Brian Tracy: biography
Brian Tracy is the most popular motivational speaker in the United States. He is the living evidence of the miracle: the child from a low-income family dramatically changed his fate that seemed to have been sealed.
Tracy has founded three companies and presented many books on motivation; his quotes and aphorisms continue to be relevant in the 21st century.
Childhood and youth
Brian was born on January 5, 1944, in Vancouver, Canada, into a poor family of a worker and a teacher. There were four boys in the family, and the parents’ earnings hardly covered food expenditures. Tracy has shared few childhood memories, but he always mentions permanent undernourishment. The boy did not know why his family’s financial situation was so dire and what could be done about it.
Going to a college or university was impossible. When the young man graduated from school, he got hired as an unskilled worker to help his family: the would-be orator collected garbage, dug ditches, and carried building blocks. Soon, he realized this job would not bring much money and started looking for a different occupation.
Tracy became a sailor and traveled around the world for eight years. He picked up several languages and learned how to deal with people; his character got formidable. The first principle of success was formed: phenomenal results require colossal effort and continuous movement. At the age of 22, Brian came back to the continent, ready to turn over a new leaf in his life.
Career
The young man got hired as a sales agent without relevant working experience; later, the writer described how he was developing his skills and talents in several books. Initially, Tracy’s results were mediocre, yet he kept visiting business classes and public speaking lessons. He also asked around his successful colleagues about the key to their achievements. At the end of the year, Brian was called the best employee at his company.
At 25, Tracy was invited to the position of the company’s vice president. Although the result was impressive, the young man did not like the idea of working for another person: he viewed success as the number of implemented ideas and plans, not the rank significance. Brian preferred to invest in his further education and changed his occupation.
At 30, Tracy graduated from the university with a Bachelor’s degree in commerce. With his practical experience and substantial theoretical knowledge, the man began to collect the materials for courses and books. He worked for a large marketing company as the head of a department and increased the income up to $50 million annually.
The next project pertained to car import and brought $25 million. Further on, Tracy joined an advertising company and tried himself in banking.
Before Brian launched his own business, he had led 22 companies as an anti-crisis manager, consultant, and CEO. At the same period, he kept educating himself and gave recommendations to other corporations. In his spare time, the entrepreneur wrote books and shared his own experience, as well as other people’s stories.
In 1981, Brian continued to improve his educational program and created the system for success that served as the fundament for the first workshop. Four years later, the audiotapes The Psychology of Achievement came out; it was a breakthrough.
Soon, the future millionaire founded a consulting company Brian Tracy International; it had branches in 31 countries. The corporation focused on practical courses, marketing strategy development, business supervision, and company coordination system consulting.
Today, many businesses are willing to have their employees attend Tracy’s lectures. International brands, such as IBM, BMW, and Toyota, frequently invite the expert.
Books
Brian Tracy has presented many books, practical courses, and workshops. His bibliography is expanding year by year.
Maximum Achievement reveals why some people succeed, and others do not. Tracy presents universal means to achieve goals and develop necessary qualities. According to the writer, effectiveness implies the rational exertion of knowledge and labor organization: if a person earns $10 000 per year and another one gets $100 000, it does not mean the latter is more experienced or intelligent.
Time Management is another significant book: one can find the secrets of effective time coordination, planning, and prioritization. Several methods can help control one’s life; according to the statistics, important work takes only 20% of time while 80% is wasted on unnecessary activities. Reading this book is a sensible investment to one’s self-development.
The Psychology of Selling deals with trade execution. Apart from the theory, Tracy introduces some methods to improve sales skills, teaches how to set goals, and helps build a strategy to increase downstream sales.
Eat That Frog! is one of the most popular books. It has been translated into 40 languages; more than 1.5 million copies have been sold. Tracy describes how to start being independent financially and change one’s life for the better.
The public speaker has collaborated with Bettie Youngs and presented the book Achievement, Happiness, Popularity and Success: Getting What You Want from Life. The authors explain that bringing up children is a science: people are not born good parents. Unfortunately, irreparable mistakes are made sometimes. Tracy and Youngs provide a complex of methods to avoid them.
Leadership focuses on the phenomenon of leadership, its origin, and the ways to create the corresponding character. Brian presents seven universal factors of behavior and cogitation that can help develop leadership skills.
Overall, the entrepreneur has written more than 70 books.
Personal life
Brian Tracy married in 1979; his wife’s name is Barbara. The couple lives in a mansion in San Diego; they have four children and several grandchildren.
The writer has often expressed his gratitude to his wife: she has always been by his side, no matter what ordeals the man had to face. Brian and Barbara often travel together. Thus, the coach’s personal life is happy.
In 2010, Tracy was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer; he underwent a treatment course and recovered.
Present days
Today, Brian continues to deliver speeches, consult companies, and present inspiring books. People who would like to change their lives for the better appreciate his ideas.
The author has a verified Instagram account and regularly posts photos and videos from his life.
Brian Tracy’s net worth is $15 million in 2019.
Bibliography
- The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success
- The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires: How to Achieve Financial Independence Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible
- Get Paid More and Promoted Faster: 21 Great Ways to Get Ahead in Your Career
- Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills that Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed
- Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life: How to Unlock Your Full Potential for Success and Achievement
- Hire and Keep the Best People: 21 Practical and Proven Techniques You Can Use Immediately
- Leadership
- Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
- Speak to Win: How to Present with Power in Any Situation
- Create Your Own Future: How to Master the 12 Critical Factors of Unlimited Success
- Million Dollar Habits: Proven Power Practices to Double and Triple Your Income
- Time Management
- Be a Sales Superstar: 21 Great Ways to Sell More, Faster, Easier in Tough Markets
- Master Your Time, Master Your Life: The Breakthrough System to Get More Results, Faster, in Every Area of Your Life
- Sales Success
Quotes
“If you do what other successful people do, nothing can stop you from eventually getting the same results they do”.
“Learning is the minimum requirement for success in your field”.
“Your incredible brain can take you from rags to riches, loneliness to popularity, from depression to happiness and joy – if you use it properly”.
“Use the 6P rule: Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance”.
“Avoid negative people at all costs. They are the greatest destroyers of self-confidence and self-esteem”.
