Tony Robbins vs. SAGE: Do You Need to Reinvent Yourself or Free Yourself?

Is the drive for certainty keeping you stuck?

Last week, I had two strikingly different experiences that forced me to reflect on the nature of personal transformation.

I was teaching an online class with a group of 30 people on The Power of Awe, which is both the subject and title of a book I co-authored. The course explored how to access awe, a uniquely positive emotion that expands perception, enhances well-being, and deepens our sense of connection. As the discussion unfolded, we explored profound questions about anxiety, identity, and control. How do we relate to uncertainty? Do we cling to fixed ideas of self or allow our identity to evolve? What does it mean to take ownership of our experience?

The conversation was deep, and at the end of the session, I sent a letter inviting participants to continue. I asked if they had questions or wanted to explore more, and I offered to respond personally.

No one replied.

A few days later, I participated in an online Tony Robbins seminar. The contrast was stark—1.3 million people from around the world, cheering, high-fiving, dancing. The energy was electric. Participants were in a heightened state, fully immersed in an experience of empowerment and transformation.

This contrast left me questioning myself:

• Am I out of step with the world today?

• Do people even want depth, or do they just want to feel better?

• Is the high-energy, certainty-driven approach the only way to reach people?

However, as I sat with these questions, I began to see the difference not as a problem but as a distinction in approaches.

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The Power and the Essence of Tony Robbins’ Approach

Tony Robbins’ work is undeniably powerful and transformative. Recent studies at Stanford suggest that the benefits of his approach demonstrate a measurable impact. His method is based on active engagement, high energy, and effortful self-conditioning.

One of his core techniques is incantations—a method of repeating affirmations while fully engaging the body, voice, and emotions. The idea is that by embodying a new belief with enough intensity and repetition, it becomes ingrained in the nervous system. Examples of such incantations might be:

• I am courageous!

• I am unstoppable!

• I am a winner!

This process works by rewiring the mind through repeated association, and such methods can shift a person’s identity, beliefs, and behaviors. It requires active effort, and Robbins emphasizes that transformation demands commitment, repetition, and a high-energy state.

But what happens when life presents challenges that contradict these self-beliefs? What happens when someone who has conditioned themselves to believe I am strong encounters a moment of deep vulnerability? How do we respond when the identity we’ve built is shaken?

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The S.A.G.E. Approach: Presence Over Effort

This is where the S.A.G.E. process takes a fundamentally different approach. While Robbins’ work helps people declare an identity and reinforce it, S.A.G.E. helps people recognize identity as an ongoing process of becoming.

S.A.G.E. cultivates presence and awareness rather than using repetition and high-energy conditioning to “install” a new belief. This allows people to see how they shape their identity and engage with it in a fluid and adaptable way.

One of the most important distinctions is this:

• Tony Robbins’ method requires a high degree of effort—repeating, conditioning, and reinforcing self-beliefs through engagement.

• S.A.G.E. requires a high degree of presence—observing, witnessing, and allowing transformation to unfold through awareness.

In the Robbins model, change happens by actively directing one’s focus and energy toward a new self-concept. In the S.A.G.E. model, change happens by developing awareness of how we construct meaning in the first place, based on our beliefs, and allowing identity to expand naturally rather than forcing it into place.

Instead of managing emotions and reinforcing new beliefs, S.A.G.E. eliminates the need for control. This means we no longer need to override or suppress our emotions—we simply recognize them, allowing them to pass without resistance.

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How S.A.G.E. and Tony Robbins’ Methods Create Immediate Change

Both Tony Robbins’ approach and the S.A.G.E. process can be implemented immediately—they simply operate differently.

Tony Robbins’ method often includes practices or rituals, such as incantations, designed to elevate energy levels and reinforce empowering beliefs. These techniques require active repetition to condition the nervous system, making them a structured practice that people return to regularly to maintain their desired state.

By contrast, S.A.G.E. is not something we set aside time to practice—it is something we apply in every conversation. It is a method of mindful communication in which each moment of interaction offers an opportunity for immediate insight and transformation. Instead of relying on repetition to build a new habit, S.A.G.E. works by changing how we express ourselves and interpret meaning in real-time.

Rather than focusing on generating a high-energy state, S.A.G.E. creates change through clarity, adaptability, and presence—qualities that naturally improve how we experience life and relate to others.

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A Shared Intention, A Different Path

Tony Robbins’ work and SAGE share a common purpose: helping people empower themselves by engaging with life in a more conscious way—or, as I see it, in a more SAGE way. Robbins helps people take control of their mindsets, overcome fear, and create the belief systems that serve them.

S.A.G.E., however, helps people step outside of belief systems altogether. Instead of shaping a specific reality to reinforce certainty, we become more conscious of how we create meaning in the first place. This allows us to engage with life as it unfolds rather than trying to mold it into something predictable.

While certainty may feel comforting, true freedom comes from not needing certainty in the first place. Instead of grasping for control, we develop the ability to move with change, embracing the moment as it is—not as we need it to be.

In doing so, we free ourselves from the endless cycle of self-definition, no longer needing to craft, protect, or defend an identity.

I have come to peace with the fact that S.A.G.E. may not be for the masses. But for those who are ready, it offers something that requires less effort but more presence—a way of being that eliminates many of the struggles that effort-based approaches seek to fix.

Instead of asking Who am I? or What do I need to become?—we ask:

“What happens when I stop needing to hold onto a fixed identity and instead witness myself while adapting to engage with life more fluidly and intentionally?

As you read about these two approaches, what do you notice in yourself? Does one feel more natural? Do you feel drawn toward the high-energy certainty of Robbins’ method, or does the adaptable presence of S.A.G.E. resonate more? If you’re willing, share your thoughts in the comments.