I estimate I’m probably spent close to $50,000 over the years on business coaches, high end coaching programmes, information and self development. These days, I still do courses, but it takes alot to impress me!

That’s why I have broken with tradition on my madame marketing site. Usually any special interviews I do, they get loaded onto my site, and my members get to download, enjoy and learn from them.

But like I said, I broke the tradition.

For the first time ever, I am sharing an interview I did with Noah St. John last week. Noah is from the Success Clinic in the United States and has written a book about how to get “rid of the head trash” that hold you back. We all have “head trash” and I want to help people overcome it. That is why when I heard Noah St.Johns strategies, I just had to share them.

Even Tiger Wood has “head trash”. Head trash is those negative thoughts that make us doubt ourselves and hold us back from being the best person we can be. Kind of like taking your foot off the brake in life.

The thing is, most “motivation” speakers will tell you stuff that can make you put your foot nice and hard on the accellerator. But if you still have one foot on the brake? Well it just doesn’t work.

I completed Noah’s course last year,

and I can truly say it was a breakthrough. That is why I have organised for ALL my list to enjoy the interview will Noah where he will give some great strategies on finding out what is holding you back and having more confidence in yourself.

enjoy with my compliments. Please leave your feedback on this blog afterwards, I’d love to hear what your thought?

click here to download the 40minute interview for free

Virginia Graham. (co-author)

Now, I’m no dumb blonde, but I have to say reading the finance pages makes me glaze over and switch off a bit.

It wasn’t until the release of the Financial Literacy Foundation’s Women Understanding Money report that people realised how widespread this ‘switch off’ factor was and the damaging impact this could have on women’s
financial futures and independence.

The report revealed 52% of Australian women find dealing with money stressful and overwhelming and 25% of women have absolutely no savings for retirement.

And this is happening at a time when women are increasing their independence. For the first time since the end of World War I, there are more single women in Australia than married women.

Women have all the talents and capabilities to be good at investing. They are natural networkers, good listeners and have strong intuition. And women will read widely on topics they find interesting.

The problem has been that most women just didn’t find finance interesting.

I truly believe all women should read this book. Infact, I am going to buy a few copies for my close friends, because I feel this book will have such an impact on all of us, I want them along for the ride!

In “Flirting With Finance” Virginia Graham & Anneli Knight go through all the absolute “must knows” for women and finance and they deliver the information is such an easy to read, and fun way, it’s hard to put the book down.

Imagine a book on finance….hard to put down?

I recently met Virginia (pictured) at a women’s networking luncheon (you can’t half tell she use to be a model eh?) and I have secured a few copies off the first print run released just this week. Virginia was an absolute delight to meet, and in 30 minutes explained things to me, I just never understood.

This book is only a few copies of being a best seller, just in pre-orders alone. click out here to learn more.

You know, I believe a turning point in business for me was setting budgets. Budgets and targets for Sales, but also budget and targets for spending in the business.

Don’t get me wrong, it took a while to set up, but it’s the old….

WHAT GET’S MEASURED - IS WHAT GET’S DONE.

But what about at home?

I have a confession.

I use to pretty much let home take care of itself. Being in business, you are your own boss, so it was easy to dip into things when you needed. No need to keep to a budget, so why bother?

The thing is….it’s a reckless way to live. Because you will always be stretching the home budget. There will always be bigger, better, brighter things to buy, and if you are not keeping a budget…it becomes a false economy. A bottomless pit that constantly needs to be topped up.

Are you making more than you earn…..or spending more than you earn?

WOULD YOU KNOW?

I came across this software and website last year. I have personally used his software in January last year, and subscribed to his free tips each week.

Wow, what a difference 12 months has made.

Apart from making me realise where I was WASTING MONEY, it made me value what I have. Not only that, I got some really good tips on where to save money with the home budget, and my favourite….some great negotiating tips. A kindred spirit there, but David focuses more around negotiating with the home budget and home purchases.

It’s not that times are tough…it’s just a smart way to run your life. I love the phrase I heard from one of my mentors. He said…

If you keep buying stuff…..you’ll end up with STUFF ALL!

If successful businesses are run with good budgets and measures in place…..surely that works for home too!

I used one of David’s negotiating strategies to negotiate a creditcard interest rate from 18.99% to a honeymoon period of 8.99%.

The most interesting things I found were….

1. budgeting for gifts!
2. What we spent on takeway, videos, family entertainment?
3. How much sport for children costs! Do they have to do everything?

If you want to know more about David Wright from Simple Budgets to help you with your home budgets you might want to visit his site and get his weekly tips. www.simplybudgets.com.au

Whenever you hear successful people get interviewed, there is always that one question….”So what do you think the secret of your success is?”
9 times out of 10 the say….”You just have to believe in yourself!” Believe you can do it, believe that is no option other than success, believe, believe, believe.

BUT WHAT IF YOU DON’T?

Pardon?

What if you don’t? What if you don’t believe you are great? What if you don’t believe you are capable of making it? What if when you tell yourself YOU CAN DO IT! a little voice inside SCREAMS, NO you can’t! and starts pointing out all the ways your life is a mess, just to prove it’s point!

You know my mentor Noah St. Johns has this theory. He believes that only about 3% of the population “Believe in themselves”. It’s almost an unconscious action for them. The rest of us have to find another strategy….and thank goodness there are other strategies.

Here are some of my favourite strategies that I like to use…

Surround yourself with people that can see the good & beauty in you that you sometimes can’t see.

Surround yourself with people that expect more of you than you do of yourself - and will push you.

Support yourself with an environment that you thrive (declutter & reduce the noise)

Keep learning.

Think daily of what you are grateful for.

Create systems around success. Daily RICHuals.

Swim downstream. Find the easier, faster, better way to do it. (It may not involve YOU doing it).

Now if you need help with the person pushing you or learning… then that is what www.madamemarketing.com is for!

But for now, let’s start with being gratful, it costs nothing and is the richest feeling of all.
until then,

I wish you abundance and good fortune.

Sharon
If you want to learn more about Noah and his programme - click here.

We need to ask a new marketing research question. You see, misery likes company, and when business is not going well for some, they often want to make sure it’s not going well for you either. It doesn’t help either of you discussing it this way.

So let’s be Market Researchers! Let’s ask a different question! From now on it’s….

What’s popular right now?

What’s selling well at the moment?

The economy is still turning. Money is ALWAYS flowing. So as people in business we need to be little market researchers and find out what’s popular.

Then we can work out how we can adapt it to our own product or service.

There’s no use selling icecream in winter. There is nothing wrong with the product, it’s just not a popular time to eat it.

In small business we need to focus on where the money is. We need to aim for the low hanging fruit. Then we need to market to that.

So let’s start today and ask a new question…………afterall we are Market Researchers!

wishing you abundance and good fortune.

Sharon Tieman.
Director.
www.madamemarketing.com