The Marketing High Road

When I read Wallace D. Wattles' 1910 classic book "The Science of Getting Rich - or - Financial Success Through Creative Thought," one idea jumped out, begging to be expanded upon.

"You must give every person more in use value than he gives you in cash value. Then, you are adding to the life of the world with every business transaction."

Business is essentially a mutually-agreed upon practice to exchange one form of energy for another. GOOD business is selling a person something that adds more to his life than the thing he gave you in exchange (usually money).

If a person feels he has received excellent value in his dealings with you, he is likely to become a repeat customer. You have improved his life with your product or service and he, in turn, has increased your income, thus allowing you to more fully develop and express your own life.

Giving from your heart helps you receive blessings in return. It's a cornerstone concept of the spiritual marketing approach to business.

If you're a teacher, your instruction will contribute more to your students' well-being than is reflected by the twenty or thirty dollar admission fee. An artist can add beauty and inspiration to a person's life far above the selling price of his artworks. A good healer offers priceless peace of mind in addition to amelioration of a specific health issue.

But be CONSCIOUS of providing this extra value. In every instance, offer an extra service or put your utmost ability and talent into the creation of the object to be sold. When you always strive for your best, you attract the best - clients, employees, partners. People feel the power of your energy, in contrast to the multitude of others who just settle for "getting by."

The "Secrets of Success" aren't secrets at all. They're just the practical applications of consciously living our lives in tune with The Infinite. Real success will have arrived when we can do this unconsciously - without having to think about it at all. But in the meantime, books like "The Science of Getting Rich" help us stay on course.

A group I belonged to had an interesting discussion on "Dharma." I couldn't believe how many different dictionary definitions we all came up with. I personally checked three sources looking for guidance on a word whose meaning I didn't yet understand.

In a nutshell, I discovered that "dharma" represents the principles on which the universe functions - the natural laws that govern all of life, including yours and mine. Dharma was also defined as "right behavior," as outlined in religious or moral paths such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

It stands to reason that "right behavior" must ultimately follow the Universal Laws of life. Even the antics of our own free will cannot alter natural law.

In business, for example, the dishonest marketer has to work twice as hard because he literally repels repeat customers. The Law of Cause and Effect sees to that.

The business owner who feels strongly about the worth of his products and who desires to serve to the highest of his capability - and can communicate this - will attract customers who are likely to remain loyal over time. His higher-placed intentions are more likely to bring to him a higher quality of clients, according to the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Correspondence is the one that describes best how individual and cosmic dharma work. Each component within a system retains its own characteristics and also takes on the characteristics of the system as a total sum of its parts, says the Law.

Each one of us has our own "beingness" or essence, which determines our consciousness. Our personal consciousness determines the nature of our dealings with customers, and the development of our business success. But we are each also connected with everything that exists. Physics has proved this by now, surely. So, what occurs elsewhere affects us... and what we do affects everything else.

Knowing that everything you do affects everything else in the universe, how would you choose to conduct your business? What additional level of responsibility does this place on you to: (a) make sure your products are the highest quality; (b) provide consistently impeccable service; (c) reach all the people who need you?

If each of us were to make a conscious choice to enrich the world with every business transaction, imagine the positive effect this would have - not only on our customers - but on all of creation.

Millions of us have agreed (at some level) to do just this - to enrich the world. And our business is the vehicle through which we've chosen to reach people. It behooves us, then, to become as knowledgeable as we can about marketing - about effectively communicating with the people we desire to help.

I figure we're all on Team Universe. As we become more familiar with the rules of the game, our lives and work become more meaningful and enjoyable. And our "right behavior" - getting in step with our dharma - puts us on the scoreboards of both Profit and Enlightenment.

Go Team!

The Law of Attraction says that energy of a certain quality or vibration magnetically attracts energy of a similar quality and vibration.

If we're stuck in a whirlpool of fear, we'll magnetically attract more words, feelings, thoughts and activities that resonate at a consciousness of "fear." A self-fulfilling prophecy of doom is really just the inability to launch ourselves out of the negative maelstrom caused by our own thinking.

As business owners, I'm sure we've all felt those tugs into fearfulness, where the question of the day (or hour) always starts with, "What if...?" What if I don't make enough money to cover the office rent? What if no clients call this month? What if my advertising gets no response? And on and on.

If we let the "what if's" take over, we can find ourselves making unwise and unprofitable business decisions that actually make things worse, not better.

How many times in the past have we lowered prices, hoping to bring in new business? Or canceled an advertisement, thinking we'd save a few marketing dollars. Lowering prices actually gives people the message that our services probably weren't worth the money in the first place. And disappearing ads make it look like we're going out of business.

Are these the messages we really wish to communicate to prospective clients? Yet, we've all seen it happen, when business owners allow themselves to make important decisions while temporarily stuck in a consciousness of fear.

So, how can we get out of - and stay out of - these lower states of consciousness?

In "The Abundance Book," John Randolph Price suggests 6 steps for cultivating our energy field daily in order to harvest money. We can "condition" our consciousness for business success in much the same way.

Number one on the list is meditation. In his book, Price gives statements on which to meditate daily, each of which has the effect of raising one's consciousness regarding money. We can do the same thing about any and all aspects of our business.

I personally like the energy of Florence Scovel Shinn's words, such as: "I am awake to my good, and gather in the harvest of endless opportunities." Meditate on that for a few days, with paper and pen close by... and see what new business ideas stream forth.

Price also advocates controlled visualization, intense love, joyful thanksgiving, verbal harmlessness and right action as steps we can all take to free ourselves from beliefs of lack and limitation.

I'm sure we all have our favorite methods for "conditioning our consciousness." The trick is to keep doing what works on a regular basis, to maintain ourselves in that higher vibration, and avoid sliding back into old patterns of fear and anxiety.

In my newsletter, I frequently referred to an e-book called "The Classic Seed Money in Action." This little e-book teaches one of the best "right actions" I've come across for raising my consciousness about money... and every time I remember to put it into action, I seem to attract new, improved financial circumstances in both my personal and business affairs.

What ideas have you tried that work for you in conditioning your consciousness for business and financial success?

The value of an organization is measured by its bottom, not its top.

For example, not long ago the future of television was being measured by a lackluster season without writers - and its enchantment with amateur shows. Baseball's esteem has been falling right along with the reputations of its substance abusers, instead of rising with its home run kings.

Turn on the TV and you can't avoid noticing that political campaigns are being evaluated more by their defects than by their triumphs. In business, the "bottom" line has been deemed more worthy than the integrity of the company.

And, on the internet, where I spend much of my time, I'm seeing that products created "in 7 days" are being aggressively promoted by internet "gurus," while quality and value seem to be bygone concepts.

Do you want to be evaluated by the WORST you can do - or by the best?

On the other hand, if you're a Michael Phelps and your "worst" is frequently better than most other people's "best" - what does that say about you?

-- That you're not following the herd, perhaps?
-- That quality is more important to you than quantity?
-- That you don't compromise your high standards?
-- That you honor and respect your customers, viewers, readers, constituents or fans?
-- That your motivation to excel starts where everyone else's stops?

What vision are you seeing that spurs you to excellence? How far can you go, continually recreating new levels of excellence?

A Baryshnikov, a Pavarotti... and now a Phelps - who represent incredibly high pinnacles in their respective fields - had to have a couple of things going for them to reach those zeniths.

They had to have a desire to reach the heights, in order to survive the hard work of becoming technically perfect. And they had to feel an inner purpose that compelled them to become the embodiment of "dance," "music" and "swimming" respectively.

If you have ever watched their peak performances, you could see how they were literally "at one" with what they were doing. The dancer, the singer, and the swimmer faded from view and the grace with which they performed reached out and touched us in our souls.

When the creator and the creation merge so completely, the whole becomes all that much greater than the sum of its parts.

We know what it looks like - but somehow we don't believe that we can accomplish the same levels of excellence in our own creations.

Me? On the same level as a Baryshnikov or Pavarotti... or a record-breaking athlete like Michael Phelps?

Most of us think about our skills and talents as something we "do." We often list them on our business cards, almost like a "to do" list. Then, too, most of us are satisfied with staying on the surface of our abilities, not risking our egos for the bumps and losses we'll experience on our way to the gold medal.

That is, until some discontented voice within starts nagging more and more insistently, "Is that all there is?"

If we don't respond to our inner voice, quite often a spiritual two-by-four whacks us in the form of illness, job loss or some other event to get our attention.

Then, if we're lucky, we awaken from our "illusory" life of being like everyone else and doing what everyone else does - to finding that song or dance or physical performance within us that must be expressed - the creation that personifies our truest soul essence.

Whether it's in the arts, writing, healing, teaching, athletics or business - we understand that our creations are now being nourished from a deeper well.

And the result raises the bar - not just for our own next effort - but for everyone else's as well. Our "bests" and our "worsts" keep trading places with everyone else's... as we continually motivate ourselves to be better than our last "best." Just think about what Michael Phelps has done for the world of swimming.

Evolution by excellence. Isn't it what we're all here for?

How much energy are you putting into what you don't want?

You know, when your mind-talk starts getting to you with restrictive, negative - even foreboding - thoughts.

"I'll never make it to my appointment in time. There's way too much traffic."

"I'm so bad at math, I'll never get my checkbook balanced. I hope I don't bounce a check."

"I sent my resume to 10 companies, but I know I won't get the job I really want."

"The economy is so bad, my business doesn't stand a chance."

You've heard about the self-fulfilling prophecy? Well, it's really just the Law of Attraction working.

The Law of Attraction says that I attract to my life whatever I give my energy, focus and attention to.

If you focus on bouncing checks and traffic jams - that's most likely what will turn up.

Every thought we have - with its accompanying emotion - carries a vibration that is released into the Universe and attracts back something with a matching vibration.

So fear attracts more fear; anger attracts more anger; confusion attracts more confusion.

Doesn't sound like much fun.

Turning this arrangement around requires being more clear about what we DO want and focusing on THAT instead - with an accompanying emotion that reinforces our clear thought.

When we place our orders with the restaurant called "Universe," we need to understand that the Law of Attraction puts no judgment on whether something is "bad" or "good" for us. The Law just follows the energy we put out.

If we put out "late" vibes and "heavy traffic" vibes, Universal Law obliges us by sending just those circumstances to us. We pull them in like a magnet.

The magnet of stuck traffic.

To turn traffic jams into traffic flow requires a turnaround in our thoughts and emotions - from "stuck" to "ease."

And we can plan and prepare for arriving on time, balancing our checkbooks and being hired for the right job using the same Law of Attraction to bring us what we want, instead of what we don't want.

Are you a business owner who is concerned about an uncertain economy?

One way to shift your focus is to start your day by thinking about how you'd like to have a particularly challenging item on your to-do list turn out. What is the best scenario you can envision? How does it feel when you see it already accomplished the way you'd like it done? Write it down.

This is your order to the Universe.

If you feel enthusiastic, grateful - or even relieved - about the outcome, focus on these feelings and the thought of a job well-done. Read your "order" a few times, with feeling, and know in your heart of hearts that the Law of Attraction is infallible.

Just make sure to act on any intuitive flashes, pay attention to people and circumstances that show up... and feel confident that your manifestation has a successful conclusion.

"Any thing we love serves us. Any thing we don't love, we serve."

In a business context, this is a very important distinction. What aspects of your business feel like drudgery? What do you put off until the last minute? Or are you juggling so many things you don't have space to savor what you love to do?

Where do you compromise... or settle for less than your ideal? Are you the master or the servant of your business?

If you're spending more time and effort on the "not-love" parts of your business, are you also generating an abundance of "not-income?"

What would it take to turn this situation around?

First of all, try to break your business down into its component parts. All of us in business have to do certain administrative things -- pay bills, balance check books, answer phones, purchase supplies. Whether you love it or not, you gotta do it -- or hire someone to do it for you.

All of us in business need to learn and conduct some type of marketing, to keep our name in the public eye. Again, whether you love it or not, it must be done, by you or by someone you hire.

But these aren't your "business" as such. They're important to your business, but they aren't your business. Your business is serving clients in some fashion and that's where you want to look for the "I love it" versus the "It's not much fun" feelings.

If money were not an issue, what would you be doing? How does the idea of this activity feel to you? Can you see yourself in the picture of doing what you love? Can you feel the joy this brings you?

What will it take for you to create this activity in your business every day? A more focused marketing plan? Permission from yourself to enjoy your work more? Unleashing your inner child? Releasing a lifetime's worth of "shoulds?"

Joy expands energy; enthusiasm puts you "at one" with what you're doing. By focusing your intention and activity on what you love to do, you magnetically attract clients who are attuned to you. You are putting out a vibrant signal which gets the attention of those people who most need your products and services.

If you're looking for a way to make your business more successful, try doing more of what you love. It's been known to work.

How's your vision been lately?

And no, I'm not suggesting you see an eye doctor. I'm asking about the vision you have for your business. And whether the passion you once held for this vision stills rings true for you.

Every business in the world came into being for the contribution it could somehow make to others. My company, New Radiance, originated with a desire to illuminate the work being done by the body-mind-spirit community in Florida.

Over the past 10 years, the vision for my business has evolved and expanded to where it now stands for "evolving business consciousness" - not just changing how we view business and do business, but drawing forth the soul of the business itself to operate at the highest potential and purpose its owners and participants are capable of.

In a small or home-based business, that's basically you and me we're talking about.

So the care of the corporate soul rests a lot on the level of our personal vision and passion.

What was your intention, when you first decided to hang out your shingle announcing your entry into the business world? Does your original vision still appear vividly in your mind, and does your passion for your work blaze brightly in your heart?

Or are you now just putting in time?

Perhaps, like me, your vision grew bigger and altered shape somewhat. In these fast-moving times, that's often needed, if we want to stay attuned to our life's higher purpose.

How fulfilled do you feel at the end of the day? Do you start your day knowing that the work you do is world-changing or life-altering? Does your work "feel like home?"

I'm a big advocate of business niches. The word "niche" comes from the French verb "nicher" - to nest. Our soul knows where home is.

Our corporate soul - the soul imbued in our business by its visioneers and passionate participants - knows what feels right. If sales slow down, do you do more of the same old, same old to get things going? Or do you get out your imaginary stethoscope and take the pulse of your business vision? If the old vision still feels true, then it's just a matter of re-enthusing yourself and others. But it may also be time for re-imagining the focus of your business.

As we grow personally in understanding and awareness, we may need to stretch our business vision as well. Sometimes, in a partnership or larger company, however, certain individuals can inhibit the full expression of company soul.

A top-down management memo isn't going to resolve this situation, either. The people involved will need to search their own souls for solutions for the highest good of the "group soul." As we evolve business consciousness, we'll figure out more win-win scenarios for resolving energetic anomalies within our companies.

See if you can connect energetically with the soul of your own business. Breathe. Relax. And connect with your feelings to the essence of the business you created. Does it feel vibrant and alive or diminished and confused?

If it needs reviving, are you the person with passion and vision to do it? Or are you ready to sell or terminate that business and move on to something you are passionate about?

Clients feel energy too, you know. They can tell a depleted business from one that's full of life. And, believe me, they choose life every time.

When you close your eyes and envision your business, what do you see?

Do you see a business that's the fulfillment of a dream to be a writer, healer, teacher, entrepreneur, or (fill in the blank)?

Or do you see a business that serves a need or want in others? Does your business lift people up in some way to the fulfillment of their dreams?

Perhaps your business has even gone beyond the stage of serving others to where it now is in a position to change the world. Think about it. What are you doing that could have a global impact?

Or maybe you're a visionary business person who evolves life itself, creating new ways for humans to live and interact with one another.

Does this seem a little far-fetched to you? It shouldn't.

Why else are we here but to evolve the human species to new, improved ways of being?

Sure, we may start out at the beginning tickled pink that we finally became the writer, healer, teacher, entrepreneur, (fill in the blank) we always dreamed of being. But let's not let it stop there.

What kind of stretching exercises can we practice to move from the personal to the other to the global in our business? And how can we make that even greater leap to creating a whole new paradigm?

If any of this sounds scary or too far out, you might want to begin by releasing the blocks and fears that hold you back from your greatness. You could try coaches, counselors, past life regression or meditative contemplation to view and winnow out the patterns we all fall into so easily... and which no longer serve us. Then there are many excellent self-help teachers and personal development tools to guide you to the next level of understanding of how you fit in the cosmic scheme of things.

As we dream bigger and reach higher, we also need to know more about how business works, especially if we want to reach a world-wide audience via the Internet. On a small scale, we can get by with limited business knowledge and lots of personal referrals. If we're expanding our range, there's a bigger learning curve. You might wish to further your studies with some of the business tools listed here.business tools listed here.

Raising the energy of your business has to start with you. What do you do to consistently raise your vibration? Do you take walks in nature, listen to uplifting music, take classes, read consciousness-raising books? Do you sit in quiet contemplation frequently, if not daily? Are you very grateful for everything you are and have? Are you on track with your soul's purpose?

Does your business reflect the highest state of your own being at this time? Or do you have to keep "stepping down" to perform your job?

As we evolve individually, our business naturally follows suit. Which is a good plan for marketing purposes because, hopefully, our clients are "keeping pace," too.

Evolving our business to a higher and higher level makes sense on many fronts. It keeps us personally inspired to dream bigger; it helps our clients grow and expand in their own awareness; work becomes more fun for us; it causes a "butterfly effect" in the improvement of life on the planet.

And it makes marketing so much easier when clients move up the scale with us. You know the 80/20 rule... 20 percent of our clients generate 80 percent of our business. Well, business evolution helps that 20 percent stay loyal, interested and growing right along with us.

And while you're making plans to "kick your business up a notch," make sure you're doing it for that committed 20 percent, rather than the 80 percent who are still waffling.

The wafflers will see the light blazing, eventually.

We have Dr. David Hawkins to thank for making the world of business more of a sure thing.

Dr. Hawkins and his researchers spent decades calibrating the consciousness levels of people, events, books, emotions, attitudes and more on a logarithmic scale of 1 to 1,000. He conducted his tests in multiple double blind studies over many years using applied kinesiology (muscle testing) as the testing procedure.

And we can use Dr. Hawkins' findings to enrich the power of our advertising by understanding how the energy level of our business attracts people or turns them off entirely. We can also now be more aware of the consciousness levels at which we operate our business marketing, and aim for the higher, even though marketing at the lower levels may be more common... and easier.

Dr Hawkins' "Map of Human Consciousness" is laid out in his book "Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior." He describes the evolution of consciousness from the very low end of "shame" (which calibrates at an energy level of 20), to the highest recorded level of "enlightenment" (between 700 - 1,000).

The current level of humankind in general is in the low 200 range - at "courage."

Here's a brief outline of the levels of consciousness at which we might function as business owners.

Many businesses operate from a "fear" level of consciousness, including the pharmaceutical industry and much of the news media. Fear pulls people into its orbit and a type of feeding frenzy takes place, escalating the awareness of fear and anxiety to new levels. Of course, the same businesses also have the magic solution to temporarily reduce awareness of the fear. On David Hawkins' consciousness scale, fear is a "100."

The energy level of desire is a bit higher - at 125 - and we see business manifestations in get-rich-quick schemes, diet companies, the illegal drugs market, plus the cosmetics and fashion industry. Here we want to make sure our advertising is not pandering to addiction and greed, even if we're promoting weight loss and financial empowerment programs.

Constructive anger can motivate businesses and organizations to promote positive change in the world, but at a consciousness level of 150, anger is more likely to be played out in aggressive, confronting ways rather than collaboration. Consider the religious right, the anti-abortion lobby and even some environmental groups. If our advertising is anti-anything, we're operating at a lower level of consciousness than is helpful.

Courage, as a level of consciousness for a business operation, puts us in a whole new ballgame. With a consciousness of courage (200), we are willing to try new things. We feel empowered to move ourselves forward and upward through new learning, persistence and productive usefulness. Our own personal growth becomes important and we see the value of offering personal development products and services to others. Our business begins to be a positive influence on life and our advertising tends to reflect a more upbeat energy... and attracts clients aspiring to improve themselves.

Then between 250 and 350, our energy takes on a new life. We rise above crises and figure out how to release the blocks to our success. We are past needing to control others and we desire to contribute to the good of our society. We are comfortable with ourselves and our work... and attract clients by showing ourselves as friendly and helpful. The "Give to Receive" marketing ideas come in here.

At 350 on Dr. Hawkins' Map of Human Consciousness, we see the bigger picture and are not intimidated by self-discipline and mastery. We walk the talk in business and life. Dr. Hawkins calls this level "Acceptance," where we are "engaging in life on life's own terms, without trying to make it conform to an agenda." Here is where the truly effective spiritual teachers operate, those who can transcend ego for the greater good.

A few people reach Dr. Hawkins' measurement of "Reason" at 400. These are the great thinkers and inventors, Nobel prize winners, Einstein, great statesmen. While energetically this level of consciousness is high, the emotional component of love is often missing.

At a 500 level, love is seen as an unconditional, permanent state of being that is forgiving, nurturing and supportive. Instantaneous understanding occurs at this level and true happiness is felt. Dr. Hawkins shows the viable religions all calibrating at 500 or over, but only 4 percent of the world's population ever reaches this level of consciousness.

This is, in fact, the level I encouraged my own clients to reach and work from since, according to Dr. Hawkins, one person calibrating at 500 consciousness counter-balances 750,000 people below 200. And if, in the course of their businesses, they help raise the consciousness of hundreds of people to 300 or better, we've counterbalanced the collective negative energy of hundreds of thousands more. Evolving consciousness through our business can have a major impact on our world.

At 540 - when love becomes experienced as inner joy - we reach the domain of saints and advanced spiritual students and healers - .4 percent of the world. Here is where individual will merges into divine will. "There is a desire to use one's state of consciousness for the benefit of life itself, rather than for particular individuals," says Dr. Hawkins. I've begun running into folks who seem to be functioning more and more at these levels. Marketing communications have to come from the heart and speak to the heart of prospective clients when businesses are operating this high.

When we reach the level of "Peace," at 600, we experience transcendence, self-realization and God-consciousness. The levels of 700 - 1,000, which denote enlightenment, are the realms of the great avatars such as Buddha, Krishna and Jesus who raised the level of awareness for all humanity. Marketing is no longer much of an issue, because there tends to be a withdrawal from the everyday world. As Dr. Hawkins says, "The state of bliss makes ordinary life difficult to manage."

Dr. Hawkins makes the point, though, that we can be transported temporarily to the energetic levels of 600 - 700 through great works of art, music and architecture. Offering such items through our business, then, is another way of raising consciousness in the world. And the muscle testing technique he describes in his book can be used to determine the energetic levels of any of the items we sell. Raising the bar on the energetic level of our products can bump our business up a notch on the consciousness scale at the same time.

Could you find the range where your own business falls on the "Map of Human Consciousness?" Or did you see a level to which you'd like to aspire? Operating a business from an energetic level of 500 or higher sounds like heaven on earth, doesn't it? I think a lot of us are already doing that... maybe in fits and starts... but we're getting there.

We just need business and marketing models that evolve along with us.

Let us give thanks for good news about the economy.
Let us give thanks that as we raise our awareness,
the state of the economy becomes immaterial.

Let us give thanks for increased cash flow in this fiscal quarter.
Let us give thanks that as we raise our awareness,
all aspects of our life flow perfectly in all seasons.

Let us give thanks for loyal customers of goodwill and integrity.
Let us give thanks that as we raise our awareness,
we understand that we attract what we are.

Let us give thanks for the holiday spirit that lifts us above our cares.
And let us give thanks that as we raise our awareness,
we can feel lifted up in spirit any time we choose.