ANALYSIS OF THE MAGIC OF THINKING BIG
In Believe You Can Succeed and You Will, Schwartz focuses on how individuals need to create a foundation on which to build their success. This foundation is the belief that the individual can succeed. Those who do not have this belief will fail even before they attempt a new activity. Because they lack the belief in their own success, they may not even take on new tasks that would lead to success. This is not to say that believing in success will automatically lead to success, but without that belief, success is made more difficult. Already I have been able to use this approach when I take on new tasks, such as learning a new sport. I can imagine myself being more skillful at the sport after I practice and play for a while which makes the initial difficulty easier to take on. I will never be an Olympic runner, but I can develop the skills to enjoy running. In the future, I can use this underlying belief in success to help me as I take on new tasks, as I go to college, or as I start a new job. By believing that I can succeed in the new endeavor, and imagining how that success will happen and feel, I can improve my chances of succeeding.
Excusitis is the word that Schwartz invents in Cure Yourself of Excusitis, the Failure Disease to explain how individuals create excuses in order to explain their failure, or at least their lack of success. People blame their age (too old or too young), their health, their intelligence and their luck to explain why they have failed or why they will not even attempt new tasks. Schwartz also presents ways to overcome these excuses. For me, age is one reason that I sometimes am not willing to try new things. I sometimes feel that I lack experience or that I am not old enough to take on new tasks. The book recommends seeking advice from those who are already proficient, and also realizing that taking on new tasks at any age makes that age the "right"...