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- [00:00]
Tracy V. Wilson
This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.
- [00:05]
Holly Fry
Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the old gays are pulling back the curtain with their podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with I Heart, Ruby Studio and Veiv Healthcare. Hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Josay share their favorite pride, memories and the importance of celebrating all year long in honor of Palm Springs Pride. So so check out Silver Linings with the Old gays on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:34]
Kal Penn
Hey audiobook lovers. I'm Kal Penn.
- [00:36]
Tracy V. Wilson
I'm Ed Helms.
- [00:37]
Kal Penn
Ed and I are inviting you to join the best sounding book club you've ever heard with our new podcast, Irsay The Audible and iHeart Audiobook Club.
- [00:46]
Holly Fry
Each week we sit down with your favorite iHeart podcast hosts and some very special guests to discuss the latest and greatest audiobooks from Audible.
- [00:55]
Kal Penn
Listen to hearsay on America's number one podcast network. IHear. Follow Irsay and start listening on the free iHeartRadio app today.
- [01:06]
IBM AI Advertiser
So let me get this straight. Your company has data here, there and everywhere, but your AI can't use the data because it's here, there and everywhere? Seems like something's missing. Every business has unique data. IBM helps your AI access your data wherever it lives. To change how you do business, let's create Smile to Business IBM.
- [01:35]
Stuff You Missed in History Class Promo Host
Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line.
- [01:41]
Holly Fry
But first, There the last one. Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes. Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartradio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry.
- [02:19]
Tracy V. Wilson
And I'm Tracy V. Wilson.
- [02:21]
Holly Fry
Oh, Tracy, we're at a time of year. We are, when a lot of folks are kind of looking to the future and thinking about the coming year and setting goals for themselves. We've talked about it many times on the show. I love doing that. I love the year turnover and I love a good resolution and a new planner. But this also leads to a lot of people purchasing self help books of one kind or another as they work on those goals. And I am very fascinated by the self help genre. So I thought it might be interesting to talk about the ways self help books have evolved over time, even before they were called self help books. But here's the real real I almost produced a very different episode. I started out actually working on an episode about positive psychology and the ways that having a positive mindset has been touted as A life changing attribute throughout history. That idea though is so often weaponized against people who are dealing with illnesses or disabilities or just difficult times in their lives, as though if they just adopted a positive attitude, everything would turn around. Look, positive thinking has benefits, but I don't want any part of that other baloney. We will talk a little bit about some of it, but researching that as a single episode made me feel weird and I didn't like it. So while there's the potential for it to become a future episode if I find an avenue into it that doesn't make me feel yucky, that's not what this is. This seemed like a more enjoyable way to end the year. As I just said, there are still some mentions in this episode of how people need to be self reliant and upbeat. The advice of the 19th century definitely came with that attitude that that was all you needed, but it is much less than the other topic would have given us. Some of them do insist that people just need to laugh more, which is also pretty useless. We're not dealing with that. We are also not getting into things like workout books and like how to change your body because your body's fine just the way it is. This is actually just to set up expectations. A pretty breezy history through some of the ancient books that offered relatively practical advice all the way through to when a more how to approach was developed. And we're noting a few prominent titles and standout developments along the way. And I kind of used the guardrails of focusing on writings that were mostly intended for kind of general self help advice. Some of these writings are problematic, but that's sort of secondary to the other rather Labrador retriever esque takes on positivity. And I'm looking at you Douglas Fairbanks, and we'll talk about that. We're going to talk about his book. But the most problematic one which does kind of fall into that it's all in your mind and you can control your life with your mind. Bucket is going to come last. So if even hearing about it, even though ours is a pretty critical lens, is not your thing, that will be where to jump and we will give you a heads up when we get there. That was a very long intro to say self help books are interesting, some are yucky and we will let you know before we get to the yuckiest one we're talking about.
- [05:38]
Tracy V. Wilson
The origins of self help writing are often traced back to the ancient world and there have been texts full of advice written from the moment that humans could write it seems Ancient Egyptian writing offered advice on how to live a virtuous life. Known as wisdom literature or sebayet, this was often framed as a hybrid of narrative and didactic writing, contextualized as pieces of wisdom or instruction being shared by a father to his son. The most famous example is the teachings of Tahotep, sometimes called the Maxims of Tahotep or the Instructions of Tahutep, which was believed to have been written during the reign of Djedkari assessi in the 24th century BCE is often referenced as being the oldest book in the world.
- [06:29]
Holly Fry
And this book is laid out as the advice that Vizier Tahotep gives his son, with the permission of the pharaoh regarding how things operate so that he may be, in the pharaoh's words, a quote good example for the children of the magistrates. These teachings offer a lot of practical instructions, like how to win an argument. That section states Quote if thou find an arguer talking one that is well disposed and wiser than thou, let thine arms fall, bend thy back, be not angry with him. If he agree not with thee, refrain from speaking evilly, oppose him not at any time when he speaketh. If he address thee as one ignorant of the matter, thine humbleness shall bear away his contentions. If thou find an argue we're talking thy fellow, one that is within thy reach, Keep not silent when he saith ought that is evil, so shalt thou be wiser than he Great will be the applause on the part of the listeners, and thy name shall be good in the knowledge of princes. If thou find an arguer talking a poor man, that is to say, not thine equal, be not scornful toward him because he is lowly, let him alone. Then shall he confound himself. Question him not to please thine heart neither pour out thy wrath upon him that is before thee. It is shameful to confuse a mean mind. If thou be about to do that which is in thine heart, overcome it as a thing rejected of princes. So if they're smarter than you, maybe supplicate if they're your equal, call them out if they're saying bad stuff. And if there's somebody that is less smart than you, don't be mean. Which is actually all pretty good advice. This book is also full of instructions on on things like keeping your wife happy, which included keeping her well fed and clothed and gladdening her heart how to treat servants, which is pretty good advice. It's about being kind and respectful of people, even if they are technically under your employ or beneath you in the the hierarchy of society, obeying your elders, et cetera, and on learning it stated, quote, be not proud because thou art learned, but discourse with the ignorant man as with the sage, for no limit can be set to skill, neither is there any craftsman that possesseth full advantages. Fair speech is more rare than the emerald that is found by slave maidens on the pebbles.
- [08:55]
Tracy V. Wilson
Confucius, who lived in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE did not write any books himself, but his collected wisdom was committed to writing in books like the Analects and could loosely be considered self help because of the advice he offered on living a long and fulfilled life. Confucius based his teachings on the idea that people are inherently good and that by studying and practicing virtue, the less noble characteristics and instincts of human behavior could be controlled. Almost everyone has probably been exposed to a number of quotes attributed to Confucius like quote, everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. Or quote, in a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.
- [09:48]
Holly Fry
When most Westerners today think of Confucius, there's this tendency to envision sort of a peaceful sage, just sort of issuing inspiring or thought provoking phrases. But Confucius lived at a contentious time in China's history, and he was involved in political strife as he worked in service of the Duke of Luke. It was after his exile because of his political ideas that Confucius began teaching his ideals of mutual respect in rural China. There is a really interesting aspect of Confucian wisdom, which is that because it was written down by his students after he died, we can't conclusively know that all of his often quoted words were actually entirely his own or his own at all. Still, the Analects can be considered an early self help guide.
- [10:34]
Tracy V. Wilson
Ancient Greece also offers some examples of writing that could loosely be labeled as self help. In on the Shortness of Life, Stoic philosopher Seneca offered wisdom such as, quote, it's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it's been given to us in generous measure for accomplishing the greatest things if the whole of it is well invested, but when life is squandered through soft and careless living, and when it's spent on no worthwhile pursuit, death finally presses and we realize that the life which we didn't notice passing has passed away. He also mentions that wealth is often a burden, noting that men of prosperity quote, are choked by their own goods, giving readers the lesson that it's better not to want so much stuff.
- [11:30]
Holly Fry
Honestly, a lot of the advice Seneca gives in this book is solid and it's pretty inspiring. He cautioned against postponing the things that you want to do, waiting for some achievement marker or for conditions to be exactly right before you can rest or play or just enjoy your life. He wrote, quote, putting things off is the biggest waste of life, robbing each day as it comes and denying the present with the promise of the future. The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy.
- [11:59]
Tracy V. Wilson
But these early examples of guiding people to improved living were very different in their focus from the way we think about self help guides today. There was no attempt to frame it as a cheat code for greater success. These weren't about achieving or getting anything. They were primarily about getting through life the best way you could and being a better person. And that was so that you could be a better member of society in most cases.
- [12:25]
Holly Fry
Coming up, we will talk about how one of the US Founding Fathers brought the idea of self help instruction into the modern age. But first we will pause for a sponsor break. Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the Old Gays pull back the curtain on their podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with I Hearts, Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. For a very special bonus episode, hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jahsay talk about how pride has evolved over the years and their favorite memories, all in celebration of Palm Springs Pride. Because pride should be celebrated all year round. Listen to these fabulous friends swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how pride ages like fine wine. Available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [13:40]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. The holiday season can be exhausting with all the parties and the end of year celebrations, but don't forget to take care of yourself by stocking up on your favorite nutritional products. Now through December 30th. Shop in store and online and save on items like Cliff Snack Bars, Luna Bars, Boost Nutritional Energy Drinks, Premier Protein Shakes, Z Bar Variety Packs, Open Nature Powder and Body Fortress Protein powder offers end Dec. 30. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [14:12]
Trainer Games Announcer
Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000.
- [14:31]
Tide Advertiser
This is where mindset comes in.
- [14:32]
Trainer Games Announcer
Someone will be eliminated.
- [14:35]
Holly Fry
Pressure is coming down.
- [14:37]
Kal Penn
Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.
- [14:42]
Stuff You Missed in History Class Promo Host
Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more are back to redefine the game. Unrivaled basketball season two, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy tips off January 5th on TNT, TruTV and HBO. Max.
- [15:03]
Holly Fry
Benjamin Franklin didn't publish a self help book exactly. But in his autobiography he included a lot of advice about the way he lived his life and his own quest to continually improve, which he had systematized. And this makes up chapter nine of that writing titled Plan for Attaining Moral Perfection. And he shared that system he developed, complete with his daily calendar and a set of 13 virtues he believed were important and the way he implemented his pursuit of those values in his life. Also with a calendar layout, he talks.
- [15:37]
Tracy V. Wilson
About how tricky the pursuit of moral perfection can be. Writing Quote I wished to live without committing any fault at any time. I would conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into. I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong. I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another. Habit took the advantage of inattention. Inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. I concluded at length that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous was not sufficient to prevent our slipping, and that the contrary habits must be broken and good ones acquired and established before we can have any dependence on a steady uniform rectitude of conduct. For this purpose I therefore contrived the following method.
- [16:45]
Holly Fry
So the first step in his method was figuring out a list of virtues that he thought would encompass the entirety of improved morality if he pursued them and he came up with 13 and each of them had a short explanatory phrase to elaborate on what that meant in day to day life. We're going to talk in a minute about why he chose 13. But the list of 13 virtues were 1. Temperance eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation. 2. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversations. 3.
- [17:21]
Tide Advertiser
Order.
- [17:22]
Holly Fry
Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time. 4. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought perform without fail what you resolve. 5. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself that is waste nothing. 6. Industry. Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions. 7. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly, and if you speak, speak accordingly.
- [17:59]
Tracy V. Wilson
8.
- [18:00]
Holly Fry
Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty. 9. Moderation. Avoid extremes. Forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. 10. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation. 11. Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles or at accidents common or unavoidable. 12. Chastity. Rarely use venery, but for health or offspring never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation. 13. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates. Listen. We know Ben Franklin was a womanizer, so chastity was very funny to me.
- [18:47]
Tracy V. Wilson
Working on 13 different virtues is a lot, and Franklin knew this was something that would take ongoing work, so he planned to work on it in a rotating system. Quote My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues. I judged it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time, and when I should be master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on till I should have gone through the 13. And as the previous acquisition of some might facilitate the acquisition of certain others, I arranged them with that view as they stand above.
- [19:28]
Holly Fry
So Ben Franklin describes in this autobiography setting up a little notebook that is going to sound rather familiar to anyone who has used a bullet journal or a similar tracking journal. And he's very thorough in his description and actually includes example charts so that readers can create their own. He used one page to set up a chart with seven columns for the days of the week across the top, and then lines for each of the 13 virtues going down the page. So using this chart, anytime he failed to uphold a virtue, he would make a black mark in the box that corresponded with the virtue and the day of the week, and the goal was eventually to have a completely clean chart.
- [20:09]
Tracy V. Wilson
But for each week he picked one virtue as his primary focus. The idea was that focusing on a single virtue for a week would strengthen that virtue without having to worry about any of the others. Then the second week, when he focused on the next virtue, the first one would already have been improved. And this was meant to be a repeating system. He chose 13 virtues because that meant he could complete the cycle four times every year, filling all 52 weeks of the calendar.
- [20:38]
Holly Fry
Franklin also offered an example of how he allocated his time each day with blocks for preparing his day work in the morning and afternoon, a midday break for eating and reading, and a wrap up block from 6 to 10 in which he tidied up, had his dinner, enjoyed entertainment, and had what he called his quote, examination of the day. Regarding the results of his whole method, he wrote, quote, I entered upon the execution of this plan for self examination and continued it with occasional intermissions for some time. I was surprised to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined, but I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish. And he's also clear that this is not a system in which it's really all that realistic to achieve perfection. Writing. But on the whole, though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was by the endeavor a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it. He also mentioned that the virtue that gave him the most trouble was order. Again, a little surprising perhaps, made me giggle. Franklin also shared various quotes that he would sometimes include in his notebooks to inspire him throughout his efforts to improve himself.
- [21:56]
Tracy V. Wilson
Though Benjamin Franklin included the kind of material you'd associate with self help books in his autobiography, it still wasn't called self help. That term, which sometimes has a hyphen in it and sometimes not, was coined by Scottish author Samuel Smiles. His work in the field is sometimes described as ushering in the modern genre of self help.
- [22:20]
Holly Fry
Smiles was born on December 23, 1812 in Berwickshire, Scotland, which is in the southeast of the country. His father was also named Samuel and his mother was named Janet, and he had 10 siblings. He attended school in Haddington and became an apprentice to a physician's office at the age of 14. When he was 17, he moved to Leith, Scotland with one of the doctors that he apprenticed under, and then he enrolled in Edinburgh University in 1829 to get his medical degree.
- [22:50]
Tracy V. Wilson
When Samuel was 22, big life events happened. He got his MD and his father died while he was still grieving. He started his own medical practice, but he didn't stay with it for very long. Smiles had started writing for the Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle as sort of a hobby writing articles about politics. And he found that he really enjoyed writing so much that he published a book in 1838 about raising children.
- [23:17]
Holly Fry
Yeah, it's got a misleading title, which we'll talk about misleading titles with him in a moment, called Physical Education. But it's literally about like the physical body of your child, not about doing sports, like activities and exercise. The same year that book came out, he also made a career pivot to journalism because he wanted to write full time and not be a doctor anymore. And he moved to Leeds, England to try to build a career in that field. He worked as editor of the leeds Times from 1838 to 1842. And while working at the paper in Leeds, which was considered a progressive publication, he became a huge supporter of free trade.
- [23:57]
Tracy V. Wilson
Smiles didn't stay in the journalism game, though. In 1840 he met civil engineer George Stephenson, who is known today by the nickname the Father of Railways. Stevenson will probably be a future episode, but the short version is this. He was highly instrumental in the development of the steam locomotive and railways in England. When the two men met at a railway opening, they hit it off and soon Smiles was working for the railroad as the secretary of the Leeds and Thirsk Railway. That was in 1845. He stayed with the company for more than 20 years, working in various positions. During that time he kept writing. He continued to write political articles which were published in Eliza Cook's journal. He published a biography of George Stevenson in 1857. He would continue writing about accomplished engineers and the engineering accomplishments that were ushering in the industrial age for the rest of his life. But the book that was a runaway hit was the one titled Self Help, with Illustrations of Character and Conduct, which came out in 1859. Smiles had finished writing the book before his Stevenson biography, but it had some difficulty in finding an interested publisher.
- [25:13]
Holly Fry
On the title page of Self Help, Smiles included the Shakespeare quote from the play Hamlet. This above all to thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day then canst not then be false to any man.
- [25:28]
Tracy V. Wilson
He explained in his introduction how he ended up writing such a book quote the origin of this book may be briefly told Some 15 years since the author was requested to deliver an address before the members of some evening classes which had been formed in a northern town for mutual improvement under the following circumstances. He spent some time at this point talking through the organic formation of this group, how it started with a few young men who met in one of their homes every week to share knowledge in the hopes of improving themselves and how that group grew so large that they eventually needed to rent space in a large apartment that had once been a cholera hospital. When the group had a hundred members, they started asking lecturers to come and give talks to the assembled young men. And that's when they approached Smiles speaking in the third person. Smiles continues the story as it regarded his involvement. Quote he could not fail to be touched by the admirable self helping spirit which they had displayed. And though entertaining but slight faith and popular lecturing, he felt that a few words of encouragement honestly and sincerely uttered might not be without some good effect. And in this spirit he addressed them on more than one occasion, citing examples of what other men had done as illustrations of what each might in a greater or less degree do for himself, and pointing out that their happiness and well being as individuals in afterlife must necessarily depend mainly upon themselves, upon their own diligent self culture, self discipline and self control, and above all on that honest and upright performance of individual duty which is the glory of manly character.
- [27:17]
Holly Fry
So Smiles admits in this writing that this wasn't new information he was sharing in these lectures, he was just sharing some relatively old fashioned advice about various things. But this topic of improving yourself this way became a source of great interest to him after the first lecture and he began to study it. And that's when he started giving additional lectures to the group based on those studies. And he stood firm on the idea that those old fashioned pieces of advice were still valid writing. Quote the object of the book briefly is to re inculcate these old fashioned but wholesome lessons which perhaps cannot be too often urged. That youth must work in order to enjoy, that nothing creditable can be accomplished without application and diligence, that the student must not be daunted by difficulties but conquer them by patience and perseverance and that above all he must seek elevation of character without which capacity is worthless and worldly success is not.
- [28:17]
Tracy V. Wilson
Most of these lectures and subsequently the chapters of the book are about the lives of men who had achieved a measure of perceived success or greatness in their lives and what qualities Smiles thought led them to that success. A lot of the messaging in the book is really about self reliance. It opens by saying you can only count on yourself and that relying on others will make you weak. Help from without is often enfeebling in its effects, but help from within invariably invigorates whatever is done for men or classes to a certain extent takes away the stimulus and necessity of doing for themselves. And where men are subjected to over guidance and over government, the inevitable tendency is to render them comparatively helpless. He also kind of goes on an anti government rant here stating quote Moreover, it is every day becoming more clearly understood that the function of government is negative and restrictive rather than positive and active.
- [29:19]
Holly Fry
There was actually a little bit of misunderstanding of the title of this book initially, and in an 1897 reprint of it, the new preface written by Smiles included the mention of this problem. Quote in one respect, the title of the book, which it is now too late to alter, has proved unfortunate, as it has led some who have judged it merely by the title to suppose that it consists of a eulogy of selfishness, the very opposite of what it really is, or at least what the author intended it to be.
- [29:51]
Tracy V. Wilson
In the 20th century, the self help genre in publishing just exploded in popularity, and we'll talk about a celebrity self help book right after we hear from some of the sponsors that keep Stuff youf Miss in History Class going.
- [30:08]
Tide Advertiser
Did you know Tide has been upgraded to provide an even better Clean in Cold water? Tide is specifically designed to fight any stain you throw at it, even in cold butter. Yep, chocolate ice cream? Sure thing. Barbecue sauce. Tide's got you covered. You don't need to use warm water. Additionally, Tide pods let you confidently fight tough stains with new coldzyme technology. Just remember, if it's gotta be clean, it's gotta be Tide.
- [30:37]
Holly Fry
Listen to your elders, honey. You might know them from their viral videos, but now the Old Gays pull back the curtain on their podcast Silver Linings with the Old Gays, brought to you in partnership with iHeart's Ruby Studio and Veeve Healthcare. For a very special bonus episode, hosts Robert, Mick, Bill and Jahsay talk about how pride has evolved over the years and their favorite memories, all in celebration of Palm Springs Pride. Because Pride should be celebrated all year round. Listen to these fabulous friends swap stories exploring how queer life has evolved over the decades and the silver linings they've collected along the way. Each episode dives into hot topics from safe sex and online dating to untangling Gen Z lingo, as well as insights on how music, art and fashion show up in queer culture. So check out Silver Linings, a show about how Pride ages like fine wine, available on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [31:38]
Ryan Seacrest
Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Flu season is here and the in store pharmacy has you covered with a free flu shot with most insurance plans. And as a thank you, get up to $20 off your grocery purchase plus it's cough and cold season. Stock up on all the season's essentials and get ready for relief with discounts on items like Hall's Menthol Cough Drops, Tylenol Cold and Flu and Mucinex Fast Max products. Offer ends December 30th. Restrictions apply and offers may vary by location. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
- [32:09]
Trainer Games Announcer
Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000.
- [32:27]
Tide Advertiser
This is where mindset comes in.
- [32:29]
Trainer Games Announcer
Someone will be eliminated.
- [32:31]
Holly Fry
Pressure is coming down.
- [32:34]
Kal Penn
Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainer games.com.
- [32:45]
Holly Fry
In 1917, we see the rise of celebrity self help writing when Douglas Fairbanks published his book Laugh and Live. Fairbanks is one of those people who believed being happy is a choice for everyone, and he opens the book with that message, quote, there is one thing in this good old world that is positively sure. Happiness is for all who strive to be happy and those who laugh are happy. Everybody is eligible. You, me, the other fellow. Happiness is fundamentally a state of mind, not a state of body and mind controls. Indeed, it is possible to stand with one foot on the inevitable banana peel of life, with both eyes peering into the great beyond, and still be happy, comfortable and serene if we will even so much as smile. This book is obviously overly simplistic with a very upbeat attitude. To sell it.
- [33:45]
Tracy V. Wilson
Fairbanks advises readers to take stock of themselves to really acknowledge their strengths and their weaknesses, which can be a good exercise for most people, but the rest is sort of fluffy talk about finding your drive and your energy and keeping in good shape and good humor. There's even a chapter titled Building Up a Personality that mostly just suggests you focus on what he calls sturdy qualities without really saying what those qualities are. Overall, the whole thing reads like a very perky book written by a man who has lived a charmed life.
- [34:22]
Holly Fry
Yeah, I couldn't help but envision Douglas Fairbanks like with his pen being like this is really brilliant. And it's like because it's written from your life experience, which has been, you know, very privileged, very happy, very lucky. A man named Dale Carnegie wrote one of the most long lived self help books in 1936, which was how to Win Friends and Influence People. Carnegie was a Missouri farm kid who tried out a number of jobs when he reached adulthood, including sales and acting before he started teaching public speaking classes, which was something that he just naturally excelled at. Incidentally, his name was originally spelled C A R N A G E, Y, but he changed it to Carnegie, the spelling that we would associate with Andrew Carnegie. He allegedly told people that that was so that others would misspell his name less because they never got his original spelling right. But there are also some theories that he just wanted to capitalize on the clout of Andrew Carnegie's name.
- [35:25]
Tracy V. Wilson
I would say even almost a hundred years later, probably most people who have heard of Dale Carnegie think he was related to Andrew Carnegie somehow. Yes. There's also a whole episode of the podcast if Books Could Kill about this book. If folks want to have more about it, what we'll talk about is Starting in the 1920s, Dale Carnegie started writing books about public speaking, and they were aimed at businessmen. But he continued to give in person courses. And that's how he was discovered by an employee from Simon and Schuster who thought Dale's instruction could appeal to a general audience outside the business world. The result of that chance meeting was how to win friends and influence people. The book promised eight things in its opening pages stating that it would help the reader, quote, get out of a mental rut. Think new thoughts, acquire new visions, discover new ambitions, make friends quickly and easily. Increase your popularity, win people to your way of thinking. Increase your influence, your prestige, your ability to get things done. Done. Handle complaints, avoid arguments. Keep your human contact smooth and pleasant. Become a better speaker, a more entertaining conversationalist, arouse enthusiasm among your associates.
- [36:47]
Holly Fry
This particular book is largely a guide map to positive interpersonal communication. Carnegie explains that getting along with people in a way that also gets you what you want largely comes down to a form of cooperation. Quote, there's one way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything. Did you ever stop to think of that? Yes, just one way, and that is by making the other person want to do it. Remember, there is no other way. Of course, you can make someone want to give you his watch by sticking a revolver in his ribs. You can make your employees give you cooperation until your back is turned by threatening to fire them. You can make a child do what you want it to do by a whip or a threat. But these crude methods have sharply undesirable repercussions. So his advice is to get people on your side by giving them a feeling of importance. But he states vehemently, quote, I am not suggesting flattery, far from it. I'm talking about a new way of life. Let me repeat, I am talking about a new way of life. And some of Carnegie's advice around this is pretty sound. It really comes down to appreciating people and acknowledging them.
- [38:00]
Tracy V. Wilson
Obviously there's more, but that really is the root of the whole ideology, really. Be interested in other people, be a good listener, show respect even when you disagree. And this struck a chord with readers, and it still does. How to Win Friends remains popular. While researching this episode, Holly did a search for it on Amazon and found that it was number 18 on the top 20 most read books of the week. And it's been on that list for years.
- [38:29]
Holly Fry
So this all sounds pretty upbeat. And there are actually a lot of famous and successful people who have credited Carnegie's work with inspiring them and making them better leaders and achievers. But it does of course, come with the dark aspect of people using this for outright manipulation. And there is one very extreme instance of this, and that's Charles Manson, who took a course based on Carnegie's book while he was in prison in the 1950s for stealing a car. And then he used those teachings from the book to assemble his followers, known as the Family, and got them to commit crimes, including murder, often by making them believe it was all their own idea rather than his.
- [39:11]
Tracy V. Wilson
Carnegie wrote several other self help books along the same lines as how to Win Friends, including how to develop self confidence and influence people by public speaking, how to enjoy your life and your job, how to stop worrying and start living, and the quick and easy way to effective speaking.
- [39:30]
Holly Fry
Yeah, all with kind of, you know, mixed reviews, plenty of criticism to go around for these. But the last book that we're going to talk about has also been popular for decades, but it has been controversial from its earliest printing and so has its author, and that is NORMAN Vincent Peale's 1952 book, the Power of Positive Thinking. So this book is the most problematic one that we're talking about today that we mentioned at the very top of the show.
- [39:58]
Tracy V. Wilson
So. Norman Vincent Peele was born May 31, 1898 in Bowersville, Ohio. His father was a Methodist preacher and the family moved around to whatever place the church assigned him to. Peel initially pursued a journalism career after getting his degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, but he switched to ministry like his father not long after.
- [40:20]
Holly Fry
Peel was by all accounts a compelling and really popular preacher with a talented for quickly growing the size of any congregation he was assigned to. In the 1930s, he started a radio show called the Art of living, and in 1951 he founded the American foundation of Religion and psychiatry. In a 2021 writing, cultural anthropologist Dr. Holly Walters mentioned this foundation and why it has often been criticized. Writing. Quote Much of the current American ethos of toxic positivity can be traced back to the 1930s when two men were Norman Vincent Peale, a Methodist minister, and Smiley Blanton, a psychoanalyst, established a religious psychiatric clinic next door to their church. Their methods then for faith based psychological healing tended towards the idea that mental and emotional problems had their ultimate roots in a crisis of belief.
- [41:16]
Tracy V. Wilson
And that is also true of the Power of Positive Thinking and other books written by Peale. He gives example after example of people who've turned their lives completely around simply by changing their thinking. But that thinking is always tied to Christian faith. The 10th rule in his list of rules for living a life of positivity was, quote, believe that you can receive power from God. This is an interesting contrast to the self help instruction of Benjamin Franklin, who wrote in his writing about his method to improve morality. Quote. Though my scheme was not wholly without religion, there was in it no mark of any of the distinguishing tenets of any particular sect. I had purposely avoided them for being fully persuaded of the utility and excellency of my method and that it might be serviceable to people in all religions and intending some time or other to publish it, I would not have anything in it that should prejudice anyone of any sect against it.
- [42:18]
Holly Fry
So in addition to Peale's work, including the specific need for the Christian religion, which caused a lot of criticism, the bigger issue that a lot of people had and still have with Peale is that there's not much verifiable information in his writing. His many examples of success stories all tend to be anonymous. It's all very I know a guy who had this problem, but he did what I told him and now he doesn't have that problem anymore. There's no names and there's no case studies and there's no documentation of anything. While this book is also still in print, Peel's method has been condemned by mental health professionals since it came out because it lacks evidence and can frankly be damaging to people.
- [43:02]
Tracy V. Wilson
Peel also caused problems for himself politically. He was very active in conservative politics. He was against the New Deal, for example. When Adlai Stevenson was on the ballot as Vice President, Peel openly campaigned against him, claiming that because he was divorced, he was ungodly and problematic. Stevenson famously quipped in reply to finding out about it, quote, I find Paul appealing and Peel appalling, invoking the Apostle Paul to show that he was indeed a religious man. But in 1960, so eight years after his very popular book came out, he aligned with a number of other Protestant ministers against JFK in the presidential campaign, convinced that if Kennedy won, he would be more loyal to the Pope than to the United States. And this caused, understandably, a huge outrage. And a lot of people called for Peel to resign as a minister. He did not, though, and in 1984, Ronald Reagan gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- [44:03]
Holly Fry
Yeah, even at the time, people in his congregation were like, what? No, that's a weird conspiracy theory, dude. Like, he really thought that the papal states were somehow going to suddenly control the United States.
- [44:16]
Tracy V. Wilson
Yeah.
- [44:17]
Holly Fry
Because Kennedy was Catholic.
- [44:18]
Tracy V. Wilson
It's a conspiracy theory that's still around. Yeah.
- [44:22]
Holly Fry
And this is an incredibly powerful person preaching this. But in the years since these early self help books, there have been literally thousands of books to offer how to advice for people eager to improve their lives, and they have become much more specialized. While Ben Franklin wrote about his struggle to keep the virtue of order and maintain tidy surroundings, just as a single paragraph in his book. There are, for example, so many books today intended to teach people how to keep house, and many of them are even specialized within that niche area. So you can find self help books about cleaning that are geared toward neurodivergent readers, cleaning books that focus on transitioning to minimalism, cleaning books that are just for small spaces, et cetera. You can get books on how to get better sleep, how to improve your memory, how to train for a marathon, how to do almost anything you can think of and listen, some of them actually have fairly good advice. There are a lot of self help books that are written by credentialed experts, that are reviewed by their peers that actually are not going to cause damage. Most of the advice in those ones involves the reader doing a lot of actual work and being tenacious to achieve that desired result or to improve things. But because people are always eager to find that magic answer that's going to change everything they dislike about their lives really quickly, there are also a lot of useless ones that are just capitalizing on that need.
- [45:50]
Tracy V. Wilson
Additionally, different people function differently when it comes to things like positive versus negative thinking. A 2011 article in Scientific American written by Scott O. Lillenfield and Hal Arkowitz notes that quote, positive thinking surely comes with advantages. It may encourage us to take needed risks and expand our horizons, but it has downsides as well and may not be for everyone, especially those for whom worrying and fetching come naturally as coping mechanisms. Moreover, positive thinking may be counterproductive if it leads us to blithely ignore life's dangers.
- [46:28]
Holly Fry
Oh, I have so much to talk about on Friday. I do too, but right now I'm gonna talk about Dole. Kath Timothy writes Dear Holly and Tracy, I've been listening to the podcast for about seven years and have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. The two of you obviously put a lot of work into making the show fun as well as educational. Thank you for your efforts. I was listening to the behind the Scenes on Cranberries and heard Holly bemoaning having to make large batches of Dole Whip in order to enjoy having cranberry sauce with it. It just so happens that as I was searching for popsicles for my son while compiling my grocery delivery order, I came across snack size portions of Dole Whip. I don't know which store down south would carry it. It's giant here in Northern Virginia, but it's gotta be somewhere. I hope you can find it so you can enjoy your treat anytime you want. Best Kathy. And that of course led me to look it up. And she's not wrong at all. You can go to dolesunshine.com and you can put in There's a where to buy button and you can put in your zip code and it will tell you like I was surprised at how many places near me actually carry these little cups. Kroger, which is a popular grocery store here, Publix, even some Walgreens have them. Like there are options. So I was incorrect in saying that you could only get them in a few places because apparently now you can get Dole Whip anywhere, which is great. And then you can make your own cranberry sauce if you want. Or you can buy the canned stuff and put it on top and enjoy the experience and delight. Listen, I'm running out to do it after we finish recording today. Thank you so much for giving me that heads up because I sure did need it. If you would like to write to us, you can do so@history podcastheartradio.com you can also subscribe to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows.
- [48:21]
Tracy V. Wilson
Stuff you missed in history class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
- [48:35]
Julian Edelman
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- [49:13]
Ryan Seacrest
Directed Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. Flu season is here and the in store pharmacy has you covered with a free flu shot with most insurance plans. And as a thank you, get up to $20 off your grocery purchase. Plus it's cough and cold season. Stock up on all the season's essentials and get ready for relief with discounts on items like Hall's Menthol Cough Drops, Tylenol Cold and Flu and Mucinex Fast Max products. Offer ends December 30th. Restrictions applying offers may vary by location. Visit Albertsons or Safeway.com for more details.
- [49:44]
Trainer Games Announcer
Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract worth $250,000.
- [50:03]
Tide Advertiser
This is where mindset comes in.
- [50:04]
Trainer Games Announcer
Someone will be eliminated.
- [50:07]
Holly Fry
Pressure is coming down.
- [50:09]
Kal Penn
Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.
- [50:14]
Stuff You Missed in History Class Promo Host
Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. The best women's players on the planet are running it back with even bigger moments and bigger stakes. Don't miss as Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more take the court and redefine the game. This isn't your regular season. This is unrivaled, where the pace is faster, the energy is higher and every athlete shines. Unrivaled Basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5th on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max.
- [50:43]
Tracy V. Wilson
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.