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Why Rik Schnabel is Considered Australia’s Best NLP Trainer

Why Rik Schnabel is Considered Australia’s Best NLP Trainer

Rebecca

When it comes to personal development, coaching, and communication mastery, there is one name that consistently rises to the top in Australia: Rik Schnabel. With nearly two decades of dedicated experience in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Rik has earned the well-deserved reputation as Australia’s best NLP trainer. His students describe his trainings as life-changing, holistic, and profoundly empowering. For anyone serious about mastering NLP, communication, or coaching, training with Rik Schnabel is an opportunity that should not be missed—especially as he moves closer toward retirement.

In this article, we’ll explore why Rik has become such a highly respected leader in NLP, what sets his training apart, and why you should consider training with him now, before he steps back from teaching.

A Proven Track Record of Excellence

Rik Schnabel’s credentials speak volumes. He is a Master NLP Practitioner with the Association of Neuro Linguistic Programming (ANLP) and an accredited NLP Teacher of Trainer Training with the Neuro Linguistic Programming Association of Australasia Ltd (NLPAA). He also held an executive position on the Australian Board of NLP (ABNLP), cementing his role as a trusted authority and respected figure in the NLP community.

But credentials are only the beginning. Over the past two decades, Rik has trained thousands of students across Australia and beyond. His workshops and courses consistently receive glowing testimonials from participants who say they not only gained professional coaching tools but also experienced profound personal breakthroughs. Many graduates say that Rik’s training didn’t just teach them NLP—it changed their entire outlook on life.

The Most Complete and Holistic NLP Training in Australia

One of the key reasons Rik Schnabel is widely regarded as Australia’s best NLP trainer is the sheer depth and completeness of his training. Unlike programs that only skim the surface of NLP techniques, Rik’s approach is both holistic and integrative.

He teaches NLP not just as a collection of tools, but as a transformational philosophy for life. His students learn how to:

  • Reprogram limiting beliefs
  • Build unshakable confidence
  • Master communication and influence
  • Develop advanced coaching skills
  • Understand how the unconscious mind shapes behavior
  • Create lasting change in themselves and others

Rik goes beyond the classroom theory by guiding students through practical experiences and real-life applications. By the end of his courses, students don’t just know NLP—they embody it.

This holistic method is one reason his training is considered the most complete NLP training available in Australia.

Almost Two Decades of Experience

Experience matters when choosing a trainer. While some NLP trainers in Australia may only have a few years of teaching under their belt, Rik Schnabel has been delivering NLP training for nearly 20 years.

This depth of experience means:

  • He has seen it all—every question, every type of student, and every challenge that arises during training.
  • His methods are refined, practical, and results-driven.
  • He understands how to make NLP accessible, even for beginners who feel overwhelmed.
  • He knows how to take advanced students to a deeper, more powerful level of mastery.

As one of the longest-practicing trainers in Australia, Rik’s longevity is proof of his effectiveness and passion for helping people transform their lives.

A Reputation for Integrity and Care

In an industry where hype can sometimes overshadow substance, Rik Schnabel has built a reputation based on authenticity, integrity, and genuine care for his students.

Those who train with him often comment on his warmth, compassion, and ability to create a safe and supportive learning environment. He doesn’t just teach techniques—he helps people reconnect with themselves, rediscover their inner power, and unlock their true potential.

Many past students have said:

“Rik doesn’t just teach NLP—he lives it. You can feel it in the way he communicates, the way he teaches, and the way he cares about your results.”

It is this rare combination of technical mastery and human compassion that sets Rik apart and solidifies his title as Australia’s best NLP trainer.

A Teacher’s Teacher

Rik Schnabel is not just a practitioner of NLP, he is also an accredited Teacher of NLP Trainer Training. This means he is qualified to train and certify other NLP trainers.

Think about that for a moment: he’s not only capable of teaching NLP at the practitioner and master practitioner level, but he’s also trusted to train the teachers themselves. This is a clear indicator of his advanced skill set and the trust he has earned within the NLP community.

If you’re serious about receiving the highest quality NLP training in Australia, why not learn from the trainer who trains the trainers?

Why Train Now—Before He Retires?

All great careers eventually come to a close, and Rik Schnabel has openly acknowledged that he is moving toward retirement in the coming years. This makes training with him now an unmissable opportunity.

If you’ve been considering studying NLP, there are three key reasons to act now:

  1. Limited Time – Once Rik retires, his direct training will no longer be available. You don’t want to look back wishing you had learned from him while you had the chance.
  2. First-Hand Learning – Rik has completed over 38,000 hours of one-on-one NLP coaching. While others may continue teaching his methods, there is something truly special about learning directly from the source. Training with Rik means receiving his personal guidance, stories, and wisdom that only come from decades of hands-on experience.
  3. Lasting Transformation – NLP is not just professional training; it is a set of tools for life. Whether you want to become a coach, improve your career, or transform your personal relationships, training with Rik will give you skills that serve you for a lifetime.

The Legacy of Australia’s Best NLP Trainer

Rik Schnabel’s impact on the NLP community in Australia cannot be overstated. He has inspired thousands of people to live with more confidence, clarity, and purpose. He has trained coaches who now help others create breakthroughs. He has changed lives by giving people tools to overcome anxiety, fears, and limitations.

His legacy is one of empowerment, transformation, and contribution. And as more people seek personal and professional growth, his reputation as Australia’s best NLP trainer continues to grow stronger.

Why You Should Choose Rik Schnabel

If you are serious about mastering NLP, here are the reasons why Rik should be your first choice:

  • Unmatched Experience: Nearly 20 years of training NLP at all levels.
  • Recognized Authority: Accredited by the leading NLP associations (ANLP, NLPAA, ABNLP).
  • Holistic Approach: Training that goes beyond techniques to create lasting transformation.
  • Trainer of Trainers: Learn from the man trusted to train other NLP trainers.
  • Authentic and Caring: A reputation for compassion, integrity, and genuine results.
  • Time-Sensitive Opportunity: One of your last chances to train with him before retirement.

When you add all of this together, it becomes clear why Rik Schnabel is widely known as Australia’s best NLP trainer.

Final Thoughts

Choosing an NLP trainer is one of the most important decisions you can make on your personal development journey. You want a trainer who not only has the credentials and experience but also the heart, integrity, and teaching ability to truly help you transform.

Rik Schnabel embodies all of these qualities. His students consistently leave his trainings not just more skilled, but more empowered, more confident, and more inspired.

If you’re ready to step into the next level of your life, career, or coaching practice, then don’t miss your chance to train with Rik Schnabel—Australia’s best NLP trainer. You can check out our next training here.

How NLP Training in Sydney Rewired My Mind and Transformed My Income

How NLP Training in Sydney Rewired My Mind and Transformed My Income

Rik
Rik Schnabel was certified by Chris Howard as an NLP Master Practitioner in Sydney, Australia

For well over 20 years, I’ve immersed myself in the study of how the mind works. I’ve examined neural patterns, communication pathways, and cognitive frameworks. But it wasn’t until I undertook NLP Training in Sydney that I experienced the most profound transformation, not just academically, but personally, emotionally, and financially. As an avid researcher, I had always approached human behaviour from a data-driven, analytical viewpoint. However, NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming offered something deeper than academic models. It provided a practical framework for change. It was the missing piece. And truthfully, I wish I had found it much, much earlier.

Waking Up to the Silent Saboteurs: Limiting Beliefs

When I began my NLP Training in Sydney, I assumed I’d acquire a few additional coaching techniques or behavioural models. What I didn’t expect was to confront the invisible prison of limiting beliefs that had quietly shaped and constrained my life.

I began to identify unconscious narratives like “I’m not good with money,” “Success is for other people,” or “You have to work hard for every dollar.” These thoughts weren’t just beliefs, they were neurological programs I had been running all my life. Programs that influenced every decision I made, especially financially.

NLP helped me identify, interrupt, and reprogram these beliefs. It was like finally seeing the virus in the code. Once I updated the operating system, my life changed dramatically. And yes, that’s me (on the left) in the photo, and if you’re wondering why I look like I’m nearly about to cry, it’s because if you’ve come from where I did, you’d understand how significant that moment was for me.

NLP Training Sydney and the Neuroscience of Emotional Freedom

One of the foundational elements of NLP is emotional state management. Through elegant techniques like anchoring, submodalities, and timeline work, I learned to neutralise negative emotions that had silently dictated my reactions; fear, guilt, doubt, even anger.

It’s important to note that these weren’t conscious choices. They were automatic responses built from past experiences. But as I discovered in my NLP Training in Sydney, emotional patterns can be rewired. With consistent application, I no longer defaulted to survival-mode thinking. I began operating from a resourceful, confident state, and that state had a direct impact on my income, relationships, and self-worth.

The Four Languages of the Mind

Another eye-opener during my NLP Training Sydney experience was the discovery that there isn’t just one form of English, but at least four primary versions we unconsciously use every day:

  • Visual: language of images and imagination (“I see what you mean”)
  • Auditory: language of sound and rhythm (“That rings a bell”)
  • Kinesthetic: language of feeling and movement (“That doesn’t sit right with me”)
  • Auditory Digital: language of logic and self-talk (“That doesn’t make sense”)

Understanding and recognising these patterns revolutionised my communication, both professionally and personally. I began to match and mirror others’ language styles, making my conversations more impactful and building a stronger level of rapport almost instantly. To say that communication made all the difference to my financial world, and ultimately my success, was only part of the picture.

Now, let me address what I believe is one of the most overlooked, yet life-changing benefits of my NLP Training in Sydney: the effect on income.

Before NLP, I was unconsciously stuck in what I call a “poverty programming loop.” I earned a decent salary, but I was never able to break through to the next level. I’d rationalise it as being noble or humble, but beneath the surface, there was shame, fear of success, and a deep-rooted belief that “money is hard to get.”

During my NLP Practitioner and Master Practitioner training, we did deep belief-change work around money identity and deservingness. I literally rewired my association with wealth, replacing outdated beliefs with empowering ones like:

  • “I create value, therefore I attract abundance.”
  • “Money is a reflection of the impact I make.”
  • “There is no ceiling—only what I believe is possible.”

Within 12 months of completing NLP Training in Sydney, my income had more than tripled. Not because I worked harder, but because I thought differently. I raised my value, raised my rates, and most importantly, I raised my self-worth.

Communication, Influence and Opportunity

When you combine empowered beliefs with clear, flexible communication, you become unstoppable. Doors began to open in places I didn’t even know existed. I was invited to speak at events, contribute to international research panels, and coach high-level clients. All because of the way I now communicated and carried myself.

I learned that NLP isn’t just about fixing problems, it’s about engineering excellence. Whether you’re a coach, entrepreneur, teacher, parent, or leader, the ability to influence with integrity and operate from a peak state is priceless.

Final Thoughts: Why You Should Consider NLP Training

There are few things in life that I can say permanently elevated every area of my existence but NLP Training in Sydney is one of them.

It woke me up to the unconscious drivers of my behaviour.
It gave me tools to heal, grow, and lead.
And most surprisingly, it gave me permission to thrive financially.

If you’re ready to upgrade your mindset, communication, and income potential, there’s no better investment than learning NLP. Not just theoretically but practically, experientially, and authentically. And if you have access to quality NLP Training from anywhere in the world, I highly recommend you take the leap. You can even dip your toe in the water with our Free NLP course, which will give you a taste of what’s in store for you here.

Because sometimes, the difference between where you are and where you want to be is simply one belief, one conversation, or one decision away.

Can NLP Help You to Heal Your Life for Good

Can NLP Help You to Heal Your Life for Good

Rik

NLP, short for Neuro Linguistic Programming, holds the power to deliver happiness. Happiness for most is their Everest. Conquer it and everything falls into place. Though many ask, can NLP help you to heal your life for good?

Though if you’re not feeling right or you think that you’ve lost your mojo then sound the trumpets, because I’ve got some great news for you! If you can’t seem to generate the success you desire, you’ve got money challenges or you can’t start or keep your relationships? Read on because I’ve found the answer to all of your problems (well most of them I hope).

NLP means you can completely change your thinking and so improve your life.

Can NLP help you to heal? Well, let’s start with money problems.

About 15 years ago I had a serious poverty mentality. My parents were poor immigrants and money seemed to be a real problem in our family. I can certainly recall many flighty emotions around that topic. However, my problems didn’t stop there.

I used to be a target to bullies. So I also developed anger issues, sadness issues, anxiety, and numerous phobias which led to depression. I was a wreck. I seriously thought I was a mental mess. I have since discovered that we all need a friend. When you don’t serve the inner friend, you go looking for one outside of you to fill that hole. I found alcohol and drugs. While my situation was pretty crappy already, the drugs and alcohol made them much, much worse.

I needed a solution. I so wanted to start feeling ‘normal’, though in truth back then I couldn’t tell you what normal was. I couldn’t even tell you who I was!

“I felt like a keg of dynamite and my fuse was getting shorter!”

I tried the traditional medical system without success. It just seemed that for every problem there was a pill. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti pharmaceuticals as I believe everything has its place and use, it’s just that I already had a whole lot going on in my mind and body and I didn’t want to create any further chemical disruptions. My anger issues were getting worse and I felt like a keg of dynamite and the fuse was getting shorter.

A good friend suggested some alternate therapies and I tried many of them, far too many of them to list here. Nothing seemed to get me feeling ‘normal’.

Again, I’m not poo-pooing alternate therapies either, as I believe they certainly have their place in our society too, they just didn’t seem to get me on my feet. I then came across an article in Psychology Today Magazine that said, “NLP is the most powerful vehicle for personal change in existence.” It got my attention! I read on and discovered that NLP was an acronym for “Neuro Linguistic Programming”. I had heard of it, but frankly, I didn’t know much about it. It’s amazing how when you’re really committed to finding an answer, the right one soon arrives. I wanted to know, “Can NLP help you to heal for good?”

The answer came from a trusted friend who offered me a ticket to an NLP introductory weekend and within just hours of hearing all about NLP and experiencing it live, I was gob-smacked by what you could do with NLP. I immediately signed up for all the trainings; “NLP Practitioner, Masters and Trainers training” – you’ve got to remember, I was desperate and this seemed like a positive way forward and thankfully it turned out perfect!

The decision was so right that not only did I move forward, I never looked back. In Practitioner training I learned how to actually speak to my mind so that I could alter the programming that was causing my issues and giving me so much grief. I didn’t realise that your brain only responds to 6 methods of communication and your language must be structured in a specific way to get great results.

I also learned to change my core beliefs that are responsible for so many unwanted behaviours. I saw the proof in changed outcomes. A very exciting moment for me was learning how to change how I viewed the past; it was like a massive weight was removed from my shoulders. Then another life changing shift occurred when I learned how to shift my values in my Master’s training. This helped me to more than double my income. Mind you, the rapport and communication training in NLP Practitioner and changing (in essence) my operating system had a huge influence too.

My relationships are much better these days, with others and myself. Anxiety, depression, sadness and anger issues are gone. I’m not saying I don’t get a little low or angry from time to time, but these days I can manage my emotions and things don’t seem to affect me as they once did.

I became so impassioned by NLP that I kept learning it until I ran out of training and my only option was to start teaching it. My life is like chalk and cheese these days and I’m so happy that I can help others by helping them to make a positive influence in their lives. I can now produce the income I used to earn in a year, in just a weekend. I know that might be hard to believe for some of you – and that’s the very reason you don’t achieve it. My trainer used to make between $3 million and $6 million in a weekend – at the time I hardly could believe that, even though the evidence was right before my eyes!

I now live where I want to live (by the beach in southern NSW), I live with the love of my life and my two gorgeous girls. Though let me dull the picture for you a bit. I still have my challenges from time to time, but I now have NLP tools to help me. Each tool is designed to reimprint your past; change your beliefs; remove conflicts; build rapport; illicit your values; improve the quality of your communication; see more than most will ever see; and help you to create your ideal self.

If you’re interested in learning NLP, let me share one disclaimer. NLP is a set of powerful tools and insights and you may hear of some negative publicity around it. Just as there are good teachers, there are also bad ones. In the wrong hands, these powerful tools can be used to manipulate so my suggestion to you, is find someone to teach you NLP that you get a sense that they’ve got a big heart and they really care about people and the future of the planet and its well-being.

So if you’re having some challenges take heart, there is a solution, give NLP a go. Trust your instincts and reinvigorate your faith in yourself because there is always an answer and a solution. I love the question that Neale Donald Walsch asks when a problem arises, “What would love do now?” Yes, Tony Robbins is certainly right, “The quality of your life comes down to the quality of the questions you ask yourself every day.” I urge you to follow your heart, learn NLP and you’ll conquer your Everest and find happiness. It will be somewhere on your journey. Just keep looking, it’s closer than you think.

Rik Schnabel is an internationally recognised and nationally accredited NLP Trainer.

You can learn NLP in the comfort of your own home.

Four Vital Questions that Every Life Coach Must Ask

Four Vital Questions that Every Life Coach Must Ask

Rik

Are you wondering why your coaching hasn’t taken off?

It’s okay, I too was confused. At first.

When I started my coaching biz. I was asking myself over and over the wrong question.

“Why isn’t my coaching business taking off?”

Sure, I had some clients, but not many.

Then I realised, “Hey! I’m a coach! Ask a better question!”

And so, I did. What was my question? That’s a great question!

Well, in truth it wasn’t one question. It was 4 questions actually.

This question is actually, four vital questions that every life coach must ask.

If you’re a coach and you want to grow your business big time, here are the four vital questions that every life coach must ask. If you don’t answer these questions and create a marketing structure based on your answers? Then your coaching business is going to feel like you’re collecting aluminium cans from rubbish bins.

Here are the four vital questions that every Life Coach must ask or flounder or worse, fail.

1: WHAT is the biggest problem you solve?

2: WHO needs that problem solved most or WHO will pay the most to solve that problem?

3: WHY do YOU want to help them? And

4: HOW do you help them?

Here’s what led me to answer those questions.

When I was learning NLP, I realised how many dumb beliefs I had that were limiting my income.

As I was nearing the end of my NLP training, I had a HUGE epiphany that multiplied my annual income over four times! This epiphany led me to earn more than the then Prime Minister John Howard! But you’re not here about my epiphany. That’s for another time. So, let’s get back to my answers to those four vital questions that every life coach must ask.

Here are my answers to the four vital questions that every Life Coach must ask…

Then I got a coach, and after our first session together. I got clear. That’s when I answered those four questions, and this is what it looked like:

  1. WHAT is the biggest problem you solve?
  2. ANS: Money worry.
  1. WHO needs that problem solved most or WHO will pay the most to solve that problem?
  2. ANS: People who want to make more money. Why? Because they’re unsatisfied about what they’re earning now. At some level, they know they could do better.
  1. WHY do YOU want to help them?
  2. ANS: Because I once knew that that felt like. How much it hurt me, almost physically when I worried that I wasn’t even going to survive. Somehow in my brain, I thought I was going to die – or at best, become homeless, destitute.
  1. HOW do YOU help them?
  2. ANS: With our Life Coach + NLP Practitioner program.

Candidly, I didn’t answer these questions all too quickly. It took me one coaching session with my amazing coach and one whole day to answer those four vital questions that every life coach must ask.

I got coached that Friday and I had the weekend off. So I decided that that Saturday, I would sit down and commit to answering those four questions.

Hell! I was committed.

After all, I had invested so much time and money to be a coach only to fail. No way!

I’d already quit my job and had no other income. It was boom or bust for me.

What happened next?

The upshot? I didn’t waste my entire weekend going around in circles.

I realised that all that was needed from me to STAMP! my foot on the ground and make a full-hearted decision. A declaration to the Universe that I was IN! I was committed to helping evolve my peeps.

I was committed to helping me, help the Universe.

So, I said to the Universe, out loud and in my head…

“I’m doing this, and I need your full, financial support. I’ll build the program and do the marketing, and you find the people that need me most. Speak to their souls, not their human (because I know how scared the human can be. And how courageous the spirit is).

Speak to their souls so that they get that I will look after them. I’ve got their back. I will help them to evolve and help them to make more money. How?

I will teach them how to remove their fear of money. I’ll educate them. I’ll coach them. Hec! I’ll even do some of the work for them if I have to!

Send them to me and I’ll do rest.”

Things can change just like magic when you make a full-hearted decision

Like magic, my coaching world changed overnight. I got my first positive sign that something had shifted as people enrolled in my coaching.

Then large numbers of people came to my premium program, my “Life Coach + NLP Practitioner” training.

Fast forward to today…I’ve now made millions of dollars and I don’t know if I have helped millions of people – but I’ve certainly trained thousands of people who have helped thousands more.

All of this happened after asking four of the most powerful questions that you can ask yourself as a coach, trainer or change agent.

The question is – when will you ask and answer those questions?

And if you already have – welcome to the world’s leaders.

I welcome you as a change agent, whose job it is to wake people up.

Because my friends – the majority of the world’s population are in one huge, big, out-of-control (through control) trance. They’re adults, still running off programs that came from their parents and their childhood.

Finally, if you know you’re here for a bigger reason and need some guidance or help?

Let me reward you for reading this far…

Let me reward you for reading right until the end.

I have now been a successful commercial coach for 20 years with over 38,000 hours of transformational work under my belt. No-one stays in business for 20 years without knowing a trick or two.

So here is my offer to you…

I give you one hour to help get you clearer and get you on track. You can get more information and access me and my diary here.

To your success!

Rik Schnabel – The Brain Untrainer

NLP Success Pattern: Create your best year yet!

NLP Success Pattern: Create your best year yet!

Rik

NLP success patterns can improve any area of your life. One thing is as certain as New Year is coming is that people love familiar patterns. Though our patterns are not always helpful. Psuccess patternatterns help us to function without consciously thinking about what we’re doing – patterns are held in the unconscious. Patterns maintain the status quo and they’re the very reason we keep on doing the same things. Patterns are also the reason we so often don’t get what we consciously want. It’s also why new year’s resolutions don’t stick. We get stuck in our patterns and, without the tools or the know-how, we get ourselves into ‘ruts’. Ruts are merely patterns we want to break, but don’t know how. Here are some simple ideas for you to create an NLP success pattern and enjoy the best year yet. Read more →

Change your focus, change your life

Change your focus, change your life

Rik

focusIf you change your focus, you change your life. Nothing is simpler. Though where do you start in the process of change? How can you improve your life in profound and positive ways? Your answers are hidden in your values and beliefs. Though the first step of change is to get off your RAS! (but I’ll explain that later…)

“Whatever you focus upon expands,” is something we say in NLP circles. Does that mean if you ‘focus’ on being happy you will have more happiness? We’ll yes. As long as your focus is on all the things that make you happy; instead of the aspects of your life that don’t. So how does that really work?

We can change our focus by getting off our RAS!

The catalyst to focus is your “Reticular Activating System” or your “RAS.”  It is the name given to part of the brain (the Reticular Formation and its connections) that arouses and motivates you. The RAS in essence, determines how you view yourself and the world around you.  It is situated at the core of the brain stem between the myelencephalon (medulla) and metencephalon (midbrain).

The RAS is that little bundle of cells you have in the back of your brain known as the “control centre.”  It serves as the filter for what enters your conscious and unconscious mind.  This makes sense why after watching a horror movie, the darkness takes on a more sinister aura.

According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, “We filter around 2 million bits of information per second down to 7 plus or minus 2 chunks of information.” In other words, the data available to your central nervous system goes through a process of deletion, distortion and generalisation. Today with the regular bombardment of sensory data, your RAS helps you to make sense of all the information swarming around you like bees. Our RAS defines how we treat the swarms of data and makes sense why some people always get stung, while others get the honey.

Your beliefs and values guide what your RAS focuses upon.

The system in charge of sorting the information is your RAS. The RAS is a self-filtering function that chooses what you accept and reject based upon your beliefs, values and prejudices. So wherever you focus, determines what you experience and don’t experience. In other words, “Whatever you focus upon expands.”

Focusing on two or three key areas of business or a singular goal does something special to your behaviour. It triggers your RAS to be on alert. Your brain is assaulted by thousands of messages each second. Everything you see, hear, smell, feel and touch is a message entering your brain. The RAS filters through all these messages and decides which ones will get page one treatment – that is, arouse the brain.

One of the things we’ve learned from working with students in our NLP Practitioner Training program, is that you tend to pay attention to the things which are important to you at the time. If your dominant thoughts are about creating a new business, you’ll start seeing other what other businesses do and you will get ideas. You’ll hear conversations about new business models. You’ll pick up ideas relating to new business ventures and even see things around you in a different way and relate it back to business.

Your RAS is programmed to determine what is important to you.

In other words, the RAS will reject or ignore anything unrelated to your focus and bring to your attention anything that is even remotely related to your focus. This makes sense why starting a new business will often mean that relationships and health for example, take a back seat for some time until the business is up and running.

From a practical point of view, this means that, if you want to solve a problem or achieve a goal, keep it top of mind. Think about it, talk about it, write about it and imagine it completed. This is one of the reasons why affirmations can work and why it is important to review your goals frequently. Affirmations simply direct your focus in the area of your desires. They help you to keep focused and paying attention.

If you focus on improving a specific key area of your business for example, your RAS will pass through sights, sounds, people and ideas that are related to your point of focus. It is said that simply creating a budget will save you between ten and thirty percent of your expenditure! How can simply budgeting achieve such a task? In other words, if you measure that area of your focus visibly, frequently and attentively, it will likely improve. You may find yourself saying, “I don’t need to spend so much on treats” and your spending pattern improves.

Set simple goals and include metrics.

Here’s my suggestion: Identify the two to five key measurements and key indicators that are important and essential for your business or your life. Set up an active system to measure and track these indicators. An exercise plan or health plan for example. Talk to your employees or friends about it at every opportunity. Put charts and graphs of these indicators on your wall. Make your interest in these metrics very active and visible.

If you set up measurements that indicate if your activities are working or not, chances are, you’ll get what you’re looking for; improvements in these areas. In fact, you can count on it.

Last year for example I programmed my RAS (using NLP) to attune my focus towards health. Since then I have lost 9 kilograms (19.84 pounds) and I am fitter and much healthier. I set simple goals; to actively exercise for a minimum of one-hour a day (one metric), take a minimum of 5,000 steps each day (two metrics), and I weigh myself (three metrics), look in the mirror (four metrics) and check in with my overall feelings of well-being (five metrics).

From a scientific point of view, the RAS is involved with the sleep/wake cycle and damage to the RAS can lead to permanent coma. It is thought to be the area affected by many psychotropic drugs. General anaesthetics work through their effect on the Reticular Formation. Fibres from the Reticular Formation are also vital in controlling respiratory and cardiac rhythms and other essential functions.

The Reticular Activating System has received attention from neuroscientists interested in various pathological conditions affecting behaviour, such as Alzheimer’s Disease. More recently, results of research on the area has prompted extrapolations from the data into various areas such as motivational programmes (for example, Getting Things Done) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The RAS is a structure in the brain stem that is responsible for arousal and sleep. The RAS is responsible for getting you up in the morning and putting you asleep at night – it makes sense then why your RAS awakens you, alerts you like an alarm to those things that are in the forefront of your consciousness. So in closing – set your RAS to what you would like to manifest into your life. Make a decision to focus in an area of your life that you wish to vastly improve. Set up your measurements that tell you that you are progressing and if your behaviour doesn’t change, consider learning or mastering NLP.

the unconscious

Mastering your unconscious mind

Rik

the unconsciousOur habits, beliefs, values and all the decisions we have ever made make up our neural blueprint. That schematic is what determines everything we do and don’t do and is found in the Unconscious Mind. So how can we create permanent change by accessing the bottom of our metaphorical icebergs?

The thing we call the “Mind” is divided into three systems that each have their unique functions: the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, and the unconscious mind. It is useful to compartmentalise them, particularly when we are seeking to break a habit or to transform our thinking.

The idea that we have three levels of mind is not new. Sigmund Freud, the famous Austrian psychologist was the first who popularised it. His theories have since been disputed in psychology circles, mostly because separating the mind into three distinct levels is difficult to scientifically prove. Though it does help us in the transformational sciences to use this model. So Freud created a useful model of the mind,  the conscious mind or ego, the preconscious or subconscious, and the section that we will pay the most attention, namely, the unconscious mind.

To make this easy for you, I have illustrated this concept into a visual form. Using the iceberg analogy to show the conscious mind, which is all you see of an iceberg. This represents around 10 percent of your brain capacity. In other words, the reason why we find it difficult to alter our habits and patterns is because our habits and patterns are not conscious. They are found in what you will come to know as the “Unconscious Mind” or the “Unconscious.”

The Subconscious is much larger than the conscious and stores many of the things that you cannot remember consciously, but with some focus or meditation, you may just access your mother’s phone number for example, or where you left your car keys. It accounts for around 50-60 percent of your brain’s capabilities.

For permanent change to occur, it must occur in the unconscious.

The next section, the area below the subconscious is known as the unconscious mind. It accounts for the other 30-40 percent of your brain’s capabilities. It is holds all your suppressed memories and is like the vault to all experiences. It is deep and vast, and is largely inaccessible to conscious thought, a bit like the dark depths of the ocean. Though using Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and hypnosis, we can access this level of thinking. So let’s explore them in detail.

The conscious mind is your being aware of the present.

The consciousness mind is your awareness at this present moment. You are aware of something on the outside of you as well as some specific mental functions happening on the inside of you. Being aware of where you are right now for example, or the knowledge of your current emotional state, and if you are super conscious, you may even be aware of the timing of your heartbeats. Though can you recall the colour of the walls in the room where you awoke on your first birthday? Probably not. You’ll have to go deeper to access that.

The subconscious mind is the holder of superficial memories.

The subconscious mind or the preconscious is filled with accessible information. While you can’t remember certain things consciously, if you relaxed and focused your thinking you may recall information deep in your subconscious; an old phone number perhaps. Think of this as your access to surface memories. For example; while you had to be conscious of everything you had to do in order to drive a car when you were learning, that information is now stored in your subconscious. No doubt you sometimes wondered how you drove home, as you made a phone call or thought of everything and anything, but driving. The reason you can do that is thanks to your subconscious.

The unconscious mind is the holder of superficial memories.

The unconscious mind is the deep library of all your experiences. It’s like the library where you have read every book, yet their contents are vaulted in some deep, dark back room with a secret door. However, under hypnosis or deep level meditation all the books in your library can be recalled, though this access is not for the fainthearted. Unless you’re a trained NLP professional, access is denied.

While the unconscious can seem like a black hole of unacceptable impulses waiting to trip you up, it is a resource awaiting perfection. It can be the source of hidden beliefs, fears, and attitudes that interfere with everyday life, though once given a spring clean, it can become a major allay to success. Most forms of psychotherapy including neuro linguistic programming aim to bring into conscious awareness many of these hidden hindrances, so that we can examine them and choose how to deal with them.

The unconscious travels at over 300,000 mph!

The unconscious mind has by far more data than the other two combines, so it must process information at lightening speed. It is the fastest operating segment of mind and is purported to travel at over 300,000 mph (482,803.2 km/h).

During our childhood, as we climbed trees and created worlds of make-believe, we acquired numerous memories and experiences that formed who we are today. So within the vault of our unconscious live our beliefs, our values, unconscious patterns, subjective maps of reality, every decision we ever made and the source of every emotion we ever experienced. There is gold down there to be mined and garbage that should have been thrown out decades ago.

It is for all of these reasons that NLP Practitioners and NLP Masters are highly valued because they are trained to open doors that have been shut for generations. They have a master key to transformation.

Get the Unconscious Edge and learn how to master your thinking – click here.
Learning Styles: Why some children fall behind in school

Learning Styles: Why some children fall behind in school

Rik

learning styles“Learning styles” also known as our “representational systems” determine how we learn. Some of us take in more information through our eyes, we call them “Visual” while others are predominately “Kinesthetic.” Kinesthetic learners consume information more easily through physical exercises and need to wriggle or move to improve retention.

Less of our population is auditory. Auditory learners need to hear information delivered in entertaining ways and variable tones. Though due to the digital age, more children need to “think” and “process thoughts” and so are becoming “Auditory digital.”

This proven science, taught at level one NLP Practitioner classes is key to our ability to learn, yet it is seldom taught to our teachers. This omission is failing our school children.

Confucius once said, “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand.” It makes sense as to why so many of our children believe they are not intelligent. They are rarely taught to understand, instead, they are taught to listen, read and repeat.

Which is your preferred learning style?

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