From Trainee to Trainer – My First NLP Practitioner Course

“You should never be comfortable” – Miles Davis

“First set a date, then advertise, then prepare!” Those words, spoken by Tad at the end of the Trainer’s Training resonated within me. So I set a date,

In November I advertised and contacted many people. Six weeks later I had four people enrolled. My new reality struck – now I really had to prepare! I was already outside my comfort zone, and so I had to redefine what that meant, as this was a whole new level!

On the flip side, I had completed around half a dozen Personal Breakthrough sessions, all with fantastic results, and also had a number of 1:1 sessions on single issues, as well as a day’s training for an accountancy firm. Money started to flow in, and although this was still paying off my commitment to the Master Track, it felt good. I was moving closer to the goal I had defined before and during the Trainer’s course.

“What have I got myself into?” I joked to myself, as I distilled the Practitioner CD series down to a set of 4-matted segments. I had also decided to deliver the 4-in-1 certification, so I had to shift around my finances to complete payments, so that I received the DVDs for Time Line Therapy® and NLP Coaching. Then I had to watch the 30 hours of DVDs, complete an online test and an assignment, and have a phone interview with one of the Trainers at the TJC office.

During this time I successfully enrolled four people onto my second Practitioner course in June, so I advertised a September Practitioner course, and set a date for a Master Practitioner course. I could prepare for that training later!

The evening before the first day, I set up the conference room, so there was a minimal amount to organise the next day. Then I made sure I had everything else I needed ready to go. I was really focused – the future had arrived.

The journey to the hotel the next morning was memorable. I experienced feelings of emerging potential, quiet confidence, total focus and excitement. Everything I had been doing led to this moment. I added the sensation to the already large, stacked resource anchor.

Within an hour the students had arrived, filled in forms, and I commenced the training. I’m used to teaching many things, so I’m really confident about that, and I had a solid, structured plan to follow.

The first day went well. I found I could explain everything easily, and answer all questions asked – the knowledge was accessible to me when I needed it, and my confidence grew with each hour.
As the days passed I grew into my new role. The demos were sublime, and my students expected they could do great things too, and they did. Actually they were amazing. One student almost completely stopped a debilitating stammer that he’d had all his life. He also had his first client booked within a week of graduating, so more power to him.

It was really exciting watching them grow day by day. As their sensory acuity sharpened, they were able to pick up on more of what I was doing, and also to apply it to themselves and their fellow students. Layer by layer the skills taught built up into a formidable and flexible array of competence. During the morning practice sessions I was able to monitor my students closely, and coach them individually to higher levels of understanding. I also propelled higher in my own capabilities, so it was thoroughly rewarding all round.

Time Line Therapy® was extremely powerful for everyone. They all recognised immediately the potential for rapid and long lasting change with these techniques. Practice sessions became creative and magical, as they identified and let go of more and more of what had been holding them back. By this time I was totally in my stride and loving every moment.

I particularly loved the Hypnosis section. I’m passionate about Hypnosis and have trained extensively in it. It’s been my daily practice for many years. It’s great fun to teach and learn, and yet so powerful in its application. We had a ball! There was a lot of laughter, a lot of fascination, a lot of pendulum swinging and a lot of interest in how much more there was to be learned. The idea of Master Practitioner level was floated at this point and two students were immediately interested.

The Coaching segment was thought provoking. I found I was able to translate everything we had been learning into how coaching can work at its best. The DVDs had been brilliant in clarifying this information for me, and I was able to communicate it in such a way that kept everyone interested, especially as it was heavily Ad material.

And so, all too soon, and almost much to everyone’s surprise, it was the end of the training. I closed the metaphors I opened on the first day, and this had a real impact on them. They had so much more weight and meaning to them now that I had actually delivered the training. They all said the metaphor closing was fantastic! We had a graduation ceremony, and then enjoyed drinks afterwards, before departing on our journeys towards our desired goals.

I felt supremely satisfied.

A little over a year ago I had literally been banging my fist in utter frustration on the table of my business advisor, demanding to know how on earth I could raise the money to train with Tad and Adriana in Australia. In the year that followed I had created an ambitious S.M.A.R.T. goal, raised the money, been to Australia twice, caught up with a friend in Melbourne that I hadn’t seen for 25 years, completed all the courses, got married, travelled across Thailand and Cambodia on honeymoon, designed and delivered my first Practitioner course, had four people enrolled on the second one, and so much more besides. What a trip. And it’s only just beginning!

Now here’s the thing. I’m not special. I just followed the instructions given to me by Tad and Adriana. I made a plan, I took action, and I followed it through. Anybody can do the same. All you have to do is to stay outside your comfort zone and you will achieve great things.