Assisting in the Global NLP Training room provides a similarly rich and powerful environment for evolving your skills toward greater levels of competence, fluency, and mastery.

Every time I assist in the training, there are new portions of the learning which have become automated in my behavior since the previous time. Once you become comfortable with a skill enough to leave it to your unconscious mind, your conscious awareness becomes free to focus on things which are new, beyond what you had previously integrated. This freeing of conscious processes also allows you to notice things that may have slipped by you in previous trainings, creating even greater insights and connections.

Not only is the repetition and review beneficial, but each time I have assisted with the training I also have new experiences with coaching that I bring with me into the training room. The Global NLP training becomes richer and richer with the more coaching experience that you can bring into the training room and the more real life examples that you have to refer to.

The different students in each training group also make each training experience unique and a great resource to becoming a better practitioner and coach. Different people react differently in each demo which gives you a broader experience base with each of the patterns. Also, the different backgrounds of the students within each training group shift the direction of the training in subtle yet powerful ways. The students guide the training in different directions based on the questions that they ask, based on their personal life experience, and based on the direction they desire to move in.

In assisting you get to learn from the mistakes of those who are learning for the first time, as well as learn from the skills that each unique practitioner brings to the table.

These only begin to describe the ways in which assisting in the Global NLP Training room provides a rich environment for becoming a better Practitioner and Coach. Practice makes perfect, teaching others is the quickest path to mastery, and the more angles that you see/experience something from, the richer your understanding is and the more comfortable you become with the processes. The question should not be how does assisting in the training make one a better practitioner and coach, but how could it not!

Jason Schneider
NLP Master Practitioner
Global NLP Coach

At all times we are being bombarded with a tremendous amount of information from our environment that we must filter through.    Imagine how overwhelmed and overloaded you would be if all of your senses:  the sights, sounds, tastes and smells in your environment in addition to all of your bodily sensations, were all being fired off at their full intensity at the same time! Something as simple as reading an article would be a daunting task if you were unable to selectively attend to the specific information you perceive as important while filtering out the rest!  As human beings we must delete, distort and make generalizations about the information coming in through our senses in order to make ‘sense’ of the world.

The information that is left over after these deletions, distortions and generalizations make up an individual’s ‘map of the world.’  This personalized way of looking at the world makes each individual unique and allows us to function in our own unique way as we move through life.

When people are happy, living rich and resourceful lives, their ‘map of the world’ is serving them well.   When people view the world and their relationship to it in unresourceful ways, they have formed a map of the world that is not serving them to live a rich and resourceful life.

As stated in The Structure of Magic, “The basic principle is that people end up in pain NOT because the world is not rich enough to allow them to satisfy their needs, but because their representation of the world is impoverished.”

The metamodel is an amazing resource for bringing someone out of their unresourceful map into the see-hear-feel reality that their map is referring to.   From there, they are in the perfect place to change the meanings that they have associated with those representations.  This opens a space for the changes that need to be made that will bring them back into a more resourceful map.

Not only do the metamodel questions deconstruct unresourceful maps and limiting beliefs, they are also a targeted tool to bring people more specificity about what they are speaking about.  For example, when somebody says “Nobody cares about me” they may truly believe that what they are saying at that time is true.  Metamodel questions will expand their map of the world, bringing them clarity on who specifically they are referring to by ‘nobody’, show them that they couldn’t possibly know what everybody else in the world feels, and perhaps even give them the realization that somebody out there does care about them!

As a coach, manager, friend etc., the meta-model questions can also be used to bring YOU clarity about what specifically someone else is referring to.  For example when someone says, “He hurt me”, your map of the world may lead you to believe the person was physically hurt. The other person may have been expressing how they were hurt because their spouse didn’t compliment them on their new haircut.   Big difference! By using meta-model questioning you can get a much better understanding of other people’s maps while avoiding overlaying the assumptions of your map on top of theirs.

The metamodel can be used to gain clarity and specificity for yourself and others, to make outcomes more specific and attainable, to destabilize limiting maps, beliefs, and states, to enrich resourceful states and more. I wonder how specifically this article has enriched your map of the world, and what specific changes will occur in you having now read it!

Jason Schneider
Global NLP Coach
NLP Master Practitioner

It’s a question I often get from students whom plan to apply NLP on someone other than their own kids. Especially going into the therapeutic realm, much like with adults, you are at risk to travel slippery slopes.

I think in the application on NLP and children not your own, there are a few things that could be useful for you to consider.

1. The age and maturity of the child + the presenting NLP application or problem.
There is a big difference between teaching a 6 year old how to self anchor to feel happy, versus doing an NLP timeline of some sort of deep traumatizing event. There is a difference between working with a 4 year old, and 14 year old.

2. When there is mental illness at play, refer out. Regardless of the age. When self harm or suicide is at play, refer out. If it requires a medical doctor, refer out. And I could go on. Unless of course, you are an MD, or a therapist.

3. “When in doubt, refer out.” I will say it again “when in doubt, refer out.”

4. Are you the best person to help them? If the answer is no, refer out.

5. If it was one of your children, would you send your children to someone like you, with your ability, skill level, practice, training, familiarity with children, and the modalities you use?

6. Did you practice your tools on adults properly first? Are you clear as to exactly what you need to say or do, and to observe? Consider ecology, always.

7. Be an experienced NLP Practitioner or Master Practitioner, before working any significant patterns with children. I personally would decide against, doing anything you wouldn’t be willing to do over the phone in terms of NLP application. Unless, you are very experienced. Again, keep in mind there is a big difference between talking to kids using the meta-model, or a fun New Behavior Generator versus a phobia cure or significant emotional event in the past.

8. Do all your patterns age appropriate, the way to work with a 4 year old is different from a 10 year old. Meet the children in their map of the world, be creative!

9. Never do something on someone else’s children in terms of any coaching, without permission of the parents when it oversteps the point between an adult helping a child or coaching in a more professional sense.

10. Using NLP Practitioner skills to help kids learn, typical fears kids have, motivation, creating powerful resourceful states, make them feel happy and good….are all good. Significant emotional events, trauma’s, large fears, only if you got the experience and the know-how.

11. Raising kids using NLP, or with the thought process of NLP, is a WONDERFUL thing.

I know it isn’t NLP-cool, to look at your own limitions. Or to use the famous pretend “as if” frame. But where it comes to children, I think it isn’t time for cool experiments! What if they were your kids? We must set up our children to become happy and successful people.  Part of NLP should and must be used, on every child for that matter. And other parts of NLP only if you are super skilled (and NLP is the right modality for the children involved.)

When I first began to deal with the effects of living with chronic pain, I put a lot of emphasis on working on my physical health. I was interested in what medical practitioners could do for me, what exercises could help, and even what books I could read in order to gain more knowledge on how to manage the difficult situation I was in. The last place that I looked was the effect that emotions played in my overall health.

Not only did being in poor physical health negatively affect my emotions (increasing stress, anxiety, and a whole range of negative emotions), but those emotions actually contributed to the level of physical discomfort and detracted from my overall health.

So what is the point that I am trying to make here? The mind- body- emotion system is ‘holistic’ and deficiencies in just one part of that system can lead to reduced wellness in the other parts of the system. The opposite also holds true, increased wellness in one area of your mind- body -emotion system can lead to increased wellness in the other parts.

Many have the initial reaction to treat a physical problem with a physical solution, an emotional problem with emotional solution etc. however making changes within another area in the system can be effective, and in certain contexts can be even more impactful than working within the same area.

Change can begin anywhere, so be aware which area the problem is in, and if a solution in that same area is not working as effectively as you would like, know that you can intervene in any of the other component areas in order to achieve different results.

The first part of emotional intelligence is just being aware of your emotions, and it has been said that the quality of your life is equivalent to the quality of your state. If your thoughts or physiology are not optimal, you may find undiscovered solutions in working with your emotions. On the flip side, if your emotional state is less than optimal, perhaps you may find that intervening in the areas of your thoughts and physiology will open new roads to increased wellness and optimal living.

Written by Jason R Schneider, NLP Master Practitioner, Global NLP Coach

1. Chunk down – Even just one piece of NLP such as the meta-model can be overwhelming if you attempt to master the whole skill-set at once.  The first task in any large learning process is to break it down into manageable chunks.  Here is the test: if the piece that you are considering learning overwhelms you, break it down into its component pieces and start with one of those first! You can’t eat an entire elephant in one bite, can you?

2. Prioritize – If the chunks are appropriately sized and you still feel overwhelmed, it is most likely an issue of prioritization and sequencing.  Once your learning tasks are a manageable chunk size, ask yourself questions such as:  “What piece, if I learn it now, will make learning the other pieces easier?”,  “What is the most important piece, that if I focus on it first, will have the most impact on my life?”, or “Which piece will I have the most fun with today!”

3. Action, Action, Action – Reading is nice, but there is a big difference between effective understanding and effective action.  Get out in the world and use it! Practice makes perfect. Do you want to be a master reader or a master Practitioner?

4. Apply to self – Upon finishing NLP training, it is my experience that students tend to become most effective at the techniques that have had the most impact on their own lives.  Experiencing it yourself gives you a much richer understanding of the tools and their effects than using them on others.  Not to mention that by not to using such a powerful tool set on yourself you are missing out on the personal change that can take your skills to the next level!

5. Make a daily routine – Make it a habit to practice daily, even if only briefly.  Upon acquiring new skills, you will begin to notice new opportunities to practice.  Use them!

6. There is no such thing as failure, only Feedback!!  Use feedback wisely to know what your next step for improvement is, and always remember to celebrate your achievements!

7. You already have all of the resources you need – When you appreciate and accept where you are in the learning process, learning comes more easily and the journey that you are on becomes much more pleasant. Success is not a destination, it is a journey.

8. Be open to notice that which we call NLP in its naturally occurring environment.  Excellence exists sometimes in the strangest of places and you can always learn from seeing excellence in its natural context.  Where do you think NLP came from in the first place!

9. Practice, practice, and practice some more.

10. Have fun!! People learn more, quicker, and maintain learning over a longer period of time when they are having fun.  They also have more fun in the process! Seems like a win-win to me!
Whether you are a beginner, master, or somewhere in between, I hope that you find these tips and tricks valuable and bring them with you into your life; may your journey to mastery be fruitful and fun!

Written by Jason R Schneider, NLP Master Practitioner, Global NLP Coach

Top 10 tips and tricks for a NLP Beginner, please leave a comment if you have more tips.

We have an object, and our reaction to the object (our perception of it.) Our reaction to the object, is not the actual object. This blog has multiple posts, with different articles, each having a different title, and each title grouped into a category, some belonging in different categories. Let’s assume that the blog is the territory. If we got out a pen and paper, and wrote down some generic titles of what’s inside this blog, summarized it even, expressed our opinion about it, filtered in what we deem important and filter out what we don’t.  We would be able to create a map of this blog. However, the map is not the same as the blog. The map is not the territory.

If we all drew a map of the city of Miami, then none of these maps would actually be Miami, just our interpretation of Miami. The map is not the territory.

If you and I were to witness the same coaching session. When we check our notes, it would reveal we notice different things, recall different elements, have beliefs and perceptions that are different. The coaching session itself is actual reality, the real thing. However, our notes are just our different interpretations. The map is not the territory.

It is really important to understand, that all of our clients operate from different maps of the world. We work with their beliefs and perceptions. It is not the coach map of the world that is relevant in a coaching session. It is the map of the client. But beware that the clients map, is not the territory. And neither is your map. So you need to step in your clients map of the world in order to be effective. If you truly want to understand your client, and propel them forward into success or change, you have to start with their map. Sometimes shedding some light, sometimes having them look in a different direction. Allow them to overcome limiting beliefs and change perceptions.

Consider how your map which isn’t the territory affects your body, thinking and emotions?

Let’s say you walk into a fancy art gallery, high in professionalism, big white walls with stunning pieces on it. You see a painting, it is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen, it is unique, you experience an enormous amount of pleasure looking at it. You decide to buy it after careful consideration, because it is equal to 3 months of salary you saved up, but you experience this much pleasure admiring it. Then you find out it is a forgery, it isn’t unique at all. How much pleasure do you experience now looking at it? While previously you were willing to shell out 3 months of salary, because you experienced so much pleasure looking at it. What changed? The painting is still equally as beautiful.

Look at the video below, by Paul Bloom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPicL1AWrs8

First perceptual position: position of self. What does the world look like standing in your own shoes?

Second perceptual position: position of other. What does the world look like if you would be standing in someone else’s shoes?

Third perceptual position: position of observer. What does the world look like from a neutral or observer position?

The 4th perceptual position takes more of a world view.

Example:

What does the world look like through the eyes of the company as a whole?

If we look at this problem through the eyes of the family has a whole, what do we learn?

If we look at this new marketing campaign, how is it perceived through the eyes of a specific age group or gender?

What do we learn if we look at ourselves through the eyes of God? Or the Universe? Allah?

What do we learn about our relationship, looking through the eyes of all our children?

How is your speech received, by the audience as a whole?

How does this impact the entire department?

How does the nation view the royal wedding?

This really covers all positions, and ultimately will improve your NLP based coaching. Especially dealing with clients whom require coaching where the greater whole is important. People with large commitments to god, family or the organization they work for, this is an important position. Also in Asian cultures, may decisions are made based on the impact on the family as a whole.

Please watch, enjoy, and learn!

The original inspiring Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Interview with Time Magazine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdEgcTE4i24

Randy Pausch on Oprah Winfrey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncoSRKoU6GQ

CBS on the  passing of Randy Pausch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ-IxbiI8Ts

7. Make sure you realize that you need to be yourself in Social Media, but that clients are watching. Only post those pictures, that you would not be ashamed to hang in your office. I even ask clients whom I had a glass of alcohol with, to not post these on Facebook with my name tagged. I am not an alcoholic, but if my customers only get their camera’s out the moment I have a glass of wine in my hand….

8. Decide early on, if you are going to have one facebook for clients and one for private. Or that they intermingle. I let mine intermingle, but I have an added benefit, that especially in my public training & coaching, I am pretty open. I am who I am. But if you are as a coach very different from the way you are in real life, you may want to split.

9. Is twitter dead? No it’s not. Besides, there could be an update to twitter tomorrow and it will revive.

10. You can post live, but you can also download programs that publish your post on a time schedule. Like Hootsuite.

11. Should you do Social Media for your business? Well, 15 years ago if a company didn’t have a website we wouldn’t think much off it. Today, we regard it a lack of professionalism if a company doesn’t have a website. Today it may still be acceptable to not have a Facebook Fanpage, but 5 years from now? The problem is, all your posts are dated, and it takes time for you to gather a community. The bottom line is, if you wake up 5 years from now, everyone will know you just started  your Facebook fanpage. And your social media network will still need to build itself. Start now.