Mention hypnosis and most people picture a swinging pocket watch and someone on stage quacking like a duck. Robert Radnoti, a clinical hypnotherapist, life coach, and podcast host, says the reality is much more ordinary, and much more useful. Hypnosis is a state of focused attention that we slip into many times a day, and learning how it works can help you change the way you think and perform.
In episode 4 of Maximum Octane, Kim Hickey talks with Robert about his unusual path from chemical engineer to college track coach to hypnotherapist. Along the way, he explains how the subconscious mind works, why positive thinking is more than a slogan, and what shop owners can borrow from his approach to mindset.
What You Will Learn
- A lifelong journey. What were some of the changes and shifts Robert went through during his life
- The arm raising technique. How did Robert hypnotize his students to help them run faster
- We are hypnotized several times a day, every day
- How can understanding how our mind works help us
Questions Asked in This Episode
- You live life to the fullest. So can you talk to me about that a little bit?
- How do you go from being a chemical engineer to a Hypnotherapist?
- Life can swing at us pretty hard, right? How do you not let that get the best of you? How do you turn that around?
From Chemical Engineer to Hypnotherapist
Robert started his career as a chemical engineer, including time at Exxon. He then became a high school track and field coach and eventually head coach at Pepperdine University, where he competed against programs like UCLA. His drive to win led him to study hypnosis, hoping it could help his athletes run faster.
It worked well enough that some runners improved after a few sessions, until his athletic director told him to stop. That story captures Robert’s personality: curious, energetic, and willing to try something new to get results. His career path is also a reminder for shop owners and technicians that skills and interests can carry you in directions you never planned.
Career changes like Robert’s are a reminder that skills transfer in unexpected ways. An engineer learns to analyze systems, test hypotheses, and look for cause and effect. A coach learns to motivate people, read moods, and adjust a plan based on how someone responds. A hypnotherapist combines both, observing how the mind works and helping people change patterns. Shop owners and technicians often have the same mix of analytical and people skills, even if they do not think of it that way.
His story also speaks to anyone who feels stuck. Many people in the automotive industry started in one role and grew into something very different, from technician to owner, from advisor to coach, from shop employee to industry trainer. Being open to reinvention is often what keeps a career satisfying over decades.
The Arm Raising Technique and Peak Performance
Around the 7 minute mark, Robert describes the arm raising technique he used with his athletes. While the details are best heard in the episode, the bigger idea is that the mind has a measurable effect on physical performance. Athletes, salespeople, and leaders all perform better when their thinking supports their goals rather than working against them.
Sports psychology has long recognized the link between mental state and physical performance. Athletes use visualization, focus routines, and self-talk to prepare for competition. The same principles apply at work. A service advisor who mentally rehearses a difficult conversation before it happens is more likely to handle it calmly. A technician who approaches a tough diagnosis with confidence rather than dread is more likely to think clearly and find the problem.
Leaders can help their teams by building simple routines that set the right mindset, such as a brief morning huddle that focuses on goals and wins rather than just problems. Those few minutes shape how people approach the rest of the day.
You Are Hypnotized Several Times a Day
One of the most eye-opening parts of the conversation is Robert’s explanation that we all enter a hypnotic state regularly. If you have ever driven home and not remembered the drive, or become so absorbed in a show that you lost track of time, you have experienced it. In that state, the conscious mind steps back and the subconscious is more open to suggestion.
Robert points out that this is why advertising works so well. Messages delivered while we are relaxed and absorbed slip past our usual filters. For business owners, that is worth understanding from two directions: how your own marketing reaches customers, and how the messages you repeat to yourself shape your behavior.
For a clinical overview of what hypnotherapy is and how it is used, the Cleveland Clinic offers a helpful summary.
Understanding this state also helps explain why habits are so powerful. Much of what we do each day happens on autopilot, guided by patterns the subconscious has learned through repetition. That is useful, because it frees up attention for new problems. It also means that unhelpful patterns, like reacting angrily to a certain type of customer or avoiding a difficult task, can run without us noticing.
The first step to changing those patterns is awareness. When you notice yourself reacting automatically, you create a moment to choose a different response. Over time, new responses become the new autopilot.
How Understanding the Mind Helps You Lead
Kim asks Robert how he keeps life’s hard swings from getting the best of him. His answer centers on understanding how the mind works and deliberately choosing what to focus on. When leaders know that their default thoughts can be changed, they can respond to setbacks with more control instead of reacting on autopilot.
That matters in a shop, where stress is constant. A missed promise time, a comeback, or a tough customer can set the tone for the whole day if the owner lets it. ATI’s 3 Tips for Developing Mental Toughness as a Repair Shop Owner and Are ANTs Blocking Your Shop’s Success? look at the same idea from a shop owner’s point of view.
Leaders who understand that thoughts drive emotions, and emotions drive behavior, can intervene earlier in the chain. Instead of trying to control an angry reaction after it happens, they can notice the thought that triggered it, such as “this customer is trying to take advantage of us,” and question whether it is true. Often, a different explanation is just as likely, and the emotional reaction fades.
This approach is similar to techniques used in cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on identifying and reframing unhelpful thoughts. Shop owners do not need to become therapists, but learning a few of these tools can make a big difference in how they handle pressure and lead their teams through hard days.
Living Life to the Fullest
Robert’s energy comes through in every part of this episode. He talks about embracing change, taking chances, and treating each phase of life as an opportunity. He also recommends Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, a book about unlocking creativity through daily habits such as journaling, which has helped many people outside the arts get unstuck.
What Shop Owners Can Take From Hypnotherapy
Even if hypnotherapy itself is not something you plan to try, the principles behind it offer practical lessons for running a business:
- Repetition shapes belief. The phrases you repeat to your team become the story they tell themselves about the shop. Repeat the beliefs you want them to hold.
- Relaxed minds learn better. Training sessions run in a calm, supportive atmosphere stick better than lectures delivered under stress.
- Attention is valuable. Customers in your waiting area are absorbing every message around them, from signs to the TV to overheard conversations. Make sure those messages support trust.
- Change starts inside. Before asking your team to change habits, look at which of your own habits shape the culture.
These ideas connect closely with the internal customer philosophy behind Maximum Octane. When leaders take care of their own mindset, they are better equipped to take care of the people around them.
Ideas to Try After Listening
- Notice when you slip into autopilot during the day and what thoughts fill that space.
- Write down one limiting belief about your business and replace it with a statement you want to believe.
- Try a short morning writing habit like the “morning pages” described in The Artist’s Way.
- Pay attention to the messages your team hears most often from you, because repetition shapes belief.
If mindset is the area you want to work on, Mary Kelly’s Turning Tiny Habits into Massive Results and Sam Richter’s Hit the Switch: Master Your Mood or It Masters Your Business are great follow-ups.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is hypnosis, and is it the same as what we see on stage?
Clinical hypnosis is generally described as a state of focused attention and heightened openness to suggestion, used by trained practitioners to help people work on habits, stress, and performance. Stage shows are entertainment and give a misleading picture. Many everyday experiences resemble a light version of that focused state, such as driving a familiar route without remembering the trip or becoming fully absorbed in a movie. Anyone curious about hypnotherapy should look for a qualified, credentialed practitioner.
How does mindset affect performance at work?
Thoughts influence emotions, and emotions influence behavior. A service advisor who expects a conversation to go badly often sounds tense, and a technician who dreads a tough diagnosis may rush or second-guess good reasoning. Athletes use visualization and focus routines to prepare for competition, and the same habits help at work. Mentally rehearsing a difficult conversation, starting the day with a short huddle about goals, and questioning negative assumptions can all improve how people perform under pressure.
How can a shop owner change negative thinking habits?
Start by noticing the thought that comes before a strong reaction, such as assuming a customer is trying to take advantage of you. Write it down and ask whether another explanation is just as likely. Replace limiting beliefs about the business with statements you want to believe, and repeat them. A short daily writing habit, like the morning pages described in The Artist’s Way, can help surface patterns. Change comes from repetition, so expect it to take weeks, not days.
Can hypnotherapy techniques help with customer service?
Owners do not need to hypnotize anyone, but a few of the underlying principles apply. Repetition shapes belief, so the messages your team hears most often become the story they tell about the shop. Relaxed people learn and listen better, so calm training sessions and a comfortable waiting area help. Customers absorb every sign, screen, and overheard conversation while they wait, so make sure those details build trust rather than doubt.
Resources and Links From This Episode
- Radnoti Hypnosis website
- Raditude podcast
- Book: Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
