HARLAN RICHARDS
June 27, 2011

Who hasn't seen a Tony Robbins infomercial? He is the epitome of change-your-life motivational coaches. I am always skeptical of someone wanting me to pay them to tell me how to be successful. It reminds me of the ads I used to see in the backs of magazines wanting to sell you a book on how to get rich. The book will tell you to write a book on how to get rich and sell it to others. Snake oil salesmen, one and all.

Or so I thought. When I was at Oakhill, I had the opportunity to participate in a program called GET THE EDGE. The woman running it was a coach involved in Tony Robbin's organization. I had my reservations but I attended anyway. It was a lot of the same old pep talk with a few good strategies for motivating yourself thrown in. Not a bad program, but nothing to write home about.

Then I went to a one-on-on coaching session and became a believer. It turns out that there really are techniques that can change your life in an instant. Dr. Richard Bandler developed a system called neuro-linguistic programming that is like a shortcut to Nirvana. Using this technique, coaches can enable people to rid themselves of unwanted habits, beliefs, phobias - you name it, this process can fix it. What amazes me is that this revolutionary technique has been around for 30 years and is still relatively unknown. Tony adapted this technique and it is one of the cornerstones of his system.

So let me say this: If your life is not giving you the satisfaction you want, if your potential is being lost to a humdrum, dead-end life, or you are caught up in a destructive downward spiral, by all means, check into this. The answers are there for anyone who needs them. It is not a flim-flam; there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and we all deserve to have a wonderful, fulfilling life.

Every Day

Everybody has a day,
the happiest day of their life.
Momentary reflection on that day,
can bring a rush of gladness,
a flush of sadness,
For fond memory lasting
forever and,
knowing the best day,
already happened.
I was there when Santina
first opened eyes on a world
of mystery, love, future strife,
starting, learning, adapting.
I gaped, her in my arms,
on the happiest day of my life.

Orchard View

I look at the beautiful orchard
Which produces apples abundantly
And wonder why those apples
End up feeding feral deer
Instead of hungry humans.
No pruning, no pesticides,
Wormy, unreachable apples
Falling to waste, while
Children starve.
Budget shortage, food shortage,
Common-sense shortage.
Oakhill's picture postcard orchard,
Merely that, and nothing more.

Harlan Richards