Unveiling the Depth of Tony Robbins: Insights from the Time to Rise Summit

Peter: 00:00:05

Views, interpretations and opinions expressed are not advice nor official positions presented on behalf of any organization or institution. They are for informational and entertainment purposes only. Now join Ryan and Peter for another episode of the Tracking Wisdom Podcast.

Ryan: 00:00:23

Good morning, everybody. I'm Ryan.

Peter: 00:00:25

I'm Peter.

Ryan: 00:00:25

And welcome back to another episode of the Tracking Wisdom Podcast. Today I have an interesting episode. We have an interesting episode touching on Tony Robbins. I recently went to or attended his free annual seminar.

He's been doing this since: 2020

And there was three pieces of wisdom and nuggets that I found that came out of that three, three day, three hours a day seminar. And so over the next couple of episodes, we're going to talk about each one.

And today we're going to start with what he calls the three pillars of lasting Change.

But before we get into that, I just wanted to make an observation and maybe others have this perception or experience which is, you know, Tony Robbins is kind of a household name and is well known for his motivational speaking. And many, many people swear by his teachings.

But for me, while I was familiar with him as a personality, I never took any of his courses, I never followed any of his material. And so this was kind of a step off the deep end, although it was free.

So maybe it wasn't such a step into the unknown, but I was pleasantly surprised. Tony is known for you know, the high energy, high production kind of events. And like I said, this in particular he used to do annually in person.

But since: 2020

So since then, he offers this annually. It must be in January, February time, because that's when I took it. I assume it's annually around that time.

And I would, if anybody's inclined to kind of see what that's like, I, I would recommend it. It was streamed on YouTube and some other forms. And since then, those videos are no longer accessible, unfortunately.

But I would say if you have the chance, it's worthwhile. And the point being that I had this perception of Tony Robbins and the high energy, motivation and kind of stroke, the ego perception of his Persona.

And what I experienced and found was a depth of philosophy and spirituality underpinning his strategies and teachings that was deep and broad and surprising. It caught me off guard at just how much value I found in it, just how much alignment I found in it.

And so I would say if anybody's curious about Tony Robbins and has that same kind of perception that I, I don't know how best to describe the perception, but I think, you know, I've kind of laid it out. Yeah. The, so many people swear by it. So, you know, there's.

Obviously, he's built a name for a reason, but, you know, the, the generalized perception of him is just this high energy, high, go get him kind of person.

Peter: 00:04:13

I mean, I, I, I certainly know what you mean because like, like you said, he's such a household word. It's kind of like if you don't buy into the Oprah book club, kind of, oh, well, Oprah likes it. So you know what I mean?

Ryan: 00:04:29

Yeah.

Peter: 00:04:29

Where something that has a celebrity endorsement is automatically suspect.

Ryan: 00:04:33

Right.

Peter: 00:04:34

Kind of.

Ryan: 00:04:34

Right.

Peter: 00:04:35

I think is where you might be coming from or the kind of attitude you're describing. I think because we know each other and that, you know, obviously I share that.

And it's very interesting to me to hear your enthusiasm, particularly about kind of what is underlying his Persona. Right. That it's not just all marketing and production.

Right now I have some limited exposure to him because a friend had bought actually multiple times his course on tape. And so I had borrowed, you know, one of the old courses on tape, and I started it. I don't, I didn't get much.

I didn't, you know, complete it or even get very far with it, but I kind of got an introduction to, like, okay, this is his approach, blah, blah, blah.

I have to say I'm, I'm very interested to get into this because even just having the small contact with the video that you shared with me, I was immediately put off by the kind of entertainment event, sports event atmosphere of the production. Like, there was a spokesperson who was clearly a cheerleader on mike, kind of yelling on Mike like, tony's here. It's gonna be really great.

And there's like this thumping, thumping music in the background and lots of flashing lights. And it was just like rock concert kind of atmosphere, which I find extremely off putting because that's not where I get my energy.

That's not, you know, I'm not that extra extroverted type. And clearly you can only, you can only design a production for one type. And so, you know, the decisions clearly made. Okay, this is for extrovert.

Like people who get energy from a lot of external energy, which to me is antithetical. So I started to watch the video that you pointed me to. I was like, oh God, this is making me sick.

And I barely got through to see that he was introducing breathing technique.

Ryan: 00:06:44

Right.

Peter: 00:06:44

You know, I'm not even sure if that was the same video. But so just to say if, just by way of clarification, if you didn't understand what Ryan was, you know, alluding to, that's my view of it is true.

Ryan: 00:07:00

Like, yeah, it is a part of it.

Peter: 00:07:02

Right, but, right.

Ryan: 00:07:03

But my perception was that was the depth of, and that was the depth of the, the service. The, the value was this like hyped up, get everybody, you know, excited and motivated to go out and capture your dream kind of thing.

And of course there is some element of that, but beneath the surface and if you can get past that atmosphere and really consume what he's teaching, there's a lot of value there.

Peter: 00:07:32

So now, now I'm, I'm curious because like my, my, my wife is even more introverted than, than me. I mean, I'm not even sure at this point I really call myself introverted, but I definitely don't respond to this kind of external energy Right.

The way I guess that the general public does. Because I mean, if the general public didn't respond positive to, Positively to it, he wouldn't do it. And so it raises the question for me.

It's like, oh, what if I asked him? Yeah, I find all this energy stuff, like really painful and uncomfortable. How do I access your content? Right.

And I wonder what, I'm guessing that he'd be like, well, do you work on the cassettes? Because they're quiet.

Ryan: 00:08:15

Right. Well, I think, and it does actually point interestingly to the first pillar of lasting change.

And so I think we can kind of segue into what those three are. And I'd like to touch on that.

But before that, I think, and this is assumption because again, my only experience with Tony Robbins is this three day seminar online that was exactly that kind of production value.

And I actually, I find it interesting because in my professional life, I go to an annual conference and the production is like that and I find it off putting. Like that's not what I'm here for. I'm not here for a party.

Peter: 00:08:57

I'm not.

Ryan: 00:08:58

You know what I mean? So like, I, I recognize that type of atmosphere is not in line with what generally moves and motivates me, but I didn't find it so off putting.

That it obscured my ability to consume the nuggets of wisdom. And to the point, I mean this, this is a free, it was a free opportunity for me.

And oftentimes free with no skin in the game has a high drop off rate. And I would say that I tend to drop off. I am a consumer who could be considered a frequent drop off.

Like if it doesn't grab me right away, I'm not going to keep doing it. It's easy for me to just ignore it.

And every day I went back and even there was a bonus fourth day that got emailed out out of nowhere and I went and I watched that and it's three hours, it wasn't insignificant amount of time. So there was clearly something that grabbed me enough to keep going back to it even though there was that high production value, even though it's.

I feel like it's almost a little silly.

Peter: 00:10:04

But it, it's part of the strategy.

Ryan: 00:10:06

It's part of the strategy. And I do think that there was an effect, an efficacy in it. Even though it wasn't aligned with what I would normally do or prefer.

I do think that there was an efficacy in the first pillar, which is energy and state. So the three pillars. The topic to speak on today was the three pillars of lasting change.

And what Tony describes here is sort of a reversal or turning the conventional wisdom on its head where traditionally most people when they're thinking about changing their life and making drastic improvement or move from the current baseline is what do I need to do? And he basically again turns that on its head. And that that's like the last thing.

And the first thing to incorporating lasting change, which is I think the key word, right, we're looking for sustainability here is your energy or state, basically the physiological state of being by which you are at the time when you're working with this vision, so to speak. And he speaks very specifically about it being physiological. Like it's not just an ethereal energy state that he's talking about.

And so there's a lot of movement like he, he gives you practice and working gets you up and moving around and, and it is kind of silly in a way, but the getting that blood moving and getting the way it changes you physiologically was effective, you know, and, and I think that that again kind of points to.

Part of the reason why there's that energy in that atmosphere is to bring the state of being in the state of presence for the people who are there particularly, obviously it's much different being in your living room observing this on YouTube than the people who are actually there. But it's all about getting up and moving.

And that those activities transform your mental state through physiological methods, which is interesting, but it also isn't antithetical, I think, to more spiritual or philosophical positions where the state of your being and the way you are being present at that time has huge effect on how what you do subsequent to that manifests in.

Peter: 00:12:50

Your experience, you know, so it also applies to more traditional spiritual practice, you were saying.

Ryan: 00:12:57

Right, right. So then when we change our state, then the second pillar was purpose or why.

This is something that I actually recognize very specifically as an anecdote and experience is. So basically, he says, anybody can change. Like, change is not about ability. It's about motivation, essentially.

And I recognize that very specifically because so many times I've struggled with change. But when. When the circumstances presented themselves in a way that was absolute, like the. That the new state there was.

There's no question about it essentially there. I'm trying to think of a good example. Let's. Somewhat wholesome, I guess. I mean, I have like. Like smoking and things like that.

Where, you know, historically I had struggled. And then there came a point where it was just like, this can't be anymore. I'm. I'm actually. This is. This is good.

He actually uses a good example, which is like, how many people have had, like, a food or some item that they just loved and could never think about living without it. And then something happens. You get food poisoning or something like that, and you're completely averse to it.

From then on, that kind of the motivation changes. Like it is now.

The aversion or the imagery of the sickness or the bad outcome overtakes whatever previous, you know, desires and positive you had for it. So creating that purpose and that. Why. About what it is you're looking to do. Again, this is for lasting change.

We're trying to implement a new vision or version of ourself, and we currently exist in a comfortable state, presumably, you know, even if it's uncomfortable. And this is something I'm currently experiencing. Right.

Which is oftentimes the known, even though its discomfort is more comforting than the perceived unknown in the future.

Peter: 00:15:17

So with the food poisoning example, you're just saying that the change started with a change of physiological state, and it could be either positive or negative. Like, it doesn't have to be aversive change. And that what Tony is doing is he's creating a positive energy state, which is the basis.

Like, that's the first step.

Ryan: 00:15:40

Yes.

Peter: 00:15:41

To creating the long lasting change, right?

Ryan: 00:15:44

But then having a why or a purpose.

So the analogy of the food was really pointing towards purpose or reason, but it's that idea of balancing when the motivation to do a thing outweighs the motivation to stay in your current state.

And so until you have that why, until you have that clarity of the future state and the comfort of that future state that this has to be and the, the current state can no longer exist, that's when you start to move into the ability to implement lasting change, right?

A diet is often just a transient life decision, but because it's unsustainable, frequently, because you still haven't overcome those original desires, you're just suppressing them, right? And so you'll never be able to implement that lasting sustainability until that motivation, until it is a lifestyle change, right?

Until eating the chips and donuts at 9:00 at night, whatever, you know, is just not an option.

Whether that manifests, whether the motivation manifests from a physiological experience which can happen, you know, somebody gets sick, or it is a mental transition where this is now your new identity, that the old perceptions and the old way of being just no longer exists. And so it's not, it's not a painful process. It's not, there's no feeling of sacrifice, right? It becomes the new drive, the new desire.

And the old desires just don't even manifest in that way anymore because it's not part of your mental construct. And I recognize that in, historically I've had a number of, I mean, diet's one of them. You, you know, two years ago now, is it two years?

Two years ago now I changed the way I eat and I had struggled with weight for years and struggled with different diets. And the way that I moved to eating was easy because the old way of eating could no longer be sustained.

Like there was no, not even a desire to go back to, to eating the way that I had been eating in part, I guess, because I was associating a positive aspect to it, not just physically, right? Not just because I liked what I saw in the mirror better, but also I guess physiologically like, like energy was better. And I got off of omeprazole.

I had taken omeprazole for 20 plus years and struggled with chronic GERD. And in two years, within a month of the new diet, I was off of omeprazole. And I have been off of it for two years and I have no issue.

So you know, when it was things like that, where it's like, okay, well now I Feel better. I'm no longer struggling with my stomach issues. I'm not beholden to the pharmaceutical manipulation.

I'm having more energy and I'm losing weight at the same time that created this. Why?

Peter: 00:19:20

Okay, so you're saying the purpose. I mean, so it sounds like the purpose emerges out of the positive experience of the change.

Ryan: 00:19:29

It can, but it can also be a negative. It can also be an aversion.

Peter: 00:19:34

Right. But what I'm saying is something has already changed, and that's what causes the shift in purpose.

Ryan: 00:19:42

I mean, maybe in that instance, it. Well, two examples.

Peter: 00:19:48

That's why I'm a little confused because that's what I thought you were talking about energy state before, but. So we're talking about purpose. The two examples you gave of the shift were both post physiological changes that they were experiences.

Ryan: 00:20:07

Right.

Peter: 00:20:08

That then established a new purpose.

Ryan: 00:20:10

Right, right.

Peter: 00:20:11

And in one, it was, I don't want to get sick again. That's my purpose behind why I'm not eating this anymore. And the other was, I feel so much better now that I've changed.

Now that's my purpose in continuing the change.

Ryan: 00:20:25

Which I do recognize that that's a little confusing as far as the sequence of how this goes, but I don't think it has to be that way. Obviously, if you have like a tangible experience, it probably helps to develop this new. Why?

Peter: 00:20:41

I mean, do you think that's part of the program? Like, is that he provides this experience?

Like, he provides this positive energy with a group of people that, you know, you feel better in this moment. And then he can point to that, like, that's the way you're gonna feel.

Ryan: 00:20:57

Yes, but I don't think it's enough.

Peter: 00:20:58

Right.

Ryan: 00:20:59

Because that's transient. It becomes transient. And then as soon as it's over, people fall back into the old habits. So it really does have to be a mental shift.

Like, yes, that I do believe that that has the potential to move somebody into that new purpose. And why. But I don't think it just automatically does that. You know what I mean?

But the point that I think he makes and the experience that I recognized in that pillar and in that idea has been I have recognized challenges that I have struggled with for long periods of time, falling back into old habits that in an instant have completely fallen away due to a shift in essentially motivation. Right. That there becomes a motivating factor that isn't just whim. Right. It's not just, I like the idea of a thinner me.

It is something that changes functionally the way you think so that again, there's not this sense of sacrifice. There's not this longing for the previous state, because if that happens, it's unsustainable.

Like, you will eventually fall back into old habits unless you have this mental shift where the new motivation of the new version or vision is the primary experience.

Peter: 00:22:34

So maybe this will be. Get clearer as we go through his. As we go through your experience.

Because, I mean, the Tony Robbins thing, because I'm kind of stuck right now with it sounds like. Well, when something changes, then you'll have change. You know what I mean? It's kind of like. Oh, like.

Yeah, because those are the two examples that we have are, you know, having good results from your diet change.

Ryan: 00:23:05

Yes. But there's people who have good results from diet changes all the time. And fall back.

Peter: 00:23:09

And fall back. Right. So what's. Yeah, so that's it. So what's the difference there? And does it really require.

You're saying it doesn't require a change in experience or. It does.

Ryan: 00:23:22

No, it's motivation. There's. There's a narrative. Let me think.

Peter: 00:23:30

I mean, isn't that part of what going on is like showing how he. How he embodies these three pillars or how he applies these three pillars?

Ryan: 00:23:40

I mean, he gives experiences in his own. So, number one, so the time to rise summit is the free thing. That's the thing I did. We get exposed to these things.

Then there's the unleash, the power within, which is his, like in depth. 12 hour, four day. 12 hours a day for four days. Immersive, like where he uses all these tools and you really get into the nitty gritty.

I would say that my exposure to this has been somewhat superficial. So I don't know exactly how he helps you to kind of develop that mind shift. I just recognize that as. As a.

I recognize in my own experience multiple times where lasting change has occurred without pain and without the feeling of sacrifice and without the longing for a previous state because of this, this tangible shift in perception, really. I'm trying to think of something.

It's hard for me to point to a personal example that is like I made a conscious decision for something without like a negative or a positive, you know, experience to point to. But I think that that is still something that can happen. I think that if you are able to move, I think it's harder to do that.

I think that by and large, we're wired to kind of embrace the status quo kind of thing. And, and that change and uncertainty is very uncomfortable and so even when we're living in discomfort, it's discomfort that we know.

So I do think that it's probably more difficult to get that shift in mindset, like the real shift in mindset.

And you know, to be fair, maybe, maybe he is saying, specifically defining that why, like having a clear vision of why you're doing what you're doing so that you can visualize that future state of yourself.

And in doing so, when you implement the next step, which is more of the action stuff, you continue to reframe and re imagine that new state that you're trying to get to until it becomes something that is embodied. I can see that. But I think it also is true that until that shift changes, you are not guaranteed lasting change. Right?

There's always that, that risk of slide, backsliding until that why tangibly changes in your psyche. Does that answer your question?

I think that that's fair, you know, and I, I think that yes, in many ways and in many times people who go to Tony or, or follow his, follow him and learn from him specifically because they, they want changes, probably similar to like, I want a new job or a new career change, you know, those kinds of things. Not necessary. Although I'm sure weight and health is also part of those.

The point being, I think many people who go into this are, look, have a vision and a desire and don't have that external positive or negative reference point that helps kind of propel that mind shift.

So the point being, it would be unreasonable to sit around and wait in step two until somehow miraculously, your brain shifted and then move on to action, which is the next step. The third step is then strategy and what he calls a massive action plan. So that's when after you have this new embodiment, this.

And I think again, state is not a singular event, right? It's something you're.

Every day you're waking up and you're getting yourself into this presence and state, then probably getting that why clear in your mind and then going on for your day activity. So this is an ongoing exercise. It's not just like, oh, I just got into a great state. And so now change will be inevitable.

So the strategy that comes after that is then you have your, why you have, you're in the, the state, the presence in the moment, and you have that future vision clearly and in your mind. And then you determine those critical steps, the sum of the things that need to happen to get you there.

And he does speak specifically about, you know, you, you create this massive action plan. But most of the time you only need, you know, like 60 or 80% of it or, you know, the.

As you embark down this action plan and you start implementing these things one after another, oftentimes you can propel past some of the things that you thought you were going to have to do. And I think that, you know, strategy and the massive action plan, you know, I feel like that has more Tony, stereotypical Tony nest to it.

And I don't know, there's a lot to speak about, specifically about it, because that's where people tend to be, right? What do I need to do?

And I think that what I found really interesting about this whole concept, you know, again, pointing to lasting change, not just doing things, was how he flipped it on its head and how I could really recognize, number one, the being in the right state first.

Before you're doing things, before you're deciding things, you need to be in that right state of mind, that right physiological state to be open to understanding with clarity why you want this. What is it? Not just a thing you're doing, but there's something behind it.

What is that that you are looking for that is aligning with your purpose or whatever. And he, you know, he says that you don't have a purpose. There's many purposes.

And so like really being clear about what it is, how this fits into the alignment with your yourself and what it is that you're looking to do. You know, it's not like I want to be a teacher.

Okay, Is it really because you want to stand up in front of a class or is there's something more to that? What is it that that fulfills in you? What is it that you know? So that's the why. And then you can talk about strategy.

And of course he's very gung ho about marking it down, committing to it, getting it done, getting it done, getting it done. And that's the massive action plan. And that's where I find the stereotypical Tony.

But again, the underpinnings of the philosophy and the spirituality that leads up to that caught me off guard. I didn't expect that and I was pleased, you know, it resonated.

So Three Pillars to Lasting Change Quite interesting and definitely I recommend Time to Rise Summit. If it comes across to your feet or, you know, you look into it for next year or whenever. I found it interesting, I found it useful.

I never would have been inclined to buy something from Tony. And you know, by the end of it, we signed my wife up for the Unleash the power within because she also took in that was on a whim too.

And I didn't honestly expect that she would have. I was just like, oh, this thing came across, maybe you'd be interested. And she started listening to it.

And both of us, we were, we were very into what was happening.

The physical, the physicality of it, the movement, like it's constant movement, getting up out of your seat, keeping that physiology and the breathing and the, and, and the blood moving, it's visceral. And then, and he had some really interesting and I think genuine anecdotes about his, his past. You know, he, he didn't have an easy past.

And, and that's not, it's, it's not presented in a way, nor is it meant to be. Oh, boo hoo. I had it tough too. Right. But it is, it was informative and it helped me to connect more with him as a person than this personality.

There were some silly things that he does, and it's just the thing he does and it's fine. You know, we all, some of us have quirky things we do. It made me laugh.

You know, he does this kind of thing where he, like, he claps in a really kind of strange and overly exaggerated way and then he does this like. Yes, or something like that. And it's, it, it's kind of silly, but it happens and you know, it keeps the energy up for the people who are there.

Anyways, I found it really interesting and it found it informative and enlightening of who Tony Robbins is and what he actually teaches.

So I would say if your perception is like mine was, that he's this kind of whatever picture you have, his teachings have more depth and breadth than, than I thought and maybe it's worthwhile to give it some consideration. So anyways, that's all I got.

All right, anyways, so next, next episode, we're going to actually talk about priming, which is another exercise that he does. And I feel like that kind of points to some of how this three pillars of lasting change can work. So until next time.

Peter: 00:33:32

Thank you for listening to the Tracking Wisdom podcast. Join us next time as we continue the discussion.

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