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News"Mapp by name, Mind Mapping by expertise!" - Special Guest Trainer, Barry Mapp shows us how to get more efficient as Trainers and Coaches
We were proud to welcome Barry Mapp as a Special Guest Trainer on 2nd September 2010, when he delivered a one-day Mind Mapping masterclass in Stafford (UK), designed especially with Trainers and Coaches in mind. We (Julie and Tony) were delegates on this programme ourselves, along with a delightful group of people who all benefited significantly from this unique training. Thanks Barry!!
August 2010 Saw another successful 'World Class Sales' Masterclass delivered for a group of Trainers and Coaches. We really enjoyed working with the group and look forward to offering this Masterclass as an 'open' programme again in the future.
July 2010: EVERYTHING DiSC® 363™ for Leaders is now available ! Here's some really exciting, important and ‘hot off the press’ news!
We are very pleased to announce that Inscape Publishing (we are a global partner with Inscape) have now launched the World's first DiSC®-based 360 degree tool for Leaders!
The Everything DiSC® 363™ for Leaders combines the best of 360 degree feedback with the simplicity and power of DiSC®. Plus, participants receive three strategies for improving leadership effectiveness so it is highly practical and effective tool. Everything DiSC 363™ for Leaders is meant for anyone who wants to use 360° feedback as part of their leadership development, whether they’re an emerging leader or an experienced executive.
Book NLP Practitioner training with us and get FREE 1-day DiSC® Coaching Certification (normally sold at £995 + vat) In May 2010 we decided to add even more value for those who commit to train with us at NLP Practitioner level - we are giving away a huge bonus certification training for FREE. All participants on our NLP Practitioner training from June 2010 onwards will be able to access our one day Everything DiSC® Coaching Certification totally FREE of charge.
An Evening of Glass Walking & Personal Empowerment (May 2010) On the evening of Thursday 27th May 2010, Academy Directors Tony and Julie led a workshop designed for personal empowerment - culminating in an opportunity for all participants to take the extreme challenge of walking on broken glass barefoot. A powerful metaphor for personal and professional achievement, Glass Walking is an activity that serves to enlighten people to the fact that that they can achieve so much more than appears to be possible. The evening was stacked with insights and 'Aha!' moments and provided an excellent opportunity for people to learn more about the way their mind works and how to take control over unhelpful states and responses such as doubt and anxiety. A great evening all round!
Book Midwife® as Guest Trainer (May 2010) We were delighted to welcome Book Midwife®, Mindy Gibbins-Klein to the Midlands as a special guest trainer to deliver a full-day Masterclass called 'Get Published' on 4th May 2010. The attendees lapped up the wisdom that Mindy shared and there were plenty of evolving ideas that will help all that attended go from their initial book idea to getting published in a way that best suits their intended outcomes for becoming an author. Thanks Mindy!
April 2010 - New Forum started - 'Random Acts of Kindness' On April 7th, Tony set up a new online forum with info, links to film clips and opportunities to share stories and ideas about Random Acts of Kindness. This topic is an increasingly mainstream one - Richard Madeley, standing in for Simon Mayo made it a week-long feature on his BBC Radio 2 show this month too! To register for free to be one of the first to join the forum, please click here Together we can make a massive difference with small acts day by day!
March 2010 - More NLP Practitioners go out into the world!
The beginning of March 2010 saw another wonderful group of NLP Practitioners qualified and heading out into the world with their NLP toolboxes stacked full of magic! Well done to everyone!
Fire walk event raises funds for Cancer Research UK On Saturday Feb 27th 2010 in Staffordshire, UK a small group of courageous fundraisers walked on hot coals at a Staffordshire venue to raise cash for Cancer Research UK. We really enjoyed running this event because it attracted some great people and raised over £2200 in one night for the charity. And our youngest firewalker to date - 6 year old Toby Price - walked with his Dad, Craig (see photo below). Just before he walked he said out loud 'I can do it' then holding his Dad's hand he walked across the coals. He was delighted and walked a second time. It was very inspiring for all who were there! Well done Toby! He will certainly have a good story to tell at school!
(Unfortunately, as is often the case when photographing Firewalks, the flash from the camera wiped out most of the 'glow' from the coals in the photograph - and believe me, those coals were definitely glowing and it was certainly hot!) Well done everyone!!! If you would like use to run a Firewalk event for your group or charity, feel happy to call Tony Burgess directly on +44(0)7989 469 570
Unearthing more Diamonds! NLP Practitioner training in France, September 2009
This is the first time we have used this gem of a location in France for our NLP training - Le-Mas-de-la-Source in the Ardeche region of France
Our various outdoor 'classrooms' provided a delightful environment for learning
We had the whole site available for our exclusive use
And we had fabulous meals together to keep us nourished throughout the programme
There was plenty of fun and laughter throughout the learning experience, as usual
An early morning 'sunrise' walk up a nearby hillside was a really nice way to start off the day with a burst of energy and plenty of enthusiasm for more learning.
The grounds provided a wide range of perfect places to do 'break out' work
Each of the delegates really engaged in the programme 100% throughout the week and their skills 'sky-rocketed' as a result
Regular sessions of 'tag coaching' provided important opportunities for practise and gaining quality feedback
Skills developed rapidly and the level at which the delegates were 'living' NLP by the end of the week was a credit to them and to the effectiveness of this well-honed programme
Each of the delegates arrived with their own unique set of qualities, experiences and competencies and each of them blended in their new NLP skills which will immediately enhance and support their personal and professional effectiveness in their day-to-day roles in life
Every single opportunity to learn and to practise was soaked up by the wonderful team of trainee NLP magic weavers
Another five NLP Practitioners gain their NLP Practitioner certification with us and join the Aha! family for ongoing friendship and support. We have found it an absolute privilege to work with them and to play a part in their development. We know that the 'ripple effects' that will come from these wonderful people applying what they have learned will mean that the magic will spread far and wide!
We will certainly be using this outstanding venue in France again - We have already agreed dates for September 2010. Please do call Tony on +44 (0)7989 469 570 if you want to join the next programme that we run out there!
NLP - FREE ongoing support - 'NLP skills brush-up' day (July 2009)
Here are some delightful members of our extended 'Aha! family' who took good advantage of our free 'NLP skills brush-up' day - part of our commitment to providing free ongoing support for all who invest in our training. What a fabulous day!
NLP Practitioner (Residential in Glastonbury - June 2009)
Practitioners Julie and Ian enjoy the wonderful opportunity to develop their NLP skills in the great outdoors (we had lovely weather!)
Neil takes full advantage of Steve's 'massage parlour'
Julie Barker was this year's winner of the late night 'NLP musical chairs' championship and she proudly displays her medal of honour!
The most well constructed fire that we have ever had on an NLP Practitioner course! Teamwork works!
Steve offered to keep an eye on things (any excuse to play his guitar some more!)
Last day reflections (with Glastonbury Tor in the background)
More NLP magic weavers qualify as Practitioners!
Crazy - the lot of them!
NLP Master Practitioner 2009 continues!
Surprise!!! At a few moments notice, we sprung a mission on our wonderful Master Practitioner delegates - to deliver NLP-based coaching to some of our local business contacts at their premises. Here Fiona gets ready to meet a member of the Barclays Bank team. Dave is ready to go in to work with Alison, who runs a local florist business. The other delegates were at other locations getting ready to weave their magic with other local business people. Well done to all - the feedback was great!
The sunny weather has meant that the training and break-out sessions could spill outside! Lovely!
Out and about on another NLP adventure! Here, what was fomerly a pub beer garden transforms into 'the garden of determination' and will remain so forever more as Fiona demonstrates her learning by leading a group 'Anchoring' exercise.
The team were delighted to be presented with an opportunity to use their NLP questionning skills and sensory acuity to get inside the mind of self-made millionaire and owner of 'Waterworld' Mo Chaudry. Mo has previously appeared on the popular TV programme 'Secret Millionaire'. A big 'thank you' to Mo for a fascinating opportunity for our team of delegates to capture 'the difference that makes a difference'. And well done everyone for a really good job!
Our DiSC® 'Train the Trainer' delivery team raring to go!
Karl (left) and Yvonne (back row 2nd from right) take the trip from Denmark to the UK to help ensure that our DiSC® 'Train the trainer' team are fully prepared and raring to go! We are proud to welcome Fiona, Jane, Sarah, Sarah and Bernadette to the Aha! delivery team.
Master Practitioner 2009 (Day 3) - 'Ditch your Phobias':
One of our NLP Master Practitioner delegates, Gareth, had mentioned on day one of the training that he had been doing 'terrified' about snakes for as many years has he could remember. On day three the training was to be focused on 'ditching phobias' and so Tony demonstrated with Gareth that very quickly we can use NLP to facilitate a positive change - swapping the 'phobia' for confidence and calm. Gareth was soon happily holding 'Khan' - a 4 foot long corn snake - as shown in the photo. He was stunned that the change could be so fast! Then 15 minutes after the above photo was taken, we cranked up the challenge! We arranged for Gareth to flexibly apply the NLP tools and techniques to help a surprise visitor who had also been experiencing extreme phobic responses to snakes for many years. Paula had been experiencing extreme anxiety relating to snakes for much of her lifetime and just over an hour after we introduced her to Gareth she was also happily holding 'Khan', delighted that she had finally ditched her phobia and proved that she had accessed her confidence around snakes (see photo below). This is powerful and lasting stuff! Well done to Gareth, Paula and 'Khan'.
Our other trainee Master Practitioners also weaved some magic by helping surprise visitors to permanently drop their 'spider phobias'. Steve Halls (NLP Master practitioner and our wonderful fitness trainer) meanwhile was permanently removing someone's fear of heights. Well done all - you made a real difference!
Yet more delightful NLP Practitioners go out into the world fully 'tooled up' and ready to make a difference out there! (Stafford non-residential - January to March 09)
Tony presents in the Philippines (Jan 09)
Tony's first trip to Asia and what a warm welcome from the people of the Philippines! (Julie was enjoying a skiing trip in Italy at the time).
What great audiences! So receptive and ready to learn and apply all that was on offer!
Tony met some wonderful people out there and left with treasured memories and many friends (including Reggie in the photo above and Mary in the photo below)
So many warm hearts and genuine smiles! An uplifting place to be!
Hanging out with fellow professional speaker Brian Biro from the US and some delightful members of a delegation from Indonesia (yet more of the friendships that developed during the visit!)
The Philippines is a place of contrasts - from the hustle and bustle of the city of Manila...
...full of the strangest of public transport vehicles and the most hectic traffic system Tony had ever seen...
...to the most delightful sunsets by the sea!
Howard and Annie were so helpful and friendly - Tony and fellow speaker, Brian Biro got a chance to check out great local eating places where they tried all kinds of new and interesting foods!
And great thanks are extended to an amazing man, Sandy Martinez, who was the guy responsible for inviting Tony over to the Philippines to speak! A most wonderful host and an inspiration in so many ways!
Tony is looking forward to returning to the Philippines again and again - next time it will be with Julie!
'Unearthing Diamonds' (NLP Practitioner) in Glastonbury (Nov 08)
Another wonderful group of NLP Practitioners go out into the world fully qualified and with toolboxes crammed full of change tools!
We had a pretty full-on week of training and there was still time for some evening music provided by fitness trainer Steve Halls and participant (now NLP Practitioner) Anne Brown. Really lovely!
Action Coach, Simon Streeton improved particularly impressively during the early morning fitness sessions (which set us up nicely for the intensive NLP training).
One of the very few moments where Marie, our chef for the week managed to secure a well earned short rest.
What a great group!!! How do we manage to attract such wonderful people onto our training and into our lives! How lucky we are! From right to left: Simon Streeton, Rebecca Pitt, Max Tubbs, Ian Nicklin, Mark Dyble, Anne Brown - Glastonbury's NLP magic weavers November 2008!
Directors 'Go Naked' for good cause! (October 08) Founding Directors of Academy of High Achievers Ltd (Tony Burgess and Julie French) found themselves posing 'starkers' in a photo shoot for a 2009 calendar aimed at raising funds for Cancer Research UK
(This is a small fraction of the photo that appears in the actual calendar) The setting for the shoot was in one of the couple's training rooms at their base in Derrington. Tony and Julie are used to setting confidence challenges for delegates on their training programmes - and now it was their turn - by stripping off for the camera! It ended up being good fun and it was all for a very good cause. Jane Fox was very professional as official photographer and made it all very easy and relaxed! The Calendar has been put together by a Staffordshire business networking group - Stone BNI - where 12 businesses have paid to be represented, one for each month of the year. (These calendars are no longer on sale, due to them being for the year 2009)
'Unearthing Diamonds' in Glastonbury (June 2008 NLP Practitioner training):
Another six NLP magic-weavers proudly showing off their Practitioner certificates. Glastonbury Torr is visible in the background.
We had lovely weather for much of the week which meant we could spill outside into the delightful environment around our training room in 'break-out' exercises.
Here Andy and Karen (left) and Mandy and Graeme (right) are concentrating hard in the sunshine.
Tuesday's sunrise on Glastonbury Torr provided us all with a great start to a day of learning.
Steve (one of our resident fitness trainers - left) even played his guitar for us at the top! And then Richie (our other fitness trainer and chef for the week) showed us some great Tai Chi moves to welcome in the day! Our late night NLP games began to get a little bit whacky! What creative thinkers! (That's the politest way of putting it) Donald accepts his winner's cup graciously! Team work and mutual support was very much evident and encouraged during the week!
Thursday evening's firewalk provided an opportunity to step out of comfort zone and even the venue owner's 13 year old daughter, Amy, decided to join in! Well done Amy (and everyone!)
We will be back in Glastonbury again for more residential NLP Practitioner training experiences - will you join us? Click here for info about future programmes in Glastonbury and elsewhere
'Unearthing Diamonds' in Staffordshire - Non-residential NLP Practitioner programmes 2008:
Another wonderful group qualify as NLP Practitioners in Feb 2008 and are eager to get out into the world to apply their new skills to help make a real positive difference in people's lives.
Great fun was had by all - every one of them as mad as a fish!
And another group proudly qualify in May 2008 - Dave Turner loved the Jan/Feb programme so much that he came back for more in April/May - a real asset to the group and a shining star as a practitioner.
You don't have to be 'off your trolley' to work with us - but it helps! Well done to you all and enjoy weaving your magic out there!
NLP Master Practitioner Training 2008:
What on earth has 'Dobbies' garden centre got to offer a group of NLP Master Practitioner trainees on Day 1 of their training? Unknown to them and to the staff and customers at the garden centre, the challenges were about to begin! I think this day will be talked about and remembered for a very long time!
Trainee Master Practitioner Tony Altham used to have an extreme fear response when in the presence of worms. Only moments after using his NLP techniques to change his own fear into confidence we offered him the opportunity to work with surprise visitor Julie Bryan to permanently transform her 'worm phobia' into 'worm confidence' too. What a result! Well done Julie for being willing to come along to face that old fear and well done Tony for stepping up to the challenge and making it happen so beautifully.
Trainee Master Practitioners Carmen (left) and Alex (middle) helped surprise visitor Jenny Green to face her old phobia of heights and to abseil and rock climb with confidence. Well done all!
We have had some wonderful opportunities to work outside on this year's programme. Here Christine and Sue enjoy the sunshine as they master their skills.
Alex supports Jane as she accesses her inner resources to snap an archery arrow on her throat! She does it with ease and reinforces her knowledge that she can do anything she turns her attention to because she knows how to 'get out of her own way'. Well done both.
This is one of those courses where friendships for life begin to form. A 'family' of support that continues way beyond the end of the programme.
Testing out their sensory acuity skills the trainee Master Practitioners found some spooky results in the Staffordshire countryside.
Winners of this year's 'NLP Olympics' with Tony and Julie
Master Practitioner delegates test mental strategies for physical achievement (with the help of our fitness instructor Steve Halls) as part of an afternoon of capturing 'the difference that makes a difference' and 'modelling excellence'.
Christine takes a well-earned short break in the sunshine before the next challenge! Plenty of outstanding experiences already on this programme and we still have two days left for more magic! And places for our 2009 Master Practitioner programme are already being booked.
Unearthing Diamonds in Glastonbury (December 2007 NLP Practitioner training):
A wonderful location for learning!
Magic everywhere!
An early morning pre-sunrise walk to the top of Glastonbury Tor gets the blood pumping and everyone's grey matter energised for another great day of soaking up new learning. Steve Halls, our resident fitness instructor provides the early morning music!
Tom puts his old anxiety of spiders well and truly in the past, using his new skills!
Wow - what a day of learning! Our youngest NLP practitioner to date, Alex Hewitt (age 17 when he qualified), takes a short break before dinner! What an exceptional young man!
A great team effort building the fire!
What do you mean 'We'll be walking on that later?!'
Chris soaks up Steve's applause for a top performance on the fitness challenges throughout the week!
Tom and Julie know that an abundance of fun around the place makes learning so much easier!
Marie nourished our bodies with excellent food whilst we nourished our minds with the training!
All well qualified and ready to make a difference!
Also all totally bonkers!
Trainers Tony and Julie agreed that they will definitely be using this special venue again for more training in the future! (See our Links page for details of this highly recommended venue) A fantastic week and a wonderful group of newly qualified NLP Practitioners have gone out into the world to weave their magic! How fulfilling our work is!
Peru Trek 2007 - The Ultimate Netwalk (June 2007):
What an incredible trip - 15 intrepid networkers with a sense of adventure trekking in the Peruvian Andes
It started with a community project in the mountains - helping locals to begin to build an extension to a community school.
Long grass needed to be collected from high on the mountain and carried back down to the school ready to mix with mud to make bricks.
Trekker Andy Fairweather moulds a grass and mud brick.
Mark Dickinson (above) installs windows by trade back in the UK - a skill that turned out to be priceless when applied to the school project in Peru. Glenn Watkins (CEO of Ecademy - see below) turned his hand to this very worthwhile activity too!
It was a joy to see the wonderful smiles of appreciation on the faces of the school children as we handed out exercise books and pens.
...Unforgettable!!!
And then we were trekking...
...up...
...up...
...and up...
...and up some more! And it was certainly worth it! Here is the Aha! team enjoying the awesome view before heading downhill again.
It's not every day we get a chance to tie the CEO of Ecademy to a trainline!
The Inca City at Machu Picchu - WOW - breathtaking!
For Director Julie French, this was a truly inspiring place to be!
Providing memories enough to last for a lifetime!
What a finale!
And then winding down gently at the end of the trek, back in civilisation in Lima - friendships established for life.
In 2008 our next adventures will be in Gambia (Feb) and Bhutan (October / November) Contact us to register an interest in future adventures
NLP Practitioner training - 'Unearthing Diamonds' in Spain - April 2007
What an outstanding group - it was a true privilege to work with such lovely people, who were so willing to get stuck into the learning.
How fabulous to be able to extend our classroom onto the beach!
And what a great view from our hotel training room!
Early morning 'opt in' fitness sessions with Steve were very popular.
Magic was weaved everywhere we all went!
Meal times were a delight - a time to reflect and share breakthroughs.
Our fitness instructor, Steve, working hard - shame!
Andy gets ready to apply his new inner skills to experience an unusual breakthrough - snapping an archery arrow on his throat!
Easy when you commit to it 100% - Just like life, really!
It's so wonderful to welcome new friends into the 'Aha! family'
Happy faces and everyone clutching their certificates - fully qualified NLP Practitioners, ready to unleash further magic!
Julie says 'We'll be back!' Contact us for details of our next 'Unearthing Diamonds' NLP Practitioner training programme
NLP Master Practitioner Training 2007:
One of our current NLP Master Practitioner delegates, Neil Hewitt, took the final test to prove that he had indeed put his old phobia of snakes well and truly in the past. Neil said: "I had been carrying around a snake phobia for some 47 years. On my NLP course, I spent some 15 minutes with another delegate who worked with me on that phobia (using the swish pattern technique). The following weekend I was handling a 4ft long corn snake. Prior to this I had trouble picking up a newspaper if there was a picture of a snake inside it. This really demonstrated to me just how powerful NLP can be."
Well done Neil ! Neil was soon applying the same principles on our Master Practitioner training programme to help local business woman Bev Austin put her phobia of spiders into the past:
Well done to Bev for taking the step that allowed her to experience her breakthrough (ie turning up to the session)! Well done to Neil as the expert facilitator!
Peter Connolly (above) also permanently removed his spider phobia on the day, working with Sarah Armitage (another of our trainee Master Practitioners). Both Neil and Sarah (trainee Master Practitioners) had spider phobias themselves before they began training with us, so it is particularly rewarding for them to be helping people like Bev and Peter to be empowered in this way.
Well done to Peter for taking the opportunity to work with Sarah!
And well done to Sarah for her expert facilitation!
Chris Connolly (above, standing with trainee NLP Master Practitioner, Ian Kinnery) used to feel terrified at the mere thought of climbing up a ladder, due to a long-held intense phobia of heights.
After Ian worked with Chris for just one short NLP-based coaching session, she quickly overcame her fear of climbing ladders and here she is (above) completing a two hour 'aerial extreme' high ropes course (just to make sure!). Well done Chris!!! And well coached Ian!
Our Master Practitioner trainees all completed the high ropes course themselves, walking their talk as usual! Well done all! Contact us to find out how we can help you to let go of any phobia and make it history
NLP Trainer Julie French leads a group of Master Practitioner delegates on a full day 'training walk' across the Staffordshire countryside. Faced with specially designed challenges and real clients to work with at key points along the way, the group had no idea what they would be faced with next to test their NLP skills at a level of mastery. (We like to keep them on their toes!).
Our Tanzanian Maasai Adventure February 2006:
February 2006 saw a wonderful adventure for a team of six that spent a week camping in Maasai country, well off the tourist trail and with the privilege of spending time with the Maasai communities there amongst the beautiful wilderness and abundant wildlife.
Contact us to register your interest in future adventures
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