More from and about
Wilferd Arlan Peterson
(biographical info at bottom of page)
  

You take a firm grip on positive attitudes of thought.
You hold right thoughts in your mind just as your hand grips a golf club.
You keep both feet on the ground. You stand for the highest and the best
and strive to fill your life with the goodness of God.

   

The surface of the ocean changes constantly.  Now it is smooth and quiet.  Again it becomes violent and tempestuous.  But in its depths, down under the storms that whip the surface into a fury, there is a zone of eternal calm which no storm ever reaches, no hurricane ever ruffles.  The surface of life is also in a state of constant flux, with good days and bad, victory and defeat.  To maintain, as the ocean does, a deep inner calm, while the storms of misfortune, reverses, fears and worries lash at the surface of life, is to discover the secret of serenity.

      
And then there is the thrill of creatively sowing ideas and inspiration into the minds of others. Often our contributions will actually change lives by sharing appreciation, courage, love, and joy. Carry the ideal of being a creative sower, that you are on the side of growth, plenty, peace, and progress. Make it a point to scatter creative seeds every day of your life!
  
Walking exercises the whole person. It exercises the body--it gives the arms and legs a workout. It stimulates the flow of blood; expands the lungs. It is gentle and relaxing. It exercises the mind--it shakes up the brain cells. It fills them with oxygen; drives out the cobwebs.  A famous scientist says he does his best thinking on the two miles of sidewalk between his home and office.  Walking exercises the emotions. It gives you a chance to observe and enjoy the world. Open your eyes to beauty. See the homes, the trees, the gardens. See the shining faces of little children. Listen for the church chimes, singing birds and the laughter of happy people.
   

You are a bundle of mysteries. Finding and conquering yourself is a lifetime task.  There are unplumbed depths in you full of the rich ore of personal discovery.  Explore yourself! There is power in you--the power to change yourself and to change the world; the power to create plans, projects, movements for the common good; the power to inspire and serve.

     

Stay home to find beauty. Open your eyes to a new appreciation of your surroundings:
the furniture, the wallpaper, the pictures on the walls, the woodwork,
the view from a window, the flowers in the garden. . .
Open yourself to a new awareness of the love in the faces of those with whom your home is shared.

   

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Your greatest power is the power to be. To be more loving.
To be more courageous. To be more joyous. To be more friendly.
To be more sensitive. To be more aware. To be more forgiving.
To be more tolerant. To be more humble. To be more patient.
To be more helpful. . . . To be a greater human being.

   

Good will is not a single quality. It is a composite
of all the qualities of the spirit, applied to daily living.

   

Work miracles by giving courage. Many ideas have failed to be realized
because people lacked the courage to see them through. Promising careers
have been abandoned because people were afraid.
Cheer people on. Instill courage in their hearts.

   

    
Wilferd A. Peterson wrote his entire life.  He cut his teeth editing and publishing company magazines for Jaqua Advertising Agency, while also working on his own writings.  In 1961 the editor of This Week magazine (a national Sunday supplement) thrust him into fame by publishing his inspirational messages.  Every week 14 million people read his writings, and thousands wrote urging him to write a book.

Working with Henry Simon, he published his first book, The Art of Living, at the age of sixty.  Since then, he wrote book after book, with over a million copies sold.  For twenty-five years, he wrote a monthly column for Science of Mind magazine, and once again his readers urged him to compile those essays into a book for easy reference.  The Art of Creative Thinking was Bill Peterson's response to those many requests.  In these busy times, readers are sure to appreciate his economy of words, which express significant insights which can be grasped in only a few minutes. 
  

    

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!
  

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 - Deepak 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

   

        
    

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.