In “The Magic of Thinking Big”, author, David Schwartz attempts to prove that motivation and success throughout one’s life is not achieved through innate talent or intellect, however, acquired through an individual’s behaviors and their zeal to achieve goals. In this inspiring book, Schwartz’s offers methods, “no empty promises”, on achieving goals such as: building confidence and destroying fear, believing you can succeed, learning how to think positively, and also informing the reader that they are what they think they are. In addition to all the techniques, he stated, for attaining success, the two methods he referred to which influenced me most were finding success through peace of mind and belief.

      Greater happiness through a peace of mind is a major quality many people wish to possess throughout their lifetime. However, due to how people lead their lives and lack of achievement in goals, to many individuals, it is difficult to have such idyllic mindsets. Through this book, Schwartz wants to help readers establish themselves in the procedures he provides to acquire goal-driven fervent lives. In Chapter 1, Schwartz’s main objective is the power of belief and as he emphasizes this idea to encourage individuals, he alludes to the Bible. He states “believe, really believe, and you can move a mountain” which referred me back to Matthew 17:20 which states, “if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” In the scripture, Jesus Christ compares our faith to a mustard seed, and says if we as individuals will have such faith, as small and miniature as a mustard seed we will be able to accomplish anything; which is the message Schwartz is attempting to give to readers. He claims, to win success is by believing you can succeed and through this, “generate the power, skill, and energy needed to do so.” Additionally, throughout the book, he compares people who wish to make things happen to people who actually make it happen. He states that people who are dreamers are considered as “average people” because they fail to discover the steps that will lead them to success. However, the people who have determination are those who actually observe and attain the attitudes of successful people.

      To conclude, this book has been an inspiration and has taught me that through the power of belief I can thrive in anything. I have learned that “believing, really believing,” will bring prosperity in life.