Tony Robbins review
Have you seen “I am not your guru” on Netflix? I’ve been intrigued by Tony Robbins, the world’s number one personal development coach, ever since – so much so that I snapped up an early bird ticket (£600) for his four-day Unleash the Power Within seminar.
Sadly, like so many events this year, COVID-19 had other ideas. This meant the face-to-face event went online. And so, I found myself joining 12,000 people from 140 countries to see what all the fuss was about.
I’ve been asked by SO many people about what it was like, I figured I’d write a review!
The Good
Immersive, deep experience
Tony and his coaches help you to explore some of the key areas that hold you back in life, like your fears and self-limiting beliefs, to a level of depth I’ve never experienced in training before…it’s akin to therapy. Over a number of carefully crafted hours, you’re taken on a journey to discover things buried deep in your subconscious with the aim of interrupting unhealthy thinking patterns and replacing them with positive alternatives. Breaking a piece of wood with my self-limiting beliefs (in my pjs!) felt awesome, and Tony’s guided visualisations were extremely powerful and moved me to tears on several occasions.
Story telling
If there’s one thing Tony does amazingly, it’s taking you on a journey through stories. He’s worked with some of the best celebrities, sports people and politicians (whom he name-drops a lot) and hearing his tales, and those of others, is fascinating.
Holistic approach
Tony and his team of experts tackle personal development from the perspective of the body as well as the mind. They focus on the important role that physiology has (which is certainly worth considering). You spend time physically “priming” i.e. getting your body firing on all cylinders that put you in the “peak state” needed to get the most from yourself. That meant regular Zumba-style dancing, stretching exercises and a whole day dedicated to looking after your body.
Logistics
Apart from my registration experience (see “The Bad”), the event ran seamlessly. Tony’s a pro – he’s built a specially-designed, fully pimped-out studio where he can see everyone’s Zoom screens and the chat – you feel like you’re in a gameshow. You watch in sub-groups of ~350 people where participants interact and build relationships (my group were going nuts in the chat!). Each room has several “Team Tony” members there to assist you.
The Bad
All day and ALL NIGHT LONG!
Part of Tony’s change strategy is “immersion” – that means his trainings are 12-14 hours long each day for four days. This would be challenging at the best of times i.e. face-to-face, but it’s brutal on Zoom. It’s relentless with very few breaks…like a personal development marathon. I appreciate there’s a “method to the madness” and Tony can maintain engagement because it’s him, and people have invested so much emotionally and financially to be there. But, IMO it’s too much to ask of people online, especially when the agenda is so “fat” (see next point) – I reckon you could keep the game-changing content and cut the time by two thirds.
“We cheer and we lead, we act like we’re on speed”
As Tony believes wholeheartedly in the power of physiology, you spend a huge amount of time (probably 30%) getting into a “peak state”. That means singing and dancing like a loon to a super-preppy soundtrack and shouting at the top of your lungs. He does it to flush your body with serotonin and dopamine, which help you bring energy and connection to the learning/experience.
I’m a pretty outgoing person who’s up for anything…but it was way too much, even for me. Not only does it take up loads of time, it got boring/went on too long and I felt super self-conscious about the fact my neighbours must have wondered what the f*ck was going on.
Registration experience
Training 101 – don’t piss people off before they’ve even joined. My welcome pack didn’t arrive on time and I had to chase endlessly for my registration email, which unnecessarily stressed me out. Not the end of the world, but I expected more from the world’s best trainer and his team.
The Ugly
Upsell, upsell, upsell
The worst bit was how salesy it got. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m okay with sharing relevant products and services – “a girl’s gotta eat” – but the way this was built into the content felt manipulative, like you were being “primed”…and took up valuable HOURS. For example, you’d be watching a video about the importance of learning and repetition and then BANG – buy my next product Tony doesn’t do the selling himself – he gets his coaches to push it. At points it felt aggressive, especially considering how much people had already spent on the ticket for this program. Major yuck factor.
Overall, I’m glad I attended and I definitely learnt some valuable lessons about myself and I’m excited by some of the techniques I’m taking away. But I didn’t think the event was sympathetic enough to a virtual setting and the sales pitches were a huge turn off.
