"The Power Of Positive Thinking"
By Norman Vincent Peale

What follows is a review of the 50-minute audio book, which includes extracts from the book read by the author.

Norman Vincent Peale was the first author who linked positive thinking and Christianity.

As he poses in the introduction of this audio book, his teachings are based in Jesus' message, and he quotes verses from the Bible at times to illustrate his explanations.

This audio book is divided in four parts: an introduction and three chapters which include exercises.

The author states that he teaches positive thinking "as a practical way to use faith to overcome defeat and accomplish worthwhile goals".

Chapter 1: "Believe in yourself"

The first chapter of this audio book deals with the issue of lack of self-confidence.

The author, from his Christian point of view, recommends developing tremendous faith in God to overcome lack of self-confidence, and to do this through the scriptures and through prayer.

A more general message (not necessarily Christian) is that "A man is what he thinks about all day long", which brings us to his "You can think your way into happiness" - you can achieve happiness by practicing happy thoughts.

Another way to creating happiness, the author explains, is to practice love.

At the end of the chapter there are six rules to build self-confidence, from which four of them can be used without having to be a Christian.

Chapter 2: "A peaceful mind generates power"

Peale states that "The secret to a mind full of peace lies in your mental attitude".

He proposes a number of methods to achieve peace of mind, some of them Christian (such as reading the Bible), and others not necessarily Christian (such as practicing being in silence fifteen minutes daily).

This chapter of "The power of positive thinking" brings us the powerful message "Within the mind are all of the resources needed for successful living".

It also gives us ten rules to achieve effective results with prayers.

Chapter 3: "Achieving your goals"

The author gives us a Christian affirmation to practice: "I believe that God gives me power to attain what I really want".

With a story, he reminds us that whenever we are faced with difficult problems, we think that "The rough is only mental".

A very revealing sentence in Peale's audio book is If you want to change your circumstances you must start thinking differently" - which brings us back to the power of our thoughts.

The audio book closes with a Christian-based formula to overcome obstacles.

Final thoughts

Although I am not a Christian myself I found that some of the messages in "The power of positive thinking" are equally applicable to positive thinking from a non-religious point of view, like the general principles regarding positive thinking or the ten rules to achieve effective results through prayer, which you can use for affirmations.

Obviously, this audio book could be of great help to you if you happen to be a Christian. Either way, it makes for an interesting and lighthearted yet revealing listening.

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