I just finished reading “The Magic of Thinking Big” by David Schwartz and wanted to comment on a few points in the book that I found interesting.
First off, I found this book in the recommended reading section of “The Four-Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss. I enjoyed the 4HWW and trusted his recommendation.
It wasn’t a real page turner like I hoped it would be, but there were some interesting things like how to increase productivity, how to stop making excuses (cure yourself of excusitis) and how to use and set goals. I have read a lot of self help books and this one didn’t stand out as anything different than most other ones.
Some Good Points:
Here are a few of the good points that I marked in the book and some thoughts on them.
- In the first chapter, he talks about believing in yourself and your ability to succeed. As you go into a new project or phase in life or business, you must have the belief that you can succeed. If you enter with the right attitude, there is a chance that you will succeed, whereas if you go into the situation with the attitude that you will not succeed, you certainly will not.
- Action cures fear – I believe that this is one of the problems with most people that are afraid, they do not take action. I am guilty to some degree of being too afraid of something to take action, and this was one of the strong points of the book that I got out of it, Get over the fear because if you don’t, you are no better off than before. Sure you may fail, but you are not going to succeed by sitting around not taking action. Successful people fail more often then non-successful people, they just have the courage and strength to get up and keep moving forward.
- In a chapter about how to build confidence, Dr. Schwartz talks about 5 things to do to increase your confidence:
- Be a front seater
- Practice making eye contact
- Walk 25% faster
- Practice speaking up
- Smile big
- Goals – In every success book that I have read (the good ones anyways) there have been numerous chapters dedicated to goals. Why is that – because they are vitally important to our success. This book is no different. While it didn’t give me any new convictions about goals or any new ideas on how to set or track goals, it gave the typical advice on the importance of goals. We have all heard the saying that a ship without a rudder and a destination can not get to where it wants to go, much less out of the harbor and the same principle applies to our goals. I believe in the setting of goals and the importance of them in our lives and believe that everyone should have worthwhile goals that they are working towards and striving for.
Some Better Things
Here are a few things that I really liked about the book:
- At the end of every chapter there was a recap of the important points that were discussed. I thought this was a great thing because it reminded me of the things that were most important that I just read. I think that instead of reading the whole book again, I would read the chapter summaries instead.
- There were numerous case studies that were referred to throughout the book. I question that they all actually happened or were just used to illustrate the point of the chapter, but it really makes no difference to me. They were cited to illustrate a point and I think Dr, Schwartz did a good job of that. I enjoy reading about how people apply principles in their situations rather then reading about theory that may or may not actually work.
- There is a point towards the end of the book that Dr. Schwartz talks about the importance of spending time in thought. I really believe that this is a useful tool that we all can use to increase our problem solving skills. We live in a society where we have to have constant interaction and connectivity with the outside world, but it does the mind and body good to turn off the radio, internet and cell phones, etc. and allow our minds time to step back, relax and think about ways to solve our problems. Take time out of our schedule and meditate – its a great idea and strategy that we all would be better off utilizing.
Overall, I thought the book was good and well written. Nothing really groundbreaking or new was presented and nothing was really presented in a new way or light. Like many other books, there is some useful and helpful advice about how to think big and get the life you want.
I would give it 3 of 5 stars.
This is a continuation on the topic of abundance and from thinking about it, I have come up with these few things that we must have to be abundent – Respect for Other People, Love of Other People, Self Mastery, and Obedience to the Law.
Are there more? I am sure there are, but these are the first few that come to mind.
Respect for Others
It is a fact of life that we live amongst other people. We have to interact pretty often with others in many different ways to be able to survive and live and it has always been like this.
If you think about the amount of people that you interact with on a daily basis, it is quite staggering. It really doesn’t matter what your occupation of circumstance is, if you want to achieve some level of abundance, you have to interact with others and have a certain level of respect for mankind in general.
My son Koby and I had a day out together on Tuesday and we went to Denver to hang out a bit and when we were there, we went to McDonalds. It was down East Colfax Ave, which is an interesting part of Denver. While we were there, there were people inside begging the patrons for money to buy food and beer. I couldn’t believe that they would just walk around the joint asking inside and out. It didn’t take long for the management to tell the guys to hit the road. They even used their first names which suggests to me that they had been there before. I wouldn’t necessarily consider them to live in much abundance, but even they have to interact with people on a daily basis.
Luckily we live in a society that we can interact and learn from each other, both what to do and what not to do with our lives.
Love of Others
This is similar to respect, but obviously you can have respect for someone with out loving them. On the other hand, you can’t love someone without respecting them.
Love is one of the human desires and we have a need to feel loved. Without it, there is a void that can’t be filled. I am grateful for the love of my family each day and their support.
Self Mastery
One of the great things about life is our ability to make choices. Our lives are a direct result of the choices that we made in the past. Good or bad, we are a living result of our choices.
Each and every day we are faced with choices. Tons and tons of choices to make each day. We also are faced multiple times daily with challenges that we must face, some bigger than others.
Now how do we deal with these choices and challenges? That is where we have to have control over our attitudes and choices. In a sense, master of our selves.
Obedience to the Law
This is one of the most important aspects of abundance because if you are in prison, it is hard to live in abundance. There are a few laws that we must follow. Obviously the laws of the land, but also the laws of cause and effect.
As a society we tend to blame outside forces or other people for our problems. We need to learn that to get from where we are to where we want to be there are certain steps we must take along the way. If you want to be a better weight lifter, you have to lift the weights. If you want to be a better runner, you must log the miles. No matter how much money you have, you can’t hire someone to train for you. If you want to be better at sales, you have to get in front of people, there is simply no way around it.
What thought do you have?
I got this from a friend, not sure where he got it from or where it originated:
How to Start Each Day With A Positive Outlook:
- Open a new file in your computer.
- Name it “Hillary Rodham Clinton”.
- Send it to the Recycle Bin.
- Empty the Recycle Bin.
- Your PC will ask you. “Do you really want to get rid of “Hillary Rodham Clinton ?”
- Firmly Click “Yes.”
- Feel better.
Pretty funny.
One of the first things that I have been thinking about in terms of abundance, and living an abundant life is the fact that we already live in abundance if we look at most people in the world and our freedoms, opportunities and the day and age in which we live.
I spent 6 months in Cape Verde, West Africa back about 10 years ago and to look at life in a 1st world country as compared to life in a 3rd world country is extraordinary. It is something that you just do not understand unless you’ve been there. Everything from the sounds and smells and weather and people makes you realize the difference that exists in different cultures.
The per capita income in Cape Verde is about $1400 per year (most people there are fishermen). Granted, they do not have near the expenses that we have, but with that lack also comes the lack of necessities like a roof over their head and basic health care and education. When I was there, I contracted what I think was pink eye in both eyes and had no way to get medication or care from a doctor. Both eyes were crusted over for a few days and it was really painful. Here, I could have gotten medication or care of some sort, but not there so we have to first understand that the fact that we live in a developed country means that, compared to the rest of the world we would be considered “Abundant”.
So what’s the problem? Why can’t we seem to be happy with what we have and how we live?
Part of the problem is that comparing ourselves to someone else is like comparing apples to oranges. My neighbors and I come from such different backgrounds and cultures that it is hard to compare us, let alone people half way around the world, so when we say “compared to the rest of the world” comments, it doesn’t answer our question much. I think that if we are looking at the world population as a whole, we could make that comparison, but the point of my posts and what I am thinking about on this topic is to think about abundance for us individually.
Any thoughts?
I have been reading some articles lately about abundance (here and here) and have been thinking about the whole concept of abundance. There are many factors that the articles reference that I am going to explore a little bit further.
Abundance means more than just having or making lots of money. While I think it is part of it, there is much more to it than that. In fact I would suggest that money has little to do with living an abundant life.
I read an Earl Nightingale story once where he related a fable about a fisherman and the fish he caught. The fish would grant him any wish that he wanted if he would just let him go. The fisherman let him go and talked it over with his wife about what they wanted. With each passing wish, it got more and more out of control until they were living in a huge castle with more than they knew what to do with.
Then they wished that the sun would be under their control so they could be able to do what they wanted with that. The fish was disgusted with them and took everything away, leaving them in their original shack.
He then goes on to say how similar that is to real life and human nature. We constantly wish for more and more things, but most of it is not what brings true happiness to our lives. “If I only had _____ I would be happy.” Pretty soon, when we have that which we desire, we are wishing for still more.
Abundance is a tricky thing that has more to do with how we treat others and the lives we live then how others treat us.
I am going to explore this a little more in the upcoming week or so.
It only happens once a year.
Granted, the season lasts for 6 or 7 months, but the first week is the best and that is where we are at right now.
What I am talking about is the start of the NBA season. I am an avid Nuggets Fan and have been for the better part of 15 years. I remember when I could buy a $5-$10 ticket up in the cheap seats. We would then make our way down to the lower levels and have great seats for a cheap price. One time I actually met Chris Webber when he played for the Washington Bullets. These were great times that I will always remember,
This week of Halloween is the best time of the year because it is opening week for the NBA and that means getting back into the excitement of the game.
I argue with people from time to time about favorite teams of the past (I loved the Bulls of the past and still can’t stand the Jazz or anything about them) and this is one of the reasons I enjoy this time of year.
I am excited for the upcoming year.
I have been following Richard Branson for a while and have always admired his focus, drive and personality. Like him or not, he has been successful and followed his dreams.
By the way, what ever happened to “Rebel Billionaire” the reality show?
Anyways, when I noticed that TED.com – a website I visit pretty regularily posted an interview they had with Richard, I was pretty excited.
Check it out here.
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