More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Shakespeare, who observed, “There is nothing either good or bad except that thinking makes it so.”
The how-to-do-it always comes to the person who believes he can do it.
Those who believe they can move mountains, do. Those who believe they can’t, cannot. Belief triggers the power to do.
The “Okay-I’ll-give-it-a-try-but-I-don’t-think-it-will-work” attitude produces failures.
A person is a product of his own thoughts. Believe Big. Adjust your thermostat forward. Launch your success offensive with honest, sincere belief that you can succeed. Believe big and grow big.
Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. Successful people are not supermen. Success does not require a superintellect. Nor is there anything mystical about success. And success isn’t based on luck. Successful people are just ordinary folks who have developed belief in themselves and what they do. Never—yes, never—sell yourself short.
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 will find that the more successful the individual, the less inclined he is to make excuses.
Every minute a person spends worrying about dying is just one minute that fellow might as well have been dead.”
The right attitude and one arm will beat the wrong attitude and two arms every time.
the thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you may have.
the ability to know how to get information is more important than using the mind as a garage for facts.
Mr. Success receives a setback; he learns and profits. But when Mr. Mediocre loses, he fails to learn.
action cures fear. Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fertilize fear.
When we face tough problems, we stay mired in the mud until we take action. Hope is a start. But hope needs action to win victories.
The other fellow might look frightfully big, frightfully important. But remember, he is still a human being with essentially the same interests, desires, and problems as you.
“Underneath he’s probably a very nice guy. Most folks are.”
Avoid doing anything that will cause you to ask yourself, “Will I get caught? Will they find out? Will I get away with it?”
To think confidently, act confidently.
Action cures fear. Isolate your fear and then take constructive action. Inaction—doing nothing about a situation—strengthens fear and destroys confidence.
Make a supreme effort to put only positive thoughts in your memory bank. Don’t let negative, self-deprecatory thoughts grow into mental monsters. Simply refuse to recall unpleasant events or situations.
To think big, we must use words and phrases that produce big, positive mental images.
Every time someone asks you, “How are you?” or “How are you feeling today?” respond with a “Just wonderful thanks, and you?” or say “Great” or “
Notice and compliment the people who work with you. Praise, sincerely administered, is a success tool.
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.
“I’ve made up my mind to look at myself as the person I’m going to be in a few short years. I see myself not as a rate clerk but as an executive.
Big thinkers see themselves as members of a team effort, as winning or losing with the team, not by themselves.
before complaining or accusing or reprimanding someone or launching a counterattack in self-defense, ask yourself, “Is it really important?” In most cases, it isn’t and you avoid conflict.
Creative thinking is simply finding new, improved ways to do anything.
Step one: Believe it can be done. Here is a basic truth: To do anything, we must first believe it can be done.
Believe, and you’ll start thinking—constructively.
In truth, there is no one best way to do anything.
The successful person doesn’t ask, “Can I do it better?” She knows she can. So she phrases the question: “How can I do it better?”
Top success is reserved for the I-can-do-it-better kind of person.
Capacity is a state of mind. How much we can do depends on how much we think we can do.
“What can I do to expand my output?”
Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize the talking.
The sales manager didn’t get a bunch of canned techniques. Instead, he got something much more valuable, the stimulation to think of ideas directly beneficial to his own particular organization.
Eliminate “impossible,” “won’t work,” “can’t do,” “no use trying” from your thinking and speaking vocabularies.
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 different occupational and social interests.
Others see in us what we see in ourselves. We receive the kind of treatment we think we deserve.
Dress right; it always pays.
Your appearance talks to you and it talks to others. Make certain it says, “Here is a person who has self-respect. He’s important. Treat him that way.”
A person who thinks their job is important Receives mental signals on how to do their job better; And a better job means More promotions, more money, more prestige, more happiness.
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?”
Practice uplifting self-praise. Don’t practice belittling self-punishment.
big men do not laugh at big ideas.
People who tell you it cannot be done almost always are unsuccessful people, are strictly average or mediocre at best in terms of accomplishment.
Be sure you’re in the flock that thinks right.
Do circulate in new groups.
