As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in my hotel room before going to day four of five of Tony Robbins’ Business Mastery program. This being my first Tony Robbins event, I was slightly skeptical given the high price point, but with every passing day, I understand more and more why I’m here.

One thing becomes obvious very quickly when Tony goes on stage: he’s different. In a positive way. There’s no doubt that he’s unique and no one can become another Tony Robbins. And it’s not just his enormous physical size, he’s impressive all around.

So far, I had the chance to tell him a single word when he was next to me: “blogging.” That was my answer to his question about how I get leads for my business. I felt so small sitting next to him standing.

In this article, I’ll show you how you can emulate a lot of the things that make him successful and become a more powerful version of yourself. Some things will be more natural to you, while others less so. I’ll leave it up to you to figure this out, but know that Tony too had to work hard to get to where he is. So don’t give up too quickly!

5 Skills Tony Robbins Had to Learn the Hard Way

The following are traits that, from my observations, are not natural to Tony and he had to work a bit harder to acquire.

1. Storyteller

Tony is a master storyteller. A lot of the things he teaches aren’t that complicated, most of us actually know how they work. But we don’t fundamentally understand them. Tony makes you understand any concept through the power of storytelling.

I recognized the importance of storytelling in December 2017, a month before I started writing in on Medium. I studied the subject and applied it for the whole month and got better at it. Thanks to the new skills I had acquired, I managed to get published after writing for only five days and become a top writer in seven categories in 23 days.

So, watch as many Tony Robbins videos as you can and identify what makes him a powerful storyteller and try to apply it for yourself.

2. Proximity

Tony is one of the best-connected people I’ve ever heard. When you see him live, he keeps talking about his legendary friends, like Richard Branson and other top billionaires in the world. Growing up in a very poor family, Tony didn’t have the luxury of hanging out with high achievers until later in life.

How did he do it? By being fearless and reaching out to them and constantly finding ways to add massive value to them. If you want to surround yourself with your heroes, add value to them every chance you can get.

Like me, Tony agrees that this is quite potentially the most important factor in your success. Your network is your net worth. It confirms my favorite quote in the world, by Tony’s first mentor:

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn

3. Pattern recognition

Have you read the books Unshakeable or Money: Master the Game? Tony learned to identify patterns in everything he does. He’s not a financial genius, yet he wrote one of the best financial books ever written.

How did he do it? He interviewed and collected data from the world’s top performers on the field, analyzed it, and identified patterns for success. Let me tell you, this is not easy to do. Schools should teach us this most valuable skill.

My personal best example of pattern recognition comes from writing. Before I started writing on Medium in January 2018, I analyzed the top-performing articles of the previous years and identified headline, formatting, content, and tag patterns. Looking back, that might be the best reason for my early success on Medium.

4. Business

In his Business Mastery seminar, Tony asks the audience to identify what dominant type of business owner each person is from Artist/Creator, Manager/Leader, or Entrepreneur. Tony says he’s 100% Artist/Creator. An Entrepreneur would be more about business.

Tony is all about giving value and doesn’t care much about growing and selling businesses. But to get to where he is now, he had to learn it. Today, he (partly) owns 54 businesses. How many people can claim to own 50+ businesses?

I’m a Creator as well. Even though I started seven businesses myself, what I care about the most in any business I start is the product or service. I never think about how I would sell the business or the profits I’m going to be making. But I have to if I want to succeed to the next level.

5. Educate and Lead

Tony wasn’t born as an educator or leader. When he worked for Jim Rohn, he was mainly a salesperson. But he learned from the best and gave it a shot. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, when you think Tony Robbins, you think educator.

He imparts his knowledge to his attendees, but most importantly, he finds ways for them to act. Now! He leads them to use their knowledge. That is a true educator.

You too can become an educator. I do that through my writing mostly. I never expected I had anything to teach anyone until I started writing content online based on my experiences. Educating is truly magical.

Conclusion

Before going to the event, I had a great appreciation for the big guy. Enough so that I forked over $10,000 to his company that I didn’t have. I was really worried it wouldn’t be worth it. Now I have no doubt it was one of the best investment I made in my life.

Whereas I was a strong soldier going in, I’m now a gladiator: “Winter is my season. I will not be denied. Give me your fears, give me your limits, I’ll give you results. I add massive value and always find my way to victory.”

The paragraph above started as a “mindless” chant but soon became a mantra for power and fearlessness.

The big guy is unique, but so are you. You can achieve anything you want.

Always add massive value, believe with certainty, cultivate high energy, give as much as you possibly can, have genuine compassion, remain ever so curious, tell powerful stories, surround yourself with uplifting people, observe and recognize patterns, understand what business really is about, and educate and lead.

You can do this!

You are a gladiator!