The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz has been on my ‘to read’ list for a while, as it’s been recommended in multiple podcasts.
The title is quite straightforward and you would expect the story to go like this : ‘you need to think big and some great things will happen’. Well it is much more than that, ‘Thinking Big’ is a mindset, a way of life, a choice you make to see the world differently, a commitment to yourself to succeed.
No one accomplishes more than he sets out to accomplish.
When you believe something is impossible, your mind goes to work for you to prove why. But when you believe, really believe, something can be done, your mind goes to work for you and helps you find the ways to do it. It reminds me of the quote from Henry Ford :
Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.
How to be confident in front of somebody who impresses you?
Again, mindset is everything!
You are important, too. When you meet another person, make it a policy to think, “We’re just two important people sitting down to discuss something of mutual interest and benefit.”
How to set yourself up for success ?
- Go first class in everything you do
- What happens on weekends and between 6 P.M. and 9 A.M. directly affects a person’s performance from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. >> open your horizon, meet people, learn a new skill, don’t stay late in the office
- Others see in us what we see in ourselves. We receive the kind of treatment we think we deserve.
- Be an old-shoe kind of individual. Be a comfortable person so there is no strain in being with you. >> be friendly and easy
- A person is not pulled up to a higher-level job. Rather, (s)he is lifted up. Nobody has time or patience to pull another up the job ladder. >> Stand higher than others. It reminds me of the Tiara Syndrome explained in Lean In
- Practice appreciation. Make it a rule to let others know you appreciate what they do for you.
- Deposit only positive thoughts in your memory bank. Everyone encounters plenty of unpleasant, embarrassing, and discouraging situations. But unsuccessful and successful people deal with these situations in directly opposite ways.
As a manager, how to set your team up for success ?
In working with employees, the big objective is developing their full potential, not making issues out of their minor errors.
- Praise your subordinates personally at every opportunity. Praise them for their cooperation. Praise them for every extra effort they put forth. Praise is the greatest single incentive you can give people, and it costs you nothing.
- See things through their eyes in order to get others to do what you want them to do. When you trade minds, the secret of how to influence other people effectively shows up.
- You are the one who set the standards, not them. When you take over the leadership of a group, the persons in that group immediately begin to adjust themselves to the standards you set.
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