This article is part of a series of articles that will review Brian Tracy’s “Eat That Frog”.  The book is about how to focus on the most important tasks in your life and get those done.

Introduction

This article will only review the introduction of Brian Tracy’s book “Eat That Frog”.

The need to be selective

Our lives are becoming more and more crowded with stuff that we need to get done.  So Brian Tracy says that we need to be able to pick the most important tasks in our lives and work on those until their complete.

The truth about frogs

I love the quote that Brian Tracy quotes from the Mark Twain.  He says, “Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.”

There is a strong truth in what Brian Tracy is saying here.  We need to tackle the toughest things.  The things that we least want to do.

Brian Tracy’s first rule of frog eating: if you have two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.  This just means that if you have two tasks do the most important, most pressing one first.  Should be easy right?  But we tend to do the easy stuff first.

Brian Tracy’s second rule of frog eating: if you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it for very long.  He is saying get your task over with.

Take action immediately

People who don’t take action immediately are failing to execute.  This is one of the biggest problems in business today.  Procrastinators don’t excel.  Procrastinators don’t get ahead.

Develop habits of success

These habits include setting priorities, overcoming procrastination, and getting on with your most important task right away.  I strongly agree with Brian Tracy.  If your frog is procrastination, then you need to decide what your most important task is and set about doing it right away.

Develop a positive addiction

Get addicted to getting things done.  You’ll feel great.  You’ll feel energized.  And pretty soon, you’ll find that your inbox is empty.

No shortcuts

Practice really is the only way to become really good at something.  With practice you can develop any hand that you want.

The three D’s of new habit formation

So how do you form a new habit?  You must follow these three D’s: decision, discipline, and determination.

Visualize yourself as you want to be

If you can see yourself is successful, then you never will be.  Successful people can visualize themselves as successes.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years was authored by Donald Miller. It chronicles his life as he edits it for a movie. But this book is much more than just a story about writing a screenplay. This book shows us how we can make our lives into something special.

My goal with this review is not to give a comprehensive overview of the book. Rather, I hope to share some ideas from the book that were meaningful to me.

I’ll first say that there is a lot to love about this book. In fact, I have many quotes that I love from this book.

First off, I’ll start with a quote towards the beginning of the book. He says:

“When Steve, Dan, and I first started working together, I didn’t want Don to embrace conflict. I wanted an easy story. But nobody really remembers easy stories. Characters have to face their greatest fears with courage. That’s what makes a story good. If you think about the stories you like most, they probably have lots of conflict. There is probably death at stake, inner death or actual death, you know. These polar charges, these happy and sad things in life, are like colors God uses to draw the world.”

It truly is conflict that gives color to our lives. Chances are if we don’t have conflict in her life, were stagnant. I don’t want to be stagnant. And it seems the only way to keep from being stagnant is to have conflict. But we don’t like to introduce conflict or alive. In fact, Miller states:

“Here’s the truth about telling stories with your life. It’s going to sound like a great idea, and you are going to get excited about it, and then when it comes time to do the work, you’re not going to want to do it. It’s like that with writing books, it’s like that with life. People love to have a lived a great story, but few people like to work it takes to make it happen. But joy costs pain.”

I often feel that I’m not willing to pay the cost for joy. It’s difficult to give up my comfort. It’s difficult to leave my comfort zone. Pain is not comfortable. But that’s the price.

And so living your life deliberately – living your life on purpose – requires something extra of yourself. But giving the something extra is addictive. Miller says,

“And that’s the thing you realize when you organize your life into the structure of story. You get a taste for one story and then another, and then another, and the stories will build until your living a kind of epic of risk and reward, and the whole thing will be molding you into the actual character whose roles you’ve been playing. And when you live a good story, you get a taste for kind of meaning in life, and you can’t go back to being normal; you can’t go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time. The more practice stories I lived, the more I wanted an epic to climb inside of and see through to its end.”

And the reward for living such a life. A good life. A life with risk and reward. To reward is living a life with meaning. Miller says,

“Pain then, if one could have faith in something greater than himself, might be a path To experiencing a meaning beyond the false gratification of personal comfort.”

I highly recommend this book as a way to live your life better. Decide what you want. Look at we have to overcome to get it. And go get it. This is what makes a great life.

I get this from the article itself.  Mr. Rohn says:

“Here is why humans can do remarkable things: because they are remarkable. Humans are different than any other creation. When a dog starts with weeds, he winds up with weeds. And the reason is because he’s a dog. But that’s not true with human beings. Humans can turn weeds into gardens.”

Humans – that’s you and me – can turn weeds into gardens.  Incredible, really!  But you have to dig deep within yourself.  Do you have weeds in your life just waiting to be turned into gardens?

Click here for Jim Rohn’s full article.

In the article Brian Tracy says that you, as the salesperson, are basically like a detective trying to uncover clues about how your product can solve a problem for the client.

He identifies 3 key techniques to learn:

1. Use questions as sales tools.
2. Clarify the need.
3. Building Buying Desire.

But he says in order to put these ideas into action you need to do two things immediately:

1. Ask good questions to uncover the real need.
2. Continually show the client the size of the gap of where she would be without your product.

Apply Brian Tracy’s skills into your Sales Training Programs and you’ll immediately begin to see your sales numbers improve.

Click here for Brian Tracy’s full article.

First, you must recognize that it is a process with a beginning and an end. Find out where your customer is at in the process and meet him and her there. You’ll then be able to more easily guide him or her through the rest of the process through to closing.

Should You Use a Sales Process?

Zig Ziglar swears that if you want to be successful in the sales profession, you need a process. This is the best way for you to know what your client is thinking.

Your Sales Process Should Be Logical and Client-Oriented

If you follow your logical sales process, the closing will be the logical conclusion and in no way will be forced.

Your sales process will help you identify if your prospect is receiving the message that you think you are delivering. Often times, the customer hears something different than what you actually say.

Your potential customer uses both words and intent to communicate. Do you understand both the words and the intent? If you don’t, you’re at risk of losing the sale.

Zig Ziglar’s Selling Principles

1. Selling is a process, not an event.

This means there is a beginning, a middle and an end. Do you know where your customer is in the process? Do you know where you are in the process? If the answers to these questions don’t match, then you won’t sell.

If you’re not at the same place with your client, you’ll be frustrated. But worse, your client will be frustrated. Chances are that a frustrated client will not be a buying client.

To find out where your customer is at, you need to listen to words and intent. It’s the only way. You won’t get to your customer by talking over her needs.

2. You make more money solving problems (needs, issues, concerns) than you do selling product.

Find your prospect’s problems, and then solve the problems with your product.

3. People do things for their reasons, not yours.

Look for those reasons. Cater your sales process to those reasons.

4. Learn more about your prospect than about your product.

You don’t need to be best friends, but you need to know them as people. You need to know their buying trigger, their interests, where they’re at in the sales process, and their buying points.

Do you have a process for your sales? If you don’t you’ll need to start implementing one immediately. Zig Ziglar promises that you will see your sales soar once you put a sales process into place, identify where your prospect is at in that process, meet your client where he’s at, and lead your client to the conclusion.

Like most people who don’t like something when they first start out, Zig Ziglar’s son didn’t like playing golf, at first. This was of course until he ended up with his first chance at Birdie.

This was his first chance at a Birdie. Zig lined him up and his son knocked it in. Naturally, his son was jubilant. Next it was Zig Ziglar’s turn. It was also on the green with a shot at birdie.

If he missed the shot, his son would know that he missed on purpose and it would be a hollow victory. So Zig Ziglar putted the ball right in.

Zig made the shot and asked his son, if he was able to pull for him, even though it meant that he wouldn’t beat him at the hole. Of course he pulled for him, his son told him.

Zig Ziglar’s son demonstrated pure love for his father. He pulled for him because it would be for his father’s benefit to sink the putt.

Zig Ziglar developed the acronym H.E.A.R.T.:

Honesty

Empathy

Attitude

Reserves – Mental, physical and spiritual

Toughness – love is the toughest.

As a salesperson, your job is to persuade. Don’t be a slimy salesperson, trying to persuade prospects to buy what they don’t need. Instead, learn to have the client’s best interest at heart.

Once your heart is right, you learn to pull for the prospect to buy for their benefit and not for yours.

Zig Ziglar says this is the pure love you should use in your selling.

Zig Ziglar once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care about them.”

Learn to want your prospects to buy because you know they win with your product. Communicate with your feelings and beliefs.

The minute you start pulling for them to buy for their benefit, you become more professional, more effective, more loving and you sell more. And you’ll be able to sell them again and again and again. Before long, they’ll send you to their friends and relatives

When your client is the big winner, so are you. Learn to pull for him. Learning this kind of love will put you on the path to becoming the person you want to become. Good luck.

I don’t know if Zig Ziglar was the first to coin the phrase “Auto University”, but he’s definitely one of the strongest proponents of it. In fact, he claims, “It’s the most important university in America.” I agree with him.

Naturally, the Auto University’s classroom is your car. If you have a CD, tape, or MP3 player, then you have all of the equipment you need to enroll in Auto University. Auto University will teach you some of the most important skills you need to be successful at your job.

Should you enroll in Auto University?

The truth is that most of us spend our time mindlessly listening to our favorite music stations with their countless useless commercials. My favorite music station has a truly trivial trivia question at the top of every hour. Questions like, “How much cheese does the average American consume in a year?”

If you want more than a mediocre life, you should be listening to a continual stream of successful audio programs.

So if you want to join the highest ranks of your profession, start your own collection of motivational and skills-oriented CDs or tapes.

When Should You Listen to These Programs?

Every time you have to drive somewhere, even if it’s only 5 minutes, you should be listening to some kind of inspirational audio program. If you have a daily commute, there’ll be plenty of time to listen.

IBM just released a study that shows that “45% of all drivers surveyed report traffic congestion increases their stress levels”. You could lose some of that stress by concentrating on learning something that will have a positive impact on your life.

If you’re a sales professional, you should be listening in between each and every sales call. Can you imagine how much more successful you would be if after every call you listened to a tape about the skill you needed to improve? If you’re having trouble closing, listen to a sales training program on closing.

Top salespeople often apply skills they learned in the cars in between appointments. If it helps you close more deals, that would be worth the price of admission, don’t you think? You’ll want to listen to the programs often enough that they become second nature. Until you can complete the sentences.

Where to Start?

There are a lot of good audio programs out there, but I would start with the world’s leading trainers. You will know that you are getting the best. These trainers include Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Denis Waitley, Earl Nightingale, Tony Robbins, Jay Abraham, Jim Rohn, and Napoleon Hill.

But above all else, find audio programs that will help you grow. If there ever comes a point in your life when you become stagnant, return to Auto University.

To finish, I quote Jim Rohn. He says, “Formal education will earn you a living. Self-education will gain you a fortune. You decide how much fortune by how much self-education you get.” Start your self-education today at Auto University.

Experience shows that the best salespeople get to the top of their fields with the help of training. If you are a serious student of sales, you need to get your hands on every successful sales program that you can.

Zig Ziglar can put money in your pocket! Discover the 44 proven best ways to close a sale, the 5 basic reasons why prospects don’t buy, 24 negative words to avoid, and more. Sell Your Way To The Top is full of money-making, deal-closing techniques that can bring huge rewards!

Designed for the experienced professional who wants to earn more money, Brian Tracy’s Advanced Selling Techniques will refine your strategies for today’s customers and markets.

Is it possible to triple your income within 12 months? Absolutely with this program!

If you want to gain a substantial edge over your competitors, make more money selling than you’re making right now, and feel great about what you do for a living, this program is what you’ve been waiting for.

Rainmakers are men and women who are out there every day getting it done: bettering their organizations and businesses, enjoying their jobs, moving up, making great money, and giving themselves and their families the life they always dreamed of. These rules are how they do it. Follow them, and you’re guaranteed to make that critical leap from merely good to truly GREAT and reap all of the fantastic personal, professional, and financial rewards that go along with it!

Whether you are closing a major business deal or buying a new house, you have to be a negotiator everyday. Let Roger Dawson teach you how to become a power negotiator so that you can get anything that you want!

Close the sale every time, in every situation! In this video presentation, Brian Tracy reveals 24 footproof closing tactics for constantly pushing a customer’s “hot buttons.” Discover the magical effect of constrained enthusiasm, best time to close a sale, the fail-safe way to detect why a prospect isn’t buying, and more! You can share this videocassette with a sales staff as small as one or two, or with one that numbers in the thousands!

Todd Duncan shares his favorite quotes and inspirational stories in this book, a must for the 14 million people who sell for a living. Packed with wisdom and energy, it will fire your passion and help you to become all you can be. Todd’s books, including his best-seller High Trust Selling, have inspired thousands of salespeople.

State of the Art Selling delivers dozens of creative customer-focused techniques and philosophies you can instantly implement to stand out from the run-of-the-mill, become a sales all-star, and reap astronomical financial rewards.

Master salesman Brian Tracy will present you with 100 ideas for sales success. All business revenues start with the sale. Therefore, sales skills are vital to your business survival!

If you’re interested in main-taining and building upon a successful sales career, Brian Tracy’s Advanced Selling In Action is the program you can’t be without. Each of the four sessions focuses on an advanced sales topic that, once mastered, gives you an advantage with any customer or competition you might face.

Based on the renowned Miller Heiman sales system, this program will help you transform every prospective sale into a relationship that generates consistent, predictable income … become a superior sales professional … and enjoy career-long success.

This book and audio CD set truly captures what the essence of successful selling is all about. Its simplicity and clarity is powerful, and it should be a sales classic for many years to come. Best-selling sales author Todd Duncan has created a small but powerful book and audio CD about the most important thing you need to know about selling.

1. Ants never quit.

Ants are not encumbered about how they’re going to do something. They just do it. They have a singular focus. Gather food. That’s it. And they don’t quit until they’ve got it.

What about when you disrupt their ant line? The ants will search and search until they relocate the scent.

Don’t ever quit. If you lose your way, keep looking until you pick up the scent again

2. Ants think winter all summer.

You know…There’s a pervasive philosophy in society that goes something like this, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” Perhaps you’ve heard this philosophy before. You might even subscribe to this philosophy. You might want to look at the ants’ philosophy.

The ants think more on the lines of “gather, gather, gather for tomorrow we die.” They know the winter is coming. They prepare while everything is going well, while the weather is beautiful. We winter comes it is too late.

3. Ants think summer all winter.

Ants are thinking, “This too shall pass.” They know that eventually the summer will come again. Winter never lasts forever.

The same is true in our lives. Our lows will pass. We’ll feel the warm on our faces again. The plenty will come again. Even the Ice Age eventually ended.

4. During the summer, ants gather all they possibly can. Rohn calls this the all-they-possibly-can philosophy.

The seasons follow predictable patterns. Fall follows summer. Winter follows Fall. Spring falls Winter. Summer follows Spring. We know what’s coming next. It’s never a surprise.

But we never know the exact day that a particular season will start on. We never know when the snow will start falling. The time to prepare is now.

So remember the ant philosophy…

1. Don’t ever, ever quit.

2. Think winter all summer.

3. Think summer all winter.

4. Gather all-you-possibly-can.

This technique is so powerful that Dale Carnegie, one of the richest men of his time, credited his success to this one secret. If that’s true, then it would be important to master this approach.

Additionally, Brian Tracy says you can boost your personal efficiency by 50% with just this one technique. That’s just on the first day! He may be on to something here.

What is Single-Handling Key Tasks?

The essence of this success secret is to work on your most important task until it is 100% complete. According to Brian Tracy, there are three easy steps:

1. Make a list of all of the items you need to get done.

2. Select the most important item (highest use of your time) on your list.

3. Immediately begin working on this most important task and stick with it until it is complete.

Two Keys of Success

Take note of Brian Tracy’s Two Keys:

1. Focus

2. Concentration

The Benefits of Single-Handling Key Tasks

Brian Tracy says that single-mindedly working on your task, without diversion or distraction, will contribute more to your success than any other habit you will ever develop. Wow!

He further says that you increase the amount of time needed to spend on a task by 5 times when you lay it aside to complete later. Ouch! Unfortunately, most of us don’t work to completion with our tasks. We often get distracted.

Instead, use Single-Handling Key Tasks and watch your efficiency increase by up to 80%! No wonder Brian Tracy declares this as one of time management’s greatest secrets.

The best thing is that this is a habit you can learn by repetition and practice. Keep doing it until you get it down. Perfect practice makes perfect.

There are two major benefits:

1. You’ll rise to the top of your chosen field, quickly.

2. You’ll get an endorphin rush by completing your major tasks. This rush will give you a feeling of well-being, happiness, and your self-esteem will increase.

Start putting Brian Tracy’s success secret, Single-Handling Key Tasks, to work for you right away and watch your productivity explode!