Unleash the Power Within

When I originally bought a ticket to Unleash the Power Within (UPW) in February of 2020, I would have never imagined all the amazing things that one single ticket could bring into my life. All the choices that it would effect me making just because I made the choice to step out of my comfort zone in every way and invest in myself.

I never got to go too that UPW in San Jose, CA as 2020 hit in one fell swoop and all the plans I made got canceled. And though I was super sad that I didn’t get to go, I knew that eventually the perfect time would come again.

I still had the ticket and I could use it for any event once they started to do live events again plus I got a free ticket to attend their first virtual UPW that was going to be happening in July of 2020. I was determined to find my silver lining and make the most of it.

I planned a trip to Chicago to visit my friend for 5 days. She had her own office and she was down to experience this virtual experience with me. It was the perfect get away. Time to be alone and work on my self development and I would hang out with my friend who I hadn’t seen in awhile.

That virtual seminar did life changing things for me, and somewhere between almost quitting my job and spending even more money on myself and investing in a life coach, I committed to playing full out and going all in. No matter what I was committed to say yes to whatever challenge came my way.

I was skeptical about life coaching at first and everyone told me I was absolutely crazy for spending the money, but I’m glad I didn’t listen or give in to my skepticism. I started working through my goal list and I started to see results I had never seen before.

Finally in the middle 2021 they announced that they would be doing the first live UPW in 2 years in West Palm Beach, Florida.

I was IN and this time my boy toy agreed to come with me. I booked our tickets and hotel rooms and put a count down on my IG so I would get constant reminders. I was EXCITED!

I was excited to finally hear the “Now I am the voice” in real life, become a “firewalker” and hear Tony Robbins speak to my soul and remind me that I have the power to have, be, do and create anything I want in my life.

So much had happened since I first bought that ticket and I knew that so much could change with us going there.

The long awaited day finally came and as we boarded the plane, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I followed my intuition and made a choice that changed my whole life and give me so many experiences, life skills and adventures. I also was checking another goal off my vision board. 🙂

After two flights and a layover we arrived around noon at West Palm Beach and went straight to checking into our hotel. I wanted to go too the beach and spend our afternoon chilling and doing nothing. Check in for the event wasn’t until 6:00 pm so we had some time to kill.

After some shopping and picking up a salad and beer, we ubered our way to the closest beach. We forgot towels so had to rough it in regards to where we sat but I didn’t care. I was on the beach and nothing really mattered anymore. ❤

The beach is my most favorite place in the world, the one place my heart, body, and soul feel one and at peace. Florida beaches do not disappoint and between the yoga, running around in the sand and staying pleasantly hiiiii 🙂 ….My Hipsy soul reawakened and reconnected.

We watched the sunset and then slowly made our way to the outdoor showers to wash as much sand off before heading back to the convention center. With a camera full of photos and sandy hair, I waved good bye to the beach for now.

The UPW check in had already begun so we got behind some people waiting for instructions. The line was directed into two…the ones who had a vaccines or test through an app and those who had vaccines and test without using the app. We got in the line without the app.

We went through a line to check our vaccine/covid status and then got directed to the second line to get our name tags and materials. Every now and then workers would come and get everyone cheering and excited. If they had music playing, it would have felt like a rave. 😛

2 hours later we left with our materials, party glow sticks, and empty stomachs. We made a bee line to the main city center area to find some food. Us and hundreds of other people.

Luckily we were able to get an outside seat with great views at a cute Italian restaurant. My phone had died on the beach so I spent that entire dinner admiring all the outdoor views that this part of West Palm Beach offered.

We headed back to the hotel after dinner. We had been up since 3 am to catch our flights so we were excited for the hotel pillows and wasted no time getting to bed.

The event didn’t start till 11 am so we had plenty of time to sleep in, get ready, and find some breakfast.

Oddly enough they didn’t have very many breakfast options right around the convention center, so we hit up Starbucks and then headed to the event.

Thousands of people were already there, with most being in the main meeting room, and others in the merch or food lines. We walked around the meeting room scouting out where we would sit on the first day. You weren’t assigned a seat, just sections depending on your ticket level.

Most of the seats were taken, so we ended up sitting in the back far corner where you couldn’t even see the stage. They had huge TV screens all over the room so even if you couldn’t see the stage you could always see the speaker on the screens. Tony Robbins also walked around in the crowd while speaking, so every now and then we would get glimpses of him. 😛

We had read on the facebook group that the room would be very cold, so though it was 78 degrees outside, I wore my Ugg boots and brought multiple hoodies.

From 11 am-12 pm we danced and jumped to rave music. It felt much like being at a rave, but without all the drinking and drugs..and the middle of the day. 😛

Tony Robbins came on and the journey began. He talked about how we could create an extraordinary quality of life and what the success cycle was. He talked about the power of living in a beautiful state and how easy it was to make that choice to always decide that no matter where you are in life you can decide to be in a beautiful state.

We learned what our favorite flavors of suffering were and what triggered us to get to those emotions. We learned about the 3 elements of practical psychology and what controls and determines the quality of our life.

He talked about the 6 human needs and we discovered what needs we valued most in ourselves and how that effected our choices and destiny.

The room was freezing and the dance breaks every 15-20 minutes were a relief as I would warm up a little with the jumping and dancing/shuffling around. We never got an official break, if you had to use the restroom, you knew you would miss out on something he was saying. So for the most part with the occasional break to defrost outside, we stayed and listened.

Around 9-10 pm he started to talk about the fire walk and how we were to do it. He walked us through a beautiful meditation session and as we lay on the floor with 1000s of other people I felt blessed that I had the opportunity to be living this life and feeling this many people’s energy in a room.

Finally after many instructions, we rolled up our pants and took our shoes and socks off and followed the 1000s of other people in a bee line out of the meeting all into a back room that lead outside.

The “yes, yes yes” rumbled through the crowd as everyone hyped themselves up to walk across the 4 by 6 pile of hot coals. The firewalk as it is so famously known as.

The couple in line next to us said this was their 3rd time to do the firewalk and that the last time they had burnt their feet. Wow, not something you want to hear before you walk on hot coals, but I was never one to back down from anything.

We’d come this far, we were going to finish it. The line started to turn into a single line, instead of a crowd pushing forward. And pretty soon I found myself behind my boy toy getting ready to step up to the grassy spot right before the hot coals.

My boy toy walked quickly through and one of the trainers started yelling in my ear. Oh boy, we’re doing this! I thought as I looked down before stepping. Don’t look down! My thoughts yelled back as I put my right foot on the hot coals.

I quickly looked up and walked as normal as I could. Reaching the other side, one of the trainers grabbed my arms and the other started washing my feet off with a hose. WHAT A RUSH!

My feet definitely felt the burn but I was so pumped we did it! We quickly snapped a shot in front of the main pile of coals and then headed back to find our shoes and head out.

It was 1:30 am and my feet felt like they were burning, but I felt so ALIVE.

I rubbed the back of my knees (a trick he taught you if you felt the burn, totally worked) and put my uggs back on. We followed the excited crowds out of the convention center to start our way home.

Uber couldn’t locate a driver, so instead of waiting around at the convention center we decided to start walking in the direction of the hotel while we waited for the Uber app to locate a driver. Our hotel was only a 7 minute drive away, or 45 minute walk.

Perhaps it was the 1000s of other people trying to get an Uber or the great resignation but we ended up walking or limping in my case over a bridge and highway to our hotel. Tired but grateful, we made it back to the hotel safe and sound.

After a delicious hot shower and many back knee massages my foot started to feel fine and by the next morning I had a small burn on my right foot that barely even hurt.

Day 2 began much earlier but we decided not to stress and take our time. Because I had taken the virtual program before (and they do not change the program/schedule in person), I knew that TR would not be speaking today so we weren’t in that much of a rush to get there.

We got some breakfast at a cute local place and tried aciai bowls for the first time. They were delicious.

When we got to the event they were watching an older video of Tony Robbins explaining what neuro-associative conditioning was and how to use the ultimate success formula. He went over the power of belief and how to create lasting change in your life.

We got clear on what we love, hate, and what we were passionate about and really wanted from life. We learned the keys to asking intelligently and about the 7 areas of constant growth needed for an extraordinary life.

Late afternoon we stopped for lunch and though they said it was only a 30 minute lunch, we decided to skip the convention food lines and go find something delicious to eat.

After some martinis and a bowl of delicious pasta, we headed back to the convention center. We listened for about 30 minutes, and then decided that we would rather be exploring for the rest of the day. We were here for self development but this was also our vacation for the year without our kids and we wanted to make the most of it.

We walked around window shopping and exploring the little area that we were in. Eventually making our way to dinner and more drinks. We people watched and chit chatted about the event and all the things we discovered about ourselves and what we learned we wanted from our lives.

We headed back to our hotel for an early night as the event the next morning started pretty early and Tony Robbins would be the one doing the speaking.

Day 3 was the day I was waiting for. The experience I had when I had attended the virtual was amazing and I was so excited to be in a room of 1000s of other people feeling that energy and experiencing it in real life.

Breakfast took longer than expected and by the time we got into the event Tony Robbins was already talking abut the 3 pillars of progress and strategies you could use to create an extraordinary life.

He taught us about the dickens process and we examined our 3 top beliefs that held us back from going after the life that we wanted with a passion.

At one point we took a small break and then returned with TR telling us that for the next little while, he would like to request that we do not sit down or leave the room. No, we weren’t forced to do this, it was a choice he was giving us to make the most of the next exercise he would do.

And so began the “Now I am the voice” process as I like to call it. For the next 4 hours he walked us through an intense visualization experience that pretty soon had people weeping next to you. You were instructed not to touch anyone but to pay attention to what was going on with you.

You have to be there to experience it all but by the end of the process you knew you would never return to life the same way. The visualization turned into the empowering “Now I am the voice” chant and before you knew it the room was lit up with an energy you could feel as people shouted “Step Up! Step Up! Step Up!”

The whole experience was life changing and left me with a renewed sense of passion to go after all the things I wanted. By the end of the night I left with a whole new perspective and my standards for life higher than they’d ever been.

We got back to the hotel around 11 pm exhausted from the day but inspired to put all that we learned into action. Sunday was our last day in Florida and thee last day of the event which was all about how to live a healthy life physically, and though these things are very important, my boy toy and I were already live a pretty healthy lifestyle.

We decided to we would wake up early and got to the beach a little after the sunrise. We set up a little spot near the water and ordered our breakfast through Uber eats. My boy toy slept while I frolicked through the water and made yoga videos on the beach.

After a lovely swim and more yoga, we packed up our stuff and I said my final goodbyes to another gorgeous Florida beach.

One day I’ll be back and one day I’ll own a home on the beach. I thought to myself as we got in our Uber.

We showered and packed up our stuff and made our way to the airport. Our flight ended up being delayed so we had some time to chill and get some drinks before we flew back to Houston.

I booked the flights and didn’t notice that we had left out of one airport and arrived in another one, so we ended up having to Uber across town to pick up our car and head home. So many opportunities to live in a beautiful state… 🙂

As we finally drove home, we talked about all the changes that we would make and the things we committed too. I smiled as we drove on the spot of i10 that brings back that feeling of absolute freedom for me.

Years ago I came to Houston looking to start a new life and here I was, living that life I always dreamed and now I was creating a new dream, a new level to reach.

Life will never be the same again and Houston continues to be my paradise. It might not have a beautiful beach but it’s the city I fled too when I began my journey of making my dreams my reality.

People ask me all the time if going to UPW was worth it, and my response to them is always “Heck Yes!” Take the chance on yourself. Do the things that make you uncomfortable and spend the money on improving and discovering who you are.

Life is always happening for me and not too me. Understanding that on a deeper level was LIFE CHANGING for me.

Today I am someone I only dreamed of becoming and I know that the more I do the work on myself the closer I am to becoming that person I see myself being.

I still have a long way to go, but today…

I’m one step closer.

A.A.