Let me tell you the story of “Doc,” a middle-aged messenger who believed in positive thinking. A little man without money, advanced schooling, influence or marketable skills, he used positive thinking to save lives.

He was fascinated by positive sayings, and he wrote his inspirational mottoes on slips of paper and carried them in his pocket. Everyone who received a message from him also got a slogan: “Chin up,” “Take it easy” or “Tomorrow is another day.”

When World War II broke out, he tried to enlist but was turned down. So he volunteered to work in a government hospital carrying bedpans, making beds, pushing carts through the corridors. He didn’t mind the hard work and long hours, but he felt helpless every time he saw a soldier die. He wanted to help, but what could he do? He had no medical skills, no magic powers. One night he had an inspiration: he would save the men with positive thinking!

The next morning everyone was surprised to see the words “NOBODY DIES IN THIS WARD” written in large, bold letters on the wall. The administration was outraged and wanted to fire Doc, but the doctors and nurses saw what was happening on the ward: the power of positive thinking was taking hold. Patients were sitting up in bed, laughing and talking about the slogan, calling it medicine’s “secret weapon.” Some were even making bets over which of them would live the longest. A new will to live spread like wildfire through the ward. What most thought was a joke became deadly serious in the months that followed.

Each patient in the ward was made to understand that he couldn’t die—Doc wouldn’t let him. He told them they must fight to stay alive, or the magic spell created by the words would be broken. And they lived!

Eventually, of course, some men finally died. But not with the same frequency as before the sign went up.

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