It was by chance that I found my way into one of Tony Robbins' 2 day teaser workshop in 2015. I made a few friends from attending seminars in the past and then there was a massive one-for-one offer on this talk. I never thought of myself as someone who needs motivation but since it's affordable and at a low price point, I thought maybe I should give it a go.
The backstory went something like this: Success Resources, the event organiser, managed to persuade Tony Robbins to do a 2 day talk here. At first, Tony Robbins did not want to return to this country since he last gave his Unleash the Power Within (UPW) in 2008, but he agreed. On hindsight, it probably set the stage for him to return in 2018 for the UPW Singapore.
3 years was enough time for me to internalise what he thinks, see how it affects my life and decide if this Tony Robbins is a real deal or just a bluff. I never thought I needed any 'motivation' of sorts but I saw a remarkable transformation in my mother within a day of attending the seminar and that was when I started to believe. Subconsciously, it shifted something inside of me and it changed my life too.
One of the most pivotal moments in Total Success 2015 boils down to 2 sentences:
According to Tony Robbins:
1) The Art of Achievement: The ability to turn any dream into reality, to produce any result
2) The Art of Fulfillment : the process of finding joy in whatever life brings; harnessing the power to understand, appreciate and enjoy our lives at the deepest level, no matter the circumstance.
Mastery of the above 2 concepts would substantially change how a person lives his or her life. I think 2015 planted the seeds in my thoughts because his teachings seemed too easy. It almost felt like my mind went 'I know that'. But the biggest difference is 'I haven't been putting anything to practice then'.
He even talked about pursuing personal breakthroughs. He says that 'The Secret to Living is Giving'.
It sounded incredulous at first. But I am all about testing out hypothesis. I do not mind the upside of such an experiment and since 2015, I decided to drastically change the way I approach all my interpersonal relationships and how I interact with people whom I came into contact with.
I also believe in authenticity in giving and whenever I feel I need help in life, I consciously decided I should go out and help other people first. I did just that. Each year, I up the ante by trying to do something more altruistic than the previous year.
The message seemed to make sense because in 2014, I read a similar line in T Harv Eker's book 'The Millionaire Mind'.
I remember writing the following sentence in my diary in 2014 about giving:
'There is something about giving without anticipating anything in return. It makes me feel like I'm living in a bigger abundance than I would otherwise believe; and it makes me feel like I am doing something and actually being the good person that I believe I am.'
Giving, even when one is not especially in abundance, is a way to create abundance in one's mind. There is an element similar to self fulfilling prophecy. Invite gratitude in one's life and good things will follow.
Sometimes, I surprise myself: I have a predominantly science background, but I believe the above to be true because as with science background, I keep testing those hypothesis and I look for the same evidences in people I would like to model after. For lasting wealth, it seems to me that the evidences largely support the hypothesis.
Art of fulfillment can be accomplished through giving. It's been 4 years since I adopted that mentality; and strange as it may seem, I believe there is no coincidence. I am living the life of my own design, more or less.
Maybe bad things happen from time to time, unexpected events too. But a simple mindset shift can drastically change how we can respond to the events in our lives and it can affect the outcome. This process does wonders for me.
Here's a teaser link below if you are keen to explore ore: