Brian Tracy - The power of self-confidence: become unstoppable, irresistable, and unafraid in every area of your life

CONTENTS

Cover design: Paul McCarthy

Copyright 2012 by Brian Tracy. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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ISBN 978-1-118-43591-5 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-46400-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-46401-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-46402-1 (ebk)

This book is fondly dedicated to my son, David Tracy, one of the most positive, outgoing, optimistic, and self-confident people I have ever met.

INTRODUCTION

Entering the No Fear Zone

Bruce Barton

Welcome to the no fear zone. In the pages ahead, you will learn how to develop confidence, courage, and unshakable determination in every area of your life. You will learn to approach the biggest challenges and opportunities of your life completely unafraid, convinced of your ability to accomplish anything you put your mind to.

The good news is that you have extraordinary potential for success, achievement, and prosperity, with more talent and natural ability than you could use in a hundred lifetimes. The only thing standing between you and the incredible life that is possible for you is fear of all kindsand by the time you finish this book, your fears will be gone forever.

For more than 25 years, Ive studied successful men and women, looking for the characteristics and qualities they have in common that have enabled them to achieve so much more than the average person. Ive read thousands of books, articles, and research studies on success, and Ive come to the conclusion that the foundation quality of success in every walk of life is self-confidence.

Every man or woman who has ever accomplished anything out of the ordinary has turned out to have greater self-confidence than the ordinary person. When you develop yourself to the point where your belief in yourself is so strong that you know that you can accomplish almost anything you really want, your future will be unlimited.

The Great Question

A woman who had listened to one of my programs wrote to me recently and told me that one line in that program had changed her whole outlook on life. It was simply a question: What one great thing would you dare to dream, if you knew you could not fail?

When she began asking herself that question, over and over, her entire view of what was truly possible for her expanded dramatically. She saw clearly what she really wanted to be, have, and do, and she simultaneously realized that it was only fear, and doubt in her own abilities that was holding her back.

What would you do differently if you were absolutely guaranteed of success in any undertaking? What if some great force could endow you with the power to achieve any goal that you could set for yourself? To put it another way, what if you were completely unafraid of anyone or anything and you felt completely free to act, in any area, in your own best interests? The fact is that, if you developed the quality of unshakable self-confidence, your whole world would be different.

Unlimited Self-Confidence

With greater confidence in yourself and your abilities, you would set bigger goals, make bigger plans, and commit yourself to achieving objectives that today you only dream about. You would take whatever steps were necessary to earn more money and enjoy a higher standard of living. You would set your sights on a bigger house, a better car, more beautiful clothes, and nicer vacations. You would want all kinds of things for your family and for those close to you. You would do what you really want to do and youd refuse to conform to the wishes or opinions of anyone else. You would define your life in your own terms and live every day consistent with exactly what it is you want, and not the wishes of other people.

With greater self-confidence, you would be a different person in every part of your work life and career. You might decide to ask for a promotion, or a raise, or even change to another job or another company, or even another industry. You would move immediately to do whatever it took to get onto the fast-track in your career.

If you are in sales, you would call on more people, make better and more forceful presentations, ask for more orders, and close more business. If you are in management, you would organize and reorganize your human and material resources to create a work environment that suited you perfectly, rather than making endless compromises in an attempt to please a variety of different people.

With greater self-confidence, you would be bolder and more imaginative. You would be more creative and willing to experiment with new and different ideas and ways of doing things. You would be willing to consider unusual and risky alternatives and be willing to commit yourself wholeheartedly to projects that are today sitting only on the back burner of your mind.

More Powerful, Popular, and Persuasive

If you had unlimited self-confidence, you would be more powerful, popular, and persuasive with other people. You would be more cheerful, likable, and welcome wherever you went. You would speak up and speak out clearly in your interactions with others, and you would be admired, respected, and sought after by everyone who knew you. Recognition and responsibilities would flow to you because of peoples belief in your ability to do whatever it took to get the job done. Positions of prestige and status would open up for you and people would bring you opportunities and possibilities that you cannot now imagine.