The #1 Takeaway From Tony Robbins’ New Book ‘Money’

Inspirational guru Tony Robbins’ best-selling Awaken the Giant Within came out in 1991. Since then Robbins has been too busy at conferences, on TV and elsewhere to publish another one. (Hey you awaken all those giants there’s work to do!) Until now. As usual, Robbins knows how to choose his subject. A preponderance of those giants apparently woke up wanting money–and so Robbins’ new book is called unsurprisingly MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom.

Robbins interviewed many of the top money managers in the world for MONEY and brings back wisdom from the edge. The problem, and the beauty, with the wisdom he delivers is that it’s not always about being right. In fact the #1 teaching piece of wisdom in Robbins’ new book is that you can’t predict the future. And, importantly, neither can the experts–indeed, the whole “thought leader” category is filled with people who are wrong a large percentage of the time. The #1 thing to know, given this, is that anything can happen and you should be prepared for it. Consult the experts, know your field, the landscape, what people are thinking. Then develop a plan and a backup plan. Set goals, but understand what informs them. Don’t mistake money for freedom–you might be able to achieve freedom cheaper than you think. Be open, listen and act. And try not to be disappointed when something you were sure about doesn’t work out so well. In that case you just got a lot closer to being an expert.