Customer Reviews

The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book will mainly be valuable to people who love to read books about personal success, and want to have one brief volume that reminds them of everything they have read on the subject.

For those who do not know much about achieving success, the lessons here are usually presented in such a simplified way (without explaining much about why they work) that the meaning will be elusive.

Also, these rules "maximize" the opportunity for those who are truly obsessed about success and/or money. If you are interested in love, happiness, relationships, or having a great family, I think this book will put you out of balance and cost you in those areas.

Mr. Tracy is a very admirable man, and someone from whom we can learn. He is a self-made millionaire. In his comments here, I got one new idea for why. He grew up in Pomona, California. Every person I knew of his age who grew up in that town became extremely eager to overcome their childhood poverty. You may not be so obsessed.

Two things, however, annoy me (as usual) about Mr. Tracy's book. First, he doesn't ever choose to credit anyone whose work he draws on in another book. A great deal of this material (almost verbatim) comes directly from Anthony Robbins' books and courses. Second, the book is often an advertisement for Mr. Tracy's many tapes, seminars, and other books. I get 90 pages-long advertising paperbacks in the mail all the time that are written much like this book. The main difference is that I don't have to pay for those. I think that this advertising is out of place in a book that people purchase.

I graded the book down two stars for these flaws.

The strength of this book is that it contains many brief exercises that will help you begin to develop more useful habits. I hope you will do them. If you do the exercises, you can virtually ignore the text, except for where you want a little insight into why you are doing the exercise.

Without the exercises, I would have graded the book down to two stars to reflect the overly minimal exposition in the 21 essays.

A fundamental weakness of the book is that the 21 rules here could have been boiled down into about 9 points. Many of the concepts overlap one another more than they differ.

Rather than give you the list of the 21, let me distill the book for you instead. It basically says: dream of something that excites you, do things that you enjoy that you are great at, establish goals in writing, keep focused on those goals, develop your skills (Covey's Sharpen the Saw) regularly every day, put the needs of others ahead of yourself, be a decent human being, connect with others, don't entirely ignore your health, work very hard, save some money and invest it, and take action as soon as possible!

You could read Benjamin Franklin and find the same points and have more fun. If you are a young person, that's exactly what I recommend that you do. Old Ben knew how to enjoy life along the way, and was one of the greatest Americans of all time. You will find yourself admiring him. Poor Richard's Almanac is often very pithy on these subjects, so you'll save reading time in the process. People will be more impressed if you quote Ban than Mr. Tracy.

After you finish reading and applying Mr. Tracy's exercises, ask yourself how you can organize your day to have time for all of these activities and whatever else is important in your life. I suggest that you use Life Strategies and the workbook that goes with it to put it all into perspective. Those exercises will help you accomplish these results as well.

Be sure to take care of your health, happiness, and peace before you start focusing too much on prosperity!

Long ago while growing up in Chicago, I read two books which have had a lasting impact on my personal and professional development: Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People and Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich. I make it a point to re-read both at least once a year; also Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. My guess (only a guess) is that these three books have also had a positive and lasting impact on Brian Tracy. Their influence is suggested in this book as are the Four Gospels and Saint Paul's various Letters in the New Testament.

However, we all realize that each of us must assume full responsibility for our successes and failures in life. The most valuable lessons we learn are from our own experiences, especially from failures. Tracy notes that "more than 90% of all financially successful people today started out broke or nearly broke. The average self-made millionaire has been bankrupt or nearly bankrupt 3.2 times." Hmmm. He chose self-made millionaires as the focal point of this book "because these people had demonstrated social qualities and behaviors that were observable and measurable." He offers 21 "success secrets," most of which are really not secrets. I would be very surprised if any one of them is unfamiliar to anyone who reads this book.

For me, this is the key point: No matter what we read and how carefully we read it, now matter how much wisdom is provided by what we read, NOTHING beneficial will result unless and until we embrace appropriate values, then make decisions and take appropriate actions which are guided and informed by those values.

Tracy insists that success is predictable. I presume to add, that the same is true of failure. "Your greatest responsibility is to dream big dreams, decide exactly what you want, make a plan to achieve it, practice the strategies in this book, take action every single day in the direction of your dreams and goals, and resolve [as Churchill urges] to never, never, never give up." Throughout his book, Tracy does indeed recommend specific strategies to follow and includes a series of Action Exercises to complete. In that event, "You become unstoppable and your success becomes inevitable."

Hill, Carnegie, Franklin, and countless others do indeed share the credit for whatever I may have achieved in my life thus far but only I am responsible for what remains of that life.

It is not enough to read and admire Tracy's book. As I have previously indicated, the challenge is to embrace appropriate values, then make decisions and take appropriate actions which are guided and informed by those values. The extent to which we respond to that challenge will determine whether or not we succeed or fail when pursuing whatever our dreams may be.

I know some people seem to equate the value of a book by it's size. That may explain some of the 1 star reviews here. This book is not big...but it is loaded with powerful information.

In this program, Tracy reveals the top 21 secrets of success. Tracy tells us that success is as predictable as the sun rising in the east and settling in the west. He indicates that there is no correlation between success and grades in school, education or even intelligence.

Tracy tells us some unfortunate statistics as well. He indicates that by age 65, out of 100 people, 1 will be wealthy, 4 will be financially independent, 15 will have some savings set aside and the other 80 will be flat broke, busted and dependent on others for survivals. This gives us a 19 to 1 chance against succeeding. Tracy shows how to reverse the ratio to our benefit.

Tracy goes on to say that success is like any other area of endeavor. It is predictable and it must be studied. Then he goes to on to reveal the 21 qualities of success which may or may not come as a surprise.

According to Tracy, if you practice and develop these 21 characteristics, nothing can stop you. And if you don't, failure is the result. Tracy asks you to grade yourself on these 21 areas honestly and then work on improving in your weak areas.

What are the top 21 characteristics?

1) Dream Big Dreams
2) Do What You Love To Do
3) Focus on Your Unique Strengths
4) See Yourself As Self Employed
5) Never Consider The Possibility of Failure
6) Develop A Clear Sense Of Direction
7) Work Hard
8) Form Master Mind Networks
9) Be Teachable
10)Be Prepared To Climb From Peak To Peak
11)Develop Resilence and Bounce Back
12)Unlock Your Inborn Creativity
13)Focus on Continous Personal Development
14)Be An Unshakable Optimist
15)Dedicate Yourself To Serving Others
16)Develop a Reputation For Speed and Dependability
17)Be Impeccably Honest With Yourself and Others
18)Concentrate Single Handily On One Thing At A Time
19)Be Decisive
20)Back Your Plans With Persistence and Determination
21)Discipline Yourself

Of course Tracy goes into much more detail on each point. He then provides exercises to show you how to develop these qualities. The only thing that I will add is that Tracy says that #21 is the most important and the #1 cause for failure as well. Without #21, the rest is useless.

This book is like a workbook, will make you think and probably reveal some things about yourself that you may not like or even agree with. But here is what I asked myself when I scored low in certain areas; "am I were I want to be financially?" The answer was no. I started to work on those weak areas, became teachable and it made all the difference in the world for me. Most importantly, I developed the quality of discipline. To do what I needed to do rather than what I wanted to do.

Keep in mind that these ideas took Brian from an income of $12,000 to over $150,000 in a very short time and then on to several million dollars. These are the strategies used by the super successful.

Small book. But don't just read it, study it. Learn these top 21 habits and let them become part of your personality. Start with the dreams, dream big dreams and always end with the discipline to pay the price and then success will be yours.

I have been a long time reader of self improvement books, as well as many finance books. So, I was very interested in reading a book that would seem to have them both in one read.

I was very disapointed, although some research may have gone into where the author actually figured out the "21 Secrets", it seems to me like he went to the self help section and pulled 21 phrases out of the air and wrote short essays on them. I don't need a cross-referenced table and 30 page bibliography, but this seems a little fishy.

For those that are looking for insight into what it really makes a millionare and how to get there, I would recommend reading the "Millionare Next Door". For those that are looking for other information on self improvement anything by Anthony Robbins, the "7 habits..." by Steven Covey, or Napolean Hill's "How to Make Friends and Influence People" are great reads.

Overall, it seems like this is the Cliff Notes version of all the other books. Which is great if all you need are motivational phrases to get you to the top, but if you really want to learn and hold on to something you should look elsewhere.

This was the first of a long string of Financial Success books that I have read in the last 18 months. I saw an ad for it and thought, "what the hell?".

The book won't let you down. The title may sound VERY CHEESEY, but please dont let that fool you. You can't really argue with anything he says. In fact I'm sure if you followed Mr Tracy's recommendations you just can't go wrong.

The audio starts out with Dream Big Dreams and Develop a Clear Sense of Direction. These are my favorite chapters. I hit review for these two tracks on my CD player all the time. I think, just as Mr. Tracy, you GOTTA think BIG! And you gotta make a plan. This book will motivate you, take my word for it.

My only complaint is that Mr.Tracy does not discuss the Mastermind concept in the chapter on Getting Around the Right People. I still give it 5 stars.

I'm not wealthy, but I've worked long enough in business to see that Tracy's advice leaves a few things to be desired.

For one thing, his "secrets" sometimes come into confict. For example, Number 6, "Work Longer and Harder," conflicts with Number 7, "Dedicate Yourself to Lifelong Learning" and Number 18, "Take Excellent Care of Your Physical Health." Time management is a zero-sum situation, so devoting more time to work subtracts from time that could be used for studying, relaxation, sleep or exercise. It's no coincidence that financially successful people tend to be unlettered and unhealthy.

As for impracticality, Number 11, "Be Absolutely Honest with Yourself and Others," is generally good advice for dealing with people who provide you with value and with whom you need to trade on a regular basis. But in the real world, after years of hard experience I have found that I frequently have to lie to get rid of potential customers who are too irrational or stupid to listen to reason -- that is, to do things my way instead of causing me trouble. It's better not to form the business relationship in the first place if the costs are likely to exceed benefits.

And as for Number 4, "Do What You Love to Do," again it sounds inspirational. But in the real world, how many of us are able to make a living doing what we REALLY want to do?

On the whole, the book offers some good advice. But Tracy's reality must be somewhat different from mine.

Short, precise and practical book for goal achieving book I ever read and makes me faster and stronger in going where I want to be.

Thank you Mr Brian Tracy.

Heard SUCCESS SECRETS OF SELF-MADE MILLIONAIRES,
written and read by Brian Tracy.

He's a renowned author, lecturer and trainer who cranks out
a lot of programs . . . this CD program wasn't brilliantly original,
but that said, I did find a lot of information in it that could
be applied to most any individual.

And though Tracy does little more than speak in front of
a camera, I liked his passion for the topic and how he came
across . . . it was almost as if he was speaking directly to me.

There were many worthwhile tidbits of information I gained
from listening . . . among them:

* Treat your company like you own it.

* Spend at least as much time on yourself as you do on your job.

* If you ask successful people for help, they'll help you. If you ask
unsuccessful people, they'll try to hold you back.

* Take something that's been done and doe it better; e.g.,
the way McDonald's did.

* More people have become wealthily by running dry cleaning
establishments than any other field.

* Focus on continuous personal development.

* One hour of study per day for five years will make you one of
the greatest experts in the world.

* Your rewards in life will be equal to the value of your service.

* Develop the ability to do what's most important and then do it
quickly. Only 2% of the nation has any sense of urgency.

I am a Brian Tracy fan, however I was less than impressed with this book. I did not find any of the information to be differant from what he has put in previous books and CD's. It is more like he dummied down the information from other books into 21 small 2-3 page lessons/chapters

There have been readers stating that this author is taking all his information from anthony robbins. This is simply not true. If there is one point that the author stresses, it is this: Causes are thoughts, Effects are conditions. To change the condition you must first change the thoughts. Like thoughts produce like effects period. Aristotle was the first person to document logic and many other categories.