Is it necessary to mention the ‘3 Principles’ in your marketing/ communications?

And, for that matter, is it necessary to mention the 3 Principles in your teaching? In my previous article I talked about finding that point where your marketing and the content of your work is seamless and complimentary. You might have experienced this already, with a blog post / FB post/ conversation that really hits the spot – reflects what you do AND is inviting to your audience.

But reflect for a minute on HOW you actually share the 3 Principles/ coach with the 3 Principles. What are you actually offering people? Are you telling people about the nature of the thought-feeling connection? Do you tend to talk about wisdom and a quiet mind? Or are you coaching about a particular subject, deeply listening but not necessarily ever reaching a teaching point about how the mind works (or perhaps the ‘3P understanding’, in whatever form, does come up but quite a lot further down the line in your coaching conversations)?

Perhaps you’re not sure. But my hunch is that for many people the listening and the connection is a bigger chunk of what you do than the ‘teaching’ bit. And it’s interesting to reflect on that, when you’re putting stuff out there to promote what you do that’s more along the lines of, ‘I’ve got an understanding to share with you that will change your life/ show you how the world really works’. Now perhaps you’re a coach who is very direct and your opening gambit is something along those lines. In which case, great, go for it. If it’s not, it might be worth considering a different approach.

What strikes me about most of the 3P coaches that I speak to, is their warmth and openness. They, you, are warm, open, accepting, encouraging. But warm and open in a real, authentic way, because they are troubled by far fewer misunderstandings about psychology and mental health than the average person. They know they have mental health and they know whoever they’re speaking to has mental health too. It’s not going to be a heavy arduous task to reach some far away, mystical mental health utopia that few people have. They are curious about someone else’s ‘separate reality’ without needing to put labels on it or ‘fix’ it. Every moment is rich with possibility. The connection is easier and more immediate. There’s a very appealing, refreshing simplicity to it all.

Don’t underestimate any of that stuff – the warmth, the connection, the honesty, the simplicity – or leave it out of the tone and feel of how you talk about what you do. It is powerful, it is inviting, and it is not as common as you might think.

It is also more engaging and relevant to a potential audience than some abstract concept called the ‘3 Principles’.

I’m not saying there is a ‘way’ to be a 3P coach. I just think many of us are trying to over-complicate and over-deliver because we’re overlooking those simple and very powerful things that would provide relief/ hope/ intrigue to someone out there who needs you.

Another way of saying this is… are you sharing enough of you? And are you seeing the full depth of what you offer?

It is enough. Trust me.