The Magic of Thinking Big Summary: Schwartz’s Powerful Lessons

The Magic of Thinking Big Summary: Schwartz’s Powerful Lessons

This article summarizes David J. Schwartz’s most successful book, The Magic of Thinking Big. You’ll learn about the power of believing in yourself and how it’s the first step to achieving your goals. David Schwartz addresses the negative impact of making excuses and the importance of taking responsibility for your actions. It also covers overcoming fear, building confidence, and thinking like a leader.

This book has valuable lessons, actionable advice, and real-life examples of people who have achieved success through positive and big thinking. It’s a must-read for anyone looking to improve their lives and reach their full potential. 

By reading this summary, you’ll be able to take the first step toward achieving your dreams and start thinking big. David Schwartz divided his book into thirteen sections. So let us begin with this summary of The Magic of Thinking Big.

Believe You Can Succeed and You Will

The first chapter is about believing in yourself and believing you can succeed. Believing in yourself is the first step in achieving your goals. This chapter encourages you to believe in yourself, your abilities, and your potential for success.

Unfortunately, not many people believe that they can move mountains, so as a result, not many people do. But believe, really believe, you can move a mountain, and you can. Believe in yourself. Believe you can succeed. 

A good practice is to remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. And belief big. The size of your belief determines the size of your success. David Schwartz writes in his book: “Nothing, absolutely nothing, in this life gives you more satisfaction than knowing you’re on the road to success and achievement. And nothing stands as a bigger challenge than making the most of yourself.”

Cure Yourself of Excusitis, the Failure Disease

This chapter focuses on the negative impact of making excuses and the importance of taking responsibility for your actions. This behavior of making excuses and don’t take action is called “excusitis” by David Schwartz. 

In general, successful people don’t make excuses and don’t blame other people. On the other hand, people who fear taking action look for excuses and reasons not to do what they want or fear. Common excuses are poor health, lack of education, too old, too young, bad luck, personal misfortune, and so on. Making excuses limits your ability to achieve your goals.

He gives some good explanations to destroy one of the most common limiting beliefs, like age. So, for example, he says how old you are is not important. Instead, your attitude toward age makes it a blessing or barricade.

We don’t become successful simply through luck. Success comes from doing those things and mastering those principles that produce success. So stop making excuses. And start doing the things you want to do or fear the most to do.

Build Confidence and Destroy Fear

Fear is success enemy number 1. Fear stops people from capitalizing on an opportunity. Fear wears down physical vitality. Fear makes people sick, causing organic difficulty and shortening life. Fear closes your mouth when you want to speak.

But let me clear something: All confidence is acquired and developed. No one is born with confidence. Confidence people you know have acquired this skill. They learned to be confident. 

“Action cures fear.”

David Schwartz

The best way to build confidence is by doing what’s right for you. Doing what’s right and being true to yourself keeps your conscience satisfied, and this builds self-confidence. But, first, you feel guilty when you do things and know it’s wrong, which kills your confidence. And second, other people find out sooner or later if we are not true to ourselves and lose trust in us.

There are a few short tricks to improve your confidence instantly. For example, when you introduce yourself to another person:

1. First, reach for the other person’s tent and clasp it warmly. 
2. Second, look at the other person and say, “I am glad to know you.”

Do this a few times with complete confidence, and how you approach new people will change. Another good way to instantly improve confidence is by walking faster. And have an upright, strong posture. For example, throw your shoulders back and lift your head.

How to Think Big

Most people are selling themselves short. For example, people don’t send an application for a job because they think,” I’m not good enough for the job, so why bother?” But you are better than you think you are. Never sell yourself short.

Use the vocabulary of a successful person. Speak bright, cheerful words. Use words that promise victory, hope, happiness, and pleasure. And avoid negative comments as I should, I cannot, and I wish I could, and so on.

A powerful trait of a successful person is that the successful person can visualize how things can be in the future. And not only what is right now. So practice adding value to things and people, and yourself. Remove yourself from trivial things. Little things, petty thinking, cause arguments. So eliminate them. Think bigger and stand above trivial things.

How to Think and Dream Creatively

To do anything, we must first believe we can do it. As soon as we truly believe it can be done, our mind finds ways to do it. So eliminate the word impossible and instead make it a habit to think creatively. Creative thinking is simply finding new, improved ways to do anything. 

Practice asking and listening. We learn nothing from telling, but there is no limit to what you can learn by asking and listening. But listening is more than just keeping your mouth shut. Try to listen fully and concentrate on the other person’s words. Unfortunately, most people listen only with the intention of replying.

Successful people are masters in searching for ways to increase efficiency. As a result, they get more output at a lower cost and do more with less effort. They constantly stretch their mind to achieve more and achieve it better. Ask yourself daily, “How can I do better? How can I do more?” 

You Are What You Think You Are

When you take a job seriously and think what you do matters, you’re doing a much better job than others. The mindset you have towards your job or task is crucial. Try to think like an important person. What would an important person do?

Upgrade your thinking and think like a successful person. When you upgrade your thinking, you upgrade your action, and this produces success. 

Try to improve your appearance. If you feel like an important person, you act like an important person. So instead of basic trousers, go to work in a nice suit. Try this and see how your self-image is changing. And when your image changes, you will feel different and act more confidently when interacting with others. Remember: You are what you think you are.

Manage Your Environment: Go First Class

The size of your thinking, your goals, your attitudes, and your personality is formed by your environment. Being in contact with negative people makes us think negatively. On the other hand, companionship with successful people with big ideas raises the level of our thinking. Close contact with ambitious people gives us ambition.

“Big men do not laugh at big ideas.”

David Schwartz

People who tell you a specific goal or dream cannot be achieved are almost always unsuccessful people. Average or mediocre at best in terms of accomplishment. Accept negative advice only as a challenge to prove that you can do it. How we think is directly affected by the group we are in, so be sure to surround yourself with people who believe they can do it.

Avoid gossip. People who gossip are generally less trustworthy than people who don’t. You can talk about people but stay on the positive side. Go first class in everything you do. You can’t afford to go any other way.

Make Your Attitudes Your Allies

To make others enthusiastic, you must first be enthusiastic yourself. You can only influence or activate others if you are truly convinced about your job or task. A person who is enthusiastic soon has enthusiastic followers. Generally, you get more interested in a topic as you read and learn about this topic.

Additionally, try to broadcast good news. Good news activates you and makes you feel better. And broadcasting good news makes other people feel better, too.

People do more for you when you make them feel important. When you make someone feel important, he cares about you. And when he cares about you, he does more for you. So it pays to make “little” people feel like big people.  Here are some good practices to make other people feel more important:

1. Appreciate what other people are doing. Never let anyone feel he’s taken for granted. Tell them he’s doing a good job. Tell them he’s important. Compliment people on little things.
2. Call people by their names. People like to be called by their names. It gives everyone a boost to be addressed by their name. It makes them feel important.

Think Right Toward People

Success depends on the support of other people. So take the initiative in building friendships. If you truly care for other people from the bottom of your heart, you are more liked and have more friends. 

Invest time in building new relationships. But don’t buy them. If you try to buy friendships, you earn mistrust. Friendships are not for sale. You can win friendships only with genuine sincerity. Take the initiative. Be a successful person. Go out of your way to meet people. And don’t be timid. Don’t be afraid to be unusual. Find how to do all the person is and be sure he knows who you are.

Get the Action Habit

This chapter is about taking action. Waiting for the perfect set of conditions is to wait forever. Instead, meet problems and obstacles as they arise. The ability to solve every issue before acting is not what defines a successful person. Instead, you should be able to solve problems as you come across them. This is what a successful persons make successful. He solves problems along the way.

“Now is the magic word of success.”

David Schwartz

The best way to build confidence is through action. Action cures fear. Are you anxious about making a specific phone call? Make it, and the fear disappears. Put it off, and it’ll get harder and harder to make. Each time you speak up, you strengthen yourself. Make it a habit to build your confidence. Get into action.

How to Turn Defeat into Victory

Studying your setbacks is the best way to turn your defeats into victories. Have the courage to be your own constructive critic. How you think about failure determines how long it will take until you win and succeed. Seek out your faults and weaknesses and then correct them. This makes you professional.

Don’t be afraid of making faults. You can only make mistakes if you try new things. Trying new things is the most important thing to be successful and constantly improve yourself. And every time you do something new, you will make mistakes.

But the only thing that counts is how you cope with the setbacks. Stop blaming luck. Research your mistake, and find out what went wrong. Blaming luck never got anyone where they wanted to go.

Use Goals to Help You Grow

No one ever stumbles into success without a goal. So it’s essential to know where you want to go before you start. Try to visualize where you will be in 10 years and who you will be in 10 years. Ask yourself questions like:

1. What income level do I want to attain?
2. What level of responsibility do I seek?
3. What kind of house do I want to live in?
4. What social groups do I want to join?

The more you see yourself in the future, the more motivated you will be to reach your dream and goal. Write out your 10-year plan. Write down what you want to accomplish in your work, home, and social departments. Then, constantly check whether you are on track and adjust your course if you have to.

Let your primary goal be your automatic pilot. When you let your goal absorb you, you’ll find yourself making the right decisions to reach your goal.

How to Think Like a Leader

The last chapter is about how to think like a leader. You must see things through their eyes to get others to do what you want them to do. Try to understand their point of view. Ask yourself this question before you act, “What would I think of this if I exchange places with the other person?”

Think improvement in everything you do. Think high standards in everything you do. Thinking like a leader involves having a clear vision, setting goals, being decisive and taking action, being open to new ideas and adaptable, and having a positive attitude. 

Here are some golden rules to help you keep on track:

• Expect to be sniped at. It’s proof you’re growing.
• Think big enough to be immune to the attacks of petty people.
• Ask yourself, “Honestly now, is this really important enough to argue about?”
• Concentrate on the most significant qualities in the person you want to love you. Put little things where they belong – in second place.
• Never sell yourself short.

The Magic Of Thinking Big Summary PDF

Here is the article in PDF format. So you can easily get to it on your computer or mobile device even if you don’t have internet access. The PDF version of this summary has all the same useful information and practical tips as the web version.

This makes it easy for people who want to improve their lives and reach their full potential to take it with them. Download The Magic of Thinking Big summary PDF here:

Conclusion – The Magic of Thinking Big Summary

In conclusion, “The Magic of Thinking Big” by David J. Schwartz is a classic self-help book that has stood the test of time and continues to be a best-seller for a reason. 

David J. Schwartz was an American motivational speaker and author, best known for his book The Magic of Thinking Big, published in 1959.

In addition, he was a business management and marketing professor at Georgia State University and a consultant to numerous companies and organizations. I hope you learned something in this The Magic of Thinking Big summary today!

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The Magic of Thinking Big Summary by David Schwartz encourages us to embrace our own intelligence and cure fear by harnessing our supreme thinking power. Filled with idea starters, this book teaches us how to optimize our productive time and turn defeat into opportunities for growth.

By cultivating positive thoughts and investing our future time wisely, we can transform our lives and achieve greatness beyond our wildest dreams. Let us remember that our thoughts shape our reality, and the magic of thinking big can unlock the door to a life filled with abundance, success, and fulfillment.

Best, Fabian

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