Enlightenment

The Official Newsletter of the Willard Hypnosis Center

Sept 2008                     Roger & Patricia Willard©2008                     Vol. 3, No. 9

Observations of Life. Again this month I would like to take you on a little trip through my past. At the same time, I bring together two activities close to me in different ways.

One of the places I am most comfortable is behind the steering wheel of a motor vehicle. Most of the time it doesn’t really matter what I am driving, as long as it will take me from point A to point B without too much difficulty. And as of this year, I have been driving for about forty years.

When I was fifteen and a half, the laws permitted young people to apply for a learner’s permit. And like most young men at the time, I learned how to drive vehicles with either stick or automatic transmissions. And since, as I said before, we sold motorcycles in our store, I also learned to operate motorcycles. Having two older brothers who drove and both parents who drove, we always seemed to have quite a number of vehicles around the house. Rarely were any new, but we always had "wheels". If you remember, I grew up in a small town family store and there were business needs for transportation along with our personal needs. At different times I may have used one of several older Cadillac sedans, a Ford pickup truck, a Dodge van, a Chevy Wagon, a Renault Dauphin, several Studebakers from the 50's, a Land Rover (at a time when you only saw them in old British war movies), and a few more that were less memorable. Once in a while we had use of a motorcycle that we were permitted to take out, as long as we stayed off of the main highways.

Along with this collection of cars came their upkeep. In the beginning it was changing flat tires, adding oil when needed, jump-starting and changing batteries when needed and other minor stuff. We were not motorheads like a lot of other guys we knew, but we learned the basics of auto mechanics and then some. In just a few years the three of us brothers learned a lot more and did a lot of our own repairs as we bought our own vehicles.

Eventually over the years I have done some major work on our cars and vans sometimes out of necessity, sometimes because I wanted to. Again, not being a real auto mechanic, I learned a lot by just diving in, reading repair manuals, and asking some garage friends some questions when necessary. And there were more than a few times when this knowledge came in handy in mechanical emergencies. Later when any of us in the family had car trouble or other relatives had problems, many times I could help. Sometimes I could fix the problem or at least get them home. Also, this knowledge helped prevent being taken advantage of by unknown mechanics. It was great to have a car that worked. It took me outside my hometown almost anytime I wanted. My world opened up in a new way.

For me it was high school graduation that seemed to be the beginning of a new freedom of exploration. My interests were, and still are, many. As I began working my way through college and attending classes (most of the time) I started to explore more of the things I wanted to.

At the local community college I went to I got involved in the radio club. Not armature or HAM radio, but an imitation of sort of a commercial broadcast radio station. It didn’t really broadcast. It went out over the PA system of the student center. But we did everything we could to sound like a real station. But with this interest in broadcasting I wanted to see the real thing.

It was at a time when the radio DJs were thought of as being the coolest thing on the radio and at local dances. Radio was not my first vocational love, but it was in the top 10. So with the freedom of "wheels" I traveled around the area and visited local radio stations. I met DJs, announcers, show hosts, program directors and station managers.

Depending on the time and day, I was invited in to see the day-to-day operations and watch some of the magic behind the microphone, including 8-track carts and required checklists, the PFA (public service announcement) and the stacks and stacks of records. I would watch them cue records on turntables with one hand and in the other hold one side of a headphone to an ear and then with the flip of the switch, the airwaves lit up with music.

Even before I was driving, it was a fun and fascinating time for me. On late summer nights I would listen to my radio, slowly turning the tuner knob, listening to hear any distance stations I could pick up. I could imagine what was going on in the studio and see the fun the DJs and other announcers were having. Between the static and whines you could hear call letters with their city of origin and imagine what it would be like there. The AM dial was alive with a fascinating world and I would be mesmerized by it.

And it was with the freedom and ability to drive, I could go out and touch this exciting world of radio broadcasting. It was with the care, but not just because of a car I was able to do this. It was the fact that I was now really in charge of what I was going to do. It was up to me now to chart my course in life. If I make good choices, this would be good. If I made poor choices, things would not be so good. The ability to drive and a car only helped me to explore more fully my choices. Having a car or truck may have been my vehicle, but it was my desire and taking action that were most important. My vehicle was both literal and metaphoric. Other people’s worlds may require different vehicles. Some activities can be "vehicles". For some it may be traveling in groups or a circle of friends. For others, they find it in their work. Others may find it in their house of worship. Different actions and situations can take people to different places in their lives.

Metaphorically and otherwise, I like to be behind my steering wheel. I like to experience it to the best of my abilities. It takes gas and sometimes I cannot do everything I want, at the time I may want, but I do get to create my own map. Sometimes there are detours and breakdowns. Sometimes you have to take potty breaks. And if you are lucky like me, you get to share the ride with some special people in your life. This will change the ride some and will make it more interesting and worthwhile. So, our little road trip has brought us back here. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Books We Liked. This month I am going to risk sounding repetitive. Recently I enjoyed a book for two reasons I had written about before. The first, I enjoyed the author and his style of writing and doing business. Secondly, it deals with making money. Now if you are not in business, this may put you off a little, but stay with me here on this. I am recommending this "business book" not just for the business knowledge, but it is also for those who want to have a better understanding of human nature. It deals with marketing and in many ways, we all deal with marketing. We market ourselves, our work, our products and we are marketed to. The book give us insights into some trends in the near future. For business owners, it will help guide them in planning for things to come in the next few years. For consumers, it will educate them on how they may expect to be treated by those who want to really serve them and those who just want to separate themselves from their money without true consideration of their needs, desires and wants. It really is a book for both.

The book is No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent: The No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide to Getting Really Rich by Dan S. Kennedy. The books starts with giving numerous examples of who the affluent are and why there are and will be so many in years to come. He also gives reasons why one should market to them. For the business persons, it is valuable information on how to approach and service those who may turn out to be their best and most loyal customers. For consumers, it can be an insight to themselves and what they can and should expect from business when they purchase products and services. The wiser consumers are always better prepared to negotiate what they want, at the value they want and then they receive it in a timely manner.

I enjoyed his no B.S. style and not accepting excuses for not doing what is necessary to market a business. Dan Kennedy knows copywriting and how to get customers’ attention and then draw them in deeper. He uses this skill in his books to keep you interested. This book is one of several he has written in the No B.S. series you can obtain at almost any bookstore. All of his books deserve a deep study. His concepts work, but only if you put aside all fears and charge forward to make it work for you. Even if you don’t own your own business, it just might get you excited enough to start one of your own.

Quotes we liked. "We are generally the better persuaded by the reasons we discover ourselves than by those given to us by others." by Blaise Pascal. The idea of this quote is timeless. By its wording we can tell it came from a different era. But that is the wonderful thing about quotes like this. They are meant to be read or heard and hopefully have an impact on the reader or listener.

For most reading this, the concept is easily understood. Even if you have to read it over two or three times to get it to flow to our style of English, it resonates with a basic truth about humanity in general.

I hope you enjoy these quotes we bring you each month. In searching for them, I look for ones that are positive, that cause one to think a little, and ones that may not be as common as others. If you have a favorite quote you would like me to share with our readers that is along the lines I described, send it in and we will see what happens. We make no promises, but if we use it, you will be given credit for submitting it. Please include the author if known.

What to expect. Recently I had a young man come in with a fear issue. As with all new clients, I explained to him what some of the myths and misconceptions are while in hypnosis. One question he asked was, "Is it anything like I see on TV or on the Scooby Doo cartoons’ show?" This may sound like a silly question, but in fact it is not. Most people’s ideas about hypnosis comes from what they see on TV and/or in the movies. I assured the young man that what he saw was not true and that the show only portrays hypnosis that way because they want to entertain, even if it is misleading or false.

I explained to him that he will not be zoned out, but rather more relaxed than he might have been in a long time. He will always be in control, and in fact, more control of himself than ever before. TV and movies have traditionally shown hypnotized people in a zombie state and lead people to believe the misconceptions about hypnosis. No one turns into a zombie. No one is under anyone’s control.

When it comes to TV and movies, enjoy the stories and let yourself be entertained. But when it comes to what you see and hear about hypnosis in being part of the story line, most of the time the writers forget about the truth and write to entertain, not inform. For more information on the truth about hypnosis, check out our website (www.willardhypnosis.com) and click on the FAQs page for the facts.

For more information on hypnosis and how it can help you, call us at 717-872-7561.

This is a publication of the

Willard Hypnosis Center

3304 Main Street

Conestoga, PA 17516

717-872-7561

toll-free 877-872-7561

www.willardhypnosis.com

roger@willardhypnosis.com