As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
"As a Man Thinketh" is a literary essay by James Allen, published in 1903. It was described by Allen as "... dealing with the power of thought, and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beautiful issues. Allen has tried to make the book simple, so that all can easily grasp and follow its teaching, and put into practice the methods which it advises. It shows how, in his own thoughtóworld, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances. It was also described by Allen as "A book that will help you to help yourself", "A pocket companion for thoughtful people", and "A book on the power and right application of thought.
Stats for nerds
6recommend
8mentions
7people
2013–2021years
75% recommend25% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- For anyone interested in another famous book from this time period I recommend reading “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen[0]. I came across this book during a depressing period 8 years ago and it helped me climb out of my hole. In addition to this, I read a portion of another book of his, “Eight Pillars of Prosperity”, from which a lot of concepts are now probably common advice and platitudes.
I’d venture to guess that a lot of these older books have some “outdated” concepts within them — though it’s easy enough to ignore. There are still good parts within old books that you can take to heart, and selectively skip past things you disagree with.
I have not read Smiles’s “Self-Help”, so I’ll give it a shot here.
- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky - introduced me to the rationalist movement
The First Immortal by James Halperin - introduced me as a sixth grader to things like cryonics, nanotech, etc. Got me thinking about a realistic ambitious nearer term future for humanity, rather than a more fantasy-like one in the other sci-fi I'd read at that point, like Asimov and Heinlein
As a Man Thinketh by James Allen - gave me much greater agency in life. Made me realize “You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”
- Life might not be fair but the only person who makes that meaningful is you.
"You will be what you will to be;
Let failure find its false content
In that poor word, "environment,"
But spirit scorns it, and is free.
It masters time, it conquers space;
It cows that boastful trickster, Chance,
And bids the tyrant Circumstance
Uncrown, and fill a servant's place.
The human Will, that force unseen,
The offspring of a deathless Soul,
Can hew a way to any goal,
Though walls of granite intervene.
Be not impatient in delay,
But wait as one who understands;
When spirit rises and commands,
The gods are ready to obey."
I highly recommend As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. Someone on HN recommended it and it was wonderful. It's a very quick read, less than 50 pages.
Another one of my favorite quotes is, "Choose not to be harmed - and you won't feel harmed. Don't feel harmed - and you haven't been... It can ruin your life only if it ruins your character." - Marcus Aurelius
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
Stoicism is by far the best philosophy I've ever encountered. Some people call it "the best operating system for the mind", and I very much agree with that statement.
It changed my life more than any other corpus of ideas. I can't overstate how much better I feel now that my brain is running on a 'Stoic OS', especially on an emotional level --which was the hardest to deal with as I'm rather hyper-sensitive; now my emotions have truly become an almost entirely positive force in my experience of life, regardless of their nature, good or bad, of said emotions; in fact I no longer even qualify emotions on this scale; and the same goes true for an overwhelming majority of my thinking.
This book is the personal journal of one of the greatest roman emperors, leader of the (western) world at the time. A rare enough occurrence in the history of leaders, he was deemed 'worthy of his position' on a human and philosophical level by most people who knew him.
A couple remarks: "philosophy" as seen by ancient authors and thinkers is not a strictly intellectual or abstract endeavor, not a scholarly matter, at least not at its core. Philosophy is the closest equivalent they had to what we'd call "self-development" today. It's very down to earth, 'life recipes' of sorts, simply to educate and help people deal with this elusive brain of ours. Seneca's and Epictetus writings are also excellent food for thought, food for one's mind. Imho, philosophy, litterally the "love of wisdom", is something we should deeply reappropriate, both as individuals and whole societies.
Relatingly, Stoicism used to be taught from childhood throughout most of human history in the western world (and it could be argued that Asia has its own equivalent philosophies). For some reason, we ceased teaching philosophy to children around the turn of of the 20th century, which leaves most people with a lack of means to deal with their emotional circumstances. I'm one of those who consider this to be a dire pity, especially in our day and age. I think it sorely shows in public discourse and interpersonal relationships, and the end result is too much suffering that is entirely preventable.
Meditations is easy enough to read, but if you want something more modern, I found The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday to be a very good introduction to Stoicism.
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As A Man Thinketh by James Allen. It's as short as it is good for the mind, the building/making of one's persona. Well worth a read at least once in your life, there are many 20th and 21st century self-development books (e.g. How to Win Friends and Influence People) that I believe drew some of their teachings from this 1903 classic.
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The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Regardless of where you find the information contained in this book (there are many works on the topic, both modern and throughout history), this book helps understanding that living in the present moment is critically important, and a key to happiness. Notwithstanding the 'wu-wu' aspects of Tolle's particular take, it just works. If you find yourself constantly dwelling on the past, or being a 'nostalgic of the future' (as I both used to do), knowing the value of living 'in the now' may be the difference between chronic depression and a fulfilling experience of life. It certainly is for me.
- Read the book "As A Man Thinketh" by James Allen. It's a very small book and it'll take you an afternoon.
If it doesn't turn things around for you, drop me an email and I'll send you whatever you paid the book (it's a safe bet on my part -- in 20 years nobody has ever asked for the refund).
- Rework by 37Signals ^ is good.
Personal favorite are:
1) As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
2) Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
3) 2nd half of Steve Jobs Bio
4) Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy
5) The Big Short by Michael Lewis
6) The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
