The Power of Negativity

I've been thinking about The Power of Positive Thinking, by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.

I've never read it. But I know about it. We all know the basic premise, as well as what have unfortunately become throw-away quotes at this point:

"When life hands you lemons make lemonade"

"Tremendous things happens to the Believer"

"Joy increases as you give it and diminishes as you keep it for yourself"

"The trouble with most of us is that we'd rather be ruined by praise then saved by criticism"

I also like his idea that we are not important and that the world will go on without us. It's calming. It's a positive idea.

"As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will opportunity."

A wonderful idea. I'd like to combine this with the idea that "Luck is the combination of preparation and opportunity" which I first discovered in Randy Pausch's book "The Last Lecture"

In math terms,

if

Enthusiasm = Opportunity (Peale)

and

Preparation + Opportunity = Luck (Pausch)

then

Enthusiasm + Preparation = LUCK (Cardoza via Peale & Pausch and math)

All you need to be Lucky is to first be excited and prepared. That's not as easy as bitching into a public forum, but it's not that hard either. You can do it.

When Conan O'Brien left the Tonight Show he had every reason to be angry, and the Top Shelf of public forums to use. He ended with this:

"All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism - it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard, and you're kind, amazing things will happen."