Dear Friends,

Last week I spent 4 days at the Strozzi Institute of Embodied Leadership doing a course titled Leadership in Action 1.

I don't feel well. A lot of stuff came up that wasn't so pretty. I'm looking at all the ways I turn away from what I believe is important to me. Everything from peace to people.

Our bodies don't lie. And when we're put into stress situations we all fall back on our conditioned tendencies. Part of these tendencies are patterns we've developed over the years through repetitive thought and action. Others are habits we've taken on, experiences that have shaped us, what we've inherited or learned from our parents or lineage. It all runs very deep and there's no getting away from it.

I took the course work for both myself and my business. When my clients are in the media pressure cooker they reveal themselves. Then we need to deal with those responses and reactions. The Strozzi work is based in Aikido and somatics (looking at the whole person: a unity of language, action, energy, and meaning), so it gets into how we respond unconsciously beyond just "thinking".

What I keep coming back to is how daily practices shift our thinking and behavior in profound ways. Through repetition and dedication anything is possible and change happens.

I've committed to doing a number of things to move toward what I care about most.

1. Letting go of non-essential details that don't move me toward what I want. This means extraneous email, flipping through catalogs, superfluous work.

2. 30 minutes of meditation a day. This is a tough one for me with such a busy mind and active body. I haven't yet set a standard time, but I just make sure I get it in sometime during the day.

3. 15 minutes of jo practice (Aikido weapon that looks like a stick -- see photo). These movements help embody a connection to self and are essential for Aikido practice.

4. 30 minutes a week in the garden doing nothing. What is nothing? I have no idea. Will let you know how this goes later....

5. Not reacting to my mother 1 out of 20 times.
A lifetime of practice? During the course when I said my goal for this was three years, Mark Mooney, the instructor looked at me dumb struck. "No, Susan," he said. "How about three months." I think three years is probably what it will take, but nonetheless I've agreed to three months. God knows how many hours it will take to allow this to happen.

What can you commit to that will help you move toward what is most important to you in every realm? In order to do promote your product, service or cause and live Gandhi's words, "My life is my message," we need to address every aspect of our lives. For me that means that publicity, moving myself and my work out in the world is an ongoing process that's integrated into the fabric of every day.

I remember when I turned in the first draft of my book, "Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul®" to my editor at HarperCollins to discuss it, she said, "You're not writing a lifestyle book, you're writing a business book." I told her, "No. I am writing a lifestyle book, it just happens to have a publicity angle." One of my most satisfying reviews came from a journalist who said she was using my book as a parenting guide. That book is infused with my life philosophy as there was really no way to separate it out.

One of the attendees in a recent teleclass I gave with top 10 Amazon.com reviewer Don Mitchell, named Diane Krause Stetson, who calls herself a Coach. Consultant. Catalyst. ...for authentic and principled success, has a tag line which succinctly sums up how to live:

Discover who you are. Decide what's important. Do what matters.™

Truly words, thoughts and actions to live by.

Warmly,

Susan

P.S. I'm building our community for The Cosmic Mending Kit. We have over 80 members so far and would love to count you as one of them. We are a group that is creating art and beauty and peace of mind through our ongoing effortlessness. Check it out ....

Media Coaching: Practice your worst fears

During media coaching I leer, I snipe, I antagonize, I attack. The first time played the aggressive interviewer to a volunteer in a seminar, she shrank back in her chair in fear. She grabbed her gut. She said, "I'm afraid of you now."

I asked her to hang in there while I let loose my aggressive questions over and over again. Her job was just to remain calm, she didn't need to say anything. After the fifth time she said, "That wasn't so bad."

Often times people hire me to media coach them after a similar experience with the media - except it's a real interview and they do need to respond. Of course most of the time no one will be shrieking at you. But it's often not about the words, but the tone, the energy the force that scary.

I just heard an interview with New York Times reporter Bruce Weber discussing "The little-known world of foul balls and face masks" on the NPR radio show Fresh Air with Terry Gross. For three years, Weber trained to be a baseball umpire at umpire school. He said he was terrified that he'd be hit in the face with a high speed ball, even though he was wearing a face mask.

To help him get over his fear his instructor threw the ball at his head. After five times the fear started to lessen, by the fifteenth time it had dissipated and he had gotten over his fear. It's the same with media coaching. Going through the visceral experience will help dispel any fears. Often my clients want to start with what they fear most - because either they've experienced their worst fear, or because it's looming.

Everyone fears something. Even the most experienced interviewer. So practice the questions you DON'T want to be asked to get them off the table to you can focus on your true purpose....

1. Set your intention.
Ask yourself two key questions: What do I want my audience to know? And how can I help them? No one cares about your product service or cause...until they see how it relates to something they need.

2. Tell a good story.
I had one client who spoke like a professor teaching a class based entirely on theory with no practical tips, stories, or anything that might engage a person at an emotional or visceral level. We worked on finding personal anecdotes that her audiences could relate to.

When I asked a recent client who sought me out to prep him for a job interview at an exclusive restaurant to tell me how he handled a disastrous or potentially disastrous situation he said to me, "Have you ever broken a cork on a $3000 bottle of wine? I have." Then he told me how he calmly dealt with the situation without anyone at the table being any wiser. Every story starts out with a headline that makes you snap to attention. What follows should be equally riveting.

3. Don't be overly promotional.
While one of the essential things I teach is how to seamlessly integrate the information you want your audience to know about your product, service or cause into the conversation, don't overdo it. I was recently on a radio show with a panel of people who were all famous in their own right. One person was obviously a very experienced media guest, but every single time she shared information she interjected something about herself, her credentials, her business and her services. Enough already. Although the what she had to say was valuable I found myself recoiling from what felt like being drilled without respite.

The most important thing in an interview is to be natural while you're interesting. Letting go of your fears is a process that allows you to relax while you're giving good information that people can use and enjoy.

More info:
To learn more about how to develop sound bites that sing you can download for free "How to Be a Sound bite Genius".

Pre-order the Updated Oprah Kit

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Come Meet Me

Anywhere in the World
Do PR 20 Times Faster: Free Teleclass with Don Mitchell & Susan Harrow
Date: April 29
Time: 10 am PST / 1 pm EST
Length: 90 minutes
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You can still register and we'll alert you when the CD and transcript become available.

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Quote

Hidden in any misfortune is good fortune.

~ Tao Te Ching, verse 58