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20 Things You Didn't Know about Tony Robbins

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Tony Robbins is an inspirational man with a heart-breaking journey through a terrible childhood which has probably shaped him into who he is today. He is regarded as one of the world’s most inspirational people and is one of the top life coaches that exist. He first became known in 1986 when he was 26 and became wildly famous for his powerful speaking and excellent crowd engagement prowess during his seminars. Tony Robbins has been consulted by very important personalities in the USA and the world at large and has changed millions of lives in a good way.

Through his four published books, he reaches out to millions of people and gives them insight into the inner workings of their own brains and the way in which they can reach the utmost level of happiness in their lives. There are a lot of things that are known about Tony Robbins, like his obvious generous nature and his huge heart.

Below are some other things that you probably did not know about the inspirational figure Tony Robbins:

1. He wishes he was smaller:

When Tony Robbins was asked in an interview what he wishes he could change about himself, his answer was pretty shocking. Robbins wishes that he could be smaller to be able to fit in cars. Tony Robbins stands at a startling six-feet-seven and grew 10 inches in high school, a growth spurt is thought of as playing a role in his contraction of a brain (pituitary) tumor. Even with his size, Marianne Schnall who interviewed him, wrote that 'he comes across like a loving, gentle giant, and when he talks to you he gives you his full magnetic attention.

He is known for being an exuberantly charming, inspiring, energetic and articulate speaker and is also a huggably nice, caring person and a generous humanitarian'. His size is nothing to be intimidated about.

2. He seems to like automobiles:

The accomplished public speaker seems to be an avid fan of nice cars. He is reported to have a Rolls- Royce as well as a Range Rover. Both are very luxurious cars that happen to be big enough to accommodate his large frame. But his love doesn't end with cars. When asked in an interview in 2015 what the last thing that he purchased was, his answer was a jet which he made clear that he did not purchase online.

3. He is an author:

Tony Robbins, in his lifetime, has authored three best-selling and inspirational books: Unlimited Power, Awaken the Giant Within, and Money: Master the Game. Unlimited Power was published in 1986 and its key points of discussions include the topics of health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships. In a review of the book by Magill Book Reviews, it was said that Robbins develops "a systematic framework for directing our own brain.

Awaken the Giant Within is his second novel that was published 11 years after his first one in 1991. The New York Times summed up the focal topics of this book by saying it contained "ways to take control of your emotional, physical and financial destiny." Just 3 years after that, in 1994, Robbins published his third book Giant Steps which is pocket sized. His fourth best-seller, Money: Master the Game, was published in 2014 and became a New York Times' bestseller in December 2014. A million copies were sold in its first year.

4. He left home at 17:

Tony Robbins ran away from home when he was just a teenager. Or rather, he was chased out of his home. When he was 17 years old, his mother ran after him with a knife, and he ran out of the house and never returned. The world acclaimed author worked as a janitor after he left home and did not have the opportunity to attend college. Even without any educational background in psychology whatsoever, Tony Robbins began his own work as a self-help coach.

He taught important lessons in neurolinguistic programming (NLP) and Ericksonian hypnosis after he underwent training by the NLP co-founder, John Grinder. 1983 was the year that Robbins learned to firewalk and this started a new branch of his career; he began to incorporate it into his seminars. Robbins' excellent use of board breaking, skydiving, and firewalking in his seminars has helped millions of attendees to conquer their fears.

5. He has had many problems with lawsuits:

In May 1995, Tony Robbins' company, Robbins Research International was charged with the misrepresentation of potential earnings to franchise investors by the Federal Trade Commission. Both bodies came to an agreement, in which Robbins Research International agreed to pay $221,260. Wade Cook, a financial seminar expert, also sued Tony Robbins for copyright infringement and plagiarism,saying that Robbins used material in his seminars from Cook's book Wall Street Money Machine. Tony Robbins had to pay $650,900 in damages to Cook in 1998.

6. He tries to think positively:

When Tony Robbins was asked what he thought his greatest failure was, his reply was wildly inspirational at best and surprising, to say the least. He said in answering the question that 'I failed to achieve my goals a million times, but I don't look at these failures as not being positive. I look at everything as an experience to be learned from. I look at success as a result of good judgment and good judgment as a result of experience and experience is often a result of bad judgment'. Good call, Robbins.

7. He is not much of a sleeper:

Tony Robbins is reported to not be a great fan of sleeping; he said that he sleeps 5 to 6 hours a night. Although he doesn't seem to enjoy sleeping for long hours, he sleeps very deeply. He reports that he doesn't jump out of bed like you would think such an inspirational figure would. He, instead, tries to look forward to the day.

8. He has no fear:

Tony Robbins says that his biggest fear starting out his career in 1986 was not having as much of an impact as he wanted to and dying young without accomplishing his set goals. When he was asked what his biggest fear was now that he was all grown up, he answered by saying that he doesn't really have any because he is so fulfilled. It must be nice to not have any fears at all.

9. He has worked with really great people:

The New York Times describes Tony Robbins as the “high priest of human potential.” And this very well may just be true as he has managed to acquire for himself quite the following among who includes very important figures across the world such as Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Mother Teresa and three U.S. presidents, and CEOs and Olympic athletes. Millions of individuals from all over the world regularly consult with him for his guidance.

10. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1994:

This is what inspired Tony Robbins' amazing career. When he was told that he had a tumor in his brain, he realized quickly that when things like that happen, how you respond is going to determine the quality of your life. He also came to the conclusion that the quality of life does not have any relation to the things that go well in life, but the ability to change negative states, get resourceful, find an empowering meaning and find a solution to move forward is what makes people successful.

When he was diagnosed with a tumor, he reports that he had an experience where it dawned on him that he had lost all sense of certainty in his life and the thoughts that followed after and the way that he approached and conquered them was what sparked an awakening in him which deepened over time and nurtured his work and perspective.

11. He chants incantations to stay positive:

Tony Robbins grew up poor and in a broken family and claims that he had no role models in his house. His mom was married four times and they were financially unstable all through his childhood. He reports that there were times there was no food for them to eat. In response to this struggle he faced growing up, Tony Robbins feeds over two million people every year because his family was fed when he was 11 years old by some strangers on Thanksgiving.

Because of his unstable childhood, he had to learn to pound certainty into himself. He conditioned himself to be certain and to have confidence and strength by controlling his mind. He would repeat affirmations like ‘I’m happy, I’m happy, I’m happy, I’m happy’ with such intensity over and over again that his brain learned to accept this state and he became happy. He did this chanting on a daily basis. When he was 17, and shortly after he left home, he would go on slow jog runs for an hour and a half repeating these incantations.

12. He believes in God herself:

Another incantation that Tony Robbins claims to love is ‘God’s wealth is circulating in my life, it’s what flows to me, an avalanche of abundance. All my needs, desires, and goals are met instantaneously, by infinite intelligence — where I’m one with God and God is everything' which he'd shout at the top of his lungs while jogging. Even though he says these incantations to gain a certain certainty, he believes that God, in her infinite wisdom, gave all humans a second need which is the craving of variety and uncertainty and is the reason that we love surprises as much as we do.

13. He has a unique take on spirituality:

To Tony Robbins, spirituality is 'just love, period. When you’re in a state of love, you do what’s right. When you’re really in love, it’s not about you. When you’re really in love, it’s about giving, serving, delivering to others and that’s when we feel most alive'. He continued this statement by saying that 'we feel most small, we feel most challenged when we’re only focusing on ourselves.

Because even when you fulfill yourself, meaning you get what you think you want, you still find yourself in a position where it’s never enough. You only feel it for so long. It’s like what you get will never make you happy. Who you become, will make you very happy or very sad. And so it’s that becoming that makes us feel alive. That becoming is it'. Unique stance, don't you think?

14. He wishes one thing for all future children of the world:

When asked what his prayer was for the future children of the world, Tony Robbins insightfully replies that I his prayer would be for them to 'own their true value in life, but to know that that value they’re born with and yet it’s magnified by what they give'. If you could instill one value in all children that are born, it would be just a magnification of a need that’s already there called contribution which encourages people to give of themselves freely.

15. His mom taught him how to give:

Even though Tony Robbins struggles through his childhood, he always says that he had a great mother. He continues by saying 'she was crazy as hell. She beat...me. I went through an incredibly violent childhood. But she loved...me too. She was a mixed up lady'. When he was four years old, he got some balloons on his birthday and she asked him if he wanted to keep the balloons for himself or he wanted to give them to others to brighten up their day.

She’d then take him to a nursing home he handed the balloons to people in the facility and according to him, 'they just lit up like a Christmas tree'. He had a mother that ensured that he knew the power of giving and he stuck with it for the rest of his life and attributes the way that he turned out in life to this.

16. He taught his kids to give as well:

With such a great lesson that he learned from his mother, Tony Robbins knew that it was necessary to pass it on to his very own children. He took them out when his son was four or five with a big basket of food to hand out to the homeless in a place in Oceanside, California.They found a man covered in bits of rags on the floor in a bathroom and Tony asked his little son to give the sleeping man the basket of food.

All of a sudden, the man woke up and grabbed his son’s arm. Scared for his life, his son screamed loudly and Tony began to panic. The homeless man simply pulled his son’s hand close to his face and he kissed his hand. Now that his son is all grown up, he still has not forgotten the incident of that day. He is still driven to be a contributor and to give in everything that he does.

17. He is self-aware:

Tony Robbins is self-aware himself and he thinks that one of 'rarest of all human commodities is self-awareness'. He also explicitly states the difference between self-consciousness and self-awareness in an interview with Marianne Schnall. He says that with self-consciousness ' you’re constantly evaluating yourself and judging yourself. But self-awareness, which means becoming aware of the part of you that is patterned'. He continues by saying that "... becoming aware of your patterns is the first step.

And that’s basically what I have people do, I have them become aware. Because once you wake up, you might go to sleep for awhile, but you’ll never be asleep again because your brain knows to look for it. It’s like — I don’t know if you’ve ever bought an outfit or a car or something and all of a sudden you see that outfit or car everywhere. It’s a part of your brain that’s called the reticular activating system, the RAS, and it tells your brain what to notice. Once you set a goal, once you become aware of something, it becomes part of your consciousness". Nicely put, Robbins.

18. He has a strategy to stay balanced:

When asked in an interview what he does to stay balanced, his answer was to get outside himself because in doing this, he finds that he has a lot less of limiting thoughts because his purpose becomes the servitude of something else than himself. He thinks that meditation is a wonderful experience because it 'gives you the sense of service where everything else disappears. You’re not worried about your thoughts. You’re not fighting and trying not to think of anything else. You’re moving towards something'.

19. He acknowledges that we can't control everything:

Even as trained as he is in the ways of the human mind and subconsciousness, Tony Robbins acknowledges and admits that we as humans cannot control everything. He goes on to explain that 'we have influence. We’re not in control of the external world.' This admission of the fact that not everything is controllable ties in with his theory that human beings have a great need for variety and that it is, indeed, the spice of life.

20. He is a philanthropist:

Tony Robbins founded the Anthony Robbins Foundation which is a charity dedicated to the empowerment of individuals and organizations. The foundation has products and programs in more than 2,000 schools, 700 prisons, and 100,000 health and human service organizations across the USA. One of the main programs of his foundation is the International Basket Brigade in which groups of volunteers across the world assemble and deliver baskets of food and household items to needy families.

Tony Robbins said The International Basket Brigade gives baskets of food and household items to about two million people each year. In 2014, the inspirational author donated the profits of his best-selling book, Money: Master the Game, along with a personal donation to Feeding America to help provide meals to people in need.

Garrett Parker

Written by Garrett Parker

Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.

Read more posts by Garrett Parker

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