Tim Shurr | Preparation Plus Opportunity Equals Success

Why did having anxiety mean that you were “a loser”?

I had all kinds of head trash, all kinds of negative beliefs that I didn’t realize I had at the time.

Were you conditioned to follow a particular script in your environment that led you to believe the way you thought about things was just the norm?

Yes. I grew up in the 70s and everybody was sarcastic and bullying each other.  I thought it was normal to feel worried or stressed and scared. I believed that something was wrong with me, and I wasn’t good enough. I was always afraid of being rejected and abandoned.

So many of the experiences I had as a kid led me to have those beliefs. They floated around in my unconscious mind.  I didn’t know those beliefs were driving the fears and the negative thoughts that I had about myself.

During those developing years, what freed you from being mentally encapsulated in that reality and into the truth?

The real change didn’t start happening until I began my Hypnosis Training.  I went to school for psychology because, well, that’s where you go to figure yourself out.  In my second year, as a sophomore, I was in a counseling class and they were bringing in guest speakers who discussed the types of therapy that they use. One of the speakers was a hypnotist. When he asked for a volunteer, I raised my hand and said, “I’ll cluck like a chicken.” That was as far as my knowledge went regarding hypnosis, comedic entertainment.

As this speaker started counting down, I became relaxed.  It was the very first time that I could recall in my life where that knot in my stomach just kind of disappeared for a little while.

I said to myself, “What is this?!”  I immediately wanted to learn more about hypnosis.

I went to school at Indiana University, and they’re very behavioristic.  They didn’t believe in applications like hypnosis.  The dean of the department considered hypnosis as parlor tricks. I had to be resourceful and break away from the traditional courses and institutions to obtain what I was reaching for.

I always had a very determined nature that accompanied my early life’s self-limiting beliefs. I didn’t realize that the struggle between the two was building the momentum for my future.

When I was told that I couldn’t do something, I would focus and achieve that very thing.

People in my life at that time would say, “You won’t get into college,” and then I did. “You will never get into grad school,” and then I did. “You won’t get into this hypnosis program, because it’s all doctors!”  Everybody in the class was an MD or a DO and I was a sophomore in college. And with my determination, I got in.

There was evidence time and time again on how capable I was. But when I allowed that internal negative self-dialogue to appear, I wouldn’t put up much of a fight.  It became so clear that the only battle I now had left as an adult, was me.

The class was very powerful! I was watching people have tremendous breakthroughs right in front of me.  And then I had a miracle.

I used to chew my nails till they would bleed. This was the outlet I used for buffering my anxiety. I had done it my whole life.

Instructor Dr. Gizella Zuskowski asked me, “What do you want to get rid of?” I said, “I want to stop chewing my nails,” (which I thought would be impossible). She proceeded with giving me a hypnosis session and the moment I came out of it something dropped off and away from my life and I haven’t bitten my nails since. And that was 32 years ago.

In my courses, I learned that someone could go back to a time when a belief was formed and that they could release that emotion and be set free.

When I was 12 years old, my father worked as an electrician in a steel mill and one day there was a big explosion at his work. He was burned very badly from it, and we thought he was dead.  He survived, he’s full of scars, but he survived.  My 12-year-old brain thought that my dad died. My siblings and I moved in with my grandparents because my mom was in the burn unit trying to keep my father alive.

I formed a belief in that moment that you could lose everything at any second. I was saturated with fears.  I wanted to be safe with everything and to do so I made sure that I wasn’t playing to win but instead that I was playing not to lose in life.

And that is a difference!

It is a big difference. After a series of little moments, I began to shift from trying to move away from pain, to enjoying the pleasure of thriving and excelling and feeling more secure and loving and accepting myself and then helping other people to do the same thing.

I was extremely driven on helping other people get rid of this anxiety because I knew how it felt. After graduating I did over 15,000 hypnosis sessions over a couple of decades.  I think that experience, also helped me unlock the secrets of the unconscious mind and how to really help people to make giant breakthroughs, especially people that have been in personal development for 10 or 20 years like I had been.

After a series of inspirational experiences that came from giving those sessions, I was able to continue to evolve my maturity.

I observed the clients that seemed to be super successful, and what they were doing, versus the clients that were continually struggling, and what they were doing. I started noticing patterns. One of them is what I call transformational vocabulary. Instead of focusing on what we’re trying to get away from, the successful people were only talking about their desired outcome and the pleasure that they’re having gone after it. So, I started changing how I described my situations to myself. I began upgrading unconscious beliefs and then learning all these cool ways of getting more out of my mind.

How long have you been in practice?

I have been in practice for 27 years this May.

I was always inspired to keep going. I didn’t have any other option. Where else was I going to go?

You made a conscious decision that you had no other option. Because we always have options.

That’s exactly right. I made the decision. I have other options. I could sell vacuum cleaners or fly helicopters. I could go do all kinds of stuff. But I decided that I wanted to help end needless emotional suffering.

I didn’t have the language for that at the time. But I knew that I had a set of skills. And I was getting amazing results with people who had not received results any other way. I wanted to see how far I could take that.

I also wanted to see if this law of attraction and manifesting stuff was real.  Or if it was just great marketing copy.

I absolutely believe it is real, but not in the way that people think.  I mean, I’ve tested it a thousand times and it does work.

I have found that what gets people in trouble or why they feel blocked is because even though they’re repeating the affirmations, they’ve created vision boards, have focused on their goals, and imagine themselves having that desired outcome, it all comes down to the beliefs underneath it. If those thoughts of, “It’s not really going to happen for me” are lingering, that block is set in place.

It sounds like the fear that is underneath someone’s desire is daring them to try to live bigger.

Yes, the fear underneath it.

That is what I call the Whisper Subconscious.

Yes.

That little whisper subconscious is humming out a vibration throughout your system at all times and when it’s hooked on an old negative experience, it can keep your forward momentum at a dragging pace. It can be very frustrating and confusing when you can’t grasp the reason for the holdback.

That’s exactly right. I wanted to figure out, where those whispers were coming from? That’s what I focused on. And that’s where I developed my Hypnosis Method techniques on upgrading and dissipating those unconscious or subconscious whispers.

If you don’t get to the root of it, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change things. It doesn’t break the habit; it doesn’t create a new set of feelings or resources to draw from. If you don’t get to the core, people will go right back to what they know and what they have patterned themselves around.

What has been your biggest shift since 2020?

I don’t chase money or that fame for trying to be a celebrity, I don’t care about that anymore. I used to because it masked my insecurity. And I thought that’s what would make me special or make me feel like I’m good enough if I had that validation from others. I also began interviewing all the most amazing motivational speakers and authors in the world.

I have found that what kept me going was something that I will continue to do for the rest of my life. That is to focus on, “How can I get as much fun and joy out of today.” Because who knows if I will have it tomorrow? So how can I have as much joy as possible today, instead of being all stressed about what I don’t have or what I’m afraid of? I’m going to focus on having experiences that are amazing, full of miracles and opportunities show up all the time.   I just had to own my courage to continue to reach for them.

You know, most of our biggest breakthroughs are hidden in the places we don’t want to go, in the places where we hold back, where we procrastinate, where we feel resistance and fear. That’s where our big breakthroughs are.

And how can I bring value to others while I’m having these experiences? I’m not headed toward some specific outcome; I’m just enjoying where I’m at in the moment and seeing what shows up.

What would you suggest for people who have witnessed a space in their life being created for something new to emerge, but weren’t mentally ready for it?

My thoughts on that first are preparation plus opportunity equals success.  Always keep your channels clear and open for receptivity because what you have been working towards will align with you sooner or later, so be prepared.

Avoid asking yourself, “How do I handle it?”  because what you are really saying to yourself is, “I don’t know if I’m good enough to be able to do this”. Being qualified isn’t really the issue. The issues are the beliefs that we’ve been talking about that are underneath it that are driving the insecurity.

Why is it liberating to rewrite our narrative into a new paradigm, even when the old one was perceived as being comfortable?

Because when you look at it, it’s not actually comfortable. It’s just familiar.

Living a very intentional life can be enough to shift gears.

Being proactive instead of reactive can make all the difference in changing your story and start living a bolder life.

That’s the whole point of mastery. Not being in denial, but really taking any situation and instead of subjectively calling it good or bad, we see how we can take advantage of the moment and use the experience to feel empowered from it.

The quality of your life is being determined by the quality of your thinking and how you can expand your thinking and your mindset. In 2022, people are working on themselves, and people are being more loving and accepting. And of course, you’re going to have the other side of that, where people are also spewing hate, and that’s unfortunate. But life balances itself, rain and rainbow.

Tim, who would you thank for being the influence of your inspirations?

My wife Stacey for sure. She has been a huge inspiration. She has kicked my butt many times helping me to grow up and mature.  She had her hands full because I was a mess. But she was always there, always holding me accountable and lifting me up.  She has been my biggest fan and believed in me when I didn’t. We have been married now for 23 years and she’s number one. And my friends and mentors which span across my lifetime. I’ve surrounded myself with amazing people who are kind and supportive and encouraging and collaborative and they’re givers.  I used to model myself after takers because my life was surrounded by them.  Growing and maturing I have learned it’s so much better to be on the side of giving.

How can readers find you?

At Indyhypnosis.com or Timshurr.com

Or they can find my books on amazon.com

If I could talk to someone, and I only had 30 seconds, I would tell them, “You need to believe in yourself that you have greatness inside of you.”