OPINION: ‘How a four-day event helped me change, become more motivated and set better goals’

Early last year I was diagnosed with a vitamin B deficiency and I was unable to work in my family’s business for several weeks. 

I have to say it was a depressing experience that gave me a lot of time to consider the future for both myself and the business.

I regularly listened to motivational podcasts that gave me a short-term boost, but I realised that I needed to find a more organised system to help me. One of my friends who I have a great deal of respect for told me about the Tony Robbins event she had attended. After investigating the four-day Unleash the Power Within (UPW) seminar online, I booked 12 months ahead for the event in London that took place in April this year.

The key highlight of UPW is the firewalk at the end of the first day. When I was two I burnt my feet at a feast I was taken to in India. I have never had any bad thoughts about the experience, so I was shocked to discover how my subconscious made the thought of the firewalk seem terrifying to me when other people who were attending the event started to talk about it.

UPW is made up of 12-hour days and has no programmed breaks, but I quickly found that I didn’t want to miss any of the high energy presentations. The key lesson of the four days is all about mindset, and the first day prepared the 14,000 people attending how to overcome the natural fear that walking on hot embers is going to hurt. For me, this was a big barrier that the techniques Tony Robbins revealed to his audience enabled me to break through.

Through mediation, visualisation, breaking out of my comfort zone and the support of the new friends who surrounded me, as well as the high-octane non-stop presentations, I gained a mindset that enabled me to join the firewalkers. To succeed was awesome.

The other three days were all about building on the insights gained during the first day. I have gained a massive understanding of how the correct mindset can deliver huge improvements in my life. 

Using the tools that I’ve learned, I have set myself two goals to achieve over the next year: Get my health right and get fit, then I will be fully able to work on the future of our business.

Read more: Managing mental health in the workplace