Charles F. Haanel
Encyclopedia
Charles Francis Haanel (May 22, 1866 – November 27, 1949) was a noted American
New Thought
author and a businessman. He is best known for his contributions to the New Thought Movement through his book The Master Key System.
, Prussia
, before emigrating to Canada
and thence to the United States
.
In St. Louis: History of the Fourth City, the author Walter B. Stevens wrote that "Charles F. Haanel was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
, the son of Hugo and Emeline (Fox) Haanel." He was the fourth of six children. According to Stevens, "The family moved to St. Louis, Missouri
when Charles was a child. His first job was as an office boy for the National Enameling & Stamping Company in St. Louis, and he worked for this firm in varying capacities for fifteen years before striking out on his own as a writer and businessman."
In 1885 he married Esther M. Smith. They had one son and two daughters. In 1891 his wife died. In 1908 he married for the second time, to Margaret Nicholson of St. Louis, whose father was W. A. Nicholson.
He was a member of the Republican Party
, a Freemason and Shriner affiliated with St. Louis Keystone Lodge No.243, (A.F. & A.M.) and a supporter of the Missouri Athletic Club
. He was a member of Pi Gamma Mu
Fraternity, a Fellow of the London College of Psychotherapy, a member of the Authors League of America; a member of the American Society of Psychical Research; a member of the Society of Rosicrucians;a member of the American Suggestive Therapeutical Association; and a member of the Science League of America. During his life, Haanel earned and received several honorary academic degrees, including hon. Ph.D., College National Electronic Institute; Metaphysics, Psy. D., College of Divine Metaphysics; and M.D., Universal College of Dupleix, India.
When Haanel died on November 27, 1949; he was 83 years old. His ashes were buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis.
's New Thought magazine The Nautilus
. By 1933 it had sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. Haanel practiced the financial principles he preached and was a self made success who owned several major companies. According to Stevens, writing in 1909, "He was president of the Continental Commercial Company, president of the Sacramento Valley Improvement Company, and president of the Mexico Gold & Silver Mining Company."
The original Master Key System contained 24 parts or modules of study. The allegedly "lost" chapters of the Master Key System, chapters 25-28, which are found in some editions, are not original, but have been copied from the chapters 11-14 of A book about You. Among the key points of Haanel's system are what he refers to as the laws of concentration, attraction, and harmonious thinking and action. Unique to the Master Key System is a set of exercises that accompany each chapter, and which are systematically building upon each other — they are what makes the Master Key System a system.
In addition to the Master Key System, Haanel wrote several other books including Mental Chemistry, published in 1922, The New Psychology, published in 1924, A Book about You, published in 1927, and The Amazing Secrets of the Yogi, co-authored with Victor Simon Perera and published in 1937.
wrote Haanel a letter thanking him for The Master Key System. In the letter Hill stated, "My present success and the success which has followed my work as President of the Napoleon Hill Institute is due largely to the principles laid down in The Master-Key System."
Haanel was quoted in the best-selling self-help
book The Secret
by Rhonda Byrne
, published in 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
New Thought
New Thought
New Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
author and a businessman. He is best known for his contributions to the New Thought Movement through his book The Master Key System.
Personal life and business career
The Haanel family was of Swedish extraction, but had lived in SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, before emigrating to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and thence to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In St. Louis: History of the Fourth City, the author Walter B. Stevens wrote that "Charles F. Haanel was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, the son of Hugo and Emeline (Fox) Haanel." He was the fourth of six children. According to Stevens, "The family moved to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
when Charles was a child. His first job was as an office boy for the National Enameling & Stamping Company in St. Louis, and he worked for this firm in varying capacities for fifteen years before striking out on his own as a writer and businessman."
In 1885 he married Esther M. Smith. They had one son and two daughters. In 1891 his wife died. In 1908 he married for the second time, to Margaret Nicholson of St. Louis, whose father was W. A. Nicholson.
He was a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, a Freemason and Shriner affiliated with St. Louis Keystone Lodge No.243, (A.F. & A.M.) and a supporter of the Missouri Athletic Club
Missouri Athletic Club
The Missouri Athletic Club , founded in 1903, is a traditional gentlemen's club and athletic club in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA, with a separate athletic campus in the St. Louis County suburb of Town and Country. The MAC awards the annual Hermann Trophy, the highest award in American...
. He was a member of Pi Gamma Mu
Pi Gamma Mu
Pi Gamma Mu or ΠΓΜ is the oldest and preeminent honor society in the social sciences. It is also the only interdisciplinary social science honor society. It serves the various social science disciplines which seek to understand and explain human behavior and social relationships as well as their...
Fraternity, a Fellow of the London College of Psychotherapy, a member of the Authors League of America; a member of the American Society of Psychical Research; a member of the Society of Rosicrucians;a member of the American Suggestive Therapeutical Association; and a member of the Science League of America. During his life, Haanel earned and received several honorary academic degrees, including hon. Ph.D., College National Electronic Institute; Metaphysics, Psy. D., College of Divine Metaphysics; and M.D., Universal College of Dupleix, India.
When Haanel died on November 27, 1949; he was 83 years old. His ashes were buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis.
Career as financial success writer
Haanel's book The Master Key System, was published in 1912, when he was 46 years old. It is written in the form of a course in New Thought, mental development, financial success, and personal health. The book was heavily promoted in the pages of Elizabeth TowneElizabeth Towne
Elizabeth Towne was an influential writer, editor, and publisher in the New Thought and self-help movements.-Career:Both Elizabeth Towne and her second husband William E. Towne were for many years associated with the International New Thought Alliance , and served on its board in various capacities...
's New Thought magazine The Nautilus
The Nautilus (Magazine)
The Nautilus was a magazine of the New Thought Movement, founded in 1898 by Elizabeth Towne. In May 1900, Towne moved the magazine to Holyoke, Massachusetts, which became its permanent home until its discontinuation in August 1953, when Towne retired from publishing at the age of 88...
. By 1933 it had sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. Haanel practiced the financial principles he preached and was a self made success who owned several major companies. According to Stevens, writing in 1909, "He was president of the Continental Commercial Company, president of the Sacramento Valley Improvement Company, and president of the Mexico Gold & Silver Mining Company."
The original Master Key System contained 24 parts or modules of study. The allegedly "lost" chapters of the Master Key System, chapters 25-28, which are found in some editions, are not original, but have been copied from the chapters 11-14 of A book about You. Among the key points of Haanel's system are what he refers to as the laws of concentration, attraction, and harmonious thinking and action. Unique to the Master Key System is a set of exercises that accompany each chapter, and which are systematically building upon each other — they are what makes the Master Key System a system.
In addition to the Master Key System, Haanel wrote several other books including Mental Chemistry, published in 1922, The New Psychology, published in 1924, A Book about You, published in 1927, and The Amazing Secrets of the Yogi, co-authored with Victor Simon Perera and published in 1937.
Influence on other writers
In 1919, Napoleon HillNapoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. He is widely considered to be one of the great writers on success...
wrote Haanel a letter thanking him for The Master Key System. In the letter Hill stated, "My present success and the success which has followed my work as President of the Napoleon Hill Institute is due largely to the principles laid down in The Master-Key System."
Haanel was quoted in the best-selling self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
book The Secret
The Secret
A secret is information kept hidden. Secret or The Secret may also refer to:-Music:* Secret , a South Korean girl group* Il segreto di Susanna; or Suzanna's Secret, one-act opera by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari...
by Rhonda Byrne
Rhonda Byrne
Rhonda Byrne is an Australian television writer and producer, best known for her New Thought works, The Secret—a book and a film by the same name. By the Spring of 2007 the book had sold almost 4 million copies, and the DVD had sold more than 2 million copies omt. She has also been a producer...
, published in 2007.