I'll keep it simple. I took the advice 'Be a Front Seater' from this book, and went from being a sit-at-the-back, never-volunteer guy to becoming a person consulted by government on legislation affecting private investigators; writing two books; getting the job I always wanted; and many other things.

If that one piece of advice can have such impact, imagine the effect of the rest! BUY IT - and live a new life by taking action on the content.

This book has been one of the biggest influences for me in my life. "Thoughts, positive or negative, grow stronger when fertilized with constant repetition." Readers quickly begin to see the connection between worrying and actual misfortune as something they have control over. Thinking positively and not letting yourself be limited by negativity and skepticism has amazing effects on your life and who you see youself as, and it affects who you will become. Read this book if you at all concerned with achieving your goals no matter how BIG they are.

This is a great book, and one of the handful of 'fundamentals' books that should be read by people of all ages, regardless of profession. The earlier in life this book can be read (or listened to) the better, as it is critical to the building blocks of positioning life for success. It is easy to follow, understand, and has excellent tools/techniques that can be applied immediately. Probably a book that should be reviewed again every couple years. Along the lines of the 7 Habits of highly effective people by Covey, this book is another key read for strategy of life.

This book seems to be one of the pioneers to the current trend on learning and applying The Law of Attraction principles. Here the author shows you how to believe to succeed. Excellent book and similar to my favorite, [[ASIN:1419674609 Living The Secret Everyday: My Secret Workbook]which gives you a current approach and application to find what you are looking for.

I listened to this on unabridged audio, and I loved it! The narrator's voice is charged up with enthusiasm and is very engaging, and the tips and tricks are basic but very powerful. If you are just beginning a new venture and suspect that your mind may not be in the right place - read this book.

I loved the simple exercises and tricks for engaging your passion and excitement about what you do. One trick I tried that I really liked was that I defined what service I was really providing to people. I am a landscaper, so instead of saying "I trim people's gardens and keep them neat", I said "I help people take joy and pleasure in their home and outdoor spaces, and make it easy for them to connect with nature and our awesome outdoor world. I also help them achieve all that they can in their own lives by providing a relaxing and beautiful space for them to unwind and think clearly in."

Do you see how the second one makes me feel charged up every day to go to work? And what an impact that has on my employees, to know that they are in the business of helping people connect with the environment and achieve all they can in their lives, through the enjoyment of their outdoor spaces?

These kinds of small tips help you wrap your mind around making your job your life's work, and help you take things to the next level. I think people hire me over my competitors because I love what I do and it shows in my voice and actions, and this book really helps me keep that passion alive even on the rainy days or when I get bit by wasps.

There were a lot of great small tips like that about how to have the right attitude to enable success. I'd really recommend it to anyone stuck in the doldrums of their work or just beginning a new venture.

"If you can dream it you can do it" is a popular saying among motivational speakers, but it doesn't really help you figure out how to experience positive change. In this classic book you will learn how you can rapidly change your thinking to break out of the negative or self-limiting thoughts from your past. It's a quick read full of practical ways to create positive change from the inside out. This book has helped thousands of people change their behavior for decades and after you read it you will see why it's a life-coaching approach that always works.

This is the first review I have written, but I felt that I should warn the public. This audiobook is awful. I have over 40 self-training audiobooks from all the top names and this one is last on the list. This is the only audiobook I have ever stopped listening to.

It's not that the content is useless, but the presentation is like reading a to-do list of things to mention without going into any interesting detail about any one of them. He will say things like "try to see things from the other person's point of view" "work to smile when uncomfortable" "concentrate on how you could do it better" Sure that is good advice, but the 3/4 I stomached was like listening to a series of fortune cookie lines.

I'd suggest work from Tony Robbins, Earl Nightengale, David Bach, Robert Allen and Zig Ziglar if you want to get your money's worth.

Do you ever feel that constant growth is sustainable? That by the constant struggle for more, shinier, bigger things, that people are just exercising greed? Well some words of caution with this book. In one point I even read something along the lines of 'refuse to look back at bad events'. Sounds like a river in Egypt to me (think about it).

I do agree with some of the authors words, about making excuses for yourself not following through, but to me, it read like the words of someone who is finding more efficient ways to knock his way through a jungle without knowing where he's going.

Rating self help/achievement books for me comes down to three critical factors; introducing new or profound principles, lasting affect, and quality of writing. Few if any books rate high among all three, but those that come close are immensely valuable.

The Magic of Thinking Big achieves high marks across all three of these elements as it illustrates the success mindset better than any book I have read, it resonates with me years after my initial reading due to an abundance of inspirational nuggets, and the writing style will leave any reader motivated and rightly confident.

The Magic of Thinking Big focuses on the mindset required to become successful in any venture. Acquiring the proper attitude and developing successful habits unquestionably represents the first and most critical step in any success. Where many books on the topic offer nothing more than basic pep talks and "you can do it" attitudes, Schwartz does an admirable job presenting a logical account expressing why the use of fundamental motivation and action habits are based on a focused state of mind.

Schwartz bestows a couple of my favorite quotes in this book as well:

"Study the lives of successful people and you will discover this: all the excuses made by the mediocre fellow could be but aren't made by the successful person"

and

"A man is not doing much until the cause he works for possesses all there is of him".

Both these quotes resonate with every successful person I have encountered and give a mere taste for the pages of valuable content in this book. I recommend The Magic of Thinking Big as the initial book to anyone seeking to find success in any endeavor.

For a book that is nearly 50 years old, the formula behind David J. Schwartz's "The Magic of Thinking Big" is great for any person who is struggling to get over the frustrations of being stuck in a rut and wanting to step up to the plate and take a chance.

Schwartz's words are not new. You can hear very similar themes from authors past and present, like Dale Carnegie, Brian Tracy, and Tony Robbins. But if the words aren't resonating from other authors, the delivery in "The Magic of Thinking Big" gives you simple and easy steps to follow to get you to think big things, and then do big things.

The Magic of Thinking BIG by David J. Schwartz is a well-respected self-development classic. Written in the 1950's it still makes good common sense today. The practical things in life don't change much with time - like the basic principles for achieving success and living up to your full potential.

My copy of The Magic of Thinking Big has yellowed pages, sticky notes all over it, pink highlighted sentences on almost every page and yet, every time I take it down from shelf it's like opening a new wealth of information. I even remember exactly when and where I bought it. To me, that says a lot about the importance this book has had on my personal and professional self-development life.

In fact, I listened to the CD last night to help get me ready for writing this review and I took four pages of notes. One thing I've found with the classic self-development materials, every time I read or listen to them for the second, fifth or even tenth time I found something new I'd never read or heard before.

A really good empowering book/tape/CD/DVD should be read, listened to, watched and appreciated more than once. Every time we revisit a classic, we are in a different emotional and physical place than the first or second time we read, listened or watched it. It's like as we grow and evolve, so do the materials in the book.

That's how I felt about listening to The Magic of Thinking BIG by David J. Schwartz last night. I heard things I swear weren't there before. The words in the book hadn't changed, I had. The human mind is a powerful success and self-development tool and that's exactly the powerful premise of this book.

According to David J. Schwartz, it's really quite simple - if you want more out of your life, than think bigger. What makes this book a self-development/success classic? The success principles that have proven workable and viable for over fifty years and, are still true today: To make it big in life, you can't settle for small thinking.

Your life today is a reflection of how BIG you're allowing yourself to think, dream and plan. Dr. Schwartz guides you through The Magic of Thinking Big but the rest is up to you.

I highly recommend this book for your success/self-development library. I wish for you that your copy becomes dog-eared and yellowed. When you take to heart the concepts in this book, your life will be BIGGER than ever.

This excellent book on audio could be helpful to everybody who wants something more out of life. It's great listening in the car while commuting - I've listened to each of the 4 CDs about 5 times now, and will listen to it regularly for as long as I have it. If you REALLY want to improve yourself, you should buy it and listen to it. If you just want to be an average person, then don't buy it.

Second only to the Bible in changing my life from the inside out. Schwartz taught me how to smile- literally.

The Magic Of Thinking Big is coming up on its 50 year anniversary, but the wisdom in its pages resonates timelessly. A lot of what is contained in this book is what some would call common sense. If you were blessed with an environment that treated this information as common sense, you are lucky. For the rest of us that read this material, we will have our thinking altered drastically. I have become aware of a gap between what is taught in textbooks and a lot of what one experiences in "the real world." That information is contained in this book. In school attitude is often touted, but seldom taught. In fact, my first thought after finishing this was "why is this stuff not taught in schools?" I know of no other book that will ease the transition from awkward adolescence to the dog-eat-dog world of adulthood better than The Magic Of Thinking Big. Oh, what could have been if I'd been handed this book when I was 12 or 13. You may have to adapt some of the dated examples and tips on dress to your situation, but by and large these principles will help you live a better life. I recommend this book to anyone who is sick of the status quo, wants to move up the corporate ladder, or just wants some understanding in how the world works. One of the most helpful books I have ever read, period.

Also, a lot of people have contrasted this book to Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends... For what it's worth, I feel that each book has its place and that different personalities will relate to one book better than the other. For my part, I found Magic Of Thinking Big more helpful and easier to read than Carnegie's book. That's not to demean How To Win Friends... because I know people who have been drastically changed by that book, too. Both books have proven helpful to many people. That doesn't mean that one is better or worse than the other, they're just like vanilla and chocolate ice cream; two different flavors of the same stuff.

If you have never read or heard any of this type of material in the past, then this book may be worthwhile. I felt that this book really lacked content in terms of managing our thinking and applying thinking principles to acheive success; the book mearly illustrates that thinking big is a pre-cursor to acting big, then it goes into a repackaged presentation of Dale Carnegie material - dealing with people.

Not one example of anybody doing anything. A bunch of general statements saying do this and do that. Saying THINK CREATIVELY for example is a great idea but how about the name of someone who did it and what resulted.
A book like Dale Carnegie gives principles and ideas backed by peoples names and the results of their actions.

"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... 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."" ~ David J. Schwartz from "The Magic of Thinking Big"

Ahhh... The MAGIC of thinking BIG. That's a fun topic.

Are you thinking big? You better if you plan to be big.

This book deserves a spot on your top list. It's written in some old school language (originally published in 1959) but still carries some big mojo that's worth checking out--no matter the field in which you want to get "big"--be it in business or your bank account or your relationships or even your spirituality.

Schwartz' wisdom echoes all the greats and if you're committed to living your highest and biggest life, this is pretty darn close to a must read.

Typically I find books of this genre to be shallow and not "actionable".
This book is different - lots of inspiring stories combined with thoughtful, practical suggestions.

Most people think small. Being put down by their own fears or society, people shouldn't act better than one another. If you have trouble accepting this statement, read on.

The Magic of Thinking Big is all about upgrading your life, not about making your first million. You first have to think big, before you can act big. And if you want to stay small in your career for some reason, you can still act big in your family life. Just pick the part of your life you want to improve on and start working!

Don't think this book will do miracles for you right away. Every success comes with a lot of tears and sweat. Although the actions described within the book really guide you towards improvement, the only one who can really do something about it is still only you...

This book is simple to read, and very powerful. I always thought that dreaming big will lead you somewhere, now you can hear it from a PhD.

Dr. Schwartz hits the right notes throughout this book. Not only will he tell you what to do to achieve your dreams and goals, but he will tell you how to improve your life overall. This book will change your life, and how you view the world. It helped me realize my potential, and against many odds it helped me stay on track with my BIG dreams.

If you need to improve your life and start achieving your dreams, this book is for you. If you're looking to change your life, this book is for you. If you think your life is perfect, think again and read this book.

Folks, this is VITAL information:

If you consider yourself mature enough for critical self-reflection, and even MORE mature enough to take immediate action, this book is written to de-program the reader from being a zombie, and REALIZE, perhaps for the first time, since you were a child, just what a magnificent creature you are and the INFINITE possibilities that surround you.

This is required reading for all my REPS.

DISCLAIMER FOR WOMEN: Please understand this was copy written in 1959, a different place in America - the "NUCLEAR FAMILY" and women's roles were arguably, quite different from what we presently enjoy, so if you can look past the historical colloquialisms of the era, you can find a great resource here. Good luck in your search, it MAY be over!!!!

I first read this book a few years ago while part of a network marketing organization. It's not just about having bigger dreams it about opening up your mind to the potential greatness you have within you and embracing the future you can create for yourself.

I hate to say things like this book changed my life but in this case if I didn't it would be an understatement of what has happened. I've been chasing my dreams ever since. It's not easy and doesn't come fast enough but with goals and determination I know I can make it.

Not a very original view on focusing your mind on positive outcomes and living the right attitude. The author shares a lot extraordinary real life stories. Although it does not seem a masterpiece, I keep reading it time and time for some positive mindfuel.

Great book. Almost done with it, and have really found his advice friendly, helpful, and will keep this one around for awhile. Even if his PhD isnt grand, his advice is worthing taking something from. Hope that helps. Smile everyone, Have a great day!

Have you been giving excuses for all your failures? Do you consider yourself as a pygmy? Do you always find faults with others? Are you dreaming about success and not taking any actions? If you have answered "yes" to any of these questions, this book is really for YOU.

I enjoyed reading this book. David Schwartz corroborates his thoughts and suggestions with wonderful stories. You can apply his practical ideas even to change some of your perpetual habits. This book is really a motivation booster and forces you to get into action. It stimulates your positive thinking/attitude and alleges you not to make negative impressions about people/ideas/beliefs. The book affirms that successful people constantly involve in self-development.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be successful and is looking for a motivation booster.

Have you been giving excuses for all your failures? Do you consider yourself as a pygmy? Do you always find faults with others? Are you dreaming about success and not taking any actions? If you have answered "yes" to any of these questions, this book is really for YOU.

I enjoyed reading this book. David Schwartz corroborates his thoughts and suggestions with wonderful stories. You can apply his practical ideas even to change some of your perpetual habits. This book is really a motivation booster and forces you to get into action. It stimulates your positive thinking/attitude and alleges you not to make negative impressions about people/ideas/beliefs. The book affirms that successful people constantly involve in self-development.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be successful and is looking for a motivation booster.

I really liked this book becuase the author was specific about what can make your more successful AND how you can go about doing it. Schwartz speaks of items that all of us can do daily, but these things can greatly improve our chances of meeting our dream/reach goals in life. His roadmap is easy to follow and his ideas are straight-forward enough to put into action right now.

Applying the principles taught in this book can literally change your life. It is a book about thinking -- systematic, creative, positive thinking. This book is a "must have" addition to your success library.

I highly recommend that you buy this book!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I am a speaker, trainer, and author of another unique and highly valuable learning tool that can also be found here on Amazon: The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Personal Wealth Creation (Combo Audio/Data CD): Audio Seminar With Downloadable 40-Page Action Manual and Active Link Library. It is a straight-forward discussion of the art and science of personal wealth creation and should be considered by anyone serious about wanting to learn more about the right way to get started on the road to personal wealth creation and financial freedom!

Other "WealthLoop Series" tools of worth looking into include:

The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses: The Foolproof Roadmap to Real Estate Riches Without the Risks and Hassles of Landlording

and

The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses (Combo Audio/Data CD): Author's Audio Commentary Plus Downloadable 32-page Marketing Manual, Checklists, Spreadsheets, and Forms.

Applying the principles taught in this book can literally change your life. It is a book about thinking -- systematic, creative, positive thinking. This book is a "must have" addition to your success library.

I highly recommend that you buy this book!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I am a speaker, trainer, and author of another unique and highly valuable learning tool that can also be found here on Amazon: The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Personal Wealth Creation (Combo Audio/Data CD): Audio Seminar With Downloadable 40-Page Action Manual. It is a straight-forward discussion of the art and science of personal wealth creation and should be considered by anyone serious about wanting to learn more about the right way to get started on the road to personal wealth creation and financial freedom!

Other "WealthLoop Series" tools of worth looking into include:

The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses: The Foolproof Roadmap to Real Estate Riches Without the Risks and Hassles of Landlording

and

The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses (Combo Audio/Data CD): Author's Audio Commentary Plus Downloadable 32-page Marketing Manual, Checklists, Spreadsheets, and Forms.

I've always believed people can't be motivated. A speaker or a book can rev someone up and they'll walk away excited for awhile but generally fall back into their rut. If one wishes to change their life, it requires a true mindset overhaul and much determination. I feel any book that can teach that is worth picking up. While I'm still a huge "Think and Grow Rich" and Larry Winget advocate, this book accomplishes much the same thing and is written so that anyone can understand it.

When I ordered this book, I was hoping it would be an interesting read.
When I read the book, I was really overwhelmed. I have read the book 2 times so far. I highlighted it throughout. It is one of the finest books I have ever read for self-improvement. I am recommending the book to friends. I am a retired medical doctor.

David J. Schwartz wrote this book nearly 50 years ago, but its principles are as fresh as the latest positive thinking seminar. Attitude, says the author, determines whether people embrace opportunities in life, and how they handle difficulties and challenges. He teaches that professional and personal success is rooted in self-confidence, conviction and optimism. Schwartz's advice and recommendations hold up, though you may wonder what planet you're on when he refers to $65 weekly salaries and $1,200 down payments on homes. Life obviously has changed dramatically in the past half-century and, considering the vast number of self-help books on the market, Schwartz's ideas hardly seem revolutionary, though they may have been at the time. We believe this classic retains its valuable foundation: A basic, useable approach to pursuing a happy, purposeful life.

Highly reccommended! Not just for the aspiring business person..this book is for everyone. This is the secret before there was "The Secret". A must read, insightful for everyone who wants to have a better life.

A must read book for everyone. There are so many things a person can learn from this book.

This is an all time classic. But if you buy this book you better not be looking for a contemporary book on cutting edge material. This is a classic like "How to Win Friends and Influence People", with solid moral and ethical principles of business and how to live your life.

I would say that this is a must read, except for the fact that you have to get past some pretty dated anecdotes and the fact that the writer does not reference who these anecdotes are about. I can't imagine a contemporary writer getting away with what was polite and respectful writing in 1959 & 1965 when Schwartz uses anonymous examples to make his point. If a writer does that today they would seem to be writing fiction.

I may have offended some and I apologize. This is a great book and I don't mean to take away from the very sound principles in it. My only warning is that it was originally written in 1959 and that doesn't make it any less than excellent.

If you think you can, you're right; if you think you can't, you're right also. 'Magic' is a great addition to any self-help library - David Schwartz offers concise and well illustrated advice on improving your every day life. Varying from discussions on positive thinking, to dressing smart, using goals, and overcoming the fear of failure, there is something for everyone in this book. Highly recommended.

Shwartz can be a bit monotonous at times, but the stories accompanying the essential ideas in Think Big are helpful and keep the book interesting. The recall at the end of the book basically eliminates the need of highlighting and note taking because the throughness and stickiness offered by the sometimes clever naratives.

The book is plain boring and outdated for my taste. The message is clear but it is a message based on blind faith rather than on actual analisys of facts. I couldn't get rid off the feeling that the book was written for drop-outs and then retrofitted for the corporate shark wannabies.

The book is plain boring and outdated for my taste. The message is clear but it is a message based on blind faith rather than on actual analisys of facts. I couldn't get rid off the feeling that the book was written for drop-outs and then retrofitted for the corporate shark wannabies.

Helpful to improve your outlook, attitude, confidence, motivation, inspiration, and focus. Certainly beneficial to read. I would not rank it the best. The paramount book on success is still the timeless classic by Dale Carnegie, "How to Win Friends and Influence People."

This book was recommended by a couch. According to him it is for great help on life

This book was recommended by a couch. According to him it is for great help on life

I'm not really big on the self help/inspirational genre of books, but I really enjoyed this book and think that it is one I will go back to again and again for a motivational pick-me-up.

Yes, much of the advice is common sense, and certainly many of the ideas have been co-opted by more "modern" positive thinking gurus, but I really do think that reading the book has, at least for the time being, changed my outlook on things and made me see that some of my thinking was self-defeating. I enjoyed many of the anecdotes that Schwartz peppered throughout his text to reaffirm some of his positive ideas.

Five stars.

The motivation he inspired is undeniably powerful. However, its somehow exaggeration can pull you off from the reality.

This is one of the most cherished books in my collection. It's the type of book you will inform others about and one you will refer to repeatedly.

Ironically, there is no "Magic" behind the timeless lessons presented here; Schwartz simply exemplifies the characteristics and actions of the proactive, optimistic, assertive, and successful individual. The tools provided in this book are extremely effective, and Schwartz's presentation is motivating and inspiring.

"The Magic of Thinking Big" has a place on anyone's desk, regardless of their position on the career lattice. This book will increase your productivity, demeanor, awareness, and success in all facets of life.

The MAgic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz am teach you while you drive. Maximizing your time.

I take this book with me on vacation every Spring and read it from cover to cover, because, it is the best book I own for rejuvenating my hopes and desires to succeed in business for my family and myself.

This is an inspirational and informative book on how you can use your thinking to achieve remarkable success, wealth, confidence, peace and joy in your life by thinking big. The author explains that your success in life does not depend on the size of your brain but rather by the size of your thinking. By the use of numerous and enlightening stories, David Schwartz shows the reader the magic of thinking big and why it is very important to our careers, our relationships and our destiny.

This insightful book explains how you can build a strong belief, confidence and how to get into the action habit in an easy to follow and understand format which makes the book useful to a wide readership. The book pragmatically examines why many people achieve mediocrity or are failures and what it takes to be a winner in a big way. The author methodically explains how you can think and dream creatively, turn defeat into victory and think like a leader.

This is a self-help book, a how-to book on how to achieve exceptional results. I treat reading the book as a process of continuous learning about my personal vision, leadership, management and human relations both at work and in my family. I use it as my guide for dealing with people and in integrating the different responsibilities in my life, encompassing my professional, family and personal responsibilities.

I found the book inspiring, stimulating, thought provoking and very interesting. I refer to the book often to energize my spirit and to keep me thinking big and avoiding being bogged down by trivialities.

This is an exceptional book for those that wish to live a happy, healthy, meaningful and successful life and to increase productivity in both business and personal basis.

Several years ago, one of my clients suggested that I read this book.

Honestly, it has changed my life. Before reading......an OK Salesperson, AFTER...Top 8% sales in Fortune 500 company.

The first chapter alone is so inspiring. In fact, I read the first half of the book on a Saturday and could not wait to go to work on Monday......strange, but true.

The whole book really brings everything into perspective. Great mix of thoughts and stories.

I have bought several for others at my office and they have excelled as well.

A great book.

Excellend listening and training for personal development. Can listen to it in the car or at home and get the motivation for a better future