Mr. Solution

Florida Coast Magazine – Holiday 2019 – The holidays are in sight and people are starting to contemplate aspirations for the New Year ahead. Whether it’s changing jobs, becoming a more proactive parent, buying a new house, or starting a business, there needs to be a method in which to accomplish these goals. How does one overcome any fears and set up a strategy to achieve their goals?

Tony Robbins is a man who has not only achieved personal greatness, but is inspiring millions to do the same by helping them to envision and accomplish their goals. He has been a support to not only celebrities and world leaders, but also to anyone who wishes to attend his seminars. Florida Coast Magazine chatted with Robbins, the author, philanthropist and life coach, about his childhood, family, and his personal ambitions to help people.

Born in North Hollywood, California in 1960, Anthony J. Mahavoric, now known as Tony Robbins, did not have the white picket fence or wholesome all-American upbringing that many are blessed with. It was this tough childhood which has shaped who this inspirational man has become today.

“I grew up in a pretty tough environment in the respect that we had no money and we were never sure if we were going to have a meal on the table that night,” Robbins recalls. “When I was 11 years old, I had a situation on Thanksgiving where we had no money or food. There was a knock at the door and this tall man was standing there with two giant bags of groceries and an uncooked turkey sitting in a pot on the ground. I got my dad to come to the front door and he was not pleased, saying, ‘We don’t take charity.’ The man said ‘I am just the delivery person,’ and he handed my dad the food. This really changed my life, not because of the food, but the fact that strangers care.”

Robbins’ father had a very pessimistic view of people, telling young Tony that, “Everybody just cares about themselves.” Even at a young age, Tony was a lover of people and these words did not ring true to him. After the charitable experience of food on the doorstep, Robbins decided then and there that he was going to raise some money to feed at least two families with a goal to double that every year. He started feeding families when he was 17 and he has been doing so ever since– 42 years to be precise.

The first time he provided food to two families, he also acted like the delivery service because he knew they would not ask for help. He left the food with a note for the family which read, “We want you to have a wonderful Thanksgiving and one day when things are going well, please support another family by paying it forward.” In partnership with Feeding America (distributors to Food Banks) as of November 2019, Tony Robbins has helped feed half a billion people. Robbins proudly states, “A large part of who I am is that strangers care and I care about strangers.”

It is clear that this is a man who has a vision, then makes it a reality. He is driven by a passion to help others through the power of encouraging people to make decisions. Robbins elaborates on his background, “I was not the most popular kid in school, but I love people. It really made me interested in why people do what they do. My mother was a sweetheart, a really caring person and I would not be who I am without her. Unfortunately, she had a problem with alcohol and prescription drugs and when she used them, she would get extremely violent. I became a practical psychologist and had to protect my brother and sister, who are five and seven years younger than me. I really became obsessed with what makes someone do what they do. I started to read a ton on human development and psychology and physiology.”

Robbins had early dreams of being a professional athlete, but says he was not good enough to pursue it. Still, as an avid sports lover, he took a typing and shorthand course at age 14 and began writing sports-related articles. When a local newspaper did a story on Robbins, it ended up leading him to pen a weekly sports column.

Robbins got to interview some of the big names at the time including Joe Namath, among many others. He thought he would go on to study sports journalism, but this was not to be. His mother kicked him out and he wanted to finish high school so he concentrated on his studies instead. To this day, however, Robbins still loves sports and works with many athletes.

In high school, Robbins was known as “Mr. Solution.” “If someone had a problem, I would have the solution,” he explains. This need and want to not see anyone else suffer like he once did appears to be his driving force. “Whether it be food, friends, frustration, depression, or a challenge in business, my life’s work is helping people find those answers that can move them to where they want to be as quickly as possible.”

At 17 years old and still in school, Robbins was working as a janitor to earn money for his family. He would take a bus every night and work until 2:30 am then ride a two-hour bus journey home, sleep four hours, and get up and go to school. »

Around this time, a friend of the family was revamping their real estate business. In order to save money, they were hiring kids to help with the moving side of the business and hired Robbins. “I was a junior in high school and a tall skinny kid, already six-foot-two.” he laughs.

Robbins’ parents had told him how this man used to be a loser and turned his life around. Robbins was an inquisitive kid and wanted to know how he did this, and the man told him, “I went to a seminar by this man named Jim Rohn.” After Robbins inquired further, the man explained, “In these seminars, a person takes the best 20 years of their lives and teaches it to you in two or three hours. Hopefully, this can save you time by not having to go through all the ups and downs they went through and you can accelerate the speed in which you succeed.” Robbins reminisces, “I asked when the next one was, and if he could get me in, but he didn’t say any more. He eventually replied that if I didn’t pay for it, I wouldn’t value it.”

It was 1977 and the ticket was $35, which was more than Robbins earned in a week. Robbins contemplated, ‘Do I raise the $35 dollars or learn on my own, which could take years and I may never get the answers?’ He saved the money, attended the seminar, and even went on to work for John Rohn. Robbins became one of Rohn’s top speakers due to his passion and belief. He adds, “I wasn’t doing it for money, and people felt the authenticity.”

"Self-esteem comes from making you do things that are difficult. It creates an inner strength and inner pride. Every day, face your fears, or you won’t grow. Happiness really comes and goes, but meaning happens even in the toughest times.”

After doing exceptionally well with Jim Rohn, Robbins asked for his blessing to go solo and start his own speaker’s brokerage. Robbins soon found himself on radio and TV shows challenging traditional psychiatrists. He found that he was able to really help people. “I could take people’s fears and phobias and wipe them out. I would say, ‘I don’t care how long you have been in therapy; I can change you right here, right now in one session.’ I based everything on results and created the word ‘coach’ which had only ever been used in athletics. I knew I wasn’t a motivator—that’s just pumping people up—I was a coach.”

Often referred to as a motivational speaker by others, Robbins doesn’t see himself in that light, saying the label comes from the fact his talks fill stadiums with thousands who come to hear him speak. Instead he believes in energy and inspiration stating, “Motivation is a good thing, but it’s not enough. You have to be a strategist, otherwise you’re like a chicken with your head cut off.”

He started proving his worth to the public by working with top business people and athletes. “I worked with Olympic athletes who were not supposed to make the team, and went on to win gold medals. For example, Andre Agassi had dropped from number one in the world to 19, and I helped him turn that around and get back to number one. He told everyone that I was the source and probably gave me too much credit,” Robbins says. »

Tony has worked with so many people from different walks of life—from Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela, to athletes like Serena Williams. “I have done really well with playing with no net. I have always told people, ‘If you want to take the island, burn your boats.’ One day I got a call from President Clinton saying, ‘They are going to impeach me in the morning what do I do?” Robbins advised the President Clinton, but did not elaborate on the finer details.

Asking where his inner confidence comes from, he laughs and then replies, “I certainly wasn’t confident as a child, I was small and scrawny. Then I got a non-life threatening pituitary tumor in my brain which caused me to grow ten inches in a short amount of time. The way I would escape from the pain and the fear of my life was to read books, especially autobiographies which inspired me. Some of these stories were of extraordinary people and what made them extraordinary is that they had been through hell. This will often give people the drive to really want to make a difference in the world.”

Through his own tough upbringing, Robbins developed a certainty that he would make a difference. “I took on this certainty and created Tony Robbins. This enabled me to take on these mammoth tasks, like coaching a president, when I was just a kid myself. Self-esteem comes from making you do things that are difficult. It creates an inner strength and inner pride. Every day, face your fears, or you won’t grow. Happiness really comes and goes, but meaning happens even in the toughest times.”

Posing a question about personal failures, Robbins chuckles, “Are you kidding me? Nobody succeeds without massive failures, but the difference is—it’s called learning. It is only a failure if you don’t learn. I can remember with one of my first companies, I needed $50k to keep the doors open or I was going to go under. I found a way to borrow the money from someone I had previously helped and promised I would pay them back and I did. You have to focus on what you want and not the fear and if you commit strongly enough, that’s how you become great. Once you deal with these thresholds, you are able to grow to the next level.”

Conversing with Tony Robbins, it soon becomes evident, this is a guy who can juggle many jobs. He makes a point of saying that he doesn’t have enough time in the day, but still manages to strategically run 12 of his 54 companies and travels all over the globe with his seminars. He has also published several books and is currently working on one with two doctors which will be called “Life Force.” It focuses on the best of alternative medicines, including stem cells. However, busy he is, he always makes sure he has time for his family which includes four adult children, four grandchildren, and his wife, Sage, whom he adores.

Investigating and observing Tony Robbins’ life so far and the amount of people he has helped really leaves one in admiration of how much good one person can do in the world. Robbins states, “Helping people improve their lives is as important to me now as it was 42 years ago when I started.”

The fact that he can fill a stadium with thousands of people is still not enough for Robbins. What’s the next step for him and how will he reach even more people? He is currently working on the power of artificial intelligence. Hoping by next year, he will have his own data which will enable him to work with millions of people individually all over the earth any time of day or night. With his past accomplishments, this vision is certain to become a reality.  

In Conversation with Tony Robbins

Additional Thoughts from the Man Behind the Energy

You have a home in South Florida, why is this area so special to you? I would often visit South Florida, but wasn’t hooked on it until I started hanging out with some friends who lived here, and then I found the perfect location. Palm Beach is an exquisite place, and I really am an island guy. We love the restaurants, the people, and the weather. We have privacy with a house overlooking the beach and the Intracoastal at the back. It really is unmatched as far as I’m concerned. It’s one of the best kept secrets in the world. I do have four homes, but this is my permanent home for me, my wife, and family.

What should people expect from your upcoming Miami seminar? Expect to have an experience of a lifetime. Oprah came a few years ago and her people said, Oprah loves you, but she wants you to know she doesn’t sit anywhere longer than two or three hours. She ended up staying from the 12 p.m. start until 12:30 a.m. finish, saying it was one of the most powerful experiences of her life. Prepare to make some breakthroughs in your life.

Is there anything you would like to say to our readers? It’s your decisions, not your conditions, that control your life. We are given choices and we have to make them. I also really believe that the secret of living is giving. If you are not fulfilled, you’re not making progress, and if you are not growing you are not going to have a fulfilled life. By sharing, it becomes more, and those are the things that personally drive me.

What makes you laugh out loud? My wife is crazy funny. I also laugh at myself sometimes with the craziness of what I generate and what I do. I love to laugh and my wife laughs at the drop of a hat, which makes me laugh so hard.

Do you have any pets? I used to always have large dogs, but the last few years we have traveled so much. We also had a Yorkie dog named Missy for 19 years of our 20 years of marriage and she died last year. Now we have a new Yorkie, less than a year, named Halo. It looks hysterical when I go running on the beach with my 6'7" body with my tiny dog. We love her to death, and she goes in my wife’s bag everywhere and brings great joy to our family.

What books are you reading right now? I am reading Life Span by David Sinclair PhD, who happens to be one of the most brilliant medical doctors and scientists I know. He talks about why we age and why we don’t necessarily have to, as well as breakthroughs that are happening in this field. I am also re-reading Principles by Ray Dalio which has to be one of my favorite books of all time.

Who do you turn to for advice?  My wife first and then my dear friends. I’m supposed to be their coach, but I still learn from them. What they all have in common are large hearts.

How do you deal with negativity directed towards you? I am not pretending to be perfect in any shape or form, but I am a good human being and I work my ass off. Of course, there will always be negativity—haters are going to hate, no matter what you do. You can’t think about that, it will make you crazy.

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you? I have a lot of good advice from so many people, but I will give you two:

Jim Rohn used to say to me, “Tony, look, we are all equal at the level of soul, but we are not equal in the marketplace. People need to build their skill sets to be good value. If you can add more value and do more for others than anyone else in your category, you will not only earn lots of money, but you will do something more valuable.”

Peter Guber another multi-billionaire friend advised, “Proximity is Power;” you need to be around people who can help you get to the next level. For example, if you play against someone whose skills are not as good as yours, you are going to go down. If you play with a Serena Williams, just being in the same court as her, your game is going to get better. You become who you spend time with.

What’s your greatest accomplishment in your life so far? I would say the privilege to serve millions of people from many countries around the earth. Seeing people whose lives I have managed to touch, especially those who have been suicidal. This has given a great sense of fulfillment. Everyone has the ability to change from a should to a must and once you find that in a person you are able to help them make those changes.