Do you know who Brian Tracy is? I actually didn’t until recently… and I can’t believe it!
After being in newspaper advertising sales for many years… and a couple of years of unemployment (which has been visited many, many times throughout this blog so I won’t linger here) … I ended up at a high-end, glossy, niche magazine, selling advertising. There were many things I loved about the job that will forever leave a tinge of regret for leaving after a year.
Like most commission-sales jobs, it was frantic, at times (during deadlines, for example) and a lot was expected of the sales reps. They were wise enough to understand that sales training was vital for success. The training I received was second-to-none I had gone through before… and generated a level of possibility and excitement that I’d never experienced in past jobs. That I couldn’t deliver was not the fault of anyone but myself, which is where I will leave this story of shame and gloom. Not the point. The point? Brian Tracy! I first heard of him during my training at the magazine.
Tracy has loads of training on YouTube and his website. He is the author of many books but today, I will be talking about Many Miles to Go, a favorite of mine.
And you know, I actually WILL go back to my story of shame and gloom… because one of Tracy’s quotes fit very well here: “Most people achieved their greatest success one step beyond what looked like their greatest failure.” – Brian Tracy
Who knows? I might have found that I fit very well, had I waited one more day, or week… I wasn’t being asked to leave… I just felt I should. Was it my intuition or was my gut fooling me? I’ll never know. Interesting thoughts, though. Ahem. Back to the book.
This book is true… not “based on” true experiences but actually true! He and two friends really went to the Sahara and had an adventure… and also really learned some lessons about life and business, sometimes the hard way!
It’s peppered with quotes from other smart folks – many I’d never heard of, like Ralph Charell, who said: “Nobody succeeds beyond his or her wildest expectations unless her or she begins with some wild expectations.” How true is that?
I love how the book is set up into manageable chapters with lots of breaks. They’re needed, as there’s a lot to digest here. Tracy helps things along with easy-to-understand language and a down-home feel that translates to his talks and his writing. You know how some of those motivational speakers can be… a little high and mighty… well, not this one. You really get the idea that he’s “one of us.”
Tracy is not alone on his journey… not in the book and not in life. I especially appreciate the notion that we need each other.
There are many who come with us on our journeys… physical and emotional… and provide something important along the way…
… by walking in front (a guide), behind (a protector) or beside (a friend). Those are my descriptors… and I think they’re pretty good. *grin*
The Self-Help Whisperer® 