Something to think about from Dr. Wil Horton

Intro to NLP Today E-Zine

NLP Today E-Zine is a monthly series of articles that will bring you the best information in the world of NLP and Hypnosis. We will bring you articles that have been proven in the real world. Heavy with techniques and information you can use in your daily life, whether it's as a therapist with clients, business or sales, or just for self-development. We will get you the information you want and can't get. We focus on proven applications, not theory. Our trainers all "do the work." This is the difference that makes the difference. We cut the fluff and bring the main course. Mental Food you can use. NFNLP is the leader in this type of technology.

This is a service of the National Federation of NeuroLinguistic Psychology and Dr. Wil Horton. We want people to achieve their highest potential, and NLP is the #1 tool for this. If you feel you have been added to this list in error, check out an issue, and then let us know if you would like to be removed.

You can achieve your dreams.

Captains Chair:

As we have been watching the recent world events we all have had differing thoughts and opinions, and as it looks as if this phase is winding down I pray that we may move on as a nation and world toward growth and freedom. Those of us who have friends/relatives and loved ones serving are relieved that it is almost over. I have had a super busy month, doing seminars and a Basic NLP training in Canada, it went great and I would like to welcome them into the family of NFNLP, as well as all the others who have come on board the last few weeks. I hope that you will you will use your skills well, and help however you can.

Members On The Move :

Laura King worked with a pro golfer who made the cut at a PGA tour!

Also congratulations to NFNLP member Billy Shilling, we now have a true Captain aboard, his recent promotion to captain (USN) select and his new leadership position. Great work! The birds will look good on you!

On a personal note, my daughter, (and NLP trained person) whom some of you have meet, recently received her Surface Warfare pin while serving aboard the USS Nassau, and she is looking forward to returning to Virginia Beach, hopefully soon.

With this current situation in mind we have a great article from NFNLP Trainer Joe Donahue on the subject, so to speak, enjoy it.

From The Road:

As you know, in this section I try to share with you my current experiences from the road, in training, seminars, and therapy, hoping you can save some time and money by my experience, both good and bad. No matter how much you prepare, sometimes your plans do not always work out the way you thought they would. Recently I added some information to my seminar, and then before I tested it, I decided to make more changes while deleting some old material. Well, the results were not good. I had some unhappy campers on my hands, and after two such incidents, I knew I needed to pinpoint the problem. The difficulty was I had altered too much to see what the “problem, or problems” were, so I followed the advise of Scott Mcfall and Elsom Eldridge and added one thing at a time. It took only a few days but I found the things that were causing the problems. It had to do with language, and how I was expressing an idea to the crowd. I thought it was brilliant; they did not interpret it the same way. Naturally the final result is proof that the communication was successful, so as the communicator I altered it and now it works fine.

So my message here is to stick to what works and make changes slowly. Test them over time and with multiple people. I found after discussing this situation with various people, that this can happen as we become full of ourselves, and then we blame the clients for their refusal to “see the light.” This also lead me to go back to some basics, as you will see in techniques section.

Theory into practice:

From Joe Donahue

Some thoughts on 'Psy-ops' and 'The Message'

Most of my professional life has been learning and implementing psychological communications towards/with students who are the most deviant from the 'norm' and athletes who are working toward or are at elite status. I learned quickly that my beliefs meant nothing if they did not embrace in my efforts the culture and world view of the people in question. What we believe we are implementing and what is being implemented are often poles apart. What clarifies the dilemma are two main factors:

1. The open regards for the receivers belief system even if it is completely at odds with our beliefs. This acceptance of another's belief system is difficult to achieve and it requires that one believe that all actions have a positive intent regardless of how bizarre or absurd. What 'we' think of as absurd or irrational may to another be both logical and rational. A quick example is the early characterization of Kamikaze pilots in the Pacific as irrational and not respecting life. To the Japanese, they were heroes, the 'Divine Wind' of retribution. Once we realized what we were up against, supported by the mounting deaths of US Marines and the willingness of the Japanese soldier to fight 'to the death' we increased the use of brute force as a continuing strategy. We had leveled the cities in Germany, which had a similar effect. It was the final brute application of force that ended this strife.

2. The ability to be flexible in observing results of our communications. You must ask the question, am I observing a result, which matches my supposition? The meaning of the message is in the response not the message! For those who remember that during the micro management of the Viet Nam war, we often halted bombing so that the enemy would have time to 'consider' and modify their belief. What the Viets were doing, however, was to quickly rebuild or reposition there assets. They cared not for Sec. Macnamara's belief, using the time to implement a well thought out strategy. Only when Nixon ordered 'Operation Linebacker' which hammered the former off limits targets did we get to the peace table in Paris. Brute force got the war to end and cut our losses. Surgical operations and 'psy-ops' did not. In both the former and the latter 'psy-ops' was based on faulty assumptions, using cultural biases and ignorance to manipulate another culture. It's like using the wrong size wrench to turn a bolt.

So what is the answer? Continue with psy-ops...yes, provided we are willing to accept the answers we are getting and then we modify the psy-ops. Any effective marketing manager knows that when a sales campaign is not working you best find out if 'it' is based on faulty premise or the premise are OK but the implementation or objective is ineffective. Remember the customer is ALWAYS right whether he/she is a student, terrorist or Iraqi General. The answer is always in the objective behavior of those we are aiming at and not the belief of the 'aimer'. It may be that brute force will be the final answer and we must be willing to accept even that. It is one thing we can all agree that the Iraq leadership understands.

Thanks, Joe Donahue

Technique and Tips:

This month I thought I would stress the need to stay with the basics. I love NLP and Hypnosis, and love to talk about it and teach it. I get tingles when I see someone’s eyes light up when they see the true power of this technology. Great stuff and I am sure many of you feel the same way. (I know for I talk to a lot of you) We eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff. While this is a great trait when teaching a class on NLP or hypnosis, it can leave the average client confused, frustrated, and slow down their results…

I have been lucky enough to do a lot of public stop smoking and weight loss seminars; some of you have seen them. I noticed I started to “teach” hypnosis and NLP rather than just do it. I forgot the number one rule, OUR CLIENTS ONLY WANT RESULTS! They do not care about hypnosis or NLP nor should they, they are paying us for some type of change. If you could throw water at them and chant and it WORKED, they would be happy.

Many times we are the last resort for them. They have tried everything else. They hope the mystery and Magic of Hypnosis and NLP will work for them. I also find that, much like the Martial Arts, one must constantly be focused on the basics or your overall skills will decline rapidly. It is not unusual to see black belts working on basic techniques, to recover the lost nuances of the art. Also why do pro athletes (who have spent their lifetimes in their sports, go to “camp” where they go over basic skills.) How many time times do you hear these top performers say they need to “go back to the basics” (blocking, tackling, throwing, and footwork etc)?

So lets take a few days and review some of your old basic skills; the simple techniques that you put away for the fancy stuff you learned in a seminar.

*   What is your favorite induction? Try going back to the way you first learned it.

*  Pick a couple of basic NLP techniques, and do them they way they are outlined in your training manual.

*   Pull out a basic script and use it as written.

As I was thinking of writing this, I got to see a stage hypnotist do a demo. He stayed with real basic stuff, while I (big I as in EGO), thought it was too simple. But the audience loved it! They wanted more! The finer points I would have liked would not impress his target audience. This was hammered home by Jim Wand (See our following ad for the Stage Hypnosis Training.)

So be it therapy, seminars, stage, or sports, go back to the basics for a shot of inspiration. Then you will see the fancy stuff become even more powerful.