CompassCast™

Play hard.  We hear that a lot from life / business coaches.  Unfortunately, many of us hardly play.

I wonder why that is.  Maybe because we think we can't.  Maybe because we think there is no one behind us.  Maybe because we are so paralyzed by our own drama. 

So when we se someone whose life goes against this current of self-doubt and self-centeredness, we are inspired.

I recently came across this report from CBS New about Jason McElwain, a high school basketball team manager. Take in this video and if you are inspired, as I was, take a moment and tell me why you think that is -- personally -- what values of yours does it bring to the forefront as you watch this news clip?  (I'll post the first comment so you can see what I mean).

There are many ways you can interpret this blog post.  It is both a story of tenacity, unwillingness to fail and ingenuity.  It is also a story of duplicity.  However you slice it, it is a story of assumptions and how we think and perceive the world around us.

Background

Along the streets of the French Quarter  you see many New Orleans street performers singing, dancing and not moving.  I am most impressed by these people who don't move a muscle, performing as human statues for hours at a time (probably because having  done multiple vipassana courses and gone through 3 sittings each day of Adhitthāna, or "Strong Determination" starting on Day 4 where you site for an hour without changing your posture -- I know how hard this is)..

The Bearded Silver Man

So it is no surprise that I noticed the bearded silver man who was sitting outside Sacks Fifth Avenue on Canal Street one morning.  The next evening while walking down Bourbon Street, I came across the bearded silver man once again, sitting in the middle of the street in the same position -- upgraded with a phallic balloon for the risqué Bourbon Street.  He seemed to be garnering wuite the tips from passers by.

The Truth

A few hours later while walking back to our timeshare I discovered the truth.  This bearded silver man was no man at all but a manikin.  It's owner would prop it on a bike and take it from site to site, posing it and putting a bucket labeled "tips" behind it.
I spoke with the manikin's owner before he rode off and he told me that he has been carting the manikin around for quite some time since he lost his job.  He said, "I make thirty to fifty thousand dollars a year -- all tax free."

What does this have to do with Business Coaching / Life Coaching?

Lots.  First there is a piece about  not taking unemployment lying down.  This guy and his manikin concept reflects definitely out-of-the-box thinking.  No marketing costs, no advertising, no employees, no MLMs, no credit card processing fees.  Just move the manikin every few hours and collect the money.
Second there is a piece about how we perceive and interact with the world around us.  The manikin routine is dependent on two factors:  people have to believe it is really a person sitting there.  Because of the street performers in New Orleans, it is easy to believe it is a person sitting there.  Then the more you start to think, "No way can this really be a person sitting there so still for so long," the more you are likely to either reward the manikin or go up and touch it to see if it is a real person.  But how likely are you to do the latter?

PRESS RELEASE

October 8 2011

Tonimarie Tassinari
Bear Intent Massage Therapy and Bodywork
Phone: 603-491-4746
Email: tmofbearintent@yahoo.com  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Innovative Program to Help Local Businesses

Tonimarie Tassinari, a massage therapist in Lebanon New Hampshire, and Scott Graham, a business coach from Fairlee Vermont, have combined their talents to help local businesses impacted by Irene or the lagging economy.

"It comes down to marketing and solid financial stability" says Graham in identifying ways that local businesses will survive through this challenging economic time.

To help businesses, Tassinari and Graham are each donating a service. Tassinari is donating one massage each month to a local business to use in marketing their business and boosting their sales. "I am going to put my website and my network to work for a month for each business we partner with to make people more aware of the business and when people buy something from the business they can enter to win a free massage -- an added incentive to buy something from that business," says Tassinari.

Graham is donating a financial analysis for the same business that will show them where they stand with liquidity, profitability and sustainable growth. "Comparing your businesses financial performance to what other similar businesses are doing can be an eye-opener," says Graham.

The program will be starting on November 1 2011 and business partners will rotate each month. This partnership is limited to six local businesses. Interested business owners should contact Tonimarie Tassinari at 603-491-4746 or email tmofbearintent@yahoo.com. 

Tassinari began offering massage therapy services through her business, Bear Intent, in 2006. True Azimuth, LLC, headquartered in West Fairlee, Vermont, began offering business, personal and relationship coaching in the same year.

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