“All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.” This is a powerful opening to the chapter, but I think it’s also one of those statements where we need to do exactly what your assignment says: understand Allen’s principle without automatically accepting the statement […]
Category: as a man thinketh
The Weakest Soul
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, and strength to strength, will never cease to develop, and will at last grow divinely strong.” Strength […]
Those who are not prepared
Those who are not prepared for the apprehension of a great purpose should fix the thoughts upon the faultless performance of their duty, no matter how insignificant their task may appear.By this means the thoughts can be gathered and focused, and resolution and energy be developed, which being done, there is nothing which may not […]
The Strength of Character Gained
Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose … the strength of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new starting-point for future power and triumph. This one is powerful because Allen is changing the way we normally define success and failure. Usually, we […]
self-control and true concentration
This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought.” This line connects directly to what we just discussed. Allen is saying that when we repeatedly bring our thoughts back to our purpose, something else begins to develop: self-control. Self-control is often misunderstood. We sometimes think it means being able to force ourselves […]
Make This Purpose Your Supreme Duty
He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings.” This is really about commitment. Allen has already told us that we need a purpose. Now he is saying that simply having a purpose isn’t enough. Once […]
Purpose Gives Your Thoughts a Center
“A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts.” Having a purpose is one thing. Deciding to organize your life around that purpose is something completely different. We can all say that we want something. We […]
Aimlessness and Drifting
“Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction.” It is easy to move through life without realizing that we are drifting. We wake up, go through our normal routine, handle whatever needs our attention, and do it all over again the next day. […]
Linked With Purpose
Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. We all have thoughts about what we want to do, who we want to become, and what we want our lives to look like. We think about getting healthier, making more money, starting a business, going back to school, losing weight, or finally accomplishing […]
Cheerful Thought
“There is no physician like cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body. “There is no physician like cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body.” Have you ever noticed how much better you can feel after a good laugh? Maybe you were stressed, irritated, or simply having a bad day, and then […]