Hollie McKay of FOX News contacted me to comment on the recent falls, antics and strange behavior of celebrities (Miley Cyrus, Nick Bollea et al.)

My reply:

While fame and fortune can be intoxicating, they can also lead to delusions of grandeur and power without any thought about the consequences.  Celebrities have shown time after time that it can become hard to distinguish between a role on TV or film and real life.  The lives of so many celebrities are in much greater turmoil than ever before. So many celebrities lose sight of who they really are. They get carried away by their persona, by their image, and by the grandeurs of delusion and power - and it easily leads to a corruption of power. Time after time we witness another example of celebrity stupidity, entitlement and delusion; the delusion that because someone has fame and fortune they can get away with anything and everything. The constant attention, adulation and power can easily become addictive and overpowering and can lead to narcissism. The rush of the fame and power can prevent someone from stopping and thinking about the possible consequences of one’s actions. The only thing that prevents us from being hypnotized into thinking we are Gods is humility and life always comes along and humbles us – particularly when we least expect it – and it doesn’t matter who you are, how rich, famous or powerful you might be!  - Patrick Wanis PhD, Celebrity Life Coach, Human Behavior Expert & Clinical Hypnotherapist

Maybe these celebrity quotes say it best:

Celebrity is a pretty stunning thing. At first I was like ‘They love me! Oh, I love them, too.’ And suddenly, I was tap-dancing on my pedestal and it was whack! Facedown in the dirt.
- - Sharon Stone, Oct. 14, 1994

There are, I think, three countries left in the world where I can go and I’m not as well-known as I am here. I’m a pretty big star, folks - I don’t have to tell you. Superstar, I guess you could say.
- - Bruce Willis (1998)

People hate me because I am a multifaceted, talented, wealthy, internationally famous genius.
- - Jerry Lewis 

We’ve become so glorified in the movie-star system that it’s become this artificial royalty. The truth is that we’re circus clowns.
– Nicolas Cage

In life, we all face myriads of challenges dealing with people of various backgrounds, personalities and temperaments. Often we are subjected to meeting and interacting with many people (friends, family, business colleagues, clients, acquaintances and strangers) in various settings – staff parties, family dinners and get-togethers, charity dinners, and religious events. 

For most of us this can leave us feeling unsure or even uncomfortable about how to connect with and successfully interact with people of such contrasting backgrounds and relationships.  

Of course, the greatest challenge is how to build rapport and communicate successfully and effectively when we have specific objectives, many clients to satisfy and time is limited. 

The key is to master the art of communication so that you can use it to your advantage to help you also build instant rapport and get almost anyone to like you and understand what you are trying to say. 

It’s not what you say but how you say itMost people think the art of communication is based purely on the words we use -the content of words. Surprisingly that is incorrect. I am sure that you have probably heard the old saying, “It’s not what you say but how you say it”?  

What does that mean?   (more…)

ROMANCE: ardent or passionate involvement or attachment, a fascination or enthusiasm for someone; to make love, court or woo; the idealism of love. 

Women crave the feeling and passion of love. Women crave the ecstasy of love. And they crave it much more than men! 

But why so?  

Do women long for love because of social upbringing or other inherent traits? 

There is no doubt that society encourages women to be romantic, to place great emphasis on love, and its idealism. In fact, much of the literature that children grow up reading promotes the ultimate fantasy as the rescue of the beautiful woman by the knight in shining armor or the handsome prince. In other words, literature and the arts generally create roles for the genders: the damsel in distress for the female, and the heroic prince for the male:  

·         The prince awakes Sleeping Beauty with a kiss·         The prince revives and awakes Snow White with love ·         The charming and handsome prince rescues Cinderella from her tragic life and evil family·         Rapunzel is imprisoned for her parents’ sins by the witch but Rapunzel grows the longest, most beautiful hair in the world. A prince falls in love with her and when trying to rescue her he falls and is blinded but later when he and Rapunzel are reunited, he is rewarded with his sight so he can gaze upon her beauty; they marry and live happily ever after. 

Of course, these fairy tales have many themes and messages but nonetheless, there is one common strong message: (more…)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008By Hollie McKay

LOS ANGELES - 

Brooke Hogan ‘The Victim’ in Hulk’s Alleged Adultery With Her Best Friend?

When your best friend and your father allegedly have an affair, isn’t it normal to feel, well, a little upset?

Reality TV starlet Brooke Hogan is suffering amid recent allegations that her famous father Hulk Hogan had an affair with her best friend, 33-year-old Christiane Plante, triggering the breakdown of his 24-year marriage to wife Linda.

Plante told The National Enquirer last week that she “grew close” to the world-champion wrestler and their romantic relationship started at a time when he and his ex-wife “privately knew their marriage was ending.” However, 19-year-old Brooke has publicly lashed out at her former best friend, via MySpace (the post has since been taken down).

“I think she shoulda thought about what kinda press she was gonna get when she slept with her best friend’s famous father … I think we’re all seeing just exactly how karma works Christiane. Nothing you say will ever put my family back together,” Brooke wrote on her blog.

According to Patrick Wanis, the celebrity life coach and human behavior expert who coached the family on their show “Hogan Knows Best,” Brooke is the unfortunate victim who has to now deal with losing the faith she once had in her father and best friend.

(more…)

Originally published at Date.com and Matchmaker.com

While the medical and scientific community may have its own controversial definition of obesity – the BMI – Body Mass Index, most of us know when we are overweight. If we don’t blatantly see it, at the very least, we feel it. And it’s never a good feeling. In fact, being overweight leads to many negative and destructive emotions – most of which result in low self-esteem, low self-confidence, a negative body image and a fear of physical and emotional intimacy. All in all, for many people, being overweight makes dating and relationships a truly daunting challenge.It is also important to note that most women today have a negative self-image of their body. As a Human Behavior Expert, Celebrity Life Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist, I can testify to the fact that very few women actually like their body. The truth is that I have yet to meet a woman who is truly happy with every aspect of her body. Even my clients who are highly successful models are still dissatisfied with their body. Ask almost any woman, and she will find something wrong with her body, exclaiming that she wishes she could change something about her body: larger breasts, smaller breasts, perkier breasts, less cellulite, not so skinny, taller, slimmer legs or buttocks, less baby fat around the belly, less flab around the arms, more toned, less wrinkles or stretch marks, etc. The irony is that the average woman cares much more about how her body looks than men care about how a woman’s body looks. Yes, men are critical, sometimes highly critical but they are not as critical as women and men don’t notice things such as hip to waist proportions and won’t make comments such as, “If only your legs were two inches longer…”

(more…)