Mel Robbins speaks at UC as part of 2023 Leadership in Excellence Series

“Anything you want is possible if you’re willing to put in the work.”

It was a sentiment carried throughout the evening Thursday as Mel Robbins spoke to a crowd of hundreds during the Excellence in Leadership Series held inside the O. Wayne Rollins Center at the University of the Cumberlands.

The series, which is now in its 16th year, has had a number of notable speakers over the years, including NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neil and former NFL MVP quarterback Drew Brees.

Robbins, who is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author and host of the Mel Robbins Podcast, is also one of the leading voices in personal development. Her work includes the global phenomenon “The 5 Second Rule,” four number one bestselling audiobooks, the number one podcast on Audible, as well as signature online courses that have changed the lives of more than half a million students worldwide. Her latest international best-seller, “The High 5 Habit,” was released around the world in 2021.

As part of her lecture Thursday, Robbins shared a low point in her life she described as “rock bottom,” in which she lost her job, her husband’s businesses were failing and her family was over $800,000 in debt. Due to all of those issues, Robbins said she struggled with debilitating anxiety that became so severe she often wouldn’t even get out of bed.

It was during this time that she came up with what she now calls “The 5 Second Rule.”

“The longer you think about what you need to do, the less likely you’re going to do it,” said Robbins. “That morning the alarm clock was like, ‘OK, you need to launch yourself out of bed.’ But then I started thinking about it instead of doing it and I started reaching for the snooze button, like I’d done every single morning for the last six months because it had become a habit. And then all of a sudden, I did something I had never done before: I just started counting backwards like NASA when they launch a rocket—5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And all of a sudden, I stood up.”

Robbins began counting backwards from five to give herself a jumpstart. It was initially used as a tool just to help her get out of bed, but she quickly learned she could apply it to more aspects of her life. She started using it on a variety of mundane tasks she needed to get done around the house and found that it helped her take the initiative needed to get things done.

She used that experience to help teach those in attendance how they can also use the same tactic to do things that create discomfort or fear.

“We get so focused on the big stuff we forget our whole life is the little things: how you act, your mood, how you walk into class or work, how you greet your spouse when you come home, how you talk to yourself. That’s your life,” said Robbins.

UC’s annual lecture series is made possible by an endowment from local business owners Dr. Terry and Mrs. Marion Forcht, who founded The Forcht Group of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Leadership in 2006.