2. “I do the very best I know how, the very
best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so
until the end” – Abraham Lincoln
NLPThe Secret of
Success
NLP; it’s a common enough term these days.
People in sport use it, people in business use it,
and authors of personal-development books
certainly use it, so what is it? In truth, there is no
one answer to that question. I first came across
NLP in the late 80s when I read a book titled
NLP: The New Technology of Achievement by
Steve Andreas and Charles Faulkner. Life took
over at the time but I later returned to the
subject to find my own answers by studying
with some of the greats in the field including
co-founder Richard Bandler, Judith Delozier,
and my personal favourite Robert Dilts at the
NLPU in Santa Cruz, California.
So is it just about language?
The answer to that question is no. What began
as a study of language grew into a study of
general behavioral patterns. The work of Milton
Erickson, a successful psychiatrist and
hypnotherapist, was added to the study and
what began as a study of the language used by
successful therapists became a study of the
overall behavior of successful people from all
areas of life. In short, NLP became a study of
what makes great people great. Bandler and
Grinder developed a model of effective
communication methods by studying not only
what successful people say but also what they
think, what they feel, and what they do.
“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow
an action and you reap a habit; sow a habit
and you reap a character; sow a character
and you reap a destiny” - Charles Reade
What do the letters
N. L. P actually mean?
Neuro-
Linguistic
Programming
NLP is an abbreviation of Neuro-Linguistic
Programming. As the name suggests, it
began as a study of language and how the
spoken word can influence a person’s
thinking.
“Words are, of course, the most powerful
drug used by mankind” - Rudyard Kipling
donmacnaughton
t
3. Since its beginnings, NLP has become widely used
in many areas of life. It grew quickly from an
effective model of language that could be used
successfully by therapists into an effective model of
communication used by those in business, in sport,
in education, and by those interested in developing
better personal effectiveness in life in general.
Today, NLP is considered to be simply a study of
how to be a better you, in everything you do.
Through NLP, anyone can discover the benefits of
being open to change. You could say it’s a study of
becoming more aware of your surroundings and the
world you live in: it’s about learning how you see the
world and how you think and, crucially, learning to
question everything. Could your current beliefs and
behaviour be holding you back? Do the successful
people you aspire to be see and think the way you
do?
Having attended one of Donald’s NLP courses I
would fully recommend his work. Do not for a
minute think NLP is all 'touchy feely'; Don's course
was 100% focused on RESULTS - he's a 'game
changer'......”
Hamish Malcolm, Business Development Manager
Bank of Scotland
NLP encourages everyone to be curious; curious
about themselves and curious about other people.
Curious about the possibilities of change and what
change could bring. My own curiosity about the
influential power of words was heightened by a
personal experience with NLP Master Trainer and
well-known hypnotist Paul McKenna. I had a real
fear of spiders but using his ‘Fast Phobia Cure’, he
had me holding a tarantula in my hand after only
twenty minutes. Losing a fear of spiders may not
seem particularly life-changing but what the
experience demonstrated to me was that my long-
held belief and indeed habit of being afraid had
been changed, in a positive way, in just a matter of
minutes. Studying the habits of successful people
you admire or inspirational people in your life can
open your mind to the potential for achieving more.
Understanding who you are and where you are now
allows you to consider what changes might be
changes for the better.
What can NLP
do for me?
NLP coaching can help you to do what
you do - better! NLP techniques can be
applied to just about every area of life as
learned skills allow you to make positive
changes in
your professional and personal life.
Business relationships
Whether you manage a team of
employees or work for yourself as a
sole-trader, how you come across to
others and how other people respond to
you will have a bearing on your
effectiveness, and ultimately your
success, in that role. NLP helps you to
understand and then take responsibility
for how people see you, paving the way
for you to then develop effective,
successful business relationships.
“I was a life long sceptic re NLP however
saw the positive changes which Donald
had helped one of my colleagues to
achieve in their approach to working life
and I wanted some of that. Donald
certainly improved my creative thinking
but his biggest impact for me was
encouraging me to see people in a
different way, including myself, and
change how I engaged with folk.
Thoroughly recommend Donald. Give
him a go - you have nothing to lose but
the baggage you want rid of.”
Roger Eddie Senior Commercial
Manager at HSBC Bank UK
4. So yes, everyone can benefit from NLP practices. NLP processes are about learning ‘the difference
that can make the difference.’ Knowing something is just the beginning - doing something is what
makes the difference. NLP bridges the gap between knowing and doing. It’s all about creating
effective, powerful models that work for you. There’s no magic involved, although when people put
NLP coaching into practice, the results can appear magical! In fact, NLP methods are simple and can
be put into practice by anyone because the core of NLP is simply to discover how anyone produces
excellence in anything.
“Donald is a devoted practitioner of NLP and other methods that support people to be and give the
best of themselves. Donald is passionate, skillful and experienced; a powerful combination that
makes him a fabulous coach and mentor.”
Robert Dilts, Founder and Director of Training at NLP University
In business for example:
An individual in the process of setting up a new
business can model themselves on a successful
businessperson. They can follow that person’s
business strategies and follow proven business
models but to really understand what makes that
successful person ‘excellent’ in their business will
require an insight into how that person thinks and
how they communicate and interact with others in
their working life. NLP helps people in business
understand what makes great people in business.
The popular TV programme ‘Dragon’s Den’ has
inspired a great many people to venture into the
business world with their own entrepreneurial ideas.
The ‘Dragons’ have success and wealth in common
yet they all come from very different backgrounds
and have very different business interests. They are
all looking for something different in those who
come before them to pitch their idea: they are all
looking for their own translation of ‘the difference
that makes the difference.’ Having a good idea and
being able to make a good pitch is only part of the
task when trying to get a Dragon to part with his or
her money! They are also looking for a ‘match’ in
terms of business attitude. They are looking beyond
the ‘idea’ to see the person who created it. In some
cases, a positive attitude can be all it takes to clinch
a deal. Successful people can see the potential for
success in others. NLP allows you to see the
potential for success in you.
“We‘ve got an engaging, edgy, vibrant,
fun product…It may or may not work, but
we‘re going to give it our best shot” –
Sir Richard Branson
So in answer to the question: NLP -
what’s that all about? It’s a methodology;
a practical yet powerful method of
enhancing personal effectiveness. It’s a
psychology of personal excellence; a
study of success, but above all, it’s a
learning process; a process of learning
how to make changes. NLP coaching
techniques can show you how. They
provide the solid roots from which to
begin the process of change, allowing
you to grow as you develop a greater
understanding of what it takes to be the
best you can be. Everyone has the
potential to change and everyone has
the potential to be excellent in whatever
they put their mind to.
