The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

"The Magic of Thinking Big" by David Joseph Schwartz is a truly magnificent book that left a profound impact on me. Reading it reminded me of my father, Walter Leon Freeman, who always emphasized the importance of thinking big. From March 17, 1944, St. Patricks Day, to April 31, 2023, Easter, his words echoed in my mind, urging me to reach for the stars.

This book taught me that thinking big isnt just about dreaming grand dreams; its about seeing the small things in life from a different perspective. Its about understanding that our thoughts shape our reality and that by thinking positively about ourselves and others, we can achieve great things.

Schwartzs words made me realize that while material things may come and go, what truly lasts for eternity is our thoughts. We will be remembered not for our possessions but for the impact our thoughts had on the world and how they helped shape society.

I wholeheartedly recommend "The Magic of Thinking Big" to anyone seeking inspiration and guidance on how to live a fulfilling life. David Joseph Schwartz did an excellent job of articulating his thoughts and sharing them with the world. Thank you for this incredible book.

Deon C Freeman
3/25/2024

Even though the book was written a long time ago, its advice and teachings are as relevant now as they were 60 years ago. I like how the book is structured and easy to follow. There is tons of great advice on how to be a leader, a great partner, and a human being. Im glad I read it.

"THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG" by David J. Schwartz

This is my second-time reading this book (first time being in 1999, shortly after I joined the Amway biz
and shortly before I joined the Air Force), and after these years I still find it to be one of the best self-help books Ive 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 aint so common, and its all to easy to lose track of the principles & power of positive thinking when were surrounded by so much toxic negativity in the world

RANDOM 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." Ive 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." [authors 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." [authors 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." Lifes 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")

I am so thankful now that I have knowledge that I am able to act on as soon as I read it, and be witness to immediate results. So much better than business school. My business life has improved with each and every strategy that I chose to apply.

This is better than a book. It is a recipe of remedies for relationship with yourself and others. It helped me appreciate the faculties of my mind and exercise them frequently. To be able to relate to your mind with clarity, awareness and dependability is a priceless experience.

Thank you, David Joseph Schwartz

After reading Tim Ferris 4-Hour Work Week, I was moved to action by Tims comment that Prof Schwartzs Magic of Thinking Big is one of the best books he has ever read. That sealed my decision to buy this book. The book has its heart in the right place but falls short in the practice of the techniques Key takeaways,

1. Think +ve outcome, Think I am better than I think and Think big goals - These mechanisms allow you to develop the power of belief.
2. Never underestimate your intelligence and overestimate the intelligence of others. Attitudes are more important than intelligence. Focus on those qualities that make you a winner.
3. Build Confidence: Action cures fear, pin down your fear and then take action. Practice depositing successful thoughts in your memory not negative ones. Recall +ve experiences during eating/before bed time. Count number of reasons to be happy. Also learn to smile till your teeth show, Speak up and Walk 25% faster.
4. Join and meet regularly one Professional Group. Think how an important person would think about the same issue you are thinking about. Model after them.
5. Go first class in everything you do.
6. Praise is power. Invest the praise you receive from your superior. Pass praise down to boost teams performance. Think what can I do to make my wife and family happy every day. Random special acts go very well. Call people by name.
7. Create a list as to why you should like them. Practice liking people until you learn to do so genuinely. Dont expect everyone to score 100% , that leads to disappointments. Dont tell people they are wrong. No person is all good and no person is all bad. The perfect just doesnt exist.
8. Tune to Channel P (Positive) and not to your Channel N (negative). Let the other person talk.
9. If you dont produce , you dont get where you want to go. One fine way to prevent a war of words is to take a long pause before answering.
10. Think of goals across work, home, and social categories. Think of 10 years planning guide. All successful people I personally know seem to do a variation of this one. They have a written version of this and not a hazy picture. Track a 30 day improvement guide for all the improvements you want to make. The Seinfeld technique would be ideal.
11. Think like a leader: Trade minds with people you want to influence. Think like a human. Think progress. Take time out to confer with yourself and develop your supreme thinking power.

Overall good ideas for its time and enables a solid framework. I would have preferred more ideas around how to implement these things in a more practical manner.

Your enraptured in the power of thinking big reader,
Fred

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 isnt stuck with the present."

5- "Practice adding value to things... Practice adding value to people...Practice adding value to yourself."

6- "...The successful person doesnt 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...Dont 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. Its 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."

Good book to uplift ones sprit and give direction.

Teaches you on the power of effective big thinking and changing your way of seeing and thinking.

I am just getting my physical copy, Id read this book over seven years ago. Pdf had to get it now that I can afford it. Gonna fuljoy reading it again. Now I can make my highlights and jotting. Thank you!