Anthony Robbins - Power To the People

He’s served as an advisor to world leaders, rock stars and humanitarians. He is recognised as one of the foremost experts on leadership and empowerment. He is world renowned as a motivational expert, yet Anthony Robbins sees himself not as the motivation guru but as a strategist. He spoke with Wealth Creator about growth and world events.

There are world events that change the course of history. Events that leave an imprint on the human psyche, that divide opinion, intellectual debate and even morality. Anthony Robbins has had to deal with all variations of opinion and emotion since the World Trade Towers came down in September 2001 and it has further shaped his own methods of strategising.

“When 9-11 happened, I was teaching the second day of a conference in Hawaii, which is six hours behind New York. So, it was 3 a.m. when I had all of the facts from the attacks and I gathered our participants — 2,000 individuals, representing 44 nations and just about every religious affiliation on the planet. That number also included about 100 people from New York. We were translating four different languages simultaneously. Every emotion we humans are capable of was on display that day; it was sheer, unmitigating chaos. Some people were crying, some were screaming, others were fighting, and some were celebrating. Their reactions reflected the diversity of reactions taking place around the world.

“Over 20 participants had lost family members, friends, and businesses. One woman stood up and shared that she had just lost her husband, another person shared he had just lost his entire company and 33 of his dearest friends, and then another woman told us she had just lost her husband-to-be. He left her a message from the towers—and she played the recording aloud for us all to hear. It was riveting. Then a man stood up and said, ‘I’m from Pakistan. I am Muslim. I’d love to say I’m sorry and hold your hand, but the truth is, it’s retribution’. Now the room was surreal. If there ever was a time in my life that my message really needed to serve people, to really make a difference—this was it. My challenge was to support people who were directly affected by the tragedy, while addressing the diverse reactions of the large group and somehow transform destructive emotions into constructive action.”

Robbins explains that his work has never been about motivation, but discovering what motive drives people and helping them understand that there is an alternative path. “My job is not so much to motivate people as it is to uncover the philosophy of life, the model of the world that is working for them so they can shape their own destiny and go beyond what they are today to an even more fulfilling, robust and truly extraordinary life. That work has become even more important since 9-11.”

Coming to an understanding
Rewind to 1971 and you can see that Robbins was already building a robust and fulfilling life. The California born author of Unlimited Power, Awaken the Giant Within and the soon-to-be released Inner Strength, had an epiphany brought on by the kindness of a stranger. “I was having a bleak Thanksgiving. We weren’t starving, we always found a way, but we certainly weren’t going to have a real holiday dinner with all the trimmings. Then a miracle happened — there was a knock at our door and when I opened it there was this huge man standing there with a giant box of food in his arms that was crammed full of everything – stuffing, pies, sweet potatoes – he even had an uncooked turkey in a pan on the ground next to him. Someone knew my family was in trouble and wanted to help, and this stranger wasn’t looking for appreciation or adoration for this good deed.

“That day I had a revelation that changed the course of my entire life. Up until then I’d always believed that no one really cared. But that day I decided that if a stranger cared enough about me to make sure I had a Thanksgiving feast, then I would return the gift. Someday I would do well enough to give another family in need a Thanksgiving feast.”

That incident shaped what is today the International Basket Brigade. In 2006 the International Basket Brigade fed nearly two million people in 35 countries. Robbins also recalls the time when he was five years old and gave away the bread and milk money given to him by his mother to someone who looked like they needed it more. He went home to be scolded, but it is evident that even in his early years, he was willing to sacrifice for others. “Contribution makes us remember what we are made for.”

Bottom to top
Robbins lived various guises. At 16 he wanted to be President and ran for the school council launching a large political campaign. As a janitor he earned a mere $40 a week and struggled to pay his bills. He had weight issues and faced a dire life of poverty. Yet despite his situation, a spirit still burned in him, which forced him to re-evaluate his decisions and turn his life around.

He started to read business and motivation books. He learnt about visualisation. “An extraordinary life doesn’t just happen. It requires skills and tools, but it also requires having a vision. Visualisation is one of the most powerful tools you can incorporate into your everyday life to help maintain the competitive edge you enjoy now or that takes you to an even higher plane,” he says.

“Visualization allows you to virtually see yourself as you want to be in all areas of your life. Like watching a movie of your life, it’s ‘seeing’ you living out your dreams, your purpose, your values, and your emotions — and it’s all in the present, as if it’s happening now. You can focus on any emotion — be it confidence, patience, passion, or compassion, and actually contemplate and feel it. It’s a rich powerful image, engaging all of your senses — with sound, colour, aroma, taste.”

Robbins visualised so well that he now operates nine companies with annual turnover of US$50 million (AU$62.2 million). He is arguably considered the pioneer of the life coaching industry (though he doesn’t see himself as such). He is Chairman of five private companies and Vice Chairman of two. He has been honoured by Accenture as one of the ‘Top 50 Business Intellectuals in the World’ and by American Express as one of the top six business leaders in the world to coach their entrepreneurial clients. He has also been honoured by the International Chamber of Commerce as one of the top ten ‘Outstanding People of the World’.

This is why Robbins is sought after by world leaders, business leaders and sports stars. Tennis champion Andre Agassi calls him ‘the ultimate life-coach’ and credits him with turning him back into a winner. Others who are said to have consulted Robbins include Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Francois Mitterand and President Clinton. Even the US Army and Marines ask his opinion about motivating their troops.

The challenges faced by people of all walks of life including the abovementioned are quite similar. It all comes down to focus and self-fulfillment. “The downfall of today’s technology is that we often mistake our superficial desires for what we really need,” says Robbins. “As we race around meeting the demands of our busy lives, we begin to lose sight of what it is that we’re working so hard to get. Consequently, we are becoming more efficient at producing results than finding fulfillment in our lives.

“Ultimately, the key to enjoying an extraordinary life is mastering both the science of achievement and the art of fulfillment. While achievement is a science that provides specific steps you can take to reach any desired outcome, fulfillment is an art. Fulfillment comes from finding a unique way to serve that gives your life meaning and allows you to learn to appreciate your life in a different way.

“Doing this requires that we push aside the day-to-day stimuli of our fast-paced, hi-tech world and consciously choose what we will focus on. Where your focus goes, your energy flows. When you make the decision to focus on something, the events of your life begin to take on new meaning, so you take new action and produce a new, higher level of progress. Truthfully, what makes people happiest is not success; it’s growth, or progress. Real fulfillment is knowing that no matter how great our lives already are, we are still constantly growing and progress is the key.”

Dealing with adversity
That doesn’t mean to say that people won’t fail, even if they remain focused. Robbins himself admits that he has had more failures than successes. “I’ve made mistakes in virtually every area of my life, but what I’ve tried to do is learn from them not only for my benefit but to make a measurable difference in other people’s lives. For nearly 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of working with more than three million people from over 80 nations — everyone from presidents of countries to professional athletes, from CEOs of multinational corporations to stay-at-home mums, and from gang members to advocates for peace. And every one of them—every one of us — has made our share of mistakes. What I’ve learned from their mistakes and my own is that life is not about success and failure; it is about meaning — the interpretation we give to each event in life — and not the event itself.”

Which brings us back to the events of 9-11 and how Robbins’ message has touched the lives of those affected by the tragedy. If you are familiar with Robbins you will know his methods and be familiar with his techniques, but how do you bring together a room full of people with differing ideologies?

“I asked two people with diametrically opposed opinions about the attacks to join me on stage—Asad, who earlier in the day had said his only regret was that he wasn’t on one of the attacking planes, and Bernie, a Jewish man from New York whose family was still in the occupied territory, and who was horrified by Asad’s perspective. Asad said, ‘My first reaction was, as a Muslim, hey this is retribution. Muslims feel . . . you came into my home, took it and kicked me out. And then you give me back a little bathroom and I’m supposed to celebrate. And when I’m not celebrating, you come kick my ass’. Bernie’s disbelieving reaction was, ‘There are people who are celebrating their successes of pulling off an amazing logistical nightmare. Neither I, nor anybody I know was ever raised with the concept of being a suicide bomber’. Here we had two very different meanings to the same event, but it was a great opportunity for me to assist the two men in finding a common ground and developing a connection and caring for one another—which they absolutely did. Asad and Bernie formed an organisation, Passion and Action for Peace, which has worked for the last 3 ½ years to share strategies for tolerance in Synagogues and Mosques around the world. And Asad has since written a book called, My Jihad, My Way of Peace and Transformations. Four years later his life has been extraordinary.”

This event gives you a sense of what Robbins has been able to achieve. He found meaning in his own life when he was a near-destitute janitor, and meaning before that when he was helped by the kind gentleman with the basket full of food. Now he teaches people to find their own meaning, to visualise their own success and maintain their own focus. Life according to Robbins is not about failure or success. “I don’t consider failing or succeeding as an endpoint, instead I look at how I can give the most empowering meaning to every situation I face. We can use setbacks as excuses to quit something for good, or we can use ‘temporary’ failure as a fuel to move us toward fulfillment. If you start to look at failure as a gift, like all people who live masterful lives, you will begin to see injustices as challenges; ends as beginnings; and setbacks as opportunities to be even better.”

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