Mel Robbins Says We're Friends

This is Body Conversations® – March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day – a big deal in NYC.

Let’s talk about Mel Robbins. You know, the self-help guru who has millions of besties—except you’ll never actually talk to her unless she’s hocking some overpriced shmattas on QVC—that’s where all the minor celebs go to win big with those who think retail therapy is the solution! So you buy something you don’t need, with money you don’t have, and get a bonus!—you can call in and get to chat with a “real” celeb.

What is the subject of this week’s podcast? It’s all about Mel again. Clearly, I can’t stop consuming her books, podcasts, and YouTube wisdom because her shtick doesn’t aligns with my worldview. We are opposites. In addition, thanks to the not really smart algorithm, I’ve apparently been assigned Tony Robbins as my new digital BFF, too.

So here’s the thing: you can’t be a guru without a sob story. Mel’s? Classic. She was 41, married, drowning in $800K of debt, career circling the drain, husband depressed—cue existential crisis. And boom, she “invents” her method. And guess what? It’s relatable! Nearly 100% of adults can see themselves in her story. That’s the magic—everyone finds a little piece of themselves in it. So much togetherness just because of her story.

But me? Oh, I have a story too—just not the marketable kind. Mine starts in the late ’80s with unexpected and tragic family deaths, and my husband suffering from the worst illness possible, a legal nightmare thanks to the infomercial slime trying to wipe me out, and the minor detail of raising two teenage boys while fighting to keep my Pilates business PhysicalMind Institute alive. Oh, and did I mention that these slimeballs—big Tony Robbins fans, naturally—launched three lawsuits against me over my patented Mini Reformer. They renamed it, repackaged it, and made millions selling it on QVC while figuring out how to stiff me on royalties. That’s how I found myself in a QVC Green Room with some of these direct-marketing vultures and the washed up celebs—an experience I’ll never forget because it taught me about American culture.

And yet, my story? Not a self-help bestseller. Why? Because the way I survived isn’t a neat little five-step process. It’s not universal. It’s just mine. But along the way, I did develop a POV and a useful application. It’s the CS Strategy—CS as in Chicken Shit.

Here’s the gist: Life is full of big bulls and tiny chickens. The key is learning to tell the difference. Most of what stresses people out—emails, deadlines, work drama, the latest self-help trend—is just chicken shit. Once you start filtering life through the Chicken Shit Lens™, you realize most things aren’t worth the energy, and—just like that—you free yourself from unnecessary anxiety. Tony and Mel would be so proud! Not really, they make millions on chicken shit.

And AI is your Ally for filtering. It serves up the chicken shit. Really. Not kidding. I tested it myself— I asked ChatGPT if Mel basically copied Tony (I mean, he’s been at this 35 years, and she’s… newer). AI spat out some elevated nonsense that I had to edit just to make it readable. So here is the somewhat cleaned up version:

Mel Robbins did not copy from Tony Robbins. While they share the same familial name and both labor in the self-improvement and motivational environments, their approaches and core messages are quite different.

Mel Robbins is known for "The 5 Second Rule," which is about overcoming hesitation and self-doubt by counting down from five and taking immediate action. This concept is supposedly rooted in neuroscience and behavioral change.

Tony Robbins, on the other hand, focuses on personal power, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), and peak performance strategies. His teachings are about mindset transformation, leadership, and finance.

While Tony Robbins does talk about taking immediate action and making quick decisions, his approach emphasizes movement, breathing, and focus to shift into a “powerful” mindset quickly. He talks about making decisions "in the moment" to avoid hesitation, which overlaps with Mel’s rule in spirit, but not in method.

Mel’s 5 Second Rule is a structured technique: "5-4-3-2-1, go!"—a neurological hack to interrupt hesitation and trigger action. She developed it based on personal struggles with procrastination and anxiety.

While both influencer gurus encourage fast action, there’s no clear evidence Mel was influenced by Tony. It’s more likely they arrived at similar ideas independently, as quick decision-making is a common theme in self-improvement.

OK, do you see it ? Not really you say. You will. Soon when someone says in a podcast or presentation, “I’m so excited to share…” Or this is Life changing. Or it’s Amazing or Awesome. The language will be your chicken shit tip off. You’re just getting started. The thing is, these gurus sound Very professional and oh-so-important. And, of course, now we have science!! Research!! Then you think about the 10 diets you did and the HIIT and Peloton and Hot YOGA which were all backed by SCIENCE. Why is SCIENCE tacked on to every new tip in a country where the majority question evolution and are going back to religion for answers?? ? Sure, maybe there’s a tiny sliver of legit advice buried in their Tips But does it actually work? Nope.

Of course, you’ve got the usual fan club desperate to impress their new guru, raving about how this totally changed their life! Happens daily on Pilates video sites—especially with those eager-beaver newbie instructors. You know the ones: gushing over a standard Reformer intermediate workout where the so-called Master Teacher or International Educator (because those are the two titles that impress the most). The instructor just repeats “Beautiful” or “One vertebra at a time” like a broken record. But these Pilates viewers need to get noticed. So they chime in with “Awesome! Best workout ever! So needed!” Blah blah blah.

Here’s the hard truth: if any of this actually worked, we’d all be wrinkle-free, debt-free, and rocking six-packs. But reality check—self-help can’t help anybody. The only person who can help you... is you. And not because of what Mel says that you are one tiny action from being a :

• A Leader

• A Millionaire

• A Successful Speaker

• A Best-Selling Author

• A Healthier Version of YOU

• A More Confident Person

• In Love with Life

YOU Know YOU are NOT Even Close!

But that’s why AI can help you help yourself. It is a good filter because just like self-help content, it just recycles the same pre-packaged insights over and over again. Most people eat it up and feel bad about themselves for not already knowing it. Me? I see it for what it is: chicken shit.

I once sent an article to a Pilates instructor friend, and she said, “I’ll read it tomorrow.” I said, “No, you won’t.” She was shocked. Why waste time I explained! Just scan the headline, get the gist, and move on. Personally, I’ve been doing this since college, long before ChatGPT made it trendy. My Indian boyfriend ( this was 1961 I’m always ahead) was getting a PhD in Economics at Columbia after graduating from Cambridge University and he was an expert in absorbing info. H taught me how to skim strategically. I didn’t do it in school where they test you, but I do in real life where it actually matters.

Because here’s the real secret: you don’t need to know EVERYTHING. The media, the self-help industry, politicians—they all bank on you being too busy, too overwhelmed, and too uninformed to see through their bullshit. They don’t want you to connect the dots and see the context. But once you do, you realize just how little of it actually matters.

So, my advice? Start thinking about the Chicken Shit. It’ll save you time, lower your stress, and save you from mindlessly shrieking 5-4-3-2-1-GO! like a self-help robot.

Next time, I’ll introduce you to the 537 tactic. Oh, and what I do in a morning that most people don’t accomplish in a month. Stay tuned.