Day 17 of 50 ideas in 50 days is The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz. Originally published in 1959, this book deals with thinking big in all areas of life, be it business, relationships or spirituality and it contains many fabulous ideas.MagicThinkBig

The 1st chapter talks about belief and how it can make or break a situation. The all important belief in yourself is paramount to success. There are so many examples of this in different circumstances and it comprises an extremely high percentage of success. Placebos are so powerful, believe it can work and lo and behold, it does. This really can’t be stressed highly enough. I’ve come across this many times when working with hypnotherapy clients and it’s the main reason that I don’t accept clients who have been coerced by a love one to have a hypnosis session. There is very little belief in the process and they aren’t there of their own free will so motivation is extremely low. Belief in the power of your own capabilities is such an essential aspect of success and achievement.

I love what Schwartz describes as stickability, “just enough sense to stick with something, a chore, task, project, until it is completed pays off much better than idle intelligence, even if idle intelligence be of genius caliber.” The wisdom here is in seeing things through to their completion and it may sound like common sense but many of us begin a project with gusto to then see our efforts taper over time. In Philosopher’s Notes, Brian quotes Steve Pavlina, Tim Ferriss and Brian Tracy and what they term ’single-handling’ which is, “touch something once and don’t put it down again until it is complete.” So, if you are writing a book, have in your mind how much you wish to complete today or in a set amount of time and do it. If I have some writing to do, I make sure it is complete before I click on Facebook and Twitter!

Another favourite idea of mine that Schwartz touches on is, “to think confidently – act the way you want to feel.” This is so powerful and it works. In my teens and early 20’s I was really shy in situations where I didn’t know people so you can imagine how I felt doing teacher training and thinking about standing up in front of a class for the first time. I had to act as if I was confident. I had seen plenty of good role models by that time and knew what worked and what didn’t but to cover up the nerves I had to be a complete actress and I eventually fooled myself. Kids are so perceptive and can smell fear a mile away! Often, ‘acting as if ‘ involves releasing your inner actor but if it is something you truly believe in or have a passion for it can work wonders.

I can understand why this book has been such a bestseller, it’s full of gems that work and make good sense. I will keep returning and refreshing my mind with Schwartz’ work for many years to come.

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