James Allen was born in Leicester, Central England, November 28, 1864.  The financial crisis during his time forced James to leave school at fifteen. He eventually became a private secretary, a position that would be called administrative assistant today. He worked in this capacity for several British manufacturers until 1902, when he decided to devote all his time to writing.  His inspirational writings have influenced millions of people for good till today.

As A Man Thinketh was Allen's second book. Despite its subsequent popularity he was dissatisfied with it. Even though it was his most concise and eloquent work, the book that best embodied his thought, he somehow failed to recognize its value. His wife Lily had to persuade him to publish it.

Quotes by James Allen :

"It is a process of diverting one's scattered forces into one powerful channel."

"You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you."

"The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny."

"You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as you dominant aspiration."

"To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully."

"Mind is the Master-power that molds and makes, and Man is Mind, and ever more he takes the Tool of Thought, and shaping what he wills, brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills-He thinks in secret and it comes to pass; Environment is but his looking-glass."

"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil."

"A man is not rightly conditioned until he is a happy, healthy, and prosperous being; and happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a harmonious adjustment of the inner with the outer of the man with his surroundings."

"Above all be of single aim; have a legitimate and useful purpose, and devote yourself unreservedly to it."

"A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life."

"In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result."

"He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly."

"If you real desire is to be good, there is no need to wait for the money before you do it; you can do it now, this very moment, and just where you are." 

"For true success ask yourself these four questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now?"

"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities."

"Man is made or unmade by himself. By the right choice he ascends. As a being of power, intelligence, and love, and the lord of his own thoughts, he holds the key to every situation."

"Let there be nothing within thee that is not very beautiful and very gentle, and there will be nothing without thee that is not beautiful and softened by the spell of thy presence."

"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound."

"No temptation can gravitate to a man unless there is that is his heart which is capable of responding to it."

"Our life is what our thoughts make it. A man will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him."

"Whether you be man or woman you will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor."

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"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."
*-- Francis Bacon

"Live as you will wish you lived when you are dying."
*-- Gellert 

"Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship."
*-- Benjamin Franklin

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