By Kelly Sam Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures
In July, 10 associates from Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures and Grand Casinos attended a three and a half day Tony Robbins seminar in Dallas, TX called Unleash the Power Within (UPW). The conference is an immersive experience that helps unlock and unleash the forces inside you to break through your limitations and take control of your life. Over 7,000 people attended from 56 different countries.
The associates that attended were: Kelly Sam, Dayna Pearson, Jenny Buchholz, John Van House, Blake Johnson, Kate Anderson, Amanda Churchill, and Zeph Snead. The associates were part of the first cohort of the NXT Level Leader program.
NXT Level Leader program was created to help develop their capabilities that will enable MLCV to continuously compete and grow; identify and equip leaders to take MLCV into the future; emphasize development and serve Associates; and identify skills, curriculum, and experiential alignment with purpose and passion.
The experience was unreal and like nothing any of us had experienced before. Tony Robbins likes to keep the venue cold to maintain your awareness. You are always on your feet jumping, dancing, and interacting which also helps to get your blood flowing and keep your brain working. We were encouraged to "be a 10" every day which helped us optimize our performance and be our best selves.
Day one was all about creating an extraordinary life. Band member Jenny Buchholz said, "One of the things that Tony said that really got me thinking on day one was in regards to rising above others. He said, 'making you smaller will not make someone else bigger.' To me that meant by continuing to hold back, it will not make someone else better, it only keeps you from growing. Successful people surround themselves with other successful people as a way to push each other to do better, and be better."
The first day was 12 hours long, and after being mentally and physically challenged, we had the opportunity to walk on fire — literally. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Tony Robbins helped us get into a peak state, we stepped up to the hot coals, and without a second thought, we walked across the coals. We hugged and celebrated, and it will always be a great memory our group will have together.
On day 2, James McClendon spoke about the power of momentum and creating an abundant mindset. His talk focused on identifying our passion. He asked, "what do you love? What are you grateful for?" I committed to go back to school last year to finish my bachelor's degree. It hasn't been easy, and it's hard to find the time to study between a full-time job and two young boys at home, but once you decide to make a change, you must commit to that decision, and then take massive action or nothing will change.
Day 3 and 4 were about eliminating inner conflicts, unlocking your true potential and creating a vital life. It helped us identify the internal baggage we carry around, eliminate it, and embrace the new tools that set us up to become the best version of ourselves. How to work more efficiently, how to better connect with family and coworkers, and how to organize our time and life better.
No matter what we all want in life — joy, love, passion, fulfillment — Unleash the Power Within helped give us the drive and momentum to achieve it. We shouldn't settle for an ordinary life when we can create an extraordinary one!
Photos: Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures associates walked on coals at a Tony Robbins seminar in Dallas in July.
