I know many will disagree, but first, let's do a pop quiz.

What do Christopher Nolan, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, and Steven Spielberg have in common?

They never went to film school.

Here's a little fun fact about Tony Robbins, the world's highest paid life coach:

He never received a life coaching certification. In fact, he had a chaotic childhood and never went to college. After high school, he left home to work as a janitor.

How did these guys do it?

If want you make a living, get formal education. If you want make a fortune, get self-education and mentorship.

At age 15, Robbins learned speed-reading and reading one book a day. He read over 700 books on psychology, physiology, sociology, and human development, as well as numerous biographies, in seven years.

At age 17, while earning only $40 a week as a janitor, he spent $35 to attend a seminar by motivational speaker Jim Rohn.

Robbins became Rohn's assistant and seminar promoter. He embraced Rohn's core philosophies on personal development, later adding his own high-energy delivery style, proprietary frameworks, and beliefs.

In his early 20s, Robbins studied Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) under its co-creators, John Grinder and Richard Bandler.

Robbins' philosophy of fast results in helping people overcome trauma, fear, etc. ruffled a lot of feathers in the therapist community, but his polarizing, controversial views drew attention.

Robbins excelled at selling to groups, not 1-to-1. He included firewalking in his seminars as a metaphor for overcoming fear. This became an instant media magnet and word-of-mouth engine.

He hosted live events where he cured audience members of their worst phobias (e.g., fear of heights, snakes, or public speaking) with Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) in minutes. This public proof instantly converted skeptics into paying clients.

So how did he grow his brand really big?

In the late 80s and early 90s, Robbins bypassed corporate gatekeepers by selling books and cassettes directly to consumers through infomercials, earning millions. Of the many who bought, many upgraded to personal coaching and/or attending his live events.

He translated his live-event philosophies into more best-selling books. His books served as high-credibility, low-cost marketing tools that reached a global audience.

By the way, none of his fans inquire about his nonexistent, overpriced ICF certification or what Ivy League school he attended to earn a psychology degree. Many of my podcast guests who are successful coaches don't own certifications.

Robbins loves to say that success leaves clues. Robbins's success sure does leave clues. As a life coach, I want you to follow the trail Tony Robbins blazed.

Robbins used self-education, grit, optimism, mentorship, television, books, charismatic persona, inspiring story, selling to groups, novel ideas and gimmicks, unique philosophy and style, fast results, controversy, etc.

Back in his day, getting on television, finding a publishing company, working with a high quality mentor, etc. was difficult. Tony had to spend millions purchasing TV infomercial blocks to distribute his books and cassettes. However, with the advent the internet, social media, self-publishing, Zoom, AI, etc., the playing field is level.