Roberto Re has illuminated the path of many people, sharing his passion for 360° success... A pioneer in Italy and Europe in the field of leadership, today he is an internationally renowned Peak Performance Coach. He is a best-selling author and his seminars are followed by millions of people. As he tells us in this interview, it all began when in the 90s he discovered his first growth paths, became passionate and began traveling to the United States to grow and train with sacred monsters of personal development such as Tony Robbins. Among those who choose him as a guide there are successful entrepreneurs, elite athletes and important personalities. Equipped with a sunny and overwhelming personality that is as human and genuine as it is, he loves direct contact with people and believes in the strength of authenticity. I had the pleasure of meeting him and experiencing his energy as part of the seminar “How to give your best”, a taste of his Leadership School, hosted by the Villa Negroni Study Center in Vezia and organized by Bashkim Sejdiu. A journey guided by his strong and clear voice to understand how to best manage one's emotions, one's psychophysical well-being, time, relationships and communication, to achieve the goal: a satisfying and happy life.
«At twenty I was a young university student, not particularly motivated, to put it mildly. I had chosen to go to university to avoid military service, as was customary in those days. After my first year of university I enrolled in a course on study methodology, memorization techniques and speed reading. It was one of the first formations of this type in Italy... today I can say that it changed my life! I learned the most effective ways to study by discovering one fundamental thing, namely that the mind can be trained and there are methods to perform more and better. I discovered that everyone who told me “he's smart but he doesn't apply himself” was right. This experience gave me the tools and motivation to start working hard at school and achieve excellent results. If I hadn't opened my mind through this course, my potential would probably have remained untapped. The message of this course, beyond the techniques, was linked to having the right mental and energetic attitude... It marked the beginning of my studies and my career in this field. It is always impressive for me, thinking about my experience, to recognize where I have reached now. My high school teachers would never have thought that. It's a powerful thing to realize how passion, commitment and study can take you far. That unmotivated young boy has become a professional level professional and this shows that, with the right commitment, anyone can do it."
Starting from your experience she's born the desire to indicate the path to success to the others…
«I didn't start with the idea of being a coach or becoming the Roberto Re of today. It all started from my personal desire for change, I understood that this was the way to improve myself. The evolution was natural, at a certain point I was asked to teach the methods that had helped me and from there I noticed the pleasure I felt in sharing my journey with others, not by giving a lesson but by stimulating and inspiring change. The good teacher is the one who excites you, stimulating you to apply the contents that he conveys in your life: here I discovered that this was particularly good for me. Even today, many years later, I believe that this ability to involve is my main talent. The key to my work and the message I bring is that we all have extraordinary potential and that we can learn to exploit it much better through means and techniques that reveal our own strength."
Cwhat it means today to be successful women and men?
«The success model that I try to communicate and which is the basis of my work, being today recognized as a coach for personal success, does not consist in having many followers on Instagram or in being known because you have been to “Uomini e Donne ” or “To the island of the famous”… My idea of success is based on a very simple concept, success first and foremost is satisfaction and feeling good about yourself. Certainly in the world in which we live, work is an important component because it is the means through which we manage to make the most of our talents, our abilities and generate results for ourselves and others. But the approach where work takes priority over quality of life belongs to the past for me. The model where work success prevails over the joy of living is, in my opinion, a failure, you become a slave to what you yourself have created. True success is sustainable, it is defined by a balance between private and professional life where you achieve your goals without undermining your happiness, well-being and relationships… I believe that at the end of our days no one will regret not having spent three extra hours in the office, if we regret anything it will be the time we didn't dedicate to the really important things."
What are your role models for success?
«Professionally, among the many teachers I had, Tony Robbins was certainly the one who most influenced my life from a professional point of view but also for what I learned on a deeper level... In the second half of the '90s I started to study with him and for many years I went back and forth between America and Italy. I learned a way of training and transmitting knowledge through direct experience that did not yet exist here. I was among the first to bring this modality to us. For me there should be no distinction between what you do and what you are and Anthony Robbins inspired me a lot in this sense. Someone who does my job can't put a mask on his face, play a role and then get off the stage and be someone else. One of the things I have always respected about Robbins is his consistency, I also got to know him behind the scenes and this has always inspired me. And then many people inspire me, many success stories in different sectors, what they have in common is that they have almost always created from scratch based on passion, innovative vision, tenacity in having remained faithful to this path step by step. These are not just stories of great entrepreneurs, a success story can be that of the shopkeeper next door. With your eyes open you can learn from anyone. I would add that I have certainly had great luck in recent years which has been to work with many successful people because my own students obtain above average results, I work with many highly successful entrepreneurs and professionals and therefore sometimes they themselves are a source of inspiration. I definitely give them content, techniques and strategies but then seeing what some of them have created is truly very motivating. I am fortunate to have stuck my nose in hundreds of companies and to know the successes and challenges of entrepreneurs and this has allowed me to gain great experience. Asians say that when the mind is ready the master appears and then you can learn a lot from both successes and failures."
What important paradigm shifts are taking place in this historical era?
«This question would require hours and many pages to offer a comprehensive answer. The paradigm shifts we are experiencing are many, like never before. From a technological, practical and working point of view, all professions are changing radically. The age of the internet and the digital world, which now brings us to artificial intelligence and robotics, impacts everything and everyone. They lead us to have to make a quantum leap and I believe that in the next decade this push will take on even greater strength."
What tools should we arm ourselves with to transform times of crisis into evolutionary opportunities?
«The first fundamental step is awareness, that is, becoming aware of what makes us more or less effective, of what internal dynamics affect us positively and negatively. We need to understand how they were created over time and how we can change them. My job is to get students to notice things they didn't see before and to offer them the tools to change them. It is no coincidence that I called my new course “Be your best”. Accompanying people towards their best version is what I love to do…
The main tool we must arm ourselves with is the ability to cope with change, not to resist but to remain flexible, drawing good even from changes we don't want. There is little that can be done... if the river goes in a given direction you cannot live under the illusion of fighting the current. Adapting to change and focusing on what is good for us, rather than what gives us fear or aversion, is the key today. Everything, including technology, lies in how we use it. The pitfalls in the years to come, with the advent of new forms such as the metaverse and the large-scale introduction of artificial intelligence, in this sense are many... The greatest risk is that the dissociation between the virtual world and the real world becomes profound, leading the next generations to live a surrogate life where they think they live, but without having contact with the real world. We don't know where all this will take us and for this reason too it will be increasingly important to remain centered in ourselves and in our own values rather than being projected towards the surrounding world."
In your personal life, what habits and attitudes make you feel good and allow you to be in top form?
«Certainly one of the fundamental components of my life is that I have been taking care of my nutrition and physical health for over twenty years now. I was lucky enough to learn, in the mid-90s in America, about things that arrived here much later. Taking care of your energy and psychophysical well-being has allowed me, over all these years, to amaze and be amazed by the energy levels that I manage to maintain. When I work, my students often struggle to keep up with me. Without exasperation or fanaticism, taking care of yourself is fundamental. I can say that I am a person who puts into practice what I teach, so even on an emotional level I am able to let go of negative emotions, move on when necessary and not accumulate stress and burdens linked to the past. The ability to manage stress well allows me to continue pushing without emptying myself, remaining recharged. More than specific techniques, what continually energizes me is the fact that I live what I do with passion and joy. I put a lot of love into what I do and this allows me to receive back as much energy as I give and perhaps even more."
Tell me about how your work as a leader, coach and motivator has transformed… what inspires you today? What is the audience that follows you looking for?
«On the one hand, my work has changed a lot, just think that in the first years when I taught courses, slides and a blackboard with transparencies were used. On a technical level everything has changed, last month I experienced for the first time an encounter with a group in the metaverse with oculus in my eyes: impressive experience! Above all, people's ways and mentality have changed, the tools they have and therefore the way they pass on knowledge. Certainly the methods of transmission have changed but not the contents because in the end the keys that allow us to be successful and have a quality life have, in some ways, remained the same. Today more than ever, these cardinal points are even more important. I think of the ability to get in touch with oneself, to have real quality relationships, to build a private life protected from the ever-increasing pressures of the outside world. The ability to feel good about yourself and those close to you has become increasingly important. The time to spend with family, children and the people we love has been reduced and living our values to the full, taking care to spend quality time together, is very important. If on the one hand everything has changed, on the other some basic rules have become even more current and precious. The new generations, like Z, are changing and I am noticing with curiosity that they have values that are very aligned with the model of success and quality of life that I teach. The primary objective is less and less to make a lot of money, accumulate and pursue security, but rather to feel good, have quality time, personal well-being, to be... really happy."
