The Magic of Thinking Big
David Schwartz

Summary

A fantastic book that I would highly recommend to everyone. Similar to ‘Think and Grow Rich’, this book teaches you how the thoughts you tell yourself everyday manifest themselves in your life. Tons of great lessons in here.

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Notes

Success is determined not so much by the size of one’s brain as it is by the size of one’s thinking

Life is too short to be little

You can win success by believing you can succeed

Think doubt and fail. Think victory and succeed

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

Believe big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief

Your laboratory consists of human beings and there’s no limit to what you can learn once you see yourself as a scientist in your own lab

The more successful the individual, the less indirect he is to make excuses

The right attitude and one arm will beat the wrong attitude and two arms every time

The thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you may have

Henry Ford knew that the ability to know how to get information is more important than using the mind as a gauge for facts

Never underestimate your own intelligence and never overestimate the intelligence of others

The ability to think is far more important than the ability to memorize facts

Invest future time in doing what you really want to do

Fear is success enemy number one

All confidence is acquired and developed

Action cures fear. Indecision and postponement fertilize fear

Just before you go to sleep, deposit good thoughts in your memory bank

If the other fellow is just like me, there’s no reason to be afraid of him

Underneath he’s probably a very nice guy. Most folks are

To think confidently, act confidently

Speak up, it’s a confidence building vitamin

Smile big, even in bad situations when you may be wrong

Be a front seater. Make eye contact. Walk 25% faster. Speak up

Determine your five chief assets and under each one, write down people who have achieved large success but who don’t have this asset as to a great degree as you

Never, never, never sell yourself short

We do not think in words and phrases. We think only in pictures and/or images

When you speak or write, you are a projector showing movies in the minds of others and the pictures you create determine how others react

Compliment people personally at every opportunity

Look at things not as they are, but as they can be

There’s often no profit on the first few sales. It’s repeat business that makes the profit

Before you think about getting into conflicts, ask yourself ‘is it really important?’

When you believe, really believe, something can be done, you’re mind goes to work for you and helps you find ways to do it

Always think ‘how can I do a better job today?’

Capacity is a state of mind. Believe you can do more and you will

Big people monopolize listening. Small people monopolize talking

Join and meet regularly with at least one professional group in your occupational area. Join forces with a group outside your occupational area.

Don’t let the ideas escape. Write them down

Dress right. It always pays. Look important because it helps you think important

Pay twice as much and buy half as much

A person who thinks their job is important receives neutral signals on how to do their job better

Practice uplifting self praise. Don’t practice belittling self-punishment

People who tell you it cannot be done almost always are unsuccessful people, are strictly average or mediocre at best in terms of accomplishment

Study negators. Don’t let them destroy your plans for success

Be sure you’re in the flock that thinks right

Do circulate in new groups

Be environment conscious. Make it work for you, not against you

Don’t let small thinking people hold you back. Get advice from successful people

Attitudes are mirrors of the mind; they reflect thinking

To activate others, you must first activate yourself

Broadcast good news

It pays to make ‘little’ people feel like people. It pays to make ‘big’ people feel even bigger

Helping others feel important rewards you because it makes you feel important

Practice calling people by their name

Do something special for your family often

Put service first and the money takes care of itself always

Always give people more than they expect to get

In most cases, the ‘likability’ factor is given more weight than the technical factor

6 ways to win friends:

• Introduce yourself to others at every opportunity
• Be sure the other person gets your name straight
• Pronounce the other person’s name correctly
• Write down the other person’s name
• Drop a personal note to the friends you want to know better
• Say pleasant things to strangers

Take the initiative. Go out of your way to meet people

Conversation generosity wins friends. Conversation generosity helps you learn about people

When starting anything, expect future obstacles and difficulties

Use action to cure fear and gain confidence

Action must precede action

Be a crusader. When you see something that ought to be done, pick up and run

Salvage something from every set back, find the lesson, apply it and then look back on defeat and smile

Be constructively self-critical

Persistence blended with experimentation creates success

The important thing is not where you are or where you were but where you want to go

The biggest and most rewarding investment is self-investment, purchasing things that build mental power and proficiency

4 leadership rules:

• Trade minds with the people you want to influence
• Think progress, believe in progress, push for progress
• Think: what is the human way to handle this
• Take time to confer with yourself and develop your supreme thinking power

Speak to someone privately, appraise them for their good qualities, point out how they can be better/what they’re doing wrong, appraise them again

Let your action show you put people first

Think improvement in everything you do. Think high standards in everything yu do

The successful person in any field takes time out to confer with himself

Expect to be sniped at. It’s proof you’re growing

‘A wise man will be the master of his mind. A fool will be its slave.’ – Pubilius Syrus

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