By Ahmed al-Akber/Dubai

Wow, what a conference! Tony Robbins put on a stellar learning experience for people all over the world in Las Vegas recently. I went with my wife, Olivia, as we both run our own businesses. There were people from all over the world that had come to see Tony and his group of world-class business figures and thought leaders.
There were a ton of things I learned and experienced during the five days so distilling them down into core takeaways was quite a challenge. Here they are:
1) Eighty per cent of success is psychology. If you’re like me, you sometimes get too caught up with your to-do list much of the time, hoping that as long as things are ticked off, you are progressing. But we forget that much of the time that if we doubt ourselves or don’t have concrete outcomes to achieve, those to-dos just become busy work – a way to keep busy and disconnected from our main goals.
On the other hand, you may have big goals to achieve, but as cliche as this sounds, if you don’t believe in them or yourself, you are at a significant disadvantage. Studies show that people that are more resilient and positive fair far better than those that give up early and are pessimistic.
2) What business are you in? What business are you (really) in? It’s acceptable to answer the first question with an answer like “consultant”, “accountant”, or “lawyer”, though these don’t mean anything to the receiver. But the second question is asking something different. It’s looking for your “why” – the all-important piece of your communication that makes the receiver understand what motivates you about being in this business and its ultimate benefit to customers. It’s a far deeper question that requires a far deeper answer.
And it’s the answer that makes receivers take notice – no longer are you a “restaurant operator”, but someone that enriches people’s lives every day with delicious, healthy food. A “small business lawyer” becomes the “defender of high-growth companies”, and so on.
3) Proximity is power. The more you connect with people, the more opportunities come to you. Sitting in an office behind a desk all the time is not the way to achieve this. You must get in front of people. These can be through networking, speaking, asking for referrals, or other means that get you to meet people that can either buy from you or introduce you to people they know that might need what you sell.
While much of these things may seem a little obvious to you, Tony’s method of delivery of these simple concepts are what makes the conference – it’s not what he says, but how he says it, that energises and gets the audience to take action.