Tony Robbins has defined what it means to be a "performance coach" for the last four decades.
People like the billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones pay $1 million annually for personal coaching, thousands of fans pay $650-$3,000 to participate in intense events like "Unleash the Power Within," and millions around the world have bought his books and tapes.
Last September, the eight winners of Shopify's Build a Bigger Business competition were flown to Robbins' Fiji resort Namale for both group and private coaching sessions with him. We had a chance to observe his roughly 30-minute one-on-one sessions with the winners, including the entrepreneur he personally selected from entrants, Lively founder Michelle Cordeiro Grant.
The sessions offered a rare look at how Robbins is quickly able to assess a person's pain points, both personal and professional, and leave them with insights both practical and powerful.
Following is a transcript of the video.
Tony Robbins: Put out your fist. I didn't say "push back." Why you pushing back so hard?
Chris Vaccarino: Oh, true. You didn't.
Robbins: Because that's human nature.
What do you think is your greatest competitive advantage right now? Where do you think you are in the life-cycle of your business? Most people's plans don't get implemented because they're too complex. I always tell people complexity is the enemy of execution.
Tell me who your ideal client is right now.
Michelle Cordeiro Grant: Sure. Our competitive advantage is simple. Supply chain.
[Tony Robbins invited the winners of Shopify's Build a Bigger Business contest to his Fiji resort. Each winner got a one-on-one mentoring session with Robbins.]
Grant:I'm Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder and CEO of Lively. What we sell are bras and undies and swimwear today, but adjacency products will be coming tomorrow.
Robbins: I'm a big believer in - rip open the plan that you're gonna do, but always have that backup plan.
Grant: We started with an amazing conversation talking through the business, talking through the strategy, me as a leader and so forth.
Robbins: I have zero question about your ability to succeed because, if you take away all the skills and you have that much drive and hunger, you'll figure it out.
Grant: It was nice that he kind of took a moment to acknowledge that, "You're gonna do this no matter what, but it's really how you do this that's gonna be game-changing in your personal life."
Robbins: My only piece for you is taking care of you so that this journey - you don't look back and have regrets, right? And the place that you have regret will probably not be the business. It will be in your personal life.
Grant: His approach is personal and it's tailored, which I think is amazing. I think that's why he's so effective, because he customizes to whoever he's interacting with.
Robbins: I have no question she can succeed in business. My concern was - I could feel that there's this lack of fulfillment and enjoyment even though she's busting her tail, and my goal in life is not only help people achieve more - my goal is helping people have life on their terms.
Tell me, what are you gonna go back with and tell me what questions you might have or how I might be able to help.
Grant: Quite frankly, when I started the week, I thought I was gonna be asking him more for business advice, but as I kind of went through the course of the journey, it changed because I really embraced what he says about it being 80% psychology and 20%, you know, operations. And so, I started to lean into that.
Robbins: Imagine there's a set of archetypes. A warrior archetype, which clearly you have within you. I'm gonna break through this. I'm gonna make this thing happen, right? But the warrior is the one that will go do battle. The warrior is fearless. The warrior will just push through. I'm gonna ask you - stand up with me just for a moment.
Grant: He told me to stand up! I'm like, "Oh, boy. Here we go. Where are we going? What are we doing?"
Robbins: Can you relate to the warrior in you?
Grant: Yeah. Of course!
Robbins: If you've got to instinctively say, "Where is the warrior in me," touch that part of your body, wherever that - alright, here. Okay, good. The warrior says, "Michelle, all you need to do now, all you need to remember, all you need to know to grow to the next level is" and give me the first response and say, "The warrior says, 'Michelle ...'"
Grant: The warrior says, "Michelle, all I need to do to get to the next level is focus."
Robbins: She's a very independent sort, so instead of me giving advice, I wanted her to give the advice to her.
Let's try something different. There's a magician. The magician can see the strategy nobody else sees. The magician has fun with stuff that stresses out the warrior. Feel the quality of the magician. What's the quality of emotion different than the warrior? I'm curious. Can you feel the difference?
Grant: Calm.
Robbins: Yes. And that's the piece you're missing right now.
Grant: I felt fortunate at the time because I knew that he was gonna be sharing with me a gift that he gives to select people and, for him to take the time to go there with me, made me feel really, really blessed.
Robbins: The lover in you.
Grant: Yeah.
Robbins: Where's the lover? Touch where the lover is. Okay, good. And the lover is what you really are. You're driven by love. Even to your customers, you're driven by love. It's very obvious. Some people say that. You really are that. It's where you get your energy.
It isn't just about business. It's about love. She loves her clients. She wants to see them have a beautiful life. And she's so busy running around doing everything that she kind of lost that connection. So, I wanted to bring that connection back.
As powerful as this woman is here, and I respect her immensely, this woman with tears in her eyes - she's the one who can penetrate anyone. And you're being very vulnerable right now, but you're being connected to yourself. And that feeling, that's what I want for you on this journey.
I've done this for 40 years with, you know, tens of millions of people from a hundred countries, so at this point I could be an idiot and have to be able to notice there are patterns that make people angry or sad or frustrated. There are patterns that make people passionate or grateful or excited. And when you know what those patterns are and you see what they are, you know what to do to help people just because I have, you know - I've got a lifetime's worth of experience.
You don't have to give up any of that drive for you to have the quality of life you deserve and your family deserves. See you soon.
Grant: Thank you.