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Brian Tracy (born January 5, 1944 in Charlottetown, PEI, Canada) is a self-help author and motivational speaker. He serves as Chairman of Brian Tracy International, a human resource company based in Solana Beach, California, with affiliates throughout the United States and thirty-one other countries.

Early life[link]

After dropping out of high school before graduation, Tracy got a job on a tramp steamer and traveled around the world for eight years, eventually visiting more than eighty countries on five continents.

When he could no longer find a job as a laborer, he went into sales. Struggling at first, he decided to ask other successful salesmen for advice, and then to emulate them. By the end of his first year, he attained the status of top salesman. After his second year, he was made a Vice President in charge of 95 people. At the time he was only 25 years old.^[1]

Professional life[link]

Beginning in 1981, Tracy assembled his "success system", which was initially called "The Phoenix Seminar." Three years later, in 1985, he released an updated version of this seminar as a self-help audio tape entitled "The Psychology of Achievement".

Tracy's book Maximum Achievement was included as one of 50 success, motivation and leadership classics in the book 50 Success Classics^[2] (2004) by Tom Butler-Bowdon.

Tracy is a member of the board of trustees for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington, D.C.-based public policy research institute.^[3]

His body of work is loosely based on a number of other success "gurus" such as Earl Nightingale, Jim Rohn and Denis Waitley. He has recently^[when?] launched Brian Tracy University, an online course of study which is designed to assist entrepreneurs, business owners and sales professionals.

The Brian Tracy College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Andrew Jackson University (a distance learning school based in Hoover, Alabama), is named after him and based on his teachings. At the New York headquarters of ALM Media, a legal publisher, a motivational quote of Tracy's appears on the office wall: “excellence is not a destination; it is a continuous journey that never ends.”

In March 2008, Brian Tracy and some of his business partners created iLearningGlobal, which is another online learning community.^[4]

In January 15, 2009, Forbes.com reported that Tracy's books and seminars make about $25-30 million. He said that the more you read, the more you grow.

Personal life[link]

Brian Tracy's wife is named Barbara, and they have four children (Christina, Michael, David, and Catherine). Brian Tracy has three brothers, Robin, Dalmar, and Paul (Tracy dedicated his book "Million Dollar Habits" to his three brothers).

In April 2010, Tracy officially announced on his blog that he is suffering from throat cancer, which eventually disappeared.^[5]

Quotes[link]

• "Our mind is the most valuable possession that we have. The quality of our lives is, and will be, a reflection of how well we develop, train, and utilize this precious gift."
• "Successful people tend to become more successful because they are always thinking about their successes."
• "If you consistently and persistently do the things that other successful people do, nothing in the world can stop you from being a big success also."
• "You are the architect of your own destiny; you are the master of your own fate; you are behind the steering wheel of your life. There are no limitations to what you can do, have, or be. Except the limitations you place on yourself by your own thinking.^[6]
• "Resolve in advance that you will never give up, no matter what happens."

Books[link]

• Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed (1993) ISBN 0-671-86518-8
• Advanced Selling Strategies: The Proven System of Sales Ideas, Methods, and Techniques Used by Top Salespeople Everywhere (1995) ISBN 0-684-82474-4
• The Psychology of Selling: The Art of Closing Sales (1995) ISBN 978-0-7435-2069-0
• Jones and the Salesman (1999)
• The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success (2000) ISBN 1-57675-126-0
• The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires: How to Achieve Financial Independence Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible (2001) ISBN 1-58376-205-1
• Eat that Frog: 21 Ways to stop Procrastination and get More Done in Less Time (2001) ISBN 1-58376-202-7
• Get Paid More and Promoted Faster (2001) ISBN 1-58376-207-8
• Focal Point (2001) American Management Association ISBN 0-8144-7278-8
• Victory!: Applying the Proven Principles of Military Strategy to Achieve Success in Your Business and Personal Life (2002) ISBN 0-8144-0750-1
• Be a Sales Superstar: 21 Great Ways to Sell More, Faster, Easier in Tough Markets (2002) ISBN 1-57675-175-9
• Create Your Own Future: How to Master the 12 Critical Factors of Unlimited Success (2002) ISBN 0-471-25107-0
• Goals!: How To Get Everything You Want—Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible (2003) ISBN 978-1-57675-235-7
• Turbostrategy: 21 Powerful Ways to Transform your Business and Boost Your Profits Quickly (2003) ISBN 0-8144-7193-5
• Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life (2003) ISBN 0-471-44858-3
• Getting Rich Your Own Way: Achieve All Your Financial Goals Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible (2004) ISBN 0-471-65264-4
• Time Power: A Proven System for Getting More Done in Less Time Than You Ever Thought Possible (2004) American Management Association ISBN 0-8144-7247-8
• Something for Nothing : The All-Consuming Desire that Turns the American Dream into a Social Nightmare (2005) ISBN 1-59555-038-0
• The Power of Charm: How to Win Anyone over in Any Situation (2006) American Management Association ISBN 0-8144-7357-1
• Crunch Point: The 21 Secrets to Succeeding When It Matters Most (2006) American Management Association ISBN 978-0-8144-7371-9
• Flight Plan: The Real Secret of Success (2008) ISBN 1-57675-497-9
• The Miracle of Self-discipline: The "No-Excuses" Way to Getting Things Done (2010) ISBN 1-908364-04-1

References[link]

External links[link]

• Brian Tracy International Official website
• Brian Tracy's Blog
• The Brian Tracy Executive MBA at Andrew Jackson University
• Works by or about Brian Tracy in libraries (WorldCat catalog)