7 Lessons from Tony Robbins Book "#Unshakeable" for non financial personel

Last week and exact on 28th Feb 2017, Tony Robins released his new book "Unshakeable", which I had mentioned early that was one of the books that I am looking forward to read this year and I did!

John C. Bogle, the founder Vanguard had mentioned in the forward of the book that "Tony robins is a force of nature", possess the "energy and passion" to inspire others, then concluded that “This book will enlighten you and reinforce your understanding of how to master the money game and, in the long run, earn your financial freedom”.

Unshakeable Book is 256 pages. Tony Robbins had mentioned that it’s a small book that you can read in 4 hours – it took from me 8 hours. As well the profit of the book will be transferred to Feeding America to provide free meals for the hungry people- each book 50 meals; the book classified to three sections:

Section 1: Wealth: the rule book

Section 2: The Unshakeable Playbook

Section 3: The Psychology of Wealth.

In the book he shared a financial advices, from the top financial achievers and experts in the world such as; Howard Marks, Warren Buffet, Jack Bogle, David Swensen and Ray Dalio, and he focused mainly in the book to break the fear and how to help the readers to reduce the fees.

Here I have to confess: I read the book to get insight of Tony Robbins’s mind; what he is thinking about? What are the behaviors that he is suggesting to help us to coop with the current changes in the market and worldwide? and most what lessons that I could learn from him to help me in my career and life?

Even though he is one of the best coaches in the world, still he has published only three books before Unshakeable; Money master the game, Awaken the Giant within and unlimited power. which means he rarely write, that's why it’s crucial to read his book, especially for professionals who don't have the privilege to attend his expensive seminars (even it's worth the price you are paying for) moreover to know the prediction of the coming years since he blessed with the power of anticipation.

Unshakeable book helped me to find a new area for grow, and strengthen few skills that I am on my way to master them.

I had classified the lessons to seven as listed below, which help not only the financial experts but also any personel who is seeking growth in personal and career life

Lesson No. One: Being Presence,

Tony had shared the meaning of Unshakeable as: “a state of mind that will help you unwavering confidence even amidst the storm, when others are afraid, you have the presence of mind to take advantage of the turmoil swirling all around you. This state of mind allows you to be a leader not follower. To be the chess player, not the chess piece……”

To be presence, you need to break the fear since “Fear isn't rewarded. Courage is." Nelson Mandela had shared, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Tony had put a question “Does being fearless mean having no fear? No! It means fearing less.” And concluded that “if you live in fear, you’ve lost the game before it even begins.”

Presence is always connected to patient, “Greed and Impatience are dangerous traits when it comes to investing. We all have a tendency to want the biggest and best results as fast as possible, rather than focusing on small, incremental changes that compound over time.” Warren Buffet has shared, "the Stock Market is a device for transforming money from impatient to the patient"

My lesson was being presence in every moment of your life, as I had mentioned in my previous article that I had found “Presence Book for Amy Cuddy” is the best book that I have read on 2016, and here Tony Robbins confirmed the importance of being presence.

Lesson No. Two: Focus On What You Can Control, Not What You Can't.

“The first question that every great investor asks constantly is this: How can I avoid losing money? This may sound counterintuitive. After all, most of us focus on exactly the opposite question: “How can I make money?”

 “If you know your limitations, you can adapt and succeed. If you don’t know them, you’re going to get hurt”- ray Dalio.

The lessons is be grateful for what you have and ensure to focus in what you can control, not what you can’t.

Lesson No. Three: Enhance Your Decision Making Skill.

"Either you master your mind or it masters you." Our lives are shaped not by our conditions, but by our decisions, Decision making is a skill that not only financial personel needs to master but all professionals and even the people who look to have a better life, which needs better mind state, Tony wrote “The Single biggest threat to your financial Well-being is your own brain, …Human Brain is perfectly designed to make dumb decisions when it comes to investing…[Thus] The Brains are developed to avoid pain and seek pleasure, we yearn for whatever feels likely to be immediately rewarding. Needless to say this isn’t always the best recipe for smart decision making."

Tony had referred to few psychological phenomena’s and biases that affected the Decision of the financial advisers which will reflect on the market, in the book most of the phenomena’s and biases where supported with examples, like Bogle had mentioned “Tony, if you pack 1,024 gorillas in a gymnasium and teach them each to flip a coin, one of them will flip heads ten times in a row. Most would call that luck, but when that happens in the fund business, we call him a genius!”

Here below are some of the examples.

 “Behavior Finance” "which explores the cognitive biases and emotions that cause investors to act irrationally

"Endowment Effect" "in which investors place greater value on something they already own, regardless of its objective value!" Warren buffet “Investors project into the future what they have most recently been seeing. That is their unshakeable habit.” 

“Recency Bias,” "recent experience carry more weight in our minds when we’re evaluation the odds of something happening in the future."

"Home Bias", "is psychological bias that can affect the investing options, where people tend to stick with whatever they know best, preferring to trust what's most familiar that leads people to invest disproportionately in their own country's markets."

"Negativity bias" "Human beings have a natural tendency to recall negative experiences more vividly than they do positive ones."

"Loss Aversion" "is a Mental Phenomenon, which been introduced by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky which demonstrate that financial losses cause people twice as much pain as the pleasure they receive from financial gains".

“Overconfidence” is a psychological bias that "we consistently overestimate our abilities, our knowledge, and our future prospects. Human have a perilous tendency to believe that they’re better (or smarter) than they really are.”

“Confirmation bias” “which is the human tendency to seek out and value information that confirms our won preconceptions and beliefs… Our Brain is wired to seek out and believe information that validates you owning it. After all, our minds love proof- especially proof of how smart and right we’ve been. Investors often visit newsletter and message boards that reinforce their beliefs about the stocks they own.”

Finally Tony had concluded the best formula for having better brain thus having better decision

"Trust your heart. it knows what to do..... Your heart and mind aligned are a powerful force. When unified, they're unbeatable. "

Personally I fall in love with Economic behaviors, I read many books in the past 4 years, and I was right in strengthen my skills in that subject, still I am looking for more. This book gave me the boost to strengthen my skills in that subject and enhance my decision making process.

Lesson No. Four, Anticipation Is Power,

Franklin. Had said: “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Tony Robbins had shared at the introduction that "Knowledge is only potential Power….knowledge is your first defense” the he defines power as "The ability to shape and influence life’s circumstances. The fuel to produce extraordinary results."

Why prediction is important because "we’re not rewarded when we do the right thing at the wrong time" therefore “if you can’t predict the future, the most important thing is to admit it”.

"Unshakeable will show you how the masters of the financial world prepare themselves..... As a result, you’ll be able to benefit from the very thing that harms those who are unprepared....moreover the book will help you to figure who you can and cannot trust.....winter is always followed by springtime, and sometimes the seasons turn much quicker than you’d ever guess."

“What separates the money masters from the crowd is this ability to find a winning strategy and stick with it, so the odds are always strongly in their favor.”

The lesson again is Prediction is a power, Tony Robbins through his books and audio books keeps reminding us for the importance of the prediction, had helped me to enhance my power of prediction, even I wrote an article, with title, “We can't live in yesterday's standard and expect to be a winner today”.

Lessons No. five, Few New Terminology

Tony had shared few terms and added few vocabulary to my dictionary which I am sharing with you.

Hedge Fund, a private Fund available only to high-net-worth investors.

Mutual funds, a public find available to anyone.

Correction: “When any market falls by at least 10% from its peak...Historically, the average correction has lasted only 54 days—less than two months!... 80% of corrections don’t turn into bear markets.”

Bear Market: “When a market falls by at least 20% from its peak,...bear markets don’t last”

Tony described the professionals who manage the mutual funds "They aced their math tests in high school, studied economics and accounting, and earned MBAs from the world’s best graduate schools. Many of them even wear suits and ties! And they’re dedicated to researching and selecting the very best stocks for their funds to own.”

Antidote, a medicine taken of given to counteract a particular poison.

“Perilous Belief”: full of danger or risk, exposed to imminent risk of disaster or ruin.

Impenetrable Language: Impossible to understand.

Wall Street Journal had reported that there are more than 200 different designations for financial advisors, including “financial consultants,” “wealth managers,” “financial advisors,” “investment consultants,” “wealth advisors,” and “private wealth advisors.”

Parking Ticket example: "Bank of America had to shell out $415 million in fines for misusing its customers’ assets. Big deal! In one three-month period in 2015, the bank earned a profit of $5.3 billion. That’s in just 12 weeks! For companies this rich, those pesky fines are just a routine cost of doing business—the equivalent of you or me getting a parking ticket”

There are some certificates that the best financial advisor should have: RIAs, Registered investment Advisor, CFP, Certified Financial Planner, CPA

Asset allocation is simply a matter of establishing the right mix of different types of investments, diversifying among them in such a way that you reduce your risks and maximize your rewards.

 “lost decade” is Between 2000 and the end of 2009, because the S&P 500 was essentially flat despite its major swings.

“So why should I roll the dice by having high-risk surgery”

‘This time it’s different.” The four most expensive words in investing.

Bleak, lacking of vegetation and exposed to the elements.

Real Estate Investment Trusts. “They provide a no-hassle, low-cost way to diversify broadly, both geographically and across different types of property.”

Lesson No. , Six, the power of compounding,

“The real route to riches is to set aside a portion of your money and invest it, so that it compounds over many years....never underestimate the awesome power of disciplined saving combined with long-term compounding”

The lesson is; don’t underestimate the power of compounding, as Darren Hardy wrote a book, “the Compound effect” Tony had shared few examples to elaborate the importance of compounding.

Lesson No. Seven, Happiness Is Associated With Giving. 

“Why we need to win. The human brain isn't design to make us happy and fulfilled. Its designed to make us survive. when we're winning, our bodies release chemicals called endorphins, so we feel euphoric and don't want to stop; when we're losing, we don't want to stop either, since we crave those endorphins and also want to avoid the emotional pain of losses…Fulfillment is associate with two principles, Growth and Giving”

“Remember that money doesn't change people. it just magnifies who they already are. Real Wealth is emotional, psychological, and spiritual. if you're financially free, but you're suffering emotionally, then what kind of victory is that? Nothing enrich us as much as helping others.”

The lesson, our happiness is linked with contribution to others, Tony had mention about the happy chemicals, which was one of the books that I have read 2 months back, and I encourage everyone to read it, “meet your happy chemicals” again this may be related to “Confirmation Bias” that I am right in my selection.

Finally, you have to read the book to understand the rules of the finance game, I had just share the non financial lessons, still the best advice in the book, which applies to everything in your life.

“ Sow the same seeds as the most successful people, and you'll reap the same rewards. That’s how you'll achieve financial mastery. By studying the right models, you could learn in a week what might otherwise take you a decade.”