Tony Robbins

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Robbins appears on the cover of his future book Inner Strength.

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Anthony J. Mahavorick AKA Tony Robbins, pen name Anthony Robbins, (born 29 February 1960, Glendora, California) is an American life coach, motivational speaker and writer. Robbins has authored a number of books, including Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within. His best known tape program is Personal Power II; other programs include Get the Edge! and Lessons in Mastery.

Robbins has coached multiple world leaders, including several US Presidents, as well as Mikhail Gorbachev, Princess Diana and others. He has presented at the White House for both presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He has also been recognized as being in the vanguard of the New Age movement, along with other self-help gurus like Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, and Deepak Chopra.

Contents

1 NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming
2 Charities
3 Health Programs and Recommendations
4 Techniques
5 Personal life
6 Criticism
7 2008 Presidential Consideration
8 Media Appearances
9 Bibliography
10 See also
11 External links
12 References

NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming

Robbins is the inventor and proponent of what he refers to as neuroassociative conditioning, which is based on Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) [Awaken the Giant Within, Anthony Robbins, pgs.108,111-113.] Robbins studied NLP under NLP co-founder John Grinder, who encouraged him to look into the firewalk experience, which became the foundation of his popular firewalk seminars. The book Unlimited Power offers a number of examples of how to employ elements of NLP in day to day situations. It is believed that he currently has a financial arrangement with NLP's other co-developer Richard Bandler.

He also conducts seminars, the most famous of which is his four-day Unleash the Power Within seminar, during which the participants walk over hot coals in bare feet. The aim of the seminar, demonstrated in the firewalk, is to illustrate that the main quality shared by those who achieve greatness is the ability to take action ('Personal Power'). Robbins asserts that fear often holds people back from achieving what they desire with their life. Walking safely on burning coals requires few physical skills, but it does require the mental discipline to overcome one's inner doubts. Applying that same principle to other aspects of life can, it is claimed, empower the individual to attempt tasks he or she would previously (erroneously) have considered impossible.

Charities

Robbins is involved in a number of charitable works, including his "basket brigade" which helps feed the homeless and poverty-stricken, programs to ensure the fair and humane treatment of patients in mental asylums, a prison program to provide help and support to those in prison, and youth leadership programs where young people are encouraged to achieve in school and make positive contributions to their community. [link]

Health Programs and Recommendations

Robbins also promotes a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle and endorses the views of Dr. Robert Young and Natural Hygiene practices regarding the need for an alkaline diet. He has also praised John Robbins's book, "Diet for a New America".

Techniques

Among the techniques Robbins teaches are the following:

Altering the body's physiology to achieve a change of emotional state.
Asking specific questions to direct one's attention to aspects of human experience that create a more favorable psychology.
Getting leverage to create change by associating a person's old behavior with massive pain and the desired new behavior with massive pleasure.
Interrupting one's limiting pattern by doing something totally unexpected.
Conditioning behavior by visualizing it over and over again.
Goal-setting
Creating a compelling future, vividly imagining one's end result to generate enthusiasm and power to work towards one's goals.

Personal life

Robbins was raised in Azusa, California and attended Glendora High School. At he age of seven, his parents divorced and his mother remarried twice. Tony took on the surname of his second stepfather, Jim Robbins. Inspired by the motivational speaker Jim Rohn, Robbins began selling his seminars. Tony then went on to study neurolinguistic programming and established his career. In 1989 he began using infomercials to promote his cause, which proved to be very successful. In 1994, a routine medical check revealed a tumor in his pituitary gland. On a CNN interview in 2001, Tony disclosed the difficulty in ending his 15-year marriage to Becky Robbins who was 10 years his senior.Tony Robbins: Practicing What He Preaches, CNN Transcript, Aired January 7, 2001 - 8:30 p.m. ET, (Interview with Beverly Schuch) [link] In the same year he married Sage Bonnie Humphrey.Biography for Anthony Robbins, IMDB, [link]CanWest's Sun opponent Robbins thanks supporters, July 2005, [link]

Criticism

Critics claim that some of his ideas, such as that the energy of food can be measured in hertz, are pseudoscience, and that the methods are really nothing new, but are simply attractively packaged pieces of existing self-help methods borrowed from other sources (such as neurolinguistic programming), mixed with hyperbole and anecdotal evidence.

Robbins was sued by financial seminar guru Wade Cook for copyright infringement. Cook claimed that Robbins lifted concepts and terms from his seminars and his book, Wall Street Money Machine, during the creation of a competing financial course. In 1998, a Tacoma, Washington jury [ordered Robbins to pay Cook over $650,000 in damages.]

In May of 1995, Robbins and his company, RRI (Robbins Research International), agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they misrepresented the potential earnings of those who bought their franchises for motivational seminars. RRI and Robbins agreed to pay $221,260 in redress to franchisees, and to buy back seminar kits. [link]

2008 Presidential Consideration

Some have considered him to be a candidate for the United States presidency in 2008.

In May of 2005, Robbins was asked whether he was thinking about running for the United States Presidency in 2008; he replied, "Maybe. It's a very long time till then." ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

In his book, Awaken the Giant Within, Robbins talks about the problems with the ecosystem, homelessness, escalating crime rates, huge budget deficits, starvation, prison system, environment, etc.

Robbins is also known to be friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2005, he unsuccessfully urged Schwarzenegger, who was the governor of California at the time, to grant clemency to one of the co-founders of the Crips gang, convicted murderer Stanley Tookie Williams.

Denouncing the rumors, on June 24th, 2006 at his Unleash the Power within Seminar in San Jose, Tony Robbins stated that he decided not to run for president but to transform the world from outside the system.

Media Appearances

Larger Than Life: His video is seen playing during the junk yard scene.
Tommy Boy (1995): Chris Farley references Robbins when David Spade says something very cheesy.
Family Guy: An animated Robbins (voiced by unknown) was lampooned in the controversial episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein". Robbins calls, "Tony Robbins HUNGRY!" to Peter Griffin when asked to autograph his book and proceeds to devour him whole.
Men in Black: His image can be seen in the background as one of many aliens being allowed to live on earth while being monitored when Will Smith's character is introduced early in the film to the inner workings of "The Agency".
Reality Bites: Seen on TV in one of his infomercials toward the end of the movie.
The Cable Guy: His ad is on TV when Jim Carrey first meets the 'patsy' when hooking up his cable.
Shallow Hal: He has an extensive scene with Jack Black's character in an elevator where Robbins "hypnotizes" Black's character into seeing people's outward appearance based on their inner personality. The scene is pivotal to the plot. Later a friend of Black's character riffs on Robbins's large hands calling them "banana hands."
Roseanne: Robbins is referenced by her friend Crystal when Dan leaves her and Roseanne is severely depressed. Robbins makes an appearance during the show's end credit run, trying to motivate her, but ultimately agreeing to have a HoHo with her.
He can also be seen on various infomercials on TV, usually late at night/early in the morning.

Bibliography

Awaken the Giant Within, (ISBN 0671791540)
Unlimited Power, (ISBN 0684845776)
Giant Steps, (ISBN 0671891049)
Inner Strength, (ISBN 0684809036)

External links

References

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