As a Man Thinketh Summary 2023 - Deepstash

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As a Man Thinketh Summary

About As a Man Thinketh Book

THIS little self-help volume (the result of meditation and experience) is not intended as an exhaustive treatise on the much-written-upon subject of the power of thought. It is suggestive rather than explanatory, its object being to stimulate men and women to the discovery and perception of the truth that-- "They themselves are makers of themselves." By virtue of the thoughts, which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master-weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.

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As a Man Thinketh by James Allen

Your thoughts and actions have the power to shape your reality. With the right mindset and consistent action, you can achieve anything you desire.

Unlocking The Power Of Your Thoughts

Unlocking The Power Of Your Thoughts

"As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen is a classic self-help book that emphasizes the power of our thoughts and how they shape our lives. It's a timeless guide that teaches us the importance of taking control of our thoughts, attitudes, and actions to create the life we desire.

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Thoughts are things

Thoughts are things

Our thoughts have the power to shape our reality.

  • So why not start thinking like a unicorn and create a magical life?
  • Or, you can keep thinking like a grumpy old troll and live under a bridge.

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The power of positive thinking

The power of positive thinking

Positive thoughts lead to positive outcomes.

  • Your thoughts are like a garden, so make sure you're not growing weeds.
  • Remember, your mind is not a dumping ground for negativity, so take out the trash regularly.

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The book encourages readers to take control of their thoughts and focus on cultivating a positive and constructive mindset. It teaches that by shaping one's thoughts, individuals can shape their destiny and create a life of purpose and success.

Control over Circumstances: Mastering Life Through Thought

Control over Circumstances: Mastering Life Through Thought

"As a Man Thinketh" is a classic self-help book written by James Allen. It emphasizes the power of thoughts in shaping one's life and circumstances.

Here are the main points from the book along with some notable quotes:

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1- Thoughts and Character:

1- Thoughts and Character:

Thoughts and Character: The book underscores the profound connection between our thoughts and our character. It suggests that our thoughts are like seeds that plant the foundation of our personality. Just as seeds grow into distinct plants, our thoughts eventually shape our actions and behaviors, defining our character and influencing the way we interact with the world.

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2- Mind's Creative Power:

2- Mind's Creative Power:

Mind's Creative Power: Allen delves into the idea that the mind is a powerful creator. Our thoughts, he argues, have the ability to manifest as our reality. Just as an artist's canvas reflects their thoughts, our life circumstances mirror the thoughts we consistently entertain. This concept highlights the need to cultivate positive, constructive thoughts that lead to desired outcomes.

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Thought and Character

Thought and Character

“As a man thinketh in his heart so is he”

You are literally what you think. Your character being a complete sum of your thoughts. Just as plants cannot grow without the seed, actions cannot have been taken without the thought. Through this is the realization that you hold the key to every situation, and just as gold and diamonds are discovered through much searching and mining, you can discover your own truths and character by digging deep into yourself.

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Effect of Thought on Circumstances

Effect of Thought on Circumstances

“You do not attract that which you want, but that which you are”

Your mind is like a garden that can be cultivated or allowed to run wild, depending on the quality of your thoughts and your thoughts shape your character, circumstances, and destiny. Most people are usually anxious to improve their circumstances, but unwilling to improve themselves. You become your true and powerful self when you take responsibility for your life - when you stop blaming others for your conditions and build yourself up with strong thoughts.

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Effect of thought on Health and the Body

Effect of thought on Health and the Body

“There is no doctor better than cheerful thought for keeping the body healthy”

Your body reacts to your mind and will, therefore, be a direct reflection of your thoughts, and disease and health, like circumstance, are rooted in thought. Sickly thoughts will express themselves through a sickly body and strong, pure and happy thoughts build a strong and graceful body. Your body is delicate and responds readily to your thoughts. A change of diet will not help you without changing your thoughts. If you want to protect your body, guard your mind.

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It's easy to get overwhelmed by the mechanics of daily life, and then to assign blame for everything to this or that thing. And while it maybe true that there is so much out there, and so little over which we have control, our thoughts are our own. At the thought level, we have the power to exert influence, and it is at this level that we must begin to interface with the world, because our thoughts determine how the world as we come to see it, is framed.

The Power of Directing Your Thoughts and Your Internal Movie

The Power of Directing Your Thoughts and Your Internal Movie

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen is a short and insightful oft-quoted book that highlights the idea that, we are forged—for better or for worse—by our thoughts and their quality. More than that, we have agency in the matter of our lives, and so that when quality thinking combines with diligent action, extraordinary happens.

Some quotes from the book are included below. Enjoy.

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JAMES ALLEN

"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. This is just as true of those who feel “out of harmony” with their surroundings as of those who are contented with them."

JAMES ALLEN

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JAMES ALLEN

Not what he wishes and prays for does a man get, but what he justly earns. His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.

JAMES ALLEN

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As a man thinketh, so is he

OLD APHORISM

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Thought And Character

Thought And Character

One's character is the complete sum of their thoughts.

Every act of a person springs from their thought. Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits.

You are the master of thought and hence the master of your fate.

Thought and character are one.

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Thought And Circumstances

The outer world of circumstances shadows itself to the inner world of thought.

Both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions are factors which make for the ultimate good of the individual.

One doesn't attract that which they want but that which they are.

All your past experiences, good and bad, were the equitable result of your evolving, yet unevolved self.

One must stop complaining about their problems and start introspecting as to what caused them.

You cannot choose your circumstances directly but you can choose your thoughts and indirectly shape your circumstances

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Thought and character

Just like the plant springs from a seed, the actions of a man are generated from the hidden seeds of thought. With deliberate practice, a man can choose his thoughts and hence his actions. No matter the circumstances, with power of thought, man is always the moulder of his life and the builder of his destiny.

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Effect of thought on circumstances.

Today's most common convention is that, we are the results of our circumstances. If we aren't earning enough then it's our boss' fault. We tend to change the circumstances outside us but we don't look within us. We are wasting our time if we are focusing on changing our outer conditions. We should rather observe our thoughts and plant good ones in our mind. Remember - good circumstances are the results of good thoughts and so are bad ones.

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EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON HEALTH AND THE BODY

EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON HEALTH AND THE BODY

"A sour face does not come by chance; It is made by sour thoughts"

---

Who here is an overthinker? Who here always has these thoughts in their mind that just won't go away? One of the key factors in overthinking is that we make assumptions about things or people. That just how we are built. But if we can learn to CONTROL these thoughts, then I guarantee you will be much more focused on your purpose.

'Check the facts'. If you ever see yourself making assumptions... ask your self; Is what I'm thinking a reality? Has it happened yet? Did I actually see this thought happen with my own eyes?

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EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON HEALTH & THE BODY

EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON HEALTH & THE BODY

"They should make this purpose the centralising point of his thoughts"

---

Your actions are a resultant of your thoughts. People who have fear of failure in their purpose are the ones who will fail to build up their strength of character to fulfil their purpose.

No matter what you do, no matter what happens, if you fail gain and again and again, the strength you possess from your 'WHY' and your past failures will be the measure of your success.

"I have not failed 10,000 times - I've successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work" - Thomas Edison

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EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON CIRCUMSTANCES

EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON CIRCUMSTANCES

"We do not attract what we want, but that which they are"

---

No amount of wishing or preying or wanting will get help you fulfil your purpose, and eventually you will get what you truley deserve. Rather prayers and wishes are only answered when they are supported with your vigourous THOUGHTS and your necessary ACTIONS.

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Everything in the universe is about cause and effect. We are and do as we think.

Seedful Thoughts

Seedful Thoughts

All actions we take springs from the seeds of our thought like a plant springs from a seed.

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Association

Association

We are as good as the company we keep and the environment we breathe.

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Reap What You Sow

Reap What You Sow

Be mindful of our thoughts. Everything is created twice; first in our thoughts and later in action. Sooner or later, good thoughts will bear good fruit and bad thoughts bad fruit. Law of karma is based on the same principle.

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Thought and Purpose

  • Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment.
  • Aimlessness is a common vice, and such drifting much not continue for him who would Street clear of Catastrophe and destruction.
  • They who have no Central purpose in their life fall easy prey to petty worries, fears troubles and self pityings, all of which are indications of weakness, which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned sins to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power evolving universe.

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Strength Grows with Purpose

  • The weakest soul, knowing its own weakness, and believing this truth that strength can only be developed by effort and practice, will, thus believing, at once begin to exert itself and adding effort to effort, patience to patience, strength to strength, will never cease to develop, and will atlast grow divinely strong.
  • As a 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.

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Eliminate Doubt and Fear

  • Doubt and Fear are the great enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at every step.
  • He who has conquered doubt and Fear had conquered failure. His every thought is allied with power, and all difficulties are bravely met and widely overcome.
  • His purposes are seasonably planted, and they bloom and bring forth fruit, which does not fall prematurely to the ground.

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1) You Become What You Think

1) You Become What You Think

You are what you are right now because of the thoughts you once had or have. If you want to change yourself, you should first start by changing your thoughts. All the actions of man arise from the hidden seeds of thoughts.

Just with the right choice and application of thought, man can ascend to divine perfection; while with the wrong choice and application of thought, he can rise below the level of the beast.

Good thoughts and results can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.

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2) Your Mind is Like a Garden

The author creates an analogy of our mind with the garden. We either choose to cultivate our minds wisely or let it run wild. If we don’t plant the seeds of beautiful flowers in our garden, the garden will itself produce some useless weeds.

Just as the gardener weeds out all unnecessary plants it is the responsibility of every individual to plant the right seeds, nurture them, and at the same time put out all the weeds. When we do this, our life becomes beautiful. But if we do the exact opposite and feed the weeds, our life becomes a mess.

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3) Thoughts Not Just Affect Mental, But Also Physically

How and what we think has a significant impact not just on the mental level but also physical level. The body is the servant of mind and it obeys the order of mind be it deliberately chosen or automatically expressed.

The author argues that the people who live in constant fear of disease are the ones who actually get it. Therefore being healthy is not just about the body, it’s also more about the mind. A change of diet will not help a man who will not change his thoughts.

Thoughts also affect how we age.

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