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Well it's the end of 2022 and what a year it's been..
We started the year with covid regulations still in place and I wasn't able to see my family for Christmas, eventually catching up with them in March! Then we had a really long hot summer which was lovely at first but witnessing the drought conditions in my local nature reserve was hard - especially as a fire then devastated it and nearly threatened many homes nearby.
Business News
In April I welcomed my second cohort of students into the Emotional Audit programme, which enabled me to prove that the course really was having amazing results for people (and it wasn't just a one off!!). However, using feedback from that first group enabled me to shorten the length and make the course 7 + 1 bonus modules in 8 weeks rather than 15, and to make it interactive. By October, when I launched it again, it was fully integrated onto my website platform with downloadable content and interactive quizzes. This has been a massive undertaking (thanks to Justine for being part of that), and I am so excited that, despite a few hiccups, I'm now able to offer this course both as an Online group course and as a self-directed Evergreen one along with many other shorter options. Just check out the Courses page on my website.
Training
This year I undertook some CPD courses in order to develop my skills and the business:
Suzanne Dibble's Legal Academy course to tighten up my T&C's and business practice. This sadly meant that my group participation in the Greenwood Holistic Health Group came to an end as we could not protect eachother from being jointly liable for each other's businesses. If any of you reading this are considering any form of partnership or group work I would highly advise you check out her course and/or get some legal advice. Often we as business owners are blind to our own inadequacies in business practice and it was important for me to make sure my legals were up to scratch.
The Ad Clients Accelerator Programme in which I was mentored to produce an online webinar funnel and Youtube Ads to lead people into my new Masterclass Program. This was very challenging at times and resulted in me being forced out of my comfort zone to produce an ad, edit and upload it as well as integrating various online programmes that automate delivery like Kartra and Everwebinar. Through those media, I was able to reach new people and offer a ray of hope to those you may have lost it. I was amazed at the numbers turning up to watch the webinar - thousands!! However, in December I turned off the ads as it seemed like the quality of people I was attracting wasn't quite right. Of the 15 free Discovery calls I had booked only 3 turned up!! It was very disappointing to have my time so wasted, but clearly my message wasn't reaching the right audience - or maybe they just didn't expect me to be there!! This is something I will revisit in 2023 perhaps with some help on Google Ads (who own YouTube). If any of you have some experience of that please let me know. I can say, though, that the experience has been a massive learning curve and I am quite proud I overcame my natural reticence on camera and produced an ad which was streamed into thousands of homes around the world.
The Audiobook Impact Academy - run by the self-styled guru's of modern publishing, the Milkkleson twins, this course (which I'm still doing) has taught me how to market my books more effectively and shown me all the mistakes I made first time round! Very humbling. It enabled me to consider out-sourcing things I had always done myself - like cover design and editing. There results are shown below.
Book Publishing
I wrote and published 2 short books on my experience of my mother's dementia and losing her in 2021 (The Dementia Diaries). The companion book 'Life Lessons' is a compilation of messages I received from her and my father since their passing. Although I know this may seem a strange diversion from my normally quite technical books, it felt a very personal exploration of the information to be found in the collective consciousness after death. No-one could be more surprised than me, I can assure you, that this was even possible! But having contacted both of them, through 2 friends who have medium-ship abilities, the messages that came through were so accurate and unequivocal, I felt I had to share them. These books are available on amazon - see my author page both individually and as a series bundle.
I have also, finally, (it took me 6 months!) managed to publish a hardback version of my book (with a new cover) The Scar that Won't Heal - due to popular demand as many people said they liked to come back to the book over and over and the paperback sometimes wasn't up to that kind of use. I also decided to produce a colour illustration version of the softback - also available now on amazon. This has been made possible by the advances in self-publishing - of course it also has its downside as it means there are a lot of very low quality books out there. So like everything you have to have a degree of critical thinking before dismissing or accepting things at face value.
Plans for 2023 include development of a new website patriciaworby.com which will hopefully showcase me as a person rather than Alchemy Therapies itself and so include all the things that I love:
landscape, nature and plants - I was a landscape designer for 25 years before doing this! And I am so passionate about the power of nature and beauty to inspire us and give us meaning.
sacred geometry and universal mathematics (subject of a new book I'm currently writing) and all things science-y. This is my left-brain trying to unite with my right brain!
financial freedom and digital currently - a new approach to money (cryptocurrency, Blockchain and DeFi) - which doesn't replace cash, btw (I'm a great fan of keeping cash), it more likely replaces digital Fiat currency, particularly as a savings pot. The technology is evolving at such a pace it's hard to keep up and I've been burned a couple of times by investing in schemes that then went belly up - but if you don't risk you never gain in my opinion and I'm wiser now.
Supporting local Business
I invest in local businesses too:
my local ethical bookshop October Books is now a community cooperative and I am a proud supporter as they expand beyond the realms of being 'just a bookshop' and open their community space to local groups and the positive change economy.
London Real Studios - an independent media company that produces challenging, non-mainstream live podcasts and online training courses in self-development, business and blockchain investment. I was invited to tour the studios in November this year which was amazing. Here's me in the guest chair being 'interviewed' by CEO and host Brain Rose!
It's been an interesting year with many challenges but overall very exciting. I hope with Christmas just round the corner, you too are feeling excited and hopeful.
So it just remains for me to wish you all a peaceful and joyful Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you in 2023!!