Robert Collier was a celebrated writer in the fields of well-being, human psychology, meta-physics and christian science. He is most well known for the following books:
The God in You, The Secret Power, The Magic Word, The Law of the Higher Potential (renamed - Riches Within Your Reach). He also compiled The Secret of the Ages book, which has stood the test of time very well and still recieves glowing testimonies from its readers to this day.
Born on April 19, 1885, in St. Louis USA, Robert was educated in a church school and it was deemed most likely that he would become a priest. However he made the brave decision to go it alone and traveled to West Virginia in search of a more wealthy life. One of his first jobs was as a mining engineer where he made the most of the array of books fortunately available to him. He devoured information on all manner of subjects particularly business and advertising. It was this knowledge and understanding that stood him in good stead throughout his prolific writing career that followed.
Following a move to an advertising job in New York eight years later he proved to be a very effective copy writer (sales letters). During this time he made a remarkable success of selling Harvard Classic books when he raked in over two million dollars during his campaign alone.
The turning point in his life seems to have been his recovery from a rare illness which conventional medicine was seemingly unable to identify. Through his innner strength utilising the powers of positive thinking and christian science he made a full recovery. As ever, the extraordinary discovery of his own inner-powers at the time of his greatest need led him to investigate this area further. He reasoned that if he had the power to cure himself so effectively without the aid of appropriate medicine then surely he should be able to channel this power into other areas of his life.
Now with all his researching, editorial and writing skills he was able to produce a remarkable string of books illustrating ideas related to metaphysics, personal development, positive thinking, abundant living and also in other such areas. The most successful of which 'The Secret of The Ages' sold over 300,000 copies and was even mentioned recently in the hit movie 'The Secret' where Robert's books and quotes earned favourable mentions. In fact some versions of the book contain inside genuine testimonies of incredible improvements in people's lives. These testimonies appear to be just the tip of the iceberg though. Her is one brief extract from a readers testimony:
"I read and re-read the book; it told me many things I should have known, appreciated and applied, but had not. Would it surprise you to know that certain ideas and principles of your book enabled me to defintetely help myself in a number of ways, and that it bought me about $500 extra in two weeks after I had the book."
As ever 'word of mouth' is the best marketing tool and this has ensured Robert's books have been translated into many languages and sold all over the world.
Although his final decline and eventual death to cancer in 1950 marked the end of his writings his books continue to flourish in this new era of self-discovery. It seems he had the almost unique ability to identify, write down and clearly describe powers and laws that most people would just not be able to put their finger on so aptly. Fortunately his family continue to promote and keep his works alive for all to benefit from as much today as when they were first written.
Here are a few quotes from Robert Collier himself which provide a nice flavour of his works and illustrate perfectly the power of positive thinking:
"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out..."
"The mere fact that you have obstacles to overcome is in your favor..."
"You must intensify and render continuous by repeatedly presenting with suggestive ideas and mental pictures of the feast of good things, and the flowing fountain, which awaits the successful achievement or attainment of the desires."
"You have to sow before you can reap. You have to give before you can get."
"All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck--who keeps right on going--is the man who is there when the good luck comes--and is ready to receive it."
"See things as you would have them be instead of as they are."
