We have all heard the phrase “Believe you can succeed and you are halfway there”, but how to believe?
How to keep the motivation going?
How to really manifest?
How to actually change your life with just a belief?
How to improve your life for the better in all respective areas?
Here we go….
Many years ago, I picked up this magical book, which no doubt has put me on this path to reading more self help rather than fiction.
As a teenager, I was fascinated by the people who could read for hours on end. Unaware of this big world, I thought they all just read fiction. After all the big names, Chetan bhagat, Jk Rowling, etc, who would read anything else? Manga, comics, no ways, I was set on stories which felt more realistic for me (although I later understood and got interested in that world too i.e, manga, comics, etc) . I was and am a fan of movies, after all.
But this book changed it for me.
I did become a reader who could read hours on end; however, I read ONLY 3 fiction books a year, the rest of it all is SELF HELP. And the magical book I am talking about, as you know from the title is : The magic of thinking big by David J Schwartz.
This book, along with the book “7 habits of highly effective people”, changed my trajectory of life.
I started buying more books to feel this upliftment, which post 7 to 8 years, I still feel after every read. I love reading self-help and after watching & implementing countless content on the same (being a fan of informative videos as well), I can safely say I know what I am going to be talking about in this blog.
I read 12 to 14 books per year. I could read more, but since I mostly read non fiction, its good to go slowly to remember all you can and implement. And in this new series here, we are going to talk about a few actionables and important lessons I learnt from each book I read so far.
Hi you,
To cut to the chase, this write-up is all about the very first chapter of this very nostalgic book, “Magic of Thinking Big,” and about getting everything you desire.
Magic of thinking big is the exact book I needed at that moment to shift my perspective from all lack to number of possibilities around me.
Despite countless videos and books on this subject, I still think its fairly hard for people to not only grasp but also put in action the advice of thinking big, believing in the positives.
I too used to feel motivation fade the moment I closed a book, nothing in my reality had changed except for that anxious rush inside. But I realized that rush is fuel. It’s the spark we need to begin real change. And this book doesn’t just give you that push, it sticks with you, reshaping the way you think long after you’ve put it down.
Here’s a little on why I chose this book as my first on this type of blog:
This book, as the title goes, goes straight into the crux of the matter.
The first chapter itself talks about Belief in success.
We have all heard the phrase “Believe you can succeed and you are halfway there”, but how to believe? How to keep the motivation going? How to really manifest? How to actually change your life with just a belief? How to improve your life for the better in all respective areas?
All this is answered in this book. It shows & tells you to set your goals high and then how to exceed them..
Just like my journey, I believe if I can inspire any one of you to take up reading or to get you on the road to self improvement, there is no better way or book than this one to start with.
I stumbled on this book by chance. My dad had bought it on a train ride, but never read and I believe it all happened for me! Let this blog be your stumbling, on this very idea, concept, belief, or book! 😉
As you all know, I read 2 books per month, slowly increasing the count. And reading every day is a part of my morning routine. Currently I am reading “Courage to be disliked” in the mornings and as a part of my evening routine, I am trying to cut down the digital time on my phone or laptop at least an hour before I go to sleep, hence I picked up this book from the rack of already read books to refresh some of those insights.
I am also planning to reread old books at night to not only achieve my goal of a night routine but also keep my knowledge of each book fresh and I thought of taking you all with me through this process..
I am planning to do a whole series here, where I bring to you chapter wise important quotes, or actionable steps, that you can apply straight away in your life without having to read the book or if you have or already planning to (which I recommend) then this will be your checklist or a small reminder of the things you need to keep in mind.
I am a fan of reading books and not just looking at its summary, as the book goes in far more details than anyone explaining it can and the stories in between, the lessons, especially in this book touch deep down, therefore I urge you to read the book side by side if you haven’t, and make this series more interesting and helpful for yourselves.
With enough disclaimer, let’s get in and, along with a few actionables,understand this book from my perspective!!
CHAPTER 1 : Believe you can succeed and you will
The title is enough to tell you what this chapter is about.
A strong start.
As a teenager, not knowing anything about the world, but just the bad (from news, movies, etc), this was a redirection I needed, which eventually got me into spirituality and to reading more and more deep content.
Today, I know believing big or in the positives or in succeeding, for that matter, goes deeper than it sounds.
As a teenager, I had many questions, such as how just believing in things would make them happen for you? In one line its : manifestation, sub-concious mind at play, positivism effects, training your brain for solutions, etc.
There are many stories in the book, which blew my mind back then, and if you haven’t already been familiar with this concept, it will blow your mind too.
David J Schwartz explains everything via stories and actionable steps (which I love about any self help). The story that stuck with me from this chapter was of engineering firms, how all the big firms with many employees and facilities were scared of a very big, almost impossible seeming project, and then a small firm takes up the job with no hesitation.
If you see the worn old copy of the book I have, you will see this line underlined: “Belief is the thermostat that regulates what we accomplish in life,” and it still hit me the same way it did back then.
2 Main concepts from the first chapter that really stand out and are a bit of a unique perspective on this whole idea are :
1) Belief is different from wishful thinking
Wishing and truly believing are two different mindsets altogether, just like sitting on your desk, wishing that your dream life magically comes true, versus believing you have the energy, skill, will, and discipline to do all that it requires to make it come true.
Believing doesn’t just mean optimism or positive attitudes; it means having the ‘Can Do’ attitude.
Believe in yourself to be able to make anything happen rather than sitting, wishing, and waiting.
Ask yourself, when you feel stuck, what do you do? Do you sit staring at your vision boards, praying it comes true somehow, or do you ignite that fire within, knowing its all going to come true and you are going to figure out “the how” step by step.
“Belief, strong belief, triggers the mind to figure out ways and means and how to. And believing you can succeed makes others place confidence in you,” says the author.
When you really want something and you believe you deserve it, you will see yourself carving out the roadmap for you to get there, no matter how insane the goal seems to you or others at the moment. You begin formulating plans, meeting like minded people who help, you invite the right opportunities, because now you have trained your mind to only see solutions and ways to get where you want to go, rather than issues, hurdles, and all the reasons why you can’t.
Belief is the mindset of action; wishing is rather passive. Believe in yourself today and get going.
2) Fire Mr. Defeat from your thought factory
“Your mind is a thought factory, producing countless thoughts a day. And production in this factory is under the charge of two foremen, namely, Mr. Triumph and Mr. Defeat.”
As the name suggests, Mr. Triumph is in charge of all positive thoughts, and Mr. Defeat produces negative, depreciating thoughts.
Both of them are insanely hardworking and great at their jobs. And the more work they do, the stronger they get. For example: You woke up feeling down and employed Mr. Defeat to soothe you, he will give you all the reasons why you are right, why you must feel down, why everything in life is going bad or horrible, why it will continue to go bad and worse with time, whereas if you chose Mr. Triumph, he will tell you all the reasons why things are great even when you feel down and in no time you will see the changes for the better.
The author says that the only wise thing to do is to fire Mr. Defeat. You do not need someone in your head, constantly telling you that you are doomed, or how things will fail, or that you can’t, etc.
Employ Mr. Triumph and see your life turn around for the better. See the best, even in the worst of situations, feel grateful for hidden opportunities, and believe you can succeed no matter what.
Actionables that the book gives:
Lastly, the chapter ends with three steps on how to develop the power of belief.
- Think success, don’t think of failure. Employ Mr. Triumph and delete Mr. Defeat.
- Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are.
- Think as big as you can.
Actionables that I suggest:
Speaking from the mix-up of both this chapter and my personal experience, here’s my takeaway and actionables that I employ on a daily basis, to strengthen my beliefs:
- Dream Big. Every single day, wake up and visualise life, life you can’t even imagine, and feel it coming true.
Use vision boards, Pinterest boards, affirmations, meditation, and any and all the tools that can help you see that any dream goal is possible, and thousands of people have already achieved and so can you.
- To strengthen Mr. Triumph, prove yourself right.
Keep track of even the smallest of your achievements. Did you skip a donut today on your way from work? Great , write it down or take a photo/video reminding yourself of this little step you took today towards your dream goal.
- With every action/inaction you take, ask yourself: Is this supporting my belief, or is it just wishful thinking?
To give a recent example, I sat staring at my vision board one day and got really upset to see how far I really was from that reality.
When it hit me. I am sitting here wasting my time thinking why and how my life isn’t there yet aka employing Mr. Defeat to show me more of that gloomy picture.
I then decided to use that time, and wrote 3 steps on how I can move one step closer to that reality that day. Not only did it make me feel good and get Mr. Triumph working, showing me exactly how I will reach my goals, but it also strengthened my belief in myself that “Yes, I can make it with just the right steps, and that too : very soon”.
I hope you liked this blog, and it refreshed or summarized this amazing chapter for you all. Hope you all employ Mr. Triumph today and get one step closer to believing in success.
Thank you so much for reading.
Catch you in the next one……….
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