The Magic of Thinking Big

by David J. Schwartz

When you believe I-can-do-it, the how-to-do-it develops.

Doubt, disbelief, the subconscious will to fail, the not really wanting to succeed, is responsible for most failures.

Think doubt and fail. Think victory and succeed.

Then it dawned on me that no one else was going to believe in me until I believed in myself.

tell yourself, “Today is a fine day,” and Mr. Triumph is signaled forward to act. He tells you, “This is a wonderful day. The weather is refreshing. It’s good to be alive. Today you can catch up on some of your work.” And then it is a good day.

the more work you give either of these two foremen, the stronger he becomes. If Mr. Defeat is given more work to do, he adds personnel and takes up more space in your mind. Eventually, he will take over the entire thought-manufacturing division, and virtually all thought will be of a negative nature.

Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success. Remember this, too!

Big ideas and big plans are often easier—certainly no more difficult—than small ideas and small plans.

you’ll discover unsuccessful people suffer a mind-deadening thought disease. We call this disease excusitis. Every failure has this disease in its advanced form. And most “average” persons have at least a mild case of it.

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

Interest, enthusiasm, is the critical factor even in science!

The top group worried less, was more enthusiastic, had a sincere liking for people.

know how to get information is more important than using the mind as a garage for facts.

people who can solve problems, who can think up ideas. People who can dream and then develop the dream into a practical application; an idea man can make money with me; a fact man can’t.”

action cures fear. Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fertilize fear.

Whether the psychological problem is big or little, the cure comes when one learns to quit drawing negatives from one’s memory bank and withdraws positives instead.

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

Confident action produces confident thinking.

walk-25-percent-faster technique to help build self-confidence. Throw your shoulders back, lift up your head, move ahead just a little faster, and feel self-confidence grow.

the more you speak up, the more you add to your confidence, and the easier it is to speak up the next time. Speak up. It’s a confidence-building vitamin.

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.

It isn’t what one has that’s important. Rather, it’s how much one is planning to get that counts.

Practice adding value to people.

The “I’m doing my job and that’s enough” attitude is small, negative thinking. Big thinkers see themselves as members of a team effort, as winning or losing with the team, not by themselves. They help in every way they can, even when there is no direct and immediate compensation or other reward. The fellow who shrugs off a problem outside his own department with the comment “Well, that’s no concern of mine, let them worry with it” hasn’t got the attitude it takes for top leadership.

the big things that make a good speaker: knowledge of what he’s going to talk about and an intense desire to tell it to other people.

to eliminate quarrels, eliminate petty thinking.

When you feel like taking negative action, ask yourself, “Is it really important?”

When you ask yourself, “How can I do better?” your creative power is switched on and ways for doing things better suggest themselves.

Capacity is a state of mind. How much we can do depends on how much we think we can do. When you really believe you can do more, your mind thinks creatively and shows you the way.

I have learned from painful, expensive experience that the fellow who has plenty of time makes an ineffective work partner.

All the successful, competent people I know are busy. When I start something, some project, with them, I know it will be satisfactorily completed.

put your ideas in salable form.

Dress right; it always pays. Remember: look important because it helps you to think important. Use clothing as a tool to lift your spirits, build confidence.

Your appearance talks to you; but it also talks to others. It helps determine what others think of you.

“What are you doing?” the first bricklayer replied, “Laying brick.” The second answered, “Making $9.30 an hour.” And the third said, “Me? Why, I’m building the world’s greatest cathedral.”

amazingly close correlation between a person’s job respect and his job performance.”

group A fellow sees his job through different glasses. He is concerned about his future and wants concrete suggestions on what he can do to make faster progress. He doesn’t expect us to give him anything except a chance. The group A people think on a broader scale. They make suggestions for improving the business. They regard these interviews in my office as constructive. But the group B people often feel our personnel audit system is just a brainwashing affair, and they’re glad to get it over with.

A person who thinks his job is important Receives mental signals on how to do his job better; And a better job means More promotions, more money, more prestige, more happiness.

The half-alive person needs to be resold on himself. He needs to realize that he’s a first-class person. He needs honest, sincere belief in himself.

Tom Staley, meet Tom Staley—an important, a really important person. Tom, you’re a big thinker, so think big. Think Big about Everything. You’ve got plenty of ability to do a first-class job, so do a first-class job. Tom, you believe in Happiness, Progress, and Prosperity. So: talk only Happiness, talk only Progress, talk only Prosperity. You have lots of drive, Tom, lots of drive. So put that drive to work. Nothing can stop you, Tom, nothing. Tom, you’re enthusiastic. Let your enthusiasm show through. You look good, Tom, and you feel good. Stay that way. Tom Staley, you were a great fellow yesterday and you’re going to be an even greater fellow today. Now go to it, Tom. Go forward.

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

The fellow who displays curiosity and exhibits a real desire to know more about his job and how it relates to other jobs is the individual I like most to help.

Make new friends, join new organizations, enlarge your social orbit. Then too, variety in people, like variety in anything else, adds spice to life and gives it a broader dimension. It’s good mind food.

To activate others, to get them to be enthusiastic, you must first be enthusiastic yourself.

The enthusiastic salesman need never worry about unenthusiastic buyers. The enthusiastic teacher need never worry about disinterested students.

“Look what the Red Cross has done!” Notice, he did not beg. He did not say, “Each of you is expected to donate XX dollars.” All he did was to show enthusiasm about the importance of the Red Cross. Success just naturally followed.

Results come in proportion to enthusiasm applied.

To get enthusiasm about anything—people, places, things—dig into it deeper.

In everything you do, life it up. Enthusiasm, or lack of it, shows through in everything you do and say.

No one ever won a friend, no one ever made money, no one ever accomplished anything by broadcasting bad news.