Last Friday I attended the Pendulum Summit, the ‘world’s leading business and self-empowerment summit’, according to www.pendulumsummit.com, writes Vincent McCarthy.
There were a couple of interesting speakers in the first part of the day, the standout for me being Rasmus Ankersen, a performance and development coach who shared some interesting insights on finding talent and performance analytics.
In truth, the event was sold as the Tony Robbins show, with the promise of his ‘5-hour masterclass to transform your life’. If you haven’t heard of Tony Robbins, in his humble biography on his website he describes himself as a ‘world authority on leadership psychology’, the ‘father of the life coaching industry’, a ‘peace negotiator and humanitarian’, and a ‘strategic advisor to world leaders’.
Trance Music
I arrive just before 9am at the convention centre, doors have been open since 7.15am for the ‘3,200 business leaders’ attending. Confusion fills me as I enter the dark packed auditorium. Why is there some guy on stage dancing to 90’s trance music blaring I wonder? That set the tone for what would follow in the afternoon.
As the day progresses and we move through the various speakers, we are consistently reminded of our date with destiny, the 5-hour masterclass with the ‘world’s #1 life and business strategist’.
In Association with
The 1pm timeslot approaching the organisers have sufficiently built the anticipation. Tony Robbins enters the stage, loud and boisterous with music blaring. My first impression is that Tony is a big man. ‘Usually, I only do 5 day courses minimum so you are lucky, I have created a special 5 hour masterclass for you.'
After terrible banter for the local crowd - ‘I hear you like a craic in Ireland’ - Robbins sets the scene and promises to exceed our expectations, reminding of us that we have already done more than everyone else - we have taken the first step to change.
Nonsense
‘Turn to the person beside you, look in their eyes and tell them I own you and celebrate for 30 seconds. Go full tilt, like you are at a rugby match,’ shouts Tony, all with the purpose of ‘getting our energy flowing’.
Oh dear, what I am doing here I think? This is nonsense. I check myself to keep an open mind, but I can’t bring myself to utter these words to the person beside me, or to join the other 3,200 people in a 30 second rave with the music blaring and the giant up front jumping around like a mad man.
Blaring music is a feature of the Robbins show, with carefully choreographed moves all part of the act. Tony Robbins has this down to a science in terms of how he delivers his show, and ultimately how he gains trust, influences people through the subconscious and inspires the illusion that he is sharing something ground-breaking.
After much waffle, he shares the two ‘master skills’ that we have to learn. The first is the ‘science of achievement’. After sharing thoughts on achievement and success, Robbins goes on to tell us that it doesn’t matter what you achieve if you don’t master the second skill, the ‘art of fulfilment’. Unlike achievement, fulfilment is ‘unique for each person. That’s why it is an art not a science’.
Name Dropping
The name dropping continues, this time with a story. ‘My good friend Steve Wynn calls me, the billionaire owner of Wynn Resorts. Tony, I have bought this painting by Rothko for $80 million, you have to see it.' We are shown a picture painting on the big screens, of what looks like a canvas painted red, by an artist called Rothko.
Robbins continues to share his interaction with his Wynn. ‘You are crazy, did you really pay $80 million for that, get me some paint and I’ll paint that.’ The message - we are fulfilled by different things. Simple, but explained in a long drawn out way, and in the context of another billionaire he rubs shoulders with. Wow, Tony has some life, you can see the audience being reeled in.
One of the ways Tony Robbins sells himself so successfully is by framing how people perceive him. He does this by consistently reminding the audience of the successful people he advises, their wealth and his own wealth generated through his methods. People then see him as an expert that can be followed to achieve the same success.
(As it turns out, Robbins didn’t show the full painting. I have looked it up and the painting is ‘No 1 Royal Red and Blue’. It doesn’t really change the message, but two colours were left out).
Cheap Shot
He is not finished explaining the importance of fulfilment yet. He asks the audience ‘who here loves Robin Williams?’ to which everyone raises their hands. In full flow, Tony Robbins continues to list out the achievements of the man, the various accolades, the wife, the family.
‘Williams got everything he wanted,’ he exclaims. A brief pause, followed by a loud roar, ‘and he hung himself’. The audience is suitably stunned. ‘See, that’s the price of achievement without fulfilment.’ A picture of Robin Williams comes up on the big screens, underneath his smiling face, the years 1951-2014.
Robin Williams was a legend. I loved him in Good Will Hunting, my favourite film and a movie he earned an Oscar for. A cheap sales tactic by Tony Robbins I think to myself, at the expense of a man who suffered from clinical depression. Big corporate money has paid for this guy to come to Ireland? Do they really want to be a part of this?
Tony’s declaration at the start of the show sticks in my head. ‘I have talked hundreds of people down from suicide, I am the guy they call when their son is threatening suicide, and thankfully I haven’t lost anyone yet.’ I wonder was the link intentional.
Of course it was mixed in somewhere with saving Serena Williams after her meltdown, being called by Bill Clinton when he was facing impeachment, and how he has ‘personally fed 100 million Americans’, so it is hard to know.
Two States
Finally Robbins moves on to something new. There are only two states: the ‘beautiful state’ – made of things like learning, hope etc, and the ‘suffering state’ i.e. feelings of frustration and stress.
‘Stress is now the achiever’s word for fear,’ Tony reminds us as he explains the flight or fight response of our two million year old brain. His goal is ‘to end our suffering’ and for us to operate in ‘peak state’ (the beautiful state).
We’re told to get into groups of three to share a powerful experience when we were in peak state, with Tony repeatedly shouting out, ‘remember exactly how that made you feel’. Is this for real I wonder? After we’re done sharing, he looks to hear from some audience members. The first tells her story of dragon boat racing. To me, she sounds like a plant.
The second person tells her story of conquering her fear of water and swimming. ‘How did that make you feel?’ ‘I felt if I can do that I can do anything’. ‘Did that change anything else in your life?’ ‘I asked a boy out’. Cue the choreographed Marvin Gaye ‘Let’s get it on’ music. Coincidence or what? Robbins continues: ‘And how has that gone, where he is now?’ ‘He is probably at home cooking dinner now’. ‘Give her a hand.’ The inspiration is flowing, tainted or not.
The Antidote
The same exercise is repeated for people to share their worst experience, again the emphasis on the feelings it conjured. My worst feeling I think? Probably heartache and that feeling of loss, not something I care to get into with a room full of 3,200 recent converts to the way of Robbins. This is nonsense I think again, and my mind wanders. The music blares and we’re told to repeat our 30-second energy ritual, ‘I own you’.
Finally, we are given ‘the antidote’ to suffering! He flashes it on the big screen:
+ Appreciate and enjoy – it can be anything
+ Learn or grow
+ Love, give or be grateful.
Back to talking about ending suffering. ‘Now list the reasons why you need to end your suffering,’ we are told, but first another 30 seconds dance ritual. I check the time - it is 3.15pm. I look around and ponder his question and the events of the last two hours, and I choose to end my suffering there and then.
I grab my coat under my chair and make a swift exit as the ‘business leaders’ wave hysterically, celebrations as jubilant as I witnessed at the Aviva stadium when Ireland qualified for the Euros in France. Are these the guys shaping the future of Ireland? A sobering thought.
Lucky Escape
Outside the convention centre, the cold breeze hits me and I revel in my own feeling of empowerment escaping the cult like atmosphere of the conditioned crowd. The 40-minute walk home along the canal was time much better spent, to reflect in peace on some of the changes I’ve already thought about making in 2016, prior to the arrival of what one Twitter twit called ‘the messiah’.
Reading an article on the event later, it seems I had a lucky escape: ‘Later, they gave each other back massages, with Robbins shouting at them to ‘tell them if you want it hard or soft’. ‘Hard or soft,’ he roared again, urging, ‘make a little noise if it feels good,’ as the audiences laughingly obliged.’
The hysteria inside the convention centre was a reminder of the human behaviour that drives financial market bubbles. I am huge believer in personal development and committed to continuous learning. There are some great books from some amazing authors, which can be very helpful for people. The Tony Robbins show just isn’t my cup of tea.
You can follow Vincent McCarthy, CFA, on Twitter at @askthevman
