Interviewed by Max Watts, (B.Sc, MABNLP, MBBNLP, MTLTA, MAHA)
MD of Kanousei, Trainer of NLP, Hypnosis and Time Line Therapy™
8th November 2006 @ The Grace Hotel, Sydney, Australia.
Max Watts: Let’s start from the beginning, so Tad how did you get into NLP?
Tad James: I was in business consulting, and clients were paying me fees but I wasn’t getting client compliance, this means that the clients weren’t doing what was being asked. At the same time I went to a fire walk with Anthony Robbins and found that he had an incredible degree of compliance getting people to walk on hot coals – something clearly more dangerous than what I was asking business consultants to do! So I decided at the point that I had to learn this NLP stuff!
MW: Since then what’s the greatest impact NLP has had on you personally?
TJ & AJ: The greatest impact is the personal success and satisfaction we have experienced. NLP allowed us to increase our income dramatically, increase our sense of satisfaction at doing what we do. As a career path we would highly recommend NLP to anyone who asked.
MW: What would you say to a new Practitioner of NLP going into this career?
TJ: Go out and do it! Use it now! Don’t sit around and study, learn to use the techniques in the real world! Once you are successful come back and train others!
MW: What inspired you to create Time Line Therapy™?
TJ: I was already a trainer of NLP when I created Time Line Therapy™. I was standing outside of a practitioner class talking to a student, we were experimenting with her Time Line and she found that her anger on a single event disappeared. I thought to myself, “now that could be useful!” Along the way we have been lucky to be able to do the Secret of Creating your Future Seminar® and been lucky enough to do Time Line Therapy™ Techniques with thousands of individuals and in groups, so we have accumulated a large experience base regarding how to let go of negative emotions and limiting decisions. In 2001, I got together with Adriana and found she was ‘thinking outside the box’ and that has helped to allow our Time Line Therapy® trainings to grow and evolve to become an even more effective technique. Today, next to me, nobody knows Time Line Therapy™ Techniques better than she does.
MW: Lets look at NLP and Time Line Therapy’s™ applications across various contexts, how specifically can NLP be used to get successful results in Executive Coaching and Leadership Development?
TJ: Adriana and I use Time Line Therapy™ when we do executive coaching, it is the most effective technique for enhancing performance and our students also find it to be the most effective technique for getting rid of blocks to performance. Imagine an executive who let go of all his anger, imagine how much more effective he could be if he could make that change? Imagine a sales person fearless, still with a large amount of integrity, what kind of increase would he have in sales? Imagine a board of directors with their values totally aligned, what kind of increase could be expected in their business? We have worked with board of directors, individuals and groups using Time Line Therapy™ for the last 22 years and the results never cease to amaze me. We had a company in Middlesborough, UK go from No.5 in the world to No.1 in the world and with other companies we have increased their net worth by 10 times and all inside of a year or 2.
MW: What would you say to people in today’s business world?
TJ: I was a business consultant for years, if you’re in business now and you are reading this, drop everything and take an NLP training! It will repay your expenditure 100 times. I have a Master’s degree in Communication and knew nothing about communicating with employees or fellow business people until I took NLP. NLP improves communication in all areas of business, management, sales, all the way up to the board of directors.
MW: What words do you have for the leaders in government and business in today’s world?
TJ & AJ: Leaders of society and of the world need to know that through NLP, it’s possible to achieve goals and outcomes with a win-win intention. The most visible part of the effect of NLP is through the dramatic increase in performance and productivity that will occur with the adoption of NLP into business and government.
MW: What are the main benefits of NLP, Time Line Therapy™ and Hypnosis in the context of rebuilding relationships and in relationship therapy?
AJ: If a couple has been together for a while, they have probably realised that over time negative anchors accumulate. We think it’s not necessarily whether or not negative anchors happen, it’s more important to get rid of them. Many psychotherapists today doing couple counselling have people sit across and tell each other what things are wrong. Virginia Satir used to have couples sit across and remember the sparks they had when they got together for the first time. We use Time Line Therapy™, Hypnosis and NLP to assist couples to let go of negative anchors and bring the relationship back to how it was at the beginning.
MW: NLP is often used by sports professionals, how useful do you think NLP is in increasing peak performance?
TJ & AJ: We have used NLP to dramatically increase performance in sports environments. One of the university basketball teams in the State of Hawaii used the Secret of Creating Your Future® Audio Program to go from the bottom of their conference to the top in one year. Coach Lauderdale had his entire team listen to the Secret of Creating Your Future® Audio Set – it was that which produced the results!
MW: What was it in the Secret of Creating Your Future® Seminar specifically that created the results?
AJ: It was getting rid of their negative emotions and limiting beliefs.
Shelley Taylor Smith is an Olympic Champion Marathon Swimmer; she injured her back and then took a NLP Practitioner Training. During training she couldn’t sit in her chair, and by the end of the training the pain had disappeared and she regained control over her body. She was able to source how she created the injury and changed that into perfect health. It was so valuable to her that she went on to be a trainer of NLP and is now coaching young athletes using the skills she learned in these trainings.
MW: How do NLP and Time Line Therapy™ techniques compare to current mainstream popular therapies such as CBT, SFT (Solution Focused Therapies) and Transactional Analysis?
TJ & AJ: We believe that all therapies are good, valuable and they produce the results that they do. Time Line Therapy™ techniques and NLP seem to produce results that are quicker than traditional psychology. Not in every case of course, because in some cases traditional psychological therapies may be needed.
MW: Some people reading this may be going through a negative time in their life right now, what would you say to them?
TJ & AJ: Life happens to all of us, some experiences are positive, some are of hurt, anger, sadness, frustration and a whole range of other emotions, Time Line Therapy™ techniques can transform painful experiences into positive learning’s that propel us to the next level, giving meaning to life and restoring inner powers.
MW: Do you think there would be benefit in an increase of scientific research in NLP and Time Line Therapy™?
TJ & AJ: Any research in NLP is worth doing, it would be great if someone would do it, as there is not sufficient research in any area
MW: How can parents and teachers best influence children?
TJ & AJ: Kids don’t abreact to parents with whom they have rapport. If a parent learns rapport skills, it will enhance their parenting skills.
MW: You’ve been doing NLP and Time Line Therapy™ for the last 22 years, what is the greatest success you have experienced in that time?
TJ & AJ: There was a couple in California who after fifteen years or so of marriage didn’t know if they wanted to be together, they had 2 kids and ran a successful company. As a result of Time Line Therapy™ techniques, Hypnosis and NLP, not only did they re-establish their relationship at a new level based on peace, love, respect and family values but together they increased their company worth five times and sales went through the roof. Their love life was re-kindled and they even managed to solve the problems they had with their kids.
MW: What is the key to being successful?
AJ: You have to pay attention to the wholeness of who you are, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, the moment you neglect one it certainly will have an influence. In trainings, we approach every individual and help bring out his /her magnificence, we’re less interested in us looking good and more interested in students looking great.
MW: What values do you see as being crucial to achieving success?
TJ & AJ: Integrity, results, respect, honesty, win-win, and customer service.
MW: What do you see as the future of NLP?
TJ & AJ: In the last 22 years there has been an increased interest in the field of NLP, on a continual basis professionals are taking and incorporating NLP into their practice. Professionals are becoming more and more convinced that NLP constitutes the mind/body connection, as this continues to happen, more and more people will come to trainings. To Practitioners of NLP or those of you who are just getting into NLP, you are doing so at just the right time as we’re seeing the wave crest. Time Line Therapy™ is big in the UK, more professionals realise the importance of Time Line Therapy™ and Hypnosis as it proves beneficial in improving performance and allowing people to be free of their emotional limitations. This is big in the UK – the idea of emotional intelligence. Well; Time Line Therapy™ is emotional intelligence. Coaches have discovered that people don’t perform well with negative emotions; it hinders success and their abilities to create what they want. Learning NLP, Time Line Therapy™ and Hypnosis regains control over people’s lives, relationships, health and fitness, career and income.
MW: What’s next for you both?
TJ & AJ: We are working on several new products which will be as revolutionary for NLP, as our new DVD Practitioner set is right now. The DVD set is the first full practitioner training in NLP ever made available on DVD. In next year look for additional products that we are sure will amaze you. I’m sorry I can’t talk about it now, but after years of experience I have learnt it is best not to talk about a product until it is ready.
MW: What are you most passionate about?
TJ & AJ: Being with each other
MW: And if someone you know was to bump into you at a bar and wanted to buy you a drink, what should they buy you?
AJ & TJ: Corona Light (Laughter)
Max Watts: Thanks, it’s been great to talk to you today.
Drs. Tad and Adriana James: Thanks Max
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