Archive for category NLP

Turn your dreams into reality

If there is a dream, there is reality!

But let’s start at the beginning: Coaching is based on 3 supports.

1) Beliefs – challenge your limiting beliefs and reinforce supportive/positive ones!
2) Values – know your values and live them.
3) Goals – what do you want to achieve and how do you want to achieve it?

People say that goals are dreams with legs – they go somewhere. Or, you can put it differently, if you are dreaming to achieve something, then you can support this dream with actions and turn this dream into a reality, a goal. This goal becomes achievable when you are putting your efforts and beliefs behind it.

Coaching is based around goals. We all start in the here and now and have a reality check of our current life. What is our present state and what do we like or dislike about our current life. This could be the job, the love life, the amount of exercise we do etc. Check for the wheel of life to identify what you might want to change.

From there you define your goals and the desired state. This state is now your aim, your goal, something you need to put your mind to. As we say in NLP, now imagine you are already at your desired state and look back to your present state, how did you get there?

That might sound complicated, but if you want to cross a river, you can either think of building a bridge or you can imagine that you already crossed the river and look at the problem from the other side. You might discover a new way across, something you cannot see from your current perspective.

bridge

NLP uses that technique quite a lot. Put yourself in the corner of the room and watch yourself having this conversation or interview and evaluate yourself whilst doing so. Also, you can then watch the reaction of your opposite conversation partner and act / amend your conversation accordingly. This enables you to build stronger rapport and more effective conversations, communications and connections.

In regards to goal setting, always set positive goals. Move towards a positive goal rather than away from something negative. You don’t want to loose weight, as you focus on the weight. Focus on the healthy aspect and formulate your goal “I want to be fit and healthy”.

Also, be specific about your goals. That means it has to be measurable and reward yourself by achieving part of the goal. stepping stones are important. These stepping stones will provide you with the right feedback and you can see whether you are on track for your big goal.

And, whilst pursuing any dream, any goal, any stepping stone, think of the 3 coaching supports. Be true to your beliefs and values. Be cautious what some actions might mean to you and your environment. What costs are involved, what time etc.

By making an action plan and making sure that you have a can-do approach, you eventually will achieve your goals. If you need help defining them or setting stepping stones to reach your goals and turn your dreams into reality, please give Coach Volker a call.

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cb consulting London

I have been asked over the last few days, what cb consulting really is? What am I doing as a marketing and management consultant?

It is both a playing field for SEO and web design but also my first own company. I founded it not short of 2 years ago to start selling some of my services, e.g. performance coaching, life coaching, career coaching, trainings and seminars, to some friends and corporates.

However, at that time and even now, I am still working full time to earn my living that way. And, I do not really want to change that or give up the security of my day job.

cb consulting really is a good way of showing off my skills and offering them to the greater world. I have excelled in helping people achieving their dreams, dream jobs and personal goals.

Also, I am about to start my first online marketing consulting project – keep your fingers crossed. Combining the right tools to reach the objectives.

Coaching is not always the easiest thing to do. You don’t really want to tell people what to do but be there for guidance and helping them to identify their own goals. Only if the goal has been clarified you can lay out the path for them with the client playing the mayor part. There is no use of a coach outlining any steps to a client if the client does not know where they are going.

Sometimes clients get set-backs. Getting them back on their feet, visualising their goals and get them to re-focus is a great challenge. Only who has been down and got himself up again understand how to it is to be on the floor, not knowing what to do and where to go.

Particularly in the recession career coaching becomes very important. So tune in and let me know how I can help you today?

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new website live

Hello All,

My slightly revamped cb consulting website is live. What do you think?

cb consulting

Volker

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Good Reading – Motivational Reading

As mentioned in a post a while back, I was reading Christopher Howard, Turning Passions into Profits. This book is a must read for anyone who likes to know what you can do with NLP.

This book is not for a novice to NLP who think that one could read this book and all your motivation comes true and you know NLP. However, for the experienced practitioner/master practitioner, this book gives a good example of case studies and how to use NLP in a “world context”. Almost too basic for the Master Practitioner it still gives a good overview and idea, or reminds you of topics you should reread, such as sensory acuity.

Me personally, I liked the book. Gives it great examples of sales and negotiation techniques based on NLP and other tools/techniques. The “wow” factor was there, the “I need to revisit that chapter” factor was there, so overall, a very good book to read.

I am sure you will find his websites useful too:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIPzXIBGSA0]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhAHcciWXB0]

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sensory acuity

Inspired by the book I am reading Turning Passions into Profit – 3 Steps to Wealth and Power and my NLP Master Practitioner with Sensory Systems in Glasgow, I revisited the term of “sensory acuity” today.

Christopher Howard writes about the importance of sensory acuity as people with outstanding communication skills are able to notice things in their sensory awareness that others do not. Being able to notice on all levels of senses gives you an advantage and the ability to notice things that most people don’t even realise exist. It will unlock your potential to create the results you desire in your interpersonal communication.

Which senses are we speaking about:

* sight – visual sense
* sound – auditory sense
* feelings – kinesthetic sense
* smell – olfactory sense
* taste – gustatory sense

And, what impressed me with Howard is that he differentiates, as a true NLP professional, between the inner and the outer world. Depending on our models we perceive the world differently. Being aware of the different senses and being able to read (and write) them, will make us better communicators.

NLP has the model of input (senses) that then “relate and compute” (pattern/map) into output (behaviour). We also add the “feed-forward”, a prediction what will happen in the world. And, all of that is put back into a feedback loop to how we perceive the world and being “sensory acute” about it.

Our internal voice is referred to as “audio digital” input rather than the audio sense, analog, of the external world.

How is that useful?

We can use those senses for goal setting by visualising an outcome and then put that picture in our head. And, it will feel good and you might want to imagine a certain smell, taste or music with it. You can talk to yourself as well and really get a goal into your head. A vision! This vision can be turned into a nice state of mind and something to look forward to. It will sink into your unconscious and your actions will be working towards that goal and objective.

Also, another example, would be if you remember a certain situation. Your last holiday on the beach? You remember the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea and the image….. Don’t you remember the good old time when you turn the radio on and they play a song that you have not heard for ages and it reminds you of your “wild days”?

Sweet memories :-)

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Facing the Giants…

I finally watched the whole movie of facing the giants as described in my earlier post. It is a very motivational movie. However, I was surprised that is based around god and the love of god to make it a success.

With having lived in the US for a year a few years ago, I know how important Christianity is in the US and that it helps people to motivate. However, it does not matter which faith you are as long as you believe in something, and someone – yourself.

I am not a great believer in contemporary church but find my spiritual guidance through Buddhism. Latter helps me to stay focus, help others and be motivated in personal life as well as in corporate life.

What wonders me sometimes is that there seems to be this “YES WE CAN” attitude in the USA, the American Dream that just this week was supported by the first ethnic minority president to be in the world. A country that has this approach will always be more confident and be more successful.

In Germany where I grew up and I believe it is similar in most European countries, this attitude is not on the schedule for high school kids. It is more about “this is an American thing” and that is that.

Why are we not taking the positive attitude, the “can do approach” from our big brother and use it to make us more successful, more motivated and more focused in life and work. Without thinking that this is only done “elsewhere”.

I believe we need to incorporate the basic and underlying approach of this attitude in our daily lifes to motivate ourselves and to get where we want to be. No surprise that things like GTD, NLP, Turning Passion into profits are all coming from one country.

In my opinion most of those ideas are based around the basic attitude of reaching out for the stars and making things happen. And to have this vision of reaching things, not to show fear and stay focus. That is not rocket science, is it?

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books to read this autumn (or not to read) – and NLP ;-)

You remember I was writing about this NLP book I got at the train station.

I now finished it. The author is: Lindsey Agness, Change your LIfe with NLP. Why am I happy to reveal the book now? Because I want to warn anyone to read it.

Sorry, Lindsey, I don’t wanna say you did not have good intentions to write this book. But, this book talks about how NLP helped you through relationships and how it helped your kids to anchor nice situations and being less afraid. My personal opinion is that you should have written a book about “how NLP helped me” and then recommended some really good books on NLP.

Anyone who asks me about a nice introduction to NLP I recommend this NLP book by O’Connor and Seymour.

Of course, maybe I am not the target audience having a Master Practitioner in NLP for over 5 years. And yes, Lindsey’s book was a nice recap of some techniques, but sorry, it was not a good introduction to NLP. Maybe it was not intended to be one and just a marketing tool to attract people to your courses?

What really annoys me about books like this and many others (and I know there are millions of them out there) is that people read it and think “wow I can change my life and all I have to do is to learn NLP”.

YOU DON’T!!!

Learn NLP because you are interested on how you can change your life and that of others but do not learn NLP because you have some problems. If you have some problems go and see a doctor or psychiatrist. That is what you need and not something that was an add-on to psycho therapy in the 70ies. NLP does not heal you from cancer or makes you a better person. However, some NLP techniques are helpful for motivational purposes and for getting on with life.

Enough of a rand about those NLP books that just try to tell you that NLP is good for anything.  Saw another one at WH Smith the other day. Don’t buy it!!!

Further on my reading list is a book I bought about 1 year ago. I admit, it is another “guru” book but comes highly recommended by a friend. I let you know how I get along. The title is:

Turning Passions into Profit – 3 Steps to Wealth and Power!

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NLP revisited – going back to basics?!

Good day,

I have written a lot about NLP before. And, as most people know, I did my Master Practitioner in NLP in 2003, which is now unbelievable 5 years ago.

Often, I wonder how much I have incorporated NLP in my daily life, my daily thinking and how much it has affected my work and life. I come to the conclusion that it probably has but I that I have not had this “wow effect” which changed my life and made me that “super hero”. I don’t even think NLP does that. My changes and my help from NLP were suttle. They came slowly and they last.

Now, a few weeks ago, I was waiting for a train and didn’t have a magazine or book with me. So I went into WHSmith to see what was available. I bought a book about NLP, “change your life with NLP”.

To be honest, I am very very curious of reading this book. Deliberately I am not naming the author because it seems to be one of those books that have been written on the back of really good NLP books. This one made it to the shelf for the masses and will tell you that “if you put your mind to it, you can achieve what you are set out to achieve”. Believe in your abilities and things come through.

And, they will. We know it. I know it. You know it, everyone knows it. The DOING is the problem. Taking the baby steps, setting the goal and bringing in the persistance. Having the personal coach (oneself) or A personal coach (someone else) to kick your @#* and make you take the baby steps. Or, the belief in yourself….

It has been 10 years since I gave up chain smoking. 10 years since I stopped sucking on at least 60 fags a day. NLP? Willpower? Honest answer: you set your mind to it and focus on your health. End of story. I have been smoking since. A month here, a month there, a few cigars. But never had that many again.

I let you know how I like the book and will name the author if I do like it. I am presumptious of saying “I don’t like it” – honestly, I believe it will be great to read because it will refresh my mind of what I am – and you are – capable of.

Enjoy.

I hope you have a fantastic day!

Volker

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Dan Millman Seminar London

I went to see Dan Millman in London yesterday.

I admit I was VERY tired and not really receptive. But, on a whole, I was expecting much more.

Dan is a very motivational speaker, mainly addressing, at least from my point of view, very basic “human issues”. Things like how to motivate myself or how to get into a routine are just very basic principles.

Honestly, a nice talk with lots of quotes about life and nice little advise on how to improve your living on earth and make a difference. To be compassionate and a good human being.

Sorry, Dan, you did not convince me. The peaceful warrior is a great book to read and I took a lot out of it. But the seminar did not convince me. Maybe, I have passed that stage that I need initial motivation.

My Buddhist way of life and the combination of powerful tools from NLP and personal development will do the trick as much as your spiritual wisdom.

Thanks anyway, for an inspiring night.

Yours

Volker

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Personal Development Essay – Island Theory

If you follow the link you find my essay on Personal Development – Island Theory.

I wrote about it in my blog before.

Please leave comments and feedback, I am looking forward to a great discussion.

Volker Ballueder

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