Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143513 in Books
• Published on: 1995-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Synopsis
This book aims to help the reader sell better, manage better, earn more money, and most of all, find greater happiness and peace of mind.

Customer Reviews

As you think, you shall become...
The Magic of Thinking Big is the first book I ever read to do with aiming high, organising your life and living purposefully, and it is a testemant to the quality of the book that my copy is now an incomprehensible mess of highlighted passages, scribbled notes and scrawled realisations. I have read and re-read it many times and have committed it's principles to memory. Cliched as it is, I can say this book has changed my life immeasurably.

THINKING BIG is clearly descended from the famous THINK AND GROW RICH, the book in which Napoleon Hill interviewed men of fortune to discover what common traits had sealed their success. In THINKING BIG, David Schwartz undertakes the same project and arrives at 10 chapters of widely-applicable 'success principles'.

Each chapter focuses on a different principle -'Attitude', 'Environment', explained in the typical format of the genre, with a wealth of illustrative stories and examples, often about salesmen. Each chapter contains a dozen ideas which have proven invaluable, and Schwartz summarises each chapter helpfully with an action plan.

The flaw of THINKING BIG is a common one of all 'development' books, in that it has dated considerably, and overuses made up terminology. A reader must be prepared to stomach terms such as 'excusitis' and 'Mr. Skid Row'. They may also find some of Schwartz's values questionable. Whilst it is a sound assertion that associating with the same group all the time will restrict your horizons, ideas such as 'make friends with lots of people in different jobs' can result in an entirely superficial social life. As with all books like this, you must read with a keen eye, as some of Schwartz's advice is a 'quick fix' which will be of no use without genuine inner progress (ie - 'walk faster').

That said, THINKING BIG contains more useful distinctions and ideas than most books combined, and it's continued popularity is justified. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a change in their lives, as it is in a different league to the kind of junk which fills out the pitiful 'self-help' sections of most bookstores. To anyone already engaged in a study of success, I would recommend this as great motivation, although many of it's ideas are to be found elsewhere (THINK AND GROW RICH covers much of the same ground). If anything, THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG is the most accessible book of it's kind, and the ideal precursor to books such as THINK AND GROW RICH and UNLIMITED POWER, which expand on the ideas which Schwartz describes.

This a book that certainly does make a difference.
No matter what your state of mind is, no matter how many inhibitions are ruling your life or how on top of the world you feel, this book will take you places you never imagined to get close to before. With its incomparable logic it is clear and simple and therefore easy read. It is a book very difficult to put away once you started reading it. For me it has been a true eye opener, so I recommend everybody to read it, learn and act accordingly. You will be surprised of the consequences. The theories presented are supported by a variety of case studies picturing situations that most of us can relate to in some way. It helps you overcome a perhaps disturbing excusitis, it teaches you to dream again, to rethink what you truly are, to realize what to do about your environment, to get to terms with your attitudes, your fellow men and your action habits. It also creates guidelines of how to turn defeat into victory and thereby it helps you grow tremendously. Do you want to be a quitter or a success? Read the book and you have no doubt. But only you can decide to what extent you want to change. This is a book on fundamental decisions that can actually improve your life dramatically.

Gave me the kick up the backside I needed...
Having lost my job I was feeling a little sorry for myself to say the least, that was until a friend recommended this book. I know this has been said so many times about this type of book, but it really did change my life. I could easily have slipped into a downward spiral of self pity and despair, but after reading this book I know that I can do anything.

I cannot recommend this book enough, READ IT and you will understand why.