Lessons on being present

On Monday July 14th I had the decidedly uncomfortable experience of breaking my leg.

It was a tragically simple and common household accident, I was walking down two steps after exercising with my huge bouncy ball.   As usual, my mind was one minute ahead and with the ball in my arms I was not looking where I was stepping.  Then, wham!  My right foot rolled off the step, sprained, and my left leg hit the step with nowhere to go.  So my tibia and fibula snapped and I made the most inhuman scream I had ever heard.  [Those screams later gave may dear husband nightmares.]  An ambulance ride and an hour of surgery later, everything was back where it should be with the help of an eight inch metal plate.

My good friend asked me yesterday, "So, are you listening now?"

"Listening to what?  I'm watching a lot more TV, if that is what you mean."

"No, listening to the message!  There is a saying that if you don't listen to the small messages that God (or your higher, spiritual power) leaves you, then they send in the angels from Brooklyn to make you pay attention." 

My apologies for the gross generalization to those who live in and love Brooklyn, but I got her point.  If I'm ignoring the myriad of signs that I had already seen and heard to be more present, then of course this type of strong-armed message impresses upon me the importance of learning that lesson.  Be present in the moment.

I have been a chronic multi-tasker and am often accused by my family of "spacing out."  It's because I was usually off planning, thinking of what needs to be done, where I need to go next, what I shouldn't forget.  According to Eckhart Tolle, this is my ego talking on overdrive.   He talks a lot about it in his books A New Earth and The Power of Now.  Both books I have purchased, read a bit and glanced through, but never truly absorbed and took the guidance to heart.   I was never present when I was reading them, ironically.  I have also heard this message through Oprah, Wayne Dyer, Zen Habits and Tony Robbins.  Being present is practiced in meditation, something I have been increasingly curious about.

Despite all these wonderful teachers and messages, I did not truly listen.

The impact of not being present is different for everyone.  For me, it means that my kids have to make an extra effort to get my attention.  That it takes longer than it should to get through my e-mail since I don't focus enough on the one email in front of me.  That when on the phone, I have to fight with myself to not check email or organize my files.  In its worst form, I do not give my fullest attention to those in my presence.  And that is plain rude.  In personal relationships this can be either annoying or incredibly damaging depending on the level of trust.   

What does this have to do with spa and salon marketing you ask?

Not being present with your clients is the subtle difference between a client who feels cherished, valued and cared for and one who simply "got a massage" or "got a haircut."    You know the difference too when you receive service --- at a restaurant or getting your oil changed.  Superb service is when you had an inexplicable connection with the service provider. They were fully present.   The task at hand is irrelevant, being present is all about a state, a level of focus on the moment.   

I wrote about this topic earlier, in Does your marketing connect on a personal level?  Looking back, it is clear to me that I had received a message, enough to be inspired to write that article, but did not learn the lesson myself.  Thus the angels from Brooklyn. 

So, since I have a bit more time on my hands in bed (it will be six weeks until I can put weight on my left leg) I am re-reading those Eckhart Tolle books.   I will not brush aside this message to be more present: in the littlest things in life like walking down stairs; in the quiet moments as I sing to my girls at night; and in the time I spend with my clients.

Imagine what being fully present could do to your client loyalty. Do you think they will be more likely to return or tell others about you? Can you train your staff to do the same thing?   Of course the answers are yes and yes.

And if there are messages in your life that you aren't paying attention to, don't follow in my footsteps.  Please beware of those angels from Brooklyn and truly listen.