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July 2007 Carol Adrienne, Ph.D.
A few weeks ago, I had three women friends over for dinner. Selma Lewis, a psychotherapist, and Jane Straus, a fellow author and life coach, are both based in Marin County, California. Ellen Falcinelli is a marketing consultant in the jewelry business—and a lover of all things Italian.
Over dinner, we were sharing stories about what we were each doing these days, and I was struck by a story I hadn’t heard before from Jane. She’s been a spiritual life coach and counselor for over twenty-five years. “But,” she laughingly told us, “My alter ego is a grammarian. Even most of my life coaching clients don’t know that I’m the author of a perennial Amazon.com bestseller, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.”
I first met Jane in 2005 when she was just publishing her self-help book, When Enough is Enough: Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life. Jane is now in the process of finishing her first novel, and just completed a screenplay collaboration with our mutual friend, screenwriter, Bruce Gelfand. She has appeared on A View from the Bay, a television program based in San Francisco, showcasing outstanding local people.
As we continued our dinner, we discussed ideas such as, “what goes around comes around,” or “what you put out is what you get back.” We also agreed that clinging to preconceived notions is death to synchronicity and effortless flow.
The old models of capitalism are based on supply and demand, rooted in the idea that when something is perceived as scarce, it is deemed more attractive and therefore valuable. Marketing is generally seen in terms of establishing a territory, finding a competitive edge, and creating an exclusive brand identity. It’s about keeping something out in order to get things in. Competition, while it does stimulate creativity, can also create distrust, isolation, and anxiety—not exactly congruent with the path of abundance.
What could be another way to work? Many of us know from experience that trusting our hearts (and intuition) to guide us can take us to a place that we never dreamed possible. As with every important task in life, listening to the beat of inner wisdom requires commitment and trust. Sometimes it can also mean being willing to defy all business logic. Jane Straus’s story about the popular book she wrote--which has sold over 95,000 copies and is still selling over 1500 books a month-- is just such a story of successful convention-busting courage. Jane told us, “The story of the phenomenal success of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation began thirty-one years ago.” The full story, excerpted here, appears on her website at http://www.grammarbook.com
Back in 1975, when the State of California was formulating its plan for a training branch, no one knew what employees wanted or needed. Jane, an undergraduate at the University of California at Davis who was diligently seeking work as a waitress, was offered the job of finding out in exchange for three units towards graduation.
Jane interviewed hundreds of State employees and found out that they needed English and math programs to be able to pass civil service promotional exams. She sent in her results and kept knocking on restaurant doors. One day, she got a call. "Jane, it looks as though you can write well. Can you teach a class in English?" Desperate and too naïve to know better, Jane answered with a resounding, "Sure." This is how a star was born--or at least began to rise in the sky.
Within weeks, thirty employees signed up for a one-day trial program in Basic English Grammar and Punctuation Skills taught by (twenty-year-old) Training Consultant Jane Straus. During those intervening weeks, Jane scoured the library for materials but found no books that conveyed the rules of English in, well, plain English. So she wrote the rules her way, made up some exercises, ran off some copies, clipped them together as handouts, and showed up for the first day of class.
When she walked in and announced that she was the teacher, the students, all much older than she, gave each other surreptitious, disbelieving glances. Jane took this as a challenge and hoped for the best. Well, the class raved about Jane and her material in their reviews. Cloud nine lasted for only a day or two because Jane still had to find "real" work (that is, for pay). What she didn't know was that the phones at the newly formed State Training Center were ringing off the hook. Word had spread quickly. More and more State employees demanded that they get an equal opportunity to benefit from Jane's seminar.
This evolved into Jane's first career as a Training Consultant. Eventually, Jane taught many different courses for State and Federal employees as well as for the private sector and nonprofit organizations….Meanwhile, she continued to refine the English material, eventually turning it into The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.
Jane continues, “When the Internet came to be, I saw it as a way of being able to help people understand the rules of English world-wide. I wanted to reach people in third world countries, living in huts with dirt floors, those who would never have access to an English class, but might have access to a computer someday. I wanted the book to serve as an ambassador of good will from the US. That was my grandiose vision, but it actually turned out to be realized!” When her Web designer found out that she was paying her own good money to post The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation on the Web site for free, he thought she was crazy. Why would anyone buy a book if they could get it for free? She says, “First of all, I wasn’t in the business of selling online. Amazon and on-line shopping carts didn’t yet exist. To sell the book, I just went around to bookstores, giving them one or two books on consignment. Since I never thought of myself in the book-selling business, I didn’t see any harm in giving it away. I believed that the book would be helpful to people, and I thought I had a way of teaching that was simple and effective—and I still think that it’s a great, user-friendly book.”
As the Internet grew and became “monetized,” Jane encountered even more pressure from people, to take the free book off the site. “However,” says Jane, “I did just the opposite. I added more content. The result has been that this free book has consistently been one of the most popular selling books on Amazon.com year after year. “I sell an average of about 1500 books a month,” says Jane. “My Web site is one of the most popular on the planet--in the top 100,000 in the world. I get offers all the time to buy my domain name and content for a lot of money. I turn it down, because that would defeat the purpose of giving it away for free! Who else is going to convince the world that Americans aren’t all bad!” she says with a laugh, but with serious intent. Recently she agreed to sell the publishing rights to a large company, but only with the proviso that 100% of the text remain free on the site. At first the publishers balked, as no other published author has ever had that much content posted for free. When she refused to back down, they wanted to know her thinking. They needed to be convinced to change the conventional approach. She had only to point to her years of success, by asking the question, “What other grammar book sells this kind of volume per month? What makes my grammar Web site one of the most frequently visited in the world? Jane says, “English rules are in the public domain. But the key is in how you teach them, how you package the information. Obviously, customers aren’t going to know how good the book is unless they can see it. Why would they pick mine out of hundreds of grammar books? Because it’s a good method of teaching grammar! People see that and decide they want to buy a copy. Or teachers will get copies for their whole class. Big companies will get it for all their employees. The publishers were convinced. I’m one of the only authors who has more than 20% of their content on the Internet after selling the rights. It’s just not done. But we have to recognize that it’s a new age in publishing. We have to learn to work with the Internet and not against it. It’s a challenge on a lot of levels to let go of our limiting beliefs about competition.” Can we really believe in success and abundance? The reality is that the scarcity model leads too often to war, poverty, deprivation, and depredation.
Jane is constantly adding more material to her site and is thinking of doing another training book, making it free to teachers and allowing them to make unlimited numbers of copies for their students. It’s all on the abundance model.
Jane can be contacted at Jane@janestraus.com. She invites everyone to visit her other Web site http://www.stopenduring.com to read excerpts from Enough is Enough!: Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life—or--watch a video clip of Jane in action!
Happy July,
Carol Adrienne
Carol Adrienne, Ph.D. is an intuitive counselor and life coach who has helped thousands of people work through doubt, procrastination, and obstacles to create the life they want to live. Private consultations and coaching available. Contact her at
Carol@caroladrienne.com
NOTE: Regarding email questions: Please send your email life purpose questions (limit 200 words) along with your full, original name as shown on the birth certificate, and birth date to Carol22@sonic.net. In the subject line, please write Column/Blog Question.
Please know that while I deeply appreciate your submissions, I will be able to respond only to those emails that I select for the Advice Blog on my website (www.CarolAdrienne.com) or this column. All others will be reviewed as possibilities for future blogs. If they are selected, I will contact you. Please do not inquire if you have not heard from me. If your questions are not answered, it may be because the material is of such nature that it would not be suitable for the general reader. Answers do not constitute a full numerology reading as offered in consultations, coaching or the Primary Life Charts available on the website.
Podcast Interviews
Listen to Carol’s radio interview,
Sharing the Path as Mothers and Daughters, with host Cheryl McLaughlin on From Her Court Radio Show on BlogTalk Radio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fromhercourt
Look for the show description in the right-hand column along with the BlogTalkRadio media button. Double-click on the play button.
Listen to Carol’s podcast interview
The Purpose of Your Life, with Dr. Lara-Honos-Webb
http://www.byoaudio.com/play/WBHPh147. For other tapes and books, you might want to visit www.psychologypodcasts.net
Events 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007 9:30 - 1:00 pm Sacramento, California
Learning Exchange, Uncover Your Passion and Purpose—Part 1: Move Past Fear and Power Struggles to Free Your True Identity For details and to register: http://www.learningexchange.com 1111 Howe Ave., Suite 125 95825 (916) 929-9200
Saturday, September 8, 2007 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm Sacramento, California
Learning Exchange, Uncover Your Passion and Purpose—Part 2: Discover Who You Are, Where You Want to Go, and the Most Direct Way to Get There For details and to register: http://www.learningexchange.com 1111 Howe Ave., Suite 125 95825 (916) 929-9200
Mondays, Sept. 10 to Oct., 15, 2007 7:15pm - 9:30 pm El Cerrito, California
Find Your Purpose, Change Your Life Intensive, intuitive coaching to help you get clear on who you are, how to play to your strengths, and focus on the next step—an beyond. Six evenings, $275. Limit 8 people. For details email carol@caroladrienne.com
Thursday September 13th, 2007 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm San Francisco, California
Learning Annex, Dating for Women Over 40
For details or to register http://www.learningannex.com or call (415) 788-5500
Thursday September 20, 2007 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm Seattle, Washington
Friday September 21 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Private one-hour life plan consultations: $150 Location TBA
Consultations include a free copy of Carol’s 30 page numerology Primary Life Chart
Friday, September 21, 2007 6:30 pm -9:30 pm Seattle, Washington
Increase The Flow Of Synchronicity In Your Life So You Can Create The Life You Really Want For details and to register http://www.DiscoverU.org or phone: 206.365.0400
Saturday, September 22, 2007 9:30 am-12:30 pm Seattle, Washington
Getting Past Fear To Make Changes: Learn How To Find Your Negative Core Beliefs & Get Unstuck For details and to register http://www.DiscoverU.org or phone: 206.365.0400
Saturday, September 22, 2007 1:00-4:00 pm Seattle, Washington
Discover U, Introduction To Your Life Purpose: Discover The Five Steps to Finding What You Are Meant To Do For details and to register http://www.DiscoverU.org or phone: 206.365.0400
Saturday September 29, 2007 10:00 am – 1:00 pm San Francisco, California
Learning Annex, Discover The Hidden Success Factors in Your Name:
Learn How to Read Your Numerological Blueprint and Clarify Your Purpose and Life Direction For details or to register http://www.learningannex.com or call (415) 788-5500.
Saturday September 29, 2007 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm San Francisco, California
Learning Annex, Make Changes with Perfect Timing: Discover Your Numerological Turning Points and Natural Cycles to Help Make Decisions with Confidence and Clarity
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