One Simple Idea

How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life

By: Mitch Horowitz

Narrated by: Mitch Horowitz

From the millions-strong audiences of Oprah and The Secret to the mass-media ministries of evangelical figures like Joel Osteen and T. D. Jakes, to the motivational bestsellers and New Age seminars to the twelve-step programs and support groups of the recovery movement and to the rise of positive psychology and stress-reduction therapies, this idea--to think positively--is metaphysics morphed into mass belief. This is the biography of that belief.

            No one has yet written a serious and broad-ranging treatment and history of the positive-thinking movement. Until now. For all its influence across popular culture, religion, politics, and medicine, this psycho-spiritual movement remains a maligned and misunderstood force in modern life. Its roots are unseen and its long-range impact is unacknowledged. It is often considered a cotton-candy theology for New Agers and self-help junkies. In response, One Simple Idea corrects several historical misconceptions about the positive-thinking movement and introduces us to a number of colorful and dramatic personalities, including Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale, whose books and influence have touched the lives of tens of millions across the world.

Includes an Author Q&A and a PDF of Notes on Sources.

Terrific resource

Great information! I have been a student of positive thought for nearly 50 years and loved revisiting the teachers who helped me change my life from Oral Robert’s to Earle Nightingale to Norman Vincent Peale and Zig Ziglar. Fantastic. Mitch Horowitz is a wonderful researcher and voice.

POWERFUL and inspiring history of New Thought!

I am in school to become a religious science/ Science of Mind minister with Centers for Spiritual Living. Science of Mind is "a philosophy, a practice, and a way of life" that has ABSOLUTELY changed my world, how I experience it and how I move through it. Horowitz did an excellent job of researching and detailing the history of New Thought and the positive thinking movement. I learned SO MUCH! I agree with some of the limitations Horowitz puts forth. I think of them as our "growth edges", the crux of which is precisely that which inspires me to be among the many new faces in the New Thought movement to go beyond these edges in new ways for a new time. THIS STUFF WORKS! It so worth improving upon it, distilling it, and sharing it boldly and with greater conviction with the world.

Outstanding Popular History of New Thought!

If you could sum up One Simple Idea in three words, what would they be?

"AS one thinks..."

What did you like best about this story?

The objective and insightful tone set by author/narrator Mitch Horowitz.

Which scene was your favorite?

Boston's role as America's New Thought center at the last turn of the century.

If you could give One Simple Idea a new subtitle, what would it be?

The Science of American Optimism.

Any additional comments?

It's curious that so many of the Non-American figures in the story--especially Sweden's Swedenborg and Britain's Troward--were unable to spark similar popular movements abroad. Coue' in France had the most "American" mass following in his nation.

P.S.Listeners should stick around for the postscript interview with Horowitz--he shares some compelling insights into the mysterious R.H. "It Works!" Jarrett.

An Interesting listen

I hesitated to by this book because I thought it might be a dry history, but I found it engaging and enlightening. Mitch Horowitz does a good job telling a story and educating the listener about the characters in the new thought /positive thinking arena. I recommend this book.

Excellent Read!

This book was a great read!Gives the reader all angles to come to an informed conclusion.