I have it face out on my shelf in my living room. So that I can see it constantly . . . And, it’s also one of those books, sorry, but I’m getting defensive. But, it’s one of those books that I read in around 2000, maybe a year or two after college, and I was in a shitty 100-plus hour a week job, where I was sleeping at my desk, and sitting the the fire exit, because that’s the only place they can fit me. But, yeah, it has to catch you at the right time.

via #125: Derek Sivers on Developing Confidence, Finding Happiness, and Saying "No" to Millions

The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz, it’s an amazing book. I find that when people are failing to accomplish their goals, or generally suffering from a malaise in life, it’s oftentimes because their goals aren’t big enough. Their dreams aren’t exciting enough to them.

And The Magic of Thinking Big was recommended to me by Stephen Key, who has made millions of dollars creating different products and toys, and licensing them to Disney, Nestle, huge companies, Hasbro, whoever it might be. And it was recommended to him by a number of Fortune 500 CEOs. And it’s a super simple book, really inspiring. I’ve had it for many, many years. That copy is probably at least 15 years old. And I think the externalities of lie are sometimes under-appreciated.

So for me, my external environment represents my internal environment. So if things are relatively neat, which I would say my house is right now, my mind tends to be well organized. If my external environment’s a mess, then my head is usually a mess, my
thinking is a mess. So that’s where we are.

This is a book that’s actually on my bookshelf facing out, so I’m reminded of it constantly.

The main message is pretty simple: don’t overestimate others and underestimate yourself."