As a Man Thinketh

Wat jij denkt te worden

As A Man Thinketh

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If you want a condensed version “Think And You Will Grow Rich” then you should pick up James Allen’s “As A Man Thinketh”. This book acts almost like a synopsis for Napoleon Hill’s greatest work. I always believed the law of attraction to be a guise for some religion but after further investigation, the teachings are actually a philosophy used to cultivate a strong mind with the capability to produce its desires.

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Lesson 1: What you do is the result of what you think

Here Allen affirms that thoughts are the root source of your character and by extension your actions. He uses similar analogies found in “Think & Grow Rich” comparing thoughts to seeds found in the parable from the bible. You can nurture seeds that bear fruit of happiness or suffering, the difference between the two is focusing on the ones you plant and the ones you water.

If you read my article on Habit Formation then you remember how long term potentiation is the reinforced neurological patterns used to create habits. Habits are 60% of your behavior. That is they are instinctual to your character, once again derived by your thoughts.

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Lesson 2: You shape the world just as much as it shapes you

This explains how the “Law of Attraction” works. We are shaped by our genetic code and our environment. We later reinforce those behavioral patterns with our actions. Defining our character. The derivative of those actions is our thoughts.

He talked heavily on luck and how luck is really a result of your actions manifested by your thoughts. It is easy to place negative situations on unlucky circumstances (more along the lines of probability and a chaotic universe). Playing this card is a cheap trick for a rational mind. Assume you are always taking the easiest path, which in most cases, is detrimental to your goals.

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Lesson Three: Move Out of Your Comfort Zone

You must expose yourself to new challenges if you desire to progress forward rather than regress back into a degenerated state of chaos filled with immense eternal suffering. If you desire to move towards your ideal future, your heaven on earth, then you should consider moving beyond your comfort zone. Following the narrow path is a challenging venture, but one with many rewards and bountiful abundance.

“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results. This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles. Men understand this law in the natural world, and work with it; but few understand it in the mental and moral world (though its operation there is just as simple and undeviating), and they, therefore, do not co-operate with it.”

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Lesson Four: You Reap What You Sow

“Nothing can come from corn but corn…” Remember your mind is a garden. What you plant and what you nurture will come to bear fruit. That fruit can be happiness or suffering and the choice is yours.

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Lesson Five: Take Responsibility

You must take responsibility for your actions and more importantly your thoughts. Control your temptations and emotions or they will have a grip over you that will totally dominate you into submission. You are charged with your thoughts and determine if those are divine ones or evil ones. Purify your mind to manifest heaven on earth.

That’s pretty much I hope that you enjoyed this book as much as Idid. I read it at such an amazing time while going through a mountain of personal hardships. I hope that these books aids you in your darkest days as it has with me. The read is really light so I encourage you to pick it up and read it yourself. It could take less than an hour.