With over 15 million books sold, motivational speaker and author Tony Robbins has accumulated millions of readers and attendees to his seminar events since his breakout best selling book, Awaken the Giant Within was published in 1991. Unfailing in crediting his sources for many of the ideas and concepts he espouses in his speeches and books, Robbins’ unique talent is his use of visual analogies and catchy phrases to create easily recalled concepts and lessons that his fans are then able to apply to their own lives.

Tony Robbins’ books and speaking events are an outgrowth of his personal coaching practice, which was geared to helping people from all industries achieve goals and establish customized habits to help them maintain discipline during their journeys. Deploying such techniques as modeled behavior and strategies from successful icons and tips for overcoming personal inhibitions and irrational fears, Robbins’  pithy quotes contain kernels of wisdom that can benefit retirees and those who are struggling to maintain savings and investment discipline for their future retirement.

While Tony Robbins’ catalog of quotes is considerable and covers a wide range of topics related to his coaching, writing and speaking events, there are several that can apply to two areas which can greatly benefit those who are concerned about their finances and who find savings and investment schedules daunting.  These two areas deal with personal excellence and financial freedom. The first introduces new ways to look at life’s challenges and how to find the power from within to emerge victorious. The second focuses on financial freedom with corresponding motivational prods.

Personal Excellence

 

A core component of Tony Robbins’ personal coaching practice is overcoming individually ingrained inhibitions and irrational fears and worries. These stumbling blocks can hamper one’s progress and create obstacles towards not only in achieving one’s goals, but in identifying the problems in the first place to prevent the process from getting started. They are very appropriate  for addressing overly conservative investment strategies that will not achieve one’s growth targets, or for those who might be too gun-shy to even attempt investing due to past traumatic experiences.

“Your past does not equal your future.”

Very often, people who undergo a negative experience or event early on in life carry an irrational aversion to that event for decades afterwards. For example, someone who built up unrealistic expectations and hopes over a romantic relationship, a job promotion, or even a boat trip can develop a phobia that continues to build in the passing years. The negative emotion, disappointment, or pain associated with the event can become a wall that needs to be torn down in order for that person to achieve their goals and dreams. For retirees, and those who are trying to build up their retirement nest eggs, getting caught in the dot com stock market crash or the 2008 subprime mortgage banking meltdown and suffering financial loss might make for an extreme risk aversion that is hampering portfolio growth. 

 “Live life fully while you’re here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You’re going to (screw up) anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process.”

This is another quote that addresses innate and often unarticulated worries and fears that hold people back from breaking the sheep mentality and taking necessary steps to change their circumstances. The “screw up” tag is part of the memory prod that reduces a common fear to a humorous rationalization that can subconsciously erode internal barriers.  

“Every problem is a gift–without problems we would not grow.”

One of the fears that those who are intimidated by the markets become flustered when faced with problems outside of their experience. Robbins rightly points out that rationally dealing with problems – identifying them, their causes, and then crafting solutions and implementing them – is how people grow. This growth is twofold – it expands one’s knowledge base and it also grows one emotionally to have better control over dealing with unforeseen events instead of entering panic mode. 

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

People whose retirement accounts are underperforming due to being on autopilot are often blissfully unaware that their portfolios will come up short when withdrawals begin, unless they deploy some changes. Sometimes, the notion of change, say, from switching from bonds to an index ETF, is too scary or intimidating for them, but failure to act will leave them in a hole that will cause them physical hardship later on. 

“Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.”

This quote attempts to address those whose minds go blank when facing financial topics and the research and decision making required to achieve one’s long term goals. It also is a subtle warning for people to take a step towards controlling their own destinies by learning for themselves to reduce reliance on advisors who might seek to rip them off or take advantage of them in other ways.

Financial Freedom

 

The following quotes suppose that the mindset obstacles are now clearing and are targeted directly toward helping people achieve their financial targets.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”

Robbins’ coaching quote applies to any endeavor toward achievement, but it is especially apt for financial matters. The process of setting goals demands an articulation of one’s desires into a defined set of targets that can then be the basis for strategizing a plan. It converts a nebulous “I want to live comfortably until I die.” to a tangible,”I want to have $65,000 income per year until I die.” 

“The path to success is to take massive, determined action.”

Once goals are set, determined action needs to be deployed. This often entails having to write a check, authorize an account change, or other action, and then starts the ball rolling on a new protocol, which will likely include a regular account monitoring schedule and other proactive steps. A new paradigm for new, and probably better results.

“When you lack confidence about money, it affects other areas too. But when you take charge of your finances, it empowers you.” 

This quote is intended more as a reminder and as a morale booster during times when one might be feeling nervous about wading in uncharted investment waters for the first time. 

“You can control what you do, and you can control what you pay.”

Robbins’ coaching is centered around personal empowerment and goal achieving, since overcoming one’s self is often the greatest challenge. The mental shackles and impediments to success are often much more crippling than external forces, which is something also taught repeatedly in martial arts by the late Bruce Lee.  It is also smart advice regarding shopping for the best rates and terms available, instead of trusting a broker or financial salesperson at face value.

“I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent.”

Robbins articulates the rewards of perseverance, staying the course regardless of the storms ahead, and the need for patience and commitment to one’s goals to see them results manifest at the end of the day.

As those either entering or preparing for retirement take stock in what their plans are and the measure of their proximity to their long-term goals, Tony Robbins’ nuggets of advice can serve as a useful guide to create two checklists. The first is for those who realize that they may be late in the process, know they need to start, and that identifying the roots of their procrastination and resolving them are the first key steps. The second is to identify their long-term goals and assemble the necessary pieces to successfully deploy the plan.

 

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