Earl Nightingale (1921 to 1989) was an American radio broadcaster and author, often called the Dean of Personal Development. His 1956 recording The Strangest Secret became the first spoken-word record to earn a Gold Record, and its message still opens countless personal development journeys today: we become what we think about. [1] [2]
Who is Earl Nightingale?
Earl Nightingale was born in Los Angeles on 12 March 1921. As a young Marine he survived the attack on Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Arizona, one of only a handful of Marines on the ship to do so. After the war he turned to broadcasting, becoming the voice of the radio hero Sky King and hosting a programme on WGN radio in Chicago from 1950 to 1956. [3]
In 1949 he read Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, and was deeply inspired by it. [3] In 1956 he recorded The Strangest Secret, a message first played for the salespeople at his own insurance agency, who were electrified by what they heard. Word spread quickly: more than 200,000 people asked for a copy, and in time sales passed one million. [2]
In 1959 he began the daily radio show Our Changing World, which grew to more than 1,000 stations and became the longest-running and most widely syndicated show of its kind at the time. Over his career he recorded more than 7,000 radio programmes and around 250 audio programmes. [3]
In 1960 he co-founded Nightingale-Conant with Lloyd Conant, a company that grew into one of the world’s best-known publishers of personal development audio. [1] His honours included the Golden Gavel Award, the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame and the National Radio Hall of Fame. He died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on 25 March 1989. [3]
His philosophy in brief
- Choose a worthy ideal. Success is moving steadily toward a goal you chose on purpose.
- Think about it daily. We become what we think about, so keep your goal in front of you.
- Mind your attitude. Your attitude toward life shapes life’s attitude toward you.
- Serve first. Rewards follow the quality and quantity of service you give.
At a glance
Work: radio broadcaster, author and speaker
Best known for: The Strangest Secret (1956)
Radio show: Our Changing World, from 1959
Company: Nightingale-Conant, co-founded in 1960
Nickname: the Dean of Personal Development
Good fit if
You want a clear, classic starting point for personal development: a simple idea about goals and thinking, a 30-day exercise, and recordings you can listen to on a walk or a commute.
Our take
Listen to The Strangest Secret once, then actually run the 30-day test. It is short, warm and practical, and it explains why so many teachers who came after him cite it as their beginning.
The teachings of Earl Nightingale
Nightingale’s teaching is famously simple, and most of it grows from a single recording. Tap a card to read more.
We become what we think about
At the heart of the recording is one sentence. As Nightingale put it: “We become what we think about. A person who is thinking about a concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it, because that’s what he’s thinking about.” [4]
He compared the mind to a vast earthmoving machine he once saw in Arizona, with a small driver perched on top guiding it. You can let that power run into a ditch, he said, or keep both hands on the wheel and point it at a worthwhile purpose. “It’s up to you. You’re in the driver’s seat.” [4]
To apply it, notice what you think about most during an ordinary day. Then choose, on purpose, one goal you would rather think about. Our law of attraction guide explores related ideas.
Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal
Nightingale began by defining success, and offered what he called the best definition he had ever found: “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” [4]
In his examples, a success is the teacher who teaches because that is what they want to do, the entrepreneur who starts the company they dreamed of, or the salesperson who sets out to be the best in their firm. Anyone moving toward a worthy goal they chose deliberately qualifies. [4]
This makes success something you can enjoy today, not only at the finish line. As he put it: “The moment you decide on a goal to work toward, you’re immediately a successful person.” [4] Our self-esteem guide pairs well with this idea.
The 30-day test
Nightingale ended the recording with a practical challenge. For 30 days, he asked listeners to follow a few simple steps every day. [4]
- Write your goal on a card. Make it a single, clearly defined goal, carry the card with you, and look at it in a cheerful, relaxed way each morning, during the day and before bed.
- Stop thinking about what you fear. Each time a fearful or negative thought comes, replace it with a mental picture of your goal.
- Give more than you have to. Each day, do more than is required, knowing your returns follow what you give.
If negative thoughts take over, he advised simply starting again and going 30 more days, until the new habit forms. Then repeat the test, and repeat it again. [4] A simple index card and a calendar to tick off each day are all you need.
Attitude, the magic word
Nightingale returned often to attitude. In one of his best-known lines he said: “It is our attitude toward life which will determine life’s attitude toward us.” [5]
He quoted William James of Harvard: “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” [5]
He also offered a 30-day attitude exercise: “Carry out into the world each morning for thirty days the kind of attitude you would have if you were the most successful human being on Earth.” [5] Set your attitude each morning before the day sets it for you. Our self-confidence guide has more ways to build this habit.
Put the wood in the stove
Nightingale taught that “your success will always be measured by the quality and quantity of service you render.” Earning money, he said, is the result of success, and success is in direct proportion to our service. [4]
He made the point with a memorable picture: a man standing in front of a stove saying, “Give me heat and then I’ll add the wood.” We have to put the fuel in first, he said, and in the same way be of service first before we can expect money. [4]
To apply it at work, ask each morning: how can I add a little more value today than I am paid for? His landmark programme Lead the Field expands on these ideas. [6]
Videos with Earl Nightingale
Hand-picked and checked one by one, all from the official Nightingale-Conant channel.
Start here
Short classics
More from Our Changing World
Articles about Earl Nightingale
Earl Nightingale’s books
Nightingale was above all a voice, so many of his works are audio programmes, but his ideas are also available in print. [3]
Buy The Strangest Secret in your country: US · UK · Canada · Australia · India.
Audio programmes and learning resources
All of these are digital downloads or on Audible, so they work from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Europe and India alike. Prices are in USD.
What the Research Shows
Nightingale’s ideas come from experience and broadcasting rather than the lab, but research on goals supports the habits at the heart of his 30-day test.
- Specific goals. A review of decades of studies found that specific, challenging goals led to higher performance than vague intentions such as “do your best”. [7] This fits his advice to write down a single, clearly defined goal.
- Keeping the goal in view. A meta-analysis of experiments found that monitoring progress toward a goal helped people reach it, especially when progress was physically recorded. [8] Looking at a goal card several times a day and ticking off each day of the test are simple ways to do this.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Earl Nightingale?
Earl Nightingale (1921 to 1989) was an American radio broadcaster, author and speaker, often called the Dean of Personal Development. He co-founded Nightingale-Conant in 1960.
What is The Strangest Secret?
A 1956 recording by Nightingale whose central message is that we become what we think about. It was the first spoken-word recording to earn a Gold Record.
How did Earl Nightingale define success?
He called it “the progressive realization of a worthy ideal”: anyone working toward a goal they chose deliberately is a success.
What is the Earl Nightingale 30-day test?
For 30 days, write your goal on a card and look at it often, replace fearful thoughts with a picture of your goal, and give more than you have to each day. If you slip, start again.
What was Our Changing World?
His daily radio programme, begun in 1959. It ran on more than 1,000 stations and was the most widely syndicated show of its kind at the time.
What book inspired Earl Nightingale?
Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, which he read in 1949.
Where can I listen to Earl Nightingale?
The Nightingale-Conant website and YouTube channel offer The Strangest Secret and other programmes, and many are on Audible.
Sources
- Nightingale-Conant: Earl Nightingale (official)
- Nightingale-Conant: The Strangest Secret, Gold Record Edition
- Wikipedia: Earl Nightingale
- Nightingale-Conant: The Strangest Secret (full text)
- Nightingale-Conant: Earl Nightingale on Attitude
- Nightingale-Conant: Lead the Field
- Locke and Latham, Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation, American Psychologist 2002
- Harkin et al., Does Monitoring Goal Progress Promote Goal Attainment? A Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence, Psychological Bulletin 2016
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