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guideposts outreach ministriesGuideposts, founded by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale andhis wife Ruth Stafford Peale in 1945, is a non-profitinterfaith ministry dedicated to helping people fromall walks of life achieve their maximum personal andspiritual potential. Its inspirational products andprograms spring from two major beliefs: that true storiesare a powerful way to motivate people to lead better livesand that faith in God can be strengthened by applyingspiritual truths to daily life.Guideposts Outreach Ministries strives to fulfill ourmission by providing inspirational publications free ofcharge to hospitals, nursing homes, churches, militarypersonnel, correctional facilities and other organizationsthat serve the public. In addition, we invite our readersto send their prayer requests–by mail, by phone,by e-mail (the contact information is in the back ofthis booklet). Every working day, Guideposts staff andvolunteers pray for these requests by name and need.For additional information about Guideposts OutreachMinistries, please e-mail outreach@guideposts.org.confidencedare to be all you can be2 introduction4 conviction8 possibility12 faith16 strength20 harmony22 humility26 partnership30 modesty

i n t r o d u c t i o nnorman vincent peale is rememberedfor his captivating sermons and the lifechangingdifference his concept of positivethinking has made for millions. But therewas a third component that impressesme just as much. He devoted his life toothers. When a stranger would stop himin an airport for counsel or just to sayhello, he not only oblige d, he lingered.Ruth Stafford Peale, his wife, can’t evencount the times she had to take his elbowand guide him gently away so they wouldn’tmiss their plane. If someone wanted totalk, he would listen; if someone wantedhis advice, he would give it.He once told a colleague, “I always like tohave a full schedule because it guaranteesa good future.” This “good future”invariably involved others. NormanVincent Peale never said, “I need moretime for me.” I believe that this was thesecret to his long, productive andconfidently lived life. Bringing out the bestin others defined and enriched NormanVincent Peale. How could he not havelived confidently?A soldier gives a candy bar to a child andthen, seeing the gratitude in his eyes, hugshim. A housewife takes time to offer akind word to an unhappy grocery cashier.A teenager tells his elderly neighbor hownice she looks in that hat. These are thepeople who bring joy to the world, whoinspire confidence in others andthemselves. Join them in encouragingsomeone in a simple way. Today.God bless you.Pablo DiazVice PresidentGuideposts Ministries3

When you truly believe this, you are onyour way to confident living. You do nothave to fight your battles alone. God is atyour side. He will stand by you and protectyou for all of your life.A7

p o s s i b i l i t yThe Lord is my light and the one who saves me.(psalm 27:1)AHave you ever noticed how it is that somany of the greatest among us have risenfrom disadvantaged circumstances?There is one trait they all share; they arepossibility thinkers. Not one of them said,“I’m afraid I’ll never make it” or “I haven’tgot what it takes.” Thoughts like these aredangerous. If you go along telling yourselfthat you are a worm, your subconscious isgoing to believe it after a while. Yoursubconscious is very accommodating.It will send up to you exactly what you senddown to it.Never mind your circumstances. Listento these lines from the poet, WilliamWordsworth: “Trailing clouds of glory dowe come from God, who is our home.”This means you! You are a child of God,and there is greatness within you. You canbe confident that the Lord is the strength9

f a i t hWith God’s power working in us, God can do much,much more than anything we can ask or imagine.(ephesians 3:20)AHave you ever thought that there might be alesson in the stock market? When you havea moment, take a look at a long-term graphof the Dow Jones Industrial Average in anewspaper. Notice how it rises and dips,rises and dips, but especially take note ofhow, over time, it always rises. So it is withyour life. You are going to have setbacksand defeats; sometimes, like the stockmarket, you will have an extended “dip” inyour fortunes. Do not let this defeat you.Instead, plant in your mind pictures ofaccomplishment, achievement andpersonal fulfillment. Fill yourconversations with words of faith andoptimism, until faith and positive thinkingbecome a part of your life. Don’t let yourdown times get the better of you, for good13

times will surely come. Surrender yourdiscouragement to God and thensurrender yourself to him. Lose yourself tohim, become a part of him. He is strength,and he believes in you. If you have his lovein your heart, nothing can defeat you.A15

s t r e n g t hI can do all things through Christ,because he gives me strength.(philippians 4:13)AI once met a gentleman who told me thathe’d heard me preach at a service thatchanged his life. Then he admitted hedidn’t remember a thing I had said in mysermon! This is not what you would callcomplimentary. But, after all, a person’sprimary purpose in church is to visit withGod. However, I did quote a text thatSunday that made a significant impression.One of the fortunate things aboutpreaching is that you don’t have to dependon your own words, and, quite certainly,my gentleman friend didn’t depend onmine! You have the Bible to draw on.The verse that carried my visitor fromdepression to dynamic optimism is: “I cando all things through Christ, because hegives me strength.” When he left church onthat transforming day, he walked up Fifth17

Avenue repeating those words. Block afterblock after block he repeated them. Herepeated them on the plane taking himhome. And then he lived with them dayby day. “This verse,” he told me, “built upmy confidence and changed my life.” Hefound out that the words in the Bible arethe truth: the truth about God and truthabout man. And the truth in just one Bibleverse set this man free. Take these words toheart, and they will do the same for you.A19

h a r m o n yNo one has ever imagined what God has preparedfor those who love him.(i corinthians 2:9)AThere is no greater victory in life than whenyou know that you are more than equal toany difficulties that come your way. Thephilosopher William James said, “Be notafraid of life. Believe that life is worth living,and your belief will help create the fact.”When you are in loving harmony with God,then uncertainty and self-doubt melt away.How can you achieve this happy condition?By applying creative thinking to unpleasantor defeating circumstances. The first stepis to believe that I have what it takes to changethem. Then I must humbly surrendermyself to God, seeking his wisdom andguidance. Then I must work at the problem,sometimes through pain and suffering.First believe, then surrender, then work.These three actions will combinedynamically to effect positive change.21

h u m i l i t yWait for the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave,and wait for the Lord’s help.(psalm 27:14)AA good friend of mine asked that I talk tohis son who was failing out of college. Myfriend prepared me for this conversationby saying, “Young people today aren’t liketheir parents.” Personally, I think that’soften just as well! The young manproceeded to tell me at great length whatwas wrong with his teachers. I never heardof such a poor bunch of professors in allmy life! Finally, I said, “Bill, it seems tome the first thing you must do is get a littlehumility.” After we prayed about this, Billlooked at me and said, “O.K., I’m gettingthe message. The fault is all mine.” All right,I thought, now we’re getting started. It is always agood beginning to stop blaming others foryour failures. But Bill grew despondent.“I have so many faults,” he moaned.23

I brought him a pad and pencil and toldhim to list on one sheet all his negativesand on another, all his positives. Thesecond sheet would include all the qualitiesthat represented him as he would like to be.When he got his lists done, I asked him toput the first one away. “That’s the old Bill,”I told him. Then I suggested he fold up thepositive sheet, keep it handy and read it adozen times a day.A few years later, Bill graduated in the topthird of his class and got a good job. He stillcarried the positive sheet in his pocket andconsulted it to make sure he was measuringup. He kept the negative one in his deskand, gradually, was crossing out his faults ashe overcame them. He said, “Don’t worry,I’m not going to get cocky. I know it wasGod who gave me the strength.” And so Godhad, but only after Bill had dismissed hisnegatives and concentrated on his positives.25

p a r t n e r s h i pHe gives strength to those who are tired and morepower to those who are weak.(isaiah 40:29)AMany of us, unhappily, have not donea very good job with the original materialGod built into us. We see others whowe think are more gifted, smarter, betterlooking or who have had better luck.We doubt our strengths and abilities. Toooften self-doubt prevents people fromliving abundantly.If this is your condition, you can change it.Daily say to yourself: “God is now, this verymoment, leading me into confident living.He is turning my weaknesses into strength.He has faith in me.” See yourself as Godsees you. Remember he has created you inhis image. Every day picture yourself as aperson created in God’s image. Think ofGod and you as joint partners in reachingall the potential that he has already wiredinto you. Cultivate a sound, humble27

awareness of the qualities within yourselfthat make for strength and power. SinceGod believes in you as your Creator andacts as your full Partner, how can you notsucceed?A29

m o d e s t yLove is patient and kind. Love is not jealous,it does not brag, and it is not proud.(i corinthians 13:4)AJesus was born in a stable for a reason.It was God’s choice for his son to be a manof the people and to live modestly. Jesuswas comfortable among all, but he choseordinary people to help him deliver theGood News. And what was the centralmessage of this Good News? Love. Readchapter 13 of I Corinthians to learn allthe power and qualities of love and, inparticular, that it is “not proud.”There is an inevitable and marvelousconnection between modesty andconfidence. If you want to live confidently,be modest about your circumstances, nomatter how high or low. For the contentman “does not brag and is not proud.”And God loves him.31

norman vincent peale was, for morethan 50 years, minister of New York City’sMarble Collegiate Church. He becamecelebrated as “minister to millions”through weekly Sunday radio broadcasts.His book The Power of Positive Thinking, firstpublished in 1952, is still in print, havingsold more than 20 million copiesworldwide in 42 languages. He authored47 books and founded with his wife,Ruth Stafford Peale, Guideposts and PositiveThinking magazines. Dr. Peale received 22honorary doctoral degrees and morethan 30 major awards, including thePresidential Medal of Freedom.ACopyright © 2005 GuidepostsPrinted in U.S.A. • 018-4774Scriptures quoted from The Holy Bible, New Century Version,copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas75039. Used by permission.Photographs by Corbis

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