As a Man Thinketh and Eight Pillars of Prosperity by James Allen.
3/5 rating. 252 pages.
Book #37 of 2022. Read September 23, 2022.
This combination of these two classics of self-help talk all about the importance of self-reflection and improvement for a good life.
I had to look up when these were written (early 1900s), because the writing is very obviously quite different from today. While this was true, I thought the idea of focusing on character, and some major pillars for success were worthwhile. James puts forth the 8 pillars of:
- Energy
- Economy
- Integrity
- System
- Sympathy
- Sincerity
- Impartiality
- Self-reliance
While some of these are interesting, and I might swap a few out, I think generally, this isn’t a bad list for how to live a good life.
The book is sometimes a little grandiose, but here are a few good quotes:
– “Not what he wishes and prays for does a man get, but what he justly earns.”
– “He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure.”
– “How insignificant mere money-seeking looks in comparison with a serene life – a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the Eternal Calm!”
– “As soft water wears away the hardest rock, so patience overcomes all opposition. It gains the hearts of men.”
Additional Quotes:
“A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.”
“Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mentally mark out a straight pathway to its achievement, looking neither to the right nor the left.”
“As he is prepared for all events, so he is ready for all men; though no men are ready for him.”
“People who cannot see anything good in the constitution of human society, should overhaul themselves. Their trouble is near home.”
“A man should see himself as he is, and if there is any unworthiness in him, he should get rid of it, and retain and rely upon that which is of worth.”
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