From a conversation between friends, September 8, 2026 · 5 minutes
A note from Lanny
Brian Tracy passed away on November 12, 2026. He was 82.
Most of the world knew Brian from his books, his seminars and Eat That Frog! I was lucky enough to also know him as a friend.
On September 8, Brian and I got on a Zoom call. I wanted to show him something we had built, and like always, he ended up teaching me. In about thirty minutes he laid out his whole philosophy as clearly as I have ever heard it. He told me about a 17,000-mile journey he took as a young man, and the journals he kept every single day. And at the end of the call he said, “Thank you, my dear friend. Talk to you again soon.”
I put the best five minutes of that conversation together so you can spend a little time with him too.
Brian, thank you. For everything.
Lanny Morton
What he taught, in his own words
“Decide what you want, write it down. Make a list of everything you have to do to achieve it. Organize things by priority, and then take action. And take action every day until your goal is achieved.”
“They try to do too many things at once, rather than doing the one thing that makes the biggest difference.”
“They sort of believe that it’s for special people. Anyone who’s clear about what they want, and is willing to work hard every single day until they achieve it, then there’s no limits.”
“Two things in life are, first of all, clarity. Be clear about what you want. And second of all, responsibility. I’m responsible. If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
“Once you take the first step, the second step follows from that. And then the third step. And in time, you achieve your goal, no matter how big it is.”
17,000 miles
As a young man, while his friends were backpacking around Europe, Brian said, “Let’s go to somewhere different. Let’s go to Africa.” They set off from Vancouver, British Columbia, crossed North America and the Atlantic, came down through Europe and crossed Africa all the way to Johannesburg.
“By the end of 17,000 miles,” he said, “you’re different for the rest of your life.” He was one of the few people he knew who kept a journal, writing down every day what he was doing, what he learned and what he was thinking. Decades later, those journals were still in his office, and he was planning to turn them into books.
“I want the reader to feel that you can do anything you put your mind to.”Brian Tracy, September 8, 2026
Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on January 5, 1944, Brian Tracy spent more than four decades teaching the psychology of achievement. He wrote more than 70 books, led Brian Tracy International, and spoke to audiences around the world. Millions of people set their first real goal because of him.
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If Brian ever changed something for you, through a book, a program or one idea that stuck, I would love to hear about it.
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