As a publisher, every ten years or so a book comes along that you read and think “this book is going to be huge”. For us it has happened twice so far – the second one about two months ago when a manuscript arrived from Norway. We unleash “Going Mental – Reaching your Goals in Business and Sports – Full Contact NLP Coaching From a Full Contact Fighter” on an unsuspecting public on the 6th December, and few will be ready for it.

We have many NLP authors including some of the most respected master NLP practitioners in their fields and you could argue that some of the applications of NLP we have published, at the time certainly, were somewhat controversial.

However, nothing had prepared us for the writings of one ex-cage fighting master practitioner Jakob Løvstad. Leading NLP gurus have been frank in their review of Løvstad’s book.

“Jakob is not simply some extraordinarily quick, balanced, strong, aggressive fighter, he has worked out, with a little help from his friends, that his ability to perform in this extreme environment is a function of a lot more than the obvious advanced physical requirements and special set of skills that are a prerequisite in the cage. This makes his lively, sometimes outrageous, narrative of his adventures particularly interesting” – John Grinder, Co-Creator of NLP

So what makes Jakob’s methods so different? Most motivational NLP books focus on building up confidence whereas Jakob’s method is much faster, tougher and takes no prisoners. A leader author and practitioner that has worked with Jakob first hand explains that it is the profession that Jakob is in has created a unique urgency to deliver.

“Despite the fact that I disagree strongly with some of his philosophy, Jakob’s results using NLP patterning to become a high achiever in the toughest sport on earth speaks for itself. When the consequences of your ideas not working properly is a shin to the neck, you are pretty much forced to find out what actually works and what is B.S. This book combines some great case studies, a solid kick in the ass, practical NLP patterning and a functional road map to reach your goals. Best of all, it’s all proven in the cage by a man who has courageously walked the walk” Jørgen Rasmussen, Author of ‘Provocative Hypnosis’.

There are many overlaps and parallels between the worlds of NLP and Hypnosis – with many of our authors combining elements from both and another Hypnosis practitioner explains that the simple – ‘improve or get really hurt’ nature of full contact fighting can transfer nicely over to business and indeed life.

“One of the most concise and practical books on setting goals and managing motivation that I have read. For me, Jakob pulls no punches and kicks-butt in just the right way – people who read this and do the exercises WILL make stuff happen in their lives! So top marks across the board… but perhaps not for the soft and sensitive!” James Tripp, Creator of ‘Hypnosis Without Trance’

Jakob in fact in his introduction to the book goes a step further to forewarn the reader:

“If you suspect that your mental health is too fragile for what this book contains, please do not go through with reading it – it is not for the faint of heart. The language is explicit, the content is outrageous and your change will be extreme if you do what you’re supposed to. Last chance… put the book down if you can’t handle this”.

It’s not marketing spin – the techniques are tough. What is already emerging is that the book is a fantastic tool for coaches working with sportspeople. Whilst few sports are likely to go with quite as an extreme “I make my fighters sweat more when they train, so they bleed less when they fight” that Jakob has as one of his mantras, but the demands on professional sportsmen and women these days are intensive.

A fellow coach explains quite well in his review of the book:

“Jakob Løvstad is a man after my own heart. He’s written a powerful book that unites three of my personal passions; combat sports, self-reliance, and peak mental performance! Enjoy this book, I know I did!” Jake Shannon, Founder of ScientificWrestling.com,

I chose this particular quote as it has the words ‘self-reliance’ which for me is a key theme in Jakob’s book. In the cage, nobody else is going to help you to a)win and b)avoid serious injury. Jakob explains in his book early on that it was a complete lack of knowledge, or even respect for the mental side of training that led him to a disastrous event in his career, a heavy defeat and a visit to an NLP master practitioner to ‘get his head sorted‘.

With a little over a month to go before the book is published the controversy is already building. I can guarantee you won’t like some of what Jakob says, and the more conservative of you won’t like the way he says some of it. But – you can’t argue with results. Jakob’s methods have worked in the toughest sport in the world and as a personal coach he has managed to transfer that over to the world of business.

You are going to have an opinion – good or bad and we’d like to hear it. So we’ve set up a Going Mental Facebook Page for you to vent.

You can also find out more about Jakob at his coaching site All Confidence.

Going Mental