L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Wealth Creation was one of the first modeling projects that I got involved with after I learned NLP and as I was developing Neuro-Semantics. I got interested in the strategy of how first-generation rich people become financially independent so that they can stop working for money, and let money work for them, thereby freeing them up so that they can pursue their passions and dreams. I wanted to be one of those people.

At first I thought I might find some really incredible and magical secrets that no one had told me about or that the rich were keeping to themselves. But after interviewing some self-made millionaires and then exploring the vast research literature of this subject, I came to what I still think is an astonishing realization— the actual processes for creating wealth is not Rocket Science, it is not even unusual, or uncommon. Actually, we all have the ability to create wealth. And, everybody I have met to this date knows all kinds of things that they could do that would improve their financial well-being. Everybody knows things to do. But not everybody acts on what they know.

This means that ultimately it is not what you know that will turn you into a wealth creator, but what you do about what you know. If you learn everything about wealth creation, and you don’t close the knowing-doing gap, all your knowledge will not make a difference. This, of course, is where Neuro-Semantics does its magic. Neuro-Semantics is the human science that enables you to get yourself to do what you already know, hence the Mind-to-Muscle pattern.

I also discovered that there are some really strange semantics involved around wealth, money, and finances. This refers to the meanings that you give to wealth, being wealthy, becoming wealthy, and living from a state of wealth. For some people, these words evoke feelings of guilt, confusion, inadequacy, undeserving and so they can’t get there because they are wired (within their matrix of frames) against such. Others have the opposite response. In them, wealth is equated strictly with money and so over-loaded with importance, that their sense of wealth is impoverished because it is not holistic.

The most astonishing discovery I made, however, is that wealth is an inside-out job. You have to get rich inside yourself before you can actualize it in terms of money, stuff, and resources. That is, you don’t get financially rich in order to be personally, psychologically, and relationally rich. That has it all backwards. First you get rich in all of the ways that really count— mentally and emotionally within yourself as a person. Then when you are rich inside, you have become a wealth creator (first for yourself) and then you’ll be able to know how to create wealth for others and that’s the pathway to financial independence.

The Training Workshop on Wealth Creation

In 2006, I renamed the Wealth Creation training, Inside-Out Wealth to reflect the discoveries I had been making in the ongoing modeling project. Over the years the training went under several titles, Games Wealth People Play and Mastering your Wealth Matrix. Today there are several Neuro-Semantic Trainers who present this training.

So, if you are tired of working for money and want to begin a process so that money works for you, so that you can then live for your dreams having the financial independence so that you choose how and where to devote your life’s energy, then consider attending the Neuro-Semantic Wealth Creation training. In that training you will discover and learn —

The principles for creating wealth

How to build a Ten-Year Wealth Creation Plan

The true heart of wealth and wealth creation

The entrepreneurial attitude about investing

The higher meta-states for seeing and seizing opportunities

The art of inside-out wealth

How to master your matrix for financial independence

How to close knowing-doing gap

How to access and operate from truly wealth states of mind and emotion

How to increase your efficiency in getting things done

How to reframe your attitude about challenge, problems, and difficulties

How to keep yourself motivated and focused over a ten-year period

How to develop a big enough intentional

And much more

The First Wealth-Building Modeling Project

Very Practical Suggestions for Building Wealth

“How becamest thou so wealthy?”

(The Richest Man in Babylon)
George S. Clason, 1926)

By L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

In 1926 George Clason wrote a fabulous little book, The Richest Man in Babylon. It’s all about wealth and wealth building. Yet there’s more to it—it presents a fictitious account (read, metaphor) about the first Modeling Project on Wealth Building. To highlight this delightful little book and provide 11 very Powerful Wealth Building Principles—free of charge, I have quoted extensively from the book and enumerated Eleven Principles that would begin you on the road to Financial Independence.

The Richest man in Babylon operated from a very powerful Belief, namely,

“Lo, money is plentiful for those who understand the simple rules of its acquisition.”

From that belief of Abundance, he then ennumerated Seven Cures for a Lean Purse. The king of Babylon wanted to know why should so few men be able to acquire all of the gold. What explains this? How could more do not become wealthy?

“Because they know how.” (p. 23)

In response to this information, the King of Babylon then did what any good modeler worth his salt would do, he searched out and found “the richest man in Babylon” in order to model the best. So when he finally appeared, he just went for it. He just asked the man directly,

“How becamest thou so wealthy?”

“By taking advantage of opportunities available to all citizens of four good city.”

“You hadst nothing to start with?”

“Only a great desire for wealth.”

“Tell me, Arkad, is there any secret to acquiring wealth? Can it be taught?”

When he discovered that it indeed could be taught, the King then invited him to teach it from the Temple of Learning (undoubtedly the city’s main Conference for such things). So the richest man began,

“Listen attentively to the knowledge… learn these lessons thoroughly, that ye may also plant in your own purse the seed of wealth. First must each of you start wisely to build a fortune of his own.” (p. 25)

And here were his first seven principles for fatting your purse:

1) Start thy purse to fattening.

Let an empty purse make you feel desperate and fed up. This will increase your desire to become wealthy. Ah, an Away From Propulsion System. But it doesn’t end there. There’s more Propulsion System described:

“The first storehouse of my treasure was a well-worn purse. I loathed its useless emptiness (Away From). I desired that it be round and full, clinking with the sound of gold (Toward!). Therefore, I sought every remedy for a lean purse. I found seven.” (p. 25)

Use your source of income as a stream of gold from which to build your wealth. For every ten coins you place in your purse, take out for use but nine. Thy purse will start to fatten at once and its increasing weight will feel good in thy hand and bring satisfaction to thy soul. “It’s a law of the Gods that unto him who keepeth and spendeth not a certain part of all his earnings shall gold come more easily. Likewise, him whose purse is empty does gold avoid.” (p. 28)

Develop “the soul to succeed.” Refuse to be a slave to money, to debt, to credit. Do you have “the soul of a freeman or a slave?” In a fascinating and biting conversation, a wise man strongly challenged another about his Character.

“If thou contentedly let the years slip by and make no effort to repay, then thou hast but the contemptible soul of a slave. No man is otherwise who cannot respect himself and no man can respect himself who does not repay honest debts.”
“But what can I do who am a slave in Syria?”
“Stay a slave in Syria, thou weakling.”
“I am not a weakling,” I denied hotly.
“Then prove it.”
“How?”
“Thy debts are thy enemies. They ran thee out of Babylon. You left them alone and they grew too strong for thee. Hadst fought them as a man, thou couldst have conquered them and been one honored … But thou had not the soul to fight them and behold thy pride has gone down until tho art a slave in Syria. … Hast thou the soul of a free man or the soul of a slave?”
“The soul of a free man,” I insisted.
“Now is thy chance to prove it….” (pp. 97-98)

This empowering question created a shift in perspective—a new frame or Meta-State:

“A strange thing happened. All the world seemed to be of a different color as though I had been looking at it through a colored stone which had suddenly been removed. At last I saw the true values in life. Die in the desert! Not I! With a new vision, I saw the things that I must do. … Go back … treat my debts as my enemies…” (p. 100)

Within me surged the soul of a free man going back to conquer his enemies and reward his friends. I thrilled with the great resolve.

“The soul of a free man looks at life as a series of problems to be solved, and solves them, while the soul of a slave whines, ‘What can I do who am but a slave.’” (p. 101)

This lead him to present another powerful Principle of Wealth Building and Success:

“Where the determination is, the way can be found.” Do you believe that? Would you like to believe that? Are your ready to say “YES!” to that? Then do it.

2) Control thy expenditures.

The principle is very, very simple: Live on less than you earn. Save 10% of everything you earn. Repeat these words until they stand out like letters of fire across the sky: “A part of all I earn is mine to keep.” “Impress yourself with the idea.” (p. 19). You’ll soon realize what a rich feeling it is to own a treasure upon which you alone have claim.

How can I save 1 coin of every 10 coins? You have to say No to framing everything as “necessary expenses.” Avoid doing that. In fact, refuse to do that.

“That what each of us calls our ‘necessary expenses’ will always grow to equal our incomes unless we protest to the contrary.” (p. 29)

We have to say “No!” to many of the desires that extend beyond our ability to gratify them. Yep, wouldn’t you know it! We have to actually budget our necessary expenses. Touch not the one-tenth that’s fattening thy purse. Let this be thy great desire that’s being fulfilled. Refuse to rebel against the slavery of the budget—its your way to true freedom. A budget helps your purse to fatten. It defends you against thy casual wishes that causes thy purse to leak.

“He who spends more than he earns is sowing the winds of needless self-indulgence from which he is sure to reap the whirlwinds of trouble and humiliation.” (p. 94)

Develop a plan to get out of debt, then patiently follow it. So, do you have a plan? Do you know how to plan? Do you have the guts to follow it?

3) Make thy gold multiply.

The gold we retain from our earnings is the start. Now ask, How can we put our gold to work for us? “Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.” So? So, set your will for wealth (a meta-state!) After all, will power is but the unflinching purpose to carry a task you set for yourself to fulfillment.

A man’s wealth is not in the coins he carries in his purse; it is the income he builds— the gold stream that continually flows from his purse and keeps it bulging. Have you started your own “gold stream?” Do you know how to do that? Would you like to? If you found out, would you be willing to do the work necessary to follow through?

4) Guard thy treasures from loss.

Now comes the time to begin to guard your purse with firmness, lest it be lost. Use Security of your investments as thy first principal. Study carefully to avoid being misled by romantic desires to make wealth rapidly. Be not too confident of thine own wisdom in entrusting thy treasures to the possible pitfalls of investments.

Wealth brings responsibility. When you desire to help others, do so in a way that does not bring thy friend’s burdens on yourself. Humans in the throes of great emotions are not safe risks for the gold lender (p. 78).

“Forget not that gold slippeth away in unexpected ways from those unskilled in guarding it.” (p. 84)

Do not be swayed by the fantastic plans of impractical men. Better a little caution than a great regret.

5) Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment.

“I recommend that every man own the roof that sheltereth him and his.” It will make your heart glad, you will have valuable property. Ah, the use of real estate in building wealth! Well, it’s a place to begin rather than throwing all your money away on rent.

6) Insure a future income.

Learn to make your treasure work for you. Make it your slave. Make its children and its children’s children work for you. Make preparation for the days to come. Have sufficient insurance.

7) Increase the ability to earn.

Make your desires strong and definite. General desires are but weak longings. Ah, sounds like State Management and amplification! Develop wisdom: the more of wisdom we know, the more we may earn. Learn more of your craft. Pay your debts with all the promptness in your power. Cultivate thy own powers— study and become wiser, more skillful. “There is abundance for all.” (p. 41)

“Ill fortune pursues every man who thinks more of borrowing than of repaying.” (p. 93)

Enjoy life.

Do not overstrain or try to save too much. Life is good and rich with things worthwhile and things to enjoy. Don’t miss it. There’s more to “wealth” than just money. There’s also wealth of mind, emotion, relationships, etc.

9) Don’t depend on luck—Use the real luck of proactive responses to Opportunities.

Give up myth of getting rich without effort. Not the way for “consistent winners.” When opportunity stands before thee, it offers a change that may lead to wealth. Do not delay or procrastinate then. “Good luck waits to come to that man who accepts opportunity.” (p. 50). Good luck flees before procrastination. Give up the needless delaying when you know that something is a good choice. Every man must master his own spirit of procrastination when it whispers in your ear. To attract good luck, take advantage of opportunities.

10) Know the 5 Laws of Gold.

Become wise in “the ways of gold.” Prove that you are capable of handling it. Put by at least 1/10 of your earnings. Find a profitable employment. Invest it cautiously, get smart about your business, avoid tricksters and schemers. (p. 63)

Learn to be thrifty who does not spend wantonly. Seek advice of the wise. Seek wisdom before money. Fanciful propositions that thrill like adventure tales will come and tempt you to endow your treasure with magic powers. Know the risks that lurk behind every plan.

“Because I learned these five laws in my youth and abided by them, I have become a wealthy merchant. Not by some strange magic did I accumulate my wealth.” (p. 67). Instead of seeking out some strange magic — learn the structure of the magic of wealth building, i.e., the laws and principles that truly govern it!

“They are not secrets but truths which every man must first learn and then follow who wishes to step out of the multitude…” (p. 70)

“In the strength of thine own desires is a magic power. Guide this power with thy knowledge of the five laws of gold and thou shalt share the treasures of Babylon.” (p. 71)

“Merchants must learn their trade.” (p. 81)

11) Learn to appreciate Work — and then turn it into Fun.

Work will become the best friend you’ve ever known if you use it for fattening your purse. If you take the attitude that only slaves work, you’ll not get far. Nor will you get ahead by shirking. So “work for him as hard as thou canst. If he does not appreciate all thou do, never mind. Work well-done, does good to the man who does it. It makes him a better man.” (p 124)

When you have the attitude of looking for how to get out of work, how to work minimally—you develop a lack of Quality Orientation. Do the opposite. Give it your best. Turn it into fun.

More Wealth Principles

Tony Robbins (1986, Unlimited Power, Ch. 19: Five Keys to Wealth & Happiness):

Use your NLP resources to take absolute control of your life, this means using your abilities, not just having them. Our actions are guided and controlled by our philosophies, so make sure you have some good ones!

1) Life will pay any price you ask of it.

What do you ask of Life? How big are your goals? Ask for resounding joy and success. Empowering belief: If you learn how to manage your states and your behaviors, you can change anything (p. 321).

2) Learn how to handle frustration.

Otherwise, frustration will kill your dreams. Frustration can change a positive attitude into a negative one. The worse thing a negative attitude does is wipe out self-discipline, and when that discipline is gone, the results you desire are gone.

Mind-Lines for frustration: The key to success is massive frustration, just look at any great success! People get paid very well to handle frustration. The more frustration you can handle, the more you can be paid. Aim to learn how to handle frustration effectively. Success if buried on the other side of frustration.

3) Learn how to handle rejection and the tiny word, “No.”

The fear of “no” stops most people from taking action. Learn how to strip it of all of its neuro-linguistic power! Refuse to turn failures into Big Events! How many “no’s” can you take? You give it power through how you represent it to yourself. Anchor yourself to “no” so that it actually turns you on.

Mind-Line on No: There are no real successes without rejection.

4) Learn to handle financial pressure.

Learn how to get and how to give, how to earn and how to save. Learn how to give back to the world—to create value, to act from the position of abundance, to become that kind of a person, to expand your sense of appreciation. Giving back teaches you more fully what money can do and what it cannot do.

5) Use the 10/10/10/70 rule.

Living on 70 percent of what you have. Save 10% to build up capital to invest, reduce all debts with another 10%, and give away another 10% of your income. Make money work for you instead of against you. Learn to earn, save, and to give. Operate with purpose and elegance in regard to money. Work from a set of dynamic, evolving and enabling goals.

6) Learn to See Opportunities.

Become a true capitalistic living in a capitalistic society, surrounded by opportunities everywhere. Take advantage of the very system that our forefathers fought to create. Learn to take your money and use it as capital.

7) Learn to handle complacency.

Comfort can be one of the most disastrous emotions. Judge yourself by your goals, not by what others are doing.

Always give more than you expect to receive.

The secret of living is giving. Give first. If you’re just accumulating money for you, to lord it over your kingdom, you are not really a success, don’t really have power, nor true wealth. Think of success as a process, a way of life, and a strategy for living. Then use your power in a responsible and loving way.

The Secret Wealth Creation Attitude

Wealth Creation Ideas #5
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters

compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Would you like to explore a question that will help to identify how optimistic, success-oriented, and likely to succeed? If so, then notice what you immediately think when you hear the following question? What immediately pops into your mind?

If something goes wrong as your working on a project, or with a team, or on a highly critical objective, which would you prefer—to discover that it was something in your area or something external to yourself?

Now, I have to admit that this is a test question as you will soon discover. The trick to it will show why the preferred answer is counter-intuitive to how most of us think and how we have been trained to think. It also goes against how most of us are oriented in life— we are oriented to move away from a positive feeling and attitude about failure, failing, making mistakes, messing up, flobing it, or welcoming errors. I mean, really, who wants that? Yet, this is the paradox. It is by entering into this “dark” side of things, welcoming this shadow, and kissing this dragon that we actually take some powerful steps to greater success. How in the world does this work?

This counter-intuitive response involves numerous powerful frames of mind that put us into the very best states for ongoing development, unleashing new potentials, and using every experience for accelerating our learning. The paradox begins on the level of acceptance. Acceptance is the ability to look reality in the face without caving in. We call this ego-strength. This is the strength of mind and person (sense of self) to welcome reality for whatever it is for the purpose of analyzing it and figuring out how best to cope with it.

The paradox also goes right to the heart of responsibility, of taking and owning responsibility for one’s life. It was Martin Seligman who discovered in his study of helplessness and optimism that when optimists experienced failure, they typically attributed their failure to something they did or did not do. They looked at their actions, words, relationships, and actions. This attitude in the face of failure is what enables them to take the next step, namely, “If I caused it, I can correct this.” And that’s where the power of persistent success lies. It lies in ownership of responsibility.

Conversely, those who deny any responsibility, who fear failure and mistakes, who dread being wrong more than anything move into denial, cover-up, projection, rationalization, and all of the other defense mechanisms. Yet these protective maneuvers actually reveal the person’s inner insecurity and lack of ego-strength. So while the person is investing mind and emotion into defensiveness, the person fully at peace with his or her fallibility is looking those failed attempts directly in the face and harvesting learnings and wisdom. This puts that person miles ahead in moving toward his or her goals.

Doesn’t this completely reframe failure, errors, and mess ups? Welcoming them enables us to learn from them more efficiently and so accelerates our development. And by seeing opportunities for wisdom in every action that didn’t complete get the results we wanted, we embrace the failure as a rare and unprecedented opportunity to learn something critically important.

So, why do optimists fare better than pessimists? They operate from the frame or inner game of taking full ownership for their performances. This saves them the time, energy, and negative states caused by whining, complaining, blaming, fearing failure, dreading being wrong, etc. They don’t have either the time for that nor the disposition.

Whining about conditions over which we have no control is not only counter-productive, but actually creates, feeds, and nurtures one of the most self-sabotaging frames of all, the victimization frame. This creates a defeatist view of the world and of life that leads nowhere. People who play that inner game then stop trying, stop working, stop learning, they become negative and they get into a negative mood of, “Why try?” It is this frame of mind that does the most damage to them.

So the next time something goes wrong, I’d heartily recommend that you use the kind of inner self-talk that optimists use, to immediately go inside and say to yourself,

“I hope it was my fault!”

“I hope it was my failure; then I will get some top-quality feedback for fabulous discoveries and new found wisdom.”

“I take total responsibility for the outcomes and results that I’m getting.”

One of the key secrets to success is that when you get knocked down, be sure to land on your feet! Such resilience will enable you to stay focused on the most critical elements of all, namely, what you can do to obtain more and more efficient results. Along these lines it has been that “The best defense against unfair workplace treatment is performance, is being able to perform better and more effectively.”

Now, are you yet interested in the Neuro-Semantic mastery skills that we present at the trainings whether at APG, Wealth Creation, Meta-Coaching, Trainers training, etc.?

Author: L. Michael Hall is a psychologist, entrepreneur, runner, writer, researcher, modeler, and many other things who lives in the Rocky Mountains and travels all over the world. www.neurosemantics.com P.O. Box 8, Clifton, CO. 81520 USA

Creating Wealth Through Meta-State Synergy

Wealth Creation Ideas #4
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

When I began modeling first-generation rich millionaires, I discovered something that seemed to violate my understanding of the importance of “balance.” And for a couple of years, I really didn’t know what to make of it. As a psychologist, I had been trained to think about things in terms of “balance.” In the field of coaching, the “wheel of life” has been used for years to portray the various dimensions of life which need to be “balanced:” health, work, relationships, spirituality, family, relaxation, etc. More recently many books and coaching has made “work/life balance” their speciality.

Yet there’s a strange paradoxical problem with “balance.” If we focus too much on balance, balance itself can become imbalance. This is especially true if we treat the facets of life like work, fun, hobby, etc. as if they are separate and we’re not allowed to mix them. I began to realize this as I was modeling those who became first-generation rich millionaires. One of the characteristics of those who found a pathway to wealth creation is that they blurred the line between work and fun. Leaders in all kinds of fields, creative innovators, and pioneers in new developments commonly say that they haven’t worked in years, for them everyday that they are fully engaged in what they do that so happens to make them lots of money is just fun.

It’s interesting what happens when we mentally dichotomize work and fun, that is, put work and fun into different classifications or categories (boxes) and treat them as opposites. When we do that, and then operate as if they were polar opposites of a continuum, we begin to feel the need to balance them. If we don’t, then we can feel torn by them as we over-emphasize one to the exclusion of the other. When we are at work, our mind goes to wishing we could take a vacation and go on a holiday. When we’re on holiday, we torment ourselves with apprehensions about all the work we have to do when we get back.

Continuum

<_________________________________________________________>

Work Play

Yet there’s another choice. Rather than treating these as opposites, dichotomizing them and turning them into an area of conflict in our mind-and-emotions, what if we created a synergy out of them? Thinking about things as opposites along a linear continuum is actually a lower and more primitive kind of thinking. It’s what we call linear thinking. When we rise above that kind of thinking to non-linear, systemic, and holistic thinking, we are able to create new levels of synergy so that new emergent properties arise, things that are “more than the sum of the parts.” These new gestalts then contain a higher level integration than “balance” ever could.

∙ How do we shift to this non-linear kind of systems thinking?

∙ What do we specifically need to do in order to stop the dichotomizing and see the supposed opposites in a more synergetic way?

One way we can do this is through using the Meta-States model. This revolutionary model uses our natural self-reflexive consciousness to step outside of the box of linear thinking as we step back and jump a logical level in our mind. This meta-stating means bringing one state to another to set one as the frame of the other. In the case of work and play (or fun), we could meta-state play with work so that we set work as the frame and the higher level class or category over play. Doing that leads to working at our play, which doesn’t strike me as any improvement at all.

Yet what if we meta-stated our work with play? What if we created the new frame of playing at our work, playful work, or enjoying and having fun at our work? Yes, now that does sound like an incredible improvement, a revolutionary one in fact. What would we feel if work was framed, felt, perceived, and experienced as a member of the class of Play? What if we woke up every morning and couldn’t wait to get to work because it was so much fun, brought so much joy, and energized us the way that play does?

The synergy of creating this new complex state of joyful work would not be a “balance,” of so much time and effort devoted to “work,” then we get a break and can go “play.” That would be such a very different world than living in the universe where we felt our work was play and couldn’t believe that we actually get paid for it!

As we meta-states these “opposites” we create new gestalts. We create a synergetic matrix that puts things together in a new and dynamic way. When we do so we move beyond “balance” to synergy. Now we are no longer talking about mere balance. As a form of linear thinking, balance implies going to the midpoint, fifty-fifty, half and half, a compromise between two choices. When we go beyond balance to synergy we move to a rich and full mixture of the seeming opposites and the emergence of new qualities.

Now you know why we emphasize that there are three kinds of states (primary, meta, and gestalt) and why we do so much “gestalting” of meta-states in our Meta-State trainings, especially the Wealth Creation training to create such gestalt states as “passionately enjoy work,” seeing and seizing opportunities, loving problem solving and adding value, etc. So when will you join a Neuro-Semantic training and experience such synergy?

If NLP is so Great, Where’s My Porsche?

Wealth Creation Ideas #1
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

I’m writing this to those of you who know and love the NLP model as I do. I’m writing to those who have entered into the field of our neuro-linguistic states to discover the heart and soul of how to “run your own brain” and manage your states. In doing this, I am writing to people who already know that the NLP communication model is a very powerful model for self management, understanding the structure of experience, and succeeding at the things important to us. So with that upfront, I want to ask one question, the question I put in as blunt form as I could in the title. I want to ask,

If NLP is such a powerful model and tool for communicating with self and others and for enriching our lives, accessing resourceful steps, and working methodologically with our outcomes to achieve our most compelling goals, then why aren’t more of us rich, financially independent, famous, and/or succeeding beyond our wildest dreams? Why do so many NLP therapists and trainers just getting by and why is there is much scarcity and poverty thinking in the field? Why isn’t there more wealth and prosperity in this field?

Except for Anthony Robbins, there’s only a handful of people in the entire field who have made any serious money. The great majority, perhaps 95 to 99% of NLP trained people, are not financially independent. And those who run training centers or use NLP as their primary modality for therapy, consulting, and/or coaching struggle in their business to make a decent living.

Now compare that to the very, very different picture that you get about NLP from the promotional literature about it! From the P.R. that sings the praises of NLP, you would think it was the ultimate panacea. After all, it’s full of magic, ten minute phobia cures, and the very structure of excellence. So surely there’s a structure or strategy to wealth building and we should be able to generate it with NLP.

So what’s the problem?

And more importantly, what can we do about it?

The Problem. A key problem is that NLP focuses primarily on linear processes, on the representational steps of strategies. As a result, it fails to fully exploit higher dimensions of consciousness. Yes, Robert Dilts began that exploration, yet in doing so he took the same linear thinking and created a rigid hierarchy or ladder and turned “logical levels” into a “thing” as if it was real. They are not. They are not even “things” at all, but dynamic processes. Consequently NLP even today has no model for handling the reflexivity of a self-reflexive consciousness, a mind-body-emotion consciousness that reflects upon itself time and time again.

Now enter Neuro-Semantics. Meta-States entered the field of NLP in late 1994 and was recognized by the International NLP Trainers association as “the most significant development in 1995.” Why? Because it modeled the very factor that makes human consciousness and experience unique and systemic—self-reflexivity. This actually introduced a paradigm shift into the field—a shift that is still surging and reverberating through the field and creating a revolution in understanding about systems thinking and dynamics as applied to the study of the dynamic structure of experience.

Afterward the discovery of Meta-States an explosion of creativity occurred as more than a hundred Meta-Stating patterns quickly emerged along with several new models: the Matrix model, Axes of Change, Self-Actualization Quadrants to mention a few. Along the way we began modeling numerous areas of expertise using the Meta-States model. This including selling, persuasion, women in leadership, wealth creation, fitness and healthy eating, business excellence, coaching, and so on. We also began applying these models to NLP itself and began re-modeling NLP. This led to new time-line patterns, the expansion of meta-programs and meta-model distinctions, the discovery of the meta in the so-called “sub-modalities,” etc.

What does all of this have to do with wealth and wealth creation?

What does all of this have to do with using NLP to get a Porsche?

A lot. After all, the dimension of wealth that we first think about (namely money) arises within a system (the financial system) which is embedded in numerous other systems (an economic system, a market of products and services, an entrepreneur system, etc.), and all those systems govern the personal mind-body-emotion system of a given individual. No wonder wealth creation is not a simple linear thing but a dynamic process involving many things and involves an alignment within all of these systems.

This is what the linear approach of strategies in NLP lacks. Merely running a pattern will not do. One’s entire matrix system of both process and content frames must be awakened, detected, empowered, and aligned. Doing this will then begin creating a self-organizing attractor frame that will create inside-out wealth.

This reveals yet another weakness in the NLP model. Somewhere at the beginning, several thought viruses got in that has been devastating the otherwise positive intentions and hard work of NLPers. What thought viruses? Those of scarcity and competition for beginners. There are others.

What we need is to identify, detect, enter, transform, and master our Matrix of Wealth. We need to set frame upon frame that will give us a robust Matrix for creating wealth. Doing that creates a rich inner game and winning at the inner games makes the outer game a cinch. All that’s needed then is translating those rich semantic meanings of value, creating value, adding value, seeing opportunities for adding value into our everyday performances. That’s inside-out wealth. That’s the theme and subject of Mastering Your Wealth Matrix. That’s the training focus which came from the modeling of how wealth is created. That’s the application training using the best of Neuro-Semantics to become financially independent.

By the way, I settled on a SUV and a 747 jet (which I rent pretty regularly) rather than a Porsche as I created enough financial freedom to follow my passions. In 2005 there will be 2 Wealth Creation Trainings — one in Portland OR. in the US (June) and one in Johannesburg, South Africa (Sept.). Winning the Wealth Creation Game is mostly involves getting the inner game set, establishing your millionaire mind.

If Wealth Creation was Easy,

Everybody Would be Doing It
Wealth Creation Ideas #3
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

There’s an untold variable that plays a key role in creating wealth that most people are not aware of at all. In fact, the common myths about building wealth obliterate this variable so completely that very few people know about it. And to make matters worse, it is not a variable that can be very easily communicated. In fact, as I begin this piece, I have to admit that I do not know how to state it succinctly let alone in a compelling way. Perhaps that’s because of the content of this secret principle of wealth creation. But I will give it a go and let you be the judge.

I’ll begin by seeing if I can put most of it in a singular paragraph. This secret principle of wealth creation and success in general involves—

Using the power of compensation so that you develop a stubborn resolve that has so much steel and commitment within it that you experience as it were an immunization to failure that makes you so undefeatable that no matter what the odds, you succeed anyway. From this you develop a resolve made of steel so that you develop such a powerful will-to-win that you out-perform against all odds and persist until you do.

Whew! That was a mouthful. Did you get all of that? To give this some embodiment, think about Lance Armstrong. While he was a good cyclist, and a committed athlete, there was something about facing a life-threatening disease that evoked something within him that then became the winning factor.

But I’m not finished. There’s something else in this secret. To identify that we have to ask the probing question, What calls forth this kind of resolve of steel that makes the difference? And the answer is one that you won’t like. At least, I don’t like it.

What calls forth a resolve of steel in people and becomes the catalyst for an undefeatable spirit is typically a humiliation, defeat, adversity, or conflict. It is usually something unpleasant, distressful, challenging, disappointing, even painful. More typical than not, it is precisely something along a path that we don’t want to travel.

See, I told you that you wouldn’t like it. Was I right? So, what exactly am I talking about? Well, in The Millionaire Mind, researcher of the rich, Stanley Thomas exposes several of the myths of wealth creation and among them is that those who became the first-generation self-made millionaires were not the whiz kids at school, not those voted “most likely to succeed,” not those with the highest grades or IQ tests. Only 2% of those with the Millionaire mind scored high scholastically. The majority were “C” grade students and “… they are more likely to have one or more components of inferiority in their self-image.” (p. 88).

He found them self-depreciating and that

“… during their formative years, some authority figure such as a teacher, parent, guidance counselor, employer, or aptitude testing organization told them, You are not intellectually gifted. … They were degraded by someone or something during their formative years … [They] responded by over-working and eventually out-performing the so-called intellectually gifted.” (p. 88, 89)

What’s the point?

“In the real world, who succeeds? People who have built up immunity to pain.” (93)

“Questioning the norm, the status quo, and authority are hall-marks of the thinking of self-made millionaires and those destined to become affluent.” (92)

So they compensated and developed a strong work ethic (99). Facing various obstacles or handicaps, they compensated for their deficiencies.

“… most self-made millionaires were confronted with one or more significant obstacles in their life. … Our self-made millionaires chose another path [than accepting the negative evaluations by some authority figure], they discredit the authority figure who attempt to degrade them … They had the insight, courage, and audacity to challenge the assessments.” (101)

Underline those words, “insight, courage, and audacity to challenge.” They are the ingredients of the kind of tenacity that enabled them to “fight and compete for important goals” (106). As steel cannot be hardened unless it’s hammered,

“… it’s no different with people. Self-made millionaires report that degrading evaluations and comments by certain authority figures played a role in their ultimate success in life. Hammering built the antibodies they needed to deflect criticisms, and temper their resolve.” (102)

“Adversity is essential in bringing out the best in people. Some call it character.” (108)

Have you ever heard about this secret ingredient of success? And what specifically is it? We are talking about the steel resolve to fight for important goals and to not expect it as an entitlement or as a natural consequence of intelligence or inheritance, not to look for a panacea or easy path to quick riches. We’re talking about the stubbornness to compensate, to learn to play the game with whatever handicaps one starts with, and to nurture such courage that one fights against all odds. Somehow it is in the very process of overcoming problems, labels, the odds, humiliations, and challenges that strengthens a person from the inside out. It is like adding titanium to steel—that very process makes steel many times strong than it is alone.

“Life is not one short race—it is a marathon of marathons. Labels come and go. If you believe that you can succeed in life in spite of degrading labels that predict your failure, you are likely to win most of the marathon. This is the common experience among millionaires. The large majority report that at some point or points in their lives they were labeled inferior, average, or mediocre, but they did not allow critics to forecast their future achievements, and they overcome their label of so-called inferiority.” (98)

Have you ever had a process that was like the forging and hammering of steel? Like adding titanium to steel to create a steel resolve about something? Those are the kinds of experiences that make and/or break people. It’s from that kind of furnace that self-discipline, courage, commitment, and passion arises. It puts a fire in one’s belly that makes one ready to take on the impossible challenges. In this, we see why over-protection and over-cuddling creates a softness that leaves one unprepared for life and unwilling to devote the necessary effort.

It is the disciplined person who takes charge of his or her life and assumes complete responsibility for the results one gets and for succeeding in one’s specific area. As such, a disciplined person is not easily side-tracked, not given to self-indulgence, and doesn’t expect a path of roses.

“If you lack discipline, the chances of your ever accumulating wealth are very, very small. … A person with self-discipline possesses an internal compass, a control and navigation system. … To become wealth one must be disciplined in thought and deed, disciplined enough to search for great economic opportunities.” (85)

Now you know another wealth creation secret. What you may not know is that this is a complex meta-state comprised of numerous ingredients and that in Meta-States we have a process for putting them together, shaking well, and baking until we create a batch of a new gestalt state. Today, we know how to generate such rich gestalt states, states made of a titanium enriched steel resolve, without having to put people through painful experiences and how to convert painful experiences into a rich core. And, in fact, that in part is what Mastering Your Wealth Matrix is about.

Meet me in Portland Oregon —

June 24-26, 2005

For — Mastering Your Wealth Matrix

Winning the Inner Game of Wealth Creation

A Positive Change NLP Center

Rich Aanrich and Cat Wilson

(503) 525- 0595

www.apositivechange.com

Rich@apositivechange.com

The Focus Power of Millionaires

Wealth Creation Ideas #2

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

How do millionaires think?

How do self-made millionaires think—those that actually create the wealth in their own lifetime?

What do these first-generation millionaires actually do to create their financial independence?

For years I have been studying and modeling the experts in wealth creation, both personally and from the extensive research by those who make it their business to study such people. From both longitudinal studies, focus groups discussions, and questionnaires, tremendous data has been collected about this subject. One of my favorite researchers is Thomas J. Stanley, author of The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind.

His research completely validates and confirms what Scrully Blotnick discovered back in the 1960s, and what Robert Kiiyosaki and Suze Orman have more recently been popularizing. In all of this, there is not a lot new, and nothing at all revolutionary, or rocket science. Yet it does goes against many myths about wealth building and the Hollywood version that has permeated the mass media.

One of those myths is the idea of keeping all your options open, diversifying your efforts, and being ready to seize any opportunity that comes your way. If you’re wanting to become financially independent and successful in your field, these things will not only not work, but will positively sabotage your best efforts. Conversely, if you’re committed to your own financial independence so that you stop working for money and let it work for you thereby freeing you up to follow your own dreams and aptitudes, then you will need to do the opposite. It requires that you—

Focus your interests, activities, and energies in a specific area.

Focus your perspective to seeing and seizing opportunities only in that area.

Focus your powers of decision to say no to other opportunities.

In interviewing 733 self-made first generation rich millionaires who had an average of 9.1 million in net work, Stanley Thomas described these people in this way:

“They are ‘nichers,’ and they have little competition. … It’s all about vocation, vocation, vocation. If you select the bedrock foundation of the ideal vocation? What then? You love the products you product. You have affection for your customers and supplies. In addition, you know more about your niche market than anyone else. And your customers don’t’ care if you were a C student in college. To them you are the who is enlightened.” (189, 21)

To a great extent wealth creation is all about focus. Focusing on your innate talents and aptitudes, focusing on developing your talent into skills, then into expertise competence. Focusing on finding a niche market where you can specialize, and focusing on devoting yourself to something you love for a long enough time to become masterful at it.

When you do that, then the “foundation stones of financial success” come easy. What are those? “Integrity (being honest with people), discipline (self-control), social skills (getting along with people), a supportive spouse, and hard work.” (11)

Over the past two decades I have been observing those who have studied NLP to use it as a way of making a living. I’ve been observing people in the USA, the UK, Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America, etc. Over that time I have seen some who are very successful in business and I have seen many, many more who were not. What is the difference?

One primary difference lies in the power of focus. Those who try to be “all things to all people” and therefore a dabbler in many things and a master of nothing are the ones who struggle financially and have much less business success. It is those who focus their use of NLP into a specific area and specialize in a market where there’s a strongly felt need, these are the ones who create an economic engine for their financial independence.

Focus power—the ability to concentrate dreaming, desiring, creating, and acting on one single thing. That’s the secret. And no surprise. This is the heart pulse of genius itself. That’s why we have applied Meta-States and NLP to “the genius state” of flow. When you’re able to step fully into that state of focus, you are of one mind and intention and then as “energy flows were attention goes as directed by intention” you are all there and have all of your resources available.

When I do the 4-day Living Personal Genius training I always begin by asking how many genius states participants have created and how many do they have “at a moment’s notice,” that they can step in at the snap of a finger and be there fully. Even though this is where the power and genius is, I’m typically surprised at how many know the process, yet how few utilize it to their own personal empowerment.

Would you like to know more about all of this? Great, here are two options:

1) I have attached a pdf file of a MILLIONAIRE-MIND CHECKLIST. Here are 200 questions that come from The Millionaire Mind you can use as a checklist. If you want to know what we do in our Wealth Creation trainings, we empower you to enrich the matrices of your mind with these millionaire frames. Our next one is June 23-26, Portland OR. at A Positive Change, Rich@apositivechange.com (503) 525-0995.

2) If you’re finally ready for the genius training or are ready to truly integrate it, our next training on Focus Power is in Minnesota, April 29, 30, May 1. Neuro-Semantic Institute. (651) 264-3045 (877) 686-2867

Creating Wealth Through Meta-State Synergy

THROUGH META-STATE SYNERGY

Wealth Creation Ideas #4

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

Continuum

<_________________________________________________________>

Work Play

∙ How do we shift to this non-linear kind of systems thinking?

∙ What do we specifically need to do in order to stop the dichotomizing and see the supposed opposites in a more synergetic way?

The Secret Wealth Creation Attitude

Wealth Creation Ideas #5
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters

compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

So the next time something goes wrong, I’d heartily recommend that you use the kind of inner self-talk that optimists use, to immediately go inside and say to yourself,

“I hope it was my fault!”

“I hope it was my failure; then I will get some top-quality feedback for fabulous discoveries and new found wisdom.”

“I take total responsibility for the outcomes and results that I’m getting.”

Now, are you yet interested in the Neuro-Semantic mastery skills that we present at the trainings whether at APG, Wealth Creation, Meta-Coaching, Trainers training, etc.?

Meta Wealth Building

META-WEALTH BUILDING

THE ULTIMATE WEALTH BUILDING WORKSHOP

The Secrets Of Wealth Building Workshop

3 Day Extensive Training Workshop

Developed and Presented by
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.
Developer of the Meta-States® Model

Jump to what others say about this workshop.

Click here for Meta-Wealth
Testimonials at the 2000 United Kingdom Training

If You’re Interested in Becoming
Financially Independent, consider
the Wealth Building Training,
Games Wealthy People Play.

INSIDE OUT WEALTH

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

In 1998 I began a modeling project on Wealth Building. A simple question drove the research. I simply wanted to know how the first-generation self-made millionaires did it. What were the key factors that enabled them to become wealthy, make a fortune, and attain the financial independence that so many of us would like?

The original phase of the project only took 10 months. I interviewed a few millionaires and then began reading the literature of the field. I then began my first trainings and tested the application of Neuro-Semantics and NLP to Wealth Building. In was in that way that I field tested the ideas and concepts. In the process I learned a lot, but more importantly I applied the Wealth Building Principles to my own life. In the first two years, I doubled my net worth, then doubled it again in the past two years. I went from having two rental properties to 8. In that same time, my income has tripled.

While there are numerous secrets to building wealth, I can tell you that none of them are Rocket Science. In fact, you already know many of them. And if you don’t know them, you can discover them within a day or two by reading a few basic books. But, the million dollar question is this, Will you be able to get yourself to incorporate them and actually put them into practice?

The likelihood is that you will not. The great majority of people will not and do not. Why not? Because of a central occupational hazard for humans―we know more than we do. It is this Knowing-Doing Gap that stands in the way of most of us. This is true for wealth building as it is true for relationships, business excellence, fitness and health, etc.

This is the problem with 99.99% of all the books, tapes, workshops, and trainings in Wealth Building. While I love and read and use the materials of the key players in the field of Wealth Building, there is zilch in those books and trainings that actually enable people to incorporate the principles, rules, and secrets. The feeling is always left, “If I just buy the next book, then I will get it!” “If I sign up for one more training, then I’ll get it!” And I would not want to be the one to blow the whistle on this or to suggest that these people and programs might have a vested interest in getting you to do that, so I won’t.

I’ll just say this― Discovering how to bridge the Knowing-Doing Gap and learning how to truly implement what you know, how to take it from Mind and put it into your Muscles … this is the very heart and the most unique thing that the Meta-States of Neuro-Semantics offers. And when you know that― then just about any expertise and excellence can be yours!

Knowing How to Implement Knowledge is truly Inside-Out Wealth

When you know how to take great ideas, inspiration concepts, and state-of-the-art models and install them into your very neurology and make them your neuro-semantics, then you are 90% of the way to any excellence or expertise that you want.

After all, the greatest knowledge and models and skills in the world will do you squat if you don’t use them!

The secret of wealth building that Napolean Hill, Dale Carnegie, the authors of the Millionaire Next Door, Robert Kiyosaki, Suzie Orman and many others emphasize that we have to first think wealth. This highlights that wealth is built from the inside out. They have that part right. “Do what you Love and the money will follow” is a general concept in the right direction (general, but not quite fully adequate, it’s missing some things).

Wealth is built from the inside out and we have to know how to get it from our heads into our muscles. That’s the part that 99% of the books and trainings miss. But now, in Neuro-Semantics―we include that part.

Wealth that’s holistic, balanced, ecological and inevitable begins with a wealth of mind and emotion that glories … absolutely glories in the ability to see and create value, to create value first for self, then for others, and then for everybody. It is this kind of true internal abundance that cannot but explode externally with the actions that add value and makes us valued everywhere we go.

Wealth is created by the entire mind-emotion-body, or neuro-semantic, system which sees opportunities, seizes opportunities, gives, enriches, has a grand time … even when finances are tight.

Wealth has to start with an attitude of multiple states and meta-states that come together to create a marvelous gestalt … a gestalt that we create in the Wealth Building Training that’s based on the principles of Internal/External Wealth. It’s an attitude that uses the state of frugality to squeeze all the good things about of everything … that doesn’t need more and more money to be happy .. but that uses happiness to make more and more money. That’s the frame. Hector Quintana was at the training in Monterrey, Mexico (Feb. 2002) and wrote this about the training.

“These new feelings are awesome. I feel more energetic every day and I also offered to some people I know to coach them for free in order to help them develop belief changes like saving money … developing a business and gain a sense of joy when confronting challenges without losing alertness in front of problems … “

He went on to describe several things he has already done at work and with others in “the joyful game of marketing valuable things to others” that has opened new doors of opportunity.

Wealth Inside-Out

The Wealth Building Training using Neuro-Semantics and NLP is a very different kind of training. You will discover:

The Overall Strategy for Building Wealth in a Decade
The 12 Keys to mastering the Pathway to Wealth Building Mastery
How to get into the right States and Meta-States to make it happen
How to Dance with the Dragons that try to stop your success
How to build up a spiraling frame of mind of value and valuing that will allow you to explode into a lifestyle of seeing and adding value everywhere
How to become intentionally focused and sustain your motivation after the “Rah! Rah!” dies down
How to play to your strengths and find the passion that you can use to build your wealth.

In addition, you will begin to create your Ten-Year Wealth Building Plan … so that when you walk out of the training, you have the beginning steps for your personal business plan. And, no excuses to get in your way.

Warning!

This training can be very dangerous to your old excuses, sense of being a victim, and your current skills of blaming and whining. Dragons will be identified and slain. Excuses will be blown out. Dis-empowerment will be framed so that they become out of the question for you. This is not a training for the faint of heart, it is for those who want to live life passionately, purposefully, and fully. It is for those who want to build wealth from the inside-out and who want to do so in such a way that the “wealth” and the building of it is holistic, ecological, respectful, and fun.

Original Description

Would you like to Learn the Secrets about Wealth Building??
Would you like to Learn how to Accumulate Capital & Make Money Work For You?
Would you like to Stop being a Slave to Money & Step into the State of Feeling Financially Independent?

You can! Having modeled the secrets of wealth building from those who have achieved it and having researched the field of wealth building using the tools and models of NLP and Meta-States, we have found The Structure of Wealth Building Interested? and now have a special training that can put into your hands the very secrets that Millionaires use.

I doubt that you’ll be surprised to know that there truly is an Art to the Magic of Attracting Wealth and developing Excellence in your mind, heart, and lifestyle with regard to becoming “wealthy”. What might surprise you is to learn how easy and simple it is to get these secrets of wealth building installed in your muscles so that it becomes “your way of being in the world.” Then, it will happen. Interested now?

Actually, you probably already know a great many of the Wealth Building Principles that if only you could get yourself to practice, it would dramatically increase your ability to become financially independent. Is that true for you? It’s true for most people. Would you like to develop the ability to actually use what you already know? This actually makes up a big part of the Wealth Building Training, You will learn how to set the kind of frames that will empower you to follow through and implement your knowledge.

The Wealth Building Training also focuses on Alignment. How to become aligned with your highest purposes and values. And when that happens, it will build congruence, personal power, responsibility, and motivation into you.

Are you ready to organize yourself for abundance? Would you like to build a propulsion system in your mind-body that will automatically move you in that direction?

We began this Modeling Project of Wealth Building from the realization that we live in the land of opportunity. Given that, why do so few ever achieve financial independence? What stops you from becoming wealthy and accumulating the kind of wealth so that you can live without financial worries? Why will 70% of the American population end up at 65 years of age dependent upon the government and social security?

Opportunity alone must not be enough. Something else is needed! But what? The problem does not lie in the lack of the vital information about how to make money or even how to develop financial intelligence. Book stores and libraries, TV infomercials, internet, etc. provides plenteous data about how to make lots and lots of money. There is no lack of strategy. How to actually make money via real estate, the stock market, investments, etc. abound. Everything we need to know to become wealthy lies at our fingertips. Opportunity and information about opportunity abounds. We have plenty of vehicles for becoming Financially Independent. That’s not the problem. The problem lies at a meta-level. The problem lies in our attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and states. People programmed for wealth operate from specific wealth building states. Do you know what those are? Would you like to?

Programmed for Wealth

Lots of people do become wealthy in the USA. In fact, 80% of all millionaires are self-made millionaires. So what are their secrets? Suppose you wanted to set out to model their accumulation of wealth strategy. What would you discover? Would you like in on the Secrets that we’ve discovered? When I began this project of modeling wealth building and accumulation, I assumed I would need to do lots of interviews in fleshing out the data of this research. But no. I discovered that many others have already conducted the interviews of those who had become wealthy. Researchers have even conducted longitudinal studies following those who wanted to become rich. They have even pulled out those traits, beliefs, ideas, habits, etc. of those who succeeded in the process and compared that to those who did not succeed.

The Secrets Behind Wealth

Wealth Building grew out of our research and offers you the secrets, strategies, and meta-level structures of beliefs, values and perspectives that will enable you to replicate the very structure that has proven successful for those who have become wealthy millionaires and financially independent.

In this training we will not focus on the details about how to make money in a particular area. Instead, we give you the higher level structures of mind and heart to develop the kind of enhancing relationship to money and the creating wealth process so you can follow your passions and let the money follow.

Discover your current programming about wealth, money, and all of the associates concepts that either promote or sabotage wealth building. Do you have all of your levels of mind organized for wealth and success as you define it? Would you like to construct that kind of framework? This training will address numerous facets inside you that powerfully affect your strategy for wealth and success:

Beliefs about self, success, & money: transforming limiting beliefs.
Aligning values & meta-levels to eliminate any self-sabotage and internal conflict.
Installing a Propulsion System as an Accelerated Motivation for reaching goals for wealth.
Developing positive money attitudes that will support you in a balanced way.

Presenter/Modeler

Wealth Building as a Workshop was developed by L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. using the modeling technology of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) and the latest model of Neuro-Semantics® and Meta-States®. Dr. Hall has explored the research in this field and made it available in an extensive Training Manual on Wealth Building used exclusively in the Wealth Workshop.

In this Workshop You will Discover …

In the study of the Structure of Wealth we have discovered that some people just seem to have a nature knack for making wealth, experiencing wealth, thinking in wealthy ways, having a wealth of ideas, experiencing wealthy emotions. They live their lives in a way that seems rich, full, complete, satisfying, enhancing, empowering, resourceful. What gives? How can we learn to replicate what they do? In the workshop, you will find out!

You’ll learn a holistic approach to wealth as “abundance” in many dimensions of life: mind, heart, finances, relationships, creativity, etc. You will learn how to adopt a wealthy perspective so that you do not “sell your soul for money” to the detriment of your relationships, health, happiness, etc.

Wealth, from “weal,” refers to abundance of supplies, possessions, and resources. It speaks of affluence, abundance. The original term weal refers to being in a “sound, healthy or prosperous state, well-being.”

Learn how to install Meta-Patterns and Meta-Frames that will open your eyes to all of the wealth that’s all around you.
Learn how to come away from the training with a new attitude about money.
Learn how to install a Propulsion System inside yourself that will take you straight to your money goals.
Learn how to create your own Personalized Wealth Plan so that you will have a specific plan to focus on when you leave. This is the central focus of the workshop and has been designed so that you can walk away and begin making your financial dreams come true.
Learn how to build and implement the kind of supportive states and meta-states that will support and enhance your ability to handle all of the key factors involved in wealth building.

State Management is Essential in Wealth Building

Don’t believe me? Then consider the people who can make lots of money, but can’t keep it due to impulsive spending or the inability to save. Or, consider those who can control their spending and gambling habits but sabotage their ability to take risks, extend themselves, smartly invest, etc. Consider those who let fear sabotage investment.

Take the time and learn the Meta-Skills to build your Wealth,

not only in terms of dollars but in terms of Sense!

Attend this workshop and gain in Wealth Mastery!

“Wealth planning always seems overwhelming, too much to tackle at once, but now, with this training in Meta-Money, I can make progress with very small steps … and with more intensity.”

Christine Smith Jany, NY City

“I experience this training as very high powered. Dr. Hall’s comprehensive genius has reconstructed NLP from scratch. The training has released me from several major dragons that have kept me from working towards my dreams. One key impact was getting me to be clear about what I really want.”

Khalil Rohoman, NY City

“Once again, Michael Hall has taken his powerful mind to this area of vital importance– the creation and maintenance of growth of money. I found his research in this area very impactful.”

Ruth Roosevelt, Consultant to Traders

“I found the very idea of Meta-States and their usefulness in creating changes very powerful.”

Stanley Cunningham, NLP Trainer

“I never understood the value and importance of frugality. Frugality is good! Making mega millions is honorable and worthwhile for the good that can be done with the money.”

Delores Brown

“The shift to a Wealth Building Map with a mighty ‘Yes’ is powerful. I will let you know in the weeks to come the effect of this program.”

Tod Frueh

“Superbly clarifies what wealth is and is not, while filling the toolbox with basic equipment for building wealth.”

Russel Ketch, Engineer

“This training has given me the tools to improve and change the way I deal with my finances. I now feel I can change my states to accumulate wealth.

Bill Jany, Salesman

Training in Wealth Building and Selling Excellence – Overview

Training in Wealth Building and Selling Excellence

TRAINING IN
WEALTH BUILDING EXCELLENCE
TRAINING IN SELLING EXCELLENCE

As Overview

Developed and Presented by
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.
Developer of the Meta-States® Model

The NLP & Meta-States Accelerated Learning Technique
— Learning from the Experts —

An Inside Look at
Modeling Excellence
using NLP & Meta-States

When it comes to quality performance, high level expertise, excellence in specialized fields—there’s no lack of examples and models. Whether by hard work and learning, whether by accident and osmosis, whether fated by genetic predisposition—in today’s world there are marvelous and fantastic examples of excellence, expertise, and genius all around us.

So, How Can I Get Some of this Good Stuff?

Well, perhaps you could put yourself through the very same experiences, schools, hard knocks, accidents, and inherent the same genetic predispositions of those experts.

Nope. Forget that. That holds little hope.

What about finding the structure— the form and shape of that piece of excellence and replicating it in ourselves? What about modeling the expertise and then customizing it for our thinking, emoting, speaking, and behaving?

Great idea!

And that is precisely what modeling excellence using the NLP and Meta-States model is all about.

Sure, it is a lot more complicated than that, but that’s its essence. Regarding Sales and Wealth Building, we have spent the past couple years finding the best and researching the data about what the best think, believe, feel, say, and do and we have packaged the structure of their expertise using the step-by-step modeling processes in NLP and Meta-States. From this has emerged a formula, a process, and a training format by which we can begin to replicate the structure of the magic so that others can reproduce similar feats of excellence.

What does our Training Program Differ from Other Programs?

Great question.

In both Selling Excellence and Wealth Building, we have approached the installation of skills from a modeling perceptive.

For those in Sales, this means that Selling Excellence is not a Pep Rally. It is not entertainment, Ra-ra motivation, high intensity, high drama, or quick easy to remember formulas or any of the other things that we typically associate with “Sales Training.” As you probably already know, that type of approach is great while your there, but usually doesn’t carry over when you are cold calling, hitting the streets, discouraged with cancellations, etc.

Instead, Meta-Selling goes in an entirely different direction.

Selling Excellence looks at the structure of what makes the experts great. What principles and “laws” of relating, communicating, selling, etc. do the Pros know and use that guide their behaviors? What do they believe and value? What mental and emotional states to they operate out of? What empowers them to be so congruent, focused, clear, decisive, charming, etc.?

Because selling is predominately an expression of Applied Psychology—

sales involves not only the psychographics of the buyer, but also of the sales person. And this highlights the ultimate sales job that any and every sales person faces—selling him or herself. An unsold sales person will find sales a tough profession. Conversely, the person sold on themselves, the services and products that they offer will find it a passion that they easily become absorbed and captivated by.

Meta-Selling invites the sales professional to rise above the details of selling to work at a higher level of awareness.

This empowers one to refine, tweak, and program one’s orientations, style, and skills from a higher level. It empowers one to develop and install the kinds of frames of reference that bring out one’s best. And learning to work at a meta-level also results in higher level skills in facilitating a buyer through the buying process.

The Scoop on Wealth Building

From the time when Napolean Hill began modeling the wealth building of Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie, we have known that one of the secrets of wealth building has involved thinking in rich and wealthy ways, that is, of developing a mindset and orientation toward wealth.

But in recent decades, research in this area has revealed many more secrets and some very surprising, paradoxical, and unpredictable. One of the myths that the co-authors and co-researchers of The Millionaire Next Door revealed concerns what the typical self-made millionaire looks and acts like. Typically, he or she will drive a three-year old car and not a new one, will shop at Sears, and will not display the signs and symbols of wealth. Those who do that all to often only spend their way to debt and stress.

Wealth building also involves some very special states of mind-and-emotion, states that result from the principles and laws of wealth, finance, saving, etc. That’s why making the meta-move to a higher level enables us to model the very structure that makes wealth building possible, reachable, and practical.

Meta-Wealth therefore focuses on understanding and transforming the principles into neuro-linguistic states, on changing mind, reforming beliefs, aligning values, and developing a passionate plan.

NLP Comprehensive Meta-Wealth 2000 Training

Testimonials
Denver Colorado – November, 2000
NLP Comprehensive

Presented by
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.
Developer of the Meta-States Model

“A breakthrough seminar! This training helps you install what it takes to actually “Think and Grow Rich.” in a way that’s automatic, easy, and effortlessly. Consider how wealthy you can be with this information and do whatever it takes to attend. Priceless!”

Joe Vitale, Marketing Specialist
Author of “Outrageous Marketing” tape series with Nightingale-Conant

“The Intentional Values Elicitation took me to my highest value in an emotionally powerful way that was stronger than anything I have ever experienced. This one process had a result that was well worth the
price of admission and there was much, much more.”

Phil Hughes
Senior Loan Officer

“This is the only mind directive program ever that clears the rhetoric and brings the wealth I desire in to true clarity and makes it very doable.”

Leo Gregreor

“Of the several Abundance/Wealth Seminars I’ve attended over the years, they have ranged from metaphysical to “shoulds.” This is the first one to provide Mind-to-Muscle and Excuse Blowout patterns, among others that elegantly install Wealth Building into my neurology. This seminar handled ALL of my ecological concerns.”

Lawrence C. Warner

“Michael is brilliant! His processes are exquisite and masterful — Profound! but simple.”

Jo-Anne Aherne

“With heartfelt gratefulness, I say thank you for this opportunities to move through the blocks I have erected and keep me from building wealth in my life. I will no longer stop myself from finding my path to wealth.”

Carolyn Paseneaut

“Good infectuous high energy — very motivation, lots of excitement.”

Dianne Ruth, Ph.D.

“Seeing, hearing, and feeling NLP “live” fulfilled a long time desire for me. This two-day seminar has given me years of tools to think and create with.”

Julie Ryan

“I was pleased to find an instructor who is walking his talk. So many other instructors don’t’ seem congruent when they haven’t used NLP to make themselves more financially successful.”

Frank Hahn

“What I liked best was working with Michael one on one to develop my optimism and getting to experience meta-stating (which was not taught in my NLP classes). Both were worth the price of admission.”

Kerry Taylor

“What I liked best about this was the pattern on how to transfer conceptual material to muscle The leader, Michael Hall, is among the best presenters I’ve seen at NLP Comprehensive. the material is fresh, top notch and internally consistent. His competence, compassion, and integrity are prominent.”

Larry Warner

Playing the Game of Abundance in the New NLP

There’s a New Game in Town
Come and Play

AT LEAST IN NEURO-SEMANTICS

“NLP was created by two madmen
who modeled three raw individualists.”
(Robert Dilts)

“You’ve got to remember,
when the tide comes in
all of the boats in the harbor rise equally!”
(Bobby G. Bodenhamer)

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

[I originally wrote the following more as a personal message to the growing Neuro-Semantic community. Since, however, it applies to the larger NLP community, we have posted it here for all to read.]

The old NLP went wrong, very wrong, when it came it developing a larger-level strategy for its acceptance. We all know that. And today, twenty-five years after its beginning, we see it everywhere.

So in spite of the rhetoric about abundance, creativity, innovation, cooperation, the agreement frame, pacing as the rapport-building process, etc., NLP has not followed much of its own model. We have talked more about the great ideas within the model than practiced them. Incongruity among some of the first developers has undermined our credibility. And there’s good reasons for this. Dilts’ comment about NLP being created by two madmen modeling three raw individualists (Perls, Satir, and Erickson) undoubtedly describes some of the original frames that were set that preferred individuality over community and cooperation.

But Now a NEW NLP is Emerging

From the Visionary Leadership Project (1997) to the Millennial Project (2000) that Dilts, DeLozier, and Epstein initiated, to the many new developments in NLP by people in the UK, Europe, and around the world, to our work in Neuro-Semantics, there is a new NLP emerging.

There’s a NLP arising that’s much more ecological and cooperative (rather than bombastic and competitive), congruent, solution oriented (rather than blasting the establishments), international (rather than 1970s Southern California), etc. We see this in the developments where NLP has become accepted as a therapeutic modality, where facets of the model have been welcomed into business, negotiating, coaching, etc.

When we began the first Neuro-Semantic website a number of years ago, we have voiced our acknowledgment of the abuses of NLP (see, for example, The Downside of NLP). We did that to address the problems and to not only describe challenges before the NLP community, but even more importantly, to offer better alternatives and solutions. We have seen how the NLP community in so many parts of the world has torn itself up and “shot itself in the foot” as different NLP leaders have engaged in competitive battles with each other about who does “real” NLP or “the best” NLP, etc. There have been mini-battles also in the process of advertising and marketing for seminar goers as if there were only a scarce handful of people on this planet who needed the wonderfully dynamic and magical skills of NLP. Instead of cooperation, there has been competition, sometimes bitter and ugly competition.

There has also been fear. What with the Bandler lawsuits of the past few years, there has been tremendous fear, uncertainly, confusion, and division within the worldwide NLP community about certification, trademark rights, associations, etc. Now, finally, this has come to an end, and at least in the UK and the US, NLP is in the public domain.

Learning to Play a New Game

As the New NLP emerges, it now becomes important that we all learn to play some new games– frame games that fit with the NLP model, presuppositions, values, and patterns. It now behooves us to learn how to play the game of abundance, cooperation, respect, community, etc.

How do we do that?

Obviously, we have to become crystal clear about our frames: what we believe and value, what the NLP Presuppositions mean when translated to everyday life and relationships, the rules of these frames, etc.

Do we really believe that we can find or create a positive intention behind every behavior? Even those we disagree with?

Are we willing to operate from that perspective and to begin from the position of respect and honor rather than negatively suspecting every move and every intention?

Do we really believe that there’s a difference between a person and his or her behavior? That every person is more than their behavior?

Are we willing interact with others on that basis and use this distinction to govern our relationship?

Do we really believe in the distinction between map and territory and that all we ever have at any time is our map, and not the reality?

Are we willing to let this map/territory distinction soften and temper our positions toward each other so that we step out of the dogmatism of arguing over who has the “right” NLP? Are we willing to be more tentative, accepting, and flexible?

Do we really believe in abundance, that there is plenty for all, and that if we seem to run out of resources– we can use our intelligence, creativity, modeling skills, designing skills, etc. to create and bake more “pies” to split?

Are we willing to live by more of an attitude of abundance rather than scarcity? To treat each other as colleagues in promoting NLP rather than competitors who are after the same small piece of the pie that we want?

Do we really believe in rapport building, matching, pacing, and seeking first to understand, then to be understood?

Are we willing to ask more open-ended questions, explore the subjective experience of each other, and to think in terms of Win/Win Solutions? Are we willing to begin supporting and honoring each other in giving credit to each other?

Do we really believe that there is no failure, only feedback? That every response is appropriate and meaning according to the frames that it comes out of?

Are we willing to learn how to incorporate this so that we become less and less semantically reactive, less defensive in the face of criticism or failure, more resilient, more un-insultable, more compassionate and caring when misunderstood, etc.?

Do we really believe in response-ability, in being proactive, in “going for it,” in becoming the most flexible person in a system in order to have the most influence?

Are we willing to learn to become more flexible, creative, and proactive as we initiate and take effective actions, learn from them, and bounce back from anything that sets us back?

Engaging in and Practicing the New NLP Games

It’s one thing to talk about such high ideals, it’s another to actually live that way. For most of us, learning to play these new games will mean lots of practice, set-backs, and returning to the NLP Presuppositions again and again until we set them as our governing frame of mind. If NLP went wrong due to the incongruity of Bandler and Grinder fighting, breaking up, suing each other; of egos getting in the way; of failing to “walk the talk,” of the community not self-correcting and policing itself, etc., then these are the challenges before us.

Practicing living in a way that’s congruent with our talk.

Dis-identifying with our ideas and maps and staying much more flexible in our approach, letting our knowledge and practice of NLP continue to grow and develop.

Supporting and honoring each other, in spite of differences, in order to demonstrate that we can operate from the larger form of promoting NLP rather than our own little kingdom of NLP.

Holding ourselves and each other responsible, and thereby engage in self-correcting behaviors so that outside authorities don’t have to police us.

In many ways, all of this calls for some very new, and at times radical, shifts in attitude and actions. It’s a new game in many ways. We have not played this game before. So in pioneering the future pathways for NLP, we will have to explore, develop, backtrack, try again, etc. as we forge this new game. Doing this is not for the faint hearted. Doing this will call upon us to stretch ourselves in new ways. To pull this off we will need the courage that a great vision provides, the passion and compassion that a sense of direction provides, and lots of willingness to fumble in the dark until we pioneer some of the new pathways.

The Higher Vision and Direction for the New NLP

So what vision could provide all of us the world over a sense of direction for the New NLP?

Consider this. Suppose that instead of fighting and fussing, instead of “the stage not being big enough for both of Richard and John’s egos” (e.g., McClendon, The Wild Days of NLP), suppose that instead of dividing, competing, and refusing to acknowledge the contributions of others, suppose that instead of suing Robbins, Richard has put his mantle of blessing upon him … what might have happened? What could have happened?

Would not Robbins have brought “the world” to their feet? Would not the fields of therapy, psychology, education, business, sports, management, etc. have seen in practice a people living by some truly magical principles? And wouldn’t that have operated as a great credibility convincer? And wouldn’t that have “put NLP on the map” internationally? And wouldn’t that have opened up a thousand other uses, applications, and demands for NLP?

I just do not believe that we have even “touched the hem of the garment” when it comes to all of the wild and wonderful things we can use NLP for that could revolutionize human thinking, feeling, parenting, teaching, learning, communicating, etc.

I just do not believe that we have even begun to use the power of modeling in NLP and NS to specify the structure of excellence that’s even now possible for the human race.

And I especially do not believe that we have even begun to catch a vision of the new human designing we can do with NLP and NS that could totally transform economics, politics, racism, hatred, wars, etc.

On several occasion in the past year, I talked to several individuals who were afraid that someone was going to encroach on “their territory” and get some people that they wanted to market to. In response to that nonsense, I said,

“You mean that you’re going to run out of people who need to learn how to truly ‘run their own brains?’”

“You mean there’s only so many people in New York who could use that?”

Practicing abundance means that we really believe that when I send someone to your training– it’s good for me. It means believing that as a person learns the NLP model, learns the magic and wonder of “running his or her own brain,” experience higher quality state management, stepping out of old fears and traumas, re-inventing the past that will now support the person’s dreams and hopes, etc., that that person will not be able to help but tell others about it. Does that mean 5 others will now become candidates for learning? 12? 100? The more who learn about the magic of NLP will spread that magic.

That attitude that I have decided to adopt is this:

Everybody who learns NLP becomes our best advertisements for NLP and that given the internet, telephones, faxes, travel, etc., “territory” hardly means anything these days and will mean less and less in the days and years to come.

Let’s stop worrying or caring about where a person learns NLP. Let’s only care that the person learns its magic, experiences its transformation, and enjoys such an evolutionary change in thinking, feeling, acting, relating … that his or her life becomes so much more effective, dynamic, and powerful … that we rejoice that “the pie” has just expanded. Who knows if that person will integrate NLP into a whole new application? Who knows is that person will contribute something so rich and so powerful to the model, that whole new dimensions will open up?

As we imagine ourselves moving further and further away from the old adversarial model and more and more into the model of growth, abundance, creativity, and support, we begin to change our culture, the culture of NLP itself.

This has been our aim in Neuro-Semantics and it shall continue to be the vision that directs us. The great majority of the people who have discovered the meta-domain of Meta-States and have entered into the growing community of Neuro-Semantics share this vision and have given themselves to it so that it becomes a self-organizing attractor. And as that happens, I can hardly imagine what this is going to mean in the years to come.

Walking Our Talk– The Time Has Come

So how do we practice “abundance?”

How do we get “abundance” from our mind into our very muscles?

There’s nothing like developing a list of in-the-muscle actions for accelerating the implementation of any great idea. Sure we have the Mind-to-Muscle Pattern, the Excuse Blow-Out Pattern, the Meta-State Alignment, the Meta-Yes-ing, the Meta-No-ing, and many other processes that truly accelerate implementation. And here’s another, a way so simple and so obvious that many people miss it.

Name one specific action that you can take today, or better, right now — that gives embodiment to the idea of “abundance.”

What about:

Acknowledging and honoring the sources that you’re quoting.

Giving broad permission for people to use your patterns.

Referring people to other trainings and letting your clients and customers know what else is going on in the field.

Partnering with someone else to co-sponsor a program, training, adventure.

Speaking positively about the many faces of NLP around the world.

If you use some of these ideas to begin the process of expanding our sense of “abundance,” I wonder what other ideas you’ll come up with? And as you do, be sure to share them.

Modeling “Abundance”

The Structure of Synergy Applied to the NLP Community

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Whatever Happened to ‘Abundance’?
Did the Scarcity Meme Gobble it Up?

As you look out onto “the NLP community” does it strike you (as it does me) that we have an abundance of the Scarcity Model and a Scarcity of the Abundance Model? We talk about, and even presuppose, a Model of Abundance, and yet as a community we seem to live and act more according to a Model of Scarcity. What gives? How do we explain this? And even more important, what can we do about it in order to get Abundance Mentality more and more into our way of being in the world and recognized as the very spirit of NLP?

When NLP first burst upon the scene, Grinder and Bandler spoke about operating from a model of the world that presupposed abundance rather than scarcity. This attitude, in fact, set NLP apart from most of the other models of human beings and human functioning. Now I don’t know where precisely they picked this up from, but I would suspect they got it from Satir or Erickson with their abundant attitudes of possibility, optimism, options, and flexibility. And they may have also picked it up from Bateson who wrote extensively about systemic processes and the abounding emergence of new properties.

Now some theorists might want to argue that scarcity has deep roots, even “deep blood,” in our very “nature.” They might want to argue that we have evolved successfully by adapting to scarcity and so we inevitably default to a competitive Win/Lose style. Such genetic determinists would reason we fall back to Win/Lose competitiveness, beating out a competitor, operating from scarcity, etc. as part of our genetic heritage. Evolution has made win/lose, scarcity, competitiveness, etc. our “natural” default program.

Personally, I don’t believe that. It seems to me that at best, the idea of scarcity exists as a meme (a culturally transmitted idea) rather than a gene in our species (see Mark Furman’s articles on Memes, July and August, 1998). And if our race has experienced scarcity of resources and unmistakable universal experience of the Win/Lose mentality (as it surely has over the centuries and millennia), it only makes sense that a meme on the order of — “Survival of the Fittest,” “There’s only so much of the pie to go around,” “Every time someone wins, someone else loses,” etc. has developed as a model of the world. Aristotelian either-or thinking would have further supported this idea.

The Price We Pay for the Scarcity Meme

The idea of scarcity, as a basic model of the world, has further infected (as a toxic virus) many of the most important fields of human concern. In the area of negotiation and conflict resolution, it sets the frame that resolution will involve some kind of compromise or submission. In the area of economics, management, and leadership it leads to one-up-manship games, hostile take-over of companies, strikes, lock-outs, management-labor hostilities, “Wining by Intimidation,” etc.

Personally and interpersonally, scarcity seeds such ideas as “tightening the belt,” passing laws to limit growth, distrust that others will get too much, resentment when someone else “wins” or succeeds, competitiveness against colleagues in the same field for their promotions, refusal to share the newest ideas, refusal to quote or recommend colleagues, the lack of a collegial attitude, lawsuits for resolving conflicts, etc.

The high price for scarcity also includes a whole range of ego games that we play in a bid for gaining some advantage over others. This sets up antagonisms rather than co-operations, it sets up a critical attitude rather than a supportive one.

The Structure of Abundance

Suppose we decided to apply our own model (NLP) to understanding the presupposition of abundance. As we do this, we would undoubtedly begin by meta-modeling the terms abundance and scarcity.

When we examine the term abundance, what do we find? Certainly not a noun (a thing) or verb (action, process). We rather have a nominalization with an underlying hidden verb, “to abound.” Hence, “to experience an abounding of resources.”

As such, this process term speaks about a set of relationships and so we also have an Unspecified Relational Term.

What is abounding?
In what way does it abound?
From what (or whom) and to what (or whom) does it abound?
According to what standard and criteria does it “abound?”
And while we’re at it, we could similarly meta-model the term scarcity.

Scarce in what way?

Scarce according to what standard and measured in what way?

What specifically are the perceived scarce resources that we must fight for?

Can we increase the scarce resources?

Kinds of Abundance

Abundance, as a relational term (hidden inside a nominalization) speaking of a process of abounding may also refer to various kinds of abundances. This means that in this term “abundance” we have a multiordinal term. This cues us to recognize that its meaning depends upon its level of abstraction or context (Korzybski, 1933; Hall, 1998).

1) It may refer to a static kind of abundance: a large inheritance, an abundant corn field, a lush peach tree with abundant fruit, etc. Tangible things.

2) It may refer to a dynamic kind of abundance. This would include any kind of abundance that has a self-renewing kind of internal process: a living field or orchard that we could work and nurture to make more and more fruitful, a creative mind with abundant ideas, etc. Tangible processes.

3) Or it may refer to a systemic kind of abundance. Here we have ever-increasing abundance with every feedback loop in the system. Every time “the system” (whether a mind, a team of people, a company, couple) acts and interacts, more resources get fed back into the system, thereby enriching the system even more. Intangible processes.

The Strategy Within “Systemic Abundance”

The conceptual and personal strategy that brings forth abundance interpersonally depends upon the attitude or state of trust to drive it. It necessitates first of all that we trust in the concept of abundance, that we trust in others that they operate primarily from positive intentions, that we trust in the process of abundance — that abundance will emerge, that we trust in ourselves as having the coping skills to deal with the lack of trustworthiness, etc. And that we trust in that from out of this overall experience, we co-create the experience of abundance.

Conversely, distrust creates the concept of scarcity (the scarcity model), the perception of static and limited resources, that others operate primarily from selfish agendas, that “the Iron Rule” predominates, etc. Both function as self-fulfilling prophecies.

Typically, then, when a person operates from scarcity, he or she has had experiences of distrust, disloyalty, betrayal, etc. Out of such experiences, they mapped the world in terms of scarcity.

In a work on conflict management and resolution, Hocker and Wilmot (1974/ 1991 3rd. Edition) speak about abundance and scarcity as systemic and relational processes. In terms of the “influence” people have in relation to each other (“power”). As a result, they describe how “power” becomes an emergent property that abounds for all parties.

“Both parties can increase their power at the same time. A thorough understanding of interdependence makes this clear. If John and Sarah are dating and decide to live together, they both increase their dependence on one another…. as John becomes more dependent on Sarah, Sarah’s power increases. Likewise, Sarah becomes more dependent on John, thereby increasing his power. When two people elevate their dependence on one another, BOTH increase their sources of power. Each one expands his or her currencies valued by the other. Therefore, power in enduring relationships is NOT finite — it is an expandable commodity. The real question isn’t the singular ‘amount of power’ each one has, but the balance between them.” ” (p. 82, italics added).

“We have power over people and they over us because our social relationships means that we are interdependent — we influence one another’s ability to attain goals. Furthermore, the degree of power is a function of the comparison of the dependence the two parties have on one another. And the degree of dependence is a product of one’s investment in the goals the other can mediate and the number of other avenues available for the attainment of those goals.” (p. 82, italics added).

What enables the sense of power to increase for all parties? How does this process work? It occurs when both parties work from clearly identified goals (having well-formed outcomes). Such clarity itself from well-formed outcomes grants visionary power (a sense of control) to each person. Next, each party makes him or herself vulnerable to the other by presenting the awareness of what they want, what need from the other, and their sense of “dependence” on the other for the accomplishment of their goal. As both parties do this, each empowers the other and thus it also makes abundance possible for both of us. As you become more ‘powerful” (influential) in my experience, and I become more powerful (influential) in yours, a systemic property emerges — we experience a much more abundant relationships. Synergy occurs.

Thus, the more A depends on B and B on A, the more each becomes invested in the other and that, in turn, allows each to become more Important (valued) to and by the other. And inasmuch as “power” refers to the ability to influence another’s ability to reach his or her valued goals, this increases the power of each person. Each person becomes more powerful in the eyes and experience of the other.

“Power” increases (becomes more abundant) then through the surprising means of each party becoming more dependent through inter-dependency and vulnerability. Yet to walk into such open disclosing necessitates taking the risk of trust.

Let’s run the same pattern on another intangible process. Consider the abundance of the experience of love as a systemic inter-action between people. The more John loves and expresses his love in ways that count for Mary, the more love John has to give. He will never run out. In fact, the more he gives to Mary, the more Mary has received and also has to give back.

This illustrates the nature of intangible processes. They come into being (emerge) from the very process of expressing them. This explains why we can describe them as unlimited resources, and not as limited resources. The same applies to the distribution and creation of wealth in economics, respect and honor in interpersonal relationships, appreciation and status in businesses, creativity and new ideas, etc.

Bob Bodenhamer speaks about this idea of abundance (as a highly desirable meme to contribute to our world) in terms of a metaphor. I’ve heard him use it repeatedly. In his North Carolina accent he says, “When the tide comes in — all ships in the harbor rise equally.”

Hocker and Wilmot (1974/ 1991) have applied abundance thinking to negotiating in the following words.

“If you stick firmly to a collaborative approach, you will find creative options that someone with a competitive approach simply would not find. Creative options often become available (Fogg, 1985) but unless the negotiators believe it is possible and do the hard work to jointly produce those options, the negotiating will begin and end on a win-lose footing.” (p. 221).

The mental set then that we use as we think about negotiating and relating determine to a large degree what we will see and create. Our mindsets of either abundance or scarcity then establish a meta-state.

Basically, cooperative and competitive climates are self-reinforcing — competition encourages more competition and collaboration brings collaboration in return” (p. 223).

Identifying and Getting a Push Away From Scarcity

Most of us (if not all of us) have been deeply contaminated, indoctrinated, programmed, and affected by the Scarcity Model. It exists as deeply within our history as a race. And most of us experienced it for years as young children in school and on playgrounds. Now fully elicit any thoughts, representations, references, emotions, etc. that may indicate its presence in your thinking and emoting.

When I think about people in general or colleagues in my field in particular, or the business opportunities before me, I sense that —

1) There’s not enough for all.
2) There’s a limited amount of the pie
3) I need to show my superiority over others.
4) Get what you can when you can.
5) Nice guys finish last.
6) Let’s work as a team and we’ll generate more for all.

Now elicit all of the reasons and values for developing more and more of a propulsion away from the scarcity model. To do this, first examine the high price you pay for operating from the scarcity model. (When you do this, you’re building a propulsion system in your personality from Scarcity and toward Abundance.)

1) Feel inferior/ superior to colleagues
2) Constantly judging who’s ahead, biggest, better, etc.
3) Feel lessened by the success of my colleagues
4) have difficulty cooperating or collaborating.
5) Filter everything through your own ego, self-value, and dignity.

Now list all of the problems, head-aches, and undesired results that you have actually experienced from using the Scarcity Model as your operation frame. Given these understandings of both abundance and scarcity, I have presented a contrastive analysis of these two ways of viewing the world in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Comparison Chart of Two Models of the World

	Scarcity Model	Abundance Model
Desired Objects:	Limited amounts & quantity	Abundant quantities, Plenty
Meaning:	Deficient in quantity, not plentiful not sufficient	Ample, overflowing quantity To abound, plentiful
Style:	Competition Grabbing/ Stingy Keeping Secrets Trying to get an Advantage over	Cooperation Collaboration Giving Mutual Disclosing
Nature:	Static Worldview	Dynamic, Systemic, Things Emerge
Attitude:	Win/Lose Adversarial	Win/ Win Colleagues / Collegial
Relationship:	Distrust, hidden agendas Power Over Threaten by success of others Ego maneuvers Conditional Self-esteem Fear of the other Dis-value of the other	Trust, Disclosure, Vulnerability Power With Enriched by success of others Not about Ego at all Unconditional Self-esteem Desire for the other’s welfare (Love, agape) Value of the other
Aim:	Total Independence Individualism Get all of the Pie I can	Inter-Dependence/Team work Community Share the Pie & Expand the Pie

The Abundance Pattern

A pattern for providing more opportunity for abundance. The following steps allow us to install within ourselves the Abundance Map.

1) Fully represent “abundance.” What VAK pictures, sounds, and sensations come to you as you think about the idea of abundance? Generate a movie for yourself of what you see, hear, feel, and say as you move through the world operating from abundance. Make this as vivid, dramatic, and compelling as possible.

2) Identify the supporting beliefs, values, frames, and meta-states for abundance. What beliefs support this state of abundance for you? What beliefs about yourself? Others? The world? The process of collaborating? What values? What identify beliefs? What other frames of references? What meta-states?

3) Access a Supporting Meta-State of Self-esteem. To prevent yourself from stepping out of the Abundance Frame and into the Ego-Concerned Frame, access fully and completely a strong meta-frame of self-value, worth, and dignity — one totally independent of your behaviors, one totally unconditional. Use this “My esteem and dignity is a given” frame in order to avoid getting sucked into a one-upmanship spiral.

4) Contrast your Abundance Frame with your current model or with the Scarcity Frame. Note how you represent “scarcity” and compare that to your representations of abundance. Turn down and de-energize those representations … let the pictures fade out, the sounds get further away and more quiet.

5) Step into the Abundance Frame fully and imagine using it as your way of thinking, feeling and acting in the world. Future pace yourself tomorrow, next week, next month … using various contexts (work, personal relationships, hobbies, friends, etc.).

6) Check for any remaining objections. If you find any, answer them by establishing some higher frame or state that effectively answers it or that allows the installation of the abundance frame. Treat every objection as legitimate and important. Inquire of the part of you that doesn’t want to release Scarcity as to its fear or concern. Then respond to it appropriately by building in various safe-guards.

For example, you may want to build in a temporary time-frame. “We’ll do this for a week or a month and then check to see how this works.” You may want to build in some good personal boundaries. “To stay alert to anyone who may want to take advantage of me because of my collaborative spirit, I’ll keep aware of anything that seems disadvantageous to me and not mutual.”

7) Make an Enhancing Decision to Commit Yourself to Living by Abundance. Go to a meta-position and grant yourself permission to fully accept and commit yourself to Abundance. As you observe your representations of Abundance, say “Yes!” to it, as you observe your beliefs and values of Abundance, say a strong confirming “Yes!” to those meta-frames. (See The Meta-Yes & Meta-No Belief Change Pattern, Bodenhamer, Anchor Point, May, 1998).

Conclusion

Whatever happened to abundance? It depends. What relationship have you decided to take toward the idea of abundance? Will you use this as an NLP presupposition and enhancing Resource State? I hope so.

Not only can we develop healthier and more respectful attitudes about each other that reflects a Model of Abundance, but as we do we step into a frame-of-reference that allows us to explore new and unthought of ways for expanding the pie. When we operate in the world from a perception of scarce resources, we compete and engage in antagonistic relationships. When we realize that we can expand resources — we have moved to a meta-level state of resourcefulness that gives us the power to create the abundance we have mentally mapped for ourselves and others.

References

Bodenhamer, Bob. (1998). “The Meta-YES and NO Pattern.” Anchor Point, Volume 12, No. 6, June, 1998, pp. 20-25. Salt Lake City, UT: Anchor Point Productions.
Fogg, R. W. “Dealing with conflict: A repertoire of creative, peaceful approaches.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 29 (1985): 330-358.
Furman, Mark E. (1998). “Marked for Death: NLP and the Behavior of Information.” Vol. 12, No. 7; July, pp. 27-33 “Manufacturing Reality,” Vol. 12, No. 8; August, pp. 34-40), Salt Lake City, UT: Anchor Point Productions.
Hall, L. Michael (1995). Meta-states: Self-reflexiveness in human states of consciousness. Grand Junction, CO: ET Publications.
Hall, Michael L. (1998). The secrets of magic: Communicational excellence. United Kingdom: Crown Publishing House.
Hocket, Joyce L.; Wilmot, William W. (1971/1994). Interpersonal conflict. (3rd. edition). Dubuque IA: Wm. C. Brown Publishers.
Korzybski, Alfred. (1941/1994). Science and sanity: An introduction to non-Aristotelian systems and general semantics, (5th. ed.). Lakeville, CN: International Non-Aristotelian Library Publishing Co.

Author
Michael Hall, Ph.D. now travels and trains internationally in Meta-States, author of numerous NLP works, most recently The Structure of Excellence, The Secrets of Magic, Sourcebook Of Magic, and Figuring Out People. P.O. Box 9231, Grand Jct. Co. 81501.
http://www.neurosemantics.com

Accessing Your Highest Business Sense and Genius

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Early in the development of Neuro-Semantics I engaged on a modeling project on business excellence and those who are experts in business. This followed modeling Wealth Creation and Selling Excellence and so was a natural next step. I wanted to know what it takes to be a “genius” at business. I wanted to be able to do that for myself in my business endeavors.

Of course, “business” as a term is so broad, so extensive, and involves so many different facets and dimensions. It can involve a great many competencies in a wide-range of areas. What we call a person’s “business sense” can involve many facets of work:

The Sense of Business Today

Business experts recognize and embrace the changing nature of business in the 21^st century and develop the meta-state of seeing and embracing trends and resilience to cope with change.

The Sense of Detecting and Identifying Problems

The ability to develop a well-formed problem. Doing this enables you avoid pseudo-problems, paradoxes, and other things that masquerade as “problems.” After all, “A problem well defined is half solved.”

The Sense of a Well-Formed Solution

Business experts not only are highly skilled at detecting problems when they are small and manageable, they are also highly solution oriented and are able to create a well-formed solution and lead others in developing a solution-focus.

The Sense of Elegant Communication

Talking isn’t enough. We have to express ourselves in elegant ways, ways that set frames, and in ways that fit the thinking and perceiving patterns of others. This means shifting from a “command-and-control” style to using a coaching methodology for empowering others.

The Sense of a Super-Charged Attitude for Business

Dressing for success isn’t only about clothes, it’s also about attitude. The wrong attitude can undermine the highest of skills. Business experts are masters at state management and so can manage their moods and super-charge their attitude.

The Sense of Collaborative Partnership

Leaders and managers work with and through others and so operate to create win/win collaborative partnerships. They win people to their vision and then enable their partners to feel honored to be a part.

The Sense of Getting the Right People on Board

Jim Collins discovered that getting “the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus” is a key ingredient in the great companies which out-perform those that are merely good (Good to Great). Being able to “read” people, profile people, and get the best people on board is critical and this is where Meta-Programs and Meta-States come in.

The Sense of Effective Conflict Resolution

Getting the wrong people off the bus—without a major battle—means embracing “conflict” before it becomes conflict—while it is just low performance or poor attitude and dealing with it when it is small and manageable. It also means being able to defuse hotheads, keep one’s cool, put effective processes in place, and use sensory-based feedback.

The Sense of Taking Effective Action

Knowing and not doing will get you nowhere. Business requires active and proactive people who are responsive, take the initiative, and makes things happen. They have closed the knowing-doing gap and have become implementators. This makes them effective as movers and shakers.

The Sense of Continuous Improvement and Development

Business experts don’t wait until they have it “perfect,” they take action and continually learn and make adjustments as they go. They are committed to ongoing learning, accelerating their learning and implementation time, and receiving high quality feedback.

Nor is that all. Business experts are able to create great comapnies via their ability to lead and to develop leadership competencies. They can then create a singularity of focus via synergizing potential, passion, and profit. They can also lead a company into becoming a self-actualization company where they and their people find the meaningful and conducive to a sense of mission and purpose.

All of the great principles and ideas of business experts have to be actualized. That’s why in Neuro-Semantics we are committed to transferring the highest knowledge, principles, and ideas into practice so that gets it into muscle-memory. To take performance to the highest level, to consistently create peak performances (neurology), we have to have rich and empowering meanings (semantics). The synthesis of meaning and performance gives us self-actualizing individuals who are on the cutting-edge of creativity, focus, and productivity. These are the people who are the leaders, movers, and shakers in business and who are able to anticipate the trends and take action.

Trainings in Business Excellence

Neuro-Semantic Trainers train many different facets of business —

Games Business Experts Play

The Leadership Matrix and Axes

APG: Accessing Personal Genius

Living Genius

Meta-Coach Training System

Leadership Reflections #1

During the past eighteen months I’ve been focusing in my studies and research on leadership. I’ve focused this modeling in preparation for creating a leadership matrix using the Matrix model and for the first presentation of it next year in Geneva Switzerland (April 2006). Already Michelle Duval has been coaching a Leadership Matrix with various CEOs and senior management. Already we have a list of leadership criteria for Neuro-Semantics along with benchmarks for that criteria (Article on Website and in the Trainers manual).

Given that in one reference I discovered that there are over 6,000 titles on leadership and that’s just in English, what can we add? What’s new in the area of leadership?

Actually there are many, many new things. Various authors have been mapping out new distinctions in their studies about the many different kinds of leaders and styles of leadership as well some of the meta-skills critical for leadership. I’ll save those for later articles as well as for the Leadership Matrix model as well as applications of the Meaning/Performance axes for leadership.

For now I’d like to offer some reflections about leadership that I’ve been experiencing, how it relates to Neuro-Semantics, and implications for all of us. After all, the first and most immediate application that I have for these studies is my own need for getting clear on the leadership I have and want to offer as well as empowering others to become leaders in Neuro-Semantics so that together we can train up a new generation of leaders.

Ultimately, leadership is not a thing, but a process and therefore more accurately described using verbs than nouns. As a process, it’s about what and how we what we do. There’s only leadership when someone is leading out in thought or action and there are people who like that leading and so follow that lead. This makes the whole leadership thing an interactive interpersonal process involving communicating, relating, framing, acting, collaborating, giving and receiving feedback, and many, many other actions. This makes any and every leader’s leading a present-tense dynamic dependent upon ongoing exchange of vision, mission, values, style, etc.

Two reflections for now.

First is that the heart of leadership is about envisioning and pioneering a new path. I did not realize that’s what was happening when I first discovered the Meta-States model. While it brought together all kinds of things that I had been holding in suspense, all of the ambiguities that I had been embracing about mind and consciousness through years of reading Bateson, Korzybski, and many others, at first I only assumed that Meta-States was another pattern or two. It wasn’t long before I realized that it was an entire model, a model mapping out the workings of our self-reflexive consciousness.

Discovering that I followed that line of thought into the field of Meta-Cognition, Systems, the Cognitive sciences, neuro-science, Cognitive Linguistics, etc. Eventually, the model came together and created quite a stir in the field of NLP as it opened up new vistas of possibilities and eventually leading to some 150 new patterns. Writing about Meta-States in various journals and speaking about the model at various NLP Conferences, I began to travel upon invitations. Eventually, this led to the first Meta-State Certification training in Houston Texas.

While this description of some of the history may sound like I came up with it on my own, I did not. The model emerged as many others began asking questions, hard questions, explorative questions, as others saw new applications, connections, relationships with other models and ideas. Over the years I have attempted to track and credit the individuals who stimulated my thinking and further research but I’m sure that I’ve overlooked many who provided me feedback about things. In this example of a leadership of ideas, the so-called leading intimately involved the ones catching a vision of the ideas and seeing their inherent value. Again, it is a leading-following interaction of relationship.

And it is more. Meta-States satisfied a longing of mine about congruency. When I entered into the field of NLP, incongruency was the thing that struck me as the weakest link and the very thing that would threaten its success. I was both shocked and unsurprised when I first heard Richard Bandler say that he could not do NLP on himself during a training. Shocked because “how could that be?” If it’s about running your own brain and managing your own state, then just practice until you can do it on yourself?” Why not? But unsurprised when I saw how obese he was (and other things).

My longing was to find a pattern for “applying to self” and that’s, in part, what kept gnawing at me in the back of my mind about our self-reflexive minds. Paths are envisioned and pioneered by the presence of problems, difficulties, conflicts, stresses, distresses, traumas, and things not going right or things not working well. It is our of our necessities that we become the most creative. Therefore leading and training others to lead obviously involve enabling and empowering people to have embrace problems, welcome conflict, develop opportunity-seeing eyes when things are not going well. Such is the soil for creative leadership. So, given that, who’s game?

The second reflection. I’ve been discovering that, like wealth creation, there are many paradoxes about leadership. One is that to be a leader demands both being liked and disliked, followed and resisted, adored and hated. This is true when we think of the world-class leaders who have created revolutions, led nations, changed culture, created new industries and companies, etc. It is also true on much smaller levels. We both love and hate those who lead out. Take a stand – any stand – and you will have both your admirers and those who hate your guts. This is one of the occupational hazards and prices of being a leader.

With the recent conflict over one person, not a few have asked me what’s it like to receive so much hateful insults and slander. I mostly think, “part of the price. The way it’s been since I took Meta-States and Neuro-Semantics international. Par for the course.” Others have asked, “Why don’t you defend yourself?” My answer is that I don’t have to. If others want to waste their time and energy criticizing me rather, that’s their choice. Like the title of a book I saw many years ago, “Your opinion of me is none of my business.” That’s very Neuro-Semantic; I’m in charge of my response-powers and power zone so that what I’m responsible for pretty much ends at my nose.

In addition to that, I have so much better things to do than fuss about whether everybody likes me. I’m working on several new models, I have a book I’ve looking to finish on self-actualization, I have trainings to conduct, research to continue, a beautiful lady to love, a wonderful daughter to spend time with, rental properties to manage, a book business to look after, etc. Why would I want to waste time with trying to control the whining complaints of people who don’t like me? Hey, they are giving me free rent in their heads!

If you’re going to lead, you are going to piss some people off. It’s inevitable. As a leader my only focus about that is that I make sure that this pissing off power comes from the vision, mission, and values that I’m promoting and living, and not otherwise. If people don’t like the Vision of Neuro-Semantics and our mission or the values that we stand up for, well, they’re not invited to our party just as I’m not invited to their party. Now, where’s the red wine and who wants to propose the first toast?

Leadership Reflections #2

The first two reflections about leadership regarding anyone leading in any area of life, in personal life, business, in thought, in innovations, etc. are these
1) envisions and sets visions about the future, a bright dream and then
2) will be both loved and hated for that,
Given this, this leads to the next reflection which is a tough one, especially for those newly stepping up to a leadership role. Namely,

3) Leaders have to be able to take the heat.

This third reflection arises because leaders dance a thin line between the present and future, they have to be sufficiently grounded in today to know what’s happening and the needs that are desperately felt. They also have to have a vision of the future regarding applying some solution that will create a better world or situation. A leader who is too far “ahead of his or her time,” will not be recognized as a leader at all, but as a kook, as a wild-eye visionary, an impractical and dreamy illusionary, and therefore easily dismissed. A leader who is following the wave of the next important development, well, that person actually isn’t leading at all.

An interesting phenomenon of most leaders is that in hindsight what the leader saw, discovered, invented, facilitated, or expressed the next generation sees as “obvious.” People comment, “Why didn’t I see that?” “It was there all the time.” None of what Martin Luther King, Edwards Deming, or Nelson Mandela said or did was “revolutionary” in that the ideas were available. The leader is the one who sees first a new and exciting application and acts on that insight. The leader sees a solution, or at perhaps the application of a solution, that others had already suggested. The leader takes at least one step forward into the future and from that position pioneers the next new step. Sometimes this alone describes the genius of leadership.

In doing this, the leader stands up for something important. That stand then galvinizes the minds and hearts of others so they also catch the vision. They also now see the future. For this the leader is loved by some; hated by others. For this, some provide the support that allows the person to be recognized as a leader; for this also others find the person threatening the status quo and so fights to resist the proposed change. In this a leader has to be a person with conviction, determination, confidence, and the gall to stand up for his or her vision.

A caricature of this is the “politician” who wets his finger, puts it in the air and tests which way the wind of opinion is blowing to determine his view or position. That’s not leadership. Anyone who can read a poll could do that. Leaders take a stand about a direction. Of course, leaders also need to be liked, even loved and admired by some people, in order to be a leader. If no one is following, a person is not a leader. Leadership arises as a social construct of recognition. Yet it is in taking a stand that every leader at every level of every society will also be disliked, and even hated and despised, by some.

What does it take to be a leader and to lead out into a new area? For one thing, you have to be able to take the heat. Those who fear criticism, rejection, difficulty, conflict, embarrassment, and so on will not endure as a leader.

So what is a leader-in-training suppose to do? How do we prepare ourselves so that we can handle the heat? We can use such patterns as “taking criticism positively,” “un-insultability,” “distinguishing map from territory; person from behavior,” “optimism,” “developing ego-strength, and “resilience,” to develop the ego strength necessary. This also is where the ability to receive feedback comes a magical trait for ongoing development for leaders (see the series, The Magic of Feedback).

How did Nelson Mandela handled the heat? Or Martin Luther King Jr.? How about Jesus of Nazareth? You may not know it but Jesus was repeatedly accused of associating with drunks and whores and yet he answered not a word. He spent not a minute defending himself. Instead he stayed his course to fulfill his vision about love, faith, hope, and sacrifice.

If you respond to the call for leadership (and in Neuro-Semantics, we see the roles of training and coaching as leadership roles), then get ready for the heat. Get ready for the pressure of criticism and accusations. If you’re doing anything significant, you’re giong to face it. Leadership, in the end, is not about wealth, fame, glory, and recognition, it is about serving people, adding value, and being true to your vision.

Leadership Reflections #3
Review of reflections about leadership.
1) Leaders envision and set visions about the future.
2) Leaders are both loved and hated.
3) Leaders have to be able to take the heat for leading out.
Two more reflections about leadership for now:
4) Leaders are leaders only to the extent that they add value.

If it all begins with seeing the future and stepping out to make the solutions of that future present in the now, then the external side of leadership involves adding value. It may involve adding value to customers and clients, it may involve adding value to a business, corporation, or organization, it may involve adding value where there are hurts and problems, but in some way the leader is a leader because he or she adds value to others.

This raises some very personal questions for anyone in leadership or training for leadership: “What value am I adding? Value to whom, when, where, and how? How can I add more value to what I offer? How do I or others measure the value I add? How does it affect the bottom-line, customer satisfaction, quality of products, etc.?

Those who are put into roles of leadership, and who assume the title of leader, but who do not contribute to the value of the business, to clients, customers, employees, etc., are not truly leaders because they are not truly leading. A true leader gives, contributes, and serves. Ah, here is another one of those paradoxes of leadership. You have to have a servant’s heart to truly lead.’

Why is that? Because leadership is about giving to others something of value—a vision, a solution, a new product, process, pattern, etc. Without enriching the lives of others, a leader is more of a bureaucrat administrating an organization that, while in name, is supposed to be adding value to others, is more likely to be self-serving as it is structured with rules that serve the organization, not the customer.

As a leader gives birth to something new, something that adds to the quality of life of others, he or she also has to nurture and care for that new creation. Because nothing is birthed full-grown, leaders need patience, love, commitment, etc. to bring a new moment, idea, business, or organization so that it is robust and effective.

I have often written that Neuro-Semantics is about performing meaning and enriching performance with meaning. Given that, then the culture we want to create is that of a performance based culture. That means one where actually acting on what we do, translating ideas into actions, taking great ideas and actualizing them in performance, walking the talk, and closing the knowing-doing gap is important. This is equally true for leaders. They have to be creating and adding value to those they lead.

5) Leaders live the vision

If adding value is the exterior facet of leadership, the interior aspects of leadership is living the vision. Gandhi put it most succinctly, “Be the change that you want to create.” This speaks about the importance of a leader living the vision that he or she sees. This speaks about personal congruence and authenticity.

While Howard Gardner (Leading Minds) recognizes and distinguishes that this and yet asserts that this is not so true or important for “thought leaders.” Those who lead via their ideas, models, concepts, etc., especially those who lead from ivory towers, are not required to “walk their talk.” Gardner illustrated with Einstein. His own personal life did not (perhaps could not) validate or invalidate his thoughts about special or general relativity in physics. Yet when Albert Einstein was invited to be the first Prime Minister to the newly formed nation of Israel, he declined. In his letter he said that he had no training and little aptitude for leading people and so declined the offer.

If leadership is a co-created social construct arising from interpersonal interactions, then it inevitably involves sharing of one’s authenticity. It involves hearing what the leader truly thinks and feels, truly believes and cares in, truly envisions and wants. Leaders who only tell what they think people want to hear undermine the very heart and soul of leadership.

In this leadership is not only what one does, but what one is. It’s about one’s being—one’s inner heart and soul. In Daniel Goleman’s work on applying the concepts of emotional intelligence to leadership (Primal Leadership), he has described what he called “emotional resonance” that enables one to provide emotional leadership. It is this inner side of leadership that calls upon the leader to be direct, straight, forthright, warm, respectful, honest, caring, to be his or her word, etc. The more they determined their position from opinion and popularity polls, the less authentic their voice and contribution.

To facilitate that, a leader has to have an open and receptive frame of mind to feedback, to the giving and receiving of feedback, to taking on board reflections from others, and integrating changes in one’s own behavior and lifestyle. To not do that is to say, “I’m above this and will not make myself accountable for walking the talk.” And that attitude will essentially prevent any kind of long-term durable leadership. (See The Magic of Feedback articles on the website)

These very personal and intimate facets call upon leaders to be the kind of person that people want to follow. Now you know why the leadership criteria in Neuro-Semantics has both being and doing competencies and put congruency as one of key criteria for Neuro-Semantic leaders. Given that we are leading out in models, patterns, and experiences for enriching lives, empowering people to run their own brains and manage their own states, these are the areas that we have to “walk the talk” in order to make the talk credible. This is our vision and mission in Neuro-Semantics.

Focus Power

“Focus is the quintessential component

of superior performance in every activity,

no matter what the level of skill or the age of the performer.”

Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Focus-power is special. It is magical. And when you have it, you have that which gives you “genius” or mastery or joy. Focus power is being able to stay focused on what you’re doing when you’re doing it. That sounds simple enough, does it? So focus must be a simple matter, right? We wish it were.

This is an article about focus power that describes how it relates to the heart of Meta-States, Accessing Personal Genius.

Do you want to know why we run “accessing personal genius” as we introduce Meta-States?

Would you be interested in knowing why we consider “genius” a matter of focus?

Would you be interested in developing more focus and concentration power in your own life?

When the Lack of Focus is the Problem

Everywhere I go, I hear people complaining about the lack of focus. More than anything else, I hear that the lack of focus is one of the key problems that most people have. Working with highly motivated people, business people, men and women of immense creativity, what I hear as often as anything is, “I’m so distracted with so many things on my plate!” “If only I could stay more focused.”

I also am asked over and over again about my own focus. Well, I’m not asked about that as directly as I am about efficiency and getting a lot done. “Don’t you ever sleep?” “Do you do anything other than write?” “How are you able to get so much done when you are traveling, training, and meeting people? The secret is focus power.

Focus power is the ability to be all there. That’s the essence of the problem, isn’t it? We’re not all there! Part of us is still back at home. Part is off in our future taking a trip, solving a problem, working on another project, taking a holiday, etc. Yet when we focus, when we are able to totally and completely to focus on what we’re engaged in, then we are able to actually and fully show up. This is good. It’s good to show up for whatever you do. To be present. To be in sensory awareness. The power of showing up is that we are present with all of our mental-and-emotional resources available. This makes a tremendous difference in our experience, our learning, our performance, and our effectiveness. This is focus power, showing up and being present with intention, decision, and energy—what we mean by “personal genius.”

With focus power we are in that state that world-class athletes call “the zone” and what psychological researcher, Csikszentmihayli calls “flow.” Ah, yes, the flow state! And when we are in that state, we can ease through tasks and challenges that we would otherwise find difficult or impossible. Now how would you like to have that state at any time you choose? Suppose you could just “access” that state, turn it on and go for it? That’s what “personal genius” means in Neuro-Semantics.

When we’re in the flow state, interruptions are nothing. They still come as they always will, but we are in charge of ourselves when they do. We have a higher level meta-states that enable us to respond to those that we commissioned as important and to not easily dismiss the others. Then we won’t notice those that are unimportant and those that are, we simply step out, take care of them and then return … return fully and completely to the engagement state of focus with no loss. That’s effectively handling interruptions! With focus power we will experience more productivity, creativity, and personal vitality. What a way to live, wouldn’t you say?

We all know that we do our best when we are focused. Isn’t that true for you? Whether you are writing a report, doing customer service, playing a game, marketing a new product, watching a movie, or reading a book—don’t you perform best when you are focused? Don’t you enjoy the experience more? Don’t you remember things more thoroughly? No wonder Gallwey says, “Focus is the quintessential component of superior performance in every activity.” Focus improves the quality of our mind, learning, enjoyment, and so much more.

Say Goodbye to “Attention Deficit”

Today it seems that everybody has attention deficit. Many, of course, use it as an excuse. Others have been mis-diagnosed. Yet anyone passionate about living life fully probably has too many things on his or her plate. As a result, some of the signs or symptoms of ADD (attention deficit disorder) show up:

Difficulty staying focused.
Ideas, feelings, demands constantly interrupting.
Distracted with 127 things on your “To Do” list.
Feeling the stress and pressure of too many demands.
Low motivation, fatigue, and even depression from the over-load.
Wondering if what you are doing is even worth it?
Doing more things and more activities with less enjoyment.

So we ask, Is that any way to live? I don’t think so. Would you call that “living” in the first place? Is that how you want to spend your life? I don’t. Wouldn’t it be far better to learn the skills of focus power and live more intentionally? That’s precisely why we have developed the Meta-States training, Accessing Personal Genius.

Focus: The Pathway to Mastery

Actually, focus is the secret of everyone who has mastered an area or skill. To live more powerfully and purposefully—we have to rise up to our highest intentions to create the kind of meanings that will revitalize and excite. So, are you ready to jump up to a new level of experience and performance?

In the pathway to mastery, there is a formula for creating focus power. What is it? We take the prerequisites for mastery or “genius,” mix them together in a three-day training, excite you about the possibility of taking an intentional stance in life that defeats all ADD, and give you the keys for running the higher levels of your mind. That’s what Accessing Personal Genius Training is all about.

Accessing Personal Genius is a training being taught world-wide to empower people not only to “run their own brain” but also to take charge of the Matrix of their mind—of all of the frames and attitudes they carry with them. In three days, you will learn to manage your states, power-up for new vitality and creativity, take an intentional stance for aligning your everyday attentions, feel more alive and congruent as you step into your energy bubble for that laser-beam focus power.

Why is this important?

Focus power is important if we want to experience a higher level of self-mastery over our own passions, visions, and values so that we can get ourselves to do what we know and want to do. That’s true mastery. And as you close your own personal Knowing-Doing Gap, you’ll become more focused, resilient, energetic, passionate, optimistic and present in your work, relationships, health, fitness, and vitality. You will be easier to live with, productive and successful, you’ll experience richer relationships, and make more money.

So much of what we have been focusing on in Neuro-Semantics in recent years is summarized in focus power. That’s because without the power to focus your attention and concentrate on what you’re doing— you’ll be distracted, torn, inwardly conflicted, and ineffective. Without a strong and intense laser-beam focus of attention, you will either get bored and unmotivated or stressed out and over-loaded with too many commitments. Either way you will miss mastery.

Without focus, decisions will be difficult. Engagement in an experience will be challenging because you will be somewhere else. Focus power gives you the edge. It accelerates your learning because when you are all there, you are fully engaged and then memory and comprehension is improved. Focus power enables you to put yourself into your activities, relationships, and engagements … to truly be “in-ter-ested” —inside the essence of something (“est” to exist, “in” inside of).

With focus power we have the ability to translate what we know to what we’re engaged in and so close the knowing-doing gap. This makes us more congruent and aligned. It chases away the old dragons that otherwise lurk in the back of the mind.

The Day of the Radio Interview

“So Michael, what’s this ‘personal genius’ stuff really all about?”

That’s exactly what Jim said. I was in his studio at a local radio station promoting both the Writing Mastery and the Wealth Mastery workshops. Jim had interviewed me the previous year when we brought Accessing Personal Genius to Colorado as part of our Neuro-Semantic trainings. So on this day I again mentioned that we would run “the genius pattern” so that aspiring writers could step into their “writing genius state” and never again suffer from writer’s block.

“‘Personal genius?’ So what is this ‘personal genius’ stuff you keep talking about? What is it really all about?”

“It’s about focus. It’s about the power to focus your mind and emotions on a single thing so that you are all there. Does that make sense? Don’t you often find yourself distracted with thoughts in the back of your mind or interrupted by other people and then blocked or sabotaged from doing what you know how to do best?”

There I said it. I didn’t mean to say it. I had not planned to say it. But that’s the way live radio and live workshops are—sometimes the nuggets, the jewels, the diamonds, the hot buttered biscuits come and you get to the essence of a thing. That’s what happened in that interview. Accessing Personal Genius is about stepping into your “genius state of laser-beam focus” and being all there with all of your mental and emotional resources available and then you are in that flow zone! Hmmmmmm. And Bob says, “Look, I think Mikie likes it!”

“Yes, I know what you mean, Dr. Hall. Anyone in radio knows that experience all too well! But what is this Genius state’ and how do you get into it? Don’t you just have to wait until the flow experience comes?”

“Ahh, time to explode the first myth of the morning. We don’t have to wait around for the genius state of focus—it’s our state. We created it. We created it inside of our mind-body system and we can learn to turn it on and off at will. That’s what the training is all about.”

“Really? You’re not over-selling this, are you? How can you just turn it on and off?”

“Watch the Olympic athletes turn it on and off, the gymnasts, the divers, the sprinters. Watch them take their stand, access the state and then explode!”

“Are you saying we all can be Olympic athletes? That we can be or do anything we want to be or do? Does it go that far?”

“Perhaps, who knows. My focus is on the focus state itself—on running our own brains so that we can get the best attitude, mood, and performance out of ourselves. Wouldn’t that in itself be enough to make your day, Jim? What if you could simply step into a highly focused state when you are here in the studio or when you are creating a new show or when you are with a loved one… wouldn’t that make your life a little bit more wonderful?”

“Yes it would. That really would. … And you will teach how to do this in the training?”

“Definitively.”

“And what about you? Are you able to step into … what did you call it, ‘the genius writing state?”

“Yes, people often ask how I can write so prolifically, create so many new patterns, come up with new models … and I can only say that since running the ‘genius pattern’ on myself in 1996, I have not had writers block but can step into my genius focus state of mind and let the world, time, and self all just go away.”

The Genius State as your Power Bubble

While I’ve been talking about imaging a state as a bubble for a decade—that’s when I started drawing states as bubbles, Andrew Sercombe, an NLP coach in the UK drew my attention to “Power Bubbles” after a training. He’s been working on a book by that title. Years ago I suggested that we take the NLP “circle” of excellence and let the circle become a Sphere … a full body sphere to step into as an energy field. From there we can fill up that sphere or bubble and imagine moving in and out of it like the Star Gate experience. In the Movie and TV series, Star Gate, moving into the Star Gate takes one into a different world, a different dimension.

We can do the same with our “genius states”— we can step into them and out of them leaving them intact as a “space” or “place” of mind-body-emotion. John Grinder calls this making “an impeccable state shift.” We added the visuals and meta-stated layer upon layer until the executive part of our mind commissions this and fully aligns it with all of our other values, criteria, relationships, and concerns. That’s the heart of accessing our “personal genius state.”

And inside, ahhh, here’s the magic— inside that Bubble of Focus, all of our intentionality, resources, and skills have a chance to “get in there and kick.” And why not? You are all there. And now you know why we call this, focus power. Want some?

As we move into the twentieth-first century, to be successful in our everyday lives at work in our careers, in making money to become financially stable and independent, in our relationships with our loved one and our friends and associates, in our health and fitness, etc. we need the focus power to show up for life, and to be present with all of our resources. And to do that we need to find or create a big enough reason and a meaning that’s exciting enough. Then we can wake up in that frame of mind every day for the rest of our lives! Isn’t that the way you would like to do life? That’s what you’ll experience in Accessing Personal Genius.

Where There’s no Focus Power —There’s Distraction

Compare focus to distraction. What happens every time we lose focus? We are not all there! Sometimes this can be funny when our absent mindedness makes us walk, talk, and act like a slap-stick comedian. Sometimes it is tragic as when we lose focus driving and then lose control of the car. When we lose focus, we make more mistakes in our performance, understanding, and learning.

Attending to whatever we are engaged in is one of the essential variables that make a critical difference in almost everything. Attention is critical for learning, comprehension, and creativity. It’s critical for being productive and efficient.

So what’s the problem?
What causes the loss of attention, the lack of focus, the distractedness of mind that prevents us from honing in on a subject and staying with it?

Distractions

There are several things that can trigger the loss of focus. Recognizing them is the first step in addressing them.

1) We lose focus when we are distracted.

Even when our focus is very intense and riveted to something, other things can still enter into our awareness and “grab our attention.” This is good. It is really a survival mechanism that prevents life and death emergency situations from occurring without us responding. Of course, the problem becomes when we let every little noise, movement, and image to enter into our engagement as if it were an emergency. This explains why the more we have on our mind, the less we’re able to focus. Focus takes a quiet and calm mind. The more turbulent and distressed the mind, the less the focus.

2) We easily lose focus when our interest/ desire is weak.

What drives focus? Interest, desire, and a sense of choice. The more we choose what to attend, the greater our focus. We are more apt to “pay attention” if it is an attention we choose. And if we are interested in the object of our attention, the better. The more we “put ourselves into something” the stronger grows our focus. So with desire, desire powerfully drives focus. We find it easy to focus and stay focus when we’re doing something that we have chosen to do.

Focus results when we align our truest desires and highest intentions with our actions. When we do this, focus is easy. It spontaneously occurs.

3) We lose focus when we are stressed or caught up in negative emotions.

We focus best when we’re calm, relaxed, or moderately excited. Perhaps this is the smooth easiness of focus. When the emotional intensity becomes stronger, focus becomes harder to maintain. And when we experience strong negative emotions, stress, frustration, anger, fear, focus becomes almost impossible to maintain except for moments. With the more on our mind, the more easily we are distracted (the first factor in the loss of focus). .

4) We lose focus when we’re not in a physically resourceful or balanced state.

Just as focus evaporates with negative emotions, it evaporates with ill-health, fatigue, disease, and anything else that puts the body into an unresourceful state. When the body is not at ease, comfortable, and vigorously alive, it distracts and interrupts us from our focus. Pains and problems intrude to grab our attention.

5) We lose focus through conflicting motivations and intentions.

Just as having too many things on our mind can weaken focus, so can having different motivations and intentions. We feel inwardly torn between this motivation and against that agenda when this happens. Focus shifts from this agenda then to that one.
Focus Power Checklist:

	Loss of Focus			Strong Focus
	Lots of Distractions			Few or no Distractions
	Low Interest			High Interest
	Low Desire/ Passion			High Desire/ Passion
	Lots of Stresses			Relaxed, Calm
	Lots of Negative Emotions			Low to no negative emotions
	Ill-health, physically out-of-sorts			Physically feeling good
	Conflicting motivations			Single Aligned intention

The Magic of Focus Power

When we are fully engaged with something so that our focus of attention is strong, riveting, and sustained, it feels good and is magical. We experience an economy of effort. Every thought, emotion, and action seems smooth and elegant. Our actions flow as if in an effortless fashion. We’re “in the one.” We are in flow.

Casting a Spell for Focus-Power

What is the spell that needs to be cast upon us so that we enter into the magical state of focus power? What are the component elements that make up this empowering state? In Neuro-Semantics we call this laser-beam focus state a genius state. That’s because being all there with our resources and showing up so that we are fully present enables us to act with more congruence, alignment, and engagement.

1) Sensory Awareness in the moment.

Being in sensory awareness means being fully present with our mind and body. It means seeing and seeing, hearing and hearing, feeling and feeling. While that may sound easy, it is not. While any child can do that, most adults cannot. Most adults have lost that ability or only retain it minimally. Why? Because we can so easily move up the levels of the mind and get lost in the ozone of abstractions. When that happens, our mind gets in the way—our concepts, beliefs, understandings, etc. When this happens, we can no longer see the world innocently. We see th world as colored by our concepts and beliefs. The solution is to “lose our mind and come back to our senses.”

Via sensory awareness, we are able to see and hear and feel afresh. We are able to just be aware and observe what is. This is a rare gift.

2) Running our own brain.

It’s hard if not impossible to focus if you are not in charge of running your own brain. Do you have that option opened to you? Is that a choice you can choose? Of course, to run your own brain, you have to know how to run it. To move to the place where we truly have choice in our live we have to have the ability. Without the power to choose, there is no choice. And choice means that we have multiple options. To only have one option is to have no choice. When we have two options, we have a dilemma, this or that. It is only through having a multiple choice list of options that we have choice.

3) Clarity of what we value as important.

Focus also emerges from clarity of priorities. If we do not have a clear vision of what’s important or choice of our priorities, we will not have a focus of attention. What’s important to us? Why is that important? What do we get from that? What do we understand about that? Focus weakens at the rate and degree that our clarity of purpose becomes less and less clear, more confused and ambiguous.

4) Trust of ourselves and the focusing experience.

The spell for focus must include self-trust. It is self-doubt that distracts. It is self-fear, self-contempt, self-worry. For us to focus on one thing and give our full attention to it, we need to believe in ourselves, and trust our ability to learn, decide, and choose. Anything less weakens focus. When we release ourselves to that which we’re engaged in and let go to the experience of focused engagement—we experience the flow state of top athletes in the zone. Then the magic happens.

5) Resilience in returning to focus.

In focusing our aim is not to create an focus and never lose it. Focus ebbs and flows as the stream of our consciousness moves and flows. Our aim is to more quickly return to our engagement when we lose focus. Losing focus is just part of the way “mind” works, returning to focus means we’re able to catch ourselves and re-evoke the focused state.

6) Challenged to sally out from one’s safety zone.

Czikszentmihalyi postulated that the flow state operates between the extremes of challenge and safety. With too much safety we feel bored; with too much challenge and we are overwhelmed and so feel anxiety. When we have a balance so that we have enough challenge to our skills to be drawn and attracted we move into “the flow channel” that’s just right for optimal engagement and learning. This keeps the excitement up without threatening the basic security.

Focus fades with the negative emotions of anxiety, insecurity, and demandingness as it does with boredom. In boredom, our focus weakens until we fall asleep, alertness fades.

7) Practicing the skill of focusing.

Focus is a skill and, as such, is learnable. The nice thing about learning how to “pay” attention is that as we learn to focus and then come back to our focus and to ignore distractions and let follow our interest, we become more skilled at it. Doing so necessitates becoming meta-aware of our focus so that we notice where our attention goes, what grabs it, how strongly it is grabbed, and what we can do to keep returning to our focus. What are the key variables in your awareness that supports a more intense focus? When thought balls pop into the court of your consciousness, just notice them and decide—decide what you most want.

A energetic sense of decisiveness.

It takes a decision to focus our attention on an event, person, or idea. And it takes a decisive state of clarity about intention, understanding, and purpose to say Yes to our attention and No to everything that would interfere, interrupt, or distract from that intention. Decisiveness is the state that drives focus. Indecision weakens focus and nurtures inattention and distractive attention.

In practicing focus, most physical acts (i.e., exercise, gardening, hobbies) because they are willed give us a way to develop our intentional capacity. William James suggested the practice of “the useless exercise” for those who want to strengthen their will power.

“Keep alive in yourself the faculty of making efforts by little useless exercises every day. Be systematically heroic every day in little unnecessary things; do something every day for no other reason than its difficulty; so that, when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test. … The man who has daily inured himself to habits of concentration, attention, energetic volition and self denial in unnecessary things will stand like a tower when everything rocks around him and his softer fellow mortals are winnowed like chaff in the blast.” (From Personality and Personal Growth, James Fadiman)

So What are the Secrets for Focus Power?

It was in my research on resilience that I first happened upon many of the key secrets of focus power. It was really an accident. I was looking not to understand focus, attention, or concentration, but how to model the state-upon-state structure of resilience. That led to the discovery of Meta-States. This model describes the levels of the mind which explains why and how we never just think. No. We think (and feel) about our thoughts and emotions. This reflexiveness of the mind creates our frames of mind and layers of frames—the matrix of our frames.

Accessing Personal Genius is a three-day training that enables participants to mix 12 essential factors or prerequisites of “mastery” to create the emergent experience of focus power. This describes the genius-like state that every top-performer experiences from Olympic athletes to world-class leaders and speakers, to inventors, to successful entrepreneurs, and even lovers. With focus power you will be able to do so much because you will be all there, in your best states, in the zone, in “flow.” This is the state that makes attention deficit problems, stress, feeling defeated, blocked, etc. redundant.

Summary

My invitation to you is to check you the Accessing Your Personal Genius training. It is now being taught around the world by many Neuro-Semantic Trainers … it is your introduction to Meta-States … and it is your introduction to a world of focus power.

Author:

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D. invented Meta-States to give structure to self-reflexive consciousness in 1994 and so launched the Meta-States Model, Neuro-Semantics, and more recently the Matrix Model. See for much more about this … and for a calendar of upcoming trainings … and for Neuro-Semantic Trainers around the world.

The Knowing-Doing Gap

Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap

Translating Great Ideas
into Everyday Actions

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

There is a tremendous gap today between knowing and doing. We know so much more than we do. Isn’t that true for you? We know more about healthy eating and exercising than we put in practice. We know more about listening, being patient, validating, being affirmative, and other relationship skills than we do, especially when we’re under pressure and feel stress. If we were to measure our level of actual performance against our level of knowledge, we always under-perform. We always over-know. This is normal and as it should be. Yet sometimes the lag in the transfer of knowledge to action becomes too much of a gap. How big is the gap in your life? How much of a gap can you endure?

Why is this? What causes this? What can we do about closing the gap?

Let What’s In the Mind Be in the Muscles

I first became aware of this Knowing-Doing Gap when I was involved in the research for the wealth building training. As I researched the literature of the field, almost everything was written in terms of principles, statements that generalized the basic knowledge of the field into summary declarations. As I read the literature of the field and came across wonderful insights, I would think, “Great ideas!” “Yes, great ideas. If only we could get ourselves to practice them.”

A little later I was reading about the importance of building up capital for investment, and that the beginning stage of any wealth building system involves the use of capital. You can’t get money to work for you if you don’t have some capital to work with. Then, almost accidentally, I took one of those great wealth building principles, one that was so simple and yet so profound and spoke it out loud. “Capital is built by saving a small percentage of one’s income on a regular basis.”

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out!” I thought in the back of my mind as I repeated the insightful statement out loud. And that meta-comment about the great idea reminded me. I already had this knowledge in my brain. But was I acting on it? Was I actually using and implementing this knowledge? No. So why not? What was stopping me from doing what I know? Knowing was already in place, what stopped it from activating my motor programs so that I could actually use that knowledge and turn that knowledge into power? What was creating the Knowing-Doing Gap?

“Maybe I don’t believe it?” I thought. “No, but I do. I do believe it.”

“But do I really?” I wondered? So speaking out loud again, I used the words,

“I believe that capital is built by saving a small percentage of my income on a regular basis.”

Saying that felt different from saying the first statement. It felt more personal. And it felt like it was more in my muscles and not only in my mind. So I said it again and again each time imagining that I was saying it to someone or a group and doing so in a way that was fully congruent and believable. And as I did, the words began to change. The words become even more personal and the feeling of the statement began to feel more integrated into my body.

“I believe that capital is built by saving a small percentage of my income on a regular basis.”

“I believe that I can build capital by saving a small percentage of my income on a regular basis.”

“I believe I will build capital as I save at least a small percentage of my income every week.”

It was funny how saying these words seemed to make the ideas more and more real within my neurology. But then again, that’s what a belief is. Unlike a general idea or principle, it is a command to my nervous system. I also knew that repetition activates neurology and runs neuro-pathways and so I repeated the belief statement several more times. When I finally heard myself use the term “will” as in, “I will build capital…” I realized that I was now uttering some more and other than a just a belief, I was uttering a decision. It was at that moment that I consciously turned the statement into a volitional statement of choice.

“From this day forward I will build capital as I save at least 10% of my income every week.”

Saying it like that seemed to invoke even more feelings. So I tried it on with different phrases indicating that the idea was of my own personal choice and volition:

“From this day forward I choose to build capital for my own personal wealth building plan as I save at least 10% of my income every week.”

“From this day forward I will refuse to put off building capital for my own personal wealth building plan and I will save at least 10% of my income every week.”

Saying this seemed to involve my feelings and neurology even more. It then dawned on me what I was doing. I was turning an abstraction principle into a belief into a decision and into actual neurological feelings. So I wondered, What am I feeling?

“Planning my wealth building plan by building capital for investment by saving a little bit every week makes me feel a little anxious about things … and excited … and curious … and hopeful … and confident …”

At first the emotional awareness came slow, but as I got into it, feelings began to rush in and as they did I felt a neurological push from within to do something. Ah, I had activated my motor programs with sufficient neurological energy that I now felt as if it was time to act.

I questioned myself, So what is one thing I could do today that would really give some reality to this idea?

“Well, I could write this down as my weekly goal.”

And what is one other thing I could do?

“I could ask a friend to hold me accountable to this by giving him permission to ask me about it.”

With this, I suddenly I realized that I had come down the levels of the mind with what I was doing. I had started by recognizing a great idea or concept of some piece of knowledge in my head and I have transformed that knowledge so that it took the form of a belief, then of a decision, a feeling, and finally into an action, into a muscular response. In this way, the bare-bones of the Mind-to-Muscle Pattern was born. Since then I have used the pattern to mind-to-muscle all kinds of great ideas in my head so that they become muscle memory in my body–my way of being in the world.

The Mind-to-Muscle Pattern utilizes the power of language to represent step-by-step the levels of the mind that offers us a bridge from a concept down to belief, decision, state, and finally to action. But the process doesn’t end there. We then begin cycling through the process over and over. This taps into and utilizes the power of repetition to habituate a new way of operating. As a neuro-semantic pattern, we activate more and more of the body as we bring a conceptual state down and translate it into other words so that it can operate at the lower levels. That’s why the linguistic phrases almost always change as we bring the idea down.

And by looping back up and adding in other meta-levels (identification, expectation, pleasure, outcome, intentionality, etc.), we set up a spiraling of the mind so that it embeds the everyday actions inside of multiple frames of meaning.

How We Extend the Gap between Knowing-Doing

Conceptual knowledge fills our minds with great ideas. Most of us know lots of truly great and inspiring ideas, ideas that are transformative, awe-inspiring, and fabulous. And in those moments when we spend time with such ideas, we live in a very different world. But then we come back to reality. And more often than not, we leave the life transforming ideas in the world of mind and do not bring them back with us to our everyday realities.

Why did we do this? Why do we not enrich our lives with them?

It seems so obvious that great ideas, insightful plans and intentions, and larger level perspectives ought to be transferred into our everyday thinking so that we enhance our performance level. So what prevents us from translating them into our neurological patterns? What holds us back from letting such in-form our way of being in the world?

Actually, lots of things.

Some of them have to do with operating from a confused map, a map that tricks us. It comes from confusing true action with deceptive substitutions that only give the impression of doing. We take a pre-action and consider it an actual action. Some of the things that clog up the gap between Knowing and Doing have to do with giving in to the inhibition of fear. We become afraid and so inhibited from acting. We freeze up, we become paralyzed. Then there are the taboos that forbid and prevent us from taking action. There are the structures or lack of structures that increase the gap-systems that don’t allow the translation from Knowing to Doing. And finally there are more personal things like failing to be action oriented, excuses, etc.

Other things that extend the gap between knowing and doing have to do with giving in to the inhibition of fear. We become afraid and so we feel inhibited from taking acting. We freeze up, we become paralyzed. In this case, we know but we cannot do. Another frame is getting in the way. The fear evokes a higher frame about the knowing. We set a fear frame that says, “Danger. Too risky. Avoid.” It is that frame that makes what we know further and further from what we do.

People who suffer from this one think that if they only know more. So they buy another book, attend another training, sign up for another course, consult with another coach, etc. But this also broadens the knowing-doing gap. As they are learning more, they are still not doing. The problem is not in knowing and so the solution will not be in more learning. The problem is the fear frame. The refusal to face the fear and just do it. The problem is the refusal to take an intelligent and calculated risk.

Then there are the taboos that forbid and prevent us from taking action. There are the structures, or lack of structures, that increase the gap–systems that don’t allow the translation from knowing to doing. Do you have a structure set up for acting on your knowledge about exercise, fitness, eating right, saving money, etc.? You don’t? Then no wonder the gap keeps widening between knowing and doing! And finally there are more personal things like failing to be action oriented, excuses, etc.

Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton (2000) have identified the following:

Pseudo-action Deceptions:

1) Thinking that knowing is sufficient for success.

2) Thinking that talking (meetings, committees, reports, etc.) is action.

3) Thinking that measuring things is action or contributes to performance.

4) Thinking that making a decision is the same as taking action.

5) Thinking that planning is the same as action.

Clogging the Gap by giving in to the Inhibitions of Fear:

1) Fearing complexity, lack of clarity about what specifically to do.

2) Fearing risk, mistakes, errors, and imperfection.

3) Fearing competition, focusing on what others are doing and trying to get ahead.

4) Fearing the new, the different, the unpredictable, falling back on precedence (standard operating procedures) and so mindlessly defaulting to what you’ve always done.

Taboos that prevent and forbid action:

“Don’t make a fool of yourself.”

“Don’t risk making a mistake, it’s too dangerous.”

“Don’t be imperfect.”

Lack of structure for action:

No structure for following up.

No structure for rewarding learning from mistakes.

No structure for rewarding risk taking.

Personal items predisposing us from taking action:

Not being action oriented in our person, being inactive and passive.

Making excuses and letting excuses stop us.

Discounting small actions.

Deceived by Pseudo-Actions

Question: When is an action not really an “action?”

Answer: When the action does not actually lead to performance.

Many people extend the Knowing-Doing Gap by thinking that studying, reading, and learning alone is sufficient. It is not. Yet another book, workshop, training, or tape set will not in itself change anything. That will only fill the head with more knowledge. And it may very well be the best knowledge in the field. Yet, if you do not act on it, it will have the same effect as if your head was filled with the most worthless non-sense and useless information. Waiting until you “know it all” or have an “expert knowledge level” is one of the worst deceptions.

We have to get out there and make mistakes.

Yet, fear of making a mistake is yet another key way that many people widen the Knowing-and-Doing gap. They know but won’t do because they fear messing up, making a mistake, risking failure, etc. So they excuse themselves from the most basic form of learning, “trial and error” learning. Do something, experiment, see what happens. Did it work or not? Take the “or not” in a matter-of-fact way. It’s just information, just feedback. No big deal.

If you want to really worsen the Knowing-Doing gap and make the gap bigger and bigger, scare yourself with horror stories about the terribleness of making a mistake. Fill your mind-and-body full of fear and dread and terror at risking a mistake. That will prevent things in your mind from getting into your muscles.

Confusing talk with doing is another major way that we fill our heads with more and more and weaken our performance muscles from actually doing anything.

“Well, we convened a meeting and talked about it!”

“Of course, we did something, we formed a committee to discuss the problem.”

“Do something about it? We definitely did something, we spent $20,000 on this report about it!”

To these responses, another response comes to mind, namely, “Duh?!”

Talk is not doing.

Talk may prepare us for doing. Talk may empower us to formulate our plans and motivate us, but talk in and of itself is not doing. Companies that have a culture of talking about things can get so off-target with this that they even become highly skilled in creating great overheads, awesome PowerPoint presentations, memorable pieces of literature (the reports), and really believe that they are doing something about a problem. They are not. Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton (2000) write about this attitude:

“The purpose of the sessions wasn’t really to learn from other parts of the organization,. Instead, the agenda was to impress your colleagues with the quality of the presentation you were giving. We’re not in the business of making over-heads! This firm is just one of many we have seen in which leaders act as if having something in their mission or values statement meant that it must be true.” (p. 40)

Nor is measuring things.

The U.S. Post Office is a great example of measuring things and assuming that “measuring” is actually doing something that makes a difference. I have a friend who is a supervisor who measures the feet of mail that has to be sorted each day, who follows delivery people on their routes from time to time to measure how long it takes them, how they park their vehicle, how many feet from one place to another, etc. She knows that none of this matters in the long run. None gives better service. None improves quality. She does it as forced regulation to satisfy Union fears that the employees will work too hard or not be compensated enough.

Why do they do it? To satisfy regulations. And because it is easier to measure time, space, weight, volume, and other tangible things than the things that really count: sense of responsibility, friendliness, helpfulness, attitude, cooperation, willingness to pitch in and help even if its not your project, etc.

Measuring things is an action, but most of the things that really count can’t be measured. And if they can be measured, they cannot be measured with precision. This is where fear comes in again. Because systems of interactive parts are complex and involve multiple contributing causes, we often become inhibited in action because we fear the complex. We fear not knowing for sure what we are doing.

Turn your abstract philosophical language into action-oriented language. As you do, you will be saying the same thing, but saying it with a sensory-based simplicity so that you know with crystal clarity what to do.

Summary

Because the knowing-doing gap prevents the actual implementation and undermines top-quality performance, we are making the business of closing the Knowledge-Doing gap a primary focus in Neuro-Semantics. Already we have identified and develop several patterns that help to translate knowledge into real life actions. These include:

Mind-to-Muscle Pattern
Dragon Slaying
Personal Genius

Excuse Blow-Out Pattern
The Efficiency Pattern

Currently we are exploring other processes that will allow us to develop a frame of mind that makes embodying knowledge part of our “way of being in the world.” That’s what we do. We find knowledge that makes a difference, knowledge that maps a piece of expertise, and we incorporate it so that it informs our very motor programs. It becomes what we do. No more excuses, we just get things done. No more inertia, no more procrastination, no more taking counsel of irrational fears–just effective action.

Do you have any knowledge that has un-tapped power and potential just waiting to be released?

Would you like to release it so that it becomes the engine in your performances?

Would you like to know yourself as an efficient person who takes effective action?

The future does not lie in the hands of those who think, plan, imagine, dream, and hope but don’t do. It lies in the hands and feet of those who do.

References:

Pfeffer, Jeffrey; Sutton, Robert. (2000). The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publications.

Author:

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D., Psychologist, International Trainer, and Entrepreneur who lives in the Rocky Mountains. Developer of the Meta-States Model and co-founder with Dr. Bodenhamer of Neuro-Semantics. (P.O. Box 8; Clifton, CO. 81520; 970 523-7877; fax: 970 523-5790), www.neurosemantics.com www.runyourownbrain.com

Neuro-Semantics as an Idea In Business

By L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Since we began using the phrase, “Neuro-Semantics,” and trade marking that term, we have developed two different references for it. On the one hand, Neuro-Semantics refers to an idea and to a model of human functioning. On the other hand, Neuro-Semantics refers to a network of people all around the globe, to the Societies and Institutes of NS and hence, to a business. While it will take several years to fully sort these out and to fully develop both the model and the business, the time has come to at least begin that process.

If you were with us during any of the Neuro-Semantics Trainers Training in the past three months, you know that we have been doing this. In fact, the vision and plan for NS as a business, as an international association, has been coming together with the voices of the 50 Trainers that we now have.

Neuro-Semantics as a Model and Idea
First and foremost, NS is a model. It’s a model about consciousness, mental-and-emotional functioning, the structure of experience, and human nature. Emerging from Korzybski’s work at the beginning of the 20th century, Bateson’s in the middle, and Bandler and Grinder’s at the last quarter, Neuro-Semantics builds on from the Cognitive Sciences, the neuro-sciences, General Semantics, System Theory, NLP, and Cognitive Linguistics.

You can see the latest summary that I have been sticking in the front of all of the NS training manuals on the following page, “Models Used in This Training.” That summary identifies NLP and Meta-States as the immediate sources of Neuro-Semantics.

Defining the field of Neuro-Semantics

In my opinion, NLP made a major mistake when it failed to define the field as such. John Grinder and Richard Bandler never defined the heart or boundaries of NLP as a model. Robert Dilts seemed to have tried to do that. His book on Strategies and Modeling, “NLP: Volume I” (1980) came very close to setting forth some of the definitions of the field. Yet during the first 20 years of NLP, there were really no comprehensive books of the NLP model. Only in the mid to late 1990s did some works begin to appear providing an overview of NLP. The book that Bob and I write, User’s Manual of the Brain, surprisingly has come as close as anything to doing that.

As a consequence, early in NLP’s development, people began bringing all kinds of things into “NLP” and mixing it with many other things. This confused the public with regard to what NLP was. Many thought it was some facet of the New Age Movement, others thought it was a new form of hypnosis, or therapy, or manipulation, or personal development, etc. Yet though NLP can be and has been applied to all of these things, NLP is not any of these things. NLP grew out of the context of therapy (Gestalt Therapy and Family Systems Therapy) and for that reason it is often confused as a psychotherapy. Yet it is not psychotherapy. Very early, Bandler and Grinder modeled Erickson to create the hypnotic language patterns of Milton Erickson. Yet NLP is not hypnosis.

NLP is a meta-model about other models. At its heart, it is a description of the structure of experience whether that experience is therapy, hypnosis, family systems, systems, sales, business, relationships, etc. Because NLP is about modeling, it falls into the category of the Cognitive Sciences (Information Theory, Cybernetics, etc.). It therefore operates strictly as a scientific model regarding how things work. Robert Dilts devoted several pages to this theme in NLP: Volume I. (1980).

The same holds true for Neuro-Semantics and more so.

Neuro-Semantics has grown most directly from NLP and then secondarily from General Semantics and Cognitive Linguistics. I developed the foundations of Meta-States from modeling and “mining” the riches of Korzybski. Later I conducted trainings in London on “The Merging of the Models: NLP and GS” (now is called “Advanced Flexibility”).

I also took a lot from the Cognitive Sciences and Psychologies inasmuch as that was the focus of my doctrinal work. I took much from systems theory, Ericksonian models of Brief Psychotherapy, Narrative Therapy and Solution Oriented therapy. More recently I have taken much from chaos theory, fuzzy logic, mathematics, etc. as NS continues to grow and expand.

This means that Neuro-Semantics is also first and foremost a description of the structure of experience and especially the higher levels of mind or consciousness that creates contextual or framed “meaning.”

With regard to religion and spirituality, Neuro-Semantics is neutral. It’s only a tool. It’s only a description of the structure of how we organize our mind-body, brain / nervous system to experience whatever meanings we process. As a model, NS does take a stand about the ideas that we can postulate about the origin or destiny of the universe or about the existence of an intelligence in the universe. However, NS does take a moral and ethical stance in that it does value the essential ethics of the scientific model, namely, honesty, truthfulness, disclosure, respect of colleagues, openness to new and different ideas, willingness to test, experiment, and validate results, the human treatment of people and animals used in research, etc. Why? Because these are the essential attitudes necessary for searching, researching, communicating, and taking an open and explorative stance.

Philosophically, Bandler and Grinder tried to make NLP philosophically free and neutral. They did that by saying they had “no theory.” They argued that NLP is “just a model.” Of course, they then turned around and snuck the theory into NLP in terms of the presuppositions that they said were unquestionable because they only viewed them as “useful lies.” Well, that was a slick reframe, perhaps the first NLP Sleight of Mouth, but as we know, it was not true.

NLP is full of philosophical assumptions: constructionism, some empiricism, lots of pragmaticism, a touch of positivism, within the tradition of the human potential movement, etc. Yet because Bandler and Grinder set it up so that NLP presented the image of being philosophically neutral, it refused to allow its epistemology to be examined. This is what Bateson meant when he talked about NLP having a “shoddy epistemology.”

By way of contrast, I have sought to make the theoretical and philosophical foundations and frameworks of Neuro-Semantics manifest and explicit. I have done this by identifying them as located first of all in the NLP presuppositions and then secondly in the list of Meta-States principles which we have published in Meta-States, the Training Manuals, and NLP: Going Meta. Soon I will put this into the first Volume of Neuro-Semantics.

What does this mean for NS in terms of philosophical frames?

It means that NS is―

A facet of the Cognitive Sciences and the Neuro-Sciences
Partly Constructionism (we construct maps of the territory)
Partly Pragmatism: we seek to identify what works, but without making the end justify the means.
An expression of Cognitive Linguistics. We follow much of Lakoff and Johnson’s work (Metaphors we live By, Philosophy in the Flesh, etc.). Most of all we recognize the embodied nature of our metaphors by which we live and that frame our thinking.
Democratic: we seek to find the structure of the best experiences in order to equally support and validate all people in all cultures and to encourage the democratic ideas of equality of all, fairness, justice, etc.
Human Potential Movement: as NLP, Gestalt Therapy, Family Systems, Rogerian Counseling, etc. grew out of the Human Potential Movement, so NS is a beneficiary of that tradition and similarly seeks to promote human well-fare, empowerment, health and vitality, etc.

Generative focus: we seek to find and promote generative models rather than remedial because we believe that except for disease, genetic damage, etc., people are not broken, but work perfectly well. It’s not the lack of the ability to become resourceful, the lack of genetic possibilities that’s the problem, but the lack of top-notch maps (frames).

Figure 1:
Models Used in This Training

NLP―

A Model of Communication about human processing that empowers us to “run our own brain.” Using the “languages” of mind (our internal cinema of sights, sounds, and sensations) along with language, we “think” and frame things using these see, hear, and feel dimensions. As we represent data to ourselves on the inner screen of consciousness, that internal movie signals our bodies to go into a state-a mind-body or neuro-linguistic state and that governs the quality of our life and experiences. Developed by a linguistic and computer student about human excellence and genius, NLP provides insights and specific step-by-step techniques for running your own brain, managing your own states, communicating more effectively and elegantly with yourself and others, and replicating human expertise.

META-STATES®―

A Model of Reflexive Consciousness that extends the NLP Model, taking it to the next level. It details precisely how we reflect back on our thoughts and feelings to create higher levels of thoughts-and-feelings and layers of consciousness. In so using our thoughts-and-feelings thoughts-about-our-thoughts, feelings-about-feelings, we create mind-body states-about-states or Meta-States. Primary States involve primary emotions like fear, anger, joy, relaxed, tense, pleasure, pain, etc. and thoughts directed outward. Meta-States involve a layering of higher level concepts to involve structures like fear of fear, anger at fear, shame about being embarrassed, joy of learning, esteem of self, etc. Meta-States describe the higher frames-of-references that we set and use that create more stable structures (beliefs, values, understandings, etc.)

NEURO-SEMANTICS® ―

While it sounds like a big word, it refers to a simple fact. Namely that we create meanings in our minds (semantics) and we get those meanings incorporated into our bodies (neurology). That why, when things mean something to us-we feel it in our bodies. The meanings show up in what we call “emotions.” The meanings take the form of values, ideas, beliefs, understandings, paradigms, mental models, frames, etc.

Neuro-Semantics provides a model of how we humans make meaning as we evaluate experiences, events, words, etc. It’s a model of how we then live in the world of Meaning that we construct or inherit. Neuro-Semantics describes the frames of reference we use as we move through life and the frames of meaning that we construct. It creates the Matrix of Frames in which we live and from which we operate.

Neuro-Semantics arose from the Meta-States model which provides a way to think about the levels of states or mind that we experience all the time. That’s because we never just think. As soon as we think or feel-we then experience thoughts and feelings about that first thought, then other thoughts-and-feelings about that thought, and so on. Technically this is called self-reflective consciousness. Practically, it’s the Frames for the Games that we play in life.

Neuro-Semantics as an International Association and Business
We also use Neuro-Semantics as we refer to the associations of people who have learned the model, who are thrilled and excited about the possibilities of the model, and who plan to use the model to extend human knowledge and skill. In this, Neuro-Semantics stands for the growing community of all of those who see in Meta-States a model that extends and expands NLP. It stands for those who make up the NS movement that is spreading around the globe. It stands for all of those trainers and practitioners who use and plan to use Neuro-Semantics for creating models and training programs for education, relationships, business, health, government, leadership, etc.

Trade marking Neuro-Semantics has given us the ability to use the model for training, certification, networking, creating associations, etc. It has brought into being the first dozen or more Institutes of NS and the first Societies of NS. Structurally we have organized the networking of relationships under the trademark of Neuro-Semantics in the following way.

Figure 2: The Structure of Neuro-Semantics as a Business

Because the Institutes of Neuro-Semantics represent the local NS training centers, this is where the business of NS actually makes contact with public life. It is at the NS Institutes where NS trainers will be presenting public workshops and trainings in “Genius” and the other NS Trainings. Many NS Trainers will not establish Institutes, but will operate in corporate areas as consultants, coaches, and trainers. Rather than public trainings, they will influence businesses from within doing “in-house trainings.”

The Societies of NS will operate primarily as non-profit organizations (formally or informally) providing guidance and direction to the individual Institutes within their region. They will provide oversight and accountability. This will be our way of policing ourselves and making sure that those who are in the forefront of leading in the field of NS are walking their talk and providing an example of an ethical professional. Again, this was one of the key mistakes that NLP made from the beginning and which the NLP community in almost every country in the world is now paying the price for. We do not want to make that mistake.

I have put together the beginnings of a book on The Business of Neuro-Semantics. Currently it is a brief document, “Neuro-Semantics: the Vision-The Plan.” It is mostly about marketing at this point. But eventually, it will become a full-fledge description of NS as a business and how to make it work effectively.

Summary
While this is the beginning, this is just the beginning. There is much to do and together we will be inventing it as we go. How NS will grow and develop in the years to come will depend to a great extent upon you … upon those of you who are the first to catch the Vision and to make this a facet of your commitment.

Author:

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D., researcher and modeler, international trainer and entrepreneur (P.O. Box 9231; Grand Jct. CO. 81501; 970 523-7877), developer of the Meta-States Model, co-founder of Neuro-Semantics®, www.neurosemantics.com currently involved in several modeling projects: wealth building, selling/persuasion excellence, accelerated learning, etc.

Neuro-Semantic Leadership Criteria

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.
C What makes a leader a leader?

C What qualifies a person to led and to step up to a position of leadership?

C What distinguishes a person as a leader?

C What enables a person to exercise influence with others?

While leaders come in many different forms so that there are many different kinds of leadership, leaders arise and express themselves in a given context. That context is the particular values, expectations, needs, style, and culture of the referent group. This realization, of course, leads to numerous other questions—questions that are more precise to our concerns.

C What qualities and traits do we look for in recognizing leaders in Neuro-Semantics?

C How will we recognize and qualify the men and women who will arise in Neuro-Semantics as leaders?

C What criteria of leadership will we set?

C If we want leaders who lead from the Neuro-Semantic vision, what will be the prerequisites of leadership?

Obviously, in Neuro-Semantics, we will look mostly and preeminently for leaders who embody the principles of the neuro-semantic vision—its principles and practice. We will look for practical leaders who are excited about the vision, who apply that vision to themselves, who look for adding value to others, and who work at translating their talk into their walk. Conversely, we will not be interested in leaders who are driven by visions of personal glory, the rank and status of privilege, or the ego satisfactions of someone driven to be a guru.

To that end, we have set forth the following leadership criteria. This criteria comes immediately and directly from the Vision and Mission statement of Neuro-Semantics. As such it reflects the very qualities of individuals who are in actuality leading out in directions which fit the meaning and purpose of Neuro-Semantics.

In recent years, we have become aware that we should not only wait for men and women with these special traits and qualities to arise, but that we should intentionally plan to facilitate this kind of leadership development in people. Also, recognizing that most leaders in Neuro-Semantics will come through the Training and/or Coaching Tracks, we have set forth the following 7 criteria as the foundation for leadership. These are divided into two categories: Being and Doing criteria.

Being Criteria:

C Authenticity: being and acting from one’s true self without masks and personas

C Integrity: being as good as one’s word, impeccably honest and fair-minded

C Congruent: applying the principles to self so that one walks the talk

Doing Criteria:

C Contributing: giving of oneself to others, serving from the NS principles

C Collaborating: operating as a team player, cooperating with others

C Pioneering: leading out into new areas

C Communicating: sharing and disclosing in ways that are clear, precise, succinct, engaging, and compelling

The following is still in its formative stages and I will be updating it in the years to come. In setting forth the following criteria, I first offer a definition and then a benchmarking from 0 to 5 of specific behaviors that evidence that criterion. About reading the benchmarks, start with 0 and move upwards. With each higher number, the person demonstrates increasingly more of the positive features of the quality and less of the negative features.

The BEING Criteria

Some of the criteria has to do with the person and character of the leader. These speak about the leader’s ability to lead him or herself in using and applying the models and premises of Neuro-Semantics. The presupposition is that one has to first learn the art of leading and managing oneself before attempting to lead others.

1) Authenticity: Authenticity: being and acting from one’s true self without masks and personas

Being real or true to oneself, to one’s gifts, talents, abilities, dreams, values, visions.

Definition: Authenticity refers to “authoring” one’s own life from one’s own thinking, feeling, speaking, and acting. It’s an expression of being personally real and true to oneself. This comes from “applying to self” and becoming congruent with one’s own truths. Authenticity speaks about being real— being and presenting oneself as one is without the need for pretense, arrogance (arrogating to oneself traits and qualities that one doesn’t have) or having driving ego-needs. Being authentic speaks about being willing to be human, fallible, to know not everything, and to not have to be the center of attention. Authenticity implies a solid enough sense of self so as to be modest, humble, and able to extend self to and for others. The opposite of authenticity is the shallow make or woman who is only known through masks, roles, personas, etc.

Authenticity Questions:

What do I really want and believe in?

What is really important to me?

What makes for a meaningful and significant life?

What do I really think and feel about the things that are important to me?

How true do I act on my own beliefs and opinions?

What are my passions, talents, and vision?

Benchmarking “Authenticity”

5 Will pay price to live up to highest values and visions and not follow “path of least resistance.” Willing to stand out from crowd.

4 Willing to take a stand on unpopular issue, speaks with energy, emotion, and enthusiasm about things one values and cares about. Willing to show emotion about such.

3 Mostly speaking and acting congruently, words and gestures match content of what one says. Speaks from one’s views and opinions even when in conflict with social group.

2 Sometimes speaking and acting in ways that reveals one’s true heart and views. Mostly trying to please others, fit in, and conform.

1 Speaking and acting in ways that are incongruent, not sounding believable because tone, volume, style doesn’t match content of words, outward expressions not revealing inward feelings and thoughts.

0 Playing roles to trick or deceive, acting as a “Yes” person to whatever is socially or politically correct or acceptable, not owning one’s own voice, lack of confrontation, hesitating when confronting.

2) Integrity. Integrity: being as good as one’s word, impeccably honest and fair-minded

Definition: Integrity speaks first about being whole and integrated which immediately leads to a forthright and honest presentation of self. When a person has integrity, there is an honesty and reliability in the person so that the person will do what he or she says. Integrity means making promises and keeping them, It means honoring the words we utter and not breaking our commitments. Integrity leads a person to typically do whatever it takes to come through with one’s word and that when we cannot, we immediately communicate that, apologize quickly, and make whatever amends seem appropriate.

Integrity also refers to telling the truth even when it’s difficult. It means living one’s life as an open book without a lot of secrets or cover-ups. Several of the pathways to integrity is making oneself accountable to others, receiving and integrating feedback, and staying in a community where we can be available for such. The opposite is being dishonest, lacking the strength of character to tell the truth and to be fair.

Integrity Questions:

Are you as good as your word?

Do you generally come through with what you do?

Can people generally trust you, depend on you?

Do you receive feedback graciously and seek to use it?

Do people have any basic integrity issues with you?

Benchmarking “Integrity”

5 Comes through on promises even at great cost (financially, time, energy).

4 Lifestyle and actions shows strong and consistent congruency between word and actions. Quickly making amends or communicating about problems when cannot come through on a promise.

3 Mostly doing and acting on what one says or presents (75%). Mostly open to correction and feedback, making amends.

2 Coming through with 50% or more of what one says, acknowledging misalignment between word and action. Sometimes making excuses, getting defensive.

1 Saying that one wants to come through on a promise or idea, but evidencing little to no behaviors that match those words. Breaking agreements without making it open and explicit.

0 Behaviors that show no relationship to promises, commitments, or word. No mention of the difference between word and action. Lies, deceptions, presenting oneself in ways that do not fit reality.

3) Congruency: Applying the principles to self so that one walks the talk

Definition: Congruency speaks about being harmonious, in agreement with self, and arises from the ability to “apply to self.” Our speech and behavior fits with our thinking and feeling. This comes from applying and translating our ideas, principles, and beliefs to ourselves. When this happens, we can walk our talk. Our actions then appropriately reflect our principles and premises.

Since “apply to self” lies at the heart of NS, it lies as one of the key and central leadership criteria. Apply to self enables us to be congruent so that all of our parts are aligned and congruent with our values and visions. We are not inwardly torn, we do not fail to live up to our values. We can step back, evaluate ourselves with some fairness, seek feedback, and take responsibility for one’s own responses.

Congruency Questions:

Does you apply NLP and NS to yourself?

What are the indicators that you do?

Am I aligned with my values and visions?

Do others see me as congruent or incongruent?

Do I walk the talk?

Benchmarking “Apply to Self”

5 Constantly talking, inquiring, exploring how to apply to self, improve. Explores feedback when given, and eagerly invites feedback, receives coaching, etc.

4 Applies most things to self, constantly seeking to continuously learn, develop, improve. Few incongruencies, searches for feedback.

3 Apply many things to self, asking about how to apply something to self, receiving coaching, feedback, and therapy to work on self, an openness to feedback.

2 Applying a few things to self, but mostly focused on what others are doing or not doing Still many incongruencies in lifestyle.

1 Thinking about how something might relate to self, but not applying to self. Word and action doesn’t match, incongruency between talk and walk.

0 Never talks about applying to self, or how something relates to self, talks only about what others are doing or should do.

The DOING Criteria

From being comes doing. One of the central themes in Neuro-Semantics is closing the Knowing-Doing Gap so that we implement what we know. This leads to the being criteria of authenticity, integrity, and congruency. From there, we have the following criteria that manifests leadership.

4) Contributing: Giving of oneself to others, serving from the NS principles

Definition: Contribution means giving to the community and field, investing time, energy, ideas, emotion to making the field successful. In leading a true leader serves his or her constituency by investing self, time, and energy and by contributing to the health and vitality of those who follow.

Relationship to Leadership: Leaders lead. To be a leader means that a person demonstrates leadership which involves participating in the community, sharing, giving of oneself, having a voice on the egroups, assisting on trainings, referring people to trainings, writing articles that promote Neuro-Semantics, being moderators on egroups forums, etc.

Examples: It may mean leading out in a specific area of expertise such as what Bob Bodenhamer is doing with the work with Stutterers and what Michelle Duval has done with Coaching. It may be using NS in one’s commercial branding that helps to build credibility for the movement.

Contribution Questions:

What have you contributed to the community?

What investments of your time, effort, money, intelligence, etc. have you contributed?

When was the last time you contributed to the community?

What are you doing now?

Benchmarking “Contribution”

5 Leading out in new ventures and contributing discoveries back to the NS field, making networking possible, creating websites, new products and services, patterns, models.

4 Regular contributor to egroups, participating on Assist Teams at trainings, helping out on specialized projects, monitoring egroups, sharing ideas and best practices.

3 Writing posts, offering ideas, suggestions, referring people to NS trainings, networking with others, starting practice groups.

2 Keeping ISNS membership up, regularly participating in egroups, practice groups, and events. Networking with a few others.

1 Not keeping ISNS membership up, writing one or two posts on egroups a year, showing up for some events, but keeping mostly to self.

0 No indication of having given anything to the community. Holding back from giving ideas, patterns, models, helpfulness. Not available to invest energy into projects, programs, etc.

5) Collaborating: Operating as a team player, cooperating with others

Definition: Collaborating with others means cooperating, operating as a team player, helping, assisting, etc. A collaborative style such as that presupposes the ability to reference the thoughts, feelings, values, and needs of others, to take second position, to be empathetic, concerned, and even loyal. It means matching, supporting, and following the lead of another. If the person is naturally a mismatcher, he or she can turn off the mismatching to be a member of the team. As a team player, we are able to shift from sorting by self to sorting by others and thinking of the good fo the larger community. Opposite to collaborating is keeping to self, not sharing, not disclosing, not making oneself open or vulnerable to others.

Collaborator or Team Player Questions:

Are you a team player?

Do others describe you as a team player?

How well do you support others and contribute to the overall good of the community?

Are there people who think of you as not a team player?

Do you come from a sense of abundance?

How much flexibility do you have in shifting to Sorting by Others?

Benchmarking “Collorabative”

5 Adding to a team in creating a sense of working well together, performing as a high performance team.

4 Following the lead of someone and supporting him or her in a project (see Supporting), contributing ideas about team work, collaboration, etc.

3 Being a part of a team project, Assist Team, Coach; helping a group or team become more cohesive.

2 Supporting others in a project, collaborating with them on something that contributes to their success or that pioneers some new facet in NS.

1 Talks about collaborating, but does not get around to it, mostly keeping things to self and not sharing.

0 No participation with others, keeping completely to self, criticizing others and what others are doing.

6) Pioneering: Leading out or moving out into new areas.

Definition: Pioneering refers to launching out into new and unexplored territories. As a metaphor, the pioneer describes a leader as one leading out to some new place, going first, being an example, trailblazing the path. As such a pioneer or leader sees a vision and begins acting to make it real. As others catch that vision, the follow that lead.

People who are actually leading out in some area by speaking out on something, creating a product or service, doing something that’s commercially viable, running a training company, developing a training, creating coaching practice, developing new program, model, idea, pattern.

Pioneering Questions:

Do people follow me?

Where and in what areas do they follow?

Can I communicate a vision clearly and precisely?

What have I provided leadership for?

In what areas am I now leading out in?

Benchmarking “leadership”

5 Setting frames for solving a problem, setting forth a vision of a new possibility, inviting others to share the dream and co-invent the solutions.

4 Taking steps to work on a solution, inviting others into the process, looking at what works and doesn’t, writing posts about such, networking with others, setting up a project to explore such.

3 Exploring a market gap with lots of solution-focused questions, inviting people to brainstorm about solutions, researching what solutions have already been developed or explored.

2 Exploring, talking, questioning about a problem gap that needs to be addressed, asking solution focused questions about it.

1 Talks about new directions, but does nothing, talks about needs, problems, and complaints.

0 Sharing nothing, pioneering no new directions, keeping to self.

7) Communication: sharing and disclosing in ways that are clear, precise, succinct, engaging, and compelling

Definition: Leaders lead by communicating. They communicate a vision, an idea, a value, a hope, or a desired outcome. In leading by communicating, the communication typically is persuasive or influential because it has certain qualities. It is precise, succinct, clear, compelling, and inspirational. The communication effectively languages or frames the felt needs, emotions, values, hopes, dreams, fears, etc. of those who follow. Leaders lead by framing, building relationships, matching, negotiating, seeing and seizing opportunities, risk taking, and developing an entrepreneurial in attitude and disposition.

Communication Questions:

How precise, accurate, and succinct are my communications?

How clear is the vision or picture that I describe in word or in print?

How compelling, inspiring, or motivational are my words?

Do people seem drawn and compelled by the word pictures I draw or the frames that I set?

Benchmarking “Communication”

5 — Able to create crystal clear images and movies for the mind that move people to take action, that succinctly states with precision the next step and that calls for action.

4 — Able to effectively match and pace a group of people and call them into a community, mostly able to get to the point and to be succinct, more precise descriptions.

3 — Able to put into words the hopes and dreams of others, but verbose and close to get to the point, not always clear or precise.

2 — Oral and written words partly focused on a vision, dream, or new idea, still half or more of it about self, either very talkative or offering not enough description to be inspirational.

1 — Moderate amount of words, some suggesting a vision or dream, communications mostly vague, fluffy, undefined, perhaps wordy, redundant, not getting to the point. Or words almost always about self or coming back to self as if needing to put forward.

0 — No or few words or communications that lead forth to anything new or different. Only words of complaint or dislikes. Only words that relate to self not others.

Programmed for Wealth

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