Brian Tracy: Eat That Frog Author's 729-Vote Run for California Governor

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Brian Tracy was born in 1944 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, attended the University of Alberta, and in 1984 founded Brian Tracy International in Vancouver. In a 1980s market crowded with consultants selling either pure motivation or rigid sales scripts, he combined the two, arguing that sales tactics fail without self-esteem and confidence fails without strategy. His firm trained clients in leadership, sales, goal setting and creativity under the banner of the psychology of success. Between 1988 and 2018 he wrote more than 80 books, translated into dozens of languages, built around three themes: productivity mechanics, the inner game of achievement, and wealth and career advancement.

His best-known productivity idea, from the 2001 book Eat That Frog, is to tackle the hardest task first thing in the morning. In titles such as No Excuses and The Power of Self-Discipline he framed discipline as freedom from short-term impulses, and in Earn What You're Really Worth he told readers to see themselves as the president of a personal services corporation, judged by output rather than hours. In 2003 he ran as an independent in the California recall election against Gray Davis, one of 135 candidates, and received 729 votes. He still gained international attention because Eddie Mair of BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House called him every week for updates. He later became a trustee of the Heritage Foundation, the Washington think tank behind Project 2025.

• Tracy argued that better sales skills raise self-esteem, which raises resilience and leads to more sales calls.
• The frog in Eat That Frog is the most dreaded, highest-stakes task of the day.
• He taught that the market pays for results, not for time spent at a desk.
• The 2003 recall ballot also included Arnold Schwarzenegger, child actors and comedians.
• The BBC's interest came from the contrast between his earnest, systematic approach and the chaos of the race.