Are you feeling uprooted or blocked from who you are? Consider “being yourself for a living.”

Robin Wheeler set out in 1996 to ‘be himself for a living’ and soon founded BEntrepreneurING, which has grown to include various innovative ventures united by the BEING brand and concept.

Robin is the author of the INSIGHTS series on ‘being yourself for a living’, published by BEING Books. He presents conference keynotes, or BEING Talks, and does BEING Consulting for companies wanting game-changing transformation and branding projects.

He runs BEING Retreats to Thailand, and films some of them for television through BEING TV, which also works on the corporate projects. He maintains a strong independent voice by writing for and giving comment in the media, and is also a musician.

Robin Wheeler.  Author of the INSIGHTS series on ‘being yourself for a living.’  Robin is also an international Speaker.

A few years ago, I had the privilege to experience Robin as a speaker.  His message was different, positively and powerfully different.  It came from a truly authentic place and it is one that everybody needs to hear, read about or experience.  Robin, your work truly speaks to the soul.  As a result, Truer Insights simply had to accompany me on my sabbatical last year.

Below are the questions that I have asked Robin.  He answered and elaborated very generously and I have no doubt that readers will be left inspired; as much as I had been.

1. Your brand: “Being yourself for a living” is something that truly captures attention. What was the inspiration behind it?
The seed has always been in me and, after studying psychology, travelling Europe and working in corporate Human Resources, I was spurred by illness to live my way and do my thing without compromise. I came to call the experience ‘being yourself for a living’, which is what BEntrepreneurING helps people and companies do.

The inspiration comes from being aligned with myself and what the world needs, if you like, whether it is the writing, the strategic work or new business ventures, and from working with people.

2. When you look back to your childhood, is there something that stands out; something that makes you say that your brand is definitely something that you were meant to be? If yes, what is that something?
Distinctly, yes. It has always been an intuitive certainty that I could live this way and that we all need to for our individual and collective wellbeing. It’s been something that has never left me, no matter what challenges I’ve faced.

3. Why is it important that we should strive to be ourselves?
It’s the solution to everything in our lives. Being uprooted, distracted and blocked from who we are is our primary problem. So it’s not a striving, because striving perpetuates separation, but simply a relaxation into who we are, a coming home to ourselves. It happens now, not in the future.

4. In your latest book, entitled: “Truer Insights”, you focus on seventy-seven themes. All of them are very meaningful. The theme, entitled: “Inaccessibility”… Why do you think it is important that we take time out from the busyness and from the world to just be quiet, to think and reflect on ourselves, our journey?
That theme recurs in my writing and the ‘being yourself’ experience. Solitude is where the noise settles, clarity emerges, and inspiration invigorates. It is in stillness that we reconnect with our inner knowing.

It is the first half of the picture, neglected by most of us. The other half is co-creating with people while remaining rooted in ourselves. Life becomes a dynamic balance of the inner and outer.

5. “Truer Insights” is your fourth book in the INSIGHTS series. When you look at the first three books before Truer Insights, how are you different now, after writing and publishing your fourth book, compared to the time after writing and publishing your first book?
There are three earlier books before the INSIGHTS series as well. Once I stumbled upon the ‘insights’ format, which really suits my writing and the lifestyle of the modern reader, the books have kept coming and now there are the four available with more lined up. I have grown in all areas of my creative work and business, and mostly in myself, so the journey in the books is a spiral circling through all aspects of life, taking you deeper into yourself and higher in awareness.

6. Who is Robin Wheeler, apart from being an Author and international Speaker?
The overriding aspect of being yourself for a living is finding and expressing who you really are. Half of this is creating and the other half is rediscovering yourself. This is the spiritual aspect, if you like.

I could be called an artist using the world as my canvas, and an entrepreneur, finding fulfilment in realising vision and building relationships. I am a writer, of course, which is a way of life, and I speak professionally. Mostly, though, through all the forms, I am a mystery of consciousness just being myself!

7. What would you say to the aspirant Speaker and Author who currently doubts whether they could achieve their dream?
Be more than an author or a speaker, and what you write and speak about will flow from that. To be a speaker, there is no substitute for time at the front of the room and for having something sincere and insightful to share. To be a writer, write and keep writing. In both cases, authenticity will inspire and seduce you to self-actualise.

8.Being fake seems to be at the order of the day. What are the 5 most important things that you would like to say to the person reading here, about being themselves for a living?
•The false is promoted everywhere we turn, so we need to be real more than ever. It’s an inspired act of courage, intelligent rebellion and social change.

•Being yourself means stripping away who you are not. If it remains when all else fails, it’s authentic. Trust your struggles.

•Explore all your talents, they make you whole and have inherent wisdom. They also weave together to form your unique brand.

•Live creatively. Put your happiness, inspiration and lifestyle first.

•Integrate to innovate. How can you bring all your skills and talents together with meeting global needs into a simple creative service that is uniquely yours?

9. You were recently chosen to showcase your book at O. R. Tambo International. That was something that made me say: “Wow!” How did it make you feel to be acknowledged in that way?
It was a special opportunity and set of events, so I was grateful. It felt like work, though! All part of what I do. Bringing out a book opens the way for many constructive and mutually beneficial occasions, so it’s something to enjoy and give your best work to.

10. Where could the reader get more information about purchasing your books and about hiring you as a Speaker?
Insights (2007), Further Insights (2009), Deeper Insights (2010) and Truer Insights (2013) are all available in Exclusive Books around South Africa and from Amazon.com. For speaking, contact Amanda Ghigini on amanda@bentrepreneuring.com

                           The cover of Robin’s latest book, entitled: TRUER INSIGHTS.                                

If you need more information about Robin and about his work, you can visit his website or connect with him on Facebook and / or Twitter.                                                                                           http://www.bentrepreneuring.com                                                                                                       http://www.facebook.com/robinwheeler1                                                                                            @RobinBEING

Writing and Publishing your book is as easy as 1, 2, 3

Are you knowledgeable about a particular subject matter? Do you dream of sharing that knowledge with others by becoming a published author? Well, now you have no more excuses, because YOU CAN. You’ll be amazed at what being a published author could do for you on your journey of expert positioning, provided that you do things right.

I present a public workshop in which I guide participants through the process, but also present the information in the form of a one-on-one coaching session.  During my presentation, I focus on important steps to consider on your book writing and publishing journey, as well as on the mistakes that many aspirant authors make and how you could avoid such mistakes.                                                                                                                                                           I regularly receive enquiries from aspirant authors who need help with regards to tailoring their manuscript to a particular audience. This is one of the things that should be considered at the very beginning and could save you a lot of time.

One new author came to me about two years ago and asked me to assist them on their PR journey with getting publicity for their book.  It is always wonderful to take on a new client and the fact that this person had identified me as the go-to person, was a wonderful compliment. However, I had to decline, because when I read their book, I wasn’t sure who they thought their audience were. There were “cartoonish” illustrations in the book and when you combine that to the font size, I got the feeling that the book was suitable for children, between 7 and 11 years old. However, there was a serious love theme that I thought was inappropriate to children of that age group. There were also a number of spelling errors. The overall book had a beautiful cover and it generally looked great.

I unfortunately had to decline the request to help promote the book for obvious reasons and suggested that they made the necessary changes, before I consider.  Well, this was not received very well.

I want to see more published authors                                                                                                                   I want to see more published authors and I want to guide more people on their journey. Therefore I decided to share a few important steps with you (with a brief outline). It will save you a lot of time, trouble and money.  I hope that you’ll find them helpful.

Planning                                                                                                                                                                                    You have to plan your book. If you neglect this step, you could end up with a product that would be considered as not good enough.

Pre-writing                                                                                                                                                                              During this stage you make notes about what it is that you want to write about, decide what you want to focus on in each chapter and elaborate on that.

Revising                                                                                                                                                                                  During the revising stage, you may feel the need to add things of even take some things away. This process leads to your final manuscript, before the proofreading stage.

Proof-reading                                                                                                                                                                          Every manuscript that you complete should be proof-read. It is also advisable to find someone who is qualified to do proof-reading and editing to do this.

Publishing                                                                                                                                                                          Who will publish your book? Will you self-publish, be published by a national publishing house or will you publish your book on Kindle? What are the steps when it comes to these options?

Presenting                                                                                                                                                                            This relates to the published copy of your book. What does it look like? Where will you sell your book? How to get free publicity? This includes interviews on radio, television and being featured in a magazine or newspaper.

And hopefully…

Profiting                                                                                                                                                                                How much money you make from your book, has a direct link to the above steps. However, if you are a celebrity or have a public image, you may be able to sell more copies of your book.  Best wishes on your journey.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     My journey of Expert Positioning started when I was in grade  3                                                         Over the last few days, I’ve been looking at old photos and came across so many beautiful memories, captured in some of those photos. Among these were a newspaper article and a photo taken during the launch of my first book, entitled: Sukses, jou keuse (Success, it’s your choice). The occasion dates back to 2003. I was still living in my beautiful hometown: George. Wow! What a journey?

The launch of my first book that I have self-published.  The date was Tuesday, 04 March 2003 and I was still living in my beautiful hometown: George, in the Southern Cape.  With me is Robert, a winner of a copy of my book.

I look back and I remember the time when my book-dream started. I always loved writing and I remember when I was in the third grade, I wrote a beautiful poem, entitled: My ouma se kat (Grandma’s cat). I also drew a beautiful picture of a ginger-coloured cat next to the poem. I was very impressed with my work, but when I showed it to my friends, they loved at me and some asked me: “Who do you think you are?…”
This question put me right back into my little corner of severe low self-esteem and I didn’t come out of that corner to show my poem to my mom or to my third grade teacher. They would have told me that it was beautiful and good. I never stopped writing, but since then I just stopped showing my work to friends – I just kept it to myself.

I was twenty-six years old when I started working on my self-esteem. And what a process that was? I remember revisiting all those incidents since childhood that led to me being diagnosed with low self-esteem, evaluating and recognising them as lies and putting the pain behind me. And after a personal growth and counselling course at Life Line, I knew that I was ready to get out there and pursue my speaking-dream. I started speaking at schools and later also at Correctional Services on a voluntary basis and mostly about self-esteem. That was a wonderful experience.

My book-dream                                                                                                                                                                 At age twenty-seven, my book-dream was born. Today I look back in amazement, because that was a time when not many people looking like me or with my kind of background were writing books. I think that I had a lot of guts – still do.

At first I was afraid to tell anybody about this dream. I always knew that I wanted to write a book, I just didn’t know what I wanted to write about.  And one day, I made the decision to start writing. I look back at that time and I see wonderful commitment. I mentioned to a few individuals that I was writing a book, and got a lot of negative responses, like: “You…really? Nobody would be interested in publishing your book, because you are not famous…”

Even though I was taken aback by such comments, I continued on my journey. I told myself that the people who doubt me just don’t know how hard I am working and they just do not know how determined I am. Apart from the discouraging comments, there were also positive and encouraging comments. And I learned about the importance of speaking to the right people – of not telling just everybody about my dreams, about what I am working on.

And I managed to secure publicity.  A newspaper article that appeared in the George Herald after the launch of my book.

I love books                                                                                                                                                                     The collection of books that I currently own could give birth to a mini library. From time to time, I also give books away for charity purposes, but it is always very difficult.  I look at the Psychology text books that I have used for my studies during previous years and I know that I can never sell them; while I often see advertisements of students who are selling their text books. I guess that this has something to do with my love for books.

I remember that my love for books is one that dates back to my childhood. My mom used to say that she wonders what I would do one day, because of my love for books and because I loved making my own picture books, using pictures from old magazines. What a pity that I no longer have those? It would have been nice to look back and see what exactly went on in my mind as a six, seven or eight-year old.

Today I love to guide others on their journey, because I believe that everyone could and should write a book.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     I wish you well on your book writing and publishing journey.

 

Wellness Retreat for Women

Do you need to take time out to breathe, smell the roses and re-connect with yourself? If you answer “yes”, this Wellness Weekend Retreat for Women that I plan to host in August, (at Dikhololo Game Reserve or at Mount Amanzi, Northwest South Africa) may be just what you need.

They say that when you work hard, you should play hard as well. But all too often, we work hard while not having time to play and it is mostly women who are guilty of this. The following is what I have written after my week-long sabbatical that I took in August last year.

After ten months of work and no breaks for a short holiday, I thought that it was time to take a break. This break would be different though. Unlike the usual family holiday, I would venture on it by myself. It was tough for hubby and our son to come to terms with the idea of me going on “holiday” all by myself. In fact, it felt strange to me too, because we are doing so many things together and after a marriage of 10 years, we have never been away from each other for a night or longer. I was overworked and needed to rest and recharge. I needed to be quiet. I knew this, because I learned to listen to my body. What a gift this is?
After sorting out their “abandonment-issues”, I was finally ready to plan my sabbatical. What would I do, while I was away? The answer to this question wasn’t too difficult, because I knew that I needed to get away from work to reflect on my life, my personal growth.

With one of my speaking engagements in August, at an event hosted by a large corporate organisation, I encouraged women to make time to reflect on their lives and if they could to get away from their daily routine in order to do so. My topic: Heal the woman within is one that I am very passionate about – more so, because I had to do a lot of healing myself. The importance of taking time out to reflect can never be overemphasized.

What is going on in your life? What are the issues that you are struggling with?

This very topic came about, after I discovered that too many women do not deal with their issues of emotional pain. This is mostly because they do not know how to, and then find inappropriate ways to do so. As a Counsellor, Life Coach and future Psychologist, I hear heart-breaking stories on a regular basis. One in particular comes to mind. I had a client who came to see me about her self-esteem and assertiveness issues. Even though I know that a beautiful outside appearance is not necessarily a reflection of how someone feels on the inside, I was still wondering why this beautiful woman was sitting in front of me, telling me that she believes that she was ugly and worthless.
I also know how important it is to hear the things that the client does not necessarily say.

Growing and learning                                                                                                                                                      I asked this client: “What is it that you are not telling me, that you are afraid to say? She looked at me, saying: “What do you mean?” I responded by asking: “What are you hiding?” The next minute she burst out in tears and literally sobbed for a few minutes. I handed her some tissues and waited for her to gather herself. When she did, she looked at me, saying: “You are right. I am hiding something. In fact, I am trying to run away from something for so long…”

I listened while she shared her very painful story…

She was raped when she was 7 years old. The perpetrator was an adult who was never brought to book, because he died that same year. When she told her family what had happened, they did not believe her because, as she was told: “he was too decent and came from a decent family so she must be lying…”

She was ordered to never talk about the incident and as a result she suffered in silence. This is the story of too many women. She needed an outlet and the abuse of painkillers have her that outlet. It temporarily numbed her pain, but didn’t resolve the pain. As a result, she did not only struggle with her issue of emotional pain and anger, but also had to battle her addiction.

She said: “Everybody thinks that I am so wonderful, but I feel like a fraud…”

It is important to find healing when we need to.  All too often one issue manifests in the form of destructive behaviour when people do not find healing. Please find the healing that you need. That way, you do not have to continue struggling with pain, while also on a journey of self-destruction.

What are the issues that you are currently struggling with? What is the issue that makes you feel isolated, because you have no one to talk to and wrongly believe that you are the only one going through that challenge? This upcoming wellness retreat for women may be just what you need to reflect and realise that you are not alone and that it isn’t the end of the world.  But of course, we are also going to have some fun.

Books for my sabbatical
Apart from Psychology text books, I took with two other books. The one: Truer Insights, written by one of my favourite South African authors: Robin Wheeler.
I love what I’ve learned from his writing over the years; that men are able to put ego aside and be in touch with their feelings. I believe that too much is blamed on the ego of men.

We all have an ego and we should learn to control it and not have it control us. Get this book (and others) in his range: “Being yourself for a living”, from Bentrepreneuring.com
The other book that accompanied me on my sabbatical is: Advice to men. This is a very old book, published in 1983 and being on my bookshelf for a number of years.  Yes, men need healing too.

“A-ha moments”                                                                                                                                                        What is life without these? I love it when I learn something about myself. This sabbatical was one of those times when I once again had a few “a-ha moments.” I do not like being “ordered” around. When you do this, you will encounter my very firm side. This is so, because I know that I will never order another person around. I do not require anybody to be my slave, puppet or to say yes and amen to everything that I have to say, and as a result, I will not be that to anybody else.

Ask me nicely or suggest nicely, but do not order. Yes, life is also about negotiating, but this is one of those things that I am not willing to negotiate on.

Monkey business                                                                                                                                                             The first night that I slept alone, not only in a strange bed, but also in a strange house, was not really my idea of fun, not when there are monkeys on the roof.

And then the wind blows and there is the constant falling of leaves and rustling of tree branches on the roof. Spooky…

Well, I was by myself to learn and reflect.

So, how about turning this spooky night into a fabulous learning experience too? Opening the door was not an option, so I opted for opening the blinds and stare into the dark night through the window. Seeing how the wind smacked the branches around and how the leaves were falling, took the “spooky” out of that windy night. I learned to appreciate nature even more – even those conditions that I normally wish were not there to begin with.
By doing this, I was able to truly appreciate every weather condition, every season. I had to go away and be quiet, had to reflect in order to be able to do this. That’s wonderful.

Back to work                                                                                                                                                                          It was wonderful to take time out – just for myself. It is something that I believe we should all do from time to time. It was even better to come back and to be with the men in my life – not to mention all the wonderful serenades.

Wellness Weekend Retreat for Women                                                                                                               I have received a number of enquiries from women last year who indicated their interest in going on such a retreat to participate in personal growth workshops to help them reflect and restore their balance. The good news is that I am indeed planning one for this year – for August to be exact. Some of the treats that women could expect include: workshops, fun activities, quiet time, great food, goodie bags, etc. to mention a few.

Thank you for the enquiries.
All the details will be finalised within the next two weeks.

Should you wish to receive more information, send an email to: info@andeline.co.za

“My journey to starting a magazine.” Insights by Felicia Buthelezi on how she started, and about the magazine industry in general.

She is a wife, mother and businesswoman. She had another dream, a powerful one; one that scared her. Few believed in her, but she continued to pursue her dream. They said that her magazine-dream would collapse before it even started.

Felicia Buthelezi.  Founding Editor of I do Magazine.

Says Felicia: “For a little while I believed this, because there were so many factors to consider. The print media is hard to penetrate; it requires a lot of money and focus. It is one industry that is not fully transformed to allow independent publishers especially blacks to compete on an equal footing with few established publishers. The magazine industry is saturated. You have to study the industry well to identify the gap.”

Felicia heard all those comments that were meant to make her give up, but the dream grew stronger and stronger. It refused to die. She looked around her and knew that there was a gap in the market for a magazine that encouraged couples to work through their challenges and build healthier and happier homes, instead of focusing on messy divorces in a sensational manner.

In a society where women empowerment often happens with men being excluded, she knew that she wanted men to be part of the picture. She believed in her dream and worked hard at turning it into a reality. And today she is known as the Founding Editor of I do Magazine. She is Felicia Buthelezi, affectionately known as Mrs. B.

Words of wisdom                                                                                                                                                             “Due to the many challenges that I experienced while I attempted to turn my dream into a reality, I would have given up a long time ago. The biggest reason why I refused to give up was because there was a powerful vision behind my dream and I didn’t simply want to start a magazine, just to be in the print media industry or just to be famous.”

Values                                                                                                                                                                                       “I do magazine is who I am. It is aligned with my highest values. This, together with my life’s purpose and my passion, was what fuelled its survival. The glamour and attention are a wonderful bonus, but that was never my focus. And this is where most young people make a mistake; most of them want to be in a career, because of money. Money and fame should never be the foundation. Money will come at the right time – provided that the foundation of the dream is solid.”

Priorities                                                                                                                                                                           “Marriage and family are very important to me. I have packaged my highest values into a magazine. When we create a platform that could influence people’s thinking, it is important to realize how big and how powerful that is. I choose to embrace that with responsibility.

When you align your values with your business concept it makes things easier – especially during difficult times. I believe that when we can align our goals with our inner values, that success is inevitable, because you do not only rely on outside motivation. There is always that inner voice that whispers: It is well – you are going to be fine.”

Objective                                                                                                                                                                               “It is important to know why we are doing what we are doing; why we want to achieve a specific goal. Yes, there is competition out there, but when you continue to focus on growing and on getting better at what you are doing, you can’t go wrong.

I do Magazine am synonymous with Healthy Marriages and Happy Homes.”

Felicia’s advice to aspirant Founding Editors
•A good magazine depends on several things: the quality and abilities of the people who work for it, its ability to attract advertisers, readers and its successful distribution. The big question though is what sets your magazine apart from the rest. If you can answer this question, I believe you can continue with your research.

•You first have to identify the target market of the magazine and do research about their needs and address those needs. My research took me two years.

•Packaging is very important: This includes the style of writing, layout – design of the magazine and the general look and feel of your magazine. This can’t be achieved if you don’t know who you talking to.

•Distribution is also very important because it has a huge effect in making or killing your magazine. Advertisers are interested in the numbers your magazine reaches and how it reaches them. You have to shop around before the magazine is launched.

•Set realistic goals, make a commitment and be consistent in what you do and how you do it. It takes time to win consumers’ trust. Stay focused, work hard and persevere.

•You have to consistently empower yourself with information. It is also beneficial to and network with likeminded people.

•It is hard to find people who will understand and respect your vision like you do – be patient and keep searching. Never see yourself through the eyes of visionless and don’t take everything personal during the searching process. Some people are meant to be with us for a season or one chapter of our book.

•Never be afraid to ask for help. The worst thing that could happen is that someone could say no. But then, you go and ask the next person.

•Academic qualifications are important, but remember that God has invested something so precious inside you and it is as valuable. Protect it and nature it. Most people focus more on what they don’t have than what they already have. External circumstances should not be a stumbling block towards your goal. Use it as a stepping stone.

•You have to embrace your own reality and use the resources you have to make things work. Never compare yourself with bigger and well established companies. Start where you are, with who you are and use what you have. Stay authentic to what you and your magazine stand for.

•People will only be drawn to your work when you are genuine and you live the life reflected on your magazine. When what you do is genuinely coming from within, it will show in your work. Maintain a healthy connection with the readers of your magazine by introducing brand extensions in the form of live events.

To receive updates about I do Magazine, follow them on Twitter                                                        https://twitter.com/idomag

You can also connect with Felicia by liking her Facebook page;
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Felicia-Buthelezi-Mrs-B/382810245172317?fref=ts

Or you could like the Facebook page of I do Magazine.                     https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Do-Magazine/168957539813454