Get the Life You Want!

So said the e-mail and ad, with a picture of Richard Bandler and Paul McKenna in big bold colour. I had just finished my NLP Practitioner's Certificate and signed Boy up for it for the middle of October. Now, this is where you Ladies and Gentlemen have to give Boy a big-up. He gets this call from me, ranting how fantastic NLP is, how it's going to change my life and that I've signed him up for the week's course in London 6 months later. He sighed, said 'yes' in all the right places and considered getting me Sectioned. I get home, do more fast talking, arm waving and general enthusiasm. He sighs some more and humours me. Then I saw this e-mail. I make a phone call, get out my trusty credit card.

In the meantime, Life happens and then, suddenly, six months have passed and we're off to Wembley Stadium for the weekend that promises to enable us to Get the Life we Want. I won't bore you with the travel details, but I do reserve the right to rant about the hotel. It was the cheapest, closest hotel I could find to Wembley Stadium. Now the thing is, my knowledge of British geography is crap, added to the total lack of distance comprehension and you'll understand my slight surprise at the time it took to get from London Liverpool Street to Harrow, where the hotel was. If I say the hotel was a dump, I'm actually being very positive. It's the kind of hotel you start with the '1950's called, they want their decor back' or as Boy announced after he risked the shower 'the Prison Service rang, they want the plumbing back'. Me? I'm just not that adventurous. The shower had a sign: please rinse shower mat before use. It was black on beige. And as Boy pointed out the Blue Algae shower gel had brown-furry mould growing out the top of the spout. I reminded him this was a daring adventure; he looked at me and said he wanted rescuing.

We got to the stadium early and were processed very quickly. And then the fun began. So many people to hug: fellow students and the training assistants who made the Prac training so great. I found coffee, we got food and waited as the venue filled up. And then Paul McKenna strutted down the middle of the audience. And then I watched Boy change before my eyes. He finally got what I've been banging on about for the last 6 months. And he loved it as much as me.

He's always a bit shy around adults he doesn't know. When he does talk, he is articulate and confident, but he seldom initiates conversation. Yesterday, in front of 1,300 people, he put his hand up, got Paul McKenna's attention and told everyone that his goal is to make a documentary about body modification in far-flung tribes. This goal, he formulated over the weekend and hadn't told me about. He's now absolutely bursting with motivation and delight. In a message to me today, he said college wasn't coping terribly well with his new attitude.

As for me? Well, I feel fantastic. It feels like everything percolating has slotted into place ready for my next move. My next move? Well, funny you should ask; it's all about World Domination.