The Magic of Thinking Big
"You are what you think you are. Think more of yourself and there is more of you."
— David J. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big (1959)
Introduction
| The Magic of Thinking Big | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Full title | The Magic of Thinking Big |
| Author | David J. Schwartz |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Success; Personal development; Motivation |
| Genre | Nonfiction; Self-help |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 2 April 1987 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback); e-book; audiobook |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 978-0-671-64678-3 |
| Website | simonandschuster.com |
📘 The Magic of Thinking Big is a self-help book by American marketing professor David J. Schwartz, first published by Prentice-Hall in 1959 and later reissued as a Simon & Schuster Fireside paperback in 1987.[1] It teaches readers to set ambitious goals and to replace “excusitis,” fear and hesitation with deliberate action; its 13 chapters include “Believe You Can Succeed and You Will,” “Cure Yourself of Excusitis,” and “Get the Action Habit.”[2] Schwartz writes in a practical, how-to register, promising “tools to change your life” around confidence, creative thinking, and leadership habits. The work has remained in print internationally—including a 2019 Vermilion Life Essentials edition—and Simon & Schuster reports more than six million copies sold worldwide. It is frequently cited among influential self-help titles; for example, Forbes highlighted it in 2014 as one of the “greatest self-help books” of recent decades.[3]
Chapter summary
This outline follows the Simon & Schuster Fireside paperback edition (2 April 1987; ISBN 978-0-671-64678-3).
🌟 1 – Believe You Can Succeed and You Will.
🚫 2 – Cure Yourself of Excusitis the Failure Disease.
🛡️ 3 – Build Confidence and Destroy Fear.
🧠 4 – How to Think Big.
🎨 5 – How to Think and Dream Creatively.
🪞 6 – You Are What You Think You Are.
✈️ 7 – Manage Your Environment: Go First Class.
😊 8 – Make Your Attitudes Your Allies.
🤝 9 – Think Right Toward People.
⚡ 10 – Get the Action Habit.
🔄 11 – How to Turn Defeat into Victory.
🎯 12 – Use Goals to Help You Grow.
🧑✈️ 13 – How to Think like a Leader.
Background & reception
🖋️ Author & writing. David J. Schwartz was a professor of marketing at Georgia State University and president of Creative Educational Services, a leadership-development consultancy.[1] He died in 1987, the same year Simon & Schuster issued the widely distributed Fireside paperback edition.[1] The book’s method is organized as practical how-to chapters on belief, curing “excusitis,” building confidence, creative thinking, goal-setting, and leadership.[2] Publisher catalog copy describes the register as motivating and tool-focused rather than academic. An unabridged audiobook from Simon & Schuster Audio broadened access to the title in 2015.
📈 Commercial reception. Simon & Schuster reports that the book has sold more than six million copies worldwide. The title has stayed in print across markets, including a 2019 UK Vermilion Life Essentials reissue. Major outlets continue to place it on business reading lists—for example, Forbes’s “30 must-read business books for 2021” and Business Insider’s recommendations from rising industry figures in 2020.[4][5]
👍 Praise. Forbes included the book in a 2014 roundup of the “greatest self-help books,” highlighting its emphasis on respectful, people-first success.[3] A 2017 Forbes column recommended it as a concise, practical reminder that “success comes from thinking big.”[6] The Times of India has repeatedly featured the title in lists of inspirational or positive-thinking books for general readers, underscoring its enduring popular appeal.[7]
👎 Criticism. Critics of positive-thinking manuals—often grouping Schwartz’s book with that tradition—argue that unqualified optimism can oversimplify causality and hinder realism; The Guardian’s Tim Lott contends that accepting reality may be more helpful than “positive thinking.”[8] Experimental research by Gabriele Oettingen and colleagues finds that indulging in positive fantasies can reduce effort and achievement, complicating straightforward “think big” prescriptions.[9] Barbara Ehrenreich’s book-length critique of the “cult of positive thinking” likewise warns of harms when optimism substitutes for evidence-based action.[10]
🌍 Impact & adoption. The book continues to surface in executive and entrepreneurship circles: Forbes Councils members list it among recommended titles for building a business, and Forbes has featured it in annual business-book roundups.[4][11] Forbes has also reported that entrepreneur Tim Ferriss keeps a copy on his shelf as a formative text that helps him reset his thinking, illustrating its continued influence among high-profile practitioners.[12] Business Insider has likewise documented contemporary business leaders recommending the book as part of their core reading.[5]
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "David Schwartz". Simon & Schuster. Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The magic of thinking big". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Caprino, Kathy (21 March 2014). "What The Greatest Self-Help Books Of The Last Decades Can Teach You In 7 Minutes". Forbes. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cook, Jodie (16 December 2020). "30 Must-Read Business Books For Upping Your Game In 2021". Forbes. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Best Real-Estate Career Books, According to Rising Stars". Business Insider. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ Denning, Stephanie (31 July 2017). "The Best Books I Read Last Month". Forbes. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "7 inspirational books that will change your life for the better". The Times of India. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ Lott, Tim (19 March 2019). "The best form of self-help is … a healthy dose of unhappiness". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ Kappes, Heather Barry; Gabriele Oettingen (2011). "Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy". Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 47 (4): 719–729. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2011.02.003. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ Ellmann, Lucy (8 January 2010). "Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ "Top 48 Business Books Forbes Councils Members Recommend on Building a Business". Forbes Councils. Forbes Councils. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
- ↑ Glazer, Robert (16 June 2020). "This New Book Has A Tip That Will Change Your Life". Forbes. Retrieved 4 November 2025.