Unlimited Power is a self-help classic, which breaks down how Tony Robbins has helped top performers achieve at their highest level and how you can use the same mental and physical tactics to accomplish your biggest goals in life.
Tony Robbins is like a giant bear with a huge heart. If you watch any interview with him or a clip of one of his workshops, you can instantly tell that he really cares about whoever else is in the room. He’s spent most of his life helping people with their performance and level of personal achievement, but has been venturing into other topics, like personal finance, in recent years.
Unlimited Power is the first book he’s written, but the third and final of his books to make it on Four Minute Books. After his absolute classic, Awaken The Giant Within and Money (one of the top 3 reads on Four Minute Books), this will complete the set.
Published in 1986 (!), this describes the new science of personal achievement, in Tony’s words, much of which still applies today in the very same way it did 30 years ago.
Here are my 3 favorite lessons:
- Use the 5-step modeling process to match the work of elite performers.
- Improve your memory and creativity by looking in the right direction.
- Find the right way of communication to make sure your relationship lasts.
Ready to unleash your inner reservoir of unlimited power? Here. We. Go!
Lesson 1: Perform like the elite by modeling their behavior in 5 steps.
Tony is a big fan of modeling. Basically, this comes down to looking at how the best of the best in any given field go about their work, and then trying to emulate it as best as possible.
For example, when Tony was approached by the US army to help its soldiers improve their shooting accuracy, he instantly took the job, knowing full well he had no clue about shooting guns. But he didn’t need to. When he arrived, 70% of the recruits passed the final test. When he left, 100% did.
What he did was to simply take the top performers, analyze how they thought, moved and behaved, and then told the other recruits to model their behavior in what he calls the 5-step modeling process:
Find a top performer and study their exact movements and actions.
Practice imitating these movements.
Visualize the top performer in perfect flow, excelling at their craft.
Imagine yourself as that performer, executing it all perfectly.
Step up and go for it!
This way, you’ll cut the learning curve short and reach a higher level of achievement much faster.
Lesson 2: Look in the right direction to improve your memory and creativity.
Yup, you read that right. Where you look can change how creative or good at memorizing you are. For example, can you think of a classic image of someone who’s thinking hard about something? Where do those person’s eyes go?
I’m sure you can think of at least one example where someone’s holding their chin with their thumb and index finger, while looking up and to the right. The reason this is a classic symbol of thinking or trying to remember something is that it’s what we actually do. It’s a standard reflex when we want to recall something – and it really helps. Try it the next time you want to recall your favorite recipe’s ingredients!
Note: For left-handed people, this can sometimes be looking up and to the left.
There’s even a similar trick for creative thinking: If you have to come up with a creative solution to a problem, like an idea for what images to use on a website or in an ad campaign, look sideways and to the right. Looking sideways helps our brains tap into their creative potential and come up with new images.
Crazy, huh?
Lesson 3: Figure out your partner’s favorite way of communicating to show your love the right way.
When we’re in love, we all have different ways of expressing it. You might be the kind of person who constantly says “I love you,” or gives lots of compliments. Or, you’re a bit more like me, and love to write little notes, give gifts, and show your love that way.
Whichever love communication style you have, it makes one thing pretty clear: your partner has one too, and it’s important for you to figure it out.
If your girlfriend loves hearing you say “I love you,” yet you only ever leave her notes, she’ll at some point feel unloved. Not because you don’t love her, but because she doesn’t receive it, simply because of the way you communicate it.
The three most common types are:
- Auditory – someone who loves to hear words of appreciation and places importance on what is said.
- Visual – a person who places emphasis on visual cues, like love letters, notes, flowers, and other tokens of appreciation.
- Kinesthetic – someone who prefers touching and physical communication, like a pat on the back, stroking their hair, etc.
Of course people can also be a combination of the two – so experiment with all of them, find out what makes your partner tick, and thus make sure you get your love across.
My personal take-aways
This is a great starter’s book for people new in self-improvement. Not as wishy-washy as most of the newer books, covers all areas of life and is still rock solid. If you just recently got into personal development, give this a go!
Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins
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Unlimited Power Summary
The Book in Three Sentences
Unlimited power is the ability to produce the results you desire most and create value for others in the process.
Action is what unites every great success.
Nothing has any meaning except the meaning we give it.
The Five Big Ideas
“How you feel is not the result of what is happening in your life—it is your interpretation of what is happening.”
“The way we communicate with others and the way we communicate with ourselves ultimately determine the quality of our lives.”
In order to achieve an extraordinary quality of life, you need to consistently put yourself in a state that supports you and your achievements.
When handled effectively, beliefs can be the most powerful forces for creating good in your life.
Ask yourself, “What would I attempt to do if I knew I could not fail?”
Unlimited Power Summary
For Tony, unlimited power is the ability to produce the results you desire most and create value for others in the process.
“Action is what unites every great success. Action is what produces results. Knowledge is only potential power until it comes into the hands of someone who knows how to get himself to take effective action. In fact, the literal definition of the word ‘power’ is ‘the ability to act.’”
“How you feel is not the result of what is happening in your life—it is your interpretation of what is happening.”
“You are the one who decides how to feel and act based upon the ways you choose to perceive your life. Nothing has any meaning except the meaning we give it.”
Tony believes that there are seven fundamental character traits that they have all cultivated within themselves, seven characteristics that give them the fire to do whatever it takes to succeed.
Passion!
Belief!
Strategy!
Clarity of Values!
Bonding Power!
Mastery of Communication!
“The way we communicate with others and the way we communicate with ourselves ultimately determine the quality of our lives.”
“The difference between those who fail to achieve their goals in life and those who succeed is the difference between those who cannot put themselves in a supportive state and those who can consistently put themselves in a state that supports them in their achievements.”
Beliefs are preformed, preorganized approaches to perception that filter our communication to ourselves in a consistent manner.
Where Beliefs Come From
Environment
Events, small or large
Knowledge
Experience
Visualization
The Seven Lies of Success
Belief #1: Everything happens for a reason and a purpose, and it serves us.
Belief #2: There is no such thing as failure. There are only results.
Belief #3: Whatever happens, take responsibility.
Belief #4: It’s not necessary to understand everything to be able to use everything.
Belief #5: People are your greatest resource.
Belief #6: Work is play.
Belief #7: There’s no abiding success without commitment.
“Dr. Robert Schuller, who teaches the concept of possibility thinking, asks a great question: ‘What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?’”
“Great leaders and achievers have in common is that they operate from the belief that they create their world. The phrase you’ll hear time and again is, ‘I am responsible. I’ll take care of it.’”
“Nothing has any power over me other than that which I give it through my conscious thoughts.”—Anthony Robbins
“Reframing in its simplest form is changing a negative statement into a positive one by changing the frame of reference used to perceive the experience.”
“There are two major types of re-frames, or ways to alter our perception about something: context reframing and content reframing.”
“Context reframing involves taking an experience that seems to be bad, upsetting, or undesirable and showing how the same behavior or experience is actually a great advantage in another context.”
“Content reframing involves taking the exact same situation and changing what it means.”
Other Books by Anthony Robbins
Awaken The Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny by Anthony Robbins
Notes From a Friend by Anthony Robbins
Buy this book– https://amzn.to/2X30NTL
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