Who is the author of Million Dollar Habits?

The author of Million Dollar Habits is Brian Tracy.

Career & Success

Million Dollar Habits Book Summary - Million Dollar Habits Book explained in key points

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Million Dollar Habits summary

Name: Million Dollar Habits
Rating: 4.4 (1384 reviews)
Author: Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy

Proven Power Practices to Double and Triple Your Income

4.4 (1384 ratings)

18 mins

Brief summary

'Million Dollar Habits' by Brian Tracy is a guide to creating success through daily habits. It outlines how high achievers maintain their focus, discipline, and motivation to achieve their goals. The book provides actionable tips and exercises to help readers develop successful habits.

Topics

Meaningful Living Healthy Living Personal Finances Success The Brain Routines & Habits

Table of Contents

Million Dollar Habits
Summary of 6 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Find out how to become more successful.

With 100 billion cells – each with up to 20,000 connections to other neurons – your brain is an incredible organ. You can likely think more thoughts than all the molecules in the universe. Your capability is endless. But in your lifetime, you’re unlikely to achieve anything close to your true potential. Why’s that? Well, you didn’t get the manual, and you’ve had to learn by intuition. The problem is, that’s just not good enough if you want to be successful.

In this Blink to Brian Tracy’s Million Dollar Habits, you’ll learn exactly what it is that makes some people more successful than others – and what you need to do to be successful, too.

First, though, you need to determine what success means to you. Tracy defines it as “the ability to live your life the way you want to do it.”

Although we’re all different, deep down, Tracy posits, we share four fundamental goals: a need to be fit and healthy, to have great relationships, to enjoy what we’re doing, and to achieve financial independence.

Give yourself a quick audit in each of those areas, right now. Mark yourself between one (low) and ten (high) for each.

How did you do?

Regardless of where you’re at, we’re about to look at the habits you need to cultivate in order to improve those scores – the “million-dollar habits.” The good news is that anyone and everyone can learn these habits, including you.

So let’s get those brain cells fired up and learning.

Reprogram yourself for success.

Humans have a problem. We’ve all developed our own unique self-concept that acts as the main program of our subconscious. We’ve recorded everything that’s ever happened to us, every feeling we’ve ever had, and every emotion we’ve ever felt. All of these influence how we behave. This self-concept we’ve created determines our effectiveness and performance.

In each area of your life, you have a mini self-concept. Unfortunately, once you’ve developed that, you always behave in accordance with it. So although you have the potential to be, for instance, a great linguist, if your self-concept is telling you you’re terrible at languages, you’re likely never going to become the multilinguist you crave to be.

Your mini self-concept holds you back. If you truly want to achieve more in a particular area, the key is to increase your mini self-concept in that area. But how exactly can you do that?

Well, you need to reprogram yourself by examining three parts of your self-concept – your self-ideal, your self-image, and your self-esteem.

Your self-ideal is the ideal image you have of your best self. It’s a combination of your hopes and dreams together with the qualities and virtues you wish you had. High performers have a clear picture of who they want to be. When you’ve developed your own positive self-ideal you move faster toward becoming that person.

How you see yourself on the inside – your self-image – affects how you perform outside. Positive and productive inside equals positive and productive outside. If you see yourself as unpopular or insecure, your outside persona will reflect the same. To overcome any negative self-image aspects, fill your mind with positive images of yourself performing at your very best, and hold them there. Then relax. When you have to perform later, your subconscious will remember!

Finally, your self-esteem is the emotional component of your self-concept and perhaps the most important part – it’s how much you like yourself. Your whole life revolves around it. Every positive experience raises it, and every negative experience lowers it. The gap between your self-ideal and your self-image also affects it. When your current performance is consistent with your ideal, your self-esteem goes up. When it’s inconsistent, it drops. Having a very clear self-ideal improves your performance, makes your performance closer to your ideal, and, as a result, boosts your self-esteem. Even something simple like repeating “I like myself!” boosts your self-esteem immeasurably. Never underestimate the power of words. Try it! You’ll soon feel more confident and happier with yourself.

Why do you need to do this at all? Having higher self-esteem helps you develop the million-dollar habits that you’ll need to release your full potential. Change your self-concept, and you’ll change your reality.

In the next sections, we’ll look at the four fundamental goals we discussed in the intro – starting with the habits you need to become fit and healthy.

How to stay fit and healthy

There’s no doubt about it – life expectancy is on the up and up. Many people now live into their 90s and even 100s. Your goal should be to do the same. So, what are the best ways to achieve this?

First, choose to be fit and healthy. That means maintaining your proper weight. If you’re overweight, that’s your choice. You’re the one who chooses to eat; nobody makes you do it. There are many diets out there to help, but they all boil down to five words: “Eat less and exercise more.” It’ll take you time to shed your “little bit extra.” But set and write down a goal. Figure out what you need to do to meet your goal. Then work on it until you achieve it.

How to have great relationships

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, said that humans are social animals. Sidney M. Jourard, psychologist and author of Healthy Personality, confirms it – as much as 85 percent of your happiness will come from your relationships. So it makes sense to develop good habits to create great relationships, doesn’t it? Here are some things you can do to achieve that.

First, develop acceptance. Everyone wants to be accepted unconditionally. If you’re able to make everyone you meet feel valuable and important, you satisfy that need – and not only that, but you’ll also be welcomed. A simple smile goes a long way when you meet someone.

How to do what you love

With your well-being and relationships sorted, it’s time to look at doing the things you love – specifically at work.

You have almost limitless opportunities available for work. In the US alone there are over 200,000 different jobs – so think about what you’d love to do, and don’t just accept the first job that comes along. Think about the types of jobs available, and try to find something that’s easy for you to learn and do. That’s the job where you’ll perform best and probably where you can earn the most money. Keep evaluating that choice throughout your career.

How to become financially independent

You know the old saying, If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves? It’s absolutely true – and it’s also true that most self-made millionaires are incredibly frugal. They won’t buy something new if they can get it secondhand. They won’t buy at all if they can rent. And why would they rent if they can borrow what they need?

So if you want to become a millionaire, you need to think and act like a millionaire. Let’s take a look at some of the other habits that make them tick.

Final Summary

If you want to be fit and healthy, have great relationships, enjoy what you’re doing, and become financially independent, just follow the advice set out in this Blink!

Of course, Brian Tracy offers much more advice about the habits you need to cultivate than we could possibly hope to cover in a few minutes. But one thing is for certain: everything is up to you.

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What is Million Dollar Habits about?

Million Dollar Habits (2017) is the manual to your brain and your life that you never got in school. It explains the “secrets” of success and what you need to do to unlock your full potential.

Million Dollar Habits Review

Million Dollar Habits (2003) is a book that offers valuable insights on how to develop habits that lead to success and financial abundance. Here's why this book is worth reading:

With its practical tips and strategies, the book provides a roadmap for achieving wealth and reaching your full potential.
The author combines personal experiences, expert advice, and real-life case studies to make the content relatable and actionable.
Unlike many self-help books, the author's down-to-earth approach and straightforward language ensure that the book is engaging and never boring.

Who should read Million Dollar Habits?

Millionaire wannabes
Couch potatoes looking to get fit and healthy
People who want to develop great relationships

About the Author

Brian Tracy has worked in many businesses and traveled to 120 countries. He’s learned several languages and skills along the way. He’s dedicated the last 35 years to working with large corporations and helping them achieve their goals. Now he’s a successful speaker, consultant, and seminar leader.

Categories with Million Dollar Habits

Career & Success Psychology Productivity

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