Some years ago, a friend saw an item for sale and immediately thought, “Yashoda will love this”.
I did. Her gift was a bubble wand – the kind that made huge bubbles! With practice you could even encircle your body with these bubbles! And, if you added glycerin to the soapy water, glorious rainbows filled bubbles as they drifted towards the sky.
The more bubbles I made the more fun I had. I loved the way I could use the wind, gently turning my arms and body in a graceful way which made the bubbles. I knew I wanted to sell bubbles as extra income.
Some time before, another friend and teacher, Leonard Orr, told a group of us “If you are really intelligent, you will create many sources of income – 50 sources of income!” I thought he was daft, that it was easy for him to say because he is fairly well-known and is in many money making adventures. But I remember what else he said: that when we have one main source of income a sort of dependency gets created; along with that comes an unconscious fear of losing that source of income. I also knew of people who were in stifling uncreative jobs for that very reason. So, since I already was selling other things, I decided to broaden to three sources of income.
I called the manufacturer and purchased 200 bubble wands, at about $2.15 each. That was a sizable amount for me at the time, but I had this feeling that I could have fun and make money.
My bubble wands arrived, I put on my best working boots and hat, something colorful and crazy in between, and set off for the Canby County Fair in Canby, Oregon, I rented a space and set up my table, bucket and a simple sign that said: “Mystical, Magical Bubbles…Bubble Your Pleasure, Bubble Your Fun!”
And I did. I had fun. I got so INTO making the bubbles, watching each as a surprising, magical occurrence, that I completely forgot that I was selling! Why, people were asking ME if they could GIVE ME money so they could have their bubble wand.
In three days, I was delightfully wiped out! And substantially filled out in my wallet! I sold the wands for $10 (I knew they retailed for $12) or two for $15. I ordered more and sold them whenever I saw the opportunity, gave some as gifts, traded some, even took some as I traveled to
Leonard also says it is smart to always have something to sell, I learned a valuable secret that has remained with me still:
- I was fired up by the product, thinking and feeling them to be so wonderful for me to demonstrate and for people to buy and,
- I forgot I “had” to sell them which gave me freedom to relax, to play…to sell!
Apart from my setting up and showing up, this experiment was not only easy, it was effortless because of the fun that I had.
It is intelligent these days for all of us to create many sources of income. There are wonderful products that can be sold person-to-person, services and ideas (giving a workshop or class). That is how money is made: ideas, goods and services. Think about something that “turns you on”, “gives you a hit” or “fires you up”. Get a few and sell them and make a profit. Do you remember how good you feel when you find something that’s fun as well as a bargain? Well you can do the same for people you know or strangers by offering them something that can enhance their pleasure or practicality of life.
Note: No one will do without because you “turn a buck”. It is not true that there is only a limited amount of money in
Susan Deschenes leads classes in clientele building, energy breathing and spiritual purification practice in
(c) 2002 Susan Yoshoda Deschenes