I’ve always thought of Tony Robbins as a relatively intelligent, straight-shooting, motivational speaker. I admit that I mostly know him from excerpts on the dust jackets of his books, and his appearance in “Shallow Hal”. (I saw it on a plane so give me a break!) He seemed unpretentious, and at least partially motivated by a desire to help people.
However, I was talking to a friend of mine who just got a sales position pimping Robbins-trained personal coaches out to anyone who can afford them. She describe a week-long retreat he gave that 2000 people attended. They were sleep and food deprived, and made to attend continuous mass gatherings where they had to chant slogans and learn to feel good about themselves and others. Well… that’s a cult isn’t it? She enjoyed it, but I told her she’d soon be hanging around in airports begging for coins and converts.
So what is he? Dangerous demagogue or harmless pep-talker?
Somewhere in between would be my guess. I read somewhere that at his seminars, they try to sell lots of pseudo-science inspired health products. Perhaps the chanting and intense atmosphere are for the purpose of lowering people’s resistance to irrational sales pitches. I don’t think Tony Robbins really wants you to give up all your worldly possessions to go live in some bunker out in podunk country while waiting for the apocalypse. Just buy a few of his magnetic bracelets or fire walking ceremonies or whatever the hell kind of silly crap they’re pushing, and he’ll be happy enough.
I am currently re-listening to my set of tapes of “Personal Power”. I had great results from the first time (a few years ago)that I feel now is a good time to feel that way again. Its cheaper than getting the CD version altho my tape player just died on me, so the CD version is starting to sound like a good idea.
What Tony Robbins is an expert on is Neuro Associative Conditioning. Its basically conditioning yourself to associate different values or beliefs to current ones. Still sounds like a cult? well, thats because brainwashing is pretty darn near the same. The difference is that in cult brainwashing, the conditioning is done to you, while Tony teaches you to do it to yourself. The retreat just has different ways for you to have intense feelings so that you can associate new values to them.
…okay it is a cult. But its a cult that helps you get money, happiness and self power and you dont even have to shave your head or wear towels or anything 