book summary of “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy
Eat That Frog
The main concept of the book around its title is ” Eat That Frog “. This title is taken from the famous quote of Mark Twain. “Swallow a live frog every morning, it will not make anything worse for you during the day.” Simply put, start your day doing something you do not like at all and procrastinate. By doing this, you will be sure that your day will be easier because you have removed the worst and most stressful work on your to-do list. The frog is actually referring to the biggest and most important thing you have to do
Book summary of Eat That Frog
Throughout the book, Brian Tracy strives to instill in readers habits that evolve. According to him, our lives are a set of habits.
So, why are things falling behind?
Procrastination is a behavior that has become quite common in the age of technology. Things we have been wanting to do for a long time and we are usually supposed to go to them on “Saturday”, but that promised Saturday will never come. Part-time articles, study and work projects, starting a diet, starting a new book, and thousands of other things that we know are not in our best interest, but on the other hand we do not have the patience to do or finish them, so we ignore them. The most important reason for delaying that important task, and not having the motivation to do it, is that we do not know exactly what we are going to achieve by doing it. This is probably why transparency is the most important concept in personal productivity.
book summary of Eat That Frog
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy is a collection of ideas and techniques for personal productivity and time management. Brian Tracy wrote the best-selling book Eat That Frog to introduce 21 helpful ways to overcome laziness and get more done in less time. This book offers practical techniques for progress by offering various solutions to overcome procrastination. Brian Tracy, like many other time management professionals, emphasizes the importance of putting things on paper and the power of this work in planning and goal setting. Although various techniques are discussed throughout the book, the main emphasis is on writing. Below we will review the most important concepts of these 21 principles mentioned in the book:
21 Important Concepts
1- The clarity of the goal is a basic condition. The ambiguity of the goal only confuses, and the clearer the goals, the faster they are achieved. When you define a behavior clearly, your motivation to do it will be higher.
2- Every minute of planning is equivalent to 5 to 10 minutes of time saved. So always plan ahead, as this will prevent poor performance.
3- 80% of the results you achieve are the result of 20% of your activities. This sentence is known as the “Pareto principle”. In other words, this law separates two categories of activities, namely, “very important minority”.
4- Before starting, make a list of your works and then prioritize them in terms of value and necessity. Before you do anything, get in the habit of starting the most important thing. This is the key to success.
5 — Before starting work, make the necessary preparations for it to prevent poor performance. One of the techniques for overcoming laziness is to prepare everything before you start.
6. No matter how good you are at doing something, your knowledge is getting old. In fact, if you are not progressing, then you are getting worse.
7. Whatever your efficiency, your potential is greater than has ever been the case.
8. Focus all your thoughts on the approach you are taking. The sun’s rays do not burn until they are focused. The main goals are the same as the vital functions of the body.
9- Avoid justifying your weaknesses, identify them and plan to improve them. Look for solutions instead of focusing on problems.
10. Identify your internal or external limitations or deterrents and focus on eliminating them. Avoid the factors that prevent you from succeeding.
11. Walking a path that is thousands of miles begins with taking one step. An English proverb says that one meter is one meter hard but one centimeter is one centimeter easy.
12. No one comes to motivate you, no one saves you except yourself! Successful people are in control of almost every single situation.
13. Working hard, although sometimes necessary, does not necessarily lead to higher productivity and efficiency, and even in most cases, efficiency decreases with increasing working time.
14. The more optimistic you are, the more motivated you are to get things done, the more eager you will be to start and get things done. The highest pleasures are in the enthusiasm that compels man to adventure.
15. Do not forget the law of constructive laziness! It is necessary to be lazy in doing some things, these are the things that are of little value. Better use of time and knowing what to spend your valuable time on to be most effective is one of the most important skills you need to acquire.
16. Start your day with the hardest work. Work that can have the greatest impact on you and your career. This is something that most people do the opposite.
17. There is no better time than now. Be practical and get started, figure out better tools and facilities along the way. Although a lot of energy is expended at the beginning of the movement to overcome stillness, you will need less energy to continue, this principle is known as “movement inertia”. As time goes on, it’s up to you to make the most of it.
18. The secret to true strength lies in learning how to not waste your abilities. Successful people are in control of almost every single situation.
19. Do your work step by step, slowly and steadily. Divide large and complex tasks into smaller steps and then do them one by one.
20. Consider the consequences of your actions, this also helps to prioritize, your most important tasks are the ones that have the most consequences for you. Your accurate forecast of the future and having a long-term horizon in your plans is a sign of your superior thinking.
21. One of the best ways to prevent laziness is to do more work in less time. When you finish a part of the work, your motivation to continue the next part increases.
Why should we read the book?
If you are like most people of this period and time, you will surely face a lot of work and lack of time. You may not be able to do all the work. You can never get ahead of yourself and you will always be behind schedule for some things and maybe for most things. The present age is a wonderful time to live. In no period of time have there been so many different possibilities and opportunities to achieve the most goals. Perhaps at no time in human history have so many different choices been faced by man. Although most of us look at this dilemma through pessimism.
In fact, there are so many good and interesting things to do that it can be said that the ability to make decisions and choose from them is the key to your success in life. In this way, determining the most important things that you need to start and finish quickly will most likely play a very important role in your success. Your ability to manage time is extremely important. One thing that can make the difference between you and unsuccessful people.
Time is an essential and irreplaceable resource. Time is without a doubt your most valuable asset. You can never save or recycle it. The better you use your time, the more successful you will eventually be and the greater the rewards you will receive. Pragmatism is the most obvious behavior of successful people; they commit themselves to keep doing the work until the end without distracting their minds.
The magnitude and success of each individual depends on the extent to which he can pour all his forces into a single channel. The first rule of success is focus. That is, focus all your forces on one point, go straight to that point and do not deviate left and right. The language of the book is simple and understandable. Although the methods presented in it are not accompanied by scientific and research evidence, but they are considered valid because they are derived from the personal experiences of the author.
Practical solution offered in this book
The author suggests that the following three factors should be used to focus as well as pay attention to the tasks that he considers important:
Decision, discipline and desire. The decision to practice the habit of finishing things in ourselves, the discipline in practicing the creation of this habit in ourselves, so much so that we have finally mastered this skill and the will to strengthen these principles within ourselves.
Who is the author?
Brian Tracy is one of the most famous speakers in the world. In addition to his theories and lectures, he is a prolific writer, and his books have sold millions of copies. Brian Tracy is one of the most successful and influential people who has had a great impact on the success of people and the business of large companies due to the experiences and hardships he has gained during his life years. He is fluent in several languages including French, German and Spanish and has been able to hold numerous conferences and seminars in various countries, including Iran, for consulting in the field of management, sales and business strategy.
He is fluent in four different languages and has a simple message:
“I believe that by nurturing and using your abilities, you can overcome any problem in life, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal.” Among his bestsellers are ” Eat That Frog “, “Helping Yourself”, “The Power of Attraction”, “The Magic of Motivation”, “Time Management”, “The Power of Expression”, “The Power of Planning”, “Crisis Management” And “focus”. Brian Tracy believes that every human being has undeveloped talents that can be put into practice if he or she uses the strategies and techniques that successful people before him have followed.
