“People become really quite remarkable when
they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves,
they have the first secret of success. “ ~ Dr. Norman Vincent Peale
It was 1978 in Perth , Western Australia
that I first became aware of the
wonderfully inspiring work of Dr Norman Vincent Peale.
A company called American SalesMasters had a video entitled “ Why Positive Thinkers
Get Positive Results “ by Dr Peale and I
used to sell this video (along with other videos on various topics) to businesses .
Part of
the sales process was that I would play this video for groups and then
get into a healthy discussion afterwards about the various points and how we
could use this inspiring 30 minutes to better our lives.
Time does distort our memories of course , but it seems I must
have watched this video 100 times. I
could practically recite the entire message!
There was one time though when I used this video that will be
forever etched in my memory.
I volunteered to run a viewing in a halfway house. This is a place where people – who
have suffered from such problems as alcohol or drug abuse and have been jailed previously – can be monitored and helped
to allow them to begin the process of
reintegration with society.
When I entered the premise and saw the people –
maybe a dozen or so – I immediately noticed that they were sedated and lounging
about in a very quiet way and I wondered how I could ever get any response from
them. Anyway, I introduced the video and the lights were dimmed and away it
went. So at the end of the video , the lights went back on and –to no surprise
– a number of them were asleep!
I stood in front of the room and thanked
everyone very much for inviting me to come along. Then I proceeded to collect the video and be
on my way.
What happened next amazed me. I was packing
things up when I heard a voice say “ can we see that again ?” I looked with astonishment at the people –
thinking I was dreaming – and then heard a few more voices say “yes”. I smiled (I was in shock) and of course gladly played the movie again.
After that moment in time, no one could ever
convince me that somebody, at least one human being, is learning something
when exposed to inspiring and informative material.
Two other points here. I got to see Dr Peale live and on stage. He was dynamic and spoke with great passion
and energy even though he was moving along in years.
And, here is what President Bill Clinton said
upon Dr Peale’s passing:
“ Dr. Peale lifted the spirits of
millions and millions of people who were nourished and sustained by his
example, his teaching, and his giving.“
Thank you Ray Jacobs for submitting this article. To get in touch with Ray please contact him through the following mediums:
- Phone: +971-(0)55 460 0708
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