Reinvention: How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life

225 Pages·2009·0.54 MB·English

by  Brian Tracy

Reinvention
How to Make the Rest of Your Life
the Best of Your Life
BRIAN TRACY
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Tracy,Brian.
Reinvention:howtomaketherestofyourlifethebestofyourlife
/BrianTracy.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN-13:978-0-8144-1346-3
ISBN-10:0-8144-1346-3
1.Self-actualization(Psychology) 2.Lifeskills 3.Change.
4.Success. I.Title.
BF637.S4T73 2009
650.1—dc22
2008045967
(cid:2)2009BrianTracy
Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Thispublicationmaynotbereproduced,storedina
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Printingnumber
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is fondly dedicated to my friends and partners,
John McClelland and Bill Rowland, who have done more
to help people reinvent themselves in a positive way than
anyoneIknow.
This page intentionally left blank
C O N T E N T S
INTRODUCTION
YourWorldinTransition 1
CHAPTER ONE
YouAreRemarkable 10
CHAPTER TWO
WhoAreYou? 23
CHAPTER THREE
WhatDoYouWant? 36
CHAPTER FOUR
WhatAreYouWorth? 63
CHAPTER FIVE
HowtoGettheJobYou Want—InAnyEconomy 81
CHAPTER SIX
HowDoYouGetAhead? 125
CHAPTER SEVEN
HowDoYouGettheMostoutofYourself? 173
SUMMARY
WhatDoYouDoNow? 206
INDEX 208
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 216
v
P R E F A C E
THE SUBJECT OF REINVENTION isverydearto
my heart. When I was 21 and working as a construction la-
borer, getting up at 5:00 a.m. in the middle of a cold winter
andtakingthreebusestoworkalldaycarryingbuildingma-
terials from place to place, I had a revelation that changed
my life. I realized that I was responsible for myself and for
everythingthathappenedtome.
Sittinginmylittleone-roomapartment,itwaslikea
flashbulb going off in my face. Imagine! I was responsible.
Anything I ever wanted to accomplish from that day for-
ward was completely up to me. No one was going to do it
forme.
Atthatmoment,Idecidedtoputmypast behindme
andreinventmyselfforthefirsttime.Ilookedasfarintothe
future as I could and asked, ‘‘What do I really want to do
withmylife?’’
Of course, I wanted all the usual things: A job that
paid well doing something that I enjoyed, happy relation-
ships,goodhealth,andeventually,financialindependence.
I remember going to a bookstore on my lunch break
frommyconstructionjobandbuyingbooksonsubjectsthat
vi
Preface vii
I thought would be helpful to me. I started with business
books, then books on psychology, philosophy, economics,
andpersonalsuccess.BecauseIwassingle,Ihadlotsoftime
onmyhands,soIspenthourseachnightreadingandunder-
lining.
The more I learned, the more my confidence grew. I
beganwritingletterstocompaniesapplyingforwhite-collar
jobs. For a long time, I got no responses, but eventually
someone hired me in direct sales of office products. That
wasmystart.
Over the years, I have reinvented myself in different
jobs and in different industries, moving up through sales
into sales management and eventually the vice president of
an international company with the responsibility of devel-
opingsixcountries.Later,Igotarealestatelicenseandrein-
vented myself as a real estate developer, reading books,
finding financial partners, and ultimately developing more
than100milliondollars ofrealestateovertheyears.
I reinventedmyself asan importer anda distributor,
bringing in a complete line of Japanese cars and setting up
65 dealerships to sell tens of millions of dollars worth of
automobiles.
Ateachstageofreinvention,Isatdownwithablank
sheet and made a decision about my next step or next ca-
reer. Then I went out and read books and articles, inter-
viewed people and asked questions, explored the business
industryasmuchasIcould,andplungedin.
WhatIlearnedaboutreinventionwasthatitdoesnot
proceed in a long, straight line. There are numerous set-
backs and difficulties, and even temporary failures. What
seems to be a good course of action often turns out to be a
viii Preface
dead end, but something else always appears in a different
direction.
Ilearnedthatthekeytoreinventionistogoontothe
‘‘continuous offensive.’’ Get a good idea of where you want
to go and take action. Try, try again, and try once more.
Nevergiveup.Keepmovingforward.
In this book, you learn some of the most helpful
thinkingtoolseverdiscoveredtoenableyoutosavemonths
and even years of your life in reinventing yourself and be-
comingthekindofperson youalwayswantedtobe.
BrianTracy
I N T R O D U C T I O N
Your World in Transition
‘‘Whereverweare,itisbutastageonthewayto
somewhereelse,andwhateverwedo,howeverwellwe
doit,itisonlyapreparationtodosomethingelsethat
shallbedifferent.’’
—ROBERTLOUISSTEVENSON,SCOTTISHNOVELISTANDPOET
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!
The future may be uncertain, but as you read this
book, one thing I can assure you of is that the rest of your
life is going to be the best of your life. Whatever you have
accomplished up to now is merely a shadow of what you
will be able to achieve in the exciting months and years
ahead. Understand and take comfort in knowing that what-
ever changes are taking place in your life today, they are
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