Growing up, Brian Tracy was my earliest inspiration for success. He is a Bestselling author,
 and had one of the most dramatic personal stories of any of the world's leading experts on the
pathway to success.

He didn't graduate from high school, and his first full-time job was as a dishwasher. One menial
job followed another: stacking lumber, digging wells, pumping gas. At one point, he found himself
living out of his car in the middle of winter.

When he took his first sales job, which paid commissions in cash the same day, he began to taste
material success--and he wondered how those who achieved extraordinary levels of success were
able to do so.

Eventually putting into practice what he learned, Tracy received a master's degree in business administration and rose to become COO of Allarco Developments, a company with sales of $75
million
a year.


So many people suffer from inferiority complexes. Doesn't that stand in the way?

Tracy: The biggest obstacle to success is feeling you're not good enough, comparing yourself
unfavorably to others. The psychologist Abraham Maslow said the story of the human race is of
people selling themselves short. I once read a line that just whacked me in the forehead: "The
story you tell yourself about your past determines your future." Negative self-talk is very damaging.
If you rehash bad experiences, the subconscious is dragged down. On the other hand, you can lift
yourself up by always keeping positive thoughts in your mind. It sounds simple, but most people
don't follow this.

 What are the best methods to reprogram the mind?

Tracy: One of the most effective ways is using affirmations.  Habits are learned and can be unlearned.
If you put in three weeks repeating [affirmations] to yourself, you'll be amazed at the results. The
 formula for affirmations is to put what you want to happen in the first person, present tense, in a
positive statement, as if it has already taken place. "I weigh 165 pounds." "I am earning $40,000."
"I am a non-smoker." The brain has a natural goal-seeking mechanism that accepts only positive commands. How effective this is depends on how much people believe this can happen.

 What other techniques can help us reach goals?

Tracy: Just like working out, you can build up your mental muscles by exercising them. Take 3x5 index
cards and write down your goals in the same way--as affirmations. Look at each one as often as
possible during the day, and think about how you can achieve it. Visualize in your mind what achieving
it would look like, just like top athletes do. It's like stepping on the accelerator of the subconscious to
go after your goals. As incredible as it seems, this creates a force field around you that draws in people and circumstances that help. That sounds mystical, but think about the most powerful forces in the universe that are invisible, mysterious, and yet real, like love or gravity. To skeptics, I say, "Try out
these things for 30 days, and simply draw pragmatic conclusions." My ideas are based on what
happens, not theory. I'm telling you what really successful people really do.