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‘Study the fellow who is shuffling down there in mediocrity. He believes he is worth little so he receives little…. As time goes by, lack of belief in himself shows through in the way the fellow talks, walks, acts…. And, since others see in us what we see in ourselves, he grows smaller in estimation of the people around him (p.24).’
The above quote comes from the beginning of The Magic of Thinking Big, the 1st book that changed my direction in life immediately.
At the time, I was 14 years old, growing up within a single parent family in Tottenham, a poor area of London where broken homes, high levels of unemployment, gun crime, poverty, and drug abuse surrounded me. Tottenham was a place where drugs dealers and prostitutes were among your standard neighbours.
England has a class system, and I was eating, sleeping, and learning somewhere near the bottom.
Things felt so bad that for many years I frequently woke up at about 2am bombarded with negative thoughts and feelings.
- Whether it was fearing for my life, because Tottenham was dangerous and the big boys in the area were ruthless, or
- Having a strong inferiority complex, which naturally came with living without a direct connection to those in the country who had money, power, and a higher social status, or
- Never having enough pocket money to do simple carefree things like getting a bus or buying enough food for lunch,
I viewed life as a difficult struggle, evidence that, during this period, my mind was also working against me.
Looking back, I can see why the majority of us (the people I knew) did not truly believe in ourselves, which came across in the way that we would sometimes walk, talk, and act aggressively towards each other.
As The Magic of Thinking Big argued, for whatever reason, we were all shuffling around on various levels of mediocrity, and my biggest fear was that I would become a failure and live in poverty forever.
The book further stated:
‘Now look across the way at the person who is advancing forward …. Everything he does, the way he handles himself with people, his character, his thoughts, his viewpoints, all say, “here is a professional. He is an important person (p. 25).’
After I read the above passage, the next day I completely changed my behaviour. Before, almost as if I was on a fast-track straight to prison, I
• always moved with a swagger,
• proudly spoke pure slang (broken English) only, and
• Had a willingness to severely harm and kill any person who tried to seriously hurt me,
But The Magic of Thinking Big warned me to become, extremely, focused and determined to excel at everything that I applied my mind too. Thanks to the writer, I learnt a simplistic but powerful truth:
Successful people walk, talk, and act differently from those who are unsuccessful.
By chance, I completed one of the best training programs in the world (The Magic of Thinking Big), which inevitably had an overbearing influence on my mind over the years that followed.
It is my hope, therefore, that you will complete this text (course) without the need for luck, but rather with a strategic plan to enhance the quality of your thoughts – as your life and the level of your achievements may depend upon it.
The Magic of Thinking Big is unique, highly relevant, and still applicable today.
Question: What training programs are you following today that will allow you to become the person that you want to be in the future?
How to Think Big!
1. Big thinkers specifically train themselves to think bigger by studying intelligence. They realise that they will always have a tendency to underestimate their own capabilities and how much they can actually achieve, so they purposely stretch their thinking
- What is the name of the next book that you will read, which will enhance your intelligence?
2. Big thinkers specifically observe others around them who are more successful, but have less talent or strengths than they possess. By doing so they remember to live with high expectations and never sell themselves short
- Who is more successful than you are, but has fewer strengths or experience than you possess?
- How does this person reveal that you are selling yourself short?.
- What are you going to do now to become much bigger?
3. Big thinkers become experts at creating confident, cutting edge, and on top of the world images in their own minds, and in the thoughts of others
- What positive and optimistic vision do you have of the future that you can share with others today?
4. Big thinkers train themselves to see not just what is, but what is possible; therefore, they have great vision
- What confident and positive vision do you have of yourself, which you will achieve in the future?
- What confident and positive vision do you have of someone else that you will help him or her to achieve?
5. Big thinkers see themselves as a member of a team whether that is representing their families, workplaces, groups, communities, cities, nations, or mankind. They help their team in every way that they can, even when there is no immediate return or reward
- Whom do you represent?
- What will you do next to help them in every way you can for no reward?
6. Big thinkers think above immaterial things by asking themselves “Is it important?” before investing any of their time and energy
- What is the latest unimportant thing that stole your time and energy this week?
- What will you do to make sure that it does not steal your time and energy again in the future?
By thinking about and answering the above questions, they will have the automatic affect of increasing the size and quality of your thoughts.
In fact, the real challenge lay in keeping your mind focused on these type of questions regularly if not daily, as this step alone will propel you towards becoming a bigger and better thinker.
Whether you prefer books, articles, videos, audiobooks, seminars, workshops, or observing successful people firsthand, use these mediums to think about and achieve the unthinkable.
Play your position!
Tom
