I recently finished a book called The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz. I have read it a few times now and wanted to write a blog on how important this concept is. You need to be thinking big no matter how young or old you are. What you think about is what you create in your life.

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I will give you some brief tips and pointers from my own experiences as well as some outlined in the book The Magic of Thinking Big. If you have not read it before I highly suggest you pick it up HERE. This is one of the best self help books ever written in my opinion. You need to read it and study it to absorb the information.

I find the best way to get the most out of an actionable book is to have a highlighter nearby. Any key points or take homes you will want to highlight. This is great so you can go back and see the most important areas on certain pages. Another good tip is to reread your favorite books a few times. You’d be surprised by the things you may or may not have noticed or understood the first or second time around.

If you think you can achieve something you will no doubt be able to do it. If you don’t think you can achieve something then you won’t. The thoughts you think every single day shape your life. You must be very cautious as to what you let get in your head and what you keep out.

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“All of us, more than we recognize, are products of the thinking around us.” - David J. Schwartz

In Chapter 1 Schwartz says the first step towards success is to believe in yourself, believe you can succeed. He goes into further detail by saying

• Think success - Always have an I’ll win attitude.
• Remind yourself regularly you are better than you think you are
• Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief.

So many people drift aimlessly through life moving from one excuse to the next. Believing in yourself is one of the most important takeaways of this book. Without this first step it will be hard to move forward.

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5 Confidence Building Exercises from Schwartz

1. Be a front seater - sitting up front builds confidence.
2. Practice making eye contact - how a person uses his eyes tells us a lot about him.
3. Walk 25 percent faster - this makes you feel like you have somewhere important to go.
4. Practice speaking up - asking questions will keep you engaged during meetings at the office or while being out with friends.
5. Smile big - a big smile defeats fear and gets rid of worry.

“How big we think determines the size of our accomplishments.” -David J. Schwartz

Schwartz says where there’s a will, there is a way. To eliminate the word impossible from your thinking and speaking vocabularies. (This can honestly do wonders for you). Think of something you’ve wanted to do but felt you couldn’t. Make a list of reasons why you can do it.

Your environment is critical to the way you think everyday. If you are surrounded by negativity you will also possess this trait. It’s hard work to change your environment for the better. The friends you have already hold many of their beliefs from their parents or close friends.

Ensure your environment is positive and the people around you are always supporting you. In order to succeed you will need to get lifted by others who have already achieved what you want. Don’t think you can go at it alone and get where you want. Many people before you have walked the same path and encountered the same obstacles.

Schwartz says to make your environment make you successful. These are his principles:

1. Be environment conscious.
2. Make your environment work for you, not against you.
3. Don’t let small-thinking people hold you back.
4. Get your advice from successful people.
5. Get plenty of psychological sunshine.
6. Throw thought poison out of your environment.
7. Go first class in everything you do.
   

These are just some of the takeaways from this book that I love. You can pick it up HERE. Books like this will no doubt help shape your life. I read over 100 books a year and can honestly say this book is one of the best I’ve ever read. It has a special place on my book case which allows me to see it daily. This reminds me to always think BIG and never give up.

Life is going to throw a lot of challenges at you. It challenges us all in many different ways. Learning from previous experiences will help you to grow and become stronger. Look at the positive out of bad situations. There’s always a reason why something happens. Remember, these things happen for you, not to you.

Thanks for spending some of your time here today, I look forward to seeing you again next Monday. If you want to support me, please subscribe to our YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram channels @iamchrismwilson.

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Chris M Wilson