Rachel Elnaugh: Entrepeneur, Writer & Author, Business Speaker, Consultant & Mentor

To be honest I am getting a bit fed up of the ‘Anti-Capitalism’ protests.

Mainly because no one who is interviewed can actually say what they are ‘Pro’ instead. Which reduces them to a group of whingeing troublemakers trying to feel important sitting in tents while doing nothing… Much complaining but no solutions.

There’s a lot to be said for Capitalism. It is what allows me to write this blog to you, communicate on my iPhone, buy cornflakes for £1.50 a packet, travel and generally function.

Or buy a £89 dome tent from Milletts in which to protest in.

Look at countries which don’t have the same organisation of capital – for example Africa. Millions starve.

The problem is not Capitalism. The problem is the greed and abuse of power that kicks in where money is involved. It is where the needs of self (or the organisation/group) are put above the needs of others.

In blocking the church and cluttering the streets so businesses cannot function I am afraid the St Paul’s protesters are just another face of that same selfish ‘me-first’ coin.

The real power lies with the consumer – so the answer is simple.

Don’t place your money with banks who are corrupt. Don’t buy goods and services from companies which are unethical.

Spend your days creating value through serving others. Support local traders. Collaborate. Switch to natural sources of power. Grow your own vegetables. Make do and mend. Love others for what is in their soul, not how they look, or what clothes they are wearing. Be grateful for all the abundance in your life.

Live in harmony.

But meantime don’t destroy the system that serves so many so well and allows us all to function.

Have a lovely Sunday

Rachel x

Yesterday I spoke at the International Autumn Fair – which I was delighted to do in return for securing a stand for the lovely Amber Burge ‘The Queen of Gift Wrapping’ to showcase her gorgeous collections for people who LOVE giving gifts…

They had me listed to talk about ‘Identifying the next big opportunity’ which created a bit of inner turbulence as a) this is not one of my normal topics – so I had to create a whole new theme, and b) in my view the future is not about materialism

Tricky then, given that the whole show is about shifting ‘stuff’…

To ‘identify the next big opportunity’ first you have to understand what is happening within the market, which hinges on what is happening within society and within the world. 

We’ve all seen that the consumer boom of the past few decades is unsustainable.  Western economies are practically bankrupt – and much of the funding keeping them going is being derived from the Far East.  As one analyst I heard speak put it, if the West is the alcoholic then the East is the distillery.  

What’s more, none of the goodies has made us happy!  Practically everyone I know has too much debt than they feel comfortable with.  And the lucky few who are sitting on a pile of money are fearful of where to put it – with currencies, stock markets, banks – even whole economies – in danger of collapse.

We live on a planet where the oil is running out, the oceans are becoming empty and there’s far too much pollution…  I even read an article at the weekend that ‘space junk’ is reaching danger levels.

The planet is at breaking point – which means we are nearing a breakthrough.

If the 1980′s was about what you owned and the 1990′s was about what you experienced then the first decade of the 21st century has been about who you are – hence the boom in blogging & social media.

My take is that this decade is becoming all about where you BELONG – which tribe or tribes you are part of – and how that collective energy can influence change.  It’s the power of the Tribe which has seen whole governments fall as well as London burn in the past month or so.

It’s power from the people up – whether channelled for good or for evil – an end to ‘command and control’ government.

So the future is not about ‘stuff’ it’s about harnessing the energy of (or creating your own) tribe – a group of people operating from the heart and connected via a shared passion.

And if you happen to assemble a tribe to which you can then sell a customised T-shirt or a range of organic earthenware then so much the better!

That was my message to the people at the NEC.

Have a wonderful day.

Rachel

There was a flurry of tweets about mentoring last night and one person asked me ‘What are the KPIs and success factors used to measure the achievement of deliverables in mentoring?’.

To which I replied; ‘Making Money!’

You see, for me that is the acid test of whether I have achieved success in helping a business as a mentor – whether or not they are making more money after my help than before I became involved.

So I was concerned to receive a separate tweet from ‘PiggyBankSaysNo’ to tell me they were at Day 57 of my Daily Mentoring Videos – but could not afford the £25 to buy any more. As these videos are designed to take people from financial struggle into flow I knew something must be wrong!!!

There’s usually two reasons why mentoring support doesn’t work:

1) Lack of ACTION on suggestions made/advice given, and

2) Being stuck in a Poverty Mindset

It didn’t take much analysis to discover that 2) was in dire need of attention!

We talk out future into existence through the words we use and affirmations we (often unwittingly) make. In this case, calling yourself ‘PiggyBankSaysNo’ does not augur success! Combined with a Twitter avatar depicting an empty piggy bank facing left (the past). Whatever you focus on you get more of – so my simple suggestion to PiggyBankSaysNo was to start by changing the name of the business to PiggyBankSaysYES !!!

Not only was the name changed that evening, the logo was replaced with a piggy bank facing right (the future) – full of money !!!  ACTION.

Creating the fertile ground to attract wealth always starts with setting the right intention!

I wouldn’t mind betting  that PiggyBankSaysYES will find that affirmation magically coming true very quickly in days to come….

(She also hadn’t been actioning the advice in the videos either – but that’s a whole other story!)

The message of this blog is: Positive Money Mindset + Inspired ACTION are key to getting results.

Rachel

Lots of controversy on Twitter today about Start Up Britain – the new website being endorsed by Cameron as the way to kickstart the economy. 

The problem with new media is that people take out from what they read on Twitter – long before they actually visit the website and find out what’s really going on.  This means the ‘take-out’ is more important than the reality.  And that’s where Start Up Britain has created themselves a problem…

The reality is that Start Up Britain is NOT a government initiative, it’s more of a collaborative joint venture among various commercial organisations.  And this is where the problem comes.  For, while the site is billed as a ‘not for profit’ organisation, it’s clearly designed to generate lots of revenue for the participating businesses, many of whom seem to be clients of the PR agency who launched the site – Seven Hills.

It’s this uncomfortable marriage of the government endorsed/not for profit veneer over a clearly commercial motive which leaves the nasty taste in the mouth.

Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% behind enterprise and encouraging small business – and there’s nothing wrong with making money but let’s be clear: Start Up Britain is a commercial collective who are using this as a vehicle to make money from the boom in Enterprise – with some rather priceless free endorsement from our PM thrown in.

It’s exactly the reason why the old Business Links weren’t allowed to recommend any specific business or product.

[The rather sad thing is that, behind all this razzle dazzle PR fanfare from our PM, as a result of the cuts great enterprise encouraging institutions - like the British Library Business and IP Centre where I have been a mentor for the past three years - lose their funding this Thursday, and as a result are having to severely curtail their activity.  Meanwhile, HMRCE together with state owned banks continue to wind up Britain's existing small businesses on a daily basis.]

Nonetheless, well done to Seven Hills for creating lots of PR noise – it’s just not all the right noise I am sure they wanted to hear.

Shortly after Red Letter Days crashed back in 2005 – and I was being trashed by the UK media – I received an email from a well wisher, suggesting that I read a book called ‘Atlas Shrugged’ by Ayn Rand. 

It’s a business classic, published in 1957, in which entrepreneurs slowly become disillusioned with the world. 

Ground down by their critics and villified by the media, a mysterious character called John Galt appears - and one by one they silently disappear – to create a new society of mutual respect and harmony.

“Published in 1957, Atlas Shrugged was Ayn Rand’s greatest achievement and last work of fiction. In this novel she dramatizes her unique philosophy through an intellectual mystery story that integrates ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, politics, economics, and sex. Set in a near-future U.S.A. whose economy is collapsing as a result of the mysterious disappearance of leading innovators and industrialists, this novel presents an astounding panorama of human life-from the productive genius who becomes a worthless playboy…to the great steel industrialist who does not know that he is working for his own destruction…to the philosopher who becomes a pirate…to the woman who runs a transcontinental railroad…to the lowest track worker in her train tunnels. Peopled by larger-than-life heroes and villains, charged with towering questions of good and evil, Atlas Shrugged is a philosophical revolution told in the form of an action thriller.”

The end result is a complete breakdown of the economy – and ultimate chaos.

In a world that is increasingly living on the edge, as a country we need to keep the people who are going to help trade us out of this mess engaged and motivated.

Not try to destroy them.

As Ireland struggles to sellotape together its failing economy, students are marching in protest in London and the two Koreas look to be on the brink of war.

This month we’ve had outrage at George Bush claiming that waterboarding torture was legal and justified, the Chinese boycotting the Nobel Peace prize because a Chinese pacifist was the winner and Burma under political pressure to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi after 15 years of house arrest.

Meanwhile the Earth continues to cleanse itself with floods, volcanoes and other natural disasters.

When I was in Malaysia training under Feng Shui Grand Master Lillian Too earlier this month we looked at the meaning of cycles of time in Flying Star Feng Shui.

1984 to 2004 was the ‘Period of 7’ – symbolised by small metal, gold, the future, the West and the young woman. Hence the digital revolution, businesses based on futuristic technology, the surge in consumerism and material wealth, the strength of America and the rise of girl power.

However in 2004 we switched to the ‘Period of 8’ – symbolised by the mountain, knowledge, The North East and the young man. Thus we’re seeing the shift in power to China and the East, the rise of young male energy to replace the weary leaders of the old paradigm, businesses based on Thought Leadership and the switch in emphasis from outer riches to inner wealth (the cave of treasure).

The shift to the ‘Period of 8’ means that Flying Star 7 reverts to its true nature – all about violence robbery and theft. Those who flourished in the period of 7 or who chased its ideals have now become the ‘Broken Soldiers’ of the new paradigm – still trying to exert their influence using threats, manipulation, anger, violence and the abuse of power, while continuing to believe that ostentatious wealth is the measure of all success.

But while the Broken Soldiers desperately try to cling on to what little they have left, a silent wave of consciousness is gently sweeping them away to create the space for a new world order to prevail. One which is about peace, love, harmony and mutual respect – and working in collaboration for the greater good.

The old economy and ways of being have been proved to be unsustainable. We now need a new way of existing on this planet.

However the status quo will not let go of their last bastions of power without a fight – hence the polarisation we are now seeing as the old order crumbles.

A revolution is underway – but it is not one of anger bloodshed and violence.

It is a silent uprising of all that is good, great and nourishing in the world.

Peace will ultimately prevail. But I fear we’re going to experience much destruction first.