Everyone wants to find their inner genius and become more creative and productive at work. Most of us marvel at the inventiveness of great minds that have reshaped our world – icons like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Jack Bogle and Elon Musk. So how does one find that spark of energy and unleash big ideas?
Life coach, business strategist and best-selling author Tony Robbins says a simple technique can help you find that key dose of inspiration and fast-forward your career. It's a tried-and-true formula that has worked well for his famous clients over the years — from former president Bill Clinton and singer John Denver to Marc Benioff, the founder, chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce.com.
"The most important thing is to realize you need a change in your psychological and mental state," Robbins says. "We all have moments when great ideas just come to us. The fastest way to get yourself into this mindset is to find out what your trigger is."
That trigger is different for everyone, he notes. "It happens when your passion flows and goes into high gear." Robbins points out that for some people the trigger is music; for others it's meditation, a workout or a sprint. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach.
When singer John Denver had a mental block after his career's biggest hit "You Fill Up My Senses," he turned to Robbins for help. "The first thing I did was ask him when he got the inspiration and words for this famous ode to his wife, and he realized it was when he was skiing in Aspen," Robbins recalls. "The euphoria and freedom of mind no doubt unleashed his genius at the time. It was then that he uncovered the trigger that helped him go on to write more popular hit songs."
According to Robbins, who wrote "Awaken the Giant Within" and most recently "Unshakeable," it is very important to think about your ideas on a grand scale. "The size of your thinking reflects the size of your emotion. Big goals and big dreams inspire our creativity. The bigger they are, the bigger your success."
That was the case 14 years ago with Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce.com. When he attended a Tony Robbins' "Unleash the Power Within" event, he became confident that he could take a leap of faith and launch a cloud computer company to help service customers. He had a bold vision and followed his dream. Today his company boasts more than $8 billion in annual revenues and he has a reported net worth of $6.6 billion.
Big goals and big dreams inspire our creativity. The bigger they are, the bigger your success.Tony RobbinsLife coach and business strategist, author and entrepreneur
To gain focus and set a goal, Robbins suggests you ask yourself three questions: What results do I really want? What's my purpose? What do I need to do to achieve my goals?" Once you have those answers, you can develop a massive action plan, he says, that will boost the odds of success.
Teaming up with successful people that are doing creative things is also helpful, Robbins says. "You can bounce ideas off each other. The aim is to tap new people to help you experiment with big ideas and try new things." That's what Steve Jobs did when Apple was in trouble in 1997, Robbins recalls, adding that he decided to pivot and try something totally new. He took a leap of faith and designed colorful iMacs that shifted the company's product design dramatically, vaulting it into a coveted consumer product.
In today's world it is important to be creative, since it makes you more valued in the workplace, Robbins says, claiming that passion is the genesis of genius.
