Tony Robbins

By Real Leaders In times of great uncertainty, leadership is the most valuable skill you can have. Regardless of what’s happening around you as a leader, there’s a part of you that’s strong. Call on that part of you. The part of you that’s hungry. The part of you that’s courageous in the face of unfathomable fear. The part of you that won’t put up with excuses. Tony Robbins shows us how. he 35,000-seater auditorium has gone silent, and the devoted crowds seeking leadership inspiration have disappeared, yet the influence of Tony Robbins still looms large, despite being holed up in his home. “Remember, you are a creator of your life, not a manager of your circumstance,” he tells us from a safe social distance of 1,000 miles. Robbins has spent the past two decades making people aware of the power of decisions and how to achieve emotional mastery. He thinks that even a global pandemic cannot stop our inherent human desire to overcome adversity. For Robbins, millions in revenue and a two-year run of sold-out live- events, evaporated within a fewmonths when the coronavirus hit. Yet, like a true leader he’s adapted and remains characteristically upbeat and philosophical about the state of the world. He continues to hold virtual events during the COVID-19 lockdown, but like many others, does so via large-scale Zoom events and his podcast. “Crises are part of history and occur across generations,” he says. “We’ll all face one at some point if we’re lucky enough to live 80 years or more. When you’re a student of history, like I am, you look at the current pandemic and realize this has happened before. The key is to ask yourself: ‘What can I learn from history and what can I learn frommy own life experience today?’ T 12 REAL-LEADERS.COM / FALL 2020 FOCUS ON CREATION COVER STORY: CRISIS LEADERSHIP PLAYBOOK “ JONATHAN LEIBSON / GETTY IMAGES FOR SAMSUNG