NLP Modeling - 4 Lessons You Can Learn From Anthony Robbins

Anthony Robbins has introduced more people to NLP than anyone else I can think of. And while many practitioners of NLP frequently dismiss him as being no more than a showman, a businessman or a "disco" NLPer, we can still learn much from him. I for one have participated in almost all of his trainings, for reasons I'll explain in greater details in this article.

1. Model. Anthony Robbins achieved what he achieved because he understood and practices constantly the first directive of NLP, which I've discussed at length in another article: the core discipline of NLP is modeling. In an interview, John Grinder retells of the days when Anthony Robbins was his student. He recounts that once the seminar ended, Tony approached him and said he understood that modeling lied at the heart of NLP and that he was committed to modeling. He then asked Grinder what project he could undertake to prove his commitment. John Grinder suggested firewalking. "The rest," as Grinder puts it, "is history." Anthony Robbins is primarily a modeler and you must adopt this identity.

2. Do what works. In his seminars, Anthony Robbins amply demonstrates his change techniques. The advanced student of NLP can distinguish therapeutic patterns that NLP has coded in his interventions, but also some different patterns that he created or incorporated from other fields into his work. The most important trait that he demonstrates during his intervention is his absolute commitment to getting the result that he's after, notably to move another human being into a place of greater access to inner resources. And he's a master at doing this.

3. Involve physiology at all times. Few if any other trainers focus on physiology as fiercely and intensely as Anthony Robbins does. The only one I've come across who focuses as intently on physiology is the man who taught him NLP: John Grinder. To him, physiology defines the limits of a person's access to his or her resources. That's why he pushes and stretches all participants in his seminars to get to their physical edge. Because he understands that, due to the mind-body connection, you can only go as far as your physiology permits it.

4. Learn from and pay attention to John Grinder. This lesson is perhaps the strangest or most uncommon of all. But you must attend to it. Of all the early students of NLP, Anthony Robbins is far and away the most successful. This is not to say that he is the best teacher of NLP or that he has reached a greater refinement in exercising his skills. But he has leveraged his mastery to accomplish more than any other student of NLP in the world. And his NLP master was John Grinder.Richard Bandler is far and away the most popular of the two co-founders of NLP. The term "Richard Bandler" receives more than 10,000 searches a month, while "John Grinder" receives less than 2,000. His creativity and mastery of language keeps seminar participants spellbound during days. I acknowledge Bandler as the creative force behind NLP. Yet, Bandler lacks the health, discipline and vitality that I'd expect from someone who has mastered NLP.

That's where John Grinder shows up. Well in his sixties, he actively involves himself in challenging physical activities such as climbing and scuba diving, constantly pushing his edge. And while I've never heard or seen him display the verbal prowesses that Bandler displays, he is a much more inspiring model overall to aspire to. I recognize him to be the organizing, disciplined and directive force behind NLP. And this distinction is absolutely fundamental. Anthony Robbins has benefitted from this.

If you're new to NLP, don't be too quick to judge Anthony Robbins. Many people in the field trash him day in day out. The most important thing to keep in mind is to learn from Anthony Robbins by watching him, as opposed to listening to what he teaches. Observe how he works. Observe his movements. Observe his posture. Feel his intensity. Hear his tonality. In other words, model him. Just as Grinder and Bandler paid little attention to what Milton Erickson had to say about hypnosis and a lot of attention to what he did to produce results.

Anthony Robbins is a genius at producing change within people (and also marketing himself and his products) and for that reason, you'll find it worth your time to model him.

You probably know that Tony learned his chops from NLP masters. But did you know that Tony Robbins's interventions revolve around one fundamental skill?

Stop wasting your time until you've mastered that skill.

Starting NLP Training

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Starting NLP training can be a lot of fun, either by yourself or in a group environment. Like any type of training it is important that you do it in a way where you feel comfortable. Some people learn best by themselves, and others learn best in groups.

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. It was created in the 1970's by John Grinder and Richard Bandler. NLP is essentially a type of therapy. The basic premise is that by modeling anyone who is excellent at what they do you can become excellent yourself.

For example, if you want to become a better golfer, instead of learning through trial and error, you could find someone who is great at golf and study their techniques, swings, but more importantly how they think.

For example by learning how Tiger Woods mentally approaches each shot, each hole, you can model what he does and improve your golf game. My NLP training started through reading books. There are hundreds of great NLP books available. If you are just learning about this area, start with some introductory books on the subject.

Be careful when picking out books to read, some NLP books can be very advanced and can be quite dry for the beginner. Many of these books were written for certified NLP practitioners and not for beginners.

Another way to get training is through group workshops. These are held all over the nation and are a great way to get cutting edge techniques. Try and find a workshop for beginners. A lot of these workshops focus on more advanced techniques or their purpose is for more advanced practitioners to gain certification.

If you don't have time to travel there are also lots of great audio courses you could buy as well. Some people learn better through audio courses, which can be a very convenient way to learn. You can easily spend a small fortune doing NLP training if you wanted to. I find it best to not spend all your money on one large conference, but to go to smaller one-day workshops, or buy study at home courses, which are much cheaper.

If money is really an issue, eBay always seems to have a good amount of NLP material available. However you choose to learn about NLP, pick a way that you feel comfortable with. You might find that you like NLP so much you want to become a certified practitioner.