Norman Vincent Peale
Overview
 
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was a minister and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 (most notably of The Power of Positive Thinking) and a progenitor of the theory of "positive thinking
Optimism
The Oxford English Dictionary defines optimism as having "hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view." The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning "best." Being optimistic, in the typical sense...

".
Peale was born in Bowersville, Ohio
Bowersville, Ohio
Bowersville is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 290 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Bowersville is located at ....

. He graduated from Bellefontaine High School
Bellefontaine High School
Bellefontaine High School is a public high school in Bellefontaine, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Bellefontaine City Schools district. They are members of the Central Buckeye Conference and were formerly members of the Western Buckeye League....

, Bellefontaine, Ohio
Bellefontaine, Ohio
Bellefontaine is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2000 census. It is the center of the Bellefontaine Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau in 2003...

. He has earned degrees at Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...

 (where he became a brother of the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...

) and Boston University School of Theology
Boston University School of Theology
Boston University School of Theology is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological schools maintained by the United Methodist Church...

.

Raised as a Methodist and ordained as a Methodist minister in 1922, Peale changed his religious affiliation to the Reformed Church in America
Reformed Church in America
The Reformed Church in America is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 170,000 members, with the total declining in recent decades. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1819, it...

 in 1932 and began a 52-year tenure as pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

 of Marble Collegiate Church
Marble Collegiate Church
The Marble Collegiate Church, founded in 1628, is one of the oldest continuous Protestant congregation in North America. The congregation, which is part of the Reformed Church in America, is now located at 272 Fifth Avenue at the corner of West 29th Street in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan,...

 in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

.
Quotations

The power of the Plus Factor is potential but it is not self-activating. It is latent in human beings and will remain latent until it is activated.

The Plus Factor makes its appearance in a person's life in proportion as that person is in harmony with God and His universal laws.

And now we get down to two magic words that tell us how to accomplish just about anything we want to accomplish, two powerful words that can change any situation, two dynamic words that all too few people use. And what are these two amazing words? Do it!

So what are you afraid of? What is holding you back? What is it that stands in your way? Do it!

Sometimes we see people persevering in the face of what seem to be insuperable odds. When that happens, I can't help but think that through their Plus Factor information has been conveyed to them that even they are unaware of.

Of vast importance in achieving peace of mind is dealing with the contents of mind itself: the mass of all ill thoughts you have stored up over the years, all the regrets, all the futilities, all the hidden sins, all the hates, all the grudges, all the vindictiveness. The minds of many people are filled with pockets of poison.[..........]

3. Tell yourself every morning as you go to work that you love your job. Think of it as interesting, even fascinating. By so doing you will ultimately get enthusiastic about your work-and you will undoubtedly do a better job. Source: POWER OF THE PLUS FACTOR

 
x
OK