Anthony Robbins teaches a concept that he calls the “Ultimate Success Formula”. Regardless of what you want to do or accomplish in life, you can use this formula to achieve it. This is the third of five installments explaining the details of this formula. Read part one and part two.
Step #3: Take Massive Action.
If you want to achieve your desired outcome, you are going to have to take action. Massive action. It is that simple.
Tony says that anyone who has been rewarded in public for their successes has spent lots of time taking massive action in private. For example, athletes such as Tiger Woods spend years practicing before they ever make it into the public eye. They had a desired outcome, had a strong enough reason, and spent years working at it. As a result, the average person mistakes their years of experience for “natural talent” and “luck”.
As an example, Tony told the rags to riches story of Sylvester Stallone:
Years ago, Stallone was broke and living in New York. He had no money for food or electricity. He had to pawn his wife’s jewelery just for food money. Eventually, he even had to sell his dog because he could not afford to feed it and needed the money for his family.
Stallone looked for work as an actor, asking agents again and again, more than 1,000 times total. After watching a boxing match, he got the inspiration for the film “Rocky”, and spent 24 hours straight writing the first draft. Then he began trying to sell the film– with himself in the lead role. Everyone rejected it.
Eventually, he got an offer for $125,000 for his script. But they did not want him to star in it. (They envisioned Ryan O’Neil for the role.) However, Stallone wanted to be an actor, so he walked away from the offer.
The offer price rose to $250,000, and eventually to $325,000, as long as Stallone would not star in the picture. But he refused.
“Are you insane?”, they asked him.
“No, I’m Rocky”, he responded.
Stallone eventually took $35,000 plus a percentage of the profits of the film. (Obviously, things turned out well.)
After closing the deal, the first thing he did was go back to get his dog, Butkus. Stallone sold the dog for $25 just six weeks before. He offered $125, and then $500 for the dog. The new owner refused. Stallone ultimately paid $15,000 plus a part in the movie to get his dog back.
How do you get started? Develop a plan of attack– a “massive action plan”. List every outcome you want and any possible action you can take that may help you achieve your goal. Brainstorm. Even if the idea sounds crazy, write it down.
When you make the list, highlight the actions that you know are essential to achieveing your goal. If you make 20 possible actions, for example, you might have five actions that must be done.
You may not know how to achieve your outcome. That is fine. Just because you do not know every step does not mean you should not begin the journey. What you need to do is try anything you can, and whatever it takes, to get you in the right direction. Once you know your outcome, focus on the process. Take it one step at a time.
Trying to learn by your own experience can be expensive in both time and money. Wherever possible, you should try to learn from others. Take some time, and do the research. Why should you spend ten years of your life learning by trial and error when you can spend a day or two reading a book?
One thing you can do to speed things up is to find someone that has done exactly what you wish to achieve. Use them as a model. And do exactly what you are doing. According to Anthony Robbins, “If there is one idea in life you want to master, it is the idea of modeling.. the idea that success leaves clues.”
One technique that Tony Robbins teaches is called RPM - the Rapid Planning Method. According to one web site, “RPM is Tony’s fastest way to results. It is a system to manage your time and also help you achieve the satisfaction you desire.”
The Rapid Planning Method consists of three parts:
- The result you want to achieve.
- Your purpose for doing so, ie. why you want that outcome.
- A massive action plan.
Details of this plan are scattered around various programs, including “Get The Edge” and “Time Of Your Life”. Fortunately, you can learn about and use this planning method without buying any Anthony Robbins programs. Here is how:
- Read “Turning GTE/TOYL/PPII Techniques into a Workable RPM Plan”, a thread from the Anthony Robbins web community.
- Develop a tracking system. One way is to download this Excel worksheet. It contains templates for use with the RPM planning system.
- If you have questions or need clarification, a good place to start is the Anthony Robbins Community forums. They are a set of message boards where people like you and I can ask questions, get answers, share goals, and meet like-minded people that want to live their dreams. And best of all, they are free!
