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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.
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