5 business lessons learned from Tony Robbins

For those who aren’t familiar with Tony Robbins, he’s a legendary ‘business and life strategist’ who has worked with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, and countless other extremely successful entrepreneurs and companies. I had the privilege of seeing him live in Sydney where he spoke about bettering oneself in business, relationships and everyday life. Below are five quotes from Tony I’ve had a chance to reflect on, along with the business lessons you can apply to running your business.

“Wherever focus goes, energy flows”

The importance of a right state of mind is critical when running a business. Things always go wrong but it’s imperative to focus on what you can control. If you get caught up with the menial daily activities affecting your business, you won’t have enough energy left to focus on growing it. Stay forward thinking and don’t dwell on bumps in the road.

“Learning from experience is the most expensive thing you can do”

Trying things on your own is good, but it can also be crippling and time‐consuming. If you’re able to hire an expert to complete a project that’s not your specialty, do it. The up‐front costs outweigh the time and effort you’d be spending otherwise; not to mention you’ll most likely see a better outcome.

Also, lean on your network for advice when you don’t fully understand something. People like helping other people, especially in business, so fully utilise the connections you’ve made and get away from finding out all the answers yourself.

“Trade your expectations for appreciation”

Set goals, not expectations. You can always work towards the former, ( your objective, plan or intent), whereas an expectation or assumption can sometimes be a self‐created burden. Appreciate the small victories you have throughout the day, week or month. Not only will your satisfaction increase, but also your motivation and productivity.

“Take disappointment and turn it into drive, or it will destroy you”

Don’t let the perceived failure of an event bring you down. Everyone fails; it’s how people respond to failure that ultimately defines them. Learn from mistakes and view failure as an opportunity to improve yourself or business. The more you let things build up, the faster you will burn out.

“Resourcefulness is the ultimate resource”

This quote personally resonates with me and is one that Tony harped on throughout the night. Resourcefulness is such an underrated entrepreneurial quality and one that is especially crucial when flying solo. Rather than wait for things to come your way, be proactive, find answers and get results. Whether it’s a new client, website feature, or team member, be creative and find ways to make your goals happen. Continually probe, and push until you are satisfied with a solution.

Are you a Tony Robbins fan? Do you have a favourite quote of his? I’d love you to share it below.