
Success is predictable if you do what other successful people do. It sounds simple, right? But that’s the whole point. It’s not about magic or luck; it’s about studying the blueprint and then putting in the reps, over and over.
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Meaning
At its core, this quote strips away the mystery of success. It’s a simple formula: find the patterns of high achievers and replicate them with relentless consistency.
Explanation
Look, I’ve seen this play out so many times in my career. We often think success is this elusive, magical thing that happens to other people. But Brian Tracy is saying, no, it’s actually a system. It’s a process. Think about it like this: if you wanted to bake a specific cake, you wouldn’t just throw random ingredients together. You’d find a proven recipe from a master baker and follow it, step-by-step. Success works the same way. The “over and over again” part is crucial. That’s where most people drop off. They try the successful person’s tactic once, maybe twice, don’t see world-shattering results, and quit. The magic isn’t in the action itself, but in the dogged, boring, relentless repetition of that action until it becomes second nature and compounds into something extraordinary.
Quote Summary
Reading Level55
Aesthetic Score74
Origin & Factcheck
This wisdom comes straight from Brian Tracy’s 2001 book, Get Paid More and Promoted Faster. He’s a Canadian-American motivational speaker and self-development author, and this concept is a cornerstone of his teaching. You sometimes see similar sentiments floating around, but this specific, powerful phrasing is all Tracy.
Attribution Summary
Author Bio
Brian Tracy, a prolific author gained global reputation because of his best seller book list such as Eat That Frog!, Goals!, and The Psychology of Selling, and created influential audio programs like The Psychology of Achievement. He is sought after guru for personal development and business performance. Brian Tracy International, coaches millions of professionals and corporates on sales, goal setting, leadership, and productivity.
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Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Success is predictable if you do what other successful people do, over and over again |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2002; ISBN: 978-1576751985; Last edition: 2002, Berrett-Koehler Publishers; Number of pages: 208. |
| Where is it? | Chapter: Modeling Success; Approximate page from 2002 edition |
Context
In the book, this isn’t just abstract advice. Tracy is applying it directly to your career and income. He’s arguing that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to get ahead. The paths to higher pay and faster promotions are already mapped out by those who’ve walked them before you.
Usage Examples
So how do you actually use this? It’s simple, but not easy.
- For a Sales Rep: Stop guessing what closes deals. Find your top performer. Buy them coffee. Ask them: “Walk me through your exact process from lead to close. What do you say? What emails do you send?” Then, you don’t just try it. You role-play it until it’s muscle memory. You deliver their pitch verbatim for 100 calls. That’s the “over and over” part.
- For an Aspiring Leader: Identify a leader you admire in your company. Observe how they run meetings. How do they communicate bad news? How do they structure their one-on-ones? Then, consciously model that behavior. It will feel awkward at first—a cheap imitation. But if you keep doing it, over and over, it eventually integrates into your own authentic style.
- For an Entrepreneur: You don’t need a “secret” strategy. Find a business in a different market that has the model you want. Deconstruct their customer acquisition, their service delivery, their pricing tiers. Then, systematically implement those patterns in your own business. The innovation isn’t in the idea, but in the disciplined execution.
To whom it appeals?
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FAQ
Question: Doesn’t this just lead to copying and a lack of originality?
Answer: It’s a fair point, but it’s a misunderstanding of the process. You’re not copying to be a clone. You’re modeling the fundamentals. Think of it like a painter learning the techniques of the masters before developing their own style. You master the proven rules first; your unique flair comes later, built on a solid foundation.
Question: What if I do what successful people do and still fail?
Answer: Then you need to audit two things. First, are you *truly* doing what they do, or just a surface-level version of it? Second, and this is the big one, are you doing it “over and over again”? Most people give up right before the compounding effect kicks in. Consistency is the filter that separates the successful from the rest.
Question: How do I know which successful person to model?
Answer: Don’t just pick the most famous person. Pick someone whose success is relevant and replicable to your situation. A young entrepreneur should model a scrappy startup founder, not the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Context is everything. Find the person who’s about 5-10 years ahead of where you are now.
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