Tony Robbins’ Awaken the Giant Within is a good motivation book that offers gems of wisdom for any person who needs it. The compilation of real-life experiences and advice makes the over 500-page book worth reading. It also makes it unique as it is well-researched compared to other motivation books on the market. One of the things that stands out about the book is the author’s ability to highlight real experiences, not only from great people in history, but also the many clients his company has helped.
Tony’s philosophy of CANI (constant and never-ending improvement) is fascinating, to say the least. It informs us that there is no moment in life when we should not improve ourselves in all areas of our lives. At the beginning of the book, he says, ‘When people ask me what really changed my life eight years ago, I tell them that absolutely the most important thing was changing what I demanded of myself. I wrote down the things I would no longer accept in my life, all the things I would no longer tolerate, and all the things that I aspired to becoming.’ And true to his words, he changed his life from a broke man to a multinational businessman and a motivational speaker. It would be fair to say that his philosophy does work for anyone who wants to try it out.
One of the things the author discusses that is a downfall of our society is the focus on instant gratification, which makes our short-term solutions evolve into long-term problems. The genesis of this microwave behaviour arises right from childhood, where children are accustomed to instant gratification from video games, fast food, TV commercials, Social Media, etc. In the business world, we see this kind of short-term focus cause disasters like the Exxon Valdez disaster that caused oil spills in the ocean, thereby destroying the ecological destruction of Alaska and the surrounding areas. This caused the company $1.1 billion in compensation for the damage.
One of the advantages of committing yourself to long-term results compared to short-term fixes is that it aligns your life to your purpose and vision. Feeling the pain now and doing what needs to be done, not only does it make you a focused individual who is progressive and endures the struggle of growth, but also you stand out from other common people. The author advises us, ‘One belief that I’ve developed to carry me through extremely tough times is simply this: God delays are not God denials…In order to succeed, we need to discipline ourselves to consistently think long term… Winter is not infinite; even if you’re having challenges today, you can never give up on the coming of spring.’ Life has its ups and downs, but one thing is clear: things will always turn up as they should, and everything will work out as it ought to. So you need not worry, just do what needs to be done now, and the rest will take care of itself.
We shape our reality by the way we think. Our brains are so powerful that we can create any reality that we want. This is the difference between us and animals. An animal cannot reason and think beyond food and escape from immediate danger. Therefore, we can change our lives if we want to. Tony has given us ways to change our current predicament in his book, ranging from questions that we need to ask ourselves daily and the things we need to stop doing so as to change our lives. We need to focus on the right things, he notes, ‘Focus is not the true reality, because it’s one view; it’s only one perception of the way things really are.’ It is imperative to focus on the right things in life, as what we focus on is what shapes our reality.