When I first heard of Anthony Robbins, his own personal story was very uplifting to me. What he had been able to do in his own life established enough credibility with me to purchase one of his books in 1994. I'm a motivational book junkie - I've read them all! What I didn't realize at the time was that the small action of reading Awaken The Giant Within would completely change my way of thinking and my outlook on life. I was so inspired that I followed that small action with buying all of Robbins books and audiotapes.

I have always emphasized positive attitude and my own personal mental template would fit neatly into most self-help packages. Positive attitude was a key I held in living life, but I still had limitations. I was in the "positive attitude within your genetic coding" school of thought. In other words, we're all created with a genetic physical and mental structure and we can all have the best attitude regarding what we have. If you were born to be an endomorph, be the best endomorph you can be. If you were born to be a factory worker or a doctor, be the best you can be.

I saw life as one that could be very limited but one that you should be happy with and have a great attitude about. Anthony Robbins changed that for me. I will forever be in debt to him for that.

If I would have met Anthony Robbins before he completely turned his life around, I would have wanted him to be positive and happy, but I would have genetically coded him as a very basic man. A man that kept it simple and didn't expect much. At one point in his life he did not have the drive or ability to go to college. To this day he never has been to college. He was out of high school and broke. He was living in a 400 square foot studio apartment where he had to wash his dishes in the bathtub. He was thirty pounds over weight and very unhappy with floundering relationships and limited prospects. His top concern was keeping his broken down car running to get to his janitorial job at a local office building. Anthony Robbins was at rock bottom.

Then he changed his life. He changed his life in one day. On that one day he made a list of what he would no longer settle for in his life and a list of what he was going to achieve and who he was going to become. His books would come much later.

After that day, this is what he did during the following twelve months. He discovered the hidden power of his mind, he transformed his inhibitions into strengths, and he developed strategies for excellence. In twelve months his income surpassed a million dollars. He got married and moved his bride into a castle by the sea.

Now, he reaches tens of thousands of people each year with his proven programs for personal achievement. Robbins coordinates his internationally recognized seminars for professional athletes, politicians, Fortune 500 executives, housewives, and even children. I am often asked what book of his I would recommend and I consider Awaken The Giant Within and Unlimited Power his two best.

Awaken The Giant Within was written after Unlimited Power and it definitely goes to a new level. If you're ready to blast the roof off of your house, go straight to Awaken The Giant Within.

Anthony Robbins taught me that I cannot put limits on myself or the people I work with. Absolutely no limits! I am no longer in the "genetic limit" school of thought. I am now in the "no-one-has-ever-reached-their-genetic-potential" school of thought. Unlike a traditional book review, I am withholding specific examples of strategies and chapters in his books. I want you to dive in and take one of these books for a ride one chapter at a time. I will always remember the three days in 1994 that I spent reading Awaken The Giant Within. It was a page-turning roller coaster thrill ride that changed the course of my life.