Negotiating from Strength

Before we begin, let yourself settle into whatever position feels most natural for sleep. If you're in bed, lie down on your back or your side, whichever feels most comfortable. Let your arms rest gently at your sides, or let your hands rest softly on your stomach or your lap. There's no right or wrong here. Close your eyes now. You don't need to keep them open for any part of this session. This recording is designed to walk you all the way into sleep, so there's nothing you need to do, remember, or hold onto. In fact, the less you try, the better this works. Tonight, rather than rehearsing what could go wrong, we're going to let your mind run a different version of tomorrow. A version where you're calm, clear, and completely in command. Not because you're pretending, but because some part of you already knows how to do this. We're simply going to find that part and let it lead. You don't need to stay conscious for any of this. The suggestions will do their work whether you're awake, drifting, or deeply asleep. So give yourself full permission to let go completely. If your mind wanders, that's fine. If you fall asleep before the recording ends, that's exactly right. There's nowhere else to be tonight. Nothing else to prepare. Just this. Just now. Let's begin.

Let me tell you a story about a journey that begins right where you are now. [5 second pause] There's a negotiator. [5 second pause] Not the anxious version that's been running loops in your head tonight, rehearsing every sharp question, every pushback, every worst-case moment. [6 second pause] No. This is the other one. [7 second pause] The one who sits down at the table and already knows. [8 second pause] But we'll get to that negotiator in a moment. First, there's something that needs to happen. [6 second pause] Your body has been carrying a lot today. The anticipation. The mental rehearsal. The tension that settles in the shoulders without you even noticing. [7 second pause] And I want you to notice it now, just briefly, just enough to name it. [6 second pause] Because here's what's true about that tension. It was trying to help. It thought if it ran the worst-case scenario enough times, you'd be ready. [7 second pause] But you don't need that anymore. Not tonight. [8 second pause] So let's make a trade. [6 second pause] Press your palms gently together in front of you, or if you're already lying down, simply press your fingertips together lightly. [5 second pause] Feel the warmth there. [6 second pause] That warmth is real. That contact is real. And for just a moment, I want you to let all of that rehearsal energy flow down into your hands. [7 second pause] Every loop, every what-if, every imagined pushback. Let it collect in your palms. [8 second pause] And now, slowly, let your hands fall apart and come to rest. [6 second pause] And as they separate, feel something release. [7 second pause] A letting go that moves up through your wrists, your forearms, your elbows, your shoulders. [8 second pause] That's right. [9 second pause] Your eyes are already heavy, aren't they. [6 second pause] Your breathing is already slower than it was a minute ago. [8 second pause] You can feel it happening, that familiar softening, that quiet pull downward. [9 second pause] Don't rush it. Just notice it. [10 second pause] And let it deepen on its own.

The story I want to tell you takes place somewhere very specific. [6 second pause] Imagine a room. Not the negotiation room. Not yet. [7 second pause] This is a different kind of room. [6 second pause] It's the room you go to in your mind when you already know the answer. [8 second pause] Maybe it feels like a quiet study, late at night, the kind with warm lamplight and the smell of old books and something faintly like cedar. [7 second pause] Or maybe it's more like a high floor in a building, floor-to-ceiling glass, a city spread out below you, everything small and manageable from up here. [8 second pause] Or perhaps it's something else entirely, something your mind is already building as I speak. [9 second pause] Whatever it is, let yourself be there now. [10 second pause] This is the room where the confident version of you lives. [7 second pause] The one who isn't rattled by a tough question. [6 second pause] The one who hears pushback and doesn't flinch, just thinks, and responds. [8 second pause] In this room, there's a chair that's yours. [6 second pause] Settle into it. [9 second pause] Feel the weight of your body supported completely. [8 second pause] There's nothing to prove in here. [7 second pause] No one watching. No stakes. Just you, and the version of tomorrow that you actually want. [10 second pause] The light in this room is soft. [7 second pause] The temperature is exactly right. [8 second pause] And somewhere in the background, there's a low, steady hum, like the building is breathing slowly, like the whole world outside has quieted down just for this. [10 second pause] You belong here. [9 second pause] You've always belonged here.

And now the room begins to deepen around you. [7 second pause] As if the walls have moved back just slightly, giving you more space, more air, more stillness. [9 second pause] I'm going to count down from ten to one, and with each number, you'll find yourself sinking more completely into this place. [6 second pause] Not just relaxed. Deeply, genuinely at ease. [8 second pause] Ten. [10 second pause] Your body is heavy now, the good kind of heavy, the kind that means you're safe and held. [9 second pause] Nine. [10 second pause] Your thoughts are slowing. The loops are quieting. There's just this voice and this room. [10 second pause] Eight. [11 second pause] Deeper now. Your jaw softens. Your forehead smooths. Even the muscles around your eyes let go. [10 second pause] Seven. [12 second pause] Half of you is already somewhere between waking and sleep, and that's exactly where I want you. [11 second pause] Six. [12 second pause] The chair holds you completely. The room holds you completely. There's nothing to hold up anymore. [12 second pause] Five. [13 second pause] Halfway there. Deeper with every breath. Every exhale carries you a little further in. [12 second pause] Four. [13 second pause] Your mind is quiet now. Not blank, just still. Like a lake with no wind on it. [13 second pause] Three. [14 second pause] Almost there. Sinking deeper into warmth, into ease, into the part of you that already knows. [13 second pause] Two. [15 second pause] Just let go. Completely. Whatever is left of the day, release it now. [14 second pause] One. [16 second pause] Deep, deep, deeply relaxed. [18 second pause] That's right. [15 second pause]

And from this deep and quiet place, the story continues. [10 second pause] In that room, the confident negotiator picks up a document. [8 second pause] It might look like a term sheet. [7 second pause] And as they read it, there's no tightening in the chest. No rehearsal of disaster. [9 second pause] Just a calm, clear reading. [10 second pause] Because this version of you understands something important. [8 second pause] Pushback is not rejection. [9 second pause] Pushback is information. [10 second pause] When the other side pushes, it means they're still at the table. It means there's still a deal to be made. [11 second pause] And you know how to work with that. [12 second pause] You've done hard things before. [8 second pause] You've walked into rooms where the outcome wasn't certain and you've found your footing. [10 second pause] Tomorrow is no different. [12 second pause] Now let the story play forward. [9 second pause] See yourself walking into that room tomorrow. [8 second pause] Not rushing. Not over-explaining. Just arriving. [10 second pause] You take your seat. [8 second pause] You feel the surface of the table under your hands, solid and real. [9 second pause] And when the conversation begins, your voice is steady. [8 second pause] Not because you've memorized every counter. But because you know your position. You know your value. And you know what you're willing to walk toward and what you're willing to walk away from. [12 second pause] When the first pushback comes, and it will come, something interesting happens. [9 second pause] Instead of a spike of adrenaline, there's a pause. A breath. [8 second pause] And in that pause, you find the counter you actually want to make. [10 second pause] Not the fearful one. Not the one that gives too much, too fast. [9 second pause] The real one. The one that's fair, grounded, and clear. [12 second pause] You hear yourself say it. [8 second pause] And it lands well. [10 second pause] Because confidence is not about having all the answers. [8 second pause] It's about trusting that you can find them in real time. [12 second pause] And you can. [14 second pause] You already know this. [13 second pause] Your mind has been preparing for this longer than tonight. [10 second pause] Every deal you've navigated, every moment you held your ground, every time you found the right words when the pressure was on. [12 second pause] All of that is still in you. [14 second pause] And it will be there tomorrow morning when you need it. [15 second pause]

The story drifts forward now, gently, like turning pages in a book you already love. [10 second pause] Tomorrow morning, you wake up. [8 second pause] And the first thing you notice is that the loop is quiet. [9 second pause] The worst-case rehearsal that was running last night has been replaced by something steadier. [10 second pause] A kind of settled knowing. [12 second pause] You move through your morning without rushing. [9 second pause] You don't need to run the script one more time. [8 second pause] Because somewhere in the night, while you were sleeping, your mind already ran the version that matters. [12 second pause] The confident version. [10 second pause] And as you prepare to walk into that room, there's something in your posture that wasn't there before. [9 second pause] A quietness. A readiness. [11 second pause] Not the brittle readiness of someone who's over-rehearsed and hoping nothing goes off-script. [10 second pause] The real kind. The kind that comes from knowing who you are in that room. [13 second pause] And when you sit down across the table, and the conversation begins to move, you find that you're not trying to control it. [10 second pause] You're navigating it. [9 second pause] There's a difference. [12 second pause] Control is tight and effortful. Navigation is fluid and responsive. [10 second pause] You respond to what's actually being said, not to the imagined version from last night. [12 second pause] And that makes all the difference. [14 second pause] The counter you want to make, you make it. [10 second pause] Clearly. Calmly. Without apology and without aggression. [12 second pause] Just the truth of what you need and why it's reasonable. [14 second pause] And whether the deal closes tomorrow or takes another round, you walk out of that room knowing you showed up fully. [13 second pause] That's the version of tomorrow you're carrying into sleep tonight. [15 second pause] Let it settle in. [18 second pause] Let your mind accept it as real. [20 second pause]

And now the story begins to soften at the edges. [12 second pause] The room you've been sitting in grows quieter still. [10 second pause] The lamplight dims just slightly, warmly. [12 second pause] And the chair beneath you becomes your bed, your pillow, the weight of your blanket. [14 second pause] You're already there. [15 second pause] Already home. [18 second pause] The negotiation is handled. [12 second pause] The preparation is done. [15 second pause] There is nothing left to do tonight except this. [20 second pause] Drift. [22 second pause] Let the thoughts come and go like distant sounds from another room. [20 second pause] Not yours to chase. Not yours to hold. [22 second pause] Just sounds. Just breath. Just the slow, steady rhythm of a body that is safe and resting. [25 second pause] Your breathing is deep now. [20 second pause] Each exhale carries you further from the waking world. [25 second pause] And somewhere in that drifting space between thought and sleep, the confident version of you is already there. [22 second pause] Already ready. [28 second pause] You don't have to do anything else. [25 second pause] Just let go. [30 second pause] Let go. [30 second pause]

Sleep is already here. [25 second pause] Deeper now. [30 second pause] Softer. [30 second pause] Further in. [35 second pause] The day is behind you. [30 second pause] Tomorrow is ready for you. [35 second pause] And right now, there is only this. [40 second pause] This quiet. [35 second pause] This stillness. [40 second pause] This deep, restful sleep. [45 second pause] Deeper. [45 second pause] Drifting. [50 second pause] All the way down. [55 second pause] All the way in. [60 second pause]