The Magic of Thinking Big

This is the BEST book I read in May 2020.

For those of us who are action-oriented, focus on tangible results and outcomes, and our left-brain dominates our thinking… this book is a perfect tool to help us get to the next level.

The world shapes our thinking and often it gets us to believe that aiming too high might lead to disappointment. One thing is sure, if we think we can’t change the world, we will be right. On the other hand, the people who change the world are those who think they can. And although not everyone who thinks they can’t change the world end up doing so, the pursuit alone is meaningful.

If you want to unlock your full potential you MUST start thinking bigger and this book is a great step to do so.

Flow: 5/5, easy read.

Actionability: 5/5, packed with specifics, how-tos, and chapter summaries.

Mindset: 5/5, this book will expand your mindset for sure

Some of My Highlights:

• “All of us, more than we recognize, are products of the thinking around us. And much of this thinking is little, not big.”

• “Great men are those who see that thoughts rule the world.” – Emerson

• “The mind is its own place and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven.” – Milton, Paradise Lost

• “Many people, in their attempt to build a successful life, forget there are tools to help them.”

• “Here is the first step towards success. It’s a basic step. It can’t be avoided. Step One: Believe in yourself, believe you can succeed.”

• “Mr. Ralph J. Cordiner, chairman of the board of the General Electric Company, said this to a leadership conference: “We need every man who aspires to leadership – for himself and his company – a determination to undertake a personal program of self-development.”

• “We call this disease excusitis… You will discover that excusitis explains the difference between the person who is going places and the fellow who is barely holding his own.”

• “Thoughts, positive or negative, grow stronger when fertilized with constant repetition.”

• “Dr. Schindler shows in this book that three out of every four hospital beds are occupied by people who have EII – Emotionally Induced Illness. Imagine, three out of four people who are sick right now would be well if they had learned how to handle their emotions.”

• “The right attitude and one arm will beat the wrong attitude and two arms every time.”

• “Remind yourself often, ‘It’s better to wear out than rust out'”.

• “The thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you may have.”

• “Einstein was once asked how many feet are in a mile. Einstein’s reply was ‘I don’t know. Why should I fill my brain with facts I can find in two minutes in any standard reference book?'”

• “Actions cures fear.”

• “…it’s ten times easier for a man with a job to get another job that it is for someone unemployed to connect.”

• “Deposit only positive thoughts in your memory bank.”

• “Confident successful people, on the other hand, ‘don’t give it another thought.’ Successful people specialize in putting positive thoughts into their memory bank.”

• “It is clear that any negative thought, if fertilized with repeated recall, can develop into a real mind mosnter, breaking down confidence and paving the way to serious psychological difficulties.”

• “In a way, most job applicants are a little like beggars – they’ll accept anything, and they aren’t particular.”

• “You need a defense against the adult bully, the fellow who likes to throw his meager weight around.”

• “Remember, motions are the precursors of emotions. You can’t control the latter directly but only through your choice of motions or actions…”

• “Speak up. It’s a confidence-building vitamin.”

• “Comment, make a suggestion, ask a question. And don’t be the last to speak.”

• “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.”

• “People who use difficult, high-sounding words and phrases that most folks have so strain themselves to understand are inclined to be overbearing and stuffed shirts.”

• “We do not think in words and phrases. We think only in pictures and/or images.”

• “The point is this: Big thinkers are specialists in creating positive, forward-looking, optimistic pictures in their own minds and the minds of others. To think big, we must use words and phrases that produce big, positive mental images.”