My town is Denver, and Tony Robbins is coming to my town in early February. Tickets start at $149, plus a $9.19 fee. It will set me back $158 to hold court -- from a distance, likely -- with the apotheosis of self-help uplift gurus.
No, thank you. I'll pass. My recommendation is to stay home, or to use the money budgeted for Robbins to take the significant other to see the umpteenth iteration of Evita, or some such. I speak from experience.
When I was a struggling lad in my mid-twenties, I stretched my budget and forked over $189 for Robbins' Personal Power tapes. After the first two tapes, I suspected I had wasted my money. After the third tape, I knew I had. Uplift, pile-driven by relentless enthusiasm, can be entertaining in small doses; in large doses, it's off-putting and conjures cynicism. Impractical mind candy was my ultimate assessment.
Personal Power was a disappointment because self-help gurus like Robbins never solve the insuperable problem that must be solved, and that's you (or me, in my case).
Each of us is composed of a reflexive immutable core .It is what makes you "you." When a car cuts you off in traffic, you might reflexively experience anger. When you are suddenly confronted with anger from another, your stomach might churn and your knees might want to buckle. You can manage how you express this reflexive you to the outside word. You might grit your teeth when cut off in traffic, but you refrain from flipping off the other driver. Your stomach churns when confronted with anger, but you stand your ground.
People dream about success, but their inner core reflexively flinches. This unease is frequently managed with self-sabotage and excuse. This isn't irrational. Success engenders responsibility; success engenders high expectations. Success promotes jealousy, resentment, and hostility from others. Few people encourage the successful. (As they say, haters got to hate, and there is no shortage of haters.) The chance of failure grows with success. When failure occurs, it's amplified, thus, embarrassment is amplified.
In the safe, nurturing confines of a Tony Robbins seminar, everyone is overtaken by the moment to outwardly assert they'll master the universe. In the real (and isolated) world, the inner core takes control. For most of us, the inner core is fearful and conforming. Success is achieved with heterodox thought, bold action, and the intelligent traversing of risk. Most of all, success is achieved with grinding, lonely, habitual work. This is scary stuff, so our inner core puts us off to success.The truth is that the vast majority of us are unable to overcome our inner core.
Perhaps Robbins offers sufficient entertainment value for $158. I don't know; value is subjective. I do know that entertainment and transmogrification are two different things. I doubt any butterflies will emerge from the caterpillar swarm attending Robbins' Denver performance.
Not that I wish Robbins failure. If his performance sells out, good for him. For I can think of no easier way to earn a living than to tell you what you should do with your life. If Robbins is able to earn a fortune doing so, hats off.
With that said, if uplift is your thing and you want to take a shot at overcoming you, I recommend Orison Swett Marden's' Pushing to the Front. Cost to you -- nothing. Pushing to the Front was published 120 years ago. After the first couple chapters, you learn what it really takes to achieve success. What it takes is no different today than it was in 1896, as Marden deftly explains.
Here's a sliver of insight: What it takes depends much more on habit than passion.
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