Kaleah Jones Interview Transcript
Nancy Rush:
Welcome Kaleah! I'm so excited to have you here. Let me introduce you by reading your bio. Kaleah is an ICF certified mindset coach and neurolinguistic programming practitioner and trainer with a background rooted in military service and corporate HR. Kaleah made a pivotal shift in 2019 to pursue full-time entrepreneurship. She's deeply dedicated to empowering individuals to break through perceived barriers, set meaningful goals, and free themselves from limiting beliefs to live authentically and in alignment with their true purpose. Combining a unique blend of modalities, including NLP EFT hypnotherapy and intuitive guidance, Kaleah supports her clients in both life and business transformation.
That's fantastic. And like I said before, I love that you weave the intuitive guidance in there because I'm all about it. Well, let's start by talking about NLP. I'm curious to understand more of what it is and how can it compliment people in their businesses and specifically for coaching?
Kaleah Jones:
Thank you so much for having me. First of all, I'm super excited to share the platform with you. So, neurolinguistic programming, short for NLP, is basically a psychological approach that explores the connection between neuro, meaning our mind and how we think, and then linguistic meaning language. So, how we communicate with each other and ourselves. And then also programming, which is our behavioral patterns and how we act. It suggests that if we really understand and modify how we use our five senses and how we perceive these things, we can have more personal, more professional, successful outcomes in life.
I love NLP because it really helps for people and our clients to identify any type of shifts or any type of limiting beliefs that we might be experiencing. Our unproductive thought patterns, communication styles, anything that's going to hinder our success. It allows us to really have a magnifying glass on it and kind of pull back those layers. So, I like to call it the owner's manual for our mind. This is the tool that we should have been given at birth. To really understand how we can use our mind to build a successful life for ourselves and not one that's keeping us resistant or stuck in limitations. I feel like it compliments coaching specifically, it compliments all industries, if I'm being honest, but specifically in coaching, because it really does enhance our communication style both verbally and non-verbally. We get those cues for our clients that allows for a deeper understanding and for us to have more me meaningful conversation with our clients. And it builds that rapport. It also reframes those limiting beliefs that we have going from this unresourceful disempowering state to a more empowered state. That mindset shift of, I can't to I can. Goal setting is one in anchoring in positive states, really building rapport. I love it for goal setting because it's really allowing us to create well-formed outcomes by a very specific framework. So, it's allowing our clients to have more clear, more actionable and aligned steps that they can take. So, those are just some of the ways it compliments coaching specifically.
Nancy Rush:
That's awesome. I think it could be incredibly powerful just in like you said, in everyday life and being able to really address limiting beliefs because I mean, who doesn't have limiting beliefs? Probably somebody, but no one I know doesn’t have limiting beliefs. I'm curious, when I think of neurolinguistic, that word programming, is this about creating new neural pathways in the brain or is this about programming the brain to reframe and look at things from a different perspective? Help me understand a little bit more about what this is.
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. It's actually a little bit of both. But specifically we're getting to those subconscious deep rooted beliefs that sometimes we, it's easy to change things on the surface level or logically you can understand something and you can try to make surface level habit changes, but this allows for the rewiring of your subconscious neural pathways to take place.
Nancy Rush:
So cool.
Kaleah Jones:
Yeah. So, it digs a little deeper than it would if you were just trying to change that surface level habit.
Nancy Rush:
That's pretty cool. Because I think in that way, I talk a lot about kind of the monkey mind, which is sort of that grip that our minds have on us where it keeps us sort of in the churn. And it sounds like this is bypassing all of that and then addressing the subconscious, which is super cool. Is NLP hard to do? Is it hard to learn?
Kaleah Jones:
No, no. It's such an easy step-by-step process. I mean, it's not hard to learn at all. It basically gives you a set of modalities, a set of techniques that are very specific. And honestly, there are proven scripts that you can actually just go through. And if done correctly, it works instantaneously. Anybody could learn it, really, it can become more nuanced with some techniques, but for the most part, there are things that you can integrate right away.
Nancy Rush:
Cool. So, this sounds like this is something that's actually quite accessible, right? It's not something that you'd have to go in and study for lots and lots of time to at least achieve some modicum of ability to work with it. Which I love because then that means that we could apply it to just not only ourselves, but to our clients. And then I think of my team, like what, how they could benefit from being able to get after some of these limiting beliefs, or maybe even, I assume it addresses potentially fearful situations too.
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. Yes. It, it does, it really does tap into all ranges of emotions and how we perceive those and how we can instantaneously like, move from one resourceful state to another based off mindset really, and tapping into our five senses.
Nancy Rush:
So, I'm thinking, this is kind of a funny thing, but I was thinking my dad's fiancé, she lives with him, and he has an elevator, and she doesn't want to use the elevator because she's claustrophobic. So, I'm wondering if I could be like, hey, I have a solution for you. We'll set you up with a little NLP and get you over that fear <laugh>.
Kaleah Jones:
Yep. You could. It works for phobias like that actually.
Nancy Rush:
Cool. Now you mentioned, when we were talking before, we got on the call, you were talking about different practices. So, are there different ways to use NLP or to implement it to, to gain these benefits?
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. There are lots of different techniques and practices that we can use right away. One of my favorites is reframing. So reframing is something that really helps our clients change their perspective on maybe a specific problem or a challenge that they're having. And it allows us to tap into a different empowering interpretation of that challenge. So basically, we are, as coaches asking questions that suggest new perspectives that, that are going to help our clients see a different opportunity instead of the obstacle that they were seeing.
So, if I were to give an example of what that might look like, a client who maybe views failure as a sign of incompetence which can come up can reframe that as a learning opportunity instead. So instead of focusing on what went wrong, they can focus on a valuable lesson that they gained and how those type of lessons can contribute to maybe some future success. And then another one that I actually would, would love to do with you if that, if with us as an, as a group, if that makes sense, is anchoring because it's very quickly done and it's very resourceful. And this is a technique that allows us and our clients to really easily tap into a positive emotional association that you can access now on demand. So, oh,
Nancy Rush:
Cool.
Kaleah Jones:
I know. It is so cool. I, I love this one. You can use a, if a client for an example is feeling anxious before getting on a panel with you, for an example,
Nancy Rush:
<Laugh> <laugh>, I have no idea who you're talking about, <laugh>
Kaleah Jones:
Or public speaking or something you can anchor in, you know, a sense of calm, a sense of recalling a time when I felt peaceful or I felt very confident in, in speaking and articulating myself. And I can associate that with maybe grabbing my wrist tightly or taking a deep breath right before I get on this call with you. And so that way I'm not faced with that anxiety. I kind of instantly go into that feeling of calmness and confidence.
Nancy Rush:
Ooh, that sounds awesome. So, I'll give you a specific scenario. Maybe you can help me with it. I have a really big horse. For people who know horses, he's 16-3, so he's huge. And I fell off of him last year and I broke my arm in two places. So, I will be honest, I have had some fear about getting back on him because I'm afraid of falling off of him again. So, it sounds like, I'm interpreting here, but it sounds like NLP could be something that potentially could help me move through that fear.
Kaleah Jones:
Yes, yes. Yes. Okay.
Nancy Rush:
You want to use me as a guinea pig <laugh>?
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. Let's do a quick anchoring exercise. Cool. So, let's see. What's the opposite of the, the fear that you that's coming up? What's the, what is the opposite of that? How do you actually want to feel instead?
Nancy Rush:
I want to feel confident, and I want to feel safe.
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. Confident and safe. So, I want you to think of a time when you felt totally confident and totally safe in the same setting.
Nancy Rush:
Okay. Well, that would be probably a horse that I had about 20 years ago. I always felt confident and safe. She was short of course, but I always felt confident and safe with her. She was just a little sweetheart.
Kaleah Jones:
Okay, well if that's what consciousness is calling in, we're going to go with that. Okay. So, you are going to we call on the power of imagination a lot in NLP. So, you're going to gently close your eyes for me. And I just want you to, you're already sitting comfortably. So just take a few deep breaths in and out. And I want you to call on that very specific time where you felt totally confident and totally safe on that horse. And I want you to go back to that time now. Go right back to that time. So, you're going to float onto your body. Yep. And you are going to see what you saw. You're going to hear what you heard, and you're going to really feel the feelings of feeling totally confident and totally safe riding that for let me know when you're fully in that moment.
Nancy Rush:
I totally got it.
Kaleah Jones:
Perfect. Now I want you to notice the details. Look around, see the colors, the shapes, the environment, pay attention to the sounds around you, what you're hearing in the moment. Most importantly, focus on how you feel. How does this positive feeling build up in your body? Where do you feel the strongest? Maybe it's your chest, your stomach. Just focus on the sensations and allow those just to continue to grow stronger and stronger as you're thinking about this, this moment of confidence and safety.
Perfect. And as you intensify this feeling now, I want you to double it, make it even stronger. You're really feeling that confidence, you're really feeling safe in your body, and it is growing inside of you. It's palpable, it's radiating through every part of your body. And just notice how powerful and positive this feeling is.
Nancy Rush:
I have goosebumps, <laugh>.
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. And now as it reaches that peak of intensity, I want you to create an anchor now. So, you're just going to find a specific gesture. It could be your wrist, it could be your heart, it could be your thumb just pressing or placing your hand somewhere that feels natural for you. And you're going to press down as firmly as you can, allowing the feeling to become even more intent as you press down on that gesture. Okay. And just hold that positive feeling and keep your anchor gesture. Feel the connection between the movement of you pressing and the intensity of how you're feeling. You're just going to hold it for a few moments and then you're going to release when you're ready and come back into this space with her.
Nancy Rush:
Hey, this is so weird. I just have to say this because I've never done NLP before, but I actually just thought of my horse. Because I, where I live, I can see them out in the corral and I'm like, oh, wouldn't it be fun to just like get on them and go, which I have not thought that <laugh> in a really long time.
Kaleah Jones:
I love that for you. Okay. So, we're going to quickly just test that anchor really quick just to make sure that it works. So, all you're going to do is you're just going to press down on, and when you're ready, we're going to activate that anchor by pressing down on the same gesture that you just created. And just notice, do those positive feelings come rushing back?
Nancy Rush:
Yeah, most definitely. It's like a warm blanket is what it feels like to me, because that's really my old horse. She was a lot like that. So that's so cool. I cannot believe it's that simple. I have to tell you.
Kaleah Jones:
It's that simple. And basically, you could just use this anchor anytime you need to access. I mean, of course, when you're ready to get on the horse again, but you can access that confidence and that safety anytime you want to feel this way again by just pressing down on that anchor.
Nancy Rush:
Aw. Well, thank you. That was a beautiful gift. Thank you. It's really been, it's really been a hurdle for me to really be able to get back on him with any level of confidence. So, I will absolutely use this and I'm excited, excited to try it out for sure. So, you mentioned, yeah, thank you. So, you mentioned that that we can use this working with our clients, particularly for those of us that are in some sort of a coaching practice or some sort of a modality where we're working with people. What typically do you, obviously we have like the recent example here for results, but what do you see when people are working with clients in this way? What are the results that they experience?
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. I feel like once coaches start incorporating NLP into their sessions, they're going to start to observe several different transformational shifts that happen with their clients. And I personally feel like they're deeper and more profound than most because like I said, NLP really taps into that subconscious processing, which a lot of modalities don't always get to. So, it really allows our clients to gain like this new sense of awareness and break through these longstanding barriers that were like, I call them just stagnant and stuck and like running themselves on autopilot. They just haven't cleared out your cache. They're sitting in the trash, but you haven't emptied the trash. Those kinds of limiting beliefs actually get to be revealed in these NLP practices. And it creates a greater sense of self-awareness, self-concept. You have quicker aha moments and, and breakthroughs for things that they think they've been struggling with for years, like having that conscious awareness.
But still, it's been like this constant struggle. It's like all of a sudden er rectified right this instant confidence and resilience that you'll see in your clients. Improved communication skills more clarity around their goals and their purpose for being and the things that they want to bring to the world. And most importantly, like a, a realization of the limiting beliefs that they have, how they've served them in the past, and how they no longer are serving them. And really the power to take ownership for, for choices and decisions that they want to make moving forward based off of that emotional freedom.
Nancy Rush:
That is powerful. I mean, truly, I was having a conversation with a friend today who, oh my gosh. She's like, I feel like I'm just encountering all these roadblocks and it's the same pattern over and over and over again with her, and she just cannot figure out how to break free of it. And so, I'm going to make her listen to this interview because it sounds to me like she could actually get some traction here by leveraging NLP and these different practices to really access and be able to bypass these perceived obstacles. Because really what the obstacles are is it's just her getting in her own way, right?
Kaleah Jones:
Exactly.
Nancy Rush:
And so, do you have any recommendations? Like if somebody, well, let me back it up. If somebody's like, this sounds fantastic, I want to learn more, I want to know how to do it, where would you recommend that they go to learn more about it?
Kaleah Jones:
Learn about it?
Nancy Rush:
There are probably a million resources. So yes.
Kaleah Jones:
I was going to say, there's so much way to get exposure to NLP. I mean, listening to segments like this and really, you could go down a YouTube loophole if you wanted to. So, getting started with NLP is, can be pretty immediate and accessible. But I definitely recommend if you wanted real exposure and wanted to actually take it into your practice as an ethical thing that you want to bring to your business, then definitely you want to get into like a practitioner certification program. So, I mean the books, the introductory courses, workshops, they're going to definitely give you some good concepts similar to how we did anchor. You can go and mirror that probably to, to someone to today and it would work out fine. But if you want like the deeper understanding and if you really want to gain some more effectiveness and proficiency in using advanced techniques then there's…
Nancy Rush:
Some certifications.
Kaleah Jones:
Yeah. There are some awesome options out there.
Nancy Rush:
That makes total sense to me. I'm thinking about it in our work, what we do when we work with our clients, we don't do NLP, but we do other modalities to bring people through their obstacles and stuff. But what I'm thinking of is how complimentary NLP could be. And I'm thinking <laugh> NLP for my team too. Because it's like, you know, we all have some patterns and behaviors that I'm sure we would all love to transform and be able to actually put to bed for once all. I'm curious, do you think that NLP, I think I already know the answer to this, but in my mind it's, it sounds like NLP has the power to transform your outlook on life. You know, many people are really stuck in kind of the negativity, like what's not working. And with NLP, can you actually shift it more from the perspective that life is working out for me, not to me. Is that possible?
Kaleah Jones:
Oh, that's everything that we're about.
Nancy Rush:
Yay.
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. It's really like taking ownership for every single decision and circumstance that's happened for your life and really putting yourself in the, in the vehicle of I have the power of choice to create the outer world that I wish existed. And I do that by, by understanding my inner world.
Nancy Rush:
I had a business coach who told me one time, she said, the results in your business, and it doesn't matter if you're an entrepreneur or you're working for a company, but she said, your results are directly reflective of the internal meaning what's happening within you. So I think a lot of times when, and I've said this before, but when something isn't working well in the business, you're not creating the clients you want or the revenue or you know, you feel stuck in some way, it's often an issue that's in more internal than anything else. Right?
Kaleah Jones:
Absolutely. I say that too. I'm like, business mastery is spiritual mastery.
Nancy Rush:
I love that.
Kaleah Jones:
Want the business results, you better work on the inner stuff.
Nancy Rush:
That's totally true. And so, in your experience, because I looked at your background and I love that you were in the military, but then you also went into corporate HR, so you’ve kind of run the gamut and now you're more on the more entrepreneurial side of things. How have you found that NLP has supported you through your journey and did you discover NLPA while ago? Or is this a fairly recent development?
Kaleah Jones:
A great question. I wish I knew it way back when <laugh> I was transitioning through all of those careers in life and, and pivoting and reinventing myself and you know, honestly living disconnected for a while. So, I was introduced to NLP 2019.
And that's how my life changed and how I started to see things differently through the lens of how I could see how my own limitations had maybe caused me to go in some of the directions that not necessarily were negative or positive. It was neutral, but maybe it wasn't some of the decisions I would've made for myself had I not been still living so externally. And not having done the internal work just yet.
Nancy Rush:
No, that makes complete sense to me too because I always think too, that entrepreneurship or being in a growing a business is a journey of self-growth because <laugh> it's like life will show up and get suction cupped to your face. There's literally nothing you can do about it other than using tools like NLP to move your way through it.
How would you say that NLP compares to something like hypnotherapy or tapping or something like that? I'm curious because I'll just give you a quick background. There are many modalities, many different types of feng shui that are out there. And I have learned, because I've done feng shui for years and years and years, and I've found that there are some that work. And then there's one method that works like fantastically, it's like 98% accurate. And I would imagine this is the same thing here too.
Kaleah Jones:
Yes. Good question. I feel like most practitioner courses will bundle up like the hypnotherapy and the EFT and the time techniques and the NLP because they kind of run on under a similar umbrella of how the techniques work. I appreciate NLP because it's very hypnotic, but then it also has points of, of commanding as well. And it allows that our clients to really be at power of choice the entire time in the visualization process or in the question asking process. I love EFT and hypnotherapy for very different reasons. In my personal practice, because I'm actually trained in all of those techniques, I tend to incorporate NLP the most and I find that NLP mixed with EFT, if I'm being honest, create the most powerful results.
Nancy Rush:
Okay. And EFT just for, for our audience, EFT, is that the, is that the eye motion? What is that?
Kaleah Jones:
So that stands for Emotional Freedom Technique or tapping, meridian points in your body. And assessing those points as you are affirming different parts of yourself.
Nancy Rush:
Cool. And you said that you find that you incorporate mostly NLP and some EFT too in your work. And so, is that just because they're complimentary or is it just because I guess what I'm trying to get at is like if somebody wanted to bring something into their practice, where would be the best starting place?
Kaleah Jones:
I'm going to say NLP every time because NLP is a powerful tool for creating deep lasting change. And it's also going to immediately have you access parts of your brain that maybe went untapped. And it really helps you understand language, thoughts, emotions, and how they shape our experience. So even if you mastered a few techniques of NLP, you really could help your clients and you break through the most stubborn of barriers and unlock potential.
Nancy Rush:
Yeah. Okay. You, you had me there, <laugh>. That just sounds awesome and easy, which is incredible. So, what tips would you have for somebody that's starting out? Obviously if they were to get serious about it, certification would be certainly an option, but if somebody just wanted to start playing around with it just for themselves. What tips would you have for them?
Kaleah Jones:
I would say things like showing up to different access to people who are exposed to NLP, maybe you just want to learn more different access points of exposure and learning. I went down a rabbit hole of just all of the free stuff for NLP before I finally committed to a paid program. So, there’s lots of information out there. So, you can just educate yourself on some of the techniques. Also be your first client. A lot of these techniques are able to be self-coached and self-processed on yourself and really see the power of self-coaching for yourself and how it works. And then maybe you can even bring some of the more basic ones, like the anchoring that I did. You can bring those right into your household today in practice with someone. And then as you decide, because eventually you'll decide, hey, I want to actually be trained in this work, then I definitely would suggest just a deeper understanding of NLP by, by getting a certification. For sure.
Nancy Rush:
No, that makes sense. It’s funny, I'm familiar with EFT, with tapping, and I remember the first time I experienced it. I went to a session where somebody was using it in the session and I was like, this is radically simple and very effective. Because I could feel the energy moving. I could feel all of it. And so, I love that the NLP offers the same and that and that same accessibility as well. That it's not like you don't have to get the certification unless you want to, but like you said, you can just access YouTube or a book on it and start incorporating it, so my kids don't know it, but I'm going to start experimenting. <Laugh>
Kaleah Jones:
You don't even have to tell them either. <Laugh>
Nancy Rush:
Too funny. Little do they know they're visiting this weekend. So little do they know what they're in for. My son will welcome it with open arms. He loves all things woo. All things, you know, mind related. So, he'll welcome it. My daughter maybe not so much. <Laugh>. Well, this has been a fantastic conversation and incredibly informative. I would love for you to talk about your free gift because I think it's a really great one.
Kaleah Jones:
Oh yes, absolutely. So, I am excited to be giving you all a, a free training that I'm doing or that I had done for you all called the fundamentals of NLP. So, yay.
Nancy Rush:
So, getting to dip your toe in, this is perfect.
Kaleah Jones:
Yes, exactly. We talked about how you can get started. This is the perfect way to get started. You are going to learn all of the fundamentals of NLP. You are going to learn how to apply different NLP techniques as a coach, as a service provider. And I'm really going to do a deep dive on how you can really understand the consciousness subconscious mind and really challenge your own limiting beliefs. And then we, a beautiful demonstration of one of my favorite techniques called the Walking Belief Change Process, where I'm demoing a very powerful limiting belief that someone had where we are going to break through that right on the call and declare something new. So, I hope you all enjoy it.
Nancy Rush:
Oh, that sounds fantastic. And I love that you're showing the demonstration too, so people can see it. And you know, the, the power of NLP in motions. That's really great. For my free gift, I'm teaching a three-day masterclass on the ancient art of the 9-Star Ki. I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but it's an incredibly powerful yet simple system that reveals our inner blueprint. And much, a little bit like NLP, it helps us understand our patterns, our strengths, our weaknesses, the challenges that we might face, and how we might traditionally respond to them and give us alternative ways to respond to them. And so, it's going to be super fun. It also gives us incredible insight into our relationships with other people in terms of how they're wired and how you might be communicating with them and how to communicate with them in an easier, more powerful way with empathy and compassion.
So, it's much like NLP is a passion for you. 9-Star Ki is a passion for me. I use it in everything we do, and we love it. And everybody I introduce it to; I convert them because it's so awesome. I'm sure you do the same with NLP, but that sounds like right. So, we're going to be spending three days and diving into that. And then of course, because it's me, we'll be doing some coaching and some intuitive insights, and I think it's going to be super fun.
Well, this has been lovely. Thank you so much for, for being a part of this and for, and sharing all of your amazing knowledge with everybody.
Kaleah Jones:
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
