July 17th, 2009

Call me naïve but I let him into my house. The vacuum guy. He seemed sweet enough; eight foot tall and thin as a rake and looking barely twelve, (though he was probably in his twenties) he looked like he wouldn't harm a fly. Having purchased my last vacuum cleaner from a garage sale, I knew I was overdue for an upgrade. More importantly, having just dog sat for the world's worst shedder, a week of dog hairs lay tangled in the carpet. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. What? Shampooing thrown in too? Heaven on a stick. Not one to miss an opportunity I gleefully steered him to the biggest room.

Little did I know why he was really there.

The Biggest Sucker

Since my mind was now exploring the topic of vacuum cleaners, my eyes scanned the room for unkemptness in the same way my tongue scans my mouth the moment anyone mentions the word 'dentist'. Hoping all is well, but inevitably finding what's not right. The assortment of unopened bills on the counter top. The dust on the windowsill. The unsorted papers. The dog nose prints on the sliding door. The broken scanner I haven't recycled yet.

He sensed my vulnerability and locked his sites in on his prey. He enthusiastically produced this monster of a machine and proceeded to suck the living bejeebees out of the armchair. Which of course, to his delight, delivered a thick layer of crud onto his filter. He held it up excitedly. "Bet you didn't know that was in there!" he said. I shook my head. "And do you know the dirtiest place in the house?" he said. My mind of course went to toilet bowls, but he corrected me. "Your keyboard."

"Huh?"

The X Factor

Out came the special fitting and he pulled from my computer a mountain of dog hairs, sand, human hair... well, you get the picture. Now I know why the 'x' key had been playing up. I was about to discover a whole new X factor.

That got me thinking. That chair and that keyboard looked perfectly clean before. I just had no idea what was beneath the surface.

I thought that about my own business too. I had a great product and service, proven, track tested. Loved. But not yet a household name, that's for sure. What was the crud beneath the surface of my awareness that I hadn't cleared out? What hidden beliefs? What sand in the cracks?

The Fear Factor

I was in conversation a little earlier with a speaker friend of mine, and spoke about my desire to take my business to the next level and I remember saying the phrase 'fear of being seen' and a chill ran through me. I felt it. My body was telling me the deep truth in my words. I was afraid. But I wasn't really addressing it. I hadn't 'seen' it. I wasn't aware of the affect it was having on my life.

But here's the next thing the vacuum guy taught me. The mattress was his next target. Perfectly clean sheet, but a whole bunch of crud pulled right through it.

"That's dead bed bugs and their feces," he told me.

"Charming."

Pooped

Apparently they create 200 times their own weight in waste and baby bugs (who also create waste) every week. That's one heck of a lot of poop. Week after week. No wonder people get bad allergies. One third of your life breathing in bug poop.

But look at what happens to our thoughts. Take something that frustrates/angers/scares/irritates you and watch how, if left unchecked, it multiplies, day after day, week after week.

I immediately took stock of my fear thoughts, my small-fish-in-a-big-pond thoughts, and saw how, beneath the surface they were corroding my sense of self and affecting my ability to truly step out and be seen. I needed a good vacuum!!!

Awareness Audit

What did that mean? Awareness auditing. Clearing out the crap. When a limiting thought came up I'd put up an immediate stop sign, breathe, and re-align with my deeper purpose - to create a fulfilling life and business, and make a positive difference. In short take a page out of my own book! I got back on track with my morning journaling and my meditation. I started working on the next tele-series, I wrote an article, cleared out the clutter in my office, and got started on some radio show content. In short I cleaned my consciousness and got off my butt.

Thank you Mr. Vacuum guy. I'm sorry I didn't buy your product. It's worth every penny, and more powerful than you'll ever know.