How I had no idea who Tony Robbins is still astounds me (especially as my husband knew exactly who he was, referring me to an episode of Family Guy featuring Tony and late-night US TV). “He seems to be holding some kind of event in Dubai,” I said, “but don’t worry, I won’t be going – far too pricey.”  Well, it turns out I must have been the only person in Dubai, possibly the world, who hadn’t heard of Tony Robbins. When the publicity for his first-ever event in Dubai reached fever pitch, I turned to Google to find out why he was so famous: a motivational mogul, the internet told me, who has provided life advice to some of the most famous people in the world from Mother Theresa to Bill Clinton and Princess Diana. Not bad credentials. I started getting FOMO (fear of missing out), and before I knew it, I’d purchased a ticket. Let’s just say this wasn’t cheap, and I might have been better off buying a plane ticket and taking a short, exotic mini break. But, hey, the event promised not just great things, but life-changing, unimaginable things. Why, it might even teach me how to actually sell a couple of my books (love writing, monumentally rubbish at selling them!) The day dawned and off I went, by myself, a little unsure about what to expect by now (“Don’t drink the juice,” were DH’s parting words.) But I needn’t have worried about going solo as the moment I sat down, my neighbours greeted me with the enthusiasm of overexcited Labradors. “What brings you here today?” asked the man seated next to me, an overbright smile on his face. “What do you hope to gain?” Oh Bejeezus, I panicked, it’s one of those carey-sharey things – and I absolutely AM NOT into that. “Erm, just curious,” I replied, hoping he wouldn’t press me on the point. I tried to hide the cynic within me.  “You’re a little late,” said my new, super-keen friend (who, incidentally, told me he was there because his friend, a die-hard fan, had travelled all the way to the US from India just to see Tony Robbins, and he’d noticed how it really had changed her life). “Yes. Well …” I looked at my watch. I was indeed half an hour late because the event organisers had told me the WRONG TIME (typical Dubai, three different start times were given). “There’s another ten hours to go, right?” I laughed nervously.  To cut to the chase, it was a LONG time before Tony actually came on stage, with several support acts including Nick Vujicic, who has overcome life’s challenges despite being born with no arms or legs, Alicia Keys (nice female energy, but not really my cup of tea) and Prince EA, a US former rapper turned influencer/activist who struck me as the kind of person my kids watch on YouTube. My main takeway from his motivational speech was that you can download an app on your phone that will remind you three times a day that you’re going to die …  FINALLY, after about five hours, and the most enormous queues for any kind of food and drink, Tony Robbins leapt on stage, under strobe lights and booming speakers. He was greeted by the ten-thousand-strong crowd who jumped when he said jump, clapped with him, screamed, cheered, and generally got whipped into a hyped-up frenzy more wild than any DJ or popstar could achieve. The final part of the day even saw H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum make a surprise appearance – an exciting moment that saw the entire crowd respectfully get to their feet while also craning their necks to get a glimpse of the royal drop-in.  Tony Robbins, we learnt, is a huge fan of Dubai, referring to it as “one of the finest cities on Earth” and estimating that this was his seventh or eighth visit to the emirate. In his signature gravelly baritone, Tony told a fully engaged, spellbound audience that he “often brings people to Dubai to show them what’s possible”. The self-proclaimed “success strategist” held court for the next four hours with the energy of a wildebeest in heat, and whatever you make of him, there is no denying he is an extraordinary speaker who knows exactly how to work a crowd of fanatical fans with precisely timed anecdotes and positive reinforcements.  Fire-walk, anyone? Aye!

“Motivation is like a bath – you need to take one regularly, but it’s not enough. You need a strategy.” – Tony Robbins in Dubai