I’ve never done an interview yet on PluginID so it’s only right if the first slot is taken by one of my best friends. He doesn’t want to be named (rightly so, considering his position) so I’ll refer to him as R throughout the interview.
R has quite a remarkable story, starting with $50 on a ‘PartyPoker.com’ account and turning that into over $1 million, all while in his early twenties. He credits his success not only to his poker skills, but with the use of EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique.
I thought R would be a great fit to share some information on the technique and how it has helped change his life. I’ve known him for over a year now and I’m constantly amazed at his dedication, success and attitude towards all projects he undertakes.
Enjoy…
The Million Dollar Interview
PluginID: Can you tell us a little about your background so far and how you got into poker?
R: Sure, I did a degree in Actuarial Science and went on to work and complete my last few board exams immediately after. During that period of work I was a motorbike accident at a local racetrack – it was completely my fault, having too much fun and pushing too hard I guess. While sitting at home recovering from the accident I stumbled across some kind of poker material and was immediately interested to find out whether there was any skill involved.
It turned out there was a mountain of skill in poker and that good players were winning unimaginable amounts of money consistently. More than anything, I became engrossed with the sense of competition in the game and fell in love with it.
PluginID: What made you decide to venture into EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)?
R: I had become interested in self-improvement / self-actualisation in my very early teens when my dad asked me to do everything I could to get a scholarship for high school. Someone on one of the Yahoo groups I followed recommended EFT – the premise of EFT sounded really attractive so I gave it a whole hearted shot.
PluginID: How did you decide it was working, then apply it to other areas of your life?
R: I still remember taking a chair far out into the garden to try EFT for the first time. I just took my biggest fear at the time – something that when I thought about I got an immediate negative feeling – and ‘EFT’d’ it. I was amazed when it literally disappeared in minutes.
From there I applied EFT to everything and anything, from academics to sports performance. Over the next year or so I made leaps and bounds in measureable areas of my life like academics and sport. Most distinctly, I went from being an average student who put in a lot of effort, to finishing high school in the top 20 students in my province with far less effort and while playing 2 sports at very competitive levels.
PluginID: Which resources would you recommend for people looking to learn more about EFT?
R: Emo Free has more than enough information on EFT for anyone to make huge changes in their life. I also recommend the DVD’s that Gary Craig produces – I have them all and they helped me tremendously. Carol Look’s work was also very helpful to me in understanding how to apply EFT to achieve goals.
Most of all, it’s very easy for us to get too involved in wanting to learn EFT to perfection before applying it. Avoid this at all costs. I allocate specific EFT time per day when working on a goal or preparing for an event.
PluginID: What would you say to people who have limiting beliefs about the success they can achieve?
R: Firstly I would EFT any disapproval we may have of ourselves for having these limiting beliefs.
Next, I’d chose a specific area where you are currently or planning to strive for a goal e.g. health, wealth, relationships, spiritual. Then I would write out the first limiting belief that comes to mind. Next, I identify the emotion that’s attached to that belief. Then try to remember the first time you felt that emotion and EFT on that memory where the emotion was first experienced.
Persisting with this for half an hour a day for a couple days (even if it’s the same beliefs that come up) will create massive shifts.
PluginID: You quit your job recently to play Poker full-time. How have you adjusted to the lifestyle?
R: Well I adjusted very quickly and it’s been awesome 
I absolutely love being able to wake up when I wake up and spend my day working on goals that to excite me to the core. I’ve also got a couple of overseas adventures planned for this year.
PluginID: If you only had one sentence to inspire our readers, what would it be?
R: This is it.
PluginID: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Take full responsibility for everything that happens to you. Ask: “Wherein did I cause this to happen to me?” and start tapping.
“What is EFT?” – For those of you that didn’t click off onto the Emo Free website I recommend you check out this simple but useful video on Youtube.
Personal Experience
Even though R had managed to use EFT to improve his poker performance and rid his limiting beliefs, I was still quite hesitant and sceptical about EFT when I first heard of it. The system basically involves tapping certain meridian points in your body and then “reprogramming” your feelings over certain situations or thoughts. Like most things you are sceptical about, you should try them before dismissing them, that’s exactly what I did…
…I tried EFT for the first time about 4 days ago. The result? I was laughing out loud for about 2 minutes straight. I couldn’t believe how relaxed I felt afterwards and how the thing I was tapping on started to become completely irrelevant to me.
Thanks to R for the interview and I hope you’ve all taken something out of it.