Tony proved to us that there was some merit to the self help field. He’s a titan in the industry.
In short, did he help us get to where we want? Nope. That’s why we did a little reflecting and laid out our own views on motivation. Sadly, we simply aren’t talented enough to formulate a guidance program of our own, but we’re content to muse and ponder about why the generic formula failed to work on us.
However, all products have their good features.
What we remember from Tony’s material:
- The importance of recognising emotions as triggers for action
- The importance of cultivating psychological state to maximise personal output
- Using language and focus to define and anchor goals
- Low standards, how softeners and rationalisations hold us back
Tony is like an adrenaline shot of positivity and it’s easy to get swept up in his babble. What he offers is a positive view and sense of hope. Yet we still had to make all the choices ourselves and that is where the reality set back in for us.
Regardless, as cynical introverts it was refreshing for us to see through an optimist’s eyes for a change. While his method was not compatible with how we operate, it did provide us with useful ideas.
Tony has written books, produced audio material and given seminars. He’s been around so long that his audio material used to come on cassette tapes. We didn’t give Tony a go until well into the era of compact discs.
Actually, we only sought him out after watching his TED talk. His delivery was strong, he knew his material and seemed to have it organised into a functional framework. We are suckers for a good framework!
The funny thing was that prior to seeing this TED talk, we were vaguely aware of Tony from his late night television commercials (back in the 90s). We were cynical, even back then, so the quick cuts of Tony drenched in sweat, stirring up raucous crowds of people failed to inspire us. Instead, the footage leaned closer to how we’d imagine a cult meeting.
Which was why we were surprised to see the good rating for his TED talk and gave it a chance. This post isn’t necessarily a promotion. If nothing else, it’s an admission that we’re quick to judge and write things off (almost) completely. 😉