Part XII: The Universe is My Publicist (Continued)

The Los Angeles Times article was the beginning of the ride of my life (ultimately a cosmic rollercoaster ride, but definitely a ride). I don't think I could have imagined in the past coming out of ‘nowhere’ to gain the exposure and the recognition like this for an idea. A simple idea. No, I wasn’t a movie star or celebrity. I had a simple idea and that idea was worthy of such public and media attention. How utterly amazing it seemed!

No Respecter of Persons

I’ll admit there were also misgivings relating to my sudden “media darling” status…

Just a couple of weeks after my article appeared on the cover of the View section, there was another article in the same spot that grabbed my attention. It was a feature story about Cynthia, a young, educated woman, who was one of the first heart transplant patients. In the story it mentioned that she was not able to work because the government would cut off her life sustaining medication if she received any income. I couldn’t believe it. She desperately wanted to return to some kind of work. I called, met with her and we arranged for her to help me with my business part time in some way and I would pay her “under the table” (sometimes there are truly good reasons to skirt the law just a little bit, don’t you think?) As it turned out, she couldn’t go through with it – her mother told me she was just too weary from her ordeal. I read somewhere years later that she became a spokeswoman for organ transplants. I was happy she found her place.

Now, the reason I bring this up is that after reading Cindy’s story, I couldn’t understand why I deserved to have a cover story in a major newspaper when there were so many more significant things in the world that warranted that kind of coverage. I was renting locations for parties, for God’s sake! How meaningful was that in the total scheme of things? (I vaguely recall someone telling me that people needed recreation in life too.)

I had to come to terms with the fact that I deserved it – for God’s sake. God, Infinite Intelligence, the Law, is no “respecter” of persons. We are all equal in the eyes of the Universe. We are all children of a loving Universe and we are all deserving of the gifts it wants to give us.

And this only served to teach me how powerful our thoughts and words are and how very precise and dependable the Universal laws and prosperity principles are.

At the beginning of this adventure, when I was guided to sell the Brancusi, I felt connected to my intuition and to Universal Mind, but when I was showered with opportunities for media attention, one right after the other, I think I felt loved – not by the public or media, not a typical form of love, but loved by my Universal parent who wanted me to succeed and prosper. I felt the gentle hug of the Universal arms.

Staking My Claim - the Right Name

Do you recall that when the article appeared in the Times, I didn't even have a business name? That's true. But I soon realized that I needed one. There were so many event companies and party planners in Los Angeles and I knew I didn't want the typical type of name that you find in the industry. I wanted clients to know that there was an owner of this business who cared about personal service and was accessible. I wondered about using my own name in the business name. Someone told me that you should never use your own name in a company name, that they are not successful. Hmmm. Let's see. There was Sara Lee, Manny, Mo & Jack, Smith Brothers (cough drops), Famous Amos, MacDonald's. Yeah, I see what they mean. But I couldn't come up with a name that sounded as comfortable as...

Marilyn Jenett Locations

And why just "Locations" and not "Event Production" as part of the name? Because, I reasoned that the first thing that a client thinks about when planning an event is the location. That's the very first item. Find a location. So I figured they would call me first before calling all of the other party and event companies. I wanted to stand out and be unique (I think you know that by now!). And it worked so well. When the clients called me for a location, they asked ME if I could coordinate their events as well as providing the location. A bit of reverse business psychology. Thank you, Universe. :-)

So this business name also eliminated a sense of 'competition' with other event companies...it would invite other event companies to use my location services as well. As my business grew, however, I decided not to book locations alone and only took on clients for which I could coordinate the entire event. At some point much later on, I added "Special Event Locations and Production" under the name. But the name remained the same (the logo shown below was designed many years later).

Done. Marilyn Jenett Locations it was.

Back to All the Media Attention…

Here is what snowballed that year from that Times article:

The Los Angeles Herald Examiner, the city’s second largest newspaper, called and did a feature photo story.

The Santa Monica Outlook and other Southern California papers followed with the same.

Okay, get ready for this…I then starting receiving calls from various newspapers around the country asking for more photographs! It turns out that Associated Press had picked up the story and wired it internationally. So our nation’s largest newspapers wanted to print their versions of the story with photographs – San Francisco Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Sacramento Bee, New Orleans, New York, and on and on. All were full page feature photo articles.

I also got telephone calls from some publications in Europe requesting interviews.

Radio stations called to interview me. I recently found in storage the tape of one show, Executive Report.

I suppose the Universe didn’t think I was getting enough exposure, so the next thing that happened?

Television!

Some of the most notable shows…

June, 1984 – PM Magazine and PM Magazine National Edition

July 1984 – ABC Newscope

October, 1984 – Two on the Town

PM Magazine was the top national magazine show at the time and was the forerunner to Entertainment Tonight. All of the shows gave me substantial segments, at least half an hour. Two on the Town was the most popular prime time show of its kind in Los Angeles and they interviewed me at the Victorian mansion and the Frank Lloyd Wright homes mentioned earlier.

The ABC News show was really funny. When interviewing me on location, at the "Gone with the Wind" home in Glendale, the reporter asked me how far I could see this business going. Well, it just so happened that the night before, a friend of mine and I were talking and she jokingly said that maybe I could book the White House for parties. I mentioned that to the reporter – you know, to be cute. Well, when the actual news broadcast aired, there was the narration and the edited segments of my interview. It ended with my comment about the White House and then cut to the White House with the National Anthem playing. You had to be there – but it was really funny!

I realized then that the Universe also has a great sense of humor.

As the media articles appeared, I asked for copies of the originals. I eventually had the first few laminated onto plaques to hang on walls. But the articles kept coming and I kept gathering. How many times can you look at yourself on a wall? So I had another good idea. Instead of laminated plaques, I had each newspaper and magazine article laminated onto a thin presentation piece, just like they use in the advertising industry. The originals were set against a black background and all of the final products were the same size. I then bought two large portfolios to hold my growing “collection”. Now all of these publicity memoirs would be preserved and neatly contained.

I had a professional service tape all of the television shows right from the broadcasts, so I had them all on 3/4" (professional) or 1/2" video. Just recently, I had all of the videos transferred to DVDs.

So 1984 was the big media year. The publicity continued in subsequent years but as my business consciousness grew along with the type of lucrative business client I wanted to attract, the publicity took a decided businesslike turn in place of the public one.

There was the cover and centerfold story in the Century City News a couple of years later. Century City is the highrise business community adjacent to Beverly Hills. That’s where I knew I wanted my office to be and where I eventually landed in an executive suite for 16 years. The article appeared in the “Business Serving Business" issue.

There were articles in business magazines, such as the magazine that Union Bank sent to its customers. Trade publications like Meeting News gave me coverage. A few other television appearances came along.

There was a different kind of publicity that came about years later as a result of my continuing prosperity work that again showed how striking unexpected results can be. It hinted at hidden talents as well as bringing a new level of credibility to my maturing business. More later...

I think you have gotten a pretty good idea of the ability of Infinite Intelligence to respond to our desires when we know how to “ask” in the right way and just as importantly, to “accept” in the right way.

I didn’t beg this Intelligence to give me recognition. I didn’t wish that I could have it. I didn’t read or study or learn how to get media coverage. I didn’t hire or consult with anyone. I did read and study and learn how to get a prosperity consciousness. I then wrote one letter in a moment of inner guidance on New Year’s Eve that reached out into Universal Mind. The All Knowing Wisdom of that Mind caused all of the elements to come together to bring the fulfillment of my heartfelt desire.

I used my prosperity techniques –the same ones I teach today - to instill in my subconscious mind that I already had success and recognition. I accepted success and recognition as a fact of life – mental life - before it happened in physical life. I gently planted the seeds in my subconscious soil and persistently watered these seeds with faith and expectancy. I waited patiently and quietly for the response to bloom.

Fast forward for just a moment…many, many years later I wrote a note to someone…

“In skimming, I can only say one thing with certainty. Our spiritual connection to God/the Universe/Divine Mind/Infinite Intelligence (whatever you choose to call it) cannot be recognized through the intellect. It can be known about through the intellect, but it can't be known. It can only be experienced through intuition and feeling. And once it is recognized, once you become aware of that Presence and its responsiveness to you, you can never be the same. Once you learn to align yourself with the laws and that Presence, you have achieved Spiritual Intelligence - true intelligence."

In 1984, I think for the first time in my life, I felt spiritually intelligent.

To be continued…

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