My Friends,

I am so pleased and my ego is swelled with the idea that I have been named Hypnotist of the Year by the International Association of Counselors and Therapists, and the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association. I tell you, there are worlds of emotion swirling around inside me right now.

I received the award on May 18, 2013, at the annual conference in Daytona Beach, and it was a total surprise. Each of the award honorees are awarded without advance notice, and I was caught speechless (one of the very few times in my Life, I assure you). It is so ironic that one day earlier I taught an 8-hour workshop on Advanced Presentation Skills!

I’m actually a little embarrassed by the distinction. Surely there is a great hypnotherapist out there who is working on a cure for cancer while putting children through college and caring for elderly parents, and that one deserves this distinction more than I.

On the other hand, I’ve worked my ass off to gain mastery in a few areas of Hypnotism, and I feel powerful about what I know. I’ve set aside everything else in my Life, several times, in order to figure out what I need to know and gather the tools I need, and to learn everything about those tools and how I might use them in any circumstance. I’m happy that I learned all of what I know for my own reasons–and not just to win an award.

Driving to my office this morning, I had a particularly important realization: The true value of this award is for my clients. If they have a stronger belief in me because of an award, their success will be easier and greater, and that’s why I do this work. This award is for them.

And so, as I steady myself with whatever humility and healthful perspectives and platitudes that I can muster, I also need large doses of humor to help me cope. Here’s a bit I wrote a couple hours ago on Facebook, and I hope it gives you some smiles and laughter…

~

Man oh man, what a terrible trip I had on the way home from Daytona Beach. Everywhere I went, people were staring at me and pointing and aiming their cell phones, trying to get a shot of the HYPNOTIST OF THE YEAR.

I am so happy to achieve this recognition from my peers, and I am grateful. It’s just that I wasn’t prepared for this level of fame and notoriety. At first, I was signing autographs everywhere I went, and it is great to get the best table in every restaurant and I haven’t paid for a thing since I became the HYPNOTIST OF THE YEAR. By the time I got to the airport I started to get really irritated and a little paranoid. I was dressed down, baseball cap pulled down over my shades, but apparently, the HYPNOTIST OF THE YEAR doesn’t blend in.

One guy in a suit spotted me at the security checkpoint and I did everything I could do to get ahead of him, just about running to the gate to catch my flight. He stayed with me all the way, and when he started motioning to the airport police, I slowed down and gave in—no autograph should cause so much trouble. I finally stopped as airport security, Florida State Police, and the guy in the suit and about three dozen passers-by all closed in on me with ball-point pens and smart phones. The guy in the suit reached into his coat pocket and pulled out something, and as I braced myself to sign one more autograph I sputtered, “YES! YES! I AM THE HYPNOTIST OF THE YEAR!! MUST YOU KEEP ON HOUNDING ME LIKE THIS??” He looked right at me, handed me the object and said, “You left your cell phone back at the checkpoint.”

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My Friends,

I am entirely pleased and somewhat screwed up to announce to all of you that I have received a new distinction from the International Association of Counselors and Therapists, and from the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association. I am this year’s Hypnotist Of The Year. This was conferred upon me on May 18 at the annual conference, along with 7 other honorees in other categories, and it was a total surprise. All awards are given without advance notice.

It had been a rip-roaring busy few weeks, and I made sure to schedule two days off before the conference began. I did get some good relaxation and fun in the sun, playing in the waves at the beach, dipping in the pool, enjoying the hotel amenities, and eating good food and taking good care of myself. I even got a manicure. Even so, my mind was preoccupied with the two classes I was to teach, and a few conference responsibilities that I had accepted.

Every year at the banquet, I watch and listen as highly respected hypnotists receive honors and say a few words, and I am always impressed. I always wonder what it might be like, and I always take in stride that I am paying dues every year, every day, every session with every client. Every year it is a pleasant daydream to imagine myself on that stage, smiling, accepting and receiving, and saying a few dignified words.

As the awards part of the evening continued, I was still busy with a few details, and also a bit distracted by my lovely dinner date, and so I was completely disoriented as I heard our host, Robert Otto, describing me as he was about to announce the Hypnotist Of The Year. I simply didn’t know what to say as I rose to accept the award.

I admit that part of me is embarrassed to announce to all of you that I have this distinction. I know that there are fabulous hypnotists in this and other organizations who have been practicing decades longer.

On the other hand, I’ve been working my ass off to gain mastery, and I am happy that I know what I know. Several times, I have put everything else in my Life aside in order to learn new techniques and principles and ways of helping my clients to succeed. I have gone off on learning tangents for weeks at a time and I’ve attended more seminars and workshops than I can count. I’ve given away a hundred sessions for free, just so I could keep working and learning and accumulating clinical hours. I am very proud to say that I have never turned down a client in need. They must pay something and I don’t work for free anymore, but if they need me, we work out a deal.

So there I was on the stage, accepting the award, stammering my Thank You or something close to it, while holding the beautiful plaque that I had dreamed of holding one day. The irony of my ineptitude of the moment is that I had spent the previous day teaching an 8-hour class on Advanced Presentation Skills. Homina homina homina.

This morning on the drive to my office, after a full week away, I could feel a difference in my attitude and personal and professional resolve. I know what the true value is of this award: It’s for my clients. If this award causes my clients to believe that I am more competent, more effective, and more intelligent because of a plaque that hangs on the wall in my office, then their success will be greater and more powerful. Simple as that. This award is for them. That’s why I do this work, and I am very happy that I learned what I know for their sake, and not to win an award.

And so, as I resume my business of Helping People, I do so with the intention of remaining balanced and grounded, thinking clearly, and maintaining perspective, and I will be using Humor along with everything else. Humor gets me through a lot of things! Here, then, is a piece I wrote on Facebook about an hour ago. Enjoy!

Man oh man, what a terrible trip I had on the way home from Daytona Beach. Everywhere I went, people were staring at me and pointing and aiming their cell phones, trying to get a shot of the HYPNOTIST OF THE YEAR. I am so happy to achieve this recognition from my peers, and I am grateful. It’s just that I wasn’t prepared for this level of fame and notoriety.

At first, I was signing autographs everywhere I went, and it is great to get the best table in every restaurant and I haven’t paid for a thing since I became known as the HYPNOTIST OF THE YEAR. By the time I got to the airport I started to get really irritated and a little paranoid. I was dressed down, baseball cap pulled down over my shades, but apparently, the HYPNOTIST OF THE YEAR doesn’t blend in.

One guy in a suit spotted me at the security checkpoint and I did everything I could do to get ahead of him, just about running to the gate to catch my flight. He stayed with me all the way, and when he started motioning to the airport police, I slowed down and gave in—no autograph should cause so much trouble.

I finally stopped as airport security, Florida State Police, and the guy in the suit and about three dozen passers-by all closed in on me with ball-point pens and smart phones. The guy in the suit reached into his coat pocket and pulled out something, and as I braced myself to sign one more autograph I sputtered, “YES! YES! I AM THE HYPNOTIST OF THE YEAR!! MUST YOU KEEP ON HOUNDING ME LIKE THIS??” He looked right at me, handed me the object and said, “You left your cell phone back at the checkpoint.”

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With surprising frequency, I get calls from people who ask me if I can hypnotize them to forget a person or a tragic event. These are people who are hurting, heartbroken, or depressed. They call me after the crisis is over, but their lingering feelings are making their daily lives extremely difficult.

My answer is almost always the same: I don’t think it’s possible to use hypnosis to make you forget anything for the long term, and I would not attempt to do so in any case. Your experiences are what shape you, and they help you to form opinions, moral beliefs, and strategies for future survival. Your best bet is to embrace your experience and let it drive you forward into a better life and stronger way of being. You are entitled to every difficulty and hardship, and you deserve to become stronger as a result.

Yes, I know what heartbreak and grief feel like. I’ve had my share. I know all about regret and self-loathing and low self-esteem. I’ve lived through them and come out the other side in a positive way—otherwise, I wouldn’t deserve the right to help any client. My experiences have shaped me and increased my ability to feel compassion, tolerance, patience, and empathy.

I love the old saying that “Life is the hardest teacher: it gives you the test first, then the lesson.” We all need the lessons, and the more lessons we learn, the wiser we become.

Take my advice. Live through this. Whatever you are going through, it will pass. Things could be worse, and a lot of people in this world are worse off. I know, because I hear their stories every day.

Be grateful for your journey—it belongs to you. The strength and other positive attributes that you are building today will become extremely valuable to you tomorrow, and you will be better able to inspire the people around you. You are now becoming stronger for your own good, and for the greater good of your family and community.

And if you need help, get help. Give me a call if you want to talk. I never get tired of talking and listening, and I can hynotize you to ease stress, tension, grief, and depression, and you will feel lighter and more resilient, and your self-confidence will be supported and increased.

(732) 272-7230

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