What a Dying Cat Can Teach You About Growing Your Business

By Coach Cary Bayer

In a previous column, I discussed how a cat's liveliness can help you expand your business as a healer. In today's column I'll discuss how a cat's dying can help you grow your business, as well. But first things first; the following were the main points from that earlier article:

1. Think highly of yourself and others will be attracted to you.
2. Let others support you.
3. Let others touch you. Cuddling against them isn't bad either.
4. Exercise keeps you young in body and heart.
5. Nap when you feel like it; it's good for your soul and your body.
6. It's innocent to be the center of attention.
7. Curiosity thrills the cat.
8. The more playful you are, the more you're loved and prospered.
9. If you're happy and you know it, purr away--you'll be feline groovy.

Recently, I found out from my veterinarian that the cat who had helped me significantly grow my own business--my beloved little 10-pound Buddha Ananda (Sanskrit for bliss)--had developed cancer in several organs that would kill her in less than two weeks. I was devastated to discover that the only being in my life who loves me unconditionally--and who had been doing so ever so sweetly for 16-plus years--would waste away and die in a fortnight.

Upon hearing her death sentence, I hung up the phone and went over to her. I looked with my sad eyes into her gorgeous green eyes, and I got a "message" from her. It was an obvious message, but a profound one nonetheless: It was that, in fact, she's not dead yet; she's still very much here, and she invited me to be here with her in the moment, since all we had was the moment. The future--with her being dead--did not exist yet.

My dying cat taught me to be present in the NOW and enjoy her while she's still alive, rather than to go to the short-term future--even if it's just days away--and start grieving her while she's still here. The time for love and connection was while she was still alive; the time for grief was when she's gone forever, not while she's sitting on my couch. As a business coach for massage therapists, hypnotherapists, and other healers, I can confidently say that her lesson can be applied elegantly to both your personal and professional lives. Personally, you can choose to express love to those you love now; professionally, you can choose to market your business now. Don't wait.

Ananda's second lesson to me was: Be brave. For her, it was in facing nausea and impending death--a double whammy if ever there was one--with courage.

The healers' marketing tip that you can take away from this is to be present to market in the face of a deep recession--regardless of the fears that may be filling your mind during the day, as well as causing you nightmares while you sleep that you won't be able to create enough sessions to keep your business surviving, let alone thriving. When you find yourself worrying about how you don't have enough appointments booked for next week, let's say, bring your awareness back into the present, and see what you can do about changing that. In other words, add some more bookings.

Because my cat's dying was accompanied by her complete loss of appetite, she was losing her strength. As a result, she needed help from me to jump on and off the couch, even though just days earlier she did it with her characteristic ease and grace. The third business lesson that she embodied was to learn that you don't have to do everything by yourself. Allow others to help your business jump up to a higher level of success. In other words, ask your clients for referrals; don't just wait for them.

The process of dying, and her lack of eating, tired Ananda out greatly, and forced her to sleep more than usual. The fourth healers' marketing tip here is that rest is the basis of activity. If you're not getting enough rest, you need to sleep more and take it easier. If you're not getting enough rejuvenation from the receiving of healing treatments, make sure that you book sessions for yourself to enjoy its healing benefits on a regular weekly basis.

The fifth and sixth healers' marketing tips that my cat's dying can have on your business are trust and peace. When, after several days, it became clear that Ananda was not going to eat any more food--which meant she would have a complete systemic shutdown and the terribly painful death that results from it--my wife and I chose finally to listen to the vet, and intervene in her death. In other words, we chose to have her euthanized.

I scoured the Internet and found a traveling vet who made house calls, and was available the next day. When he arrived at our home, I watched my cat trust me completely with this strange man who had a long and sharp needle in his hand. And she let him approach her and didn't resist. (She knew very well what sharp needles were like from previous check-up visits to the vet when she was well.) Her trust can teach you a hugely valuable business lesson. Trust is everything to a therapist:

• Trust that your clients will keep coming back;
• Trust that you can gain new clients;
• Trust that your existing clients will refer friends and colleagues to you;
• Trust that your other therapists or assistant will do their job and reflect favorably on you, and so on.

Lastly, there was Ananda's lesson of peace. Despite being seconds from her death, my cat still managed to purr. Talk about going out with grace. This kind of peace and grace is vital to the therapist whose business is suffering. It's also vital to the therapist who is worrying about her business' status. In fact, it's this kind of peace and grace can make the difference between going out of business and discovering that, like a cat, your healing business has nine lives.

For more information visit www.CaryBayer.com.