James Allen

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY JAMES. ALLEN

Original Unabridged English value reproduction of As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. In this classic book on thinking, the book describes how each of us shapes the events around us, creating our own lives in abundance. As himself Allen describes, "It shows how, in his own thought-world, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances. ...and it can be carried in the pocket." No student of influence should be without this historic philosophy book on leadership. This Value Classic Reprint provides a slim volume with full text at an affordable price. The Table of Contents is as follows: CONTENTS FOREWORD 4 THOUGHT AND CHARACTER 5 EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON CIRCUMSTANCES 7 EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON HEALTH AND THE BODY 14 THOUGHT AND PURPOSE 16 THE THOUGHT-FACTOR IN ACHIEVEMENT 18 VISIONS AND IDEALS 21 SERENITY 24

As a Man Thinketh

Offers guidance on how to achieve purity of mind that alone can bring happiness and confidence.

Anthony

Short and sweet. No new concepts for me but it seemed to fall into my lap when I needed it most. Probably best to read it over and over to remind myself where I'm holding myself back.

I have now read this book/essay 3 or 4 times. It is, to me, an incredibly important read and I would recommend it to everyone. Many people may not get anything out of it, particularly if you go into it expecting not to. But if you apply what is written in the book you will experience the outcome it expects. 

Liam Richardson

Corey Olsen

Got this recommendation from John last night. Good quick read that should be read by everyone. Took about 30 minutes...

William Walker Atkinson

The classic inspirational masterpiece, with excerpts on the power of thought from William Walker Atkinson.

Fraser Simons

2021 reread (listen): Keeping in mind when this was published I am being generous and giving this a rating reflecting it does articulate what it sets out to do. 

That being said it kind of embodies the critiques men often embody (ha, it’s a good quip, you’ll see why soon) in their philosophical and intellectual rigour. Men almost always completely discount principles of the body and tend to characterize their mind as being detached from their body. Or reflect only upon nourishment of the body in service to the mind. 

A through line for women of thought, generally, is grounded in principles of embodiment. Lived experience being reflected in the body and the marriage of the sum total of experience with the memories flowing from the perception of the body. For instance, a woman who gives birth has a body that changes, reflecting that experience. It’s an unacknowledged privilege of men that they never usually have to think about their bodies in any real sense because they generally hold rights, power, wealth, and peace of mind. Their anxieties being focused on legacy.

The more marginalized a person is, the more grounded their thoughts tend to be on issues of embodiment. They don’t have the luxury to do otherwise. 

For me, this is such a disconnect with life that most thoughts on the character of men and a various anxieties come off as bloviating and sometimes laughable. To say nothing of, as I noted in my 2019 reading of this, the realities of mental health as we know it today. 

So, yes. This was _fine_, for what it is. 

2019: Interesting, but seriously antiquated in terms of mental health realities.

Associate Professor of Philosophy James Allen

As a Man Thinketh is a literary essay of James Allen, the title is influenced by a verse in the Bible from the Book of Proverbs chapter 23 verse 7, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." James Allen was a British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement, he was born in Leicester, England, into a working-class family, Allen was the elder of two brothers. His mother could neither read nor write while his father, William, was a factory knitter. In 1903, Allen published his third and most famous book As a Man Thinketh. ''Men do not attract what they want, but what they are.'' ''A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.'' ''Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment, of these, if you but remain true to them your world will at last be built.'' ''The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its unchastened desires - and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.'' ''Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves, they therefore remain bound.'' ''Every action and feeling is preceded by a thought.'' ''Right thinking begins with the words we say to ourselves.'' ''Circumstance does not make the man, it reveals him to himself.'' ''You cannot travel within and stand still without.'' ''As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts, can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking.'' ''Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err''

A’ishah Kamaludin

Man is made or unmade by himself

The theme of this book is similar to my recent read book, The Secret. I enjoy reading the later chapters here
5. Visions and Ideals
6. Serenity;

which sound like peace in my heart. Dreaming is not always bad (as I how always thought it would/should be) I love to dream and think of rather impossible thought/idea. I learn that to hold on to that dream is to realize it in my life (sooner or later, depends on how I think and act upon it) 

The vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, this you will become.

This might seem to be a common old book, but to dive deep inside and through its language, inspires me a lot. It is a short one (80 pages), so I guess no regret in giving it a shot.

Joséphine

Initial thoughts: I had the option to read or to listen to As a Man Thinketh as part of an assignment. After reading the opening lines, I opted to listen, figuring it'd be easier for me to absorb. Now that I've listened to it, I do want to go through the text as well because James Allen touched on quite a number of points. Anyway, as a predecessor to today's self-help/self-improvement books, you could say it summarises a lot of what we read today. It may not offer rigorous details but it gives a good outline of directing your mindset to to focus on what you want to achieve.

With that, here's one of my favourite quotes from the book: “Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.”

James Schwabacher

A great reminder that to live our best life we must think with the highest thoughts. I recommend this book as a starting point for any person seeking to improve his or her life.

As a Man Thinketh

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