How Twitter Changed My Life

Ok, now you are probably going to think I’ve lost the plot.

Twitter changed my life. Let me tell you how.

AND I am going to attempt to tell this story in lines of 140 characters or less.

It all started when I launched my book “The Garden of the Soul” in April 2009.

After a year of mastering this “thing” called social networking, I created an Amazon book campaign.

I found many JVPs (joint venture partners), mainly from Twitter.

Some who helped were @InspiredSheila @SuzieCheel @KSchulweis @BrendaAdelman @RuthHegarty @JoeRumbolo @LolaFayemi (see next)

AND @HeidiRichards @AwakenedWisdom @LindaClariPuig @jenngivler @audaciouseditor @GailSussMill @Gloreebe @jessicamcgj @SpiritCoach #ff

Also ran a Virtual Blog Tour with peeps like @MoonPoppy @DuncanBrodie and many others.

Also ran a Twitter contest. @JulieAnnTurner won a signed copy of my book.

Anyway…

Long story short, my self-published book became an Amazon bestseller in #spirituality #mind-body-spirit and #self-help.

When “The Garden of the Soul” made bestseller, Tweets and RTs went viral. #gots

I think it was June when @SouthsideBroadc contacted me to be on their radio show. I soon became a regular guest.

Thru @SouthsideBroadc I met @SpiritusShelagh who has since become one of my closest friends.

July 2009: blogger/editor @BookEditorLM wrote me on Twitter wanting to do a blog piece on me: http://bit.ly/c8hbCa

Aug 2009: @BookEditorLM asked @tonyeldridge if he would repost that article. He asked me to write a new one.

Oct 2009: @tonyeldridge published my new article “Pre-Natal Care for Your Book” http://bit.ly/bWCmQA

Same month @AllisonMaslan (whom I didn’t know) read that article. Sent me DM asking me to coach her 4 Amazon launch.

I put together Amazon campaign for @AllisonMaslan ‘s new #book #BlastOff!

Nov 2009: I asked @writersinthesky (whom I had met on Ning) to come and help us put the campaign together.

We put together another great team of JVPs.

If I named all the Tweeple who helped us on #BlastOff! I think I’d need another day to write this.

Meanwhile lots of people were asking me for book advice. I decided to start a new site called Spirit Authors. http://spiritauthors.com

Dec 20 2009: I set up Twitter profile @SpiritAuthors and Facebook fan page. http://facebook.com/SpiritAuthors

Started Twitter/FB campaign to drive people to fan page. By Christmas day there were 100 fans.

Jan 2010: Did another campaign to get 500 fans by my 55th birthday end of Jan. I got 600+

Jan 19, 2010: Allison’s book launched. Twitter & FB went viral. “Blast Off” reached #1 in US/Canada. http://bit.ly/RXpQu

RT @AllisonMaslan’s “Blast Off” reached #1 in US/Canada. http://bit.ly/RXpQu

Jan 21, 2010: Success of launch attracted attention of @AllisonMaslan ’s literary agent @wgtwelve. He’s also @EckhartTolle ‘s agent

As an author, I am now represented by @wgtwelve.

More and more #mind-body-spirit #authors come to me to create campaigns for them.

New Amazon campaigns: @AwakenedWisdom (April 20), @NeuroBooks (May 11) and @wgtwelve (Nov).

From Twitter contacts, I quickly assembled team of 18 VIP experts for Spirit Authors Grand Opening http://bit.ly/9pfpJV

VIPS: @wordywoman @BookMarketer @CaronGoode @DayaDeviDoolin @inspiredwriter @docmarion @AlanSeale plus many already mentioned.

Nearly 500 people registered 4 the #Spirit #Authors Grand Opening http://bit.ly/9pfpJV

My good friend @SpiritusShelagh was my co-host for the event. What a source of strength she is.

Oz Tweep @charlyjl was a wellspring of technical support in getting the site ready. Couldn’t have done it without her.

March 2010: Spirit Authors is now open and I have long waiting list of book campaign clients.

On #Spirit #Authors I teach new authors how to set use #Twitter to build a promotional platform and Amazon launch… as well as many other things (Oops! That’s more than 140 characters!)

Ok… enough with the Twitterspeak!!!

I am quite serious when I say Twitter has changed my life. Yes, my own book would never have become a bestseller without Twitter. Yes, I could never have helped Allison become a number-1 seller. Yes, I would not have gotten some fab new clients and an amazing literary agent. And yes, I would never have thought to create Spirit Authors and now have a blossoming new business as a result.

But it isn’t REALLY about business at all.

Have a look at all the Twitter links above. These are not just links. These are all REAL people whom I have come to know, respect and care about over the past year. Even though some of us are separated by tens of thousands of miles, we have all shared many a heart-felt conversation over the phone, and have been there for each other through the highs and lows.

And really, there are just so many other wonderful people I have met from Twitter (as well as Facebook, Ning and LinkedIn, in that order), I cannot count them.

When many people first come to Twitter, they don’t “get it”. How can you possibly communicate in 140 characters? How can you possibly make friends with people? How can you possibly build a business from it? WHY would you WANT to do this????

And I’m telling you now—it’s because of the PEOPLE!

I have made more close friends from networking on Twitter than any other form of networking I have ever tried… even more than “live” networks in my home town! While I do love Facebook as well, there is nothing (yet) that can beat Twitter for ideas going viral, and for meeting lots of people who share your interests within a very short period of time.

But as I said, it’s not just about the business. The friends I have met through Twitter are some of the most inspiring, supportive, positive and powerful light-workers I have ever met. That is why I have linked to EVERY one of them above.

So, if you are on Twitter, you should follow them. These are wonderful, beautiful people—get to KNOW them.

As always, your comments below are MOST welcome!

Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn
@LynnSerafinn
@SpiritAuthors

P. S.: This article was inspired by a Twitter conversation I had a new friend on Twitter @WendyMWarden. Many thanks, Wendy. This was fun to write!

P. P. S.: Knowing HOW to make Twitter (and social networking in general) work for you, both on a business level and on a deeply fulfilling personal level, is something of an art form. This is why I teach it on the Spirit Authors course:

• In Module 2, I teach the fundamental principles of spirit-based promotion so you can create a fertile promotional platform for selling your book online using social networking.
• In Module 4, I teach the “how to’s” of creating an Amazon Book Launch.
• And, of course, there are 3 other modules on starting and writing your book, preparing for publication, and creating a brand and sustainable business from your book.

It’s my hope that by teaching authors (and authors-to-be) the techno-art of Twitter, they will not only find professional fulfilment, but they will also expand their world by connecting to others who understand them and wish to help them grow.

If this sounds like something you would like to explore, I offer a 14-day “Test Drive” on any Spirit Authors learning module for only $1. Visit the site at http://spiritauthors.com and check out the introductory audios and module overviews to see if there is something at Spirit Authors that can help you achieve your writing goals. And if you have any questions, please just fill out a contact form on the site and I promise I will reply personally.

Your VIP Invitation to Spirit Authors Grand Opening Week – Feb 22-26

Presenting an exciting NEW concept on the Internet, combining coaching, learning, community and business-building in a creative, spirit-based environment…

SPIRIT AUTHORS GRAND OPENING

Register for free at: http://spiritauthors.com/pages/grand-opening.html

Spirit Authors (www.spiritauthors.com) is an innovative new membership site where established, new and aspiring authors in the mind-body-spirit genre can find everything and everyone they need to make their publication a success. Founded by bestselling author and award-winner teacher and coach, Lynn Serafinn, Spirit Authors provides learning, support and professional resources to mind-body-spirit authors, whether you are just starting out, or are already successfully published.

Won’t you please join us for our Grand Opening Celebration?

• Monday 22 February through Friday 26 February (one webcast per day), from 3pm Eastern (8pm UK)
• FIVE unique broadcasts on different topics including writing, publishing and marketing your book and beyond
• FREE to attend; FREE to listen (via webcast)
• A superb VIP panel of 18 spirit-based industry professionals, all leaders in their fields
• Panellists include top-selling mind-body-spirit authors, editors, marketing specialists, translators, literary agents, publishers and basically wonderful people.

On the broadcasts, you will…

• Hear the experiences and insights of 18 leading mind-body-spirit publishing professionals
• Learn lots of new things about spirit-based writing, publishing and promotion
• Have the opportunity to direct questions to the VIP panel via our webcast
• Find out how you can “Test Drive” Spirit Authors Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience for only $1
• Receive some great free gifts just for checking it out.

Can’t make it to the live broadcasts?

No problem! Register for the webcasts you want, and you will receive a link to download the MP3 after the event. But don’t leave it too long before you listen to them… we’ll be giving away some freebies that will be available only during the week of the Grand Opening launch.

Who are our VIPs?

• HOST: Lynn Serafinn, bestselling author, book promotion coach
• CO-HOST: Shelagh Jones, Spiritus Spiritual Marketing Directory
• Alan Seale, author, transformation coach
• Allison Maslan, number-1 selling author, homeopath, life strategy coach
• Caron Goode, award-winning author
• Dana Lynn Smith, The Savvy Book Marketer
• Daya Devi Doolin, award-winning author, spiritual counsellor
• Laurel Marshfield, editor, ghostwriter, proofreader
• Marion Ross, number-1 selling author and psychologist
• Richard Fitt, Authors Online, publisher for self-publishing authors
• Shannon Arnold Jackson, spirit-based writing coach
• Shelley Lieber, The Wordy Woman, Publishing Maven
• Stephanie Gunning, the Get a Book Deal Coach
• Tony Eldridge, Marketing Tips for Authors
• William Bloom, world-renowned spirituality author and speaker
• William Gladstone, author, top literary agent for leading mind-body-spirit authors
• Yvonne Perry, author, book marketing specialist
• One additional guest to be confirmed

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT THE LINE UP AND REGISTER FOR FREEl

I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss this…

Hi everyone!

Happy Monday to you. I just HAD to put this blog post up today because tomorrow, Tuesday 19 January, is a day I’ve been looking forward to for the past 5 months.

Tomorrow is the day that my very good friend and client, Allison Maslan, is launching her new self-help book Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality.

I’ve been working closely with Allison since the autumn to plan the launch of this book. Although I’ve been working with many authors over the past year, this is definitely the biggest and most exciting book campaign (other than my own!) I have coached so far. It’s been a BIG job for us, along with the help of many others including Yvonne Perry from Writers in the Sky, to coordinate all the events, create all the materials, and communicate with the dozens of people who have been involved. It’s been a LOT of work, but also a lot of fun.

As you can probably guess, even though I am not the author of this book, I feel a very strong connection to it, and I SERIOUSLY want to be able to say I helped one of my clients reach the Number-1 rank in Amazon Self-Help books tomorrow! But that’s not just because I have a natural “bias” here; I honestly believe Allison’s book deserves to be a top selling title.

I invite you to check out Allison’s excellent self-help book Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality TOMORROW, Tuesday 19 January.

Why buy the book on the day of the launch?

Because whole gaggle of Allison’s friends and colleagues (including me) are giving away over 20 inspirational gifts to EVERYONE who buys the book on launch day. Gifts include audio books, eBooks, free memberships, meditations, photography, prosperity building, business help, personal growth, spiritual growth… all sorts of interesting stuff by some of top mind-body-spirit and business professionals. I myself am offering 4 audio book excerpts from my book The Garden of the Soul when you buy Allison’s book tomorrow.

Just go to http://myblastoff.com/booklaunch and you can read all about Allison’s book, and the bonus gifts. You can sign up for a launch reminder AND buy the book directly from that page TOMORROW. The page will go “live” from midnight Pacific time tonight.

Ok, so that’s my Monday news. I’ve got a lot more I will be telling you about in another week or so, when I finally start taking bookings for my new Spirit Authors Grand Opening. Spirit Authors is a new Virtual Coaching site where I’ll be helping mind-body-spirit authors just like Allison (and others who may be aspiring to become authors) to write their books, develop their promotional campaigns, and learn all they need to know about self-publishing in the mind-body-spirit genre. But more about Spirit Authors next time.

Until then, PLEASE be sure you get your copy of Allison’s book tomorrow at http://myblastoff.com/booklaunch. Hopefully while you’re downloading all your free bonus gifts, I’ll be celebrating the fact that Allison has hit number 1 on Amazon! I’ll be so happy for her when that happens.

Hope you are staying warm and happy this winter, and that 2010 is the year all your dreams come true.

Warm wishes,

Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
Author, transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host
http://create-a-life.co.uk
http://lynnserafinn.com
http://spiritauthors.com

Intentions for a Wonderful New Decade

I can hardly believe that we are now into the second decade of the new millennium. It seems like only yesterday I was watching the fireworks over London (on TV) as we passed from the 20^th century into the 21^st. I don’t know about you, but I have a truly wonderful feeling about this next decade. I’m going to be 55 this month (happy birthday wishes graciously accepted), which means that this decade is “traditionally” the time when someone my age would be moving towards retirement. Well I can tell you right now I have no intention of retiring at age 65. In fact, I feel like I’m just getting warmed up! Both my energy and my spirits are high, and I feel full of optimism and hope as we step into the “teenies”.

To honour the coming of the new decade, I decided to set some intentions. To keep me focussed and balanced, I decided to use the four principles of “Give, Receive, Become and Be” from my book The Garden of the Soul as a foundation for those intentions. I’d like to share them with you here.

My intention for the Principle of Giving

I have learned that true “Giving” means to listen deeply to people’s hearts and give them what they truly want, rather than imposing what my ego tells me what I think they need. This decade, I make the intention to give to everyone I meet, from my heart to theirs.

My intention for the Principle of Receiving

I have learned that true “Receiving” means to open my eyes and ears to become aware of the boundless gifts being sent to me at every moment of my life. This decade, I make the intention to allow myself to receive, with wonder, joy and gratitude, all the Universe offers me.

My intention for the Principle of Becoming

I have learned that we cannot “Become” or grow unless we let go of old ways of thinking that do not serve us and keep us stuck in a treadmill. This decade, I make the intention to let go of old stories I have about myself and the world, and to become extraordinary in ways I had never before imagined I could.

My intention for the Principle of Being

I have learned that “Being” means to know and love the Self regardless of the multitude of labels we use to describe ourselves, and to be aware of who we are no matter what challenges surround us. This decade, I make the intention to be me, and only me, and to see you as only you.

Thank you for allowing me to share my intentions with you. I had an ulterior motive for doing so. You see, I know that the true power of intentions comes when you share them with others. And I really, really want to be able to be mindful of these intentions, because I know they sometimes might not be so easy to remember. The fact that you have heard them means there is more power behind them, so thank you for reading.

Try it out for yourself. Make your intentions for the new decade, and then share them with special and supportive people in your life. Then see how much this action helps you to be mindful of your promises to yourself. And what’s even more interesting is that we don’t necessarily have to share our intentions with other people (although it’s always good to, because they can hold us accountable). If you prefer, you can go out into Nature and shout your intentions to the moon, the trees, the birds, the ocean or whatever has meaning and energy for you. Or, if you are the kind of person who likes to pray or meditate, state your intentions to Spirit, in whatever form is true for you. No matter how you state your intentions, when others bear witness to our sincere expression of them, it’s as if the Universe has etched our words into our cosmic diaries, and holds us firmly on our true course in life.

And of course, you are MOST welcome to share your intentions with me below in the comments! I’d love to be your “intention buddy.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Is one of your intentions in 2010 to start writing a spirit-based book? Maybe you’ve already written it and you are ready to find out how to publish and promote your book. Or maybe, you’ve just started your writing journey by keeping a diary, a blog or other journal of your thoughts, feelings or creative ideas. No matter where you are in your writing journey, I’d like to invite you to visit Spirit Authors, my brand new Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience just for mind-body-spirit writers.

We are having a fantastic Spirit Authors Grand Opening Webinar Week from Monday 22 February through Friday 26 February, where you can hear (for fr*ee) over a dozen top mind-body-spirit industry professionals, from authors, to publishers, to editors, to marketers and more, all talking about spirit-based books, from writing to publishing to promotion. You’ll also find out how you can join the new Spirit Authors membership site, bringing you bespoke courses, business resources, and great opportunities for both personal and professional networking, all aimed at writers in the mind-body-spirit genre.

To make sure you don’t miss our Grand Opening, be sure to come over to www.spiritauthors.com and sign up for our news updates, so you can receive a VIP invitation to this very special Grand Opening Webinar Week.

Reconnecting Humanity and Earth with Eco Hero Tony Juniper

It’s hard to believe that my radio show Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul is coming up to its 1st anniversary this month with episode 49.

I wanted to celebrate the occasion in style, so I had in mind I wanted an extra special guest for that particular broadcast. I am delighted to tell you who he is.

Tony Juniper

On Wednesday 20 January, at 6pm UK/1pm EST, I will be hosting campaigner, writer, sustainability adviser and one of the UK’s best known environmentalists, Tony Juniper. A dynamic and inspiring speaker, and often referred to as an “Eco Hero”, Tony has worked for the last 25 years for change toward a more sustainable society at local, national and international levels. Amongst his almost endless list of personal and professional experiences, he has served as Vice-Chair of Friends of the Earth International, and is currently Special Adviser to the Prince of Wales Rainforests Project, Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic’s new Green Magazine supplement, and is the Green Party Parliamentary candidate for Cambridge, England.

On this very special anniversary edition, Tony and I will discuss his thesis of “Harmony” as taken from the upcoming book of the same name he is currently writing with Prince Charles and Ian Skelly, and is scheduled for publication by Harper Collins in autumn 2010. Tony will tell us about the present state of environmentalism, what we’ve achieved and not achieved, and what’s next for humanity at this time in history, and explain how the solutions to the ecological and economic problems we now face at a planetary level are not due so much to our political, technological or corporate systems, but rather to the fundamental fact that we as a culture have become disconnected from the Earth, and are illiterate as to how nature works and how we as humans fit into the natural order on a cosmological and spiritual level.

On the air, Tony will offer us some easy, joyful and practical ways to re-engage and reconnect with our planet and re-establish the true, holistic harmony that is meant to sing within every human soul.

You absolutely will NOT want to miss this most important and truly inspiring show.

In keeping with the theme of the show, I will also read the “Harmony Meditation” from my upcoming book, “The Companion Guide to the Garden of the Soul”.

Listeners can listen LIVE or “on demand” any time at
http://ow.ly/UvBM

You can also subscribe to the show via iTunes. Just look for Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul on BlogTalkRadio
http://blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn

Great Guests on the Garden of the Soul Radio Show in 2010

Happy New Decade everyone. I am SO pleased to reveal the identity of  some of the FANTASTIC guests I have lined up for the first few months of 2010 for Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul radio show on BlogTalkRadio. You’ll see some names that will really interest you, I know! The shows are not yet posted online, so if you want to be sure you don’t miss them, just go to http://blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn, mark us as your favourite, and you’ll receive alerts for every upcoming episode. Full details for these shows coming soon!

All shows are on WEDNESDAYS at 6pm UK time/1pm EST.
Can’t make the live show?
Catch them “on demand” any time, or subscribe on iTunes.

~~Please leave your comments below to let me know
what you think of the line up so far.~~

WED 6 Jan
“Defining Your Vision for 2010
Coach Crystal Williamson
Crystal tells us how and why so many of us don’t stick to the promises we make to ourselves, and walks us through her “G.O.A.L” system for reaching the goals that really matter in life.

WED 13 Jan
“It’s the Stories You Tell that Colour Your Life”
Alan and Marylou Falstreau
Extraordinary artists tell us how to re-colour your life by shifting your inner stories.

WED 20 Jan
FEATURED SHOW: 1ST ANNIVERSAY EPISODE with TONY JUNIPER
Tony Juniper, campaigner, writer, sustainability adviser and one of the UK’s best known environmentalists. For the last 25 years he has worked for change toward a more sustainable society at local, national and international levels. From providing ecology and conservation experiences for primary school children, to making the case for new recycling laws, to orchestrating international campaigns for action on rainforests and climate change, his work has sought change at many levels. He also served as Vice-Chair of Friends of the Earth International. Tune in to hear some powerful insights about our human connection to the Earth, and why it is more essential now than ever to become reconnected to our planet.

WED 27 Jan
Music from Silly Trilly
Trippy, experimental music from Norway that you simply MUST hear.  In honour of Mozart’s 254th birthday.

WED 3 Feb
Healing Through Song
With guest Brenda MacIntyre
Native American medicine singing. Sacred, beautiful, powerful, healing.

WED 10 Feb
Psychic Healing
With guest Heather Woodward
More info to follow

WED 17 Feb
FEATURED SHOW: THE ENDORPHIN EFFECT
With author WILLIAM BLOOM
Author of The Endorphin Effect, Psychic Protection and many others, William is world renowned as a cutting edge speaker who brings knowledge of spirituality and the mind-body connection down to Earth for everyone to understand. His book, The Endorphin Effect, discusses how we are able to create deep, spiritual happiness simply by understanding and tapping into the link between body, mind and soul.

WED 24 Feb
FEATURED SHOW: GROWING OUR FUTURE
With scientist and book editor Dr Leo Sharashkin
Dr Sharashkin is a scientist, permaculture expert, and editor of the bestselling “Anastasia” book series, which have undeniably become a world-wide phenomenon. He’ll be talking about the importance for all human beings to re-establish their connection to the Earth, how this connection can improve our lives on so many levels, from health and longevity to spiritual wellness. He will also tell us how the seemingly unstoppable wave of influence created by the publication of Anastasia books is already changing the lives of people throughout the world.

COMING IN LATER IN 2010…

FEATURED SHOW
PHILLIP DAY: Health Wars
World-renowned author and speaker on nutrition/health (Date to be confirmed)

Wed 10 March 2010
Author Barbara Hof: To Be or Not to Be
About the book of the same name

Wed 17 March 2010
Authors Barbara Techel, Ingrid King
How our pets serve us as spiritual teachers

Wed 31 March 2010
Sharry Edwards
This cutting edge New Scientist returns to the show to talk about the fascinating science of BioAcoustics andhow it can lead us to understanding our Life Purpose. Call in for a LIVE “nano-voice” reading on the air!

Wed 7 April 2010
FEATURED SHOW
ALAN SEALE
Harper Collins spirituality author and master coach. More info to follow.

Wed 14 April 2010
Debi Dun
QiGong as a spiritual path

Wed 21 April
Author Caron Goode
Raising Intuitive Children

Wed 28 April
FEATURED SHOW: Publisher/Author Vrinda Pendred
Conditional Publications: a new publishing company of authors with neurological conditions announcing their new book “Check Mates”. http://conditionalpublications.com

Wed 5 May
Author Yvonne Perry
Speaking about the Afterlife

Wed 12 May
Author Megan Riley
Speaking about Life Purpose

Listen to Lynn Serafinn on Blog Talk Radio
More dates and more information to follow soon! Be sure to subscribe to this blog for updates AND mark the show as your favourite to receive show reminders.

BOOK REVIEW – Blast Off by @AllisonMaslan

Author and Coach Allison Maslan Helps You ‘Blast Off’ in 2010

by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC

Like this article? Share it with others

These days, the market is flooded with self-help books. Unfortunately, all too many of them leave me feeling dull and lifeless, and they don’t really “help” very much. Half of the books I come across hit you over the head with “power talk” that makes you feel guilty for not being rich or for getting the occasional cold (I won’t mention names, but I have indeed tossed more than one self-help book across the room because of this!). The other half usually drown you in lofty “woo woo” language that never quite gets down to practical action. Frustrating! For a new self-help book to stand out from the crowd and become keeper in my library, it would need to be friendly, engaging, fun AND practical. In other words, it would actually have to HELP me help myself. In her new book Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality, author, coach and registered homeopath Allison Maslan, has achieved exactly that. Her book is a step-by-step programme to achieving some of the most challenging and important goals in life: Continue Reading…

Product Review – Blastation Interactive Goal Setting and Life Coaching Software

Sample Vison Board from Blastation

This week I took this cutting edge new sofware programme (developed by Allison Maslan) for a spin. After reading this review (I give you screen shots of the programme and describe the features pretty fully), take Blastation for a test drive yourself on a FREE 30-day trial http://ow.ly/KMx.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About a year ago, I attended a course with Patrick Ryan called “Awakened Wisdom”. On that course, I set many goals for myself to achieve over the next 2 years and beyond. Now, I know that I am absolutely USELESS when it comes to keeping paper documents, so I wanted to make some sort of computer-based tracking system for myself to create my 2-year targets and then break them down into smaller chunks (monthly, weekly, daily). I used an Excel spreadsheet and put all kinds of pretty colours on it. I used a different colour for each time frame: one for “Life Dream” and one for the year, month, week and day. I called it my “15-minute focus” because I didn’t want to spend gobs of time on it every day, or I wouldn’t get any work done. Instead, I wanted to use it as a way to focus my vision on the bigger picture every day, and keep my perspective on how my daily activities were working towards that goal. Here’s a screen shot of what it looked like almost exactly 1 year ago (hahah… notice that my “Life Dream” last Christmas was that my book The Garden of the Soul sold 30 million copies… I’m still working on that one!):

Well, I have to say, it did work pretty well and kept me on target for a while. If I look back at it now, most of the things I had set out to do were all pretty much achieved, and most of those things that weren’t achieved were replaced with stuff that was even better. I found this method so useful that I even shared it with several of my coaching clients, who liked it very much.

But after a couple of months, it started to get a bit of clumsy and I tended not to use it as much as I did when I first made it. There were too many words, too much scrolling up and down, no real way to “see” visually what I had achieved. I found it took me a lot longer than 15 minutes a day, because of the way it was laid out, and it didn’t really replace my need to use a daily diary quite separately from this (which I developed on yet another spreadsheet). Sometimes I found myself forgetting where I had written things down because I needed so many different places to write them!

But lo’ and behold, only a few months ago, a woman named Allison Maslan came into my life, asking me to coach her around creating a marketing campaign for her upcoming book Blast Off!. Well, of course I was really pleased to meet such a wonderful new client, and get to work on such a fun book campaign, but the bonus surprise for me was when she showed me Blastation – an online software programme she had designed for exactly the same purpose as my 15-Minute Focus spreadsheet…

But seeing them side-by-side was like comparing an old 78 rpm gramophone to a digital surround-sound system. Blastation was everything I had wanted my spreadsheet to be, but it did it all faster, prettier and more visually. It overcame every single one of the drawbacks of my home-made goals-setting spreadsheet had. Heck, it even used a similar colour scheme as I had chosen for my 15-Minute Focus, only a lot bolder and more eye-catching. I had to laugh when I saw that. It was just too perfect. Continue Reading…

Holiday Survival Guide – Pt 2 of 5

5 Easy Ways to Beat the Blues and Feel Joyous this Holiday Season
by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC

Today we continue our series of tips to help you beat the blues over the holidays:

1. Holiday Blues Number 1: Seasonal Affective Disorder (”SAD”) posted 6 December
2. Holiday Blues Number 2: Seasonal Illnesses (in today’s post)
3. Holiday Blues Number 3: Family “Dramas” (coming Sat 12 December)
4. Holiday Blues Number 4: Stress over Money (coming Tues 15 December)
5. Holiday Blues Number 5: Feelings of Isolation (coming Fri 18 December)

TIP: If you want to receive all 5 articles, be sure to subscribe to this blog in the box on the right hand side of your screen.

Beating Holiday Blues Number 2: Seasonal illnesses
In Part 1, we looked at SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). In today’s instalment of my “Holiday Survival Guide”, we’ll look at beating the holiday blues of seasonal illnesses like colds and flu.

Ok. I admit. There is nothing that makes us feel more “blue” than getting ill, especially during the holidays when we are supposed to be having fun (aren’t’ we?). There has indeed been an awful lot of flu going around this year (I had swine flu in September myself), over and above the usual seasonal flu. But what makes the flu season even worse is the fact that during the holiday season, we tend to compromise our body’s immune system to an extreme by: Continue Reading…

Holiday Survival Guide – part 1 of 5

5 Easy Ways to Beat the Blues and Feel Joyous this Holiday Season

by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC

Author Patrick Dennis somewhat sarcastically referred to the winter holidays as “The Joyous Season” in his 1960s book of the same name. Most of us inwardly believe that Christmas and the winter holidays are indeed meant to be joyous. But in actuality, many people have a rough time during the holiday season, for many reasons.

Because the holidays seem to be such challenging and sometimes transitional periods in our lives, this month I decided to have a look at what I think are the “Top 5 Blues” that affect so many people during the holidays, along with why we get them, and how to turn them around into Joy. Here are the top 5 that came to mind:

• Holiday Blues Number 1: Seasonal Affective Disorder (”SAD”) in today’s issue
• Holiday Blues Number 2: Seasonal Illnesses (coming Wed 9 December)
• Holiday Blues Number 3: Family “Dramas” (coming Sun 27 December)
• Holiday Blues Number 4: Stress over Money (coming Mon 28 December)
• Holiday Blues Number 5: Feelings of Isolation (coming Thus 31December

Over the next 12 days, I’ll be examining each of these “blue areas”, give you some tips from other great thinkers, and offer a few of my own suggestions for turning the winter “blues” into cheery multi-coloured mind-body-spirit holiday sparkles. Today, I’ll be talking about SAD– Seasonal Affective Disorder. The findings might surprise you!

Beating Holiday Blues Number 1: Seasonal Affective Disorder (”SAD”).
SAD is a condition that affects some people during the winter months causing them to feel a bit blue, low in energy, or basically “down in the dumps.” But what causes it? Continue Reading…

Bestselling Author’s Work with Transition Town Awarded

PRESS RELEASE: WOBURN, BEDFORDSHIRE – 18 November 2009 – Today at Woburn Sculpture Gallery, Bedfordshire Businesswomen (BBW), a not-for-profit networking organisation for women who live and/or have business interests in the Bedfordshire area, now in its 21^st year, announced their annual business awards for outstanding achievement in various categories. Amongst the six winners for the 2009 awards, which were sponsored by Barclays Bank, was Lynn Serafinn, a Bedford-based community leader, transformation coach, personal development trainer, public speaker, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. Ms Serafinn received the BBW award for “Working within a Community Organisation or Not-for-Profit Organisation” owing to her work as Founder of the Global Wellness Circle, and also as the Chair of Transition Bedford, a new initiative that is part of the worldwide Transition Network addressing climate change and fossil fuel dependency.

In spring 2008, Ms Serafinn noticed that there was a large faction of practitioners in the holistic health and wellbeing industry who felt isolated both professionally and socially, having no way to promote their businesses or to educate the public about the benefits of living a more natural, holistic lifestyle. In response to this, she formed Continue Reading…

Mercury – rising, retrograde or runaway?

…a completely random blog post that has nothing whatsoever to do with work, business or anything serious…

Well, Mercury is back to his old tricks again.

Do any of you remember back in February when there were so many problems on the Internet? Those of you who are on Twitter might remember when it went crazy for a few days. Well, as it turns out, the planet Mercury was in retrograde back then (retrograde meaning the time when it appears to be moving backwards from our vantage point on Earth). It seems to be a widely accepted explanation that when things like this happen in cyberspace, poor Mercury frequently gets the blame, especially if it is retrograde. In fact, every time I hear someone going through some sort of communication breakdown, I also hear people asking, “Is Mercury in retrograde again?”

So is there anything to this Mercury stuff, or is it all a story we use to explain away our own frustrations with technology? Continue Reading…

Bedford replies: ‘We are NOT stupid, Mr Prescott.’

In a recent article, former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was quoted to say that the Bedfordshire town of Bedford, should be given a “stupid award” owing to its local planning committee opposing the construction of wind farms on aesthetic grounds. While the implications of this opposition are duly noted, the recently formed community initiative Transition Bedford, part of the larger Transition Town Network of over 1500 local initiatives worldwide, replies, “Look deeper, Mr Prescott, and you will find that the people of Bedford are not at all stupid in matters to do with climate change and peak oil.”

To illustrate Bedford’s intelligence and to increase public awareness on these important issues, Transition Bedford will be hosting a free viewing of the film “In Transition” at the Ent Shed on Castle Road, MK40 3QY, on Wednesday 9 Sept 2009 at 7.30pm. Special guest at the event will be Chris Keene, a member of the “Zero Carbon Caravan”, a troop that is currently cycling and sailing from Wales to the UNFCCC talks in Copenhagen.

BEDFORD, BEDFORDSHIRE – 1 September 2009 – Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott thinks Bedford is “stupid.”

At least that is what he was quoted as having said in a recent article published by Business Green and The Evening Standard. According to the article, Mr Prescott said the planning committee in Bedford, whose wider borough is estimated to have a population of more than 150,000 people, should be given a “Stupid Award” (named after the recently released environmental film “The Age of Stupid”), calling the committee, “stupid nimbys” and saying “I hope they get upset about it.”

But a group of local Bedfordians, who are members of the recently formed initiative Transition Bedford, invite Mr Prescott to look a little bit deeper, beyond the surface of local planning committees, to see the real Bedford.

“And if he does,” says current Chair of Transition Bedford initiating group, Lynn Serafinn, “he would see an informed, passionate and proactive side to Bedford, where people are at the cutting edge on the issue of climate change.”

Transition Bedford is a part of the larger Transition Town Network, founded in 2006, which is now comprised of thousands of other towns, villages and urban neighbourhoods who are taking definitive, community driven, grass-roots action in response to climate change and Continue Reading…

Welcome to my web portal and blog

Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC, transformation coach, bestselling author, speaker, teacher, radio host, community leader

Here are some quick links (scroll down for my blog):

• My book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self
• Create-a-Life Transformation Coaching
• The Garden of the Soul Coaching Community
• The Garden of the Soul Radio Show
• My work in the Transition Town network
• Transformation Workshops and courses
• The Global Wellness Circle
• Follow me on Twitter
• Find me on Facebook
• Become a Garden of the Soul book or radio FAN on Facebook
• Connect on LinkedIn
• Join the Garden of the Soul social network on Ning
• Handy new email: lynn [at] lynnserafinn [dot] com