This is a new series I am starting. Below are my personal notes of David Schwartz’s The Magic of Thinking Big. These highlights were what I used to write my personal development book, Wiser Next Week, a condensation of many different self improvement books.

In a nutshell: In The Magic of Thinking Big, author David J. Schwartz says it’s a matter of mindset. Successful people “think bigger” — they believe in themselves, have a grander scale of imagination, and see bigger possibilities. In other words, we need to upgrade our thinking in order to upgrade our lives,

Believe and you will succeed, a half hearted effort is bound for failure
Think only success
Satisfaction in life: knowing your yes on the road to success
Excuses are merely an alibi to save face because of failure
Constant use of excuses make them seem truer, when they’re not

It’s not how much intelligence you have, it’s how you use what you have.

Be skilled at obtaining information
There is no luck but “smart luck”

Action cures fear
Think only positive, count your blessings and accomplishments before sleeping every night
Refuse to remember negative thoughts
Refuse to remember negative thoughts
If you want to feel a certain way, act it first. Act, then be confident
-sit in front and speak up.

Be cheerful when asked how you feel, only speak positively about others.

Successful speakers have a burning desire to convey a message
Keep your eyes on the big picture, don’t let petty things bother you.

Security accompanies success. Ideas are worthless without action
How you think leads to how you act leads to how others react towards you.

Accept negative responses like “you can’t do it” as a challenge
When you have a question, consult with the best
Your attitude reflects your thinking
Meet problems as they arrive, waiting for the perfect time means you’ll wait forever
Expect future difficulties

Learn from your mistakes, act on the lessons and succeed
Defeat is only a state of mind
The only time you fail is when you don’t learn from blunders
Persistence +new angles and approaches =payoff

Before you set out, know where you want to go
Goals help you grow and you must put your heart and soul into it
Life consists of work, home and social
You accomplish no more than you set out to
Live life integrated around a purpose
Detours and setbacks will happen, act now as there will never be a perfect moment

If these brief notes, peaked your interest in The Magic of Thinking Big, you can check it out on Amazon here.

And be sure to check out my book, Wiser Next Week.