What is NLP really???
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
How To Write A Book In 30 Days!
Thinking about writing a book? You’re probably like numerous others and said to yourself many times; “I should write a book!” The truth is everybody has a book in them. But how many will actually GET MOTIVATED to sit down and write it? Unfortunately very few follow through. The number is so insignificant it’s not even worth mentioning. Although with the advent of P.O.D. (print on demand) companies that have arisen in the last five years it’s much easier to get published.
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
Anyone else have feelings about this?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