Revive Holistic Marketing Recognised as an AAMT Approved Provider

Great news this week! Revive Holistic Marketing has been recognised as an Approved Provider by the Australian Association of Massage Therapists (AAMT).

Revive’s recently launched marketing workshops for holistic therapists are now accredited under the AAMT Approved Provider program, allowing AAMT members to earn 20 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) points. The AAMT requires that Massage Therapists and Remedial Massage Therapists accrue a total of 90 and 120 CPE points respectively, over a three-year period, in order to retain their AAMT membership.

According to the AAMT’s Approved Providers Program Guidelines:

“Ultimately the creation and support of quality continuing education courses is AAMT's goal. CPE activities should promote professional goals related to the massage therapy industry in order to increase competency and excellence in the AAMT membership. The CPE approved provider courses should be programs that cannot be obtained from initial or foundational massage therapy courses. They should be characterised by program designs that offer newly emerging concepts, principles, theories and research in massage therapy, bodywork or health care.”

Revive’s 2-day and 5-session workshops are scheduled to run in 2009 in Brisbane, Byron Bay, Cairns, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, Port Macquarie and Sydney. Throughout my own massage studies in the UK and Australia, I identified a need for therapists to receive specific, thorough and affordable training on how to market their services and position their businesses for success.

I share the AAMT’s goal of increasing competency and excellence in the AAMT membership, and I'm very pleased that our workshops meet the rigorous quality standards of the AAMT National Education Committee.

I'm passionate about supporting holistic practitioners to launch and grow their businesses ethically and profitably, and remain committed to providing high quality, practical programs that teach them how to do this.

Feel free to contact me with any queries about the workshops.

45 Lessons about Life

In amongst the growing amount of junk that lands in my inbox, appeared this little gem. It was apparently written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio.

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument.. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret,you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Such simple but profound advice. Delightful!

New online networking community for holistic therapists

I'm pleased to announce The Therapy Exchange, a free online networking community for holistic therapists.


Complementing Revive’s recently launched series of networking events, The Therapy Exchange aims to help therapists connect online and provide a general forum for discussion about industry issues such as business development, marketing and continuing education.

Networking with therapists from various modalities not only helps to generate referrals, but can also provide valuable insights into how other practitioners are attracting and retaining clients.

We envisage that The Therapy Exchange will grow into a valuable resource for therapists, with an ever-growing collection of articles, event listings and resources. We look forward to welcoming holistic therapists from all modalities to our online community.

Adding value for your massage clients

As consumers tighten their financial belts, it is the businesses and therapists that add that little more value and provide that extra, unexpected dash of service, who will prosper.

I loved the tip in this month’s Massage Mag about using add-ons to deliver more value to your massage clients.

The article outlines how to do a lovely foot massage, spa style, either on your massage table or a chair in your treatment room.

Such a simple idea, yet I can count on one hand, the number of times I’ve actually been offered this sort of treatment when I’ve paid for massages.

Speaking of hands, you could do a similar treatment on your client's hands.

It doesn’t take much effort or cost a whole lot more to add value to your clients. How have you added value to your clients recently?

The Serenity Prayer

An oldie, but a goodie. The Serenity Prayer seems really relevant today and every day!

The inspirational women of Brisbane

I attended a great networking event this week, run by Brisbane Women.

Founded by writer, Kylie Welsh, Brisbane Women now has over 400 members. 30 women attended Tuesday's event, and after Kylie's introduction, business coach Lisa Murray took the stand.

She asked us "what would it take to make our businesses phenomenal?" She first linked this to having a personal vision - which is more than just a list of goals. Lisa's take was that a vision was about asking the questions "what would satisfy me?" and "what do I need to do to make my heart and soul happy?".

Lisa discussed how our fears of success can hold us from achieving our personal vision, and reminded us of one of Marianne Williamson's beautiful quotes;

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, 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 are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Lisa then called on psychic intuitive, Shauna Teaken, who took us on a quick guided visualisation about our vision for our business. Shauna was about the most down-to-earth psychic intuitive I've ever met, and had us in stitches.

It was then time to write down our vision and break into groups of three to brainstorm it further. I teamed up with two fascinating women, Nirala Jacobi, a naturopathic physician, and Susan Living, director of the Clean Living Clinic. It was probably not coincidental that we all seemed to share a common interest in raising the awareness of holistic therapies, and helping therapists across all modalities to achieve this. How quickly that 15 minutes went! It felt like we only just touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of the possibilities for working towards a common objective.

Lisa then conducted a general question and answer session, the main focus of which turned to making money. Several of the women spoke of their reluctance to charge a full and fair fee for their services. We concluded that if we didn't value our own services, our potential clients would not do so either.

It was then time for a speed networking session, where we had about two minutes to chat to more women in the room, explain what we did and exchange cards. Phew! Exhausting but interesting stuff. There's so many interesting women in Brisbane carving out niche businesses for themselves - and everyone seemed willing to support each other where they could.

The Brisbane Women networking event was really worthwhile, and allows women to continue to network in an online community at http://brisbanewoman.ning.com/. On this site, users can create profiles and list any upcoming events or workshops, and simply connect with other inspiring, entrepreneurial business women in Brisbane.

I'm very much looking forward to the next Brisbane Woman event on 7 July!