The question I receive most often when people see that I’ve written 3 books is “So how do I begin?” Well the truth would be to just begin ANYWHERE! But most people do not start because of the process is too over-whelming. There is too much information to think about accomplishing in a short period of time.

Below is a step-by-step process which I learned from a couple of successful self-publishing authors. One is Dan Poynter; he produced the best self-publishing manual in existence. His website is below under Resources or CLICK HERE to take you directly to his site. Another resource you’ll love is Create Space. It’s a new POD self-publishing company that Amazon purchased, a brilliant move to enhance their reach into book selling and authoring.

Step #1 – Your title is the MOST important element when creating your book. It must be catchy, an attention grabber and marketable! So send out your ideas to as many people as you can (trustworthy friends/family only). Register the domain name next. Really Cheap Names is my friend’s site and it’s easy to use. You don’t need to buy anything else when registering, BUT buy at least two years registration. Then you’ve got to decide on a standard formatting size for you book;  4.5" x 7",  5.5” x 8.5 ",   6" x 9",  and 8.5" x 11" so you know how to configure a Word Doc document to fit the size you require for writing, and printing  The area you are going to be writing in is called “Blue Lines”.

Step #2 – Set your deadline. When, what date do you want to have your book finished? Then set a certain amount of time daily you’re going to write; 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 2 hours, 1 day a week, 3 days a week, OR daily?

Step #3 – Develop your T.O.C. (table of contents) FIRST! Write out at least 15 – 25 chapters (unless you know already how many pages you want to accomplish.)  The reason for doing this is so we can break down each chapter into SUB-chapters. Like the Dummies series.

Step #4 – Now break down each chapter into 10 SUB-chapters! Once you do this you should have the entire amount of book pages. So let’s assume you have 25 chapters and 10 SUB-chapters for the entire TOC. You now will have 250 pages of written text in your book, COOL RIGHT? Now obviously you can have more or less, though now you have an exact number for your finished book. Example: if your working title is “How To Write A Book In 30 Days Or Less” One of your chapters could be;

1. Where To Begin (under this heading your SUB-chapters could be):
     A. Are you ready to write a book?
     B. How to set up your mental mind set.       
     C. Create a warm inviting writing environment.
     D. Collect all your materials to write.
     E. etc., etc., etc.

This is the most crucial part in finishing your entire book. Only because if you do this first, you’ll have your entire book already written, then all you need to do is fill in each page with your content. Each page will represent ONE sub-chapter page, got it? IMPORTANT POINT:
It’s A LOT easier to write ONE page than it is to write 250 pages!

Step #5 – Here’s where your creative mind begins. Take ONE page and begin writing, any page. It doesn’t matter where you start now that you have your book blue-print developed. Actually, your entire book concept IS written, you now can go in and fill in all the blanks.  Choose the SUB-chapter topics that will be most fun for you first. You’re more apt to begin with something you want to write about and enjoy.

Step #6 – Once you have your finished AND edited the insides of your book you’ll need to design a book cover. I usually have my graphics designer do this. I don’t mess around when it comes to my book looking its best! My designer; Patrick O’Connell – www.317Studio.com My strategy to get moving is to have my cover designed and one printed copy of it in front of me before I begin even writing one single page. It gets me motivated!

Step #7 – Once finished with formatting of your book: the insides, cover and size dimensions, you’re ready to submit to CreateSpace.com. In fact, if it motivates you even a little you can open an account before you begin anything. ( I like to find easy ways to force me to finish on my deadline.) From here it’s an easy process and CreateSpace does all the work for you.
They’ll send you a proof of your book, an actual physical copy (SO COOL! )  of how they’ll print it out to your customers. Once you look it over, (edit it if need be), go back online to your account and Ok the proof. Once they have an Ok, your book will be up on Amazon.com usually within a week, and Barnes&Noble.com within a month.

Congratulations on reading this entire tutorial! If I can assist you in writing your book in any way please email me and let’s talk. 

Here’s to your success, John 

RESOURCES:

Book Coach / John Santangelo – www.JohnSantangelo.com
Book Editor / Kristen Santangelo – www.PageOneMasters.com
Really Cheap Names – http://ReallyCheapNames.com
Self-Publishing Manual / Dan Poynter – http://www.ParaPublishing.com/sites/para
Create Space – https://www.CreateSpace.com/Signup.jsp
Graphic Designer / Patrick O’Connell – www.317Studio.com

Wow, where do I begin with this question? With a question of course.  So let me ask YOU this first. What do YOU know, have heard and think it is? I’m sure if this is your first read about NLP you’ve heard about NLP through one of the following sources; a sales training, communication class, seminar leader/speaker, or even Tony Robbins. I’m sure you were SO curious about what it was, you went on a life quest to find out what it truly is. Am I right?  ;-) Well let me help you be giving you MY explanation of what I've learned.

Although, this is exactly how I happened upon it, fascinated by the works of Tony Robbins way back in 1987. (Yes, decades ago) So I did go on a journey, more of self-discovery to uncover what this technology was all about.

The “WHY” people come to NLP are many; wanting to clear up emotional issues, become better sales people, wanting to achieve their goals, take their life to a higher level, or simply learn to get out of their own way. What-ever the reason you’re here I promise you if you stay committed and do some if not all of the exercises I give you you’ll find your life could possibly never remain the same. You’ll find yourself more emotionally in-control, the ability to make better decisions and discover a clear path to obtaining the things in life that bring you the most pleasure. All because of NLP!

So what is this miraculous discovery? Well, let me give you some definitions that you may have heard or found on the web.

NLP- an attitude and a methodology that leaves behind a trail of techniques.
Richard Bandler

NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming describes the fundamental dynamics between mind (neuro) and language (linguistic) and how their interplay affects our body and behavior (programming). Robert Dilts

NLP – Neuro-Linguistic Programming is the practical science of detecting, evolving and using the conscious and unconscious thinking and behavioral patterns that we are constantly experiencing. Tim Hallbom

The Magic Of NLP

When we say, "the magic," it’s simply the highest and best of human experiences, "excellence" in human functioning. In NLP, we say, the magic has structure. Above and beyond the details and content of any experience– there are frames and processes that explains how we operate. And when you know what and how that is, you’ll begin to unlock the secret of BEING, HAVING & DOING excellence in the human condition. So can this be magic?

Yes, the magic of getting creating everyday excellence, getting over fears, eliminating the past hurts, the magic of building a compelling future and the amazing ability to make it all happen, to live your life with joy, abundance and happiness.

We use the term "magic" in NLP to speak about the very structure and experience of excellence. So when anybody does something in a superb and wonderful way– from learning, decision making, getting motivated, being resilient, operating proactively, managing, making wealth, selling, etc., we know that that experience has structure and that we can learn and replicate that magic.

So, WHAT does NLP stand for? Neuro-Linguistic Programming. At first glance it looks very confusing even a bewildering phrase. Though it simply means;

Neuro – It means that we have a mind-body system that we can program, and has been programmed, much in the way we can program and re-program computer software. This mind-body system or our neurology is made up of our nervous system(s) that enable us to breathe, eat, think, live and function daily.

Linguistics, the manner in which we communicate to ourselves and others. The symbols, verbal and non-verbal systems that we use to operate our neurology.

When you combine the mind-body together; the linguistics of our neurology, we now have a spectacular human bio-computer. And the best part about it is it's completely programmable.

Programming, the programs or strategies we run to consistently produce results through-out our day. Though some of our programs are hard-wired from the moment of conception, we have the ability to program and re-program our software/neurology.

So what does all this have to do with me you may be asking?

Well, what if you have an antiquated mental program which you run that you’d like to change or eliminate? Some kind of phobia or fear of some sort, a bad habit, or a past event that haunts you. On the flip-side what if you have a great strategy for developing relationships, or learning, staying fit and healthy, creating financial abundance for yourself and others, wouldn’t this be something you’d like to replicate, enhance or even teach others?

The ability to CHANGE or ENHANCE our neurology, daily functioning or habits has always been a source of pain for man, and woman. ;-)  Because our bodies operate from a PAIN / PLEASURE principle, we are consistently looking out for what can harm us; the body! So we are more apt to AVIOID situations that could provide opportunity, (which may bring pain) rather than move TOWARDS them to obtain pleasure or reward.

That being said, NLP allows us the opportunity to CHANGE or ENHANCE or even ADD programs into our neurology. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to simply alter the way you do things to produce a different result? A result more pleasing, pleasurable or rewarding? Of course it would! 

NLP is a MODEL of human functioning

It takes a very different attitude from some of the old psychologies. In NLP, we do not start from the assumptionthat people are broken. Not! Instead, we assume the complete opposite, that people work perfectly. That its the programs we've learned that dont serve us. That we have all the resources that we need, and the only problem isn't with each of us but with what limiting programs we've learned as children.

Discovering NLP

A young college student was asked to work with Fritz Perls editing his transcripts from live therapeutic sessions and then observing Virginia Satir. He found that he could mimic or model their sophisticated therapeutic skills to such a degree that he could replicate the same processes to produce the same results in a shorter period of time. This got the attention of a young college linguistics professor to help him figure it out and supervise a class where surprisingly they both were reproducing the same skills that were reserved for graduate therapy skills and professional therapists. 

The How – If that sounds familiar and similar to other fields, it is. NLP is a branch of the Cognitive Sciences and Cognitive Behavioral Psychology. It grew out of General Semantics (Korzybski), Transformational Grammar (Noam Chomsky), Anthropology and Cybernetics (Bateson), Reframing (Watzalawick, et al.), Family Systems (Virginia Satir), Gestalt Therapy (Perls), Medical hypnosis (Milton Erickson), and several related studies. This is most of the respectable body of knowledge from which NLP arose.

This student (Richard Bandler) and the linguistic professor (Dr. John Grinder) teamed up to figure out, or model the magic of these therapeutic magicians. On the campus of the University of California at Santa Cruz, Richard Bandler used what he knew about mathematics, patterns and computers, where-as Dr. Grinder used what he knew about patterns in linguistics to create a model about the Perls and Satir model– a meta-model ("meta" is Greek for "above, beyond, and about).

Bandler's natural gift for mimicking enabled him to hear and replicate the language patterns by Virginia and Fritz. So he play acted with a group of students to see what he could do. After enjoying immediate and powerful results from this initial modeling, Richard and John set out to model the hypnotic skills of Milton Erickson. And it so happened that he and Dilts and others of the original group were taking classes from Gregory Bateson at the University who not only introduced them to Erickson, but to other influential persons.

Their first works they produced from their observations

The Structure of Magic, Volumes I and II. (1975, 1976) identified the verbal and behavioral patterns of therapists Fritz Perls (the creator of gestalt therapy) and Virginia Satir (internationally renowned family therapist). Soon after they were introduced to the foremost hypnotherapist of all time; Milton Erickson did they write about a fascinating modeling adventure with The Patterns of the Hypnotic Language of Erickson, Vol. I & II (1975, 1976) which examined the verbal and behavioral patterns of Milton Erickson,

Together, they built a communication model about human excellence. They used our human experiences of how we SEE images, HEAR sounds, FEEL feelings and tactile responses, SMELLS and TASTES inside our mind to represent “the structure” of subjective experiences we call LIVING LIFE!

Through the years, NLP has gone on to develop some very powerful tools and skills for communication and change in a wide range of professional areas such as; counseling, psychotherapy, education, leadership, health, creativity, law, management, sales, parenting, even politics!

All of NLP was developed on two elementary presuppositions:

 1. The Map is Not the Territory. As human beings, we can never know reality. We can only know our perceptions of reality. We experience and respond to the world around us primarily through our sensory representational systems. It is our 'neuro-linguistic' maps of reality that determine how we behave and that give those behaviors meaning, not reality itself. It is generally not reality that limits us or empowers us, but rather our map of reality.

2. The Mind-Body are Systemic Processes. All of our processes take place within the human being in which we interact with other human beings within our environment are all systemic in nature. Our bodies, our communities, and the world we live in all form an “ecology” a complex systems all of which we interact with and mutually influence upon one another. It’s not possible to completely isolate any part of one system from the rest of any or all systems. Our systems are based on certain 'self-organizing' principles and naturally seek optimal states of balance or homeostasis.

All of the models and techniques of NLP are based on the combination of these two principles. In the belief system of NLP it is not possible for human beings to know our objective reality. There is no such thing as REAL. It’s only a matter of perception. Our understandings, knowledge, beliefs and ecology do not arise from having the 'right' or 'correct' map of the world. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ map, each of our own map only serves the one using it. And serves each correctly according to the systems we live in.

As human beings its not possible to create the ‘perfect’ map. Rather, the goal is to create the richest map possible that respects the systemic nature and ecology of ourselves, others and the world we live in. The people who are most successful at this are the ones who’s map of the world allows them the flexibility to become aware and utilize the most available choices and perspectives. NLP allows us to create choice where once we did not have it, and offers us the ability to gain new perspectives to shape and re-shape the world we live in.

Did that help? Well if you'd like more, better or an simplier explanation I'd love to chat with you. Call my office PLEASE: 818 879-2000

This should be an easy one for most people to figure out.
What would you’re guess be?
• They don’t know WHAT they want?
• Don’t believe it or on themselves?
• Can’t get themselves to take action?

Well, they’re actually all correct, but only one CAUSES people to sabotage themselves; the “REASONS WHY”  They don’t have enough PUSH, DRIVE, FIRE, MOTIVATION, whatever you want to call it behind they’re goal.

The reasons “WHY” we do things CAUSE all of us to ACT!
Think about the reasons you do the things that are important.
WHY do you work? WHY do you eat? WHY do you have hobbies?

They’re all based upon a FEELING of “have to.” Does that make sense? Some things we WANT, and others we HAVE TO have!  The ones we WANT have mild feelings of motivation, while the HAVE TO’s have reasons that CAUSE us to take action. The more reasons, the higher the intensity of feelings that drive us to take action.

Here’s a simple exercise to get you moving in the right direction.
Go find a quiet place to think. Get out a piece of paper and write down just 10 things you’d like to accomplish this year. Then break-down each one of these 10 things into 10 Individual tasks which you’d have to complete in order to obtain each one of them.

So to sum up WHY most people can’t get what they want,
It’s just a lack of intense reasons WHY they want them!

I hope this makes a difference in you getting more of what you want from life,
if not, its’ only because you don’t have a Success Coach yet!  LOL 

Call me for a free 30 minute session.  I’d like to help you get what you want!

To Your Success,  John
 

History by Michael Hall Ph.D.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, NLP dominated America more than anywhere else in the world.  Once upon a time there were hundreds upon hundreds of training centers —several in every major city and half a dozen NLP Associations across the country.  Then there were numerous journals, practice groups, and the talk of NLP was everywhere.  But no longer.

Today there are a dozen or so centers left and all are much smaller versions of the former ones.  And today there are no Associations left nor are there any magazines or journals.  And if you are like most people when they hear this, they ask with astonishment, “What in the world happened?”

Also, once upon a time in southern California, NLP as a new model of human development arose that caught the attention of the field of psychology, psychotherapy, counseling, education, hypnotherapy, and many other fields.  And it was based on some solid researchers and world-class communicators— people like Bateson, Korzybski, Satir, Perls, Erickson, George Miller, Chomsky, etc.  And it thrived from the late 1970s through the 1980s.  Then the movement began hitting some snags.

So what happened?  Well, I think that the demise of NLP in the United States lies mostly in the hands of the very person who also did the most to create it—Richard Bandler.  At the same time, he offered a new way to think about and perceive human experiences he also seemed incredible skilled at creating  offense and disrespect for the model!  When I entered the field, his murder trial in San Diego was just beginning. [Yes, that was quite an introduction to the field!]  Prior to that was the lawsuit between him and Grinder; and after the murder trial, the lawsuit he filed against Tony Robbins.  Then there was all of the drugging with cocaine and heavy drinking and so on.

Yet what really created the demise of NLP in the U.S. was Richard’s 1996 lawsuit for 90,000,000 dollars against eight people and “200 John Does” (that’s legal language for people to be named to the lawsuit”), a lawsuit against the field of NLP.  And given his reputation for playing nasty or hardball, that lawsuit scared a lot of people.  Actually, it not only scared them, it scared the hell out of them so that scores of people began shutting down their training centers, they stopped using the letters “NLP” in their writings, presentations, businesses, and they distanced themselves more and more from the community (what was left of it).  As a strategy for ruining a movement, for torpedoing a field, for throwing cold water on fans of the model— it was very successful!  Of course, if you are wondering as I have heard so many wonder aloud and in writing, “Why would anyone in their right mind do that?” — well, that’s another question, and I can only guess at it.

The lawsuit was filed in 1996 and lasted till 2000 or 2001 when Bandler lost.  He was then assessed some $600,000 to be paid to Chris Hall (no relationship to me), NLP was declared in public domain, and he moved to Ireland.  Yet in the past eight or nine years, the field has been very, very slow to recover.  In fact, one of the strangest things now about the field of NLP— it is thriving and growing and doing very well almost everywhere in the world except the United States!  It is exploding in Russia and the former Soviet countries; it is thriving and exploding in China and throughout Asia.

This is not to say that everyone helping with the spread is presenting high quality NLP or being ethical in what they are doing.  Many are not.  In this, the buyer truly has to beware and has to ask many, many hard questions.  But that’s the subject of another article.

Regarding bringing NLP back to the United States, it does not seem to be arising from within.  There is some growth, but it is very small.   We probably need solid NLP trainers in England, Europe, Latin America, Canada, even Australia and that part of the world to bring it back and establish it on more solid grounds.  In fact, if you are a solid quality NLP trainer, there are dozens and dozens of major cities in the United States without any NLP training— cities of a million or more people and not a single training center.

And this is also true of Neuro-Semantics.  At this moment, we do not have a Neuro-Semantic Institute in the United States —Mexico, yes.  Canada, coming soon.  But in the United States— no.  Nothing.  Zip.  Zadda.  I would, but currently my relationship to the States is that I keep flying back home to pay taxes.  In terms of living, I mostly live everywhere else!

Why am I writing about this?  Because here is a true opportunity for lots of people and because most people around the world don’t know about this.  Here is an opportunity for someone, or several someones, for people in Europe, Asia, Latin America or elsewhere make it their mission to import NLP back to the United States.  What do you think?  The opportunities are immense.  With dozens of major cities with populations into the millions and with over 300 million across the country, the States offer a vast market.  Who has the business acumen to create Training Centers or Event Companies and bring a high quality, ethical, and commercially viable business model to the United States?  What Neuro-Semantic/NLP trainer will do that?

I train almost exclusively outside of the United States, but not by choice.  I do that because that is where NLP is growing and where Neuro-Semantics is exploding.  For myself, I would love to conduct the Meta-Coaching System on both coasts of the United States and a couple places in the middle, yet to do that, we need NLP trainers training NLP Practitioner and/or NLP Introduction courses.  There also need to be Neuro-Semantic trainers running APG workshops on Meta-States.

Now that NLP is “in the public domain” in the United States and in the UK, and now that nearly a decade has passed since all of the commotion of the lawsuits and the bad press of NLP, the time has come for there to be a resurgence of NLP in the US.  And now that the original hype and all of the new-age non-sense has passed, the time is ripe for a professional development of NLP and Neuro-Semantics in the US.  Those who know how to present NLP for business, for high quality communication, for modeling excellence and those who know how to present the higher ethical and professional standards of Neuro-Semantics and the vision of “walking the talk” —you have a wonderful opportunity.  People need it.  Who will rise up to take up the challenge?

John James Santangelo C.Ht. – Los Angeles’ Premier NLP certification training company; A genuine NLP 12-day 120-hr program. John brings tens-of-thousands of hours of REAL-WORLD corporate and clinical in-the-trenches work experience to his NLP certification trainings. Don't be fooled by other courses giving you reasons why that can’t give you the traditional 120-hrs of face to face time with the trainers.  If you’ve ever been curious about the technology of NLP or have been interested in attending an NLP certification course to find out how you can develop more personal power, maintain physical vitality, produce outstanding relationships and create financial wealth…  then this may be your time! Visit our site and decide for your-self to attend one of our free trainings, or Enroll Right Now. – www.LANLP.com  Call me personally at: (818) 879-2000 for additional information and a FREE Welcome Packet and CD. See you soon! 

 Let us tell you a story about magic. It's a magical story, full of wows! And woes. It's a story of magicians and wizards and frogs turning into princes. It's an adventure into the very magic that occurs everyday in human neuro-linguistics, a story about you and the magic that's going on this very minute in your neurology.

What we call NLP is really the story of a new cutting-edge model about–

·         How to run your own brain.

·         How to effectively represent your experiences.

·         How to map the world of experiences that you've been through, that you think is possible to experience, and that you hope you will get to experience.

·         How to take charge of your states.

·         How to develop effective strategies for your everyday life.

Now what we call, "the magic," is simply the highest and best of human experiences, "excellence" in human functioning. And the magic of that magic is this: there is rhyme and reason to your everyday experiences. In NLP, we say, the magic has structure. Above and beyond the details and content of any experience– there is a framework that explains how it operates. And when you know that, you know many of the secrets of magic. Magic?

Yes, the magic of getting over past hurts, the magic of forging a great big compelling future and making it happen, the magic of implementing your knowledge, the magic of getting into rapport with others, working through conflicts, taking another person's point of view on things, etc.

We use the term "magic" in NLP to speak about the very structure and experience of excellence. So when anybody does something in a superb and wonderful way– from learning, decision making, staying motivated, being resilient, operating proactively, managing, making wealth, selling, etc., we know that that experience has structure and that we can learn and replicate that magic.

Okay, okay, the set of letters themselves. NLP literally stands for a mouth-full of a phrase: Neuro-Linguistic Programming. This refers to the fact It means that we have a mind-body system that we can program very much the way we can program software for a computer. This mind-body system or our neuro-linguistics is made up of our neurology (our nervous systems that enables us to live, breathe, think, and function) and our linguistics (the symbol systems that run the neurology).

Put mind-body together– the linguistics of neurology and we have a marvelous, mysterious and even magical human bio-computer. And the best news– it's programmable. Sure, it's hard-wired with a few basic dispositions, but for the most part, "as we think (symbolize, give meaning to things), so we are." And with that, the adventure begins.

What do you mean?  We mean that if you don't have a great strategy for making friends, learning, staying healthy, looking at the world with the eyes of opportunities, etc., then you just need a strategy. You work perfectly well. There's nothing wrong with you. You may simply not have the right strategy for the job, or you may have some stupid strategy running your programs of thinking, feeling, speaking, and behaving that's getting in the way.

NLP, as a model of human functioning, takes a very different attitude from some of the old psychologies. In NLP, we do not start from the assumption (and what an assumption it is!) that people are broken. No. Instead, we assume the opposite– that people work perfectly well, that they have all the resources that they need, and that the only problem isn't with them, but with their programming.

The Sources

If that sounds familiar and similar to other fields, it is. NLP is a branch of the Cognitive Sciences and Cognitive Behavioral Psychology. It grew out of General Semantics (Korzybski), Transformational Grammar (Noam Chomsky), Anthropology and Cybernetics (Bateson), Reframing (Watzalawick, et al.), Family Systems (Virginia Satir), Gestalt Therapy (Perls), Medical hypnosis (Milton Erickson), and several related studies. This is most of the respectable body of knowledge from which NLP arose.

The Founders

To understand the story of how NLP came to be, you have to understand the times of the early 1970s in America and specifically in California. In a time of social upheaval, Vietnam War protests, drugs and rock-n-roll, a young college student happened upon the work of Fritz Perls and then Virginia Satir and found that he could mimic their high-level therapy skills to a degree that surprised him. So he got a young college professor of linguistics to help him figure it out and supervise a class and suddenly they both were replicating the skills that were supposed to be graduate therapy skills.

So the student (Richard Bandler) and the professor (Dr. John Grinder) teamed up to see if they could figure out (or model) the magic of these therapeutic wizards. So there on the campus of the University of California at Santa Cruz, Bandler used what he knew about patterns in mathematics and computers and Grinder used what he knew about patterns in linguistics to create a model about the Perls and Satir model– a meta-model ("meta" is Greek for "above, beyond, and about).

Bandler's natural gift for mimicking enabled him to hear and replicate the language patterns by Virginia and Fritz. So he play acted with a group of students to see what he could do. After enjoying immediate and powerful results from this initial modeling, Richard and John set out to model the hypnotic skills of Milton Erickson. And it so happened that he and Dilts and others of the original group were taking classes from Gregory Bateson at the University who not only introduced them to Erickson, but to other influential persons.

Within two years, they produced the original NLP books–

The Structure of Magic, Volumes I and II

The Patterns of the Hypnotic Language of Erickson, Vol. I & II

And that's how it began.

They built a communication model about human "thinking" and "processing" and used that model of how we see images, hear sounds, reproduces smells and tastes and touches in our mind to track and model the structure of subjective experiences.

NLP– The Study of Excellent Experiences

Robert Dilts was soon commissioned to write the first scholarly book on NLP. He entitled it, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Volume I: The Study of the Structure of Subjectivity. This set forth NLP as a model and the key features of the model. For example, NLP speaks about "thinking"– or information processing as the reproducing in the mind the sensory components of what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch with our sense receptors. This is known as the Representational Systems, the VAK systems and these stand for the way or the "modes" by which we represent information:

Visual (Eyes) – for the Pictures, Sights, Images

Auditory (Ears) – for the Sounds, noises, tones, volumes

Kinesthetic (skin/body) – for the sensations, touch, pressure, etc.

When we think about something, anything, we encode our "thoughts" using our "senses." So we speak about our sensory systems or modalities. This makes our "thoughts" much more specific.

Think about your home or apartment. Got it?

What does it look like?

Sound like? Any noises or sounds associated in your picture?

What about smells?

Here's an "Thought Experiment" that we have in the book, User's Manual for the Brain. Try it out. Have you ever experienced anything that you would call "pleasant?"

Recall a pleasant experience from your past. As various things may pop into your mind, just allow yourself to go with some pleasure memory for the moment and allow yourself to go with that thought….

As you experience this pleasant memory, notice its visual aspects. What do you see? Notice the images. Now make the picture larger. Let it double in size… and then let that picture double again… Notice what happens. Do your emotions intensify?

Now shrink the picture. Make it smaller and smaller. Allow it to become so small you can hardly see it… Stay with that a moment… Do the intensity of the feelings decrease? Experiment again with making the picture bigger and then smaller. When you make it smaller, do your feelings decrease? And when you make it larger, do your feelings increase? If so, then running the pictures (sounds, feelings) in your awareness in this way functions as it does for most people. However, you may have a different experience. Did you? No big deal. We all code our experiences in our minds uniquely and individually. Now, put your picture of that pleasant experience back in a format where you find it most comfortable and acceptable.

As you maintain the same picture, move the picture closer to you. Just imagine that the picture begins to move closer and closer to you, and notice that it will. What happens to your feelings as it does? … Move the picture farther away. What happens when you move the picture farther away? Do your feelings intensify when you move the picture closer? Do your feelings decrease when you move the picture farther away? Notice that as you change the mental representation in your mind of the experience, your feelings change. This, by the way, describes how we can "distance" ourselves from experiences, does it not?

Now experiment with the color. Are your pictures in color or in black-and-white? If your pictures have color, make them black-and-white, and vice versa if you have them coded as black-and-white . . . When you changed the color, do your feelings change?

What about the focus of your images? Are they in focus or out of focus? Do you see an image of yourself in the picture or do you experience the scene as if looking out of your own eyes? What about the quality of your images: in three dimensional (3D) form or flat (2D)? Does it have a frame around it or do you experience it as panoramic? Experiment by changing how you represent the experience. Change the location of the picture. If you have it coded as on your right, then move it to your left.

Playing with the Brain

Did you like that playing with your brain? The neat thing about playing with our brains in that way is that as we change our coding, we change our feelings. The neurology of our emotions responded to the linguistics (or symbols) of our brain. When we change various features of our representations, it affected our responses.

This describes, in part, how "the magic" of NLP works. As we work with the very structures and processes of representation, rather than content, we change the programming. In the Thought Experiment, you might have changed how you feel by changing the quality and structure of your images. Amazing, is it not?

And when you know the structure of experience, then we can begin to use that knowledge to create more generative processes for improving life all around. What would happen if you made all your unpleasant pictures small, dim, and far away? What would happen if you made all your pleasant experiences big, bright and up close?

To learn to play with your brain and make it do wild and wonderful things, to run it for fun and profit, to induce the kind of positive states of mind-and-body, emotional states and states of value and belief, you only need to understand some of the basic components and how they work.

The VAK Representational Systems– Sights, Sounds, Sensations, Smells, etc. These are the basic components.

Each of these have certain Audio-Visual components. Think of a TV or Radio and we have volume, tone, pitch, location, etc. We have distance (close/ far), clarity (clear/ fuzzy), dimension (3_D or flat and 2_D), etc. The NLP term for these qualities or distinctions is "sub-modalities."

Perceptual Positions– the point of view that you take in thinking about something: your own (first person), another person's (second position), the point of view of the larger system (third position).

Running Your Own Brain

In the past 25 years, hundreds of techniques (the NLP technology) has arisen that provide step-by-step processes for "running your own brain" to produce outstanding results. There are patterns for effecting lasting change with phobias and trauma (the Phobia Cure pattern), for changing long-term habits (the Swish Pattern), for changing old traumatic reactions to memories (Decision Destroyer), for altering meaning (Reframing patterns), NLP does indeed offer a fairly large toolbox of techniques. And it is it more than that. Co-founder, Richard Bandler has said,

"NLP is an attitude and a methodology that leaves behind a trail of techniques."

The attitude of NLP involves one of intense and excited curiosity. It involves the desire to know what goes on behind the scenes. With this kind of attitude of curiosity, we want to know what makes the human mind work. So NLP runs on an attitude of experimentation. This attitude leads us to try all kinds of things. After all, we do not sort for "failure," but only for "feedback." If we find that something doesn't produce the results we want, we just try something else. When you get the attitude or spirit of NLP, you'll experience a wild and wonderful passion for exploration, experimentation, and innovating. It will make you more creative, more open to the world of possibilities, and more of a pioneer.

The methodology of NLP is that of modeling: coping and mimicking how something works.

John James Santangelo C.Ht. nationally acclaimed speaker, seminar leader, and success coach has been a guiding force in empowering individuals, businesses, and corporations to excel at peak performance. Working with companies such as Learning Annex, CSUN-Northridge University, Mary Kay Inc, Well Point, Xerox, RE/MAX Realtors, the Teamsters Union, and the US Army counter-intelligence team.  

Whether you’re looking to fulfill short-term goals, meeting planner events, or corporate sales/communication trainings, John can help you achieve a new level of success!  

John is the author of two books : “Asking The Right Question” & “Road Map To Success” And also the host of the radio podcast “Sales Magic” on PersonalLifeMedia.com 

For more information on how to master influential and communication skills. Email John at:   John@JohnSantangelo.com  / or visit his website  – www.JohnSantangelo.com

For more information on products, coaching or to hire John for a corporate event, Please visit his website at www.JLANLP.com or call (818) 879-2000 And remember…   “Purpose, Passion & Persistence drives Results!

This technique is based on Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future who come to challenge certain beliefs and attitudes that are having a serious impact on Scrooge and the people in his life!  Try and visit with your own "ghosts" by doing the following:

Begin by recognizing the past is in THE PAST! There is nothing that can be done to change what happened, just HOW you NOW perceive it. Accept all that’s happened up to now by letting go of the regret, judgment or blame. Then, realize even though your past thoughts/actions have had a certain influence on who you are today,

THE PAST DOES NOT EQUAL THE FUTURE!

Close your eyes and think about the present. Consider the beliefs which are limiting you from realizing your fullest loving potential. For instance, you may be holding onto a belief like let’s say: “you are not worthy!”  Maybe your parents didn’t give you the praise and recognition you needed. Maybe they weren’t there for you when they should have. Maybe they even emotionally abandoned you as a child. And maybe because of them you developed a belief of: “I am not deserving of love.”  Consider how THAT has felt your entire life up to Now! Allow yourself to feel the total weight and impact of this negative self-talk reinforcing these limiting beliefs about your inability to love and be loved, ask yourself;

·               How much has this self-talk cost me already in my life?

·               How many relationships, personal and business have I passed up?

·               Who were the wonderful deserving individuals I’ve tossed aside

·               What have I lost,  and missed out on as a result of these beliefs?

·               In how many ways have I cheated myself AND the many others around me because of me NOT feeling loved?  

·         What painful and negative emotions do I experience on a daily basis as a direct result of these statements I constantly say to myself, and those around me?

·         What’s it costing me EVERY SINGLE DAY that I choose to believe in this?

·               How many things have I NOT attempted in my life as a result of these beliefs?

·               What regrets will you have accumulated up to Now?

·               What “I should have’s”  are saying to yourself Now?

·               How much more time will you waste because of this belief?

Feeling… the full weight of the consequences of holding onto this type of self-talk ask yourself;   WHAT WILL THESE BELIEFS COST ME IN THE FUTURE?

Mentally, step into the future (just as Scrooge did) and visualize the effects of another whole year of telling yourself “I am not deserving of love.” Think of all the opportunities you won't even consider… never mind attempt, all the people you'll shy away from meeting and getting to know, all the situations and wonderful memories you’ll miss by not even TRYING to confidently assert yourself! How much more of this will you bring upon yourself? How bad will you feel Now?

FIVE YEARS.  Step out FIVE YEARS from now and consider the cost, the burden of these beliefs affecting your life for another, five, years!  Drag the consequences of your self-limiting beliefs with you five years into the future and then ask yourself:

·               How much MORE will it cost me in the next five years if I uphold these negative  

        beliefs about not being deserving of love and life.?  

·               How many regrets will I have if I don't change my self-talk?

·               What will I have missed out on? What will I have given up?

·               What will happen to my career in next five years if I hold on to these beliefs?

·               How will this ultimately affect my relationships?   My health?

·               What will my friends and family believe about me?

·               What will my children think of me?

·               What kind of a role model will I be?

·               What legacy WONT I be leaving behind because of these limiting beliefs?

·               How much MORE pain and regret will I have built up and blaming others for my own inability to take action?

·               What will others say behind my back about my LACK of risk taking?

·               How much longer will I have to live in fear of my own success?

Step TEN YEARS into the future. See, Hear and Feel what life is like for you ten years from now if you don't change your self-talk and you’re limiting beliefs!

Ask yourself:

·               When I look in the mirror ten years from now, how much heavier do I feel as a result of these limiting beliefs?

·               How bad do I feel about myself? What are some of the things I haven't accomplished by not giving up these beliefs?

Imagine TWENTY YEARS down the road. What profound effect will twenty years worth of self-talk programming these beliefs into your master computer have had on your life? What will have happened by then? Defeat, failure, disillusionment, disappointment, despair? Ask yourself now:

·               How much have I missed?

·               How much more could I have done and accomplished if I had only changed

     myself-talk twenty years ago?

·               Has my life been an example or has it been a warning to others?

·               Is that what I really want?

NOW STOP!

THE GOOD NEWS IS… you can open your eyes.. . IT'S STILL THE PRESENT! You haven't reaped the disastrous rewards of 20 years of negative SELF-TALK. Its Christmas morning. There is plenty to do. As you commit yourself to a new outcome NOW, YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO DETERMINE YOUR OWN DESTINY. NOW THINK OF ONE, FIVE, TEN, TWENTY YEARS WORTH OF SAYING TO YOURSELF AND BELIEVING:

"I AM LOVED."

"I have a wonderful support group around me that does love me."

"I enjoy meeting loving challenges and reaping the rewards."

"I am now building my ability to communicate my needs day by day."

"I am meeting more people, building my self-esteem and enjoying the experience."

“I extend my emotional self to others regardless of what their thoughts are about me.”

"I am doing all I can (exercising my body, making healthy food choices,
drinking lots of water, breathing expansively often, doing mental jogging, etc.)
 to develop emotional strength  to continuously improve in all areas of my life."

"I’m discovering more each day that I AM WORTHY of all the good the universe has to offer.

“When it comes to MY self-confidence, that’s exactly what it is SELF…  confidence!

As you NOW consider the future…  answer these questions for yourself:

·               How much more will I have gained by living my life with these new beliefs?

·               How much more will I have been able to learn, grow, know, and accomplish as a result of these new self- talk?

·               What has been the benefit of these new beliefs to my children as they look to me as the model of excellence?

·               How has that changed our lives?

·               How grateful, proud, and happy do I feel about having cared enough about WHO I REALLY AM to change those useless, old beliefs into productive, empowering beliefs and create the Destiny I so richly deserve.

Self-Talk Statement to re-mind yourself about this important principle:

"Simply by making the choice to watch what I say as I talk to myself , the beliefs I hold regarding my mind and memory will instantly improve and my future will be dramatically influenced."

It’s not about any specific exercise requiems, or doing cardio until you feel like a wet sponge, or weight training to build muscle mass, and to your surprise, it's not even about the food you eat. Can you guess? Do you know what truly thin people know that you don't…YET?

What IS the Challenge?

Have you ever tried in vain to lose a few extra pounds, or even many of them? Silly question because we all have, at some point, wanted to rid our body of an amount of unnecessary pounds. I’m sure in the past you’ve set goals, made a commitment to yourself AND others, started out with great intentions only to find after a couple months or even weeks, you’re back to the same old negative patterns of over eating again, or something like this, am I correct?

In order to achieve ANY change in our behavior, we must FIRST make the change within our own mind. Example; have you ever tried to WILL YOURSELF into doing something? If we could we’d be able to accomplish EVERYTHING we set our mind to just by thinking about it, couldn’t you?

It’s for this reason that dieting, even coupled with exercise cannot possibly work out unless you’ve engaged your SUB-conscious mind working towards shedding those extra pounds you’ve accumulated. Ninety percent of who we are and who we’ll become is regulated by your unconscious mind. Thoughts generated from our subconscious mind have the most powerful effect on your body. Because your subconscious minds prime directive is to protect the body, therefore it’s always working to keep you consistent and resolute with your daily actions. What you program into your subconscious computer shows up in your outside world. Where attention goes, energy flows, results show!  Knowing this is the hard pill to swallow because it means that ANY diet will work when you’re subconscious is aligned with the results you desire. (Search; Twinkie Diet – Dr. Mark Haub)

Motivation IS The Answer!

The number one reason people overeat is they’re trying to avoid or suppress their emotional pain. Because of this, in order to lose weight, we need to learn to develop a higher self esteem, forgive ourselves, and practice more self-love. Hypnosis for weight loss requires that we affirm a new empowering self and release our old eating behaviors and over-weight mindset by interrupting these patterns and conditioning into the subconscious mind new behavioral patterns such as; eating half, self-esteem, confidence and self-worth. Then a more healthy, happy and fit you will emerge!

Hypnosis can literally shift and jack-up your motivation to help the mind affect the body the same way that eating healthy food and drinking clean water eliminates fat and toxins. It also teaches you how to utilize deep breathing which activates your body’s metabolism to burn extra fat more rapidly.  

What IS Hypnosis?

The real secret to losing weight and keeping it off for good is to “teach” your subconscious mind to do the work for you. By far, the easiest method for “re-programming” your subconscious mind so you can easily lose weight and keep it off for good, is by using hypnosis. Hypnosis is nothing more than a light state of trance, which we’ve all experienced; right before dozing off, passing your exit, or even zoning out watching TV are all examples of light trance/hypnosis.

“The subconscious mind moves in the direction of your currently dominant thoughts.”

So the real secret to finally losing all the weight you want AND keep it off is to start cultivating EMPOWERING thoughts and turn your subconscious mind into your best fitness partner that WANTS you to LOSE WEIGHT, feel amazing, and keep those results for life!

Can I Learn To Re-Program MY Subconscious Mind?

Back to your “million dollar” question that you’ve probably been asking yourself right now,
“Will hypnosis work for ME?” The answer is YES!  YOU CAN be hypnotized and you can reap all the benefits of transforming your subconscious mind quickly and easily into a weight loss machine, because hypnosis is simply accessing your deepest thoughts and beliefs, that in the past, have limited you in becoming the very best YOU. Relaxing your body/mind using hypnosis and activating the belief that you are who you are truly meant to become is the where all change begins with empowering suggestions that are embedded and accepted by your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind then responds and acts to help achieve this new, thin, you.

Can you now, imagine yourself, using hypnosis and losing all the weight you want easily… being able to just listen and lose? If this is something that you’d like to be. do and have, go to our weight loss hypnosis site: www.JustListenAndLose.com We'll be up and operating VERY SOON with this site! (818) 879-2000

Can you relate to this: when I was an 8 yr old child, my father said to me; “You’re so lazy.” Now I’m sure he didn’t mean it at the time, we all tend to say things we later regret. Although THAT statement stuck with me for years. Do YOU have one of these?

After years of beating myself down, I learned it wasn’t so much WHAT I did, but WHAT I thought about myself when doing it… MY BELIEFS about myself! They are the CORE essence of who we are, the actions we take, and if we’re not careful, who we’ll end up being. Don’t get me wrong, not all beliefs are bad. Just the ones that hold us back from truly living our lives. The secret is HOW do you change them? Well, what I’ve found is the easiest way to make that happen. It’s to use writing as a powerful tool for change.

The idea is to use the belief as a jumping off point. Use the same language structure as the old belief has. For example; “I can CHOOSE to be lazy when I want to relax. Now I AM PRODUCTIVE AND EFFECTIVE in everything I want to learn and create! I am the  master my time and have all the resources I need to succeed”

I wrote these beliefs repeatedly, up to 20 times a day for about 21 days, and reread what I'd written several times a day. This writing is an instruction to the SUB-conscious mind.

You’re not trying to convince your CONSCIOUS mind; instead, you are simply re-programming new information into the SUB-conscious mind. Using repetition AND emotional conviction, you will now impress new beliefs deep into the subconscious. Once you can impress these new beliefs your behavior and actions will then occur automatically.

Write Out Your New Beliefs

You can write yourself a new script, detailing all of your new beliefs, from health to wealth, business success, from relationships and spirituality, from productivity to creativity. To write the script, imagine what your life will be like AS A RESULT, this is the key factor. Act as if! Write out the result of adopting a new belief, and describe it all in the present tense. Describe everything as if it is and has already been happening.

For example, a script for your health might start like this:

I love how it feels to plan AND achieve anything I choose to accomplish each day! I am an obsessive goal setter and find it easy to get what I want, when I want it. I can now relax and be lazy because I get more done every day. I am getting more and more productive and happier every day…

Add Visualization to Your New Beliefs

Close your eyes and picture it all happening exactly as you described it in your script. Create a movie in your mind, add in a soundtrack, any smells, and most imporatantly, how does it feel now that you have accomplished it? Edit it until it’s just right, perfect for you! Then through-out the day watch your movie over and over again, really putting yourself into a peak state each time you watch it. Visualization is simply the creation of a new idea or belief, where you paint a new scenario, adding color and imagining sound, smell and so on, anything you can find that enhances our movie, making it MORE ALIVE! If you're an NLP practitoner from Los Angeles' Premier NLP Training Center, you already know how to create massive results!

Add Advanced Techniques

You can add a more advanced NLP techniques by visualizing the old behavior then put the new behavior BEHIND the old one. Then, pull back the new behavior like as if were a rubber sheet. Pull it back from the middle of the page as far as it will stretch back. Then let it go, as it comes whizzing forward BLOWING OUT the old limiting behavior, and at the same time saying to yourself, “S-W-I-S-H-HHHHHHH!”  Do this 7 – 10 times until it feels now more natural to do the new behavior! Have FUN with this!

Focus on one major belief at a time and really work on it until you feel its reprogrammed your subconscious mind. It needs to become automatic for you. Then, choose a new belief every month, and within one year you will have installed up to 12 new beliefs!  Now that’s is life changing! Email me if you have any questions and decide to attend our NLP Practitioner course here in Los Angeles, CA. www.LANLP.com

To Your Success,  John 

I can assume then, if you’re reading this, you’re most likely the kind of person that gets things done, correct? I can assume you’re a go-getter, aren’t you? You’re probably envied by your friends because you can multi-task and have a huge to-do list all checked off each day.  Am I right? So my question for you is: HOW do you do it so successfully? I mean, why can YOU accomplish so much and some people can’t even wake up on time in the morning?

The reason most people don’t ever achieve what they truly want is they’re not real clear about what it is that they want.  They don’t even know why they want it and they can’t muster up the necessary motivation to implement the actions it takes to follow through.

The answer to get what-ever you want is simply KNOW what you want, obtain enough reasons WHY you want it, and develop the proper behaviors.

#1 Clarity – The Power of Focus!

Here’s the first question I pose to every one of my coaching clients; “If I were your travel agent, what would be the first question I’d ask you?” And of course they answer, “where are we going?” Because without a destination we’d never arrive, no matter what method we used.

You might be familiar with the Law of Attraction. It’s simply states that whatever you hold in your mind’s eye long enough, a goal of any kind, it will show up. Because what you focus on inside, shows up on the outside. Where attention goes, energy flows, results show! The unconscious mind’s primary objective is it focuses on your dominant thoughts. So whatever you put up on the screen of your mind you move towards it. Whatever you focus upon you get more of. If you focus on poverty and lack, you’ll tend to get more of that in your life. If you focus on prosperity or wealth, you will create more of that. Napoleon Hill, author of “Think & Grow Rich” called this – a definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants!

There’s also a correct way to ask your unconscious what you want. In America we’ve been accustomed to use negations to convey what we want. Here’s an example; “Whatever you do, DON’T think of a blue tree!” Ok, so what did you have to do? You had to think of a blue tree right? Why? Because you can’t think about what you don’t want to think about without thinking about it, think about it? ;-)

Here are a couple of other great examples;

·   “I DON’T want to be fat!”  

·   “Kids, DON’T eat all the candy!” 

·   “Please DON’T talk to me like that!” 

·    “DON’T spend your money all at once!”

Negations state what we want but in an opposite manner of speaking. Remember, the unconscious mind can only focus on what you put in front of it. So always “ask or say it the way you want it!”

Another great rule to follow when setting goals is S.M.A.R.T. goals. Make them SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, REALISTIC, and TIMED.

 #2 Emotion – The Driving Force!

The one driving force of our behavior is EMOTION. It’s what causes us to procrastinate or ACT! How you FEEL about taking action will determine whether or not you achieve your goal. In NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) we say you’ll do more to avoid pain than gain pleasure. So what will YOU do more for; to avoid the pain of rejection, ridicule or fear, or the pleasure of getting your goal? For most people (at an unconscious level) you’ll avoid the pain therefore NOT taking the appropriate actions to get what you want.

So to counter this pain/pleasure principle, you’ll want to create reasons WHY you must have your goal. The more reasons WHY you have, the more emotional intensity (motivation) you’ll have for attaining your goal. You’ll want to write out 100 reasons why for each goal, imagine how much motivation you’ll have driving you to achieve your goal now?

 #3 Behavior – the Ability to ACT!

One thing that has been overlooked in the past is making the very fine distinction between a behavior and a “thing”. I ask that my coaching clients to set their “goal” as a behavior they want to be doing, not an object outside themselves. Like having a gazillion dollars in the bank or a Ferrari in their garage. These are simply the “rewards” you’d receive for DOING certain behaviors. They are not behaviors themselves. So your question here is what behavior(s) do you need to HAVE and DO to get your goal(s)?

To sum up, It’s not enough to just to be clear about what you want and passionate about it; you have to DO SOMETHING to get there! If you’re interested in learning more about NLP and our training programs, or to have John speak at your event or our coaching services please email John at: John@JohnSantangelo.com or call his office – (818) 879-2000.