At Last: The Recession Is Over…Yippee! - by Steve Crabb

 

 

It's official. I heard it on BBC radio news and on breakfast TV, so it must be true. The recession will officially soon be over. Fingers crossed, nearly one year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, things are starting to change.

 

Unfortunately, I also heard the same news back in June, from the same reliable sources: the reporters on breakfast TV. Back then, it was on the morning of the first day of the NLP LIFE Corporate Training in the City of London. The TV presenter announced the good news with a sense of relief and a few qualifications - the main ones being that no one knew what type of change or recovery we would experience, or how long the change or recovery would last.

 

Some experts were predicting the climb out of recession would be “L shaped”:   firstly there is a fall, then a decline in the fall, afterwards there is a slow bottoming out followed by a small and gentle rise in the economy over a long period of time. It’s not really anything like the letter “L” but it’s the closest shaped letter the experts could find to represent the change. According to the breakfast TV expert, this type of recovery is not good for the government because recovery would be slow and painful. The description given was very depressing.

 

The next prediction was that the recovery would be “U shaped” and that the rise would be sooner and quicker then the “L” prediction. It sounded a lot more fun then the “L”.

 

Then the expert offered the “V shaped”  prediction, which is the one preferred by government - especially if the upturn happens before the next round of elections. The economy bounces back, there is growth - and as most people get on with their lives happily borrowing and spending, then it won't be long till the bad times are all forgotten… until the next one that is.

 

Then there was the prediction which I think the expert favoured. It seemed to cover more options. It was the “W shaped“ recession, in which there will be recovery, then people realise it's not real, they then cut back on spending causes a decline again in the economy, until the real recovery kicks in. All of which if you think about it are two “V shaped” predictions stuck together.

 

In fact, if you think about it a little more, the recovery could even be two “L’s” following on one from the other. So many predictions and so many choices.

 

I told the group on the Corporate Training about this good news and about the options we had. They all laughed, especially the economics professor on the course, who told me later that day that “no one knows what’s going to happen”.

 

The small group of 30 (this is a small and intimate group compared to the larger NLP trainings we run) included a wide range of UK and international business people from a wide range of business sectors and with varying NLP experience (some had no NLP experience at all, while others were NLP trainers). All were there to learn ways to apply NLP with the intention to enhance their business and professional lives.

 

I asked the group a question which I invite you to ask yourself as well.

 

If instead of predicting the economic future you were able, with intention and action, to actively create the economic future …what would you create?

 

What would you create now?

 

Over the following 5 days' training we worked together, using NLP attitudes, strategies, tools and techniques to create the future they desired. We knew that no one had a crystal ball and all of the predictions even from the experts were best guesses - yet the group soon discovered that by paying attention, having positive intentions and flexibility of behaviour we would all able to position ourselves to make the best of any situation.

 

Imagine for a moment that you, as business person (if you provide any service for a return, this includes you) are given a tool that, used correctly, could:

 

1. Ensure you live a life that is fulfilling in so many ways.

2. Ensure you provide a unique valued service that is rewarding and profitable.

3. Create a stress-free environment within which you can operate more effectively.

4. Increase your ability to succeed even through challenging times.

 

Would you use it?

 

Well, the good news is you already have the tool. You received it at birth. It’s your mind (and body), which when used correctly will give you all of the above and so much more.

 

Over the next few months, in my articles in the NLP Life newsletter, I will be providing you with some simple, easy-to-use and relevant tools to experiment with. Try them out and use what is applicable to you. Like any tool box you won’t be using all the tools at the same time, so practise with one tool at a time and eventually you will have a range of skills and talents that will enable you to create many wonderful things.