the potential for Earth-shaking booms if cars started blowing up across the street as scheduled. “It was such a testoster- one-filled environment to try to guide hardened cops to tell stories and share emotions and their vulnerable side,” Machalek says. The week before, the two friends


had been teaching actors to play the role of undercover agents, and now they were training undercover agents to be actors. But the principles were the same: make a connection, structure a message and deliver dynamically to be a powerful communicator. “We knew right away that the real


opportunity was going to be in the world of business,” says Hyers. Sud- denly, SagePresence was coaching sales pitches, developing business messages, writing speeches and offering training on presenting. Hyers and Machalek became speakers themselves, doing keynotes, workshops and seminars in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Lon- don, Sydney and Dublin. “Eventually, it was time to write


a book,” says Machalek. “Dean and I developed print, Kindle and audiobook versions to document over a decade of practice.” The result was Winning Presence for Business Presenters, which quickly became a bestseller. Today, SagePresence is maturing into a true learning and development company. “We certified our first five new Sage Trainers and began building a business that will offer products, train- the-trainer and site-licensing of our brand and curriculum internationally,” says Hyers.


SagePresence has been a dream come true for its founders. “Our dream helps others obtain their dreams through winning presence,” says Machalek. “That might mean winning a 500-million-dollar sales pitch, impress- ing a job interviewer, blowing the socks off a tough audience or speaking up and sharing ideas at a staff meeting.” Adds Hyers, “There are an infinite


variety of make-or-break moments, but for whatever yours is, the pivotal ingre- dient is you. Master the role you were born to play.”


Pictured in the photo: Dean Hyers (left) and Pete Machalek (right). For more information, visit SagePresence.com.


inspiration


5 INSTINCTS L


Listening to Inner Wisdom


TO HEED by Dr. Judith Orloff


istening to our instincts can help us stay safe and deal better with life-or-death decisions. Making the most of the wisdom of this inner voice also enables us to live a more satisfying life in the moment. How do we choose which gut feelings to trust? Here are five messages we’ll be glad we paid attention to.


“Something feels wrong in my body.” Listening to our body’s subtle signals is a critical part of exercising an intuitive sense. The body is a powerful intuitive communicator, delivering early warning signs when anything feels off, weak or just not right, so that we can address it sooner, rather than later.


“I’m in danger.” Social conditioning has helped to create unconscious be- liefs that can cause flawed first impres- sions and ill-advised snap decisions; it’s vital that we check our subjective feelings against mental rationaliza- tions. If some person or situation feels untrustworthy, pause to pay atten- tion, even if the feeling might later be proved inaccurate.


“I want to help.” Evolution has inher- ently enabled us to quickly “read” faces and other emotional signals. For ex- ample, the sympathy instinct nudges us to change the subject when wedding talk makes a newly divorced colleague cringe or general conversation about past rough landings makes an airplane seatmate


nervous—subtle gestures that can make a big difference in another’s day.


“I know how to do this.” When tempted to overthink something we know how to do, try a little therapeutic distraction, such as saying the alphabet backwards when a yoga teacher leads the class into a dreaded handstand. Briefly engaging the mind with some- thing other than the task at hand can leave our instincts free to do their job and enjoy the fulfillment that diligent practice has made possible.


“This is it!” Most people have a great “I just knew it was right” story. It might be about the time they first spotted their sweetheart or crossed the threshold of their new house. When intuition signals that we’ve found something or someone truly right for us, the choice often be- comes easy. It feels healthy and good, without resistance or conflict. Using our instincts helps lead us to


smart choices that improve our quality of life.


Judith Orloff, M.D., is the author of the international bestseller Second Sight, upon which these tips are based. An assistant clinical professor of psychia- try at the University of California-Los Angeles, Orloff synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting- edge knowledge of intuition and energy medicine. For more inspiration, visit DrJudithOrloff.com.


natural awakenings May 2013 15


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