Florence Scovel Shinn - Favorite Self-Help Teachers

Posted on February 18, 2007

The book Wisdom of Florence Scovel Shinn is a compilation of all her 3 books and The Power of the Spoken Word, this book is a must-have for anyone who believes they can do better with their lives and want to know how.

I believe books present themselves into your life when you are ready to acknowledge them. - Tabs

My personal development journey started many years ago and along the way I have become a student of several self-help scholars, gurus and guruettes. I thought it might be an added bonus is I shared some of them with you. So I am starting a series of blogs, I don’t know exactly how many because I am learning everyday and might just find more people that fit the bill. I will however start with the ones dearest to me. The ones I don’t go a week without reading.

Florence Scovel Shinn (1871-1940)

An artist and a metaphysics teacher in New York in the early 20th century. She wrote one of my very favorite books on self-help, spirituality and the Universal Laws, The Game of Life and How to Play it. This author is so important to me because prior to reading her books my focus on personal development was completely based on intellectual aspects of self-help, it was all about goals, affirmations, visualization without basing it on something bigger than me, it was almost too mechanical. I knew of the Universal Laws but I treated them like the law of gravity, science without spirit. I was never truly satisfied with the knowledge I acquired. I always felt something was missing, and then I found this book and discovered the missing parts of the equation.

This book opened up a whole new point of view in my personal development journey. I could incorporate religion, philosophy, psychology, metaphysics, spirituality, personal experience and basic self-help tools to create my ideal life. The Game of Life was published 1925, the oldest self-help book I had read prior to that was by Brian Tracy written in the 80’s, you should have seen my reaction when I learnt that all I had been reading was pretty much a new twist on a very old story. I spent the next year reading everything on personal development I could get my hands on, as long as it was written prior to 1927 and I found information dated over 3,000 years. I was in heaven.

Florence Scovel was born September 24, 1871, in Camden, she was one of Emily Hopkinson and Alden Cortlandt Shovel’s three children. Her father was a lawyer.

Florence went to school in Philadelphia at the Friends Central School and she studied art at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1889 – 1897,) her medium was ink and pen. She met her husband Everett Shinn (1876 - 1953) at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. They got married and moved to New York Everett Shinn was an impressionist and muralist. In New York they both had careers in the arts, Florence was an illustrator for children’s literature and Everett was a set designer and play write he is said to have built a small theater in their courtyard and wrote plays in which Florence had the lead role. They got divorced in 1912 after 14 years of marriage.

Florence wrote, The Game of Life and How to Play It, Your Word is Your Wand. The book, The Secret Door to Success, published in 1940. The Power of the Spoken Word is a compilation of speeches she gave and was published by one of her students in 1945. Florence died on October 17, 1940.

Thanks for letting me share this with you,

Tabs

A Point of View - A Dinner Conversation With My Favorite Teachers
Law of Subconscious Activity - A Point of View
Law of Non-Resistance A Point of View
Law of Cause and Effect (Karma) – A Point of View

Filed Under Living Eternal Vigilance, Nuture your Spirit, Self Improvement, Self-Help Tools

PLEASE & Thank You

Comments

5 Responses to “Florence Scovel Shinn - Favorite Self-Help Teachers”

Lillian Lee on February 19th, 2007 12:37 am

I really love her work too, the stories she tells are such good examples of the application of the Law, thanks for sharing her story.

Lil
Levnow Self-Help Tools Blog » Blog Archive » Law of Cause and Effect (Karma) – A Point of View on February 22nd, 2007 2:32 pm

[...] within is the cause and the conditions and circumstances, which result, are the effects. Florence Scovel Shinn (The Game of Life and How to Play [...]
pieter on March 28th, 2007 6:51 am

the game of life and how to play it , the truth !can not be changed , may this graet spirit rest in peace while THE Lord continue to asteblish the work’s of her hands , we should all learn from her, work at the change you want to see in the world today
Gail on October 4th, 2008 5:22 pm

I give thanks every day to Florence for writing her books. I love the quaint wording of the books given the period of history in which they were written, and am amazed at how relevant in tody’w world they remain. What an inspiration to me and society.

Gail
Tabs on October 4th, 2008 5:30 pm

Gail, you are so right about Aunty Florence as I call her, in fact, I was just searching for answers about a thought that was eating away at me and I believe she will have a solution for me right now too.

Thanks so much for the comment, see you around. If you ever want to discuss Florence Scovel Shinn’s work please leave me a comment and we will start a conversation.

-Tabs