If you haven’t heard of Anthony (Tony) Robbins, you are one of few people unfamiliar with the personal development giant. Anthony Robbins is undoubtedly the world leader in life coaching. He has become the face of self-help and motivation – though he does not like being categorized as a motivational speaker because he does much more than motivate people.

Awaken the Giant Within starts with a powerful chapter on decisions. Robbins says there are decision-making points in your life that drastically shape your destiny. Whether it is getting a new job, reading a book, or deciding to converse with that one person who turned out to be your future partner, this first chapter will have you realize the power of these decisions.

Additional chapters will have you plan your values, adjust your beliefs, and change your everyday use of questioning and vocabulary to get you where you want to be. These adjustments are made to maximize the pleasure and minimize the pain. Robbins says we often fail to create values, beliefs, and other components that make up our identity in a way that uses the principle of pain and pleasure. Nearly everyone desires to be successful, but the pleasure of success gets smashed down from the pain of rejection or criticism needed to achieve success. I felt this is where the book’s heart and power is at.

Some people have categorized Awaken the Giant Within as a basic neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) book, but it is much more. Parts of Robbins’ book is dedicated to NLP, though the book draws on many areas of psychology, neurology, and behavioral science to provide an outline that empowers you to take control of your life – without the jargon many NLP books contain.

You need to read it if you want control over behaviors that shape your destiny.

The self-help giant reveals techniques to remove phobias, master your emotions, eliminate bad habits like smoking, shape your values, and create new references for increased confidence. You need to read it if you want control over behaviors that shape your destiny.

The only downfalls of the book, which other people have noticed, is the wordiness and promotional content in the book. These two problems to me though are nothing in contrast to the power of the lessons contained in the book. A few extra hours of reading is definitely worth it if you can gain more control of your life. If you were to only read the 500-page book for guidance on how to use pain and pleasure, you would control your behaviors and create your future. To me, the principles of pain and pleasure were the book’s strongest point.

I took over five pages of A4 notes and have begun implementing in everyday action what I discovered. I am changing my vocabulary to control my emotions, redirecting my point of focus to something empowering, making pain and pleasure work for me instead of against me, and breaking miserable states so I am happier than ever. This was made easier by the seven day plan given at the end of the book that will have you implement lessons in previous chapters.

Awaken the Giant Within is a simple though powerful read. Because Anthony Robbins authored the book, that should be enough reason to get you reading it. Grab your copy of the book now from Amazon by clicking here.

Update: To learn simple NLP techniques that help you create success and gain rapport with people, Anthony Robbins’ other book Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement is a brilliant read. He covers internal representations, physiology, energy, role models, and more to guide you towards success. Get both great books.