Rating: 
Summary: Make real Transformation... not this--please.
Review: This review was written for Awaken the Giant Within. Much of it applies to this book also:
There are some good guiding principles here.
I did all the Tony Robbins stuff for years. The tapes, books-all of it. I was one of the unfortunate ones that got hooked. Instead of just bashing Mr. Robbins, I will write a clear, well detailed review of SOME of the huge flaws in his little money making system so that those major fans who will of course disagree with me, will at least read this and at some point will hopefully "see the light". Unfortunately, in this short review I can't explain things in great detail. Some of you will get what I'm saying though. Please read this carefully and think about what I am saying-scientifically--Please.
-Let's start with the mindset of these books. He promotes a super achiever kind of hyper-doer attitude. I would instead opt for being at peace with myself--HERE & NOW. Learning to BE. Not just be a doer. Does that mean being complacent? NO! It means you can set goals but it has nothing to do with your self-acceptance and daily joy.
-He uses this Pain/Pleasure principal to motivate you. That is a highly flawed system. It is based on causing stress on yourself and motivating you through discomfort. Has anyone stopped to think that one can achieve goals through peace and discipline. It's not motivation through pain/pleasure we need, it's learning to deal with our AVERSION to discomfort that holds many of us back. Facing that with persevearance and wisdom is the only way to deal with that-not gimmicky NAC.
-It is wrong to create MUSTS as he teaches. That causes people to be stressed out and to be attatched and anxious to things. You cannot DEMAND change of yourself. This again is based on the erroneous idea that we're so highly flawed we need to whip ourselves to grow. Not true. Better to learn Positive motivation skills based on learning to enjoy the Process not just the outcome.
-Tony goes in so many different directions in his book you don't know when to use what
-Why does he say that it's important to know that all feelings are good, they are Action Signals-yet he tells you to "break thru" depression,worry and other states. If we are going to accept our feelings how can we also go against them by trying to change them with NAC and physiology etc(that is not acceptance at all that is manipulation and many of you may have figured out by now that you can't battle with your feelings-ACCEPTANCE of them nonjudgmentally brings transformation)
Why, if we are to accept feelings do we need Transformational Vocabulary?? If we supposedly accept them as Action Signals, why tell myelf I'm peeved instead of angry? and will that really work? NO WAY. Of course you'll remain angry. C'MON. That is just silly.
-So much of it is really just a pump up. I admit that that might have it's place to a certain degree. Yes, I'm sure the pump up got some to achieve. That's a good thing, but this Robbins "technology" as a reliable, well developed system? Not quite.
-His system for creating Values is so ridiculously superficial. Just becaue you write down these supposed values and rules, that doesn't mean they will reflect you TRUE feelings. WE ARE NOT THAT SIMPLISTIC!
-Tony Robbins, having "mastered" relationships divorced his wife Becky a few years ago. Again, we are not that simplistic as his system tries to profess.
My intention is to try to help you seekers out there, not to bash Mr Robbins.
People would be better off making more of a "spiritual" discovery that brings them UNCONDITIONAL SELF ACCEPTANCE and Inner Peace. Something that is not based on achievment. You don't need to create this "achieve to win" attitude. Without transforming from the inside out, it's all a band aid solution and YES, you can be HIGHLY productive and just BE without getting into this crazed achiever mindset. Since when is that the purpose of life? Folks, you are all able to achieve great things by getting centered and tuning in to yourself. Trust yourself.
Find that wellspring within! You don't need all this pumped up, gimmicky stuff. A much better book would be The Power of Now. A book about real transformation. Finding inner grace in life moment to moment and yes achieving, but with inner satisfaction all along the way, whatever the outcome!
I hope you've read these points carefully and let them sink in. I hope to save you years of confusion by falling into these superficial
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but gets a little bit repetitive
Review: A lot of the ideas are repeated over and over throughout different chapters. When these ideas were repeated I found myself zoning out or skimming past to try to find something new. I realize that repetition is one of the key foundations for his teachings, but too much can make one doze off. Otherwise, a GREAT book!
Rating: 
Summary: If read with an open mind, will produce results
Review: If you read the book with an open mind and you have not already read a ton of similar self-help books, it is very likely the book will change your way of looking at your capabilities. When you have a new belief about your capabilities, doors will open (or...you will kick them open). *If you read this book with doubt (or read it critically), you will not gain anything. It is long but easy to read. I read this book my first semester as an undergraduate. This was the first self-help book I ever bought and it got me really pumped up. He gives you suggestions that "you have all of the resources needed to succeed" inside of you, and then says, "here is what they are." The "fluff" that many other reviewers refer to may actually be useful in pounding the principles he describes more vividly into your memory. A great book to read before starting a new job or school, after ending a relationship, or a week before you are going to need renewed beliefs about what you can do. But remember, if you read it with a critical eye, you will not get too much. Besides this book, I wouldn't spend any money on any of his other books or CDs. I recommend NLP the New Technology of Acievement if you cannot read with a completely open mind, or as a follow up to this book. I hope this helps.
Rating:
Summary: Change your life with an OPEN MIND. Its the only way...
Review: This is a really exciting book to read. How could a young man with little education, no money, washing his dishes in his bathtub, low income , became a millionaire in 1 year? The answer and knowledge is all in this book. Written in 1986, it was a bestseller among entreprenuers and business people. This book teaches you how successful people think. Tony was a total failure, until one day he went to a NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP) seminar by the genius Dr Richard Bandler and John Grinder.NLP is a new field of science/psychology that can radically and quickly change human behaviour and thinking in very short time. With techniques and beliefs modelled from America's genius hypnotherapist Dr Milton Erickson, and family therapist Virginia Satir, Richard Bandler and John Grinder was able to cure phobias, anxieties, depression, etc within minutes (where traditional Freudian Therapy took up to 4 years without results). IN a nutshell, NLP is to find out specifically how somebody who is good at something do that thing, (studying his beliefs, and subjectivity), and then model that to apply it to yourself or others to produce the same (or better) results. It is called the Modelling of Mastery. Tony mastered NLP within a short time frame, and he used NLP to change his thinking,beliefs,behaviour in a massive way that turned him into a success. Tony is one of the few people Richard Bandler (the NLP co-founder) gives a lisence to teach NLP, and if you know Richard, he trusts very few people!
Before, i was shy, withdrawn, depressed, self-sabotaging, until I understood what NLP truly is about. The first time i came across NLP, i thought, "oh yeah, right, another of these quick way to happiness and success", without really understanding it. Then slowly i learned more about NLP, and i applied some of the NLP techniques on myself, and I was so shocked it WORKED! I used the NLP method to cure my nail biting habit, instantly! Then i used it to cure my shyness. Then i used it to propel myself to success. Bandler and Grinder's mastery is in how the Brain and nervous system works. They are not theorists, (unlike most psychologists). They only do what works. Caution: you will think its all "too good to be true" or a hoax, if you are not open minded enough, then you wont see any result.(Is there ever a person who is good at something, who doesnt belive in what he is doing?) When Bandler and Grinder first came out with the NLP model in the late 70s, everyone said they were making false claims. Yet one by one Bandler proved to them that NLP really works, where traditional psychology doesnt. HIs favourite saying is "If the old way of doing things doesnt work (or is producing mediocre results), do something else... do something new!" I recommend people to read other books by Richard Bandler, especially "Frogs Into Princes" and "Magic In Action" (this book is from the famous seminar where Bandler proves the cynics wrong and cures phobics and patients (on stage, live!) within 30 minutes,(no preparation before hand)as an experiment' conducted by one of the Universities who wanted to disprove Bandler)
Rating:
Summary: Better Than ATGW, but still nothing life changing
Review: I have been involved in the self help genre more or less since I was 16 when my father let me read his Steven Covey book. I am now 24, so I know my stuff. Tony here has been the one who most relate to, so I did all his programs. No, it was not life changing at all, but, yes, there are a few good ideas in this book. I actually read this after ATGW, which I hated. This one was a little better, but even reading the words, I got that 'rah rah' motivation feeling. Some of the ideas are plain stupid at best. His works are the classic " Ive got all this nice stuff, if you read my books, so can you" routine. But Im skeptical about his getting rich business. The book is a long read, and is divided into certain sections. In my opinion, modeling and goal setting are the two best things this book has. Everything else is just'fluff' to me. But watch out guys, after you read this book, you may be intrigued to buy his tapes, and then you may attend a seminar, and then that leads to more expensive seminars etc.. I personally know a man who spent 20K+ plus on his seminars and has not improved his life whatsoever. Granted, he may not do anything himself, but there is no way 10k for a week seminar is worth the price. NO WAY! I know Im getting off on a tanget here, but I think it's a vicious circle. In summary, the book has about two good ideas and that's it. Borrow it for free at your local library.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book when read with an open mind
Review: I picked this book up a few years ago and didn't like it at all. I have since taken a beginning level training in NLP and am currently reading the book and love it. The best advice I could give anyone about this book is to read it with an open mind! Really experiment with his tools and if you don't like them - discard them. What is much more likely is that you'll find they work wonders for you. I have a feeling that many disappointed readers did what I did originally. They wanted to analyze everything before trying it on. Usually this makes sense but occassionally it's really unuseful. Robbins was writing to a huge audience - there is no way he could have addressed everyone's particular mindset and objections. Many, many people think that Robbins is a genius - even smart, skeptical noncultists like me. You're the one who loses out if you ask Robbins to adapt to you instead of you adapting to him.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time or Money
Review: Reading this book evoked emotions equivalent to the experience of purchasing a vehicle at a car dealership. A lot of convincing sales talk leading to hollow results. The concepts presented are not new, scientific, or innovative as sold. The concepts are simply gift wrapped in expensive paper. And many are false, deceptive, or simple common sense. Other points of interest: originally written over a decade ago and contains extensive outdated information, lacks focus, discusses unhealthy dietary practices, and ? If you are looking for a motivation book - don't waste your time or money. Look elsewhere...
Rating:
Summary: what happened to ATGW?
Review: i went to both of Robbin's websites and there is no mention of this book "Awaken the Giant Within". Does this mean he has renounced what he wrote in "awaken...?" I found the book very helpful but am a bit confused as to why he himself no longer promotes this book on his websites.
Rating:
Summary: Perfectly applicable insights about happy & rational life
Review: Antony Robbins made the NLP to work in the shortest path and in the easiest way. Although the book includes prescriptions (especially phsically and mentally) about applications of Neuro Linguistic Programming, the book is not about that: The top aim of the book is to know who are you, and take actions to a happier life accordingly. The message of Mr Robbins is: not everybody wants to be richer, popular or etc, life is an optimization/management of a long list of variables, and these variables and the values of these can change from person to person. There is not prescription for a happy man: just what a man need is to know/understand himself better, in order to optimize/manage the lifelong variables. The book -as the other NLP books- has also the approach of "follow the current best". FYI. Overall this is a well written book (I will not call only an NLP book, but an applicable theory book), easy to follow and above average structured. But, some theories/approaches in this book were found before (years ago), I advise The Flashes (include the -a lot- more perfect definition of life variables), The Words I (all applicable approach to happiness), and The Letters (the best NLP book from a point of view) from Said Nursi Bediuzzaman to the people who are interested in these kind of subjects (& wants to know further after Mr Robbins' nice work)
Rating:
Summary: It works, if you make it work for you
Review: I was curious to see some of the negative reviews for this book. And then I thought about it. The words of this man have changed my life, so why haven't they done the same for others? It all comes down to what Tony says in his book. You can read it, then put it down and say "Wow, this guy knows how to make an impression", or "This guy is just a salesman", or you can take what he says and make it work for you. But only you can do it. Why should I care if, as one of the other reviewers has pointed out, he has had problems in his personal/professional life? Who hasn't? If Tony Robbins were perfect he wouldn't be called Tony Robbins, he'd be called God. Does that mean that his advice and his successes are any less impressive or effective? Or that the food and hope he gives to the poor or homeless is really a way to get attention? That all depends on you, what you want to believe, and what it takes to make you sit up and listen and accept that maybe you could use a change for the better. That's what Tony Robbins is all about. Your ideas, your internal representations, and the limits you place on yourself are all your own doing, and just as you created them, you can change them in an instant. You can decide that it's just not going to work for you, or you can give it a try, be honest with yourself, be willing to pay the price for personal development, and try to be a better person or professional or parent or friend every day of your life. I got a wake up call while reading this book. So much so that I had to buy it for people I love, and it's working for them too. He has the extroadinary capacity to answer the reader's questions before the reader has time to ask them. He understands people's problems because he has seen them thousands of times. In the same way, he knows how successful people became successful, and is able to transmit that knowledge to the reader. I have every respect for this guy, repect as well as gratitude. One day I hope to see him in person. Until then, I'll continue reading more Tony Robbins, and making his techniques work for me. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who is not wholly satisfied with what their life currently has to offer.
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