The Magic of Thinking Big
by David J. Schwartz
Schwartz's 1959 book argues that the size of your success is set by the size of your thinking, and gives mid-century, practical examples: dress better, speak up in meetings, stop making excuses about health, age or luck. It is more sensible than its title suggests and its chapter on excuses still stings.
Read it if…
you set modest goals out of habit and want an old-school push to raise them.
Skip it if…
dated business settings and gendered examples will distract you.
Three things you will actually use
- Cure 'excusitis' in all four forms: health, intelligence, age, luck.
- Act confident to become confident.
- Think in terms of what can be done, not what cannot.
Do this first
Take your main goal and write what the version two sizes bigger would require.
Our verdict
A durable classic; dated in scene, sound in substance.
Compare with other Mindset books
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Thinking in Systems
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A quietly profound book; the best mental-model upgrade on this list.
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