Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago

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In this stop on our journey looking at the history of self-help, we begin exploring The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. It was another seminal book in the self-help genre, which brought the New Thought philosophy into a Christian context. In this first episode, we look at the origins of Positive Thinking from New Thought, which was a response to Puritanical Calvinism in 19th Century America, which had been making people mentally and physically sick.

In the next part, I will explore Peale's writing in more depth.

Listen to the audio version (advert-free) by subscribing to the podcast: the-haven.co/gentle-rebel-podcast

References
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
Bright Sided/Smile or Die by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Birth of Positive Thinking (James Allen) - youtube.com/watch?v=tVtG-Ahrkgw&
The Real Secret of Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill) - youtube.com/watch?v=Cn6H17AFwPU&
The Culture of Narcissism and Modern Self Help - youtube.com/watch?v=dD7a127TXbE&