self help books - - blog - Sister to Sister

December 18, 2018 , The origin of self help books

Self help books are now one of the most popular genres. This flood of self help books, some really good, some just confusing, owe their existence to a much loved man, who for 52 years, was the pastor of New York City's Marble Collegiate Church. Rev. Norman Vincent Peale wrote forty books, was a popular speaker and, with the help of his wife, Ruth Stafford Peale, published the Guideposts, one of today's top fifty magazines.

The Power of Positive Thinking soared to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, where it remained for three years, making an overnight celebrity of its author. Since its publication in 1952, more than 15 million copies have been sold, and it has been translated into 33 languages. It became the prototype for a wave of self-help literature on a variety of subjects.

Rev. Peale submitted his book to many publishers, but they all declined to publish it saying it was an unusual book and would not sell. In despair, Rev. Peale tossed his rejected manuscript into a trash can. His wife, Ruth, reached down to retrieve it, but Rev. Peale forbid her to take it out of the can.

Later, she took the can to a publisher she knew and ask him to read it, but told him he would have to take it out of the trash can himself. The publisher retrieved the manuscript from the trash can and read it. He liked it and published it, and the rest is history.

Rev. Peale was a quiet, observant man and he noticed that what people thought determined how they acted and how they acted determined, to a great extent, what their life was like. The Rev. did not know why this was so, but now we do.

Most of our actions are automatic. When you opened your computer and loaded it, you were conscious of doing it. And yet, it was still done automatically by your subconscious. You entered your password without thought, your fingers typing in the characters without you noticing what the password is.

If you believe your thoughts are just words prancing though your mind, then disappearing off stage, you are wrong. Every thought you have, every action you take is stored in your subconscious. Whether you think you will succeed or think you will fail, your subconscious will strive to make that thought a reality. And your subconscious has a memory far surperior and longer lasting than your conscious mind.

Your subconscious does not judge or decide the value or truth of the information you send it. It accepts every word you think and every action you take as important and true. The more often you think a thought or perform an action, the more important that thought or action becomes to your subconscious.   

Whether a thought or action is positive or negative, your subconscious is a magical genie that will do its best to make your every wish to come true. Your subconscious is the source of your talents and skills. The more you practice a skill, the better your subconscious becomes at that skill. That is why it is said 'practice makes perfect'. But only careful practice.  Sloppy practice perpetuated sloppy work.

Guard your thoughts well. Practice only positive, constructive thoughts and actions For every thought and every action becomes a part of the blueprint for what your life will become, even the bad ones.

Thoughts have power, make your thoughts positive, become the awsome woman you were born to be.