make you feel absolutely fantastic (ok, maybe that’s mostly how girls think, but I bet a few guys do, too).
2. You eliminate anything that is too similar to anything else (for example: one pair of neutral flip flops, not 5 in every color).
3. You limit the toiletries and makeup to only what is really needed to allow you to make a good impression, and stay healthy.

There is something almost cathartic about packing this way, isn’t there? There is a sense of accomplishment when you can look at that small, efficiently pared-down bag of stuff, and know you’ll be just fine.

 “Paring down” your message, or your story is a requirement for media opportunities, and is often just as tough a thing to initially comprehend. Experts are usually passionate about their field of work, and eliminating anything about our story may not seem possible at first.  There is an attachment that develops to the intricacies of what makes us tick and the experiences that drive us.  However, making the most of a television opportunity means relaying that passion in short 15 to 30 seconds sound bites.

It may sound cold, or as though you are manipulating your message but actually, the audience attention will stay with you when your expressions are shorter in length. 

Bonus #2:  Shorter sound bites can be lifted and re-used. Examples:

1. A concise answer to an interview question may be re-broadcast during a similar news period where they need an expert “quote”… there you are again.  Doubling your exposure.
2. A short version of your message will be a perfect video clip for your website, (or an affiliates website!) quickly building rapport with site visitors and increasing your conversion rate up to 300 percent!
3. Eliminating specifics of your story allows room for future questions and more in-depth interviews later. If you don’t lay it all out first time, you can be asked back to the interview show, if at all possible.  That’s how experts are “recognized.”

I hope this makes sense as you are contemplating what “stuff” to pack in your virtual “carry-on bag” on the way to an interview.  Keep only the good stuff that makes the best impression by letting go of negative words and phrases. Then, eliminate any elements that are too similar in order to eliminate redundancy, and be sure to include what is at the heart of your passion for what you do; What drives you is something that you can relate every time that you appear as an expert.

One last essential to include is as important as toothpaste… be sure to always make yourself available by including your website address, or some way people can find you after the show is off the air; there may be a producer of an even bigger show needing you ASAP, and they need that info!

Your journey can be as great as your destination.