Book summary: THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG by David J Schwartz

What you get in this post: in this post, I have covered all chapter’s lessons.

So, stay tuned till the end.

For just 1 page summary you can click here.

Why do you have to read this book summary?

Reason:

An actual case study is used to vividly illustrate each technique.

Benefits:

Not only do you learn what to do, but even more crucially, you also learn exactly how to apply each principle to real-world problems and situations.

For example: Get Big Results by Believing Big

Make Your Mind Produce Positive Thoughts… and lots more.

Want to know how?

Favorite quote: Your mind will create a way if you let it.

Let’s get started.

Chapter 1: BELIEVE YOU CAN SUCCEED AND YOU WILL

Success entails a wealth of wonderful, beneficial things.

Personal prosperity is defined as having a nice home, going on trips, learning new things, feeling safe in your own skin, and providing your kids with the best opportunities.

Success entails gaining respect, taking on leadership roles, and being looked up to by others in your field and in general society.

Freedom from worries, fears, frustrations, and failure is what success means.

Success entails having self-respect, continuously experiencing more genuine joy and satisfaction in life, and being able to provide for those who depend on you in greater ways.

Success entails success.

Achievement is the ultimate goal in life.

Everyone wants to succeed. Everyone desires the best that this life has to offer. Nobody likes to crawl and exist in mediocrity. Nobody enjoys being made to feel inferior or forced into it.

That biblical proverb that says “faith can move mountains” contains some of the most useful advice for achieving success.

You can move a mountain if you really believe you can. Few people actually think they do not have the power to move mountains. Therefore, not many people do.

Belief functions in this way. Belief, or the “Tm-positive-I-can” attitude, produces the strength, aptitude, and energy required to carry out. The how-to develops when you have self-belief.

Chapter 2: CURE YOURSELF OF EXCUSITIS, THE FAILURE DISEASE

PEOPLE— That’s what you’ll study, people, as you THINK YOURSELF to succeed. You will carefully research people to learn about them, then apply success-enhancing principles to your life. And you want to get started immediately.

If you do a thorough analysis of people, you’ll find that unsuccessful people have a disease of mind-numbing thoughts.

This illness is known as excusitis.

This disease manifests itself in the advanced form of every failure. And the majority of “average” people suffer from it to some degree.

Some examples:

My health isn’t great, though.

Health justifications can range from the general “I don’t feel well” to the more detailed “I have such-and-such wrong with me.”

In a thousand different ways, “bad” health is used as a justification for not doing what one wants to do, not taking on more responsibility, not earning more money, and not succeeding.

Chapter 3: BUILD CONFIDENCE AND DESTROY FEAR

BUDDIES MEAN WELL WHEN THEY SAY, “All you have is your imagination. Not to worry. There is nothing to worry about.”

However, as we both know, this particular fear medication is ineffective.

These reassuring words may temporarily or even permanently calm our fears.

However, the “it’s only in your imagination” remedy doesn’t actually boost self-assurance and eliminate fear.

Fear does exist. And before we can defeat it, we must acknowledge its existence.

Today, psychological fears predominate.

Panic, embarrassment, worry, and other negative emotions are all products of poorly controlled imagination. However, merely being aware of the causes of fear does not eliminate it.

If a doctor finds that you have an infection in some area of your body, he doesn’t just leave it at that.

He continues the infection-curing procedure.

The old adage “it’s all in your mind” assumes that fear is an illusion. It does, though. Fear exists. The biggest enemy of success is fear.

Fear actually shortens life, wears down physical vitality, prevents people from taking advantage of opportunities, closes your mouth when you want to speak, and actually makes people sick.

Fear really is a potent force.

People are prevented from achieving their goals in life in one way or another by fear.

Fear is a type of psychological infection that comes in all shapes and sizes.

Similar to how we treat physical infections, we can treat mental infections with targeted, effective therapies.

Chapter 4: HOW TO THINK BIG

The thing that is incomprehensible is why today’s youth should be so fervently conservative and limited in their outlook on the future. There are more signs of expanding opportunities every day.

In terms of scientific and industrial development, this nation is making unprecedented progress. Rapid population growth is occurring here.

If there was ever a time to be optimistic about America, it is right now.

Because so many people have a tendency to think modestly, there is less competition than you might anticipate for a highly rewarding career.

When it comes to success, people are measured by the size of their thinking, not by their height, weight, college degrees, or family background.

Our achievements are only as big as our thinking.

Chapter 5: HOW TO THINK AND DREAM CREATIVELY

Let’s clear up a common misconception about what creative thinking entails first. For some bizarre reason, it was decided that the only truly creative endeavors were those related to science, engineering, art, and writing.

The majority of people link creative thinking to innovations like the development of color television, the discovery of electricity, the polio vaccine, or the writing of a novel.

Indeed, successes like these show that someone has creative thinking.

Each advancement in the conquest of space is the outcome of a great deal of creative thinking. However, being creative is not just a skill for certain professions or reserved for the exceptionally smart.

So what exactly is creative thinking?

A family with limited resources makes plans to send their son to a prestigious university. That is the original thought.

The least desirable lot on the street is transformed into a scenic area for the community by a family. That is the original thought.

A minister devises a strategy that increases his Sunday night attendance by twofold. That is the original thought.

Simply put, being creative is coming up with new, better ways to do anything. The benefits of all kinds of success—success at work, at home, and in the community—depend on finding ways to improve processes.

Let’s now examine what we can do to improve and expand our capacity for creative thought. Believe you can succeed. Here is a fundamental truth: In order to take action, we must first believe that it is possible.

Believe and you’ll begin to think; open yourself up to new concepts. Accept fresh thoughts. Constructively eliminate the negative thoughts “Won’t work,” “Can’t be done,” “It’s useless,” and “It’s stupid.”

Chapter 6: YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE

IT’S CLEAR THAT MUCH HUMAN behavior is perplexing.

Have you ever questioned why a salesperson will alertly ask a customer, “Yes sir, may I serve you?” while ignoring a different customer? Alternatively, why does a man open a door for one woman but not another?

Or why a worker consistently follow the instructions of one superior but only reluctantly comply with another’s requests?

Or why do we focus intently on one person’s words but not on another’s?

Look around you; you’ll notice that some individuals are treated with a sincere and important “Yes, sir,” while others are given the “Hey; Mac” or “Hey; buddy” treatment.

You’ll notice that some people inspire trust, fidelity, and admiration while others do not as you keep an eye out.

If you look even closer, you’ll see that the most successful people are also the ones who command the most respect.

What’s the justification? It can be summed up in one phrase: “Thinking does make it so.” Others See in us what you see in yourself, and we’ll treat you the way you think you deserve to be treated.

We must truly believe that we are important if we want others to agree with us. Once more, the reasoning:

Your mental state influences your behavior.

Your actions determine how other people will respond to you.

Chapter 7: MANAGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT: GO, FIRST CLASS

Your mind is a remarkable machine. When your mind functions in a certain way, it can propel you forward to extraordinary success.

However, the same mind acting in a different way can result in complete failure.

The mind is the most sensitive and delicate tool in all of creation.

What the body is fed becomes part of it. In a similar vein, the mind is what it is fed. Of course, there are no packages or stores where you can purchase food for the mind.

The numerous things in your environment that have an impact on your conscious and subconscious thoughts are what is known as “mind food.”

Our eating habits, attitudes, and personalities are all influenced by the mental food we consume. We all inherited different capacities for growth.

Just as the body reflects the food you give it, the mind reflects what its environment feeds it.

You are a product of your environment, as the saying goes.

Clearly mark it. Our surroundings influence us and the way we think. Try to think of just one behavior or habit you have that you did not learn from others.

Our preferences for music, literature, entertainment, clothing, and other relatively minor things like how we walk, cough, and hold a cup all heavily depend on our environment.

More importantly, your environment shapes the scope of your thinking, your objectives, your attitudes, and even your very personality.

Experts concur that your psychological environment played a significant role in shaping the person you are today, including your personality, goals, and current status in life.

 Additionally, experts concur that you will be largely determined by your environment in one, five, ten, or twenty years.

Over the coming months and years, you will change. We are aware of this.

However, your future environment and the mental nourishment you give yourself will determine how you change.

Chapter 8: MAKE YOUR ATTITUDES YOUR ALLIES

Can you read minds? It’s simpler than you think to read minds.

You read other people’s minds and they read your mind every day, even if you’ve never considered it.

What is the process? Through attitude evaluations, we carry it out automatically.

The song “You Don’t Need to Know the Language to Say You’re in Love” comes to mind. Years ago, Bing Crosby made it well-known.

Those straightforward lyrics contain more applied psychology than a whole book. To express your love, you don’t need to speak the language.

Anyone who has ever fallen in love is aware of this.

Furthermore, you don’t need to speak a language to express how you feel about someone: “[like you,” “[despise you,” “[think you’re important,” “unimportant,” or “[envy you.” You don’t need to be literate or speak in words to express how much you like your job, are bored, or are hungry.

People converse silently.

Our actions reflect our thoughts. Attitudes serve as mental mirrors. They convey thought.

In a way, the professional actors—those in high demand in movies and television shows year after year—are not even actors.

They don’t act out their parts. Instead, they become the character they are portraying, losing their own identity. They need to.

They would appear to be fake if they didn’t, and their ratings would fall.

Through facial expressions, voice tones, and inflections, we can read attitudes.

This is why. A speaking language that even remotely resembles what we use today was only recently invented in the incredibly long history of humankind.

You could say that we only just this morning developed a language, which is extremely recent in the grand scheme of things.

People managed for millions and millions of years with little more than moans, groans, grunts, and growls.

Therefore, rather than using words to communicate, humans have been using body language, facial expressions, and sounds for millions of years.

We still use the same methods to express our attitudes and feelings toward people and things.

Body language, facial expressions, and sounds are the only other means of communication we have with infants besides physical contact.

And those young ones exhibit a remarkable ability to detect fraud.

Chapter 9: THINK RIGHT TOWARD PEOPLE

An ESSENTIAL guideline for success is given below. Let’s make a mental note of it and keep it in mind. Success is based on other people’s support, according to the rule.

The help of others is the only thing standing in your way of becoming what you want to be.

Consider this: An executive relies on others to carry out his orders. If not, the executive will be fired by the company president and not the workers.

A salesperson depends on customers to purchase his goods.

If not, the salesman is unsuccessful.

Similar to how a college dean relies on professors to advance his educational program, a politician relies on voters to elect him, and a writer relies on readers to appreciate his work.

A chain store magnate became one because his leadership was well-received by the workforce and customers embraced his merchandising strategy.

Make a good note of this.

No one is promoted to a higher position. Instead, he is raised.

Nobody in this day and age has the time or patience to help someone else climb the painfully slow career ladder.

The person chosen has a record that sets him apart from the others.

Those who know us as likable, personable people elevate us to higher levels. Every new friend you make raises your status by one level. Additionally, being liked makes you easier to lift.

Successful people have a strategy for making friends.

Do you? Top performers rarely share their methods for having the right perspective on other people.

But you’d be surprised at how many extremely powerful individuals have a precise, definite, even documented plan for liking people.

Chapter 10: GET THE ACTION HABIT

There is one thing that industry leaders in every sector concur on: there is a dearth of top-tier, highly qualified candidates to fill critical positions.

Despite popular belief, there is actually plenty of room at the top.

There are a lot of people who are almost qualified, but there is frequently one success ingredient missing, as one executive explained.

That is the capacity to complete tasks and produce outcomes.

Every big job requires a man who thinks action, whether it be running a business, high-level selling, in science, the military, or the government.

When searching for a key individual, principal executives demand answers to questions like “Will he do the job?”

“Will he carry it out?” Does he have initiative? Is he just a talker, or can he produce results?

Finding out if the person is a man of action is the sole purpose of all these inquiries.

Good concepts alone are insufficient. An excellent idea that dies, because it isn’t pursued, is infinitely preferable to a fair idea that is developed and implemented.

The great independent businessman Nothing manifests itself simply by thinking about it, as John Wanamaker frequently said.

Consider it. From satellites to skyscrapers to baby food, everything we have in this world is just an idea put into practice.

When you study people, both successful and average people, you discover that they fall into two categories. Successful people are active people or activationists.

The passivity of the average, mediocre, and unsuccessful.

They are known as passivationists.

Numerous subtle ways reveal the differences between Mr. Activationist and Mr. Passivationist.

Mr. Activist organizes a getaway.

He accepts it.

Mr. Passivationist organizes a trip. However, he puts it off until the “next” year.

Chapter 11: HOW TO TURN DEFEAT INTO VICTORY

Author by using an illustration My best friend is a management consultant who has had great success.

You immediately feel “uptown” when you enter his office.

His business is successful, as evidenced by the expensive furniture, the plush carpeting, the busy employees, and the prominent clients.

“It must have taken a real can man to put across an operation like this,” a cynic might remark. But the cynic is mistaken.

No can man was required.

And it didn’t require a wise man, a rich man, or a lucky man. All it took was a persistent man who never believed he was defeated (and I hesitate to use the word all because it can mean so much at times).

Behind this successful and well-respected business is the tale of a man who struggled to rise through the ranks, losing ten years’ worth of savings in his first six months of operation, having to stay in his office for several months due to his inability to pay rent on an apartment,

turning down many “good” jobs in order to focus more on his idea and see it through, and having clients say no to him 100 times more frequently than they did yes.

I never once overheard my friend complain during the seven incredibly difficult years it took him to succeed. He would say, “Dave” I’m learning.

This industry is cutthroat, and since the product is intangible, selling it can be challenging. However, I’m learning;”

So, he did.

When you have faith that there is a solution, you naturally transform the negative energy (let’s give up, let’s turn around) into the positive energy (let’s keep going, let’s advance).

Chapter 12: USE GOALS TO HELP YOU GROW

Every bit of human Progress—our small and large inventions, medical breakthroughs, engineering triumphs, and commercial successes—was first envisioned before they were realized.

Babymoons are circling the planet because scientists set out to “conquer space,” not because they happened to find them by chance.

An objective or purpose is a goal. A goal is a dream that is being pursued; it is more than just a dream. A target is more than a vague idea.

I wish I could, though. An unambiguous “This is what I’m working toward” is a goal.

Without a clear goal, nothing happens and nothing can be accomplished. Without objectives, people just float through life.

They never accomplish anything because they bumble along without ever knowing where they are going.

Goals are as necessary to success as breathing air is. Nobody ever achieves success by accident. Never does anyone go without air.

Get a firm grasp on your destination.

Chapter 13: HOW TO THINK LIKE A LEADER

REMINDER AGAIN that you are not compelled to achieve great success. Instead, those who are working next to and below you lift you there.

High-level success necessitates others’ assistance and cooperation. Additionally, gaining the cooperation and support of others calls for leadership skills.

 Success and the capacity to influence others, or persuade them to take actions they otherwise wouldn’t go hand in hand.

Currently, we want to become proficient in four unique executive suites, business, social clubs, the home, or wherever we find people, there are leadership rules or principles that we can use to influence them to do things for us.

These four guidelines or principles for leadership are:

1. Exchange ideas with the people you want to sway.

2. Consider: What is the humane course of action here?

3. Strive for progress and think, believe, and believe in it.

4. Schedule some alone time to reflect and strengthen your supreme thinking abilities. These guidelines when followed yield results.

Making use of them in regular circumstances removes the mystique surrounding that gilded word, leadership.

Thank you for your time.

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