“The Strangest Secret” By Earl Nightingale from the desk of Diana Nightingale

People are often surprised and somewhat dismayed to learn the "secret" behind the writing and recording of, The Strangest Secret. Certain that, Earl Nightingale was motivated by a business goal or the promise of payment for his message, the truth of the matter is simple - he wanted to go fishing!

Earl, had been enjoying a career in radio for many years, and was a much sought after speaker when he decided to branch out and buy a small insurance agency where on Saturday mornings he would address the handful of salesmen on the subject of staying motivated.  When Earl announced to his office manager that he would be away for a couple of weeks on a fishing trip, his manager protested, saying that the men were so dependent on Earl's messages, that there might not be an agency to return to in a couple of weeks!

Earl, was determined to go fishing and set out to find a way to go and yet, still be "present" to inspire and motivate the sales staff. He said that he thought about what he might say in a message, one that could be played in his absence and began thinking about how he could take all that he had learned about life and success and wrap it up on one message; a message, so profound that he could leave it to his children, if he weren't around to tell them.

He said he went to bed with this on his mind and woke up near dawn, knowing exactly what he wanted to say. He told me how he got up, put on his robe, made coffee and started typing the message on his typewriter! By early morning it was finished!  He showered, got dressed and took his message to, Columbia Records, where his good friend, Dick Hutter worked. They recorded the message, which he called, The Strangest Secret, then took the single record to the Insurance office and handed it to his office manager and said, "Play this while I am gone. I'm going fishing!"

When Earl returned a few weeks later, he was astonished to learn that the recording had been, not only successful in motivating the salesmen, but that each, wanted a record of their own so that they could listen to it again and again.

Pressing a few more copies of the record for the salesmen seemed like a simple request - - one easily filled; but, what happen next was unbelievable! Not only did the men listen to it, but they played their record for friends and family and anyone who would listen; And, once heard, the friends and family and everyone who listened, wanted one, too! The demand was growing by the week and the amazing thing was, that no advertising or marketing was being done!  None of any kind, other than one person at a time, sharing the message on the record with others.

This was unheard of! Especially by Columbia Records!  In no time at all, more than a million copies had been sold, earning for Earl Nightingale, the only Gold Record ever to be given for an audio message!

By now, Earl had partnered up with an acquaintance, Lloyd Conant who owned a small mail order company and he had taken on the task of helping Earl fill orders for the record.  Earl said that they believed initially that they would saturate the market within a year and be done - but instead, realized that there was a real hunger for these kinds of messages and Earl began writing more...and more...and more!

Now, almost 60-years later, The Strangest Secret continues to sell, every day, somewhere in the world and has stood the test of time with its soundness, it's truth and its effectiveness in helping millions upon millions of people around the world to achieve more successful lives.