This book was a fantastic reminder of literally the most important thing we do - how we think. I have read so many personal development books, they are similar, but repetition is so important. The more I affirm how to think the better, cleaner, and more positive my thoughts are, and the more I attract abundance and positive experiences into my life.
There is always a new little nugget in each book that I learn and can then develop my own ideas and understanding from.
I loved everything in here because it truly is everything I love. The empowerment of our minds. There is no time to fear failure. It's fine to feel it for a moment, but then you have to walk right into your fears.
The way you think truly does create your reality. I can read books about the mind and mindset over and over because we can always have stronger minds.
It teaches you to empower yourself, how to approach others and make new friends, and it explains concepts in a way that you will understand thoroughly and remember.
Not much more to say except unless I say don't bother reading a book.. I highly suggest you read it. I literally manifest everything in my life and it's phenomenal and it's because I read all of these books and use the tools that they provide.
Preface
"The difference is that Harry thought five times bigger." pg.2
Success doesn't demand a price. Every step forward pays a dividend. pg.2
Great men are those who see that thoughts rule the world. pg.3
1. believe you can succeed and you will
Think doubt and fail. Think victory and succeed. pg.13
Your mind is a "thought factory." pg.18
fire Mr.Defeat pg.19
Walk-in. The door to success is open wider than ever before. Put yourself on record now that you are going to join that select group that is getting what it wants from life. pg.20
How to develop the power of belief
Think success, don't think failure. pg.20
Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. pg.21
Believe big. pg.21
Following conscientiously and continuously a plan for self-development and growth. pg.22
Observe and experiment pg.23
Your objective is to make successful action habitual. pg.24
2. cure yourself of excusitis, the failure disease
excusitis pg.25
Thoughts, positive or negative, grow stronger when fertilized with constant repetition. pg.26
The four most common forms of excusitis
Healthy excusitis, intelligence excusitis, age excusitis, and luck excusitis. pg.26
How to Live 365 Days a Year pg.28
The right attitude and one arm will beat the wrong attitude and two arms every time. pg.31
Four things you can do to lick health excusitis
Refuse to talk about your health. pg.31
Refuse to worry about your health. pg.31
Be genuinely grateful that your health is as good as it is. pg.32
Remind yourself often, "it is better to wear out than rust out."pg.32
But you've got to have brains to succeed.
two basic errors pg.32
We underestimate our own brainpower. pg.32
We overestimate the other fellow's brainpower. pg.32
The thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you may have. pg.33
Interest, and enthusiasm, is the critical factor even in science. pg.33
Knowledge is power - when you use it constructively. pg.37
Knowledge is only potential power. Knowledge is power only when put to use - and then only when the use made of it is constructive. pg.37
Einstein taught us a big lesson. He left it was more important to use your mind to think than to use it as a warehouse for facts. pg.37
The ability to know how to get information is more important than using the mind as a garage for facts. pg.38
Three ways to cure intelligence excusitis
Never underestimate your own intelligence, and never overestimate the intelligence of others. pg.38
Remind yourself several times daily, "My attitudes are more important than my intelligence." pg.39
The ability to think is of much greater value than the ability to memorize facts. pg.39
When is a person too young?
First, don't be age conscious. pg.43
Second, don't take advantage of your new "gold bars." pg.44
Third, get used to having older persons working for you. pg.44
Your age won't be a handicap unless you make it one. pg.44
Invest future time in doing what you really want to do. pg45
There is a cause for everything. pg.45
John wasn't lucky unless you can call carefully planned work and patiently executed plans luck. pg.47
Conquer luck excusitis in two ways
Accept the law of cause and effect. pg.47
Don't be a wishful thinker. pg.48
3. build confidence and destroy fear
All confidence is acquired and developed. pg.50
Action cures fear. Indecision, and postponement, on the other hand, fertilize fear. pg.51
It is ten times easier for a man with a job to get another job than it is for someone unemployed to connect. pg.53
Hope needs action to win victories. pg53
What kind of action can I take to conquer my fear? pg.53
Two-step procedure to cure fear and win confidence:
Isolate your fear. Pin it down. Determine exactly what you are afraid of. pg.55
Then take action. There is some kind of action for any kind of fear. pg.55
Be decisive. pg.55
Mind bank pg.55
Build confidence through efficient management of your memory bank
Deposit only positive thoughts in your memory bank. pg56
Withdraw only positive thoughts from your memory bank. pg57
Destroy negative thoughts before those thoughts become mental monsters. pg.58
If you find yourself thinking about the negative side, turn your mind off completely. pg.60
Two ways to put people in proper perspective:
Get a balanced view of the other fellow. pg.62
Develop an understanding attitude. pg.63
"Underneath he's probably a very nice guy. Most folks are." pg.64
Fifty Years with the Golden Rule by J.C. Penny pg.67
To think confidently, act confidently pg.68
"I'm very glad to know you." pg.69
Five confidence-building exercises
Be a front seater. pg.69
Practice making eye contact. Make your eyes work for you. pg.69
Walk 25 percent faster. A walk watcher. Body action is the result of mind action. Average people have the "average" walk. pg.70
Practice speaking up. Try to be the icebreaker, the first one in with a comment. And never worry about looking foolish. pg.71
Smile big. "I'm going to smile." Then smile. Harness the power of smiling. pg.72
4. how to think big
How big we think determines the size of our accomplishments. pg.76
What is my greatest weakness? is self-deprecation - that is, selling oneself short. pg.76
We do not think in words and phrases. We think only in pictures and/or images. pg.78
"We face a challenge," and you create a mental picture of fun, sport, something pleasant to do. pg.79
Four ways to develop the big thinker's vocabulary
Use big, positive, cheerful words and phrases to describe how you feel. Become known as a person who always feels great. It wins friends. pg.81
Use bright, cheerful, favorable words and phrases to describe the people. pg.81
Use positive language to encourage others. pg.81
Use positive words to outline plans to others. "Here is some good news. We face a genuine opportunity..." Promise victory and watch eyes light up. pg.82
see what can be, to just what is
It is repeat business that makes a profit. pg.85
Practice adding value
Practice adding value to things.
Practice adding value to people.
Practice adding value o yourself.
What causes quarrels?
Quarrels start over petty, unimportant matters. "Is it really important?" pg.92
Three procedures to help yourself think about trivialities:
Keep your eyes focused on the big objective. In marriage, the big object is peace, happiness, and tranquility. pg.96
In working with employees, the big object is developing their full potential, not making issues out of their minor errors. pg.96
In living with neighbors, the big object is mutual respect and friendship. pg.96
"Grow big by thinking big!"
5. how to think and dream creatively
Step one: Believe it can be done.
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. pg.103
Belief releases creative powers. Disbelief puts the breaks on. Believe, and you'll start thinking - constructively. pg.103
Your mind will create a way if you let it. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Eliminate the word impossible from your thinking and speaking vocabulary. pg.105
Think of something special you've been wanting to do but felt you couldn't. pg.105
Weekly improvement program
Progress is our most important product. pg.111
"What can I do today to encourage my employees?" pg.111
Capacity is a state of mind. How much we can do depends on how much we think we can do. pg.113
"What can I do to expand my output?" pg116
Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize the talking. pg.116
Note this also: Top-level leaders in all walks of life spend much more time requesting advice than they do in giving it. pg.116
This executive presented his problem, then listened. pg.117
Your ears are your intake valves. We learn nothing from telling. But there is no limit to what we can learn by asking and listening. pg.118
Three-stage program to strengthen your creativity through asking and listening:
Encourage others to talk.
Test your own views in the form of questions.
Concentrate on what the other person says.
Stimulation from others is excellent mind food.
Don't let ideas escape.
Next, review your ideas.
Cultivate and fertilize your idea.
Shape up the idea on paper.
Use these tools and think creatively
Believe it can be done.
Don't let tradition paralyze your mind.
Ask yourself daily. "How can I do better?"
Ask yourself, "How can I do more?"
Practice asking and listening.
Stretch your mind.
6. you are what you think you are
Thinking does make it so. Others see in us what we see in ourselves. We receive the kind of treatment we think we deserve. pg.126
We must think we are important, really think so; then others will think so too. pg.127
How you think determines how you act. How you act in turn determines: How others react to you. pg.127
Look important - it helps you think important
Rule: Remember, your appearance "talks." pg.127
You can usually spot a wrong kid just by the way he looks. Sure it's unfair, but it's a fact: people today judge a youngster by appearance. And once they've stabbed a boy, it's tough to change their minds about him, their attitude toward him. Look at your boy. Look at him through his teacher's eyes, your neighbor's eyes. Could the way he looks, and the clothes he wears, give them the wrong impression? Are you making sure he looks right, dresses right, everywhere he goes? pg.128
"Dress right. It always pays. pg.128
Your physical exterior affects your mental interior. pg.128
Properly "packaged" pg.130
The point is: that the better you are packaged, the more public acceptance you will receive. pg.130
"Respect your appearance" pg.130
Pay twice as much and buy half as many. Commit this answer to memory. Then practice it. Apply it to hats, suits, shoes, socks, coats - everything you wear. Insofar as appearance is concerned, quality is far more important than quantity. pg.131
You owe it to others - but, more importantly, you owe it to yourself - to look your best. pg.131
Look your best and you will think and act your best. pg.132
Think your work is important
How the applicant thinks about this present job pg.132
applicant thinks his present job is important. pg.133
"We have about eight hundred nonproduction people," he began. "Under our personal audit system, an assistant and I interview each employee every six months. Our purpose is simple. We want to learn how we can help him in his job. We think this is a good practice because each person working with us is important, else he wouldn't be on the payroll. pg.133
The key to winning what you want lies in thinking positively toward yourself. The only real basis other people have for judging your abilities is your actions. pg.135
Isn't it obvious why many people stay at one level all their lives? Their thinking alone keeps them there. pg.136
What would he do on that specific level? by first answering the question What kind of job is he doing where he is now? pg.136
A person who thinks his job is important receives mental signals on how to do his job better; And a better job means more promotions, more money more prestige, and more happiness. pg137
But how does one develop enthusiasm? The basic step is simple: Think enthusiastically. Build in yourself an optimistic, progressive glow, a feeling that "this is great and I'm 100 percent for it." pg138
Always show positive attitudes toward your job so that your subordinates will "pick up" right thinking. pg.139
As you approach your job each day, ask yourself, "Am I worthy in every respect of being imitated? Are all my habits such that I would be glad to see them in my subordinates?" pg.139
Think more of yourself and there is more of you. pg.141
Tom Staley is a young fellow who is going places - and fast. Tom regularly recalls himself on himself three times every day with what he calls "Tom Staley's 60-Second Commercial." He carries his personalized commercial in his billfold at all times. Here is exactly what it says:
Tom Staley, meet Tom Staley - an important, really important person. Tom, You're a big thinker, so think big. Think big about everything. You've got plenty of ability to do a first-class job, so do a first-class job.
Tom, you believe in Happiness, Progress, and Prosperity.
So: talk only Happiness,
talk only Progress,
talk only Prosperity.
You have lots of drive, Tom, lots of drive.
So put that drive to work. Nothing can stop you, Tom, nothing.
Tom, you're enthusiastic. Let your enthusiasm show through.
You look good, Tom, and you feel good. Stay that way.
Tom Staley, you were a great fellow yesterday and you're going to be an even greater fellow today. Now go to it, Tom. Go forward.
"What are my best qualities?" pg.143
Don't think of anyone but you as you say in your commercial. pg.143
"Is this the way an important person does it?" pg.145
7. manage your environment: go, first class
Recondition yourself for success
First group: Those who surrendered completely. pg.149
Second group: Those who surrendered partially. pg.149
Third group: Those who never surrender. pg.150
But he will not, we repeat, laugh. Because big men do not laugh at big ideas. pg.151
Remember: People who tell you it can not be done almost always are unsuccessful people, are strictly average or mediocre at best in terms of accomplishment. The opinions of these people can be poison. pg.151
"Negators" pg.151
Make no mistake about it. You are judged by the company you keep. pg.154
Be careful about your source of advice. pg.155
make your social environment first class:
Do circulate in new groups. pg.160
Do select friends who have views different from your own. pg.160
Do select friends who stand above petty, unimportant things. pg.160
thought poison - commonly called "gossip" pg.161
The person being poisoned usually doesn't know it pg.161
Certainly, in the long run, going first class actually costs you less than going second class. pg.164
Develop an instinct for quality. It pays. And it costs no more, often costs less, than second class. pg.164
8. Make your attitudes your allies
Attitudes do make the difference. pg.168
I'm activated.
You are important.
Service first.
To activate others, you must first activate yourself. pg.168
To activate others, to get them to be enthusiastic, you much first be enthusiastic yourself. pg,169
Enthusiasm can make things 1,100 percent better. pg.170
Dig into it deeper.
To get enthusiastic learn more about the thing you are not enthusiastic about. pg.171
2. In everything you do, life it up. pg.173
smile with your eyes. pg.174
show a few teeth pg.174
"thank you very much." pg.174
Is your "good morning!" really good? pg. 174
Are your "Congratulations!" enthusiastic? pg.174
3. Broadcast good news. pg.175
Tell them the good that happened today. Recall the amusing, pleasant things you experienced and let the unpleasant things stay buried. Spread the good news. Bring home some sunlight every day. pg.175
Remember, too, that other people want to be around alive, enthusiastic people. Being around complainers and half-dead people is uncomfortable. pg.175
Practice relieving worriers. pg.176
Whenever you leave a person, ask yourself, "Does that person honestly feel better because he has talked with me?" pg.176
Good news gets good results. Broadcast it. pg.176
"Give me a Good Word or none at all." pg.177
The desire to be important is man's strongest, most compelling nonbiological hunger. pg.177
First, people do more for you when you make them feel important. pg.17
It pays to make "little" people feel like big people. pg.179
It pays to make "big" people feel even bigger. pg.180
When you help others feel important, you help yourself feel important too. pg.180
You must feel important to succeed. Helping others to feel important rewards you because it makes you feel more important. Try it and see. pg.181
Practice appreciation. Practice appreciation with honest, personalized compliments. pg.181
Practice calling people by their names. pg.182
Don't hog glory, invest it instead. pg182
Praise, like money, can be invested to pay dividends. pg.183
praise is power pg.183
What can I do today to make my wife and family happy? pg.184
Do something special for your family often. It doesn't have to be something expensive. It's the thoughtfulness that counts. pg.18
Give them planned attention. pg.185
I also reserve Sundays for my family. The whole day is theirs. pg.185
It gives me new energy. pg.185
Want to make money? then get the put-service-first attitude
And the seed of money is service. Put service first, and money takes care of itself. pg.186
Always give people more than they expect to get. pg.190
Money seeds, of course, grow money. Plant service and harvest money. pg.190
"How can I give more than is expected of me?" pg.190
Dig into it deeper. When you find yourself uninterested in something, dig in and earn more about it. This sets off enthusiasm. Life up everything about you: your smile, your handshake, your talk, even your walk. Act alive. Broadcast good news. No one ever accomplished anything positive telling bad news. pg.191
Show appreciation at every opportunity. Make people feel important. Call people by name. pg.191
9. Think right toward people
Success depends on the support of other people. pg.192
A person either supports you willingly or he doesn't support you at all. pg.192
In at least nine cases out of ten, the "likability" factor is the first thing mentioned. And in an overwhelmingly large number of cases, the "likability" factor is given far more weight than the technical factor. pg.193
A person is not pulled up to a higher-level job. Rather, he is lifted up. pg.194
Successful people follow a plan for liking people. pg.194
Learn to remember names. pg.194
Be a comfortable person. pg.195
Acquire the quality of relaxed easy-going. pg.195
Don't be egotistical. pg. 195
Cultivate the quality of being interesting pg.195
Study to get the "scratching" elements out of your personality. pg.195
Sincerely attempt to heal pg.195
Practice liking people until you learn to do so genuinely pg.195
Never miss an opportunity to say a word of congratulation pg.195
Give spiritual strength to people. pg.195
But don't try to buy friendship; it's not for sale. pg.196
Take the initiative in building friendships - leaders always do. pg.197
The most important person present is the one person most active in introducing himself. pg.197
Here are six ways to win friends by exercising just a little initiative:
Introduce yourself to others at every possible opportunity pg.198
Be sure the other person gets your name straight. pg.198
Be sure you can pronounce the other person's name the way he pronounces it. pg.198
Write down the other person's name, and be mightily sure you have it spelled correctly; people have a fetish about the correct spelling of their own names! If possible, get his address and phone number, also. pg.199
Drop a personal note or make a phone call to the new friends you feel you want to know better. pg.199
Say pleasant things to strangers. pg.199
And don't be timid. Don't be afraid to be unusual. Find out who the other person is, and be sure he knows who you are. pg.199
Three suggestions:
Recognize the fact that no person is perfect. pg.200
Recognize the fact that the other fellow has a right to be different. pg.200
Don't be a reformer. pg.200
The perfect person just doesn't exist. pg.201
Channel P (positive) and Channel N (negative) pg.201
The person who does the most talking and the person who is the most successful are rarely the same person. pg.207
Conversation generosity wins friends. pg.208
Conversion generosity helps you learn more about people. pg.208
How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.
" What can I do to make myself more deserving for the next opportunity?" pg.210
Don't waste time and energy being discouraged. Don't berate yourself. Plan to win next time. pg.210
10. get the action habit
Excellent ideas are not enough. pg.212
"Nothing comes merely by thinking about it." pg.212
Everything we have in this world is just an idea acted upon. pg.213
activations pg.213
passivation pg.213
Mr. Activationist does. Mr. Passivationist is going to do it but doesn't. pg.214
expect future obstacles and difficulties. pg.218
Meet problems ad obstacles as they arise. pg.218
saddest words...it might have been pg.221
A good idea if not acted upon produces terrible psychological pain. But a good idea acted upon brings enormous mental satisfaction. pg.221
Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. pg.221
To fight fear, act. pg.221
The way to combat that kind of fear - yes, any kind of fear - yes, any kind of fear - is action. pg.222
"I use a 'mind force' technique," he began. "I've got deadlines to meet, and I can't wait for my spirit to move me. I've got to move my spirit. there's how my method works. I made myself sit down at my desk. Then I pick up a pencil and go through the mechanical motions of writing. I put down anything. I doodle. I get my fingers and arm in motion, and sooner or later, without my being conscious of it, my mind gets on the right track. pg.223
You get your mind in gear to make it produce for you. pg.224
The only way to start is to start. pg.224
Do this today: Pick the one thing you like to do least Then, without letting yourself deliberate on or bread the task, do it. pg.225
Use a pencil and paper. pg.226
You remember something much longer and much more exactly if you write the thought on paper. pg.226
Now is the magic word of success. pg.226
Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. pg.227
Get the "speak up" habit. pg228
Victim of "over preparedness" pg.229
"I'm in the condition right now to begin. I can't gain a thing by putting it off. I'll use the 'get ready time and energy to get going instead. pg.230
Be a crusader. pg.231
Be a volunteer pg.232
"Which group do I want to accept me: the group that laughs because it is secretly jealous or the group that is making progress by doing things?" The right choice is obvious. pg.232
People place confidence in the fellow who acts They naturally assume he knows what he is doing. pg.233
11. how to turn defeat into victory
I've learned that when you've been sniped at, one fine way to prevent a war of words is to take a kong pause before answering. pg.240
Defeat is only a state of mind and nothing more. pg.242
Decide right now to salvage something from every setback. pg.243
Being self-critical is constructive. Blaming others is destructive. You gain absolutely nothing from "proving" that someone else is wrong. ppg.244
That's the way the ball bounces approach teaches us nothing. pg.245
But persistence blended with experimentation does guarantee success. pg.247
Tell yourself, "There IS a way." pg.248
TAR (things are rough) pg.248
2. Back off and start afresh. pg.249
All things do work together for good if you'll just develop a clear vision. pg.250
12. Use goals to help you grow
A goal is more than a dream; it's a dream being acted upon. pg.252
Without goals individuals just wander through life. pg.252
The important thing is not where you were or where you are but where you want to get. pg.253
The progressive corporation plans company goals ten t fifteen years ahead. pg.253
We can and should plan at least ten years ahead. You must form an image now of the person you want to be ten years from now if you are to become that image. pg.253
Before you start out, know where you want to go. pg.254
Visualize your future in terms of three departments: work, home, and social. pg.255
What do I want to accomplish with my life? What do I want to be? and What does it take to satisfy me? pg.255
A. Work department: 10 years from now: pg.255
What income level do I want to attain?
2. What level of responsibility do I seek?
3. How much authority do I want to command?
4. What prestige do I expect to gain from my work?
B. Home department: 10 years from now: pg.255
What kind of standard of living do I want to provide for my family and myself?
What kind of house do I want to live in?
What kind of vacations do I want to take?
What financial support do I want to give my children in their early adult years?
C. Social department: 10 years from now:
What kinds of friends do I want to have?
What social groups do I want to join?
What community leadership positions would I like to hold?
What worthwhile causes do I want to champion?
No one accomplishes more than he sets out to accomplish. To visualize a big picture. pg.256
The most important qualification for an executive is the sheer desire to get ahead. pg.257
Desire, when harnessed, is power. pg.258
Success requires heart-and-soul effort, and you can put your heart and soul only into something you really desire. pg.258
Few of us actually surrender to desire. Instead of surrendering to desire, we murder it. Five weapons are used to commit successful suicide. pg.259
Self-depreciation
Security-itis
Competition
Parental dictation
Family responsibility
It's never too late to let desire take over. pg.260
When you let yourself become obsessed with a goal, you receive the physical power, energy, and enthusiasm needed to accomplish your goal. pg.260
"automatic instrumentation" pg.260
Surrender to that goal. Really surrender. Let it obsess you pg.262
To accomplish something, we must plan to accomplish something. pg.262
Set goals to get things done.
Now, as you press forward to success, set goals: deadlines, target dates, and self-imposed quotas. You will accomplish only what you plan to accomplish. pg.263
Dr. Burch says, "The quickest way to the end is to retire and do nothing. Every human being must keep an interest in life just to keep living. " pg.263
Goals, intense goals, can keep a person alive when nothing else will pg.264
Use goals to live longer. pg.264
The desire to do something pg.265
progress is made one step at a time pg.265
I never did anything but set down one paragraph after another. The book 'wrote itself' pg.266
An hour is easy; forever is difficult. pg.266
Monthly quotas for accomplishment pg.267
Thirty-day improvement Guide pg.268
most rewarding pg.270
self-investment pg.270
Invest in education. School: One Night a Week for Life pg.272
Invest in idea starters. "I've found that I can't afford not to take it. " pg.272
Let's take action
ten years from now pg.273
let your major goal be your automatic pilot. pg.273
13. how to think like leader
"Whoever is under a man's power is under his protection." pg.284
"What is the human way to handle this?" pg.287
Let your action show you put people first. pg287
Think improvement in everything you do. pg.288
Think high standards in everything you do. pg.288
Leadership rule number 4: take time out to confer with yourself and tap your supreme thinking power.
Leaders spend considerable time alone. pg.295
They discovered that decisions and observations made alone in managed solitude have an uncanny way of being 100 percent right! pg.297
Resolve now to set aside some time each day (at least thirty minutes) to be completely by yourself. pg.298
think yourself to success. pg.298
In everything you do, show that you put other people first. pg.299
When little people try to drive you down, think big. pg.300
When that "I haven't got what it takes" feeling creeps up on you, think big. pg.300
When an argument or quarrel seems inevitable, think big. pg.301
When you feel defeated, think big. pg.301
When romance starts to slip, think big. pg.302
When you feel your progress on the job is slowing down, think big. pg.302
A wise man will be master of his mind, a fool will be its slave. pg.302
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