Philosopher's Notes Think Big to Win Big
Think Big to Win Big
The Bigger You Believe, The Bigger You Achieve
About the Book
Brian's take
This is the eighth book in Darrin Donnelly’s Sports for the Soul series and the eighth Philosopher’s Note I’ve created on his work, and it delivers exactly what I’ve come to expect from him: a fun, fast-moving sports story packed with practical life wisdom. In Think Big to Win Big, a struggling sportswriter learns from a big-vision coach that top achievers separate themselves by the size of their thinking, the boldness of their goals, and their ability to focus on the next play. The message is clear: you live up to your expectations, so raise them. Think bigger, act with intensity in small increments, rebound quickly when you lose, and keep setting new goals that stretch you toward your potential. Big Ideas we explore include Big Thinkers, The Magic of Thinking Big,:05, When You Lose, and Your Next Big Goal.
“Whether we realize it or not, we’re living up to—or down to—the expectations we set for ourselves.”
Life tends to give us what we think we deserve; what we think we’re worthy of.
Darrin Donnelly
“How well you do something is determined by your attitude.”
No matter your profession, your attitude can be a crucial competitive advantage for you. Thinking big is an attitude that gives you a competitive advantage over those that choose to think small.
Darrin Donnelly
“Winning means getting the most you possibly can out of what you’ve got.”
To get the most out of what you’ve got, you have to enlarge your vision and think as big as you possibly can.
Darrin Donnelly
“Life will meet you at your level of thinking, so you might as well think big.”
Darrin Donnelly
“Big thinkers know that big goals are only accomplished through small, incremental, and consistent actions….”
You don’t win a game by worrying about what the score will be sixty minutes from now. You win a game one play at a time, with all your focus on your effort and attitude during that one single play. That’s all you can control.
Darrin Donnelly
“In those moments of adversity, you must take control of your self-talk.”
Drown out that negative voice by saying to yourself, ‘Focus on the next step and the next step only.’ Ask yourself, ‘What can I do right this moment that will get me just a small step closer to my goal?’ That’s how you get back on track.
Darrin Donnelly
“Small thinkers go through life waiting for someone or something to change their lives for them.”
Big thinkers are too busy changing their lives for themselves…. You’ve got unlimited potential inside you. The only way to unleash it is to think big.
Darrin Donnelly
Big Thinkers vs. Small Thinkers
28:02
Introduction
From the book
“Study the top leaders and achievers in any field—in business, in sales, in sports, in virtually any profession—and you will find there is one trait above all others that separates them from their competition.
The top achievers think bigger than anyone else. They have big goals, big dreams, and big expectations for what they can achieve. They expect big results and they live up to those expectations. Whether we realize it or not, most of us are limiting ourselves—professionally, financially, physically, and mentally—by thinking too small. This is because we all live up to (or down to) our expectations. If you’re not thinking big enough about what you want out of life and what you can achieve, you will never live up to your full potential. Great achievers think bigger. They think big about their future, always enthusiastic about what’s ahead. They set big, exciting goals and they expect to achieve them. They have a big, positive vision for what life can look like and they expect to get there. When you start thinking bigger, something amazing happens. Life starts meeting you at your new level of thinking. When you have a bigger, more positive vision of your future, you start experiencing a bigger, more positive life. This book is about shifting your mindset to think bigger.”
Brian's Notes
I love Darrin Donnelly.
I’m creating this Note in the middle of a HAMMER-fest of creativity. I’m setting a pace of Note creation that is on one side or the other of possible.
It’s 5:56 in the morning. I’ve been working for 90 minutes already. I just finished a Note on David Brooks’s How to Know a Person. That’s a REALLY powerful book.
And… It’s also a bit heavy. So, when I looked at my stack of 100+ books I’ve read to decide which one would I Note-ify next, I’m like… “Which one do I REALLY want to do a Note on?”
And THIS book jumped out at me. (I got goosebumps typing that.)
Why? Because I knew it would be FUN to write.
Why? Because Darrin is awesome.
This is the EIGHTH (!) Note I’ve done on one of his great books. As I’ve said in all the previous Notes, Darrin has a REALLY special ability to tell a GREAT sports story *while* sharing some GREAT life wisdom.
He created something called the “Sports for the Soul” series. This is the eighth book in that series. We’ve covered ALL of his previous titles including: Think Like a Warrior, Old School Grit, Relentless Optimism, Life to the Fullest, Victory Favors the Fearless, The Turnaround, and The Mental Game.
I’ll repeat what I’ve said in all the previous Notes: If you or a loved one are REALLY into sports but maybe not *that* into self-development, READ DARRIN DONNELY! His stories are the PERFECT way to give your Soul a workout.
With that long prelude, it’s time to spend some time with a struggling sportswriter and an NFL coach about to make one of the greatest turnarounds in sports history. It’s time to Think Big to Win Big, my friend.
The book (get it here) is PACKED with Big Ideas. I’m fired up to share some potentially life-changing Ideas and help you apply the wisdom to your life TODAY.
P.S. I’m creating this on February 3rd, 2026, not too long after Indiana Football Head Coach Curt Cignetti won the college football National Championship after architecting *the* greatest turnaround in college football history—proving that the “impossible” is often, in fact, quite possible.
P.P.S. As much as I admire what Cignetti did for IU, I’m ALL IN on Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame Football. Go Irish!:)
P.P.P.S. Check out my Notes on How Champions Think by Bob Rotella, The Confident Mind by Nate Zinsser, Win Forever by Pete Carroll and Wooden by John Wooden for more of my all-time favorite mental toughness/peak performance wisdom.
