“A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses.”
― James Allen, As a Man Thinketh
As a Man Thinketh was written by James Allen in 1902 and has become one of the pillars of the self-help industry.
It is one of the most recommended books in our industry and I personally recommend it to each of my students.
The premise of the book is that what you think about comes about. In other words “the quality of your thoughts determines your quality of life.“
If all you think about is how much weight you’re gaining, how horrible your job is, and how you don’t have enough money to pay your bills. Eventually, you’ll be overweight, unhappy at work, and inundated in debt.
A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.
― James Allen, As a Man Thinketh
James Allen believes that each of us has the power to form our own character and that the conditions of our lives are closely related to our inner state.
As a Man Thinketh encourages you to cultivate positive thoughts in our mind, which will eventually lead you to take positive actions.
This form of thinking is what gave birth to the phenomenon that was “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrnes.
If your brain was a computer, it would be the most powerful one on the planet. Imagine what would happen if the wrong kind of software was installed on it.
In this book, James Allen teaches you how to remove the viruses infecting your brain and how to replace them with the kind of software that’s going to get you everything that you want out of life.
My Likes
If you study the most successful pepole in the world you’ll find that determination plays a huge part in their success.
Determination can’t be bought and doesn’t come from your looks, physical traits, upbringing, or health. It comes from your mind — your inner thoughts.
Your thoughts are like a map. They guide you to your next stop in life. It’s up to you where that next stop is.
That’s why I love this book. James Allen teaches you how to manage your thoughts so that you can control your path in life.
Negative thoughts will always come around, but what if you could minimize them to the point where they didn’t even want to be around you anymore?
Kind of like cockroaches — we see them around every now and then, but as soon as they see us they run away.
My Dislikes
I only have one minor dislike about this book.
James Allen doesn’t place much focus on taking action. He basically assumes that if you think about something, you will figure out what action steps to take in order to acquire it.
I do believe that if you truly desire something, you’ll get it, but not without taking action. You can think all you want about buying a better house, but if you don’t get off the couch to make it happen it’s not going to happen.
Thoughts lead us on the right path, but we must follow that path in order to get to our destination.
He does mention this in the book, but I just think more emphasis should have been put into this which is why I call it a “minor dislike.”
Conclusion
I believe that As a Man Thinketh is one of the best books ever written.
Every man’s journey begins from within and eventually manifests itself onto the world for everyone else to see.
If your journey is to be one of happiness and prosperity, you must align your thoughts with those results.
James Allen wrote his book “As a Man Thinketh” as a guide for you to follow in order to control your thoughts, and therefore control your journey.
If you haven’t already gotten your copy, be sure to grab one from Amazon or your local library.
What are your thoughts on this book?