[PDF]Anthony Robbins Unlimited Power

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The Library of Congress has catalogued the Simon & Schuster edition as follows:
Robbins, Anthony.

Unlimited power: the new science of personal achievement / by Anthony

Robbins.

p. cm.

1. Success — Psychological aspects. 2. Neurolinguistic programming —
Popular works. I. Title.

BF637.S8 R56 1986

158’.1 — dcl9 86-10165


ISBN 0-671-61088-0

0-684-84577-6 (Pbk)



The author wishes to express bis thanks and appreciation to the following who granted
permission to use the following material:

“A Boy of Unusual Vision,” © 1985, the Baltimore Sun , printed with per-
mission of the Baltimore Sun. The story was written by Alice Steinbach, Pu-
litzer-Prize winner for feature writing in 1985.

Artemas Cole for “Ten Salads” cartoon © 1985. Reprinted with permission
of Artemas Cole. Originally appeared in New Woman.

Harper & Row for permission to quote from In Search of Excellence by
Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.

Bill Hoest for “Call the Cat, Harry” cartoon © 1981. Reprinted courtesy
of Bill Hoest.

Jay Milton Hoffman, N.D., Ph.D., for permission to quote from The Miss-
ing Link in the Medical Curriculum Which Is Food Chemistry in Its Relationship to
Body Chemistry , printed by Professional Press Publishing Company, 13115
Hunza Hill Terrace, Valley Center, CA 92082.

Hank Ketcham for DENNIS THE MENACE® used by permission of
Hank Ketcham and © by News America Syndicate.

The Federal Express story, as related by William Lackey, was used with
permission from Skip Lackey.

W. W. Norton for permission to quote from Anatomy of an Illness by Nor-
man Cousins © 1979 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Material used by
permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Simon & Schuster for permission to quote from The MindIBody Effect by
Herbert Benson © 1979 by Simon & Schuster.

Simon & Schuster for permission to quote from Life-Tide by Lyall Watson
© 1979 by Lyall Watson.

United Feature Syndicate, Inc. , for permission to use PEANUTS cartoon
© 1960 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Universal Press Syndicate for permission to use ZIGGY cartoon. Copy-
right, 1985, Universal Press Syndicate. Reprinted with permission. All rights
reserved.

Warner Bros., Inc., for permission to reprint portions of the lyric “It’s Al-
right Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” by Bob Dylan © 1965 Warner Bros., Inc. All
rights reserved. Used by permission.




Dedicated to the greatest power within you, your power to
love, and to all those who help you share its magic

Most of all for me, to J air ek, Joshua, Jolie, Tyler, Becky,
and my Mom




As I began to think of all the people to whom I would like to
express my appreciation for their support, suggestions, and hard
work in making this book possible, the list continued to grow.
First, I would like to thank my wife and family for creating an
environment where I could let the creative juices flow at any
hour of the day or night and have my ideas received by sym-
pathetic ears.

Then, of course, there were the combined efforts of the out-
standing editing on my brainstorms by Peter Applebome and
Henry Golden. At various stages of development, the sugges-
tions of Wyatt WoodsmaH and Ken Blanchard were extremely
valuable. The book could never have come into being without
the efforts of Jan Miller and Bob Asahina, who, along with the
staff at Simon & Schuster, hung in there with me in those final
hours of last-minute changes.



xii Acknowledgments

The teachers whose personalities, methods, and friendships
have affected me most — from my early communications devel-
opment with Mrs. Jane Morrison and Richard Cobb to Jim
Rohn, John Grinder, and Richard Bandler — can never be
forgotten.

Thanks also to the art, secretarial, and research staff who
worked hard under deadline pressures: Rob Evans, Dawn Aaris,
Donald Bodenbach, Kathy Woody, and, of course, Patricia
Valiton.

And last but not least, special thanks to the Robbins Research
corporate staff, center managers, and the hundreds of promo-
tional staff members around the country who daily support me
in getting our message out to the world.



Foreword by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D. xv

Introduction by Sir Jason Winters xvii

SECTION I: The Modeling of Human Excellence

I. The Commodity of Kings 3

II. The Difference that Makes the Difference 22

III. The Power of State 35

IV. The Birth of Excellence: Belief 53

V. The Seven Lies of Success 69

VI. Mastering Your Mind: How to Run Your Brain 83

VII. The Syntax of Success 112

VIII. How to Elicit Someone’s Strategy 125

IX. Physiology: The Avenue of Excellence 149

X. Energy: The Fuel of Excellence 166



xtv


Contents


SECTION II: The Ultimate Success Formula
XL Limitation Disengage: What Do You Want? 197

XII. The Power of Precision 216

XIII. The Magic of Rapport 230

XIV. Distinctions of Excellence: Metaprograms 253

XV. How to Handle Resistance and Solve Problems 276

XVI. Reframing: The Power of Perspective 289

XVII. Anchoring Yourself to Success 314

SECTION III: Leadership: The Challenge of
Excellence

XVIII. Value Hierarchies: The Ultimate Judgment of

Success 343

XIX. The Five Keys to Wealth and Happiness 371

XX. Trend Creation: The Power of Persuasion 385

XXL Living Excellence: The Human Challenge 404

Glossary 415

Robbins Research Institute 420



When Tony Robbins asked me to write the foreword for Un-
limited Power , I was very pleased for several reasons. First of
all, I think Tony is an unbelievable young man. Our first meet-
ing came in January 1985, when I was in Palm Springs to play
golf in the Bob Hope Desert Classic Pro-Am Tournament. I
had just left a typical golfer’s happy hour at the Rancho Las
Palmas Marriott, where everyone was competing for the days
bragging rights. On our way to dinner, a friend of mine from
Australia, Keith Punch, and I passed a sign announcing Tony
Robbin’s Firewalk Seminar. “Unleash the power within you,”
read the sign. I had heard of Tony, and my curiosity was piqued.
Since Keith and I had already had a drink, and we did not want
to take any chances, we decided we could not walk across the
coals, but we did decide to attend the seminar.

For the next four and a half hours, I watched Tony mesmerize



XVI


Foreword


a large crowd made up of business executives, housewives, doc-
tors, lawyers, and the like. When I say mesmerize, I’m not
referring to any black magic. Tony had everyone on the edge
of their seats with his charisma, charm, and the depth of his
knowledge of human behavior. It was the most exhilarating and
uplifting seminar I have ever attended in twenty years of in-
volvement in management training. At the end, everyone but
Keith and me walked across a fifteen-foot bed of hot coals that
had been burning throughout the evening. And all without in-
jury. It was a sight to see and an uplifting experience for
everyone.

Tony uses the firewalk as a metaphor. He is not teaching a
mystical skill, but rather a practical set of tools on how to be
able to get yourself to take effective action in spite of any fear
you might have, and the ability to get yourself to do whatever
it takes to succeed is a very real power. So the first reason I am
delighted to write this foreword is that I have tremendous re-
spect and admiration for Tony Robbins.

The second reason I am excited about writing this foreword
is that Tony’s book, Unlimited Power , will show everyone the
depth and breadth of his thinking. He is more than a motiva-
tional speaker. At age twenty-five, he is already one of the lead-
ing thinkers in the psychology of motivation and achievement.
I think this book has the capacity to be the definitive text in the
human potential movement. Tony’s thoughts on health, stress,
goal setting, visualization, and the like are the cutting edge and
a must for anyone committed to personal excellence.

My hope is that you will get as much out of this book as 3
have. While it is longer than The One Minute Manager, I hope
you are willing to hang in and finish the entire book so you can
use Tony’s thinking to unleash the magic within you.

Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D.

Coauthor, The One Minute Manager



All of my life I’ve had difficulty with public speaking, even while
acting in movies. Just before my scenes, I would get physically
ill. So with my relentless fear of public speaking one can imagine
the excitement I felt when I heard that Anthony Robbins, the
man who puts fear into power, could cure me.

Even though I was excited when I accepted the invitation to
meet with Tony Robbins, I couldn’t help feeling doubtful. I
had heard of NLP and the other methods at which Tony is an
acclaimed expert, but still, in all, I had spent countless hours,
and thousands of dollars, seeking professional help.

The early professionals had told me that because my fear had
developed over the years, I could hardly expect to gain a rapid
cure. They scheduled me for weekly return visits to work on
my problem endlessly.

When I met Tony I was surprised that he was so big. It’s



Introduction


xviii

very seldom that I meet anyone taller than me. He must have
been six feet six inches tall and 238 pounds. So young, so pleas-
ant. We sat down and I found myself extremely nervous when
he started asking me about my problem.

Then he asked what I wanted and how I wanted to change.
It seemed that my phobia rose up to defend itself, to prevent
what was happening from happening. But with Tony’s soothing
voice, I started listening to what he was saying.

I began to relive my panicky feelings about public speaking.
Suddenly I replaced them with the new feelings made up of
strength and confidence. Tony had me go back in my mind to
a time I was on stage giving a successful speech. While I mentally
spoke, Tony gave me anchors. Anchors are things I can call on
to reinforce my nerve and confidence while speaking. You’ll read
all about them in this book.

I had my eyes closed during the interview, for about forty-
five minutes, while listening to Tony. Periodically he would
touch my knees and hands, providing me with physical anchors.
When it was over, I stood up. I had never felt so relaxed, calm,
and peaceful. I had no feelings of weakness. Now I felt quite
confident to do the Luxembourg television show with a potential
audience of 450 million people.

If Tony’s methods work as well on others as they have on
me, then people all over the world will benefit. We have people
lying in bed with their minds dwelling on death. Their doctors
have told them that they have cancer, and they are so upset that
their bodies are full of stress. Now, if my lifetime phobia can
be eliminated in one hour, Tony’s methods should also be made
available to all of those who are suffering any kind of illness —
emotional, mental, or physical. They, too, can be released from
their fears, stress, and anxieties. I think it is most important
that we do not delay any longer. Why should you be afraid of
water, heights, public speaking, snakes, bosses, failure, or
death?

I’m free now, and this book offers you the same choices. I’m
sure that Unlimited Power will be a bestseller because it goes far
beyond eliminating fears to teaching you what triggers any form



Introduction


XIX


of human behavior. By mastering the information in this book,
you will be in complete control of your mind and body; thus,
your life.


Sir Jason Winters
Author of Killing Cancer




SUCCESS


To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent
people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation
of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to
appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the
world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden
patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life
has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have
succeeded.


■Ralph Waldo Emerson






'The great end of life is not knowledge but action . ”
— Thomas Henry Huxley


I had heard about him for many months. They said he was
young, wealthy, healthy, happy, and successful. I had to see
for myself. I watched him closely as he left the television studio,
and I followed him over the next few weeks, observing as he
counseled everyone from the president of a country to a phobic.
I saw him debate dieticians, train executives, and work with
athletes and learning-disabled kids. He seemed incredibly happy
and deeply in love with his wife as they traveled together across
the country and around the world. And when they were
through, it was time to jet back to San Diego to spend a few
days at home with their family in their castle overlooking the
Pacific Ocean.

How was it that this twenty-five-year-old-kid, with only a
high school education, could have accomplished so much in such
a short period of time? After all, this was a guy who only three


3



4


Unlimited Power


years ago had been living in a 400-square-foot bachelor apart-
ment and washing his dishes in his bathtub. How did he go
from an extremely unhappy person, thirty pounds overweight,
with floundering relationships and limited prospects, to a cen-
tered, healthy, respected individual with great relationships and
the opportunity for unlimited success?

It all seemed so incredible, and yet the thing that amazed me
most was that I realized that he is me! “His” story is my own.

I’m certainly not saying that my life is what success is all
about. Obviously, we all have different dreams and ideas of what
we want to create for our lives. In addition, I’m very clear that
who you know, where you go and what you own are not the
true measure of personal success. To me, success is the ongoing
process of striving to become more. It is the opportunity to con-
tinually grow emotionally, socially, spiritually, physiologically,
intellectually, and financially while contributing in some posi-
tive way to others. The road to success is always under con-
struction. It is a progressive course, not an end to be reached.

The point of my story is simple. By applying the principles
you will learn in this book, I was able to change not only the
way I felt about myself, but also the results I was producing in
my life, and I was able to do so in a major and measurable way.
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