Tony Robbins Discusses His New Network And ‘Feeling Very Fulfilled’

Being a longtime coach, public speaker, bestselling author and entrepreneurial business leader across a plethora of industries, saying that Tony Robbins has made bettering the lives of others his life’s work would be an understatement.

“I’ve been doing this 48 years,” Robbins, 65, told me during our recent Zoom interview. “I’m actually about three or four months from my 49th year, which blows my mind. I’ve had the privilege of serving about 100 million people through events, and then more than a billion people through all videos and things of that nature.”

Just prior to our conversation, Robbins shared that he had just finished a four-day event in Anaheim, California alongside his wife Sage, as they hosted 17,000 people from 104 countries – adding that the first day went for 13 hours straight, without a food break for him, followed by 12 hours straight the second day, where they were able to create around 50 hours of content. “My body’s a little gone, but I’m very satisfied – very happy and feeling very fulfilled, and so is my family.”

After all that he has achieved for himself and for those around him, what could possibly be next for Robbins? Well, by making his in-demand events, his consistent wisdom and his everyday practices accessible to even more people – and for free!

Robbins recently debuted his Tony Robbins Network (TRN) from FAST channel and Paramount Global. The new 24/7 streaming outlet debuted October 1 on Prime Video, Roku and Pluto TV, featuring brand new shows that highlight Robbins’ proven methods to improve one’s life – from health, relationships, spirituality, business, finance and more. TRN also showcases interviews with various business leaders, celebrities and experts within their respective fields, as well as offers the widespread public the opportunity to tune into his live events.

Robbins credits the current state of our world and the impact of getting our news through social media lately as major factors that have motivated him to start this new network and business venture.

“People are very fearful. It’s not the most stressful time in human history, not even slightly, but it’s the most psychologically stressful time, I think. People today are processing so much more information. If I could find a format – and so, when I started talking to Paramount about FAST channel, I said – I really like this idea, especially because we’re starting out here in English speaking, but we’re going to be expanding this to every country in the world. So, I think a combination of those things make now the time to serve as many people as possible.”

During this expanding moment within his celebrated career and mission, I was curious what Robbins continues to pride himself on most around the opportunities he has built for himself and for others over the decades. With Robbins standing at around six feet, six inches tall and with me knowing that he was born on a leap year date of February 29, I playfully shared that he seems to have always been destined to take the road less traveled, ever since birth.

Robbins said, “I pride myself on the ability to create engagement, because in life and in business, I think engagement is everything. When people are sad, frustrated, overwhelmed, if you look at the biggest challenge in business today, it’s measurable – it’s engagement, right? People think by doing the minimum, they’re going to be happier, but all the studies show they’re not. Then, there’s active disengagement, which are people doing the minimum and trying to hurt the company. The difference between management and leadership, is management you can get people to do things while you’re watching them – while you’re directing them. Leadership is when you get people to think differently – to raise their standards, to shift their values.”

When it comes to the hot topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robbins does not shy away from it, sharing with me that he has his own AI business, which allows him to coach people 24/7 without him having to be there, physically. “I see this as another opportunity that’s for anybody – the mom struggling with two kids at home, the kid in Bangladesh, the teenager here in Michigan trying to figure out what to do – costing nothing. They can turn on and they can immerse as much as they want 24/7, as just another option. I don’t think it’s going to change the world, but it’ll change things for the people that are hungry. That’s who my audience is, Jeff. Some people are born with hunger – like the greatest athletes, business people, entertainers, CEOs. Those are the people that always come to me first, because they’re already hungry.”

Being a time in our society when branding around social media is more of an expectation than an option in achieving consistent and favorable public engagement, I reminded Robbins that one of the headlines on his official Instagram and X pages is, “Empowering millions to live a life of meaning.” So, how does Robbins best live a life of meaning himself today?

“Often I’ll say – Well, where the hell do you get your energy? Because I am going to go 13-14 hours and it is not casual. There was no lunch break. There was 13 straight hours and nobody left the building and people around the world in their homes were engaged. How do you do that? That energy comes when you have something you care about more than yourself that you want to serve. I really believe that. It’s not hard to meet your own needs. Not today, not in the world we live in today. You can do it in so many basic ways, but to serve something, to feel called to something – to have a calling, whether it’s your kids or whether it’s your husband or your wife, or whether it’s your community or it’s your business or something that you philosophically are aligned with or some nonprofit. It doesn’t matter what it is – your church – something that gives people energy, and that’s also what gives us meaning.”

Over the years, Robbins has not only retained his elevated branding position as a business leader, but he has continued to expand upon his creative possibilities in a wide range of industries.

“We do over $10 billion in business across radically different industries, from hospitality, my resort in Fiji, to my AI companies, to education companies, to the movie business. All of that is possible because I kept growing and trying to find ways to contribute, and then gradually learned aspects of business that work. Since you’ve got a Forbes magazine audience, the most important key to growing a business above anything else is psychology. I’m a strategist. I believe the right strategy can save you a decade or two. The secret is to fall in love with your customer – not your product, not your service, because products and services have a limited life today. Satisfied customers go away, but raving fans stay.”

As I concluded my conversation with Robbins, I wondered if there is one message that he would like to share with people from all walks of life today. What do you feel that we all would benefit from hearing right now, that you would like to share most of all?

Robbins said, “I would say don’t sell yourself short. Don’t settle for less than you can be, do, share or create – because that’s what life is. My core message is the best days are still ahead of us, as long as we grow. It doesn’t matter – technologies come and go. AI is not going to go – it’s going to get bigger, but it is our job to use what life gives us and not fall into the trap of fear. Face your fear, step through it and you will find the other side is not a fearful place. It’s a beautiful place that you are waiting to be.”