Web Page of a Mechaphile

Long time no post?

2010-07-31T09:03:00.004+01:00

It's been months since I posted. Having work takes all the spare time away I guess.

Ragewalker has impressed me with this wonderful Camaro that has burnt itself to my eyeballs now.

Hope he does a Range Rover Sport for me :P.

This was so hot I bought it.

So what have I been doing? Working mostly. The usual degree of car loving of course.

Studying neurosciences as a serious hobby, though I've put that to one side for the last month to study writing. As you can see, this is something I need. And I hope the result eventually will turn into better stories.

By the way, you can start a sentence with And and Because. I didn't know that. Because school teaches you wrong.

Our very own Forums and Domain!!

2008-07-08T17:35:00.001+01:00

Ok so yeah, I'm excited because I finally managed to score a domain name and hosting. Courtesy of www.touch-hosting.com . Go see James if you want to register a domain, buy hosting, and have a site built. He'll look after you..especially if you tell him I sent you :). Seriously.

Thanks James.

Our lovely new site-you can register freely and quickly here:-

http://www.sexwithcars.org

Oh and ignore the damned cyber idiot squatters on the .com page. They thought I would pay good money for the domain off them.How dumb is that? The domain is only good for mechaphiles and none of us are willing to pay ransom money. It's not that important.

Anyway, come see us if you are a real mechaphile or a curiousity seeker wanting to watch. Right now we have a handful of members but thats in 24 hours. Some male, some female. Australia, Germany, Croatia, Canada, USA and the UK right now. A few of us will entertain coming to visit hot cars of those folks who are interested to watch :).

You'll have to ask us though.

TV Show and another book recommendation

2008-05-28T18:03:00.007+01:00

Well tonight we have a TV, mentioned in a previous post. It will be interesting to see what people have to say. How many folks will appear that realise that they are not alone. How many folks will learn something new, and bizarre. :). Who knows.

I think the show waw well put together, and fair. Giving Edward and Jordan equal air time. It wasn't me who sent them a rude email however LOL. I got on fine with the folks who contacted me, it was simply I didn't need more exposure! The Sun was enough thank you.

Just so you know, I stick to my cars or those of curiousity seekers that lend them to me, in a garage! Public sex doesn't do it for me LOL.

There will be new stories soon. Meanwhile do you like the cartoons? A friend did them for me and he's available for cartoon work I believe. He doesn't have a site yet however.

I've read a book from this fellow (http://www.keithjohnstone.com/) on Impro that has impressed me enough to read it twice. A full review will come very soon. Needless to say, if you are into people watching-get this book. If you are into spontaneous creativity, get this book. Every action we take deep down is influenced by status plays. Have a look, spend a few pennies on Amazon then come back and tell me I'm right :).

There are two people advertised on my page, directly by me. Why? Because they are brilliant. They excel at what they do yet are not "BIG NAMES"--yet.

Paul of Real Smart hypnosis is a highly effective multitalented hypnotherapist with lots of cross over trainings and certifications who very simply helps YOU get you what you really want.

Tom and Kim of Essential Skills have courses, and DVD's that pretty much blows any "standard NLP" types trainings out of the water without trying. They introduce you to an ease and elegence, without a trace of "smugness" and with lots of laughter and fun. You'll come out of their training with the ability to notice how natural it is to simply connect to anyone you need to influence positively. You'll feel like you've always had the skill and simply forgotten it. They're that good. See the video blog for yourself.

Jordan and Edward

2008-05-23T18:18:00.001+01:00

Two friends of mine, who are about to become rather famous, thanks to the efforts of channel 5.

I've seen the clips-go for it Edward. That's a cute 4x4 you didn't realise you were being filmed making out with :).

I'm looking forward to seeing this program. I know both stars, have done for a long time. We are all very different from each other, as is the rest of the mechaphile community.

Its sad to see some of the negative comments that I've found online in response to this so far-but on the other hand, if any of us really cared about such nonsense, we would be all secretive and never have turned up online.

Still, here's something for my mechaphile mates to look at. It's not a Beetle but I find him rather hot :).

A lovely present :)

2008-03-10T07:20:00.002Z

A very nice lady who can be found here: Javlynn Sue has drawn me this sweet cartoon of my and Marcus's relationship.

Now of course that isn't 100% accurate as Marcus likes to go on top more but still, she's working on the other one!! Let me know what you think eh?

The reason my blogging has slowed to a stop is I simply don't have as much to say as I used to. Now, that's probably a very good thing-who knows.

Busy month, and a possibly interesting little course

2007-12-22T23:02:00.000Z

Well, first off I've just seen this :

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

So I thought why not? So here it is, I'll post my opinions after I've tried it out-fairly :-). Not sure whether Mr Joyner will like having publicity my particular form of blog mind-:-).

Secondly, too damned busy to stay on top of all the blogs. In case you haven't noticed, I blog and story write in fits and starts. Right now I'm not up for writing much. Been too busy having sex to be honest.

I'll post something pretty when I get round to it.

Have a good Christmas folks.

Recent changes and updated links

2007-11-09T10:14:00.001Z

Firstly I've discovered a blog of mine that actually I like the layout of. Therefore I'm going to be adding stories and pics to that. My Wordpress blog will get new material as it comes up.

http://karnautrahl.spaces.live.com/

Lookout for my skydrive link as it will be updated as and when I complete new audio short stories.

http://tinyurl.com/39lg8g

As ever I'm looking for other contributions and experiences. There is a plan to create a new Mechaphile book-featuring fiction and other material. I'm mostly past the psychological analysis bullshit now. That was all justification purely because it IS an unusual thing to be into.

The complete link list is below:

http://360.yahoo.com/karnautrahl
http://carloving.blogspot.com
http://myspace.com/mechaphilia
http://en.netlog.com/Car__Lover
http://www.tagworld.com/karnautrahl
http://www.geocities.com/karnautrahl/
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/sexwithcars
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/sexwithbikes
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/sexwithboats
http://karnautrahl.wordpress.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlover/
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/karnautrahl
http://www.bebo.com/karnautrahl
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/sexwithcars?hl=en
http://profile.to/karnautrahl/
http://www.londonfetishscene.com/wipi/index.php/How_to_make_love_to_a_car
http://tinyurl.com/39lg8g
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/dna.php?username=85312645@N00

Plans, Stories

2007-11-02T11:14:00.000Z

Well, having read on book on Mechaphilia I'm planning to produce my own.

However, I'll be aiming for something lighter and perhaps something publishable. An anthology of my own mechaphiliac erotica, and possibly others. It'll be fun to do for sure.

Later when I can find the text, I'll post you the story that goes with these two mating F22's.

Planes fucking...nice

2007-11-01T22:15:00.001Z

Spanish, spanglish and the fun of being wrong

2007-06-23T18:54:00.000+01:00

Ever had fun being incompetent or simply wrong?

How can that be?

Well, try an obsessive nut (me), an mp3 player, 7 days and hours of spanish language mp3's.
Add in a week's holiday at the end of that.

You get Spanglish :-). First off, there's the nervousness of knowing you don't really know much that well. Then you break that barrier to find that a smile, a laugh as you bugger it up royally often allows you to connect really well. Amazingly this sense of connection allows more stray fragments of spanish to float up to impress your new friend. What I found nice was how much expression, body language and tone of voice could be used to really get stuff across.

Even if you hate languages, an experience like this could change your mind. Halfway through the holiday there were nice discounts to be had on food and drink, unasked for. Being able to put smiles on the faces of folks who were miserable at the airport was great fun.

So yep, it's possible to really enjoy being wrong whilst making a real effort to communicate.

----------------------------------------
3D Mind

What is it?

A useful technique for creating permanent change. Instead of reprogramming the brain with clever language or overpowering problems with overwhelming feel goodness...you simply learn how to balance out the precise problem states that are the foundations of beliefs that get in the way of things you want to do in your life.

Easy aint' it?

Actually the hard part is simply targetting the right states.

I won't say much more here, instead I invite you to go look at Tom Vizzini and Kim McFarland's excellent site at www.essential-skills.com. Also chat to them via http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/essential-skills.

That's all for now.

More when I'm not so busy.

Adios, Hasta luego!

Self Improvement?

2007-05-04T11:58:00.000+01:00

The criticism of "self-improvement" and a definition of real self improvement.

In the past I've come across put downs regarding the industry of self improvement and empowerment. These oversimplify and generalise the concept of self improvement.

Instead of qualifying that assertation instead I'll give you a real definition of self improvement.

Find something you want to do or be able to do.

Find what it is that stops you or gets in the way.

Estabilish whether it's a thing that could changed, by you.

Find a way to change it.

This presupposes that what gets in the way IS in your control and a good thing to change. Some people might state they want to do something that's illegal or plain wrong.

What gets in their way then is either fear of the law/consequences or simply their own conscience.

This would NOT be "self-improvement" by any definition, unless you were playing semantic games.

How about the dreamy ideal of "anything is possible if you put your mind to it"?

Often attacked by "realists" because it appears to assume that nothing is impossible.

Instead I would argue that actually you could state anything that isn't impossible is possible.

There are far more things that are possible than there are impossible I'm sure. Most folks could find more possibilities than impossibilities if they work at it. Also its usually more productive to consider what can be done, rather than what cannot.

Of course, what would be possible to achieve by taking steps is another matter, even so a mindset of anything is possible isn't a bad starting point.

Now tempered with the realism of planning and taking action, you have an attitude that's worth having and believing in.

The planning stage takes care of what you decide is to be possible.

The action stage takes care of the achieving of what is possible.

The finishing if it's a thing to be finished, does what it says on the tin. Completes the goal.

Some goals however are the end in themselves.

Inner peace for example.

A fantastic memory.

A wonderful relationship.

These things are a process, an experience that continues and the goal is to be in that process and enjoy it.

Just thoughts for the day.

Talent, Genius, more Stuff

2007-04-30T09:55:00.000+01:00

Talent, and genius
Are these born only? Or are they made? Perhaps sometimes there is a combination of the two.

It depends what talents you are talking about.

Lets define genius first however. Genius is a social label, often applied late or after the life of the person so labelled. Anyone defining themself as a "genius" is likely to be delusional unless of course they have been convinced by surrounding society.

So genius isn't something you work towards. In your hands is talent, many of them usually. What can be worked towards is developing the talent you love working with, and perhaps balancing it with other talents that support it.

What limits us the most? Other people? Environment? No, our own beliefs about what we can do or not do.

Once again I write about what it is I have to learn about the most, nothing more.

I do remember a friend of mine, Paul of Realsmart Hypnosis, illustrating the other end of the belief extreme however.He said, if your belief is that strong, you can try standing in front of a bus and believing it won't hurt you. If the bus in question is doing 60 miles an hour, you might have a problem with that belief.

This picture does demonstrate that its possible to believe too much too soon of yourself. A delusional or irrational overarching belief is just as limiting.

There is a philosophy in the world right now, spearheaded by The Secret. It's called magical thinking. Tom Vizzini does a great job of taking this one apart intelligently, over at www.essential-skills.com.

Beliefs inform actions. Positive thinking, visualising, goal setting and other mental tools inform actions, that have to be taken.

It's possible to write down a list of goals, visualise them and really desire to manifest them. This would be the equivalent of setting a course when sailing.When sailing, winds push you one way then the other. The trend of the journey if plotted correctly should be towards the destination you set.

This relies on one major assumption. That you are actually sailing. That you got in the boat, with appropriate supplies and equipment. That you cast off and you took all the actions you needed to being and continue your journey.

Mark Joyner of Simpleology.com has his system for doing this. It relies on a daily discipline of actions that you take. He writes to me daily because I am subscribed to his site. However, I'm not a follower of the system at this time.There are numerous books on time management, getting things done and similar. These can be used to help you with the daily sailing of your course.

I write on a blog, as a means of self study. A means of checking what I actually understand, or whether I know what I need to understand next.Occasionally if I'm privileged to, someone will come across it and be helped a little by something I wrote.

Speaking to a young lady on a yacht recently, she was surprised that I didn't believe in the power of wishes. I said to her, the truth is I believe in wishing for something and then taking the oppurtunities to go out and get it.That doesn't mean I'm always that proactive however. Over the years I've been the dead opposite actually, hence writing what I need to learn the most.

Stephen Covey's book has its say on being proactive. Its the first of the 7 habits, and it's critical.

Sometime in the next few weeks, I'm going to be applying for my first ever serious sales job. I've decided on the criteria before I even start.The old wisdom might be apply to as many as possible, and be realistic.
My belief is I can be realistic and apply to only those that I wish to represent.

Companies who's product and reputation I can respect and would use myself if I needed to.This is the only way I would want to achieve any form of sales success. Selling products and services that I actually believe in.
So the criteria is simple enough. The position will be either trainee or basic, with the appropriate training program to allow me to learn the products and services.The position has as much potential as I can bring to it. I will require a real chance to bring the company involved new profit and their new clients a damn good service.

That way, I can with complete integrity, decide to aim for crazy figures in the future in selling.

Of course, aiming for crazy figures in the first month is a little like standing in front of the bus. The actions required will be knowledge, experience and confidence. None of these can be believed into being.They have to be created over time.

My next action is to actually start researching who would I enjoy working for. Who's got the right ingredients for me to engineer solid win/win relationships with? As beginner as I am :-)

There is however a series of destinations I wish to set course for. Like sailing, the journey is far more important than the destination however, so perhaps I should redefine my destination(s) as additional waypoints instead.

First gain experience and skill to sell. Secondly, bring in lots of clients for the company, long lasting clients of course. Thirdly make plenty of money but only as long as it's enjoyable for all-hard work included.Fourth, use the money to expand my knowledge and skills. Training is important to me, there are things I want to be able to do. It's taken me a few years to realise that only a few material posessions mean all that much to me. Something I would not have believed years ago.

Hypnotherapy training, stand-up comedy training, some time with Richard Bandler, Adam Eason and perhaps Jonothon Royle are all things I'd enjoy.None of the training courses are "the Answer". I'm not looking for that. That would be a destination, and if you remember, it's the journey thats' real hot.

I've realised on one level that achievement for me has nothing to do with a Mercedes SLR, a bunch of degrees or some great scientific breakthrough. If the latter one was what I wanted, then the actions would be different.
Instead, achievement for me would be something totally different. To be able to enjoy a wide variety of experiences, skills and knowledge...all of these things shared as most of them are not just about me.

For a time I thought I'd become a therapist of some description. However, an interest in the skills of therapy does not a therapist make. I'd rather be involved coaching people to go further, whilst pushing myself to get out of comfort zones myself.Various business ideas I've come up with do include exclusive, exquisite sales coaching and specific tailored company seminars. These ideas are not ripe for the plucking just yet. They will be however.
A blog is a public private place. For me especially, as only a few friends really know who I am. Companies searching for my blog on application won't be reading this.How long I write blogs for is another matter. I did think I would lose interest, however, since I decided that sex is simply too boring to write about repeatedly, my interest has grown again.

Of course, blogs take the place of lecturing unsuspecting friends and family. It's about time. This way, folks can read and quit whenever they like. They can also get a word in edgeways. Saying it all here, means getting time to listen in the world that matters. The real world.Over on my other blog I detail a rather convoluted trance technique that will help you stretch time out and enhance the senses. However, if you've never read trance material before, be warned, it's NOT concise or to the point. Instead...well have a look yourself.

http://karnautrahl.wordpress.com

For the moment this is it.

I used to lecture to my brothers about stuff, a lot. My good intention might have been to help them in some way, however since I hadn't achieved anything particular, what was I helping them to do? The same?

New week, new books and ideas

2007-04-22T07:44:00.000+01:00

On my other blog, I wrote an article with an idea I've got growing like a seedling in the back of my mind. In it I talk a little about body language as well. Over time I may build up a collection of these articles as writing also helps me to learn things.

This week books listened to are Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and another round of D Moines Unlimited Selling Power. Add to that mix Dan Kennedy's No B.S Selling book, one of Kevin Hogan's books and a start on a book called Controlling People. That last is about manipulative people, however you'll have to wait till next week before I review that one. Moine's book I've talked about in the past, and anyone interested in their line of hypnotic selling should also invest in Adam Eason's book which is even more complete. Both books would go great on the salesmans reading list, along with Dan Kennedy's book.

Now Stephen Covey, it's his audio book I've listened to twice now whilst doing a mindless job. This gives me the space to actually listen to hours of audio books. The cons are, I don't find him as sparkly and entertaining as Bandler or Farrelly. Also, I've listened twice and wish to refer to the book as I don't feel I fully remember all the useful parts. However, that isn't necessarily Stephen's problem ;). The character ethics he talks about are diamond however. It's easy to see how a proactive person (be Proactive), with vision (Begin with the End in Mind) and solid self management (Put first things First) would have a decided advantage over someone who is reactive, with no direction and with no self management skills.

Here are his 7 habits.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
This one is fairly straightforward really. You prepare, anticipate, plan on many levels. You carry your own weather within you, rather than complaining if it's raining out there.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
You know where you want to go, what you want to achieve. This is what you are heading for. He discusses what happens when everyone in any organisation is deeply involved in creating the mission statement, the vision for the whole organisation.

Habit 3: Put First Things First
Habit 2 is described as the leadership habit, and this one as the management habit. The nuts and bolts of how exactly do you achieve the vision, how you break the trail. He uses a ladder metaphor to describe how these interlock however. You can manage your way up the ladder, only to find its leaning on the wrong wall. Makes sense, hence why the habits link together.

Habit 4: Think Win/Win
This one has to be key for all forms of negotiation, whether it's your loved ones or your boss, client or employees. He reminds us that win/win isn't always totally possible, and NO DEAL is sometimes the best option. Only occasionally should win/lose or lose/win ever have to be accepted. In this matter he is realistic, though he argues that companies and their clients only win/win is realistic.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
We all want to be understood. If you really want the sale, or to be influencial, then truly seeking to understand the other first is one big fat key to this. Yet, it cannot be a ploy, the other will detect this. You have to be prepared to listen and understand TOTALLY.

This one is important to me in particular as past associates can testify, I got to the importance of listening late in life. Even now, it's not 100% my strong point and I'm working on it.

If you allow the other the space to express themselves completely on whatever the issue is, and are then able reiterate the important things they said, they will feel totally understood and appreciated. They are highly likely to listen in return and you are highly likely to take fully into account their view in putting across your own points. Minds can be changed and made up on the strength of this.

Habit 6: Synergize Habit
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This one, I have to work on more to really grasp this notion fully and do it justice. There seems to be a sense of submerging the ego and of co-operation with others beyond the norm to the point where something new and..well..synergistic is created. This part of the review will need clarifying, as I'm still trying to clarify this for myself. I'm pleased in a way that the 7 habits are not just automatically accepted and understood by me, but actually will need work to fully understand in order to even pass a real opinion on. When I get "it", they will be much more deeply understood.

7: Sharpen the Saw
This one, again I have to go over a few more times. The concept in a way appears to be to work on the other 6 habits continuously and with constant attention. Again, look for alteration of this review when my understanding clears.

This book feels like a roots and foundation that can be built upon. If these are solid, then techniques and methods can flow naturally outward from this foundation, this root. If the integrity and vision is there, then all the influence, selling and perhaps therapy techniques become natural and straightforward, rather than strained and contrived. Something for me to think about.

The problem with books like this, is Amazon and other bloggers. Why? Because I can find myself getting towed along various lines of reading and research and expanding the reading list like you wouldn't believe. There is a book a day just about landing on my doormat at the moment. Each one is a 5 or 4.5 star book with great reviews and I've researched to see just how good they were. I kept away from "spirituality" instead researching originally on people skills, and therapy. However, all things interrelated and this web of interrelationships is showing me that my own research and search will be neverending.

There will have to come a point, where I integrate the best of what I have learnt and use this, a consolidation point. Where I take stock, and decide what is the best direction for me and for future clients. What's practical, what works, what will give lasting most beneficial changes.

Book reviewing and blogging like this gives me a place to work out what I really know or think of a new book, what I think of many things and perhaps a space to decide where new knowledge does or does not fit in. In the future there will be a business only blog, for the benefit of clients. For now this one is simply a place for my thoughts, a place where random people may wander in, and wonder out again puzzled.

I've yet to develop the skill of fascinating readers.

Did you like that line? If you did...well you've read a few of the books I did.
If you're still puzzled...well you didn't.

Until I have another attack of the opinion bug, adios for now. Bet I spelt that wrong.

Oh go here for a really fascinating blog I found whilst trying to understand the 6th flippin' habit. I loved the thing about companies. You will too...

http://hdbizblog.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

Blame news...

2007-04-16T22:45:00.000+01:00

It saddens me to see that when a terrible tragedy happens, that the search for someone to blame is given a top priority even when the perpetrater himself is dead. I've never understood this impulse, and I probably never will.

In an age of targets, regulations and risk-management buzz speak, the new game is both arse covering and looking for someone else to take the rap. What is a blog for, but to speak your mind as you see it.

I don't know what the world was like 30 years ago, for I wasn't around then so I can't in truth hark back to "good old days", but it sure saddens me to find new regulations, laws and restrictions shoved in place with little thought to real world consequences. Little thought given to overall real world strategy and what would genuinely happen. Instead, both knee jerk and policy by headline appears to be the new style of general government and law making. This is exacerbated by panic reactions by departments who end up inheriting a similar style of management. Sad, ill thought out and serves no one truly well.

If you measure the maturity of society the way you'd measure the growth of a single human being, modern interconnected, congested, intense and overcrowded society is probably just about to hit the terrible teens. If we are lucky. With all that image implies.

America wants to both hide away in it's room away from the terrible world and dominate all the space it can. The UK can't decide who to best please, Europe is becoming aware that it too could become another legislation bully. Then you have the Middle East and Asia, well there we have a problem. Created by the interaction of the other children. This isn't going to be pretty, and the world could have a bigger problem than climate change.

On that subject, I offer you two theories ok? I won't give you much verbage, just two ideas to consider. Remember the phrase "perception management", or forget it if you wish.

Theory one: We create climate change (reworded from simplistic global warming-get the smart and trendy folks on side here). Or we are majorly responsible. So we have to solve the problem.
Solutions would include, very high oil prices, very high taxes, big fat restrictions and more high prices. So many companies and organisations involved here. Whichever way you look at it, a lot of positioning and profiteering space can be created very easily here.

Theory two:We have little to do with the actual climate change. It's part of the Earth's normal variation. In prehistory there are cycles of even greater CO2 concentrations, apparently proveable. Interestingly, this theory does not justify greater taxation, greater restriction or any specific price hikes at all, nor any new controls on people's lives.

Of course, theory two doesn't actually let us off the hook with declining oil reserves, with killing the rainforests and other stupid acts. Theory two simply doesn't give nice marketable sellable perceptions with which to change entire economies.

These are opinions, ideas, speculative theories. I don't offer proofs or research, its a blog after all. An idea space. The appropriate people can simply find, or fit their own data as they wish. I personally am aware of many possible direction and theories for all sorts of things. Don't know as I know which are actually true though :). Hence my paranoia is pretty minor really. Someday I'll die-and worrying about that is a total waste too!

Back to book reviews next week, when I've completed a few new 'uns. Today was mild rant day.

What happened to sex with cars then?

2007-04-13T07:09:00.000+01:00

It seems my blog is becoming less orientated to my sex life doesn't it?

Well, whilst I won't ever get bored with sex, hell I'm spending some of today lying with a gorgeous boat, I will get bored writing about it. So you'll see the odd post but really, the obsessive looking past material is actually mostly the total of what I wanted to say over years on the subject more or less. That is, what I do, how to do it, and why.

That is not to say there won't be more, the occasional story etc. Just other stuff as well.

Book Review: Adam Eason-The Hypnotic Salesman.

Ok this arrived 2 days ago and I had the squits (otherwise known as the "runs"). I read half of it at least on the throne as it happens. Already I've decided to reread it a few times. Firstly I thought it would complement D Moines book I reviewed a few days ago. Well, it goes further than that.

Adam is an excellent writer, with only the slight jarring of the odd "haha!" to pick at. He covers body language, first impressions, even dress sense very quickly. He gives a solid concise definition of hypnosis before you dive in and then proceeds rapidly onto a variety skills. Rapport, language patterns, sleight of mouth are just some areas he covers. All these are explained in a way that any average person would follow with ease-even me!

He makes no secret of the fact he uses some hypnotic language to get ideas and skills over to you as you read. You always have the choice whether to fully allow such helpful suggestions to be taken in or not. Personally I'm going to reread it again, induce a deep trance and reread it until I can recall every important point easily ;).

His book recommendations are definitly worth perusing-I myself own at least half of them and found them all excellent in some way.

One thing to note, if you are familiar with NLP-this is NLP the way Bandler and Grinder would have hoped to see it. Naturally applied, with sensitivity, flexibility, common sense and elegence. This is not to say it's all NLP, but to my eyes so far it's all the best bits used well.

At some point I shall produce my own recommended reading list for anyone interested in brief therapy, influence and related areas. For now, I recommend a few authors.

Richard Bandler-Great fun to read (not counting patterns and structure of magic-they're more academic)

Stephen Heller-I wish he'd lived a lot longer, his one book was brilliant even if not the most rigorous of writers.

Steve and Connirae Andreas - Excellent communicators, demonstrate elegent NLP application in their various books

Bill Lankton-Practical Magic, again elegent use of NLP in a psychotherapeutic setting.

Bill O'Hanlon-He's as easy to read as Bandler or the Andreas siblings. Very worth having his works

Milton Erickson, Battino and Rossi, Jay Hayley - I bunch them together purely because between them they've documented so much about Erickson's brilliance that its worth having everything they've all done just about. Erickson's work and life itself has triggered off so many books and lines of inquiry that he's become a legend in the fields of hypnotherapy and brief therapy.

Julie Silverthorn and John Overdurf-Training Trances. I've to read this one through a second time, however it's another elegent example of using hypnotic language to teach hypnotic skills.

Dave Elman-Hypnotherapy. A classic and rounds out any collection of hypnosis books with a more directive approach to the subject.

Robert Cialdini-Influence, A modern classic that should be on the shelf of all people influencers of any stripe. Excellent in that he's done years of on the ground research, taken a lot of trouble to make his work solid and he communicates it in a clear and interesting manner. Get it, you'll read it straight through, twice. :-).

Kevin Hogan - Cited by Adam Eason, I've been looking at his book on influence and having a digital copy have felt the need to actually go buy it. It's another take on persuasion, with again a lot of ideas and techniques crammed in. It's not just NLP either, at least not on the first reading. A mixture of influences inform this book. I'll be doing another review when I've digested this one. I do get the impression its well worth reading however.

Dan Short, Betty Alice Erickson, and Roxanna Erickson Klein--Hope and Resiliency is another that whilst aimed at therapists is actually one who's contents I can see being applied to other situations. Distraction,progression, partitioning, reorientation, utilization and suggestion are the six philosophical themes with case histories to illustrate the various subthemes within the book. The authors attempt to give any reader ways to consider creating individual interventions with these concepts in mind. Lovely work that needs rereading a bunch of times at least.

Charvet Shelle Rose-Words that change minds. Elegent work focussing on metaprograms in particular. She lays out a model that you can use to analyse how people are motivated and sort the world mentally, in order to communicate well with them. Taken as a generalised guide, with sensitive flexibility and total attention to the person you are with, this books contents will simply give you a great framework of pointers that will help you choose your words. They are not guarantees just likely to give you better odds.

Genie Laborde-Influence with Integrity-Another elegent book that the NLP revolution spawned. Worth having, and reading especially if you are a student of influence in general.

Albert Ellis-He's got a lot of books out on his Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy, and I've picked up several of the most recent. I haven't taken them in enough to do a decent full review, again another for the future-and what I have read is great. Common sense prevails for sure. Your thoughts can dictate your feelings and how you dispute irrational beliefs are some of the themes he covers. For someone like myself, his work is a nice balance to have when studying this area in general. Worth getting and worth knowing the basic distortions and the ABC model alone (for non therapists).

This isn't an exhaustive list as I've many more that I've acquired over the last two years, however these are the ones I've either read or started on that all stand out right now.

At the moment the list looks like its more NLP and hypnosis orientated, because it is. I've widened my search for all kinds of other approaches to influence and brief therapy however. NLP has had a lot of flack over the years, it's not surprising as there were many people eager to make bucks and make wild claims. I spent a lot of time reading, and checking out all kinds of reviews to try and find the gold amongst the crap.

Before you ask, no I haven't taken NLP training, and don't intend to as such. Instead I highly recommend Tom Vizzini and Kim McFarland's courses to you instead. Go look for yourself, www.essential-skills.com . They take no bullshit or prisoners, the courses are a heck of a lot of fun and incredible value. I myself will be repeating the seminars I did with them as it happens.

At this time, I'm still working my way through Paul Ekman's work on the FACS system (the software is worth having too!) and also Stan Walters Kinesic Interview Technique. The spookily heartening thing about both books (intended for police and FBI use) is that the Essential Skills calibration methods hand a lot of this to you on a plate. Get the hang of calibration, you'll never need a body language "dictionary" again. I tested out at 86% on the micro expression training tool, before training-using what I remember from the course.

Just a thought.

The majority of the books on selling and influence I've mentioned all point out one major ethical point. To truly influence another, you have to have a total win/win and honest outcome in mind. If you don't, well rapport is two way for one, and should you manage to get a dishonest outcome to happen, it will certainly come back to roost. This isn't namby pamby ethics, this is cause and effect.

If I sell you something that you didn't truly want or need, you'll never do business again. You may come back for a refund. Either way, that profit I made was a maximum of a one off.

Say you came to me for something you wasn't sure if you needed, or wanted however, and I help you clarify both points. I then gain a relationship with you that allows you to trust me enough to really explain what you want and why. I then find you the very best way that I can help you get it. What do I have? A future customer who likes me and my business.
A business is built not on profit margins but on profitable Relationships.

Right that's me all type and talked out for today. The quality of my writing will improve, the more I practice :-). You don't need to imagine what it could be like if you can take the most elegent and the best skills of top influencers and apply them in your life for honest outcomes...you can probably imagine it without my input :-). Good night.

Another book?

2007-04-10T22:44:00.000+01:00

Michael Heppall-How to Be Brilliant.

Think of Anthony Robbins-minus excess hype and hypnotic language. Strip it down and present it with common sense that comes from northeast England. A style that is clear, approachable and quite inspiring, and brief.
This is how to be Brilliant. All the best bits of someone like Robbin's, none of the bad bits, and clear common sense.
This is Michael Heppall, and I give him 5 stars. I also intend to go on his next relevent seminar-5 hour train journey notwithstanding.

Hot sun and cars..more books.

2007-04-09T18:34:00.000+01:00

Well, I was all set to post when I saw a slight annoyance on my posting page. A damned word verification. Perhaps necessary, though surely the logging in process *should* be able to filter out automated spam bots?

Anyway on with the post of the day. Not that I will do one everyday of course.

I've had two hot days, where I've come home with Amy-dusty and warm from the sun. I've intended to go in the house, and ended up in the garage first!! Good fun. Due to the amount of folks who personally know me now reading this, I'm going to avoid explicit posts on these sites. At least until they all lose interest!! ;) Some actual events are best left to the imagination after all.

Book review of the weekend : Frank Bettger, How I raised myself from failure to success in selling.
This is a 1947 book and has all the appeal and charm of a book written from a good old fashioned American guy story style. With the addition of 35 points, and good summaries of each section. Highly readable, this book seems to me to be worth any dozen of more modern works I've read so far.

If I say enthusiasm, honesty, questions and listening-help a man get what he wants in the best way you can etc...well you get the idea. I've started picking up sales books, because whilst my interest is more towards brief therapy, the hardest sales one could make, could be the sale of a new idea to someone who believes they are stuck with their problems. It was a passing thought, and I'm following up the idea. I could do a lot worse than Frank's book however. 5 out of 5 and yes, I will add the caveat-I'm not a salesman and I'm not experienced at selling :-).

Provocative Therapy-Frank Farrelly

This man when you watch him on video is the clear influence behind Richard Bandler's entertaining style of teaching NLP etc. However, Frank didn't come up with NLP, his works influenced the two guys mostly held responsible for that act-Bandler and Grinder. The book itself is firstly an easy read, and an easy reread a few times.

He tells the story of how he formulated provocative therapy, essentially realising the true value of his real gut reactions and feelings in response to the clients he was working with. He relates his experiences clearly and in an entertaining fashion. The various transcripts show that therapy does not have to be "serious" to be "seriously effective".

It's not a long book, but for it's purpose it doesn't need to be. His videos would be another must have, as well as an appropriate course. These materials alone have sold me on the idea of getting training in this method of working with people in terms of brief therapy.

Sometime soon, I've to sit down and reread once more Richard Bandler's various works. Especially in light of studying Rational Emotive Behavioural therapy and other forms of intervention. His books are highly entertaining (well, ok, Structure of Magic 1 and 2 and Patterns might be a little heavier ;) ) and worth reading, even if one is highly questioning of NLP (as well, one should be really!). Some things in it do seem to work well enough to be a useful tool. When I've reread these, I may review them.

Meanwhile, I've got to work on my writing style! This of course is simply a blog, that occasionally might be seen and I DO use it as a public place to write and leave my thoughts. Whilst originally it was only to be about cars, I've decided to use it for whatever else I like. Eventually I might make it useful too!

Before you ask, yes I read a fuck of a lot of books. However, turning theory into useful practical knowledge is another matter. Something I'm painfully aware of.

New photos and crap like that.

2007-04-06T10:42:00.000+01:00

What did I do this week? Well, I've left the workshop-possibly for good, at least as a place of work. I did enjoy it however, it was time to move on. As for sex, I've not bothered this week, so no juicy exploits. I've got fedup of the issues it brought up, and for the first time in my life I got furious AND aggressive with someone. So space is definitly needed. Instead I'll write about something other than sex.

I intend to write a story soon, to demonstrate time distorting trance, sensory enhancement and noticing flows and clusters of body language. Mainly because I tend to learn best by having to teach something I'm only just learning myself.

I decided as reviewing a book tends to help me remember the best bits I'll use this space for this sometimes. This week I read or am on a reread of the following. It's amazing how much reading time there is when I'm not messing about trying to get another car or so ;).

Book recommends of the week ;).

Unlimited Selling Power-D.Moine-This may seem quite 80's when going through it. However, I have this on audio too (even more 80's). I have a confession-I had this sent to me via an ebook (free!). I read it, and have since ordered it! For a beginning hypnotist, the overview of hypnotic language is highly valuable as you get to see it as it *could* be applied. As ever, flexibility, subtlety and sensitivity would be an overwhelming requirement to make this work. This may not be totally clear when reading this the first time. I'd mix these techniques in other approaches as needed if I was going into sales. Read for interest however :-).

Calvin Banyon, The Secret Language of Feelings. I'm halfway through this, and going to reread it today. He is a hypnotherapist however, there is a trace of Ellis REBT in there if you read carefully.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: A Therapist's Guide, Second Edition (Practical Therapist) - This is a concise solid guide that is aimed more at practicing counsellors and therapists rather than dabblers like myself. However dabbler or not, it's easy to read and makes a lot of common sense.

Buying Trances-Joe Vitale. This is a book I got 6 days ago. I read it in 2 hours or less, and halfway through it again. It's NOT a comprehensive guide to techniques and would need a few other books to give a beginner a solid overview of this concept. However, if you are into any form of selling and want to get a solid quick idea of the "buying trance" concept-this works exceedingly well. You get a grasp of rapport, and how to get into where "they" are coming from. It did make me think of horse whispering a little as a concept :-).

Gerry Spence, How to Argue and Win Every Time. An enjoyable read, doesn't promise a complete technique angle for argueing. Instead, arguing from the heart and totally acknowledging the power and heart of the "other" is more the direction he's coming from. A worthy read.

Kevin Hogan-The Psychology of Persuasion. This looks excellent on a quick overview and read of the first chapters. It's not simply NLP, though that is used a fair bit from what I've seen so far. I'll add to this review when I've read it :-).

50 Psychology Classics-Halfway through this, and finding it great reading. Lots of inspiration as to who I should get into next to get a nice overview as well. I don't always agree with each of the "greats" but they don't usually agree with each other either-lot of fun...if you like psychology.

Eckharte Tolle-The Power of Now. I've started this, and in the first ten pages have had to stop. Why? Because I wish to grasp the feeling of what he went through when he "couldn't live with himself". Some books give ideas that deserve a space and time to appreciate. So far I believe this is one-whether I wish to go "spiritual" or not (whatever that means).

Right, that's all for now. Next post maybe the start of a new story as it's about time I put together another one :-).

Update...maybe

2007-04-02T22:11:00.000+01:00

Well, I've left where I was working for a time. At least for Easter for sure. Time to read, and study other things.

So what prompted me to post today? Well, a silly Meebo comment really. Someone wishing to communicate some notion that I'm sick and not normal I believe. A highly incisive, insightful, intuitive and incredibly well thought out message there. One who's wit and brilliance I cannot hope to match ever...

Right.

I've said this before really, and I will say it once more. I don't have to meet anyone's standards of "normal". So quit trying to force them on me if you are of this mindset. My blog is quite clear in its title, so I can't be accused of forcing my view on unwitting individuals. Mailing me and messaging me with such bullshit, is for sure, a way to attempt to influence my own thinking. Most such messages suck to be quite honest.

My view is anything harmless is a non issue. I do enjoy the occasional online verbal battle, as some people know. These take place generally on messenger. So be original, be funny and have a point, and I can play and have fun. Too many folks are too serious in this world, and ultimately the point of any harmless fetish is simply fun, pleasure and play.

I don't have much more to say really. My life does need to change direction slightly however, as truly I was way too obsessed with one vehicle. That won't happen again, lesson learnt. Once something like that stops being fun, then something is wrong.

Of course, normally, I settle on a new vehicle as a lover, and I've done the deal within a few weeks. This has gone on for too long and I've gotten knotted. Thankfully, untangling that knot was what happened in the last two weeks. Doh! :-)

Drunk weekend :-), answer to a question.

2007-03-25T14:25:00.000+01:00

After two nights having drunk more whisky than I've ever had in my life, I'm back home on the computer to find I missed a good question on Meebo, mistakenly left online.

"Have you ever met any women into this fetish?"

I've never met any face to face (knowingly), however in our group there are some women, and I have a couple of videos of some young ladies getting very close to their vehicles. So yes, this is something a few women enjoy too.
I bet also a certain style of straight bloke that has an issue with MY doing it, has NO issue whatsoever with a pretty young blonde doing it at all :-). That's just nature of course ;). Go on, tell me I'm wrong....

Anonymous criticism

2007-03-21T07:03:00.000Z

Says far more about the person doing the criticism than it does me.

Quotes like "You are a sick ****" are priceless examples of mindless crap that is the best that some minds are capable of. Sad really. A bit like yesterdays special found in the older post. Be a man next time, leave me your email address so I can respond :-).

A story like mine does bring out the amatuer psycho..analysists for sure. Suggestions like being slapped (kinky), getting therapy (thanks but I study various therapies as a hobby) and getting a life (Riiight...I'll come back to this one) are all pretty bog standard wankthink criticisms. In other words, barely a brain cell fired before the fingers hit the keys.

I get slightly pissy, especially if I drunk, when someone decides I *must* fit a certain stereotype. So that such folks can save their fingers I'll list the stereotype for you-to cut and paste into the next highly creative criticism. Samples from various blogs.

"sad, lonely, attention seeking geek" "can't get a proper girl" "not very gifted...perhaps quite stupid"

Well, what can one say to these erudite and piercing insights that strip away all pretense and sees right into the heart of my simple personality?
Oh, oh woe is me...I'm all fucked up from those expert and precise analysis.
Actually, the "stupid" comment is true at times.If you want to be equally simple, just go for variations on these stereotypes, and do the obligatory judgement thing ok? This is the extent of my bothering to defend myself here, this morning. What is true, and what some people feel they know to be true are two different things indeed.

Some folks also think I *might* change, feel shame/guilt or admit to their being so "right" when they post shit like that. To them, bollox. Turn your "skillz" and piercing insight onto your own life.

My previous apology still stands, however my blog carries on.

Random wordplay-I woke up with these phrases in my head, so I thought I'd stick them here.

Reaming a cylinder
Boring a pipe
Jacking up a car
Shafting a crank
Probing a pipe
Rodding a bore
Slipping into a gear
Tyred and exhausted from servicing the car
Camshafting
Filling 'er up
Waxing her off
Lubricating her joints
Lubing up to slide it in place
Suck, squeeze, bang, and blow (me)
Blowing a head gasket
Blowing a tyre

------Found this-Though it's more romantic than I go for :-).

I'm in Love with my Car- Queen

The machine of a dream, such a clean machine
With the pistons a pumping, and the hub caps all gleam
When I'm holding your wheel, all I hear is your gear

When my hand's on your grease gun,
Oh it's like a disease son
I'm in love with my car, gotta feel for my automobile
Get a grip on my boy racer rollbar, such a thrill when your radials squeal

Told my girl I'll have to forget her, rather buy me a new carburetorS
o she made tracks saying, this is the end now
Cars don't talk back, they're just four wheeled friends now
When I'm holding your wheel, all I hear is your gear

When I'm cruising in overdrive
Don't have to listen to no run of the mill talk jive
I'm in love with my car, gotta feel for my automobileI'm in love with my car, string back gloves in my automolove
-----------------------------------------

There'll be more I'm sure-contributions welcome. Change the nickname in the Meebo box if you want to leave a worthwhile comment :-).