Name: The Magic of Thinking Big
Author: David J. Schwartz

The golden nuggets

Believe you can succeed and you will: when you believe, your mind starts hunting for the how.

Schwartz calls the mind a thought factory run by two foremen - Mr. Triumph and Mr. Defeat. Whichever one you signal gets to work, so think success, not failure. (Ch. 1)

Excusitis - blaming your health, smarts, age, or luck - is the failure disease.

Those are the four excuses Schwartz says unsuccessful people hide behind. Successful people refuse them: attitudes beat raw intelligence, and results follow cause and effect, not luck. (Ch. 2)

Action cures fear. Indecision and postponement fertilize it.

Isolate exactly what you fear, then act against that exact thing - now, not when conditions feel perfect. Waiting is how don'ters stay stuck; doers move first. (Ch. 3 & 10)

Use a big-think vocabulary, and see what you can be - not just what you are.

Small, negative words paint small mental pictures and shrink your plans before you start. Bright, optimistic words, a big view of your job, and ignoring trivialities stretch what you attempt. (Ch. 4)

Believe it can be done, and your mind finds the way to do it.

That belief is the root of creative thinking. Don't let tradition paralyze you - ask 'How can I do better?' and 'How can I do more?', then ask questions and listen more than you talk. (Ch. 5)

You are what you think you are.

Look important and it helps you think important: dress sharp, treat your work as important, give yourself a pep talk daily, and ask, 'Is this how an important person would think?' (Ch. 6)

Manage your environment: go first class in everything you do.

Your mind runs on the diet your surroundings feed it. Cut out thought-poison and small-thinking people, get advice from people who are succeeding, and keep finding new groups and new stimulation. (Ch. 7)

Grow enthusiasm: to feel activated, act activated.

Dig into what you must do until you understand it, act alive in how you move and speak, and broadcast good news. Enthusiasm is contagious - it lifts your results and everyone around you. (Ch. 8)

Make other people feel important - and put service first.

Call people by name, show appreciation at every chance, listen and let others talk, and take the initiative in friendship. Money and help follow the person who serves first and thinks right toward people. (Ch. 8 & 9)

Turn defeat into victory by studying your setbacks.

Be your own constructive critic, blend persistence with experimentation, and never blame luck. Every situation has a good side - the winners are the ones who go find it. (Ch. 11)

Use goals to help you grow: picture yourself ten years from now, then write the plan.

A clear image of who you want to be pulls you forward like an autopilot. Break it into 30-day steps, take detours in stride, and invest in yourself along the way. (Ch. 12)

Think like a leader: trade minds with the people you want to influence.

Ask how a decision looks through their eyes, always think progress, and take time alone every day just to think - leaders tap their best thinking in solitude. (Ch. 13)

You’re halfway there

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The book, in short

The big idea: success is not reserved for the smartest or most talented. Two people with the same ability end up in very different places, and the difference is the size of their thinking. As Schwartz puts it, the size of your success is determined by the size of your belief.

It starts with belief. Your mind is a thought factory: feed it success thoughts and it produces ways to win; feed it doubt and it manufactures reasons to fail. The first disease to cure is excusitis - explaining your life away with your health, your smarts, your age, or your luck. Then build confidence the only way that works: action cures fear, while indecision and postponement fertilize it.