Cool Knowledge

Your Core Values – Are You With Them or Against Them?

You, like all of us, have core values. Intangible things that you feel are so very important; those things you see as the foundation, or "building blocks", of your life.

So we ask… do your actions reflect those values?

Take for instance, health. If health is a person's core value, and their life includes a high-fat, low-nutrient diet, with a sedentary lifestyle, then they are not living in congruency with that core value.

Determining your true core values is not something to be taken lightly. Be honest with yourself… what is TRULY important to you? What are those things that you really want to put first and foremost in your life, and design your life around?

Then, when you decide to do something, follow some teachings, or incorporate some information into your life or business… take a look at how they align with your core values. Basically, it comes down to trusting your intuition (your gut). When you are deciding on something, determine if it "feels" right first. If something is in alignment with your core values, it will give you a sense of strength, flow and joy.

At times, you may do things because of a short-term benefit. You see it as a way to get something or somewhere quickly. However, if it doesn't resonate with your core values, you won't be putting your heart and soul into it.

Don't sell out! Be true to your heart and core values. Discover what you hold as valuable and be sure to make those things the front and center of how you live your life. The benefits? Joy, passion, and success!

About the Authors

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Pat and Lorna Shanks deliver the "COOL" Goods and connections to "COOL" People. They provide tips, tools, education and informative sessions with knowledgeable people that enable entrepreneurs, independent professionals and small business owners to attract more clients and make more money. For more "COOL" tips, tools, knowledge and people, go to www.TheCoolestCouple.com or follow us on Twitter.

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Filed Under: Cool Knowledge, Pat and Lorna Shanks Tagged With: Alignment, Congruency, Life, Values

IQMatrix Free Visual Maps Within "The Brain"

By Pat & Lorna Leave a Comment

We've always loved Mind Maps! It's totally amazing how they allow us to recap a whole lot of information and knowledge all in one place. Honestly, if you wrote out all the information contained in just one mind map, like the ones to the left, it would be like writing a small novel.

The question then becomes… "What happens when you have a lot of Mind Maps?" For example, Adam Sicinski over at IQMatrix.com currently has over 150 Mind Maps in his IQMatrix Lifetime Membership .

We purchased the Lifetime Membership a while back and yet he still keeps adding more and more maps almost monthly. We're guessing it helps him get his ideas out of his head… and keep his clients up to date. So how do we manage and keep track of these 150+ maps, so that when we need them we can find them quickly?

We could tell you, but that wouldn't do it justice. So we'll show you what we do to manage the 25+ Visual Maps from IQMatrix that Adam is currently giving away (for free!), and how we connect these maps to the blog posts that have been created for them. It's all very COOL!!!

Downloading IQMatrix Free Visual Maps with "TheBrain"

So here they are (drum roll please)…
The steps to download the IQMatrix Free Visual Maps within "The Brain":

Step #1 - Download the PersonalBrain desktop software and install it. Don't worry, it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.
=> ToTheBrain.com

That gives you 30 days of access to all the features of the software. But don't fret… after the 30 days the IQMatrix Visual Maps will still work.

Step #2 - Download the BrianZip of the IQ Matrix Free Visual Maps that we created.
=> Download the IQMatrix Free Visual Maps BrainZip

Once that is downloaded, all you need to do is double click on the BrainZip and TheBrain will unpack and install the IQMatrix Visual Maps on your local machine. It's as simple as that!

And trust us, once you start using 'The Brain' you might just happen to fall in love with it

We have also posted a web version (called WebBrain) of the IQMatrix Visual Maps.
To access that version ==> Go Here!
Before you go there… we'd just like to point out that WebBrain is still under development and doesn't work as well as it does when running on your local machine. Basically, it's slower and doesn't have as many features as the computer-based version… but it does work!

And one last thing… if you decide to purchase IQMatrix Lifetime Membership through our affiliate link, send us a copy of your invoice and we'll send you a BrainZip of the 150+ Mind Maps contained in the IQMatrix Membership.

Now this last point is a very limited-time offer. We could pull this offer at any time because of the time required for us to create the BrainZips.

We would love to hear your feedback and comments below (really, we would!)… Thanks!

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Filed Under: Cool Knowledge, Pat and Lorna Shanks Tagged With: IQMatrix, Manage, Mind Maps, Organize, The Brain

Expectations, Disappointment and Remembering Why You Did It in the First Place

By Pat & Lorna 10 Comments

You're so pumped… so sure that you'll achieve a certain level of success, you can almost taste it. Then, whoa… what the heck? You fall short of where you expected to be, the level of success or the award you felt you would achieve.

Here's my (Lorna's) experience on this very subject:

I was so excited. I had worked my butt off in the gym, ate more chicken than seemed humanly possible, and noticed way more improvements in my body's physique than a mere 4 months earlier in my last Figures Competition.

I was confident I`d place in the top 5… perhaps very near the top. In fact, I was almost positive this would happen.

Not so.

I couldn`t understand why (at first). I pretty much knew after the morning show that I would not be in the top 5… I almost felt like just skipping the evening show. After all, what was the point? That`s when Pat stepped in with some very empowering questions (he`s an excellent coach ), which reminded me… it's about the journey, not the destination; and it's about improving myself, not the competition with the other girls. And darn it all, I met a lot of wonderful people… and had a blast.

Basically that was it… the reasons why I worked so hard in the gym, and followed such a stringent diet. (Not to mention how much I enjoy my workouts.) Basically, why I did it in the first place.

I was shocked to see how carried away I was by my lack of "awards". Perhaps there is the underlying answer to it all… I "expected" awards, and in the end received much more in the way of life lessons and huge reminders about the real rewards; the sense of accomplishment, the enjoyment of doing what I love, and meeting some extraordinary people.

My expectations at the next competition will be much different. Will I have some? Oh yes, I expect to show some physical improvements, meet some wonderful people, and have a whole lot of fun along the way!

P.S. After looking at my professional photos, I could see where I fell short… giving me more incentive to turn it up a notch or two at the gym, and a better idea of what I need to work on.

Lorna`s Trailer Of The Competition

Pat Interviews Lorna On Her Experience

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Filed Under: Cool Knowledge, Pat and Lorna Shanks Tagged With: Disappiointment, Expectations, Figures Competition, Life Lessons, Rewards, Success

Would You Buy From You?

By Pat & Lorna 10 Comments

After watching other people's sales videos and reading their sales pages, it is usually fairly easy to determine if you want to purchase what they are offering. And if not, does it actually peak your interest? You know, is it something you'd buy if you were looking for that?

What is a lot more difficult to do, is to look at your own sales offerings and determine if it's something you'd buy. Or does it at least peak your interest?

The tough thing here is to come from an unbiased viewpoint. You obviously have a natural tendency to think, "Well, I created this, so of course I'd buy it." But would you really?

Think of it from your prospect's point of view… "Does it solve a problem I have?". "Does it give me a real solution, that will help me move forward?"

And there's the other side of things… "Do I trust this person? Is their message congruent and not just filled with hype and false promises?" Of course it's not always easy to tell all that from reading a sales page, but there are other clues that your prospects may look for… do you have trusted people giving you testimonials, and are you communicating with your target market without constantly "selling them"?

Your relationships are very important, as is your communication with your target market through your sales page and videos.

So be yourself, be authentic, congruent and understanding. Let people know you are there for them, not for yourself. No matter what you put in front of your audience, they want to know what's in it for them.

So take an objective look at your online communications and decide… Would you buy from you?

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Filed Under: Cool Knowledge, Pat and Lorna Shanks Tagged With: Buy, Communication, Congruency, Sales

I Don't Have to Keep in Touch, They Already Know…

By Pat & Lorna Leave a Comment

We make assumptions. A huge one made by many is that others "already know" how we feel about them, their special occasions, what's important to them, things we can do to help them, or that we're interested in what they have to say. This includes family, friends, colleagues, customers and prospects.

So… being that we assume they already know all that, we don't communicate with them. Besides, it's a lot of effort to find their contact info and to keep up with what's going on in their lives.

Or is it?

If you put all your contacts into an easily organized and retrievable system, then no, it's not a lot of effort. And the payback is massive!

It goes without saying you should keep in contact with family and friends, but it's equally important to stay in touch with your business contacts.

You can't have a business without developing relationships. It's that simple.

For an example of a great organizational system that we use ALL the time… Go Here! It works amazingly well for us!

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Filed Under: Cool Knowledge, Pat and Lorna Shanks Tagged With: Business, Contacts, Organize, Relationships, System