Flying solo

Yesterday I participated in one of the quarterly Psychic Fairs at Sacred Circle Bookstore in Old Town Alexandria.   With the exception of 2008 New Year’s Eve, I have been a practitioner at every fair they have had since their opening in 2007. 

These fairs have been a wonderful opportunity to meet and network with other practitioners and get a feel for the citizens and visitors who are searching for their own spirituality.  Oddly, at these fairs I’m rarely busy.  I suspect a two-fold reason: 1) I don’t use the word “psychic” before Palmistry on my space and 2) The desk keeps a sign up list for folks who want to have a reading – all the practitioners are listed across the top of the page and clients sign up under the practitioner they want to see.  Some practitioners find themselves with a long line of clients, and as new clients come in they naturally want to jump into the “most popular” line.  Leaving some of us less busy.

You might think I’m complaining, but I’m not.  See, I use every opportunity to read hands as an opportunity to hone my skills, help exactly those who need me most that day and evaluate the guidance I’m receiving subliminally – from the Universe.

In recent months I’ve been revamping my business to more closely reflect my core values while still ensuring I account for the amazing experiences my clients have as a result of their readings and coaching.  I’ve spent several months looking very closely at the demographic and psychographic make-up of the clients that consistently get the best results through their hand analysis and subsequent coaching and that’s taken me away from those with the “looky-loo” mentality.  In the beginning providing cheap and fast readings was a way for me to build my confidence and gain experience.  I learned so much in that time frame that I don’t regret a minute of it. 

After selling my first company and making the commitment to focusing on life-changing and transformative experiences through hand analysis I figured I knew how to make a business flow with ease.  (after all, I’d done it once!)  Yet what happened suprised me.  I froze.  I thought I had to charge what everyone else was charging.  I thought “my clients can never afford a higher price.”  I thought that because I am a healer and a service-based business owner I should give away life changing experiences for free (or close to it.)

Funny, never once did I have that feeling in running a pet-care company.  In that business I focused solely on providing exclusive and top-tier care at rates that were above all my competitors.  I knew that my perfect pet-care clients were affluent and were looking for something they couldn’t find anywhere else. 

Yesterday, as I was standing and listening to people who were waiting for readings with other practitioners it dawned on me that MY clients weren’t attending these fairs. 

One woman told me, “I just don’t know what you can see in my hand in 15 minutes, and I need a lot of answers today.  I’m really skeptical so I’m going to the psychic.”  She was apologetic about not coming to see me and I was happy to ask her questions about what was happening in her life and generally just “shoot the breeze” about what I do while she waited for 30 minutes to see the psychic.

Another woman said to her friend as they were leaving, “If they really want to help people, they should do this for free.”

Both of these interactions made me realize that they were looking to hand their power OVER to someone else.  Whether looking for advice about a job or a bad relationship, these folks were ultimately hoping for someone or something OUTSIDE of themselves to make the massive choices that created their lives. (and in some cases they wanted someone to take over their lives for FREE!)

Isn’t it amazing that we’ve worked so hard for liberation and free speech, equality and the right to be more than just a “pretty face” and yet we’re willing to turn over the keys to our life to a stranger?  (I admit, during my first hand reading I really wanted Beth to tell me to leave my then-husband, because I was afraid of making that decision on my own.)

What I do is not predictive.  It is an experience that has profound and lasting effects on each participant and it gives each client the reigns to her own life.  Your hands are the most poignant picture of your energy – your hang-ups, your dreams and your desires.  And they show you the keys to getting out of your own way.  But yes, you have to do the work.  You have the choice to keep on doing what you’re doing or make changes that move you to alignment with your BIG self – the self that is beyond ego and beyond to-do-lists and beyond what “others think.”  It’s all you, baby.

So, this was my last fair.  I’m glad for the opportunity and I absolutely love the store for all the goodies, books and gifts I need all year long.  However, I’m moving forward, focused on helping women who are ready to start owning their own power, creating their own value and bringing change to their worlds!