Last weekend was a weekend of growth and discovery for me. Not that I’m not trying to insert growth and discovery in every single day of my life, but last weekend was more of a quantum leap learning moment, years and years of discovery crammed into one long, draining, yet exhilarating weekend.
Unleash The Power Within Tony Robbins event and it was exactly what the name says, a weekend of unleashing immense power, a power I suspected was there, but at the same doubted its very existence, the power to completely move mountains, to change perspectives to unleash all the forces of nature. If you’ve heard of Tony Robbins, let me tell you that seeing him in person it’s an experience you’ll never forget. Not because he’s a giant (6’7” aka 200.66 cm for all you non-Americans out there) or because his voice is so commanding, but because there’s magic about him, there’s a presence a surreal experience when he’s around and he can change the energy of a room just by walking in. He is a true wizard of the human nature and can literally see inside your soul when he’s talking to you. He’s one of those people who came from nothing, but learned from the best which shortened his learning curve and made him a master of human potential.
While I’m sure I will write about this event over and over again as different aspects of it start manifesting in my life, here are a few things I’ve learned or I’ve been reminded of that I’d like to keep close to my heart in this new stage of my life (which reminds me, as it turns out, even though I booked the even months ago, it turned out to coincide with a time in my life where there is a lot of positive change, adventure and excitement, a time where all these lessons are even more important and amazing).
- Just like the effects of going to the gym once won’t last for a whole year, the effects of training our mind once in a while will only give us once in a while results. This struck very true for me as I’ve learned to train my body daily and I’ve loved the results of my physical training, from increased energy, to amazing health, a lean and strong body, the ability to push further and do more with less fuel, I have at time neglected the training of my mind.
- Most of the times we don’t get something is because there’s only so much we’re willing to do for it. It’s not that we can’t do or get something, it’s that we’re not willing to put in the work for it. People ask me a lot of time how I’ve survived the things I have and gotten to where I am in my life. The answer is simple, I never allowed for another possibility.
- Life is rigged for success if you let it. Just think about it, if you get a bruise or a wound, your body’s natural tendency is to heal it. You don’t really have to do anything to trigger that in your body, it just naturally knows how to do it. Blood vessels open in the area, so blood can bring oxygen and nutrients to the wound. White blood cells help fight infection from germs and begin to repair the wound. Over the next 3 weeks or so, the body repairs broken blood vessels and new tissue grows. Red blood cells help create collagen, which are tough, white fibers that form the foundation for new tissue. The wound starts to fill in with new tissue, called granulation tissue. New skin begins to form over this tissue. As the wound heals, the edges pull inward and the wound gets smaller. However if you start picking at the wound or letting dirt and bacteria get inside, it might take a lot longer to heal or not heal at all. Same thing with life, if you take care of it, notice the opportunities, go for them, allow yourself to heal when needed, it will be rigged for your success.
- Life will give you what you settle for. Your standards will shape your life. This one is connected to the previous statement. If you don’t believe it’s possible to do something, then all your actions will support that. If you think you are doomed to spend a mediocre life, you will only do mediocre things. However if you are not willing to settle for the mediocre and you strive for the top, you will do everything in your power to get to the top.
- You can always reprogram yourself. If you used to be a couch-potato, you can change that into being an athlete by just changing your motivation. Just think about all the older people who suddenly get all this energy just because they have grandkids who don’t understand the concept of old and tired and make them run around, play hide and seek and do all sorts of things. And just as you can reprogram your body, you can also reprogram your mind.
- Motivation will get you going, but commitment will keep you in. People say that the first step is the hardest. While the first step is hard and it requires making the decision to make a change in the right direction, commitment is what will keep you going when you don’t feel like it, when you’re tired, cranky, annoyed, when you feel like everything is impossible and you just want to give up.
- You can always do more than you think. There’s a wonderful ad for Under Armour with Michael Phelps that has the following tag line “It’s what you do in the dark, that puts you in the light” #RuleYourself #IWILL. When Michael Phelps started winning medal after medal at the Olympic Games, everyone was trying to find an explanation – his body was built for swimming, he had a long torso, arm span longer than his height, hyper mobile ankles and so on as if the physical built of his body was the sole reason for his achievement. But think about it, how many people out there have the perfect body for a particular sport, yet don’t hold the record for most Olympic gold medals. I’m sure his body characteristics help, but the reality is that his training and determination accounts for way more of his success than his physical proportions ever could. If you had asked me two weeks ago if I could walk on hot coals and not burn my feet, I would have said that was impossible. Yet here I am having done it with not a single blister on my feet. I’ve gotten blisters going on long hikes or runs, yet somehow walking for 10-12 feet of burning coals felt like the most uplifting and exhilarating experience I’ve had in a while.
- You are your rituals. There is a reason why all successful people have great rituals. Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai – they are all busy people, their life is demanding and changes every second, yet their rituals are important. Tony Robbins says that if you don’t have 10 minutes for yourself, you don’t have a life and all successful people live by that mantra.
With all these things in mind, just think about it, what if you could defy the odds just by making small but significant changes in your life. What if you could have the the life you don’t even allow yourself to dream about, the love life, the career, the body, the health, what if that dream you don’t allow yourself to dream would be possible. Would you do everything in your power to defy the odds?
Originally published at justlav.com