Heart of Business: Recent Episodes
Mark Silver
Life here in the U.S. is hard, and it’s probably going to get harder. (If you’re not in the U.S., I’m so sorry for how much our country is affecting the globe…)
There are incredibly destructive political and economic forces in motion through our federal government- and although one person has been the focus for all of this, the truth is that the mechanisms for what have been happening have been planned for and put in place over decades, with many people in power collaborating on it.
In the face of all of this, I want myself, and you, and all of us to remember that when we say “love is more powerful” we don’t mean love in a greeting-card, nice-nice kind of way.What I mean by “Love is more powerful” is the annihilating love the Sufis talk about, that asks us to love each other, and to love the best in each of us, fiercely. That calls us to care so deeply that we show up with each other.It’s a love that doesn’t cede the breadth of one atom to hatred, to illusion, to those who are not cherishing all of us.Let love burn like a wildfire in our hearts. We fan the flames of it so that we see only love, hear only love, take only from love, and give only to love.And that we see the face of the Creator in everything, and may it inspire us to the point where we have no other choice, no other will, than to show up for each other, to be the earth for each other over and over and over again.This fierce, annihilating love is at the heart of your business. It’s at the heart of all organizing. It’s at the heart of all that we do to express a more nourishing, powerful, loving, just way of being in this world.This annihilating love gives rise to strategy, because it weaves a tapestry of strong relationships among those who cherish each other, and then we collaborate in that cherishing in ways that protect the vulnerable, and lift up what we most yearn for.Those who seek power, those who are fascinated by tyranny, always underestimate the power of the people to weave this tapestry of love, and care, and justice.Do not abandon your business in all of this. Your heart, and your care, and skills and experience are part of this tapestry of love.Don’t let go. Don’t let go.with love,Mark Silver, M.Div.Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.p.s. Yes, you can develop your business from this love.I want you to be able to depend on your business to support you, without having to betray your heart, while cherishing all you hold dear, while deepening your immersion in love.It sounds like hyperbole, but that’s what we do in the Learning Community. If it resonates with you, we’re open for new members through tomorrow, April 10.Take a look. Ask questions. Jump in.The Heart of Business Learning Community
In a conversation around marketing recently, the topic of headlines came up. Someone I was working with was really struggling to come up with a headline that captured what their offer was about.
Unfortunately… it was boring, academic, and wasn’t really going to get anyone’s attention.
This is a really common struggle – boring headlines.
Yet, my client resisted making a more flashy or catchy headline. Too carnival, too flashy, too much trying to get attention, and it felt terrible to them.
And I support their resistance completely. Not only does it feel gross, but attempts to “get attention” like that usually create headlines that feel forced, weird, and they don’t really work, because then they look click-baity.
So, let’s take a step back and help you understand what a headline is, and what it’s purpose is, and who it really belongs to.
First off, I want to say that there is an incredible amount of study that goes into headlines to maximize eyeballs and attention… and I’m not dealing with any of that.
For your business, you don’t need a completely optimized headline, you just need one that connects with your audience.
So, what’s the job of the headline?
The job of the headline is NOT to describe your offer. It’s NOT to make a sale. It’s NOT to pull people in. Trying to do any of these things is a surefire way to tie yourself up in knots, and end up with something that feels forced and doesn’t work.
Instead, think of the headline as belonging to the audience, not to you. What I mean, is that your offer, or your content, if it’s well-crafted, if there is intention and love and care behind it, is here to help people in your audience.
People who need help, because they are facing something that isn’t working the way they want it to.
I say, give the headline to those people. What I mean by that, is that your headline should be an echo of the question or statement that your audience is struggling with.
So, for instance, with this article, I know plenty of folks who really struggle with headlines. And nearly everyone I talk to is asking, “How do I write a headline that isn’t completely gross, and yet attracts attention?”
Right? Right? Is that a question you ask yourself, at least sometimes? So, what did I title the article?
“Writing headlines that attract attention without being gross.”
I could have said, “How to write headlines that attract attention without being gross.” Or…
“Is it possible to write a headline that attracts attention without being gross?”
Or, “How in the heck do you write a headline that works, without being gross?”
All versions of the same thing. It’s a pretty direct echo of what the audience is asking. It’s meant to be a dialogue bubble, if you will, for what folks who face this problem are saying or asking.
What about more complex offers?
With complex offers, where you are looking at lots of different issues and nuances, it is more of a process, for sure.
So, for example, with our recent Heart Of Money & Power course, which covered a LOT of ground, here was the headline I used, and mind you the course has been filling for years with this headline.
“So much money and power in this world… Why is it hard to access your own power, and to have enough money to thrive?”
Nothing fancy, or hyped, or click-baity. It’s just a simple statement and question that I’ve heard voiced hundreds if not thousands of times.
It’s true that a headline does not have room for a lot of nuance. You do need to lean into a central or foundational question or issue, and then bring in the nuance within the content below.
Is there more to it than this?
Well, sure. You can get more focused and detailed in crafting of headlines. But, on the other hand, you don’t have to. This is a solid, good-enough way to write effective headlines.
If you can let go of the pursuit of the perfect, and embrace the “well heck, that’s pretty good. Let’s go with that.” you’ll get a LOT farther with your business.
Your turn.
Do you have an offer or a piece of content that you want a good headline for? What is a defining or foundational issue that your offer or content helps your audience handle? And what is it that your audience is asking or saying to themselves about that issue?
Write it out. Write it in conversational language. Write out five different versions of it, and see what you think.
And, if you’re willing, share them! I’d love to see what you come up with.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
This is the kind of nitty-gritty help you get in the Learning Community
Our Learning Community is open for new members until April 10, or until we reach capacity.
Giving hands-on help is precisely why we are limiting capacity. We love, I personally love, digging in with members, and helping them- whether it’s tweaking wording in their marketing, or coming up with the overall plan, or figuring out how to communicate a price rise to current clients, or facing an emotionally draining issue of any sort within the business…
Or any one of a thousands things that goes into making your business really work.
There’s a clinic coming up later in April only for the members specifically on making your website really effective. But there’s also the multiple calls during the week to meet different schedules and different needs.
And… at the heart of it all, is spiritual connection, nourishment and healing. This is not just mechanical how-to. It’s about bringing your full heart in, it’s about honoring your spiritual, ethical self. It’s about doing business the way our hearts really want us to.
And yet, also, making the business work, really work, so you can depend on it to support you.
I think you’d have to look very hard to find this much support, this kind of unique, spiritually-centered loving care for your business, at this price.
Take a look, ask questions, jump in:The Heart of Business Learning Community with love,Mark
I was talking to one of our clients recently, and we were discussing creating offers, and content, and marketing… the whole thing of making the business visible in various ways.
And she admitted how intimidated she felt sometimes, thinking she had to convince people of what she was saying.
I’m going to keep this brief, because it’s a short message, to tell you what I told her.
“Only speak to people who cherish you.”
It’s easy, when creating something in your business, to imagine a skeptical, frowning someone, with their arms crossed, and a look in their eye that says, “Yeah, sure, whatever… prove it to me…”
Do not talk to these people! These are not the people you’re talking to!In this moment, as I’m writing to you, I can see clearly my client’s face, I can see the folks in our Learning Community, I can see folks I know only through social media who are so friendly, and warm and open-hearted toward me.
Those are the folks I’m writing to, and creating for. To you, who cherish the work, the heart, and the care I’m bringing. Because I also cherish you, your business, the dreams you are bringing to the world.
Let’s cherish each other, to be the earth for one another, to life each other up. That’s what I’m in for.
If someone needs convincing, they can listen in. They are welcome on our email list, and in my audience. I have an open heart toward them, and no discernible need in me to make them like me or believe me.
I used to have that, I used to get caught focusing on those folks.
No longer. I respect them, because I’m skeptical about some people, too. And skepticism can be healthy for the person who is expressing it.
But, it’s not a relationship of cherishing. And I don’t create for the skeptics.
As I said, if a skeptic likes what I’m creating for the folks with whom I’m in a mutual relationship of cherishing, that’s great.
For you, how does that change things?
If you think of something you are needing or wanting to create for your business, and you bring to your heart the face of someone who already cherishes you and your work… what does that do for your creativity?
Let me know.
With love,Mark Silver, M.Div.Heart of Business, Inc.Every act of business can be an act of love.
It’s quite natural that you love what you do to help your clients. People fall in love with modalities. I know I love the Sufi healing I’ve learned from my teachers, as well as so many little details about spiritual and practical business development.
I’ve been studying it all for 25 years, and I’m not bored yet!
This kind of love for what you do is common, but it leads to overwhelming clients. Because you, as the practitioner, tend to know so darn much about what you do, you want to be really complete in how you share it with your clients.
There is a good intention here! When folks do this, they don’t want them to suffer unnecessarily, or to miss anything. there is a desire to be complete in service to caring for people.
Here’s the challenge, though: clients rarely want to become practitioners of the modality.
One of the things to be honest about ourselves when we creating content for folks, in courses, or just simply in client education, is to ask whether we’re creating practitioner-level content, in terms of depth, breadth and completeness?
If the answer is yes, the correct response is to stop it!
Think about how long it takes to become a competent practitioner, in whatever modality. How many classes, how many months or years? How much practice?
To become truly competent often takes years.
Clients don’t want that. They don’t want anything like it.
Giving the minimum as an expression of care.
I want to suggest that you start giving WAY less. Not as a way to protect yourself, or to be miserly in expressing your gifts to people.
No, I want to encourage you to give way less as an expression of deep care, of real awareness of how much your clients can take in, how much they can process, and how much they can act on, when they don’t want to be practitioners themselves.
This requires clarity.
In order to carry this out, it requires taking a little time to get clear on what outcome you’re wanting for people, and a real awareness of what outcome they are wanting for themselves.
Then, if you think through what is the minimum I can give that will get them that outcome, that can be a guiding light for you in avoiding overgiving.
Take a moment now.
Think of one of your offers, either one you’ve already created, or one you’ve been dreaming of. Are you clear what the client/participant would want from this?
Once you are clear about that, and you have an awareness of how little capacity they might have to take in new information, process it, and act on it… what’s the minimum you have to do to help them get that outcome?
What do you notice? How does it feel to give less from a place of deep care?
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
I know lots of people, including myself, who receive downloads of many, many ideas within their own heart, or sparks of idea after idea igniting in their mind. Way too many to act on properly.
What do you do with them all? Trying to act on them can overwhelm your business, undermining momentum and confusing your audience.
And yet not acting on them can feel like refusing the muse.
Before I tell you what I recommend, I want to explain a spiritual reality as described by the Sufis.
The Imaginal world.
In Sufi cosmology, the Divine has many layers, or worlds, to our reality, and one of them is called the Imaginal world. In this world, images and meaning are matched up, and it happens very, very quickly.
However, it is not a physical world, or one that carries any lasting reality to it.
For instance, a butterfly might be connected with an idea of beauty, and we get that in a dream. But it’s not a permanently assigned meaning, it just carries that meaning in that instance. Next time, a butterfly might carry a different meaning for us, like something be short-lived, or something being delicate.
Many of the meaning-image matches will serve a purpose in a moment, and then evaporate, like dew in the morning sun.
You’ve probably experienced this, where you’ve had an idea come in, and then later… where is it? You can’t remember it.
The miss-step in this situation is that many folks try to take these sparks of meaning, which are significant and impactful in their moment, and try to create something permanent out of it.
Here’s some approaches I recommend experimenting with when confronted with many, many ideas.
Appreciation.
Above, I mentioned dew in the morning sun. Sometimes things are meant to be savored, but not preserved. What if you could appreciate the ideas as they come in, but not feel attached to them?
See which ones stick.
Sometimes there is something deeper or more persistent in one of these ideas. Watch for those that stick around.
This is different than trying to capture or preserve everything. We can take conscious heart awareness and appreciation of the ideas as they land, witnessing them. And then, hours or a day later, we may notice that a particular one or three of those ideas stuck around.
Write it down. Lean into it a little bit.
Create content before programs.
Many people leap directly into trying to turn the ideas into programs, or offers, or entire wings of their business, and that can be exhausting and overwhelming.
Just try writing an article, or shooting a video to share with your audience, or to start to build an audience.
Or even just a short social media post.
For those that last, they turn into realities.
If an article or post or video gets a lot of attention, and creates some momentum… maybe it could become a webinar, and then maybe a paid course or offer of some sort?
If you sit with an idea for awhile and write it up, and it comes in more strongly, and you develop it over time, it may become part of your business, in small ways, and then in bigger ways.
I know this is simple…
I see folks get so overwhelmed thinking that everything that comes in must be honored, and that honoring somehow becomes taking each idea to its ultimate expression.
Please be kind and gentle with yourself. It says in my tradition that the Divine is closer to you than your jugular vein, that the Oneness from which we come and from which we aren’t separate in any way, knows our abilities and our capacities and our situation intimately, even better than we know ourselves.
This Oneness would never ask us to be overwhelmed carrying out elaborate versions of each spark that comes in. Rather, we can delight in the endless creativity available to our hearts, and then follow nature, taking our time, noticing which seeds germinate and which don’t.
I’ve mentioned how in the late summer the hickory trees in our woods will drop a LOT of nuts… all of them nonviable. The trees know which nuts aren’t going to produce a tree or nut meat, and dump them, while the living, edible and grow-able nuts drop later in the fall once they are done developing.
It’s okay to let things go that may look beautiful, and may even be inspiring in the moment, but aren’t destined to have an enduring existence.
This way, you can focus on the ones that really are meant to root and reach for the sky, taking your business with it.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
I’m not going to predict any more…
It’s been a few weeks that I’ve confidently been stating that the website is almost ready to launch. We keep running into technical issues, and the truth is that I made the announcement prematurely, before truly understand the scope of technical detail that needed to be handled.
And boy oh boy, did that realization feel terrible! Oy… but, good people are bringing their best to this project, and it will get done!
In the meantime, I’ll let you know that yes, soon(ish) you will be able to join our Learning Community. And, soon(ish) we will be offering a home study version of the Heart of Money & Power course.
If you aren’t wanting to wait, and need support, I do have small group coaching space, and some individual deep-dive business assessment slots available.
You can see details here: Working with Mark (Scroll down to “Two alternatives to long term work)
Or here: Mark’s Small Group Coaching
And, as always, love and love!
In our Learning Community, on a group coaching call, someone mentioned that they really wanted to get clients… but they didn’t want to be pushy.
I stopped us, and highlighted this question. What does it mean to be pushy, and what’s the difference between enthusiasm and pushy? Because too often, business owners who are trying to avoid being pushy end up coming across as disengaged, or uninterested, or distant. Which isn’t good, either.
So, I talk about three things that contribute to being perceived as pushy, and what to do instead, so you can still be engaged and have clients come in!
After watching the video, how does that change your approach to selling your offer? Do you feel like you can be enthusiastic and be able to sidestep the pushiness? I’m interested to hear, and if you have any questions.
With gratitude,
Mark Silver, M.Div.Heart of Business, Inc.Every act of business can be an act of love.Soon! Promise!
The Learning Community opening for new members is still slated for early this month. However, we’re taking extra time to make sure the new website and backend systems really are working solidly before inviting new folks in.
The Business Boost group filled up and beyond. However, there is still a one or maybe two seats in my regular small group coaching, which, honestly, is very similar to the Business Boost group in structure and support.
If you’re still drawn to getting hands on support, and your business is stuck in the low to mid five figures, reach out! You can take a look at the Business Boost group page to be clear on the kinds of folks who do well in these groups, and you can still fill out the application. Just know it’s going to be for the Tuesday small group coaching. **Take a look here: Small Group Coaching****And, if you have it in you, cross your fingers and say a prayer that everything goes smoothly with the website systems testing!
The outside world is loud. And, the challenges within one’s own heart and one’s own emotions can be equally loud. Don’t let that stop you.
Take a walk with me in the woods, even though I’m surrounded by ATV’s reving their engines, and neighbors practicing with their guns for hunting season.
How does your heart feel now? What do you notice within yourself?
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Learning Community will be opening for new members.We’re in the middle of redoing our website- the design won’t change much immediately, first we’re redoing all the backend systems, some of which very badly needed replacing. We’re finishing up today, with testing over the next day or two, and if all goes well, everything will be rock solid.
So, next week, we’ll be inviting folks in to join our Learning Community. In March there’s a coaching clinic on Crafting Your Offer, to support you in, yes, crafting an offer that works for you and is profitable, and helps your clients. There’s a Deepening Call on Clearing Neediness. And March 21, there’s a Virtual Retreat for going deep.
Plus all the regular support that is happening. I will tell you that we have made the decision to cap membership at around 225 members. Right now, if you’re on one of our group calls and raise your hand, you almost certainly get called on. If you post in our online group, you get responded to. You don’t get lost.
We want to preserve that, so we’re capping the membership, and we’ll only raise it beyond that if we fill up, and see we can care for everyone, and we can bring in any additional resources to support folks.
So, if you’re thinking about joining us, take a look, and as long as you’re on this list, we’ll let you know when we open.
Here: The Heart of Business Learning Community
I was looking at one of our Learning Community member’s marketing, as they were describing the kinds of clients they didn’t want, who invariably sucked them dry.
Which got us onto the topic of filters in marketing. That’s a fantastic topic, but today I want to talk at a more fundamental level, because some folks are inadvertently using their marketing as a way to push people away, rather than invite them in.
Let’s talk about it.
When you look at your own marketing with this in mind, did you combine the filter and the invite, or is your marketing an open-hearted invitation?
with love,
Mark
p.s. Six Month Business Boost
In the video discussion above, this is the kind of miss-step that can hold a business stuck at a certain ceiling.
Yet, iterating, with heart and care and clarity, can make your marketing so much more clear and strong, and way more effective.
There are all kinds of unconscious places that businesses get caught up like this, plus the spiritual/emotional tangles where folks give their power away, or otherwise block their business from working.
If your business is stuck in the low-to-mid five figures, and could use really active, hands-on help to iterate not just one thing, but all the various aspects of your business that may be creating unwanted friction…
May I suggest this six month business boost?
There are only five spots. If you think maybe one of those spots is yours, take a look at the page above, fill out the application, and let’s talk!
One of the assignments I will sometimes give clients or members in our Learning Community is to “write a love letter to your clients,” especially when they are trying to write a sales page or other promotional copy.I do this, because so many people “switch modes.” They are in the love, and in the flow, and deep service when actually working with clients, but when doing other business-related tasks something else happens…Let’s talk about it.What did you notice in your business from the points I made about “switching modes?” I’m really curious what awarenesses you have there.With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Small group six month ‘business boost.’This problem with “switching modes” is one of the reasons I feel really drawn to offer a truly small group, to focus on three specific issues in business.This offer is primarily for folks whose businesses have made it into the low-to-mid five figures- which is great… and it’s not enough, and there’s a stuck point here.Over six months I want to help you work on three very specific things that will help you get through it. There are only five spots.I go into more detail here:Small group six month business boost.
(Note: There is obviously a LOT going on politically here in my country, the United States. I’m speaking directly to those issues, on social media, with friends and community.
(This blog space is dedicated to caring for you and your business. I have and will continue to speak up politically in this space as well, but I also don’t want love and care taken away from your business, and here is where I want to give your business love and support.)
I was on the February planning call in our Learning Community, and one of our members was talking about feeling shaky in their business. Now, there’s more story than that, but I don’t to break confidentiality.
What I did want to bring to you today is that it’s not uncommon for someone to feel shaky about their business. And yet, misinterpreting that shakiness can create a lot of unnecessary problems.
I want to show you my yet-to-be-built grape arbor (planned for the spring), and talk about feeling shaky in your business.
How does this land on your heart? What do you notice? What becomes possible?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Small groups are powerful.
I’ve facilitated truly small group coaching for years now. And by “truly small group” I mean six or fewer in the group, with guaranteed focus time in live calls, and availability for support between calls.
Generally these groups are for folks that beyond the very beginnings- meaning the business is exists, and has some flow, but maybe not enough, and not dependably enough, and there are things that the business needs, and there is healing and strengthening of the heart the owner needs.
In fact, I used to run two groups, but I slimmed down my client commitments a few years ago, and have only run a single group for at least two years now.
I’m thinking of opening a second group once more. It would meet twice per month for 90 minutes, it would max out actually at five members, not six.
And like I’ve done forever, the first part of each group call would be a spiritual immersion/teaching, to help strengthen and anchor sovereignty, and guidance, and connection to love in the context of business.
Incredibly nourishing format, real connection and guidance.
If you’re interested in having this kind of spiritual and business-saavy guidance during this bumpy time, and you really want, or need, to depend on your business to support you, I’d love to hear from you.
Reply to this email. Or, you can fill out the form on this page.
Something I noticed recently in our clients is how used up people are feeling, how difficult it is to feel clear, especially given the political environment, especially here in the U.S.
I had another message about marketing that I was going to send out, and I will, in due course, but this week it feels to me like a different medicine is needed.
Gentleness as power.
How does this land on your heart? What do you notice? What becomes possible?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
As you may or may not know, one of my passionate hobbies is woodworking. I love the combination of functionality and beauty, and my latest project is building a new countertop for our kitchen island, which is actually an antique cabinet. The new countertop will overhang on two sides, so we can sit around it, as well as have more working area.
This project has been drawn out, and I really want to get it done!
And yet… one of my woodworking tools is old, and I needed to change out the blades… this, of course, means removing a number of screws that held the blades in a place.
Yes, this is important to your business, I promise you.
However… of the eight screws (four per blade), 4 were really stuck, and my attempts to remove them with a hex key… they ended up stripped.
This meant a trip to the hardware store, to ask the advice of someone there. There’s a local hardware store I love, an Ace hardware affiliate, J&W Hardware, that has really experienced, helpful people on staff.
They recommended buying this thing- it’s a drill bit meant for metal, to drill out the center of the screw, and then another attachment that screws into the resulting hole. This then allows you to get a better purchase and remove the screw.
This worked really well… on three out of the four screws. The last one had resisted all attempts in drilling out the center.
Come to find out, after some research, that drilling metal is WAY different than drilling wood. In order to drill metal, you use a little oil to keep it cool, and drill at a MUCH slower speed. High speed drilling builds up heat rapidly and evidently ruins the temper of the drill bit and dulls it.
So… I’ve ruined probably at least 5 drill bits then… and I had to make another trip to the hardware store to get another drill bit, this time to do it properly.
This all meant that, instead of making progress on the woodworking project, I spent a whole weekend just trying to make the tool work that I want to use.
And yes, the new drill bit and the new way of drilling worked, and I got the last screw out!
So here’s where it applies to your business.
I draw two lessons from this that I think are helpful in a business context.
1. Attending to our tools and systems is worthy work. We want to get going already and “get things done.” But, our tools, our systems, our workspaces, are really worth giving loving attention to.
This can feel really challenging, especially in the face of financial needs, or just a desire to make progress.
We neglected a system of ours for far too long, and it caused problems for clients, and we had to pay some refunds because of it. Where if we just had taken the time to overhaul the system, we would have been in far better shape.
And, there’s the second lesson, which is related to the first.
2. Sometimes, in some situations, going more slowly is essential. That you can actually waste a LOT of time and energy by trying to move quickly.
Trying to drill out that screw quickly cost me far more time and money. If I had taken my time, I would have had the blades changed in the first 45 minutes, rather than spending the entire weekend on it.
Similarly, trying to rush into something new in your business can mean big mistakes, lost money, lost opportunity.
The tricky thing, of course, is balancing against perfectionism, where one just wants to test and test and test and never put anything out there. So, yes, avoid the other end of the pendulum.
I offer you these learnings as I sit down at my desk this morning, and find myself dreaming of drill bits…
Image: Boards of cherry wood, from a tree on our property, that I’m turning into a countertop for our island. although I learned a ton about caring for tools and removing stripped screws.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Watching the horrific fires in Los Angeles highlights the conversations that have come up recently… A number of clients have been talking about anxiety they have about the uncertainty of the future, and some of the scary stuff potentially: politically, financially, climate, etc…
So the conversation turned to prepping.
Yes, prepping, meaning preparing yourself for what might happen in the future, has sometimes come to mean some loner in a bunker, with canned food and guns. Sigh…
Part of the work we do is to make sure that when we have strong, challenging emotions, like anxiety or fear, that we are trusting them. I describe in more detail how to work with trust in Chapter 3 of my book and the bottom line is, that anything that arises within us has truth at the heart of it.
Now, that truth might be distorted, or twisted in some way to look almost like the opposite of what our hearts truly want us to know. But the awareness is so important.
So when anxiety about the future came up for my clients, I wanted to stop and take time with it, which we did. And one of the things we did, is work with a reframe, a new understanding about something.
One of the reframes here is about “prepping,” to let go of the image of a loner in a bunker, and instead talk about being human.
However, the reframe I want to offer, away from “doom prepping,” is about what’s normal.
For all humans, and perhaps most especially those of us whose people come from places far from the equator, preserving food has been something that is just normal for humans.
Before there were grocery stores, there were all kinds of ways of preserving food. It’s just a normal, natural thing for humans.
So, whether you do it yourself, or you buy it and store, having a few weeks (or months) of food saved in your house against difficult times is just a very grounded, human, loving thing to do.
We don’t have to catastrophize about end times. We don’t have to imagine apocalyptic landscapes.
You can just make a very human, loving, caring choice to have preserved food in your house.
Those who know me, know that I will get on a street corner with a megaphone about canning and food preservation… so I will try to rein myself in at least a little.
I will make one small suggestion, if it resonates with you, and it won’t for everyone. You can get an electric pressure canner that does four quarts or five pints at a time, for around US$100. Next time you make soup, or something else, make a double portion, and can the extra.
(Side note: We recently bought an electric pressure canner to go with our stove top pressure canner. It’s so easy to use, especially to preserve leftovers. If you follow that link it is NOT an affiliate link. And, that canner can often be found for 30% off that price.
A few months, or weeks, of doing this, and you could have a significant amount of shelf-stable, ready-to-eat, delicious food for yourself and your loved ones.
And it doesn’t have to wait for a disaster to be used. You could simply be tired, or have unexpected guests, and boom, in 5 minutes, you’re serving up a quart or two of delicious soup.
I get not everyone has much storage space, but using some of your space to store some food is useful, even if it’s in the back of a closet, or it’s a bookshelf in the living room.
What does this have to do with business?
There are two things. One is the very literal understanding that having food in your house means a different level of safety and security. Having a few weeks of food, not just “survival” food, but delicious food you want to eat, can be incredibly comforting.
But, the other thing has to do with honoring anxiety that comes up around your business. You may have anxiety about how your business is doing.
Toxic positivity says to totally avoid that anxiety and just “think good thoughts.” Well, that’s… toxic.
However, the other extreme, catastrophizing about how miserable it all is, can be just as painful and toxic.
A third option is to honor the concern, and listen to it. Your business is needing attention… what kind of attention is it needing? By honoring the anxiety, and then slowing down and listening beneath it, asking what is needing attention, you may be surprised by the answer.
Maybe your business is asking you to be courageous in trying out some new marketing. Or it’s asking you to stop putting off a project you’ve been avoiding because the emotions are charged… but it’s an important element of what’s needed. Or maybe the business is asking you to get some help and support, to learn thing you don’t know already.
Whatever the message your business has for you, the key is to slow down and listen. And if it take ten or twenty minutes to soothe your nervous system, to let your heart know you are willing to listen, that’s okay. It’s still better than not.
If you have concern about the future for your business, if you take time right now to soothe your nervous system, to catch your breath, and to listen, what is your business offering to you? What do you notice?
Specifically, how can you start to care for the future of your business in very human, loving, practical ways?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
One of the members of our Learning Community was expressing how it can be surprisingly hard to get back to work after being away. And early January is one of those times that so many people feel disconnected and out of step with their business after much-needed down time.
How do you get back into the groove?
Because you most likely are trying to get back into the groove, I’m going to keep this one short and sweet.
1. Don’t try to get back into the groove quickly.
One of the more frustrating and impossible things is to go from vacation mode to productive mode when the clock strikes 9am on an early January Monday morning.
So don’t. What if it was okay that you spent the first day back at work just saying “howdy” to your business? Looking over projects, schedule, just connecting in your heart to it all without needing to “get things done.”
I almost ended this first suggestion with the above paragraph, but I want you to slow down and read those two paragraphs again and take them really seriously. It’s easy to go, “yeah, yeah” and then still try to power through after maybe 90 seconds of an attempt at “howdy…”
But that’s not going to do it. I mean maybe hours of “howdy.” Maybe just sitting in your chair sipping your beverage of choice and surveying your domain. Settling back in. Letting your heart open and reconnecting with what you love about your work and your business.
This is surprisingly important and effective.
2. Re-read the first suggestion above.
Really! The quality of your relationship with your business is the foundation of any results you want to create.
Running super fast, pushing through, doing a million things… those are symptoms of disconnection. If I’m in that mode, then when I become aware that I’m in that super-fast mode, I know that I’m not actually seeing my business for how it is right now, and what it’s actually needing from me.
This is true all the time, not just coming back from vacation.
The good news is that if we take time regularly to be in relationship with our business, then you don’t need super-long catch-ups, because you’re already in an active relationship. It’s the difference between a friend you haven’t talked to in a year, and so there’s hours needed to catch up, and a friend you see regularly, and you’re already in sync with them.
3. Listen to this Remembrance.
A Remembrance is a Sufi guided heart meditation. Our Learning Community has nearly 300 different 12-15 minute Remembrances on different topics for our members to use in stuck places.
This Remembrance is 15 minutes and it’s on the topic of returning to your business after a vacation or other time away.
I recommend it highly. And if you feel like you don’t have 15 minutes to listen to it… then I recommend it even more.
How does your heart feel after taking this time?
Bonus “tricks.”
The relationship thing is really the foundation, but there are some things you can do to support the relationship, especially looking at next year.
Set an alarm for either mid-November or early December later this year, to remind you to do three things:
(1) Schedule in re-entry time for next January. This is so you, and anyone you work with, including clients, don’t have any expectation that you will be productive the first day back.
(2) Take time to get a few things done ahead of time. For instance, I wrote this email you’re reading now back on December 18, so that I wouldn’t have to write it when I got back in the office on January 6. There are other things I pre-prepared for my re-entry, so I didn’t have to tend to them immediately.
(3) Stop in the middle of a “chapter.” A time-tested writer’s trick, when working on a book, is to never finish a day of writing at the end of a chapter. Always end in the middle, so there’s a creative flow to pick up with when you return. Do the same thing with any important creative projects that are going to continue after a vacation- stop not at a natural stopping point, but in the middle of a flow, so it’s easier to re-enter.
Above all, be gentle with yourself. I have never met a “lazy” person. I have met lots of depleted people whose nervous systems were beyond capacity. You will return to your business, if you just give yourself time to say “howdy” and catch up with this beloved creation that is one way you express your gifts in the world, and is working to support you financially.
Welcome to 2025!
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Heart of Money & Power starts Tuesday, January 14!Rather, January 14 is the first live class. The nourishing pre-work, as well as the Bonus Tawba Healing class, are available right now.
This is the last time I’ll be running this course for the forseeable future. If money or power are issues you struggle with in your business, join me!
Details and registration here: The Heart of Money & Power Transformational Journey 2025 If you have questions, please ask!
2025 just began, and I hear many saying “good riddance!” to 2024. It’s also the 1st of the month of Rajab, 1446 in the Islamic calendar, and the 1st of Tevet, 5785 in the Jewish calendar.
It is remarkable to me that all three calendars have the 1st of their respect months on the same day. I hope that is a sign of Unity, of coming together, of much-needed healing.
At the same time, although our calendars help us relate to the passage of time, they aren’t absolute. It’s not New Year’s Day for everyone, and there are calendars that don’t have any correspondence with these three months of January, Rajab and Tevet.
This diversity of life on our planet is such a blessing to each of us. In the Quran 49:13, “We created you… and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (not that you may despise each other)…”
And, of course, there’s the spiritual truth that every little speck of creation is being recreated every moment, every moment.
So, whether this is New Year’s day for you or not, I hope that this Sufi blessing nourishes and carries you forward.
And I sincerely hope that we do an even better job of nourishing, caring for, and protecting each other in this coming year. May there be a surprising abundance of blessings.
I offer you, in this short video, a Sufi blessing upon you, your loved ones, and your business. See you in a week!
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
As we enter into holidays that touch many people’s lives, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Yule, among others, we at Heart of Business wanted to take time to just wish you deep care and nourishment.
And that’s it. If you’re needing business support/advice, our blog has twenty-four years of support available.
Even when you don’t share in the traditions or religious practices, when so many people are celebrating, it impacts us. And, it can help to shine our hearts, and it can also trigger feelings of disconnection or loneliness.
Whatever is true for you, we wanted to take this moment to send love and care to you, one from me, and one from Holly.
with love,Mark, Holly and the team at Heart of Business
Here we are, the end of December, and as we are on the verge of the new year, after I wrote about fix-it energy last week, there’s another dynamic that I thought it would be super helpful to be aware of in your business development.
That dynamic is the tension between healing versus “getting things done.”
I’ve seen people work hard at getting things done, and resist slowing down to do the emotional and spiritual healing work, thinking if they just work harder, it will all happen. Sometimes, it’s a way to hide out from the discomfort of what’s going on inside them, the emotions, the tangles, the challenges within.
When these folks do stop, and check in with their hearts, and bring loving, compassionate attention to the struggle, very often they find that those stuck places within themselves start to shift and heal. Painful strategies fall away, and things become easier.
I’ve also seen folks dive deep into the healing work, staying for weeks or months with particular internal issues. Sometimes, it’s a way to hide out from taking action, from a commitment and engagement with the physical world.
When they do start to implement, start to get things done, they find that things start to work, painful issues start to fall away. Things become easier.
Which is right? Healing? Or getting stuff done?
The beauty and joy, and the challenge, of being human, is that there is no formula. You can’t say, “always do the healing first,” because sometimes taking action is the step that helps reveal what healing is needed, and if you don’t take the step, healing can’t happen.
Similarly, you can’t always say, “Take a step, and the path will be revealed.” Sometimes you do need to get quiet, go within, slow way down, and stop trying to do, and let the healing clear your heart and the path for you.
You need both, one isn’t better than the other.
When we prioritize concrete action over internal healing, that is often how we go deeply astray from our own guidance, our own purpose, from the depth of Love.
At the same time, the idea that the internal healing is more important than the outer world leads easily to spiritual bypassing, and denies the sacredness of this beautiful creation we exist within and are completely a part of.
They are both important, equally. My Sufi sheikh taught that at deeper levels of awareness, there is no separation between the inner and the outer. That they are One, and the sacredness and beauty and love is available within and without.
So… what do you do with this?
On a practical level, there are two ways I ask people to relate to it.
One is listening. Are you being called to do deeper healing? Go there. Are you feeling the deeper movement to take action? Go there.
But, don’t go off of your immediate gut reactions, which can just be reactivity. Instead, pause, listen, feel, notice. What has that feeling of truth to it?
The second is even more practical. Do the unfamiliar.
Do you find that you have the habit of spending a great deal of time in inner reflection and healing work? Then, push yourself and try taking action instead. See what happens.
Do you find yourself usually taking action and working hard? Try stopping, not doing anything, and just being with the feelings in your being, in your heart. With gentleness, kindness, compassion and also a similar discipline to what you use to keep working hard, stay with what’s going on inside you, and ask, “Is love available even here?”
Questions to ponder for this new year.
What does the heart of your business, and your own heart, tell you about your relationship with healing and with action? What insight do you gain from this?
And, if you want, asking where do you fall on the spectrum of action/healing, especially in the realm of business? When you identify it, are you willing in this new year to lean into the unfamiliar to shake things up, and see what happens?
I’m so curious to hear what’s true for you.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
When you need to depend on your business to support you. With love.
The Heart of Money & Power 2025Join me for what will be the last Heart of Money & Power cohort for the forseeable future. Bring healing to those areas of your business and life that is most often skipped over: money and power.
There is so much in this world that is painful. And so much that is dysfunctional around money and power. If we’re going to bring love to each other, and to help make this better, and to see our businesses thrive, we need each of us to stand strongly in our own power, and to have a much healthier and honest relationship with money.
See if this course is what will support you:The Heart of Money & Power Transformational Journey 2025
When clients come to Heart of Business, it’s really common for folks to have a “it’s broken, I need to fix it!” sense of their own business.
At the same time, there’s a lot of pushback against a “fix it” approach. “Something is terrible wrong, and I need to fix it,” when unconsciously expressed, is at the root of mansplaining, of dysfunctional relationship dynamics, and it’s just an all-around bummer, especially when what most people really respond well to is empathy and care.
Yet… sometimes things really are broken and need to be fixed! Our washing machine broke over the summer, and I was really proud of myself to be able to figure out what was going on (after watching youtube videos on the topic), ordering an $11 part, and then fixing it without needing to call a repair person!
Similarly, we had a really troubling problem in our membership site software that needed to be fixed, because it was causing access problems. Blah!
So, clearly, “fix it” energy isn’t always bad.
In my book, Heart Centered Business, I have an entire chapter devoted to “you can be trusted with your business” because it’s a nuanced and profound topic that blocks a lot of people in business development. And, there’s a key discernment at heart of it.
Tending versus fixing.
I have Abigail Rose Clarke and her book Returning Home to Our Bodies to thank for the language around “tending” (her book is so fantastic…)
The question to be asking in your business: is the thing you are looking at actually broken, or is it not broken, and just needing tending, care, development?
Broken almost only applies to a thing, a process, an application, an object of some sort. Something designed to do a thing, and there is a thing that is broken, and it needs to be fixed.
Sometimes it’s hard to discern. I see folks struggle, for instance, with the sales conversation, as one example. Often it needs tending to, meaning attention and love, some healing, and some real understanding.
And, often, also, there is a part of the process that is broken. A misunderstanding of selling learned from exploitative models, and a script or step that is actually missing or that doesn’t function well.
Why this is important in 2025.
I’m achingly aware of how over capacity our nervous systems are, and how much there is in the world that feels hard and heavy. I also am in wonder of the amount of goodness and beauty and love that I witness on a daily basis.
Both of these are true.
When we are depleted or over capacity, the “fix it” approach seems simpler. The “tending” seems like it’s more work, and takes up more of our spoons, meaning capacity.
However, it’s not true. It’s using the wrong approach that is so consuming and overwhelming.
Working on getting our membership application to work (mainly by getting help), is much more direct than having our team overwhelmed with client care because of problems, and just trying to manually “tend to” the issue.
But trying to “fix” a business that isn’t bringing in the revenue you want, when nothing is actually broken is exhausting, depressing, and ineffective. Tending it is so much easier. Learning, putting things in place, pruning, with love and care is way more efficient, effective, and easier on the heart and the spoons than trying to fix what ain’t broken.
For this next year, as you dream and plan and muse upon your intentions and goals for your business, please include the discernment of what is actually broken that might need to be fixed, versus what is not broken at all, and yet needs tending and care, so it can develop.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
When you want to make a difference,and need to be able to depend on your business to support you.
The Heart of Money & Power in 2025Our longest-running program, The Heart of Money & Power Transformational Journey, will be happening starting in January. And yet… it will be the last time for the forseeable future that I’ll be leading it.
It’s powerful- it helps you heal your relationship with money, with an unjust economic system, and with power. It’s probably our most spiritual course, and yet we see people coming back to it year after year to deepen the learnings.
I also hear from folks that the relief they received during the course is long-lasting, even years after.
It’s a surprising powerful course. Nine sessions, starting January 14.
Click to read about it and register: The Heart of Money & Power 2025
So, I recently joined a motley band of progressive, anti-capitalist business folks, with the agreement that we would support each other and help make each other’s offers visible.
Some of them I know pretty well, some of them I don’t know at all. However, the heart of the group feels really good. I do know that some of the language some folks use is way more “salesy” than I typically use here at Heart of Business, so the feeling is going to be different, because they are different people.
Here are three offers that I hope are useful to you. Descriptions are in the words of the person offering it. I receive no compensation or affiliate income. It is an exchange, in that others in the group will share our offers with their audience.
Build Your 2025 Roadmap, Nov 19.
Not feeling the love for your business these days? Let’s give your business model a facelift in time for 2025, so you can spend the coming year doing the work you love most (and are best at!). In this hands-on workshop, we’ll help you reconnect with your mission, cut out the clutter, and design a 2025 business model you’ll love.
Find out more here.
That link is primarily for an audience that already knows them, so here is their main website if you want to know more about them: www.visionaryceoacademcy.com
Thought Leader Toolkit, Dec. 12
Transform your expertise into a powerful thought leadership platform and set yourself up to attract pre-sold clients and make more money in 2025 using our Thought Leader Toolkit. Create ONE piece of content you can reuse over and over instead of HUNDREDS that disappear in minutes.
We’re flipping the idea of the typical lead magnet on its head to create a Thought Leader Magnet that will attract and pre-sell customers for you. Because buy-in is way more valuable than an opt-in. Get on-demand access to all the workshops and tools you need AND a live workshop to walk you through the process.
Find out more here.
Shortcut Your Summit Success, Nov 15.
How To Create High-Impact Virtual Summits That Build Your Brand & Revenue
Find out more here.
I hope that this feeds you and your business in a beautiful way.
My own webinar: Sovereignty and Power, November 20 A Sufi perspective on how to hold power and sovereignty with humility and care in your business and in your life.
Heart-centered, caring people tend to struggle with carrying and expressing power, whether in business, or elsewhere.
And for good reason. Power has been terribly misused in our society and in our marketplace. People of heart naturally don’t want to recreate that painful dynamic with people they care about, especially around their business.
Thankfully, it can all be done differently. And, frankly, it’s really important that we do.
A humble heart can access power and stand strong in sovereignty while moving in the world with a great deal of care. In fact, I think it’s critically necessary. And not just for business.
I’m holding a no-cost webinar on November 20:
Sovereignty and Power webinar
Yes, you can invite anyone you like. Yes, if you register you get the recording. No, I’m not selling anything during the webinar.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
My wife and business partner Holly and I were talking recently, and realizing that we hadn’t sent out a survey in quite some time. Way too long.
At the same time, we’re starting to plan for 2025. The first course of 2025 is set, but the rest of the year is wide open.
What I’m interested in: Where do you need help in developing your business? Where are you stuck? What topics are you drawn to, but not sure how to approach them or implement them?
If you’re willing to take literally a minute, it’s a multiple choice question, with a spot to write in if you want, and an optional additional question if you want to tell us anything else. The easiest version is to tick your options, and click submit.
It would be incredibly helpful to hear what you are facing in your business, what’s a priority to you, and anything else you want to tell us.
Thank you in advance for the feedback!
Here’s the survey:https://forms.gle/b3o795EWeaTcz5vn6
With appreciation,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Helping folks develop heart-centered businesses they can depend on to support them.
One thing I see really often, even with experienced business owners, is that there is a real lack of traction or momentum. It’s that thing where somehow, the beginning of the month, or the quarter, or whenever, it feels almost like starting over from scratch.
This is so exhausting! Because it feels great when there’s flow… but why doesn’t it keep flowing and flowing… and it has to do with, unsurprisingly, business development.
And I think that “business development” is often spoken about in terms that are too simple, that leave people scratching their heads. It doesn’t need to be rocket science, but a little more complexity helps to actually describe the situation.
So, let’s get into it
I’ve heard people talk about working “on” your business versus working “in” your business. Working on your business is doing business stuff for your business, and working in it, is the work you do for your clients and customers.
That’s too simple a break-down, and it doesn’t help you get clear on how to spend your time. It’s also why a lot of people spin their wheels, feeling like their business isn’t really getting better, or that they are starting from scratch over and over again.
So first, let me name four different categories, broadly speaking. It could be broken down even more, but that might not be useful to a lot of folks.
- Caring for the people you serve. What is called working “in” the business. This is direct client service stuff, including sessions, preparation, anything you do to care for them.
- Pedaling the bicycle. This is often called working “on” the business. I’m writing this article now. Recently I recorded a video conversation with someone that will be shared later. I cleaned out my inbox. I handled some bills. I reached out to folks to ask them to share a webinar I’m doing. I’m outlining the course content for my course. I’m working out the 2025 schedule. The things we do that make the business run.
- Learning new things. I’m reading a book about the inherent dysfunctions in scale. I’m spending time with my Sufi teachers deepening my understanding of healing. I’m learning more about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB). Years ago, I was studying different things about how selling worked, or aspects of marketing, or learning how a particular social media platform operated in terms of advertising and marketing.
- Developing the business. This can also be called working “on” the business, but it’s different than the daily things the business needs to keep running. It’s developing the business’ capacity to run more easily or be more profitable. It’s developing and implementing a new marketing workflow. It’s putting systems in place to help the enrollment process go more easily. It’s thinking through and making changes to the business model, or pricing structure. It’s hiring a bookkeeper and working with them to create the workflow so the financial records are easily kept up to date. And many other things.
One of the reasons why businesses just limp along and folks feel like the business doesn’t really have traction or dependability is that all of the attention goes to Caring and Pedaling, and hardly any attention, or none at all, goes to Learning and Developing.
Look, I get it, life is full, and there’s already enough going on. How in the heck do you fit more in?
When I run the monthly planning calls for the members of our Learning Community, we focus pretty exclusively on Developing. Why?
Caring and Pedaling just happen. When you have clients, you care for them. And there are a ton of details in your business that demand your attention. And that fills up your time. And, often, Learning draws people because of what it promises, and because it’s often fun.
However, Developing doesn’t have urgency to it. There’s no fire to put out. So it gets ignored. That’s why I urge our members to make a reasonable amount of space for Developing the business every month.
I caution folks: don’t try to commit too much time and space to Developing. Life is too full, and it will be too easy to fail in the commitment, and that feels terrible.
However, putting a reasonable amount of time into Developing, a few hours each month, and you begin to notice that things start to get better, a little bit at a time.
A member who finally took the time to organize and streamline their onboarding system for new clients, by creating template emails and materials. Now new clients feel really cared for, and it takes half the time to do.
Another one who took the time to get clear on their messaging, taking in feedback, wrestling with it, and now people are responding much more easily and quickly. Two months of wrestling with it, testing, iterating, getting feedback. But wow, it works now.
A third who struggled to face their financial stuff, and finally went through the process of first hiring an accountant, and then later getting a bookkeeper. It did take a few months to work out the kinks, to get through some frustration and other emotional tangles, and then actually finding the right people took a little time. Now their taxes are done on time, they actually know what’s going on with their money, and they spend so little time on it themselves, it’s getting handled.
These kinds of steps make such a huge difference, but it takes some real discipline to set aside that time regularly, to make your business better and better.
Three things:
- Give yourself time. You rarely see changes in the business happen in a week or a month. But consistently putting time aside for Developing, and after six months, then a year, then 18 months, and your business looks, feels and runs so differently! So don’t try to do too much all at once.
- Listen to your business. Recently I wrote an article on listening to the heart of your business, and even just taking time, even 15 minutes, to be with your business, not trying to get things done, can help you see things differently.
- May I recommend my book? Heart Centered Business, Healing from toxic business culture so your small business can thrive, gives you an understanding of how to develop your business, the stages, the elements, and it includes a detailed checklist in the appendix, so you don’t have to guess on what to focus. And, it’s just a book, not a big investment. Links to buy it you can find here.
Developing your business is what will give the dependability one really hopes for. And that dependability means that your creativity and care and gifts can be used beautifully, instead of constantly scrambling.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts, how this lands.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Helping you develop a business you can depend on to support you.
I’ll start this off by saying, in no uncertain terms, in the midst of all the anxiety (for legitimate reasons) in the world today, that I am a huge advocate for doing more spiritual practice. A lot more.
Especially in the context of your business. Well, maybe not especially, except for the fact that it tends to be the one context that most people avoid spiritual practice in, even people who have committed spiritual practices.
It’s wild to me how successful the campaign to disconnect us from the sacred has been in the world of business. There are few places that have been more thoroughly staked out as profane.
But that ain’t the truth, is it? There is nothing that is outside the sacred. There is nothing that is not worthy of love.
In the small group coaching I facilitate, we were talking specifically how to work it in, in the midst of a busy life, of a very busy day.
So, I want to make a pitch for the importance of being interrupted.
In Islam there are five daily prayers, and the times of those prayers are connected to the position of the sun. The first is before dawn, the second is around midday, the third is in the middle of the afternoon, the fourth comes in at sunset, and the night prayer comes in when it’s fully dark.
Although they are all important for maintaining the heart’s connection to love, the most important is considered to be the mid-afternoon one.
Why is that? My understanding of the teaching is because it’s the one that interrupts us the most. The other four happen at times in the day when we might ordinarily be taking a break. Upon waking, lunch, after dinner, and before bed. It’s not much of a interruption, it can be worked into the flow.
But the middle of the afternoon, when you’re deep in work, and wanting to finish soon for the day?
Interrupting to remember the connection to Love…
Why is this so important?
Have you ever been caught up in anxiety, in fear, in anger, in an unhealthy reaction? I’m not saying the emotions are unhealthy, but that if the emotions are then running what and how you do things, your business can go off the rails pretty quickly.
To have a daily practice of being interrupted in the flow in order to take some minutes to remember Love, no matter what the deadline is…
It’s a powerful practice.
Can I encourage you to take on spiritual practice that interrupts your day? One that demands that the work schedule, that the deadlines pay attention to Love as the priority?
What would that look like for you? How would it work? And how does it feel to even consider it?
I’m so curious to hear.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Running (and Leading) Groups in Your Business starts TuesdayNext week we begin our next course Running (and Leading) Groups in Your Business, which is meant to help you do just that.If you’re either wanting to start offering groups, or you already are and have been running into challenging dynamics in terms of how they run, you may well want to take a look at this course.It’s not intended to get you to mastery, not by any means. It’s meant to take some key insights and learnings from my over 30 years of teaching and facilitating groups, and making them digestible, actionable, and with healing accompaniment.Four Tuesdays in November, priced at pay-from-the-heart, nourishing pre-work available right now.Join us? Take a look: Running (and Leading) Groups In Your BusinessIf you have questions, please ask!
Honestly, there are lot of issues and dynamics that can stop someone from making content for their business, whether it’s to send out to an email list, or post on social media, or some other purpose.
And, the whole subject of making content is a big one, and I don’t want to try to tackle it all right now. I just want to name one thing that recently has recently helped no fewer than three different clients be able to get their ideas out of their heads and heart, and into the hands of their clients.
It’s simply this: that their content, your content, is complex. It’s nuanced, and full of many layers, and it’s a LOT.
So, for instance, if someone is wanting to communicate about how to heal from a big issue, that can’t be reduced to a meme. Or 1 minute reel. Or even a longish article.
And, attempting to do so is just wrong. It doesn’t honor the work, and it can either do harm by making folks in your audience believe something is much simpler than it is. Or they just won’t believe you, because it’s not true.
So, don’t do that.
Thankfully, I have a pretty easy workaround, one that I already used in this particular article.
“This topic is much bigger than an article…”
Here’s the workaround: simply acknowledge the scope of the topic, and then tell them you’re just going to get at one small piece.
The underlying premise is that we let each thing be what it is.
A group interaction is different than a 1-1 session.
A virtual retreat is different than an in-person retreat.
A large course is different than an intimate small group or mastermind.
And… an article, or video, is different from an in-depth healing process.
If you let the thing that it is be the thing that it is, then you can relax into it, and stop with all of the effort of trying to make it something else.
This article, for instance, can’t teach you how to make compelling content for your business, not on its own.
However, it can help you get traction, it can help remove at least one obstacle, and help you take the next step.
That’s all your content needs to do.
Acknowledge, and then give what you can.
This is true no matter what the context.
If I teach a course, as I do quite regularly, I can’t teach the whole course in one class session. And the book I wrote, I couldn’t communicate it all in just one chapter, or one section of a chapter.
Any content you create is part of a larger body of work, and it can just be what it is: a short 5-10 minute conversation about one small helpful aspect.
Some ways to word the acknowledgement.
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to word the acknowledgement, so here are three examples. Hopefully it both sparks your creativity, and helps you feel more free to bring out some of your wisdom and experience to your audience… or to help gather your audience.
“X is a big topic, and I’m not going to overwhelm you with it. Here’s one piece that I use with my clients to help them start to get traction with it.”
“There are no simple formulas to Y, it’s such an individual experience. However, there are some elements that I use with my clients that help most people take a solid step forward. Here’s one of those elements.”
“This is not paint-by-number, as I know you understand. What I want to do is explain one of the principles that can help you get your arms around it, and take a step with it, in a way that might bring you some relief, or at least help you feel some movement with this topic.”
How does this land with you? Questions? Pushback? Or other ways you have of wording this?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
When you want to make a different in the world, and need to depend on your business to support you.
p.s. Do you want to run groups in your business?As you can imagine, group facilitation is not a topic that you can master in a few weeks. However, you are allowed to do things imperfectly!
Our next course, which starts November 5, is on Running Groups in Your Business. It’s only four Tuesdays, so it’s not going to get you to mastery.
However, it will help you get your arms around some really important topics, and help you sidestep some common problems, and troubling dynamics.
And, I’m sure we’ll go deep in the live calls on how to apply it to individual businesses, so there’s going to be a LOT of learning.
If you’ve been thinking of, or already are, running groups in your business, whether it’s to help more people, to free up your time, or to make a more money, join me, and let me share my 30 years of teaching experience with you.
Take a look: Running GroupsPriced at pay from the heart, so if you want it, come get it!
This Friday I’m leading a Virtual Retreat within our Learning Community, as I do six times per year. I’ve done this for years, and there are many benefits to it.
One of them is that it’s a dedicated space and time for listening to the business.
What do I mean by “listening to the business”?
I want to be absolutely clear that I mean this in a completely woo-woo spiritual way.
It’s been clear to me for a very, very long time that a business has a being-ness to it beyond the people involved with it.
How is that possible? From a spiritual perspective, the Sufi teacher in me explains it this way: Everything is an expression of the Oneness. Everything. Every person and creature, every tree and blade grass. Every rock.
But, also, other things, and this includes ideas, and projects. And businesses. Because if the Oneness is truly a Oneness, a Unity, then nothing is outside that. There is no magic stopping point, or line that you can cross and say, “Okay, this isn’t Divine in origin.”
I know this opens up some really important conversations about the nature of good and evil and such, but that’s not where I’m going today.
Today it’s about the recognition that your business, whether it’s in full momentum and has existed for years, or it’s nascent, you haven’t don’t anything with it at all other than dream of it, it then has an existence to it. A being-ness. It has a heart.
This is important, because it’s rare that folks treat their businesses as if they have a heart, as if they are Divine in origin.
It’s a funny thing, because even very spiritual people, very heart-centered, caring people, because of the trauma and misery that has arisen out of the world of business, have a block in seeing their business as a Divine expression.
In the world of permaculture and regenerative agriculture, there is a practice of being with the land before trying to do anything with it. That you listen, and watch, and observe in many ways what is already there, before thinking about planting, before thinking about adding to or taking away. You want to be in a healthy, honoring relationship with what is already in motion.
With our businesses, so many people only spend time with the business when they are trying to get something done, or otherwise be productive. There is very little space that folks carve out to just be with the business, to listen, to watch, to observe.
I want to encourage you to be one of the few, and hopefully we become the many, who bring a quality of witnessing and sacred presence to your business.
I encourage our clients and our members to spend regular time listening to their business. Asking what it wants and needs, and what it wants to give.
I understand the reluctance to do this. There is pressure to get things done, to make sure that money is coming in.
And, more than that, there is often the fear that if we ask what the business wants, it’s going to ask us something terrible, something horribly burdensome.
I have to tell, though, that after more than 24 years of supporting clients in listening to their businesses, there has never been a business that has asked someone to harm themselves through overwork, or to do something terrible.
Yes, sometimes businesses will say, “I really want you to give me more attention.” Or, “It’s important to be focused in a good way, because this project really needs you.”
But, that’s never about working way too much. And, far, far more common are messages like this:
“Bring more playfulness and exploration.”
“Be more joyful.”
“You need to rest. It’s okay to rest, because I want you to be really here when you work.”
I’ve watched so many people become tearful with relief and joy when they actually take the time to listen to their business.
I actually recommend that clients touch in with their business for at least a few minutes each day, and once a week for a deeper listening session. The guidance that starts to come through can be so amazing, and you become so much more focused and efficient.
How to start listening to your business.
There are so many ways to listen to and connect with the unseen. You may already have a good way to do it, and just needed a nudge to do it regularly.
Right now, if you want to take just a few short minutes, you can start.
1. Begin by just noticing how you feel, and how much space there is to feel exactly how you feel. You don’t need to change how you feel and what’s true for you.
Example: I notice I’m feeling stressed, and tired… and whew… when I notice that it’s okay to feel that way, even if it’s uncomfortable… I can take a breath.
2. Ask the question: Is Love available even here? Bring your attention to your heart. The Sufi practice of Remembrance is to call a Name of the Divine into your heart as a Remembering. And our clients often find that question of whether love is available is a wonderful way to open up to that.
Example: As I spend time with the question, and Remembering the Presence of Love, my heart starts to feel warm, things start to feel more expansive. There’s so much available here.
3. Ask to be aware of/shown the heart of your business. Taking your time, not needing to rush, sitting back and letting your heart receive rather than trying to reach out… just notice what you notice.
Example: As I sit here asking to be shown the heart of my business, I slowly become aware of an image of a flower slowly opening. I notice how beautiful it is, even though it’s young and not fully formed. I’m just sitting with it, noticing it, taking it in. Being in appreciation of it.
Not everyone gets imagery. Sometimes folks just get a knowing, or hear things, or sense something. Sometimes it’s very subtle and takes time.
I recommend that you just take time noticing it, even without asking any questions. You can, of course, ask questions, and that’s totally fine. And it can be a beautiful experience just to notice it, really seeing your business, and being in appreciation of it regardless of where it is in its development.
What do you notice? How does this land with your heart? I’m so curious to hear.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
When you want to be able to depend on your business to support you.
New class: Running GroupsThere are lots of reasons why someone would want to start running groups in their business. Financial. Opening up more time. Helping a lot more people.
Yet, group dynamics can be tangled, and sometimes designing a group can feel… muddy, not so easy?
In November I’m offering a short, affordable, pay-from-the-heart four session course sharing my learnings, insights, healing and strategies around groups that come from more than 30 years of teaching experience, both practical topics and very spiritual, esoteric topics.
Whether you haven’t run groups yet, or you’ve been running them but things have been maybe a bit bumpy at times, I’d love to support you in making your groups run really beautifully.
Take a look: Running Groups in Your Business
For many of the business owners I’ve spoken to, they don’t want to create an “empire” or make millions, or be big in some glitzy way (although they do want to do really well). What they want, in truth, is to do something they love, help people, and, gosh darn it, have the business actually be something they can depend on to support them.
That’s it. Dependability at a certain level so they can care for themselves and their loved ones and their lives without worrying.
A lot of people, in search of that dependability, get caught taking on one formula or another. There are lots of “successful” folks out there saying, “If you just do it X way, then your business will take off!”
It doesn’t really matter what X is… because, for the vast majority of folks who try it that way, it doesn’t work.
Why not? Formulas work in math. Recipes work in cooking. Why don’t they work in business? And what does work?
The trouble with formulas.
When we have a mathematical formula, especially a simple one that most of us can handle, like A x B = C, there are very limited variables, and it’s all predictable.
But, what I’ve noticed with recipes, is that following a recipe exactly sometimes works… and sometimes there are variables unaccounted for. I bake bread frequently, and I can’t just follow the recipe- I have to pay attention to how the dough feels, because if it’s warmer or cooler, or more humid or less humid, the dough needs slightly more or less water.
Also, we made a lot of pesto this summer, and we grew three different kinds of basil in our garden. One kind was purple, and beautiful! And smelled lovely. But the taste was noticeably different, and I have to be honest and say I didn’t like it in pesto.
If you’re a gardener, you also know that the same plant can taste different depending on the makeup of your soil. We have wild berries growing near us, Autumn Olives, and some plant’s berries are delicious, and others have so much tannin it’s hard to eat them at all, even though they are only ten feet from each other.
Our businesses have an incredible number of variables in play.
People selling formulas, or recipes, for your business, are usually only speaking to a tiny number of variables. The structure of the offer they want you to do (membership site? Group program with 50 people in it?), the price (umpteen million per person?), and not a lot else.
Meanwhile, there is SO much at play. Your skills, your gifts, what you love to do, what you hate to do, your personality. Then there are the commitments in your life outside of your business and how they use aspects of your creativity or resilience. Your health. Your family. Plus there’s your audience, and who are they, and what do they need or want?
Plus, what about deep heart guidance? I don’t know about you, but my guidance sometimes tells me about really subtle things that need to be different… and sometimes big things.
So many variables that aren’t taken into account by other people’s formulas and how-to’s and shoulds.
So is it all just a free-for-all?
Actually, it’s not. There is room for a tremendous amount of creativity and individuality, but it’s not just “whatever you want” because there are principles at the heart of how business works, how relationships work.
In cooking, you may have heard of “salt, fat, acid, heat” that chef and author Samin Nosrat talks about. These four elements are principles that help you understand how food goes together. When you understand the principles, then you can make up your own recipes with a much better chance of making something delicious.
Similarly, when you understand the principles behind developing a dependable business, then you can start to craft it according to your heart and gifts, with some real confidence that it will actually work.
For instance, one principle in the area of business model is “Limiting Purchasing Decisions.” This is NOT about taking choice away from a client, but it’s about being clear about what really helps them, and not splitting the offer up into many tiny decisions.
If you know that, in general, working with clients for at least four months is what enables them to get traction with what you help them with, supporting them to make one decision to engage for a minimum of four months is going to be way better for them and for you, rather than having them make 12 different purchasing decisions, one for each of 12 sessions you might want them to do during those four months.
But, that principle would also support an offer that lasts for 12 months meeting once per month. Or doing a deep dive once a quarter for a year.
It could even apply to doing a group astrological process where the number of times the group meets during the year is somewhat unknown, and the schedule is completely irregular, because it’s according to awarenesses of astrological phenomena, but participants still sign up for the year, instead of per event.
By the way, that last example one of my clients actually does use successfully.
The point I’m making?
I want to encourage you to learn the principles behind business development so that your heart, guidance and creativity can be as free as possible.
And I also want you to be free of self-judgment or shame because someone else’s formula didn’t work well for you. Of course you were attracted to trying it! Of course you want the results and the dependability in your business that may have been promised.
You can get there, absolutely. Integrating principles, heart and creativity with joy and persistence… and yes, you can do it, too.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
For more than two decades I’ve watched so many people do this weird thing in business. And, it doesn’t matter whether they are new, or been at it for a long time. Even some folks who are quite successful financially do it.
It’s this: they will be absolutely lovely, heart-centered, caring, connected, when helping people, or otherwise deep into their topic.
And then, when a so-called business task or situation pops up, it’s like a switch gets flipped. Suddenly they are awkward, or distant, or corporate-version-professional, or just clicked out.
This also shows up at the level of strategy, where someone who cares deeply about the people they are helping picks up some kind of hard-sell or otherwise manipulative marketing or sales strategy, “because that’s what you do…”
It’s painful for the person doing it, it’s painful for people around them.
The simple version of my message is: You don’t have to do that. Really. You don’t.
The more nuanced version of my message.
I know some of the reasons this happens. One reason is just survival fears. If they don’t do it the way they’ve seen others be (allegedly) successful, they will fail, and all their dreams will come crashing down.
Another reason is the hurt involved in business. We’ve all been injured by the dysfunction and trauma in the world of business. When we’re confronted with some aspect of our business that we know (or think we know) needs to be done, and yet we’ve only experienced hurt around that, the only way through is to shut down our hearts, wall ourselves off, and just stiff arm our way through it.
Yet another reason is vulnerability. It can feel vulnerable to make yourself visible, or offer something someone may not want… and that vulnerability may not have been safe for someone as a child or young adult. And so rather than be vulnerable, the person chooses to do it another way…
I’m sure there are other reasons as well, and happy to hear them from folks.
All of these speak to some level of hurt and fear. And, what it says to me, is that anyone doing that probably cares deeply, but it feels too risky to show that level of care.
We all need each other so very much.
Our economy works hard to make us feel alone, disconnected, helpless, so that we buy things to attempt to feel like we belong and are connected. Commerce, business, has been badly distorted by this.
The result is that even the best-hearted of good people sometimes have a switch to flip into so-called “business mode.”
Blah. Blah… No, thank you.
You don’t need to flip that switch. Instead, can I invite you to think about it this way?
- If you ever do, what are the contexts, situations, provocations, that have you flipping that switch into cold business mode? Even if you can name just one, that’s enough to start with.
So, for instance, I had a client who, when they went to write up an offer they wanted to make, that flipped the switch for them. As a consequence, their writing voice shifted from one of caring and empathy, to forced-enthusiasm, making big promises, and otherwise taking on the tone of an infomercial.
- In facing the situation that has you flipping the switch, instead of judging yourself, can you bring compassion, understanding, kindness, gentleness to yourself?
When my client faced this dynamic with compassion and kindness, they could see what they were doing, and why they were doing it. They could directly address fear around being good enough, around receiving appreciation, and also fears of survival. There was a lot of healing that came through.
- Then, ask the question: what would it look like if you could bring artistic care and love to this part of your business? What would it look like if your heart was open in the way that it is when you do… ?
After accessing healing and love and kindness, my client found that they could then write what I sometimes call a “love letter” to their clients, inviting them in. They could preserve that sense of care, even while bringing in some of the structure and focus and detail it takes to write a good offer page. As a consequence, their offer/sales pages started feeling really beautiful and compelling.
In my twenty four years of experience with this, I know for certain that there is always a way through with love with anything in business… except for the extremely rare situations when the way through with love is to discard that way of business entirely.
It may take some real gentleness and care, and patience in your heart. But it will ultimately be so much more nourishing and effective.
So, I’m curious, what business situations “flip the switch” for you. And then, what do you notice if you bring compassion, kindness and care to yourself in looking at it?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Learning Community is where we combine compassion, care and know-how.Many of the folks who join us in the Learning Community have more than one place in business where they can’t help but “flip the switch” into cold business mode… and they don’t want to. They want to stay connected with love, integrity and care.
Together, we help them unflip the switch, find the love and integrity that is possible in business, and put it into action in all the ways their business needs to thrive, and for them to feel good about it at the same time.
Currently, our Learning Community is open for new members, through October 7. There is a LOT of support in the community, and you are not left to struggle on your own at all.
We need as much love as possible in the realm of business. Let us help you fill yourself and your business with love, and bring it out into the world.
Find out more here: The Heart of Business Learning Community Ask any questions you have.
Because folks who are attracted to Heart of Business tend to have very high integrity, there is a dynamic I’ve witnessed many times, including in myself, that actually is not so healthy, and it’s like an overdose of integrity.
It happens in a few different contexts, one of which is when a business owner/practitioner is concerned that they don’t have the training or experience to properly care for their clients.
It feels tricky to talk about, because integrity is actually really important. And, there are many, many instances of people not carrying this kind of integrity, and putting themselves out there with hardly any training or experience, or none at all, and causing harm.
Although it’s rare, there are absolutely times when I’ve questioned a client about whether they have enough training, experience, or accountability to put a particular offer out. Or, I support them in being very cautious in putting out a new thing that they just don’t have the chops for yet.
However. Ahem.
There are other times when someone actually has a LOT of experience and/or training, and yet also has an overdose of integrity.
What does an overdose of integrity look like?
One way it can look is when a practitioner learns a new skill or modality, but one that is related to the other skills and modalities they carry. The overdose is the practitioner treating themselves as if they were a brand new practitioner with the new modality, offering lots of free sessions to get experience, feeling like they have to communicate really clearly how new they are at the new thing.
This is an overdose of integrity, because when you are an experienced practitioner, there are lots of skills and experiences that translate into the new modality. An experienced practitioner can pick up a new tool, and get to work with it pretty quickly and pretty proficiently.
Yes, of course there’s still a learning curve. And yes, there is some learning and cautiousness that is prudent in this situation.
But treating themselves as if they were brand new is actually doing everyone a disservice. By communicating how new they are with it, and thinking they have to do lots of free sessions, even after completing the training program and getting the nod from the trainers/certifiers, it undermines the confidence clients have in them.
What’s more, it undermines the confidence the practitioner has in themself. And, when you discard the honestly-earned confidence of experience, it undermines the skill you bring. A lack of confidence creates hesitancy and other reactions that makes you way less effective as a practitioner.
This isn’t the only situation you can overdose on integrity.
There are plenty of other situations where you can hold integrity too highly. There may be organizations, or people, who might give you opportunities for visibility, but you don’t want to compromise your integrity.
It would be easy to come up with situations where you’d absolutely be in the right to turn down opportunities because of the associations.
But… can you imagine situations where you might be tempted to turn down an opportunity because of an integrity overdose, where it wasn’t necessary to turn it down?
Right amount of integrity versus an overdose
So, how can you tell if your integrity just enough or too much? There are two ways to double-check.
The first way is to be really, sincerely honest with yourself.
If you’re making a decision to be careful, or to be in integrity, slow down. Look at you decision. Does it really make sense, considering who you are?
To put it another way: if someone else you respected was making the same decision, would you say that feels right? Or does it feel like too much?
The second way is to check in with someone you respect.
Tell someone you trust (maybe even your business coach or mentor if you have one) what you are concerned about, and what you plan to do to account for that concern. What’s their opinion?
If you are asking someone else, it’s important, of course, that you share values with them, so they are coming from the same integrity perspective. But, beyond that, you also want them to know what you’re talking about, that they are knowledgeable about the context and situation you’re concerned about.
As I said at the outset, this is a tricky topic, because integrity is so critical. In our culture we need more integrity, not less. However, if you overdose on integrity in particular circumstances, you aren’t going to be raising the overall sense of integrity in the culture, you’ll just be harming yourself.
I’m so curious how this lands for you, if it’s helpful, if you see yourself in it at all.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Next week: The Learning Community opens.Business can be tricky. Not the essentials, though. The skills, projects, actions themselves tend to be fairly straightforward, actually.
However, there is a lot that gets tangled into those. Spiritually. Emotionally. Morally. How do you do the right thing, while honoring yourself and your heart, and not collapsing in the face of a toxic marketplace?
That’s what our Learning Community is all about. Yes, we do teach you the nitty-gritty, the skills, the foundational elements that are needed to get your business going.
But, we also tend to the healing that’s needed, as well as witnessing the systemic dysfunction, the mess that we’re operating within. When you understand the mess, then you can do the healing without feeling like you’re personally responsible for everything…
So… ready to build your business, to heal your heart, to do much better?
Our Learning Community is where that happens, and we’re opening it up for new members starting next week.
You can take an early look here: The Learning Community If you have questions, please ask!
It’s wild, but I’ve seen this happen quite often. Someone has been working hard on their business, trying to get it to produce, to do well… and then it happens, money and clients coming in, success!
And… all of their motivation drains away. They stop pushing, it’s hard to keep going…
What the heck is going on? Two things, I want to address both of them.
1. Depletion deserves rest.If you’ve been working really hard on your business, it’s natural, expected to feel exhausted when you cross a finish line. Especially if you’ve been working under the pressure of the current culture, that expects you to work way too hard.
It’s one of the reasons I recommend folks rest and celebrate when hitting milestones. And to define those milestones in the first place.
Getting your business to “work” or to “succeed” is such a vague, undefined goal, and no matter how well you’re doing, there is always more.
You have to define milestones. Here are some examples:
“Making enough three months in a row to cover business expenses.”
“Making enough three months in a row to cover business and personal expenses.”
“Making enough to cover expenses and put some in savings.”
“Taking a vacation that the business paid for.”
“Getting to capacity client-wise.”
“Getting hired at the highest rate you’ve ever charged.”
There are an infinite number of others. Hitting a milestone means you should rest, you should celebrate (it doesn’t have to be extravagant), you should really embrace and acknowledge what you’ve done.
After, you will probably feel better, but your motivation might not have returned.
2. Shifting motivation fuel.Survival is a powerful fuel for motivation. At the same time, there are a surprisingly large number of people who aren’t motivated by money per se. Meaning, for many of us, me included, once a minimal level of comfort is achieved, working hard for more money doesn’t really push us to act.
This is actually healthy, there’s nothing wrong with this. Except one thing. The “minimal level of comfort” is often a miscalculation.
The feeling of comfort might arise from having good cashflow for a few months, but it doesn’t mean the business is in a truly stable place. It doesn’t mean that savings and retirement have been fully funded. It doesn’t mean that there is a prudent reserve of cash saved up.
It also doesn’t mean that you are proactively caring for the evolution of your business, so that it doesn’t become stagnant over time.
What’s needed here is a shift from survival as the motivator, to inspiration and vision and dreaming.
The good news is that inspiration and vision feel so much better. They are often gentler, even when there is urgency in the dream, it never feels like panic or push to me.
The bad news is that we don’t give a lot of priority to vision and inspiration, and because they feel different we can end up ignoring them, or at least not treating them with the care and love that is needed.
I’ll admit that I don’t live in inspiration all the time. There’s plenty of moments that survival can crop up, because I’m human, and that’s what we do.
But I can tell the difference, and often I can shift. I want you to be able to shift as well.
What I recommend.
Even if your business is still in survival, I recommend trying out these steps, because it’s way more healthier, and it gives you a different way to move forward.
And if you are coming out of, or completely out of, survival in your business, then I definitely recommend giving this some spaciousness to practice.
First, just see if you can feel the difference in your physical body, and in your spiritual heart, between inspiration and survival. This is more important than you think, because survival can be so loud, that inspiration can feel like the absence of survival panic, instead of a positive thing on its own.
Seriously. Take thirty seconds, and just see if you can connect with your dreams, your inspiration around your business, and just notice what that feels like.
Second, practice stopping when survival push comes up. The Sufis say that the only power the small-s self has is the power to cover over the truth. Survival is our small self pushing to make something happen.
Using our will power to stop that push is a step toward healing. Even if you end up taking the same actions you would have, to do it with inspiration, connected in your heart, rather than pushing from survival panic, can make a world of difference.
Third, take a task, and see if you can connect with the inspiration, the larger dream that the task is contributing to. See if you can notice how that inspiration is pulling you forward, heart-first, instead of being pushed by panic.
How does that feel? What do you notice?
Be gentle with yourself over time. Shifting from survival panic-push to inspiration is not just healing, but it’s resistance to the deadly, overly productive culture we exist within.
I’m curious to hear how this lands for you, what your experience is, and whether you have made the shift to inspiration.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Healing through Past Lives: A Free Online Workshop:from Rachel Horton WhiteFull disclosure that Rachel is an individual client of mine, and I receive zero from her in terms of affiliate or other kinds of payments. I’m sharing this simply because I know she does fantastic work, and is worth knowing.
From Rachel:
Often when we feel stuck and aware of a recurring pattern in our lives, we don’t always know how to break that pattern. In my work with clients as a hypnotherapist, I have found that the answer lies in accessing our past lives.
Come learn more about what you can learn in past lives and how it can help you in your current one! In this free virtual workshop, Healing Through Past Lives, you will hear about four specific areas that can be tapped into from a past life for healing.
Please join me in this complimentary online workshop:Healing through Past LivesSept 26, 7-8 pm EST on Zoom.
Register here to join.
(and recordings will be sent to all who sign up)!
These four areas have to do with breaking patterns, incarnating with other people, uncovering our innate gifts and learning soul lessons. Register to join this workshop on September 26, 2024 from 7-8 pm EST on Zoom (recordings will be sent to all registrants).
There will be no upsell, no offer of any kind here. I just love talking about past lives and bringing their significance to light for more people. I am looking forward to seeing you there!
Before we get into it, I wanted to mention that the wonderful Eryka Peskin is hosting me for a virtual book reading of my book, Heart Centered Business, next Thursday, September 12. Details are here.
Okay, here we go on why you might not want to base your marketing off your past clients.
When folks come to work with us, and they start crafting their marketing message and identifying their audience, they of course, naturally, look to any past clients they’ve had.
Although I get it, I also encourage them, and you as well, to slow down, and be with this.
Because here’s the problem: If you haven’t been consciously marketing to any particular kind of clients before, then the people you’re getting may not be the people you want to be reaching.
Here’s an example. A client of ours did a whole bunch of profound healing modalities, but had been only really marketing their bodywork/massage. So, nearly all of their clients were bodywork/massage clients who were stiff, or injured, and wanted massage.
The problem is that these clients rarely wanted any of the deeper healing work, and she found it really frustrating.
Our client then got themselves stuck in a loop of thinking about the clients they’d had over the past year or two, even some of their favorite ones, and yet still felt like they were having to hard sell the deeper healing work.
This is a way more common situation than you think. And, it can be so frustrating.
The really frustrating thing is that our client was actually fairly decent at bringing in massage clients, but she just didn’t want more of those. So despite having some real movement in her business, in her marketing, in her desire to reach people she really wanted to work with, she was starting pretty much from scratch.
That’s hard, emotionally! To go from a place of feeling at least somewhat competent, to really being a beginner again. How does she reach people who wanted deeper healing work? It’s a very different message than, “Hey, stiff muscles? Let me help you!”
If this is your situation, can I invite you in to a more playful, experimental attitude? While it’s beyond the scope of this short article to describe how to create an effective message, let me give you some first steps.
- Let go of your current client base. I don’t mean actually fire them- keep the money coming in and doing the good work you’re doing! But, do let go of referring to them in your heart and mind as you begin to step into reaching out more consciously.
- Start to look around- who is struggling in a way that you could really help them with what you really want to be doing? And of those, what kinds of clients are you most drawn to?
- Step into their shoes. Connect with the experience of what it is to be struggling like that, and to really want help. Can you describe that with empathy, care and love, without seeing them as broken? Seeing the struggle and seeing the perfection?
Try writing a short paragraph from that perspective. For instance, for our client, she looked around saw people struggling with intimate relationships, reproducing patterns from their family in ways that were really painful.
She ended up drafting something like this: “I see you, in a relationship with someone you really care about. But, no matter how hard you try, when things get difficult, you end up acting just like one or both of your parents, or someone else in your family. It’s causing so much struggle unnecessarily, and it may even sink your relationship. You love your family, you love your partner, but you need to find a way through that doesn’t have you accidentally bringing the worst of your family to your partner…”
Rough, but not bad. Empathetic, but not making the potential client feel broken. Seeing the best in them, and also seeing the struggle. Nuanced, embracing, and VERY different than the clients that she had been seeing.
Although, as I said, there’s more to it than that, that paragraph is a great start.
If you take a few minutes, without any expectation that you’re going to arrive at a final, perfect anything, but just play with the three steps I list above, what do you get? Especially knowing that any group you start to think about doesn’t have to be your final choice.
Let’s get you out of the rut of clients that aren’t getting or asking the best of you, and instead see you with a business full of people who love all the gifts you have to bring.
With love,
Mark
Small group coaching?I’m currently running a small group coaching group, and thinking of starting a second group. If you’re interested, let me know. I’m thinking no more than four people…
Take a look. Small group coaching.
There’s an interesting dynamic that comes up, not with everyone, but with a significant number of people, and keeps them from marketing or otherwise making their business better.
It’s this: guilt about waiting lists. Or, really, guilt about saying no. They are imagining if they develop their business, they will be overwhelmed, flooded with people that they can’t say “no” to.
People in this category have a deep caring for folks, like many of us, and it’s hard to say “no” to someone who needs the help.
However, that’s a complicated mess to be unconsciously undermining or restricting your business to avoid maybe, potentially saying no, or not right now, to someone.
No shame. No shame. Just… awareness. If you think this may be going on for you… let’s talk about it.
I support you in not overwhelming your schedule.
I don’t want you scheduling clients all over the place, being so jam-packed you can’t breathe, you lose spontaneity, or the ability to do what you really love. I’m an absolute no to all of that.
So, a few things. Three things in particular.
One: Developing your business rarely opens floodgates.
Although it does happen, it’s rare that someone will get their messaging right, and all the other parts of their business and then, boom, overnight, there’s an avalanche of clients.
Much more normally you see a trickle gradually increase to a flow. By the time it gets to a flood, you’ve had time to adjust, to make choices, to figure things out.
Two: Waiting lists are an okay thing to have.
Let’s say you do get a flood, and there are twenty people trying to get into ten client slots you have.
First, you can allow yourself to only work with people who are the perfect fit. In this situation you can, without worrying about your survival, refer out folks that are more of a stretch. That you could work with, and would, in leaner times, but can let go of in a situation like this.
Then, with the folks who are left, maybe a few have to wait? Maybe it would be nice to have a few people on a wait list, ready to take a spot when someone completes? And maybe it’s a healthy response in an unhealthy culture, to support the cultivation of patience, of spaciousness. of timing.
Maybe some would be grateful to be on a waiting list?
Three: “No” is a sacred practice.
In Sufism, in Islam, a central statement is La ilaha illa’llah. It means that there is nothing but the Divine, nothing but the Oneness. And it begins with an emphatic No! La!
That No! is saying “no” to illusion, and saying yes to the truth. The truth is, you only have so much space in your life, and there are only so many clients you can take and still bring care and love to each of them.
Practicing the sacred No, which is really saying Yes to the truth, is needed in business and life. In early stages of business, you say Yes to whatever you can, to get the energy flowing, to be in the spirit of play and experimentation, to try things out, to make it work. Yes!
But, as the business develops and becomes something more solid, dependable, effective, something that can actually work, that can actually support you in thriving, you learn to say No.
We do this in life all the time, “I say no to this, so I can say Yes to that.” It’s a healthy ability to develop.
In this instance, in your business, the Sacred No, is such a powerful practice to take on.
Don’t stop your business from thriving.
If you’re aware that you’re holding yourself back because you’re worried about being overwhelmed by success, it’s okay, it’s understandable. And, don’t let an unconscious reaction keep your business from thriving.
Relax into the awareness that making your business work will probably not unleash an immediate flash flood of overwhelm. That you will have time to adjust.
And, embrace the sacred No! So you can say Yes to the business you want.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Marketing to Strangers is one of those things…I’d love it if this course could unleash a flash flood of immediate new clients on you, but, the truth is, it probably won’t. But, what it will do is allow you to really get how marketing works, and how to work it work with your own values, personality and strengths… and how to enjoy it! Have fun with it!
And then you’ll see the flow start to increase.
We start Tuesday. Sept. 3. Pay from the heart pricing. Join us!
Take a look: Marketing to Strangers
Today I have something that is almost more of a tip than any deep strategy or understanding.
I had a client want me to look at one of their promotions, and they sent me something that looked like this, that was at the bottom of their weekly email:
Name of class. Information about the class, more info, more info… several sentences that all read well, and were perfectly fine, and interesting, and well-written. There were actually a few sentences in the description, and I didn’t have really any edits. It was from the heart, it was concise, and there you go. And pertinent. It really was a fine promotion at the end of her email. And then my client mentioned that there were only two spots left in italics. And had the link to the program here.
If you’re communicating in any way, I want you to understand a simple thing that is way too easy to overlook.
Design is how your audience accesses your heart.
Now, when I use the word “design” I don’t mean fancy, expensive design, although it can include that, and sometimes it’s really, really worth it.
But honestly, what I mean at its most simple, is just giving some thought to how people are reading/accessing your words.
This world is distracting. Assume that the person reading your email, or post, is distracted, and may bounce away and come back to what you are writing a few times.
The design, the format, how you present your words can make the difference between someone getting it and just totally skipping by.
Dark clothes at the side of the ride on a stormy night
When we’re working hard on crafting our content, we’re intimate with every word. We think everything is extremely visible.
We’re the person standing on the side of the road, after dark, in dark clothes. Those oncoming cars with bright headlights absolutely can see us because, hey, it’s us. I’m super aware of myself, I’m a full grown person, so naturally they are, too.
Except they aren’t. They don’t see you, except at the last second as they flash past, if they see you at all. That’s why reflective clothing, and/or standing well back from the edge of the road is safest.
Good news: Effective design changes can be super simple.
Thankfully, you don’t have to resort to neon to have your words read. But, some simple changes that you can do can make a huge difference.
Let me give you a few things to think about:
- Center-justified text is hard to read in paragraph form. You want always left-justified.
- We’re trained to think of italics as something that isn’t important, a footnote, something that we can ignore. Only use italics for single words or extremely short phrases to give them emphasis… if at all.
- Too many color changes make for challenging reading, because every time there’s a big color change, the brain has to adjust to it.
- If your favorite color is not dark and clear, no matter how beautiful it is, don’t use it for text. Dark black, dark blue, dark green, dark, with the most contrast possible against a light background, just makes for easier reading.
- Subheads help people who are skimming, or distracted and trying to come back, re-enter your text easily.
- The link is the THING. If you want someone to click, make the link super visible.
- Your most important point, put it at the top, right under the headline, or make it the headline.
Here’s the changes I suggested for my client:
Name of class.Only two spots left.Information about the class, more info, more info… several sentences that all read well, and were perfectly fine, and interesting, and well-written. There were actually a few sentences in the description, and I didn’t have really any edits.
It was from the heart, it was concise, and there you go. And pertinent. It really was a fine promotion at the end of her email.
Take a look: Name of program as link to the sales page
Note that I suggested: make a subhead with the name of the class, the two spots left which is what they wanted to emphasize in bold right under it, the text about the offer is left-justified, and broken up into two smaller paragraphs, and the link to the program is in bold, on it’s own line, with a clear invitation to click.
You rarely need sophisticated, usually just kindness and empathy.
These kinds of simple changes can make a world of different in readability. Plus, there is a deep kindness in them, because you are thinking about the environment they are in, and making it as easy as possible on them to access what you’re saying.
This is even more important when you are trying to convey something nuanced, or complex. Making the format easy removes one more piece of friction, so they can put their full attention on actually taking in what you’re saying.
What simple design changes do you do, or do you notice, to make your work easier to read?
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Instagram?Okay, this is strange- I can be a really late adopter, and honestly, we’ve had this IG account for a long time… but only recently started doing anything with it.
I’m actually looking to be joyful with it, experimenting with MUCH shorter videos, and wanting to play with collaborations with folks in a more informal way. It should be fun!
Anyway, if you like ‘gram and want to connect with me there, here we are:
@heart_of_biz
Marketing to StrangersYou know that marketing is something you have to do. it doesn’t have to be gross, it doesn’t have to be scary. It can be fun. It can be in alignment with your values.
Join me? Five week course, pay from the heart pricing. Tested with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of clients over the years.
Starts in September.
Check it out: Marketing to Strangers
My friend and colleague Chris Zydel, who teaches Wild Heart Intuitive Painting, had posted this on socials:
“Some of the most important work that I do can never be talked about because I simply can’t find the words.”
And it’s not that Chris isn’t incredibly thoughtful, articulate and coherent about her work, because she is, and has been for decades.
But, this sparked some thoughts in me about the magic of our work. I say “our” because your work is probably also complex, nuanced, mysterious, magical, spiritual, profound, and ineffable.
Ineffable. It can’t really be talked about. So how the heck are you going to offer it?
So many people fall into the mistake of trying to describe how they do what they do. To try to tell the recipe for the special sauce.
Don’t do it. Don’t even try it. It’s not necessary. And… there’s a deep problem with it.
The problem is this: that magic isn’t meant to be packaged and sold. It’s a beautiful mysterious thing.
And if you think me, the heart centered business guy who has been doing this gig for nearly 24 years, is saying that you can’t package and sell your services, then you haven’t been paying attention…
What I am saying is that there is no possibility, and no need, to talk about the ineffable.
Instead, we focus on empathy. Connection. Safety. Helping people feel truly seen. And letting them know we understand what they are wrestling with.
The ineffable magic… when they feel seen, and they feel safe, and they feel like what you have is relevant… they’ll approach.
And then they’ll feel it. The Magic. And that is how it works…
Stop attempting to talk about the ineffable. It’s ineffable for a reason. Shhhhhhhh…..
love,
Mark
Marketing Your Magic to StrangersIn case you missed it, yesterday we let folks know that our next course, Marketing to Strangers, is open for registration.
Now, this is the realm where so much ugly can collide. The impossibility of talking about your magic. The need to be seen by new people for your business to thrive. The incredibly vulnerability of putting yourself out there. And the disgusting grossness that is so much marketing.
Whew… not fun.
Idea: Let’s make it fun. Seriously.
The course starts September 3. Pay from the heart pricing. Powerful. Simple, approachable. Heart-centered. Effective.
Take a look: Marketing to Strangers
Recently, when I did the video on “when clients keep taking and taking” someone wrote in, “At first, I thought you had written “talking and talking’…”
Right! That’s an equally good topic, for similar reasons. It is so easy to hurt people unintentionally, which is not a great way to be in the world, of course. And it undermines your business. Why lose clients?
And, if you have a team and employees, this works the exact same way with them.
Here you go:
Have you tried something like this? Does it feel do-able? Are the situations you can imagine, or have been in, where you don’t think it would work?
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Next week- Marketing to StrangersJust a heads-up that next week we begin enrollment for our next course, one that runs in September into early October, called Marketing to Strangers.
It’s exactly what it sounds like- how to market your business to strangers, in ways that feel really good, are in integrity, and actually work.
I hope August is treating you and your business well.
If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced clients who take a lot. They want appointments all over the calendar, they want flexibility on price, and maybe other things.
If you don’t handle this, it can create a lot of resentment. But, the way I see a lot of business owners try to protect themselves really just pushes people away, and undermines the business.
So, what to do? Let’s talk about it.
If this is you, and you watched the video, what comes up? What do you notice?with love,Mark Silver, M.Div.Heart of Business, Inc.Every act of business can be an act of love.When you get beyond group programs and classesMy individual clients tend to have four things in common:
- They are past start-up. They aren’t brand new in business, and have confidence in what they do.
- They are beyond bare survival level. They may have their challenges with finances, although some don’t at all, but they have enough to be able to focus on long-term strategy.
- They have a spiritual commitment in their life. They aren’t new to spiritual practice, or concepts like healthy humility and spiritual surrender.
- They have something significant they are up to. I’m not really moved by hype around “empire building” (oy.) But, the business could be significantly better, or bigger, or easier, or having more impact.
If this is you, and you’re intrigued by the idea of working with me directly, individually, well I’m curious to know more.
I love the work I do with the handful of clients I care for. I’ve recently had some folks complete after more than a year of working with me. If you think you and I would have a blast working together, and you’d love my expert care on your business, let’s talk.
Read this page: Organic Business Development Program Fill out the form on that page so I can learn about what’s going on for you.
And then let’s talk and see what’s true.
When you’re self-employed, or otherwise have some control over your schedule, it seems like sometimes folks feel free to just ask you for help, even when they know (or should know) that you’re working.
They don’t bother those who have office jobs. Why do they bother you?
And it’s not like you don’t want to help, but it’s hard to hold a line, especially when you don’t have an appointment with a client or someone else… even though you have plenty to do.
Let’s talk about it.
Is this helpful in knowing how to relate to your work day? And how to set important boundaries? I’m curious to hear how it lands.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
What do you do when friends, community, loved ones want your services for free, but you’re trying to make a living doing them? And of course you want to be able to give to them, and you also need to pay for your life.
How do you draw the line?
This is an important question. We need to be generous and care for each other but, yes, you also need to make a living.
Come walk with me. Let’s talk about it.
Where do you land on this question after this discussion? What comes up for you? Any questions?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
When you get beyond group programs and classesMy individual clients often have somewhat different issues than folks in our courses.
They often have businesses that have real movement and income in them. Sometimes they are looking to retire, or sell. Sometimes they are looking to train others in what they do. Sometimes they want an otherwise robust business to be MUCH easier to run without losing revenue. They want to hire others to help in their business, but they don’t want to swamp themselves with expenses and payroll.
Other times they are facing profound spiritual questions around why they are doing it, and what they want from the next chapter of their life. But they don’t want to blow up what they already have.
Sometimes they want to be way more out there with their own spiritual work, but they are afraid of scaring off their client base, or they think they need to make radical changes in what they are doing.
I love the work I do with the handful of clients I care for. I’ve recently had some folks complete after more than a year of working with me. If you think you and I would have a blast working together, and you’d love my expert care on your business, let’s talk.
Read this page: Organic Business Development Program
Fill out the form on that page so I can learn about what’s going on for you.
And then let’s talk and see what’s true.
I saw someone out in the wilds of social media, struggling to understand why they were only getting a 5% response to an offer they put out. I figured you folks here might be interested in what my response would be.
There are many people who have really unrealistic sense of what a “good response” is with marketing or promotion.
And, it’s understandable. For many, the only experience we have with invitations is inviting friends to a party, and that tends to get really high engagement.
For instance, this person had announced a potential offer idea to their social media followers, and had 22 people say they were interested. Then, when it came time to actual sign up for the offer, at a low-cost or donation-based price, only one person said Yes. Which is technically not 5%, but 4.54%. But hey, close enough.
Now, I get it. Having 1 person say yes to an offer is disheartening, especially if you have a lot of enthusiasm for it. However, from a different perspective, it’s a fantastic response.
What an offer needs to be successful.
There are a number of things an offer needs to have a chance to be successful. You don’t need all of these perfectly, but, they are all important.
To be successful making an offer:
– One needs an audience that is already interested in the topic.
The example above had 22 people.
– The person offering needs to have a relationship of trust with that audience.
The example I’m using had that. The 22 who raised their hand as interested were already part of their social media connections, not strangers.
– One needs a clear offer. Meaning one that is not only clear in terms of the logistics, but super clear on who it’s for, and what it helps/speaks to, the problem it solves, and the results it’s aiming at. And yes, I get that transformational work can’t promise specific results, yet desired outcomes and intentions can be talked about with integrity.
Yes, the offer in the example was pretty clear, from my point of view.
– There needs to be multiple invites over a period of time. People need to go through a process of decision-making, and unless they are reminded, will forget to complete the process of decision-making. How many invites? More than you are thinking of. More than that.
The example only really had one invite, I think, maybe two. The person reached out to the 22 who were interested and gave them a personal invite. I’m not sure if they followed up or not. If they did, it was once.
– An easy way to respond.
The example had a pretty easy way to respond.
I don’t want you to feel discouraged or overwhelmed by this. As I said, you don’t have to do it perfectly. But, all of this really just helps clarity and ease emerge for your offer.
Many people incorrectly assume it’s the price, or “the market is saturated” or something else for why they aren’t getting the response. But, very often, the way the offer is being put out there is where people are getting tripped up.
And, even with all of that, a 5% response of an engaged audience is actually really good. It’s actually considered a very high percentage response.
Members of the audience that already trust and like you, and the offer is relevant to them, need to also:
– Have the financial resources available.
– Have the time free on their schedule.
– It needs to be a current high priority for them.
I’ve seen people get really discouraged at a 5% response… when, in fact, that’s good!
5% of 100 people is 5. 5% of 500 is 25. 5% of 1000 is 50.
You can see why it’s important to build audience, so you can reach enough people, so the pressure isn’t on any particular individual.
Where’s the heart in all of this?
If we’re having a gathering at our home, we take care to prepare for it. We clean the house, especially the bathroom, we prepare food and drinks, even if it’s a potluck folks are bringing things. And we try to be thoughtful about when we’re scheduling it for, thinking about when our friends tend to be free.
To invite people in to an offer, you want to give some thoughtfulness and care. People are busy, often overwhelmed. You want to make things as easy and clear for them as possible.
And, because you’re hoping to make money from it, it’s helpful if you aren’t bringing the emotional pressure of your financial survival onto a small number of people.
You can’t help it so much in the early stages of business, but it’s one of the reasons why you want to gather a reasonably-sized audience. This makes it easier to be gracious with each person you’re inviting, and not be attached to whether they say yes or no.
It’s also why I often recommend strongly that early in business people focus on enrolling 1-1 clients, if it’s appropriate. With individual clients, you don’t have to have everyone available at the same time, you can often charge more per person, and feel better doing it, and you don’t even have to be focused on exactly the same topics. The customized nature of individual work makes it easier when you have a smaller audience.
You don’t have to do this, and if you hate it, there are other options. But, if it’s possible, even if it’s not your favorite mode, it makes it much easier to get to sustainable levels of income, while you’re developing your business to be successful potentially with other modes, like groups or other kinds of offers.
It’s also why I recommend, when it’s in integrity to do it, having offers that last longer. It does take a fair bit of focus and effort to have a successful enrollment, and if you are only enrolling people for a single session or for a 4 week class, then by the time it finishes you need to jump back into enrollment mode… and that can be exhausting.
You can do it. But if you take on unrealistic notions of what is involved, you’ll be disappointed even when you’re doing well, and you’ll misunderstand what needs to be improved–for instance, thinking it’s the price, when actually it’s the audience size.
Be kind to yourself and embrace what a good response actually looks like. It’s okay that it takes time to develop a robust and sustainable business. You really can do it!
p.s. Webinar – Trust and Courage in business (and life)Sometimes it’s these inner, emotional, spiritual issues that tangle us up the most, and have a big impact on whether we are able to move our businesses forward.
One of those issues, actually two, is trust and courage. They are deeply related to each other, and in a non-obvious way. There are so many non-helpful ways people try to work with trust and courage in business, and people get stuck quite frequently.
May I suggest a Sufi approach to these two? I’m holding a no-cost/no-upsell webinar: Spiritual Truths about Trust and Courage in Business.
Tuesday, July 16, 2:30pm eastern. About 30 minutes.
Details are here. You get the recording if you register, and yes, please share it with anyone you know.
This is another of those perennial subjects that consistently comes up with our clients. They get caught up, understandably, with attempts to prove their expertise, thinking that will bring in clients.
And it doesn’t.
It’s not that you don’t have to show yourself as competent, but it’s not the reason why people will spend money with you.
Fairly quick video, if you’ll join me in the woods. About five minutes:
Incidentally, this is the reason why getting another degree, or more letters behind your name rarely helps increase revenue or otherwise bring in clients.
How does this land with you? What do you notice? What sparks for you about how you’ve been trying to get clients?
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Have you read Heart Centered Business?One relatively low-commitment way to take a deep dive with our work is to check out my book, Heart Centered Business: Healing from toxic business culture so your small business can thrive.
It starts like this: “if you have negative feelings about business, you should. I do not want you to “get over” them. Your upset is justified.”
The deep desire I have for readers of the book is to deeply trust your own heart, while coming into a much healthier relationship with business and your business, and to understand how a heart-centered business can develop in integrity.
Pam Slim, author of Escape from Cubicle Nation and the The Widest Net, said, “Mark Silver is one of the rarest of guides who combines deep business knowledge and experience with liberatory values and spiritual practices. Heart Centered Business will show you that you do not have to trade your well-being, ethics or values to have a thriving and sustainable business.
So… maybe get the book?
Bookshop.org, Amazon Adlibris
p.p.s. I’d love to speak to your group, community, organizationIf you have a group, an organization, a community, I’d love to speak to them, deep dives into any number of topics including Ethical Pricing and Pay from the Heart, Spiritual truths about ethical, effective sales, or Trashing toxic marketing.
Large groups, small groups, in-between. Podcasts, or we can organize a webinar private just for your group.
Just reply and we’ll figure out the details with you.
I was talking to a member of our Learning Community. They had asked a question about an aspect of developing their marketing, and I answered with this caveat: “Okay, so this is what I know of strategy [followed by my explanation]… if you have strong guidance, go with your guidance, instead of the strategy I outlined. However, you may find that the guidance doesn’t completely contradict the strategy, but rather tweaks it.”
What did I mean?
For some heart-centered folks, strategy has come to mean cold and machine-like. That if you’re being strategic, you are disconnected from the relationships that you care about.
I tell new clients this when we start: “If I’m giving you advice, I will let you know whether I’m getting a spiritual hit or download, or if I’m coming from my strategic knowledge. Or if it’s a combination.”
I often find myself telling clients, “Okay, so the strategy I would ordinarily suggest is X. However, when I say that, it doesn’t feel completely appropriate in your situation. Let’s listen more deeply.”
Maybe it would be helpful if I defined what I mean by strategy.
Most people define strategy this way: a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a goal.
I want to expand that. This is what I mean by strategy:
“Strategy is an expression of accumulated wisdom and experience from interacting with this Divinely-sourced world.”
For instance, we have learned that tomato plants fruit really well with support, and they need less water later in the season. So, part of the strategy for growing tomatoes is to use cages, and to back off on watering once the tomatoes start to develop.
There is a tremendous amount of wisdom and experience in how people interact with each other, how and why people respond to certain things, like your business’ messaging, as well as how businesses develop in general.
So I think of strategy as this larger river that we are in, a current of movement that we’re held within, and is absolutely important to pay attention to.
What, then, is guidance?
Guidance is not just a whim of spiritual insight, although sometimes it can feel that way, and even function that way. If you’re in a river, the larger current is flowing downstream in a fairly predictable way, but there’s a rock or a log in your path, creating swirls and eddies that send you in other directions, even upstream for short periods.
Your heart guidance can function that way.
I define guidance this way: The heart insight that helps to mediate our relationship with the larger flow of strategy, based on where we are, and how the Divine wants to move us.
Why is this important?
There is toxic business advice, which tells us to do things in ways that actively harm others. Not ever good.
However, I’ve seen folks who, because they’ve encountered toxic business advice, become reactive to anything strategic, and automatically give priority to any thoughts, feelings or flashes of guidance that goes against strategy.
I’d prefer for you to be more resourced and resilient than that. I want you to lean into the larger accumulated wisdom and experience of the collective, to understand the overall flow of the river, when developing your business.
Examples
So, for instance, a member of the Learning Community wasn’t feeling great about the strategic idea of speaking to the problem or challenge that their client was facing. They would have rather used more inspirational language.
The reaction was to ditch all the advice about the concrete language, and speak to dreams and inspiration. Unfortunately, no one responded to that language.
Listening more deeply, embracing the strategic wisdom that people want to be witnessed for what they are going through, but also listening to their own guidance, our member realized that they just wanted to avoid speaking to extreme despair and collapse. That it actually felt okay in the heart to witness some of the challenges, but didn’t want to speak to people who had absolutely no hope and were completely collapsed. That wasn’t something they had the skill or desire to care for.
So, they could bring in some hopeful language, for sure, and still witness some of the challenges. And that was WAY more effective in getting people’s attention and having them respond.
Guidance and Strategy don’t have to be at odds with each other.
It doesn’t help to be in a constant upstream struggle with the river. But, it can help to be aware of both the river, and your own particular context. Listening deeply within the context of understanding strategy helps you navigate with a lot more precision.
This may be a big question, but I’m curious if you’re aware of the larger wisdom of strategy in an area of your business, and if you have examples of guidance you’ve received that tweaks your relationship with that strategy without making you try to swim upstream?
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Where we integrate guidance and strategy.This is the kind of work we do in our Learning Community. It’s profound, but it’s also very simple and accessible. It’s deeply nourishing, and deeply practical.
You won’t be left alone to struggle, and you won’t be pushed to do things your business doesn’t need.
Join us? We’re open for new members through July 1. Read what’s included, and if you have questions, please ask.
Here: The Heart of Business Learning Community
A Learning Community member who had learned a new modality to add to their bag of tricks- they already had a business and plenty of training and skills- shared what the trainers at the new modality suggested.
They had suggested to her that she start low priced monthly groups to build community and start her practice, to draw people in who were interested in what she was now doing.
She wanted to know how best to go about that. My answer?
“Don’t do that.”I told her the advice she was receiving was great to help spread word of that modality, but it’s not usually the best, to put it delicately, for helping her build an audience and add to her paying clients.
There are a lot of standard practices out there in different communities of practitioners, things like the monthly practice groups, the drop-in classes, or the full-on sample sessions. Nearly all of them are not effective ways to build your business.
These things became standard practices despite how ineffective they are, for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that early folks probably had some limited success with these approaches. But, no one was there to analyze why they had success.
Was it the actual thing itself? Or maybe that particular person had other things going for them? Maybe they were a natural connector, and everyone knows them and loves them for other reasons. Maybe they were particularly young, or attractive, or had some other privilege working for them. Maybe there was nothing else like that going on, and it filled a need in the local community.
Regardless, there’s no real understanding about why it might have been successful in a limited way. And the fact that many other practitioners struggle despite trying the same strategies hasn’t shifted the advice.
The second reason is that jumping into a strategy bypasses the work of figuring out who you’re actually trying to reach. Are you trying to reach people who are interested in a particular modality? Probably not.
More likely, you actually want to reach people who need help with something that the modality helps with.
It’s the difference between gathering people who are interested in chiropractic per se, versus reaching out to people who have chronic pain and mobility issues related to back problems.
The first group has an interest in the modality, but doesn’t necessarily need the services. They are coming for connection, for community, for curiosity, but not because they need help. The second group needs help, and is much more likely to become paying clients.
If a modality has to do with teaching healthy communication, for instance, do you want to draw people in who are interested in the topic of healthy communication? Or would it maybe be better to draw in those who are struggling in their relationships because they keep getting into arguments with people they love?
The first group might become a good book club. The second group will pay you money to get help.
It’s challenging. I get it.Being proactive and naming an audience, an issue, finding that kind of clarity, it’s definitely not easy, at least not for everyone.
But it’s necessary. Without it, the vast majority of businesses will never gain traction.
Once you have that, will the strategies work then?Maybe… maybe not. What most of our clients find is that once they get clear on their audience, who they are trying to reach, then there are strategies that make sense for them, based on the audience, their own personality and needs, and their business plans.
The key here is that strategies shouldn’t just be slapped on willy-nilly. That you need to understand why they might or might not work, and what else is needed to be effective.
At the heart of all of this is your own heart, and the heart of your business. Your authenticity, what you care about, what you love to do and have natural skills for are all part of the story.
I want your business to succeed, and the only way it can do that is if there’s a combination of your own authenticity and heart plus effective business strategies that best fit you.
I’m curious what your own experience has been with this topic. And if you have any pushback or questions?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Why the Learning Community isn’t quite openWe were going to open our Learning Community this week, but someone on our team had a family need arise, and so to make it easier on everyone, we pushed it back until next week. Because, why make it harder? We’re here to love and care for one another, right?
About our Learning Community. It’s a place of healing and love, as well as a place of learning strategy, and getting it done.
One of our members was talking about the work they’ve done to get clear on their audience, and how powerful and effective it was at getting clients.
And not just effective, but it was a great focus for prayer, intention, and love. It brought a sense of intimacy and care that was already in their work, but it brought it into their marketing as well.
Next week we can welcome you in! We’re in there with you, helping your business develop.
Take a look.
Click: Heart of Business Learning Community
I was talking to one of my clients recently, and we were working on his individual client offer page. He likes being flexible on pricing with clients, and he works with individuals all over the globe, many of whom have different currency exchange rates with the U.S. dollar, so set pricing doesn’t fully make sense for his clientelle.
He wanted folks to know he was flexible in his pricing, but he also wasn’t completely flexible, meaning he had minimums that he had to receive for it to make sense at all.
It’s a tall order, finding the language for something like this, and his first attempt was going to actually push clients away. I want to explain the language he used, why it doesn’t work, and at least one approach that works better.
The language he used.
In the section of his page about how much he charges, he used the phrase, “I don’t have set pricing.” Which is true, he doesn’t.
However, he started with that sentence, but then followed up a paragraph later with what his range is, which includes a significant minimum.
A recipe for disappointment.
When we’re vague, or inaccurate, in our language, what happens is that the reader fills in the vagueness with something much more concrete.
A phrase like, “I don’t have set pricing,” and the person reading it says, “Oh, maybe I can pay $50/hour!” Which is WAY under his minimum, by the way.
Other kinds of phrases that create the same issues:
- “I have many flexible scheduling options.” Oh, maybe I can schedule on Friday nights?!
- “We have a generous refund policy.” Oh, I can use it as much as I like, and then return it for a refund!?
- “Not all of my clients schedule regularly.” Oh, I can schedule maybe once every other month?!
The disappointment sets in because you, as the business owner, actually have more clarity than you are communicating. My client did have set pricing, even though there was flexibility within a range. Someone may have flexible scheduling options, but not infinitely flexible.
This causes a surprising amount of heartbreak in a client.
It’s surprising, because the truth is, most clients would be fine with the clarity that you already have. But, because they had a chance to create their own reality, without knowing yours, they aren’t just facing your own clarity, they are comparing their imagined, desired version, with your clarity.
And that’s what causes the disappointment.
If you start with clarity, “I have set pricing, that is flexible within a range, from a minimum of X to a maximum of Y.” Then the client’s response is going to be, “Oh, got it. That makes sense. Thanks for the flexibility.” They didn’t have time to imagine their own version, so there’s nothing to compare it to.
The vagueness unfortunately does give them time to create their own version, and that’s where the comparison, and the disappointment comes in.
Why does vagueness creep in to our language?
There are some of the standard reasons, like just not taking the time to write it out, or feeling a little confused about how to best word it.
Yet, I think one of the biggest issues is that it’s vulnerable to be clear. Clarity means you are setting a boundary. You are, in effect, saying No to certain things. It’s vulnerable to claim your power in this way.
It’s also vulnerable to think about what someone else’s reactions might be. if you’re clear about your limits and boundaries, will they still sign up?
All of this is valid. Some people won’t be able to meet your boundaries. They don’t have the cash, or they are only available Fridays at 8pm. Early in business, when things are slow, it can be okay to take clients who pay much less, or whose schedule doesn’t best match yours, if it’s honestly helping you get energy moving.
However, if you make those choices, know they aren’t sustainable. That to have a thriving business you will eventually need to set your clarity on what will work best for you, week in and week out.
Also, realize you’re asking your clients to be deeply vulnerable with you, bringing their needs, and their heart to you for support, whatever it is you do for them. It seems just fair to also be vulnerable and clear with them.
It’s also important to realize that yes, people will choose what’s most convenient for them if they do have the option. However, if you don’t give them the option, so, so many people are really okay fitting into your boundaries.
Your clients are adults, they get it. They understand.
The main thing you want to avoid here is creating the situation where they think they can choose their most convenient, most desirable option, but then you deny them a few paragraphs later, or when you’re in conversation with them.
To look at the vague phrases above, here are versions that avoid vagueness:
- “My client hours are generally Wednesday through Saturday between 10am and 5pm.”
- “Our refund policy allows you to dig in to the material for a couple of weeks, and if it’s not working for you, we’re happy to refund you. Details are below.”
- “I know not everyone has a consistent schedule, so as long as we’re scheduling at least 6 times within 3 months, with no more than a 3 week gap between appointments, we can make your schedule work, and still get the consistency with me to get results.”
The two things to watch out for.
The first thing to watch out for is using adjectives in place of clarity. Words like “flexible” or “generous.” If you find those kinds of words, replace them with the clarity that is true for you.
The second thing to watch out for is just leaving out the clarity. When you wrote that, what did you actually mean? What kind of clarity do you already have, or can you find for yourself?
And if you simply aren’t clear at all, make a guess, or be vague. In this case, it’s an honest vagueness, because you literally don’t know yet. But, as you start to see clients, and gain clarity, “Oh not, I can’t take any more clients at $50 session.” Or, “Oh no way, I can’t do Friday nights any more.” Then, bring the clarity into your language.
Face your vulnerability, with kindness and care. And lean into the truth that people are generally good, and get it. And there are plenty, plenty of clients who can fit into your own clear needs, gladly.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Soon… soon… the Learning Community opens.I was just reading a post from one of our members who recounted finding a depth of healing that she hadn’t found elsewhere, and how it was opening up her business and life. I’m leaving out details to preserve confidentiality, but suffice to say, that healing is what makes it possible to actually do business with heart.
In the article above, I mentioned vulnerability. We feel so vulnerable in business. So many bad business practices arise out of just wanting to avoid being vulnerable.
But vulnerability, love, and healing are what give you the most direct access to nourishing business practices.
And we have both. Healing and the details of business.
We only open up at certain times, so we can preserve the container of the community. Take a look, and know we’ll be opening up around the middle of the month.
Heart of Business Learning Community
Today’s topic isn’t really a question that gets asked, but it’s more of a trend or a habit I see out in the world of business. It has to do with how hard we make it for ourselves, and I got a specific lens on this through what I’ve learned of the life of Rabi’a of Basra, who is one of the more famous of the Sufi saints.
I think this topic is particularly worth listening to. I see people just making things way too hard for themselves, without really meaning to. It’s not to say that developing a business is not legitimately challenging at times, because it is.
But, if you watch this video, maybe you can get a sense if this is operating in your own relationship with your business.
When you look at your own relationship to your business, and any rocks you may be trying to sleep on, what do you notice?
peace
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Heart Centered BusinessJust recently two different people told me that they’ve read my book, Heart Centered Business, through TWICE, and then keep going back to it as an anchor, and neither of them was my mom. (Although, to be fair, I don’t think my mom has read through the book entirely even once.)
As an author, that’s thrilling news. I want the book to be used, devoured. The teachings and learnings in it are the result of a lot of tears and sweat over the last TWENTY PLUS YEARS, working with our own business and thousands business owners, individually, in groups and classes, and in our community.
So, celebrating that people are digging in with it the way I would dream of.
You can grab your copy here:https://heartcenteredbusinessbook.com
A client was creating a fantastic piece of content for their audience. Great storytelling, a great lesson and insight, powerful, pretty concise.
And then they got to the “how to” part of the content, the steps the reader was supposed to take for themselves.
Totally normal, but the how-to steps were completely overwhelming. I see this all the time, and it’s really messing with your relationship with your audience, and undermining your ability to get clients.
Let’s talk about it.
Let’s be honest. Has your how to content been a little overwhelming, as mine used to be? What do you see when you look at your own stuff?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Two shout outs:(And I don’t get any kind of referral fee for these. I just think you should know about them.)
First: My friend Michael’s classic: The Coaching HabitIf you want to talk about easy to apply how-to content, Michael Bungay-Stanier, my friend and former brain trust buddy, is a master at taking complicated ideas, simplifying them, and making them easily applicable.
You know how you have a good friend, and then you encounter some of their work, and you say to yourself, “Holy moly, this work is incredible. Is this same, down-to-earth, goofy, big hearted I love?” With Michael, yes it is.
Michael is offering some fantastic training in June. Buy a print copy of The Coaching Habit between May 14 and 20th, register at TCHLive.com, and you’ll get access to three live webinars (and recordings). The Coaching Habit’s not only a deeply helpful book, but Michael’s a world class trainer. His sessions are always practical, engaging, and fun. This training for the price of a book? A no-brainer.
But the deal closes May 20th, so don’t dilly-dally. Register at TCHLive.com
Second: A new friend, Chloé Nwangwu, and her Visibility Clinic May 22I met Chloe through a mutual colleague, and we immediately clicked. We were talking about Sufism, about social justice and how incredibly amazing people are under-recognized because of a whole lot of systemic crap.
She’s really good at visibility stuff, especially for folks who are traditionally unseen, under-recognized, under-appreciated. She’s worked with small island nations, and the first refugee delegation to the United Nations, as well as small businesses like black-owned mom and pop shops. She started out as an international conflict mediator, and discovered that it’s a really powerful foundation for being a brand scientist.
So, I wanted you to know about her Visibility Clinic coming up May 22.
You can find out more about the clinic, and about Chloé, here:
May 22 Visibility Clinic
I was talking with a member of our Learning Community about a referral opportunity for her business, and the difficulty she had getting a meeting to discuss it with the person in question.
And there was something that opened the door to the meeting. So let me explain.
This may seem simple, and it is. But it’s also powerful and effective. What do you notice as you take in this perspective?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Opening the door to paying clientsThis coming Tuesday, Sacred Selling begins, and I’ll be leading a live cohort through some very profound, nourishing, and practical teachings on how to handle the sales conversation.
But, it’s more than that. Over the years people have told me this course is deeply healing, and at least one client has said it’s the course that’s made the biggest difference to them. Many people have told me how widely the teachings apply, to every relationship.
That’s because we’ve not teaching you to sell in every relationship. Instead, we’re bringing human and Divine connection into the sales conversation, converting it from a battlefield to a place of healthy connection.
Can you imagine actually ENJOYING the sales conversation? And having your clients, your paying clients, telling you how much they loved and enjoyed the sales conversation with you?
I want business owners to stop inadvertently boring or scaring off people who would have been fantastic clients. Instead, I want you to have more of the perfect paying clients.
Starts Tuesday. Priced at pay from the heart. I won’t be running it again for at least a year.
Click for details, and to register: Sacred Selling 2024
Ask any questions you may have.
Here’s something I don’t usually get asked about, but it’s really important. I don’t get asked about it, because it’s an assumption and way of seeing things that rarely is conscious or questioned.
The assumption is that when you go into a sales conversation with a potential client, that that person is your number one priority, that the focus is entirely on them.
I need to push back on that, and to do that I’m finding parallels between what I learned as a paramedic and what I learned becoming a Sufi spiritual healer.
Around four minutes.
How does that land with you? Helpful? Bring more ease?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
I want to show you exactly how.How do you come back to your heart when you are thrown off during a sales conversation? How do you connect with a potential client without bringing neediness into it? What do you actually say?
And how can you do it all in a way that both doesn’t feel sleazy, and gets you paying clients?
May I suggest Sacred Selling? This six week course is beautiful, healing, deeply practical, and tested by so, so many people over the years.
“What I liked most is the ease of selling from my own strength- it eliminated my attachment to outcome- that I was selling from who I am- and that was enough, in fact, that was more than enough. It took all the tension for me out of the selling conversation.”
Dan, former participant
The course starts May 14, runs six weeks, and is priced at pay from the heart. Jump in with us, I’d love to see you having way more fun enrolling paying clients.
For more info: Sacred Selling 2024Ask any questions you have.With love,Mark
When you’re talking to a potential client, one who is still deciding whether they are going to hire you or not, most people counsel you to be unattached to the outcome, so that you don’t across as needy.
Good advice… kind of. However, there’s a real problem that arises from this approach. I want to describe the problem that can undermine you getting a client, while explaining a way past the neediness.
How does this land with you? Does it bring your heart some ease in approaching these conversations?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The sales conversation is something a lot of people find intimidating.It’s easy to get lost in it, it’s easy for neediness to get tangled up in it. We want to do it really well, with integrity, but also, you want to end up with clients!
This is one of those topics that people avoid, and yet comfort, ease and effectiveness with sales conversations is a critical, necessary element for your business to bring in money. Real money.
If sales conversations easily and more predictably led to paying clients, great clients, the people you really want to be working with, and you felt a real ease and care with them… what would that change for you?
Can I encourage you to take a look at our Sacred Selling course? The course itself is surprisingly nourishing and enjoyable, as well as being extremely effective.
Take a look: Sacred Selling Priced at pay from the heart, come on in!
Being a spiritually-oriented kinda guy, the circles I tend to travel in are often full of the advice, spoken with complete confidence, “You have to do the inner work before you can do the outer work.”
“Inner work” means the spiritual work within our inner selves around beliefs, or alignment, or what-have-you.
I want to challenge this. Not to say, of course, that the inner work isn’t important. It is. Critically important. But I think we can get into trouble by privileging the inner game of business, and life, over the outer.
In fact, I think it’s one of the fundamental mistakes in our culture generally.
Here’s what I mean:
I’m curious how this lands with you, and whether this sparked any insights into your own process with making your business work?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, INc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Sacred Selling is open for registration.Speaking of the inner and the outer… this course is an approach to sales that is NOT about scripts or hard selling or manipulation or pressure.
But, it is about the integration of the inner connection in our heart to love and service, with deep respect and learning around the outer need for structure and focus in sales.
This course is beautiful. I’ve been teaching it since 2008, and everyone seems to love it, from experienced sales professionals who have become grossed-out with how things are normally done, to people who are completely new to handling a sales conversation.
Starts May 14. Priced at pay-from-the-heart. Join us?
Take a look: Sacred Selling 6 week course Ask any questions you may have.
Although it could be, and in my opinion, should be, this marketplace that our businesses are all operating within is not designed to make us comfortable.
This requires an important discernment as you travel the path of business, identifying and differentiating the truly toxic from what is healthy but uncomfortable stretching and growth.
Less than five minutes and well worth it:
What does your heart tell you? What do you see/sense/feel/perceive?With love,Mark Silver, M.Div.Three things.First Thing to note— Course: Taller Than a MountainMy client the poet, author, educator and translator Thomas Pruiksma, whose spiritual and heart-journey led him through a multi-year commitment translating the Kural from Tamil, is once again offering a course on this tremendous gift of wisdom. This book is hundreds of years old, and is a primary source of wisdom on the level of the Tao Te Ching, but so much less known in the west.
Here’s Thomas’ own words on why this is important:
How do you live and act ethically in a complex and changing world?
In Tamil-speaking south India, the Kural is revered as a guide to goodness and good sense in the nitty-gritty of daily life. Yet this masterpiece of world literature, on par with the Tao Te Ching, has long lacked translations that make its guidance, vision, and playfulness available in English. In 2022, I published a new translation that has been acclaimed as “without doubt the best ever into English.” Starting April 27th, I’m offering a course on the Kural for people concerned about the social and ecological discord in the world and in search for ways to infuse their lives and actions with greater strength, integrity, and love.
It’s being offered at a price that you set yourself as a way to practice one of the Kural’s key teachings: honoring what fits each person, place, and situation. Learn more and sign up here: https://thomaspruiksma.com/mountain
Second thing: Intuition Myth-Busting.Another client of mine, Rachel Horton White, has been doing profound work in intuition and guidance for some years. She’s offering this class on busting myths around intuition.
In her words:
Intuition Myth-Busting: A Free Online Workshop:Did you know that everyone is naturally intuitive? It’s just that, for many of us, our third eye has become blocked by societal programming. In this free class you’ll learn about three specific myths around intuition development and how to move past them. As these three myths can actually create further subconscious blocks to opening our third eye, it’s important to clarify any misconceptions. As adults, we all have the ability to learn how to dust off the debris that has clouded our third eye so that we can reconnect with our energetic powers!
Please join me in this complimentary online workshop called Intuition Myth-Busting on Wednesday, April 17th from 7-8 pm EST on Zoom. To join click here (and recordings will be sent to all who sign up).
In this class, I’ll talk more about these three myths and how to move past them. I’ll also be sharing a bit about a deeper way you can open your third eye in an upcoming Intuition Development 101 online class series. This series will teach you how to quiet the mind (meditate), clear the negative Ego fears and doubts, connect with specific forms of Spirit (like angels, spirit guides, Ascended Masters and the Source/God) and read the Akashic Records.
Thing Three: Our own upcoming course.
Although it’s not ready for registration, the next course we’ll be leading is Sacred Selling. It’s a six-week course that walks you through the intimate details of how to hold a sales conversation with integrity and without manipulation.
This course will keep you from getting trapped in the “I’ll think about it” doom loop with potential clients, who seem interested but never sign up, but without any high pressure, or even low pressure, tactics. Focus, structure, and love is enough to make it beautiful, sacred, easy.
The course runs late May through June, priced at pay from the heart, and we’ll open up for registration next week. So just keep your eyes on this space.
It’s apparent how deadly miserable “grind” culture is to our spirits and our health. Those preaching you have to push-push-push all the time or you’ll fall behind… that’s a siren song calling you to your own destruction.
However, the other extreme, just waiting for the inspiration, or working very, very little, doesn’t seem to do it either.
My Sufi teachers emphasized how important it is to be aware of the “middle way.” For me, as I walk in this world, people are so attracted to extremes, that the middle way is often really underappreciated.
What this means in this case is something very simple, but sometimes difficult to stay awake to: discerning when it’s truly time to push or work hard.
I take my cues from the natural world, where there’s a time for planting and intense growth, then a time for resting and maintaining, and then a time for harvest, and then another time for rest.
Plus, the miniature versions of these cycles that happen month by month.
So, for instance, we had a client who was launching a new offer. It was a lot of work to get it off the ground. Writing the sales page, reaching to ask people to help share the good word, creating messages for email and social media, setting up the offer itself… it’s a lot of work. It’s a big project.
Is it worth it? There’s not a blanket statement here that applies to everyone. For this client, in the phase their business was in, and their state of health and resiliency, yes, it was important and worth it.
Still, even with that, I encouraged them to stay awake to when they felt “done” in the moment, and needed to rest, and when they were inspired to get back to it. Sometimes, even a healthy “push” feeling.
What I mean by that is it’s not always a joyful inspiration. The other day, I was in a terrible mood in the morning. I walked out in the woods with the dogs, brought a shovel with me, and proceeded to do some digging, expanding a small hand dug pond we’re creating.
That work sweated the bad mood out of me, and I felt great at the end. But, I needed to “push” to get there.
Sometimes, we can feel the rightness of something, and that “rightness” doesn’t always feel joyful and easy. It also doesn’t feel like the overbearing voices in our heads telling us, “You better get to work or you’re doomed!”
Instead, it’s a real sense of, “Ah, this is what’s being asked of me in this moment. I can answer that call.”
Operating at the micro scale, or at the macro scale. Meaning, what do I do in this moment, and is this the big project that I’m being called to take on over the next weeks?
Here’s where we see the difference between the deadly toxicity of hustle culture, versus the organic rhythm of life: what happens when the project completes? Do we think we need to maintain that high pitch of work?
Or, is it time to rest? To integrate? To drop to a lower level of activity?
And, how often do these big projects come along? Nearly constantly? Or only a few times per year?
Here’s another little nugget: when you rest, there is a different part of you that can become active. The dreaming. The part of you that is aware of the unseen subtle world around us. The bubbling up of creativity, inspiration, and deep care. With your hands off the reins, guidance can come to you much more easily.
I’m inviting you today to really challenge yourself around your relationship to hustle culture, whether you are swept into it and working too hard, hurting yourself in the process. Or, whether you are in rejection of it, but also, accidentally, in rejection of any intense projects that the heart of your business may in actuality be calling you to.
Try stopping in this moment, and just breathing into your heart. Is Love available even here? Is the Divine present even here? What is your relationship to your business? What are you being called to in this moment?
Here in York County, Pennsylvania, gardening is really ramping up in a serious way. There’s definitely some push happening that feels right.
What do you find here, in your relationship to the toxic culture, in your heart, in your business?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
From my client Mary Shields, about the upcoming eclipse.I’ve known Mary for years, and she does really powerful healing work. She offers this unique thing she calls Attunements, and it’s a way to be attuned to the energies that are in flow right now.
With the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8, she’s offering an attunement on April 7.
If you feel any curiosity, take a look and see if it’s for you:
Mary Shield’s Total Eclipse of the Heart attunement
She’s also offering an attunement for another event on April 21. The year is filled with these events, and being attuned to them can only help your flow. You may want to be on her list so you know about them.
p.s. Can I recommend my book? (It’s just a book…)Grind and hustle versus having an open heart for open doors in your business is a theme (with different metaphors) that I speak to strongly in Heart Centered Business: Healing from toxic business culture so your small business can thrive.
If you are drawn to this work, get the book. It’s just a book, not very expensive, and recently someone told me, “I’m reading your book slowly, I’m savoring it…”
I wrote it with as much beauty and love as I could pour into it from my heart. We deserve business books that are infused with beauty and love.
To buy it, go to any online book retailer, (If you’re in the U.S., I like bookshop.org)
If you do purchase, please do me the favor of leaving a review. It makes a real difference in how well the book does.
p.p.s. Do you have a group I can speak to?I’ve been on a lot of podcasts since September, on this virtual book tour. While that is continuing, I want to be offering more. By that I mean, if you have a group, organization, community, list, who would like to have a free training from me, I’m happy to do that for your group.
It would be pain free on your side- we can do all the technical hosting. And, I’m not needing the group to huge. I’m happy to present to smaller groups as well.
If you’re curious, just hit reply, and we can explore what works for your group.
Creating content doesn’t come easily to some folks, and one of the places people tend to get caught is trying to create content for a large audience. And that’s actually not what you want to be doing.
It’s not that your content might not be seen by many people, but thinking of yourself as on stage is the wrong approach. Let me explain.
I’d love to hear from you, yes you, how this lands with you. What do you notice when you shift your relationship to making content in the way I suggest.
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
In-depth, personal business assessmentSometimes you don’t need ongoing work. Sometimes you just need a thorough assessment of your business.
I was reminded recently that I do these, and I love them!
The basics: you send me a bunch of stuff about your business (I have a questionnaire). I go over it in-depth on my own. Then, we meet. I ask a bunch more questions. You ask me questions, we talk.
By the time we’re done, I let you know what I think is going on with your business, and what I think your priorities should be.
People have used these to clear their blind spots, to identify strategy for the next year, to untangle something that isn’t working well. Sometimes to identify the larger, systemic issues behind what looks like an isolated persistent issue.
I have room for five over the next weeks before I get into the next thing on my calendar.
If you’re interested, check out the page below. It does describe my one-on-one work, and if you scroll down to where it says “Two alternatives to long term work,” you’ll see the section on Business Assessments.
https://www.heartofbusiness.com/training-programs/consulting/
It’s super easy to end with content that is flat or boring… and the strange thing is that you’re not flat, or boring, and the work you do isn’t either, is it? So what happens that makes the content like that?
I want to introduce the idea of a “content audit”… which is not as boring as it sounds. And it’s not about auditing all of your content, but a very simple assessment process you bring to any particular content you want to create. I use this myself all the time.
Let me explain.
I’m curious. What would your content audit look like?
with gratitude,
Mark silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Heart of Your Business home study special through FridayEarlier this year I ran a 9 session course that was intended to do two things for participants.
One, it was meant to bring healing, not to “get over” issues with business. But rather to help people feel lighter, more free to take action, to find a grounded, effective pathway in business from love, rather than stuck in just trying to avoid what is terrible. And there’s plenty of terrible.
Second, I wanted folks to understand the terrain you’re traveling when you are developing a business. So you know where to focus and what you can let go of for now. So you know the journey, and what it takes, both from a big picture perspective, and in minute detail.
This included topics on marketing, on money, on how to tell the difference between a spiritual issue and a business problem, even getting into advanced business topics like business models, and systems.
At this point, thousands of people have taken this course. And this last group of around 80 had great things to say, too.
We’ve just turned it into a home study program. Through this Friday, we’re offering it for $100 off. Plus, for the first 30 people who purchase, they’ll get to join in a live Q&A call, with no more than 10 people on it, to bring questions.
Take a look: The Heart of Your Business Home Study
Years ago, when I lived in Portland, Oregon, I used to have lunch regularly with a friend of mine who had some very strong management credentials, and did fantastic work with leaders.
He introduced me to a critical leadership quality and habit… that actually applies in a lot of situations in tiny businesses, even when you’re not really a “leader” in that organizational sense.
Because it also applies to your marketing.
Less than five minutes, and I really want you to take this in.
How does it land with you? What comes up? What changes might you make?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Speaking of over communicating…Can I recommend my book? Heart Centered Business has received high praise from folks who might otherwise be a bit over business books. It’s a refreshing, beautiful, healing journey as well as a practical handbook for those wanting to do business while facing the toxicity of capitalism.
Heart Centered Business: Healing from toxic business culture so your small business can thrive.
“By far the best, richest, most compassionate and helpful guide to spirit-based business that I have ever read.” – Andrew Harvey, best-selling author and teacher, including Sacred Regeneration
You can purchase it at all the usual places. If you prefer, you can download an excerpt here:Heart Centered Business
Over the years this is a common question: do you need to do another training, get another certification, or another degree to finally make your business work?
Mostly, the answer is no. But, it’s a little nuanced. Sometimes you do need more professional development for your business. So let’s dig into it.
The big principle here is that professional development does not replace business development.
Many clients I’ve spoken to on this issue have been wondering if they need another certification or degree so that they can have credibility, to create trust for clients to be able to hire them.
I get it… so many of us have had our confidence undermined, it can be hard to believe in ourselves. And, even when we carry a lot of competence, we can have real doubts that live inside us that don’t allow us to fully appreciate the gifts we carry.
I’m asking you please do not use professional development this way. It doesn’t work. That’s not how one heals that deficit of confidence, the painful feeling of lack in our own hearts. Plus, it’s very expensive, in time and money.
If we can recognize these feelings in ourselves, then we can embark on a healing journey that is far more effective than piling up more degrees and certifications, even if those trainings are in healing.
In addition to the healing work, what’s most usually needed is to focus on developing skills and capacity in your business itself. Learning how to have clear messaging, for example, or how to hold a non-manipulative sales conversation. Those two skills alone, for instance, would go a lot farther to create trust and connection with potential clients than another degree would.
And it would cost a lot less, and be a lot less effort.
Plus, as you gain clients through effective messaging and sales, you then gain experience. And experience alone won’t heal you completely of childhood wounds around confidence. But, it will fill in the lack of confidence that everyone has until they gain the experience they need to feel a honest sense of confidence.
It really does help. Plus, it’s nice to get paid at the same time.
When is professional development needed, then?
Professional development is called for when, in an honest assessment of yourself, you are lacking skills, experience, know-how, to be able to care for the clients you want to work with.
This has to be an honest assessment and not just a lack of confidence. When you’re new at something, of course you feel unsure. You have to trust your training and start at some point, and not just, with compassion, pile on degrees and trainings trying to soothe that confidence gap I mentioned earlier
So, for instance, someone who is training in energy healing, but realizing they want to learn about human anatomy and physiology to better understand how healing works. Or, they want to become trauma-informed, not to work with trauma in clients, but to be able to recognize it and refer out when they are in over their heads. Or a corporate consultant that wants a new assessment tool to work with larger companies.
For anyone who is a professional whatever you do, a commitment to life-long learning and skills improvement is a beautiful thing. But notice the reasons in the paragraph above were not about proving oneself, or having more credibility. They were a sincere desire to improve as a practitioner, not to get better as a business owner.
Usually, it’s the business training that is lacking.
When people learn a modality, healing, or consulting, or coaching, or what-have-you, the school or teacher they learn from usually includes at least a little bit of business training. But, it’s such a different topic, and rarely are even extremely skilled teachers also skilled at business development.
This leaves the vast majority of skilled people severely lacking in business skills. It contributes to how huge percentages of graduates from a variety of modalities aren’t able to fully support themselves doing the work they long to do.
This, too, leads to a lack of confidence. “If I don’t have clients, am I not any good at what I do?” It’s understandable why that thought comes up, but it’s false.
Your skill as a practitioner and your abilities as a business owner are just two entirely separate things. It takes honesty and humility to know which one you really need help with.
So… here’s your invitation to do an honest assessment of yourself. Do you need another professional development certification or degree? Or do you need to focus on being more effective as a business owner?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
We’d love to help you with that business development.If you came down on the “I’m actually pretty good at what I do, but the business needs help,” then you’ve come to the right shop. We love, I love, helping people making their businesses work!
From zero to 1, from 1 to making it, and then from making it to truly thriving, I love to see your business grow and expand, with love, with compassion, with strength.
Plus, as a Sufi business healer, there is a lot of healing content in our practical modules. We help people heal the wounds that have happened to them in the context of business, so their heart can feel lighter, and they can take on their business with love and passion.
Our Learning Community, the heart of our business, is open for new members through Thursday, March 7. Please join us, and let’s dig in with what you need.
Flexible, pay from the heart pricing, often it can pay for itself within the first few months of membership, or faster.
Take a look. Ask questions. Jump in.
Here: The Heart of Business Learning Community
Last week a promotion crossed my desk for business development from someone who shall remain unnamed. The price was, in my estimation, unethically high for what was being offered.
When I posted about it last week on Facebook, the comment section lit up. People really wanted to know.
In today’s video I talk about the false debate between “high” versus “low” pricing. And, it’s an invitation to a webinar this afternoon I’m leading on how to tell whether something is priced ethically, whether you’re buying or selling.
The primary intention is to help people avoid being taken in by way overpriced business coaching and development offers. For over twenty years I’ve heard story after story of people caught in vulnerable moments, and left with huge debt and no real outcome. I get really incensed about this, because dreams are being crushed, people are being harmed.
You can see the video here:
Now, in transparency, we are set to open our Learning Community for new members. And this looks like I had planned it. And it’s a good plan, in some ways. I just want you to know from my heart that I hadn’t not planned to hold this webinar, but this offer, my post, and then response to the post, I was all like, “Yeah, let’s get it out there!”
So, I will be mentioning the Learning Community during the webinar. But, if you’ve been on calls with me, I’m happy to make a clear invitation to an offer, but I don’t spend a huge amount of time on it. It’s mostly teaching and Q&A.
The webinar is this afternoon, Wednesday, February 28, 1 p.m. eastern, and will last about 45 minutes. If you register, you’ll get the recording.
Please share this as widely as you are willing to. I don’t want to see another person spending their retirement or maxing out their credit card on an unethical offer.
Join me for the webinar?
Click: Don’t Buy Now! How to spot the scammers and avoid paying way too much for business coaching and development. With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Speaking of the Learning Community…If your business is in the earlier stages of development, and you want your business to develop into something robust, full of clients, ethical, heart-centered, and truly your own, not a cookie-cutter, then the Learning Community may be just what you’re looking for.
The Learning Community is the most affordable, and all-encompassing way to work with me and Heart of Business.
We’re only open for new members for another week or so. If you’re drawn, please take a look:
The Heart of Business Learning Community
There are a LOT of charlatans in my industry of business development. And a hallmark of people’s response to their offers (other than simply holding their nose and turning away) is agitation.
If you’re agitated… don’t buy. There’s more to it than that, and it’s useful to think about both to protect yourself, and in terms of how you’re making your own offers, even if you have fantastic intentions.
What came up for you in this discussion? Thoughts? Questions? Experiences?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Keeping you out of anxiety…In the next week, we’ll be opening the Learning Community for new members, but only for about two weeks. We do this, because we take time and care to orient new members, which is absolutely beautiful and worth it. And once you are oriented, we want to get back to supporting all the members with developing their businesses.
Why join the Learning Community?If your business is in early to middle stages of development, and you are tired of doing it alone, having to translate standard business teachings into something usable, or feeling like building your business is feeling somewhat random.
Plus… you may be feeling depleted, like it’s hard to find your heart in the midst of building your business, even though what you do is incredibly heart-centered already.
And you want clear direction, a roadmap, feedback, but you don’t want to just create a cookie cutter business based on someone else’s model…
This is what we do. In-depth guidance and training, regular spiritual nourishment, support to have you access your own heart and guidance, and to break the rules, while still paying attention to what works.
Take a look. Join the wait list, and you’ll hear first when the doors open.
The Heart of Business Learning Community
Every Wednesday, with extremely rare exceptions, I send out some bit of help, support, insight, or how-to on growing your heart-centered business. This time, I’m asking you for help. The TL;DR version is that my book comes out October 3, pre-orders are so radically extremely helpful, and I’m asking you if you’ll pre-order the book, and […]
This is a big month for me and for Heart of Business, with the launch of Heart Centered Business (now available for pre-order!). I was speaking with a friend, and he was being extremely, EXTREMELY, direct with me.
“This is no time for false modesty, Mark.”
This is the advice I often give to clients, that they can be champions of their work. And now, with a book coming out, I needed to be on the receiving end myself.
There’s a big difference between false modesty and healthy humility. I discuss it in this video. And, I include a pitch at the end for the book.
If you take some moments to reflect, can you see if you’re standing in a healthy humility, or holding back with false modesty?
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Learning Community is open!We open our Learning Community just a few times a year, for short windows, to allowing new folks to step in. It’s not open all the time, because integrating new members takes time and attention, totally worth it when the moment is right. And, otherwise, we want to be focused on helping our members get new clients, and develop their businesses.
It’s open now, through September 18 only. There’s a special offer- if you pay for the full year up front, at our sustainable rate, you’ll get the twelfth month free, plus, for the first ten people, you’ll get a session with me.
And, there is a monthly payment option, with compassionate, flexible pricing we call Pay from the Heart.
Join us! The Learning Community Heart Centered Business Book available for pre-order!You’ll hear more about this, for sure. But my forthcoming book, due to be published October 3, less than a month, is now available for pre-order.
The subtitle says it all: Healing from toxic business culture so your small business can thrive.
And… some fantastic people said some wonderful things after reading the advanced copies.
If you’re willing to both help yourself, and help us, please pre-order a copy:https://www.HeartCenteredBusinessBook.com
If you have a group, community, organization who you think should hear about this book, let us know! We can make it easy on you to share about it.
And, if you have a podcast, or other speaking opportunity, I’d be delighted to show up with healthy humility, and no false modesty, to bring the message of heart centered business to your people.
Thank you! With deep gratitude and love,
Mark
October 3. That’s the date my book, Heart Centered Business, is scheduled to be released. Whoa! There is so much on my plate over the next five weeks, as you can imagine. But I’m so thrilled, and I share more about my thoughts and intentions on writing the book here: For you, I want to […]
Okay, this isn’t the most practical, three easy step how-to-do video. Yet, it’s such an important dynamic. You want to show up strong, so people will trust you and become clients. But you also need to be vulnerable, so people can approach you, and you don’t seem like you’re above them. I was working with […]
Even tiny businesses, allegedly “solo” businesses, usually end up with some kind of team in order to reach true momentum. I don’t mean people on a payroll, but I do mean consistent support. Which is why I wanted to talk to Charlie Gilkey. I’ve been friends with Charlie, and his wife Angela, for some years. […]
A colleague, former team member, and all around awesome person Lisa Robbin Young had invited me to submit a proposal for a TEDx salon in Bloomington, Indiana of all places. I did, it was accepted, and I was delighted to be able to give my talk virtually. TED just released the video, and I’m excited to […]
Since I was on vacation last week, and I’m back at work this week, I thought we should discuss a surprisingly difficult transition for many… returning back to work after a break. It could be after a vacation, or after an illness, or a family visit, or anything that has taken your attention away from […]
When my sister and I were little, my parents would take us every summer for a week to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. There’s a boardwalk, with a small, boardwalk-sized amusement park, ice cream, pizza, and, of course, the beach. My parents have continued the tradition, and now we all go together, my family, my sister’s family, […]
I’ve never been a fan of strict deadlines, and I’m imagining that you and I have both had experiences where strictly-planned projects somehow went feral outside the boundaries of the calendar dates they were assigned. That said… using the artificial markers of a calendar can be really helpful, because it provides us a time to […]
I wrote a post on social media reflecting on my industry, the industry of business training and development, and all the terrible, unethical things that are done by providers in this space. If someone is charging top dollar for an offer, and there is a strict no cancellation/no refund policy, and they are using language around […]
Having a marketing message that works can feel really difficult. Intimidating. Emotionally complicated. I won’t lie, there is definitely nuance, and details, in creating one. However, there are three elements that you can pull together, easily, without much sophistication, that allows you to create at least one kind of marketing message that can be really […]
It’s getting into late June, and my book will be released in early October! And… I haven’t shown you all the cover yet. I love it, and so made a video to show you. It also includes a story, because I hated, absolutely hated, the first version the designer came up with. But, I’m so […]
Recently I had helped a client with developing a more refined, sophisticated message for their business, and it was time to “get out there.” So they asked me about an effective social media marketing strategy. Actually, a couple people asked me this recently. So, I told them about the two key elements to an effective […]
A consistent question I get is “What do I work on now?” There are a lot of elements that need developing in making a business profitable, easy to run, and something you love. When you’re either new, in early stages of business development, or the business has just been limping along, there are four fundamental […]
This has been an unsurprisingly not uncommon question over the last twenty years, the world being what it is. And it’s the situation where some absolutely wants their business to be visible for clients, and yet…
They don’t want to be found.
Maybe they don’t want to be found by an ex, or by a family they’ve gone no-contact with, or someone else. And it’s not an easy situation at all. I don’t have a perfect solution, and the suggestion we worked with inside the Learning Community when this came up only works in certain situations.
Take a look:
Please, take tender care of yourself, stay safe, and let’s all have each other’s backs.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Learning Community is (nearly) open for new members.Our Learning Community is a pretty unique place to develop your business. Compassionate accountability, dozens of learning modules, live support, regular virtual retreats…
In fact the next Virtual Retreat within our community is coming up June 9.
Plus, we’re planning marketing message clinics, to really help people get their basic messages strong, clear, compelling, and non-hypey.
Our members heal, at a heart-level, around their business, and they get things done, too.
Take a look: The Heart of Business Learning Community If you like how we do things, from the heart, with integrity, and paying attention to the nitty-gritty, let us help you fly!
I was fielding a question from someone in our Sacred Selling course, and they described a scenario that’s familiar to many of us.
She was at a restaurant, and in casual conversation with the waitress, it came up that what she does could be really helpful for the waitress.
But, she felt really awkward saying anything. So… how do you say something in that kind of a situation?
This video, about 5 1/2 minutes, describes my own take on this, which is contrary to what a lot of people teach. And then I give an example of my own, non-emotional marketing language.
Sometimes, we just need the clarity and the permission to trust our own wisdom. What’s your insight here?
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Before we get into my little rant, I wanted to remind you that Rebecca Van Damm and I are holding a no-cost webinar today, 2pm eastern/11am pacific, we’re calling “A piece of cake: Ingredients for easier, more fun content creation.”
Content creation can feel controversial- because there’s so much of it! And yet people still eat it up… but only if it’s good, if it’s relevant, if it lands. And we want to help you with that.
An hour. No cost. No upsell. Register and you also can get the recording.
Today, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 2pm eastern/11am pacific.
Check it out: A piece of cake webinar
Okay then, how about a little rant?
My strong opinions about scholarship applications and small businessThis all came up because I was on a Facebook post that Shannon Marie Kill had posted. She’s a financial consultant for neurodivergent entrepreneurs, and an all-around smart cookie and big hearted person. And she asked the question about whether, as a small business, you should have people fill out applications before you give a scholarship or other price break.
I have some strong feelings about this. Ahem…
You can see her original post here, on Facebook. I had some responses there, but then made a whole post on it myself, which gathered a lot of attention, and it seems worth sharing here.
You can see my Facebook post here, or you can read it below.
So many of our clients have deep shame around poverty, around not having enough, around feeling empowered to take up space even when they do have money. So much of our healing work that we do is around supporting people with issues around sovereignty and visibility.
I don’t have hard data, but I have a general sense from years of doing Pay from the Heart, without needing folks to do applications, that paying less doesn’t equate to less engagement.
This “paying more = more engaged” is one of those tropes that I really question, hard. Because I’ve also seen people pay a lot of money and disappear, or do the work in ways that isn’t visible to me.
I’m also aware that when you have less money, you often have to do more work to get the same help. Filling out applications is just another poverty tax- especially when folks who don’t have money are more likely to be single moms, chronically ill, or otherwise really stretched time-wise.
I’ve leaned into the “trust people” thing, and it’s worked out pretty well for us. When it’s right, we have a Pay from the Heart approach that doesn’t require any application, doesn’t require any explanation or justification, and we specifically dissuade people from asking us “Is it okay if I pay this amount?” because it’s none of my business why, and it also then takes MORE work to support people who are paying less if they are wanting reassurance.
So we give them that up front.
Unless there is a compelling reason, other than having someone prove themselves to you, I would lean hard on the no application side of things, to help undo some of the misery of capitalism.
Honestly, I don’t care whether there’s more engagement vs less engagement around a scholarship.
First of all, engagement with the material is not something we can really measure. I know so many of our clients engage with our material in ways that are not visible to me. Because I’ve seen that, I encourage people to not be “good students” – to only engage in ways that are helpful to them- which includes a variety of working rhythms, and neurodivergence, and having video cameras off, and maybe just taking in recordings… etc.
I’ve seen clients of our spend a year in a program doing seemingly very little… but then, having learned and integrated it, putting it all into practice the following year. And I only know because we were still in contact.
Secondly, I’m more interested in economic justice than I am in having people act a certain way so I can feel good, or justified, or whatever…
If I’m giving money away to someone on the street asking for it, I have to decide whether I’m going to give it, but I have no right to judge or control how they use that money.
If I’m giving away scholarships, or doing pay from the heart, or whatever, I’m doing it out of a desire to support a value I’m expressing. it’s going to happen imperfectly.
I don’t want to add to anyone’s burden, and I don’t want to give just to people who match my expectations of the “right” way to learn or engage with materials…
Anyway… I could rant on for awhile… but I’ll stop here.
I’m so curious how this lands with you, if you have questions, or thoughts. I’ll note that I do have my free webinar on how to do Pay from the Heart linked (no upsell).
with love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Before we get into today’s topic, I wanted to give a recommendation. My client Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma, who is an amazing writer and translator and poet, among other things, released his translation of the wisdom text Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural this past year.
The Kural, as it’s known, is from the Tamil culture in India, and is virtually unknown in the West. Yet it’s a wisdom text on par with the I Ching, giving practical, profound, and multi-layered wisdom that has endured as relevant for centuries.
Thomas is leading a course on the Kural which starts May 18, entitled “Taller than a Mountain: Seven lessons from the time-honored Kural to help you embody strength, integrity and love in a turbulent world.”
I think it’s going to be fantastic, not only because of Thomas’ presence himself, and the power of the Kural, but he’s also lined up some amazing guest teachers, including Suchitra Ramachandran, Andrew Harvey, Archana Venkatesan, and Bob Thurman among others.
He’s priced it at “Pay What Fits”, and if you’re drawn to jump in, I think you’ll love it:
Click: Taller Than a Mountain course
If you have questions, go to that page, and ask Thomas. But you can also just jump in.
Okay, onto today’s topic:
When a client asks for something you no longer do.I had a client ask a question recently. A church organization she’s close to asked her to do a course for their members. This is something she used to do, she always enjoyed it, and she always got individual clients from it.
It’s one of those things that ticks a lot of the boxes… except that the course is not really what her business is focused on anymore. She’s shifted, and her energy is in a slightly different place.
Should she just do it? Should she stick to her new focus? What do you do?
The answer has to do with the assumptions we make as business owners when people ask us to do something.
About 4 and a half minutes or so. I think you’ll appreciate it.
How does this land with you? Questions?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
When working on your business, it’s so very easy to fall into a mindset that forgets the sacred, forgets the love, especially when you’re just trying to make your business work. We all do it.
However, that fall is what makes it so much harder to actually get it done. This video will hopefully help you have a much more heart-opening approach to creating content, in a way that makes it MUCH easier.
About five and half minutes. Tell me what you think.
With love,Mark Silver, M.Div.Heart of Business, Inc.Every act of business can be an act of love.
Since we’ve got this Sacred Selling course coming up, I’ve been thinking a lot about sales, quite naturally. I was reflecting, one morning, on something I had started to do a few years back during conversations with potential clients. I started to do it organically, sincerely, it was never a “tactic.”
It was this: dissuading potential clients from hiring me.
There’s some nuance, and it’s not something always easily accessible in one’s heart, but I think it’s worth exploring. Especially because most of the people I spent time dissuading, ended up hiring me.
About 6 minutes, and well worth it, I think.
Have you ever done this? Or experienced this? What are your thoughts? How does your heart feel about it?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
This coming Tuesday we start Sacred SellingI’m really looking forward to helping people with this unnecessarily painful part of business. It can be so much more beautiful, and easy, and effective, without any manipulation or hard sell.
If the sales conversation gives you any trouble or pause, if people who could be really good clients of yours keep saying, “I’ll think about it,” and disappearing, please don’t let yourself continue to struggle with this.
It’s a necessary skill for any business owner, and it’s one of the few that can yield immediate results.
Over the years, I’ve trained thousands of people in this approach. It really does work, and it is a profound healing at the same time.
Only about 45 spots total. Take a look. Ask any questions:
Sacred Selling Course 2023
As I wrote about recently, my wife Holly and I had a miserable experience with a car salesperson, that just didn’t have to be that way. People like that just contribute to the misery in the world, and it’s why so many heart-centered folks hate sales and selling.
Sales is absolutely unavoidable in business, and yet it’s also one of the most sacred moments, or it can be, in our journey.
I want to talk about the sacredness inherent in the sales process. And 6 minutes, in a mist-covered morning in the woods.
with love,Mark Silver, M.Div.Heart of Business, Inc.Every act of business can be an act of love.An invitation into the necessary, and sacred, world of sales.In May I’m going to teach both how to prepare, and how to hold, with focus, integrity and sacredness, a sales conversation.
It’s surprisingly beautiful and organic. Many of the things I’ll be teaching you’ll already know from other parts of your life.
There are some parts of it that may be unknown to you, or which you haven’t seen in the light of the sacred before.
Because every single business absolutely needs to be able to handle sales, I wanted to teach this live. I can also say, whole-heartedly, that it’s one of the few business skills that can bring extremely rapid results. It’s not unusual for participants to start to enroll new clients before the course is even over.
We’re trying a new approach with how we’re presenting the pricing. There is a specific price we are asking, and there is also a pay from the heart option.
Tuesdays in May. Updated content. Beautiful. Sacred. Practical. Love.
Take a look. Sacred Sales course Read the page. If you have questions, please ask.
Today this is a relatively simple “tip,” about delegating/handing off tasks and projects to others.
Even if you stay at the solo level throughout your entire business, and many do, quite happily, there will come a time when you need some support. Not an employee, but perhaps a virtual assistant, or some other very part-time help.
Or, it may be more substantial, like we have, with actual employees.
At any rate, those of us who were not trained to be managers and to delegate have to learn things the long way round. This particular tip I hope is helpful to avoid getting caught doing things yourself at the last minute when you can least deal with it.
About five minutes:
How did this land? Thoughts, insights, pushback, alternatives?
With gratitude,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Struggling to handle the sales conversation?If there’s one conversation that business owners struggle with the most, it’s talking to a potential client, the sales conversation.
To bring integrity, heart, structure and make it work without any manipulation, we’ve been teaching Sacred Selling, and our clients love it, and love the effects.
It will run 5 Tuesdays in May. It will be open for enrollment starting tomorrow, so keep an eye out for the announcement.
Here in the U.S. there has been an absolutely miserable mess of a political situation happening, and I’ve been seeing the same thing in other countries.
It can take up a lot of emotional bandwidth, as well as time and energy, appropriately, as we seek to find ways to respond.
It can also leave you feeling like your business isn’t relevant, somehow, or not deserving of attention.
Short video about our thirst for justice, and the place of our businesses in that.
With love,Mark Silver, M.Div.Heart of Business, Inc.Every act of business can be an act of love.
Over the last twenty years I’ve talked to so many people who, in trying to create a marketing message, add two particular things in that really undermine what they are wanting. In fact, it can actually send you the exact opposite of the kind of client you’re looking for.
The two things have to do with clients who really are “ready” in some way, however that is defined. And clients who don’t just want to be fixed, but want to do deeper work.
I explain why they don’t work, and what’s going there, so you can avoid this painful situation of filtering out the people you really want!
About 4.5 minutes, so you can drink this in, and be on your way.
Questions? Pushback? I’m so curious how it lands with you.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Webinar April 4: Going full time in your businessThis is one question so many people struggle with: when should I try to go full time? When can I be sure my business can support me? Or… did I go full time too soon, and that’s why I’m struggling?
Plus, the emotional side of it all, meaning is the fear of going full time wisdom protecting you or is it something that is just holding you back?
30 minute webinar. Ten minutes of teaching, some guided process, some Q&A coaching. No upsell.
April 4, 2:30pm eastern. Register and you get the recording:
Going full time in your business.
Let’s dig in! And please let folks know, share it as widely as you’re willing to!
In our Learning Community, I’m offering a new module on Running Groups in your Business. After making a teaching video on the topic of safety in groups, I realized I needed to create an addendum on the topic of diversity.
I tried several takes, and I wasn’t able to say what I wanted. Finally, I made a take that tried to do a lot less, and offered what I think is most important to say, especially for those of us doing coaching, healing, or any kind of “transformational” work.
It’s fairly short, about 6 minutes.
Please note, I make brief reference to other parts of the Running Groups module. Just ignore those references, it’s because it’s part of that larger module.
After I made this video, I created a post on Facebook, asking folks in my network to share resources about becoming trauma and DEI-informed. I was going to try to reproduce it here, but I’m realizing that it’s an ever-growing list, and I also don’t have personal experience with many of the people listed.
But, you should have access to it! Here it is.
Mark’s Facebook post
What comes up for you, from my very strong recommendation in this video?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
p.s. Know someone who needs heart-centered business help?If you’re willing, invite those folks to join our email list. Yes, we are on Facebook, and on LinkedIn, and I’m delighted to connect with people there.
And, as I always recommend to our clients, don’t let your sole connection to your audience be through a platform that someone else owns, and can make changes to without any warning.
That’s why… we love to see folks on our email list.
https://www.heartofbusiness.com/
There are, broadly speaking, two approaches to creating a business. Many people lean toward one or the either, which is fine. But if you’re at an extreme with one or another, it can really undermine your business.
My spiritual path talks about “the middle way,” and it applies in this case, too.
About 6 minutes. The Entrepreneur vs. the Artist in business.
If you take a few minutes contemplating, where you do fall? And what might it look like if you were more balanced, walking more of the “middle way?”
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Right at the moment that something significant is happening in your personal life, or even something significant in your business, something that is consuming, upsetting, or otherwise just occupying most of your attention, it happens.
Someone asks for a refund, or a cancellation. They need to be responded to in a timely fashion, usually same day or at least within one business day. But you’ve got no heart-space to make a good decision around their request.
So… let’s talk about creating policies for these tender areas, without creating a bureaucracy in a tiny business.
What examples have you seen of healthy policies? If you already have policies, do you like them? Do they feel good?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
So… a few weeks ago, in a Virtual Retreat within our Learning Community, one of our members brought up a topic that was heart-rending for her, really, really hard to find resolution.
I’ve been wanting to bring to you all since then, but it’s messy, it’s nuanced, and I don’t have an easy 1-2-3 answer to it. It has to do when you have a community or organization that you care about, but the commitment to them is taking up a LOT of time, and draining you.
Because it’s a bit more of a nuanced conversation, needing some background, the video I made is a little longer than usual, but still only 12 minutes, so hopefully easy to get through, if it’s relevant to you.
I’m so curious how this lands with you, if it’s relevant, what your heart tells you?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Learning Community has community-like aspects…This whole discussion above is where the email that I sent yesterday came from, that our Learning Community is not exactly a “community.” Although it has community-like aspects to it, it’s a service.
What that means is that you don’t have to give unsustainable amounts of time to make it work for you. We’re here, our team, including our community facilitators, to make it all work for you. But you can get support and care without giving away huge amounts of time.
You can develop your business at your own pace, with our help.
We’re only open for new members through Tuesday, March 7, or until we reach 50 new members, whichever comes first. As usual, folks wait for deadlines, so we’re not full yet. If the page is open to join, you can join.
Join! The Heart of Business Learning Community Coming up in the Learning Community: The Monthly Planning Call this Monday, 2pm eastern. And also the teaching video for the first class of How to run groups successfully in your business will be released next week, with the live class associated with that happening Tuesday, March 14.
People may be asking you, “What do you do?” and you may be struggling to explain what you do, and how it works, in detail. It’s a burden.
And, it’s an unnecessary one. Let me help you understand what’s really going on, and how to lay down this burden.
Did that lighten your load? Make it easier? Did it work beautifully?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Learning Community is open for a limited time.That conversation I mentioned above? It happened within our Learning Community, where our members get regular coaching and support, as well as so much more.
Our members get new clients, they make money… but as importantly, they do it through healing their own hearts. We support people coming into their power and standing boldly, and humbly, in their strengths. They learn how to talk about their business, they learn how to develop the pieces needed to make it work, in ways that feel fantastic to them. And they get clients.
We’re only open through the beginning of March, and we only have room for fifty new members, and already some of those spots are taken.
Let’s get your business flying! Join us:
The Heart of Business Learning Community
This is an issue that I’ve seen a lot of, and our clients over the years bring it up time and again, just like a client did recently. In essence, she told us that a lot of her clients really wanted what she was about to offer, so she then offered it… and despite, everything, after a week or more, still had just a very small handful of sign-ups.
What’s going on? I want to talk about this, and what I call “ethical use of urgency,” including a personal story from my experience as someone signing up for an offer.
Here ya go. Also, I was squinting a little bit, because it had been a few weeks without bright sunshine, and I couldn’t resist being outside, even if it is February!
Can you see yourself adding in ethical urgency, in the ways I’ve described? What would it look like for you? Questions? Pushback?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Our Learning Community is about to re-open.Here’s the deal: People jump into business development, but are then pushed to get things done quickly, without any container for healing at all.
Or, they take on healing, but the healing container, as good as it might be, has no awareness of how to develop a business.
People come into our community, and then settle into the healing process while also developing their business. The result? Their businesses develop beautifully, without hurting their hearts. Our members gain sovereignty, clarity, love, and their businesses are surprisingly strong.
Yes, we do cry together on calls. But we also get into the nitty-gritty of how to actually make your business work.
When we re-open, which may be this Saturday, we’ll be accepting new members for about two weeks. And there will only be fifty spots for new folks
I want to encourage you to jump in with us, to develop your business with heart, and with the nitty-gritty, both.
Take a look: The Learning Community
So many business owners feel understandably shy and resistant to boasting about themselves. There’s a healthy awareness of our limitations that can put a check on it.
However, that can become really unhealthy, and we’re denying ourselves and our clients solid ground to stand on when we don’t claim what we do well.
Less than four minutes, I think it will be helpful in building your business on solid ground.
I’d love it if you’d be willing to claim something you do well, and, if you can, find the courage to say it in public.
Big hugs and appreciation,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Spiritual Depth in Business Group is full.I’m so happy and humbled that the Spiritual Depth in Business Group filled up.
If you’re interested in the next round, go to the page and fill out the form, and I’ll let you know if/when we start again.
Click here: Spiritual Depth Group
I made this video pretty immediately after I made my first batch of cheese, ever! After tasting it, delicious! It got me thinking about business development, about the relationship between doom-prepping and homesteading, and corporate systems versus our tiny businesses.
I think it will be useful. Plus, I describe how I made cheese. So easy.
I mentioned a recent video on a how-to around networking, plus, if you want another how-to, here’s how to check-in on potential clients without being pushy.
And if you try your hand at cheesemaking, or other homesteading skill, I’d love to know!
Big hugs and appreciation,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Spiritual Depth in Business Group.I’m writing this on Tuesday, and it’s entirely possible that the group is already full by the time you see this. If you’re drawn to traveling with a small group to embrace spiritual depth in the realm of business, take a look, on the chance that there is still an opening.
If it’s indeed full, go ahead and fill out a form anyway, if you want to be on the list for the next one.
Take a look: Spiritual Depth in Business Group
One of the reasons people avoid networking for their business, or, if they do it, end up making an uncomfortable hash of it, is that feeling of being a piranha. Like, you’re on the hunt for clients.
No. Don’t do that. Yuck.
This is the shift I recommend you make if you want networking to be not gross at all. Because, honestly, networking is about weaving a tapestry of supportive relationships around your business. It can be really beautiful.
What’s your experience with networking? Any questions that come up for you?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Spiritual Depth in Business Group filling upYesterday I announced the Spiritual Depth in Business Group. It’s not exactly business coaching, although that’s there. It’s not exactly a course, although that’s there, too.
It’s about consistently accessing the spiritual depth you need to make great decision for your business. To stay in humility but not collapse. To embrace Divine power, but not hurt anyone. And, if it’s applicable to you, to become more explicit about the spiritual nature of your work without scaring people off.
There’s a maximum of 12 people welcome in the group, and almost half the spots are filled as I’m writing this. We start in February.
Take a look: Spiritual Depth in Business Group If you have a question or want to jump in, read that page and fill out the form at the bottom.
Last week I invited you to consider a commitment for your business, for this year, that most businesses need. Not all, but most.
To take on that commitment requires some discipline, it’s true. Discipline is not what most people think it is, not if it’s going to be healthy.
Here’s my breakdown of the 3 parts of healthy discipline, so you can get to the things your business needs, without hurting yourself.
Does that help with your commitments to your business? So curious how this lands with you.
There’s a small thing I’m offering that you may want to peek in on below, too.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Spiritual depth, guidance, surrender, sovereignty group.Something that has been tickling my heart for awhile is to offer a relatively short-term small group that is focused on going deeply with the spiritual teachings in the context of business.
Having the time to have a relatively deep process that is healing, time for questions and engagement, and then further healing. A space where you can bring business issues that have emotional and spiritual components, like marketing, or money, or even just listening to your own guidance and getting clarity.
Rather than telling you what to do, it’s a place for you to be healed, refreshed, deepened in wonderful ways.
The details are thus:
- Meeting 2 Thursdays/month, Feb 9 & 23, Mar 9 & 23, Ap 6 & 20, and May 11 & 25.
- Small group of no more than 12.
- No time-intensive assignments between calls, although there will be suggestions for practices.
- Cost is $1500-$1750 total, 5 payments of $300-$350.
If you’re interested, please fill out this short Google form.
If you know me at all, you know that I am a “silver bullet” kind of guy. By that, I mean I don’t believe there’s just one big thing you need to do to make everything work. Businesses, working businesses that can support you, have different pieces that go together.
However, that said, there is one thing that is incredibly common, that many people avoid, and their businesses really suffer. Yes, it has to do with marketing, but it’s not just “marketing.”
I made this video, and if it’s relevant for you, I’m asking you to make a specific commitment this year, for your business.
Did that land? Questions? Thoughts?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Would you like to have one-on-one mentoring?I have one open slot, and potentially another one in a month or so. Very often my clients work with me for 18 months or longer while they develop their businesses in significant ways, with my healing, guidance and feedback.
If you’re interested, take a look. If it’s a fit, fill out the form on that page: Work with Mark
I think that sometimes significant dates seem to create the expectation of something significant from us. The first ezine of a new year, for instance… should it be significant?
I know that developing a business, like nourishing a relationship, or raising kids, or tending a garden, rarely has big, significant events. There are some, but they tend not to be fixed into the calendar, but arise spontaneously.
With a garden, the weather clears and warms, the seeds you’ve been tending have gotten past the tenderest roots stage, and are ready to be put in the earth. That seems so significant.
But, it’s just a moment. And then they are in the dirt in the ground, instead of in their little pots, doing the exact same thing they were doing a moment before… growing.
Your business may be very developed. Or it may feel really new. Regardless of where it is, you no doubt have tender shoots of a new idea growing, and you also are anchored by life experience beyond your business that gives it more stability than you might realize.
Today, this first week of 2023, take a moment and notice that perhaps you have been put into new earth in this new year. And that may be worth noting.
And, what’s being asked is what was being asked last week. That we all bring our hearts, that we contribute, that we be humble and sincere, and willing to receive.
Your business needs consistency, which looks different for each person. Sometimes that consistency is a deep dive a couple of times every month. Sometimes it’s baby steps every week or every day.
I just know that consistency, humility, clear knowledge, love, and a willingness to focus on developing the business itself, and not just doing, doing, doing, is what will carry your business into this new year in a healthy way.
Care for your tenderest roots, for what your business is becoming, because it’s what will carry you in the future.
We’re here to help you do that, the same way you’re here for the people you are meant to help.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Heart of Money & Power starts TuesdayOne way of tending your developing business is to get right in your relationship with money, and with power. Which you can do.
If you need this kind of healing and practical support, The Heart of Money & Power 2023 cohort starts next week, Tuesday, January 10.
Might I suggest joining us?
Take a look: The Heart of Money & Power 2023 Register, and get the nourishing pre-work immediately. Or ask any questions you may have.
December has brought so many messages from people I adore and cherish. Some were really hard challenges they were facing. Others had news of joy and care and love.
I know for myself, I feel like I’m in a liminal space, a space between. I feel like I’m being asked to listen deeply, to surrender, to embrace humility and a certain kind of get your hands dirty kind of work.
It feels good.
At the same time, I also feel the deep need for blessing. In my traditions, both the tradition of Judaism I was born into, and the tradition of Sufi Islam I’ve practiced in, a blessing is a real thing. It’s a gift, a ship, a wind, an embrace. It carries, it loves, it helps us to fly in ways we can’t imagine.
I’m asking for blessings, and I’m offering one. If this feels like something your heart is wanting, I encourage you to take in this Sufi blessing for the new year, from my heart to yours.
We’re back in the office starting January 3, 2023. I’m looking forward to being with you this year!With love,Mark Silver, M.Div.Heart of Business, Inc.Every act of business can be an act of love.
Beloved,
The Winter Solstice, passed earlier this month, and tonight is the fourth night of Hanukah. Kwanzaa begins in a few days, as does the Christian holiday of Christmas. There are, no doubt, other holidays and remembrances happening that I’m not aware of. If it’s a day of celebration for you, I hope that it is nourishing you in all the good ways.
For me, this year has felt like it’s been nuts, bananapants. Grief and celebration, excitement and loss, all intermingled.
Whatever this year has been for you, this moment is for you, I hope that you can find nourishment available.
Today we’re simply bringing you heart messages from each of the members of the Heart of Business team.
Mark Silver
Holly Glaser
Criselda Ilao
Our Community Facilitators, who help support our Learning Community:
Amy Brown
Anni Laine
Tanya Nash
With love from all of us,
Mark, Holly, Criselda
Amy, Anni, Tanya
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
I made a short video to tell you about two things this week. Links to things are below.
One is that I started a TikTok channel. Quite awhile ago, I got on TikTok in my duties as a responsible parent, to watch what my then-tweens and now teens were doing there.
Since then, I’ve been impressed with some of the content I’ve found. I thought it would be good practice to try creating really short videos, to see how concise I could be. I’ve just started, but plan to keep it up for awhile and see what happens.
I’m looking for honest feedback, and of course support and sharing, if that’s something you want to do. If you have a TikTok, let me know, so I can follow you back!
You can find me here, and get some bite-sized business insights: https://www.tiktok.com/@mark.silver
The second thing is about Ireland.
I’ve been invited by Irish storyteller, peace activist and author Gareth Higgins to co-lead a retreat with him, and his husband Brian, in Ireland.
I’m ridiculously excited and honored and humbled by this invitation, because Gareth has been leading these how to create peace in really divisive conflict retreats for quite some time.
You may know Gareth from the webinar he and I did on How Not To Be Afraid
The retreat we’re leading is called: Becoming a Healing Leader: Your Role with Business & Organizations in a World of Conflict and Cultural Change.
Whether you’re self-employed, have a small team, or play a part in a larger organization. Whether it’s a non-profit, or for-profit thing you’re doing, you are welcome.
It’s happening July 31-August 8, 2023.
You can find more details here: https://www.irelandretreats.com
He has other retreats listed there as well, and I know at least one is already sold out. I have no idea if ours will sell out, but it’s worth taking a look earlier rather than later.
Whatever you are up to this week, I hope it’s nourishing, and I hope that you are tasting the love in your heart.
With deep appreciation and care,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Heart of Money and Power 2023If you have issues in your business around money, power, sovereignty, being yourself without collapsing, and anything related to it… and who doesn’t?…
I’m inviting you to join us for The Heart of Money & Power 2023 cohort starting in January. Signing up now means you can still get the recording of the bonus call I did last week on the Sufi Tawba Healing and Divine Sovereignty teaching.
Take a look. Jump in. If you have questions, please ask.
The Heart of Money and Power 2023As always, priced at pay-from-the-heart.
Recently I had a client who kept not getting to their marketing tasks. When I asked, they were completely overwhelmed by all the marketing systems they thought they needed to get in place.
So, there’s two points here. One is that, no, you don’t need complicated marketing systems, and why that’s true. But there’s also something else that you should be doing, that the complicated systems have been keeping you from…
Very short today, less than three minutes:
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
The Heart of Money and Power 2023 cohort.Although the course starts in January, there was a bonus class on the Sufi healing approach called “Tawba” that I led yesterday. You can get the recording if you register.
But that’s not why you should register. The reason for registering is clearing out all of your inner gunk around money and power. What I talk about in the video above? This course is what can help you with that, giving you beautiful, nourishing approaches that not only thousands of my students have benefitted from, but really, they are spiritual teachings hundreds of years old.
Jump in.
Join us: The Heart of Money & Power 2023 cohortAs always, priced at pay-from-the-heart.
I think there’s a lot of misconceptions out there about what working on/healing your money issues actually does for you. The over-hyped, unrealistic “abundance consciousness” stuff out there will tell you that, with the right mindset, you can just order whatever you want from the universe, and it will just arrive. Uh, no. However, money […]
Every year, here in the U.S., this holiday of Thanksgiving comes up. On one hand, it’s a beautiful reminder of gratitude, a time to be with family, and a much-needed holiday. On the other hand… it commemorates an extremely white-washed version of a historical event that really, at its core, is about meeting generosity with […]
Whether it’s new clients wanting to book in when you’re already pretty full, or collaboration partners, or colleagues… or who knows who, asking for you make a decision NOW! It’s often less of an issue earlier in business development, but can still come up: the need to make decisions, sometimes before you’re ready. It’s true […]
I know that many of our clients struggle with taking time during their work hours to do spiritual practice, or other connecting practices. The urge to be productive, to get things done on an infinite checklist, is so overbearing. And yet, I think it’s critical to make time. I wanted to discuss this with you… […]
A member of our Learning Community asked me recently about how to balance two things. One was her real desire to have flexibility in her schedule. Trainings and other opportunities she wanted to attend popped up for her regularly. For that reason, she resisted holding ongoing groups or classes, even though it would be a real benefit […]
It can feel really intimidating to invite someone to work with you. Not everyone has this issue, but when you do, it can be such a roadblock. If it is up for you, I want to invite you into this discussion, that there may be a way for you to bring real strength into the […]
“Hey! I really want a class on X. Can you offer that soon?” If you’ve been in business for awhile, you may have experienced this from someone in your circles. They are interested in a particular topic, you don’t yet offer anything like that, and they ask you to do it. Although it’s normal, natural […]
More than ten years ago, I met Chris Johnson in one of our programs. She was already successful doing her work, and yet there was something deeper emerging. I was overjoyed to see the seed that I watched her plant a decade ago, sprout as this beautiful book, The Leadership Pause. I knew I wanted […]
On a recent call in small group coaching, one of the members of the group was thinking about making a much-needed change to their business, and realized they felt vulnerable. They didn’t necessarily want to show up in public with the change they wanted to make. Vulnerability needs to be honored. There’s always something it’s […]
Getting low-price or pro-bono (free) clients is a common approach to jump-starting a new business. You can get some folks on the schedule, do good work so you can feel good about yourself, acquire some solid testimonials, and maybe even get some referrals. It’s not a bad idea at all. Except that I’ve seen people […]
I have to admit I’ve never been very good at planning for this ahead of time, but it occurred to me that this week, Monday, September 12 actually, marks Heart of Business’ 21st anniversary. Twenty-one years in business is far longer than I imagined I’d be doing this, and still loving it. I remember the […]
Last week I wrote about how humbling the editing process is… and I got through it. I finished editing the book! Though, truthfully, I only have half the introduction written… but everything else is done! Now comes the truly humbling part… the marketing. Most service-based micro businesses like ours, or yours, face the issues that […]
As I write this, I’m deep into the editing process with my book, which is a humbling and exciting experience. This whole season feels incredibly humbling. Our twin boys, young teens, just started back to school. It’s the first year on this property, and we at times feel overwhelmed tending the land. The adventures with […]
A lot of business development advice does not pay any attention to the difference between harmful and uncomfortable. A lot of it tells you that it’s all just “uncomfortable” and you need to push through. The truth is, there is a lot in business that is genuinely harmful. Unethical sales and marketing tactics, brutal focus […]
I was asked a question recently, the kind of question that comes up in the Learning Community (open for new members now!), about how to follow up with potential clients. “My potential client is dealing with a cancer diagnosis. And they had already said that my work was really helpful and wanted more, but I haven’t […]
Next week we open our Learning Community to new members. I’m mentioning it now, because there are two events happening within the Learning Community that I’d want you to know about ahead of time. The first is our next Virtual Retreat on Friday, August 19. I occasionally run these in public, for anyone to join. […]
Later this month I turn 54, which is solidly middle-aged. I was born in 1968, and was a GenX teen in the 1980s. My first experiences with money, with working, with jobs, were all in that decade. Some years ago, I had this startling realization that I was in position of a visceral, unconscious, false-intuitive […]
You may already know that our family has lived with chronic illness and disability for decades- my wife Holly has had that as part of her physicality in different ways since I’ve known her. I got to experience it more vividly for myself last week. I was supposed to be on vacation, but instead my […]
I remember, years ago, having a business meeting with someone who was new to our team. They had something rough going on personally, and we took some time to talk about it. Actually, a LOT of time during the meeting. We came to a great place emotionally with it. And then discovered that the “business” […]
Last week I published an article “Operating as Designed” that spoke strongly about what I currently see happening in the U.S. In response, I received many emails that were grateful, and three that were critical. At least one of them expressed surprise that, because my work is based in love, that I would speak so […]
Here in the U.S., I’m watching the unraveling of human rights protections by Christian extremists who have been handed control of the Supreme Court. They were handed this power by folks who have spent literally decades and hundreds of millions of dollars on pushing a viewpoint based on lies and a raw desire for power. […]