The Magic of Thinking BIG:
Acquire the Secrets of Success
By David Schwartz, Ph.D.
Reviewed: June 2007

This book is an oldie but goodie. I’m amazed nowadays, when I refer in my workshops to certain books I consider business/self-development classics, how many people have not read them. Perhaps it’s just that their popularity preceded the “younger” generation of current corporate employees. So this month and next I am recommending “older” books because they are worth the read no matter when they’re read.

This small gem of a book, originally published in 1958, has survived the test of time. It covers many of the same topics covered by other more recently published books—developing a positive attitude, building confidence, eliminating fears—but it is the straightforward, succinct style of Dr. Schwartz that has made this book a uniquely powerful tool for many people of my generation.

I remember when I first read it, in my late twenties, how enlivened I felt and how clear and compelling was the author’s message. In fact, I gave The Magic of Thinking Big to many of my co-workers and friends, so deeply did I feel that it would help them to become more effective in their lives.

It isn’t that the content is radically new or different; it’s that it’s simple and clear. Today, many management and leadership books try too hard, in my opinion, to make what could have been a good book—clear, concise, simple—very complex and rather redundant. How many statistics, graphs and research does one really need to make a point?

I purchased three new “leadership” books in the last month. Read them all and was disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend any of them.

Sometimes, “newer” does not equal “better.” And sometimes, “older” is “wiser.”

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Leadership Books Reviewed: Archives