The Magic of Thinking Big

by David J. Schwartz

Practice courtesy all the time. It makes other people feel better. It mak...

Don’t blame others when you receive a setback. Remember, how you think when you lose determines how l...

Mr. Activationist does. Mr. Passivationist is going to do but doesn’t.

Meet problems and obstacles as they arise. The test of a successful person is not the ability to eliminate all problems before he takes action, but rather the ability to find solutions to difficulties when he encounters them. In business, marriage, or in any activity, cross bridges when you come to them.

Got a good idea? Then do something about it. Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. Here’s something to remember. Action feeds and strengthens confidence; inaction in all forms feeds fear. To fight fear, act. To increase fear—wait, put off, postpone.

Build confidence. Destroy fear through action.

Action must precede action. That’s a law of nature. Nothing starts itself, not even the dozens of mechanical gadgets we use daily.

Use the mechanical way to accomplish simple but sometimes unpleasant business and household chores. Rather than think about the unpleasant features of the task, jump right in and get going without a lot of deliberation.

Next, use the mechanical way to create ideas, map out plans, solve problems, and do other work that requires top mental performance. Rather than wait for the spirit to move you, sit down and move your spirit.

Remember, thinking in terms of now gets things accomplished. But thinking in terms of someday or sometime usually means failure.

Be a crusader. When you see something that you believe ought to be done, pick up the ball and run.

Be a volunteer.

Be an activationist. Be someone who does things. Be a doer, not a don’t-er.

Don’t wait until conditions are perfect. They never will be. Expect future obstacles and difficulties and solve them as they arise.

Remember, ideas alone won’t bring success. Ideas have value only wh...

Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. Do what you fear, and fear disappears. Just try it and see.

Start your mental engine mechanically. Don’t wait for the spirit to move you. Take action, dig in, and you move the spirit.

Think in terms of now. Tomorrow, next week, later, and similar words often are synonymous with the failure word, never. Be an “I’...

Get down to business—pronto. Don’t waste time getting ready to act. ...

Seize the initiative. Be a crusader. Pick up the ball and run. Be a volunteer. Show that you have th...

persistence blended with experimentation does guarantee success.

The difference between success and failure is found in one’s attitudes toward setbacks, handicaps, discouragements, and other disappointing situations.

Study setbacks to pave your way to success. When you lose, learn, and then go on to win next time.

Blend persistence with experimentation. Stay with your goal but don’t beat your head against a stone wall. Try new approaches. Experiment.

Remember, there is a good side in every situation. Find it. See the good side and whip discouragement.

“The important thing is not where you were or where you are but where you want to get.”

You must form an image now of the person you want to be ten years from now if you are to become that image.

Without goals we cannot grow.

First, visualize your future in terms of three departments: work, home, and social. Dividing your life this way keeps you from becoming confused, prevents conflicts, helps you look at the whole picture. Second, demand of yourself clear, precise answers to these questions: What do I want to accomplish with my life? What do I want to be? and What does it take to satisfy me?

A. Work Department: 10 years from now: 1. What income level do I want to attain? 2. What level of responsibility do I seek? 3. How much authority do I want to command? 4. What prestige do I expect to gain from my work? B. Home Department: 10 years from now: 1. What kind of standard of living do I want to provide for my family and myself? 2. What kind of house do I want to live in? 3. What kind of vacations do I want to take? 4. What financial support do I want to give my children in their early adult years? C. Social Department: 10 years from now: 1. What kinds of friends do I want to have? 2. What social groups do I want to join? 3. What community leadership positions would I like to hold? 4. What worthwhile causes do I want to champion?

the most important qualification for an executive is the sheer desire to get ahead.

“A man is not doing much until the cause he works for possesses all there is of him.”

Success requires heart-and-soul effort, and you can put your heart and soul only into something you really desire.

“Security-itis.” Persons who say, “I’ve got security where I am” use the security weapons to murder their dreams.

energy increases, multiplies, when you set a desired goal and resolve to work toward that goal.

to accomplish something, we must plan to accomplish something.

Set goals to get things done.

Use goals to live longer. No medicine in the world—and your physician will bear this out—is as powerful in bringing about long life as is the desire to do something.

“Will this help take me where I want to go?” If the answer is no, back off; if yes, press ahead.

THIRTY-DAY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE Between now and _____ I will A. Break these habits: (suggestions) 1. Putting off things. 2. Negative language. 3. Watching TV more than 60 minutes per day. 4. Gossip. B. Acquire these habits: (suggestions) 1. A rigid morning examination of my appearance. 2. Plan each day’s work the night before. 3. Compliment people at every possible opportunity. C. Increase my value to my employer in these ways: (suggestions) 1. Do a better job of developing my subordinates. 2. Learn more about my company, what it does, and the customers it serves. 3. Make three specific suggestions to help my company become more efficient. D. Increase my value to my home in these ways: (suggestions) 1. Show more appreciation for the little things my wife does that I’ve been taking for granted. 2. Once each week, do something special with my whole family. 3. Give one hour each day of my undivided attention to my family. E. Sharpen my mind in these ways: (suggestions) 1. Invest two hours each week in reading professional magazines in my field. 2. Read one self-help book. 3. Make four new friends. 4. Spend 30 minutes daily in quiet, undisturbed thinking.

Anything that improves thinking ability is education.

Get a clear fix on where you want to go. Create an image of yourself ten years from now.

Write out your ten-year plan. Your life is too important to be left to chance. Put down on paper what you want to accomplish in your work, your home, and your social departments.

Surrender yourself to your desires. Set goals to get more energy. Set goals to get things done. Set goals and disco...

Let your major goal be your automatic pilot. When you let your goal absorb you, you’ll find yourself making the ri...

Achieve your goal one step at a time. Regard each task you perform, regardless of how small it may see...

Build thirty-day goals. Day-by-day ef...

Take detours in stride. A detour simply means another route. It should never mean surrendering the goal.

Invest in yourself. Purchase those things that build mental power and efficiency. Invest in education. Invest in idea starters.

These four leadership rules or principles are: 1. Trade minds with the people you want to influence. 2. Think: What is the human way to handle this? 3. Think progress, believe in progress, push for progress. 4. Take time out to confer with yourself and develop your supreme thinking power.