My brother and I are working on several projects together, and he does all the technical work for us.  The last few days we’ve been working the bugs out of a new system, and I’m getting some good insights from it.  At first I was having a problem with some design aspects of a page I wanted to send out, like I could not get the image to insert in the file.  Brothermine told me to make a version of the page without an image and that initially sent me into a headspin.  It made me realize I have come to rely so much on images to convey a message.

I was initially bummed that I couldn’t do it MY way, but I welcomed the chance to learn another way.  It took some doing – 2 days of doing – but I was happy with the result.  Of course, as soon as my perception changed and I was happy with what I had, Jerry comes up with a fix for the problem and now my images can be inserted.  I thought that was a  good example of how the Universe works: Be happy with what you have and you’ll be taken to the next level.

But that wasn’t the only insight.  As soon as my page was finished, I had a bunch of clients I wanted to send it to.  It would be a first test of the new system.  When I got 41 emails back, I figured they were just old addresses to weed out of my list.  Instead, the emails told me that the system only sent the first 50 of the emails and discarded the rest as being overlimit.

Initially I was frustrated.  I thought my time doing all the design work had been wasted – and what was my lesson if I couldn’t get the actual page to the destination?  Then I remembered, nothing is ever actually wasted.  All the thought time doing the project was attracting to me the result I was striving for.  I just didn’t realize it yet.  Isn’t that what I always say about treasure-boarding? The time spent creating the treasure board/map is valuable and determines what I’ll attract to me.  That’s what I say about creative visualization and pre-paving: The time spent visualizing and imagining is valuable and determines what I’ll attract to me.

Right now, all I wanted to attract was software that did what we paid it to do.  Then I remembered my brother is a tech wizard and that he’d figure it out, he always does.  In his next email to me, he’d already discovered and made the fix.

It did made me think of several friends who feel thwarted after having spent years writing a book or creating a product, yet are unable to move on to the next step of getting their message out there.   “I don’t want to promote myself; that’s not my style” is the Universal cry. They are right, it is absolutely possible to attract someone to discover the treasure of you, even if you stay shut up at home alone.  The Universe can send Mr. Producer to your door in the form of the brother-in-law of the UPS delivery guy you befriend, who really thinks your book would make a good movie.  Yes, these magical things do occur and you can attract them to you.

But if that is not happening for you now, despite your best efforts, you might reconsider doing a little self promotion.  Promotion does not have to be in-your-face and intrusive.  There are subtle and gentle ways of letting people know what you have to offer.  And your ability to do this is directly related to how strongly you really feel about your mission and your message.

If you’re next in line for promotion and your boss decides to move out of state, how strongly would you want her job and her salary?

If you are watching the lottery draw on tv and they have already called out 5 of the numbers, all of which you have, how strongly would you want to hear that 6th number?

If your child was drowning and you were a foot away, how strongly would you want to quickly move those last 12 inches to save him?

When you feel that strongly about your mission and your message, you will be guided on ways to promote yourself.  In the meantime, here are some passive ways to self promote:

Have an account at FaceBook. You will be surprised at how many people you know are on there.  It becomes this whole little community, like a subculture you share with your Facebook friends.  Most of mine are people I actually know at this point, I just recently joined (as Andrea de Michaelis).  A couple of times a day I check it and maybe type in what I’m doing, take a moment to see what my Facebook friends are doing, maybe send a message back and forth with some of them.  I’m just having fun but I’m promoting myself as well, just by touching base and being visible.

Promoting does not have to be “buy my stuff”.  Promotion is also as simple as “I’m here.  I know you and you know me and we’re sharing a moment together; we’re sharing a community together; we’re sharing a planet together.”

Promotion can also be where you plan a gathering of friends for tea and reading from your book and discussion on it some Saturday afternoon. Or gather a test group, asking what they think of your idea or product.  People love to be asked for their ideas and opinions.  Or give a free class on something mission-related and bribe them with tea and crudite’.  Make it a fun presentation so that when you schedule the next one, they will want to bring their friends.   That’s promotion.

Promotion can also be hanging out a shingle, which these days means putting your name where your market can see it.  You don’t have to buy big ads and plaster them all over the place.  A small, consistent presence in front of your market readership will bring you success.

Like, I’d rather a friend buy a business card ad in Horizons every month for a year, rather than 1/4 page every 3 months.  The get more consistant coverage.  They are “present and visible” with each and every  issue.  Or they can have 2 lines each month in the Horizons Phone Directory for just $10 per month.  Wherever your market is, it will pay you to have even a small, but consistent presence in it.  Consider it an investment in your future success.  A tithe to the Universe.

Create a website.  It’s easier than you think.  Have the website address listed in all your advertising.  on the website, say whatever you have to say.  Let them know who you are and what you are all about.

To me, those are examples of passive advertising.  Not once did you say “buy this“, but you’ve let the reader know who (you think) you are and what you have to offer.

For me, it comes down to working out the bugs…  First I begin scripting and using creative visualization to attract what I want to me.  Then I remember that 90% of my job is to release resistance; 10% being having the vision and maintaining belief and expectation in the vision.

How do I release resistance?
To me, that means I need to find ways to get happy NOW.  I need to break habitual patterns because that rewires my inner circuitry to allow for expansion.  Trust me.  Even just cleaning out a closet rewires you to receive things into your life that you have been waiting for.  Sometimes we wait years for something, and it arrives within hours of cleaning out the garage.

I tackle chores like that as a spiritual cleansing ritual, and set my intention ahead of time as to what I’d like to achieve after I’ve freed up the energy of the space.  I’ve found that de-cluttering has helped me find jobs, mates, opportunities of all types.  I get the best rate for the loan, I get the best car at the best price, my remodelling job proceeds smoothly, I get the contract, I make the sale, I discover a new columnist or cover artist or speaker.  All of those have been achieved after the setting of an intention before I cleaned my garage, my attic, my shed, my supply closets. De-cluttering and having fun is what works out the bugs for me.

So, while we’re on the topic, tell me who YOU are and what your mission and message is.

Really, I want to know  🙂