| Anthony Robbins has introduced more people to NLP than anyone else I
can think of. And while many practicioners of NLP frequently dismiss
him as being no more than a showman, a businessman or a "disco" NLPer,
we can still learn much from him. I for one have participated in almost
all of his trainings, for reasons I'll explain in greater details in
this article.
1. Model. Anthony Robbins achieved what he achieved
because he understood and practices constantly the first directive of
NLP, which I've discussed at length in another article: the core discipline of NLP is modeling.
In an interview, John Grinder retells of the days when Anthony Robbins
was his student. He recounts that once the seminar ended, Tony
approached him and said he understood that modeling lied at the heart
of NLP and that he was committed to modeling. He then asked Grinder
what project he could undertake to prove his commitment. John Grinder
suggested firewalking. "The rest," as Grinder puts it, "is history."
Anthony Robbins is primarily a modeler and you must adopt this identity.
2. Do what works. In his seminars, Anthony Robbins
amply demonstrates his change techniques. The advanced student of NLP
can distinguish therapeutic patterns that NLP has coded in his
interventions, but also some different patterns that he created or
incorporated from other fields into his work. The most important trait
that he demonstrates during his intervention is his absolute commitment
to getting the result that he's after, notably to move another human
being into a place of greater access to inner resources. And he's a
master at doing this.
3. Involve physiology at all times. Few if any
other trainers focus on physiology as fiercely and intensely as Anthony
Robbins does. The only one I've come across who focuses as intently on
physiology is the man who taught him NLP: John Grinder. To him,
physiology defines the limits of a person's access to his or her
resources. That's why he pushes and stretches all participants in his
seminars to get to their physical edge. Because he understands that,
due to the mind-body connection, you can only go as far as your
physiology permits it.
4. Learn from and pay attention to John Grinder.
This lesson is perhaps the strangest or most uncommon of all. But you
must attend to it. Of all the early students of NLP, Anthony Robbins is
far and away the most successful. This is not to say that he is the
best teacher of NLP or that he has reached a greater refinement in
exercising his skills. But he has leveraged his mastery to accomplish
more than any other student of NLP in the world. And his NLP master was
John Grinder.Richard Bandler is far and away the most popular of the
two co-founders of NLP. The term "Richard Bandler" receives more than
10,000 searches a month, while "John Grinder" receives less than 2,000.
His creativity and mastery of language keeps seminar participants
spellbound during days. I acknowledge Bandler as the creative force
behind NLP. Yet, Bandler lacks the health, discipline and vitality that
I'd expect from someone who has mastered NLP.
That's where John Grinder shows up. Well in his sixties, he actively
involves himself in challenging physical activities such as climbing
and scuba diving, constantly pushing his edge. And while I've never
heard or seen him display the verbal prowesses that Bandler displays,
he is a much more inspiring model overall to aspire to. I recognize him
to be the organizing, disciplined and directive force behind NLP. And
this distinction is absolutely fundamental. Anthony Robbins has
benefitted from this.
If you're new to NLP, don't be too quick to judge Anthony Robbins.
Many people in the field trash him day in day out. The most important
thing to keep in mind is to learn from Anthony Robbins by watching him, as opposed to listening to what he teaches.
Observe how he works. Observe his movements. Observe his posture. Feel
his intensity. Hear his tonality. In other words, model him. Just as
Grinder and Bandler paid little attention to what Milton Erickson had
to say about hypnosis and a lot of attention to what he did to produce
results.
Anthony Robbins is a genius at producing change within people (and
also marketing himself and his products) and for that reason, you'll
find it worth your time to model him.
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