Customer Reviews

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life: How to Unlock Your Full Potential for Success and Achievement

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In recent years, Tracy has written a series of self-help and
motivational books based on his life-time of helping
individuals and businesses to achieve goals and improve
results. In my opinion, this is the best of the group. (One
of his earlier books, "Create Your Own Future," is also
excellent.)

The central theme is that over time, "we usually get what we
think about most." While many things factor into our success,
one of the most critical is the accuracy and power of our

thinking. In general, if we think clearly, we tend to get
better results. If we are optimistic, creative, determined,
resourceful and strategic in our thinking, we will achieve
more and better results than if we are negative, fuzzy and
confused. That seems obvious.

But too often, we forget the obvious. We allow our thinking
to focus on daily annoyances, or petty distractions, or the
latest fad. We get confused by the news, or lose our
confidence when we are criticized or experience a temporary
set-back.

Here are two key points from the book:

A) If we don't take charge of our thinking, other people and
events surely will.

Every day, advertisers spend a fortune to focus our attention
on their products. News organizations are determined to get
us to think about the latest disaster, tax increase or virus.
People around us want us to focus on THEM and THEIR problems,
rather than our own goals and priorities.

B) Your future will reflect your dominant thoughts.

Your energy level, your self-discipline and self-confidence,
your ambition and your optimism are the raw materials with
which you will build your future, and your thoughts,
attitudes and expectations largely determine your daily
actions.

And here's a suggestion of my own: Once is not enough! Most
of us have read a motivational or self-help book in the past.
We've listened to audio programs and we "know this stuff."
That's great! But it's not enough! We are bombarded with

thousands and thousands of negative messages every day.

To stay positive and motivated, to stay focused and
optimistic and ambitious, make sure you add at least a few
minutes of positive reminders to the mix - every single day!
Read every day! Listen to tapes, every day!

This is not a profound book, and there is little that is
truly "new" in it. (Oh, how we love anything that is "new and
improved!") It is merely a wonderful book that you should
read and re-read every year or so, in regular rotation with a
handful of other favorites. Buy, read and enjoy this book.

You may find it at your local bookstore, or you can get it at
Amazon. This is NOT a book to borrow from the library, skim
quickly and return. This is a book to read, and read again.
If you are serious about your future, this is one of the
books you should own and read over the years until it is dog-
eared and falls apart.

The late great Earl Nightengale was famous for saying "You become what you think about." In the bible it says; "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." So how important is thinking? It determines your outcome. Change your thinking and you will change your life and let Brian Tracy show you how.

Great book. MAybe his best.

This is one of Brian Tracy's best books, if not the best, and should be included in anyone's library if they are interested in the subject of personal achievement. For those new to the field who need to know the basics it is possibly the best introduction you could get. For those who are well informed it does contain important information not found elsewhere.

It is hard to believe some critics of this book have actually read it. Check it out for yourself. I am an avid reader of Brian Tracy and have led seminars myself on many of the subjects he presents. This is clearly one of his best. Here are some facts:

While this book does repeat many of the ideas you will find in his other books, there is excellent new material as well, and in many cases he adds to previous concepts--sometimes short but exciting ideas that offer a potential to help people make dramatic improvements in their lives.

One feature of this book that is not as common in his other works is the reference to numerous studies by universities and other research groups that demonstrate the validity of the concepts presented. It is helpful to know the basis and validity of these ideas.

The chief value of this book when compared to Brian's other books, or to other books in the field, is that it focuses on the key concept for all thinking about successful living and personal achievement--how you think determines everything. Other works focus on goal setting, time management, and other topics in a somewhat isolated way. This work discusses these but in the context of a person's attitude toward them as the key to success. This is a subtle but important concept.

It is unfortunate that some people who have read widely in the field have downgraded this book by giving it a low rating simply because they already know much of the material. On this basis the very best first grade reader would receive one star by a fifth grader because he/she already knew all the words. This is an outstanding book and deserves five stars on the basis of what it is, not put down because somewhere in over thirty volumes written by the author he may have touched on most of the topics found here. (But remember, there is enough new material to make it worth buying even if you have many of his other works.)

Get it. Read it. It will change your life.

Dr. James G. Salmons

There is an abundance of self-help books on the market. Some have been around for a long time, reissued on a regular basis. Others are new, but deliver the same wisdom in a new package.

Brian Tracy is internationally known for his work as a motivational speaker and sales trainer. He has earned the respect of his colleagues because of his ability to translate the ancient wisdom and obvious truths into forms that help his customers build better lives for themselves. His speeches, seminars, books, tapes, training packages, and more have enabled thousands and thousands of people to improve their lot in life.

This book delivers that proven wisdom-and some thought-provoking ideas-in a short-burst format. Readers will find a lot of old material here-seasoned material handed down through the ages. Before you discount it, remember that we all forget that advice-no matter how simple or obvious-that we don't review frequently. A spin through this book will stimulate some old memories that may inspire you to do something new and different to make some changes in your life.

Don't expect the lightning bolt of dramatically new material. It's not here...and you probably don't need it. You still have plenty of room to grow from application of the advice you've heard before but haven't acted on.

This is the kind of book that makes great reading for the airplane or the bathroom. Short explanations-easy to read a little, then put the book down to pick up again later. Why not put it on your bedside table to read-and think about-one piece of wisdom as you drift off to sleep.

There are exercises in the book to guide you in some applications, but you can create these practice sessions on your own. Accept this book as a compilation of well-known stories, advice, and inspirational vignettes and apply the content in your own life. Reading Brian Tracy's latest will not change your life. Applying what you read, however, could have a profound effect.

My rating is based on this book providing a good collection of nuggets of wisdom, not on any expectation that the book would be something new and different. If you feel you could benefit from a good dose of the insight that's helped thousands of people through the ages, this book will meet that need.

This is a great "how to" book for success. It gets right to the point and all the topics are broken up into short sections. These are easily readable and if you are a fan of Brian's audio programs you'll recognize a lot of the stories and concepts. The book has been a great refresher for me and I plan to use it as a reference guide as I work on my goals and success plan.

Yup, I agree with a lot of the other reviewers. I haven't read his 'old' books, but several of his works in the last few years all have a tendency to recycle the same thing. Again, if it's your first Brian Tracy book, you'll probably benefit---which is why I gave it a 2 star, not a 1. (it's strikingly similar to his previous book "Create your Future")

But I suppose thats business.....if you build it, they will come...

I wanted to let everybody know that this book does have power and can change your life. I am a big anti-common sense person and figured that this book might be that. I have seen books like this that are common sense. One of the reasons i bought this book was by to hope it would help increase my self confidence. This book definately did offer me a solutin on how to do this and it has helped me changed the way i saw myself and my life. Dive into this book whole heartedly and highlight througout and practice what he says. The two factors taht determine what happens to you in life are what you think about and how you think about it most of the time. whatever u thinka bout grows. I do think that some of the book(twords the middle)is common sense. I do agree with other writers that most of his books repeat the same info over and over again. I woudln't recomment most of his audio programs except one of the 21 great ways to manage your time and double your productivity. So to wrap it up the book is good, some is common sense, and his audio programs are repeats of his books. Let Brian show you how to open up the power of your mind

I thought this book was excellent. It was a quick read with some very basic and easy to follow advice. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to achieve great success in any aspect of their life.

Brian Tracy's book is Incredible and Marvellous. Being a Brian Tracy fan and recieve his articles in newsletter, I read his book thorough and feel it's not different like 'Positive Thinking' of Norman Vincent Peale. The only things that makes it stand a class apart is that it is packed with lot of wisdom and knowledge. Everybody talks of Changing self but here, Brian gives a mental software program to charge the mind and tap potentials hiding within to turn dreams to reality. A very good self help and motivational book that reaches to core of heart to achieve target goals. A good read for Businessmen and especially the young Executives who want to make a great future. Brian Tracy focus on Self confidence and self discipline and tells to change way of Thinking and change Attitudes. Brian Tracy transforms life and is a great author with a clear vision. A good pick.

If anyone has read any self-improvement/development book or publication in the last 5 years, listen, you DON'T need to read this book.

Recycled Ideas!
I'm not sure how many books Brian Tracy has written in the last 2 years, but they all say pretty much the same thing. He's made a great living repeating the same points Napolean Hill made with his classics, packaging them up, and marketing the heck out of them. His formula is transparent. Come on, are there any new ideas?

Poor Organization!
As mentioned in other reviews, this book is poorly organized. The book has chapters which contain short text descriptions under bullets, however, there are times you don't know when you are reading one of the bullets if it is a new section or if the text is elaborating on the previous point. It would not have taken much effort to organize this book better.

So Many "Laws"
Tracy references more laws of life than Einstein's theory on relativity. Yes, I know, "laws" and truths have always been referenced in these types of books, but you get the feeling at times that laws are being made up to fit the text. There are the laws of substitution, reversibility, compensation, indirect effort, cause & effect and others - be ready for them all.

Also, conflicts are present in the book. For example, there is reference to the Law of Reversibility which he states that you can actually "act your way into feeling in a manner consistent with the action." This is from the classic, "I am, therefore I think" self-improvement-based school. However, in the same paragraph, he states, "if you change your thinking about any part of your life, you will change how you feel and behave (act?) in that area." This is from the classic, "I think, therefore I am" camp (Descartes).

Success = Rich
The books heavily suggests that the level of success you achieve is based on your income. 1 Bullet/section under the "Put People First" chapter is titled, "Marry Rich." Not that Tracy actually recommends that you do this, but the fact that there is a section titled this and tells you how to behave to improve your chances, gives you an idea of where his head it at. Again, not necessarily an evil thing, but it's definitely aimed for a specific group of people. He's right, if you marry rich, you will change your life.