Why is it that a very talented person often doesn't reach their potential? They have the talent of someone at the top of the profession, and yet something stops them achieving.

I have found when working with sports people and performers alike that often they are worrying about what has happened or what might happen rather than focusing on what they are doing now!

A tennis player is thinking about the shot they played a few minutes ago which fell wide of the line. The golf player is thinking that they don't want the ball to go in the rough. The musician is worrying if anyone noticed the wrong note they played. Quite naturally when they are not focused on the present they are not playing their best.

Some people become terrified before they ever start the match or the performance or the race. They are focusing on the negative, worrying about all the dreadful things that may happen. If we focus on the negative – guess what happens, our worst fears are realised. So that when we are in the same situation again it is even more likely that things will go wrong.

I have helped young and old alike who find they can't motivate themselves to study for their exams. Often what is happening is that they are so intimidated by the amount of work they need to do they don't know where to start and they end up running round like a headless chicken getting nothing done!

Or sometimes they have no problem with studying, but when they get into the exam hall they are frozen with fear. When they are that nervous none of what they know will come out and they end up with a far lower grade than was expected of them.

Using Advanced Hypnotherapy I can help people to keep calm, but motivated. I can also help people to focus on the positive and get rid of negativity. Many clients I have seen can't believe the rapid improvement in their performance. I also teach self hypnosis, which can even be used in exam conditions in order to calm down.

When we are relaxed the answers just come flooding back. Just like when you lose something and you are panicking about it – can't find it anywhere. When you relax and forget about it – what happens? You find it. It is because the more conscious thought there is, the less sub conscious activity goes on, and you need your sub conscious mind to recall.