I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Do what you love and the money will follow.”

But, is it happening – either part of it – for you? Are you doing what you love? Is the money following the way you want?

My coach, Tom Volkar, is holding the first ever Big Link Rally in Pittsburgh on January 2nd, with the expressed purpose of helping you discover, validate or evolve your true calling by connecting the link between your authenticity and abundance.

• If you have no idea what your true calling is, he can help you discover it.
• If you think you know what it is, but you’re not sure, he can help you validate it.
• If you know what your true calling is and you’re doing it, but the money is not following, he can help you evolve the expression of your true calling so that it will.

How do I know? Because it is HIS true calling. And he’s helping me.

Tom is holding a free teleconference call, “Awakening to Your True Calling”, on Wednesday, November 18th, at 4:00pm ET. Request the dial-in details here. If you’re not doing what you love, or if you are and the money is not following, you definitely want to be on this free call.

photo credit: pdxjeff

What is the purpose of a lighthouse? Webster says a lighthouse is:

a structure (as a tower) with a powerful light that gives a continuous or intermittent signal to navigators.

According to Wikipedia:

Lighthouses are often interpreted in dreams as beacons of truth.

In my business, my “job” is to be a lighthouse, as opposed to being a search light. My job is not to chase after the folks who need my services, but rather to be that powerful light that gives them a sense of security in the world of entrepreneurship. I like the idea of being there to guide them and navigate unknown waters.

Again, I defer to my favorite quote:

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?”

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson, from her book, A Return to Love

The idea of being a lighthouse is certainly not limited to business. We can be lighthouses in all areas of our lives.

What makes our light shine brighter and brighter is learning who we really are and living that in this life. Living in the present moment makes our lights stronger, too. Being authentic (not the same as one another, but true to who we each are, individually) and fearless about shining our light is the best contribution we can make, in my opinion.

“Authenticity” is the degree to which one is true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character, despite the demands of society or one’s early conditioning.

Being Authentic Is Intimidating

In my experience, being your authentic self can feel pretty damn intimidating. Bringing that authenticity to your business and online presence(s) feels damn near suicidal, in many ways. We don’t want to feel alone, sticking out like a sore thumb, even if the reason we stick out is that we’re truly great and gifted at something. What if people laugh? What if no one buys? What if we’re just weird, too ‘out there’, too much for most folks? We’re conditioned to conform, fit in, go with the flow.

Authenticity is Extremely Attractive

On the other hand, what attracts you? Isn’t it authenticity? Isn’t it the person or business that stands out from the rest in some authentic way? Doesn’t authenticity inspire, at the very least, some small sense of automatic trust in you? It does me, if only because I can sense that this person is being ‘real’ with me.

This is the paradox of authenticity in marketing online, for me: we find authenticity the most attractive in others, yet we’re scared shitless to be authentic and stick out from the crowd ourselves.

To Thine Own Self Be True

I firmly believe that each of us has a reason for being here, something to offer that no one else can deliver quite as well. “To thine own self be true” is not a statement of selfishness, but of authenticity – the best strategy for success. I am not here to be just like you or just like anyone else. Neither are you. You are here to be you and to be true to that is something only you can really pull off.

Marketing to Everyone Means You’re Marketing to No One

If you commit to being authentic in your business, you are also committing, whether you know it or not, to finding your niche and marketing exclusively to it. Boldly being your real self, letting the world know who you really are is sure to turn off some people. That’s ok, and as it should be. None of us is everyone’s cup of tea. But for the people who are in need of what we offer, exactly the way we offer it, we are a dream come true. And they’ll never find us if we don’t put our real selves out there. They’ll have to settle for something else, something less than what they want.

When we attempt to appeal to everyone who might possibly benefit from what we offer, we think we are increasing our chances of finding new customers, but what we are really doing is generalizing our marketing to the point of speaking to no one at all. And then we wonder why we have no new clients.

Be Authentic – Market to Your Niche

A crazy thing happens when we get specific: we create curiosity in those whose name we are not calling. By marketing ourselves to the specific niche we serve, we actually attract interest from those outside that niche. If you’re a parent coach who specifically serves the niche of parents with strong-willed children (the politically correct term for hellion), parents who have a wild child whose behavior consistently drives them to distraction are going to come to you. You’re going to attract interest from parents whose kids only sometimes act out and try to drive them to drink. But if you market yourself more generically as simply a parent coach, well…from that frazzled parent’s perspective, it’s more of a crap shoot whether you could help them, or not. Niche marketing, in the long run, actually gives you a better shot at gaining new clients or customers. And the best part is they come to you.

Practicing What I Preach

This year has been about defining my niche and rearranging my business to serve it. (December 6th begins my 7th year in business, so I’m thinking I’ve resisted long enough, ya know?) But like so small business owners, I was convinced I’d be cutting off my nose to spite my face if I zeroed in on a specific niche. Quite the contrary, actually. My business has more than doubled this year, as a result. And more importantly, I’m having a whole lot more fun and I get referrals out the wazoo!

(Note: A year ago, I would never have put ‘I get referrals out the wazoo’ on my website. But that’s who I am and how I talk and I’m putting my real self out here these days.)

I’m working exclusively in WordPress now and I’m bringing more of a teaching element to my business than ever before because that’s a) something I love to do, b) something I’m really good at and c) something that lots of small business owners want. My specialty is teaching bloggers how to do the things they think are beyond their ability, proving to them that they are far more capable than they give themselves credit for. Will I still do the technical stuff for you? Heck yeah, but if you want to learn how to do it yourself, you’ve found a teacher who speaks your language and won’t make you feel dumb for what you don’t know.

So, tell me – what’s your specialty?