BACKSTORY
I discovered Doug O’Brien from my friend and childhood neighbor, Adam Cohen. Adam is one of the most unique people I’ve ever known, and he happens to be an unbelievable artist. Despite growing up many years apart, our shared experience of losing a parent led us to connect in a meaningful way when I was in my 20s. While he had lost his father many years prior, I had recently lost my mother. This experience and common perspective on life is likely what led to us connecting in the way we did, although his mother Linda played a significant role in the process. Linda was always such an interesting person to talk to and she was really open with me after my mom died. Her perspective was so valuable for me, and she helped me in many different ways. Linda is a remarkable person, and what some might deem “out there”, but I personally love how she sees the world. I am grateful that she raised a son like Adam because he has been such a gift in my life.
I was 24 when our friendship began to take shape. Adam lived with his mother and I was still at home just a couple of houses up the street. Adam not only enjoyed cooking, but also appreciated the company and would often offer to make breakfast. I had spent many mornings with him. Adam and I had many common interests, with one of them being language. We both were inspired by the art of communication. We immersed ourselves in content and training programs that would further develop our understanding and respective skill sets. Adam had much more knowledge in this domain than me at the start, but as much as that would entitle him to be a teacher in our dynamic, he always approached things as an intrigued student. I knew he understood where his strengths and weaknesses were, which is something that showed me a lot about myself. I knew he saw a side of me that he didn’t quite have, just as I saw in him.
Adam would eventually introduce me to hypnosis, a path that would go on to change my life forever. I didn’t know too much about hypnosis at the time, but because of what I was studying, I entered that world absent of the common misconceptions. People often think hypnosis is only the stuff you see on stage where the person gets someone to do something silly, or that thing people do to stop smoking. It’s not that IT ISN’T those things, it’s just that IT IS so much more.
One morning Adam told me about Doug O’Brien, a hypnotherapist and NLP trainer in New York City who did private sessions and classes for people like us. At the time, I had some very important things I needed to work on personally. There were habits I wanted to break and it seemed like hypnosis was going to be the thing that could help. I had nothing to lose. I made my first appointment with Doug at his office in Brooklyn.
1 session, habit broken. That was it. There’s more to it than that, but ultimately the switch happened the day I left that office.
This experience led to addressing more things I wanted to improve in my life, and so in the years that followed, I would see Doug to repeat the process. Doug actually gave me the tools I needed to do all of this on my own, which I certainly took advantage of, but there’s nothing quite like the one-on-one experience with him. People in my life began noticing the changes within me, and so I would do my part in sharing Doug’s name.
Doug O’Brien played a crucial role in shaping me into the man I am today. He helped me realize my potential, break through barriers, and become the successful husband and father I get to be. He gave me the tools to understand what I COULD BE, and I actually became it.
This is WHY I went Beyond Werds with Doug O’Brien.