The Magic of Thinking Big Paperback – Abridged, April 2, 1987

Was referred by a friend, read it and find it very interesting and useful. The concept in book is nothing new but it’s reinforcement of things you have learned over year or in your childhood ( from parents or grandparents), it’s just that we forget them in mad rush of our lives!

Every now and then, one read a book that truly inspires. This is exactly what David has achieved with the Magic of Thinking Big. Not only does he inspire "big" thinking, but he also takes it one step further to inspire action to make it happen. The book is filled with ideas and techniques that can be applied in our everyday life whether at home or at work. These are illustrated by real-life examples that the author draws upon - in which these techniques have proven further success, happiness, and satisfaction to those who have implemented them. Many of the ideas presented, constitute the basis for true leadership.A very enjoyable and educative read. It is structured in such a way as to allow the readers to read and implement specific ideas/techniques presented in one chapter without necessarily reading the entire book. This is in my opinion, the most effective way to take advantage of the wisdom presented. A highly recommended read!Below are excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:1- "The thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you may have."2- "Knowledge is power - when you use it constructively."3- "Action cures fear."4- "Look at things not as they are, but as they can be. Visualization adds value to everything. A big thinker always visualizes what can be done in the future. He isn't stuck with the present."5- "Practice adding value to things... Practice adding value to people...Practice adding value to yourself."6- "...The successful person doesn't ask, "Can I do it better?" He knows he can. So he phrases the question: How can I do it better?"7- "Big success calls for persons who continually set higher standards for themselves and others, persons who are searching for ways to increase efficiency, to get more output at lower cost, do more with less effort. Top success is reserved for the I-can-do-it-better kind of person."8- "In summation, use these tools and think creatively...Believe it can be done...Don't let tradition paralyze your mind. Be receptive to new ideas. Be experimental. Try new approaches. Be progressive in everything you do...Ask yourself daily, "How can I do better?"...Ask yourself, "How can I do more?" Capacity is a state of mind. Asking yourself this question puts your mind to work to find intelligent short-cuts. The success combination is business is: Do what you do better...and do more of what you do...Practice asking and listening...Stretch your mind. Get stimulated. Associate with people who can help you to think of new ideas, new ways of doing things."9- "How you think determines how you act. How you act in turn determines: How others react to you."10- "The way we think toward our jobs determines how our subordinates think toward their jobs."11- "The person who does the most talking and the person who is the most successful are rarely the same person. Almost without exception, the more successful the person, the more he practices conversation generosity, that is, he encourages the other person to talk about himself, his views, his accomplishments, his family, his job, his problems."12- "The test of a successful person is not an ability to eliminate all problems before they arise, but to meet and work out difficulties when they do arise. We must be willing to make an intelligent compromise with perfection lest we wait forever before taking action. It's still good advice to cross bridges as we come to them."13- "Persisting in one way is not a guarantee of victory. But persistence blended with experimentation does guarantee success."14- "A second way to profit from the "Be-Human" rule is to let your action show you put people first. Show interest in you subordinates' off-the-job accomplishments. Treat everyone with dignity. Remind yourself that the primary purpose in life is to enjoy it. As a general rule, the more interest you show in a person, the more he will produce for you. And his production is what carries you forward to greater and greater success."

I recommend if you’re interested in reading about a new way of thinking, understanding, and mindset change

"THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG" by David J. SchwartzThis is my second-time reading this book (first time being in 1999, shortly after I joined the Amway bizand shortly before I joined the Air Force), and after these years I still find it to be one of the best self-help books I've ever read. True enough, a lot of the material that Dr. Schwartz teaches within is seemingly common sense that should be boneheadedly obvious....yet in this day & age, common sense really ain't so common, and it's all to easy to lose track of the principles & power of positive thinking when we're surrounded by so much toxic negativity in the worldRANDOM STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS (and noteworthy passages):--p. 2: "There is magic in thinking big. 'If Thinking Big accomplishes so much, why doesn’t everyone think that way?' I’ve been asked that question many times. Here, I believe, is the answer. All of us, more than we recognize, are products of the thinking around us. And much of this thinking is little, not big. All around you is an environment that is trying to tug you, trying to pull you down Second Class Street." Hear, hear! Negative Nancys, Dream Killers, Debbie Downers, and Oxygen Thieves! Or as Gabe Suarez terms 'em, "Rats, Shoemakers, and Lizards."--p. 3: "...there is at least 50 times as much competition for jobs on Second Class Street as for jobs on First Class Avenue. First Class Avenue, U.S.A., is a short, uncrowded street." A First Class travel junkie like me takes heart in this!"....minds like Milton, who in Paradise Lost wrote, 'The mind is its own place and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven.'" I've witnessed this myself repeatedly, in school, the military, law enforcement, and contracting alike.--p. 4: "Start out with this thought of the great philosopher Disraeli: 'Life is too short to be little.'" Ah, if only the late great USC Professor and leadership guru Warren Bennis (G-d rest his soul and Fight On Forever) were still around to discuss that particular quote!--p. 12: "Currently, there is some talk of building a tunnel under the English Channel to connect England with the Continent. Whether this tunnel is ever built depends on whether responsible people believe it can be built." And yes, Dr. Schwartz (may you Rest In Peace), the Chunnel has long since become a reality.--p. 37: "We often hear that knowledge is power. But this statement is only a half-truth. Knowledge is only potential power. Knowledge is power only when put to use—and then only when the use made of it is constructive.""Einstein taught us a big lesson. He felt it was more important to use your mind to think than to use it as a warehouse for facts." [author's original emphasis]--p. 39: "Ask yourself, 'Am I using my mental ability to make history, or am I using it merely to record history made by others?'" Wow, powerful stuff right there!!--p. 50: "Jot that down in your success rule book right now. Action cures fear." [author's original emphasis]--p. 131: "Pay twice as much and buy half as many." (Regarding wardrobe)--p. 154: "Let’s face it. Some folks, being jealous, want to make you feel embarrassed because you want to move upward.....It happens in the military service when a clique of negative-minded individuals poke fun at and try to humiliate the young soldier who wants to go to officers’ school.....You’ve seen it happen time and again in high schools when a group of lunkheads deride a classmate who has the good sense to make the most of his educational opportunities and come out with high grades. Sometimes—and all too sadly often—the bright student is jeered at until he reaches the conclusion that it isn’t smart to be intelligent." I can relate from personal experience!--p. 165: "Go first class in everything you do. You can’t afford to go any other way." Life's too short to live it as a cheapo!--p. 182: "People like to be called by name. It gives everyone a boost to be addressed by name. Two special things you must remember. Pronounce the name correctly, and spell it correctly. If you mispronounce or misspell someone’s name, that person feels that you feel he is unimportant." (Similar to what Dale Carnegie teaches in "How to Win Friends and Influence People")