To me, that shows the incredible power of smoking. A report like this is both frustrating and inspiring. Frustrating because so many of these people would’ve succeeded if only they’d used hypnosis. Inspiring because it makes me want to do more to spread the word about smoking and hypnosis.

Most smokers try to quit without getting help. If you know someone like that, please mention that hypnosis can greatly reduce their withdrawal symptoms, including the intense craving. Hypnosis simply makes quitting much more pleasant and peaceful.

To see a summary of the CDC’s results, see the Wall Street Journal’s take.
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/11/10/most-smokers-want-to-quit-only-a-fraction-actually-do/?KEYWORDS=smoking

Here’s the more complex version from the CDC.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6044a2.htm?s_cid=mm6044a2_w

Eureka! When I was a teen, Men at Work was a popular band from Australia. Their big hit, “Down Under,” had a line about a vegemite sandwich. I used to wonder, “What’s a vegemite sandwich?”

Fast forward about 30 years, and here’s a jar of vegemite. Question: out of all the items on that food shelf, why did I notice vegemite? Perhaps because my brain’s been wondering about vegemite for 30 years. And when you ask your brain a question, it keeps searching for an answer. More specifically, your subconscious mind keeps searching. Sometimes it finds the true answer, but sometimes it makes up a fake answer as Jane’s about to find out…

Jane’s life is pretty good by most standards, but not to hers. After her promotion at the hedge fund, instead of celebrating, she thinks, “Took them long enough. And only a $150,000 raise?” When her friends threw her a surprise birthday party, she thought, “I wish I’d known so I could’ve dressed up.” When her young children served her breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day, she thought, “These pancakes aren’t as good as mine. I should tell them to redo it.”

When life gives Jane lemonade, she makes lemons. She’ll often say, “Why does my life stink?” That “why” question can be dangerous, because the subconscious will find an answer even though her question isn’t properly crafted. It’s like me asking, “What’s 10 plus blue sky?” My question isn’t properly crafted, because “blue sky” can’t be added to the number 10. It’s a bad question!

Jane’s subconscious will try its best to answer her question, “Why does her life stink?” It searches Jane’s database for bits and pieces, solves a few quadratic equations, does some calculus, performs a few chemistry experiments, and gazes through its built-in electron microscope. After all that work, her subconscious proclaims, “Jane, your life stinks, because you don’t deserve happiness.”

Now Jane feels worse. It confirms what she suspected. And for the rest of her life, she’ll ask why her life stinks. And she’ll keep getting variations on a theme: you don’t deserve happiness; your parents didn’t love you because you aren’t lovable; there are happy people and unhappy, and you just fall into the unhappy camp. Etc.

But when if she’d asked a different question, a question that actually can be answered properly, such as “What can I appreciate in my life?” Then her subconscious would help her see all the good in life, and she could start learning new habits, habits that help rather than hurt. That question change may not be all she needs, but it’s a good start. It’s better to ask questions that have an answer instead of questions where the subconscious just makes up a false answer.

About a year ago my wife Holly and I bought a real fixer upper. My recent question: “What’s the reason I’m feeling overwhelmed with the house remodeling, maintenance, and recent shopping for the bathroom remodel that I don’t care much about?” Improved question: “What’s one small step I can take this weekend to feel more relaxed about the house?” Next improved question/thought: “Hey, what’s important here? It’s not about me. I’m spending weekends looking at sinks, tiles, and fixtures, for one simple reason: it makes Holly happy. Isn’t that reason enough?”

And as I think about this revised question, my head feels lighter and more clear. Instead of thinking, “Ugh. Another bathroom showroom this weekend?”, I’m thinking of how I can be a more pleasant remodeling partner. Not because I care so much about the remodel, but because she cares about the remodel. Asking better questions = better results.

What’s a question that you ask yourself that has room for improvement? Feel free to post your question and revised question, so I and others can learn from you.

A few months ago, I attended a business networking event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco, because I felt that my networking had stagnated. Most of these events feel like drive-by-networking, with people shooting out as many business cards as possible. Not fun!

But this event had a relaxed and friendly energy. I connected easily with people here, and had a great time! I spent at least 30 minutes talking about economics and finance with one fascinating person. I worked in the financial field before, so it was nice to talk shop.

After this event, I saw networking differently. It could be fun–what a novel concept! Instead of focusing on how they could help me, I shifted my focus to connecting with the person in front of me and finding out how I could help their business.

I began attending events by asking, “What type of professional would you like to meet?” And I began building a reputation as a business matchmaker.

Prior to this, I had connected people. But this recent light bulb moment was much bigger. Connecting with random people and helping them in their business became a big joyful game. Plus I focused more on helping my existing network of business friends as well.

Now my energy’s higher, I need less sleep, and I’m more productive. In elevators and random places, I began chatting with strangers just for fun. I feel as if I’m moving through the world in a more open way, happy to connect with total strangers. Life is flowing more easily.

Oh, and here’s the kicker. Because I stopped focusing on my business as much, I’ve suddenly been getting more people offering to help my business. Funny, right? By focusing more on others, I’ve attracted more people that want to help me.

Soon I’ll share some thoughts on how you can make a breakthrough to boost your energy.

Here’s the link from the San Francisco Chronicle.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/09/SPRS1KKSUL.DTL

Well, I was a bit embarrassed that I had waited so long to post to my blog. So I emailed him back saying that I was doing well. And that I’d recently broken through a big barrier and felt energized.

One effect of that breakthrough is that I don’t need as much sleep, which has definitely made me more productive lately.

So what was the big breakthrough? And how can you get more energy with less sleep? Stay tuned, because I’ll be doing more blogging about this soon.

I recently learned that Diana has a severe drug addiction. And the frustrating thing is that she won’t admit it. Peter was recently diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer and will most likely pass away in a few months.  Shawna has recently had severe depression and sadness, spending much of her free time crying. But she won’t seek help.

Others I know lost their job, are going through divorce, are in danger of losing their home, need to borrow money to see them through tough times, etc. And all of this has happened in a relatively compact time frame.

Watching so many people in my life suffer in such a short time has been tough. It’s as if everything happened at once, and my ability to cope with everyone (and my own set of challenges that I’m not even mentioning) was temporarily overwhelmed. I began to ask myself, “What the heck is going on? If feels as if everyone’s life is falling apart, and I’m doing what I can to help, but wow… there’s just so much going on. I feel as if I can’t breathe.”

Ironically, during this period I did some great work with clients who had very challenging issues. It’s as if because of the personal turmoil, my professional life improved to balance things out.

As all this unfolded, a little voice inside kept giving me reminders such as, “Do more self-hypnosis instead of putting it on the back burner. Get back to regular exercise instead of putting it off. Eat healthier foods. Put yourself first instead of last. And take out the garbage more often; it’s getting full too often in the kitchen.”

As I started to take the advice, and took out the kitchen garbage bag more often, my emotional state greatly improved. As I took better care of myself, I noticed that some of the people around me saw improvement in their own lives (hmm…).

By getting back into a better rhythm of self-hypnosis, I’m getting back into a better rhythm of life. It gives me the opportunity to clear my mind and body of stress, to feel my old sense of relaxation, and to just have some quiet time for myself.

Are you having a tough time in life, or are the people around you having a tough time? One simple action you could take is to practice self-hypnosis to clear the stress each day, to relax, and to have quiet time for yourself. Self-hypnosis is great during normal times; I’ve learned it’s even more crucial during the not-so-normal times.

If your inner voice is telling you to put yourself first, it’s not a selfish request. It’s crucial that we are as strong as we can be, so that we can handle our own challenges and have strength left over to help those we care about. We all need a reminder that self-care is important. And I’m thankful that my subconscious kept reminding me until I listened.

Is your inner voice giving you a reminder about something?

What could improve your learning speed? Here are two tips.

1. Put yourself into a relaxed state (i.e., hypnosis).
2. Keep your arms and legs uncrossed.

How do you put yourself into a relaxed state?
1. Relax your neck and shoulders.
- Gently move your head a bit to allow your neck to get into a
more comfortable position. Let your shoulders sink down.

2. Focus on having a slightly longer and deeper inhale and exhale.
- If you feel your attention wander, return to the breathing.

3. Allow your mind to focus on the speaker.
- Focus on the speaker, seeing and listening to him/her.

Earlier I mentioned keeping your arms and legs uncrossed. A 1989 study was done with 1,500 people during six different lectures. The group with folded arms reduced their retention by about 38%. Folded limbs = less learning. Keep your arms and legs uncrossed.

Confused at first, I then concluded that when I searched long ago, I didn’t “see” those old jeans (and other clothes) as “give to Goodwill” clothing. My mind categorized the jeans as “old comfy clothes.”

But recently having bought new clothes, and needing to create space for them, my mind automatically shifted categories. The old pair of jeans went from the “old comfy clothes” category to the “give to Goodwill” category.

And as 2009 comes to a close, I realize more and more, that when I let go of things, such as old jeans, I’m making space for something better, such as new clothes. On a deeper level, when I let go of physical things that no longer serve me, I make room for something better to come along, including more mental space to breathe.

Is there something in your life that you could let go of? Perhaps you could give some old clothing to Goodwill. Or perhaps there’s an old stack of magazines that could be donated or recycled. Or perhaps there are boxes in a closet that haven’t been opened in years.

Whatever it is, consider letting it go if it no longer serves you. And allowing yourself to be open to something better coming along, including more mental space to breathe.

If you’re not on my newsletter list and don’t have my email address, please visit the home page and enter your email address in the box. You’ll then receive a free hypnosis report (and other goodies) and be on the newsletter list.

On another note, I wanted to say thank you to all my clients, colleagues, and friends for being a part of my life. I’ve enjoyed giving to you and receiving from you, so thank you. It’s been a wonderful journey since I started my private hypnotherapy practice back in 2003. And I look forward to 2010 being even better for all of us.