So, About That Recession...

So, fellow Spirits, fellow therapists, fellow businessmen and women, fellow Americans (how Presidential it feels to type that) - I want you to know I live in the real world with you. I can see and hear the news. The overall economy is having problems. The average therapist's business is down. But one thing I know is that overall numbers and averages are made up of individual cases, each of these varying WIDELY. You are an individual case.

We could ponder what the overall decline in counseling sessions will be in 2009 vs. 2008.  10%? 20%? More? We could imagine we will experience that same decline, or worse. But I tell you with full faith there will be people who have less of a drop in business than the average. There will be people who will have no drop in business. And there will be people who will actually build their business during this time.

You can believe in the Law of Averages, and it will deliver for you accordingly. Or you can focus on faith, delivering value, communicating value, helping people, gratitude, and finding creative ways to do all of it. We call it the Law of Grace. I'll pick the latter, thank you.

I was going to tackle the issues of fees in a separate post, but why not just do it here - as it seems relevant. Someone asked me my opinion about lowering fees in this economy. I said I thought it depended on the intention behind it. My opinion is that helping people is what we do. And if you want to offer lower-fee or pro-bono services for people who are out-of-work, or underemployed, or in foreclosure, so that they receive the help they need - I think it's a good thing. Fill the more fallow daytime slots with these clients. Run groups. Offer your help and your value to the people around you. Keep the faith that times will get better overall. Do it from an attitude of service, and compassion, and growth, and the future, and Abundance. Know that your referral engine will be running strong when your client's personal economies bounce back.

So yes, I think you truly can offer lower-fee services from an attitude of Abundance. Or, you may not feel moved to do so. That's OK too.

This is my two cents. Opinions may vary. I certainly wish you all the best in your individual journey.

Sincerely, from late-night babyland, your always Grateful Guy

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

Watching Your Media Intake

Hi folks,

Well, this post was oddly inspired by watching M. Night Shymalan's movie "The Happening" - which was a good scary movie and freaked my wife and I out a bit. I don't think I'm giving away anything by saying the protagonist happens upon someone who doesn't have TV, radio or internet. The woman has cut herself off from the news of the world, and in doing so, there are pluses and minuses. One of the pluses is the peaceful state she can be in.

I was speaking with my wife's uncle on Thanksgiving. He's from Spokane, and I asked him how the economy was there. His answer: it would be OK if people would stop watching the news. Apparently the local economy is fine, but people are freaking out when they see the national news about the bailout, etc etc.

These lead me to re-consider something I did at the start of the Iraq war - a media diet. For a week, I stopped watching news, surfing news sites on the web, and reading newspapers. Instead, I read books, I gardened, I exercised, I meditated and prayed. And it was really great. My anxiety level went down and my experience of Peace increased greatly.

In these times, where we can't control the national economy ourselves, it might be a good idea to reconsider your media diet. Instead of taking in bad news, keep your head down, keep moving forward in your practice, keep feeding your own soul and doing good in the world. Focus on what you can control and what you can do, and do it.

I sincerely wish you the best!
Your Grateful Guy

The Zen Horse Story

There is much hand-wringing going on right now. There is much judging that it is bad, all bad. To remind us that we do not know what all this will be, I remind you of the Zen Horse story (stop me if you've heard this before)....

There was an old farmer in the country. One day, his stallion broke its fence and ran away. His neighbors said "that's so bad!" The old farmer just shrugged and said "Maybe".

The next day, wanting some oats, the stallion returned. And, it brought three wild fillies with it. His neighbors said "that's great luck!" The old farmer just shrugged and said "Maybe".

The farmer's teenage son went out to break one of the new horses. It bucked him, and he broke his leg. His neighbors said "what horrible luck!" The old farmer just shrugged and said "Maybe".

The army then came around, conscripting young men to fight in a war. Because of the broken leg, they didn't take the farmer's teenage son. The neighbors said "what great luck!" The old farmer just shrugged and said "Maybe...."

I present this story because we cannot know what this whole economic change will bring. There will be bad parts. There may be good outcomes too. We cannot know for sure. But be open to the possibility that some gifts will come from this. I certainly wish you those........yours, Your Grateful Guy

In a Changing Economy....

Folks, one of my teachers spoke on Sunday, and I thought I'd share the gist of it with you, as I thought it was important. It can be easy to get caught up in fear and anxiety right now.

One way of looking at what is going on right now is the collapse of smoke and mirrors - the end of things built on debt, the end of things being rewarded even though they bring no real value, the end of an unsustainable way of being.

What that means is the re-valuing of those things that are important. And what we do as therapists is important. People want peace of mind. They crave a relief from suffering. They need help keeping their marriages going. These are the real centers of people lives - not cars or stuff. And so, if you are a therapist who creates value in people's lives (and health and wholeness is valuable), you will continue to get business.

You may need to re-work how you discuss your business to focus more on results. You may need to help people work with their insurance (whether in or out-of-network). You may need to market more. But do not think this is the end of counseling business. It isn't.

More coming on this very big topic..........best, Your Grateful Guy