Monthly Archives: January 2012

Lick Age Excusitis

Picture: stevendepolo, flickr

Did you find yesterday’s post (on age excusitis) interesting and that you could (more or less) relate to it – that you may suffer a case (mild or not) of age excusitis?

If yes, don’t fret. In this article I will share David’s three things you can do to lick age excusitis. (Actually, it’s three things you MUST do if you want to lick age excusitis!)

The best vaccine against age excusitis consists of these things:

Be Positive

Look at your present age positively. Think “I’m still young”, not “I’m already old.” Look forward to your new horizons and gain the enthusiasm and the feel of youth.

Compute how much productive time you have left

According to Cecil and David, a human’s productive life begins at about 20 and ends at about 70. This means that there are 50 years in between.

So, if you’re…

  • 20 – you still have 100% productivity life
  • 30 – you still have 80% productivity life
  • 40 – you still have 60% productivity life
  • 50 – you still have 40% productivity life
  • 60 – you still have 20% productivity life
Me, at 10 year old, still have 120% productivity life. Cool, huh?

Invest future time…

to do what you really want to do.

Don’t think “I should have done this years ago”, but think this “I’m going to start now, my best years are ahead of me.”

Think the successful way (the latter).

See You Later!

If you think that you suffer a case of health excusitis (I hope it is a mild one), you just have to apply these four doses. Check back later and comment on whether it’s working! If it does, you really have to buy his book. It contains much more elaboration!

Thank you for reading! We have come to the end of this series – so congratulations on reading the whole series!

But now I have to remind you: this book has changed the lives of literally millions. It’s quite cheap too and I totally recommend it to you. But I’m not going to put an affiliate link here (is there any, anyway? and how do I set it so that I get money??).

Millions of people throughout the world have improved their lives using The Magic of Thinking Big. Dr. David J. Schwartz, long regarded as one of the foremost experts on motivation, will help you sell better, manage better, earn more money, and — most important of all — find greater happiness and peace of mind.

The Magic of Thinking Big gives you useful methods, not empty promises. Dr. Schwartz presents a carefully designed program for getting the most out of your job, your marriage and family life, and your community. He proves that you don’t need to be an intellectual or have innate talent to attain great success and satisfaction — but you do need to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behaving in ways that will get you there. This book gives you those secrets!

~ The Magic of Thinking Big (Amazon.com)

Age Excusitis

Picture: mikebaird, flickr

Ever caught yourself saying “I’m too old” or “I’m too young”? If so, you’re suffering from a case of age excusitis.

Age excusitis, the failure disease of never being the right age, comes in two easily identifiable forms: the “I’m too old” variety and the “I’m too young” brand.

~David J. Schwartz, pg 53 of The Magic of Thinking Big

Take me as an example – I’m only 10. If I’m the average, usual kind of person who wants to be sucessful yet put down the idea because ‘they’re too young’, would I be here blogging about being successful?

No…right? 10 years old isn’t too young – and similarly, 90 years old isn’t too old either.

And here’s an extract coming from the Quantum Jumping home page (I’m not exactly a fan of it yet):

Burt himself, now 83 years old, claims Quantum Jumping has helped him accomplish a variety of remarkable feats. He has used it to learn how to paint and become a photographer (with his work hanging in multiple galleries across the world to prove it), and even gain the inspiration to be a published author, a singer and an online entrepreneur…

Quantum Jumping

Note: The above extract isn’t about quantum jumping, but about the fact that Burt, at 83 years old, have accomplished many things. And now you might be saying, “He is NOW 83, not when he was 83 he accomplished these things.” True. But as what the website states…

All just before his 80th birthday, and with absolutely no prior experience in any of these subjects. In the space of just a few years, he has managed to achieve not one, but multiple goals that some people spend their entire lives chasing—and he’s not alone.

Quantum Jumping

Satisfied? Now, let’s get back to the information in The Magic of Thinking Big…

Some Background

David confidently states that you’ve heard people of all ages explain their performance in life something like this: “I’m too old (or young) to break in now.”

It’s surprising to him how few people that they are “just right”, agewise. It’s unfortunate too, to him, because this excuse closed the door of real oppurtunity to thousands of individuals who think that their age is wrong, and thus don’t even bother to try.

The most common variety is the “I’m too old” one because it’s spread in subtle ways.

The Cure

David found the cure to age excusitis and first tested (according to the book) the cure with a guy named Cecil, a 40-year old guy wanting to shift ovcer to set himself up as a manufacturer’s representative.

He thought himself as too old because he was 40.

I will cover what the cure is tomorrow.

My Experience

My parents themselves are around 40 years old currently. However, they are actively pursuing their passion.

  • My father had a job that required him to stay at his desk for hours at end doing nothing (surprising?!) and had a surprisingly very high pay. However, he recently changed his job to one that had lower pay and required him to constantly go overseas, meet with clients, stay late at work (seriously. One day, he stayed back till 2-3am to complete a proposal!), etc.
  • My mother previously worked in a 9-5 job that requires her to sell cars. Having be in the company for very long (more than 10 years!), her pay was sky-high. However, he changed to become a gym instructor, which pays less and demands more effort.
This might sound absolutely crazy to you (I mean, ordinary people don’t change from a high-paying, easy job to a lower-paying  and harder job), but this is 100% true. Both of them now, luckily, enjoy work more!

Lick Intelligence Excusitis

Picture: rkramer62, flickr

Did you find yesterday’s post (on intelligence excusitis) interesting and that you could (more or less) relate to it – that you may suffer a case (mild or not) of intelligence excusitis?

If yes, don’t fret. In this article I will share David’s three things you can do to lick intelligence excusitis. (Actually, it’s three things you MUST do if you want to lick health excusitis!) Also, you’re not alone. 95% of humans suffer from that!

The best vaccine against health excusitis consists of these three things:

Underestimate – or overestimate

Never underestimate your own intelligence and never overestimate other’s intelligence

Concentrate on your assets and discover your superior talents.

Remind yourself…

My attitudes are more important than my intelligence

Develop an “I’m winning” attitude and put your intelligence to creative positive use. Use it to find ways to win, not to prove you will lose.

Remember that the ability to think is of more greater value than the ability to memorise

Remember the ‘Ford’ story!

See You Later!

If you think that you suffer a case of intelligence excusitis (I hope it is a mild one), you just have to apply these three doses. Check back later and comment on whether it’s working! If it does, you really have to buy his book. It contains much more elaboration!

Thank you for reading! Tomorrow, we’ll be going on about age excusitis. Stay tuned!

Enjoyed this post? Buy David J. Schwartz’s book (The Magic of Thinking Big) then!

Intelligence Excusitis

Picture: Scarleth White

Intelligence excusitis or “I lack brains” is common. In fact, it’s so common that pehaps as many as 95 per cent of the people around us have it in varying degrees. Unlike most other types of excusitis, people suffering from this particular type of the malady suffer in silence. Not many people will admit openly that they think they lack adequate intelligence  Rather, they feel it deep down inside.

~David J. Schwartz, pg 45 of The Magic of Thinking Big

According to David…

Two basic errors with respect to intelligence is (1) underestimating your own brain power (2) ovrestimating the other fellow’s brain power.

These two errors alone make many people sell themselves short.

What really matters is not how much intelligence you have but how you use what you do have.

Henry Ford

One time Henry Ford was involved in a libel suit with the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune had called Ford an ignoramus, and Ford, a man of great respect, said in effect, “Prove it.”

The Tribune asked him scores of simple questions such as “Who was Benedict Arnold?” “When was the Revolutionary War fought?” and others, most of which Ford, who had little formal education, could not answer.

Finally, he became quite exasperated and said, “I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I could find a man in five minutes who does.”

~David J. Schwartz, pg 50-51 of The Magic of Thinking Big

This remarkable guy, Henry Ford never wasted his brain space by memorsing miscellaneous information. Instead, he knew that he needed the ability to know how to get information is more important than using the mind as a garage for facts.

Fact-Man (‘expert’)

One of David’s friend, who was a president of a young but rapidly growing manufacturing concern, stated that he would only pay a fact-man (who could answer all sorts of questions and which many were nonsensical) $300 for life. This was because the ‘expert’ (fact-man) couldn’t think but only memorise. To him, the fact-man was a human encyclopedia that wasn’t worth much.

He concluded by saying that he wanted, around him, people who can solve problems, think up ideas and finally dream and develop the dream into a practical application.

Reflection

If you can realise the difference between Henry Ford and the fact-man, good for you! But now, the serious question comes – do you suffer from intelligence excusitis? I hope you don’t…

But if you do, you have to tune in tomorrow where I will share with you 3 of David’s tips on how to cure intelligence excusitis.