Creating Stories and Metaphors for Change

Stories, or as we often call them, metaphors, are a very powerful tool not only when creating creating characters for novels and movies, but when we want to give a powerful example with a moral, and help create a lasting change. Story with a morale for the children - whether as a parent or a teacher, or our clients, in your role as a life coach.

Author Joseph Campbell studied myths and tales, and identified that most of them share the same "formula", which he called: The Hero's Journey.

Stages of the Hero's Journey

There are twelve steps to the hero’s journey:

1.      Ordinary World: This step refers to the hero's normal life at the start of the story, before the adventure begins. 

2.      Call to Adventure: The hero is faced with something that makes him begin his adventure. This might be a problem or a challenge he needs to overcome. 

3.      Refusal of the Call: The hero attempts to refuse the adventure because he is afraid. 

4.      Meeting with the Mentor: The hero encounters someone who can give him advice and ready him for the journey ahead.  

5.      Crossing the First Threshold: The hero leaves his ordinary world for the first time and crosses the threshold into adventure.  

6.      Tests, Allies, Enemies: The hero learns the rules of his new world. During this time, he endures tests of strength of will, meets friends, and comes face to face with foes.

7.      Approach: Setbacks occur, sometimes causing the hero to try a new approach or adopt new ideas. 

8.      Ordeal: The hero experiences a major hurdle or obstacle, such as a life or death crisis. 

9.      Reward: After surviving death, the hero earns his reward or accomplishes his goal. 

10.  The Road Back: The hero begins his journey back to his ordinary life.

11.  Resurrection Hero - The hero faces a final test where everything is at stake and he must use everything he has learned.  

12.  Return with Elixir:  The hero brings his knowledge or the "elixir" back to the ordinary world, where he applies it to help all who remain there.  


Here is a little task for you - can you track the steps of some famous characters and match them to the stages of the Hero’s Journey? The Lion King, or Fight Club, are great examples.

Storytelling is an art in itself, but what it is most powerful for, is the influence it can have on our lives in achieving a desired transformation that lasts and help you grow.

Elena Long

Your Coach to Success

How to Deal with Rejection

by Elena Long

How often has the fear of being rejected, of being given the answer “no” stopped you from taking a step towards something you want? Maybe at uni you didn’t ask that gorgeous girl out for a coffee because you assumed she would say no? Or when you negotiated the terms of your new job you didn’t dare to ask about higher salary? Was there a project at work you wanted to get involved with, so that you could learn new skills, but you thought your manager would say you don’t have experience to be involved…

The truth is, if you don’t explore new possibilities, if you don’t get out of your comfort zone and take this moderate risk of getting “No” for an answer, you are raising barriers to your own development. And you will wonder for the rest of your life: “What if?”

One of the golden principles of personal development, life coaching and success is that how happy and fulfilled you are with your life is dependent not on what happens to you, but how you react to what life throws at you. Quite often the hiccups you encounter along your journey are just tests, areas that you need improvement in. You lack confidence when approaching girls? Then practice ten times a day. You can’t work with PowerPoint? Then volunteer and help prepare the presentation for the next workshop in the office, or with your study group.

What is the worst that can happen when you ask the question: “May I?” I love the example Jack Canfield gives in his book, The Success Principles. If you choose to apply to Harvard, but fear of rejection is stopping you, think twice. If the worst happens and they say “No”, would you be able to handle it? Of course you would – you have spent all your life NOT studying at Harvard, surely you know how to deal with that. And if you do get in – well, it was worth trying!

After all, Colonel Sanders got over 300 rejections before he found someone to believe in him and his special “KFC” chicken recipe. Nor did Sylvester Stallone get disheartened with ”No” after “No” for the script of the first Rocky, until United Artists agreed to produce the script on his terms, with Stallone getting the lead role.

So next time when you toss between: Should I, Should I not, think about that: “some will, some won’t – so what – someone’s waiting.” Or, the SWSWSWSW formula. If someone now says “No”, there still is someone out there waiting for you skills, your ideas, your smile, your contribution. Work your way out to getting there, one rejection at a time.

What is NLP?

A lot of people I meet – at my seminars, online, in my networks, are interested in the fastest ways to achieve personal change and improve the quality of their lives. So they ask me how I use NLP to bring this change to my clients, and what NLP actually is.

I give a detailed description below, but, in one sentence, my friend, NLP provides me with amazing tools which I tailor to help my clients achieve personal changes and move quickly toward achieving their goals, to clear emotions and blockages, and to overcome fear and grief, within one or two sessions.

Neurolinguistic programming, or NLP, was originally developed by a psychologist, Richard Bandler, and a linguist, John Grinder. The American motivational speaker Tony Robbins has trained with Grinder and utilised NLP ideas for his own motivational and self-help programs.
Here is the quick definition of NLP: it helps you avoid a slow, long process of change by helping you to learn to change MORE QUICKLY than therapy, for example.

Richard Bandler

Many people suffer from the lack of knowledge of how their system of beliefs and attitudes influences the quality of their lives. Their perception of their career and life in general is clouded by the excuses and reasons why they cannot succeed. This is one of the reasons why NLP coaching has become one of the leading techniques for achieving fast and lasting personal change.

Personal transformation coaching has become a major field in NLP coaching. Every successful business person works with a coach or mentor. So do successful sports people, and people aspiring to constantly improving the quality of their life.

A more extensive definition includes, but is not limited to:
NLP looks at patterns and processes, rather than content. Your coach or NLP practitioner does not dig into the story of your life and make you analyse why things happened. It instead uses language and non-verbal communication cues to identify behavioural patterns.
It is also an enhancement technique of modelling.
The main role of the NLP practitioner is to take the client – yes, YOU, from effect to cause.

NLP uses different techniques to help you develop more effective strategies in life.
It’s a way of replacing unhelpful behavioural patterns with useful, resourceful strategies. Unlike traditional techniques, NLP gives quick results in personal transformation.

The techniques I use help you with clearing, energising, and transforming your mind, body and spirit. You’ll find the NLP coaching tools applicable to all areas of your life: business - sales, management, communication, and coaching/mentoring; teaching, sports, therapy, personal growth, as well as relationships. They are proven to work, producing tangible results.

Elena Long

NLP Practitioner and Relationship Coach

Your Relationships and Goals

During the last couple of weeks we looked at different aspects of creating strong, lasting intimate relationships. Whether you are single, or would like to create and enjoy an even more beautiful relationship with your partner, the decision to enhance your life takes commitment. You need clarity of what your desired relationship is, and help to achieve it.

For relationship advice, refer to our resources, or contact me for a confidential discussion of your needs or questions around how life coaching can help you achieve your goals.

And speaking of goals, the next theme of my blogs will be on the principles of career development. We will start with the foundations of goal setting with John Assaraf...

Elena
Your Coach to Success
http://www.envisionlifedesign.com.au/