Personal Success (The Brian Tracy Success Library)

by Brian Tracy

Overview

Why are some people more successful than others? What gives them their “winning edge”?

World-renowned performance expert Brian Tracy has spent decades studying uncommonly high achievers, and in this short, inspiring volume, he shares what he has learned: Even small adjustments in outlook and behavior can lead to enormous differences in results. Personal Success explains how you, too, can unlock your potential. It helps you:

Set clear personal and professional goals—because you can’t hit a target that you can’t see
• Change your mindset to attract opportunity
• Banish self-limiting beliefs
• Build your self-confidence
• Develop a bias for action
• Practice courage—because all successful people are risk takers
• Sharpen your natural intuition
• Maintain a positive mental attitude
• Continually upgrade your skills—seizing every opportunity to learn and grow
• Make a habit of networking
• Become a strong strategic planner
• Commit to excellence
• And more

Where do you want to be in one, three, or five years? Packed with simple but game-changing techniques, this energizing success manual shows you how to transform your dreams into tangible results.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814437032
Publisher:	AMACOM
Publication date:	01/06/2016
Edition description:	Special ed.
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	93,595
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

BRIAN TRACY is the Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations. One of the top business speakers and authorities in the world today, he has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and addressed more than 5 million people in 5,000 talks and seminars throughout the United States and 72 countries worldwide. He has written 70 books and produced more than 800 audio and video learning programs on management, motivation, and personal success.

Read an Excerpt

INTRODUCTION

Why are some people more successful in their careers than others? Why do some people grow and flourish, get promoted more often, move ahead rapidly, and enjoy greater satisfaction in their life and work?

Is the person who earns $250,000 per year ten times smarter, better, or more capable than a person who earns

$25,000 per year? Of course not! In a research study, 1,000

adults were given standard IQ tests. The most intelligent person in the sample was only 2.5 times smarter than the least intelligent person in the group. The income difference a however, was astonishing! The highest-paid person in the sample was earning 100 times more than the income of the lowest-paid person in the sample.

Here is another important point. The highest-paid person in the sample was not the most intelligent in terms of IQ. The lowest-paid person in the sample was not the least intelligent.

Up to a certain point, intelligence, or raw natural talent, had something to do with the success or lack of success of the indi-vidual. But after that, it came down to personal qualities, hard work, continuous learning, and excellent time management.

The Winning Edge Concept

The Pareto principle states that the top 20 percent of income earners take in 80 percent of the total income in any business or industry. Meanwhile, the bottom 80 percent of income earners share only 20 percent of the total income. Why does this happen?

After many years of research and study, we finally have the answers to these questions. The starting point is called the “winning edge concept,” which says that small, marginal differences in competence in vital areas can translate into enormous differences in results. This concept also states that small weaknesses in critical areas can, in themselves a be sufficient to keep individuals at low levels of achievement and income, year after year, whether or not they are aware of those weaknesses.

If a horse runs in a horse race and comes in first by a nose a it wins ten times the prize money of the horse that comes in second, by a nose. Does this mean that the horse that comes in first by a nose is ten times faster than the second-place horse? Of course not. Is the winning horse five times faster or 50 percent faster? Is it 10 percent faster? No, the difference between the winners and the losers, the famous champions and the has-beens who are forgotten to history, is only about

3 percent in the critical areas.

Achieving Elite Performance

In his work on elite performance, K. Anders Ericsson found that the people at the top of any field were characterized by having invested more time over their careers to hone their most important skills, while the others had not.

There is an excellent quote from Henry Wadsworth

Longfellow that describes the most successful people of every age:

Those heights by great men, won and kept,

Were not achieved by sudden flight;

But they, while their companions slept,

Were toiling upward in the night.

Everything Counts

This book contains twenty-one ideas that you can use to begin developing the key requirements for personal success a while simultaneously ridding yourself of deficiencies that may be holding you back.

This book is based on the Law of Accumulation, which says that “everything counts!” Everything you do on a day-to-day basis, every decision you make, every action you take or fail to take, accumulates over time and ultimately manifests in your success, or lack thereof.

Consistent application of the ideas in this book can lead you to greater success, faster than you ever imagined possible.

Let’s begin.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Introduction 1

1 Obey the Laws 4

2 Decide Exactly What You Want 10

3 Develop the Habits of Courage and Self-Confidence 15

4 Be True to Yourself 19

5 Develop a Positive Mental Attitude 24

6 Communicate Positively and Expect the Best 29

7 Develop a Bias for Action 34

8 Satisfy Your Most Important Customers 38

9 Be a Hard Worker 43

10 Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning 48

11 Become a Competent Speaker 53

12 Associate with the Right People 58

13 Network Continually 63

14 Knowledge Is Power 68

15 Dress for Success 73

16 Commit to Excellence 78

17 Plan Strategically 82

18 Accept Responsibility for Results 85

19 Be a Team Player 89

20 Develop Your Creativity 92

21 Put Fortune on Your Side 97

SUMMARY Three Keys to Success 101

Index 105