The Magic Of Thinking Big Summary
Occasionally I like to take a break from writing about finance and passive real estate investing and grab a book from my shelf that I think would benefit you.
Well, today is your lucky day. Author David J. Schwartz wrote The Magic Of Thinking Big, which has played a major role in changing my mindset. It even made my list of recommendations.
You see, most of us think too small. Don’t believe me? Let’s find out.
Right now, I want you to say out loud, how much money you want to have saved when you retire. I’m not joking. Go ahead and speak what your “magic” number is.
There you go. I just proved my point.
No, I’m not a mind reader but I 100% guarantee that your answer was too small.
Why? Because we constantly limit ourselves and it starts with our thinking.
Some of you probably said that you wanted to me a millionaire.
Instead of only having $1,000,000 saved, why not do what Grant Cardone teaches and 10X it?
Don’t think $1,000,000 but instead go for $10,000,000!
I can already hear the excuses. But it’s OK because today we’re going to expose you to a different way of thinking so you’ll be well on your way to thinking BIG.
Summary Of The Magic Of Thinking Big
If you’re rushed for time, here’s a 4 minute the Magic Of Thinking Big Summary video for you:
“Do what you fear, and fear disappears.” – David Schwartz
12 Lessons From The Magic Of Thinking Big
#1 Believe You Can Succeed And You Will
Success means winning as it’s the goal we have in life. Who wants to lose?
Everyone wants to be a successful person. Some of the most practical success-building wisdom can be found in Matthew 17:20:
Jesus replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
In other words, believe you can move a mountain and you can. Unfortunately, most people don’t believe they can so as a result, they NEVER do.
When you believe “I-can-do-it”, the “how-to-do-it” develops in your mind.
On the flip side, disbelief is negative power. When the mind disbelieves or doubts, it attracts reasons to support the disbelief. If you think doubt or focus on negative words then many times you’ll fail. But if you think victory then you’re on the road to succeeding.
A person is a product of their own thoughts. Schwartz recommends that we believe BIG. Hence the title of the book.
#2 Stop Making Excuses
The Magic Of Thinking Big suggests that we study people. And when we study unsuccessful people, we’ll realize that they suffer from excusitis. This explains the difference between the person that’s going places and the one that’s barely holding his own.
You’ll find that that the more successful the individual, the less inclined he is to make common excuses.
I see this play out on the TV show, Shark Tank. Those that come into the tank that have had multiple failures and bad luck (I’ve had some) but lack excuses are usually the ones that get a deal with one of the sharks. They understand what hard work is all about.
Eliminate the habit of making excuses and instead focus on the things that can cause you to succeed. The right attitude and one arm will beat the wrong attitude with two arms every time.
#3 Build Confidence And Destroy Fear
Fear is the #1 enemy to success even with ambitious people. I couldn’t agree more. Fear (uncertainty), lack of confidence – is the main thing that explains why we still have economic recessions.
It’s what prevents people from accomplishing big success as most that read this blog want financial freedom.
Schwartz goes on to tell readers that one of the ways to cure common fear is action.
In order for action to happen, we must be confident people. No one is born with confidence.
Whenever you start to experience any kind of fear, ask yourself, “What kind of ACTION can I take to conquer my fear?”
In order to overcome my fears of something happening to me which would shut down our household income, I had to take action and find ways to build passive income using real estate.
#4 How To Think And Dream Creatively
Creative thinking is simply finding new and improved ways to do anything. Schwartz teaches to, “Believe it can BE DONE.”
When you believe, your mind finds ways to do.
When you believe something is impossible, your mind goes to work for you to prove why. But, when you believe something can be done instead, your mind goes to work for you to help find ways to accomplish it.
Belief releases creative powers to accomplish big goals whereas disbelief puts the brakes on.
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Sign up for my newsletter#5 Look Important – It Helps You Think Important
One of the things I’ve always taught my employees is something that I learned from The Ritz Carlton. (ESI Money’s favorite hotel!)
One of the best ways to connect with people is…make them feel like they’re an important person as sitting in first class.
Schwartz teaches that our appearance “talks”. Never leave home without feeling certain you look like the kind of person you want to be.
Research states that we make a first impression whenever we see someone for the first time in under a second.
What do you think about the average person that’s shabby looking? Negative thoughts?
Do you think….
- “He’s a bum.”
- “He’s not important.”
What about the well dressed person? Positive thoughts?
Whenever you see someone like this, you may think:
- “This person is important.”
- “He’s got a good job.”
- “He’s intelligent and prosperous.”
- “He’s got big plans for the future.”
Whether you believe it or not, it’s human nature to judge someone initially by their outward appearance.
Schwartz preaches that’s the reason why looks are important – they are a big part of what other people think and act towards you.
The bottom line is that if you LOOK like someone with a lot of self-respect, then other people will think that you have a lot of self-respect and treat you well.
Also, not only does your appearance affect how others think about you, it will affect how you think about yourself too.
Your physical exterior affects your mental interior. How you look on the outside affects how you think and feel on the inside.
#6 Manage Your Environment
Renowned businessman and personal development guru Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, and that means everyone in your life counts.”
Proverbs 13:20 teaches “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”
One of the main impacts on your success will be the company you surround yourself with.
Select friends carefully.
If you want to continue to become better, then surround yourself with those that will encourage and lift you. Avoid the negative people that tend to do nothing but gossip.
Don’t let small people with small ideas hold you back.
#7 Make Your Attitudes Your Allies
How we think shows through in how we act. Attitudes are mirrors of the mind, they reflect thinking.
Attitudes do more than show through. They “sound” through too. I’ve told this story before regarding my personal experience of calling other dental offices in town.
Whenever I speak to a receptionist with a great attitude, I can tell she has a smile on her face and is truly glad I’m calling. I know from the tone of her voice that I’m made to feel important and she cares.
And I also realize that whenever I speak with another office, I can tell from the tone of the receptionist that I “bothered her” and she wishes I’d never called.
We read attitudes through expressions and voice tones/inflections.
When our attitude is right, our abilities reach a maximum of effectiveness and good results inevitably follow.
Schwartz recommends that we grow three attitudes:
1. The attitude of “I’m activated”
To activate others, to get them to be enthusiastic, you must first be enthusiastic yourself.
2. The attitude of “You are important”
As we talked about earlier, no matter the person, rich or poor, young or old, they all desire to be made to feel important.
Make someone feel important and he cares about you. And when he cares about you, he does more for you. Customers will buy more from you and employees will work harder for you.
3. The attitude of “Service first”
Put service first and money takes care of itself. A good rule of thumb is to give people more than they expect to get.
#8 Think Right Toward People
In our The Magic Of Thinking Big summary, one of the key concepts that keeps coming up is how to be successful. Schwartz teaches that a basic rule for obtaining success is:
“Success depends on the support of other people.”
The biggest obstacle between you and what you want to be is the support from others.
A person is not pulled up to a higher level job, they’re rather lifted up.
It’s a mark of real leadership to take the lead in getting to know people. The person who does the most talking and the person who is the most successful are rarely the same person.
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Leaders are those people who don’t waste time speculating. Procrastination is NOT part of their vocabulary.
They never hesitate to get things done, especially when they believe that they can do it.
Too many people waste their time waiting until conditions are perfect before acting.
Take investing money for example. I routinely have people contact me about information regarding passive real estate investing.
Initially they’re excited about learning how to reach financial freedom sooner rather than later. For many of them, fear begins to take hold as soon as they start the process of learn and then they get the “what ifs”.
- What if the market drops like it did in 2008?
- What if something happens to the property?
Schwartz gives two ways to help avoid the mistake of waiting until conditions are perfect before acting:
1. Expect future obstacles and difficulties. Every new venture or investment presents risks, problems and uncertainties.
2. Meet problems and obstacles as they arise.
Bottom line: Build confidence. Destroy fear through action.
#10 Turn Defeat Into Victory
If you study great sports teams or individuals, they ALL have one thing in common. They’ve all had failures and set backs.
The Magic Of Thinking Big tells us that studying our setbacks will help pave our way to success.
The difference between success and failure is found in one’s attitudes towards setbacks and other disappointing situations.
Here are 5 ways to turn defeat into victory:
- Study setbacks to pave your way to success. When you lose, learn, and then go on to win next time.
- Have the courage to be your own constructive critic.
- Stop blaming luck.
- Blend persistence with experimentation. Try new approaches.
- Try to find the positive side in everything. Even if the future looks bleak, try to find the silver line.
#11 Use Goals To Continue To Grow
I believe this is one of the MOST important lessons from the book. We’ve talked about setting both long term and short term goals in the past.
Think about the days you’re off work. For most, it’s a Saturday and Sunday. What happens when you wake up on Saturday morning with no plans or agenda? Not much, right? You probably accomplish next to nothing and aimlessly drift through the day until it’s over.
But instead, if we start the day with big plans, we get things done. To accomplish something, we must plan to accomplish something.
I’ve had conversations with too many people that have retired in the medical/dental field that are miserable. Why? No plan.
Schwartz instructs us that, “The quickest way to the end is to retire and do NOTHING. Every human being must keep an interest in life just to keep living.”
#12 How To Think Like A Leader
Achieving high-level success requires the support and the cooperation of others. Gaining this support & cooperation requires leadership ability. Success and the ability to lead others, getting them to do things they wouldn’t do if they were not led, go hand-in-hand.
Here are four leadership rules from the book:
- Trade minds with the people you want to influence. This way we’re able to get others to act the way we want them to
- Think: What is the human way to handle this? In everything you do, show that you put others first.
- Think, believe and push for progress. Think improvement and high standards in everything you do.
- Take time out to have discussions with yourself. Spend time alone each day for creative thinking.
Conclusion
There you have it, The Magic Of Thinking Big Summary.
This book is all about changing the way you think.
You must think BIG to live BIG.
Stop selling yourself short with excuses and instead, focus on the positive events in your life.
Stay away from negative people that gossip. Remember, surround yourself with those that will tend to lift you up and not shoot down your goals you’ve set for yourself.
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