Paul McKenna: The New Man of the Hour

When I first saw the advertisements on TLC (The Learning Channel), I thought to myself that this guy was a joke. I'm overweight and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get rid of it. One night, while flipping channels, I came across the show "I Can Make You Thin". I only watched for a few minutes, thinking that there is just no way this guy can be for real. I've yet to sit down and watch the show all the way through. But, he has me thinking. Can I really lose the weight with his methods? Maybe, but, it's either all or nothing. So I decided to look Paul McKenna up and see what kind of dark history he may have. Much to my surprise, there really isn't a dark history connected to him. I will share what I found out, though.

Basics first. Paul McKenna was born on November 8, 1963, in Enfield, Middlesex, England. His father worked in construction and his mother in education. He also has one younger brother. Paul didn't do well in school. A lot of the problem seems to stem from the Catholic belief that everyone is bad or guilty to a certain degree of something. His teachers were very negative towards him, one thinking "he'll never amount to anything." He told his mother just the opposite: that someday he would become a somebody. Through years of work, he seems to have achieved that.

He started out in radio as a DJ. So how did he come to be on TV? With self-help books and shows? Through his own long journey of finding himself. He worked in radio for several years and through that work, discovered hypnosis. He had done an interview on the radio with a hypnotist and his curiosity pulled him in to the field. He became a full-time hypnotist by the early 1990's and left his radio career behind. His skill and talent on the radio helped to gain him a television show "The Hypnotic World Of Paul McKenna". He was thriving on helping others reach their goals with around 12 million viewers watching at home. He was also traveling and doing live shows. Then things turned ugly. One night during a show, Christopher Gates came onto the stage. This man stood to threaten Paul's hard work and career. Just a few days after appearing on the show, Gates was reportedly behaving very strangely. Even though Gates was diagnosed with schizophrenia, his girlfriend seemed to think that Paul McKenna had made Gates sick. She seemed to believe his hypnosis fun that one night on stage with Gates, created this illness. It all ended up in court and was dragged out for about four years. Paul was cleared of any wrong-doing. So that's one thing I found out from Paul McKenna's "dark history".

During this dark time in his life, Paul discovered Richard Bandler. This man is co-founder of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) from California. Paul already had studied NLP and knew that he wanted to work with Bandler. While working together giving seminars, Bandler also helped Paul. Throughout his life, Paul had many setbacks. Difficulty in school, the lawsuit, bad relationships with girlfriends, and a negative self-image. Bandler helped him to reprogram his thoughts. To get rid of the negative and work at the positive. By doing so, Paul was better able to achieve all that he wanted to. He is still working on new goals everyday.

As of today, Paul McKenna is England's top selling non-fiction author. He has an impressive list of published works: "I Can Make You Thin", "I Can Make You Rich", "Quit Smoking Today Without Gaining Weight", "Instant Confidence", "Change Your Life in Seven Days", "How to Mend Your Broken Heart", "The Power to Influence", "The Paranormal World of Paul McKenna", "Paul McKenna's Hypnotic Secrets", and "The Hypnotic World of Paul McKenna". He also has other projects in the works.

As far as other bad things that I could find out about him, well, there was something about a fake degree. Paul had worked on his thesis for two years. He earned his PH.D from LaSalle University in Louisiana in 1996. But, by no wrong-doing of his own, he truly didn't have that PH.D because LaSalle was not an accredited university. It is licensed by the state of Louisiana and CLAIMED to be accredited, but, in the end, was not an accredited university. By the end of the mess, Paul was awarded compensation from the US governement, along with other students that had been hurt by this. Paul didn't give up on earning his PH.D, though. He finally got it in 2004 from a UK accredited school.

After reading about Paul McKenna, I feel much better about his methods. I bet if I give it a try, I could lose the weight. He does have a history of really being successful at helping others. From losing weight to stop smoking, Paul McKenna may actually be on to something! He does work with high profile clients that have achieved the goals they set for themselves.

I believe that when someone becomes as well known as Paul, you have to watch out for those opportunists. From Gates to people trying to exploit his "fake" degree. Just after the pieces I've read on him, I have a good feeling about Paul McKenna. I started out very doubtful, but will end it very hopeful. I will try to catch his show and read his books. I also encourage others to do so. If he's willing to offer help, those of us who need it should take it and be grateful, right?