The Power of Positive Thinking
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio on May 31, 1898. He attended some of the best universities of his time such as Ohio Wesleyan University and Boston University School of Theology. Peale was one of the most influential people in the World of positive thinking. He made effective use of radio, television, newspaper, religious influences, and his books to promote his ideas and philosophy. Peale was raised Methodist and was a Methodist minister in 1922; however, he changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church of America in 1932 where he became the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. Shortly after he changed his association with the Methodist church, Peale started a radio program in 1935 called “The Art of Living.” During this time under the sponsorship of the National Council of Churches, he began to use television to promote his ideals, all while creating the “Guideposts” magazine in 1945. This magazine was a non-denominational forum for celebrities and ordinary people to relate inspirational stories. Peale also wrote numerous books on his philosophy of positive thinking. His most notorious book was “The Power of Positive Thinking” published in 1952. While he may not have been the first person to suggest the idea of positive thinking, he was just the first to put this theory into practice: “Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for it determines our success or failure.”
The basic idea of this quote is that it does not matter how big or small a current problem may seem, it is the attitude you have about the problem that will determine the outcome. If you surround the problem with negative thoughts then the problem has defeated you and you will not succeed. Conversely, if you surround the problem with positive thoughts then you can and will succeed.
An excellent example is a quote that was said in the famous story of “The Little Engine That... [continues]
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio on May 31, 1898. He attended some of the best universities of his time such as Ohio Wesleyan University and Boston University School of Theology. Peale was one of the most influential people in the World of positive thinking. He made effective use of radio, television, newspaper, religious influences, and his books to promote his ideas and philosophy. Peale was raised Methodist and was a Methodist minister in 1922; however, he changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church of America in 1932 where he became the pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. Shortly after he changed his association with the Methodist church, Peale started a radio program in 1935 called “The Art of Living.” During this time under the sponsorship of the National Council of Churches, he began to use television to promote his ideals, all while creating the “Guideposts” magazine in 1945. This magazine was a non-denominational forum for celebrities and ordinary people to relate inspirational stories. Peale also wrote numerous books on his philosophy of positive thinking. His most notorious book was “The Power of Positive Thinking” published in 1952. While he may not have been the first person to suggest the idea of positive thinking, he was just the first to put this theory into practice: “Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for it determines our success or failure.”
The basic idea of this quote is that it does not matter how big or small a current problem may seem, it is the attitude you have about the problem that will determine the outcome. If you surround the problem with negative thoughts then the problem has defeated you and you will not succeed. Conversely, if you surround the problem with positive thoughts then you can and will succeed.
An excellent example is a quote that was said in the famous story of “The Little Engine That... [continues]
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