"There have been big changes here in the way we think and talk about marketing since the course you taught."

"There have been a big change here at IPAM/Crown Futures since the course you taught.

So far the big change has been in the way we think and talk about marketing.

We now write and design our materials around the problems and perceptions in the mind of our ideal client rathter than just come up with a laundry list of what we do.

We are discovering that our public events here in Fairfield are accomplishing the branding that we want within our community; before you came we really didn't understand what branding was or how to turn it to our advantage.

We feel that we can use these branding discoveries that we have had on the local level to strong advantage as we try to expand our client base on the natuional level.

We are much more clear about what kind of business we want to target.

It's frusrtaingly slow to get the systems in place which will enable us to really develop on these ideas, but we know where we are going, and we know quite alot about how to get there.

We see some evidence on the bottom line that we are doing better, but this is a business where relationships need to develop and mature over time, often times years, before they convert into signifivant business and significant referrals.

We're confident that we are on the right track, that we will continue to get better, that momentum will continue to build, and that big things will be comming our way."

By Jim Comey, Iowa Progressive Assett Management, Fairfield Iowa

Tony Robbins: My formative years in leadership were spent working and volunteering at Anthony Robbins and Associates . . . and watching his videos and listening to his tapes. I swear, so much of my delivery is unconsciously modeled from him. And I love his style. I didn't necessarily try, but, he was my only role model you know? What I got from Tony was - Don't play small. Don't mute yourself. Be dirt honest with yourself. Radical personal responsibility. And that anything was possible.

John Robbins: integrity. In his work and in his life, time again he has made choices in alignment with his soul. This man also has been a profound demonstration of how to make sure one gets one's personal needs met.

Thomas Leonard: he recently passed away which was a huge blow to me. His whole notion of attraction vs. seduction and effort just floored me. Effort sucks. Better to create space and let people show up.

Lynne Twist: fundamentally transformed and anchored my relationship to money and fundraising. Taught me the difference between taking a stand and a position. Scarcity vs. sufficiency. That scarcity isn't something we talk about as much as a place we talk from. We only see it in the world because we see FROM it. I've never seen anyone coach people how to ask for what they need better than Lynne. She convinced me that being authentic was much more attractive than posing and playing games.

Terry Axelrod: this woman has got it going on. When I first saw her model on fundraising it blew my mind. It felt like, "This is the answer to all the pain all my activists friends go through around fundraising." I am constantly promoting her and her model to every activist I know. She is a fellow systems freak.

Julia Butterfly Hill: She spent two years living in a 300 foot tall redwood tree to protect it - she reminds me that simple, daily actions are what count and to raise my standards in what I expect from myself