How to Awaken the Giant Within

I’m a sucker for self-improvement. I’ve probably read 50 books on the subject. I read them because I genuinely believe that we can change, that nothing is fixed, and that there are many ways for us to achieve greatness and fulfill our dreams.

2015 was a year of great change for me in many parts of my life. The book that triggered the largest transformation was Tony Robbins' Awaken the Giant Within. It's one of those books that I wish I had read much earlier. I wanted to outline what I learnt from Tony in the hope that it will impact your life just as much.

Here are the main points I got from Tony:
1. Ask better questions
2. Set Goals
3. Make decisions
4. Focus on improvement

Ask better questions

We often get down on ourselves, when we don’t ask the right questions. What’s the difference between the right question and the wrong question ? For example, don’t ask why am I a failure, but what can I do today to be more valuable. The right questions control your destiny. Whenever you hit a problem, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is great about this problem that I have encountered ?
2. What is not perfect yet ?
3. What am I willing to do, to make it the way I want it ?
4. How can I enjoy the process while I do what is necessary to make it the way I want it
5. What’s great about this ? and how can I use this opportunity

Better questions create better answers. Better answers create better states.

The Power of Goals

Set up big goals across all parts of your life. Decide which are the key ones and when you will achieve them. Commit to why they are important. Then take the 1st step. On a daily basis think about your goals. Experience the feeling of achieving your goals on a daily basis. Let go of the negative thoughts and emotions. Focus on solutions, not the problems.

Personally, I have found writing my big goals down on a piece of paper and always carrying them around in my pocket to be super helpful as a reminder of what I need to achieve. Now I view each action and decision under the lens of whether it is moving me towards my goals or not. I try to make more decisions that move me towards my goals and less of others.

One trick to using goals better is have SMART goals. What’s a SMART goal ?

S – Specific; is the goal specific in terms of what needs to be done ?
M – measurable; is the goal measurable ?
A – Actionable; are there are specific steps you can take to achieve your goals ?
R – Relevant; is the goal very relevant to what you want to achieve ?
T – Time bound; have you set a time frame to achieve your goal ?

Make Decisions

Tony’s view is that you can decide to raise your standards. Think about what you don’t want in your life anymore – remove those things. What do you aspire to do, to have, to be – take the 1st step towards those goals. Decisions are only powerful if they create action. Take the first step. Then keep making decisions. Keep learning from them. Stay committed to your decisions, but be flexible in the approach. To make sure I only make good decisions that move me forward, I loved what Derek Sivers had to say – all decisions should be either a ‘Hell ya’ or a ‘No’.

Focus on Improvement

I loved Tony’s idea of CANI – constant and never ending improvement. Your decision on what to focus on creates the results you want or don’t want. First decide what you want to focus on, where are you today, where do you want to go. Write down the next five steps to get you there.

Then go get the tools to help you get to your destination, find the best mentors and teachers. Find the people who have already done what you need to do. Go learn from them, don’t re-invent whats already been invented. One trick I have used for fifteen years that has allowed me to have hundreds of mentors is to try to find one thing in everyone I met that I think is amazing. If you can find that one thing to admire every day in each person you meet you can keep improving by borrowing the best in others. This has allowed me to be a better sales person, a better marketer, a better negotiator, a better investor, a better friend.

So go out make big decisions, take action, ask better questions and set big goals. I hope this helps you in your journey. I’d love to hear what has helped you get better.