David J. Schwartz Quotes

“A humorist once said the most difficult problem in life was getting out of a warm bed into a cold room. And he had a point. The longer you lie there and think how unpleasant it will be to get up, the more difficult it becomes… The point is clear. People that get things done don’t wait for the spirit to move them; they move the spirit.”

“A man who lacks enthusiasm never develops it in another. But a person who is enthusiastic soon has enthusiastic followers.”

“A person is a product of his own thoughts.”

“Accept human differences and limitations. Don’t expect anyone to be perfect. Remember, the other person has a right to be different. And don’t be a reformer.”

“Accept the law of cause and effect. Take a second look at what appears to be someone’s “good luck.” You’ll find not luck but preparation, planning, and success-producing thinking preceded his good fortune.”

“Action cures fear.”

“Be extra, extra cautious about this: don’t let negative thinking people – “negators” – destroy your plan to think yourself to success. Negators are everywhere and they seem to delight in sabotaging the positive progress of others.”

“Being self-critical is constructive. It helps you to build the personal strength and efficiency needed for success. Blaming others is destructive. You gain absolutely nothing from “proving” that someone else is wrong.”

“Build castles, don’t dig graves.”

“Don’t wait until conditions are perfect. They never will be. Expect future obstacles and difficulties and solve them as they arise.”

“Every day thousands of people bury good ideas because they are afraid to act on them. And afterwards, the ghosts of these ideas come back to haunt them.”

“Expect to be sniped at. It’s proof you’re growing.”

“Give yourself a pep talk several times daily.”

“How you think determines how you act.
How you act in turn determines how others react to you.”

“How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.”

“Let your major goal be your automatic pilot. When you let your goal absorb you, you’ll find yourself making the right decisions to reach your goal.”

“Look at things not as they are, but as they can be. Visualization adds value to everything. A big thinker always visualizes what can be done in the future. He isn’t stuck with the present.”

“Now is the magic word of success. Tomorrow, next week, later, sometime, someday often as not are synonyms for the failure word: never.”

“People do more for you when you make them feel important.”

“Put service first and money takes care of itself.”

“Refuse to talk about your health. The more you talk about an ailment, even the common cold, the worse it seems to get. Talking about bad health is like putting fertilizer on weeds. Besides, talking about your health is a bad habit. It bores people.”

“Remind yourself often, “It’s better to wear out than rust out.” Life is yours to enjoy. Don’t waste it.”

“Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. Successful people are not supermen. Success does not require a super-intellect. Nor is there anything mystical about success. And success isn’t based on luck. Successful people are just ordinary folks who have developed belief in themselves and what they do. Never – yes, never – sell yourself short.”

“Study the lives of successful people and you’ll discover this: all the excuses made by the mediocre fellow could be but aren’t made by the successful person.”

“Success is determined not so much by the size of one’s brain as it is by the size of one’s thinking.”

“Success shuns the man who lacks ideas.”

“The body is what the body is fed. By the same token, the mind is what the mind is fed… The kind of mind food we consume determines our habits, attitudes, personality.”

“The overwhelming majority of really successful people work much longer than 40 hours a week. And you don’t hear them complain of overwork. Successful people have their eyes focused on a goal and this provides energy.”

“The test of a successful person is not an ability to eliminate all problems before they arise, but to meet and work out difficulties when they do arise.”

“Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success.”