Team Tony cultivates, curates and shares Tony Robbins’ stories and core principles, to help others achieve an extraordinary life.
Pitbull’s self-made success story
How a first-generation Cuban American became Mr. Worldwide
In this episode, Tony talks with Armando Christian Perez, who you most likely know as the musician Pitbull, about his journey to achieving his dreams. For Pitbull, wealth has absolutely nothing to do with money – it has only to do with happiness. Because today, Pitbull is on top of the world. But none of it came easily. Pitbull is truly a self-made success, and he’ll share how he not only got what he wanted, but also found fulfillment and happiness.
Who is Pitbull?
Pitbull is a world-renowned musician, performer, business entrepreneur, fashion icon and actor whose career sales have exceeded 25 million albums and over 100 million singles worldwide. He’s had #1 hits in more than 18 countries, his videos have over 15 billion views and his social reach matches audiences of some television networks around the world.
Pitbull is also a self-made success story. His childhood was anything but rosy. He grew up around drugs, abuse, crime and alcoholism. His father was mostly absent, and he was kicked out of his house as a teen. As he puts it in the podcast, “I thought my life was normal, but as I grew I looked back and thought, wow, I was going through things I shouldn’t have. But it built character.”
Controlling his own destiny
Pitbull is also a first-generation Cuban American who talks fondly of “the women who built him.” His grandmother was a revolutionary in Cuba. His aunt was a political prisoner. He used to tell himself, “Everything you’re going through is nothing compared to what they went through.” That allowed him to see darker days as opportunities. He learned to control his own destiny.
Pitbull repeats a saying in Spanish that Tony often uses: “Tell me who you hang with and I’ll tell you who you are.” He envisioned the circles that he wanted to be in and surrounded himself with the right people. He also failed – a lot – and he discusses the power of failure and why our biggest setbacks can be our biggest gifts. He says, “Bottom line is, failure has been the mother of success with everything I’m doing.”
Beyond business and wealth
There’s no doubt Pitbull has achieved massive self-made success, but he maintains that for him, it’s all about the journey. It’s about doing what’s hard, even if you get no reward. It’s about finding fulfillment and happiness. Because “the worst prison sentence is to have all the money in the world and be miserable.”
Listen as Tony and Pitbull delve into what it means to cut the noise out of your life and focus on what matters. They share their belief that if you want real wealth in your life, you have to cultivate joy, surround yourself with people that make you better and always find a way to give back. Plus, Pitbull imparts three valuable tips to accelerate your success.
Are you ready to cut out the noise, focus your energy and start enjoying the journey? The only thing holding you back is your fear of failure, but you can cultivate that deep belief in yourself. Soon enough, you’ll be echoing Pitbull’s incredible resilience: “I live to be an underdog. I live to get knocked down. I live to fail.”
Pitbull Interview Show Notes
[01:10] Episode introduction
[02:30] How basketball prepared him for the music business
[03:10] Learning from the failures of the music industry
[03:50] You don’t make mistakes, mistakes make you
[04:20] Overcoming early challenges
[04:50] Grateful for growing up in adversity
[06:20] “The women that built me”
[08:10] Taking his life from a negative to a positive
[08:10] Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future
[08:50] Envisioning the circles he wanted to be in
[09:40] Listening to Tony Robbins tapes growing up
[11:10] The Colonel Sanders story
[11:40] Creating his own slogans for his own story
[13:10] Don’t talk about it – be about it
[14:50] What is Pitbull most proud of?
[16:35] The award that meant the most to him
[18:40] The SLAM school
[19:00] Pitbull’s tips to accelerate success
[19:40] Patience, passion and perseverance equals success
[20:15] Cut out the noise in your life
[20:50] What do you want out of this journey?
[21:40] Drowning in information, starving for wisdom
[21:50] It’s the challenge that makes the success fulfilling
[22:10] What’s the next level for Pitbull
[22:50] Find out how you learn best
[24:40] How are you going to make a decision if you aren’t a critical thinker?
Team Tony
