The cyclone derives its powers from a calm center. So does a person.

Peale uses the meteorological image of a cyclone’s “eye” to argue that effective action and resilience come from inner steadiness rather than constant agitation. The paradox—immense force organized around calm—suggests that a person’s greatest power is not raw intensity but centeredness: emotional regulation, clarity of purpose, and spiritual or psychological composure. In Peale’s broader positive-thinking ethos, the “calm center” is cultivated through faith, disciplined thought, and habitual optimism, enabling one to face external turmoil without being internally scattered. The line implies that calm is not passivity; it is the stable core that allows energy to be directed rather than wasted.