What is the Structure of Magic?

In the 1970s, Richard Bandler and John Grinder set out to answer the questions: ‘how do wildly successful people create their success?’ and ‘can these methods of success be replicated?’.

They studied the best therapists of their time, and through observation, testing and trail and error, codified what they found into sets of prinicples and techniques. When they taught and used these strategies and found that they could reproduce the success these therapists had, they knew they were on to something.

Now more than 30 years later, the results of their work has been built on and refined through the new art and science of achievement known as Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. And the beliefs that they found these master therapists and achievers had in common to produce the results they did were codified into the master beliefs for success; the NLP presuppositions.

NLP 101: The New Science of Achievement

In NLP 101, I explained what NLP is and how it can make a difference in your life. The success of this series surprised me because it gathered more mentions around the blogosphere than any other posts I’ve written so far.

For easy reference, I’m putting up the index of posts here, with the last of the NLP presuppositions that didn’t get their own posts.

What is NLP?

NLP 101: What is NLP? Part 1 & Part 2

NLP 101: What is NLP Special for The Super NLP Hardcore

NLP Presuppositions

NLP 101: The Map Is Not The Territory

NLP 101: There Is No Failure Only Learning Experience

NLP 101: Every Behaviour Has A Positive Intention

NLP 101: The Meaning of Your Communication is The Response You Get

NLP 101: You Cannot Not Communicate

NLP 101: You Cannot Not Communicate: The Pygmalion Effect

NLP 101: People Are Always Making The Best Choices They Have

NLP 101: People Are Not Broken

NLP 101: Everyone Already Has All The Resources They Need

NLP 101: There Are No Resistant Listeners, Only Inflexible Speakers

NLP Bonus Presuppositions

NLP 101 Bonus: If What You’re Doing Isn’t Working, Do Anything Else!

One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and over again, and expecting the same result (sort of like stuffing your left shoe onto your right foot everyday and expecting it to not hurt).

If what you are doing isn’t getting you the results you want, you’re better off doing something else!

NLP 101 Bonus: There’s Always Another Choice

This is one of my favorites; in NLP we say that 1 choice is really no choice, 2 choices is a dilemma, only when you have 3 or more do you start to have a real choice. It’s also said that the wisest people don’t have a bigger map of the world, they just have more choices in that map.

Hint: the more flexible you can be, the more choices you will have, which ties into the next presupposition…

NLP 101 Bonus: The Law of Prerequisite Variety

Which states that in any system, the part that has the most flexibility will end up controlling that system. You can think of it behaviourally (the more flexible child or parent), financially (the one with more money has more options), or otherwise (the spouse who’s always right :P).

In my experience, the 2 qualities that distinguish a great coach and an average one are flexibility and awareness. The more flexible you can be, the more you can accept, do, change, feel, say, let go of and learn.

NLP Thoughts

NLP 101: So Dark The Con Of NLP

NLP 101: How NLP Changed My Life

NLP 101 Thoughts: You Cannot Not Change The World

NLP Recommended Books

Unlimited Power : The New Science Of Personal Achievement

NLP Hardcore Recommended Reads

Modeling With Nlp

Sleight of Mouth: The Magic of Conversational Belief Change