What I’m going to take you through in this article is a technique I use to constantly close the gap between where I am and where I want to get to. I’m sharing this so you can use it too.

When I sit down to write an article or I’m mapping out one of the Insiders Secrets webinars or training session I always start with a visualisation.

I imagine that I am looking beyond the page and seeing everyone taking notes, and magical golden fairy dust passing down the phone lines, enveloping you – and as a result of what I share, you become more prosperous.

And I appreciate that might all sound a bit fanciful, but it’s a technique that I know inspires me to create information that helps people and gets great feedback.

In the grand scheme of things this might seem small, but if something you take notes from becomes a way you do business, or helps you create something that changes lives or leads to your prosperity or the prosperity of one of your clients, then that’s a very cool ripple.

A vision I hold for CommunitySoul is that whoever walks with us becomes increasingly prosperous as a result of the association. Our aim is to help 12,000 business reach more than a million people and change their lives by the end of this year.

Part of the vision for these newsletters is that it’s fluff free, so let me ground what I’m saying here, before you accuse me of going off with the fairies!

Knowing the vision allows me to sit back after our events and evaluate. I’m looking at the details. What will help us to achieve our vision faster? Where don’t we match up to the vision? Are the presentations right? Did people learn all they could in the time we had? Who else can benefit from hearing this speaker? Could people listen in comfort? Is everyone moving forward? Timings? Overall message? The marketing? What needs to improve? Who will do it?

So, when you have a clear vision, you can see how easily you can begin to constantly close the gap between where you are now and where you want to get too.

It’s simple. Know your vision. Know your starting point. Close the gap.

Best wishes

Neil

www.communitysoul.co.uk

How many of your decisions are made based on your past?

In the insurance industry, they use the past to measure the future. It’s a predictable way to assess possible future risk, but even the experts can never account for the unpredictable storm that comes out of the blue.

And then there is us… human beings, doing stuff… going about life in a predictable way. We get up, shower, breakfast, travel to work, work, lunch, more work, travel home, eat, watch TV, bed, sleep and then do it all over again.

Week after week, on we go. Some are happy in the rhythm, others find it frustrating and struggle with breaking out from the spell of the routine.

If you’re caught in the spell and finding it frustrating to break, the key lies in understanding what you believe about your own capability.

The mindset that unbreaks the spell…

Rather than look at feeling trapped, I want to go straight to the mind set that unbreaks the spell and ask you: What would a person in your circumstances do, if he or she believed they were infinitely capable of making a difference?

First, they come from the mindset of being capable. If you took away a billionaire’s money, I’d bet they could return to financial wealth very quickly. They believe they can.

In life we don’t always have the resources such as education and money and when we lack those we have to create the resourcefulness.

Four months ago I was talking to Lynne, a single parent, who complained at being overweight and struggling with finances. She said she felt miserable, working part-time and struggling by, and she couldn’t afford a nutritionist, or a gym.

I asked Lynne what stopped her from getting a book from the library on nutrition and what stopped her from exercising by, say, walking with the kids. She said the kids didn’t like walking. So I asked her what would make it interesting for them. She said having friends along or maybe taking a bike.

I bumped into Lynne two weeks ago. She’d been reading, biking and walking, and she lost half a stone.

While none of us suffer from a faulty future, we do suffer from faulty thinking. That thinking is often caused by making mistakes in the past, or not having things turn out well. This creates a belief system that we’re not good at stuff and we therefore stop trying.

We all make mistakes, but we don’t have to continue to live that mistake years later. We can break that spell now.

Imagine you’re a superhero and you’ve just arrived at the situation of your current challenge. You have some special powers, but none of them are going to help you here. So you have to look for the natural resources around you – you have to be resourceful. What will you do?

Where do you start? What’s the next step?

Until next time

Neil

I don’t often look at the media stories, but over the last week I’ve been monitoring it, as research for a radio interview.

When I look at the natural disasters, and read about the terrorism, crimes and disease, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we stopped meddling with nature, forgot about geographic boundaries and put religion aside.

What would the world look like if governments didn’t impose themselves on the people or each other?

What if rivers didn’t have pollution pumped into them? If the air was respected, plants and trees honoured and cared for rather than just harvested? What if the ground wasn’t pumped with harmful insecticides and fertilizers? The list goes on…

A few years ago, overwhelmed with so many things I disagreed with in the world, I began CommunitySoul. I wanted an alternative to the negativity in the media, because I knew that for every story of conflict there was one of unity.

I’d become tired of commercialism. It had encouraged me to eat poorly and gain weight. It advertised things that encouraged me to do harm to the earth and myself, and it preyed on my weaknesses.

At the time when I was mulling over what I’d do someone said to me, “Yeah, Neil, but we can’t change the world single handedly.” Of course my friend was right, we can’t.

But his words made frustration rise up in me and made me want to do anything I could. What I did was this…

I immediately assumed responsibility for the part of the world I control. I created this newsletter which now reaches several thousand people. I often hear back from readers who want to express gratitude for something the newsletter helped them with.

On one level, that feeling of overwhelm I felt several years ago…that yearning for change I wanted to see in the world, created change in others I hadn’t anticipated. Closer to home, I buy less from the supermarkets. I learned to grow my own food and have a few chickens. It’s a small contribution to reducing our impact, but it is nonetheless a contribution.

With my wife, Jo, we set up a business which helps people who care about the world to get better at business and marketing, so people who care can have an even greater influence.

I’m not claiming what I have done is worthwhile by any means. I’m not saying it’s right or clever. What I am saying is that through the choices we make, we make an impact in changing the world for the better, because we are changing the part of it we control.

Going back to the question at the top of this article: Does it need powerful people to change the world? I’m not sure it does. What it needs is individual people who ask themselves good questions whenever they are faced with the important issues.

Right now, the changes I make at home can’t help the situation in Haiti. That said what I’m focussed on is that if me and you and enough people like us begin to make conscious decisions about what we do individually, then the collective mass increases and that can’t help but affect other people and have a positive impact on them too.

In the long run, this mass change in consciousness can’t help but bring about a change in consciousness at government level, and that will then impact things across the world that once upon a time were beyond our reach.

What would you most like to change in the world now? What decisions can you make now? Who do you know who should read this article? Forward it to them, Tweet, Facebook whatever inspires you.

With love and best wishes

Neil

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Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit. Visit his website and register for his free newsletter at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

I knew Pete was homeless before I walked up to him and started the conversation. He was selling Big Issues.

For most of my life I’ve walked along streets and I’m ashamed to say I’ve ignored guys like Pete.

Then for a few years I took pity on homeless people, giving them some change when I had it, sometimes buying a Big Issue. But then one morning, six months ago something happened.

I woke from a dream in which I wasn’t feeling any pity at all for homeless people – I was talking to them with genuine interest and an eager want to understand how they ended up on the street.

The sun was shining and the high street was buzzing on a Devon lunchtime as I stood next to Homeless Pete outside a Lloyds TSB Bank.

He tells me he ended up on the street when his old relationship broke down. His GP put him on Prozac. He tells me Prozac wasn’t good for him.

I tell him I once left a relationship. I tell him my GP put me on Prozac too. I share a story with Pete about how a friend of mine called me every day to make sure I was okay until I was off the drug. I tell him how I reversed into a car while I was on it.

I ask Pete how selling the Big Issue has changed his life. He says it has saved him. It got him out amongst people – interacting. He’s been selling Big Issues now for 5 years. He says he enjoys starting before 9am and giving people a smile as they go to work. He says he’s helping them feel happier and that makes him feel good.

‘You feel you’re helping people smile?’ I ask. Amazed that without a home he is even considering anyone else.

‘Oh yeah,’ he smiles.

His dog – which I hadn’t noticed until then – barks at a passing terrier and Pete tells me his dog once belonged to a friend who died. He looks away and swallows. His friend’s death still affects him.

I ask what he’d like to be doing in five years. He says he’d like to live in his own home and get a job as a street cleaner. He says he’d also like to meet Graham Walker.

He tells me Graham used to sell the Big Issue and has now written a book called Unsettled. Pete hands me a Big Issue and shows me a picture of Graham. I can see a twinkle in Pete’s eye. Graham is clearly an idol.

I ask Pete where he sleeps and he tells me he sleeps in the car park, under a roof and that sometimes the police move him on at night. I can’t help wondering what that’s like. My bedroom sometimes feels cold in spring – what’s a winter night like for Pete?

He says he and a friend once saved up the deposit for a house, but he couldn’t find a landlord who would take a dog. I felt his frustration. He’s not going to compromise the dog. It’s a symbol of love. It’s his friend.

But he says the deposit got spent on a trip to his home town.

A lady buys a Big Issue. ‘Careful,’ Pete says, ‘There are some loose papers inside that might blow away.’

The lady thanks him and he turns to me. ‘It happened once before. Loads of paper blew down the street. I picked it up though. I have street cleaner in my blood,’ he boasts.

I talk to Pete about how he gets the house, where a landlord will let him keep the dog and how he finds the job to keep the roof over his head. He says he doesn’t really know, so I tell him what I’d try – simple things that don’t cost money, but that let people – and the Universe know Pete is looking.

He thanks me for my advice and I feel he genuinely means it.

As I walk away his words, ‘I have street cleaner in my blood,’ stick in my head. I turn back and look. His ambition isn’t a big ask – to have a house, a job as a street cleaner and meet Graham Walker – is it?

As I step forward again I wonder why I didn’t connect with homeless people before. Was I embarrassed by my life of luxury? Did I feel sorry because I didn’t know how to help? Was I scared they’d mug me? Did I think they were all druggies? And what else did I have in common with them… except being human?

And that’s it, isn’t it, really. We are all human. We’re all kin. And we’re as strong as a nation as our weakest and most vulnerable links.

It’s easy to send £50 to a victim of Tsunami or pay £10 a month for a child in Africa. We can send our good will gesture and not really get involved. But it is hard to face the man on the town centre high street who is a product of our culture and society.

Pete wants to smile at a passers-by – brighten their day. He wants a roof over his head. He wants a job cleaning the street. Though I bought a Big Issue from Pete, I’d like to think that the time we shared had greater value than the £1.50 a Big Issue costs.

The time he gave me certainly had value.

Neil

I must have stared out the window for several minutes. And I still didn’t have the answer – or so it seemed. But then a question came to mind – “what’s the most compelling subject on my mind?”

A few minutes earlier, I’d been in the garden wondering why I couldn’t think of anything to write and beating myself up, because, for the first time ever, I felt like I had writer’s block.

And then it all fell into place…

This week I’ve spent a lot of time reviewing where life is heading and asking questions of myself and those around me. But more important than just asking any old question, I’ve been especially conscious of the power of every question I asked.

And while that may seem bizarre, or perhaps anal, I’d like to beg you to stick with me a moment…

Underlying the chaos of work, relationships, money, kids, stepkids, ex’s, family and the trials and tribulations of teenagers etc, there are, in my opinion, some key fundamentals that shape favourable or unfavourable outcomes in our life.

I can understand why, when faced with problems, most people want to hide. I mean, I remember watching the TV news one evening a couple of years ago and the way the “Credit Crunch” illusion was reported made me want to run away.

While some will tighten their belts, others will hoist up surrender flags and end up handing back the keys to a home for which they’ve slaved for years. Meantime another group of people will wait, ask the right questions and at the right time make a packet of money – because they know even a recession can create a harvest time.

My example here is money, but it wouldn’t matter what aspect of life we picked, because whatever area of life you choose, the outcome will have a large bearing on just one thing – the questions you ask about the situation you’re in.

Maybe you’ve read Esther and Jerry Hicks book with the biblical title, Ask and It’s Given. The book talks about asking for what you want and then having it come to you. On the same theme, Tony Robbins, personal development guru, talks about it slightly differently.

Robbins says the questions you ask determine what you receive. He’s saying that your outcome is determined by the quality of your questions on a subject.

We could ask: How come this is happening? Why now? What have I done to deserve this? How come I can’t get myself ahead? Why didn’t I make better decisions?

Or you could ask: With my skills and knowledge how can I make the best of this situation? What new skills and knowledge can I gain to profit from this? What are the millionaires and billionaires doing that others are not?

The first set of questions don’t help you. They dwell on the sob story. The second set unlock your potential. So the second set of questions has the potential to take you to a more successful outcome than the first.

If you can master your questions you’re going to find life getting easier.

Neil

http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

A girl looked in the mirror. Her friend sat behind her. “I spend hours in front of the mirror admiring my beauty,” she said, “Do you think that’s vanity?”

“No,” her friend replied, “that’s imagination.”

At first I saw this as a rather cutting joke by the friend, but after last week, I’ve begun to see her wisdom.

Confucius said, “Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

In the last few days I’ve seen some beautiful things. I’m sure the beauty always existed, but maybe I just failed to welcome it into my reality.

Take my garden. In the past I had no objection to gardening, so long as it didn’t take more than an hour a week! But a few years ago with bad weather and a busy schedule, it became very challenging to get to grips with it. I toyed with the idea of getting someone in, but resisted the temptation.

Then on Sunday morning I looked out at the garden, all overgrown – and I sighed. Then I closed my eyes and imagined myself tidying parts of it. I imagined where I would work. I saw everything I touched turning gold and returning to beauty.

Then I watched a short clip of Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island on the Internet and kept the lovely music by Mandalay in my mind as I fetched the tools and began the transformation process outside. When I felt my energy drain, I paused, took in the art I’d been performing, returned to the short clip and then continued.

Loving beauty is a matter of taste. You can love someone because they look beautiful, but isn’t it amazing when they become more beautiful because of how you love them?

The creation of beauty is art, and art begins with imagination.

With imagination we can create more beauty. And everyone needs beauty, a place to play, a place to pray, a place to heal and a place to be inspired. With that imagination, the art and the inspiration, I created beauty in my garden.

And as I worked around my pond, I wondered about creating beauty in business. That stopped me in my tracks. I mean, beauty will capture attention, but the personality a business is built with can open hearts.

And opening the heart in business, where traditionally there is often a perceived lack of heart, has to have beauty. If the intention is to serve others, to build creative relationships, surprise and delight your customers, then that’s beauty.

Helen Keller said, “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart.” So as I’m writing this note to you, I’m pausing to notice the lavender in my garden swaying in the breeze and the bees buzzing from stem to stem as they make their honey.

Last night we went to bed early. We did this so we could appreciate our garden even more, which might sound odd until you realise that our bedroom has huge windows that overlook the garden which was lit by flickering candle lights that I’d imagined were there when I began to transform the garden over the weekend.

Life can be hard, but by being artful with what you have, it can become beautiful.

Create blessing, and stand by for miracles!
Neil

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Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit. Visit our website at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

We meet all sorts don’t we. And we’ve all got our own story to tell. And sometimes that story’s inspiring and engaging… and sometimes it’s not.

Is your story inspiring or not?

If you do the uninspiring story thing occasionally that’s okay. I mean, I do it, usually when I’m having an off day. And we all do this to a greater or lessor extent. We need to. Without the uninspiring and unengaging we can’t really get to know the other facets of life.

But what if you do the uninspiring, unengaged story thing too often. When we engage in the mundane and monotony, and the poor me, life has a tendency to become like the story we’re telling.

So, a few weeks ago, when I was telling myself a whole load of gloom, I caught what I was up to. At which point I yawned out loud – which was slightly embarrassing because I was in a long queue at the time.

But in another way that was good. The lady in front of me turned and smiled. “I’m glad to see I’m not the only one that’s fed up,” she said.

Now I thought this was outrageously funny. Her story was that she thought I was bored of the queue and expressing my feelings. But I was just bored of the rubbish I had going on in my head at that moment. Yawning out loud was just my way of saying to myself, “Kindly shut up and tell a more inspiring story.”

What’s more, by the time we got to the front of the queue, I’d become such good friends with the lady, she offered to pay for my drink! How amazing!

Having spent the best part of 8 years writing stories, I know how easy it is to create whatever narrative I want. I know I can just as easily write the victim as the hero. And an actor will tell you the same thing – he can just as easily play  unfortunate as the amazing.

And that’s what we’re all doing all day long, writing the narrative or playing out the role according to the act we’re choosing to play.

A few months before my 40th birthday I woke up tired and fed up. I had this crazy story going on about being 40 in a couple of months and thinking about all the things I should have done by now. And I started to feel depressed – as only a pending birthday with a zero in it can do.

But then I rewrote the story. Life begins at 40… look at all these great things I haven’t experienced yet! I got on the Internet, Googled pictures of what I wanted, made a wish list, then started to rewrite the story, as though it had already happened and I was looking back telling it to my great grandchildren!

I’m not attached to having this outcome either. I mean, I don’t mind if things don’t work out the way I imagined. What I do know is that I wanted that day, and every day I live, to be happy and adventuresome.

And that’s not to say I’m not grounded in the reality of everything that’s happening around me. I’m very aware about my goals and roles and I’m also clear that I’d like to have a damn good time during the journey.

Where are you at with the story and the journey?

Would love to have you tell me by adding a comment to this post.

———–

Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit. Visit our website at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

If you could spend 12 hours with 12 great visionaries and spiritual philosophers, how would that transform your life?

You have a chance to find out by registering for this FREE Telesummit – an intensive week event that will immerse you in the MUST HAVE knowledge and techniques that you can put into place from day one and every day thereafter! You’ll walk away with new advantages in life, regardless of what’s been happening in your life or the outside world right now. And here’s the best part: You can listen from the comfort and privacy of your home; you don’t have to leave your home or office to participate.

12 visionaries and spiritual philosophers!

Live Life on Purpose

May 10-14, 2010

Click here for more information

There are 12 reasons why you will really want to join these visionaries…

1. Learn how to turn what you know into what you do
2. Get equipped for life with the Sixth Sensory Tool Kit
3. Supercharge everyday of your week and enjoy life
4. Discover the secrets that will transform your life
5. Create what you want and avoid what you don’t want
6. Access the health store in your body
7. Apply the 3 key behaviour’s of vital and healthy living
8. How to let go when you really need to
9. Uncover the moment when shift happens
10. How to use food as your rocket fuel for a spirited life
11. Find out how to raising spirited, kind, compassionate and confident children
12. Getting to grips with the principles that create a fulfilled and happy life

Remember – It’s not what you know…it’s what you do with what you know, and this summit is deliberately run over one week so you’ll be able to listen, take in and apply what you learn from one day to the next.

I look forward to you joining me on this life-changing telesummit!

——–

Neil is the founder of CommunitySoul, an organisation that helps individuals and businesses get life on track with principles, while making profits.