The Magic of Thinking Big

by David J. Schwartz

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 things.

Practice adding value to people.

Practice adding value to yourself. Conduct a daily interview with yourself. Ask, “What can I do to make myself more valuable today?” Visualize yourself not as you are but as you can be.

What can i do to make myself more valuable today?

“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.

They have something to say and they feel a burning desire for other people to hear it.

ask yourself, “Is it really important?” In most cases, it isn’t and you avoid conflict.

Keep your eyes focused on the big objective.

Ask “Is it really important?” Before becoming negatively excited, just ask yourself, “Is it important enough for me to get all worked up about?”

Don’t sell yourself short. Conquer the crime of self-deprecation. Concentrate on your assets. You’re better than you think you are.

Use the big thinker’s vocabulary. Use big, bright, cheerful words. Use words that promise victory, hope, happiness, pleasure; avoid words that create unpleasant images of failure, defeat, grief.

Stretch your vision. See what can be, not just what is. Practice adding value to things, ...

Get the big view of your job. Think, really think your present job is important. That next promotion depends mostly on how...

Think above trivial things. Focus your attention on big objectives. Before getting involved in a petty matter, ask yo...

Step one: Believe it can be done. Here is a basic truth: To do anything, we must first believe it can be done. Believing something can be done sets the mind in motion to find a way to do it.

When you believe something is impossible, your mind goes to work for you to prove why. But when you believe, really believe, something can be done, your mind goes to work for you and helps you find the ways to do it.

Think of something special you’ve been wanting to do but felt you couldn’t. Now make a list of reasons why you can do it. Many of us whip and defeat our desires simply because we concentrate on why we can’t when the only thing worthy of our mental concentration is why we can.

Be an experimental person. Break up fixed routines.

“my weekly improvement plan works. Just by conscientiously asking myself, ‘How can I do a better job?’ I find the answers.

It isn’t so much what you know when you start that matters. It’s what you learn and put to use after you open your doors that counts most.”

Each day before you begin work, devote ten minutes to thinking “How can I do a better job today?” Ask, “What can I do today to encourage my employees?” “What special favor can I do for my customers?” “How can I increase my personal efficiency?”

Daily exercise

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.

the success combination is do what you do better (improve the quality of your output) and do more of what you do (increase the quantity of your output).

The bigger the person, the more apt he is to encourage you to talk; the smaller the person, the more apt he is to preach to you.

Encourage others to talk.

There is no surer way to get people to like you than to encourage them to talk to you.

Test your own views in the form of questions.

Concentrate on what the other person says. Listening is more than just keeping your own mouth shut. Listening means letting what’s said penetrate your mind.

Don’t let ideas escape. Write them down.

Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution. Eliminate “impossible,” “won’t work,” “can’t do,” “no use trying” from your thinking and speaking vocabularies.

Ask yourself daily, “How can I do better?” There is no limit to self-improvement. When you ask yourself, “How can I do better?” sound answers will appear. Try it and see.

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 shortcuts. The success combination in business is: Do what you do better (improve the quality of your output), and: Do more of what you do (increase the quantity of your output).

Practice asking and listening. Ask and listen, and you’ll obtain raw material for reaching sound decisions. Remember: Big people monopolize the liste...

Stretch your mind. Get stimulated. Associate with people who can help you think of new ideas, new ways of doing things. Mix with people of diff...

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE

Others see in us what we see in ourselves. We receive the kind of treatment we think we deserve.

How you think determines how you act. How you act in turn determines: How others react to you.

the more respect you have for yourself, the more respect others will have for you.

look important because it helps you to think important.

“One thing we always look for in appraising a job applicant for a client is how the applicant thinks about his present job. We are always favorably impressed when we find that an applicant thinks his present job is important, even though there may be something about it he doesn’t like.

This is concrete evidence that you are what you think you are, what your thought power directs you to become. Think you’re weak, think you lack what it takes, think you will lose, think you are second-class—think this way, and you are doomed to mediocrity. But think instead, I am important. I do have what it takes. I am a first-class performer. My work is important. Think this way, and you’re headed straight to success. The key to winning what you want lies in thinking positively toward yourself. The only real basis other people have for judging your abilities is your actions. And your actions are controlled by your thoughts. You are what you think you are.

Remember, executives answer the question What would he do on that specific level? by first answering the question What kind of job is he doing where he is now?

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 way we think toward our jobs determines how our subordinates think toward their jobs.

Think enthusiastically.

Always show positive attitudes toward your job so that your subordinates will “pick up” right thinking.

As you approach your job each day, ask yourself, “Am I worthy in every respect of being imitated? Are all my habits such that I would be glad to see them in my subordinates?”

You are what you think you are. Think more of yourself and there is more of you.

First group: Those who surrendered completely. The majority of people are convinced deep down inside that they haven’t got what it takes, that real success, real accomplishment, is for others who are lucky or fortunate in some special respect. You can easily spot these people because they go to great lengths to rationalize their status and explain how “happy” they really are.