This post features a summary of Notes from a Friend by Anthony Robbins. It’s an easy-to-read 112-page book with many wonderful ideas that Anthony has distilled from his larger best-selling books Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power.
Anthony is one of those men who has influenced the standard I set in my life for most things, so I can’t wait to share my favorite ideas from the book with you in this book
Optimism
“You and I must constantly remember that GOD’S DELAYS ARE NOT GOD’S DENIALS, that there are no failures, that if you try something and it doesn’t work, but you learn something from it that can help you be more effective in the future, you’ve actually succeeded…
Anthony Robbins
Don’t give up! If we continue with striving to do things better, and we learn from our ‘mistakes’, we will succeed.”
We humans have the ability to learn new things throughout our lives, and we can use this ability to look at ‘failure’ as feedback.
Feedback on progress can seem painful, but it is our reaction to them that will decide what happens next. It’s like the famous motivator Zig Ziglar said, “If you learn from failure, you haven’t really lost.”
A technique you can use to remind yourself to learn from mistakes comes from the book The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner. It’s called GOK (Do, Observe, Correct): When you Do something that doesn’t work (in relationships, at work, in training…), Observe in detail what you actually do, and then Correct your behavior so that you do something different on the next attempt. It’s not worse.
Smile and be happy
“Here’s the interesting thing. While many researchers have studied how the body can be affected by emotions, they have only recently become interested in how emotions are affected by the body. One of these studies concluded that it is not as important to know that we smile when we feel good, or laugh when we are in a good mood, as it is to know that smiling and laughing start biological processes that actually make us feel us good. They increase the flow of blood to the brain and change the oxygen level, the level of stimulation of the brain’s messengers, or neurotransmitters. The same happens with other expressions. Put your facial expression in the physiology of fear or anger or disgust or surprise, and that’s what you’ll feel.”
I couldn’t have agreed more. A couple of years ago I made a choice to smile more, just because it made me feel good.
If you decide that you don’t need a special reason to smile, you will not only make yourself happier, but also everyone around you. Imagine waking up to a sullen face every morning for years instead of waking up to a smile.
I don’t know about you, but for me it’s easiest to be positive, focus on solutions, and see the good in others when I myself smile, and when I see others smile.
The Power of Words
“Words change the way we feel, and most of us have no conscious awareness of the ones we use when communicating with others—and ourselves—on a daily basis, much less how they affect the way we think and feel, moment to moment . If, for example, you were told that you are misunderstanding something, you might get one reaction. If you are told you are wrong, you may have a more intense reaction. If you’re told you’re lying—even if it’s basically the same statement—just by changing one word, the way you think and feel can change in an instant, can’t it?”
The intensity of the words we use affect our feelings. Tony suggests we temper brutally negative words like “terrible” with “different,” and “problems” with “extremely interesting challenges.” He also suggests that we can reinforce everyday positive words such as “good” with “fantastic”, and “happy” with “ecstatic”. Why just be “lucky” to live in a country like Norway? Can’t we rather be “indescribably blessed”?
Coach Tony Robbins
Notes from a Friend is written by Anthony Robbins, popularly known as Coach Tony Robbins. He is a world-renowned coach who has helped millions of people create enormous positive changes in their lives. For more than 35 years, he has directly impacted the lives of more than 50 million people from over 100 different countries with his books, health products, lectures and seminars.
Tony Robbins is incredible. I have attended his Unleash the Power Within seminars twice and it is unbelievable how much wisdom and power he has in what he does.
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