Book Review of The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

The Magic of Thinking Big is a self-help book authored by David J. Schwartz.  “Ah! C’mon. We are tired of the clichéd self-help books.300 plus pages just to guide one to think big..Crazy!”. Your mind voice so loud and clear. But rest assured that this is not a typical self-help book containing loads of anecdotes and case studies of successful people. David draws out several examples from his own experience with people from various cultural, educational, etc., backgrounds. So as one flips through the pages, one gets the feeling of “Oh! That’s me in the example stated”.   It appears as though this book is tailor-made to suit your needs. Okay, enough of the hype.  Here we go.

David, right off the bat, explains in the Preface how thinking big makes a difference and what thinking big actually means. Then, he sets the expectation as to how the book would work for the reader. In each chapter, he reinforces the fact that every single human on Earth chases “Success”.  This term, however, means different things to different people. For some, it is to earn a good salary, happy family, a big home ; for another group, it is a fabulous career, running a successful business etc.,  The author questions the reader “Do you think you REALLY  are successful?”. The possible answers could be “Yes/No/Maybe”. He then goes on to elaborate different parameters which he thinks differentiate the successful from the rest.

He stresses on the importance of self-belief and elaborates how one’s belief controls the flow of positive and negative thoughts in one’s mind.  Next, he discovers the reason for a very intriguing question that haunts most of the people “Why some brilliant people are failures”.  He attributes it to the negative mind food that is being fed which hinders their success. They think why things won’t work rather than channelizing it in the direction of success.  

The author clearly lists different reasons one puts forth to justify his present state, which generally are:-

1.       My health isn’t good

2.       But you’ve got brains to succeed

3.       It’s no use. I’m too old (or too young).

All of us at some point in our life, would have said to someone or atleast thought of any (or all) of the above excuses for our non-performance or under performance. David wants the readers to fend themselves off against the afore stated failure causing diseases.  Then, he comes to the central focus of the book “How to think Big”.  The importance of “Selling yourself big”, the impact of the kind of words one  uses, the ability to look beyond and behind the envelope are  stressed in this chapter.

In the later chapters, David unfolds the secret of success. He lucidly explains the methods to make the one’s attitudes as his/her allies. He wants us to grow the “YOU-ARE-IMPORTANT” attitude. At the same time, he says, make others feel important. In fact, that works mutually. When you help others feel important, you help yourself feel important, too.

Towards the close of the book, he lists out guideposts to help one turn defeat into victory by consciously working on the setbacks faced and by mustering up the courage to criticize oneself.  He also brings out the differences between Doers and talkers. An idea unless acted upon will die as an idea. Of course, there will always be a mind battle – to act or not to act, to do or not to do. If you want to be successful, you got to trust yourself and take the first step forward. Expect future obstacles and difficulties. The only way to cure your fear and apprehension is to do things that you fear and pulverize it. One cannot have workarounds for attaining success. At the same time, be prepared to take detours in stride. If there is a stumbling block on the road, do not give up. Simply find another road to take you where you wanted to go. In the last chapter, he reminds that one is not pulled to high levels of success. Rather, one is lifted there by those working beside and below you. By stating that, David helps us realize the importance of developing right thinking towards people. It also reiterates the fact that success and the ability to lead others go hand-in-hand.  According to the author, there are four leadership rules or principles, namely:

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, and push for progress.

4.       Take time out to confer with yourself.

This is a great book with chapters strung together like a beautiful necklace of pearls. The best investment is the one which you do on yourself. Please don’t have second thoughts in picking your own copy.  David pinpoints various mind blocks that work against us. This book provides you with executable tools and techniques to overcome those obstacles. The Magic of thinking big stands out from other self-help books by providing workable techniques to be successful in all 3 fronts: your professional, social and personal life. You should work with this book to see the results. I wish and hope that this book will aid you in conquering your goals.

You can grab your copy here: