The Power of Persistence

And here is Video #4 for 2011 about the power of persistence. Enjoy!

Silver Lining

And here is Video #3 for 2011 about finding the Silver Lining in situations you find yourself in. Enjoy!

It's easy to miss something you're not looking for

An often talked about topic in Introduction to NLP talks is that “You Get What You Focus On”. The general idea is that while our sensory receptors are capable of taking in large amounts of information our brains are only capable of processing a very small amount of that information. The number often thrown about (And in printed form in Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book, Flow) is that we are capable to take in 2,000,000 bits of information a second yet our brains can only process 134 bits of information per second. That is less than 0.001% of the information that our brains process and we use that tiny subset to build our entire idea about reality! Pretty easy to see how mis-understandings in relationships can happen if you think about it like that! Our brain are pretty good at ignoring what isn’t important to us getting by on minimal information the rest of the time. NLP has some pretty good explanations for how all of that works but I thought it would be more fun to share this video of it in action with you. Watch the video and see what happens for you…

Now, you may have seen this before but it is interesting all the same. You get what you focus on! Focus on the ball passes and you see the ball passes. Focus on the moon walking bear, and, well! So… what are you focusing on? Are you focusing on the good things in life, or are you focusing on something else? Change your focus and change your life so start focusing on what you want today!

Stopping Smoking – Some Handy Tips

Recently while I was in Sydney I connected with an amazing individual, Jenny Wensing. Together with Dr. John Gasson she has developed a really reliable method for helping people to stop smoking. Their method focuses around the psychological dependence as well as the habit itself and they’ve risen to the top of their game with incredible results!

Recently she shared with my by email some of her top tips for staying on track once you’ve quit and I thought they were worth sharing.

Once you have stopped smoking, make sure you have a strategy to keep on track. Some tips:
• Never ever doubt your decision! Always remind yourself that no matter what happens, life is always going to be better as a non smoker. There is nothing in a cigarette that can help you with anything! So as a smoker, you have been harming yourself with absolutely no gain. Stopping smoking is like stepping out from under a grey cloud that has been hanging over your head for years.
• Avoid coffee, tea and alcohol for the first three days, and drink lots of water. This will help calm any jittery nerves you may have, whilst speeding up the healing process in your body.
• Change your thoughts. If you have a ‘smoking thought’ – think about something positive instead, such as ‘isn’t it great to be free.’ Practice this technique regularly.
• Keep a journal. Reflect on and write down your experiences every day. This will help keep you focused. After the first three days, you’ll feel a lot more relaxed and positive, and you’ll also feel more energetic. Realise that you are in the process of physically recreating your body as a vibrant, healthy non-smoker, and write down your experiences in a journal.
• Breathe! Deep breathing is a great way to reduce tension and as you take deeper, slower breaths, oxygen floods into the small airways in your lungs. This is literally a breath of fresh air! So take three deep breaths several times a day. Here’s how: Place your hands over your stomach, with the fingertips touching. As you take a deep breath, feel your fingers separating. The oxygen is now getting into the deeper parts of your lungs. Feel how easy it is to breathe now that you are once again a non-smoker.
• Get moving, even if it’s only a walk around the block. This will release endorphins, the ‘feel good’ hormone and you’ll come back refreshed and relaxed.
• Stick to a well balanced diet. Enjoy occasional treats, but make sure you are also giving your body the fuel it needs to function properly, and don’t skip breakfast.
• Take a mini mental holiday, using the power of your imagination. Close your eyes and relax. Now imagine you have stopped smoking for a year. What does it feel like? Create vivid mental images and make them as realistic as possible. Notice how healthy you look, and how great you feel, and how clean everything smells, and all the things you have bought with the money you have saved. Use all five senses to create your own incredible future!

Download the full PDF: Going It Alone Article (2 Page PDF)

As with everything, there aren’t any guaranteed rules for what will definitely work (or not work) for you. What is vital is that you take charge of living the life that you want and do whatever it takes to make that a reality. Living at Cause is the key to all lasting change, remember that post from May last year: If you make your bed you have to lie in it!

» Read more about Stop Smoking Easily on Jenny’s Website (She is based in South Africa).

Ever Experienced True Motivation?

Have you ever experienced true motivation? You know, that level of motivation that just totally grabs you by the core and fills your with so much energy that you can’t help but do something with it! The surge you get as the brain releases all of the right chemicals at just the right time to leave you feeling like you can do… anything! I imagine it is kind of like getting off a little 50cc scooter and jumping on a 1000cc Ducati sports bike. I had every intention of hiring the necessary props to share what this would look like though I found this clip that possibly demonstrates motivation being like a Ducati bike in a whole new way:

Are you this motivated about something yet? Do you wake up and just throw yourself out of bed because you’re so excited about it? Or are you one of the many people out there that could really do with a little bit more motivation from time to time?

The good news is that my book, Inspire Yourself to Action, is only $5 until Sunday. So if you’re after a kick start to your motivation then take some action now, grab this book and hold onto those Ducati handle bars!

» Grab yourself a copy of Inspire Yourself to Action now.

Don't Listen To This Unless You Want To Go Into A Trance

A few people have emailed me recently wondering whether Hypnosis really exists and what it feels like to be ‘hypnotised’. Now, an audio recording is no substitute for a Hypnotist that is working specifically with you, though this is the next best thing. Find yourself somewhere quiet and comfortable where you are able to focus for 15 minutes and have a listen:

A Trance Induction recorded by Lloyd Johnson

You can download this for yourself and put it on your iPod if you want:
» Click here to get the MP3 file (Right click, ‘Save As…’ to save a copy to your computer)

Look at Your Man, Now Back to Me

Old Spice have produced some ingenious adverts recently that have truly gone viral. At the time of writing each of these videos is well beyond 15 million views! So what is it that these adverts do so well that makes them so popular? What NLP elements do you suppose they’ve used in making these commercials so likable? Or, probably more accurately, what elements have they used in these adverts that could be explained by Neuro-Linguistic Programming theories?

Before we go any further here are two example Old Spice Adverts for those of you that are yet to enjoy them:

There is so much going on in these videos though the main things that jump out at me are:

• State Elicitation: In my opinion this is where the video truly excels. Watching the videos elicits state after state after state. The target audience is obviously women with a male partner. To start with there are the states that a shirtless man in a bathroom elicits. Followed by the state of being on a boat with the man your man could smell like, oysters, tickets, diamonds and finally the horse. Slotted into the mix is, of course, their Old Spice product too.
• Involving All the Senses: The video makes great use of each of several of the modalities to really bring the experience to life. It starts with Visual (“Look at your man, now back to me”), Olfactory (‘He could smell like he is me’) and of course Auditory (His voice and the sound effects such as the noise of diamonds running off his hand).
• Ambiguous Language: The language used is very ambiguous. The language is a great example of the Milton Model. For example, “It’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love” – what thing that you love? It doesn’t specify – the viewer creates their own meaning! Another good example is the presenting of states (shirtless man in bathroom -> being on a boat -> oyster -> tickets -> diamonds) that are all pacing things that many women would feel positively about and then they slot in Old Spice – this is a great example of the Pacing and Leading language pattern.
• Anchoring: The video elicits a really nice, positive state. And right at the end of the video, when that state is peaking, they supply the little Old Spice whistle jingle perfectly anchoring us. To test it just try listening to the first video from 0:28 – do the good feelings come rushing back for you like they do for me?

These are just four components of this amazing video that NLP can shed some light on. Can you spot some more? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

And in conclusion, I’m on a horse!

The Three Keys to Success

The Top Seven Reasons You Won't Achieve Your New Years Resolutions… AGAIN!

Well, it is that time of the year again! As one year comes to an end we are about to embark on another one. You’re possibly reflecting back on what your dreams were, what you’ve achieved and what you want to achieve in the future. So I thought I’d put together a quick post on the top 7 reasons that you won’t achieve your New Years Resolutions and offer some simple tips for doing better with them in the next 12 months.

1. Not being specific enough about your resolutions. Want to lose weight or earn more or start playing golf? That is all well and good but without becoming more specific about it you’re unlikely to see the results you want. How much weight do you want to lose, and by when? How much more do you want to earn, and by when? What does playing golf specifically mean – once a day, once a month or once a year? With each of your resolutions become really specific about what you want and you will be half way to achieving them.
2. Not really wanting it. For you to succeed it has to be something that you *really* want for yourself. Is the partner putting pressure on you to quit smoking? It isn’t going to be anywhere near as successful as if you want to quit for your own reasons. Does your Mum think you need to do this or that? Probably not going to work. Work out what you really want and go after it with both hands. Motivation is king when pursuing a resolution.
3. Not considering the wider consequences. Sure, some of your aspirations may sound good on paper, but what are the wider consequences to your life? Is that resolution really such a good idea if it means not seeing your partner or friends because you’re so busy focusing on it? Or is the resolution going to cost so much you won’t be able to reach your financial goals or pay the bills? Make sure you consider the wider impact on your life of each and every resolution you decide to pursue.
4. Only trying to achieve them. Try is a funny word. If you think about it, you only successfully try if you don’t achieve it! Try scratch your nose… the minute you actually scratch your nose you’ve stopped trying – it is only trying while you don’t achieve it. So remove that word from your resolutions and actually *do* them. Notice the difference it makes.
5. Not taking action. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve gone so far this is the one that trips the most people up. To achieve a resolution you must, must, must TAKE ACTION. It isn’t magic, what you do is what gets done. So if you are serious about your resolutions then work out what you need to do next and start taking action right now!
6. Not being held accountable. I’m sure this isn’t you but have you ever noticed how packed gyms are for the first two weeks of January? Lots of people set out wildly towards their resolutions but after a couple of weeks something happens. And when that something happens they don’t get right back to their resolution, they seem to forget about them. This only happens if you’re not being held accountable! Find a friend, a family member or even a Coach to play this important role. A friendly kick in the arse is often what it takes to make the difference between getting to your resolution or not so make sure there are people that are good at friendly arse kicking in your life!
7. Not seeing things through to the end. I’ll finish writing more about this one in a couple of days…

Do you have tips for achieving your New Years Resolutions? It would be great to hear them. Leave a comment or drop me an email and I’ll save them up for next year

Keys to an Achievable Outcome

In Neuro-Linguistic Programming it is important to begin everything by working out exactly what you want. In finding out what exactly you want it is important to make sure the outcome is achievable. An achievable outcome is important in situations such as with goals, meetings and even business relationships to name but a few.

Begin by asking yourself: “How is it possible that they don’t have it now?”

Then make sure that the outcome is:

1. Stated in the positive.
   • “What specifically do you want?”
2. Specify present situation.
   • “Where are you now?” (Associated)
3. Specify outcome.
   • “What will you see, hear, feel, etc., when you have it?”
   • As if now
   • Make compelling
   • Insert in future. Be sure future picture is dissociated.
4. Specify evidence procedure.
   • “How will you know when you have it?”
5. Is it congruently desirable?
   • “What will this outcome get for you or allow you to do?”
6. Is it self-initiated and self-maintained?
   • “Is it only for you?”
7. Is it appropriately contextualized?
   • “Where, when, how, and with whom do you want it?”
8. What resources are needed?
   • “What do you have now, and what do you need to get your outcome?”
   • “Have you ever had or done this before?”
   • “Do you know anyone who has?”
   • “Can you act as if you have it?”
9. Is it ecological?
   • “For what purpose do you want this?”
   • “What will you gain or lose if you have it?”

   - or -

   • What will happen if you get it?
   • What won’t happen if you get it?
   • What will happen if you don’t get it?
   • What won’t happen if you don’t get it?