One of the most influential books of the 1960s was “The Power Of Positive Thinking”.
It was on the New York Times Bestseller List for more than three years.
It sold five million copies worldwide.
Positive Thinking sparked a behavioural revolution.
The belief that if you wanted anything badly enough you could have it.
All you had to do was believe in it totally.
Just be 100% completely positive about what you wanted.
Visualise it, repeat it, and eventually, irresistibly it would happen.
Just by The Power of Positive Thinking.
If you believed enough, you’d have it.
Whatever it was: a Porsche, a yacht, a mansion, a wonderful relationship, your dream job.
The book took the world by storm for over a decade.
When I started in advertising, lots of people still believed it was the formula for success.
But it always seemed a bit silly to me.
Just believe in it enough and anything could happen?
If it was that easy to get what you wanted surely everybody would have it.
But they clearly don’t.
So I never took it very seriously.
The book was written by Norman Vincent Peale.
I knew he was the author, but recently I was surprised to find his full time job was Pastor of a Church in New York.
And what surprised me even more was the person who recently quoted him as one of the major influences in their life.
A famous person who regularly attended his sermons and soaked up everything he had to say.
Why would I be so surprised?
Well, can you think of anyone who totally believed in what they wanted, no matter what the facts looked like?
Someone who was convinced they could succeed against what all the evidence said?
Someone who turned every negative into a positive, no matter how stupid it looked to everyone else?
Yup, it was Donald Trump.
He said he would listen to Norman Vincent Peale speak for hours.
Remember when it was a joke that Trump could even stand for President?
Remember when literally every comedian in America treated him as a clown?
When he lost every debate and said he’d won them all.
When the media proved he lied and he simply said he didn’t.
When the polls said he’d lose and he just said the polls were wrong.
With pretzel logic he turned every situation into his kind of truth.
To me it just looked like living in denial.
It just looked like he and his supporters couldn’t accept the truth.
And then, in a way no one can still quite believe, he won.
Against all logic, against all evidence, against all reason.
And suddenly I’m wondering about that book that seemed silly to me.
The book that said sheer belief can overcome reason.
Did Norman Vincent Peale unknowingly suffer from this?
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking emotions, usually beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriately seductive behavior and an excessive need for approval. Histrionic people are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. HPD affects four times as many women as men.[1] It has a prevalence of 2–3% in the general population and 10–15% in inpatient and outpatient mental health institutions.[2](Wikipedia Definition)
HPD lies in the dramatic cluster of personality disorders.[3] People with HPD have a high need for attention, make loud and inappropriate appearances, exaggerate their behaviors and emotions, and crave stimulation.[3] They may exhibit sexually provocative behavior, express strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and can be easily influenced by others. Associated features include egocentrism, self-indulgence, continuous longing for appreciation, and persistent manipulative behavior to achieve their own needs. (Wikipedia Definition)
Did Norman Vincent Peale unknowingly suffer from this?
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive attention-seeking emotions, usually beginning in early adulthood, including inappropriately seductive behavior and an excessive need for approval. Histrionic people are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. HPD affects four times as many women as men.[1] It has a prevalence of 2–3% in the general population and 10–15% in inpatient and outpatient mental health institutions.[2]
HPD lies in the dramatic cluster of personality disorders.[3] People with HPD have a high need for attention, make loud and inappropriate appearances, exaggerate their behaviors and emotions, and crave stimulation.[3] They may exhibit sexually provocative behavior, express strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and can be easily influenced by others. Associated features include egocentrism, self-indulgence, continuous longing for appreciation, and persistent manipulative behavior to achieve their own needs. (Wikipedia Definition)
It seems to be a common trait in leaders in every field – but perhaps not always as extreme as Trump.
In Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, he frequently mentions the ‘reality distortion field’ that surrounded Jobs and with which he seemed to be able to bend everything and everybody to his world view.
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
One of George Bernard Shaw’s Maxims for Revolutionists.
I think this sort of phenomenon is best explained by a kind of lateral thinking. Perhaps focusing on a goal to the exclusion of all other things makes us more likely to spot any opportunities or coincidences that might lead towards that goal, allowing us to better exploit them.
Sheer belief overcomes reason because belief cannot exist in the presence of reason except by overcoming it.
A businessman in the oval office is the de coup de grâce for political ideology.
Indeed, Jon:
“In the Soviet Union, capitalism triumphed over communism. In the USA, capitalism triumphed over democracy.” – Fran Lebowitz
I like in your book when you talk about system two and system one thinking
As we can see from your story the magic formula of positive thinking – does work. But only when we will push our life in directions we want to achieve. Actively!
I didn’t read the book you mentioned but I read wishy-washy “The Law of Attraction” that the author could actually explain in 2 pages (but then who would buy it?!) or Skip Ross’s “Dynamic Living” audio seminars. That one had a very positive impact on me. I guess is because of the charisma Skip presents. Before I wouldn’t even think I could run my business. In a different country. Starting life from literal “zero”.
The positive thinking does work but only when we do something about it, instead of watching submissively.
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