In the fall of 2000, I was a freshman at Troy University. A couple of weeks into my first semester, I happened to notice a poster on the bulletin board in my dorm. The poster was for a comedy hypnosis show by a hypnotist named Michael C. Anthony and it was happening that night. I was intrigued. I didn't know much about hypnosis beyond what I'd seen in the media, but I'd always liked magic and hypnosis seemed to be similar.
I won't say that I wasn't a little skeptical, though. Again, I knew very little about hypnosis. Was it real? Was it some sort of superpower? Were the people on stage just actors or faking it? I got lucky that night on a couple of levels. First, Michael, who I quickly learned was a consummate entertainer, gave a great explanation of hypnosis before he asked for volunteers, so we were able to see it as a scientific phenomenon rather than a supernatural occurrence. Second, one of my friend's volunteered for the show. Very little serves as a better convincer of the power of hypnosis than seeing a friend do things you know he wouldn't ordinarily do. I walked away from the show that night not only as a believer, but as someone who thought, "that is the coolest thing I've ever seen! I wish I could do that!"
Michael came back to Troy a couple of times while I was in college and I walked away from each show thinking the same thing. I even did some research on my own and learned a little about hypnosis. But as I went to law school and then divinity school, my dream of one day being a stage hypnotist got lost somewhat. Midway through divinity school, I thought about it again and even googled Michael C. Anthony. I was excited to find out he was offering a training and mentoring program called Stage Hypnosis University. Unfortunately, it wasn't an option for me at the time, but it stayed in the back of my mind. A few years later, I jumped at the chance to be a part of SHU when Michael began taking on new students!
In Stage Hypnosis University, I've learned so much more than I ever thought possible. Not only did I graduate from SHU but, through the program, I got hooked up with Mike Mandel and Chris Thompson, of the Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy, with whom I trained and became certified in Toronto, Canada.
Hypnosis has become something that I am incredibly passionate about! After several years of studying, I'm still as fascinated and intrigued as I ever was. My dream of becoming a hypnotist has now become a reality and, as with all great things, each new discovery I make leads to new questions and new discoveries. I wake up every day excited to see what I'm going to learn and do in this field.
That's my story. The question you may want to ask yourself is, what's the dream that you need to pursue in order to find the passion that will cause you to wake up excited every day too?