Mel Robbins Inspires on Day 2 of Viewpoint Collaborate 2018

It’s the little things that can make a big difference. Small changes to your thinking, your habits and routines are tantamount to improving your outlook on life and achieving goals. That’s the message Mel Robbins delivered in her keynote speech on day two of Viewpoint’s Collaborate 2018 conference.

Robbins, a motivational speaker and former cable news anchor is the author of “The 5 Second Rule,” which teaches readers how to change their lives by changing their everyday habits. Her TEDx talk on the topic has been viewed more than 13 million times.

How 5 Seconds can Change a Life

She shared the secret behind her 5 Second Rule, which breaks down how folks can motivate themselves to make changes, get started on things they’ve been procrastinating with, make important decisions and more.

“It’s as simple as counting down from 5…4…3…2…1,” Robbins said in her address. “If you want to make positive changes in your life, you have to force yourself out of autopilot. Living in autopilot will rob you of everything … it will take your life off course.”

Robbins broke down the science behind why the 5 Second Rule works — how the brain responds to interactions and decisions, how fear, anxiety and nerves work and why we often react the way many of us do in stressful situations. She said change is not hard but requires acknowledgement and perhaps a bit of retraining in how to respond or approach challenges. “You can’t control the stuff around you, but you can manage how you react, and that’s the secret of life,” she said.

Robbins is also the CEO and co-founder of media and digital learning company The Confidence Project, which works with many Fortune 500 brands. And she’s the host of an award-winning YouTube advice series about being a female CEO, as well as the creator of the Audible series “Kick Ass with Mel Robbins.”

Mel Robbins talks about how to overcome procrastination.

She recounted her first speeches she gave on the 5 Second Rule concept and how quickly the message resonated among those that spoke to. Soon, thousands of strangers that had found her concept via YouTube videos and began sharing their own stories of positive change. Robbins shared a particular story of a veteran who was suffering from post-traumatic stress and nearly committed suicide while on a ferry, only to remind himself of the 5 Second Rule, count down and calm down. When he turned around, he saw another member of the armed forces on the ferry and used the 5 Second Rule again to get past the anxiety of reaching out to him for help.

In dealing with procrastination and making the leap into action, Robbins noted that procrastination and inaction are a form of stress, and that one of the best ways to move forward is to ask, “what is it that I am stressed out about?”

“Doing that can lower the hold that procrastination has on you,” she said. “From there, do one little thing, and then another. If you do one little thing, studies have shown that 80 percent of us keep going from there.”

Mel Robbins' inspirational keynote address received a standing ovation at Collaborate 2018.

Robbins sprinkled her presentation with inspiring video clips, messages from fans and supporters and stories from her own personal life to show how she moved past her own challenges. Robbins presentation was met with a standing ovation from Viewpoint attendees.