Tony Robbins and Peter Diamandis - Nothing Is Impossible - Genius Network Episode #1

Welcome to the Genius Network show. In this episode, you'll hear from Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis and Joe Polish in a stimulating conversation about trade offs, goal achievement, achieving the impossible, transforming criticism and failure and more. Recorded live from the Genius Network annual event. If you would like access to the full interview, the full feature video presentation and a one page PDF guide with the insights and wisdom covered, please visit geniusnetwork.com one that's geniusnetwork.com the number one.

What are the biggest trade offs that both of you consider maybe negative in order to do what it is you do? Because you're both, I mean, incredibly driven, what I would consider insane schedules, but at the same time, you're making massive contributions to humanity. So what are the trade offs that you would consider? Like, you know, we work our asses off, we do a lot of stuff, but this is what we had to sacrifice in order to do it. If you think of it that way.

I think if you think of it as a sacrifice, then you're going to build frustration or resentment. I really don't. If you think it's a sacrifice, you shouldn't do it. I think the challenge is that most people have this illusion about life, work, balance. And I think if you're going to accomplish it, people are laughing because you know, right? What's true is life, work, integration. So I was just in 21 countries or 7 countries, 21 days. But who's with me is my family, who's with me as my friends. And I've done well enough to have a plane and bedrooms and all that kind of cool stuff makes it. But when I didn't, we still, we huffed it together and beginning days, it was coach and dragging ourselves around. But I thought it was great for my kids to have schooling, but I thought an education was more valuable and traveling the earth was a part of that. But you know, we're in the middle of this crazy schedule. But it's not work, it's a mission. When it's work, it's that I always ask people, I said, how would you describe what you do? And people I say, is it work, is it career or is it mission? And most people of course say it's work. And that's exactly what it is. It's heavy. If it's, you know, if it's your career, it gives you something more. But your mission, it doesn't wear you out, it brings energy to you. It's fulfilling. And if you can tie your mission in with the people that you love, it's pretty cool. You know, there's some people in this room, they're my friends. I see Dean here in the front row here and it's like we're all on this mission and we find time to connect and be with each other and have a blast with each other, but we're sharing about things that matter. I'm not a person to go to a party and like, you know, go on the corner and chit chat. It's like you want to talk about something deep, let's rock. You don't let me go home and be with my family. You know, let me go do something fun, something of that nature. If you can combine your mission with your family, combine your mission with some of your friends, then you're going to accomplish a million times more. But if you think it's a sacrifice, don't do it. Because then all you're doing is you're going to have resentment later on or frustration later on and then you really aren't contributing because you're trading off, you're not giving. Great, great.

I think I'm a nine year old kid. Those of you who know me know I am a 9 year old child in my body pinching myself every day. That I get to do the shit that I get to do, it is extraordinary. I could not, would not want to be doing anything else. I mean there's hard work and it's, and it's like I'm push myself more anybody else. But I love it, I love it, I love it. I cannot imagine doing anything else. And that's the challenge, right? The question is a lot of people are doing something to get to something else and that's just wrong.

I agree.

And it's a matter of don't do because your parents told you, because you heard on an infomercial, because whatever, do what is your highest calling in life. And love it. And so I don't work at all. I really don't work. Dan has told me to get rid of it and so I get rid of it.

Well, you know, I mean this room is filled with some very high achievers. And obviously what I wanted to derive from you guys is this. Some insight, some how to, some what it is you do to just give them perspective and stuff. And I carefully chose some questions and this one is you're both masters at achieving what most people consider impossible. And I mean really what you guys do, most people consider absolutely impossible. So when something is considered quote unquote impossible, how do you reframe it so it becomes possible in your mind? And how much of that is mindset?

Well, I think impossible is not a fact, it's an opinion. When someone tells me it's impossible, I always just look at them. Anybody around me knows that they can't do that. That's part of it. But if they didn't know me, it's your opinion. And they'll say, no, science shows. And I say, how many times has science showed something's impossible? Now science shows it's possible. Things are impossible till somebody does it. And so I find that most of you are business people, you look at businesses and what does it take to make a business grow? It's not impossible to make a business grow. Business has been shrinking for a long or it's been stuck. The real problem is always the chokehold is always the psychology and the skills of the leader. Always. And 80% of that is psychology and 20% is the mechanics. Like if you don't know how to read your financials and you're trying to fly the plane of your company, I mean, come on, you know, if all you do is go down, you look at profit loss and you see what it is and you have a beer either way, you either celebrate or get the brass. You know something, you know you're going to be in trouble, right? But if you have the skill sets, that's one thing. But you can get any skill set if you have the psychology. And anytime a business is not growing, it is not because it's impossible. It's because they aren't innovating. And they're not innovating because they believe it's impossible. I mean, if we all know what does it take to transform? Obviously help people. It takes three things to create a breakthrough in anything. In your personal life, in your business, anywhere, you need a strategy. But that's not the first place you should look. And it's the first place all of us look.

You've been listening to a conversation with Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis and Joe Polish. We will return to the conversation shortly. If you would like access to the full interview, the full feature video presentation and a one page PDF guide with the insights and wisdom covered, please visit geniusnetwork.com one that's geniusnetwork.com the number one. Let's get back to the conversation.

You need a strategy. But that's not the first place you should look. And it's the first place all of us look. Me too. It's our inherent thing. You want to lose weight? Well, how do I do it? I want to grow my business. How do I do it? It's instinctive. We've been trained to think that way. But the problem is the how to is usually not that complex. I mean, come on, 70% of America is what? 75% of America now is overweight. Is that because it's so complex? How to be fit and strong, Right? You know, only the 1% know the answers. They hide it from you. You have to work your ass off to not hear what it takes, right? And so I remember I went to a Ted Med center and I watched about 12 doctors, one after another, get up and do these stories about how we could just get patients to take their medications and try to figure out the whole thing. And I was just looking at him going, you're all talking about strategy and you've forgotten psychology, because strategy is wonderful. I'm a strategist, spent my whole life figuring out strategies. As we both know, a strategy could save you a decade, right? And business strategy could save you. It could make the difference between success and failure.

But.

But most people have strategies available. Or they could get em, or you could create em. But the problem is you got a story. And your story is why it isn't working. And the story is, I've tried what? Everything. If you tried everything, you'd be fit, right? If you tried everything, you'd be profitable. If you tried everything, you'd be there. But people say it, you know, I'm big boned. That's what I used to say. I'm still big boned, but I'm 38 pounds lighter than I was 25 years ago and I've never gained it back. Right when I was big boned, that was my story. All the good ones are gone. That's why I'm not in a relationship. Or they're gay and I'm not, or I'm gay and they are, or whatever the story is. There's always a story. And what I tell people is, you know, if you can just divorce the story of your limitation and marry the truth of your unlimited capacity, then the whole game changes. But it's hard to do that because when you're in your story, you don't even realize it. So you need a third piece for breakthrough. And that's really what my life's about, which is changing people's states. Because in a different state, we're different people, you know? Can mean people be nice? Yes or no? Yes or no? Of course they are. When they're in a nice state. Can nice people be mean?

Sure.

They get a mean state so really learning to train yourself to be in an ideal state where the best of you comes out for yourself, for your family, for your mission, for your world, for your co workers. To me, that's one of the most important decisions in life to make. You ask me out of all the people I've met, all things I've seen, what creates a magnificent life. You know, everybody has goals and dreams that are different. Some people want, you know, picket fence. Some want to make a billion dollars. Some, you know, want to have this huge breakthrough in technology. Some people want to write poetry. Whatever is right for people is what I want them for themselves. I don't want to be like me or you or anybody else. I want them to have their dream. But to have it, you need two skills. You need, number one, to have the science of achievement. It's a science. You have to know how to take your vision and make it real. And most of the people in this room have already figured that out, and this guy sure as hell has. And you have, and I have. So most of us know, and we can all refine our skills in that area, but we know how to take what we dream about, make it real. And if you don't, you can learn from somebody who does. You know, simplest thing is get crazily hungry for something. We all know when you get so hungry, so desirous, your brain starts coming up with answers, and then it's massive action but effective execution, which is all modeling, which is, I assume, what this is about. Find the best example, compress the time. Let someone else take 20 years to figure it out. You do it in two weeks or two months or whatever the period is. We should all be standing on the shoulders of the people around us instead of reinventing the wheel. And then there's this thing called grace. You work your ass off. You're totally focused. You're trying to serve something larger than yourself, and you really are executing what works. You need a little grace. Might want to call it luck if you prefer God, the universe. But it's there, and we can all achieve. But I think the more important skill, if you ask me, is to have an extraordinary life, is the art of fulfillment. And it's an art. It's not a science. Because there's a science to making money. I don't care who you are, if you do certain things, you're gonna have too much financial stress. You do other things, you're gonna have an abundance. There's a science. There's a science to your body. Everyone here is biochemically different, different genome. But there are certain fundamental patterns that if you and I follow them, you're gonna have tons of energy, gonna feel good. If you break them, you're gonna pay the price and have low energy or disease. But fulfillment is an art. What's going to fulfill you is different than the other person next to you. You're not going to learn that from anybody else. And you got to find it. Because success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure. And I get those phone calls all the time for the multi billionaire entrepreneur or politician or business person or the person just won their Academy Award and they're depressed and they can't tell anybody because they got all their goals, but they're not fulfilled because they really don't have that sense of meaning in their life. They went for something and they got it. They achieved. And if you doubt this, I'm saying is relevant to you or us or anyone, just think about a year, what, a month ago, we lost what I consider to be a national treasure, Robin Williams. How many of you loved Robin Williams? Look around the room. Keep your hands up.

Look.

And most of you didn't know him. Almost every and everywhere you go in the world, people love Robin Williams. By the way, was he great at achievement? Oh, my God, that guy. He said he wanted to become a great comedian. He did that. I want to make the world laugh. He did it. I want to make my own TV show. He did it. I want to have the number one TV show. He did it. I want to make movies. He did it. I won an Academy Award for not being funny. Not his skill set. Drama. And he did it. I want a beautiful family. He did it. And then he hung himself. Make everybody happy but yourself. Not a good plan. So if I had a gift to give you, it would be maybe make a different decision. And the decision is that no matter what happens in your life, you're going to live in a beautiful state. A beautiful state. And that could be happy, that could be grateful, that could be being generous. Those are all beautiful states, aren't they? It could be curious, it could be fun, it could be playful. You're not limited to one state, but it's different than suffering. And most people suffering and all suffering I've ever seen, I traveled 100 countries. I've dealt with presidents of countries and, you know, presidents of businesses, CEOs. I've dealt with people in prison. I've dealt with, you name it. Average people. Suffering always comes because you're obsessed about something related to you. You can only be Depressed. If you're focusing on yourself, you say, no, I'm depressed because it's my kids and they're not doing well. No, you're depressed because you feel you failed your kids. It's about you. It's about how you think what you should have done or shouldn't have done or what someone did to you or didn't do to you in the past or the future, which don't even exist. So I have a simple goal. My goal is help people make a decision that says I don't know what's going to happen. You might get a divorce even though you don't think so. You might find a family of your family with cancer. You might have your house get burned down or have a tornado go by. And if you live in the same place, it happens every two years and you move back, we should talk. But some people seem to do that for some reason. You can't control those things. I can't control those things. I don't want those to happen to you or anybody I love or anybody who's even a stranger to me. But they're going to happen. True, not positive things, just the truth. So if that's gonna happen, I say make a decision now that says I'm gonna live in a beautiful state and I'm gon going to find beauty in whatever life brings me because life is too short not to.

The reality is there is very little that's impossible. Period. It just is. And your mindset, as soon as you say something is impossible, then you shut down every possibility for solving it. And we all know this. And the challenge is that it's really hard not to be in that state because we get thrown stuff all the time. And what I want to share with you is an experiment which is to say, okay, not only how do I make it, not how do I make it possible, but how do I actually go 10 times bigger? And you've heard me speak about this moonshot thinking, bold thinking, whatever the case, whatever terminology you want to give it. And most of us in our life are trying to make a 10% improvement. And we know this. I'm trying to increase my revenues by 10%. I'm trying to reduce my sales by 10%, save 10% more of the lands out there, whatever it truly is. We all have this sort of beaten into us by life and by the rest of the universe that you can make these small incremental improvements. But the fact of the matter is that there are those in the world that go 10 times bigger and Every one of us can be that. And as soon as you say, I want to not only solve this thing, but go 10 times bigger in my work, in the things. And can I say this in something that you're truly passionate about, not just about earning a little bit more money. I mean, it really should be in something that you care truly about that is bigger than yourself, that is impacting the world. As soon as you try and go 10 times bigger, three magical things happen. Number one, even if you have no idea how to solve it, no idea how to get there, you'll be amazed at what you come up with. And what's interesting is our legacy, our past, anchors us to where we are today. And you have to let go of that. You truly have to let go of all the stuff in your past, what you thought you'd done, all of the infrastructure that you've built, to let yourself go. When Elon Musk built Tesla, the reason Tesla was such an amazingly better car is he didn't have 100 years of Detroit to hold onto. He started with a clean sheet of paper and imagine what could be. The second thing is when you try and go 10 times bigger versus 10% bigger, it's 100 times the value proposition, and it's never 100 times more expensive or 100 times harder. And so you get this increased capability. And then the third thing is when you try and go, you know, 10 times bigger to solve a problem 10 times bigger, you've got to reinvent stuff. You have to actually go and figure out, okay, I have no idea how I'm going to solve that, but you're going to start to reinvent things. So when Eric and I were working on asteroid mining, we had to reinvent. We had to have so much computational power onboard the spacecraft, we had to come up with brand new sensors and hyperspectral and midwave IR that didn't exist had never been licensed, because these spacecraft were going to be operating at 200 million miles away. And that forced us to come up with new kinds of capabilities that were not currently possible. And you'll be amazed what those capabilities that you create in your business, in your life, enable you to do. And so there's this massive benefit, this payoff, this dividend that comes from expanding your mind and not being anchored to the past. And so I think that there are very few things that are truly impossible. I think that impossible is a state of mind. I'll say one other thing, the people in your life are part of that anchoring. How do you Anchor yourself with a new set of people. I'm looking at my dear friend Naveen Jain here with whom we've opened up XPRIZE India and are really working on solving women's and girls issues in India and providing abundant drinking water in India. I mean, so how do you surround yourself with amazing people who live in the state of anything is possible. I'm blessed at xprize, at Singularity University, at HLI and pri. I live that constantly. And so how do you do that? Where are you doing that? What is your nothing is impossible community here? It is truly here. And so that's really critically important because once you get into that mindset, then you start freeing yourself from that other that you tell yourself and people tell you because we are living in a world where constant amazing miracles happen.

What I love is Robin Sharma, who we did a call with. He's in the room. He has his thing, the 5am Club. A guy named Hal Elrod wrote a book of miracle morning. You do priming in the morning. I'd love to hear what you guys feel are your best rituals or what it is that you are doing that just massively impacts you to be as effective as both of you are. If there's something simple or something that you just do that makes your life work starting be it a morning ritual or just anything that people here could do.

Watching cartoons with my kids at 7am Count.

No, that may be accurate.

For me, it's anchored in my desiring to make the impossible stuff I set out happen. Right? It's anchored in this infinity challenge. I'm never bored. These problems I've taken on with an amazing group of people are all sort of infinite and there's no getting there. So for me, they're my guiding stars. So it's like, okay, what am I going to do right now to move the game forward this day? I wish I could say I was a great meditator or yoga person and so forth and that will come. But not right now. For me, it's just dedication to the child inside me and what I care deeply about, which is making these succeed. And ultimately it's trying to be clear about what I'm enjoying doing. Right? It's surfing the the stuff I love versus this is work. I'm probably not good at this work. Who else can I find that can do it and doing the stuff that I truly love better and doing more of that. I mean there's nothing sophisticated there. Tony, what do you got?

Mind simples. I believe that the body is the place that Drives the mind the fastest. You can go inside your head all day long trying to resolve things and make excuses or freak out. But I learned early on in my life that in order to make myself do things, I had to trigger this body to feel strength and to know that when I say something, I mean it. And so I have a simple ritual that's actually enjoyable, may not sound enjoyable, but is now, which is I get up every morning and I'm privileged to have multiple homes. So if I'm in those homes, one of the homes I have a river. The rest of them I have cold plunges and I go into a 56 degree temperature just for about 60 seconds. I jumped straight in. Or I was just in sun valley, the river's 38 degrees, a little bit cooler. And I took my nephew and said, you're about to learn how to start your day. And I bring all my friends when they come, they all have to do this. But every cell, every nerve in your body explodes. And it's phenomenal for your lymph system, phenomenal for your health. But it also is just a simple discipline that says I say it, it happens. I'm going to say, I'm going to do this. I do it and I've done it so much, it's there and it's invigorating. And then I do, as you said, something I call priming. I don't, you know, you wake up and you're, you know, 22 hours off your normal time zone and you've got to get up and take care of 10,000 people for three days and nights for 14 to 15 hours. You don't always wake up feeling, wow, is this the coolest thing in the world? Somebody wake up and go, what universe is my body in? You know? And so I do my physical ritual, but then I also do this priming. And priming for me is just, I don't hope that I'm going to show up. At my best, I create a state for it.

Thanks for listening to the highlights from a recent conversation with Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis and Joe Polish. If you would like access to the full interview, the full feature video presentation and a one page PDF guide with the insights and wisdom covered, please visit geniusnetwork.com one that's geniusnetwork.com one. Don't miss out on more insights, strategies and wisdom like this on geniusnetwork.com subscribe to geniusnetwork.com today by going to geniusnetwork.com subscribe. That's geniusnetwork.com subscribe.