I learned about the power of stories from Jack London, Mark
Twain, Robert Collier, Shirley Jackson, and from the greatest hyp-
notist of all time: Milton Erickson.
Erickson was an eccentric, highly skilled therapist. He used the
patient’s problem to solve their problem. If someone walked in
complaining of a nervous tick, Erickson might use that tick in
some hypnotic way. He might ask the person to see if they could
speed it up, or slow it down. Erickson, in short, helped people re-
gain control.
What I just told you is a hypnotic story. It is entertaining, educa-
tional, and even hypnotic. It conveys several messages. Some you
got consciously. Some you got unconsciously.
Do you see the power in a story?
Let me share with you one of my popular articles on the magic
power of a good story.
How One Hypnotic Story Brought
15 Automatons to My Door
Joe Vitale
In 1844 the great circus promoter P.T. Barnum bought an au-
tomaton from the famous magician, Eugene Robert-Houdin.
An automaton is a mechanical device that imitates life.
Think of them as early robots. In the middle of the eighteenth
century, automatons were all the rage: mechanical ducks and
elephants, pictures with moving parts, even human androids
that could write, draw, and play musical instruments. They
were haunting, magical, intricate, detailed, and usually metic-
ulously crafted out of watch parts, metal, and wood.
The one Robert-Houdin created was a life-sized figure
able to write and draw, and even answer simple questions.
He once displayed it before the king of France. Barnum
heard of it on his tour in Europe with General Tom Thumb
and bought it. But that legendary automaton was lost in
one of Barnum’s many fires.
I spoke to a few people who still build automatons—
which is an almost lost art today—to see if someone couldHow to Create Hypnotic Stories