An Open Letter to Brian Tracy
Dear Brian Tracy,
I’ve always believed in going back and thanking the people who’ve had a positive influence on my life.
I went back to my old high school 11 years after I graduated to thank my art teacher for inspiring me to become a graphic designer.
I tracked down an old boss to thank him for being tough on me so I’d push myself harder and learn faster.
On each wedding anniversary I give gratitude to the girlfriends who dragged me out on the night I met my husband-to-be.
Frustratingly, I’ve never been able to track down one special person to whom I owe a huge thanks.
I was twenty four when he entered my life, having a profound influence on my self confidence and inner drive.
He motivated me to drop self-limiting beliefs and create a strong, positive voice in my head.
He taught me the power of goal setting and how to turn my dreams into reality.
But there was a big problem. I didn’t remember his name!
Twenty three years ago my old boss at Capitol Records gave me a series of audio cassette tapes to mail to his brother. Curious, I listened to one and was immediately hooked. I used a tape copying facility at work to make an extra set for myself.
Each day on my long L.A. commute I soaked up every word the man on those tapes said.
Never before had I heard anyone speak about success and how we’re only limited by our own thinking.
I hung on his every word and began writing down goals and creating action plans for making them happen.
Soon afterwards I had the opportunity to move to London. I’m not sure what happened to those tapes but by then the words were ingrained in my psyche. Staying positive and self-motivated remain my greatest strengths.
My life continues to be amazing. I’m now living in Madrid with my wonderful husband and our two great boys.
I have a new website called Project Me, helping others to live a brilliant life. I teach goal setting skills to busy mothers, motivating them to overcome hurdles that stand in the way of their happiness.
The other day something happened that took me by complete surprise.
In the back of a cupboard I found an old dusty shoebox. Inside I discovered the last remaining cassette from my long lost series!
Handwritten across the top:
Brian Tracy / The Psychology of Achievement
Brian Tracy – of course!
I follow you on Facebook. Your book ‘Eat That Frog’ is on the We Love page of my website. I bought ‘No Excuses, The Power of Self Discipline’ for my step son last Christmas.
How on earth could I have not realised all this time it was you?
Now that the mystery’s been solved I can finally thank you.
I’m grateful your wisdom reached me at the age it did. Many people have to wait until they’re much older to begin to undo old thinking patterns and discover new ways of being.
I was still young enough to use your wisdom to carve out an incredible future, full of adventures and opportunities.
Written goals with plans of action are the essence of my being.
I teach my children to believe that anything is possible and encourage them to write their goals regularly.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Positively yours,
Kelly Pietrangeli
In the comments below, give thanks to someone who’s been a positive influence in your life. Please share with everyone who’s made you a better person.
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Wow, this is an inspiring and fascinating story! Thank you for sharing; i think am gonna now go reflect on who to i awe gratitude and make sure i let them know. I have gratitude for you now, for letting me be conscious of this! Great Post!
You’re welcome Marwa! And this is about to turn into a big gratitude fest, but I want to thank YOU too for your lovely comment 🙂 You’ve made my day. x
Beautiful Kelly!
I’d like to thank my friend Melissa who, seven years ago, said “You’re really good at juggling lots of projects. You really should get into some kind of organising”. By planting that small seed Melissa gave me permission to do what I love – organising – and I’ve now been in business six years.
Sometimes it takes other people to see our strengths. It certainly did in my case. xx
That’s wonderful that someone pointing out your strengths was what inspired you to become a professional organiser Helen. I know what you mean about sometimes needing other people to help us recognise our own talents.
It was having several friends compliment me on both my writing and my ability to inspire them whenever we met up that made me realise writing a blog and running workshops is my calling.
I hope you’ve let Melissa know 🙂
Kelly this is a really great. I love finding old nuggets of wisdom like that. Have you sent him the blog? I bet it would make his day. He changed your life and now you are changing others. The butterfly effect in action.
Bless you
Clare
Clare I really want to get Brian’s eyes on this so he knows! I’m sure he gets hundreds of thank you’s a month (at least), but I’d still like him to get mine. I have tweeted him and will try to track down an email address and hope his people will get it to him.
If not, at least I feel I have said my thanks openly and can’t tell you how relieved I was to find that last remaining cassette and discover his identity after so many years of trying to remember. It was a big DUH! How could I have not realised it was HIM when I saw it!
Wow- that’s a great thing to stumble upon Kelly. Isn’t it amazing at what powerful memories are attached to old (sometimes dusty) objects. I’m always amazed how you stumble upon nuggets at just the right time.
I have to ask though, did you have a tape desk to still play the cassette?
I’d like to thank my Year 9 Economics teacher, Mr Koumanis, who inspired a love of learning in me that sustains and intrigues me every day. A heartfelt thanks.
Kristy, in fact I don’t have a cassette player anymore and have asked around and it seems they’re officially extinct! I’d love to put this tape in and hear it again.
That was a wonderful tribute to your old teacher. Yay Mr Kaumanis! X
I’ve been planning to write about a college coach that made a big difference in my life on my blog. Unfortunately I never had the chance to tell him. He passed away far too young. I’d like to believe he knew though. I hope he did. He was a wonderful man.
Thanks for sharing your tribute to your college coach Michelle. It’s good to pause and give gratitude to those who’ve helped shape our thinking. I’m sorry you never got to tell him, but it’s beautiful that you are still feeling the gratitude 🙂
Oh wow, Kelly, I love this!
I’m a big fan of Brian Tracy and have a lot to thank him for too.
A few years back, each of my morning walks was spent listening to Brian’s ‘Master Strategies for Higher Achievement’ audio that I’d loaded onto my iPod. I have a beautiful notebook filled with pages of my ‘ten goals a day’ as recommended in his book ‘Goals’. Like you, ‘Eat that Frog’ is a favourite and one that I bought copies of to sell in my bookshop. And I also really enjoyed his more recent book, ‘Flight Plan’.
As for ‘No Excuses’ – that sounds like one that should be at the top of my To-Read list at the moment!!
This post reminds me of something else too though. It’s an idea that Julia Morgenstern talks about in her book ‘Shed Your Stuff,Change Your Life’: the idea of ‘finding treasures’. You definitely found one when you opened that shoebox!!
Thanks so much for sharing your story. I hope that you do get to share your gratitude in person with the amazing man who had such an impact on your life, as well as mine and so many others.
Ow wow BRIGID! Another Brian Tracy devotee 😉 I love it that his recordings touched you too and I haven’t read ‘Goals’ or ‘Flight Plan’ so thanks for the personal recommendations.
I recently learned about Julia Morgensterm from Helen at http://www.clutterrescue.com.au – and now you mention her again. Her book also sounds great. I did indeed find a treasure in that dusty old shoebox!
Thanks for your wonderful comment. You’ve made my day x
[…] copy (we are talking 1990…) The tapes were an audio series by a motivational speaker named Brian Tracy and were called ‘The Psychology of […]