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Massage Today
February, 2016, Vol. 16, Issue 02

Embracing Prosperity as Part of Your Massage Practice

By Sharon Desjarlais, CC and Michele McGrew

Sara is a compassionate therapist whose favorite clients are people searching for something that's more than skin deep. "They look successful on the outside," she says, "but on the inside their lives are so devoid of meaning, they feel depressed, frustrated, and ashamed of wanting something different."

She's even put together a 90-day program that blends coaching and healing to "get them connected to their deeper calling" and then create a plan to achieve it. Yet, she's having a hard time attracting new clients and she's wondering what needs to shift. All too often, we see practitioners just like Sara who are doing all the right things with their marketing, but they're still not getting enough clients. Why not? Because deep down, they're not comfortable receiving money.

That's why it's essential to embrace prosperity as part of your practice if you want to realize your full potential. When you unconsciously push money away, you unconsciously push clients away. So you've got to be willing to receive a healthy income if you want to grow a rich holistic business.

Sounds simple enough, right? After all, who doesn't want to make more money doing the work they love? The problem is, we all have money blind spots we inherited from our parents, from our grandparents, and from society as a whole. You can tell you've got one if you've ever thought something like, "I love my work, but I wish I didn't have to charge for it." Or, "I don't want to be rich. I just want to be comfortable." Or, "If I charge more, I'll look greedy. And that puts people off." Or even something as simple as, "Money isn't spiritual."

As long as beliefs like those operate in your subconscious mind, you'll continue to see the results of those stories playing out in your practice. That's why we teach our clients how to understand and use their Money Archetype Profile (MAP).

Archetypes were popularized by one of our greatest modern-day pioneers in human consciousness, Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). In addition to his groundbreaking work with archetypes, he introduced the world to the collective unconscious, concepts like introversion and extraversion, and the theory behind personality types that was used to develop the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

According to Jung, archetypes are universal patterns of energy with their own personalities and habits. And while your relationship with money is as unique as you are, it's still governed by those universal patterns that either empower you with money, or cause you to constrict and stay small. If you're ready to break out of those old patterns and step into an empowering new relationship with money, knowing which archetypes are in your MAP, is the first key to unlocking that potential.

What's in Your MAP?

Your MAP consists of four out of eight archetypes. Each one has its own gifts and strengths, plus its own particular challenges and disempowering behaviors. The four archetypes in your MAP blend together to impact your financial habits and behaviors in unique and complex ways. Read through this brief overview and see if you can get a hint of which ones are strongest (or weakest) in you.

1. The Accumulator: You're motivated by security so you're very responsible with money, and you save it easily. But you can also feel guilty, doubtful or confused when it comes to investing. And this can hold you back financially because you have a tendency to play it safe.
2. The Nurturer: You're generous and loyal, and you deliver amazing value in everything you do. But your desire to rescue other people can lead to feelings of resentment, blame and self-sacrifice. In extreme cases, this can result in what we call "money martyrdom."
3. The Alchemist: You can see the potential in everything, and you have very creative ideas. But you also have a love/hate relationship with money. You often think that if only you didn't have to charge for your work, life would be much easier. So you have trouble creating practical money goals and habits.
4. The Connector: You've got a great deal of faith and optimism, so you're not overly stressed about money. But you also don't feel empowered with it. Your desire to connect with other people in a meaningful way can even lead you to turn your finances over to someone else — and leave you at risk of being taken advantage of.
5. The Maverick: Your relationship with money is visionary and unconventional. You're really good with numbers, and you actually enjoy taking financial risks in exchange for a win. But risking big also means the potential for losing big. So you tend to gamble with your financial security in ways that would make archetypes like the Accumulator break out in a cold sweat.
6. The Celebrity: You are a leader, and you have no problem spending money on 5-star experiences. But your compulsive spending is often a cover-up to avoid feeling empty or criticized. And as a healer, you've probably developed some shame around your desire to be seen. So externally, you stay small and safe, even when internally you know you've got a big message to share. And your driving need to get that message out can create internal conflict.
7. The Ruler: You're extremely driven and passionate, and you're really good at creating an environment where everyone thrives. But you can also sabotage yourself by not enjoying life in the moment. And by getting sucked into believing there's never enough to go around, which pushes you to work harder and harder with diminishing returns.
8. The Romantic: You know how to use money to enjoy your life. And you spend it because you feel like you deserve it, or you want to indulge the people you love. But this flamboyant spending comes from trying to fill a void around not feeling loved enough or valued enough. When these needs aren't met, you can unconsciously create a great deal of financial drama for yourself.

Saying Yes to Celebrity

Alison understands what Sara's going through all too well. She once ran a successful but small light-touch healing practice in Oregon. When she first discovered the archetypes in her personal MAP, she was shocked to find out that one of the strongest in her profile was the Celebrity. Until then, she says she "resisted the urge to step into the spotlight" and address large groups of people. Instead she relied on the Accumulator in her MAP to help her keep her money (and her practice) manageable and contained. As a result, she always had enough clients to get by, but never enough to truly grow.

Yet Alison was yearning for more. So she made a decision that would have been nearly impossible if she'd been unaware of her deep-seated money patterns. She decided to embrace the gifts of her inner Celebrity and allow herself to be seen in a big way.

She began promoting her services as a mentor to mothers of spiritually gifted children. She switched one of her marketing strategies from writing articles to sending out short, lively videos that engaged the moms in her community. And it wasn't long before she began getting calls from women in other states who wanted to hire her. Even A&E TV got wind of her work and reached out to learn more about her. Since then, Alison not only doubled her income and broke through the $100,000 mark, nearly one-third of that income last year came from one high-end program alone. What's even more satisfying than creating a 6-figure business, she says, is the joy that comes from living her purpose in a way that's deeply meaningful to her ... and to all those new clients she gets to serve now that she's embraced prosperity as an essential part of her practice.

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Click here for more information about Sharon Desjarlais, CC.

 

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