More from and about
Norman Vincent Peale
(biographical info at bottom of page)

  

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,
and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

   

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.

      
Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.
  
  
Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something special in them. Look at the sunny side of everything. Think only the best, be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.  Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile. Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.
  
When you become detached mentally from yourself and concentrate on helping other people with their difficulties, you will be able to cope with your own more effectively. Somehow, the act of self-giving is a personal power-releasing factor.
  
The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.
   

Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them.  As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities.


The first step is to fill your life with a positive faith that will help you through anything. The second is to begin where you are.

     

Become a possibilitarian.  No matter how dark things seem
to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities--
always see them, for they’re always there.

   

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Anybody can do just about anything with themselves
that they really want to and make up their mind to do.
We are all capable of greater things than we realize.

   

When you wholeheartedly adopt a 'with all your heart' attitude
and go all out with the positive principle, you can do incredible things.

   

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.

   

    

Nearly every American achiever has been impacted at some time in their life by the wisdom of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.

As a young boy, Peale faced a fight against strong inferiority feelings when growing up. Over the years he developed and refined the message that anyone could put the principles of positive thinking and strong faith into practice and improve upon their own life dramatically.

At age 34, Peale accepted a call to Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan where he remained for 52 years as one of New York City’s most famous preachers. Membership grew from 600 when he arrived to well over 5,000 today.

In 1945, Dr. Peale, his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale, and Raymond Thornburg, a Pawling, New York businessman founded Guideposts Magazine. With little money and a strong vision they managed to raise $1,200 from Frank Gannett, founder of the Gannett newspaper chain, J. Howard Pew, the Philadelphia industrialist and Branch Rickey, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Guideposts was designed to be a non-denominational forum for people – both celebrities and ordinary folk – to relate their inspirational stories to provide a spiritual lift to all readers. Today, the 48 page, full-color magazine under the direction of Ruth Stafford Peale is the 13th largest paid-circulation magazine in the country with a circulation of over 4 million.

Peale put his gifted writing skills to work over the years. His fourth book “The Power of Positive Thinking,” was published in 1952 and has sold nearly 20 million copies and has been printed in 41 different languages. Peale completed what has been called his all-time inspirational best seller at age 54. He was the author of 46 inspirational books including “The Art of Living,” “A Guide to Confident Living,” “The Tough-Minded Optimist,” and “Inspiring Messages for Daily Living.”

For 54 years, Peale’s weekly radio program, “The Art of Living,” was on the air. His sermons were said to be mailed to over 750,000 people per month and in 1964 a movie was made of his life entitled “One Man’s Way.”

Peale also co-founded “The Horatio Alger Association,” with educator Kenneth Beebe in 1947 dedicated to recognizing and honoring contemporary Americans who have achieved success and excellence in the face of adversity.

The Guideposts family of nonprofit organizations includes the Peale Center, the Positive Thinking Foundation and Guideposts Publications. Their purpose is to be the world leader in communicating positive, faith-filled principles that empower people to reach their maximum personal and spiritual potential.

On Christmas Eve of 1993, Dr. Peale left us to meet his maker at the ripe age of 95 years old. His message of positive thinking, strong faith and helping others achieve their true potential will continue to live on with us well into the new millennium.

  

    

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you.  Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader).  All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another.  Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!

  

       

Yes, life can be mysterious and confusing--but there's much of life that's actually rather dependable and reliable.  Some principles apply to life in so many different contexts that they can truly be called universal--and learning what they are and how to approach them and use them can teach us some of the most important lessons that we've ever learned.
My doctorate is in Teaching and Learning.  I use it a lot when I teach at school, but I also do my best to apply what I've learned to the life I'm living, and to observe how others live their lives.  What makes them happy or unhappy, stressed or peaceful, selfish or generous, compassionate or arrogant?  In this book, I've done my best to pass on to you what I've learned from people in my life, writers whose works I've read, and stories that I've heard.  Perhaps these principles can be a positive part of your life, too!
Universal Principles of Living Life Fully.  Awareness of these principles can explain a lot and take much of the frustration out of the lives we lead.

          

Other people: 

Alan Watts
- Albert Einstein - Albert Schweitzer - Andy Rooney - Anne Frank
Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Anne Wilson Schaef - Annie Dillard - Anthony Robbins
Ari Kiev - Artur Rubenstein - Barbara Johnson - Benjamin Disraeli - Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Hoff - Bernie Siegel - Bertrand Russell - Betty Eadie - Booker T. Washington
Charlotte Davis Kasl
- Cheryl Richardson - Cristina Feldman - C.S. Lewis - the Dalai Lama
Dale Carnegie - Dawna MarkovaDeepak Chopra - Don Miguel Ruiz - Earl Nightingale
Elaine St. James - Eleanor Roosevelt - Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross - Ralph Waldo Emerson Emmet Fox - Frederick Buechner - George Bernard Shaw - George Santayana
George Washington Carver - Gerald Jampolsky - Harold Kushner
Harry Emerson Fosdick - Helen Keller - Henry David Thoreau - Henry James
Henry Van Dyke - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Henry Ward Beecher - Hugh Prather
Immanuel Kant
- Iyanla Vanzant - Jack Canfield - James Allen - Jennifer James - Jim Rohn
Joan Borysenko
- Joan Chittister - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - John Izzo John Ruskin
Joni Eareckson Tada
- Joseph M. Marshall III - Julia Cameron - Kent Nerburn
Khalil Gibran Leo Buscaglia - Leonard Jacobson - Leslie Levine - Lucinda Bassett
Lydia Maria Child - Lynn Grabhorn - Marcus Aurelius - Marianne Williamson
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Maya Angelou - Melody Beattie - Michael Goddart - Mitch Albom
Mohandas Gandhi
- Morrie Schwartz - Mother Teresa - M. Scott Peck - Nathaniel Branden
Nikos Kazantzakis
- Norman Cousins - Norman Vincent Peale - Og Mandino - Oprah Winfrey
Oriah
- Orison Swett Marden - Pau Casals - Peace Pilgrim - Phillips Brooks
Rabindranath Tagore
- Rachel Carson - Rachel Naomi Remen - Rainer Maria Rilke
Ralph Waldo Trine - Richard Bach - Richard Carlson - Robert Frost - Robert Fulghum
Robert Louis Stevenson
- Russell Baker - Sarah Ban Breathnach - Shakti Gawain
Soren Kierkegaard - Stephen Covey - Stephen C. Paul - Sue Patton Thoele - Susan L. Taylor
Sylvia Boorstein - Thich Nhat Hanh - Thomas Carlyle - Thomas Kinkade - Thomas Merton
Tom Walsh
- Victor Cherbuliez - Wayne Dyer - Wilferd A. Peterson - Willa Cather
William James - William Wordsworth - Zig Ziglar - Rhonda Byrne - Neale Donald Walsch
Carl Jung
- Desmond Tutu - Paulo Coelho - Jon Kabat-Zinn - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Walt Whitman