My 15 key Takeaways from “Mind Magic” Keith Barry

“Don’t walk around life in a trance”

Last week, I was invited to present the summary remarks at the first-ever IIBN virtual event with the highly regarded Keith Barry. Hundreds of people from right around the globe including Moscow, New York, Budapest, Toronto, UK as well as every county in Ireland tuned in to hear how we could optimise our minds to make the most of what we have.

(For me, Action No 8 and No 10 were my key takeaway out of the list below. I’m a big believer in many of the others and practise them regularly. It was very interesting to see his twist on things)

Personally, I know him, as many people do, for being an entertainer that would make your jaw drop. However, we learned that he has worked in hypnotherapy for as long as he’s been an entertainer. He’s also a graduate of science from NUI Galway.

He pointed out the importance of breaking disruptive patterns and forming new ones at a subconscious level so that we can reach for the stars. Rather than talking in explosively dramatic terms, he told us this comes from moving the needle in the right direction consistently, striving to be in the top 1% of performers and take control of mental processes.

Here are my 15 takeaways from the session and best wishes with your implementation of as many as you can handle!

Action 1: Take stock of where your business is at and do a full self-appraisal.

Every month, he does a re-orientation day in a log cabin (that he has out the back) with a whiteboard, brutal honesty and deep thought.

Action 2: Shrink down the negative voice and magnify the positive voice in your head

He invited us to question if we are mentally strong right now? The world is worried and that’s natural, but which voice is winning in your head right now? We need to focus on the positive and pour more money, effort and time into what matters. He calls this “super activation mode” and shared some examples of how he did this in his own life.

Action 3: Sit and ponder your intent in life. 

Is it your family, your career, money? Clarify what it is and take positive actions. It’s key to form neural pathways in the brain and he simplified the concept of neuro-plasticity by explaining that it’s simply another way to say how malleable the brain is.

Action 4: Cut out what is pulling you down

He invited us to reflect on who might be pulling you down. What social media feeds are tugging at your energy levels etc? Cut these things out of your life. He says that it may be neither nor comfortable.

Action 5: Read the books that can shape your brain

He espoused reading and clearly practises what he preaches as his backdrop was a (non-greenscreen!) wall of books. He spontaneously picked up five books that he is currently reading including:

Action 6: Ask yourself what you are doing now to go above and beyond?

Keith is working 18 hours per day right now and he asks us what we’re doing today, to go above and beyond for our clients.

Action 7: Think about what people really regret the most on their deathbed

While Keith agreed that many people don’t regret spending more time in the office when they’re about to leave the world, he did say that what people really regret is not pursuing their hopes and dreams. What’s yours? Are you chasing it?

Action 8: Build your non-verbal communication

The world’s leading hypnotist told us all this week that we can all read minds! He reiterated that his craft is grounded in science and so, we can all educate ourselves to do what he does. It’s a mix of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), mirroring and other forms of non-verbal communication. He left the question hang in the digital air “why have you not studied it?”

He is careful to differentiate between adapting to other people’s ways and authenticity. It’s critical to be yourself in all aspects of life. In a business meeting (for example), it’s possible to be both authentic and mirror the other person by adjusting your breathing, pitch and tone to build instant rapport. Keith says that most people like themselves and if you’re more like them, they will like that too!

Action 9: Grow with the GROW model

He said to get a good notepad (and he showed us the one that he uses right beside his laptop). Write down your Goal’s. Next, write down your future in a vision board style visualisation and pre-empt your Reality. Now, think about the Obstacles that you’re likely to face and how to get around them. Finally, consider the Willpower that you have to power through to your goal. 

(GROW – Goals, Reality, Obstacles, Willpower)

Action 10: Power up your actions with a powerful Visualisation

Find a quiet spot. Dim the lights. Make your body comfortable to bypass the conscious mind. Find your feet in your mind and say “my feet are relaxing”. Repeat this for every part of your body until you get up to your head. Do a full-body scan while you feel and release the tension everywhere. Inhale for six seconds. Exhale for six seconds. Repeat until you’re fully relaxed. Now imagine that you’re in a cinema and you’re completely on your own in there. The screen is huge. Sit there and project your ideal scenario to the screen. It’s full of colour, it’s full of sound and it feels real. Now jump out of that cinema seat and into that screen. Absorb yourself into it. 

Action 11: Do a reverse visualisation with anxiety

In that same cinema, sit in the seat and project your fear. Now take the colour out. The picture is black and white. Take the sound out as the cinema falls silent. Reduce the size of the screen… smaller…. and smaller….. and smaller until it’s the size of a postage stamp. Scrunch up that tiny piece of paper and throw it away.

Action 12: Be aware of digital distraction

While phones are a key social bridge to the world, it’s also important to be very aware of the other real things that are around us. The people that we live with. Physical books. Our own thoughts. Don’t let the phone take over.

Action 13: Register for Keith’s free eBook

You can do this at https://keithbarry.com/executive-coaching/

Action 14: Avoid unhealthy habits by putting healthy ones in place

If you’re worried that you’re drinking that extra glass of wine or turning to the phone too much, fill that time with doing other things that can be useful. Check out your competitors and find out what they’re doing to keep your finger on the pulse. Sleep is also great!

Keith works with athletes and business people at the top of their game. He has researched scientific papers into this topic and concludes that if sportspeople don’t get 7 hours sleep per night, they are 20% more prone to injuries. There is a lesson in that for everybody.

He recommends  “The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep”, by Carl-Johan Forssén Ehrlin for parents who want to help their kids get to sleep.

Action 15: Use effective affirmations to reprogramme your subconscious.

Don’t say “I will try” to your subconscious. Keith says that “try is a fail word”. You need to say affirmations that you can truly believe. He recommends screaming them in a cold shower!!

He finished the session by telling us “Every goal I’ve ever set for myself, I’ve achieved”.

Susan HayesCulleton

www.thepositiveeconomist.com  

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