By K. Scott Teeters - Life Coach, Author, & Reiki Master
Several months ago I wrote about the power of the MasterMind Group
concept. If you didn’t read it, or are not familiar with the concept,
here’s a short description. Any time two or more people come together with
a definiteness of purpose, the net result is that of a “third” mind. The
brainpower grows exponentially. This can work for the positive and the
negative. “Energy” is Energy and will move about according to our
thoughts, words, and deeds.
So when you enter into a MasterMind group that is functioning at a high
level, unimagined things can come you way. My wife and I have been in the
same MasterMind group for almost two years and a very interesting thing
has happened. In the beginning there were seven of us in the group and
within the last three months two members had to drop out because things
were working SO WELL for them, they didn’t have the time during the day to
attend the MasterMind meetings. And we might lose another member because
she is the new owner of “Mary’s Vineyard,” in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and
she has quite a lot on her plate these days.
I have concluded that a MasterMind group can outlive it’s usefulness -
although we will still get together every few months for a potluck supper.
Here’s How I Found The Novel Concept
One of the members of our group is Patt Osborne. The purpose of our
meetings is to talk about our businesses - what’s working, what’s not
working, ideas, frustrations, whatever. Over the months I came to learn
that Patt has done very well building her personal life coaching business
by marketing herself as an “Adventure Coach.”
Patt loves the great outdoors and camping. That’s what she likes to do for
fun on her days off. So Patt started facilitating outdoor, low-stress
retreats. Nothing terribly physically challenging. We live in the rural
part of southern New Jersey, so you won’t fall off of any mountains or
cliffs, but you can get lost in the woods. Patt offers “Walk In The Woods”
retreats, “Mother-daughter Canoeing” retreats, “Ocean City Backwater Bay
Kayaking” retreats, and then her BIGGIE, the “Virgin Islands” retreat.
Patt facilitates easy to do and fun, one-day getaways that are very
reasonably priced. As she loves to say, “I set these events up, we go off
and have fun, I meet really cool people, and at the end of the day, I got
money in my wallet!”
How Cool Is That?!
When it finally dawned on my what she was doing, I slapped myself in the
forehead. “Geez! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” So for weeks I was
talking with people about this amazing little “model” that anyone could
apply to something they have a passion for. But I didn’t have a clue what
that would be for us. So I told myself to just, “percolate on it for
while.” And that’s what I did.
I have read that some brain scientists say that we have a part of our
brain called, the “Reticular Activation System.” It’s the part of your
brain the begins to alert you to things it knows you are now very
interested in. Let’s say you get a hankering for one of those new PT
Cruiser Convertibles - you know a RED one. Guess what you’ll start seeing
“all over the place,” RED PT CRUISER CONVERTIBLES!
Well I was tuned into this interesting model and I found several people
who are using it very well and having a great time. Let me share a few
with you.
Don is a car guy and we share a mutual interest in Corvettes. HIs Corvette
is absolutely outrageous. It’s all black with ghosted in red flames on the
front, a huge chrome supercharger sticking up out of the hood, black
side-mounted exhausts, huge rear tires, and an earthshaking rumble. Don is
a machinist and does most of his own work, but he has definitely spent A
LOT of money on hardware. How does he finance it?
Don also loves to snowmobile. In the winter months, he uses his vacation
times and facilitates New England Snowmobile retreats. He loves doing it
and when he’s done, Don has what he needs to finance his Corvette hobby.
(I was still percolating...)
Patt Osborne’s mentor coach and friend, Deb Martin LOVES to fish. She
lives in northern Michigan where there’s PLENTY of places to go backwoods
fishing for a week. Fishing with her group allows Deb to establish a
report and relationship with her attendees, and it helps her to get
coaching clients. When the trip is over, she’s had fun doing what she
loves, has met some new people, and possibly a new coaching client.
(I was still percolating...)
Bob Burg is the founder of our MasterMind Group and has had a long
interest in “orienteering.” If you aren’t familiar with orienteering,
here’s basically what it is. With a map, a compass, and outdoor cloths,
you run through a course according to the map you are given. You have to
go to various check points and you are timed. Some people call it,
“running while playing chess.”
Bob has real passion for orienteering and has decided to start
facilitating his own orienteering events. Once he made his decision, a
whole stream of occurrences and chance meetings happened because he was
following the bread crumbs of his experienced coincidence. (as Bob likes
to say)
(I was still percolating...)
This “facilitation” idea just wouldn’t leave me alone. I kept thinking,
“what is it that we would want to do for fun on our day off that others
would like to come along with us to do? I kept saying to Karen, “That’s
such a cool idea, but I haven’t a clue what it would be for us.”
We have a sideline antiques co-op business and to get to the store we have
a 20 mile, rural ride through the Jersey Pines. Every time we drive there,
we go by a place called Lake Atsion. It’s a beautiful cedar lake with
cabins right on the lake that you can rent for overnight stays. They have
a lot of rustic charm and allure. My brother told us that once he spent a
weekend there in a cabin and had a wonderful time.
It got me to thinking, “Hmmm... what could we do in a cabin. Hmmm...”
(I was still percolating...)
Then Karen said, “Well we could just go there and be couch potatoes!” I
looked at her and said, “That’s IT!” Couch Potato Retreats!”
Done Percolating!
It was like a high-speed download. BAM! I saw it almost complete in my
mind’s eye. We love to hang out with people, talk about metaphysical
concepts and how to use them in practical ways. We also love to get away
and gather around a fire with soup or chili on the stove.
From there it was a matter of working out the details. The first concern
was “where” we would be doing this. The cabins at Lake Atsion are
charming, but they’re closed from November to April. We also considered a
beautiful YMCA camp in our area that showed real promise, but just weren’t
sure.
There was an air of excitement about this project - it just felt good, so
we were alert to things as they were coming up. Then, very quickly, the
final pieces came together. It hit me that our MasterMind friend Rose was
buying Mary’s Vineyard. It used to be a vineyard decades ago, but today
it’s a delightful old building where they teach holistic health
modalities. I said to Karen, “Hey, we know someone with a vineyard. Rose,
she’s buying Mary’s Vineyard.” Then I thought, “WAIT! We know someone with
a REAL vineyard that would be PERFECT!” So I called our friend Louis
Caracciolo who owns Amalthea Wine Cellars, in Atco, New Jersey.
We met Louis through our MasterMind Group member, Bob Burg. Not only does
Louis make heavenly wine, he teaches a new way of breaking through the
linguistic trance that we are all raised within. Liquid Language teaches
you how to identify and use all five of our brains so that the talking
limbic system can begin to take it’s appropriate place. (More on this to
come)
So We’re Taking It On The Road!
There’s a wonderful quote from Wolfgang von Goethe that is quoted by many
inspirational speakers. Goethe said, “Until one is committed, there is
hesitancy, always a chance to pull back. That the moment one commits
oneself, providence move to, and a whole series of events take place that
otherwise would have never occurred. ”It’s the “commitment” part that
makes all the difference. We were committed to our new enterprise.
It just so happened that Deb and Patt were starting a new enterprise of
their own that would be very helpful to our new project. They had just
started their first teleclass on the topic of life coaches who are
interested in facilitating retreats. Their 9-week course would cover a
100-point checklist complied by Deb and Patt of things to do to create a
successful retreat series. Why not learn from two excellent coaches who
have facilitated dozens of large and small retreats?
Had we not committed ourselves to our new enterprise, Patt & Deb’s
teleclass would have been irrelevant to me. It would have been off my
radar screen.
I have a strong background in graphics, so I immediately got to work
creating a new logo. Since we want our retreats to be relaxing and fun, I
wanted a graphic to convey the idea of relaxation. In my mind’s eye I saw
a potato cartoon man relaxed in an arm chair, with his potato feet up on a
stool in front of a fireplace. I was on a roll.
A few days later, our new logo was complete. Then it was time for the
website. I have learned that creating a website forces you to think
through all of the details of your offering because you have to create
your pages and write your copy.
After the website was finished, I created the 3-fold brochure. I knew we
would have to have a document that explained what we were offering in a
clear, succinct way. After I roughed out the design, the brochure went
through about 10 review versions. Since Patt and I live close, we got
together to review the brochure. I also had a retired school teacher
friend look over the brochure.
After many revisions, we finally got the brochure ready to print. I wrote
an introduction letter and sent it, along with 3 brochures to friends and
family in our area. We also identified the local health food, metaphysical
stores, spas, and other places that would be friendly to our offering.
It’s All In The Details
Looking back on this venture, it’s interesting to see that the initial
idea came in a flash. POOF! There it all was, clearly shimmering in my
mind’s eye. It took all of about 5 seconds. Everything else (the details,
the logo, website, and brochure) took over 5 weeks. At this writing, we
have not yet had our first retreat event. It will probably take a few
months or more to get the word out about what we are doing.
Will it all work out and be as successful as we intend? We’ll see. What I
am certain of at this point is that we have planned our work and we’re
working our plan. Patt and Deb have been at this for years, so we aren’t
expecting an overnight success, although that would be nice.
So What’s Your Heart’s Desire?
What floats you boat? Fishing, hiking, canoeing, snowmobiling,
orienteering, or being a couch potato? With his Novel Concept, the sky is
the limit. I once heard a story about a woman who’s dream was to tour
people around the English countryside in an old Rolls Royce. Once she made
the decision (... the moment one is committed...) a whole series of
unforeseen events happened and in a short time, she had the use of an old
Rolls Royce and she was having the time of her life. Deb Martin loves
fishing, Patt love hiking, and that lady loves the English countryside
view from behind the wheel of a vintage Rolls. What turns you on?
So kick it around. Ponder it, percolate on this Novel Concept and be alert
to something amazing that will bubble up in your awareness. If you
just plant the seed of a question, “What could I do, that for me is
something that I would do for fun on my day off, and I could bring others
along to enjoy, and at the end of the day, I’ll have made a few new
friends, and have some extra money in my pocket?
If you hold this question before your amazing Mind, your unique solution
will soon appear on the screen of your imagination. In closing, here are
the beautiful words of James All from his book, “As A Man Thinketh. ”The
greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps
in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg. And in the highest vision of the
soul, a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of reality.”
Lets Recap:
1. Look within to identify what you love to do on your day off.
2. What could you facilitate that would be connected to the thing you most
love to do?
3. Ask your subconscious mind to help you in-vision.
4. Be on the alert to ideas that will bubble up into your awareness.
5. You will know when you have found “it” because there will be an air of
excitement connected to your idea.
6. Only share your new idea with people who are possibility thinkers who
won’t tell you why they think you can’t make your idea a reality.
7. Think on paper and create an action plan.
8. Start to work your plan by taking steps every day, even if it’s just
doing small things on a regular basis.
9. Don’t deviate from your original idea. As you move forward and start to
share your new venture with people, you may encounter the old, “what you
should do is...” Avoid this like the plague.
10. Don’t stop until you see your dream become a reality. Remember, no one
is going to care about your new gig the way that you and your closest
confidants will. So be very careful whom you share your new fledgling
project with.
11. Practice visualization and “see” yourself doing your retreat and
enjoying the experience.
12. After you have completed your first retreat, review your experience
with your trusted advisors. Look to see what worked, what didn’t work, and
what you would like to do different for your next retreat.
Imagine doing something that you love to do on your day off and getting
paid for it. Can it get any better than that?
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
K. Scott Teeters is a Personal Life Coach, Reiki Master, and author of
"It’s Time To Wake Up: Reiki & Other Essential Tools For Spiritual
Awakening" published by Llumina Press. Scott’s “Wake Up” website is a
metaphysical candy shop loaded with essays, insights, awakening tools and
tips, and amazing images. The website address is:
http://www.itstimetowakeup.com
Scott and his wife and business partner Karen will be offering “Couch
Potato Retreats” for those living in the South and Central New Jersey,
eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. You can visit their Coach
Potato retreats website at:
http://www.couchpotatoretreats.com/
To be added to their emailing list for dates and topics, send an email to:
lightoak@comcast.net. In the Subject window type, “I’m ready for a
serious Couch Potato experience.”
Scott lives in Medford, NJ with his wife and business partner Karen, Spudz
their beagle dog, Mittins the tuxedo cat and Twiggy the tabby cat.
To schedule a FREE 30-minute coaching call with Scott, you can e-mail him
at:
lightoak@comcast.net
This is an excerpt from Scott & Karen
Teeters’ soon to be available e-book titled, “Design The Life You Love &
Have Fun Doing It.” This dynamic new e-book will be available by the end
of April 2005. For more information about this e-book, go to
http://www.itstimetowakeup.com.
