Earl Nightingale (1921-1989) was an American motivational speaker, author, and radio personality known as the “Dean of Personal Development.” His recording “The Strangest Secret” became the first spoken-word recording to achieve Gold Record status, selling over one million copies. This comprehensive collection features his most powerful quotes on success, attitude, goals, and personal development.
Table of Contents
- The Strangest Secret Quotes
- Success and Achievement Quotes
- Attitude and Mindset Quotes
- Goals and Purpose Quotes
- Service and Prosperity Quotes
- Personal Growth and Learning Quotes
- Time and Persistence Quotes
- Thinking and the Mind Quotes
- Courage and Conformity Quotes
- Work and Career Quotes
- Lead the Field Quotes
- Our Changing World Quotes
- The 30-Day Test Challenge
- About Earl Nightingale
- Earl Nightingale’s Books and Programs
- How to Apply Earl Nightingale’s Wisdom
The Strangest Secret Quotes
The Strangest Secret was recorded in 1956 and remains one of the most influential personal development recordings ever created. Here are the most powerful quotes from this landmark work:
“We become what we think about.” – This is Earl Nightingale’s most famous quote and the core principle of The Strangest Secret. Source: The Strangest Secret recording
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
“You are now, and you do become, what you think about.”
“Every one of us is the sum total of our own thoughts.”
“Everything you and I will ever have will come to us as the result of the way we use our minds, the one thing we possess that makes us different from all other creatures.”
“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice… it is conformity.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
“People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going. It’s that simple. Failures, on the other hand, believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances, by things that happen to them, by exterior forces.”
“Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.”
“The difference is goals. People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going.”
“Everything that’s really worthwhile in life came to us free – our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions, our intelligence, our love of family and children and friends and country.”
“No man can get rich himself unless he enriches others.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
“Your success will always be measured by the quality and quantity of service you render.”
“Think about your goal in a relaxed, positive way. Picture yourself in your mind’s eye as having already achieved this goal. See yourself doing the things you will be doing when you have reached your goal.”
“All you have got to do is plant that seed in your mind, care for it, work steadily toward your goal, and it will become a reality.”
“Prosperity is founded upon a law of mutual exchange. Any person who contributes to prosperity must prosper, in turn, himself.”
“We’ve got to put the fuel in before we can expect heat. Likewise, we’ve got to be of service first before we can expect money.”
“Don’t concern yourself with the money. Be of service. Build. Work. Dream. Create. Do this and you’ll find that there is no limit to the prosperity and abundance that will come to you.”
“Live this new way and the flood gates of abundance will open and pour over you more riches than you may have dreamed existed.”
“Actually, it isn’t a secret at all. It was first promulgated by some of the earliest wise men, and it appears again and again throughout the Bible. But very few people have learned it or understand it. That’s why it’s strange.” [Source: The Strangest Secret text]
“Life should be an exciting adventure. It should never be a bore. A man should live fully, be alive. He should be glad to get out of bed in the morning.”
“Men simply don’t think.” – Earl Nightingale borrowed this observation from Albert Schweitzer when asked “What’s wrong with men today?” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
Success and Achievement Quotes
“Success is not the result of making money; earning money is the result of success – and success is in direct proportion to our service.”
“A great attitude is not the result of success; success is the result of a great attitude.”
“Successful people are not people without problems. They are people who have learned to solve their problems.”
“Most people tiptoe their way through life, hoping they make it safely to death.”
“One hour per day of study in your chosen field is all it takes. One hour per day of study will put you at the top of your field within three years. Within five years you’ll be a national authority. In seven years, you can be one of the best people in the world at what you do.” [Source: Lead the Field program]
“Achievement requires more than a vision – it takes courage, resolve and tenacity.”
“Watch what everyone else does – do the opposite. The majority is always wrong.”
“Men credited with all kinds of ability, talent, brains and know how, including the ability to see into the future, frequently have nothing more than the courage to keep everlastingly at what they set out to do.”
“Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity.”
“Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity, and opportunity is there all the time.”
“Preparation for life is so important. Opportunity is all around us. Are you prepared?”
Attitude and Mindset Quotes
Earl Nightingale considered attitude to be “the magic word” in achieving success. These quotes reflect his teachings on the power of a positive mindset:
“A great attitude does much more than turn on the lights in our worlds; it seems to magically connect us to all sorts of serendipitous opportunities that were somehow absent before we changed.”
“Attitude is the magic word.” [Source: Lead the Field]
“It is our attitude toward life that determines life’s attitude toward us. We get back what we put out.”
“Our attitude towards others determines their attitude towards us.”
“Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.”
“Each of us creates his or her own life largely by our attitude.” [Source: Lead the Field]
“You can control your attitude. Set it each morning.”
“Others treat us as we treat them. They react to us. They only give us back a reflection of our own attitude.”
“Most people begin their day in neutral. They will simply react to whatever confronts them.”
“If the grass is greener on the other side it’s probably getting better care.” [Source: Lead the Field]
“We tend to live up to our expectations.”
“Don’t take the attitude of waiting for people to be nice to you – be nice to them.”
“People don’t have great attitudes because of great success, they have great success largely because of great attitudes.”
“There are millions of human beings who live narrow, darkened, frustrated lives – who live defensively – simply because they take a defensive, doubtful attitude toward themselves.”
“A person with a poor attitude becomes a magnet for unpleasant experiences.”
Goals and Purpose Quotes
“All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.”
“Your problem is to bridge the gap which exists between where you are now and the goal you intend to reach.”
“People who have goals succeed because they know where they’re going.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”
“Before you can achieve the kind of life you want you must think, act, talk, and conduct yourself in all of your affairs as would the person you wish to become.”
“Write on a card what it is you want more than anything else. Make sure it’s a single goal and clearly defined.” [Source: The Strangest Secret 30-Day Test]
“We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we’ve established for ourselves.”
“It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.”
Service and Prosperity Quotes
“Our rewards in life will always be in exact proportion to our service.”
“How can I increase my service today, knowing that my rewards in life must be in exact proportion to my service?”
“Everything in the world we want to do or get done, we must do with and through people.”
“No man can get rich himself unless he enriches others.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
“We’ve got to be of service first before we can expect money.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
Personal Growth and Learning Quotes
“The mind moves in the direction of our currently dominant thoughts.”
“Your world is a living expression of how you are using and have used your mind.”
“Control your thoughts. Decide about that which you will think and concentrate upon. You are in charge of your life to the degree you take charge of your thoughts.”
“Each of us must live off the fruit of his thoughts in the future, because what you think today and tomorrow, next month and next year, you will mold your life and determine your future. You are guided by your mind.”
“The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”
“We all walk in the dark and each of us must learn to turn on his or her own light.”
“A person who does not read is no better than one cannot read.”
“Reading dispels prejudices which hem our minds within narrow spaces.”
“You can no more be a healthy person mentally without reading substantial books than you can be a vigorous person physically without eating solid food.”
“The two biggest things you can do to change your future are the books you read and the people you associate with.”
“Don’t wait for change. You change.”
“Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”
Time and Persistence Quotes
“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”
“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”
“By being persistent, you’re demonstrating faith. Persistence is simply another word for faith. If you didn’t have faith, you’d never persist.”
“Going at it strong for a week or a month and then falling back into old habits is just like working for a week or a month on that plot of ground and then abandoning it.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
“Do each day all that can be done that day.”
“But most people live a life of quiet mediocrity and never achieve the success they truly desire because they get impatient. They want easy success or none at all.”
Thinking and the Mind Quotes
“Men simply don’t think.” – As quoted by Earl Nightingale from Dr. Albert Schweitzer [Source: The Strangest Secret]
“Most people will go to any length to avoid thinking when they’re faced with a problem.”
“Very few people use the muscles of their mind to solve their problems.”
“Problems are challenges to creative minds. Without problems, there would be little reason to think at all.”
“You know, for any problem, no matter how big or complex it may be, there is a solution. All you have to do is find it.”
“Everything begins with an idea.”
“Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.”
“Nothing great was ever accomplished without inspiration.”
“We tend to minimize the things we can do, the goals we can achieve, and yet, for an equally strange reason, we think others can do things that we cannot.”
“You do have deep reservoirs of talent and ability within you and you can have the things you want.”
Courage and Conformity Quotes
“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice… it is conformity.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
“The reason for so many failures is conformity – people acting like everyone else, without knowing why or where they are going.”
“Wherever there is danger, there lurks opportunity; wherever there is opportunity, there lurks danger. The two are inseparable.”
“Open your ears before you open your mouth, it may surprise your eyes!”
Work and Career Quotes
“The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career!”
“The best way for you to develop the security that lasts a lifetime is to become outstanding at one particular line of work.” [Source: Lead the Field]
“Destructive emotions, such as anger, hatred, and jealousy don’t hurt others; they hurt you. They can make your life miserable. They can make you sick. Forgive everyone who ever hurt you – really forgive them – and then forgive yourself.”
Lead the Field Quotes
Lead the Field was released in 1987 and became known as the “Program of Presidents” because of its popularity among business leaders. Here are key quotes from this program:
“If the grass is greener on the other side it’s probably getting better care. Success is a matter of sticking to a set of common sense principles anyone can master.” [Source: Lead the Field]
“Attitude is the magic word. You are responsible for how your life turns out, and your attitude shapes that life for better or worse.” [Source: Lead the Field]
“Each of us creates his or her own life largely by our attitude. We all want good results. A healthy attitude is our best guarantee.”
“Attitude is defined as the position or bearing as indicating action, feeling or mood. And it is our actions, feelings or moods that determine the actions, feelings and moods of others.”
“Our attitude tells the world what we expect in return. Make yours expectant and cheerful.”
“The outstanding leader in any field is society’s most valued person. Every organization needs leadership.”
“You do not raise morale, it filters down from the top. People will always reflect the attitude of the leader.”
“Behind every outstanding success is an outstanding leader.”
“The best way to develop security that lasts a lifetime is to become outstanding at one particular line of work. As long as you are in the top 5% of that industry you’ll always be in demand.”
“It’s easier to settle for the lower levels. Most just get in step with their peers. Most just don’t know how to succeed.”
“Successful people follow independent paths. They break away from the crowd. They join a smaller crowd.”
“It’s never too late, for with a purpose, a worthy goal and a motivation to reach those upper layers on the pyramid…”
Our Changing World Quotes
Our Changing World was Earl Nightingale’s daily radio program that became the most syndicated radio program in history, with over 7,000 broadcasts. Selected wisdom from this series:
“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”
“Don’t worry. Worry brings fear, and fear is crippling.”
“Keep calm and cheerful. Don’t let petty things annoy you and get you off course.”
“The paradox is that exactly the reverse is true. Everything that’s really worthwhile in life came to us free.”
“Even if our home burns down we can rebuild it. But the things that we got for nothing, we can never replace.”
“Discontent is the greatest motivator of all.”
“What happens inside always appears outside.”
“You have nothing to lose, but you have a whole life to win.”
“My years in the newspaper business have convinced me of several things, among them that people are basically good and that we came from someplace and we’re going someplace, so we should make our time here an exciting adventure. The architect of the universe didn’t build a stairway leading nowhere.”
The 30-Day Test Challenge
Earl Nightingale’s famous 30-Day Test from “The Strangest Secret” – a practical application of his philosophy:
“For the next 30 days, follow each of these steps every day until you have achieved your goal:”
- Write on a card what it is you want more than anything else
- Carry it with you and look at it several times a day
- Think about it in a cheerful, relaxed, positive way each morning
- Stop thinking about what it is you fear
- Focus only on what you want to happen
- Act as if it were impossible to fail
- Take action each day toward your goal
“You’ll be in that wonderful minority who lead calm, cheerful successful lives. Start today. You have nothing to lose. But you have a life to win.” [Source: The Strangest Secret]
About Earl Nightingale
Earl Nightingale was born on March 12, 1921, in Long Beach, California, and passed away on March 25, 1989. He grew up during the Great Depression and became obsessed with understanding why some people succeed while others fail.
Early Life and Pearl Harbor
Earl’s father abandoned the family in 1933, forcing them to move to Tent City in Long Beach. This difficult childhood sparked his lifelong quest to understand success. On December 7, 1941, Earl was stationed at Pearl Harbor on the Battleship Arizona. A thousand men died that day, but Earl was one of only a hundred who survived, an experience that profoundly shaped his life’s mission.
Career Achievements
- 1950s: Worked as the voice of Sky King on radio and became a popular WGN radio host
- 1956: Recorded “The Strangest Secret”, which became the first spoken-word recording to achieve Gold Record status (over 1 million copies sold)
- 1960: Co-founded Nightingale-Conant Corporation with Lloyd Conant, which became the world’s largest producer of personal development audio programs
- 1987: Released “Lead the Field”, which became known as the “Program of Presidents”
- Created over 7,000 radio broadcasts for his program “Our Changing World,” which became the most syndicated radio program ever
Awards and Recognition
- Golden Gavel Award from Toastmasters International (1976)
- National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame inductee
- National Radio Hall of Fame inductee (1985)
- Napoleon Hill Gold Medal for Literary Excellence for his book “Earl Nightingale’s Greatest Discovery”
[Sources: Wikipedia, Amazon Biography, Nightingale.com]
Earl Nightingale’s Books and Programs
Primary Works
- The Strangest Secret (1956) – The Gold Record recording that launched the personal development industry. Available on Spotify
- Lead the Field (1987) – Known as the “Program of Presidents,” this comprehensive audio program covers 12 key principles for success. Available on Audible
- Earl Nightingale’s Greatest Discovery (1987) – His first book, which won the Napoleon Hill Gold Medal for Literary Excellence
- Our Changing World – Over 7,000 daily radio broadcasts covering virtually every aspect of success and personal development
Where to Find Earl Nightingale’s Work
- Official Website: Nightingale.com
- The Strangest Secret Audio: Internet Archive (Free)
- Lead the Field: Amazon, Audible
- The Strangest Secret Book: Amazon
How to Apply Earl Nightingale’s Wisdom
Earl Nightingale’s philosophy centers on these core principles:
The 5 Core Principles
- We become what we think about – Your thoughts shape your reality
- Success is progressive – It’s about moving toward worthy goals
- Service equals success – Your rewards match your contribution
- Attitude determines altitude – Your mindset creates your outcomes
- Conformity kills dreams – Have the courage to be different
Practical Action Steps
Start applying these quotes today by:
- Set One Clear Goal: Following the 30-Day Test, write your most important goal on a card and carry it with you
- Control Your Thoughts: Spend time each morning setting your attitude for the day
- Study Daily: Dedicate one hour per day to reading in your chosen field
- Serve Others: Focus on how you can serve without immediate expectation of reward
- Think Independently: Have the courage to break from conformity and follow your own path
Recommended Reading Order
For those new to Earl Nightingale’s work:
- Start with The Strangest Secret (30 minutes audio)
- Apply the 30-Day Test immediately
- Move to Lead the Field for deeper principles
- Explore Our Changing World broadcasts for ongoing inspiration
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Earl Nightingale’s most famous quote?
Earl Nightingale’s most famous quote is “We become what we think about,” which is the core principle of The Strangest Secret.
What is The Strangest Secret?
The Strangest Secret is Earl Nightingale’s 1956 recording that became the first spoken-word recording to achieve Gold Record status. The “secret” is that we become what we think about most of the time.
What is Earl Nightingale’s definition of success?
According to Earl Nightingale, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” This means you are successful the moment you begin working toward a worthy goal.
Where can I listen to The Strangest Secret?
You can listen to The Strangest Secret on Spotify, Internet Archive (free), or purchase it from Nightingale.com.
What is the 30-Day Test?
The 30-Day Test is Earl Nightingale’s practical challenge from The Strangest Secret where you focus on a single goal for 30 consecutive days while maintaining only positive thoughts about its achievement.
What is Lead the Field about?
Lead the Field is Earl Nightingale’s comprehensive 1987 audio program covering 12 principles for success, including attitude, goals, and leadership. It’s known as the “Program of Presidents.”
Conclusion
Earl Nightingale’s wisdom has transformed millions of lives since The Strangest Secret was first recorded in 1956. His message remains as relevant today as when he first shared it over 60 years ago.
Remember his profound truth: “We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.”
Start applying these principles today. Take the 30-Day Test. Control your attitude. Set worthy goals. Serve others. And most importantly, take charge of your thoughts.
Related Resources:
- Official Nightingale-Conant Website
- The Strangest Secret Full Text
- Lead the Field Program
- Earl Nightingale Wikipedia
- The Strangest Secret on Internet Archive (Free Audio)
Last Updated: January 2026 | This collection represents the timeless wisdom of Earl Nightingale, one of the greatest personal development pioneers of the 20th century.
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