someone who knows far more about this stuff than I (bm for example, amongst others who have posted) but the concern that I have with using only TR or NLP is that it just gets at the "how" and not the "why".
TR and NLP seem to be techniques that are an effective answer to the "how to change" question. But I don't think that they offer much help when it comes to "why to make a change".
Without examining the "why" I think any change is by definition superficial (though that does not mean it will not nevertheless be beneficial). For example, setting one's goal as "making a million dollars". That is all well and good and NLP and TR can certainly help get you there but I think you make the whole process that much easier if you also sit down and ask yourself why you want to achieve a specific goal or change in your life. And I am not talking about "I want a million dollars so I can buy that Ferrari I have had my eye on" mode of thinking , but rather questioning why you feel you need the Ferrari in the first place and asking yourself if the opportunity cost is worth it.
Questions like the above will eventually lead you to examine the philosophy by which you live your life. Once you have a good idea of what that philosophy is and know why you wish to adhere to it then you can start making goals and putting them in to action using the variety of tools out there, be it TR, NLP, or something else. Certainly there will be a lot of personal growth involved and the results, I think, will be more likely to stick and be easier to implement amongst other benefits.
A trading analogy would be spending the time to find your edge(reasons why you want to live your life a certain way) and then using tools (NLP, TR, etc) to trade that edge. Of course one can skip finding one's edge by simply following a newsletter or someone like LBR and just use the tools and still have results but I think that it is obvious that this is not a long term nor ideal solution for many reasons.
For the some of the people I would look to would be Jesus, Ghandi, MLK, St Francis, Schweitzer, Hegel, etc . For the how NLP, TR, REBT, etc
Obviously everything is an evolution and all things have their time and place. If I was a smoker and needed to quit right away I would get on a program immediately and then simultaneously start the process of change from within. I wouldn't wait until I had everything figured out first because by the time I had it all figured out (lol) I would be long dead. Point being that immediate and consistent action and is necessary along with serious work on one's philosophy. That philosophy will then fuel and drive future action. It is a life long process, a discovery of one's self and one's potential.
TR does offer that quick start through his programs and he certainly is inspirational for people who are in a place in their lives where their pain makes philosophizing difficult, if not pointless. Along with TR I would recommend a small and simple book called "three minute therapy" for someone who just needs immediate relief and change.
Thanks for all the great posts on this thread, I have learnt a lot and ET clearly has more than a few posters with a passion for life. Good post Chris.