Tony Robbins

Tony's books have some useful frameworks and his early work on psychology was solid, but he's become a self-help industrial complex. His investment advice shouldn't be trusted, his relationships with some partners are ethically questionable, and everything is designed to get you in the funnel for more expensive programs.

I went to one of his seminars and left feeling energized but realized pretty quick that the actual frameworks weren't new or deep. He's a master at making you feel like change is possible through sheer charisma and group psychology, not because he's given you better tools. Also the up-selling never stops.

Tony's events are high-energy and genuinely transformative for some people, but it's mostly theater and psychological manipulation. His courses are absurdly expensive, his financial advice has gotten people in trouble, and he's not a licensed therapist giving therapy-adjacent advice. The scarcity marketing is manipulative.