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NoExcuses!

NoExcuses!The Powerof Self-DisciplineBRIAN TRACY

Copyright 2010 by Brian TracyPublished by Vanguard PressA Member of the Perseus Books GroupAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by anymeans, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in theUnited States of America. For information and inquiries, address Vanguard Press, 387 Park Avenue South, 12th Floor, New York, NY10016, or call (800) 343-4499.Designed by Pauline BrownSet in 11.5 point SabonLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataTracy, Brian.No excuses! : the power of self-discipline for success in your life /Brian Tracy.p. cm.ISBN 978-1-59315-582-7 (alk. paper)1. Self-control. 2. Self-management (Psychology) 3. Success. 4. Success in business. I. Title.BF632.T72 2010158.1—dc222009054399Vanguard Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special MarketsDepartment at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, ore-mail special.markets@perseusbooks.com.10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is fondly dedicatedto my friend and partner Eric Berman,one of the most disciplined anddetermined people I have ever met.

ContentsIntroduction: The Miracle of Self-Discipline1PART I:SELF-DISCIPLINE AND PERSONAL SUCCESSChapter 1Self-Discipline and Success21Chapter 2Self-Discipline and Character35Chapter 3Self-Discipline and Responsibility50Chapter 4Self-Discipline and Goals64Chapter 5Self-Discipline and Personal Excellence79Chapter 6Self-Discipline and Courage105Chapter 7Self-Discipline and Persistence117PART II:SELF-DISCIPLINE IN BUSINESS, SALES,AND FINANCESChapter 8Self-Discipline and Work127Chapter 9Self-Discipline and Leadership143Chapter 10Self-Discipline and Business155Chapter 11Self-Discipline and Sales165Chapter 12Self-Discipline and Money177Chapter 13Self-Discipline and Time Management189Chapter 14Self-Discipline and Problem Solving200PART III:SELF-DISCIPLINE AND THE GOOD LIFEChapter 15Self-Discipline and Happiness213Chapter 16Self-Discipline and Personal Health224Chapter 17Self-Discipline and Physical Fitness236Chapter 18Self-Discipline and Marriage244Chapter 19Self-Discipline and Children258Chapter 20Self-Discipline and Friendship273Chapter 21Self-Discipline and Peace of Mind285

Introduction:The Miracle ofSelf-Discipline“There are a thousand excuses for failurebut never a good reason.”—MARK TWAINWhy are some people more successful than others?Why do some people make more money, live happier lives, and accomplish much more in the same numberof years than the great majority? What is the real “secretof success?”Often I begin a seminar with a little exercise. I ask theaudience, “How many people here would like to doubletheir income?”Almost everyone smiles and raises their hands. I thenask, “How many people here would like to lose weight?Get out of debt? Achieve financial independence?”Again, everyone smiles, some people cheer, and they allraise their hands. Then I say, “Wonderful! These are greatgoals that everyone has. We all want to make more money,1

2 BRIAN TRACYspend more time with our families, be fit and trim, andachieve financial independence.“Not only do we all want the same things, but we allknow what we have to do to achieve them. And we all intend to do those things, sometime. But before we getstarted, we decide that we need to take a little vacation toa wonderful fantasy place called ‘Someday Isle.’“We say that ‘Someday I’ll read that book. SomedayI’ll start that exercise program. Someday I’ll upgrade myskills and earn more money. Someday I’ll get my financesunder control and get out of debt. Someday I’ll do allthose things that I know I need to do to achieve all mygoals. Someday.’”Probably 80 percent of the population lives on Someday Isle most of the time. They think and dream and fantasize about all the things they are going to do “someday.”And who are they surrounded by on Someday Isle?Other people on Someday Isle! And what is the chief topicof conversation on Someday Isle? Excuses! They all sitaround and swap excuses for being on the island.“Why are you here?” they ask each other.Not surprising, their excuses are largely the same: “Ididn’t have a happy childhood,” “I didn’t get a good education,” “I don’t have any money,” “My boss is reallycritical,” “My marriage is no good,” “No one appreciatesme,” or “The economy is terrible.”They have come down with the disease of “excusitis,”which is invariable fatal to success. They all have goodintentions, but as everyone knows, “The road to hell ispaved with good intentions.”

NO EXCUSES3The first rule of success is simple: Vote yourself off theisland!No more excuses! Do it or don’t do it—but don’t makeexcuses. Stop using your incredible brain to think up elaborate rationalizations and justifications for not taking action. Do something. Do anything. Get on with it! Repeatto yourself: “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!”Losers make excuses; winners make progress. Now,how can you tell if your favorite excuse is valid or not?It’s simple. Look around and ask, “Is there anyone elsewho has my same excuse who is successful anyway?”When you ask this question, if you are honest, you willhave to admit that there are thousands and even millionsof people who have had it far worse than you have whohave gone on to do wonderful things with their lives. Andwhat thousands and millions of others have done, youcan do as well—if you try.It has been said that if people put as much energy intoachieving their goals as they spend making up excuses forfailure, they would actually surprise themselves. But first,you have to vote yourself off the island.Humble BeginningsVery few people start off with many advantages. Personally, I did not graduate from high school. I worked at laboring jobs for several years. I had limited education,limited skills, and a limited future. And then I began asking that question: “Why are some people more successfulthan others?” This question changed my life.

4 BRIAN TRACYOver the years, I have read thousands of books and articles on the subjects of success and achievement. It seemsthat the reasons for these accomplishments have been discussed and written about for more than 2,000 years, inevery conceivable way.One quality that most philosophers, teachers, and experts agree on is the importance of self-discipline. Discipline is what you must have to resist the lure of excuses.It is self-discipline that enables you to “vote yourselfoff the island.” It is the key to a great life and, without it,no lasting success is possible.The development of self-discipline changed my life, andit will change yours as well. By continually demandingmore from myself, I became successful in sales and thenin management. I caught up on my schooling and took anMBA degree in my thirties, which required thousands ofhours of determined study. I imported Suzuki vehiclesinto Canada before anyone else, set up sixty-five dealerships, and sold 25 million worth of the vehicles, and thisis all after I had started with no knowledge of the industry. What I had, however, was the discipline and determination to learn what I needed to know and then applywhat I needed to do.I got into real estate development with no knowledgeor experience, applied the power of discipline, which wasthen backed by hundreds of hours of work and study. Ithen went on to build shopping centers, industrial parks,office buildings, and residential subdivisions.With self-discipline, I have built successful businessesin training, consulting, speaking, writing, recording, and

NO EXCUSES 5distribution. My audio and video programs, books, seminars, and training programs have sold more than 500million in thirty-six languages and fifty-four countries.Over the years I have consulted for more than 1,000companies and trained more than 5 million people in liveseminars and talks. In every case, the practice of selfdiscipline has been essential to my success.I discovered that you can achieve almost any goal youset for yourself if you have the discipline to pay the price,to do what you need to do, and to never give up.Who Should Read This Book?This book is written for ambitious, determined men andwomen who want to achieve everything that is possiblefor them in life. It is written for people who are “hungry”to do more, to have more, and to be more than they everhave been before.Perhaps the most important insight of all with regardto success is that to achieve greatly, you must become adifferent person. It is not the material things you accomplish or acquire that matter so much as it is the qualityof the person you must become to accomplish well abovethe average. The development of self-discipline is the highroad that makes everything possible for you.This book will serve as your step-by-step guide to becoming a remarkable person who is capable of remarkable achievements.

6 BRIAN TRACYA Chance Encounter Revealsthe Reason for SuccessSome years ago, I was attending a conference in Washington, D.C. During the lunch break I was eating at anearby Food Fair. The area was crowded, so I sat downat the last open table by myself, even though it was a tablefor four.A few minutes later, an older gentlemen and a youngerwoman who appeared to be his assistant came along, carrying trays of food and obviously looking for a place to sit.Having lots of room at my table, I immediately aroseand invited the older gentlemen to join me. He was hesitant, but I insisted. Finally, he sat down, quite thankfully,and we began to chat over lunch.It turned out that his name was Kop Kopmeyer. As ithappened, I immediately knew who he was. He was a legend in the field of success and achievement. Kop Kopmeyer had written four bestselling books, each of whichcontained 250 success principles that he had derived frommore than fifty years of research and study. I had read allfour books from cover to cover, each more than once.After we had chatted for a while, I asked him the question that many people in this situation would ask: “Of allthe 1,000 success principles that you have discovered,which do you think is the most important?”He smiled at me with a twinkle in his eye, as if he hadbeen asked this question many times, and he replied without hesitating, “The most important success principle ofall was stated by Elbert Hubbard, one of the most prolific

NO EXCUSES 7writers in American history, at the beginning of the twentieth century. He said, ‘Self-discipline is the ability to dowhat you should do, when you should do it, whether youfeel like it or not.’”He went on to say, “There are 999 other success principles that I have found in my reading and experience, butwithout self-discipline, none of them work. With selfdiscipline, they all work.”Thus, self-discipline is the key to personal greatness.It is the magic quality that opens all doors for you andmakes everything else possible. With self-discipline, theaverage person can rise as far and as fast as his talentsand intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline,a person with every blessing of background, education,and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity.Your Two Worst EnemiesJust as self-discipline is the key to success, the lack of selfdiscipline is the major cause of failure, frustration, underachievement, and unhappiness in life. It causes us to makeexcuses and sell ourselves short.Perhaps the two biggest enemies of success, happinessand personal fulfillment, are first the Path of Least Resistance and, second, the Expediency Factor.The Path of Least Resistance is what causes people totake the easy way in almost every situation. They seekshortcuts to everything. They arrive at work at the lastminute and leave at the first opportunity. They look forget-rich-quick schemes and easy money. Over time, they

8 BRIAN TRACYdevelop the habit of always seeking an easier, faster wayto get the things they want rather than doing what is hardbut necessary to achieve real success.The Expediency Factor, which is an extension of thelaw of least resistance, is even worse when leading peopleto failure and underachievement. This principle says,“People invariably seek the fastest and easiest way to getthe things they want, right now, with little or no concernfor the long-term consequences of their behaviors.” Inother words, most people do what is expedient, what isfun and easy rather than what is necessary for success.Every day, and every minute of every day, there is a battle going on inside of you between doing what is right,hard, and necessary (like the angel on one shoulder) ordoing what is fun, easy, and of little or no value (like thedevil on your other shoulder). Every minute of every day,you must fight and win this battle with the ExpediencyFactor and resist the pull of the Path of Least Resistanceif you truly desire to become everything you are capableof becoming.Take Control of YourselfAnother definition of self-discipline is self-mastery. Success is possible only when you can master your ownemotions, appetites, and inclinations. People who lackthe ability to master their appetites become weak anddissolute, as well as unreliable in other things as well.Self-discipline can also be defined as self-control. Yourability to control yourself and your actions, control what

NO EXCUSES 9you say and do, and ensure that your behaviors are consistent with your long-term goals and objectives is themark of the superior person.Discipline has been defined as self-denial. This requiresthat you deny yourself the easy pleasures, the temptationsthat lead so many people astray, and instead disciplineyourself to do only those things that you know are rightfor t

Tracy, Brian. No excuses! : the power of self-discipline for success in your life / Brian Tracy. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-59315-582-7 (alk. paper) 1. Self-control. 2. Self-management (Psychology) 3. Success. 4. Suc-cess in business. I. Title. BF632.T72 2010 158.1—dc22 2009054399 Vanguard Press books are available at special discounts for bulk pur- chases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions .File Size: 1MBPage Count: 43