Speaking Engagment

Michael Harris, PhD at The Spiritual Fitness Center
Saturday June 18, @ 12 noon (CST)
Come to the Spiritual Fitness Center map.
Michael Harris, PhD will be speaking about "When Adult Children Move Back Home".

Every day 3000 more "Baby Boomers" leave the workplace and retire. Every year more college students graduate into a saturated job market and have to move back home. Our kids are staying home longer and our parents are living longer and having the experience of their bodies and minds succome to the effects of illness, aging and dying.

What would do if your PARENTS asked you to MOVE BACK HOME to help care for a sick or dying family member?

What if you LOST YOUR JOB and COULDN'T FIND ANOTHER?

What happens when your adult child WON'T MOVE OUT and begin his or her life as a single adult?



What happens TO THE CHILDREN when you BLEND FAMILIES through a NEW COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP?

These are the QUESTION and POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS that Michael will be discussing. Please bring your friends or family members that are facing this nation-wide problem.

There will be a drawing for a FREE Coaching series at the end of the day so be sure to leave a business card in the fishbowl.

Michael Harris, PhD is Clinical Hypnotherapist, Fitness, Life and NLP Coach.

Who specializes in personal performance, conflict resolution and life planning

Click here to receive the FREE Audio book series “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Waddles

"When in doubt, turn it around backwards" by Michael Harris, PhD

Here's a language modification that you might want to give a try. Although I know I'm going to get some flack from the purists out there because it's based on the Ho'oponopono healing concept only in reverse...

I was working with a client this morning who has lots of anger and rage issues. The exact change that I made for my client was this. Instead of him saying " I'm sorry, please for give me, thank you, I love you. I'm having him say " I forgive you" and that's it. He's saying "I forgive you" to his anger, his illnesses, his headaches, etc. and the response was more than interesting.

With most therapeutic modalities, the general concept is to identify the key issue and heal it, solve it , take it away, add to it or in some way shape or form make it different so that when the stimulus (as they frequently will) appears there is a different response and the client takes responsibility for all of the process.

The Concept of Ho'oponopono is completely different in respect to whom is actually responsible and it is you (healer, helper, etc)  who is taking responsibility and asking for "forgiveness". In this modality, the reason that the client has pain, anger, death and disease, etc., is that YOU have those things, thoughts and behaviors inside of you and they are manifesting in the physical world as a reminder that you need to remove those things from your world. I'm completely get that, but not everyone does.

In the case of this particular client he has been doing this Ho'oponopono prayer daily for who knows how long but with little relief to his anger and subsequent health issues. We have tried several things but the structure of the ASKING FOR FORGIVENESS was still the same. So with this new method, instead of him being in a "one-down" position and asking for forgiveness he is in a one-up position and is GIVING the forgiveness. For some people it's all about the perceived position and that can make the difference that makes a difference.

When I learn something new, I'm like a kid with a new Tonka truck. I want to see where these things work, where they don't work and what happens when you do it backward or out of order. Yep, I'm that kid who took apart the television while my parents were sleeping.

From a linguistic stand point, my position is that the structure of the Ho'oponopono prayer is grammatically ill-formed. I want to clarify that isn't wrong, actually far from it. In the field of linguistics there isn't a RIGHT or WRONG, there is good and then there is better. The process as it is, has worked, EFFECTIVELY as is for hundreds maybe thousands or years but that doesn't mean that tweaking or customizing it for an individual won't or cannot make it better. I'm about getting results. For those of you who just have to do stuff they way they did 50,000 years ago, just deal with it.

Give this a try and let me know about your results good or otherwise. I feel that we need to be open to modification of "age-old" processes so that we can modify them into a pattern that works with out "modern" understanding of our language. Afterall, it wasn't too long ago that "bad" meant bad as in something other than good, instead of "bad" meaning "good" as it does in today's interpretation of our language.

Try it for a week and send me an email

Michael Harris, PhD

Website, article and blog update

I had an interesting meeting today with a friend of mine Robert Caruso.
We were talking about my post yesterday and how we could better serve the community
by making more referrals to our brethren health and healing practitioners.

He made an observation that for me was a little difficult to wrap my head around but I'm working on it.
He said that although my posts and articles were interesting it did little to tell people who I was and what working with me could actually do for someone. He went on to say that those who had worked with me had great things to say and I actually have tons of testimonials to show for it.

So I'm embarking on a new mission to start doing more to explain how NLP, hypnosis and coaching ACTUALLY can benefit someone in real time and in real situations. I will also begin to lower the prosfessional mask and give you more of a clue of who I am, what I believe in, how I work with people and what you can expect when beginning a coaching, NLP or hypnosis session.



I would like to hear from you my clients, readers and subscribers what you need from me help you make your life function more smoothly, create more joy and satification and your favorite and mine MAKE MORE Money.

I look forward to hearing from you on the various social medias I belong to and as always if you have a direct question send me an email or book a FREE 15 minute session

Michael Harris, PhD

Are Health and Healing Practitioners going the way of the DoDo?

I received a disturbing email from a friend of mine yesterday. He was letting me know that he was seriously thinking about leaving the help industry and getting a job. I personally know this practitioner, I've used his services for an issue and I'm surprised that he isn't completely swamped with customers; but he isn't.

In fact, his business has slowed to the point he's ready to leave for good. Maybe it's a good thing, maybe it's not. But it got me thinking because we've all had those thoughts and I believe that we as healer and health practitioners, need to do something before we lose another good man or woman to the evil empire.


What are we as health and healing practitioners going to do to change this? If you are in the health or healing business, lets talk about what we can to to support one another and come up with some practical solutions.
I, for one, think that if we are going remain competitive that we are going to have to adopt some of the methodologies that have come about through the internet.

Some of these things I've resisted like the plague because I feel that they cheapen or sensational our skills and abilities. For one is "sales and squeeze: pages. This tactic is where you force the potential customer to signup for your email list before you allow them access to your content on your website and then you bomb them with emails everyday until they buy something or they drop off the email list.

The bad news is this type of marketing works. And it works so well that many "successful or expert" marketers use it and make tons of money selling mostly information products to "help" you sell your products and services. The problem is I've never really seen want of these "successful" marketers come up with anything that really increased my customer inquires. What seems to work the best is "word-of-mouth" referrals.having said that, I'm going to be thinking about how I can increase the number of referrals that I give to my colleagues so that their can stay in business.

Here are a few tips that you can use to immediately improve your business and get more PAYING customers.

Tip #1
Tell everyone what you do and that you CHARGE for your services. There still seems to be an enigma about talking and money and being a health or healing practitioner. If you feel uncomfortable about asking for or about, getting paid remember you are providing a service. did you notice that the last time you had your oil changed that the guy wanted his money BEFORE you got you car back? it's the same thing here. If you provide a service you can have an expectation to receive compensation for that service.

Tip #2
Adjust your website. Make it possible for your customers to contact you so they buy your products and services directly off the website. Most people put content on their website but never get around to asking their customers to buy something. The easiest way to get some to buy something is to ask them they can always say "no" but if you don't ask you've already got a "no"

Tip #3
Give a gift. If the internet has taught me nothing else this one thing makes a huge difference in getting your potential customers off the fence and becoming your customer. FREE gifts, FREE trials and DISCOUNTS on services for buying in bulk or packages. I would never buy shoes or clothing or anything else without trying it on first, give your customer the same option.

Tip #4
Pay a referral fee. I pay one-time referral fee to ANYONE who sends me a customer, including my customers. Everyone like to get paid and you should see your customers face when you give them a check or cash for a referral they made that resulted getting a new client.

Tip #5
Treat you business like a business. This might sound obvious but I've done enough business coaching to discover that people treat their businesses as if it's a hobby. Set regular hours of work and regular hours of off-time and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER mix those hours. When you start acting like a health or healing professional then other people with treat you with the same regard.

Tip #6
Be selective about your customers. This might be the strangest suggestion I've made so far but what we do takes time, energy and commitment. When you are in business, any business, 80% of your problems, no-shows, slow-pays and "last-minute" cancellations are coming from 20% of your customers so GET RID OF THEM. You can use that extra time you've created by not messing around with people who don't really want any help or don't really want to heal, with customers that do. When you do this you will automatically start getting a higher quality lasting change for your customers who want to be there and higher quality of referral from them.






I look forward to your feedback and contact me if you have any ideas that we can implement as a group or an individual.

Michael Harris, PhD

It's a holiday... be sure to tell a Veteran, Thank you

There are no words that you can say to someone who has faced the terror,fear and death of war, if you have not. Just say thank you and let that be enough.

Here's a video I thought you might like... Happy Memorial Day to all

Hey Charlie Brown… there’s another way – by Michael Harris, PhD

Hey Charlie Brown… there’s another way – by Michael Harris, PhD

Have you ever known on of those guys (or girls) who were always “swinging for the fence”? You know that consistent “hero or the goat” mentality that frequently has them rebuilding after they have crashed and burned? Have ever wanted to tell them there is more than one way for them to succeed?

It probably isn’t their fault, you know. All you have to do is turn on your TV or go to a movie and the consistent theme is “All or Nothing”. We use this strategy for daily for almost everything in our lives. Our businesses, our intimate relationships and of course what would our sports be without the “hail mary pass” or bases loaded, full count?

I’m not saying that competition is bad or that there are situations in which the outcome comes down to a critical decision. I’m saying that we don’t have to live our lives creating that situation over and over as a way of life.

What might be useful is a little balance, some planning and some time management as another way to have a life that is far less stressful, causes fewer dis-ease(s) and heart attacks; and dare I say this, creates more FUN.

Here’s a list of 5 things to keep your life from being like an action movie

1. The 5 P’s
Proper Planning Precedes Peak Performance, it’s one of the best saying I ever learned. Plan your event, activity or personal performance. Practice it until you can do the activity (regardless) in any situation. One of the best ways to know that you’ve mastered something is that you can to that activity in more than one context.

2. Sleep on it
In our modern society, it still amazes me how little we use our intuition or our unconscious mind. If you have something you are trying figure out or decide make sure that you have given your mind time to relax and weigh the options. The answer will present itself and when it does ACT on it immediately. People might lie or tell half-truths, but your unconscious never will. Cultivate a relationship with the part of you that already knows all the answers.

3. Never Hurry
Wallace Wattles said “work as quickly as possible but never hurry”. It took a while for me to get that working quickly and hurrying are two completely different modes of operation. Only work as fast as you can maintain quality. As you get better, faster or more proficient you speed will continue to improve. Hurrying on the other hand is ineffective, it causes the respiration to be shallow, tenses the muscles and creates fatigue. This applies to any context.

4. Begin with the End in mind
When I was a kid, it always seemed like driving home from a place was faster than driving to a place. It’s the perception of the mind that makes that possible.
“Beginning with the end in mind”, means imagining your goal(s) or intention(s) as ready completed and you are standing on the other side of that goal enjoying the rewards of your effort. Working backward from the goal to the beginning will give your mind a different perspective and by working backward in your mind at night and working toward your goal during the day gives your mind two opportunities to side-step problems or pitfalls in your plan.

5. Just say “no”

Jim Camp, author of “Start with No” is a favorite of mine for this example. There are always going to be people who want you to do things on their schedule or to perform tasks designed to make the other person’s world just a little bit better. Remember that you always have choice about whom you spend time with, what you do, how you think and where you live.
If someone is trying to pressure you into making a decision, particularly a decision that affects you or your family and loved ones, long-term, then time is definitely on your side. Tell the other person who is pressuring you to make a decision that you will make a decision when it’s time and if they need an answer right now, then the answer is no. Don’t worry about saying “no”, when the universe closes on door, it opens another and usually that new door is better than you could have possibly imagined.

Conclusion

There is always time to get things done and completed with ample time for yourself, your family and your friends. Remember to breathe and stop taking life so seriously… you‘re never going to get out of here alive, so relax and have some fun; it makes others wonder what you’re up to.

Author Bio:

Michael Harris, PhD is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Fitness, Life and Business Coach.  If you want more information or to schedule an appointment in person or by phone or Skype email (drm@drmichaelharris.com)

Click here to receive the FREE Audio book series “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Waddles (http://forms.aweber.com/form/77/1458709877.htm)

The "No-Hitting" Rule in Question

I just got a phone call from my daughter's pre-school, apparently my daughter slapped a kid.
Upon deeper investigation, I was told that a little girl touched her face trying to get her attention and my daughter slapped her HARD. She now has a yellow ticket. I guess that's like a yellow card in soccer. So if she gets a RED card is out?

My question is, how did the other child touch her face? Was it a gentle glide across her cheek or did she grab my daughter by the face and turn her head? We will never know because the incident wasn't seen, only described by the two girls. This bring up the question of the "NO-HITTING" rule.

So much has been in the media about bullying I wonder is this where it starts? Do we create rules that are supposed to work in adult society but need a little modification to fit the undeveloped emotional minds of children? What is the definition of self-protection? Where are the boundaries?

There is a youtube video I posted a couple of months ago about a bully that was punching a kid until the "victim" kid picked him (the bully) up and slammed him on the ground. The video went viral. There are lots of opinions about the moral of this encounter but the short version is that kids are kids. they haven't the interaction skills that adults do and we have a responsibility to educate and protect our children.

So what's a parent to do? My first response was similar to what many might feel. that my child was defending herself and the other kid "got what she deserved". But how do I know that? My child will always be my favorite and I have to make sure that my personal bias isn't getting in the way. I also have to remember my martial arts training. The goal is always to prevent conflict or diffuse not escalate and that's not always easy.

For myself, I'm going to have a conversation with my daughter about this incident and get her perspective and I'd like to interview the other kid as well. My current position is that they are 4 years old and won't remember this tomorrow. But I still need to discuss it with her so she will know that I'm interested in how she feels about it and what can be done in the future.

So what can be done? Kids are never going to stop testing boundaries and there IS a pecking order in the school yard. I'm also going to introduce a program (http://www.ihsa.org/education/conflict_resolution.ppt) to the teachers and see if we can institute a mediation program into the school system. I also know that we need to get a "buy-in" from the parents or it's going to take longer to get this information into their little bones, if ever.

If we are going to live a world where there is conflict then we are going to have to find a way to solve it.
If we don't, we are going to have yet another generation that grew up the way we did and we will have yet another crop of bullies to deal with.

It one thing to talk about conflict resolution but it seems to me that until it gets personal, like with your own child, that you really don't know how it feels. I was surprised that my response was initially so visceral I can see how it's possible that people chose to do something other than consider long-term consequences. For me the long-term will always out-weigh the short-term, it's just how I'm wired.

The short version for conflict is:
If there is a problem remove yourself from that situation, as quickly as possible.
Tell someone and keep telling someones until you get resolution on the problem.

The FREE Power Point for this is right here.

If you want more information or to book an appointment with Michael Harris, PhD email