I have a new favorite TV show: Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. And, anyone reading this may start to say, “Okay… but what’s that got to do with hypnotism, Bryan?”

Good question. And the answer is nothing.

And everything.

Confused? Good. Here’s what I mean…

Hypnosis is about change, right? Change in habits. Change in life. Change.

Okay, so I am watching these shows (they are very addictive) where the restaurant owner is hemorrhaging money by the thousands every week. Some will lose their homes very soon. And, in comes Ramsay to the rescue.

It’s a reality TV show, so I really don’t know if they pay him to come to their restaurant, but he shows up to save the day.

First, he eats a full meal from the menu. Usually, it’s awful. He observes the staff, the patrons (if any) and how the place looks. He’ll check out the kitchen and the staff and then comes back the next day.

Then, the fun happens! He basically rips their heads off (with the F-word almost every 5 seconds!) and shows them the filth in the kitchen, how badly the meal was prepared, how some of the food in storage is poisonous, how the wait staff and management was inept and on and on and on.

The funny thing is that Ramsay, who owns many, MANY successful restaurants and pubs all over the world and is a world-class chef, does know what he’s talking about.

But, do they listen with rapt attention waiting to scrap their beloved menu, decor and such? Ha. Nope. They fight him tooth and nail.

Now, you would think that if you were about to lose your house and business that you would probably listen to this bloke, right? I mean… RIGHT?

But fights break out and words are shouted… it’s a real hoot to watch!

Anyway, so what has this got to do with hypnosis?

These people HATE CHANGE. They just hate it!

And, so will many of your clients and people you hypnotize. Even though they are hugely overweight or smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day… well, they think they know better.

And they will fight you tooth and nail.

So, like Ramsay, you need to stay your ground. If you let them placate you — and they WILL! — you’ll get no change at all. Watch the show; you’ll never see Gordon Ramsay accept anyone placating him! He’ll leave the place the way it is, sinking into deep $%*@, before he let’s them have their way with things.

Make sure your hypnosis subjects or clients stay the course with any program they are on. If they keep doing what they’ve done in the past, they’ll just keep getting the same results.

You may even see this occasionally on the show. In the final few minutes of the show, he revisits the restaurant he “fixed”. Many are doing amazingly well. Some have exceeded his expectations, too!

Some are still struggling because they didn’t do the program he set out for them.

Some are gone and out of business.

Isn’t this an amazing metaphor for your weight loss (or other) clients? Do you see it now?

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! - Bryan

From WKMG, Orlando, FL:

ROME, Italy — A mysterious bearded man in Rome is wanted by police for using hypnotism to mesmerize cashiers and bank tellers while he steals thousands of dollars.

Unbelievably, close-circuit TV inside the store showed the robber walking up to a supermarket cashier and apparently “hypnotizing” her before he stole her cash!

The authorities believe that this same person may be responsible for bank robberies, too. One bank teller said the man leaned over and told her to “look into my eyes,” the report said. The next thing she noticed was her money drawer was empty.

[Are you kidding me?!?]

Another cashier handed over more than $1,200 after she said she became mesmerized by the man.

WKMG reported that the victim’s don’t remember any of the theft, only that their actions “seemed natural at the time”.

_________________________________

Okay, folks…

You know and I know that this isn’t possible. Perhaps… some collusion is in play here?

What do you think?

Bryan

“So, what’s with all of the time off, Bryan? Where have you been…?!”

Good question.

I’ve been a busy guy these few months. Especially moving my hypnosis office… all the way across the hall to a bigger space.

And, since it’s January… a wonderful time for hypnotists since this is when many people are making their New Year’s resolutions, this place has been buzzing! So, no time for reviews the past several weeks.

But, now…

Things have changed. I have more time.

See you soon…!

Bryan

I was looking at the latest NGH (National Guild of Hypnotists) catalog for their upcoming convention and I noticed how many topics there were about increasing one’s income, marketing and sales — especially compared to previous years.

And, the funny thing is that I had always had the impression that hypnotists —in general — didn’t really care if they made a whole lot of money. It’s helping people that counts.

True. But…

… if you don’t make a lot of money in hypnotism, then how do you stay in business to help those people? (What a situation, eh?)

The first year I went to the NGH (I think it was in 2002) I noticed that many people who claimed to be hypnotists didn’t make a good living at this. And, to qualify a “good living”, I mean an executive salary — whatever that means to you. Or, what a doctor would make.

One afternoon, during a seminar break, I was wandering the “Dealer’s Room”, where you can buy hypnosis scripts, hypnotic music, scented candles, crystals, a bunch of New Age crap that has nothing to do with hypnotism, Shaman instruments (don’t get me started!), and such.

In addition to that, there were two booths about marketing your practice. One from my mentor and friend, Dr. Scott McFall (it’s a real Doctorate) and some other guy. The other guy’s business (can’t remember their name) was about increasing one’s income.

He was standing in the isle with a clipboard asking people if they were making as much money as they wanted in their hypnosis practice. Most said “no”, but when he asked how much they currently made, I was astounded. (Yes, I eavesdropped!)

The majority of the answers were in the range of $20 to $40 thousand a year. (Any good birthday party clown makes more than that.)

Then, he asked them if they would like to make $50,000 a year. Some said “yes”… others said “no”!

This got me thinking and, after they left the guy, I would find them and ask, “Why don’t you want to make more money at this wonderful business?”

Their answer was almost always, “Because I didn’t get into hypnotism for the money; I want to help people.” It was uncanny how many hypnotists had the same view (or is it a limiting belief?).

The worst part about it was these are the same people who don’t have enough money for a real office so they work out of their house — not an office in their house, but their living room, usually. They can’t buy nice clothes (like that $800 - $1,200 suit) or the latest office equipment.

And, within a few years, they wonder why they are struggling to stay in business.

But, the answer is so simple: Make more money.

If you market yourself and your business in the right manner, you can have a real business, help more people and you’ll be happier.

Yes. In general, you can have money or you can be poor. Having money in the bank is better.

Oh, by the way, when that man asked me if I wanted to make $50,000 a year I just answered, “Oh, you mean you want me to make less money than I did last year?”

He squinted at me and asked, “How much did you make last year?”

Avoiding his question, I just said, “Well, let’s just say that my advertising alone this year is $50,000. You can figure it out.”

He dropped his clipboard as I walked away.

[By the way, if you want to find out how to market your hypnosis business, drop me a message at the forum. — Bryan]

Unless you see a lot of hypnosis clients, you may not come in contact with someone like this. I was in business for almost five years before this guy walked into my office to quit smoking with hypnosis.

Before I accept someone as a hypnosis client, they must go through a screening process. You see, not everyone qualifies to be my client. (The reason is that I may not want to work with a person if I see they may be a problem client.)

So, this guy quickly fills in the Intake Sheet and sits down and proceeds to demonstrate how brilliant and smart and knowledgeable and smart (did I say that again?) he is. In short, he told me, he is “a genius”.

Wow. A real genius. In my very own office. Pinch me.

Well, I accepted this guy as a client, set an appointment and when he came back for his first smoking cessation session, that’s when I knew I may have made a mistake in taking him as a client.

You see, many hypnotists think that if your IQ is over 70 that they can be hypnotized. However, if someone is a smarty-pants and is very “critical thinking” and likes to break things down and analyze them, they are also very difficult to hypnotize.

Surprised? Well, think about it. Hypnosis depends on trust and rapport. If someone is spending their time thinking, “Why did he just say that? Am I hypnotized, yet?” and other such thoughts, their critical thinking will keep them from going into a trance.

So, for the smoking program’s initial session, I do a Progressive Relaxation induction and the client is hypnotized. Then, he’s put on an audio program for a bit to listen to an automated program. Later, I come back and do personalized suggestions.

Well, throughout the PR induction, he’s opening his eyes, squirming, asking me questions… I should have just refunded his money and been done with him. Instead, I considered this a challenge. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

By the way, during the induction I do at least eight “convincers” (eye catalepsy, arm catalepsy, saliva flow, glove analgesia, etc.) so they know they are hypnotized. Mr. Analysis experienced all of them.

After doing the induction and putting him on the audio program, I left to attend to another client who was doing wonderfully with her weight loss hypnosis program.

After doing the suggestions, placing him back on the automated program, I returned later to wrap things up. I went over the convincers and we set up his second appointment, I gave him his “Stop Smoking” CD and he was off.

Three days later…

Mr. Know-It-All comes back, sits down in the chair and said it, “Well, I quit smoking, but it wasn’t the hypnosis.”

Amazing, huh? In 30 years, he couldn’t even stop smoking for a day, and one session with me, he quit smoking.

But, according to him, it wasn’t the hypnosis. (It won’t take a genius to figure out that it was.)

He needed to feel as if he was the one who mastered smoking.

What do I care? I did my job.

“Next…!”