The Schrodinger-Langevin equation is approximately solved for the ground state energy of quantum systems by propagating one single trajectory at a fixed point. Equations of motion for the amplitude of the wave function and the spatial derivatives of the complex action are derived through use of the derivative propagation method. The ground state energy is calculated from the amplitude of the wave function propagated along the single trajectory. Excellent ground state energies are obtained for the Morse potential, the strongly anharmonic potential, the coupled Morse oscillator-harmonic oscillator system, and the ground vibrational state of methyl iodide. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.