‘As You Think’ - James Allen

Some books are so good and meaningful that we unknowingly read it again and again, and whenever we read it we get new concepts, new thoughts and it rejuvenates us again. ‘As You Think’ by James Allen is such a book, may be rarest of the rarest of its kind

James Allen wrote this book in 1904 and this book has been continuously changing lives of millions and millions of people even after 100 years.  Every morning he used to climb a mountain and spend many hours to reflect and meditate. Many of his books were written as he came down from the hill the early morning, where he spent those precious hours meditating while the world slept. It is also believed that he was spiritually awakened by a book, Light of Asia (Something which we can be proud of!!!). All of his works are made online free on James Allen Library. This book is supposed to be the inspiration for contemporary writers of his time including Norman Vincent Peale, Earl Nightingale, Denis Waitley and Tony Robbins.  Unlike certain books which takes days and months to read completely, ‘As You Think’ takes only one sitting to read it, just 28 pages.  But the effect will remain with us for years. Every concept is so straight to the point that if we miss a sentence we miss an important concept there.

“All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is a direct result of his own thoughts.” If you change your thoughts you change your life.  This is the message which ‘As You Think’ gives us.  This book also propagates the message Paulo Coelho expresses in his work Alchemist “When you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”. APJ Abdul Kalam in his speech in European Union also convey the same thing “Where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character. Where there is beauty in the character, there is harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home, there is order in the Nation. When there is order in the Nation, there is peace in the World”

More quotes from ‘As You Think’

“People are anxious to improve their circumstances but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”

“We are made or unmade by our own selves. In the armory of thought, we forge the weapons which we use to destroy ourselves. We also fashion the tools with which we build for ourselves heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, we ascend to the divine perfection. By the abuse and wrong application of thought, we descend below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and we are their makers and masters.”

“You may easily prove that you are the maker of your character and the builder of your destiny if you will watch, control, and alter your thoughts, tracing their effects upon yourself, upon others, and upon your life and circumstances.”

“The laws of growth and adjustment apply everywhere. A person does not come to the welfare office or the jail by a chance of fate or circumstance, but by the pathway of negative thoughts and base desires. Nor does a pure-minded person fall suddenly into crime by stress of any mere external force. The criminal thought had long been secretly fostered in the heart, and the hour of opportunity revealed its gathered power.”

“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results. Bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.”               

“A particular train of thought persisted in, be it good or bad, cannot fail to produce its results on the character and circumstances. We cannot directly choose our circumstances, but we can choose our thoughts, and so we indirectly, yet surely, shape our circumstances. Nature helps everyone toward the results of the thoughts which he most encourages”

“If we stop our negative thoughts, all the world will soften towards us and be ready to help us. If we put away our weakly and sickly thoughts, the opportunities will spring up on every hand to aid our strong resolves. If we encourage good thoughts, no hard fate shall bind us down to wretchedness and shame. The world is your kaleidoscope, and the varying combinations of colors which at every succeeding moment it presents to you are the exquisitely adjusted pictures of your ever-moving thoughts.”

“There is no physician like cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body; there is no comforter to compare with goodwill for dispersing the shadows of grief and sorrow. To live continually in thoughts of ill-will, cynicism, suspicion, and envy, is to be confined in a self-made prison hole”

“You should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart and set out to accomplish it. You should make this purpose the centralizing point of your thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to your nature at the time being. Whichever it is, you should steadily focus the power of your thoughts upon the object you set before you. You should make this purpose your supreme duty and devote yourself to its attainment, not allowing your thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought. Even if you fail again and again to accomplish your purpose – as you must until weakness is overcome – the strength of character gained will be the measure of your true success, and this will form a new starting point for future power and triumph.”

“We can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up our thoughts. We can only remain weak, abject, and miserable by refusing to lift up our thoughts.”

“There can be no progress or achievement without sacrifice. Our worldly success will be proportional to the degree that we sacrifice our confused animal thoughts and fix our mind on the development of our plans and the strengthening of our resolution and self-reliance. The higher we lift our thoughts, the greater will be our success, the more blessed and enduring will be our achievements.”

“A person may rise to high success in the world, even to lofty attitudes in the spiritual realm, and again descend into weakness and wretchedness by allowing arrogant, selfish, and corrupt thoughts to take possession of his or her mind. Victories attained by right thought can be maintained only by watchfulness. Many give way when success is assured and rapidly fall back into failure.”

“The dreamers are the saviors of the world. The person who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his or her heart, will one day realize it. 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.”

“To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve.”

“For you will always gravitate toward that which you secretly love most. Into your hands will be placed the exact results of your own thoughts. You will receive that which you earn; no more, no less. Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts – your vision, your ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire, as great as your dominant aspiration”

“Keep your hands firmly upon the helm of thought. In the core of your soul reclines the commanding Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, “Peace. Be still!”

Take away

“As you think, so you are.” As IYCians we have lot to learn from this book. As dedicated youths to mould our nation towards development we should start correcting our thoughts and actions in right direction.   We should also possess strong visions on things to achieve for nation and be ultimate dreamers for it.

It’s important for us to do what we preach and preach what we do, if not our thoughts and actions will never be in harmony and ultimately everything will fail. We may talk a lot about uplifting poor and upload great concepts and heart breaking photographs of poor and poverty in social medias and but if we actually don’t do anything for the society to help the needy, again our thoughts and actions are not in harmony and as a result entire system will, our nation will fail. We may speak against corruption, we may get angry on people who do corruption but when we read a pirated book, when we see a pirated movie, when we use pirated software, again our thoughts and actions are not in harmony, corruptions starts within us. We are doing what we can and they are doing what they can.

We can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up our thoughts. All that we achieve and all that we fail to achieve is a direct result of our own thoughts.

Jins Thomas

jinsthomas@gmail.com