The Book That Changed How I Think — And Why I Still Recommend It 40 Years Later
The Magic of Thinking Big. I’ve been in digital marketing long enough to remember when “going viral” meant catching the flu. And in all that time — working with clients, building funnels, running campaigns — the single biggest obstacle I see isn’t a tech problem. It isn’t a traffic problem. It isn’t even a budget problem.
It’s a thinking problem.
I first read The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David J. Schwartz back in 1984. I was early in my career, ambitious but uncertain, and honestly a little intimidated by the people I admired most. This book hit me like a freight train. It didn’t just motivate me — it rewired how I saw myself and what I believed was possible.
Forty years later, I still recommend it to every consulting client I work with.
Why I Push Back on “Small Thinking” Every Single Day
In my consulting work, one of the first things I do is challenge clients to examine the stories they’re telling themselves about their business, their market, and their own capabilities. Most of them have unconsciously capped their own potential.
Sound familiar?
That’s exactly what Schwartz tackles head-on. He argues — convincingly — that you don’t need genius-level intellect or rare natural talent to achieve big things. What you need is the disciplined habit of thinking bigger than you currently do.
That idea sounds simple. It is not easy.
The Chapter That Will Make You Uncomfortable (In the Best Way)
One of the most powerful sections in the book is Schwartz’s breakdown of what he calls “excusitis” — the chronic condition of explaining away your lack of progress with ready-made excuses. Health. Intelligence. Age. Luck.
He dismantles each one methodically.
When I read that chapter in 1984, I recognized every excuse I had been quietly making. When I re-read it today, I recognize the same excuses in the clients sitting across from me. The names change. The excuses don’t.
This Is Not a Motivational Pep Talk
I want to be clear about something, because the self-help section is full of books that get you fired up for 48 hours and then fade fast.
The Magic of Thinking Big is not that book.
Schwartz doesn’t just pump you up. He gives you a repeatable system — practical strategies to shift your thinking patterns so that bigger goals stop feeling reckless and start feeling achievable. He backs it up with real-world case studies of real people making real changes. It reads less like a lecture and more like sitting with a wise mentor who has seen it all.
There’s also a concept early in the book that genuinely changed how I carry myself professionally: the idea that we tend to receive the treatment we believe we deserve. Your thinking shapes your posture. Your posture shapes how others respond to you. How others respond to you shapes your results.
In marketing, we’d call that a feedback loop. And it starts with you.
Yes, It Was Written in 1959. Read It Anyway.
I get the hesitation. When I handed this book to a client recently, they looked at the publication date and raised an eyebrow.
Here’s my answer: the principles of human psychology and self-belief haven’t had a software update since 1959. The world around us has changed completely. The internal mechanisms that drive success? Largely the same.
The examples are dated. The core framework is evergreen.
My Bottom Line
If you work with me as a consulting client, you’ve probably already heard me say some version of this: your strategy can only take you as far as your mindset will allow.
The Magic of Thinking Big is the book I point to when clients need to understand what I mean by that. It’s affordable, it’s fast to read, and the return on investment — measured in how you approach your business, your decisions, and your potential — is genuinely difficult to overstate.
I read it first in 1984. It still holds up.
Grab your copy of The Magic of Thinking Big on Amazon — it may be the best few dollars you spend this year.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend books and tools I’ve personally used and believe in.
