The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires: How to Achieve Financial Independence Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy


The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires: How to Achieve Financial Independence Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible
Title : The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires: How to Achieve Financial Independence Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1583762051
ISBN-10 : 9781583762059
Language : English
Format Type : Hardcover
Number of Pages : 91
Publication : First published January 15, 2001

IN HIS BOOK The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Brian Tracy drew on his thirty years of experience and knowledge to present a set of principles or "universal laws" that lie behind the success of business people everywhere, in every kind of enterprise, large and small. This latest volume, The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires, is made up of entirely new material that shows how anyone, no matter where they are in life at this moment, can become a millionaire.

The advice in this book is based on Brian Tracy's twenty-five years of research, teaching, and personal experience on the subject of self-made millionaires. Tracy himself used these ideas to rise from humble beginnings to become a millionaire. And Tracy has discovered that all successful people practice these 21 success secrets, whether they're consciously aware of it or not. In The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires Tracy not only identifies and defines each success secret, but also reveals its source and foundation, illustrates how it functions in the world, and shows how to apply it in life and work through specific steps and practical exercises that everyone can use.

Easy to read, easy to understand, and easy to apply, The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires shows how anyone can cultivate the habits and behaviors that will enable them to achieve not just financial independence, but success in any area of life. Because, as Tracy writes, "The most important part of achieving great success is not the money. It is the kind of person you have to become to earn that money and hold onto it."


The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires: How to Achieve Financial Independence Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible Reviews


  • Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill)

    Brian Tracy tells us how to become successful in business at a faster pace through this book.

    What are the 21 secrets of self-made millionaires
    The essence of the 21 secrets discussed are given below

    1 Dream big dreams to raise self-esteem, self-respect, and personal happiness.

    2 Develop a clear sense of direction to crystallize them into specific goals (write ten goals in the present tense as though years passed and you have already achieved them. Begin each goal with I to make it personal.)

    3 See yourself as self-employed. Accept 100% responsibility for everything you are and everything you ever be.

    4 Do what you love to do. Find your natural talent and strength and do that which fascinates you.

    5 Commit to excellence. Be competent in your chosen field. Try to become at the top of your domain.

    6 Develop a workaholic mentality. Work harder and longer. If you work over 40 hours to become the best. (Average for American millionaires is 59 hours/week and six days/week. They will come first and leave last from their office.)

    7 Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning. The mind is a muscle that develops only with learning. This is indispensable for success in your field. Reading or listening to audiobooks in your area for at least 30-60 minutes each day. (1 book/week or 50 books/year). Turn your car into a learning machine by playing audiobooks whenever you are traveling. Try also to attend seminars.

    8 Pay yourself first. Always save 10% of your income for your financial accumulation and invest it into a mutual fund or other areas you are interested in investing.

    9 Learn every detail of your business. Read every magazine, journal, and latest book in your field.

    10 Dedicate yourself to serving others. Try to give what your customer needs. Always go the extra mile for your customers.

    11 Be impeccably honest with yourself and others. Integrity is an essential quality in the business. The number of people who trust you is directly proportional to your success in business.

    12 Set priorities on your activities and concentrate on a single thing at a time.

    13 Develop a reputation for speed and dependability. Time is the currency in this century. Move fast in such a way that others are amazed.

    14 Be prepared to climb from peak to peak in your life and career. Develop long time perspective.

    15 Practice self-discipline in all things. This is the most important quality among these 21 secrets. Self-discipline means self-mastery, self-control, self-responsibility, and self-direction.

    16 Unlock your inborn creativity. Thinking creatively can increase your intelligence and IQ.

    17 Get around the right people. The quality of your relationships is critical in business—network with the optimistic, happier people. Get away from negative, critical, complaining people. Be a go-giver than a go-getter. The more you give without expecting returns, the more rewards will come back to you from unexpected sources.

    18 Take excellent care of your physical health. Proper weight, proper diet, and proper exercise (approximately 200 minutes per week or 30 minutes per day, 30-60 minutes walk 3-5 times per day, or exercising in a health club will help you to meet this goal.)

    19 Be decisive and action-oriented. Try far more than the ordinary people.

    20 Never consider the possibility of failure. If you want to be successful faster, you must double your rate of failure. Success lies on the far side of failure.

    21 Be persistent in everything you do. Never ever give, no matter what happens.


    My favorite three lines from this book.
    “Parkinson’s law states that expenses rise to meet income.”

    “Make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear. If you do the thing you fear, the death of fear is certain.- Ralph Waldo Emerson”

    “Whenever you are faced with a risky situation, ask yourself this question, What is the worst possible thing that could happen if I go ahead?”

    Every human being is unique in their own way. We can’t say that just because an idea worked in the case of one individual, it will work for everyone else. The manner in which Brian Tracy tells the readers to try to copy and emulate all the 21 points is absurd. We are not made to become carbon copies of other successful human beings.

    I think what you should do with this book is to consider each of these 21 points, find out which all will be applicable in your case, and try to emulate that in your own way. All the 21 secrets shared by the author are good, and if you use these ideas with commonsense, this book will be handy for you.

  • Christopher Lewis Kozoriz

    "The most important factor in achieving great financial success is not the money. It is the kind of person you have to become to earn that money and then hold on to it...Here's the best news of all. Virtually everyone starts with nothing. More than 90 percent of all financially successful people today started off broke or nearly broke. The average self-made millionaire has been bankrupt or nearly bankrupt 3.2 times. Most wealthy people failed many times before they finally found the right opportunity that they were able to leverage into financial success. And what hundreds of thousands and millions of other people have done, you can do as well." (Brian Tracy, The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires)

    Do I believe that this book can turn someone into a millionaire? Yes. I have to say I do, with the exception that the reader takes what they are learning in this book, and practically apply it to their lives and business(es). There are key things in this book that have caused hundreds and millions of people to become wealthy. These are not people that are smarter than you. In fact, as the author reiterates in this book, "Nobody is better than you and nobody is smarter than you." He says, "The fact is that most self-made millionaires are ordinary people with average educations working at average jobs and living in average neighborhoods in average houses driving average cars. But they have found out what other financially successful people do and they have done those same things over and over again until they achieved the same results. It is no miracle and it is no accident. And when you think the same thoughts and do the same things that self-made millionaires do, you will begin to get the same results and benefits they do. It is simply a matter of cause and effect."

    The author shares what he believes are The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires; they being:

    SUCCESS SECRETS
    1. Dream Big Dreams;

    2. Develop a Clear Sense of Direction;

    3. See Yourself as Self-Employed;

    4. Do What You Love to Do;

    5. Commit to Excellence;

    6. Work Longer and Harder;

    7. Dedicate Yourself to Lifelong Learning;

    8. Pay Yourself First;

    9. Learn Every Detail of Your Business;

    10. Dedicate Yourself to Serving Others;

    11. Be Absolutely Honest with Yourself;

    12. Determine Your Highest Priorities and
    Concentrate;

    13. Develop a Reputation for Speed
    and Dependability

    14. Be Prepared to Climb from Peak to Peak;

    15. Practice Self-Discipline in All Things;

    16. Unlock Your Inborn Creativity;

    17. Get around the Right People;

    18. Take Excellent Care of Your Physical Health;

    19. Be Decisive and Action Oriented;

    20. Never Allow Failure to Be an Option; and

    21. Pass the “Persistence Test”.

    The chapters start off with each of the success secrets mentioned above, and then the author expounds further on what each success secret means. He then provides an "Action Exercise" at the end of each chapter that relates to the success secret being taught.

    Investing, stocks, real estate, starting a business(es) and other ways of wealth creation are not mentioned in this book, this book is more about the strategies, skills and techniques that most millionaires utilize as they pursue financial independence.

  • Vaishali

    "When you go the extra mile, there are never any traffic jams."

  • Reza Rje

    اصلا خوب نبود
    یه سری بدیهی جات

  • Huda Aweys

    Such a great and inspirational book 💚 I like it really😍
    just dream big .. It's good for your mental health even if you didn't reach .. just try 💚

  • Ramy

    3.5 من 5
    و لعدم وجود انصاف نجوم فيأخذ 3 من 5

    لتحميل الكتاب


    http://talk.m5zn.com/t24621.html

    http://www.4shared.com/office/I4V4pEu...

    http://www.4shared.com/********/WKjx2...

    الكتاب هو نسخة مصغرة و مختصرة من كتاب

    Create Your Own Future: How to Master the 12 Critical Factors of Unlimited Success

    كتاب جميل عظيم الفائدة و لكنه 70% تنمية بشرية و 30% او اقل نصائح حول العمل و المال

    النجاح هو شىء يمكن التنبوء به و توقعه

    الكتاب القادم : كيف يفكر الناجحون ؟

  • Servaich Mangi

    The author is accustomed to repeat same thoughts and ideas in each and every book he has written.
    Even though It was a short read with good ideas...

  • Geeta

    More of 3.5 stars.
    An easy and short read.

    General encouragement for those days when no real high is sinking you real low.
    A reminder to put in your all and do well, prioritize, take care of all things important and be persistent!

    Some of the take away from this book:
    Law of Cause & Effect.
    This law says that there is a specific effect for every cause. For every action, there is a reaction.
    Nature is neutral. The natural world or the market place does not care who you are or what you are. If you do what other successful people do, you will eventually get the results that other successful people get.

    Dream Big Dreams:
    Dream big dreams; only big dreams have the power to move men's souls. - Marcus Aurelius
    You have to have a dream if you want to make a dream come true.

    Develop a Clear Sense of Direction:
    A person with a clear purpose will make progress on even the roughest road. A person with no purpose will make no progress on even the smoothest road. - Thomas Carlyle
    You become what you think about most of the time.
    Simple seven-step formula for setting & achieving goals:
    1-decide exactly what you want in each area of your life.
    2-write down your goals clearly & specifically. Something amazing happens between your head & your hand when you put your goals in writing.
    3-Set deadlines for each goal. Set subdeadlines if a goal is big enough. Give yourself a target to aim at.
    4-make a list of everything you can think of that you will have to do to achieve each goal. As you think of new ideas, add them to your list until it is complete.
    5-organize your list into a plan of action.
    6-take action on your plan immediately.
    7-do something everyday that moves you at least one step closer to your most important goal.

    See Yourself as Self-Employed:
    I am the Captain of my soul; I am the master of my fate. - William Henley
    You see yourself as the boss of your own life. You see yourself as completely in charge of your physical health, your financial well-being, your career, your relationships, your lifestyle, and every other element of your existence.
    Self-responsible people are intensely result oriented. They always take high levels of initiative. They volunteer for assignments and are always asking for more responsibility. As a result, they become the most valuable and respected people in their organizations. They continually prepare themselves for positions of higher authority and responsibility in the future.

    Do What You Love to Do:
    When you start doing what you really love to do, you'll never work another day in your life. - Brian Tracy
    When you are doing what you love to do, you seem to have a continuous flow of excitement, energy, and ideas to do what you do even better.
    If you won a million $s, tax free, tomorrow, would you continue to do what you are currently doing?
    Perhaps the greatest responsibility of adult life, when you are surrounded by so many different choices of occupation and career, is for your to find out what you really love doing and then dedicate yourself to that field. And no one else can do this for you.

    Commit to Excellence:
    The quality of your life will be determined by the depth of your commitment to excellence, no matter what your chosen field. - Vince Lombardi
    Virtually all successful people are recognized as being extremely competent in their chosen fields.
    Your life only gets better when you get better. And since there is no limit to how much better you can become, there is no limit to how much better you can make your life.
    Being excellent affects your whole personality and all your relationships with other people.
    What one skill, if I developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?

    Work Longer and Harder:
    The harder I work, the luckier I get. - James Thurber
    Develop a reputation of being amongst the hardest working people in your field.
    Practice the "40 Plus" formula. This formula says that you work 40 hours per week for survival; everything over 40 hours is for success. Every hour over 40 hours is an investment in your future.
    There is just no substitute for long days and hard work.
    Work all the time you work.

    Dedicate Yourself to Lifelong Learning:
    Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field. - Denis Waitley
    The more you learn, the more you can learn.
    Leaders are learners.
    Lifelong learning is the minimum requirement for success.
    There are three keys to lifelong learning:
    1-Read in your field for at least 30 to 60 minutes each day. You will become one of the smartest, most competent, and highest paid people in your profession by simply reading one hour each day.
    2-Listen to audio programs in your car as you drive from place to place. Turn your car into a learning machine, into a university on wheels.
    3-Attend every course and seminar you can possibly find that can help you to be better in your field.
    The combination of books, audio programs, and seminars will enable you to save hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars and many years of hard work.

    Pay Yourself First:
    A part of all you earn is yours to keep, and if you cannot save money, the seeds of greatness are not in you. - W. Clement Stone
    Save and Invest.
    Practice frugality, frugality, frugality in all things.
    Don't become a victim of "Parkinson's Law" - which says that "expenses rise to meet income."

    Learn Every Detail of Your Business:
    If you become very good at what you do, there is nothing that can stop you from getting paid more and promoted faster. - Dan Kennedy
    The market pays excellent rewards for excellent performance. It pays average rewards for average performance and below-average rewards, failure, and frustration for below-average performance.
    Your goal should be to become an expert in your chosen field by learning every single detail about how to do your work better and better.
    The Law of Integrative Complexity says that the individual who can integrate and use the greatest amount of information in any field soon rises to the top of that field.
    One small detail, insight, or idea can be the turning point in your career. Never stop looking for it.
    Identify the trends in your business. What are the core competencies or key skills that you will need to lead your field in the future? Make a plan today to develop those skills and then work on them every day.

    Dedicate Yourself to Serving Others:
    You can get everything you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want. - Zig Ziglar
    Your rewards in life will always be in direct proportion to your service to other people.
    All self-made millionaires have an obsession with customer service. They are continually looking for new and better ways to serve their customers better than anyone else.
    Keep asking yourself - what do my customers really want? What do my customers really need? What do my customers consider value? What can I give my customers better than anyone else? Why are my customers buying from others today, and what would I have to offer them to get them to buy from me?
    Your success in life will be in direct proportion to what you do after you do what you are expected to do.
    Always seek ways to go the extra mile for your customers. Remember, there are never any traffic jams on the extra mile.
    Your customers are those people who depend on for your success in your work. This means your boss, coworkers as well as people who buy your products or service.
    Your customers are also those people who depend on you for their success or satisfaction.
    What can I do to increase the value of my service to my customers today?
    Identify your most important customers, both inside and outside your company. Who are the people you most depend upon? Who are the people who most depend upon you? What could you do, starting today, to take better care of them?

    Be Absolutely Honest with Yourself and Others:
    Thought is the original source of all wealth, all success, all material gain, all great discoveries and inventions, and all achievement. - Claude M. Bristol
    Perhaps the most valued and respected quality you can develop is a reputation for absolute integrity.
    Remember that your word is your bond and your honor is everything when it comes to business.
    All successful business is based on trust.
    Your character is the most important asset that you develop in your entire life, and your character is based on the amount of integrity that you practice.

    Determine Your Highest Priorities and Concentrate on Them Single-Mindedly:
    "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." Do what comes to your hand to do. - Brian Tracy
    Persevere without diversion or distraction.
    By continually setting priorities and concentrating on your highest value tasks, you will soon develop the habit of high performance.

    Develop a Reputation for Speed and Dependability:
    Do your work; not just your work and no more, but a little bit more for the lavishings sake, that little more which is worth more than all the rest. - Dean Briggs
    Time is the currency of the 21st century.
    Customers who did not even know that they wanted a product or service now want it yesterday.
    When your boss or your customers ask you to do something, drop everything else and do it so fast that they are amazed. You have heard it said that "Whenever you want to get something done, give it to a busy person."
    People who have a reputation for moving quickly attract more opportunities and possibilities to them.
    When you can combine your ability to select your highest priority task with the commitment to getting it done quickly and well, you will find yourself moving to the front. More doors and opportunities will open for you.

    Be Prepared to Climb from Peak to Peak:
    Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. - Vince Lombardi
    All business life is made up of cycles and trends. There are up cycles and down cycles. Often, trends in business can lead to a complete change in the industry.
    Develop long time perspective.
    Don't allow yourself to get onto an emotional roller coaster with the short term ups and downs of daily life.

    Practice Self-Discipline in All Things:
    Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not. - Elbert Hubbard
    Every act of self-discipline strengthens your other disciplines as well.
    The more you practice discipline in small things, the more capable you become of the great disciplines required for the great opportunities, experiences and challenges of life.
    Everything in life is a test.
    Every day, every hour, and sometimes every minute, you are taking a test - of self-mastery, self-control, and self discipline.
    Discipline weighs ounces; failure weighs tons. - Jim Rohn

    Unlock Your Inborn Creativity:
    Imagination is more important than facts. - Albert Einstein
    Creativity is stimulated by three factors:
    1-intensely desired goals
    2-pressing problems
    3-focused questions
    Creativity is just another word for "Improvement".
    Action is everything!

    Get around the Right People:
    You will be the same person in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read. - Charlie Jones
    Your success and happiness in life is going to be determined by the quality of the relationships that you develop in your personal and your business activities.
    The more people you know and who know you in a positive way, the more successful you will be and the faster you will move ahead.
    Everything involves relationships.
    If you want to fly with the eagles, you cannot scratch with the turkeys.
    Be a "go-giver" rather than a go-getter.
    The very best way to network and build your relationships is to constantly look for ways to help other people achieve their own goals.
    The more you give of yourself without expecting something in return, the more rewards will come back to you from the most unexpected sources.
    Remember, first you sow and then you reap.

    Take Excellent Care of Your Physical Health:
    The key to happiness is a sound mind in a sound body. - Theodore Roosevelt
    Commitment to health requires tremendous self-mastery, self-control, and self-discipline, but the payoff can be extraordinary.

    Be Decisive and Action Oriented:
    Take arms against a sea of troubles, and in so doing, end them. - William Shakespeare
    Think carefully and then make decisions quickly. Discipline oneself to take action and to carry out the decisions made. Move fast and get quick feedback from the actions taken. If a mistake is found, then quickly self-correct and try something else.
    The key to triumph is for you to try.
    Law of Probabilities - if you try far more different ways to be successful, the odds are that you will eventually find the right way for you at the right time.
    When you become decisive and action oriented, you get far more done than other people.

    Never Allow Failure to Be an Option:
    There is nothing to fear but fear itself. - Franklin D. Roosevelt
    It is the fear of failure or the anticipation of failure, not the failure itself, that can paralyze your thoughts and activities and hold you back from even trying to do the things that you need to do to be a big success. Take calculated risks in the direction of goals to achieve greater rewards.
    "If you want to be successful faster, you must double your rate of failure. Success lies on the far side of failure." - Thomas J. Watson Sr., the founder of IBM.
    Whenever you are faced with a risky situation, ask yourself this question, What is the worst possible thing that could happen if I go ahead? Then, as J.Paul Getty, the self-made oil billionaire, said, you should make sure that, whatever it is, it doesn't happen.
    "Make a habit throughout your life of doing the things you fear. If you do the thing you fear, the death of fear is certain." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
    "Failure is not an option!".

    Pass the "Persistence Test":
    Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. - Calvin Coolidge
    Persistence is the iron quality of character.
    Resolve in advance that you will never give up, no matter what happens.
    "Circumstances do not make the man. They merely reveal him to himself." - Epictetus.
    Always seek the valuable lesson in every set-back or difficulty.

  • Nicko D

    Общо взето бягайте от книги, на чиято предна корица е снимката на автора (с изключиние на биографиите)
    Интересна ми е тая вълна, по която всички са луднали, книги, които уж разкриват тайни как да станеш богат, милионер, по-успешен и т.н. Книги като "Да прецакаш дявола", "Мисли и забогатявай", "Тайната" и пр. се продават наистина като топъл хляб. За Брайън Трейси бях чел хубави неща и смятах, че е нещо далеч по-различно, но не би...

    Книжлето му "21 тайни на самосъздателите се милионери" е абсолютна глупотевина. Не си губете времето, ще ви издам само няколко от "тайните": DREAM BIG; поставете си цели, запишете ги, визуализирайте си постиженията, представете си, че сте богат, че имате пари, мислете положително; ако другите работят 40 часа на седмица, вие работете 45; посещавайки семинари, обучавайте се, учете безспирно, бъдете честни в бизнеса, грижете се за здравето си, за да живеете до 80 или 100 години; работете докато конкуренцията спи... Бооооооожееее, клише до клише! Подобни книги правят богати единствено авторите им.

  • JJ Khodadadi

    نکات ساده و خوبی گفته شده بود که بنظرم بر روی پیشرفت کاری تاثیر بسزایی خواهند داشت. درکل از این کتاب کم حجم راضی بودم

  • Srinivasan Nanduri

    Good 21 actionable points. As always, Brian Tracy needs no special mention. A no non-sense and to the point read

  • Nataliia

    Great compact book, straight to the point, motivating and assuring. Recommending.

  • Audrey

    The only thing this book did for me was inspire me to write a finance book because I’m positive I would do a better job lol

  • Chirag Mandaliya

    'Straight to the point' book.

  • Zondo Will

    It unlocks and simplifies how to succed at anything you want to get by setting goals and get into action, as you do this you get energized on day to day activities. Lastly learn every detail of what you want to achieve, read everything you can in that field. Those that do this are in the top 3 percent successful people in the world.

  • Francisco

    Todo es dinero en esta vida y a todo el mundo le gustaría tener más. ¿Qué habitos distinguen a los millonarios? Brian Tracy te lo cuenta en este libro. Tracy es, además, uno de los autores incluidos en 'Aprendiendo de los mejores' (Alienta Editorial)

    Para más información y reseña:
    http://ow.ly/shIN30hx3h1

  • Francesca

    Good tips, but some toxic thinking

  • Gareth Otton

    After 15 years of reading self-help books and trying to apply their teachings to my life, it's hard to believe that I ever valued this man's books so highly. Brian Tracy is like the original version of the life-hack trends on social media. There might be one or two genuine hacks amongst the roster of ideas they throw at you, but most are barely useful at all, and some are outright garbage.

    It's not that the advice in these books is bad (not all of it, anyway), but rather that the ideas are either:

    * Too simplistic - These are essentially the book equivalent of click-bait headlines. They're ideas that are so overly simplified, that trying to implement them without truly understanding what makes them work will doom you to failure and could even be harmful to your goals.

    * Too numerous -
    Even this relatively short book has 21 'success secrets' to throw at you. There's way too much to implement all of them (or even a lot of them) in a meaningful way, and it's the equivalent of throwing s**t at the wall to see what sticks.

    * Measure outcomes in ways you can't control - Often the author promises results from these self-improvement actions that are beyond your ability to control, and that's an impossible promise. Stoicism teaches that there are outcomes in life (the actions of others, the actions of nature, etc) that you simply can't control, and trying to control those outcomes is a lesson in futility that will lead you down self-destructive paths. You should instead spend your energy on things that are fully within your control. (i.e. When at work, don't focus all your energy on impressing your boss, instead focus it on developing your sellable skills. These skills will naturally translate into you becoming a better/more employable person which should improve your standing in your current job, or make you more employable elsewhere. Focusing only on impressing your boss only improves your standing within your current scope of employment, and doesn't guarantee success beyond that)

    * Don't work in the real life situations

    After having read this man's work for over a decade, I have learned the hard way that these 4 are the worst offenders of the 21 rules in this book.

    Rule 6: Work Longer and Harder & Rule 13: Develop a Reputation for Speed and Dependability - Of all the rules Brian Tracy offers, these are the two that I have practised the most because they have always been a part of who I am. I've always worked hard, and worked fast, and I know full well that they will not give you the outcomes that Brian Tracy promises. His arguments are that if you are the first person into the office, the last person to leave, the person who is most dependable, and the person who can accomplish their tasks quickest, then your employer will take notice and reward you. Outside of extremely rare exceptions, employers will actually just shift their expectations of you so that this becomes the new normal. Most employers begrudge having to pay so much on wages as they are the largest expense in any business, and as a result, see all of their employees as unproductive and not a good deal. By taking this advice, they don't see that you have gone above and beyond for them, you are just now the only person in the office who is actually doing what they are paid to do. Your employer may like you more for this, but they are almost never going to look at you and think you are underpaid and deserve more from them. The only place these rules will actually work is if you apply them to tasks for yourself, not for someone else.

    Rule 17: Get around the Right People - It's all well and good saying you should only surround yourself with successful people, but unless you are some kind of psychopath who values your friendships only on what the people in your life can give you, then this is going to leave you alone and friendless. Does this mean you should keep toxic people in your life who are holding you back? Of course not. I am also not saying that you shouldn't look to bring people into your life who inspire you. But I have seen what it is like when someone takes this rule to heart, and those people (while financially successful) move through social circles like an inferno, burning everything in their path and leaving only destruction in their wake. They may be getting further ahead in their careers, but they burn so many bridges that their successes are nothing more than surface level and never last. They become like sharks, constantly needing to keep moving or they will die. That's hardly a life to work towards.

    Rule 20: Never Allow Failure to be an Option - This might just be the worst advice of the lot. Taken at face value, this is obviously bad advice because failure is an important part of life because it is from failure that we learn. However, in this book Brian Tracy says that you should never let yourself think of failure because it will hold you back. On the surface, that sounds like a good idea because you shouldn't let your fear of failure ever stop you. However, never letting yourself think of failure is a recipe for disaster, because failure is an inevitable part of life and never thinking about it means you are always unprepared. More importantly, though, the only way to truly overcome a fear is to face it head-on. Therefore the better way to face the fear of failure is to focus on those fears and find ways to defeat them (methods like Tim Ferris' Fear Setting is a great example of this).

    Ultimately, this book is a short cash grab by the author, something that was made doubly clear by the fact that there is literally an advert for the author's life coaching course a the end of the audiobook. It gets a second star because there is useful information here, but you really need to know how to sift for gold because its surrounded by a lot of bad advice that in cases like mine, takes 10-15 years to realise it was never good advice to begin with.

  • Damian Zydek

    "Your life only gets better when you get better"

    Despite this repelling 'read-bait' book title, this book is worth recommending. I recommend it to everyone willing to take their life into their own hands and design the life they want.

    Those 21 rules of 'how to be better and have better life' may not be complete, and you may not agree on every one of them, but they are a great starting point for a personal roadmap to have a better life.

    They start with a vision of your perfect life and then describe how to execute that vision by applying good habits.

    Despite those rules being simple, you will need time and great motivation to put them into practice.

    Be persistent, patient, and good luck!

  • Jude

    There's nothing earth-shattering or brand new in this book, however, sometimes we need to be reminded of life's basic truths. Brian Tracy always has some good, simple, actionable insight, and this book is no exception. There's some old-fashioned nutritional advice he gives in this book that I don't agree with, but I chalk that up to what the prevailing nutritional knowledge was at the time he wrote this book.

  • Rehnell Blackett

    Brian Tracy has always been someone that I have picked up great advice from. Albeit this book is a miniature book it has quite a few things I have heard before from self-development books. It still has a few hidden gems you can take away. The title may throw people off with the title. The American style money-orientated look, however, it's a book that has tools that you can implement to your everyday life to grow, become the best you and accomplish happiness and success.

  • Ernest Adewoyin

    No one ever told me that it was so hard to become a millionaire. But I've learnt one secret... If you obeyed the teachings of Jesus to the letter... It would be like engine oil to your engine on this rough road.

    The market is changing everyday and what is selling is not fundamentally products - it's belief systems.

  • Domingos Novela

    Este é daqueles livros que por ser pequeno e muito bem escrito, deve ser lido uma vez por semana.
    Basicamente B. Tracy resumiu aqui todo o material que ele vem ensinando. Tocou nos pontos mais importantes. Quem quiser mais aprofundar cada uma das dicas, deve ir atrás de outro material dele. Gostei.

  • Alex Artamonova

    Pretty general advice on working hard and staying focused :) I mean, pretty much the case for ensuring success as far as it can be ensured. But a good recommendation for working on your own dream beyond the work needed just to survive.