Tony Robbins (born Anthony
J. Mahavoric; February 29, 1960) is an American motivational speaker, personal finance instructor, and self-help author. He became well known from his infomercials and self-help books: Unlimited Power, Unleash the Power Within and Awaken
the Giant Within.
In 2007, he was named in Forbes magazine's "Celebrity 100"
list. Forbes estimated that Robbins earned approximately
US$30 million in that year.
Robbins was born Anthony J.
Mahavoric in North Hollywood,
California, on February 29, 1960. His
surname was originally spelled 'Mohorović' and is of Croatian origin. Robbins is the eldest of three
children and his parents divorced when he was 7. His mother then had a series
of husbands, including Jim Robbins, a former semiprofessional baseball player
who legally adopted Anthony when he was 12.
His father could not provide
for their family, so he left them. His mother started abusing alcohol and
prescription drugs sometime after. While growing up, Robbins was a primary
care-giver, and helped provide for his siblings. Robbins was raised in Azusa and Glendora,
California. He was elected student body president in his senior year and grew
10 inches in high school, a growth spurt later attributed to a pituitary tumor. He has said his home
life was "chaotic" and "abusive". When he was 17 years old,
Robbins' mother chased him out of the house with a knife, and he never
returned. Robbins later worked as
a janitor, and did not attend college.
Robbins began his career
promoting seminars for Jim Rohn.
Later, without any educational
background in psychology, Robbins began his own work as a self-help coach. He
taught neurolinguistic
programming (NLP) and Ericksonian hypnosis after training with NLP co-founder John Grinder. In 1983, Robbins learned
to firewalk and began to incorporate it into his
seminars. Robbins' use of board
breaking, skydiving, and later firewalking in his seminars is intended to help
participants learn to push through their fears.
Robbins promoted his services
as a "peak performance coach" through his books and TV infomercials. His first infomercial, Personal Power, was released in
1988 and produced by Guthy Renker. Early infomercials featured
celebrities such as Pro Football
Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton and actor Martin Sheen. By 1991, an estimated 100 million
Americans in 200 media markets had viewed his infomercials.
In 1997, Robbins began the
Leadership Academy seminar. Robbins
is a featured speaker on the seminar circuit sponsored by Learning Annex. Robbins appeared as a
featured speaker at the 2006 Technology,
Entertainment and Design (TED) conference. As of May 2016, his talk was the
seventh-most viewed TED talk.
Robbins has written three best-selling
books: Unlimited Power, Awaken the Giant Within, and Money: Master the Game.
Unlimited Power,
published in 1986, discusses the topics of health and energy, overcoming fears,
persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships. In the book, Robbins argues that by
using neuro-linguistic
programming "anyone can
become successful at almost anything." According
to Magill Book Reviews, Robbins develops "a systematic framework for
directing our own brain."
Awaken the Giant Within,
published in 1991, according to The
New York Times, the book contains "ways to take control of your
emotional, physical and financial destiny." In 1994, Robbins published Giant Steps, a daily
instructional book, in a pocket size. His third best-seller, Money: Master the Game, was
published in 2014, reached number one on the New
York Times' "Advice, How-To, & Miscellaneous" bestseller list
in December 2014, and went on to sell a million copies in its first year. The book contains information stemming
from his interviews with over 50 financial experts.
Robbins is involved with the Robbins-Madanes
Center for Strategic Intervention, which focuses on personal, family, and
organizational psychology, and claims to help people "find breakthrough
strategies and solutions for overcoming the problems that confront us
all."
In 2014, Robbins, along with a
group of investors including Magic
Johnson, Mia Hamm, and Peter Guber, acquired rights to launch
a Major League Soccer franchise in Los Angeles, California. The team is scheduled to begin competition in
2017.
In 1984, Robbins and former
girlfriend Liz Acosta had a son Jairek
Robbins, who is also a personal empowerment trainer.
In 1985, he married Rebecca
"Becky" Jenkins, after meeting her at a seminar. Jenkins had three children from two
former marriages whom Robbins adopted. Robbins and Jenkins filed for divorce 14
years later.
Robbins married Bonnie
"Sage" Humphrey, a phlebotomist and acupuncturist, in October 2001.
Robbins resides in Palm Beach,
Florida.
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