“…No man is an island, entire of itself…”
~ John Donne, 1624

We humans are social creatures.

We thrive through connection, community, collaboration and co-creation. And although I firmly believe that each one of us is perfectly complete in and of ourselves, at the same time, it is the nature of our creation that connection to others is what makes us far more than the sum of our parts. The example I always think of is the iconic musical group The Beatles. While each of these musicians (along with their musical director George Martin) was undeniably talented in his own right, this group collaboration was massively more creative, influential and productive than the sum total of work produced by all of these artists independently. If you think about it, you might even call The Beatles the most “pop” example of a “mastermind group”, whose sole reason to exist was to churn out challenging, trend-setting (and highly profitable!) music. It’s a clear case of “The Power of We” in action.

The power of “We” is something that has long been known to leaders, both in governments and business. In there book Meet and Grow Rich (2006), Joe Vitale and Bill Hibbler discuss the history of the idea of mastermind groups citing that many people believe the idea of “the mastermind alliance” was originated by the famous mega-business tycoon Andrew (Dale) Carnegie who attributed much of his success in rising from an impoverished upbringing to becoming the richest man in the world to the power of collaboration. And what is most interesting is that Carnegie had started using mastermind groups to help him achieve his personal goals as early as 1850, decades before he reached the pinnacle of his business success.

A look back through history shows us all manner of mastermind groups (in all but name) started by Benjamin Franklin (The Junto), P.T Barnum (The Cary Salon), Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr (The Metaphysical Group). Back when I was a music history student in Boston (I can’t
believe it’s almost 40 years ago!), I also learned about “The Florentine Camerata,” a group of humanists, musicians, writers and other intellectuals led by Vincenzo Galilei (father of the astronomer Galileo Galilei) in the late 1500s, who gathered regularly to discuss and influence trends in this arts. Taken in its broadest sense, this highly influential alliance was also a “mastermind group.”

Now the interesting thing is, most people tend to associate mastermind groups with business growth. But note that the above examples were NOT all focussed on business and profits. Far from it. Rather, these groups were havens of great ideas, inspiration and innovation. Just like The Beatles, they created far more together by dint of their mutual brainstorming and power of intention than they were likely to have done on their own.

What is even more remarkable to think about is the fact that all these groups have all changed history in some way, whether it is in business, government, philosophy, science, technology, the arts or world view.

Ok, I think I’ve made my point about mastermind groups. Now here’s the news I want to share with you.

My client and very good friend Allison Maslan has started a brand new, and very elite, mastermind group called Pinnacle Program that will have its first meeting next month (January 22nd 2011) in La Jolla, California. I am part of this group, as are also nearly 30 other entrepreneurs in a variety of fields. Some of them are names many of you would recognise I am sure. I have joined the group because I have a vision of creating something specific in 2011–a legacy, if you will–that will be the “pinnacle” of my life’s work on this planet. I believe the “power of we” will help me success in getting the project off the ground.

The Pinnacle Program is filling up, but it still has some room for a few more members for 2011. Allison is organising this group in such a way that anyone who wishes to be a part of it must be with us from the very beginning. In other words, you cannot just join later in the year. This is not a “personal development course.” Nor is it just a bunch of people getting together to network 4 times a year. It is a highly structured, very clever program with many different forms of support, including four annual full-day masterminds, weekly pod calls, monthly group coaching, and even daily support. Allison is even throwing in a full year’s free subscription to her Blastation motivational software (that’s worth $300 on its own).

If you want to check out all the details about the Pinnacle Program, go to http://ThePinnacleProgram.com

A few weeks ago, Allison and I did the “10 Steps to Reach Your Pinnacle”webinar. I know from the emails I’ve received from people who attended that some of you out there are thinking about joining The Pinnacle, but have a lot of questions you would like to ask before you commit to such a program.

That’s why Allison and I are holding an online Question and Answer session on Thursday December 9th, specifically to answer any questions you may have about mastermind groups, The Pinnacle, or the benefits you might expect from joining this group.

This is a completely OPEN call. That means you DON’T have to sign up to attend or give your email address. It will be driven solely by the questions we receive from you either in advance or on the live call.

Here’s how to attend and submit your questions:

Open Q&A about The Pinnacle Mastermind Program

Thursday December 9th 2010

12pm Pacific / 3pm EST / 8pm UK

NO SIGN UP REQUIRED! Just show up!

To attend via web go to:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=16352121

Click “Listen In” and you can listen EITHER via web or via telephone

(the phone number and access code will be displayed when you select “telephone” as your option).

Not sure you can make the live call? Want to ask a question in advance? There’s a question form right on that page where you can ask whatever you want. Be SURE to include your email address if you want a personal reply.

I look forward to hearing your voices on this Q&A call, and to the possibility of collaborating with some of you throughout 2011 on The Pinnacle Program.

Oh, and just as a point of interest, the above quote from Paul Simon’s song “I am a Rock” was first recorded as a solo piece in 1965, but it didn’t make it as a hit until he collaborated with musical partner Art Garfunkel and re-released the track the following year under the name Simon and Garfunkel. The words themselves are meant to be ironic, but the history of the song makes them even moreso.

Long live the “Power of We”!

About Lynn Serafinn, Creator of Spirit Authors

Lynn Serafinn is a transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. She also works as a campaign manager for mind-body-spirit authors and has produced several top-10 book campaigns, including FOUR #1-sellers, in 2010 alone. She created Spirit Authors to offer training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. Contact Lynn about YOUR book project at at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.

Be sure to subscribe to this blog for regular book writing and promotion tips (just fill in form at TOP LEFT of your screen).

Sign up for Lynn’s bi-monthly newsletter Creative Spirit (fill in form BELOW) packed with inspirational articles, online networking tips, broadcast guide to her radio show, and news about upcoming spiritual author book releases.

Throughout the year, Lynn also hosts large-scale telesummits with world-class speakers on a range of mind-body-spirit topics. Your subscription to Creative Spirit will ensure you’ll be the first to know how to attend these free events.

I love my job. I get to work with the most interesting and inspiring people, like the lovely lady pictured at the left.

This week, I have the great pleasure to be hosting a 2-part webinar called “10 Steps to Reach Your Pinnacle” with Allison Maslan, who is widely regarded as the preeminent strategic life and business strategist in the United States. This FREE online event is on Wednesday November 3rd and Thursday November 4th, 2010 at 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern, midnight UK time.

I encourage you to register (FREE, of course) for this event at http://tinyurl.com/YourPinnacle

On the webinar, Allison will be sharing “10 Powerful Secrets that will turn your life and business dreams into supersonic successes.” Today she sent me the outline of these 10 secrets, and I have to tell you, they are like a mini-bible of common sense (but not always practiced) guidelines for happiness, acheivement, and satisfaction.

Allison is a remarkable woman, who has gained international recognition with her charismatic, inspirational spirit and numerous successful business ventures. She is the founder and president of Blast Off! Life and Business Coaching, an international motivational speaker  and the President of the Homeopathic Wellness Center™ in California, where she has practiced as a homeopathic physician for 15 years. She is an avid entrepreneur who has built nine of her own businesses in many different industries and has appeared as an expert guest on several FOX, NBC and ABC morning shows across the US. She was recently a finalist for the Ethan Awards honoring the entrepreneurial author and the San Diego Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award. She has coached thousands of clients in developing and achieving their own successful life and business ventures.

I first met Allison when she asked me to create the promotional campaign for the launch of her book Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality, which came out in January 2010, and rocketed (pun intended) to the #1 slot of entrepreneurial books on Amazon in both the US and Canada.

In my work with Allison, I have personally seen that she has a gift in empowering and propelling people, whether executives, entrepreneurs or individuals in transition, to their personal and professional pinnacle. She triumphs in the realms of career, business development, relationships and finances, as well as personal and spiritual growth. You might even say she does it “vicariously” in spite of whatever challenges and nay-sayers she encounters.

I love Allison’s unstoppable spirit. and I can think of no one who is more suited to talking about success. She is a truly genuine person who is always looking for the next mountain to climb. It’s small wonder why she called her latest project “The Pinnacle Program”, which is a mastermind group starting in January 2011 designed to “take you to the top” in life and business. I’m going to be participating in that program myself, because I want to create BIG things in 2011, and I know this kind of experience will provide me with the support I need to make them happen.

Here’s a recent video interview I made with Allison about my excitement about being a part of the 50 people who will be a part of “The Pinnacle Program 2011″:

If you cannot see the video, CLICK HERE to view this post online

AND…

Allison has just told me that during this week’s webinar, she will be making some REALLY special offers to people who register for The Pinnacle Program this week. I just read about the offers, and I have to tell you, I thought she was giving away more than anyone else I have worked with. I won’t tell you want she’s giving away right now. I’ll leave that for the broadcast.

I hope you’ll join us Wednesday and Thursday. Again, the place to register is http://tinyurl.com/YourPinnacle.

Oh yeah… you can also send in your personal questions for Allison when you register, and you can also ask your questions on the live call.  We’ll try to address as many questions as possible over the 2 days.

Warm wishes
Lynn Serafinn
Author, Transformation Coach, Book Promotions

http://spiritauthors.com/contact

About Lynn Serafinn

Lynn Serafinn is a an award-winning transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host and bestselling author of the book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self. She also works as a campaign manager for mind-body-spirit authors and has many bestselling book campaigns, including four #1 sellers in 2010 alone. She is also the creator of Spirit Authors, which offers training, coaching, business-building and inspiration for mind-body-spirit authors, whether established or aspiring. To contact Lynn for coaching, campaign management or media appearances, please fill in the form at http://spiritauthors.com/contact.

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Lynn explores the many ways our inner fears contribute to our stopping short of unbridled Joy in our lives.

PICTURED LEFT: photo of an actual wooden “stairway to heaven” ascending more than 50 metres, used by the famous “Voladores de Papantla” in Central America, whose breathtaking annual springtime “flying” ritual is famous worldwide.

A few years ago, I enrolled on a mega-personal-development course where I had to complete a series of physical challenges, many involving heights. One of the first challenges was to climb up to a balance beam about 25 feet high and walk across it–blindfolded. Of course, there was absolutely no danger involved, as all of us had secure harnesses attached to our bodies, with a team of strong people ensuring our safety at all times. But the ego-mind is very good at creating its own messages, even if your logical brain knows you are perfectly safe. And what is so interesting is that the messages it creates might not have anything whatsoever to do with the current situation. In all likelihood, you might find yourself replaying some very old “tapes” in your head that you might not even have thought of for years.

And that is precisely what happened to me. As I got close to the top of the pole I was climbing to get up to the balance beam, I suddenly froze. There was no way I could bring myself to make those few last steps to stand up on that beam.

Why?

Because all I could think of when faced with the prospect of walking across that 25-foot high plank of wood were images of me in 10th Grade, as I wobbled fearfully along a 3-foot high balance beam in my P.E. class, and the teacher made fun of me in front of the class saying, “Serafinn, you’re fat and you’re useless. Can’t you do anything?”

And as I replayed that mouldy, old tape (which I hadn’t even realised I still carried with me), the voices in my head said, You have NEVER been able to walk across a balance beam in the past, and you will NEVER walk across this one either. Your body is fat and useless. Don’t’ even think about this. Get OUT now!

Totally “triggered” by this inner drama, an overwhelming sense of panic, shame and sheer terror made me freeze. I simply couldn’t move. I shouted down to my course leader, “No, no, I can’t do this. I know I can’t. I’m bailing. I need to get down NOW.” And immediately I let go of the pole and sailed down to the ground on my guide ropes (even letting go was a challenge). When I landed, my entire body shook uncontrollably from the adrenaline flooding my every muscle. My legs collapsed under me and my hands were in intense pain from all the stress hormones.

My hands shaking the whole time, I took out my journal and wrote for a few minutes, exploring my flurry of emotions around this strange experience. But later, when I returned to watch some of the others on the course, I noticed that many people started out scared to death, but became elated when they got on top of, and eventually across, the beam. As I watched, I saw they were actually enjoying themselves in spite of–or maybe even because of–the fear.

My sense of “shame” and “failure” made me angry–at myself. I realised I had convinced myself I would fail, and had deprived myself of the elation others were experiencing when they had gone past their own limits.

I harnessed this anger as I approached the next challenge–climbing now a 30-foot telephone pole to the top. It looked REALLY high! But this time, I was not going to stop. I growled with anger. I shouted. I grunted. I swore. I told myself I WILL make it to the top. I will. I will. I will.

And after overcoming a few obstacles here and there along the way, I climbed just high enough to touch the “cookie” on the top of the pole. I was really happy, and felt so proud of myself.

But then, my course leader called up to me and said, “That’s great, Lynn! So, what do you want to do now?

“Now?” I asked. “But I’ve already reached the top. What do you mean?”

“Well, would you like to stand on TOP of the pole too?”

In my head, I was saying, What? On top? You want me to stand up on top of a 10-inch diameter surface 30 feet in the air? Are you kidding?

But what I replied was, “Uh, no thanks, I’m happy enough with this.” And I took a moment to hug the pole, which had carried me to the top.

I came down feeling really proud of myself. After all, I hadn’t bailed out of the challenge. But in spite of feeling happy, I noticed I didn’t feel that real rush of elation I saw others express who did choose to stand atop the pole and free-fall down to earth (on the guide ropes, of course).

After meditating upon this, I began to understand that the thing that had stopped me short of that elation was my perspective. I had viewed climbing onto the top of the pole as a danger that threatened my happiness; I didn’t want to ruin my happiness by trying something so risky. But actually, the Universe was offering me the opportunity to experience more joy. But I chose not to receive it– for the moment.

Fortunately, I had the chance to stretch my limits one last time a few months later. This time, the challenge was a 35-foot high tightrope walk! But this wasn’t just a solo walk. I had to synchronise my walk with a partner who was walking on another rope a fair distance across from me, using a balancing pole.

Well, let me tell you, every single step I took climbing up to the tightrope made my heart POUND with sheer terror! But by this time, I had finally learned how to stop, acknowledge the fear, wait a moment, and continue. When I finally stepped onto the tightrope, I was completely and utterly thrilled. I had never actually STOOD so high up before, what to speak of being on a narrow, unstable wire, and working with a partner to boot!

Every step we took together was a sheer (terrifying) joy.

But then, when we got just past the halfway mark, one of my feet slipped off the wire, and for safety reasons I was instructed to let go of the pole and glide back down to the ground.

As I touched down, I felt, at long last, the rush, the elation, the sheer ecstatic JOY I had previously only witnessed in others. My partner and I were jumping up and down and hugging each other, delighted that we had survived the challenge without quitting, even if we hadn’t made it all the way across. I was buzzing. I was alive. I was so pleased with myself for mastering the art of walking WITH fear instead of fighting against it.

But then, our course leader came over to us and asked, “You two were the first in the group to do this activity, and other people have learned from watching what you did. Would you like another chance to try it again later?”

And do you know what my brain said?

It said, What if you go up and you cannot get past your fear this time? Then, it will take away all the joy you are experiencing now. No, don’t do it again. You don’t need to finish the task. You have enough joy for now.

Enough joy??

That was 3 years ago, and a heck of a lot about me has changed since then.

Looking back on it now, I can see that while I definitely had made some major breakthroughs during that whole process, what I had not yet fully learned was the depth of my own willingness to accept less than the very best for myself. I seemed to be satisfied with overcoming my obstacles, rather than being passionately desirous of true, unfettered joy. And this was not limited to physical challenges–it actually entered into every aspect of my life: from career and financial success, to health, to love, to fun, to spiritual fulfilment.

And I as looked around me, I saw I was not the only one.

Everywhere I looked, I could see people living lives in which they felt “happy enough” by:

• Focussing on getting out of financial hardship versus wanting to create genuine wealth
• Focussing on overcoming physical ailments versus wanting to create true health and vitality
• Focussing on resolving conflict versus wanting to create true intimacy
• Focussing on “making a living” versus wanting to create a lasting legacy

Nope. Not anymore. Not me. No more “happy enough.”

Now, I’m ready to stand on top of that telephone pole–to feel the ecstasy of reaching “The Pinnacle.”

And on that note, I would like to invite you to join me and my very good friend, Allison Maslan for a warm and wonderful 2-session teleseminar called:

“10 Steps to Reach YOUR Pinnacle”

With Life and Business Strategist Allison Maslan

#1 Selling Author of the book Blast Off!

Wednesday November 3rd and Thursday November 4th*

5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern

90 minutes duration

Register FR*EE at http://tinyurl.com/YourPinnacle

(*Please note, this is a date change from previous announcement)

On these two calls, we’ll be talking about 10 secrets that help you reach your Pinnacle in your business and your personal life, so you never find yourself settling for being “happy enough” again.

I hope to see you there!

P.S.: And if you’re REALLY serious, Allison also has a great new mastermind group called “The Pinnacle Program.” It’s starting in January in San Diego, California. I’ll be there (for sure!). Have a look and apply if you want to join us at http://tinyurl.com/PinnacleProgram

SIDEBAR NOTE: If you haven’t yet gotten your copy of Allison Maslan’s Number-1 seller, check this page out before Friday 29 January: http://myblastoff.com/booklaunch to receive 20 free mind-body-spirit gifts when you buy the book, “Blast Off!”.

This is a true story of how one small thing can change your life.

Back in September 2009, a fellow named Tony Eldridge, whom I had met on Twitter, asked me to write an article for his book marketing blog, talking about the promotional strategies I had used that enabled my book The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers to unearth the Self to become a bestselling title. I was a first-time, self-published author. I wasn’t exactly rich, and I had next to nothing to spend on promotion, so I did just about all of it myself. But somehow, by dint of my having spent the previous two years attending dozens of live seminars and teleseminars and reading hundreds of articles and eBooks on the topic of book promotion and Amazon launches, I built my online platform, designed my campaign and found some truly wonderful joint venture partners to assist me. As a result, my book became a bestseller in the UK in spirituality and mind-body-spirit categories, as well as in self-help category in both the US and the UK. I couldn’t have been happier. At age 50-something, it really was the dream of a lifetime.

I knew that the success of my launch had come from building my platform at least a year before my book had come out. So when Tony approached me to write the article, I decided to call the article “Pre-Natal Care for your Book,” with the aim of encouraging authors to start building their platform months before they even finished writing their books. When he published my article on 6 October 2009, Tony announced it on Twitter, and continued to ReTweet the link to it throughout the month.

I was very pleased with the article, and very pleased Tony seemed to like it too. I had no idea, however, that this one small thing was very soon going to be the catalyst that would change my life.

A few days after the article was published, an author from California named Allison Maslan saw one of Tony’s ReTweets (bless your tweet heart, Tony), and clicked the link to read my article. She was intrigued with it and contacted me through my website, asking me if I would “coach” her to create a book promotion campaign, because she had just landed a book deal with Morgan James Publishers for her book Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality.

I asked, “What do you want me to do?”

She replied, “Exactly the same thing you did for your own book. I want to do all of it.”

Without thinking, I heard myself saying to her, “OK. Except it’s not enough. My book made it to Number 18, and that was great at the time. But I want your book to do better than that. I want it to go all the way to Number 1.”

Reaching Number 1 was something I had a difficult time imagining, but I really meant it when I said it. Over the months Allison and I worked together, I found myself saying, “I want your book to be a Number-1 bestseller,” again and again. The desire was so powerful I could feel it in my gut.

I have to admit, though, that somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear a voice chiding me, “Number 1, you say? Uh-huh. Well we’ll just see about that!” But in spite of my occasional self-doubt, my logical mind told me if I simply applied all the learning I had amassed from having completed my own launch several months earlier, I could avoid all the pitfalls I had encountered and easily surpass my previous achievement. It seemed perfectly “do-able”.

And while such logic is a wonderful thing, the greater thing I have learned is that when you set a sincere intention, the Universe conspires to ensure it comes to fruition. So honey, let me warn you—before you open your mouth and speak loudly enough for the Universe to hear, you’d better be sure you are ready for outrageous success. But when you say it, you really have to mean it. Don’t just wish it. Don’t just say to yourself, “That would be really nice.” Feel the desire so powerfully that you will not accept anything less, and then commit to doing the work that will make it come true.

Over the following months, I worked closely with Allison to design, coordinate and deliver her campaign. First we tightened up her platform by building a strong online infrastructure and integrating all her social networks. Then, I showed her how to operate many new software programmes. She got to be a real pro at them in no time and soon she was off and running and gathering new followers every day. She was a natural at it, and because she was such a nice person, people simply WANTED to be connected to her.

Then I introduced her to an excellent communications coordinator, Yvonne Perry from Writers in the Sky, whom I had met on my Garden of the Soul Ning group. Together, we three assembled a truly vibrant team of spirit-based joint venture partners. We then designed all the timetables, promotional copy, strategies, sales pages and so many other things. As the day of the launch approached, we worked out tracking systems and a rota for watching the sales. There were some pretty hair-raising last minute “tweaks” behind the scenes and Ali, Yvonne and I were writing emails to each other so rapidly, it was almost like talking in real time.

The day of the big launch finally came Tuesday 19 January 2010. As I live in the UK, I was up hours before Allison or Yvonne. Soon, Britain woke up and started shopping online. I found my heart pounding when I first saw Allison’s book get into the Top-20 bestseller lists in the UK, alongside and even AHEAD of celebrities from Britain’s show “Dragon’s Den”. I frantically started sending out blogs and newsletters and tweets to tell people about this great news. Then, as North America woke up (Allison amongst them), and I started to see her book climb the US and Canadian charts, I could feel my heart pounding even louder. Heck I think I could even hear Allison’s heart pounding all the way from San Diego! Wow! Suddenly Blast Off! was soaring up the charts into the Top-10. Unbelievable. She had indeed passed my own book’s rank, just as I had said I truly wanted.

Behind the scenes was a FRENZY of emails, Tweets, Skypes and on-the-fly blog posts. We analysed. We strategised. It was total madness! I think if I could pick one thing I am most proud of about the campaign, it would be when Allison got to the Number-4 ranking, just behind Gary Vaynerchuk and Michael Gerber—two monumental names in the charts. We looked at the sales figures and estimated that we were very close to the Number-3 position, and all we needed to get over the “hump” was another 15 book sales. At that point, I sent out an appeal to all our members on Spirit Authors fan page on Facebook, as well as my blogs, and Allison sent out emails to her lists, telling them exactly what was going on. Yvonne started Tweeting like crazy. Within minutes, people responded with messages of support, telling us they had just bought the book.

I watched as an amazing truth became evident—people WANTED Allison reach Number-1. Their desire was just as strong as ours… except now there were hundreds of people all desiring the same thing.

And do you know what? With all that passionate desire being sent into the cosmos, the Universe could not help but fulfil our collective wishes. It was like an ocean of desire flowing into cyberspace.

In less than an hour, the book Blast Off! by my wonderful client (and now dear friend) Allison Maslan not only moved into the Number-3 rank, but within the next couple of hours, it also rose in both US and Canada to become Number-1 bestseller in entrepreneurship and was dubbed Number-1 “Hot New Seller”. It also made the top 5 in several other categories including “motivational” and “self-help”.

As you might imagine, Allison is over the moon and she is getting a lot of media attention. I spoke to her this evening and she has FOURTEEN radio interviews tomorrow! I can’t imagine that many interviews in one day. And I have to say, it couldn’t happen to a nicer person.

As for me, I’ve been living on not much more than adrenaline all week. But I really wanted to come back down to earth to tell you about the exciting things that have been happening in my life since the success as Allison’s campaign.

My first big announcement is that “Lynn the author” is now being represented by Waterside Literary Agency in Los Angeles, who also represent an array of illustrious spirit-based authors such as Eckhart Tolle, Neal Donald Walsch, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and of course my own client, Allison Maslan, amongst many others whose names you would undoubtedly recognise. Together, we are getting ready to approach publishers with a proposal for a NEW book I am writing. I’ll be telling you more about it over the coming months.

The second bit of news (and this will probably come as no surprise) is that, ever since the launch, I have been approached by a steady stream of authors requesting I help them with their book campaigns. Some of these are truly BIG and exciting projects. I’ll be telling you all about these wonderful books over the coming months.

All of this truly takes my breath away and, of course, I am absolutely thrilled so many people are approaching me about managing their spirit-based book campaigns. But there is a flip side to all this that also needs to be considered:

a) There’s only one of me and there are hundreds of authors who need help with their book projects and

b) Private campaign managers are simply not a financial option for everyone.

But here’s the beauty of the situation. The Universe is so incredibly wise and clever, it has been orchestrating a solution to this dilemma for the past two months, long before any of these events had occurred.

What is the solution? My new Spirit Authors site, of course!

For the past two months, I’ve been very excited about my new project Spirit Authors, which is a membership site that allows me to combine my professional experience as a teacher, coach, author, online promotion expert, WordPress “techie” and non-stop talker (!) in one place. I call it a “Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience” for mind-body-spirit authors—including those who simply have a dream to write and be a published author in the future. What Spirit Authors will offer authors is the opportunity to learn from myself and a range of other industry professionals about writing, social network-based promotion, self-publishing, Amazon launch campaigns, and making the most of your success, while always retaining your spirit-based focus, and being true to your personal values. It is also an online community, offering you the opportunity to make close personal and professional connections with others of like mind, for friendship, support, ideas sharing and business partnerships.

I originally set up this project because it resonated with my own values and interests. It also fulfils a long-term dream for me, because I have an MA in adult education and distance learning, and for many years I wanted to create a really fabulous online course, using all the principles I have learned in my many years as an educator.

But what I now understand is that the real importance of the project is that it will be able to help HUNDREDS of authors get the information and support they want and need for their projects. I couldn’t possibly do that as a one-to-one coach.

I have arranged a Grand Opening Webinar Week, Monday 22 through Friday 26 February. I’ve got over a dozen industry professionals from authors, marketing specialists, publishers, editors, etc., coming along to share their wisdom and experience on the air. And, yes, Allison Maslan will be amongst the guest line up to tell us what life has been like since becoming a Number-1 bestselling author. It’s all going to be FREE in celebration of the Grand Opening of the new Spirit Authors site.

The sign-up page for the Grand Opening won’t be available until NEXT week, so for now, if you’d like to make sure you receive a VIP invitation to the FREE Grand Opening Webinar Week, just got to http://spiritauthors.com and enter your email address in the right-hand side of this screen. Then, you’ll receive all updates about the event.

So there you have it. It all started by someone asking me to write a simple little blog article. Less than six months later, so many things I wanted to achieve in life are all joining together. It has truly been a dance of synchronicity, desire and manifestation.

If you follow my work, you know that one of my key messages is that there is great learning to be found in every story of our lives. So for this story, let me offer you these two “thoughts for the day:”

a) Never underestimate the power of an opportunity you are given, even if it seems very small. You simply do not know how far it will take you.

b) The more you desire to fulfil the dreams of others, the more your own dreams become fulfilled.

Thanks for reading. I really needed to share this story with you. Just by reading these words, you have become a part of my journey. Even if we have never spoken in person, I know on a subtle level that your presence in the world is impacting my life in ways I cannot yet measure. Similarly, I truly hope my presence in the world is impacting you in some small but positive way.

Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn
Transformation Coach, Book Promotion Coach,
Author, Teacher, Talk Radio Host
Spirit Authors Virtual Coaching and Learning Experience
http://spiritauthors.com

P.S.: If you haven’t already, have a look at http://myblastoff.com/booklaunch. You still have time to receive 20 free mind-body-spirit gifts if you buy Allison Maslan’s (Number-1 selling!) book Blast Off! before the end of Friday 29 January. I’m also offering over 1 hour of audio book excerpts from The Garden of the Soul as a gift, along with other great gifts from coaches, authors, marketing pros and holistic practitioners. Have a look and see what’s on offer.

P.P.S.: I’m celebrating my 55^th birthday this Thursday 28 January. If you are on Facebook, come join my “Virtual Birthday Party” on my Spirit Authors fan page. I’m giving away a gift to all fans on Thursday, so come along and invite your friends. http://facebook.com/SpiritAuthors.

Yesterday I told you all about the launch of the book Blast Off! by my good friend and client, and fellow Spirit Author, Allison Maslan.

Well I am pleased to announce that her book came out early this morning and has already been dancing around the top 25 list in “Entrepreneurship” category all morning here in the UK, reaching as high as number 14 so far. I find myself smiling as I see her title on the same list as Michael Gerber’s classic E-Myth Revisited, Gary Vaynerchuk’s recent smash hit Crush It, and several books by UK “Dragons Den” icons, Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis and Duncan Bannatyne. She’s even been AHEAD of several of the “Dragons” over the past couple of hours… giving them a real run for their money… a lot of fun to watch, actually.

Now what’s so great about this is that Allison’s book is a radical shift from many other entrepreneurial approaches. She takes a spirit-based approach, where she helps you connect with your passions, and she actually gives you a step-by-step method to work towards anything from building an entrepreneurial enterprise, to finding a soul mate.

But what I like best about Allison as a person, and a writer, is that she keeps it “real.” She doesn’t talk “over your head” when it comes to talking about business, like so many other books I have read. As a coach and a homeopath, she speaks to you like a real person because her first interest and sole focus (or soul focus?) is people.

If you haven’t yet picked up your copy of Allison’s book, try to do so before the end of the day because when you do, you’ll also be able to pick up 20 great bonus gifts from some of the nicest mind-body-spirit and business professionals on the planet. I’m giving away over 1 hour of free audio book excerpts to help celebrate with her.

To find out how to get the book and the gifts, just visit http://myblastoff.com/booklaunch.

What a great start to have her be in the top 20 in the UK, right from the starting gate. I can’t wait to see how far Blast Off will go, especially when readers in the US start buying the book later today.

This is why I LOVE being a book promotion coach!

Enjoy the rest of your day,
Lynn Serafinn
Author, transformation coach, book promotion coach, radio host
Author of mind-body-spirit bestseller The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self

http://lynnserafinn.com
http://spiritauthors.com
http://create-a-life.co.uk

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://spiritauthors.com

Allison Maslan, author of Blast off!

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

by Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC

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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: career, relationship, health, fun/adventure, and of course financial security. In my own experience as a coach, I know that when people wish to make positive changes in their lives in any of these areas, they can frequently feel overwhelmed. I know that there are two keys to helping them get started: 1) make the challenge feel light and fun and 2) break the challenge into smaller, and not so daunting, chunks. Maslan uses both of these strategies in her book Blast Off! Her creative and colourful use of language (Daily Launch Tools, Weekly Flight Assessments, etc) and her easy break-downs of tasks and targets (Sun-up Scripts, Mini-Feats, etc) give Blast Off! a quality of lightness that helps readers believe they can and will achieve their goals and aspirations. But most importantly, Maslan keeps the reader focussed on the bigger picture: life purpose and the path of your whole life. Thus, unlike other books that might just focus on one aspect of life, like money, relationships or health, Blast Off! is a holistic handbook for creating the life you want to live. Written with a charm that immediately makes you feel at home, Allison avoids the downfalls of so many other self-help authors (no condescending “power talk”, no airy-fairy stuff). With Blast Off!, Allison Maslan has written an accessible, inviting and honest handbook, with a sweet, down-to-earth charm and practical action steps. The combination results in something that is both believable and useful. In other words, this is one self-help book that actually IS showing you how to help yourself. Blast Off!, along with the excellent organised companion Workbook, is kind of like having a life coach in a book. Certainly worth checking out to enhance your New Year’s resolutions in 2010.

Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality by Allison Maslan is coming to Amazon on 19 January 2010. I have joined up with over 20 other mind-body-spirit professionals to help celebrate the release of this special book. Together, we are giving away an array of very special gifts to everyone who purchases the book during its launch. To find out how you can receive these gifts, go to http://www.myblastoff.com/booklaunch.

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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.

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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.

Blastation gives you 6 major areas of life in which to set goals: career, relationships, wealth, spiritual life, health and personal fulfilment (which includes FUN!).

For each of these areas, you set your “Big Picture Vision”, your “mile steps” and then your “mini-feats.” That’s very similar to the way I had my system laid out, only more streamlined. Then, it also gives you a “sunup script” which sort of reminds me of the “morning pages” Julia Cameron uses in The Artist’s Way (which I use with a lot of my clients). It also has “rocket words” which are basically your self-pep talk (or affirmations) for the day. It allows you to upload pictures, so it’s not all words, words, words.

AND do you know what? It even has a calendar that you can integrate with Outlook. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this.

But the thing I really, really liked was the “Life-o-Meter”. It’s like a petrol gauge that shows you how much you are living up to your goals. Every time you achieve a goal on time it sends you up the gauge towards 100%. Pretty cool, yes?

It also comes with excellent tutorials and guidance on how to use it effectively. Frankly, I’m going to recommend Blastation to my clients because it really is a great way to set goals, and stay motivated as you move towards them. And for coaches, it’s a great way for you to monitor your clients’ progress.

I rarely (if ever) talk about online coaching products, but this particular one just felt so fun and so USEFUL, I really wanted to review it and let people take it for a spin. Allison offers a 30-day free trial of the software, so you can see for yourself whether you think it could help you move closer to your life dreams.

And I do think a few months’ subscription would also make a really unique Christmas gift. Check out Blastation HERE.

My rating?  5-stars for:

• usefulness
• easy-of-use
• aesthetic appearance
• originality
• and FUN!

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