I’ve posted the book trailer we produced below, and honor our clients by posting this book review.

“AWEtizm” puts a totally new spin on autism. It’s the journey of Gayle, a mother who has a daughter diagnosed with severe autism as an infant. With a recommendation that Lyrica be institutionalized, Gayle refuses to give up on her. Instead she dedicates her life to reaching her daughter and understanding the disease. What she learns and shares in “AWEtizm” brings hope to a very misunderstood condition.

Their journey takes off when at age eight, Lyrica who was previously unreachable with no verbal communication skills and limited cognitive ability sits before a keyboard and using an assisted typing method writes, “I am not retarded, I am intelligent.” Whoa! Gayle stumbled upon a method to communicate with her daughter and enters Lyrica’s world learning practical things like why autistic people avoid eye contact and why they have fits. What evolves further however goes beyond exploring the psyche of an individual with severe autism.

When Lyrica shares wisdom beyond this world to her mother it becomes apparent that Gayle is the student and Lyrica the teacher. Gayle discovers her daughter has the abilities of soul traveling, telepathy, healing, embodying oneness and other mystical gifts sages experience. Lyrica also communicates with angels and spiritual beings of other dimensions.

Gayle takes her facilitated typing method to other autistic people and learns they too share some of Lyrica’s amazing gifts. What is inspirational and offers hope is that Lyrica shares her experience of breaking her barrier and offers a new take on life, “I love my new life in autism.” This love of life is shared not only in Gayle’s words but also Lyrica’s, as “AWEtizm” is co-authored by mother and daughter. Additionally, contributions of three other autistic friends add depth and validate Lyrica’s insights, making this book like no other book on autism and no other book on spirituality.

To this reader and writer, it is apparent “AWEtizm” is not a book about a disease. It is a book which shatters every traditional belief about how autistic people fit into this world. More importantly, when an autistic person’s barrier is shattered what emerges is a spiritual savant who loves life knowing he or she is walking this planet with a purpose larger than life itself. And to those people around them sharing in this transformation (like Lyrica’s mother Gayle), they are blessed with spiritual awakening and miracles.

There are many messages within this book, and the writing is not always easy. In fact, Lyrica’s writing is rich in meaning and offers radical views about this world and how autistic people impact the spiritual evolution of our planet. I needed to read some of her chapters and meditate to better grasp the messages’ meanings. Could it be that autistic beings when activated are part of this shift everyone is talking about? Could it be that autistic beings are Lightworkers incognito here to spark our spiritual magnificence?

“AWEtizm: A Hidden Key to Our Spiritual Magnificence” by Gayle Barkly Lee and Lyrica Mia Marquez is available at http://www.awetizm.com. I invite you to connect with them on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Wish them luck as their new book opens eyes and hearts.

What is autism? | AWEtizm offers hope | Spirituality and Lightworkers

This year my lawn is struggling so I invited two reputable lawn services to take a look at it. One told me my grass was infested with bugs and recommended that I treat it with chemicals. The other simply said, “Your soil is old and tired and needs to be rejuvenated.” He recommended fertilization, aeration, seeding, and fortifying the lawn with compost.

The two treatments are radically different and as I thought about which way to proceed I realized it was a metaphor for how we respond to stagnant periods in life.

During periods of dormancy we often wait for events or situations to spur us on to new heights. But … what happens when those situations don’t occur? When the doors don’t open? When someone doesn’t return our love? Or when we don’t get the promotion or new job? During dormant periods we often wait for something to move us forward and if it doesn’t happen – we feel stuck!

This is true no matter what area of life is stagnant, whether the breakthrough we desire is physical, mental or spiritual.

People handle stagnation differently. Some treat themselves with excess, like alcohol, drugs, food, work or other superficial stimulants which generate a false sense of comfort. Others fortify their mind by learning new things, or strengthen their body through exercise or cultivate spiritual growth by turning inward to seek answers. Stagnant periods give us opportunities to grow differently, perhaps in areas yearning to blossom.

I have some decisions to make about my lawn and somehow feel it’s prompting me to examine dormant areas of my life and make some decisions about how I treat myself.  Perhaps rather than being disappointed in the progress of some projects, I should step up my commitment to my treatments.  I could also embrace that I am exactly where I am meant to be and sometimes the reason for stagnation is to rest.  After all, rest is needed to prepare for any new phase of growth.

Spring – a time for planting new seeds and trusting they’ll grow, but a time to nurture and love our self, have patience and trust that sometimes growth doesn’t always look like the seeds we’ve planted, and sometimes we just need to rest and rejuvenate.

How’s your lawn looking?  Happy spring.

The power of openness

By Kris Radish

Kris Radish - photo by Alison Rosa

If you look up the word openness in the dictionary here’s what you might find – “Being in a position to permit passage.” or “Having no enclosing or confining barrier.” And how absolutely beautiful are all of those words…!

I’ve talked many times about being open and keeping your heart turned out to the universe. And those of you who understand this know that it’s like living inside of a miracle.

Sometimes I walk with my head down. Sometimes I like to observe and not participate – kind of hard for me- seriously. During the past month I’ve decided to step up my level of openness. I say hi to every single person I meet when I walk or am on my daily bike ride. I say hi at the grocery store and no matter how busy I am I try and talk to every clerk, the woman pushing in the carts, the lady waiting by the apples. It’s made me even happier then I already am.

The past four days I was on yet another trip that necessitated an airplane ride or two. Instead of being a crabass about the ordeal I decided to embrace my openness policy. I smiled and talked. I ignored my cellphone. And here’s what happened….

I had a lively chat with a man going off for his first job interview in 27 years. I encouraged him, told him to be himself, and to focus on his age and experience. He not only bought my wine but he is a new friend. Boarding the plane I spotted a woman holding one of my novels and walked right up to her to introduce myself. I did a signing on the plane and had a little circle of women talking about books and life. Instead of working I spent 2.5 hours talking with Helen. She is 84 and hadn’t been on a plane in about thirty years. She had on a little string of pearls and told me how much she loved her now-deceased husband and I thought she was absolutely beautiful. When I walked her out to the gate I met her daughter too and Helen is now in my heart.

My openness turned into such a delightful four days I didn’t care about getting back on the airplane again. I met a man who spent summers at his grandpa’s farm and collected clay pipes and arrowheads. I met a woman who needed to feel better about leaving her baby for the first time. A man who had heard me speak two weeks ago came out of nowhere to tell me something I really needed to hear at that particular moment.

I know I write about this open heart, soul, life policy a lot-not just here but in my novels but it’s so important that I can’t stop myself. Life, even in it’s hardest parts, is already wonderful. Give this a try and see what happens.

I’ll see you at the airport and maybe I’ll be buying……..

Kris Radish is a Random House bestselling author of seven novels, all of which inspire and empower women.  Visit Kris at www.KrisRadish.com.

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” —John Crosby

As grads pour out of colleges, armed with degrees in public relations, journalism, marketing and communications, we’ve received numerous requests for unsolicited interviews and jobs. Every time I read one of these requests, I can’t help but empathize. I am immediately taken back to times in my life where I was eagerly, anxiously and courageously trying to forge a new career path.

The rejection letters piled high and most were quick to say no with a simple, “Thank you for your interest is ACME Inc., however we have decided to go with another candidate.” Or, “Thank you for your interest. Although your skills are impressive, we currently have no openings. We will keep your resume on file.”

Michelle McGowan on mentoring

We’ve all received these cold form letters at some point or other. Always looking on the bright side, I figured these notices at least gave me some idea where I stood in the process ~ after all, at least they took the time to respond!

Now, after more than 20 years of being both the interviewee and the interviewer, and as a seasoned communications professional, I’ve come to realize we owe these grads more than some pleasant rejection letter.

Oddly, what has meant the most to me throughout my career is not necessarily the folks who gave me a job. Instead, it’s actually the ones who took the time to talk to me about their profession, whether they had a job opening or not. These are the people who left an indelible impression and gave me courage to move forward.

These thoughtful professionals showed me the power of networking and mentoring. These gestures are simple and our time spent mentoring is invaluable. By taking some time out of our busy schedules, we empower up-and-coming professionals. In pointing the way, we help build confidence in young people and we provide something sometimes more beneficial than a job; we provide hope and courage to pursue their passion.

I love the public relations profession and I hope I play a small part in bettering the profession by helping enthusiastic, young people find their way. Sometimes all I have to offer is the name of someone who may be hiring, or to point them in the direction of PRSA or Andrew Hudson’s Job List, or sometimes just answer questions about the real world of PR (which they’ll learn is miles away from academic PR). Regardless, I want to give them a sense that they are supported and have someone to turn to, just as my cherished mentors did for me.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” —Maya Angelou

For those businesses diving into social media, you have probably realized how easy it is to set-up a Facebook or Twitter account. In my earlier post I cautioned against, Taking the plunge into social media without a plan. Today, I caution against falling into the trap of blatant self-promotion. Contrary to what appears to be a growing craze, a business Facebook page and Twitter are not the places to “pimp” your products or services.

Alex Marcoux on Social Media

Often, I see people getting frustrated when they don’t see immediate results from their business social media efforts. They wonder why no one follows them back or why they haven’t seen an improvement in their sales. Face it – who wants to follow someone who repeatedly pitches their products or services?

Social media venues are to build community with your followers and develop relationships with existing and potential customers. Social networking is to integrate technology and social activity, by sharing words, videos, and articles. Keep blatant product-messaging to other marketing arenas, like PPC (paid-per-click) campaigns or your website, but use social media to build community and become a trusted advocate within your network.

As hard as it may seem – nobody cares about your products – except you. In social media, it’s not about you – it’s about how you can be a value to your connections. This isn’t to suggest that you shouldn’t occasionally post a promotional message, but don’t keep regurgitating the message.

Here are some simple tips to build community on Twitter and Facebook:

• You’re an interesting person – share interesting things happening at your business or line of work.

• Retweet or post articles or video links that you find interesting or helpful.

• Tweet or post tips that your followers may benefit from.

• Share interesting quotes that may involve your area of business.

• If you blog about your area of interest, tweet or post a link to it.

• Respond to your followers’ direct messages and send direct messages to your friends or followers.

Social media is about relationship building. It’s not about quantity – it’s about quality. I’d rather have 100 good followers interacting with me than 10,000 people in which I haven’t a clue who they are. Use other marketing tactics to sell your products and leave Twitter and Facebook for building community.

Social networking is one of newest and best tools to promote your company. But, if it’s abused, you’ll quickly learn it’s a sure way to lose friends and irritate people.

Learn more about Alex Marcoux on Our Team page.  Follow M-Squared Public Relations & Marketing on Twitter.

Let’s face it, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites have become the norm. In fact today, it’s rare to find anybody who hasn’t entered the game. According to the video, Social Media Revolution 2, based on the book “Socialnomics” by Eric Qualman, 96% of Generation Y has joined a social network and nearly 13% of married couples in the U.S. met through social media.

Alex Marcoux on Social Media

Another growing trend is the use of social media for business. When you look at the statistics, it’s ill-advised to think that social media is a fad. It took four years for 50 million people to use the internet, three years for 50 million to try I-Pods. In less than one year, Facebook added over 200 million people. Today, there are over 400 million active Facebook users and Twitter has hit more than 50 million tweets in a day. Additionally, people spend over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook. When you look about these figures it is no wonder that business owners are recognizing the value of social media for their business.

We help small businesses with their marketing, public relations and social media, and while it’s clear that social media has become a standard public relations tool for businesses, I still see clients resisting to enter the game. Conversely, I also see companies jumping in head first because they fear being left behind. For those businesses taking the plunge into social networking, I routinely caution my clients to avoid a common mistake – proceeding without a plan.

Social networking is a commitment. While it may take little time to develop a site – it takes hours to execute your programs. Without a map to know where you’re going, and how you’re going to measure your results, you’re setting yourself up to invest a lot of time, money and to potentially become frustrated.

Have a plan. Set realistic goals and benchmarks and understand how you’re going to measure the social media site’s success. Know what you want to accomplish before you invest the time. Understand what you’re using as a control or baseline to compare “before and after.” The number of friends or followers will probably not be a good gauge for your ROI (Return on Investment) or success. Perhaps your success could be measured simply by the traffic going to your website, in which case use the tools available to you. You can find excellent material on Mashable, including HOW TO: Measure Social Media ROI.

For those business owners still reluctant to enter the craze, I’ve posted the video Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh) below. Don’t get left behind, but before you move forward, be prepared and have a plan.

Whether you need training to develop or execute a social media plan, or you desire to get your website ranked using social media, blogging with SEO (search engine optimization), M Squared Public Relations & Marketing is positioned to assist your company to use this significant tool.

Michelle McGowan

 One of the greatest things about public relations is helping clients connect with the public in ways that show their generosity, community outreach and their genuine desire to make a difference in the communities in which we live.

This year’s Denver Hospice Mask Project is a prime example of how our clients “step-up, step out and shine” to make a difference
for all of us.

Right now, the Mask Project 2010 is on display at the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver. This brilliant display of art, features more than 400 masks created by renowned artists, celebrities, sports figures, community leaders and culinary experts.

M Squared is proud to say three of our clients: Rum Cakes By Kelli, Lola’s Sugar Rush and Missie Moosie are all participating. Not only have they created fabulous masks to represent their businesses, they have generously added significant value to their masks, by donating
their products which will also go to the lucky bidder! (See each mask for package details)

RCBK Yummy Rummy

Missie Moosie

Candy Spell

By supporting Colorado’s oldest and largest hospice — which marks its 32nd Anniversary this year — our clients are proactively helping people in our community dealing with end of life issues either for themselves, or loved ones.

As someone who’s benefitted from the comprehensive and compassionate services of Denver Hospice, I say thank you to the caring professionals of Denver Hospice, all the people who have so generously donated their time and talents to the Mask Project, and to all the bidders who make this such a successful event!

In addition to seeing the masks at the Cherry Creek Mall until May 2nd, the mask collection is available for viewing and bidding online. Bidding closes on May 2, 2010.

The Gala held on May 1st at 7:30 in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center (put on by M2PR’s rock star client, Kelli Kindel Events, Inc!) includes an evening of entertainment, festive décor, gourmet food and beverages, plus a lively auction of masks beginning at 7:30 p.m. on May 1, 2010 in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, 3000
E. First Ave.