How to Be Happy and the Power of Positive Thinking – A Tribute to Norman Vincent Peale

While growing up, I had many of the same goals that a lot of us have, to be successful and happy. However, how do we make that happen? I was always drawn to non-fictional reading, self-help books and true-life stories, especially the ones with the happy endings, or ones that taught a valuable lesson about life.

The most influential book I ever read was The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale. His outlook on life, which emphasized on seeing the positive, having a lot of faith in God and believing it yourself helped to shape me as a person. I remember highlighted passages from his book and reading that again and again, especially when faced with challenges in life.

Over the years, there have been a lot of self-help books I have read, but none compare to the Power of Positive Thinking book. I would highly recommend any book by Norman Vincent Peal as I consider him to be the most influential author, and one of the most pivotal persons in my life. Through his books, he demonstrates how to believe in yourself, strive for success and achieve your goals.

Do you choose to be happy? Many times, outside influences, including past or current experiences, news we hear, people’s reactions, or even the weather make us feel a certain way, but it’s up to YOU to replace that feeling with a good feeling. You can change that feeling. I do believe that happiness is a choice. If you choose to smile at someone, you are making a conscious decision to express joy and happiness. Chances are that the other person may smile back at you. If they don’t, it may be because they aren’t choosing happiness. That reminds me of the serenity prayer:

Try this exercise each day to brighten your day: Each morning, think of 3 things you are grateful for. If you want to go a step further, buy a notebook and start writing down these items and create a gratitude book. This is just one of the many ideas I learned from “The Secret”.

Why should you do this? It will help to remind you of all the wonderful things in your life that you have to be thankful for.

In the book, The Secret, there is a section of the book, and DVD that emphasizes how important it is to be grateful and thankful for things.

I would recommend all books by Norman Vincent Peale, but my highest recommendation goes to “The Power of Positive Thinking”.

Another book that I would highly recommend is “You Can If You Think You Can” by Norman Vincent Peale.