The Magic of Thinking Big

David J. Schwartz’s The Magic of Thinking Big teaches that success isn’t a matter of luck, genius, or privilege—it’s the result of mindset. The people who achieve greatness are not necessarily more intelligent or better educated than others; rather, they think bigger, expect more of themselves, and act with unwavering belief in their potential.

Schwartz explains that every achievement begins in the mind. When you believe you can succeed, your brain begins to generate ideas and energy to make success happen. Conversely, when you doubt yourself, your mind becomes paralyzed by fear and hesitation. He likens belief to a “power switch” that determines the strength of your thoughts and actions. For instance, a young engineer who believes he can lead a project will naturally begin planning, networking, and proposing solutions. But if he convinces himself he’s unqualified, he’ll miss opportunities to prove himself.

He recounts how successful people—from top salesmen to business owners—share one mental trait: they visualize success and act as though it’s inevitable. Henry Ford’s famous saying, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t—you’re right,” perfectly summarizes this philosophy. Schwartz even points to ordinary people who achieved remarkable things simply by raising their expectations: a small-town teacher who believed she could revolutionize her school’s reading program and eventually earned national recognition, or a mechanic who believed he could run his own shop and did so by taking small, consistent steps.

Thinking big is not daydreaming—it’s strategic optimism. It means expanding your definition of what’s possible and rejecting limitations that others impose on you.

Breaking the Habit of Excuses

Schwartz identifies “excusitis”—the disease of making excuses—as one of the biggest obstacles to success. People use excuses to rationalize failure instead of taking control of their future. He breaks down the most common forms: health excuses, intelligence excuses, age excuses, and luck excuses.

He shares stories of people who overcame each. For example, one businessman blamed his declining health for his lack of success. Schwartz challenged him to exercise lightly, rest properly, and focus on what he could do. Within months, his energy and confidence returned—and so did his business results. The problem had never been his health, but his mindset.

The intelligence excuse is equally destructive. Schwartz argues that overestimating others’ intelligence and underestimating your own leads to paralysis. He recalls a conversation with a company executive who had built a multimillion-dollar business after flunking out of school. When asked how he did it, the man replied, “I hire smart people, but I think bigger than they do.” Intelligence, Schwartz insists, is less important than persistence and enthusiasm.

For the age excuse, he reminds readers that success is not bound by youth. He gives examples of people who began new careers at fifty or sixty—like Colonel Sanders founding KFC in his sixties, or Grandma Moses beginning her painting career in her seventies. Instead of saying, “I’m too old,” such people ask, “Why not now?”

As for luck, Schwartz dismantles the myth entirely. “Luck,” he writes, “is nothing more than preparation meeting opportunity.” People who seem ...