2010 Pre-Solstice

Brilliant
SunSparkles on snow
mingling my tracks with squirrels’
Fluffed robins drunk on fermented berries
Crows sing raucous verses
The passing V of Canada geese honking refrain
And the gibbous moon
rising midday spectral ghostly blur
waxing toward Solstice full
in blue firmament
Magic is airborne
riding currents of
short days with mid-afternoon dusks
punctuated by window candles
Holiday lights like multi-hued
stars of an earthbound universe

Energies of Divine Feminine
a Shakti blossoming
within perfect
circle of protection
Embracings within yin and yang
the balance unspoken
yet profound
Festivities foretold unfold
celebrating rebirth
of love alive
illuminating
the innermost sacred
center of the heart
Divine Love ignites
whisperings soul to soul
Missives of grace

17 December 2010
Bobbye Middendorf
The Write Synergies Guru

Chicago’s extended autumn, with mild-ish weather for much of November, has allowed extra time for being in our garden (aka Shangri-La). I wrote in late June, in my Missive from Shangri-La experience, all about a retreat that literally opened my eyes to, as they say, “the diamonds in my own back yard.” That is, Shangri-La is present just outside my door. This outdoor space is where and how I’ve been rooted on many a day of inner journeys — whether writing, dreaming, dining, or conversing.

In this month for gratitude, with so much to be grateful for, I wanted to share some of the special gifts in my life. Our Shangri-La garden is one that I’m looking at with grateful (and grace-full) eyes. I’ve been out there most days barefoot and doing a simple Qi Gong practice, soaking up the beauty and energies from the earth, the trees, the sky, and crow flying over.

It looks different in autumn. The trees shed their leaves. The Tree of Heaven, also known as the ailanthus, loses its leaves first. The copper beach will be the last, hanging onto golden crisp leaves through the winter, only to release them once the new growth starts. Without the leaves, even with the sun arcing low in the Southern sky, the garden glows in the light. At least on the days when clouds don’t get in between us and the sun.

A climbing hydrangea, its leaves brilliant yellow, stands like a small sun against the fence. Virginia creeper on the fence and side of the house always fades to a delicious pale pinky yellow with bright red stems. Crunchy leaves under foot mark one of passages of the autumn symphony.

Past mid-November in Chicago, the autumnal symphony is in its final movement. With deep gratitude and appreciation, I say Mahalo to all that has unfolded so that this particular humble little garden Shangri-La is now passing its grace through my life.

Ignite Your Most Remarkable Self

Earlier this year, Danielle LaPorte published her multimedia masterpiece, The Fire Starter Sessions. I discovered this gem of  (and from) White Hot Truth (yes, this is the name of LaPorte’s web site) through the brilliant Ronna Detrick’s Renegade Conversations site and ezine. So that’s the meandering path I took to get to this entrepreneur’s treasure trove and believing mirror, allowing us to reflect back for ourselves our greatest power, insights, and opportunities.

The Fire Starter Sessions encompass an inspiring journey, with its clean design, vivid stories, video lessons/messages, and 43 pages of worksheets and questions that get you delving into your own flaming core essence, so you can bring those gifts from the core out into the world. It’s called a “digital experience.” LaPorte says, “This is about you defining your vocation, your work, your livelihood, your career, on your own terms.”  Lessons from her own entrepreneurial high-flying, interviews with thought leaders, and lists of resources round out the message.

Especially these past couple of years, so many people have been “trying” to play it safe life-wise, vocation-wise. There is no safe harbor anymore, if there ever was. And so, more timely than ever, comes this fiery voice of Danielle LaPorte, spilling out her White Hot Truth. I can’t say that our energies are a match. In fact, it seems an unlikely pairing, me and Danielle LaPorte in the same breath. And yet there is something so compelling in her message, something that makes me want to take out my eyeliner and put on high heels.

There’s deep truth-telling here, like in her discussion of “quality-easy” or what about this game-changer? “True strength is not necessarily about skill or adeptness. It‘s about vitality.” How many of us entrepreneurs choose to do what we’re decent at, even when there isn’t a spark of passion to be found any more? If you are suffering from such a lackluster approach, this is the antidote.

With its tagline, “Spark Your Genius. Ignite Your Business. Make it Matter,” this “digital experience for entrepreneurs” covers dreams and feelings, content, courage, and design in four modules:

• module 1: strength + desire: define yourself on your own terms
• module 2: identity + branding: you are not a box of cereal
• module 3: content + services + promotion
• module 4: reverie + courage

Most crucially, Danielle LaPorte shares the lesson of “How do you want to feel in the work you do?” This is absolutely at the heart of it all, and allows dreamers to pull on the dream that is their own — the one that fits just right. I also adore the thought that when something really fits, there’s an ease and grace in the doing.

The Fire Starter Sessions is a multimedia experience definitely worth checking out. Yes, I am an affiliate, and I recommend and believe in the value of this package. You can click on the links in this post, or click the orange box on the sidebar to learn more.

My friends, colleagues, coaches, and mentors, Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski, are convening amazing learning sessions in the fourth of their Bridging Heart and Marketing events. Two have been live events; this one is the second as a virtual event. (Very cost effective.) Judith and Jim have assembled a roster of great teachers aligned with the heart-based, soft sell marketing tribe that they lead.

Things are changing so fast online that it’s not always easy to keep  up. In particular, conscious business owners and heart-based healers, caregivers, and service providers find that the speed of change in the online world coupled with the frantic urgency of many of the (especially hard-sell) offers just makes them decide to bow out. Ignore it and hope it goes away.

It won’t be going away any time soon. As Judith and Jim point out, the internet has become the new virtual shopping mall… For finding a do-able and high-integrity path through the online marketing jungle, Judith and Jim are guides that I’ve found to be both trustworthy and transparent in sharing their knowledge.

They came to online marketing after many years as therapists.  Their profound knowledge and gifts for healing relationships informs this crucial aspect of online business. After all, what is business but a varied array of relationships?  They came into online marketing only a few years ago — when both were in their 60s. To hear their story alone offers huge lessons and insights you can’t get anywhere else.

I’ve participated in the last two Bridging Heart and Marketing events, connecting with partners, mentors, friends, and thought leaders I wouldn’t  have met any other way.

Bridging Heart and Marketing Number 4 starts tomorrow, so don’t miss it.
Click here for more details and to register.

Why are you writing what you intend to write? What is its deepest purpose or essence? Why you? Why this piece? Why now?

It’s important to look beyond the surface. (I’m doing a marketing campaign, a blog post, a flash-enabled web site.) You may have reasons, but go deeper. Explore your project from the perspective of the heart. And by staying in the aware heart energy, you can access a deeper guidance and a deeper why. This is a process of deeper engagement to see what is there and also what is not yet visible. To read on the lines and between the lines. To hear the notes and the silence and space between the notes.

Sometimes, like my client Barb, a whole book comes as a download as a result of some dramatic trauma. Her book on grief spilled out over a weekend as she continued to heal from the loss of her life partner and sweetheart. For years after she wrote it, she reported, “I’d still cry when I reread it.”  The unacknowledged grief, the hidden and ungrieved grieving, creates a heavy load. We all encounter many losses in our lives. Learning to take the time to acknowledge and embrace every one of them is the dark path towards the light of healing. This is her message for her readers.

No matter how the message of your  brainchild/heartchild comes through — whether through a download all at once or a steady progress of creation — the book that encapsulates the lessons and insights makes up the heart of your message.

But for many, once that’s settled, it seems like that should be all it takes. You’ve gotten your message onto the page after all.

That’s not all. Questions like, “Now what? What’s next?” can be the biggest stumbling blocks. Because it seems like you should be done, but you are in fact just starting. What is your message without people to hear it and connect with it and you?

Your book’s message in itself is designed to  be of service to your perfect people, the ones you are here to help. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t be here reading this. Service and contribution are things you think about. So the main message, your service and love is done.

In truth, the writing you do next is just as important as the writing of the main message in your book. This is the writing you do in service to the message you are here to share. These are the words that connect you to your people, the ones who have maybe heard similar messages before, but they will “get it” in a brand-new and deeper way from you.

You’re probably not going to want to hear that the writing you do in service now to your message probably wears the clothing of “marketing” and “sales.”  Too many messengers shy away from that part of the process. Keep in mind that you are still in service to your main message. This is the process of bringing it into a more public conversation.  At the same time, the marketing messages need to remain true to the heart of your  greater work. For most of us, it seems like a different kind of a thing — this marketing and sales writing.

In the spirit of the great duality on this planet, I say, “It isn’t different. And yet it is.” Both/And. There are commonalities between your message, mission, and book AND the writing (and talking) you do to share your message in the marketplace of ideas. They need to be of a piece.

But in some ways, the marketing message, which is what opens the public conversation, is even more important. It has to catch the hearts of those who can hear it from you.

Here’s one way to approach the marketing message of your message.

Think about it as a way you are opening the conversation. Creating the space for dialogue, back-and-forth, feedback, response. Marketing messages take a different kind of crafting, and you can do it — writing to sell without selling your soul or selling out your message. Once again, bring the heart energies to the task of shaping your marketing messages that will be in service to your book, your main message.

Use that awareness and care you have for the people who can only hear it from you in sharing the gifts and greatness you are here to give.

#blogboost

Seth Godin is teaching again! Nearly two years ago, he opened up a 6-month free “mba” program. He’s doing a 3-day version at the beginning of November — just for women entrepreneurs. I’ve submitted an application. Maybe you should too?

See details at http://www.squidoo.com/FEmba

More than What You Leave Behind, Live Your Legacy in Words

I’ve written about living your legacy before.  It’s that important.  The following action points are part of an upcoming booklet of experts sharing insights on “defining your destiny,” a project coordinated by Paulette Ensign, the  undisputed queen of the tips booklet.

My suggestion: Test out these 5 Cs to bring your legacy alive. Use words. Write it all down. Document your process for yourself and others.

1 Center –

Begin by taking a deep belly-expanding breath or several.  Focus on your heart-center.  Listen for your internal wisdom and directions from inside.  Write them down!

2 Contribute –

From that breath-centered mindfulness, focus on the deepest gifts you are here to share.  Who are the most perfect recipients of your gifts?  Write down who you are here to serve and the gifts you yearn to offer.

3 Create –

Hold in your heart both what you are here to offer and who you are meant to do it for.  Envision what it looks like when those two come together, with results for the highest good.  Write that down.

4 Connect –

Bring your inner connections and ideas into conversation.  Invite your most perfect people into your sacred circle with powerful words and intent.  Connect and LISTEN.  Write down their words, what they want.

5 Commit –

Write down the specifics of your intent and commitment to create, connect, and contribute.  It’s your map for living your legacy.  Build it day by day with conscious actions — to make the difference you came here to make.

World-changers, writers, authors, visionaries, and conscious creators partner with Bobbye Middendorf, The Write Synergies Guru, to clarify their healing messages. If you’re ready for results greater than the sum of the parts, if you need the right words so people “get it,” if you want to make the difference you came here to make, then connect with Bobbye to live your legacy in words and “Write to Sell Without Selling Your Soul.”

September Greetings from your Write Synergies Guru!

In this issue:
*Blog Milestone
*Back-to-learning
*<Time Sensitive> Web Site Creation Workshop
Registration tomorrow!
*<Time Sensitive> Self Employment Telesummit
Starts this week!
*<Time Sensitive> No Cost Call for
Family Caregivers
*Tuesday Writing Circles

Blog Milestone
= = = = = = = = =

Just realized that my August 21 post,
honoring my beloved fur child, was my
100th post. Interesting milestone content…
Many thanks to those who have journeyed
with me on this path.

Thanks also to so many of you who
sent kind words on our family’s loss.
I truly appreciate your caring notes!

If you didn’t see my tribute,
you can read it here:
http://bit.ly/aIpY31

Back To Learning
= = = = = = = = =

Even if you think “back to school”
doesn’t apply to you, please reconsider.
If you need to write and are in business
for yourself, the opportunities to learn
and expand on your expertise and results
are a crucial part of growth and success.
As my mentors Judith and Jim like to point
out, you have to grow yourself in order to
grow your business. That is true for your
writing as well.

I so enjoy sharing resources, colleagues,
and classes that have had a profound and
positive impact on me and my work. I can’t
help but recommend these folks who provide
serious value. The  following resources
can make a difference in your business!

<Time Sensitive>
Christina Hills’
Web Site Creation Workshop
= = = = = = = = =

Doors open tomorrow morning for the famed
Web Site Creation Workshop with Christina
Hills. Learn more by reading at my blog:
http://budurl.com/aedp

Or go here to get on the early notification list.
(Early sign-ups are eligible for bonus gifts.)
http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734

<Time Sensitive>
Molly Gordon’s
Self Employment Telesummit
= = = = = = = = =

Molly Gordon is starting her Self-Employment
Telesummit this week, and there’s still
time to register. The experts that she’s
gathered will help even the most reluctant
“Accidental Entrepreneurs” overcome the
fears around being in business while taking
focused action.

One of the big problems with
these kinds of group presentation events
is that they often end with information
overload. Molly is taking care of that –
by helping participants to integrate all
the great information from the workshops
via integration sessions that she will
facilitate.

(And YES! She is an awesome facilitator!)

Go here for info:

http://bit.ly/9LqIXT

OR if you’d like to read what I
posted on my blog, go here:
http://budurl.com/mgSETS

The Self Employment Telesummit is
designed by self-employed
people for self-employed people
to end the epidemic of
under-earning among heart-centered
professionals. Only
3 days left to sign up.

http://bit.ly/9LqIXT

<Time Sensitive>
Betty L. Smith’s
Free Family Caregivers Call
= = = = = = = = =

Author, coach and speaker,
Betty L. Smith, is one of my clients.
If you or any of your loved ones are
faced with the stresses of
being a family caregiver,
then Betty’s free call on Saturday,
September 18 at 9AM Pacific may be
a good fit. She is celebrating
September’s “Healthy Aging Month”
with a free phone call to help family
caregivers increase their health and well-being.

Go here to learn more about Betty’s
free call for family caregivers:

http://www.authorbettylsmith.com/caregivers-preview/

(To register for the free call,
you will find the sign-up box at the
bottom of that page.)

The above are links to resources and
colleagues who have made a difference to me.
Please explore their messages to see if
these are a fit for you at this time.
If you do choose to purchase, I will
receive a referral fee. Please understand
that these are people I really respect, who are
providing work that has helped me.  I
highly recommend them even if I didn’t receive
recompense.

Tuesday Writing Circles
= = = = = = = = =

Chicago-area writers!
(Write in the Garden, weather permitting!)
Gather your resources and start to share
the gifts and sacred stories that are
why you are here. I am offering an
in-person sacred writing circle for
an intimate group on four Tuesdays
(21 and 28 Sept; 5 and 12 Oct).
Cost: $125.
Email me for more details.

I help visionary authors and writers,
and world-changing soul-preneurs. You need to
connect to your tribes/communities with
WORDS — to share your healing
messages and stories so that people “get it.”

Register now for Molly Gordon’s
Self Employment Telesummit

IT STARTS THIS WEEK!

Molly Gordon is starting her Self-Employment Telesummit this week, and there’s still time to register. The experts that she’s gathered will help even the most reluctant “Accidental Entrepreneurs” overcome the fears around being in business and take focused action. One of the big problems with these kinds of group presentations is they often end with information overload. Molly is taking care of that — by helping participants to integrate all the great information from the workshops via integration sessions that she will facilitate.

Go here for info:

http://bit.ly/9LqIXT

Only 3 days left to sign up:

The Self Employment Telesummit
Get over the hump from just-getting-by to shining profitability
September 16-October 1, 2010

http://bit.ly/9LqIXT

You’ve probably heard about the Self Employment Telesummit
by now. If you work for yourself and aren’t 100% happy with
how it’s going, it’s designed for you.

And it starts in just three days.

Working for yourself can be wonderful. You get to care for
your clients, your family, and yourself by doing what you
love. And, at its best, you have the flexibility and freedom
to keep growing and learning and loving.

To shine.

But self-employment can also be frustrating. If you’re just
getting by, you can feel discouraged. Your confidence and
motivation can take a nose dive. And it can be hard to tune
into your original source of inspiration.

And most business help is either too business-y or not
really practical.

The 2010 Self Employment Telesummit is different. It’s
designed to teach you practical, heart-centered techniques
and systems to improve your earnings and enjoyment. And it
has special features to minimize information overload and
maximize results.

************************************
The Self Employment Telesummit
9am to 12:30pm  Pacific time
Thursday & Friday, September 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 & October 1
All sessions recorded. To register:

http://bit.ly/9LqIXT
************************************

My friend and coach Molly Gordon has invited 10 of the best, most
heart-centered experts to teach you:

* How to be more visible and attractive to potential clients.
* What to do to turn potential clients into paying clients.
* What you need to understand about money in order to earn more.
* Why confidence and motivation are an inside job (and what to
do about it)
* How to organize your time for maximum productivity without
stifling creativity or spontaneity.

There are only 3 days left to register. ‘Nuf said.

http://bit.ly/9LqIXT

Cheers,

Bobbye Middendorf
The Write Synergies Guru

PS: Quick recap in case you’ve skipped ahead. The Self
Employment Telesummit is designed by self-employed
people for self-employed people to end the epidemic of
under- earning among heart-centered professionals. Only
3 days left to sign up.

http://bit.ly/9LqIXT

Doors Open on Tuesday Sept 14, at 8AM Eastern for Web Site Creation Workshop!

On Tuesday my mentor and teacher of all things WordPress, Christina Hills, opens the doors for registering for her highly popular WordPress Web Site Creation Workshop (including creating your web presence without a webmaster.)

Here’s the early  notification link.
Or here: http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734
She has some bonuses for the first few folks who register!

Christina has created some fun videos, (see links below) but more importantly, she shares a sample of her teaching approach. Go here to get a taste of her style and presentation and get a jump on your web site design:

Fast & Easy Website Design with WordPress Themes

or copy and paste this link:

http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734&p=designs

Then if it’s a fit, I would appreciate if you’d register through my link. Christina overdelivers BIG TIME. I highly recommend you explore this sample class.

I wanted to let you know that tomorrow (Tuesday, September 14th)
at 8:00 am Eastern,  Christina Hills is opening
the doors for her Website Creation Workshop.

If you want to be able to quickly and easily create professional
looking websites, without having to know any HTML or difficult graphics software programs, then you really need to take Christina’s workshop.

Christina has been giving out some great videos on her website
over the past couple of weeks. I wanted to share these links
in case you missed them, or haven’t yet seen them:

Fast & Easy Website Design with WordPress Themes

http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734&p=designs

And here are some fun videos from Christina too…

The WordPress of Oz – The Tornado

http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734&p=tornado

The WordPress of Oz – The Wicked Webmaster

http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734&p=witch

The WordPress of Oz – Dorothy & The Scarecrow

http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734&p=scarecrow

SPECIAL NOTE: Christina will be opening the doors an hour early
(8:00 am Eastern) only to those people on her
early email notification list which you can sign up for at

http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734

Christina has a special bonus planned for the first few people who sign up
for her workshop, so you definitely will want to be on her early
notification list.

Christina really is a first-class teacher. For less than it costs
to hire a webmaster one time and build only one website
for you, Christina will empower you to build as many websites as
you want for your business or personal passions.

Check out the great stuff on Christina’s blog right now, and be
ready tomorrow at 8:00 Eastern,
Tuesday, September 14th when registration opens for the Website
Creation Workshop.
Sincerely,

Bobbye Middendorf
The Write Synergies Guru

P.S. Be sure to get on the early notification list and get a
chance at the special limited quantity bonus Christina has
planned for tomorrow at

http://thewebsitecreationworkshop.com/a/?af=976734