One night when I couldn’t fall asleep, instead of counting sheep I counted all the hours I spent in Tony Robbins programs last year. I was shocked to find it was 260! I traveled to Amsterdam, New Zealand, Hawaii and Florida and devoted a total of six weeks of my life to learning from Tony.
What’s the biggest takeaway I got from all these programs? What I learned and am challenged by every day is the importance of managing my mind. What this means is not allowing negative thoughts, outside frustrations or fear to hijack me. Tony teaches us that because we cannot control other people or what happens in our external world, we must master our internal thoughts. I will admit that not allowing my mind to default into to primal fear is my biggest challenge. One strategy I use is to set my intention every morning, in writing, that I will stand guard at the door of mind against judgement and negativity. When I notice it starting to creep in, I ban it! It still sneaks in more often than I would like, but I see the difference in the quality of my day when I have managed my mind successfully.
Tony teaches that the goal is to live life on your terms and to not let fear stop you. He also emphasizes that growth and contribution make us feel fulfilled, not just money and significance. These two points really resonated and confirmed for me why constantly learning, forcing myself to step out of my comfort zone and helping others to achieve their goals has been so rewarding.
Many of the most profound things I learned from Tony’s programs are deceptively simple. Here are a few of my favorite tips for both your personal life and your career.
Tony’s Tips for Personal Success:
- Change is a matter of motivation: What’s your why? What will it cost you if you don’t change or take action?
- Be decisive – decisiveness is power. Just trust your gut and do it!
- Don’t make the rules so hard that it’s hard to be happy.
- If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong!
Tony’s Tips for Business Success:
- Add massive value for clients and do more for others than any competitors.
- Manage what you measure.
- Test/pilot business ideas before launching.
- Verify and clarify when training and communicating with your team members.
- Surprise and reward team members.
You may be thinking you know this stuff already, and you probably do! The key is not knowing, but doing. How often do you know what you need to do but don’t actually do it? Tony urges us to take massive action and overwhelm the fear we all feel. At the end of most sessions he closes by asking, “Is now a good time to do what you know you should do to get the outcome you want?”