What do I mean by ‘your most beautiful year yet’?
Well, I’ll explain what it means to me in this article. I thought this had gone out last week but it looks like we had some crossed wires, so here it is in full (and if you’ve already read this article, skip to the end where you’ll find some ideas about how you can make 2022 your most beautiful year yet).
[GULP] A leap of faith (and a new direction)
Two months ago, I wrote a post saying I was embarking on the biggest experiment I’ve done in a decade.
I set out to find out what happens when I introduce a zero-tolerance policy for stress, pressure and urgency in my business.
In an experiment, you expect things to happen, but you never know exactly what, and I certainly didn’t expect things to happen so fast….
Big changes are about to take place, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
But before I go into that, let me give you a quick backstory.
In 2009, I stumbled across the principles behind clarity (the 3 principles articulated by Sydney Banks), and I soon discovered these principles are to psychology what the discovery of germs was to medicine.
I realised they represent the future of psychology, and I had a vision of everybody on the planet waking up to their innate capacity for clarity, resilience & wellbeing.
By 2011, I was ready to start writing about it, and in early 2013 my first book was published – CLARITY: Clear Mind, Better Performance, Bigger Results.
The response was phenomenal.
CLARITY became a number 1 bestseller and received hundreds of positive reviews from people saying how it had changed their lives (as well as a respectable number of 1-star reviews comparing it unfavourably with dogshit).
In 2013 I ran the first Clarity Certification Training and started growing a cadre of high-impact professionals who are grounded in this understanding and are able to share it impactfully.
Over the past 9 years, we’ve trained over 300 Clarity Practitioners, Coaches and Trainers and I feel proud of the difference I see them making in the world.
So earlier this year, when my publisher (Wiley) approached me to write a second edition of CLARITY, I jumped at the chance.
And as I sat down to work on the new edition, I realised that when I wrote CLARITY, I’d planted a seed that grew into something far beyond what I’d imagined. All the podcasts, products and programmes I run today can be traced back to that seed.
Today we’re living in a very different world.
Millions of people are now aware of the principles. Businesses and organisations all over the planet are exploring this understanding (I even did a talk on clarity and strategy at the NATO Defense College this summer).
A number of principles books have made it onto the bestseller lists and my book RESULTS became the first 3P Sunday Times bestseller.
But the changes haven’t all been positive.
The desperate need for this understanding is even greater than when CLARITY came out. There are a number of forces that are leveraging the outside-in misunderstanding and creating a humanitarian crisis in mental health:
– The combination of digital technology and AI-driven social media
– The lockdowns and media-driven fear in response to the pandemic
– The widespread effects of disconnection from wisdom and wellbeing, including the climate crisis, the polarisation of society and the increasing divide between haves and have-nots
All of this is amplifying the effect of the outside-in misunderstanding for millions of people at a time when we need clarity more than ever.
So what was my insight?
There’s an old adage, “What got you here won’t get you there.”
I realised that just as the release of CLARITY planted a seed that grew into everything I’ve described, I now want to create the space for the seeds I’ll be planting with the second edition.
So I’ve made a decision.
Between now and July 2022, I’m stopping all business activities except the delivery of the programmes that are already on the calendar for 2022.
I have the strong sense that there’s something new getting ready to emerge, and I want to create room for it.
This means that the Clarity Certification Training I do starting January 2022 may be the last one I ever do (or at least the last one I do in its current form).
It seems to me that the world has never had a greater need for this understanding and that conditions have never been better to share it as widely as possible. In fact, the technologies that are playing a part in creating this crisis may also have the capacity to play a part in its solution.
I don’t know what part I’m going to play in all of this.
What I do know is that I’m interested in exploring emerging technologies and new models to align communities as we take this understanding out into the world in a brand new form.
To the people who have been through (or are preparing to go through) Clarity Certification Training, you’re not just early adopters; you’re trailblazers, and I’m grateful to be on the journey with you.
In Syd Banks’ final talk, “The Ultimate Answer”, he says that when this gets out into the world, “literally, it will help millions of people.”
The more I’ve learned from Syd’s work, the more I’ve learned to take him literally. And I think it might just be time.
Q: What do you think?
You can read the 88 existing comments and share your thoughts with me on the original Facebook post here. I look forward to sharing this journey with you as it unfolds.
One from the Archives:
“Closing the Year: Looking Back, Looking Forward, Being Present”
Every year, I go through a simple process to ‘close’ the year gone by and to embrace the new year. It’s a nice way of checking in with yourself and taking stock of the past year, future possibilities, and the present moment. It’s really just a way of setting some time aside to reflect on your life and be open to new possibilities. If you’d like to do it, you can find the steps here:
>>> Click HERE to read “Closing the Year: Looking Back, Looking Forward, Being Present”
This Week´s Video: The 6-Client Coaching Model
Your path to a successful coaching business is paved with conversations, and there are 3 conversations every successful coach has to be able to have. I covered all 3 of them in the free masterclass I did this week; it’s called the 6-Client Coaching Model, and it does what it says on the tin, ie, you’ll learn how to grow a successful coaching business with as few as six paying clients.
The core content is one hour, then we had 15-20 mins of Q&A. And we had hundreds of people join us live, so you’ll see lots of great comments & questions popping up on the live chat when you watch the replay. Enjoy!
>>> Click HERE to listen to “The 6-Client Coaching Model”
Upcoming events:
ClarityLive: Your Most Beautiful Year Yet (with special guests, Jan & Chip Chipman)
Jan 8-9th, 2 full days via Zoom, Early bird tickets available until Saturday, Jan 1st at midnight
Big love
Jamie
Jamie Smart, Sunday Times Bestselling Author, Speaker & Coach
PS As you may already have read, between now and July 2022, I’m stopping all business activities except the delivery of the programmes that are already on the calendar for 2022. This means that the Clarity Certification Training I do starting January 2022 may be the last one I ever do (or at least the last one I do in its current form).
As a result, I’ve decided to “push the boat out” and include a MASSIVE bonus package worth over £13,000 for everyone who joins us this year. This includes access to some really cool stuff I’ve got in the pipeline, as well as the opportunity to get 1:1 coaching from me personally in a group context!
Clarity Certification Training 2022 (CCT) is our flagship seven-month programme for people who want to bring an understanding of the principles behind clarity into their life and their work.
If you want to share this understanding with others in some way (for example to become a successful coach, therapist or trainer) and want to learn how to do this in a way that’s natural, authentic and impactful then this is the ideal opportunity to join CCT.
PPS A few things worth knowing…
1. Clarity Certification Training (CCT) is our flagship seven-month programme for people who want to bring an understanding of the principles behind clarity into their life and their work.
2. I will be delivering all 7 modules on CCT, so you’re going to be working closely with me personally. This means you’ll have the chance to get 1:1 coaching with me in a group context.
3. We’re limiting the number of places on the programme to 36 people. This year’s programme sold out, so we’re expecting CCT 2022 to be fully booked too (the first 25 places are already gone, so there are 11 left as I write. This programme will sell out).
4. When you join now, you’re going to get instant access to the full recordings of a prior year’s programme to start listening to between today and the formal kickoff in January. So everybody’s going to be starting the programme with an even deeper understanding!
5. CCT is accredited by the ICF as a Continuous Coaching Education (CCE) provider. If you’re already certified as an ICF coach, you’ll earn ICF CCE units when you do CCT. If you’re not already a certified ICF coach, you can take part in CCT with full confidence that the programme is fully accredited by the ICF as a Continuous Coaching Education provider.
6. I’ve just sweetened the deal and added some brand new bonuses, bringing the total value of the bonus package to over £13,000.
7. You can join from the comfort of your own home using our state-of-the-art live-streaming facility, and…
8. You can save up to £1,500 when you book your place by midnight Pacific time on Monday, 24th January 2022.
>>> You can get the full programme details and register here
And if you have any questions, you can schedule a call with a member of my team here: www.JamieSmart.com/discovery