Anthony Robbins: Unleash the Power Within: DAY 4

Last day of the seminar. This day is all about living a healthy life. Anthony Robbins transforms himself into a doctor-teacher who lectures his class on different aspects of the human body, chemically, psychologically, anatomically.Around noon I suddenly realise that the background on the huge screens in the room doesn't match the background behind the stage. I ask the people around me if Anthony Robbins is actually on stage. The hugging, singing, massaging have brought me to sit at the last row (easier to escape) so there is quite a distance between the stage and us. Everybody assures me Anthony is on stage. Indeed I see some people on stage, but not one of them resembles Robbins. I ask one of the volunteers passing by if Robbins is present today. Yes, she says, "in spirit".How does he do that ? They guy is nowhere near the Excel center in London, but he still manages to have the people think he is with them in London.

I then realise that we are actually looking at a very professional videotape, the whole morning already. The content of the tape needlessly matches the events in the conference room, and vice-verse. If it wasn't for the not-matching background I wouldn't have realised we were all looking at a tape.The tape switches between images of Robbins on stage somewhere sometime in the past and a guy called "Joseph" who replaces Robbins as physical front man. Joseph is a well groomed trainee, he applies the same techniques to have the audience stand up, shout, yell, cry, hug, massage or simply breath the correct way.

(picture 1: Robbins on screen)(picture 2: substitute Joseph)

Anthony Robbins: Unleash the Power Within: DAY 3

Anthony Robbins: Unleash the Power Within, London, DAY 2

Cheering

A somewhat better day than yesterday. Robbins tells stories and elaborates on several life changing principals. The mass psychosis is still bugging me, but even I get carried away by the showmanship of Robbins. He is a master entertainer and knows perfectly how to build momentum in the room exploiting music, theater techniques and 12.000 hungry soles.

How to build momentum in your life?
Step 1: Put yourself in a PEAK state.
Step 2: What PASSIONATES you ? Choose to work in a field of your passion.
Step 3: Decide, Commit and Resolve! (Unleash your power!)
Step 4: Take immediate, intelligent, consistent and massive ACTION. (Do something immediately, urgency is power)
Step 5: Be S.M.A.R.T. (Choose Strategy, Measure your work, Assess whether it is giving you the emotional reward you wanted, Reinforce what works, Take new action.)

Question from an American Army General:
Why do marines loose their standards as soon as they leave the army ?
Robbins:
People’s lifes are a direct reflection of the expectations of their peer group.
Meaning: Choose your peer group, choose to work in or live around people with a higher standard than yourself. Only then you will grow. Your family should not be your peer group. Love your family, but choose your peer group.

Robbins on wealth:
If you want to become rich and wealthy (in all sorts of ways, not only financial), you need to become a teamplayer.

Biggest ‘secret’ of today’s session:
Proximity is Power.
Robbins explains using his own carriere as an example. His sessions, books and tapes tend to be bought and followed more by people from the entertainment world than people from the ‘haute finance’. Therefore it was easy to start a new venture in for example the movie or television world. Bringing one of his companies to the stock market however didn’t work out in the beginning because he had no contacts (no proximity) in that world. Only after investing time and money in introducing himself in the world of investment bankers it became easy to play the ‘financial’ game. Who you know is still the name of the game.

Emotional moments, a lot of them based on theatrical gimicks and
(film)music (Chariots of Fire, A Space Odyssee, Simply The Best ...)

Anthonny Robbins Unleash the Power Within Conference, Excel Center London, DAY 1

Took night boot from Ostend (Belgium) to Ramsgate (UK) and drove with my own car to London for Anthony Robbins conference. Took cabin on board, never done before, turned out to be wise decision, slept the full 4 hours on sea. Had to be awake to drive at LEFT side in UK.


Registration process: 1,5 hour waiting. Didn't like little flaws in organization.


Entering conference hall: again 1,5 hour waiting in another hall before doors are opened. Feel like cow amidst cattle. Conference starts too late. Lesson 1 for Anthony Robbins: how to learn to start on time. Off course: the man succeeded in selling 12.000 tickets. That's 12.000 people who have to be 'processed' and 'controlled'. But still, lessons could be learned from any average small town rock concert organizer.

First day of the conference. Mixed feelings. Atmosphere resembles 'networkmarketing' meetings a la NSA, Herbalife, NLP... or contemporary televised US church meetings. Loud music, especially music about winning and winners, 'powerful' images on screens (launch of rockets, -saw the space shuttle lift of at least 20 times-, numerous slam dunks of basketball athletes, ...), chanting on request, "say HA" on request, dance on request, clap in hands on request, "hug neighbour" on request...and 12.000 people who obey. An improvised intervention with a women in the audience turned bad after abrupt question with negative sexual connotation (interupting the woman outloud: "When was the last time you got laid?")(Saw several muslim women leave the conference room). Mass psychology. Absolutely not my cup of tea. I thought at a certain moment amidst 11.999 people in trance "if He would order us now to rob a bank, we would do it". He didn't ask us to rob a bank, he just said we had to walk on fire. And of course... we did.

Majority of 12.000 participants prepares to walk bare footed on burning coals.

Although the conference is not my thing, I must admit that the Man (God, the Messiah of superficial psychology) performed exceptionally well. From 13.30 till 23.00 he was on stage shouting, teaching, dancing, ...without break whatsoever. A performance only fit for top athletes.

A private picture of you and God backstage costs 1.500 Pounds.

Motivational course in London

I will go to London tomorrow to follow one of these extra-ordinary motivational courses of Anhony Robbins (picture). Actually I would never have gone there if it wasn't for this blog. Some 8 months ago a Google ad for a free management book appeared on this Impactroom blog. I was interested, changed server (never click on your own ads!), and applied for the free book. Not long after the application I received a friendly call from a company in Cyprus (!). They wished to check my address. Two weeks later I received the book. A few days thereafter I was called again to ask if I had received the book. I couldn't understand the dynamics behind this service. How many thousands of these books were sent around the world ? What was the catch ?? The book appeared to be from Anthony Robbins a name only vaguely familiar to me. The friendly man from Cyprus grew into being a keen salesperson for motivational courses from the author. My initial idea was to propose the Robbins organization to pay for a generic ad on this blog, but I soon discovered the mouse was asking the elephant over for tea. I learned that Accenture regarded Robbins as one of the world's most significant 50 management guru's. One reason why they were not so interested in taking a fixed ad :-) To cut the story short Robbins has been presented to me as the Messiah. Since I have been looking for my own private management God anyway, why not give him a try.