Have you ever heard yourself saying things like:
“I’m too old to try new things.”
“I can’t get that job, I need a diploma.”
“I don’t have enough time to start a business.”
“He got the job because he was the smartest in our class."
Yeah, those are excuses. We tell them to ourselves (and sometimes to others!) so we don't feel bad about not going after what we really want in life. We convince ourselves that we're just not good enough, smart enough, or lucky enough. We make those self-imposed limitations and settle for a smaller, less exciting life.
But what if I told you that those limitations are mostly in our heads?
In his classic book, The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz says, “Believe you can succeed and you will.” It's a powerful concept! He argues that our thinking plays a massive role in shaping our reality, our level of success, and our overall happiness.
This book is about breaking free from those limiting beliefs and embracing the power of thinking big. It's about:
Curing Yourself of “Excusitis”: Identifying those sneaky excuses that hold us back.
Building Confidence and Destroying Fear: Taking action in the face of doubt and uncertainty.
Thinking and Dreaming Creatively: Unlocking the power of our imaginations and visualizing the future we want.
Developing a Winning Attitude: Choosing optimism, enthusiasm, and a belief in our own abilities.
Let’s dive deep into some of the core ideas from the book and see how we can apply them to our lives:
Excusitis – The Disease of Failure
Excusitis – it sounds like a medical condition, right? It’s a term David Schwartz uses to describe this chronic habit of making excuses for why we’re not where we want to be in life.
He says that unsuccessful people are masters at making excuses. They’re quick to blame their circumstances, their lack of education, their age, or even just “bad luck” for their failures.
But here’s the truth:
"Study the lives of successful people and you’ll discover this: All the excuses made by the mediocre fellow could be but aren’t made by the successful person."
Successful people don’t make excuses. They take responsibility for their actions and focus on finding solutions, even when things are tough! They understand that success isn't about being lucky or having every advantage; it’s about effort, persistence, and a refusal to give up.
Here are some of the most common excuses we tell ourselves, and how to overcome them:
“I’m Not Smart Enough/Educated Enough”
It’s easy to get hung up on intelligence and education. We see those high achievers and think, “They must be geniuses, and I’m just average.” But here’s the thing:
“What really matters is not how much intelligence you have, but how you use what you do have. The thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than the quantity of your brainpower.”
It’s not about how many diplomas we have or what our IQ score is; it’s about how we use our brains!
Here are three things to remember when you’re tempted to blame your intelligence or education:
Attitude is More Important Than Intelligence: A positive attitude, a belief in yourself, and a willingness to learn will take you much further than raw intelligence alone.
It’s About Problem Solving, Not Just Memorization: Real life doesn’t give us multiple-choice tests. It throws us curveballs and expects us to think critically, creatively, and strategically!
Never Underestimate Your Own Intelligence: We're all capable of more than we think! Focus on your strengths, develop your skills and stop comparing yourself to others.
“I’m Too Old/Too Young”
How many times have we heard (or maybe even said ourselves!): “I’m too old to learn new things” or “I’m too young to be taken seriously”?
David Schwartz dedicates an entire chapter to debunking this excuse. He calls it "Age Excusitis" - the disease of never being the right age. Here’s the truth: age is a state of mind!
Here's a quote that I love:
“Youth is a liability only when the youth thinks it is. You often hear that certain jobs require “considerable” physical maturity, jobs like selling securities and insurance. That you’ve got to have either gray hair or no hair at all in order to gain an investor’s confidence is plain nonsense. What really matters is how well you know your job. If you know your job and understand people, you’re sufficiently mature to handle it. Age has no real relation to ability, unless you convince yourself that years alone will give you the stuff you need to make your mark."
He emphasizes the importance of looking forward, not dwelling on the past or comparing ourselves to others. There are always new horizons to explore, no matter our age.
Thinking Big – The Foundation for Success
Thinking big is about:
Expanding your mental horizons.
Stretching your limits.
Daring to envision a future beyond your current reality.
It’s not about unrealistic dreams or impractical ambitions, but about opening your mind to possibilities!
Most people don't even let themselves think big, let alone live big. They set small goals, accept limitations, and settle for a life of mediocrity, then wonder why they're not happy!
David Schwartz says,
"Where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches or pounds or college degrees, or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking. How big we think determines the size of our accomplishments.”
Thinking big requires a shift in our self-perception. Here are a few key principles:
Stop Selling Yourself Short: You’re more capable than you think! Embrace your strengths, acknowledge your worth, and stop letting those negative self-talk demons run the show!
Add Value to Yourself: See yourself not just as you are, but as you can be. Think about your future self – the person you’re becoming through your actions and choices.
Visualize Your Success: Create a vivid picture of what you want to achieve.
The Importance of Thinking Right About People
This is a HUGE idea from the book. Our relationships – with our friends, family, teachers, classmates, even our future bosses – play a massive role in our success.
David Schwartz says that "success depends on the support of other people." He emphasizes the importance of thinking right toward others, which basically means being:
Likable: People want to work with, support, and lift up those who are genuine, respectful, and positive!
Empathetic: Put yourself in others’ shoes and understand their perspectives!
Courteous: Treat everyone with dignity and respect!
Generous: Give people more than they expect!
A Good Listener: Encourage others to talk about themselves, and genuinely listen!
Here’s a key takeaway: “Big people, those on top in industry, the arts, sciences, and politics, are human and warm. They specialize in being likeable."
Taking Action: Action Cures Fear
We're afraid to fail, to be judged, to step out of our comfort zones. So what do we do? We procrastinate!
But David Schwartz has a simple, yet powerful solution: action cures fear. He says:
"Jot that down in your success rule book right now. Action cures fear. Indecision, postponement, on the other hand, fertilize fear."
The more we think about something we're afraid of, the scarier it becomes! But when we take action, we often realize it wasn’t as bad as we imagined!
Here are a few tips for using action to overcome fear:
Isolate your fear: What exactly are you afraid of? The more specific you can be, the less overwhelming it will feel.
Break it down: Divide that big, scary goal into smaller, manageable steps, and start with the easiest one.
Take action today: Don’t wait for the “perfect” moment. The longer you wait, the scarier it gets.
Turning Defeat into Victory: Salvage Something from Every Setback
This is a principle that I find incredibly empowering! Failure isn’t the end of the road, it's a detour, a learning opportunity, a chance to course-correct and get even stronger!
David Schwartz encourages us to study our setbacks and extract valuable lessons:
“Doctors use setbacks to pave the way to better health and longer life. Often when a patient dies for an uncertain reason, doctors perform a postmortem to find out why. In this way they learn more about the functioning of the human body, and lives of other people are saved.”
We learn more from our mistakes than from our successes, and those failures can often be the stepping stones to even greater achievements!
Goals – Your Roadmap to Greatness
Goals are crucial for success, just as air is crucial for life! They give us direction, provide motivation, and help us measure our progress!
But most people don’t set goals that actually inspire them, let alone goals that truly stretch their potential. They settle for what’s “realistic,” which is often just a fancy word for “mediocre.”
Here’s how David Schwartz suggests approaching goal setting:
Create a 10-Year Plan: Divide your goals into three departments: work, home, and social.
Visualize Your Future: Create a vivid picture of what you want your life to look like in 10 years, in as much detail as possible.
Embrace Big Goals: Don’t be afraid to aim high! It’s better to fall short of an ambitious goal than to achieve a mediocre one.
Invest in Yourself: Your Greatest Asset
This is something that I’m super passionate about! In a world obsessed with acquiring material possessions, it’s easy to forget that our greatest asset is ourselves.
David Schwartz encourages us to invest in two things that will pay off for a lifetime:
Education: Not just formal education, but anything that expands our minds and increases our thinking power – books, courses, seminars, workshops, even just having stimulating conversations with people who challenge our perspectives.
Idea Starters: Surround yourself with ideas! Read books, listen to podcasts, and engage with content that sparks your curiosity and makes you think differently.
Power of Creative Thinking
You don’t have to be a "creative genius" to harness the power of creative thinking! It's a skill we can all develop, and it’s crucial for success in any area of life!
David Schwartz defines it like this:
"Creative thinking is simply finding new, improved ways to do anything".
Here are some key principles:
Believe It Can Be Done: This is the foundation! When you believe a solution is possible, your mind will automatically start working to find it.
Break Free from Traditional Thinking: Don’t let the “it’s always been done this way” mentality hold you back.
Be an Experimental Person: Try new things, explore different approaches and don’t be afraid to fail!
Ask “How Can I Do It Better?”: This question should be your constant companion! It’s the driving force behind all improvement and progress!
Listen More Than You Talk: Seek out diverse perspectives, ask questions and let others share their ideas. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn!
From Dreams to Reality: It's Time to Take Action!
The Magic of Thinking Big is about so much more than just positive thinking. It’s about using our minds to create the lives we want.
It's about:
Taking ownership of our thoughts and beliefs.
Developing a winning attitude.
Turning defeats into victories.
Building confidence and destroying fear.
Setting ambitious goals and relentlessly working toward them.
It’s a blueprint for success and a timeless guide to unlocking your potential.
Now it's your turn. What's your biggest takeaway from this post? What will you do to embrace the magic of thinking big? Let us know in the comments below!
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