Management
Growth Strategies
Leveraging Your Potential
Introduction
“I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything
he’s got.” (Walter Cronkite)
T here are thousands of people in America, in every business and industry, who have
accomplished high levels of success faster than the average person in the same
business or industry. Many people are earning as much money by the age of 30 as others
are earning at the age of 50.
You read and hear continually about people who have started in a job or industry, and who
have moved onward and upward more rapidly than anyone else around them.
High achieving men and women in every field have been studied extensively to find out
exactly what it is that they have and do that enables them to accomplish more than the
average person.
In this lesson, you will be taught behaviors and leverage factors that these people have,
and how you can develop them for yourself.
In this lesson you will learn:
■ The keys to higher income in competitive industries
■ The importance of leverage to great success
■ How to attract the attention of people who can help you
■ How to develop a positive personality
■ The key determinant of success in our society
© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.
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What Do You Already Know?
Test your knowledge by attempting to answer the questions below.
1. Why do some people earn far more than others in a given industry, even though
they both start at the same time?
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2. What is the role of luck in achieving success?
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3. How can you develop leverage to accelerate your progress in your career?
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4. Why can knowledge and continuous learning give you an edge in your field?
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© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.
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5. What is the role of skill in putting you onto the fast track in your career?
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6. What kind of people are important to know if you want to move ahead
more rapidly?
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7. Why does having money in the bank seem to accompany greater career success?
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© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.
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Leveraging Your Potential
1. Why do some people accomplish so much so soon, even in
competitive industries?
a) Why does one person earn $25,000 per year and another person $250,000
per year (ten times the amount) even though they both started at the same
time with pretty much the same abilities?
b) Some people accomplish as much in three to five years as others in the
same field may accomplish in 15 to 20 years;
c) Unsuccessful people claim that successful people are just lucky, but we
know there is more to success than just luck.
21 Your key to great success in our society is to develop leverage.
Archimedes once said, “Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I
can move the world.”
a) There are seven proven ways to develop leverage. Any one of them can
change your life;
b) You can accelerate your entire career and save yourself years of hard work
by practicing these principles.
3. Knowledge is the first form of leverage. Lifelong, continuous study can
give you the “winning edge” in your field.
a) We live in a knowledge-based world; one idea is all you need to change your life;
b) Successful people do not “have more” than others. They merely
“know more” than others;
c) To earn more, you must learn more.
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4. Skill is a key leverage factor in every area of endeavor.
a) Your competence in your field will determine your rewards;
b) Small improvements in performance can lead to large improvements
in results;
c) What one skill area could you improve right now to accelerate
your career?
5. Contacts are absolutely vital to success in a complex,
competitive society.
a) 85 percent of your success will be based on your relationships;
b) The more people you know and the more people who know you,
the more likely it is that you will be successful;
c) Network, join and participate in organizations that can help
your career.
6. Money, in the form of savings, can be a tremendous source of
leverage at the right time.
a) Your goal must be to save 10 percent and even 20 percent of your income
throughout your lifetime;
b) Money gives you the freedom to decide rather than the feeling of
being trapped;
c) Opportunity money enables you to take advantage of an opportunity
when it comes along.
© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.
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7. Good work habits, learned through practice, will bring you to the attention
of people who can help you.
a) Develop the ability to set clear priorities on your work, before you begin;
b) Develop the ability to concentrate single-mindedly on the most valuable use
of your time;
c) Develop a sense of urgency. Do it immediately rather than putting it off.
8. A positive personality will open more doors for you than
anything else.
a) Become a cheerful, pleasant, polite, positive person;
b) Practice positive self-talk continually. Talk to yourself in positive terms so
that you feel like a positive person;
c) Be especially nice to other people, whoever they are and wherever
you go.
9. Your image is a vital leverage factor. Your appearance can open or
close doors for you almost instantly.
a) People judge you by the way you look on the outside 95 percent
of the time;
b) Dress for success everywhere you go;
c) Develop and maintain high levels of physical health and energy if you
want to come across at your best.
© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.
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10 . Character is perhaps the most important determinant of success
in our society.
a) Honesty is the core of character;
b) Guard your integrity as a sacred thing;
c) Self-discipline and self-mastery constitute the foundational
quality of character.
11 . Luck is a leverage factor, but it is something you attract by practicing the
other leverage factors in this lesson.
12 . Happiness is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. The more you
practice the above principles, the more success you will enjoy and the
happier you will be.
As you look around, you find that successful people are those who make a habit of doing
the things that unsuccessful people don’t like to do.
When you begin making a habit of engaging in the behaviors that will give you the leverage
you want to move ahead more rapidly, you will enjoy the success that eludes most people.
You will become one of the top people in your field. It’s completely up to you!
© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.
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Action Exercises
1. Give an example of a lucky break and explain how there was really
no “luck” involved:
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
2. How can you use leverage to get ahead more rapidly in your job or in your career?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
3. What key piece of knowledge could you develop to help you become more
successful, faster?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
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4. What one area of competence could you acquire that would open up more
opportunities for you in your current work or business?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
5. Why do people who perform their jobs in an excellent fashion get more
opportunities to advance and earn more money?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
6. Why are contacts and relationships so important to success in our society?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.
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7. What could you do immediately to expand the number of people you know, and who
know you?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
8. How does having money in the bank open up opportunities for you to move ahead
more rapidly?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
9. Which sort of excellent work habits can be most helpful to you in accelerating
your career?
1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.
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What one thing are you going to do immediately as the result of what you have learned in
this lesson?
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