Hypnotist Of The Year!
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…
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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.”
