The book summarised in just 2 sentences is "You are who you think, you can be what you think! Thought is the only universal power governing you and your circumstances, everything."
Scrolling through Reels, I stumbled upon one where an old man was suggesting his personal book recommendations, and I saw true belief when he first said, "As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, such a great book." Ever since it ran into my mind to read this book until I finally did today.
Obsessed with reels about book recommendations, growth, and other things, I have never taken positive action in that regard until today when I decided to end 2023 on a good note and begin 2024 with positivity. From the foreword to the chapters, the book presents a holistic view of your thoughts on nearly all different aspects of your life. Knowing about the author's life in brief, the book is a testament to his observations and how he discovers that all success, joy, compassion, and your life trajectory are based on just one thing: your thoughts.
The book starts with the author's life journey and his word of recommendation on this read, further explaining the connection of your thoughts to your character, circumstances, health and wealth, purpose, achievements, and vision and ideals. It provides reasoning for why an oppressor is an oppressor and how it is justified, while the oppressed suffer. Published in 1903, this book is still relevant in 2023 at a time when the technologies of yesterday were not. Truly a must-read, and I'm sure of rating this no less than 5/5. It's to the point and a small read; don't miss out on it!
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My Learning Points:
Thoughts are the root cause of everything you go through in your life; hence, yielding good thoughts will result in good circumstances and a good life.
Your thoughts define your character, and your character is a combination of all that you think. This makes one a master of their own fate, and their pursuit to deep dive into themselves can help them achieve a great character, meaning a great life.
With your character, you learn to respond. Character is seen when circumstances emerge, waiting for you to act and respond. Explained through an analogy, it is up to you if you want to cultivate a garden or let it be wild. If the place is wild, it will be filled with unwanted weeds and dirt while cultivating a garden eliminates dust, weeds, and dirt, and the same is your mind. Cultivating your thoughts well can help you create a blooming garden with the fruits and flowers you need.
Circumstances grow out of thoughts, and even though every circumstance will not display your character, it is innately connected to your character.
Connecting between thoughts and health (and body), it says that your body is a slave to your mind. When one fosters clean thoughts, their body becomes clean and keeps you in control of all the junk automatically.
What you think is how your body responds. If you have a positive outlook, your body is energised to do better things; however, thinking about things negatively frowns on you.
All of your thoughts are useless if you don't have a purpose to channel them. You are bound by your purpose and all that you think needs to be focused on your purpose. This provides you with the power to attain your purpose, and the thoughts come to life in the form of circumstances, portraying your character and lasting longer than you will.
Eliminating doubt and fear helps one overcome failure.
Achievements in life are a factor of thought. Your condition is your own, good or bad; you're the one to blame yourself. One achieves greatly in life when one thinks so, and make no mistake, all achievements and results demand sacrifice.
"Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil." - Vision and Ideals, James Allen in As a Man Thinketh
Lastly, Serenity. A strong, calm man is always revered. Calmness comes from the ability to be able to think rationally in any situation by overcoming failure, making one content with oneself. Such a person is liked by all.
fin.