Getting Rich Your Own Way summary

7/31/2019 Getting Rich Your Own Way summary

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Getting Rich Your Own WayAchieve All Your Financial Goals Faster than You EverThought Possible

by Brian Tracy

In the year 2000, there were more than seven million Americanswith a net worth of more than one million dollars and more than 300billionaires most of them, self made. Brian Tracy believes thatanyone can become rich like these wealthy, self-made Americans. He hasreviewed countless studies and interviews, and developed strategies, techniquesand methods that can be learned and used by anyone to achieve financialsuccess. In his book, Getting Rich Your Own Way, Tracy teaches you how to:

Acquire more money; Save more of it; and Put it to work for you to achieve your financial goals faster than you ever

thought possible.

Tracy, a self-made multi-millionaire, is presently Chairman and CEO of BrianTracy International, a consulting and training organization based in Solana Beach,California. Tracy addresses more than 250,000 people each year on subjectssuch as personal success and effectiveness as well as sales and salesmanagement. He is also the author of numerous top-selling books includingCreate Your Own Future and Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life.

Becoming Rich

In a longitudinal study conducted in the 1950s and published in 1964 as TheUnheavenly City, Dr. Edward Banfield of Harvard University studied the reasonsfor upward socioeconomic mobility in the United States. The reasons were noteducation, intelligence or being born into the right family. Surprisingly, successwas a result of "time perspective" which he defines as "the amount of time thatyou take into consideration when planning your day-to-day activities and whenmaking important decisions in your life." It refers to how far you project into thefuture when you decide what you are going to do or not do in the present.

Saving and planning for the future is long time perspective in action. A personwho is willing to put aside income into savings is sacrificing some spending in theshort term to assure better results and outcomes in the long term. People withlong time perspectives almost invariably move up economically in the course oftheir lifetimes.

According to Tracy, you begin the process of getting rich by thinking ahead 10 or20 years. As you do, you become capable of setting bigger, longer-term goals andmaking long-term plans for their attainment.

Setting Your Financial Goals


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In order to achieve your financial goals you must figure out where you are now,where you want to get to, and develop the qualities that ensure you will followthrough and take action.

Begin by analyzing your current financial situation: Draw up a personal balancesheet listing all your assets and liabilities. Get a loan application from your bankand use its categories as a guide and determine exactly how much you are worthtoday, just as if you were going to convert all of your assets into cash.

Then, write down your financial goals, ensuring that they are some years in thefuture and that they are specific.

Divide your long-term goals into separate years, and then into three-monthperiods for each year. With these numbers, you will have a clear picture of howmuch you are worth and how much you intend to be worth year by year into thefuture and an idea of how much you will have to save and accumulate quarter

by quarter and year over year.

Once you know what you want to achieve, make a detailed plan of the actions thatyou must take to attain those goals. The more detailed, specific, and clear yourplan, the more rapidly your goal will be realized. Your plan should consist ofconcrete, "bite-sized bits," that are easy to do and when you actually do thesetasks, as small as they might be, you will feel better about yourself and your dailysuccesses. According to Tracy, wealth is an accumulation of thousands of tinyefforts and sacrifices.

Financial success begins with an intense desire for wealth not a lukewarmdesire, but a burning, all-consuming desire. The only way that you are going to

achieve your financial goals is when you quit making excuses and get reallyserious. Financial success is not something that you achieve someday, wheneverything is right. The situation will never be just right. There will always bereasons to procrastinate, but the stakes are too high. You must get serious todaybecause everything counts. Nothing is neutral; if what you are doing is not movingyou towards your goals, then it is probably moving you away from your goals.Keep in mind that "reasons are the fuel in the furnace of motivation." The morereasons that you have for wanting to become wealthy and the clearer that you canvisualize them, the more intensely you will desire financial success, and the moredetermined you will become to achieve it. If you have two reasons for becomingwealthy, you will have little motivation, and will give up easily when you meet theinevitable obstacles along the way. But if you have 100 reasons for becoming

wealthy, you will become a runaway locomotive on a downgrade

nothing willstop you.

Once you are motivated to achieve your financial goals, look at how you canacquire more money.

Acquiring More Money


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Fully 99% of self-made millionaires in America come from four categories:

74% from self-owned businesses; 10% have made their riches from senior executive positions;

10% are professionals (e.g. doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.); and 5% are salespeople and sales consultants.

Only 1% of self-made millionaires are people who have made their money in thestock market, with inventions, through authorships of songs and books, as lotterywinners, and all other sources.

Tracy believes that the key to becoming rich is "leverage." Leverage is whatenables the top doctors, mechanics, lawyers, and leaders in every field to earnvastly more than the average performer. Examples of leverage that you candevelop and use to achieve financial independence are: specialized knowledge,the people you know, creativity, a positive mental attitude, luck, and ability to sell.

In order to become an expert in your chosen field, you must read the best booksin your field, take every course and seminar you can find that will help you andlisten to audio programs related to your job whenever you can. Concentrate onhigh-value activities, that is, areas that are of greatest importance to yourcompany or customers. Know your product in and out and aim to be recognizedas the industry expert in your field.

Creativity is important in building your fortune because it helps you solveproblems more effectively and efficiently. As much as 50 to 60 percent of yourtime in business life is spent solving problems of some kind. The better youbecome at thinking up creative ways to solve the inevitable problems of daily life

and work, the more successful you will be. Figuring out how to make more moneyand doing things faster, better, or cheaper and being more productive are waysthat you can move to the top.

In order to enhance your creative abilities, think positive (in terms of "I can" ratherthan "I can't"), think on paper (as the palest ink is stronger than the finestmemory), develop an inquisitive attitude toward everything (increase your level ofinsight so you can find new answers to problems you encounter), experiment(most new ideas do not work, at least not in their original form, but a solution maybe the result of combining two or three ideas), and most importantly, develop aburning desire to find solutions (as ambition is the driving force that causes you tofind solutions).

Luck is another factor that is repeatedly mentioned in stories of how wealthypeople created their wealth. Tracy believes that you actually create your own luckthrough the activities that you do (or do not do) and your level of activity. In almostevery case, you can increase or decrease the likelihood of something happeningor not happening. For example, there is a certain probability that you will be killedin a traffic accident. But you can reduce this probability by staying sober, drivingcarefully, and wearing a seatbelt. Some people drive all of their lives and neverhave an accident.


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In terms of activity, the more things you try and the faster you try them, the morelikely it is that you will try the right thing at the right time that will bring yousuccess. Most things will not work the first time, and often do not work the next 10times. Nonetheless, if you keep trying new things and learning from every

setback, you will inevitably develop the skills and experience that you need tosucceed.

Having good work habits is another powerful form of leverage. In every study, itappears that good work habits will open more doors for you faster than almost anyother quality that you can develop. If you commit yourself to doing more than youare paid for, you will always end up being paid more than you are getting today so come in to work one hour earlier, work through lunch or stay one hour moreeach night.

Knowing the right people, and being known by them, can open doors for you. Thequality and quantity of your contacts and your relationships will have more to do

with your success than perhaps any other factor. Make a list of the best 25 peoplethat you feel it would be most useful for you to get to know and over the next 12months, meet with each one of them. Also, join your business or tradeassociations, attend their meetings, and get involved. The more people there arewho like you, the more doors they will open for you. And make the most of theseopportunities. Your ability to get along with others, to communicate effectively, tobe a positive and cheerful person, will cause people to want to help you whereveryou go.

All successful businesspeople are good salespeople. They reach the top bydeveloping their ability to communicate, persuade, and sell people on their ideas.Consider that the top 20 percent of sales people earn as much as 15 times the

average earnings of the bottom 80 percent. So the better you are at selling, themore money you will make.

Mastering The Art Of Selling

Tracy believes that there are five cardinal rules to selling anything, anywhere, atany time. Any violation of any of the rules can lead to failure of your sales efforts,and often does:

1. Your product or service must be ideally suited to the current market.2. People buy benefits, not products. They buy solutions to their problems. It

must be clear to them what problem your product can solve, what benefits

it can offer, or what goal it can help them achieve.3. The product or service must satisfy an existing want or need of the

customer.4. Credibility is everything. Customers must believe the salesperson, trust the

company and be convinced that the product or service is the best one forthem.

5. The customer must be able and willing to pay for the product or serviceand have a sincere desire to enjoy the benefits that you are offering.


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There are five questions that you must be prepared to answer before you canmake a sale. These questions lurk in the back of the mind of each customer andare seldom spoken aloud. Nonetheless, failure to answer any of these questionscan cost you the sale. They are:

1. Why should I listen to you? Are you credible? If you don't answer thisquestion right from the start, you seldom get a chance to sell your product.

2. What is it and what does it do?3. Who says so (e.g. independent research)?4. Who else has used it?5. What's in it for me?

The rule for effective selling is that a 10-year old child should be able to read,understand, and then be able to explain to another 10-year old what it is you areselling and why he or she would be interested in buying it. If it is more complicatedthan that, you will probably not succeed.

In order to increase sales, you need to learn to recognize and maximize salesopportunities and you can do so by answering the following questions:

What other methods of distribution could I use to sell my product? What additional products can I sell through my existing distribution and

marketing channels? What new products do my customers need? Who else can I sell my product to?

In times of rapid change, you must continually ask and answer these questions,because your competitors are asking them, every single day.

Saving Your Money

Making money is only part of the equation. You must save regularly, get out ofdebt, and build a cash reserve. Begin a systematic savings plan, putting away atleast 10 percent of your gross income each month. Furthermore, put away 50percent of any added income such as bonuses, pay increases, tax returns, etc.Resolve to build a cash reserve so that you are ready when opportunities arise.

Affluent Americans, including self-made millionaires, have most of their money inthe following five places: their own business, income producing real estate, landheld for development, liquid investments, and stocks and bonds.

Putting Your Money to Work For You

In a survey conducted in New York recently, a cross section of businesspeople,professionals, and executives stated that the very best place to invest $100,000that that person had accumulated from his or her business or work was "back inyourself or your business." If you have earned the money in your business, thebest place to invest it is probably back into the business where you already havehigh levels of familiarity and experience.


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The simplest way to dabble in real estate is the "buy 'em, fix 'em" method. If youdecide to do so, make sure to: (a) do your research; (b) keep the down paymentlow; (c) move in and renovate; and (d) sell, rent, or refinance it. As you increaseyour assets, your cash flow, and your experience, you can repeat the process on

a larger scale. The rules are largely the same; only the size and number of rentalunits are greater. In Tracy's view, buying and fixing up homes is just another wayof starting a business.

Many affluent Americans store their money in raw land held for development.They buy on the outskirts of growing cities and as the city grows and expands, sodoes the value of the land. It can jump several times. In order to pick such landeffectively, you should ensure that there is an adequate water supply, access tomajor roads, and nearby population centers with population pressures.

Tracy believes that a good part of your capital should be kept in a cash reservebecause serious money is not speculative money. It is money that has been

earned slowly over time and invested with the aim of wealth preservation. Thereare three types of liquid investments that Tracy believes are perfect places for youto invest your three to six months worth of savings: money market accounts,certificates of deposit, and government savings bonds.

When you begin to save money in excess of your short-term expenses andinsurance needs, the next place to explore is the stock market.

Investing Intelligently

Many thousands of successful investors have been interviewed over the years inan attempt to discover their so-called secrets of success in investing. Tracy

outlines their recommendations.

When deciding how much you should invest, Tracy believes that if you are not abit worried about your investments, then you are not risking enough. You shouldhave enough money invested so that it is a real concern to you. This way you arefar more likely to watch your investments carefully and make prudent decisions.

Disregard the majority opinion, distrust anyone who claims to predict the future,and beware of anyone bringing gifts of "inside" information or "tips.' Instead, doyour own homework and take the time to investigate thoroughly. Before you buy asecurity, find out everything you can about the company, its management andcompetitors, its earnings as well as possibilities for growth. Examine the real

assets (e.g. the cash in excess of the indebtedness, the value of the physicalproperties), ensure that the company makes or performs a service that people"want" or "must have," and determine if management is good (as the right peoplewill find a way to make the company successful). Take the time and think throughevery decision for yourself.

Do not buy too many different securities. It is better to have only a fewinvestments so you can give them the attention they deserve. Furthermore, do not


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try to be the master of all types of investments; stick to the field you know best.Usually the most successful investors are those that pick one industry andconcentrate on becoming knowledgeable about the companies in that industry.

Never fall in love with an investment. Never become emotionally involved withanything that you purchase with the intention of making a profit. Optimism comesfrom hoping for the best but confidence comes from knowing that you can handlethe worst; objectively assess the worst possible outcome of any investment dealbefore going into it, and then doing everything possible to protect yourself shouldit occur. For example, put a stop-loss order on every investment that you make.

Make a periodic reappraisal of all your investments to see whether changingdevelopments have altered their prospects. Always ask yourself, "If I had notpurchased this stock, knowing what I now know, would I purchase it again today?"If the answer is no, that is your cue to sell.

Don't try to buy at the bottom and sell at the top; this can't be done consistently

except by liars. When you buy a stock, decide at what price you will sell it, andwhen it hits that price, do not be greedy sell it. Furthermore, always take yourprofit too soon bulls make money and bears make money, but pigs never do.Study your tax position to know when you can sell to the greatest advantage.

Finally, accept the small losses cheerfully as a fact of investing life. At the verybest, 50 percent of investments will go wrong. Success in investing comes fromminimizing your losses on the downside and maximizing profits on the upside.

Conclusion

To become wealthy, you must create a plan for acquiring more money, savingmore of it, and putting it to work for you. With this book, Tracy's goal is to offer allof us who aspire to greater wealth a complete and comprehensive approach towealth building. Getting Rich Your Own Way shows you how to reach yourfinancial goals through practical and proven processes and principles that havebeen used by men and women throughout America and across the world to movefrom financial frustration to success and affluence.

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Getting Rich Your Own Way summary