مقدمه

PREFACE

Why this big book? Why a full-scale discussion of The Magic of Thinking Big? Thousands of books will be published this year. Why one more?

Permit me to give you just a little background.

Several years ago I witnessed an exceptionally impressive sales meeting. The vice president in charge of marketing for this company was tremendously excited. He wanted to drive home a point. He had with him on the platform the leading representative in the organization, a very ordinary-looking fellow, who earned in the year just ended just a little under $60,000. The earnings of other representatives averaged $12,000.

The executive challenged the group. Here is what he said: “I want you to take a good look at Harry. Look at him! Now, what’s Harry got that the rest of you haven’t? Harry earned five times the average, but is Harry five times smarter? No, not according to our personnel tests. I checked. They show he’s about average in that department.

“And did Harry work five times harder than you fellows? No-not according to the reports. In fact, he took more time off than most of you.

“Did Harry have a better territory? Again I’ve got to say no. The accounts averaged about the same. Did Harry have more education? Better health? Again, no. Harry is about as average as an average guy could be except for one thing.

“The difference between Harry and the rest of you,” said the vice president, “the difference is that Harry thought five times bigger.” Then the executive proceeded to show that success is determined not so much by the size of one’s brain as it is by the size of one’s thinking.

This was an intriguing thought. And it stayed with me. The more I observed, the more people I talked with, the deeper I dug into what’s really behind success, the clearer was the answer. Case history after case history proved that the size of bank accounts, the size of happiness accounts, and the size of one’s general satisfaction account is dependent on the size of one’s thinking. There is magic in thinking big.

“If ‘Thinking Big’ accomplishes so much, why doesn’t everyone think that way?” I’ve been asked that question many times. Here, I believe, is the answer. All of us, more than we recognize, are products of the thinking around us. And much of this thinking is little, not big. All around you is an environment that is trying to tug you, trying to pull you down Second Class Street. You are told almost daily that there are “too many chiefs and not enough Indians.” In other words, that opportunities to lead no longer exist, that there is a surplus of chiefs, so be content to be a little guy.

But this “too many chiefs” idea simply doesn’t square with the truth. Leading people in all occupations will tell you, as they’ve told me, that “the trouble is, there are too many Indians and not nearly enough chiefs.” This pettily petty environment says other things too. It tells you, “Whatever will be will be,” that your destiny is outside your control, that “fate” is in complete control. So forget those dreams, forget that finer home, forget that special college for the children, forget the better life. Be resigned. Lie down and wait to die.

And who hasn’t heard the statement that “Success isn’t worth the price,” as if you have to sell your soul, your family life, your conscience, your set of values to reach the top. But, in truth, success doesn’t demand a price. Every step forward pays a dividend.

This environment also tells us there’s too much competition for the top spots in life. But is there? A personnel selection executive told me that he receives 50 to 250 times as many applicants for jobs that pay $10,000 per year as for jobs that pay $50,000 a year. This is to say that there is at least 50 times as much competition for jobs on Second Class Street as for jobs on First Class Avenue. First Class Avenue, U.S.A., is a short, uncrowded street. There are countless vacancies waiting there for people like you who dare to think big.

The basic principles and concepts supporting The Magic of Thinking Big come from the highest-pedigree sources, the very finest and biggest-thinking minds yet to live on planet Earth. Minds like the prophet David, who wrote, “As one thinketh in his heart, so is he”; minds such as Emerson, who said, “Great men are those who see that thoughts rule the world”; minds like Milton, who in Paradise Lost wrote, “The mind is its own place and in itself can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven.” Amazingly perceptive minds like Shakespeare, who observed, “There is nothing either good or bad except that thinking makes it so.” But where does the proof come from? How do we know the master thinkers were right? Fair questions. The proof comes from the lives of the select people around us who, through winning success, achievement, and happiness, prove that thinking big does work magic.

The simple steps we have set down here are not untested theories. They are not one man’s guesses and opinions. They are proven approaches to life’s situations, and they are universally applicable steps that work and work like magic.

That you’re reading this page proves you are interested in larger success. You want to fulfill your desires. You want to enjoy a fine standard of living. You want this life to deliver to you all the good things you deserve. Being interested in success is a wonderful quality.

You have another admirable quality. The fact that you’re holding this book in your hands shows you have the intelligence to look for tools that will help take you where you want to go. In building anything—automobiles, bridges, missiles—we need tools. Many people, in their attempt to build a successful life, forget there are tools to help them. You have not forgotten. You have, then, the two basic qualities needed to realize real profit from this book: a desire for greater success and the intelligence to select a tool to help you realize that desire.

Think Big and you’ll live big. You’ll live big in happiness. You’ll live big in accomplishment. Big in income. Big in friends. Big in respect.

Enough for the promise.

Start now, right now, to discover how to make your thinking make magic for you. Start out with this thought of the great philosopher Disraeli: “Life is too short to be little.” WHAT THIS BOOK WILL DO FOR YOU

In every chapter of this book you will find dozens of hardheaded, practical ideas, techniques, and principles that will enable you to harness the tremendous power of thinking big, so as to gain for yourself the success, happiness, and satisfaction you want so much. Every technique is dramatically illustrated by a real-life case history. You discover not only what to do, but, what is even more important, you see exactly how to apply each principle to actual situations and problems. Here, then, is what this book will do for you; it will show you how you can … Launch Yourself to Success with the Power of Belief

Win Success by Believing You Can Succeed

Defeat Disbelief and the Negative Power It Creates

Get Big Results by Believing Big

Make Your Mind Produce Positive Thoughts

Develop the Power of Belief

Plan a Concrete Success-Building Program

Vaccinate Yourself Against Excusitis, the Failure Disease

Learn the Secret That Lies in Your Attitude Toward Health

Take Four Positive Steps to Kick Health Excusitis

Discover Why Your Thinking Power Is More Important Than Mere Intelligence Use Your Mind for Thinking—Not Simply as a Warehouse for Facts

Master Three Easy Ways to Cure Intelligence Excusitis

Overcome the Problem of Age–Being “Too Young,” or “Too Old”

Conquer Luck Excusitis and Attract Good Luck to You

Use the Action Technique to Cure Fear and Build Confidence

Manage Your Memory so as to Increase Your Store of Confidence

Overcome Your Fear of Other People

Increase Self-Confidence by Satisfying Your Own Conscience

Think Confidently by Acting Confidently

Learn the Five Positive Steps to Build Confidence and Destroy Fear

Discover That Success is Measured by the Size of Your Thinking

Measure Your True Size and Find Out What Assets You Have

Think as Big as You Really Are

Develop the Big Thinker’s Vocabulary with These Four Specific Steps

Think Big by Visualizing What Can Be Done in the Future

Add Value to Things, to People, and to Yourself

Get the “Thinking Big” View of Your job

Think Above Trivialities and Concentrate on What’s Important

Test Yourself—Find Out How Big Your Thinking Really Is

Use Creative Thinking to Find New and Better Ways to Get Things Done

Develop Creative Power by Believing It Can Be Done

Fight Mind-Freezing Traditional Thinking

Do More and Do It Better by Turning on Your Creative Power

Use the Three Keys to Strengthening Creativity by Opening Your Ears and Your Mind Stretch Your Thinking and Stimulate Your Mind

Harness and Develop Your Ideas—the Fruit of Your Thinking

Look Important, Because It Helps You Think Important

Become Important by Thinking Your Work Is Important

Build Your Own “Sell-Yourself-to-Yourself” Commercial

Upgrade Your Thinking—Think Like Important People Think

Make Your Environment Work for You

Prevent Small People from Holding You Back

Manage Your Work Environment

Get Plenty of Psychological Sunshine During Leisure Hours

Throw Thought Poison Out of Your Environment

Go First Class in Everything You Do

Grow the Attitudes That Will Help You Win What You Want

Get Activated; Get Enthusiastic

Develop the Power of Real Enthusiasm

Grow the “You-Are-Important” Attitude

Make More Money by Getting the “Put-Service-First” Attitude

Win the Support of Other People by Thinking Right Toward Them

Become More Likeable by Making Yourself “Lighter to Lift”

Take the Initiative in Building Friendships

Master the Technique of Thinking Only Good Thoughts About People

Win Friends by Practicing Conversation Generosity

Think Big, Even When You Lose or Receive a Setback

Get the Action Habit—You Don’t Need to Wait Until Conditions Are Perfect Make Up Your Mind to Do Something About Your Ideas

Use Action to Cure Fear and Gain Confidence

Discover the Secret of Mind Action

Capitalize on the Magic of NOW

Strengthen Yourself by Getting the “Speak Up” Habit

Develop Initiative, a Special Kind of Action

Discover That Defeat Is Nothing More Than a State of Mind

Salvage Something from Every Set back

Use the Force of Constructive Self criticism

Achieve Positive Results Through Persistence and Experimentation

Whip Discouragement by Finding the Good Side to Every Situation

Get a Clear Fix on Where You Want to Go in Life

Use This Plan to Build Your Ten Year Goal

Avoid the Five Success-Murdering Weapons

Multiply Your Energy by Setting Definite Goals

Set Goals That Will Help You Get Things Done and Live Longer

Accomplish Your Goals with This 30-Day Improvement Guide

Invest in Yourself for Future Profit

Learn the Four Rules of Leadership

Develop Your Power to Trade Minds with the People You Want to Influence Put the “Be-Human” Approach to Work for You

Think Progress, Believe in Progress, Push for Progress

Test Yourself to Learn Whether You Are a Progressive Thinker

Tap Your Supreme Thinking Power

Use the Magic of Thinking Big in Life’s Most Crucial Situations