Unlimited Power

Robbins unveils the techniques he teaches at his "Mind Revolution" seminars. Although he doesn't guarantee that readers will be able to emulate his graduates by walking on hot coals, he implies that his advice will help them "grow" "emotionally, socially, spiritually, psychologically, intellectually and financially. . ." His program is based on "Neurolinguistic Programming" techniques which, in effect, psyche up individuals to perform at their optimum through a host of mental, emotional and physiological reprogramming strategies. A basic step is the selection of a successful person as a model, learning all one can about his or her strategies, and adopting them as one's own. To promote confidence and eliminate negativism, Robbins describes in detail various mental imaging exercises along with techniques for understanding the mind and emotional sets of other people in order to motivate them or (if they are role models) to emulate them for one's advantage. Robbins makes some extraordinary (but presumably documentable) claims for his program. He, for instance, says he trained every member of a group of army recruits to shoot accurately even though he himself had no knowledge of rifles. He learned the technique in a few days from sharpshooters, absorbed their strategies and passed them on to the recruits who had been trained in his brand of positive thinking. Never before, says he, had 100% of a training group passed the course - the best record had been 70%. Whether 100% of his readers will become tycoons or superstars is a very moot question. But Robbins is a persuasive communicator who spends more linage on step-by-step details of his recommendations than in self-boosterism. This approach could attract considerable readership from dedicated self-helpers. (Kirkus Reviews)