Takeaways from As a Man Thinketh

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen.

   "As a man thinketh" is a short but powerful book about a thinking which emphasizes the idea of "we become what we think about it". Purifying the thought and feeding it with positive and proper ideas are key factors to become someone or achieve something. Our thinking pattern outputs the results of our actions. After reading this book you will learn about how to effectively think and accomplish your goals by applying correct thinking methods.

    I highly recommend reading this book. You can easily find a PDF version of it on internet. Here are my short introduction lessons from the book.

• The man is what he thinks, and he builds his character based on his thought. Acts are the fruits of thoughts, and thoughts can be revised. A mind is like a garden, put into your mind the right and useful seeds and cultivate them with care. Seeds of love and hatred produce love and hate respectively.

"Only by much searching and mining are gold a diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul; and that he is the maker of his character, the molder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove, if he will watch, control, and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon himself, upon others, and upon his life and circumstances, linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation, and utilizing his every experience, even to the most trivial, everyday occurrence, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is Understanding, Wisdom, Power."

• Circumstance reveals the person. Prosperity thought gives us abundance and prospers; selfish thought triggers adversity and bankruptcy. Suffer comes when we are out of harmony with ourselves mentally. Thought soon becomes visible in a habit and solidifies into circumstance.  

"The outer world of circumstance shapes itself to the inner world of thought, and both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions are factors which make for the ultimate good of the individual. As the reaper of his own harvest, man learns both by suffering and bliss."

• Happy and unhappy thoughts soon will express themselves in a body. Cheerful thoughts make innocent, calm wrinkles on a face in old age. Destructive thoughts make the same negative traces on a face.

"Strong, pure, and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace. The body is a delicate and plastic instrument, which responds readily to the thoughts by which it is impressed, and habits of thought will produce their own effects, good or bad, upon it."

• Have a firm purpose not to fall into traps like fear, trouble, failure, and worries, not to deviate from the right path, and not to become week and helpless. Develop your thought by setting a goal and purpose to get a focus, resolution, and energy to accomplish. 

"Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes a creative force; he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations; he who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers."

• Whatever we achieve or become comes from our thoughts. The man as he thinks. 

"All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts."

• Raise your thoughts to succeed, to become better and stronger, to strengthen your energy to act. Open your limits, conquer your weakness, develop your resolutions by fixing your thought, feeding it positive, workable, and noble ideas.

"He who lives constantly in the conception of noble and lofty thoughts, who dwells upon all that is pure and unselfish, will, as surely as the sun reaches its zenith and the moon its full, become wise and noble in character, and rise into a position of influence and blessedness."

"All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought, are governed by the same law and are of the same method; the only difference lies in the object of attainment."

• Have a beautiful vision, never stop positive dreaming. They are the seeds of realization and the blueprints of your achievements. All intellectual crafts once were dreams of their makers. Fruitful desire, goal, and vision are so important to become a creative man, and make positive changes and acquire better results.

"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil."

"In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result. Chance is not. "Gifts," powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized."

• When the man understands himself and others as a thought-evolved being, develops a right understanding, discovers internal relationships of things according to cause and effect low, he will find serenity and calmness, become free from grief and worry.

"The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find his business prosperity increase as he develops a greater self-control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanor is strongly equable."

Thank you for reading!


Reference:

       1. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen