“The entrepreneur is a person who recognizes that no matter who signs his or her paycheck, he or she is always self-employed.”

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Brian Tracy is Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations.

Brian has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and addressed more than 5,000,000 people in 5,000 talks and seminars throughout the US, Canada and 55 other countries worldwide. As a Keynote speaker and seminar leader, he addresses more than 250,000 people each year.

Brian has studied, researched, written and spoken for 30 years in the fields of economics, history, business, philosophy and psychology. He is the top selling author of over 45 books that have been translated into dozens of languages.

Brian’s newest book, “Earn What You’re Really Worth,” is for every person who works in any competitive industry, including staff members or executives who want to earn more money, people in job transition, students entering the workplace, and every unemployed person who wants to get back into the workforce.

MO: You’re a bestselling author of over 45 books. What inspired you to write, “Earn What You’re Really Worth?” What strategies and approaches are you offering that vary from the methods you’ve outlined in previous books?

Brian: The inspiration for “Earn What You’re Really Worth” comes from the discovery that your earning potential or earning power is your most valuable financial asset, and like any asset, it can be either appreciating, becoming more valuable, or depreciating and becoming less valuable.

This book lays out a series of specific strategies that help you to identify your greatest areas of opportunity, your strengths, abilities and talents, and the specific ways that you can begin immediately to increase your earning ability and therefore, your income.

MO: The current economic climate has left a lot people with uncertain futures, despite having great educations, experience and skills. What would your advice be for someone contemplating taking the leap into entrepreneurship?

Brian: The fact is that everyone is in sales and everyone works on commission. However your income is determined, your job is to “add value” of some kind. Your income is merely a reward or a percentage of the value that you add to your company and your customers.

The entrepreneur is a person who recognizes that no matter who signs his or her paycheck, he or she is always self-employed. For someone contemplating getting into entrepreneurship, I encourage them to learn everything they possibly can about the business before they invest their money. Homework, market analysis, and business planning are essential to the success of an enterprise of any size.

MO: In “Earn What You’re Really Worth,” you explain why procrastination is a good thing as long as you learn how to procrastinate on the right things. Can you share with our readers how they can use procrastination to their advantage?

Brian: The fact is that everyone procrastinates. High performing people procrastinate on activities of low value. Poor performing people procrastinate on activities of high value.

In the world of work and business, you get paid for results. The greater the quality and quantity of your results, the greater will be your salary and income. By procrastinating on low-value, no-value activities, you have more time to dedicate to the completion of those tasks that really make a difference to your business and to yourself.

MO: You’ve written an impressive number of books. What are the ways that you bring your ideas to life? Does your creative process and approach look the same each time, or does it vary with each book?

Brian: Some years ago, I set a goal for myself to write and publish four books per year, all with traditional publishers, and none self-published.

I then sat down and developed both a method and a process to accomplish this goal. It consists of 20 steps which I teach and make available to anyone who wants to know what they are. These steps enable me to start with an idea and flesh it out into a complete book that is ready to go to the publisher.

Over the years, I have read about three hours per day on average. This equates to more than 150,000 hours of reading and research, of all kinds. When I sit down to write a book, I already have a vast mental storehouse of ideas and concepts.

Each book I write is different from every other book. I have written books on time management, travelling across the Sahara desert, the power of charm, the art of closing sales, and how to apply military principles of strategy to success in life and in business, plus 55 other books.

MO: What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken and how did it turn out?

Brian: The biggest risk I have taken, in retrospect, was investing in real estate properties and development about which I had too little information. As a result, the market went up and the market came down hard. It cost me a lot of money to re-learn the fact that “due diligence” is the most important thing you can engage in if you are considering an investment of any kind.

I have taken countless risks over the course of my life. Many of them did not work out. In every case, I rack the loss up to experience, glean as many lessons as I can from the experience, and move on.

The turning point in my life that brought me to where I am today, author of 52 books and producer of more than 500 audio and video learning programs was the discovery that “you can learn anything you need to learn, to accomplish any goal you can set for yourself.”

Once I made this discovery, I threw my whole heart into learning everything I could about every business I went into. I read books and articles, listened to audio programs and attended courses, seminars and university lectures. I became voracious for new information.

MO: How did you go from being a high school dropout to becoming a polyglot and motivational speaker; an author who is regularly on the New York Times Best Seller List; and the CEO of your own successful company? What did your turning point look like? Can you share what some of this remarkable journey entailed?

Brian: In 1981, I began to put my ideas into talks and seminars to share them with other people. Fortunately, these ideas turned out to be very helpful in accelerating people along the pathways to success and happiness. As a result, the books, audios, videos and seminars have now been presented and sold in 60 countries, in many different languages. These ideas really work to help people to achieve more of their potential. That was my aim from the beginning.