Think Big! FREE VideoCast April 22

Think Big!

FREE Video-Cast

with Genie Z. Laborde, Ph.D.

DATE: Wednesday
April 22, 2009

TIME: 11am Pacific
(12pm Mountain, 1pm Central, 2pm Eastern)

Email us to sign up. We'll email you the link to the Conference Room on Wednesday Morning.

Inspire Yourself with a New Story for These Stressful Times

How to Change Your Internal Tapes

FREE Video-Cast

with Genie Z. Laborde, Ph.D.

DATE: Wednesday
April 15, 2009

TIME: 11am Pacific
(12pm Mountain, 1pm Central, 2pm Eastern)

Most, maybe all of us, create an on-going story of our life's experiences. These could be called our own "Personal Myths." These stories add the "why's" and "how's" of what goes on in our collective and separate lives. Our moment to moment perceptions are coded in our brains, then we assign meanings based on these myths. What we tell ourselves about our see, hear, smell, taste, and feel data, dictates our reality. We create a reality that reflects and reinforces our stories.

You can change your myth. You can edit certain passages. We will demonstrate with our audience. It is a fascinating way to let go of anxiety now.

Email us to sign up.

We'll email you a link to the online Conference Room on Wednesday morning before the conference begins.

Turn Off Painful Memories

FREE Video-Cast

with Genie Z. Laborde, Ph.D.

DATE: Wednesday
April 8, 2009

TIME: 11am Pacific
(12pm Mountain, 1pm Central, 2pm Eastern)

NeuroScientists have just published their discovery of PKM zeta, the molecules in the brain that control memory. Called "quick dial function" molecules, these can be turned off by an injection of ZIP, right into the brain. They tested this on rats, but humans are on the future schedule.

If the idea of a shot of ZIP into your brain doesn't ring your bell, join us on Wednesday and I will show you how to do this memory erasing with the "Magic in Your Own Brain."

Email us to sign up.

We'll email you a link to the online Conference Room on Wednesday morning before the conference begins.

IDEA Trainer Gives Her Insider’s Vew of the AIG Bonus Question

I have been following the AIG story very closely, having worked in financial services for 36 years and also having many friends who currently work at AIG. This is my opinion about this very unfortunate situation.
First, this crisis at AIG was caused by its Financial Services Division. AIG is comprised of literally hundreds of divisions, most of them focused on the insurance business and are highly profitable and very strong. The Financial Services Division is only a very small part of AIG. Unfortunately, this division sold two highly risky products: Credit Default Swaps and Securities Lending. Both of these products were adversely impacted by the melt down of the mortgage industry.
What brought AIG down was this one unit that did financial services business, much like an investment bank. This business was not well controlled, either by the company or by the U.S. Government through strong regulation, and got in way over their heads insuring the collateralized mortgage obligations of many other banks all over the world….that was the credit default swap business…and when the mortgage bubble burst, AIG was caught holding the bag.
A Credit Default Swap is like an insurance policy bought by other financial institutions to insure against losses from deals they engage in. The Credit Default Swaps that AIG sold were protecting other banks like UBS and Barclay’s against credit losses from collateralized debt obligations supported by mortgages.
Securities Lending is when securities are lent to third parties and collateralized by, in the case of AIG, residential mortgage backed securities. Again, when the mortgage industry melted down, AIG was obligated to make good on these transactions, and was caught holding the bag. But this probably helped prevent many banks from failing, which would have brought down the entire financial system around the world.
I believe that it is true that if AIG had been allowed to fail it would have had a catastrophic impact on the world economy. They insure every aspect of international commerce as well as individual life, auto, home and other insurance policies and retirement annuities all over the world. They employ hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.
AIG is being held up in the glare of politics and media attention as being a villian. In fact, there are many good, decent and highly competent people working at AIG today, many of whom have worked there all their working lives and have lost a lot of what they were counting on for their retirement and many of them will be losing their jobs with little hope of recovering their retirement nest eggs. This is an enormous tragedy.
I understand the outrage being expressed over the bonuses, and those who are responsible for the debacle probably should not have been given the bonuses, but let us not forget that there are many, many others who have worked very hard to earn these bonuses and deserve them. And, they will pay hefty income taxes on this money. And this money will be spent and will be part of the economic stimulus so badly needed by our country and all over the world.
Let’s remember “Maps of Reality” and that we are all connected in one way or another. It doesn’t do any good to kick people when they are down and the same goes for the good people of AIG.

Carol Colone is an Influencing wih Integrity certified trainer and a retired Human Resources Business Partner, JPMorgan Chase.

Genie's Magic Lamp: Erase Non-Useful Fears

Fear is the hidden bandit behind the present economic crisis. If most of us were not walking around apprehensive about the financial situation then business could return to normal and we could get on with our lives. This kind of nagging fear saps our energy, stunts our creativity, and stops us from taking even small risks.

There is no fear in your Right Brain so if you check out your fear by subjecting it to Right Brain scrutiny, it shrinks.

You can shrink fear right out of existence by using the awareness of fear as a trigger to turn the Right Brain on.

How?

1. Awareness of fear: look it over carefully
2. Look around you and notice three objects, in succession
3. Check out three separate body sensations
4. View the fear again. Note the shrinkage.

If you teach this intervention named Genie’s Magic Lamp
to 5 people and ask them to teach it to 5 more people, we could solve the financial crisis within four weeks.

Resist Hypnosis and Hypnotic Conversations

You probably will, anyway, if you recognize what is going on. Well, that’s the catch. If someone is really good at this, you may not recognize the technique.

You may find yourself owning something you really did not want. Or even, in bed with someone you are not attracted to. I just saw this goal advertised on a web site for “Hypnotic Conversation”.

While there is something intrinsically suspect about the word, hypnosis, and even frightening about giving in to it, still, you must “wake up” to what is going on in order to protect yourself. Here are six of the most commonly used techniques in conversational hypnosis. After presenting them, you will learn how to interrupt their inevitability.

Technique 1. A STORY INSIDE A STORY INSIDE A STORY
Here’s an example:
When I was a young boy in Serbia (or Honduras or Tokyo), I used to visit my grandfather during the summer. (Story 1)
Now, he was the fifth son of a fifth son and as a result, he could cure sick cattle or so his neighbors thought. So they would bring their cattle to the front door of his thatched hut. (Story 2)
One day, on my fourth visit, he put one of his hands on my
shoulder, pointed to a trembling calf, and said,” You look quite sick, little calf.” This word, “sick,” is emphasized in tone). The story continues….. (story 3)

This may be hard for you to believe, but at this point you will probably begin to feel not-so-great. This experience happened to me and three friends in response to the words of a gifted hypnotist who was unhappy with our criticism. This technique works. Beware of Nested Stories.

Technique 2 MENTAL CONFUSION
The mental state of confusion can be induced in many ways. But once you are there, the state is so uncomfortable that most of us will accept an outside suggestion if it seems plausible to end the confused state. A suggestion on the part of the hypnotist to, “Buy this now”, may be all that is needed for you to pull out your credit card.

Technique 3. PATTERN INTERRUPT
This is similar to the above technique but has a few added bells and whistles to make it even more effective. The confused ,mental state is a natural response of the brain to having a comfortable pattern of behavior interrupted unexpectedly. If you are in the middle of holding out your hand for a handshake and the other person suddenly withdraws his/her hand, you are experiencing a pattern interrupt and an even more up setting confusion which leaves you vulnerable to an outside suggestion. You may even experience an entire re-organization of some of your

deeply held beliefs. It’s as if the brain went through a “Fruit Basket Turn-over”, a verbal directive in a children’s game in which everyone must switch chairs fast so that nothing remains the same. If a skillful salesman can elicit this deep level of complete confusion, you become putty to his suggestions. Milton Eriksson used this technique for his therapy patients, and that’s a good way to help people change their behaviors in a positive manner. In the hands of a manipulative salesman, this is a lethal weapon. Beware of Pattern Interrupts in the Wrong Hands.

Technique 4. ANY ALTERED STATE
An altered state is any mental state that you do not enter on a regular basis. If you are high strung and often tense, then a relaxed state would be an altered state for you. Or vice-versa. Have you ever noticed that when you are half-asleep and your partner wants your pillow, you will probably hand it over?

Technique 5 YOUR LEAST USED SENSE
This is a variation on technique 4, but so easy to use that you should know about it.
If you prefer visual stimuli for your memories, you are usually in a visual collecting state. You spend most of your time noticing the sights, colors, shapes, and people’s faces, around you. You code your reality in photographs. If the hypnotist knows you are a visual person and can move you into an auditory state by say, taking you to a concert, you may go into an altered state. In an auditory state, you will find it much easier to go along with outside suggestions than if you are in your usual visual state. You may end up owning a saxophone. Remember The Music Man. He was an expert hypnotist.

Or, the salesman could ask you a feeling question, such as, “How do you feel about Obama being elected president?” In order to answer this question, you might move into your feelings, which would be an altered state for you. You are now vulnerable to any suggestion from outside . Especially if the salesperson has already established rapport, and you do not sense any danger. As you struggle to find data within an unfamiliar sense to answer his question, you may discover a “Yes”, when ordinarily you would say,” No.” This technique is coercion and manipulative. Beware.

Technique 6. THREE YESES IN A ROW
I once refused to certify a corporate trainer because I could not convince him this was manipulative. He had used it successfully for years as a sales person and felt he could not live without it.

The sales person asks the client three questions with obvious “Yes” answers.
“Great weather we’re having, isn’t it?”.
“Wasn’t that wonderful news that our team won?”
“ Did you have a good year?”
Then the fourth question is the close,” Will you sign here?” They usually will. Three affirmative answers seem to put you in a “Yes!” state of mind, which is an altered state, and one that will not allow you to use your usual judgment. This is taking-advantage-of, coercive, , and deceitful. Do not use this.
So now, you know how to recognize “hypnotic conversation”. What do you do, once you recognize this?
1. You can simply turn around and walk away.
2. You can say, “You are using hypnotic techniques on me. I was interested in your product, until you did this. Not a good idea.”
3. You can say, “Where did you learn to use hypnotic techniques?”
4. You can say, “Is your product so bad that you have to use hypnosis to sell it?”. Maybe you should find a better product.
5. Be creative. Do what you can to stop this destructive behavior.

Hypnosis is so easy to use, and such a bad idea. I recommend you join me in stamping out this verbal virus. If you are willing to find out what your client wants or needs, and fill the need, if you can, while keeping in mind your own outcome, then you do not need hypnotic conversations.

You could teach the hypnotist the magic of MYOUR. This is a technique that works. First, you know what your outcome is, then you find out the other person’s outcome, then you work out ways you can both attain what you want. My outcome, Your outcome, Our outcome (MYOUR) works much better as a technique than Nested Stories, Confusion, Pattern Interrupts, Altered States, Least Used Sense, or Three Yeses In A Row. You sleep better at night, you do not live in fear of being “defrocked”, “exposed”, “uncovered”, and you make money. MYOUR is magical, not manipulative.

Older & Wiser Than Yesterday: birthday gift story

Older & Wiser Than Yesterday: birthday gift story

I totally recommend this blog to anyone who enjoys original thinking and good writing. What a pleasure you are, Elliot. I've seem you from a distance at the Media Center, heard your presentations, and wished I had you on my team for our relationship social networking endeavor. We are seeking to improve relationships around the globe by using the attributes of the internet. And teaching skills. We need all the help we can get.