A Remarkable Man

March 9, 2005

BE HAPPY ZONE

By Lionel Ketchian

This past Friday, I spent the day with the author of Gateway to Happiness the best and most comprehensive book on happiness. The author, Rabbi Zelig Pliskin, flew into the United States from Jerusalem where he lives with his family. We met in order to produce two half-hour television shows for The Happiness Show. Rabbi Pliskin is a remarkable human being, besides the fact that he is a really happy, joy-filled person, he has learned to choose to be this way. I want to share with you some of the ways he has learned to be like this and why he is so happy and furthermore how it can benefit you.

During our conversation I found out that Rabbi Pliskin travels with the five following books: Unlimited Power, by Anthony Robbins, Awaken The Giant Within, also by Anthony Robbins, Think And Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, by Dale Carnegie and How to Win Friends & Influence People, also by Dale Carnegie. Rabbi Pliskin travels with these great thinkers and benefits from them. As he flies in the air by plane these authors take him to a higher inner state. If you think I am kidding about the higher inner state, wait and see, and you will find out something you may have never known before.

Our meeting was highlighted by the fact that both of us have studied NLP. In case you do not know what NLP is I should tell you that it Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a behavioral science for improving your personal performance in your life, in your business and in your relationships. NLP is about being your best more often and learning more about the control you have over yourself. Focusing on the structure of human behavior, NLP helps you understand how and why people behave the way they do, how they take in information, how they deal with it, and how they act on it. It is both a communication process and a set of tools which enables you to influence, communicate and respond so effectively that you can empower every aspect of your life. By using NLP skills, you can rapidly improve the results you get from how you relate with others in your business or personal life. For instance, you can learn to improve your golf game or speak in public. You can learn to put yourself in any state you may need or want in the present moment.

John Grinder and Richard Bandler created NLP from their study of extremely effective and quick results of psychiatrists like Milton H. Erickson, M.D. and other psychologists and professionals. Anthony Robbins created the term, Neuro-Associative Conditioning (NAC). This is Robbins model for single-session treatments of phobias. This may include problem-solving models to identify clients needs. It could include interruption of an old behavior/emotional pattern through use of Bandler's, Theater technique, and the installation of new behavior through success imagery.

"I realized that we had come across certain tools that worked miraculously in helping us become responsible for every aspect of our lives." - This is a quote by me taken from a news interview that was published in The New York Times on Sunday, November 2, 1986. Nineteen years ago I learned how important this technology was for all of us. I taught a course on NLP at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT with Carl Rodia in 1993. I started teaching courses on Happiness including the use of NLP at SHU in 1999. I have also assisted clients in overcoming anxiety, fears, and phobias in less than two hours. Examples are fear of flying, nail biting and other annoying things that can become habits or limitations for you. I incorporate the use of NLP with my coaching clients to enable them to make the changes they wish to see in their lives.

Rabbi Pliskin and I fed off each other very positively. The entire day was like spending time with a soul mate. I say that often when I am in the company of happy people. They exude the proper sense of confidence, not only in themselves but for the other person as well. We created joy in one another time and again. In fact after the TV show was filmed in the studio, Rabbi Pliskin, George Ortega and myself went to have a quick bite to eat. We were seated at a cafeteria style eatery and a person named Robert asked to join us at our table. We welcomed Robert and Rabbi Pliskin proceeded to have a "Happiness Club meeting." He told Robert about happiness and what we were all doing and before long Robert was a Happiness Club Member. Rabbi Pliskin is a human joy magnet. He can energize joy in you by just being with you for two minutes.

Rabbi Pliskin calls himself a joy coach. He feels that joy is something you feel on the inside and he can help you find it. He finds it in himself every day. As we walked to the car together and I walked around and opened my car door to let myself in, I noticed Rabbi Pliskin looked up at the sky and proclaimed, "what a beautiful day it is." He was right, and until he mentioned it I did not notice it. The sky was blue with a few white clouds floating along, with the temperature milder than it has been. He was in the moment. He was grateful for the present moment and that allowed me to experience the same state by being in joy myself. We enjoyed our present together.

Rabbi Pliskin has also given us these words of wisdom in another of his wonderful books titled Begin Again Now. "In this world, you have a choice of running one of two programs. One program is called, "How to make yourself miserable." The other is called, "How to live a joyous life." While there is an unlimited number of possible variations, these two programs best describe the major patterns."

So you have read about a remarkable man. He considers himself to be a teacher. Happiness, Kindness, Serenity, and Harmony with Others, are just a few of the other books Rabbi Pliskin's has written. He has written nineteen books and is working on his twentieth one. He shares thoughts with us about living a better quality of life. In every book he shows us that happiness and joy are the essential ingredients to living the good life. Rabbi Pliskin knows about joy and happiness. I discerned it when I read his books, I recognized it when we spoke, and I appreciated it when I could feel the joy and happiness by being with him in person.

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be on Thursday, March 10, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. The presentation will be from the book "Gateway to Happiness." The meeting will be held at the Sullivan Independence Hall, Fairfield. Admission is free; everyone is welcome. Looking forward to seeing you. Come on down, meet some great people, get connected, and have some joy in your life!

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club, a Happiness Coach, and can be reached at Lionel@HappinessClub.com. The Web site is www.HappinessClub.com.