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A review by evan_oman
Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
3.0
I read this based on the strong recommendation by Derek Sivers on this podcast (https://tim.blog/2015/12/14/derek-sivers-on-developing-confidence-finding-happiness-and-saying-no-to-millions/)
There is some pretty useful stuff here: Schwartz extols the virtues of positive, action-focused thinking with a classic 1950s delivery. I absolutely think this line of thinking is more useful than the alternative, but I found the book lacking in a few areas.
Most of the book boils down to doing more and doing better all the time. Take that extra assignment. Never waiver in your commitment to that new endeavor. Move that mountain.
What this advice ignores is that, ultimately, your time _is_ limited and most extra assignments won't advance your career. Sometimes, you learn that your new endeavor is fundamentally flawed. Sometimes that mountain can't really be moved. I understand that the whole message is to not become overwhelmed by negativity, but you need to engage with reality, which can be negative. This makes sense since the book is focused on sales, where reality doesn't seem to be as much of a limitation as it does for engineering
There is some pretty useful stuff here: Schwartz extols the virtues of positive, action-focused thinking with a classic 1950s delivery. I absolutely think this line of thinking is more useful than the alternative, but I found the book lacking in a few areas.
Most of the book boils down to doing more and doing better all the time. Take that extra assignment. Never waiver in your commitment to that new endeavor. Move that mountain.
What this advice ignores is that, ultimately, your time _is_ limited and most extra assignments won't advance your career. Sometimes, you learn that your new endeavor is fundamentally flawed. Sometimes that mountain can't really be moved. I understand that the whole message is to not become overwhelmed by negativity, but you need to engage with reality, which can be negative. This makes sense since the book is focused on sales, where reality doesn't seem to be as much of a limitation as it does for engineering