Thrive: 30 Inspirational Rags-to-Riches Stories

Tony Robbins

Anthony "Tony" Robbins was born Anthony J. Mahavorick in North Hollywood, California. His father was a parking garage attendant and his mother was a homemaker. The eldest of three children, Tony's birth parents divorced when he was seven, and his mother remarried twice. One husband, Jim Robbins, a semi-professional baseball player, adopted Tony. At Glendora High School, Tony excelled in his studies and was elected student body president during his senior year. Despite his academic success, his home life was chaotic and abusive. On Christmas Eve, when Tony was seventeen, his mother chased him out of the house with a knife. Tony left and never returned.

Tony stayed at a friend's house, trying to figure out what to do with his life. He called his uncle, who owned a cleaning business, and asked him for a job. Working as a janitor on late nights, Tony rode the bus to and from work and often did not sleep until 3:00 a.m. Following the advisement of his high school guidance counselor, who said he had enough credits to graduate, Tony left school to concentrate on supporting himself. His mother insisted that his uncle fire Tony, so he could learn how to support himself on his own, not using family. Tony agreed.

Tony took a sales job, which he found in the local newspaper, selling music club subscriptions door to door. He proved to be a good salesman, and in just a few months after leaving high school, Tony earned enough money to move into his own apartment. While making a sales pitch to a new customer, he learned about self-help guru Jim Rohn. The customer took great interest in Tony and informed him about one of Rohn's upcoming seminars. Tony attended, and at the end of the seminar, he approached Rohn and asked him for a job. Rohn gave him one, and Tony promoted Rohn's seminars to businesses all over Los Angeles, California, earning over $3,000/month.

After graduating from high school, Tony immersed himself into his new career. He kept a journal and read as many books on psychology and personal development as he could. He was eventually promoted to having his own office and earned over $10,000/month. However, as his career was taking off, Tony's personal life deteriorated. He had broken up with his girlfriend and his friends grew jealous of his success. Tony was stunned, as his success was making him lonelier than ever. He started sabotaging himself by not showing up to sales meetings and eating excessively. He gained thirty-eight pounds and his business was failing. At twenty-one years old, he moved into an apartment on Venice Beach, California, where he spent most of his days watching soap operas.

One day, Tony forced himself out of his apartment and began jogging along the beach. Staring out at the waves, he decided to take back control of his life. Tony turned his life around and began conducting his own seminars at a friend's house in Vancouver, Canada. He ended his seminars with a firewalking exercise in his friend's backyard. The exercise proved that, using their minds, anyone can overcome their fears, including walking on fire. Tony grew his reputation as a self-help guru through a series of radio guest appearances, and he eventually moved his seminars back to California. He achieved mainstream success through infomercials promoting his products and through his bestselling books, Unlimited Power (1987) and Awaken the Giant Within (1991).