How to live and how to live with...
In Today’s Edition of Burke’s Bits
How I Use Mindfulness
Marketing Tip
From the Research Files
Pun of the Day
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How I Use Mindfulness
About 10 years ago I had someone ask me about mindfulness. They posed this question to me during a discussion about dealing/coping/living with physical pain:
Can you explain to me why I need mindfulness?
After all, it feels bad to notice that you're in pain. Why would you purposely try to be aware of it? I don't understand why you would want to do that.
My Answer:
I used mindfulness for pain management. It helped me to develop skills to cope with physical pain so that I wasn't debilitated by it.
Between 1999 - 2011 I lived with active Crohn’s Disease. From ‘99 - ‘01 I was unable to eat solid foods, experienced debilitating and horrific pain throughout my body, and I found a way to cope with it - mindfulness.
As with all things, it's better to know the truth because you know what you're dealing with. And, that's what mindfulness did for me – it let me see/feel the truth of the pain, where it was coming from, and then as I “took control” of it in my mind, to reduce its power to stop me from leaving the house and participating in life. It also helped me to eventually become pain-free and medication free (one of many tools I used … diet, exercise, hobbies, prayer, etc.) by 2011 I weaned off all medications and haven’t had debilitating pain or a need for medication since.
So noticing that you feel bad or that you feel physical pain simply means you're seeing the truth of things and can then do something about it.
If you ignore the bad feeling or physical pain then you prolong the experience of feeling bad and the pain.
You see, when you think you ignore you don’t ever reduce it or stop it because it is always present.
It’s better to be able to cope than to deny and suffer the consequences that result in more pain.
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Marketing Tip
We're in a recession. It might get worse. I know, this isn't a surprise to you. This might be a surprise - it's the most important time to market your business. Why? Because as the recession lifts - and you know it will - your ideal buyer will be ready to buy. And you want them to buy your offer. They will buy your offer when they know what it is. They will know what it is because you've never stopped being in front of them.
So how do you market when you have so little money? Guess what - you still have money. Unless you've had a drastic decrease in sales, you still have money to spend on marketing. If you don't think you do it's because you let fear of "possible decrease in sales in the future" take hold and convince you that you must save your money - even hoard it.
Stop that right now! If you must cut your marketing costs do it by being very focused and intentional with your campaigns.
Pay attention to how your ideal buyer prospect and current customers are spending
Explore new strategies to target both existing and new customers
Be where your ideal buyer is
Monitor your campaigns for maximum effectiveness
I don't care if you're doing email - social media ads - banner ads on websites - sponsoring newsletters - native ads - press releases - videos - or the myriad other types of marketing campaigns.
Keep what's working. Drop what's not. Find a new format or angle to get in front of your ideal buyer.
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From the Research Files
aka random bits of info you may or may not be able to use in your life
The largest ball of string on record is one 4.03m (13ft 2.5in) in diameter and 12.65m (41ft 6in) in circumference, amassed by J.C. Payne of Valley View, Texas, USA between 1989 and 1992.
Darwin, Minnesota is known as the World's Largest Ball of Sisal Twine wound by one man. This finished product weighs in at 17,400 pounds and is approximately 40 feet in circumference.
It inspired Weird Al Yankovic to write and record song The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota
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Pun of the Day
Saw two members of a string section of an orchestra get in a fight...
They should know violins is never the answer.
With Gratitude,
Charlene Burke
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“Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you– in your body, heart, and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgment.” – Jan Chozen Bays