Hacker News Books

I'm not sure what "its kind" is, but self-help books go back a long way. Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People", recommended by PG, was written in 1936. "The Power of Positive Thinking" dates from 1952, etc.

But I certainly agree that 7 Habits is an excellent book.

"The Power of Positive Thinking" — I read this when I was in junior high and a real jerk. It instantly ended my jerkitude and put me on a much better path.

I posted this a few weeks ago, it didn't get much traction but was an excellent read if you have been exposed to "Power of Positive Thinking" or it's spiritual predecessor "Think and Grow Rich".

http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/the-untold-story-of-napoleon-...

Always kind of figured the authors were hucksters (not to discount whatever valuable insight they might actually have).
The article somewhat confirmed my suspicion.

This sort of thing has been around for a long time. See "The Power of Positive Thinking" (1952), by Norman Vincent Peale.[1]

The short version: "Insecure", by Joan Jett.[2]

The century-old version: YMCA Salesmanship Training Manual, 1920.[3]

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC0SXM
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAVeAVvJIoo
[3] https://books.google.com/books?id=CBFPAAAAYAAJ

In fact there is even a relation to the current president:

http://inthesetimes.com/article/20736/Trump-White-House-Self...

"In the president’s biography and business career, the role of positive thinking is hiding in plain sight. From childhood on, Trump worshipped in the temple of the movement’s prophet, Norman Vincent Peale: Manhattan’s Marble Collegiate Church. Indeed, Peale presided over Trump’s first wedding in 1977. Trump’s father was a die-hard adherent of Peale’s preachments, as is his daughter Ivanka, who wrote in her 2009 self-help tract, The Trump Card, that “perception is more important than reality” and you shouldn’t “go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage.”"

"Peale’s midcentury self-help bible, The Power of Positive Thinking, is, at its core, a distillation of the message of the Christian faith into a series of achievement-minded axioms. “Picturize, prayerize, actualize” was Peale’s mantra, and he applied this simple formula to every facet of the believer’s life—but most especially to the sphere of material advancement, which was the surest sign of divine favor in the hermetic social world of Pealeism."

"The Power of Positive Thinking remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks and helped launch the modern self-help industry; more than five million copies remain in print today. Peale’s gospel became the success creed for a newly corporatized and prosperous American social order. "

I've been watching a lot of Scott Adam's periscope videos about Trump as a "Master Persuader" and although Im not sold on the premise, it has made me reconsider the real role of a president. A job beyond detail work and one instead of setting direction and tone. It has definitly got me watching the campaign in a different way and I'll be watching the debate tonight with his periscope feed on my phone.

Adams, creator of Dilbert, has a track record for predicting Trump's moves. He has a theory worth looking into about Trump's church pastor as a youth being Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking. Adams is a trained hypnotist and detects in Trump the influence of Peale's techniques.

That said, I'm not American and enjoy my political theater with a pinch of conspiracy theory, so... grain of salt.

I've been watching a lot of Scott Adam's periscope videos about Trump as a "Master Persuader" and although Im not sold on the premise, it has made me reconsider the real role of a president. A job beyond detail work and one instead of setting direction and tone. It has definitly got me watching the campaign in a different way and I'll be watching the debate tonight with his periscope feed on my phone.

Adams, creator of Dilbert, has a track record for predicting Trump's moves. He has a theory worth looking into about Trump's church pastor as a youth being Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking. Adams is a trained hypnotist and detects in Trump the influence of Peale's techniques.

That said, I'm not American and enjoy my political theater with a pinch of conspiracy theory, so... grain of salt.

Teach the patient the power of "belief". I am unable to find the exact excerpts online, but there are several stories of belief working wonders, I had come across quite a few of them, in Norman Vincent Peale's book - "The power of positive thinking".

Teach the patient the power of faith.

I know quite a few cancer survivors.