by Arthur Worsley
M.A. Psychology, Oxford. McKinsey Alum. Founder & Editor at TAoL.

2 MINUTE READ

Psycho-Cybernetics (1960)

A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life

by Maxwell Maltz

Paperback | Ebook | Audiobook | Gutenberg

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One-Sentence Summary

Psycho-Cybernetics defined the concept of self-image and inspired a generation of books on the power of identifying and breaking limited beliefs – by cosmetic surgeon and best selling author, Maxwell Maltz. (288 pages)

Contents

1. One-Sentence Summary

2. Psycho-Cybernetics Summary

3. Psycho-Cybernetics Contents

4. Best Psycho-Cybernetics Quotes

6. Wish There Was a Faster/Easier Way?

Note: This Psycho-Cybernetics summary is part of an ongoing project to summarise the Best Mindset Books and Best Self Help Books of all time.

Note: This Psycho-Cybernetics summary is a stub. I'll write a full summary later. For now, you'll find enough meta-data here to help you decide if it's worth reading the book.

Psycho-Cybernetics Summary

This publisher’s blurb is taken from the 2017 updated and expanded edition of Psycho-Cybernetics.

Cybernetics (loosely translated from the Greek): “a helmsman who steers his ship to port.” Psycho-Cybernetics is a term coined by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, which means, “steering your mind to a productive, useful goal so you can reach the greatest port in the world, peace of mind.”

Since its first publication in 1960, Maltz’s landmark bestseller has inspired and enhanced the lives of more than 30 million readers. In this updated edition, with a new introduction and editorial commentary by Matt Furey, president of the Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation, the original text has been annotated and amplified to make Maltz’s message even more relevant for the contemporary reader.

“Before the mind can work efficiently, we must develop our perception of the outcomes we expect to reach. Maxwell Maltz calls this Psycho-Cybernetics; when the mind has a defined target it can focus and direct and refocus and redirect until it reaches its intended goal.” — Tony Robbins (from Unlimited Power)

Maltz was the first researcher and author to explain how the self-image (a term he popularized) has complete control over an individual’s ability to achieve (or fail to achieve) any goal. And he developed techniques for improving and managing self-image—visualization, mental rehearsal, relaxation—which have informed and inspired countless motivational gurus, sports psychologists, and self-help practitioners for more than fifty years.

The teachings of Psycho-Cybernetics are timeless because they are based on solid science and provide a prescription for thinking and acting that lead to quantifiable results.

Psycho-Cybernetics Contents

Psycho-Cybernetics has 15 main chapters…

The Self-Image: Your Key to a Better Life
Discovering the Success Mechanism Within You
Imagination: The First Key to Your Success Mechanism
Dehypnotize Yourself from False Beliefs
How to Utilize the Power of Rational Thinking
Relax and Let Your Success Mechanism Work for You
You Can Acquire the Habit of Happiness
Ingredients of the “Success-Type” Personality and How to Acquire Them
The Failure Mechanism: How to Make It Work for You Instead of Against You
How to Remove Emotional Scars, or How to Give Yourself an Emotional Face-Lift
How to Unlock Your Real Personality
Do-It-Yourself Tranquilizers That Bring Peace of Mind
How to Turn a Crisis into a Creative Opportunity
How to Get That Winning Feeling
More Years of Life and More Life in Your Years

Take a moment to really read through these chapter headings to get a good overview of the structure of the book.

Best Psycho-Cybernetics Quotes

These Psycho-Cybernetics quotes come from The Art of Living's ever-growing central library of thoughts, anecdotes, notes, and inspirational quotes.

"You will act like the sort of person you conceive yourself to be."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

"Your nervous system cannot tell the difference between an imagined experience and a ‘real’ experience."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

"It is no exaggeration to say that every human being is hypnotized to some extent either by ideas he has uncritically accepted from others or ideas he has repeated to himself or convinced himself are true. These negative ideas have exactly the same effect upon our behavior as the negative ideas implanted into the mind of a hypnotized subject by a professional hypnotist."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

Best Psycho-Cybernetics Quotes: It is no exaggeration to say that every human being is hypnotized to some extent either by ideas he has uncritically accepted from others or ideas he has repeated to himself or convinced himself are true. These negative ideas have exactly the same effect upon our behavior as the negative ideas implanted into the mind of a hypnotized subject by a professional hypnotist.

"Skill in any performance whether it be in sports in playing the piano in conversation or in selling merchandise consists not in painfully and consciously thinking out each action as it is performed but in relaxing and letting the job do itself through you. Creative performance is spontaneous and ‘natural’ as opposed to self-conscious and studied."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

"Conscious effort inhibits and ‘jams’ the automatic creative mechanism."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

"Adopt the motto - ”It doesn’t matter who’s right, but what’s right.”"

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

"He must have a burning desire to solve the problem. But after he has defined the problem and sees in his imagination the desired end result secured all the information and facts that he can, then additional struggling fretting and worrying over it does not help but seems to hinder the solution."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

Best Psycho-Cybernetics Quotes: He must have a burning desire to solve the problem. But after he has defined the problem and sees in his imagination the desired end result secured all the information and facts that he can, then additional struggling fretting and worrying over it does not help but seems to hinder the solution.

"The “Success-type” personality is composed of: S-ense of direction U-nderstanding C-ourage C-harity E-steem S-elf-Confidence S-elf-Acceptance."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

"Our present state of self-confidence and poise is the result of what we have “experienced” rather than what we have learned intellectually."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

"Happiness is a mental habit, a mental attitude, and if it is not learned and practiced in the present it is never experienced. It cannot be made contingent upon solving some external problem. When one problem is solved, another appears to take its place. Life is a series of problems. If you are to be happy at all, you must be happy – period! Not happy “because of”."

- Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

Best Psycho-Cybernetics Quotes: Happiness is a mental habit, a mental attitude, and if it is not learned and practiced in the present it is never experienced. It cannot be made contingent upon solving some external problem. When one problem is solved, another appears to take its place. Life is a series of problems. If you are to be happy at all, you must be happy – period! Not happy “because of”.

Read More: 5 Books Like Psycho-Cybernetics

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And in the meantime...

Here are 5 top books like Psycho-Cybernetics...

Books Like Psycho-Cybernetics: As a Man Thinketh

1. As a Man Thinketh - James Allen (FREE Summary)

As a Man Thinketh is THE #1 ranking, uplifting, pocket-sized pep-talk on the power and importance of changing your thoughts as the cornerstone to changing your life - by philosopher and prolific self-help author, James Allen.

Published 1902 // 34 pages // Rated 4.3 over 68,100 reviews on Goodreads

Books Like Psycho-Cybernetics: Think and Grow Rich

2. Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill (FREE Summary)

Think and Grow Rich is a best-selling book of all time and a cornerstone guide to the Law of Attraction and the role of the subconscious in transforming your life - by a titan of the self-help genre, Napoleon Hill.

Published 1937 // 233 pages // Rated 4.2 over 254,900 reviews on Goodreads

Books Like Psycho-Cybernetics: The Magic of Thinking Big

3. The Magic of Thinking Big - David J. Schwartz (FREE Summary)

The Magic of Thinking Big is a powerful, practical and uplifting book to help get you out of a rut, invigorate your goals and empower you towards success - by life-long motivational writer and coach, David J. Schwartz.

Published 1959 // 320 pages // Rated 4.2 over 77,300 reviews on Goodreads

Books Like Psycho-Cybernetics: The Power of Positive Thinking

4. The Power of Positive Thinking - Norman Vincent Peale (FREE Summary)

The Power of Positive Thinking reminds us that we don’t need a PhD in Human Relations to live our best lives if we can learn a few tricks to change how we think - by minister and best-selling author Norman Vincent Peale.

Published 1952 // 128 pages // Rated 4.1 over 96,300 reviews on Goodreads

Books Like Psycho-Cybernetics: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

5. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living - Dale Carnegie (FREE Summary)

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living is a practical, common-sense bible filled with stories, case studies and simple step-by-step guides to conquering worry, anxiety and depression - by self development guru, Dale Carnegie.

Published 1944 // 358 pages // Rated 4.1 over 87,800 reviews on Goodreads

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