Interview With Hypnotist - Lee Mcking Hypnotherapy Pte Ltd

Lee Mcking, a well-known Hypnotist in Singapore who have been interviewed by multiple media & press release such as The New Paper, Vanilla Luxury, and more.

Whenever anyone mentioned hypnotist, the first thing that comes into our mind is probably falling into a deep sleep and getting into another world of our sub-concious mind. Or rather, the second impression of it is looking deep into a swinging pocket clock or watch that lead you into a moment of trance. It kind of makes me think of that Mandarin movie: THE GREAT HYPNOTIST.

You may have been wondered, if there's a real job call "Hypnotist". I wondered that too, before i met Lee Mcking. Today I'll let all of my curiosity out and let's get the interview started with Lee Mcking.

What is your background? Education and Work Experience?

You will probably have a lot of questions regarding me being a hypnotist, background and education being a couple! To start off, I actually went to Serangoon JC and completed my “A” levels. However in J1 there was a bullying case and later another incident that caused me to go into depression. I didn’t know it was depression. My coping mechanism then was to “escape from reality” and I did so by diving into the game of Chinese Chess. So while my Chinese Chess skills improved, my results dwindled. After JC, I went into the army where I had my first near death experience. After I ORD-ed from army, I decided to go back to poly and I was the first batch of Child Psychology & Early Education in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. I took this course because it felt like God was telling me to do so (I’m Catholic!). As luck will have it, in year 1, term 1, Tuesday morning of the last week of school, I had my second near death. My right lung had burst in my sleep. Long story short (cause it’s really long), I ended up developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, fell back into depression and suffered the next 2.5 years in poly. I would have a huge mental, physical and emotional breakdown after every presentation in school, collapsing onto the sink in the toilet, with this intense fears and crying and crying and crying. Anyway, I completed my poly and did not go to university. Partly because I was afraid of experiencing that and suffering in university. Harsh I know. (JC = Junior College)

Anyway, some months passed and I spent a year in Prison. HAHAHA kidding!! I was working in Prisons for a year and 3 months! I was good in mathematics and someone asked me to try a government job so I ended up doing administrative work in Prisons. Oh yea, while I was in JC, I did tutor some kids here and there. I did it not for money but for the experience. I was tutoring kids from low income families and the parents just paid me what they can afford.

What ignited the spark in you to start this business venture or to make significant changes in an existing business? How did the idea for your business come about?

So after I left Prisons, or maybe it was in between, I chanced upon Neuro Linguistics Programming or NLP for short. You see, by this time I realized the connection between mind and body and my physical health was suffering because of my mental health. The NLP I found had a holistic approach (the school is from Australia!) so I took the Basic course. Then I realized my PTSD can be cured and I was accidentally hypnotised by the doctor to have such a negative effect. So I took the Master NLP course and it was one of the most emotional and healing experiences for me! By this time, I realize most of the NLP techniques come from hypnosis and so that got me curious to explore it. I was really lucky! A German hypnosis came to Singapore and taught it. I learnt the true principles of hypnosis which allowed me to create scripts on the fly and be able to hypnosis anyone anywhere. Quite literally.

Anyway, all this was for my own personal development and self-healing. It wasn’t until my mum injured her hand. It was swollen and we suspected she tore her wrist ligament. But she wouldn’t see a doctor. 3 days later, I managed to convince to do 5 minutes of pain relief hypnosis with me and by lunch time, her arm was back to normal. That got me thinking, maybe I can help the world? Ok ok, let’s start with Singapore… and then the world.

And that’s how I started my business. I myself have suffered through PTSD, anxiety, fears etc and I successfully used hypnosis to resolve all these and more. I know what’s it like to suffer through and not being able to find the help you need. That’s why I started this practice.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

Wow honestly I have a lot of people that I draw inspirations from. First is my dad, he was always the honest go to guy that you can depend on (he was a practical joker) and trustworthy. Next is my mum, who had an inner strength and endurance that you can hardly find anymore. Both had amazing foresight abilities too (and I mean to be able to think ahead and plan carefully, not the psychic attack in Pokemon). They were both very principled and kind hearted. For those who know me, you can see these traits from my parents very strongly in me.

While growing up, I drew inspiration from Bruce Lee too. Not so much in martial arts, but how he thinks of martial arts. I like how he learns everything about martial arts, then use what works, use what’s effective. I am naturally curious anyway and so learning was already there, it’s being able to use what’s most effective that I learnt from Bruce Lee. I am a big Michael Jackson fan too, and he inspired me to find something that I enjoy doing and do it. Like doing what you love, that you are so passionate about. Ok Bruce Lee taught me that too. In fact, both are rather perfectionist come to think of it…

I could talk about the various inspirations I draw from master hypnotists around the world but I think I will stop here. Since it’s about my greatest inspirations hahahaha.

What is Unique about your business?

Hey I am a hypnotist! :D

And no, it’s not about making people sleep…

In fact, I am unique even among my fellow hypnotists in Singapore. Most hypnotherapists here practice the traditional form of hypnotherapy. The traditional form is the one you see in media and movies, the client goes to sleep while the hypnotist drones on. They believe changes can only take place when the client is in a deep hypnotic state.

I use a modern conversational technique of hypnosis. Our conversational style believes trance can occur now and we can have the changes right now (or very soon at least). We use complex linguistic patterns to de-construct your issue and re-establish your solutions. Although of course, that does not mean I do not know the traditional method, I do, just seldom use it.

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?

I like to go into hypnosis by myself to be honest, and experiment with stuff. I enjoy the occasional computer or mobile game too. I find myself spending more time reading odd stuff. Sometimes it’s usual stuff like reading about content creation and sometimes it’s odd stuff like developing psychic abilities. I do volunteer work once a while too, and might find myself doing more.

Where you see yourself and your business in 10 years? 20 years?

Wow! Great question. Alive. In 10 years and 20 years.

Hahaha partly kidding but hey, after 2 incidents, you never know. Shrug. And I really appreciate being alive, being able to wake up, smile, eat and help people.

On a slightly more serious note, to be able to impact Singapore and the world of what is really going on in hypnosis, like you don’t even know how certain people are hypnotising you without you knowing! Imagine if you only knew, then you can spot when someone is trying to hypnotise you for the wrong reasons. In 10 years’ time, I hope to educate most Singaporeans about hypnosis that is been done by someone who doesn’t want people to know they know hypnosis.

You know, sometimes I say, be aware of the hypnotist who doesn’t tell you they know hypnosis, then the hypnotist who tells you he is a hypnotist. Hey, at least I am helping people.

What three pieces of advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Resolve your fears of success, failure and change. Like seriously, these fears could inhibit your progress, giving you additional problems like procrastination, self-doubt, negative self-talk etc.

Emphasize on your passion and purpose. This will allow you to enjoy what you are doing and enable you to enjoy waking up and getting out there. It is also this that reminds you why you are doing what you love, even if you are making financial losses in the beginning (key is beginning, don’t have losses for 20 years and still be making losses lol)

Follow your gut feeling and trust your intuition. It’s essentially the same thing here. Your gut feeling or intuition taps on your unconscious mind. It is one of the ways your unconscious mind can communicate with you (without coming to me). And the more you practice, the better your skill with it.

Alright! I want to thank Irene for this opportunity to share! I hope I didn’t bore you too much with some of my life story hahaha. And yes, those stories are a much shorter version because it will be very long otherwise.