MOTIVATING TIPS

Brian Tracy

Born 1944 · Canadian entrepreneur and productivity coach

1 verified quote1 topicAll with editorial commentary

[ Life ]

A Canadian self-made entrepreneur born in 1944, Tracy spent his early career in sales and management before discovering his real gift: teaching others how to sell themselves. He moved through a series of roles—from door-to-door encyclopedia salesman to real estate broker to international business consultant—each job a master class in failure and recovery. By his mid-thirties, Tracy had built a reputation as a no-nonsense productivity coach for corporate America. He never had formal business training; his education came from reading 300+ self-help books and testing their principles on himself.

[ Words & Works ]

Tracy published *Eat That Frog!* (2007), *The Psychology of Selling* (1984), and *Focal Point* (2002)—three books that collectively sold over 5 million copies worldwide. His central claim remains refreshingly unglamorous: success isn't mystical, it's a learnable system. Goals need deadlines. Priorities need ruthless editing. Procrastination kills more dreams than lack of talent ever will. At 80, he still records podcasts and runs seminars. His words endure because they refuse the comfort of excuses.

Frequently asked

What are the best Brian Tracy quotes?

Brian Tracy is best known for quotes on On Focus & Distraction. Among the most cited: "The key to success is to..." from Goals!.

How many Brian Tracy quotes does MotivatingTips have?

MotivatingTips has 1 verified Brian Tracy quote, each with editorial commentary and source verification. Quotes are organized across On Focus & Distraction.

What book are Brian Tracy's quotes from?

Quotes on MotivatingTips are sourced from Goals!.

Are these Brian Tracy quotes verified?

Every Brian Tracy quote on MotivatingTips includes verified attribution with source, book, chapter, or speech reference where available.

Best Brian Tracy Quotes

Hand-picked, verified, and explained.

The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire, not things we fear.

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Why This Matters

What makes this observation cut deeper than simple positive thinking is that it identifies *where* our attention actually travels—most of us don't consciously choose fear, yet our minds drift there like water seeking low ground. Tracy's real claim is that fear isn't the opposite of desire but rather its most insidious competitor for the same limited mental real estate. Consider someone learning to drive a manual transmission: the drivers who fixate on not stalling the engine do precisely that, while those genuinely focused on the smooth coordination of pedal and clutch find it comes naturally. The distinction matters because it's not about denying fear exists, but about which story you're actively composing in your mind.

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Brian Tracy Quotes. (n.d.). MotivatingTips. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://www.motivatingtips.com/authors/brian-tracy

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Brian Tracy Quotes. MotivatingTips, DSS Media, 2026. https://www.motivatingtips.com/authors/brian-tracy, accessed May 13, 2026.

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"Brian Tracy Quotes." MotivatingTips. DSS Media, 2026. 13 May 2026. https://www.motivatingtips.com/authors/brian-tracy

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