My Favorite Quotes of the Magic of Big Thinking by David J. Schwartz:
Page 156, “There’s a lot of incorrect thinking that successful people are inaccessible. The plain truth is that they are not. As a rule, it’s the more successful people who are the most humble and ready to help.”
Page 54, “No one ever does anything worthwhile for which he is not criticized.”
Page 91, “Big thinkers see themselves as members of a team effort, as winning or losing with the team, not by themselves. They help in every way they can, even when there is no direct and immediate compensation or other reward.”
Page 192, “Success depends on the support of other people.”
Page 116, “Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize the talking.”
Page 101, “Creative thinking is simply finding new improved ways to do anything. The rewards of all types of success-success in the home, at work, in the community-hinge on finding ways to do things better.”
Page 122, “Don’t let ideas escape. Write them down. Every day lots of good ideas are born only to die quickly because they aren’t nailed to paper. Memory is a weak slave when it comes to preserving and nurturing brand-new ideas. Carry a note-book or some small cards with you. When you get an idea, write it down.”
Page 35, “Remember the thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you have.”
Page 33, “With a positive, optimistic, and cooperative attitude a person with an IQ of 100 will earn more money, win more respect, and achieve more success than a negative, pessimistic, uncooperative individual with an IQ of 120.”
Page 33, “Just enough sense to stick with something- a chore, task, project-until it’s completed pays off much better than idle intelligence, even if idle intelligence be of genius caliber. For stickability is 95% of ability.”
Page 194, “We are lifted to higher levels by those who know us as likable, personable individuals. Every friend you make lifts you just one notch higher. And being likeable makes you lighter to lift. Successful people follow a plan for liking people.”
Page 179, “People do more for you when you make them feel important.”
Page 176, “Transmit good news to the people you work with. Give them encouragement, compliment them at every opportunity. Tell them about the positive things the company is doing. Listen to their problems. Be helpful. Encourage people and win their support. Pat them on the back for the job they’re doing. Give them hope. Let them know you believe they can succeed, that you have faith in them. Practice relieving worriers.”
Page 264, “Goals, intense goals can keep a person alive when nothing else will.”
Page 288, “Praise your subordinates personally at every opportunity. Praise them for their cooperation. Praise them for every extra effort they put forth. Praise is the greatest single incentive you can give people, and it costs you nothing. You never know when your subordinates can do you a turn by coming to your defense.”
Page 248, “When you believe there is a way you automatically convert negative energy (let’s quit, let’s go back) into positive energy (let’s keep going, let’s move ahead). A problem, a difficulty, becomes unsolvable only when you think it is unsolvable. Attract solutions by believing solutions are possible. Refuse, simply refuse, to even let yourself say or think that it’s impossible.”
Page 231, “Be a crusader. When you see something that ought to be done, pick up the ball and run.”
Page 232, “Be a volunteer. The volunteer stands out. He receives special attention. Most important of all, he gives himself an opportunity to show he has special ability and ambition by volunteering. By all means, volunteer for those special assignments.”
Page 230, “Initiative is a special kind of action. It’s doing something worthwhile without being told to do it. The person with initiative has a standing invitation to join the high income brackets in every business and profession.”
Page 227, “Thinking in terms of now gets things accomplished. But thinking in terms of someday or sometime usually means failure.”
Page 225, “People who get things done in this world don’t wait for the spirit to move them; they move the spirit.”
Page 226, “A simple pencil is the greatest concentration tool money can buy. If I had to choose between an ultrafancy, deeply carpeted, beautifully decorated, soundproof office and a pencil and paper, I’d choose the pencil every time. With a pencil and paper you can tie your mind to a problem.”
Page 219, “Meet problems and obstacles as they arise. The test of a successful person is not the ability to eliminate all problems before he takes action, but rather the ability to find solutions to difficulties when he encounters them.”
Page 197, “Take the initiative in building friendships-leaders always do. The most important person present is the one person most active in introducing himself.”
Pages 181-182, “Make it a rule to let others know you appreciate what they do for you. Never, never let anyone feel he is taken for granted. A person whether he is garbage collector or company vice president, is important to you. Treating someone as second-class never gets you first-class results.”
Page 182, “Practice calling people by their names. People like to be called by name. It gives everyone a boost to be addressed by name.”
Page 183, “Remember, praise is power. Invest the praise you receive from your superior. Pass praise on down to your subordinates, where it will encourage still greater performance. When you share praise, your subordinates know you sincerely appreciate their value.”
Page 292, “When you take over the leadership of a group, the persons in that group immediately begin to adjust themselves to the standards you set.”
Page 298, “Remember the main job of a leader is thinking. And the best preparation for leadership is thinking. Spend some time in managed solitude every day and think yourself to success. “
Page 299, “Take time out to confer with yourself and tap your supreme thinking power. Managed solitude pays off. Use it to release your creative power. Use it to find solutions to personal and business problems. So spend some time alone every day just for thinking. Use the thinking technique all great leaders use: confer with yourself.”
Page 209, “Don’t be a conversation hog. Listen, win friends, and learn.”
Page 51, “Action cures fear.”
Page 55, “And remember, hesitation only enlarges, magnifies the fear. Take action promptly. Be decisive.”
Pages 67-68, “Doing what’s right keeps your conscience satisfied. And this builds self-confidence. Do what’s right and keep your confidence. That’s thinking yourself to success. To think confidently act confidently.”
Page 169, “To activate others, to get them to be enthusiastic, you must first be enthusiastic yourself.”
Page 64, “”Underneath he’s probably a very nice guy. Most folks are.” Remember those two short sentences next time someone declares war on you. Hold your fire. The way to win in situations like this is to let the other fellow blow his stack and then forget it.”
Page 157, “The person with a constructive off-the-job life nearly always is more successful than the person who lives in a dull, dreary home situation.”
Page 144, “When I worry ask yourself, would an important person worry about this? Would the most successful person I know be disturbed about this?”
Page 19, “The only wise thing to do is fire Mr. Defeat. You don’t need him. You don’t want him around telling you that you can’t, you’re not up to it, you’ll fail, and so on. Mr. Defeat won’t help you get where you want to go, so boot him out. Use Mr. Triumph 100 percent of the time. When any thought enters your mind, ask Mr. Triumph to go to work for you. He’ll show you how you can succeed.”
Page 13, “Believe, really believe, you can succeed, and you will. Think victory and succeed.”
Page 14, “A person is a product of his own thoughts. Believe Big.”