3 YEARS AFTER TONY ROBBINS’ “UNLEASH THE POWER WITHIN”: IS IT WORTH IT?
Throughout my life, I’ve discovered that every profession or vocations brings with it a common set of Frequently Asked Questions. But nearly nothing compares to the amount of times I’m asked about my experience with Tony Robbins, his events, and courses. By now, I’ve completed over 20 coaching and certification courses from multiple sources, from health and wellness to Neurolinguistic Programming and hypnosis. But one thing I can confidently say is that Tony Robbins is legit, and that his work is popular for a reason. In today’s post I will attempt to answer this common question. Maybe it will help someone looking for answers, and maybe I won’t have to repeat myself so often!
I discovered Tony Robbin through his movie I’m Not Your Guru in 2019. In it, Tony Robbins gives viewers a glimpse of one of his events, both from the participants POV and behind the scenes. From preparation, to planning, to priming and deploying techniques in real time, I learned a great deal about his work and its benefits.
But what picked my curiosity wasn’t the interventions, how he helps others reframe self-harming thoughts, or the confession of the girl who was victimized by the Children of God cult. While those are big factors to consider, somehow I knew that a lot more happened during those events. How could producers capture days of 14+hours of material in a short documentary? They say “the devil is in the details”, and I was tempted to find out.
With the help of social media selling our information and online activity, a targeted ad found its way to my Facebook account. This post advertised Unleash The Power Within, a 5 day live event where you are told will be unleash your inner power and change your life. No price was advertised, but the promise sounded enticing enough to inquire about the event and provide my info.
I received a call from a sales rep within a few hours. He explained the benefits of the event, emphasized its selling points (such as proximity to like-minded people, achieving lasting success and donating meals to the Feeding America foundation), and eventually got to the price. I knew this wouldn’t be cheap, but after hearing a ticket cost $1,500, I almost hung up. But their sales guys are good. Michael seemed determined to close the deal no matter what. So I put a small deposit and arranged to pay for the event over the months leading up to it.
In preparation for attending, I received multiple follow up emails with clear instructions and some exercises. This includes an introductory phase where you get to complete some exercises, get introduced to Scott Harris (at the moment of my attendance) and some of the things you can expect from the event. To my surprise, only 40% of attendants completed it. But I wasn’t about to take shortcuts after investing the little bit of money I had left.
The week of the event arrived in the blink of an eye, and I found myself in West Palm Beach as if in a dream. The first day felt like Woodstock 1999. Everyone in a 4 block radius wore a Tony Robbins event lanyard, and the waiting line to get in was over a block long. There was a sense of anxious tension in the air, the same feeling you experience on a Black Friday doorbuster event where 3,377 people want to get the only $100 55” TV available. Some people had been in that line for hours before the event.
How are days organized?
Each day is filled with physical, mental and emotional activities. I jumped so much over the 5 days that by day 3, the unbearable pain in my shins and calves dissolved and it seemed I could go on for weeks. I completed every written exercise, and took so many notes that my hand felt detached from my arm. But besides the physical discomfort, the most uncomfortable part was getting to touch and open up to strangers, often working in teams and sharing results. This is also where I experienced the most growth.
Through the 5 days I completed NLP, goal setting, and other effective exercises to promote a rapid change of direction. UPW is like drinking water from a firehose. But that’s what I paid for and expected, and that’s what I got. By day 2 I felt that the cost of entry was worthy. Not because I’m a fanboy or needed to justify the expenses and effort, but because, as a self-development aficionado, I know how difficult it is to find efficient and effective tools to change your habits, mindset, and life.
Besides an accelerated course in psychological self-fleshing, there are lots of dancing, jumping, yelling, and High-fiving. I pushed beyond limits I didn’t know I had, discovered a new side of me, attended an event-only Pitbull concert, and even walked on fire. Self-development can reboring and uncomfortable, but this man has figured out a genius way to make it the most fun I’ve ever had.
An array of speakers are also featured throughout different days. Some are legit and share their life story from struggle to winning, while others are clearly there to sell something. I’ve read posts where participants get turned off by the amount of selling there is, but that’s just part of any business. If you can suspend your cynicism and focus on what you’re looking to achieve, these pitches and interludes can be a welcome break.
After the 5 days concluded, I discovered many new things about myself (especially how much I can jump). I made some acquaintances, and left having learned tools that would have taken a long time to find, test, discard or adopt. Even though I’m a self-development junkie since my late teens, finding tools that work (and aren’t just fads or hype) can take years—and significant investments—to find. But in just a few days, I learned tools and strategies used by the world’s best at anything. I experienced the change in myself, confirmed many things I already knew, and walked away with knowledge that has since changed my life.
Fire walk preparation
What are the long term effects?
It’s been over 3 years since UPW, and I still reap the benefits and results. Some reprograming techniques have had sustainable long term effects (such as reframing, swoosh, etc), while others require a higher level of discipline to sustain (such as priming). The amount of information learned helps me make better choices in general, from nutrition to mindset, and the challenging nature of the curriculum taught me that I’m capable of a lot more than I thought. I hate for my post to sound like a sales pitch since I approached this event with a detached and skeptic perspective, but the hype is real and the price makes sense.
If you are a seeker who wants to know themselves and their limits, UPW is a great event. You will explore aspects of your life that many ignore until their deathbed, heal some old wounds holding you back, and become comfortable working with others just like you. By the end of the 5 days is likely that you’ll have a newfound sense of confidence, of whats possible, and even if you only hold onto 10% of what you experience, your life will be that much better for it.
But if you’re looking for a magic pill that will change overnight without effort, it’s not for you. The people who complained that the event was too expensive, boring, or ineffective, were the same people who didn’t go full in. They sat, scrolled on their phones and snacked while those around them jumped and screamed like a battalion heading for war. Maybe these were the same people who didn’t complete the initial exercises.
Conclusion
Watching “Im not your guru” is like watching a football game on tv, but UPW is playing on the field. I could write lots about the event and my findings, but this is something you must experience for yourself. No-one can tell you what banana pudding tastes like if you haven’t tried it before. Check out this post for travel and preparation tips!
If I knew then what I know now, I’d do it all over again with twice the intensity. Even though the price seemed steep at first, you come to realize that its a bargain compared to the amount of work and overhead that costs to put that event together, the amount of work you do on yourself, and how one week can change the rest of your life. Some spend twice as much (or more!) on an ugly watch that no-one cares for, while they drown in despair and wishful thinking.
Don’t let that person be you.