Far be it from me to claim I know more about achieving success than the legendary Tony Robbins. But was he wrong when he presented the cornerstone of his method for creating wealth and success?
I first crossed paths with Tony in 1993, during a major motivational event in Tampa, Florida. The man was an imposing figure, tall, but when he shook my hand, I realized that he was no mere giant—he was a true colossus. His hand dwarfed mine, and I couldn’t even get my fingers fully around it. He was addressing a crowd of a thousand, offering advice worth more than the $200 ticket price.
What was his most profound, life-altering counsel for success?
If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.”
Simple. Clear. Obvious. So how could it possibly be wrong?
Well, it can be. And the reason lies in a fundamental mistake many business owners make when they launch their enterprises: The person you’re emulating was operating in a very different competitive landscape than the one you face today. Even if you’re the first to attempt copying them, you’re not really first to market. You’ve got at least one competitor that your role model didn’t have: Your Role Model. And the chances of being the first to imitate the role model you choose? Slim.
So what did Tony truly mean when he spoke of emulating success?
He didn’t mean merely duplicating the business process. He meant emulating the very journey your role model took to create their success. To illustrate, let’s look at a prime example of industry disruption.
Let’s go back a few decades to the era of video rentals.
In those days, to rent a movie, you had to drive to a store like Blockbuster, wander the aisles, hoping the movie you wanted was available. This ritual often ended in disappointment, especially on a Friday night when you hoped to grab Ghostbusters—but ended up with Bloodsuckers from Outer Space (yes, that’s a real title from the same year).
But then, a small startup identified an opportunity to disrupt this industry. According to Tony’s advice, all you’d need to do is open another video rental store, find a prime spot, stock up on VHS tapes, and hope customers would prefer you to the entrenched Blockbuster down the street.
The path to success wasn’t about imitating Blockbuster—it was about challenging it. And who dared to do this?
Netflix.
Wait… the streaming video channel that you keep checking back to see when the next season of The Witcher will drop?
Yes, that Netflix—the same company you turn to, awaiting the next season of The Witcher. And they took on a titan that had been embedded in the industry for over a decade. They didn’t follow in Blockbuster’s footsteps; they disrupted the whole game.
Netflix saw the problem—the time wasted in a fruitless trip to the video store—and turned it into an opportunity. They didn’t open physical stores or stuff their movies into vending machines. Instead, they revolutionized the system with a simple mail subscription service. Pay a monthly fee, get all the movies you want, and return them at your leisure. No hunting through aisles. No long waits. You just opened your mailbox, and there was the movie you wanted—often on the very day it was released.
So, if you were looking to compete with Netflix in 1997, what would you have done?
- Open your own warehouse
- Compile an email list
- Start mailing DVDs?
That would’ve been a mistake. Within months, Netflix had already claimed dominance in the home movie delivery market. But they didn’t do it by mimicking Blockbuster. They followed a strategy Blockbuster had used to dominate its market—but took it in a fresh, disruptive direction. Netflix recognized that a segment of consumers would be eager to hand over their credit card information to an out-of-state company if it meant convenience. And what’s more, there would be no late fees. Ever.
They identified the pain points of Blockbuster’s customers and crafted a model that would eventually render Blockbuster obsolete.
When streaming emerged, threatening to do to Netflix what Netflix had done to Blockbuster, Netflix didn’t panic. They were first to market, delivering the best movies and shows. They applied the same disruptive approach to this new iteration of the industry, ensuring their continued dominance.
So, Tony’s advice was fundamentally correct, but it’s often misunderstood. What you need isn’t a blueprint to replicate others; you need to find those who have successfully disrupted industries, and emulate their journey. Seek counsel from those who have rewritten the rules of the game, and learn how to disrupt effectively.
That’s the true lesson Tony imparted. And now, the question is: Will you embark on the adventure of disrupting your own industry?
The treasure lies in the journey.
