Three Huge Takeaways From “Unleash The Power Within Virtual” to Boost Personal Development
Unleash the Power Within Virtual was one of the best investments that I made in my personal development in 2023.
Staged over four days, UPW Virtual covers a lot of content including physical health, mindset and business. It is delivered by Tony Robbins and a number of guest speakers. Per the official Tony Robbins website this is the event for you “If you want to overcome your obstacles and crush your goals...”
That is a pretty big promise, but does it deliver?
Tony Robbins is an entrepreneur, an investor and a life and business strategist. Some of his better known events include Unleash The Power Within, Date With Destiny and Business Mastery.
The virtual version of Unleash the Power Within works really well.
I had planned to attend the live event but couldn’t due to work commitments. I did some research about Tony Robbins virtual events and as feedback was positive I took the plunge.
I learned a lot over the four days but had three main takeaways that really turbocharged my personal development journey.
Takeaway 1 – Energy is Everything
Yes, it is logical. Yes, I had been focusing on it already. BUT the full immersion format of UPW Virtual really hammered home the fact that if we don’t spend our days in a positive state with good energy we won’t achieve the things we want to.
Some of the notes I took included:
“Energy is a habit”
“Energy comes from your mindset”
“All of the important things in your life depend on your state of energy”
This point was repeated over the four days of the event and it wasn’t just ra-ra motivational slogans. There were actionable points around diet, exercise, and how to change your outlook.
The best illustration of how effective the energy teachings were is the state of energy that I managed to carry through the event itself.
Tony Robbins events are known to run to “Tony Time” which means that each day is spent working until the work is done. This can result in some late finishes…
Attending from the UK, my longest day ran from 14.00 to around 04.30 the next morning. Breaks were limited.
The funny thing is, despite running on this schedule for four days you don’t really get tired. This is down to the amount of physical movement that is required, well timed music and the structuring of the content.
If you can keep that schedule without feeling tired then it stands to reason that transferring the teachings to your daily life will help you to maintain a more energetic state.
Takeaway 2 – Change your Have To’s into your Get To’s
Some of the most powerful lessons are the simplest, this one definitely falls into that category.
One of the speakers at UPW Virtual is Nick Santonastasso. He is one of the most inspiring people I have come across. Nick is a bodybuilder, fitness model, former high school wrestler and motivational speaker.
Nick has one arm and no legs, having been born with Hanhart syndrome. He does not accept limitations.
Nick told his story with humour and made it clear that our limitations are no more than what we believe them to be. He provided some good guidance around setting non-negotiables in order to make daily gains.
However, the real gem that came from Nick was “Change your Have To’s into your Get To’s”.
This simple reframing is tremendous for changing your perspective.
How different does changing just one word make the following activities feel?
Change “I have to exercise” to “I get to exercise”.
Change “I have to drive my children to school” to “I get to drive my children to school”.
Change “I have to walk the dog” to “I get to walk the dog”.
Our language frames how we see the world.
Have To is a chore, Get To is a privilege. The message is all the more powerful when delivered by Nick Santonastasso. There are many ordinary things that he hears people say they “have” to do that he wishes he was able to do.
Takeaway 3 – The Dickens Process
The most powerful part of Unleash the Power Within Virtual was the Dickens Process.
The process is named after Charles Dickens, author of “A Christmas Carol”, in which Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a life changing transformation. The Dickens Process is designed to enable people to let go of limiting beliefs that are holding them back.
Dealing with limiting beliefs is one of the most transformative elements of any personal development journey.
The Dickens Process is intense and involves stirring up strong emotions. It involves identifying limiting beliefs, projecting a bleak future and creating a strong emotional state. You then visualise a positive outcome and explore the difference between changing and not changing.
By the end of the process, if successful, you have destroyed your old limiting beliefs and replaced them with a more positive way forward.
It sounds good, but does it work?
For me, this process was transformational. This one intense session saw me rid myself of three limiting beliefs which were associated with not having enough time, fear of failure and fear of judgement. Months later these limiting beliefs remain banished and I feel empowered.
Those are my Three Huge Takeaways, but what was it like to attend the event?
I have mentioned the Tony Time schedule that these events run to. I booked the necessary time off of work and had the support of my family in fully blocking off four days and sleeping at odd hours. If you sign up for Unleash the Power Within Virtual I suggest you do the same.
With this type of event you get out what you put in.
I went so far as to keep my drinks by me in a cooler and to have healthy snacks within reach so that I didn’t miss anything. A very understanding family prepared meals that would be ready to eat whenever there was a break. The breaks are not scheduled so this was important.
The event is based around a huge Zoom room with thousands of participants. Don’t worry, it isn’t like a work Zoom call! Tony and the other speakers can see all of the participants from their screen-lined studio and there is a lot of interaction.
I took a LOT of notes.
In addition to filling out the workbook that was provided I wrote 52 pages of notes. I reviewed my notes and distilled them into 5 pages of actions the day after the event was concluded.
Learning is great but without a clear action plan it is just words on a page.
I met a lot of great people during the event, both in the regular Zoom chat and in breakout sessions. Everyone was really into personal development and at a different stage in their journey. The desire to support each other was palpable.
Conclusion
Unleash the Power Within Virtual was a great investment of time and money. My Three Huge Takeaways were enough to make it worthwhile but there were dozens of additional tools, techniques and action points that I have used since.
Personal development is an ongoing journey. “Work in progress” is the default state.
Committing to learning provides you with more than just the lessons on that day. It becomes part of who you are and enables you to see yourself as someone who is always improving.
What could be more positive than that?