Whether on the physical, mental, emotional or spiritual plane, returning to neutral is one of the most important things we can do for our wellbeing.

Why?  Because it’s what keeps us alive.  It keeps us sane, happy and healthy. It’s what we do every night when we sleep.  It relieves stress.  It regenerates and rejuvenates us. From neutral we can move in any direction.  It’s the basis on which we make balanced decisions and the choices that bring the greatest joy and purpose to our lives.

And yet, in the so-called ‘Civilised West’ we are infatuated and ‘programmed’ with a need for speed, attainment and desire.  David Cameron talks about how ‘we must win the global race’ but that’s a perpetuation of the very thing that got us in such a mess in the first place!  The belief that we need to go faster and attain wealth more quickly; that things should be other than the way they are.  It’s the perpetuation of attachment and aversion; of ‘suffering’ in the Buddha‘s words.

So what’s a deeper truth?  Neutral is a powerful place, a powerful way of being. Just as those masters of the arts of Aikido and Judo demonstrate.  Be it through Aikido, meditation or creating a state of openness and presence through yoga or tai chi we can go forwards, backwards or sideways in any direction from neutral.  It’s where we relate to and tune in to our intuition; where Chi lives.  It’s where we connect with the quantum field as Deepak Chopra explain so beautifully in The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success.  You simply can’t do that by staying in a high gear, perpetually running along on the ‘Hamster Wheel’ of life.  In driving, we need to pass through neutral to get into any gear, so arguably neutral is the most important gear we have.  We all need to relax, to recharge, to open and pause before continuing.  You’ll run your tank dry running in 4th or 5th gear pretty quickly!

Yet very few people have the discipline or practise of returning to neutral.  Neutral is evidently a powerful, indeed an essential state to be in whether you’re a leader, in a car, an organisation or attempting to create your life as a masterpiece full of fun, joy and passion.

So how do you access or create neutral?  Where do you access or create neutral?  And in what way might this be one of the most important things for you, in and through your future?

Michael Singer spoke in his book, The Untethered Soul, of sitting in the seat of your consciousness.  That’s neutral.  The ability to be objective while living a subjective experience.

It offers us – neutral that is – wisdom, insight, peace and ultimately freedom. Enjoy it!

With love, Tristan

NLP Patterns & How To Use Them

Problem solving is key to success.  The question then, is what strategies (which are in fact NLP Patterns) for solving problems quickly and effectively do you use?  Indeed, are you even aware of them?  Do you solve problems faster and more effectively than others so that you can excel in your business and personal life, or do you wish that you were more effective in this area?

As a child growing up with parents who were ‘hippies’ I was subject to some pretty bizarre experiences.  To be honest, living in a dysfunctional family I grew up with a lot of problems.

I eventually came to realise that most people have some kind of ‘history’.  Sadly most just survive in life rather than thrive.  Most never discover a truly effective and holistic problem solving model that they can really rely on; one that consistently meets their individual needs (for example to resolve past issues or limiting beliefs) and one that can also be used for creating success in life and business.

But the truth is that if you want to understand how to call life and business on your terms, you need a reliable system for solving personal and business problems consistently.  This is where NLP Patterns come in.

There are ‘secrets’ to success (NLP Patterns) – ways to achieve what you want in much shorter time periods.  Of course, one way to find them is to study someone who is already achieving what you want.

Success Leave Clues – and that’s where ‘NLP Patterns’ come into a life of their own…

Just as slow moving estuaries are connected to faster flowing rivers, you must be connected to others who are ‘flowing’ and getting the results you want, so that you can accelerate your success.  You can copy or model their patterns and habits of success – their NLP Patterns.

In his book ‘The 4 Hour Work Week’, Timothy Ferris talks about working only 4 hours a week so that you can travel and do the things you really want to do. While I’ve personally been very fortunate to be able to do just that over the last five years, I’ve discovered that what is missing for most people in ‘The 4 Hour Work Week’ is that they’ve never learned to use and integrate a dynamic and holistic problem solving system – one that creates rapid solutions to complex problems and also frees up time to experience the kind of adventures they really want to in life.

How is it that some people like Stephanie can double her business in just 12 months?  And yet others struggle to get through their to do list every day?  It is in large part due to the patterns of thinking and physiology that determine our experience of life.

For me, being able to travel and live anywhere I want is one of my core values. I decided over 10 years ago to invest in myself first.  I now have a system, based on NLP Patterns – or ‘Success Secrets’ for want of a better word – that allows me to travel and live exactly where I want – currently in Ibiza  This means having a system that enables me to solve problems faster and more effectively than most people.  With a better problem solving system, it’s been much easier for me to call and design life on my terms, just like I helped Stephanie to…

So you need a better model that allows you to make fast and sustainable change.  You need a better system for engaging your mind, memory and emotional IQ in a way that solves problems fast.

How To Use NLP Patterns:

Below you’ll find a list of some key NLP Patterns, or Filters.  Take a couple of minutes now to identify which of these ‘Filters’ or ‘NLP Patterns’ are your preference.  Then explore what the implications of those largely unconscious choices are on your life.  And what would be different if you were to consciously choose other filters in stead; what would the implications be for you and others?

Now that you have identified your own preferences and the implications of continuing to use those preferences or change them, you can learn to develop more influence over yourself and others by paying attention to these in your daily life.  A great way to learn how to do this is to choose one set of filters each day and focus on spotting them in conversation.  You can then experiment with yourself and others by asking questions that elicit the opposite filter/ NLP Pattern.  Notice what a difference it makes to your and others experience of life by changing the experience of life in this way.

If you are interested in finding out more about NLP Patterns and how they can help you call life and business on your terms once and for all, join a FREE webinar here where you will discover ‘How To Solve Any Problem In 28 Words Or Less’.

Bring your questions, challenges and outcomes to explore on the Webinar and discover how NLP Patterns will change your life forever!

NLP In Business Communication – How Does It Work?

A lot has been said about NLP in business communication over the years.  There is no doubt that NLP has infiltrated every sector of society, and especially in business (though not necessarily under the guise of NLP) over the last 30 years or so.

But what is not quite so clear, is exactly how NLP in business communication actually works, more specifically, how it can work to enhance not just an organisation’s profit but the potential and fulfilment of everyone, be that client or workforce,  through powerful and ethical strategies that go way beyond the reals of what people traditionally call ‘business communication’.

This blog post answers two questions.  What is NLP in business communication?  And how can NLP in business communication work to increase your profits and also your fulfilment at work?

 So, what is NLP and moreover, how does it work in business communication?

Neuro - refers to the idea that human behaviour is based on the neurological processes of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting. We all experience our environment through the five senses which filter incoming information according to our previous experiences and thinking patterns. We assign meaning to this information based on our own personal history.

Linguistic - refers to the human ability to communicate with ourselves and others using verbal and nonverbal language. Language allows thoughts and experiences to be structured, expressed, and remembered.

Programming - refers to the processes related to thinking, learning, feeling, and changing. As human beings with a brain, we do not have to stick to behaviours we once learned. With the right model and support, these processes can be changed and adapted to fit our current needs.

So NLP is a highly effective methodology based on the notion that all human behaviour has an underlying structure.  This structure can be modeled (copied), learned and changed.  NLP in business communication can therefore effectively influence thinking processes and behaviours in order to fully develop skills and potential in people and organisations.

Since NLP deals with the ‘how’ or ‘strategies’ that we have for everything we do, the use of it focuses on finding solutions and developing strategies for enhanced communication, influence and lasting change.  The success of NLP in business is in part due to the fact that its approach in based on how the mind works and eliciting the ‘difference that makes the difference’.

With regard to the second question pertaining to how NLP in business communication can enhance not just an organisations profits but also the potential and fulfilment of everyone involved, I have given 12 outstanding methods for using NLP in business.  Put to good use, these strategies will increase your enjoyment but also rapidly increase your profits, just as one of my clients, Stephnie Smith, did recently (watch this video where she talks about doubling her business in 12 months here).

NLP In Business Communication – Strategy 1

More than perhaps any other technique or strategy for growing your business, enthusiasm, will sky-rocket your succeses.  When you are aligned, focused and enthusiastic about what you do it comes across to your clients and colleagues at both a conscious and unconscious level.  And enthusiasm more than skills is what people will buy.  Which would you employ, someone with loads of enthusiasm but lacking some skills or someone with the sills but lacking enthusiasm?

Remember that people buy on emotion and justify with logic.  Double your enthusiasm and you’ll double your sales, influence and happiness.

NLP In Business Communication – Strategy 2

This is a very simple but often overlooked aspect of success is business.  What gets measured gets done.  What are you measuring currently?  And more importantly, are you measuring the right things?  For example, how many calls do you need to make in order to speak to how many people; how many ‘pitches’ or conversations  do you need to make in order to ‘invoice’ your desired income.  And so on…. know your metrics!

You can also start to pay attention to the effect of your communication.  Is it getting the desired results or not?  Every word counts.  The limits of your language are the limits of your experience in life.  Expand your language skills and you will expand your influence and capacity to create life on your terms.  Measure the effects of your communication and learn to change and adapt to improve its effectiveness.

NLP In Business Communication – Strategy 3

Public Speaking is the best way to build confidence and get your pitch clear.  If you are afraid of public speaking, great!  All your dreams live on the other side of your fears so get on with it and discover how to communicate with passion, purpose and poise in front of others.  People buy from people they know, like and trust so the faster you become adept at speaking in public, the faster you’ll attract success in business. Not only that, you’ll discover that as you begin to use NLP in business communication more and more effectively to groups you’ll also be able to communicate more effectiuvely and influentially people 1on1.

NLP In Business Communication – Strategy 4

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”  Harold Whitman

If you talk about something it’s a dream.  When you envision it, it’s exciting.  When you plan it, it becomes possible. But when you commit time, it’s real!  Plan your week by what makes you come alive, schedule each day with those activities, outcomes or results that inspire you most and stick to them 100%.  If you want some help with this you can go here and sign up for a FREE Webinar to help you move past what has been limiting you until now and create the life you have always dreamt of! 

NLP In Business Communication – Strategy 5

Get A Good Philosophy!  In other words, one of the best philosophies you can have is one of curiosity, openness and exploration. Find out what your potential or actual clients and colleagues want and help them get it.  Dig deep.  The only way to influence people ethically and effectively is if they want what you’re offering them.  So make them want what you are offering by being curious and open to their map of the world.  Ask lots of questions with an open mind.  Find out what motivates them.  What’s the biggest problem they have that you can help them with?  What’s the goal behind the goal?  Help them get it!

Part 2 to follow shortly.

In the meantime,  if you want to find out more about NLP in business communication you can join a  FREE Webinar here.

I just received an annual update from a friend I met in India a few years ago and it got me wondering how my year went.

Do you ever sit down and truly reflect or write about how your week, month or year went?  Well I don’t.  But, something inside me today decided it would be a healthy and cathartic thing to do… to share my year and bear my soul….

Letting Go

It’s funny what one word can do to change our state or shock us right?

Just one word…. for example the F word!

Watch this Sixty Second Snippet now and find out how you can have more choice, freedom and possibility in your life….

So we create our state by what we say to ourselves and the images or movies we play in our mind.  That’s it.  It’s as simple as that.  Change your thoughts you change your reality right?

Well it’s not really as simple as that is it?

Because, what’s really running the show for most of us, most of the time, is our unconscious.  We are talking to ourselves throughout the day and imagining scenarios based on our patterned and conditioned way of perceiving the world that sabotage our success and sense of fulfilment.

In the field of NLP, the term known as a ‘not knowing state’ is one where you empty your mind of inner noise, pictures or movies – in other words patterned ways of thinking – and in stead open up to new ideas, information, possibilities and intuitions.  It’s about embracing a state of not knowing, what the Buddha might call equanimity and emptiness.  And from that openness comes freedom.

So just for today, or the next hour, or the next minute consciously decide to not label, to not know and to become open and aware in stead.  Sitting in the seat of consciousness without judgement or fear will give you immense freedom…. right now!

Until next time, live fearlessly!

I ran a Business Development Bootcamp with my friend Anthony a couple of weeks ago and one simple, profound thing I learned from him was this notion of starting easy… and it’s changed how I work ever since!

How often do you start your day with a long task list of things to do?

Things you’ve got to do, need to, have to… must do etc. If you’re like most people then I’d guess pretty often!

But you could start your day in a completely new way full of inspiration, passion and excitement…

For more great strategies, tools and techniques to help you take your life and business to the next level join one of my regular FREE webinars by clicking the link to the right…

Have a great day!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the Mayonnaise Jar and the 2 Beers.

This is a story about a professor who stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.  When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full…. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly.  The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.  He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  He asked once more if the jar was full. Read more…

              NLP Training Guest Blog – By Lesley McDonald

A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five. Groucho Marx

Joining the Dots

As a kid I enjoyed join-the-dot puzzles. I can remember the feel of the pen (or maybe it was a crayon!) in my hand. Grasped tightly, if a little unsteadily, as I connected the numbered dots with lines, drawn carefully from one dot to the next.

My lines might have been a little wobbly but nonetheless at some point a recognisable picture would emerge and along with it a simple sense of achievement and pleasure.

 In time I was able to cast my eyes over the dots and ‘see’ the picture without actually joining them – I found the more dots there were, the more easily I could do this.

More than Meets the Eye

Yet I would often find that when I took the time to complete the picture anyway, there were details I didn’t see by simply sweeping my eyes over it. Also pictures with few, or even missing, dots would reduce my ability to ‘see’ the picture accurately. Read more…

A while back I signed up for a business coaching and mentoring programme.

Success without fulfilment is failure!

I’m a massive fan of coaching and mentoring as they show shortcuts to success… normally!

And I was very excited, having already achieved a certain level of success in my life and business to be taking things to the next level.

On the face of it (the marketing of it) the course I was on ticked ALL the boxes. As they normally do. I’ve signed up to various other courses in the past such as stock market investing, options courses, millionaire mind events, property investment courses, Internet Marketing programs, NLP – you name it…. and have had the same experience as most people. A sales pitch into higher and higher programmes which make the people who run them rich but do very little to REALLY help me get to where I want let alone rich. Luckily there are some exceptions.  There is also an important ambiguity which I will explore another time… what does being ‘rich’ actually mean?

Anyway, when I signed up to this business and coaching mentoring programme I was truly excited. The marketing message was perfect for me… they understood the challenges I was having, they had the right solution, I even had a couple of consultations before joining and the person really listened, cared and understood where I was coming from.  But… Read more…

Accelerated NLP Training – what is the barrier to you creating something amazing in your life – right now?