"The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it." - Thich Nhat Hanh
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Have you ever daydreamed about the past and realized - darn, I was really happy then! Why don’t I feel that way now?
Or be so worried about what might happen in the future that you find yourself yearning to experience a moment of respite, a moment of joy?
You might find this helpful. It’s a technique I learned when I was a teenager and I’ve taught it to hundreds of people who were seeking peace of mind. It’s meant to help you get out of a strong emotion and into the moment. The more you do it, even when you aren’t feeling a strong emotion, the more you’re able to truly enjoy the time you spend alone and with others.
When we become aware and experience the moment, rather than rush through it, we can find happiness.
How we can do this, today?
Stop. Take a breath. Be in the moment.
When you feel a strong emotion – anger, joy, sadness – pause, take a breath, mentally take a step back and use that moment to understand what you’re feeling and why and what the outward action should be.
As you feel the emotion, attempt to identify where it is sitting in your body. If it is gut level, heart, tight shoulders, etc. This helps you to discern whether it is fear based or value/belief based and that, combined with the question “how important is it?” determines your next action...
You can:
walk away from the situation you are reacting to.
speak up and attempt to have a conversation with the other person.
take charge and take the action necessary for that situation.
walk away with the knowledge that you will return when you are able to think clearly.
All of these options are available to you – at any time you need them.
First, you must Stop. Take a breath. Be in the moment.
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A Marketing Tip
A really good lead generation program idea: the one that appears to have you lose money...initially.
Give away a core product at a loss or breakeven in order to gain new customers. Then make huge profits from their lifetime value.
Notice I said "lead generation" and "new customers".
In the retail business, "loss leaders" are the products sold at a loss. They're meant to get you in the door. They're sold at a loss or at breakeven because the retailer is betting you'll purchase other products...once you're inside the store.
For example:
It’s the week before school starts. A local discount department store runs an ad in the newspaper or on the website that says "buy 1 get 1 free, limit 1 offer to a customer" for a pack of 10 spiral notebooks. The store knows a very small % of customers will purchase only the 1 pack of 10 spiral and get 10 more free. A higher % of customers will have their "back to school" shopping list on hand and continue into the store to purchase other items. Of those, a % will purchase products from various departments in the store. Ultimately, the promotion is profitable for the retailer because new and old customers purchase higher profit margin products inside the store.
An online version of this is to sell a valuable product, like a book, for the cost of shipping only. Once the book is purchased, another product is presented for consideration...maybe entry into an exclusive book club membership where members are beta readers and receive the author's new books to review before they hit the market. The monthly fee for membership might be $20. The first month covers the cost of printing the book (they've paid for shipping), the second month is profit, as is the following months. If you're able to keep the members engaged, the life time value (LTV) of each member could easily be $100. So...pay $4 (cost of printing the book) for each new customer and get $100 back from each new customer. $96 profit for $4 spend is darned good, don't you think?
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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 first mention of ice cream in America appeared in 1744, when a Scottish colonist visited the house of Maryland Governor Thomas Bladen wrote about the delicious strawberry ice cream he had while dining there. The first advertisement for ice cream in America appeared in 1777 in the New York Gazette, in which Philip Lenzi said ice cream was “available almost every day” at his shop.
Early American presidents loved ice cream, too. President George Washington purchased around $200 worth of ice cream (about $3,000 today) in the summer of 1790 and also owned two pewter ice cream pots. However, the “origin” story that his wife Martha once left sweet cream on the back porch one evening and returned in the morning to find ice cream is definitely not true. Thomas Jefferson created his own recipe for vanilla ice cream. President Madison’s wife served strawberry ice cream at her husband’s second inaugural banquet.
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Pun of the Day
I love all types of ice cream. I don’t play flavorites.
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
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