Summary "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David J Schwartz

The Magic of Thinking Big by David J Schwartz

There is nothing magical or mystical about the power of belief. “I-am-positive-I-can” attitude, generates the power, skill and energy needed to do. When you believe I can-do-it, the how-to-do-it develops. Think victory and succeed. Thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you have. Attitude is more important than intelligence.

A person is a product of his own thoughts. Believe big and adjust your thermostat forwarding.

The three guides to acquiring and strengthening the power of belief:

Think success, don’t think failure.

Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are.

Believe Big.

Any training program must do three things: It must provide content (the what to do) . Second, it must supply a method (the how to do it) and third, it must meet the acid test (how to get the result).

Action cures fear. Indecision, postponement, fertilizes fear.

These simple actions automatically and instantaneously banish shyness. Confident action produces confident thinking.

Be a front seater.

Practice making eye-contact

Walk 25 percent faster

Practice speaking up

Smile big

Following pay in every way to think big:

1.  Don't sell yourself short. Conquer the crime of self-deprecation. Concentrate on your assets. You're better than you think you are.

2. Use the big thinker's vocabulary. Use big, bright, & cheerful words. Use words that promise victory; hope, happiness, pleasure; avoid words that create unpleasant images of failure,defeat, grief.

3. Stretch your vision: See what can be, not just what is. Practice adding value to things, to people, and to yourself.

4. Get the big view of your job. Think, really think your present job is important. That next promotion depends mostly on how you think toward your present job.

5. Think above trivial things. Focus your attention on big objectives. Before getting involved in a petty matter, ask yourself, "Is it really important?"

USE THESE TOOLS AND THINK CREATIVELY

1.  Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to a solution.

Eliminate impossible,"won't work," can't do," no use trying, " from your thinking and speaking vocabularies.

2. Don't let tradition paralyze your mind. Be receptive to new ideas. Be experimental. Try new approaches. Be progressive - in everything you do.

3. Ask yourself daily, "How can I do better?" There is no limit to self.improvement. When you ask yourself, "How can I do better?" sound answers will appear. Try it and see.

4. Ask yourself, "How can I do more?" Capacity is a state of mind. Asking yourself tills question puts your mind to work to find intelligent shortcuts. The success combination in business is: Do what you do better (improves the quality of your output), and: Do more of what you do (increase the quantity of your output).

5. Practice asking and listening. Ask And Listen, and you'll obtain raw materials for reaching sound decisions. Remember: Big people monopolize the listening; small people monopolize the talking.

6. Stretch your mind. Get stimulated. Associate with people who can help you think of new ideas, new ways of doing things. Mix with people of different occupations and social background.

Cement in your mind the question - "Is this the way an important person does it"- . Use this question to make you a bigger. More successful person. In a nutshell. Remember the following:

1. Look important; it helps you think important. Your appearance talks to you. Be sure it lifts your spirits and builds your confidence. Your appearance talks to others. Make certain it says. "Here is an important person: intelligent prosperous and dependable."

2. Think your work is important. Think this way; and you will receive mental signals on how doing your job better. Think your work is important, and your subordinates will think their work is important too.

3. Give yourself a pep talk several times daily. Build a "sell-yourself-to-yourself" commercial. Remind yourself at every opportunity that you're a first-class person.

4. In all of life's situations, ask yourself, "Is this the way an important person thinks?" Then obey the answer.

MAKE YOUR ENVIRONMENT MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL

1. Be environmentally-conscious. Just as body diet ,makes the body, mind diet makes the mind.

2. Make your environment work for you, not against you. Don't let suppressive forces-the negative, you-can't-do-it-people-make you think defeat.

3. Don't let small-thinking people hold you back. Jealous people want to see you stumble. Don't give them that satisfaction.

4. Get your advice from successful people. Your future is important. Never risk it with freelance advisors who are living failures.

5. Get plenty of psychological sunshine. Circulate in new groups. Discover new and stimulating things to do.

6. Throw thought poison out of your environment. Avoid gossip. Talk about people, but stay on the positive side.

7. Go first class in everything you do. You can't afford to go any other way.

Grow attitudes that will carry you forward to success.

1. Grow the ''I'm activated" attitude. Results come in proportion to the enthusiasm invested. Three things to do· to activate yourself are:

• Dig into it deeper. When you find yourself uninterested in something, dig in and learn more about it. This sets off enthusiasm.
• Life up everything about you: your smile, your handshake, your talk, even your walk. Act alive.
• Broadcast good news. No' one ever accomplished anything positive telling bad news.

2. Grow the "You are important" attitude. People do more for you when you make them feel important. Remember to do these things:

• Show appreciation at every opportunity. Make people feel important.
• Call people by name.

3. Grow the "Service First" attitude, and watch money take care of itself. Make it a rule in everything you do: give people more than they expect to get.

IN A CAPSULE, PUT THESE PRINCIPLES TO WORK

1. Make yourself lighter to lift. Be likable. Practice being the kind of person people like. This wins their support and puts fuel in your success-building program.

2. Take the initiative in building friendships. Introduce yourself to others at every opportunity. Make sure you get the other person's name straight, and make certain he gets your name straight too. Drop a personal note to your new friends you want to get to know better.

3. Accept human differences and limitations. Don't expect anyone to be perfect. Remember, the other person has a right to be different. And don't be a reformer.

4. Tune it!. Channel the Good Thoughts Station. Find the qualities to like and admire in a person, not things to dislike. And don't let others prejudice your thinking about a third person. Think positive thoughts towards people-and get positive results.

5. Practice conversation generosity. Be like successful people. Encourage others to talk. Let the other person talking to you about his views, his opinions, his accomplishments.

6. Practice courtesy all the time. It makes other people feel better. It makes you feel better too.

7. Don't blame others when you receive a setback. Remember, how you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.

GROW THE ACTION HABIT Practice these key points:

1. Be an activationist. Be someone who does things. Be a doer, not a don't-er.

2. Don't wait until conditions are perfect. They never will be. Expect future obstacles and difficulties and solve them as they arise.

3. Remember, ideas alone won't bring success. Ideas have value only when you act upon them.

4. Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. Do what you fear, and fear disappears. Just try it and see.

5. Start your mental engine mechanically. Don't wait· for the spirit to move you. Take action, dig in, and you move the spirit.

6. Think in terms of now. Tomorrow, next week, later; and similar words often are synonymous with the failure word, never. Be an "I'm starting right now" kind of person.

7. Get down to business-pronto. Don't waste time getting ready to act. Start acting instead.

8. Seize the initiative. Be a crusader. Pick up the ball and run. Be a volunteer. Show that you have the ability and ambition to do.

The difference between success and failure is found in one's attitudes toward setbacks, handicaps, discouragements, and other disappointing situations.

Five guideposts to help you turn defeat into victory are:

1. Study. Setbacks to pave your way to success. When you lose,learn, and then go on to win next time.

2. Have the courage to be your own constructive critic. Seek out your faults and weaknesses and then correct them. This makes you a professional.

3. Stop blaming luck. Research each setback. Find out what went wrong. Remember, blaming luck never got anyone where he wanted to go.

4. Blend persistence with experimentation. Stay with your goal, but don't beat your head against a stone wall. Try new approaches. Experiment.

5. Remember; there is a good side in every situation. Find it. See the good side and whip discouragement.

Put these success-building principles to work:

1. Get a clear fix on where you want to go. Create an image of yourself ten years from now.

2. Write out your ten-year plan. Your life is too important to be left to chance. Put down on ·paper what you want to accomplish in your work, your home, and your social departments..

3. Surrender yourself to your desires. Set goals to get more energy. Set goals to get things done. Set goals and discover the real enjoyment of living.

4. Let your major goal be your automatic pilot. When you let your goal absorb you, you'll find yourself making the right decisions to reach your goal.

5. Achieve your goal one step at a time. Regard each task yourelf regardless of how small it may seem, as a step toward your goal.

6. Build thirty-day goals. Day-by-day effort pays off.

7. Take detours in stride. A detour simply means another route. It should never mean surrendering the goal.

8. Invest in yourself. Purchase those things that build mental power and efficiency. Invest in education. Invest in idea starters.

HOW TO USE THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG IN LIFE'S MOST CRUCIAL SITUATIONS

A. When Little People Try to Drive You Down, THINK BIG

B. When That "I-Haven't-Got-What-It-Takes" Feeling Creeps Up on You, THINK BIG

C. When an Argument or Quarrel Seems Inevitable, THINK BIG.

D. When You Feel Defeated, THINK BIG.

E. When Romance Starts to Slip, THINK BIG

F. When You Feel Your Progress on the Job Is Slowing Down, THINK BIG