Take control of your life. Manifest your will. Let the Universe be your guide. But let love be the guiding light. These are the teachings of Florence Shinn.

Florence Scovel Shinn was born on September 24, 1871 in Camden, New Jersey. Her writing on the subject of metaphysics began with her self-published book, The Game of Life and How to Play It which was released in 1925. As she gained deeper insight and understanding in the techniques of affirmations and manifesting thought, she distilled the information and made it available to the public. From this, her book Your Word Is Your Wand was published in 1928. Shinn was gaining in popularity and her work took on a gravitas as the New Thought movement gained momentum.

The Secret Door to Success was the result and written in 1940 as her following grew. However, her crowning jewel would not make it to press in her lifetime. She had lived to see her theories of manifestation and intuition proven true. Her insights into thought, mindset, will power, and affirmations were proven over and over, but her last work would not make it to the publishing house before her death. Shinn began to articulate and explain the last of her discoveries in the book, The Power of the Spoken Word, but she passed away before it was published. After her death, The Power of the Spoken Word was saved and edited by one of her students, and in 1945 it was published her by Shinn Press. The work of Florence Scovel Shinn has influenced everything from the “Positive Thinking” movement of Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, and Earl Nightingale, to the Think and Grow Rich book of Napoleon Hill. Her secrets of health and prosperity continued into the 21st century, where it can be found as the central tenets of Christian Science and the Prosperity Gospel of today.