Norman Vincent Peale

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[edit] About

Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was a Christian preacher and author (most notably of The Power of Positive Thinking) and a progenitor of the theory of "positive thinking".

Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio and died in Pawling, New York. He was educated at Ohio Wesleyan University, and Boston University.

Raised as a Methodist and originally ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922, Peale changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church in America in 1932, and began a 52-year tenure as pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. During that time the church's membership grew from 600 to over 5,000, and he became one of New York City’s most famous preachers.

In 1945, Dr. Peale, his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale, and Raymond Thornburg, a Pawling, New York businessman founded Guideposts magazine, a non-denominational forum for celebrities and ordinary people to relate inspirational stories. For its launch, they raised $1,200 from Frank Gannett, founder of the Gannett newspaper chain, J. Howard Pew, a Philadelphia industrialist and Branch Rickey, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Though he wrote much - including 46 "inspirational" books - The Power of Positive Thinking remains by far his most widely read work. First published in 1952, it stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks. The book has sold around 20 million copies and translated into 41 different languages. Some of his other best known works include The Art of Living, A Guide to Confident Living, The Tough-Minded Optimist, and Inspiring Messages for Daily Living.

For 54 years (from 1935 to 1989), Peale also hosted the weekly radio program The Art of Living. It has been claimed that his sermons were mailed to around 750,000 people a month. He was also the subject of the 1964 film One Man's Way.

In 1947, Peale co-founded - with educator Kenneth Beebe - The Horatio Alger Association. This organization aims to recognize and honor Americans who have been successful in spite of difficult circumstances they have faced.

Other organizations founded by Peale include the Peale Center, the Positive Thinking Foundation and Guideposts Publications, all of which aim to promote Peale's theories about positive thinking.

For his contributions to the field of theology, President Ronald Reagan awarded Peale the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honor in the United States) on March 26, 1984.

Peale was also a Freemason (33°).


[edit] Quotes

  • Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.
  • Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure. The way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because you think you are.
  • Anybody can do just about anything with himself that he really wants to and makes up his mind to do. We are capable of greater things than we realize.
  • Be interesting, be enthusiastic... and don't talk to much.
  • Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.
  • Change your thoughts and you change your world.
  • Change yourself and your work will seem different.
  • Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
  • Cushion the painful effects of hard blows by keeping the enthusiasm going strong, even if doing so requires struggle.
  • Don't take tomorrow to bed with you.
  • Drop the idea that you are Atlas carrying the world on your shoulders. The world would go on even without you. Don't take yourself so seriously.
  • Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.
  • Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.
  • Getting people to like you is merely the other side of liking them.
  • If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal.
  • If you put off everything till you're sure of it, you'll never get anything done.
  • Imagination is the true magic carpet.
  • It is a fact that you project what you are.
  • It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship.
  • It's always too early to quit.
  • Never say anything to hurt anyone. Moreover... refrain from double talk, from shrewd and canny remarks that are designed to advance our interests at someone's disadvantage. We are to turn our back upon evil, and in every way possible, do good, help people and bring blessings into their lives.
  • Once we roared like lions for liberty; now we bleat like sheep for security! The solution for America's problem is not in terms of big government, but it is in big men over whom nobody stands in control but God.
  • One of the greatest moments in anybody's developing experience is when he no longer tries to hide from himself but determines to get acquainted with himself as he really is.
  • Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast.
  • Part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, but in avoiding them. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.
  • The 'how' thinker gets problems solved effectively because he wastes no time with futile 'ifs'.
  • The Gateway to Christianity is not through an intricate labyrinth of dogma, but by a simple belief in the person of Christ.
  • The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress, is the easiest type of existence.
  • The person who sends out positive thoughts activates the world around him positively and draws back to himself positive results.
  • The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.
  • There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.
  • Understanding can overcome any situation, however mysterious or insurmountable it may appear to be.
  • We struggle with the complexities and avoid the simplicities.
  • We tend to get what we expect.
  • We've all heard that we have to learn from our mistakes, but I think it's more important to learn from successes. If you learn only from your mistakes, you are inclined to learn only errors.
  • You can have peace of mind, improved health and an ever-increasing flow of energy. Life can be full of joy and satisfaction.
  • You will soon break the bow if you keep it always stretched.
  • Your enthusiasm will be infectious, stimulating and attractive to others. They will love you for it. They will go for you and with you.


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