Business Book Review: Goals! by Brian Tracy
Havard University research shows you can 2X and even 10X your income by following some of these top goal-setting tips.
My Rating: ★★★★
Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler
Released: 2018, originally published in 2003
Key Takeaways for Personal Branding
Goals! is the best-selling classic by productivity guru Brian Tracy and is said to be the world’s best-selling book on goals. Over two decades, hundreds of thousands of copies sold worldwide and with translations into more than 20 languages, it’s still as relevant today.
Tracy sticks to the personal mission of his work, which he says in multiple books to be “to help people achieve their goals faster than they ever would in the absence of my help.”
Achieving your goals at speed is the purpose of the book. But don’t let this idea fool you - Tracy's methods aren’t your ordinary quick fix - they require digging deep into your values and beliefs to determine your winning moves. And most importantly, begins with your mindset for unlocking your potential.
Your Mind Creates Your Reality
Tracy highlights that your inner imagination determines your outer reality:
“Perhaps the greatest discovery in human history is the power of your mind to create almost every aspect of your life. Everything you see around you in the man-made world began as a thought or an idea in the mind of a single person before it was translated into reality. Everything in your life started as a thought, a wish, a hope, or a dream, either in your mind or in the mind of someone else. Your thoughts are creative. Your thoughts form and shape your world and everything that happens to you."
It’s not just Tracy who thinks so. He highlights that it’s a central theme across key disciplines:
“The great summary statement of all religions, philosophies, metaphysics, psychology, and success is this: You become what you think about most of the time. Your outer world ultimately becomes a reflection of your inner world. Your outer world of experience mirrors back to you what you think about most of the time. Whatever you think about continuously emerges in your reality.”
In a vivid example, Tracy highlights that once you determine your goals, you have an automatic goal-setting function that works much like a homing pigeon. Homing pigeons can be put in a blanketed cage and taken to a destination a thousand miles away, and when they are released, they can fly in the air, circle three times and head straight home.
The Top 3 Percent
Like most of Tracy's popular books, he does highlight that simply thinking about your goals isn’t enough - you need to write them down to unlock their full potential. And he has science on his side to explain why. A Harvard Business School study was conducted between 1979 and 1989. In 1979, participants were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” Only 3% had written goals. 13% had goals, but they were not written down, and 84% had no goals at all.
Ten years later, in 1989, the researchers interviewed the participants and discovered that the 13% who had goals were earning twice as much as the 84% who didn’t have goals. Meanwhile, the 3% who had written goals were earning, on average, 10 times as much as the other combined 97% of participants. The clarity of their goals helped 10X their earning potential compared to their classmates.
Future Orientation
Other studies have supported the power of a future orientation in driving success. Another study from Harvard University by Dr. Edward Banfield was conducted over 50 years, and it showed that a “long-time perspective” was the most important determinant of financial and personal success in life.
Don’t just set goals - set long-term goals that think several years into the future while you make plans in the present. The significance of this cannot be overstated, and Tracy shares this sentiment by saying:
“This is one of the most important discoveries ever made. Just think! The further you think into the future, the better decisions you will make in the present to assure that that future becomes a reality.”
One of the practical (and enjoyable) tips he shares for doing this is to design your perfect calendar:
“Decide how you would like to live your ideal lifestyle, day in and day out. Design your perfect calendar from January 1 to December 31: What would you like to do on your weekends and vacations? How much time would you like to take off each week, month, and year? Where would you like to go? How would you organise your year if you had no limitations and complete control over your time?”
Become an Expert in Your Field
Tracy highlights the importance of continuously elevating your earning ability:
"Your earning ability can be an appreciating or a depreciating asset, depending upon whether or not you are upgrading it or simply allowing it to become obsolete. This is a choice you are making, or failing to make, every day."
To increase your earning ability, commit to becoming an expert in your field and upgrading your knowledge and skills:
"The good news is that when you start to aggressively upgrade your knowledge and skills on the road to becoming one of the best people in your field, it will be as if you are in a race and you are the only one who is really running. You very soon move ahead of the pack and into the lead position. Meanwhile, most of your competitors are simply strolling along, doing just what they need to do to keep their jobs. The idea of committing to excellence has never even occurred to them."
Upgrading your skills won’t always feel comfortable - and that’s the point:
"Whenever you start something new, you can expect to do it poorly. You will feel clumsy and awkward at first. You will feel inadequate and inferior. You will often feel silly and embarrassed. But this is the price that you pay to achieve excellence in your field.”
One Skill Away
Determine what the single most important skill you need to achieve your goals is, and develop it daily to increase your productivity, performance and income. He shares a simple 3-part formula to help you power your skill:
Practise the skill for 15-20 minutes every day.
Listen to educational audio programmes daily (e.g. on your commute).
Attend seminars and workshops on your subject.
With the rise of podcasts and education YouTube channels, I’d assume Tracy might now recommend that these could serve as your ‘audio programmes’. And, I’d personally suggest a diligent commitment to them might be the free alternative to attending seminars and workshops - which nowadays seems to only enforce information that is freely available to all not just those with exclusive access to the right rooms.
Favourite Quotes
“See yourself as a company with a stock that trades on the market. Could people invest in your stock and be confident that it will continue to grow in value and profitability in the months and years ahead?”
“When you feel positive and in control of your life, you will set bigger and more challenging goals for yourself."
Goals! by Brian Tracy: Available on Amazon.
