Tips, Techniques And Strategies For Making Sure You Achieve Your New Year's Resolutions

An Interview With George Faddoul

INTRODUCTION

At the start of a new year, it's a great idea to take some time to reflect on what you want to achieve in the year ahead and set some goals.

Unfortunately, for all too many of us New Year's Resolutions end up being merely wishful thinking and are forgotten about well before the end of January.

To help you "Get A Bigger Bite Out of 2012" here are some tips, techniques and strategies from success expert George Faddoul about setting your goals the right way and how to make sure you actually achieve those goals.

The interview was conducted on 7 December 2011.

Let's go to the interview...

INTERVIEW - "HOW TO GET A BIGGER BITE OUT OF 2012"

Interviewer:

Okay, the purpose of this call is to talk about New Year's resolutions as it's the beginning of December, so this time of the year thoughts turn to that but of course for most people what they do is that even if they get around to making New Year's resolutions most of them don't last much beyond the first week of January.

So we're here today to talk about how to set New Year's resolutions and goals for 2012 effectively and more important make sure that you have the best possible chance of achieving those goals in 2012.

So George...fire away.

George Faddoul:

Let's kick off. New Year's resolutions. So why do people make them in the first place? They've had a few drinks, they feel pretty okay, there's a New Year on the horizon and they're feeling good and they make that New Year's resolution. And it sort of adds to the excitement on the day. And normally it's not something that they decide needs to start the minute they talk about it; so I'm setting my New Year's resolution because it's something that I'm going to start at the New Year, after the New Year.

So for starters it's not even designed nor structured according to our own S-M-A-R-T-S Formula. It's not in the present tense, it's always in the future and you've only just said it because you're feeling good about it at the time. And the idea is to turn those New Year resolutions into something that's actually going to manifest for you in the future. That's the design, that's what people want. People want to proclaim to the world that they have a New Year's resolution and they want to make sure that they actually get it at the end, but they're not thinking about that at the time.

But that's the thing. So how do we turn a New Year's resolution into something that will actually manifest in that person's life? And this is the design of this conversation I'm guessing.

Interviewer:

Yes, absolutely.

George Faddoul:

Okay. So to put it in a nutshell what we need to do is to organize, formulate and structure our New Year's resolutions in a way that automatically turns them into a ritual, and we'll talk about that a bit more in a moment. That's basically I think where I want to head with this, so that it's more than just a feel good statement on a particular day or night, that it's something that actually happens and manifests itself into the future. So where do we start?

Interviewer:

Why don't we review firstly what has kept people from achieving their goals over the last year.

George Faddoul:

Absolutely; what is it that stops people. So what happened to last year's New Year's resolution. Well here's my guess, and I'm not a gambler but I can make an informed guess you could say, right? So a person's made a New Year's resolution, New Year comes around they're not really thinking about it, a week or so later they're feeling a bit sad that it hasn't actually started yet and then all of a sudden they've forgotten it.

Now why does this happen? A variety of reasons. So normally people start complaining about their lot; so if you're complaining about your lot, where is your focus. So in our NLP practitioner training we talk a lot about where the focus goes and you usually get what it is that you focus on. So in this case if you're focusing on something that you're complaining about you're getting more of those negative things into you life rather than the positive things in your life. So complaining, whinging, whining, doesn't help a New Year's resolution to turn into something that you'll be able to manifest.

So the idea is to do the opposite of that. So instead of complaining, whinging and whining, and you know when the good Lord said ask, he didn't say ask as in whinge. He didn't say ask as in feel bad about it, he said ask but he implied intelligently. So ask and you shall receive but you need to ask intelligently.

So the way to do that is the opposite of complaining. It's having gratitude for what we have already. If you go back and review any QC Trainings, whether its Neuro-linguistic programming or business type seminars or whatever it is that we do, you'll notice that we always share the latest steps, the latest maps if you like, with our participants. One of my latest additions to the S-M-A-R-T-S Formula is the last 'S' making it S-M-A-R-T-S with an 'S' at the end and that is to smile and be grateful for what you have already. Because if you're not smiling, if you're not grateful about what you have already, then you're blaming and damming the flow for anything else to come to you.

Interviewer:

Just so everyone who is listening to this or reading this is clear, we just want to recap. You've mentioned the S-M-A-R-T-S Formula. I know a lot of people will understand that but for those who just need a refresher, do you want to briefly recap what that stands for?

George Faddoul:

Sure. Okay, so the first 'S' is to make the, in this case we're talking about a New Year's resolution, so make your New Year's resolution specific; specific enough so that you can understand it clearly without too many back doors to the resolution. So, pretty simple, pretty specific.

Now if you're making it simple enough and specific enough obviously it's measurable. So that's the 'M' in the SMARTS formula. So measurable; measurable for a couple of reasons so that first of all you're guided by how you're going and secondly so that you can celebrate the achievement of it.

Interviewer:

You know when you've achieved it.

George Faddoul:

Absolutely, because a lot of people actually get what they set out to get but don't take the time to celebrate. They're not taking the time to actually smell the roses so to speak. So that's measurable.

The 'A' is "as if now". So this is where most New Year's resolutions actually fall short because everybody says this is a New Year's resolution, I'll do this next year. Well next year is always next year; even on the 1st of January there's a next year. So it's now the 1st of January and I'm now doing or being or having or whatever it is that the person wants as a New Year's resolution. Or it's now the 1st August, I'm 75 kilos and feeling on top of the world. That would be making it as if now.

The next one is 'R'. Now in the old days that was sort of realistic. What I'm suggesting now is rather than realistic what we want to do is we want to focus on our reasons. Why do you want that New Year's resolution? Your reasons are what will keep you going. Your reasons are what will give you the inner motivation rather than the outside motivation of a typical New Year's resolution where it's the euphoria and a couple of things that bring out the New Year's resolution. That if you take the time to actually focus on your own reasons for wanting it, then your reasons will keep you going way past when the mood has disappeared.

And that's what's important because that's what actually allows you to achieve your goals, in this case New Year's resolutions.

Interviewer:

And sometimes if you've got a big enough "Why?" the how will present itself.

George Faddoul:

Show up, absolutely. The universe will take care of that as long as you come up with your reasons and stick with all the basics and begin to take the steps.

The next one of course is the 'T' for time. So we need to have you know dates on this resolution, so it might be something that can start instantaneously but it might be something that needs steps. And every little step along the way is a success. So from your point of view you should be celebrating the achievement of every little step along the way. So you know if your New Year's resolution is to I don't know, learn a language, you know on the 1st of January or on the 2nd of January you haven't learned the language yet, but maybe you selected which language. So that's a start so you should celebrate that. Maybe you've already picked up a book or a CD or something on that language; so that's a start.

Interviewer:

How do you suggest to people that aspect of celebration, what sort of things should people do?

George Faddoul:

What should they do? Well stick with the S-M-A-R-T-S Formula for starters to get things rolling, to get started on creating those little steps that are needed for most goals.

You know if a person wants to feel healthier, okay, so the 1st of January they don't have to get cranky because they still have a headache from the night before they can begin to celebrate the fact that they've decided that they want to get healthier. So what are the steps? So now let's start working on the steps. As I said earlier turning it into a ritual. So turn your New Year's resolutions into a ritual.

So just so that we can complete the S-M-A-R-T-S Formula, if you have your time unit, so let's just say you've said by the end of next year I'll be so and so, so many kilos or whatever, then that's the time part of it.

And the last 'S' is what we started talking about when we started talking about gratitude. Smiling, having the gratitude that we're alive and well and breathing and thinking there's a lot to be grateful about, we're in Australia, most of us listening to this or reading this will be in Australia. If they're not wherever they are is a nice place to be I'm sure. Probably not too many people will read it in Kandahar or in Darfur or in Ethiopia or wherever, right, unfortunately. But anyway that's the S-M-A-R-T-S Formula.

Interviewer:

Okay, so to recap. And so when we've selected a goal or you've chosen a New Year's resolution we run it through this S-M-A-R-T-S Formula. So just to recap for people 'S' is make it specific, 'M' is make it measurable, 'A' is to think about it...

George Faddoul:

"As if now" so that they can focus on it.

Interviewer:

...'R' is to have a reason, a strong enough reason why you're going to achieve it. 'T' is to make it timed...

George Faddoul:

To have a deadline with it.

Interviewer:

And 'S' is to smile and with an attitude of gratitude, be grateful with what you've already got and what is manifesting, okay.

George Faddoul:

Very good, absolutely.

And this is by the way a little bit more important than what people realise because if you don't have an attitude of gratitude as you've said it and as lots of other people say, if you don't concentrate on the basics, and this is one of the basics, the rest of the story does not unfold. Because you're focusing not in the right place, you know you skip the opportunities; you don't see the solutions cause you've come from the wrong place.

So it's very important to actually begin to think in terms of gratitude. You know one of the things that we say in an NLP training is that your perception drives your behaviour. So if you don't have an attitude of gratitude you're damming the flow. You know at the end of the day most people would have heard that whether its money or whether it's anything else they want, everything is energy and if you're focusing in the wrong places, remembering that the energy is energy but it turns good, bad or indifferent because of your focus.

It's a bit like electricity – is it good, bad or indifferent? Well, you could turn on the lights or you could get electrocuted. Energy is energy – it does not discriminate.

So if you're turning some stuff against you you're actually damming the flow rather than allowing the flow to come into your being. So that's pretty important. So even though it's basic it's actually very important.

One of the quotes that I like to use is an old Chinese quote attributed to Confucius that says that there's basically one problem and that's congestion. And there's basically one solution and that's circulation.

So if a person wants more prosperity into their life, if that's one of their New Year's resolutions, more money for instance, then they might as well begin to show prosperity the way they live their lives. So they don't have to wait for the 31st of December next year or the 1st of January; they need to act in a prosperous way now.

Whether its to have a nice cup of coffee with a friend in a nice part of town, whether its whatever it is, feel good about what they're wearing, it doesn't matter what it is, but they need to start focusing and feeling good about things. So that's pretty important.

Interviewer:

I think you've said as well in the trainings, energy flows where attention goes.

George Faddoul:

Absolutely. And that comes from Huna and that leads on to our Huna training as well that we have coming up in April, so if people are interested in that, watch out for more information on that shortly.

But basically what a New Year's resolution is for a person who wants to achieve a New Year's resolution basically what they need to do is they need to turn themselves into the modern day alchemist so that what it is that they say they actually manifest, they actually create in their life at the time when they decided they wanted that resolution to manifest itself..

So I'm suggesting that they also look for the 'Modern Day Alchemist' and...

Interviewer:

Well that's a whole topic in itself but briefly when you say that, what sort of things can people do to get started with that?

George Faddoul:

Well to begin to think about their focus. One of the points that I have in the 'Modern Day Alchemist' book is a quote by French alchemist going back 500 odd years where he said that you will not find poetry anywhere unless you first bring some of it with you. Now you might think well why are we talking about poetry when we're talking about New Year's resolutions? Well because you can change the word poetry and you can make it anything you like.

If you wanted prosperity in your life you will not find it anywhere unless you first bring some of it with you. If you wanted health in your life you will not find it anywhere unless you first bring some of it with you. So if you have a headache the thing to do is to focus on your hand; does your hand ache? No the hand doesn't ache. Well you found something that's okay. And if you begin to focus on the things that are okay in your life you will find that the headache will disappear, and you will find that prosperity will be in abundance in your life whether it's from a health point of view, from a prosperity point of view, monetary point of view, whatever it might be for you.

Interviewer:

For some people the alchemists are perhaps misunderstood and in some cases perhaps they've got a bit of a bad rap in history, could you explain what the alchemists were really about?

George Faddoul:

Sure. So in the olden days I guess the bad rap that you might be referring to is the fact that they were portrayed as looking to turn lead into gold and they did it or attempted to have that organized in a very mysterious sort of way in the dungeons or hidden from other people.

But what we're talking about here is we're talking about everything that you touch you leave better for the next person. That's what the modern day alchemist is about. You find a situation that you know someone might describe as crappy, you turn it into something that looks like a gold nugget. That's what we're talking about. So we're talking about any life situation that might be unfolding in front of your very eyes right now or any goal that you might be pursuing. Start thinking in terms of having it achieved and notice how nicely you begin to feel.

If its prosperity from a financial point of view, whatever it is that you might need to spend, spend it prosperously rather than begrudgingly. So that will allow for the flow to continue, so that you're not damming the flow anymore, you're allowing circulation.

Now one of the things that was featured in 'The Secret' was a person who kept receiving bills in the mail. Well you can't wish bills goodbye because unless you cut your electricity supply or unless you don't use a mobile phone or whatever, you'll keep getting these bills on a monthly basis. So its not about wishing them away, its about saying thank you Telstra for providing me that service in advance for the whole month, giving me another 30 days to pay the bill, having the gratitude to say thank you for having done that for me and here's my payment, thank you, you know. And you're doing it openly, with gratitude and you know you'd be surprised how that helps the universe even though that might sound 'Woo-Woo' and out there but its not really.

Interviewer:

What it comes back to, I think part of what you're saying is if you're focused on producing more abundance in your life then going back to what we were saying about energy flows where attention goes, then its not about things magically appearing out of thin air but if your focus is on creating abundance then you're going to take the actions to create that and make that sort of thing happen.

George Faddoul:

Absolutely. In fact action is one of the most important things and needless to say we talk about that at length in 'How to Get a Bigger Bite out of Life'. But yeah that's absolutely necessary, taking action. And in reality this is another place where people fall down a bit and that's why I like to use a quote by Bill Gates that says people overestimate what they can do in the short term and they underestimate what they can do in the long term. That's why people make a resolution but don't achieve it. Because on the 1st of January they're disappointed that it hasn't actually showed up yet in their life and it's not going to. And that's the reason why people buy gym membership and then go once and then never go back again.

Because they thought that this one time was going to make it all happen when you know in fact they underestimate what they could do in the long term and all they had to do is do a little bit each day. Which is something else that I like to say which is a little each day is a good recipe; so a little each day will get you there, okay.

Interviewer:

I guess on the issue of gym memberships, whatever, how important is it for people that have a specific action plan for each resolution or goal?

George Faddoul:

I think it's very important. I think it's important to know where you're heading on a daily basis. I mean a business person has a 'To do' list, you know they have their projects, they break them down into tasks, they break them down into daily activities. And really a person with a New Year's resolution should actually treat themselves as a business. And you know what the businesses do; well they do have 'To do' lists, they do have targets to meet, so how are we going? From time to time it's good to take stock.

So again at a practitioner training we have a variety of ways of actually looking at that, a bunch of different techniques that we look at.

Interviewer:

So again perhaps putting it a slightly different but what are strategies to make sure that people keep those goals front and center going forward?

George Faddoul:

Okay. So for starters making sure that we're above the line; every time you want to work on a goal think in terms of how do you feel about it.

Interviewer:

When you say above the line, for the benefit of people who perhaps haven't been to practitioner training, please explain that idea.

George Faddoul:

Sure. In other words I utilise what's called above the line and below the line. It's a vibration line where above the line you're feeling good; below the line you're not feeling so good. So if you're below the line for instance you could be complaining, you could be frustrated, you could be angry, you could find yourself with anger, sadness, fear, guilt, all those negative type of emotions. So that's what I would call below the line.

Above the line you have acceptance, you're happy, you're okay, you're feeling good about yourself, and you're comfortable in your skin. You don't have to be ecstatic; you don't have to be way above the line right? We're talking about being just above the line.

So if you're below the line catch yourself and forget doing anything about your New Year's resolution at that time. Get yourself above the line first and then work on your New Year's resolutions.

But the rule of thumb is if you're going to talk about a goal, someone questions you on your goal, if all of a sudden you're upset it means (a) the goal is not the right goal for you, or (b) you're really not looking in the mirror because how could anything that you've decided you wanted to do lead you to being upset or below the line, so its not an ecological goal. And again we talk about that during the practitioner training.

But basically if a person wants to lose weight for instance and if someone a week down the track says, ah well how did you go with your new weight loss program, or whatever it is that you were doing, right, if all of a sudden you get into a negative state obviously you're not feeling good about the goal. Now it's not the other person's fault that brought it up, they might just be attempting to I don't know, carry out a conversation, making you feel better and maybe it hasn't worked. So if it hasn't worked it's because you're not focusing on the right aspect of that goal. You're focusing on you're still carrying the weight. You could have said for instance, you know what I could have had 6 sausages this morning, I only had 5, and you would feel a bit better.

Anyway, so that's what I mean about the above the line. So be above the line for starters, right, be a good anchor. And now again we talk about anchoring during the practitioner training but if you're a good anchor and you walk into a room, what happens to the vibration in that room, does it go up or does it go down? Are people happy to see you arrive or do you normally depress others in your circle? So if you're focusing in the right place, if you're above the line, if you're a good anchor, well you're on your way to achieving your goal.

And again it goes back to you know energy and your attention. So if your focus is in the right place you'll get more of that. If your focus is in the wrong place again you'll get more of that because that's where you're focusing. So the idea is to focus in the right places. So yeah I'm not saying that you're going to be above the line all the time but if you catch yourself being below the line that particular time of the day is not the time to focus on your goals. Take time out, watch TV, that's what I usually say to people. If you're feeling down watch TV. When you're feeling better get away from the box and go and do something for your goals, your New Year's resolutions.

Interviewer:

You were talking about making the resolutions a ritual, so what are the steps to doing that?

George Faddoul:

Okay, perfect. So turn your resolutions into a ritual, it's the only way to actually make them manifest. Now what do I mean by that? So if you're in our training I talk about the accelerator. The accelerator is the J curve, so economist call it the J curve, marketing gurus call it the exponential curve, I call it the accelerator because really its one thing that you need to really understand even though its very basic, that allows you to actually turn your resolutions or goals into a ritual.

And if you can imagine a J curve, the base of it is very flat, it looks like nothing is happening. So on day 1 of the goal or a New Year's resolution it looks like nothing much is going to happen, you know whether it's a new language that you wanted to learn, you know you might have bought the CD set but nothing much has happened yet. Maybe you know how to say 'Buon Giorno' but you haven't gone very much past that.

Now people will give up in the bottom part of the J curve. No one gives up in the top end of the J curve because in the top end of the J curve they've already got the momentum going, they've already got all the excitement of having achieved all their goals and they do feel like a modern day alchemist. It's just that down the bottom end of that J curve they don't feel like a modern day alchemist cause they don't see anything happening, and yet that's the part that's very important and where the ritual actually takes over.

So for instance let's just take a simple role, a person might want to...

Interviewer:

Give up smoking?

George Faddoul:

...sleep better.

If they want to give up smoking what I suggest they do go and find a 'Quit Cigarettes in 60 Minutes Specialist' or come and do the 'Quit Cigarettes 60 Minutes' training. That's absolutely the best thing to do as far as quitting smoking is concerned. Because again that's pretty important, if you're going to set New Year's resolutions, you might as well get the right tool for the right job.

And you can be bashing your head on a brick wall trying to do it in a different way and trying to reinvent the wheel but what's the point? If there's a tool that actually allows you to get the job done easily and effortlessly, why not use it.

So yeah, so 'Quit Cigarettes in 60 Minutes' is absolutely the tool for anyone wishing to give up cigarettes.

But...let's just take a person who wants to have a better night's sleep right.

So let's just say they go to bed at 10 o'clock and they toss and turn and they don't sleep. Okay so what are their choices, how do they turn the goal into a ritual? So a ritual is something that you're going to do in a regular basis right and a ritual has a bit of structure; so for instance what are they doing an hour before, what are they doing 2 hours before? Maybe they need to reconsider what it is that they're doing a couple of hours before, maybe they need to reconsider what it is that they do an hour before, maybe those things need to become now a part of their ritual.

Now I've had a lady who came to me once and she said, George I'm glad you're calling this thing a ritual because I don't like routine, and I'm an air sign, I'm whatever, I'm a free spirit, so I don't like routine, but I can do ritual. As far as I'm concerned its semantic, so routine, a ritual is something that you're going to do on a regular basis in advance with a little bit of structure.

So if you wanted to have a better night's sleep for instance, what are you doing a couple of hours before, what are you doing an hour before, what are you doing half an hour before? And whatever it is that you're doing needs to change if you want the outcome to be different. So again our presuppositions of NLP is if what you're doing isn't working, do something else. And if the question is well do what else, well who cares, do anything else. That's what John Grinder would say yeah, because what you're doing isn't working.

So the ritual is to find what is it that you're doing that's working, keep it going, what is it that you're doing that's not working, change it. So that's an example of setting a ritual.

Let's just say a person wants to get fitter or healthier, so what are they doing? You know let's just say they decided they wanted to do an exercise program, well if they leave it up to the laps of the Gods nothing will happen. But if they say okay this is what I'm going to do and then they make it specific, so I'm going to go for a walk, okay again if you just decided that you're going to walk nothing much will happen. But if you pick a time, let's just say I'll go for a walk at such and such a time then you've already decided that that's the time that you can actually go for a walk.

Interviewer:

Let's focus on that, let's work through that S-M-A-R-T-S Formula.

George Faddoul:

Absolutely.

So we say okay the goal is you're going to improve your health by going for a walk on a regular basis.

How specific is that regular basis, when is that? Again don't leave it in the laps of the Gods.

So we might say for example we are going to go for a walk every day.

Every day, or Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or perhaps 4 times a week, whatever it is, you decide on a set schedule.

Four times a week, okay, so pick the dates in advance, pick the dates in advance. I mean its no good saying I'm going to leave it up to you know the Gods and they'll decide when I'll walk; no they won't, they're too busy. So we've decided what days we want to go for a walk, okay, what time?

That's more specific. Saying you're going to go for a walk on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, is more specific than saying I'm going to go for a walk on 4 days a week.

Interviewer:

And we're going to say at what time.

George Faddoul:

Exactly, what time? So once they've decided what time and then what am I going to wear during that particular walk? Now that's making it more specific again isn't it?

Interviewer:

And how long?

George Faddoul:

And how long, exactly. Now once you've decided on all those things don't you feel better already? In other words if this was my goal, if I made it as specific as that and if I already selected what I'm wearing, so its not going to be a surprise whether it's a morning or afternoon walk or whatever it is, I'm not going to go through a set of bad emotions about oh I have nothing to wear. You know you're not going to go through all that routine which holds you back, oh its too cold so I might as well stay in bed. If you've already decided what you're doing you're turning it into a ritual, its easy to turn into a ritual because you've made it specific enough and now at that designated time your mind's already there, you've already planted the seed.

Its that other thing we do as well, we do an induction where we actually plant out goals into our futures, so in this case you've already planted the seed that you know what, Monday, oh its now Monday morning, its now whatever time it is that you've selected, you're going for a walk. Your clothes are ready, your shoes are ready, they just need to have feet that go into those shoes and then the walking shoes will start walking. And that will be the ritual.

Interviewer:

Okay we got the specific, then measurable obviously...

George Faddoul:

Yeah measurable because you've decided for how long and that's all it is and you want to celebrate the walk not the end result which might come a year later but you've gone for a walk today; you said you were going to go on Monday, you went on Monday. Whether you decided to do it for an hour, whether you decided to do it for 30 minutes it doesn't matter how long. Your decision was to go for a walk, at the end of the 30 minutes or at the end of the hour you celebrated, you've done what you said you were going to do, you're on your way to becoming a modern day alchemist.

Interviewer:

So we're on the 'S' and the 'M', the 'A' in this instance the...

George Faddoul:

Yeah, so 'As if now', that's for the larger goal. You could specify it for the shorter goal but for the larger goal for instance its now December 31st 2012 right and I am, and you can specify a number of kilos if you like if that was the purpose for going for a walk, or I you know feel so great, or whatever it is that the purpose of the goal was. Or you can shorten it and if its today's goal. So today's goal, it's now Monday and in such and such a time and I've done it.

Interviewer:

Now then the 'R' was...

George Faddoul:

Yeah, your reasons. So you need to know what your reasons are because that's really part of the longer term goal. This is really what will keep you going and what will stop you from falling in the trap that we've mentioned before which is overestimating what you can do in the short term and underestimating what you can do in the long term. So if you keep that in mind your reasons will keep you going until you get your outcome in the long term.

Interviewer:

All right. And 'T' in this instance where you're with the time.

George Faddoul:

You've timed it. So it's either Monday, Wednesday or Friday or whatever you decide. So you've got that in place.

Interviewer:

And the 'S' at the end of the S-M-A-R-T-S?

George Faddoul:

You're smiling already. Your clothes are already selected, you know the routes that you're going to take, and you've already turned this thing into a ritual. You might as well as I say fill up the shoes and the walking shoes will start walking all by themselves because it's automatic. That's the beauty of a ritual and the S-M-A-R-T-S Formula and everything else that we've talked about and having the gratitude that you're out there knowing that it is Monday, Wednesday or Friday for starters and that you're doing what you said you were going to do.

Interviewer:

And perhaps in this instance looking forward to that walk instead of viewing it as something you 'have' to do.

George Faddoul:

Sure, absolutely. And again we talk about "modal operators" in a practitioner training and anything that people say that they have to do or they must do. I mean that depresses you just saying those words, I have to do this, notice that it's sort of a downward sort of energy, right. Whereas 'Ooh I'd love to do this', this is something that I'm looking forward to you know I'm saying it with a smile, its actually bringing you above the line before you even start. And you can stretch that example from a simple action as going for a walk or having to take care of a sick friend or relative or being a carer. I mean you don't have to do it, you can reframe that if you like by this is what I'd love to do right now because you know this is what I've decided I want to do. And all of a sudden you're feeling better. It's the old story of he ain't heavy, he's my brother. It's amazing how everything fits in together, right?

Interviewer:

Any further thoughts on turning resolutions into a ritual?

George Faddoul:

Yes, remember the accelerator, remember that J curve, you need to get past that little bottom bit where it doesn't look like things are happening and yet things are happening. In other words you're showing the universe that what you're saying is in fact true and in fact you will keep doing your ritual until you get your result. And that's very important.

So for instance you know if a person talks about money prosperity I usually say well start by saving 10% of everything that comes through your hand. The reason why they don't do that in the first place is because it's that bottom of the accelerator J curve that doesn't look like anything's happening. They think well that's not that much, I'll wait until. Well don't wait until, just start it and then everything else will show up. So yeah, very important.

Interviewer:

All right, and then once we've got that in place what other actions that people should take to get started to make things happen and more importantly to maintain that momentum and the direction?

George Faddoul:

Well one of the presuppositions that are being introduced to the NLP world if you like is "Everything counts". The problem is not that people aren't clever enough to come up with New Year's resolutions. Everybody comes up with New Year's resolutions, but the idea is to actually achieve them. So if you've already said it, it means that you really know how to do it because otherwise you wouldn't have said it.

If a person wants to get healthy they have an idea what that means to them. In fact if they follow the S-M-A-R-T-S- Formula they have to come up with their own reasons otherwise why get any healthier, how do you know you're not healthy now? So because they've said they know the steps that are required to get there or they know where to find, in other words they know hey I can't speak Russian but I know there's a bookstore round the corner and I know I can go and get a book you know the basics in Russian and start reading that or get a CD set, get whatever, or go to a one-on-one course or something, they know where to find the resources. The thing is they don't, so they say it but they're not making everything count. So what I'm saying is make everything count. Once you've said it make sure you go out of your way to make it happen.

If for some reason it can't happen on that particular day like for instance I have to have a lunch with another person today but I've cancelled that lunch and I'm here with you. Now I'm okay with my goals for today even though one of them didn't happen. So I'm not saying make everything count means that you have to do everything that's on the list for today. You could have an item that's not on the list today but that's fine. You've made arrangements and you'll do it again some other time.

So for instance you've decided to go for a walk Monday, Wednesday, Friday, whatever, and let's just say on that particular Friday you have to be at a funeral at that particular time. I mean I don't know, don't go bashing yourself up and say well you know I'm a failure or you know the universe, what will the universe think. As long as you're above the line it's fine. And then you make up for it.

So everything counts, everything that you say, do or make arrangements.

Interviewer:

You're saying there's a need for some flexibility as well.

George Faddoul:

Oh yeah, you absolutely have to have flexibility. In fact NLP is about flexibility. So anyone that has done a practitioner training would know that flexibility is almost our middle name. You need to have behavioral flexibility; it's the law of requisite variety that we talk about at length, so yes actually, flexibility & 'rapport' remember you need to be in rapport not only with others who might help you achieve your New Year's Resolution, but also with yourself.

Interviewer:

Well any further thoughts George on the right way to set resolutions and make them happen?

George Faddoul:

Well if you want to make sure that you will get your New Year's resolutions look us up, come to the next NLP practitioner training. Quantum Change Seminars has a scholarship arrangement where you're only paying an administration fee of $97 I believe instead of a $4000 fee and be serious about your future.

Go ahead and turn those New Year's resolutions into rituals. My wish is that everybody actually ends up achieving their New Year's resolutions. In fact half way through the year maybe they'll decide to add to their New Year's resolutions. No need to wait for the New Year to add to New Year's resolutions they can just add to their goals at any time at all.

Interviewer:

Right. Well George thank you very much, it has been great and some great advice and strategy there for people and we look forward to people implementing that and making 2012 a great year.

George Faddoul:

Excellent. That's what we want.

About George Faddoul

George Faddoul has trained thousands of people both in Australia and overseas; he is a dynamic presenter on a wide range of topics ranging from personal growth to powerful sales trainings.

His unique style is at once informative and entertaining, demonstrating George's instinctive ability to convey the most sophisticated topics to his audience in an easy to understand manner.

George started his business career working in the Banking Industry for over eight years, where he began to develop his finance and customer service skills.

This time was punctuated by an eighteen-month break to do his National Service for Australia. Upon leaving the Bank, George entered the Automotive Industry and quickly became the top salesperson in a group of twelve car dealerships.

Five and a half years later, he started his own used car outlet, and operated it very successfully for approximately 9 years. George decided to have a break from cars, and spent three years developing real estate and dealing in Australian art, and spent twelve months together with his darling wife Nitsa and his four lovely daughters on the French Riviera.

Refreshed, George came back to the Motor Industry, starting two separate new car dealerships and running them most successfully for about eight years. During that time, as a result of his pursuit of practical knowledge and his insatiable appetite for personal growth and development, George came across NLP. He then became a Practitioner and Master Practitioner of NLP, Time Line Therapy and Hypnosis, as well as a Certified Trainer of NLP.

George took his new found skills to his New Car Dealerships, taking them to a whole new level. During that time, he also took time off work to assist at various Trainings both here in Australia and in the US.

George then sold his Car Dealerships, and decided to become a full time Trainer.

George has since conducted Seminars locally in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, as well as internationally both in the Middle East and in the United States. During that time, he also became a Certified Trainer of Hypnosis and a Master Trainer of Time Line Therapy.
Bestselling books by George include...

• How to Get A Bigger Bite Out Of Life
• Secrets of Great Success Coaches Exposed
• The Modern Day Alchemist from the land of the pharaohs, and
• The Evolution of i-NLP

George loves to travel, and enjoys the company of motivated people.

Want To Get A Bigger Bite Out Of 2012?

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