I like to keep my skills in business management and development up.  It is one of the things that help me keep my business going and hopefully growing.    For 20 years I have been riding the entrepreneur rollercoaster and I have to say that the tools available today for business owners are much better than they were in the early 90’s.  Back then you had the SBA, chamber of commerce,  and if your bank was progressive they hosted a few classes.   Today there are many entrepreneurial groups popping up; from business associations, networking groups adding depth to their meetings, women in business associations, etc.   

My most recent membership has gone to the Entrepreneurs Organization Accelerator Program where I get quarterly training from other entrepreneurs who have created and maintain successful businesses.  Even my first couple of meeting has benefitted me and my staff at Coventry.   One of the things that has stayed with me is the first quick exercise the presenter took us through; “What is your Blind Spot?”

Just the title itself spoke to me.  I thought to myself “I am a spiritual healer, teacher, product maker; I should have evolved past having a blind spot.”  That’s when reality stepped in and smacked the back of my head and said, “Right here is your blind spot so start listening!”    

The Johari Window is a model for developing self awareness, interpersonal relationships, group dynamics and team development.   The 4 squares that make up the larger square are “windows” into our world.

1 -  The top left is our Open window, it’s what we know about each other.  It is what we allow each other to see about ourselves and it contains the masks or hats we have to don for our different roles in life.

2 – The top right is our Blind Window – that is what other people know about us that we don’t.  Yes, there are people who know you better than you do.  The reactions you deny having to the beauty you can’t see. 

3 – The bottom left is our Hidden Window.   This is what we hide from the world or what the world doesn’t know about us.   The world doesn’t know our back story, or what our fears are or even what we are proud of. 

4 – The bottom right is the Unknown Potential Window. These are the aspects of self that are unknown to the person or the group and you may not know you have this potential until another window bleeds over to this one, making it now known to you.

There are many courses on the Johari Window; they talk about how to gain access to one window or another you need to either talk or listen.  What intrigued me the most was the Blind Window – what do people know about me that I don’t?    Ask anyone – “what’s your blind spot?” -  they won’t know, because if they did, they wouldn’t be blind spots!

The key to accessing your blind spots it to listen.  Listen to what people are saying to you; listen to what you are saying. Listen to the complements and be open to hearing the criticism.  This is where you learn about you and your business and how other people see and value you.   When you can see into these blind spots then you can see into the unknown potential you have.   When you open to the bad and the good that others see in you it can be measured against what you keep hidden from the word and voila, you are unlocking more unknown potential and exceeding your original estimation of your greatness.

This all adds up to: It’s time to reach further outside you current perspective and learn more about how to work within both your financial and spiritual worlds.  The business and the spiritual world are coming closer and closer together giving us these great tools to begin balancing our complex lives and letting out businesses feel us; body and soul.

Keep learning and keep pushing past your comfort zone – you may just surprise yourself. 

Jacki Smith

President, CEO and Enchantress

Coventry Creations

Read more: http://www.keepitmagic.com/index.php/en/shop-local/bizness-bits/246-whats-your-blind-spot.html

I guess that’s a no brainer, but still, when you face a fear you don’t really know till it’s all said and done if it was a good idea.  There is something magical about facing a fear.  You get pushed into this surreal space and, once put in motion, you can’t stop it. Strangely, you don’t really try to stop it even though every cell in your brain is screaming STOP!  

It’s kind of like living in slow motion.  Every second is both exaggerated and displaced at the same time.  All the senses are heightened, ready for something explosive to happen, just like a fight or flight response.  Forget about planting your feet firmly on the ground ‘cause you’ve already gone astral.  So don’t fight it, fly through it.

This is how I felt when I walked up to the microphone to sing my song at the Torch This benefit.  Heatherleigh had finished her song and I said to myself – oh crap, how am I supposed to follow that?       I was already pegging myself as the gal they were politely humoring so when Heatherleigh rocked it out I shrank a bit.   As Jeny wrapped up my introduction did what I imagine most people do in my situation, I clicked into auto pilot. I pasted on the big smile and said thank you, thank you, nod and thank you again.  Internally by brain sent the message, “snap out of it, you can’t stand up there saying thank you Patty, you gotta sing the damn song.”  So my head turned and nodded to James my piano man and we began our number.  

“Pack up all my cares and woe, here I go…..ohhhh, right off my high heel”… no wait that’s not the words…”Singing low, bye bye black bird.”  Wow I just fell of my shoe and worked it into the song.  We’re going to be ok.  I heard some giggles from the front row and I relaxed.  “No one here can love or understand me… oh what hard luck stories they all hand me…”  James adjusted the accompaniment flawlessly and I finished that ditty with heart.  It was a simple, sweet song, not super challenging, but to me, it was the Requiem.  I owned that little song and when my 2 minutes in the spot light was over I was victorious.  

It was then that I affirmed that facing a fear is scary, but soooo totally worth it.  It didn’t even matter if I sang well, though that would have made me very happy.  The victorious part was in showing up, really doing my best and loving the moment, the audience, my piano man and myself.  On stage, I felt I had accomplished all.  Ya, my knees were knocking, I fell off my stiletto, and I mumbled a silly comment when I should have been singing but, all of that became part of the whole magical moment and I fell in love with it.  

I have a very wise voice coach. She spent just as much time teaching me about opening up my heart to the audience and giving my emotions to them freely as she did with lessons on breathing and pitch.  Singing this song became an exercise in overcoming my fear of expressing my feelings freely and letting others play in my emotions.  She told me that a performer who stretched herself and sings to everyone, even that last row of people who are chatting among themselves will pull that audience in and the love fest will begin and that is an amazing feeling.  She was right.

If Amy hadn’t taught me the reason people love to sing, I may have missed the real point for this exercise in terrorizing myself.  We sing so we can connect with each other heart to heart.  This is one of the most honest and clearest ways we can love each other.  No agenda, just being in the moment.  When you let yourself go, it is heaven and very healing. 

 I have not been the same since that day.  I say day because it was not simply the act of singing the song.  It was the support I got from the 13 other singers, the hair, make-up the oooo’s and ahhhh’s and coaching and it all came together when I opened my mouth and let my voice free.    That healed a lifetime, maybe even life times of self doubt and so much of all the ugliness that comes with that difficult mindset.  The Torch This team was my village and they raised me up and I will forever be grateful to them.   

My fear of performing a song on stage before an audience was my herculean event and not something I came too easily or swiftly.  At 52 years old I was still a scared little girl inside when I said I wanted to Torch This, but I knew I had to do. It was my personal trial by fire that would set me free.  I guess I really did torch this with a vengeance because my scared little girl is no more.  She’s all dolled up still standing on stage at Cliff Bells, singing her heart out just for the pleasure of it.  You go girl!

I tell my story so you can use it as a jumping off place for facing your own fear.  If you are afraid of putting yourself out there, remember, all the therapy in the world is not going to put you on your stage.  You have to decide to get up off the couch and do something.  Move, take action, actually do the thing that proves to you that taking a risk is what changes you, it’s what heals you.    Follow your intuition and when the opportunity arises that speaks of personal freedom, take a chance, do the work and show us. 

Read more: http://www.keepitmagic.com/index.php/en/media/articles/coventry-creations/from-the-desk-of-patty-shaw/240-facing-fear-is-scary.html