Scared? Focus on Creating Value

Greetings fellow travelers. Today, I want to talk about creating value.

I first want to say yes, I notice the economy and what is going on. I see the effects in the world. And no matter what is going on in the economy, I know one thing - people always pay when you can give them something of value.

The economic run-up of the last years included a creation of money (money is actually created from nothing, folks) which in retrospect was not matched with created value. Much of the money created was made on Wall Street by people playing various games and gambles, leveraging movements and changes, but not creating value.

Even in housing, the idea of flipping always turned me off, personally. A house that was worth $250,000 one day, was worth $300,000 6 months later, and $400,000 a year after that. Was the value of the house, or living in it, really any more than before? I just don't think so.  There wasn't that much value created.

So now back to our work - therapy, counseling, helping people. Our work does create value in people's lives. And it does it in the way people really experience it - on the level of their emotional state or experiential state.

Ten years ago I learned a concept called "Driving Needs", that taught me that the behaviors and activities we indulge in are really towards the end of experiencing an internal state. It's the feeling or the experience we want, folks! And that's our specialty, isn't it? We help turn depression into feeling more present and joyful and energized. We help turn anxiety into a more peaceful feeling. We turn distance into connection and intimacy and acceptance. We help people feel love!!!!!!

People pay for changes of state. Even in a down economy, what sells? Cigarettes & alcohol & the like! People pay to feel better.

Now it's up to us to really know that we create value, and what that value is. And in a challenging economy, we need to communicate that value clearly. People get stuck on the form, rather than the experience (see the book "Who Moved My Cheese" for more on this).

Value is also helping people avoid more costly or unpleasant things. It is entirely an irrational and illogical argument to say that marriage counseling is too expensive, when you look at the cost of getting divorced. Just the financial cost, of lawyers, and two households (rents, etc) absolutely DWARF the cost of marriage counseling. Feel free to steal this line for an ad: "If you think marriage counseling is expensive, just try divorce!"

So folks, keep your eye on the prize. Keep your Spirit focused on Source. Keep your mind working on creating Good in the world, and creating Value in people's lives. This will keep you in the flow.

As always, I send each one of you my very best. Namaste, Your Grateful Guy