Emile Coué

Born in Troyes, France, in 1857, Émile Coué trained as a pharmacist and later became known for his work with suggestion and hypnosis. While running a pharmacy in Nancy, he noticed that patients often responded better when medicine was given with encouraging words, an observation that helped shape his lifelong interest in the mind’s role in healing.

Coué went on to develop what he called conscious autosuggestion, a method built on repeated positive phrases and the belief that imagination can be more powerful than sheer will. He became widely known in the 1920s through lectures, demonstrations, and his influential book Self-Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion.

His ideas were embraced by many readers looking for practical ways to change their outlook and behavior, and they also sparked debate among doctors and psychologists of his time. Even so, his famous daily affirmation and his broader message about the power of expectation left a lasting mark on self-help and popular psychology.