; In this issue:

• Specials
• Jacki'sAugust Arguments!
• Biz-ness Bits
• Healers Almanac - From the Laptop of Patty Shaw
• Living with Moon Energy

Coventry Creations and Type 40 Sales are now social.  You think you hear from us too much now?  You are going to get all the details now!  Find us on Facebook @ Coventry Creations Candles for great insight on the candles –AND- look up our Type 40 Sales Facebook Group for the first look at upcoming specials, overstock clearance and all the gossip we can muster up about our products.   If that was not enough, look us up on Twitter for a few quick hits @ coventrycandles.  Feel free socialize with us to share your stories, ask community questions and tell us how much you love us at Coventry.

Readings By Jacki
Readings by Patty

Both Jacki and Patty are available for Akashic Record Readings (By Appointment only)  Call 248-547-2987 to book your appointment.

Specials & Announcements

August is Jacki’s birthday month at Coventry.  Those of you that have been around the block with us know that Jacki celebrates her birthday by giving presents!  Wish Jacki “Happy Birthday” and she will send YOU a gift with your next order.   

October is only two months away and that means Witches Brew time!  Be the first kid on your block to invite in the witches for Halloween.   In August, orders of 24 or more Witches Brew Candles get you a 15% discount the entire line (including oils, votives and incense).    

If you didn’t already know, Jacki is the Tuesday co-host for Psychic Friends Live on Blogtalk Radio  The BIG news is that we just got the final word that Psychic Friend Live is now the most downloaded metaphysical show on the internet.  Storm Cestavani, the show’s creator and host deserves the credit for this success – he calls us the “Rachel Maddows of the Metaphysical World.”  On PFL we talk about current events and how the magical world relates to them.  Of course my favorite subject is candle spells and we wrap up best 90 minutes on any given Tuesday with a few living readings.  Give a visit – listen at your store and who know, you may sell a few extra candles while listening!

Jacki’s August Arguments

There are many subjects running through my head this month.  I am so filled with experiences and observations of interactions between people that I have to reflect upon how I am interacting with the people around me.  This has caused me to recognize how much any person is defined by the expectations, actions, values and morals of the people they surround themselves with.    I keep coming back to 3 observations of our human nature.  Without any conscious thought humans will act in certain ways: we will gravitate towards a group of people to validate our beliefs, we will compete for the alpha position and we will do it in the easiest way.   Take our desire for companionship.  Who we surround ourselves with, or who we are attracted to validates what we believe our own self to be. Negativity, drama and whining from your circle of friends will validate and bring that behavior to the forefront in your life.  Be wary of friends who like to stir up the drama, your life will always take a turn for their attention.   Positive action, personal accountability and inner growth in your circle of friends will help you grow too.  When you are in your own crisis, friends like this want to see you grow and are excited when you do. 

Taking the high road of healing and growth is for sure not the easy road and human nature wants to see us do things the easy way.  It’s so much easier to blame others for our failings and mistakes.  Your fears want you to fail and they want others around you to fail too, because if they succeed then maybe you should get off your keester and succeed too.   Our fears want us to stay inactive and in a nice little unchallenging protective cell, because when we come out of it, someone may want to compete.  At our base nature, competition feels like fight or flight and unchecked can feel like kill or be killed.  

Once the ungoverned ego gets hold of the competitive nature, kill or be killed can take over even the best of intentions.    Being alpha, top dog, the first to succeed can become consuming, even to the point of defaming or harming another.  The justifications that are created to validate this behavior are amazing, creative and a bit crazy.  I know for myself, there have been many times I wanted to take another person or entity down, “How dare they compete with me, the mistress of candles!”  It took a lot of forgiveness, not of the other party, but of me to move past this need to destroy my competition.   Forgiveness of your own shortcomings and mistakes allow the ego to relax out of the offensive mode and get you back into your own personal growth.

When discussing all of these ideas with Patty (my partner and wonder twin), she referenced her current read,  A Short Story of Nearly Everything  By Bill Bryson.  In this book, Mr. Bryson tells us how in the early stages of scientific discovery it was kill or be killed.  Where scientist would sabotage each other to ensure they would be the first to discover a new element.  Where groups of scientists would discredit and even kill who they considered to be outsiders to ensure their notoriety.   This goes back through all of history and is nothing new today in our small spiritual communities.  One would think grown-ups of a scientific mind would be above this, but egos unchecked can still override the more analytical mind.

Even in our present day new-age spiritual communities, we experience these three points of human nature.  We compete over who is more connected to God, creator, spirit.  We circle ourselves with people who will validate and rarely challenge our beliefs.  We will look for and create shortcuts, the instant wisdom and the instant manifestations.   If we know that these natures exist everywhere, we can recognize and avoid them in ourselves and in others.  We can forgive ourselves and others when we stumble.  We can learn how to overcome these things and evolve.

Take stock in your own human nature, and don’t take personally the nature of others.  Really, we are all just 12 years old inside.  We are all scared about what others think, we all feel awkward in our skins and we all want dessert before dinner.  Maybe now it's time to grow up.

Jacki Smith

President & Enchantress
Coventry Creations
Type 40 Sales 

From the Laptop
of Patty Shaw
Author of the Healers Almanac, Wisdom of the 21st Century Goddesses
Candle Goddess at Coventry Creations.

We are all called to lead at some point in our lives.  It may not look like a big deal at the time, but it is. The qualities of a good leader are developed, nurtured and allowed to come from within.  It’s from our inner strength that we are able to take on the role of leader and steward the mission home.  You don’t have to wait until you are invited to lead, you can embrace that role at any time. Ask yourself these questions to get a bead on how prepared and willing you are, to be the Go To Guy or Gal.   Do you believe you can be the one who makes the personal sacrifices, the one who inspires and guides others for the good of the whole? Can you carry the mission to the end without thought of reward? Are you willing to be afraid and courageous at the same time?  What do you need to do to get yourself ready for your turn?  You will need to face some fears, develop a positive belief in yourself, and the mission and learn the of value teamwork.

Leadership is not just about achieving the goal; it’s also about how we get there.  Malfunctioning group dynamics are just as detrimental to success as conflicting outside influences.  A leader, who sees herself as a steward, recognizes the importance of this and knows that the individuals in the group are working with her and not just for her.  A steward is sensitive to the many levels of leadership required and has her thumb on the pulse of each one of them.  She also knows the wisdom in seeking advice from her team, who are her peers, and mentors. 

In the meditation found in The Healers Almanac, you will have the opportunity to meet someone who has harnessed the meaning of stewardship.  She teaches us to incorporate love and compassion in our leadership styles and shows that if we pull from the strengths of the group, we are more successful and satisfied.  Meet with Amanda, and let her show you the rewards of stewardship.


I recommend these Coventry Creation candles when working with Amanda and developing your leadership/stewardship skills.

Inner Balance Blessed Herbal Candle – The world within sets the tone for the world without.
Vision Quest Blessed Herbal Candle – A good leader or steward has vision
Isis World Candle – Isis will teach you how to plan and organize with an open mind and hand.
 

Biz-ness Bits

The holidays are coming and August is a great time to hire and train new staff so they are primed and ready to sell, sell, sell over your busiest selling season.   It is the best time to start this process, but this process can be a bit daunting.  Here are a few pieces of advice on getting through the process and getting a good employee to boot.

Start with defining the job.  What are the duties and expectations for this position? What qualities do you need in an employee in this position?  What hours do you need them to work? How much does this job pay and what type of increase in sales to do you need from this position.   Define the job from the bottom up, making sure you find the right employee for the job.  If you fill the position from the top down, you will end up finding a person and then tailoring the job to them and having to fill all the gaps yourself.  Make a mock schedule with you and your staff.  Don’t put any names on the schedule, just employee 1, 2 and 3.  This way you are covering all of your needs and shift before you start taking the needs of your employees into consideration.

Write up your interview questions before the interview (with room for recording the applicant’s answers).  Leave out all of the standard questions like, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” and “Do you work well with others?” and bring in some more telling questions.   "If you stayed with your current company, what would be your next move?"  , "What makes you stand out from others?", and “What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?”  These questions tell you more about the person you are hiring and not just their skills.  You will be working quite a few hours a week with this person or trusting them with your welfare.  Ask questions that help you get to know the person inside.  Ringing up on a cash register can be trained, positive attitude on the other hand can be hard to find.

Team up on the interview and compare notes later.  When you have 2 interviewers, you each see something different and have different hot buttons.  This will help you sort through all the information you are getting during this long process.

Hire for a position.  Don’t just hire someone because you know and like them and never hire someone to do them a favor.  Friendships change when you become the boss and favors tend to backfire more than workout.  When you hire for a position based on filling your needs your boundaries with your employee are clearer and there is more respect for you as boss.

Check references – you would be surprised home many people lie on their resumes with the assumption that a small business will never check them.

Once you hire then the fun starts; training, encouraging, disciplining and deciding whether they make it past the 90 day probationary period.  Never feel rushed with your hiring, that is when you make desperate decisions and desperate decisions have a way of biting you back in the end.

Light an Attraction Blessed Herbal Candle with a Stability Blessed Herbal Candle when you are hiring to attract just the right employee.
 

Jacki Smith

President & Enchantress
Coventry Creations
Type 40 Sales

Living with Moon Energy

In each chapter of the Healers Almanac you will have an opportunity to track your responses to the full and new moon. When the moon journeys through different zodiac signs, it has us thinking, feeling and reacting to our life in unexpected ways.  If you record what is going on with you each full and new moon, you may find that you are better prepared for the next time the moon is in that sign. Here is what may be going on for you this month.

August 24 Full Moon in Aquarius

Take two. We are still in the mode of expressing our big ideas and taking that leap of faith that we can manifest them.  This sort of thing takes time and the moon is in the mood to give us more! Plan, dream wish, negotiate, charm…do whatever you feel you need to do, but with respect please.  We are all on this blue marble together and there’s no need to step on toes to get what your heart desires.

August 10 New Moon in Leo

Roar like the lion, but, do it with the intention to declare your exuberance for life, liberty and the freedom to dance to the beat of your own mamba.  This is what the moon in Leo wants you to do.  Dig deep and find your inner Lion.  Everyone’s got one.  Think of this as a way of positively loving yourself.