Warrior’s ournal J

warrior wisdom

As a Man Thinketh
by James Allen

Warrior’s Journal © 2009

Who'd a thunk it? Everybody, that's who. Every human being thinks. Like the mind
you possess that you can’t claim you don’t, thinking puts us all in the same tight spot.
None of us can claim we don’t think. Imagine someone trying to get away with that: "I
don't think." It's simply impossible. No human being alive does not think. It's the sine
“There is nothing qua non of human life. In my opinion, Rene Descartes got it backwards in his most
either bad or good but
thinking makes it so.” famous statement, “I think, therefore I am.” (Cognito ergo sum) It should be, I am,
William Shakespeare therefore I think. I was not thinking before I was (am), right? Knowledge of what the
nature of some thing is does not come before it’s existence, does it? We ARE (a human
being) before we find out what it IS we (human beings) do, correct? Do you think I’m
pulling a riddle on you? Write me if you think so.

Of course, what really matters here, talking about that YOU Thinketh, is what the
quality of your thoughts are. That’s really what matters when we are talking about
thinking, isn’t it? You don’t buy it? You don’t believe that how and what you think
effects the quality of your life, your health...your attitude...your circumstances? What,
you believe that when you get in a negative mood you get that way because you picked
up a “negative mood” virus someplace? You believe that when you choose to not walk
through the door of a place and apply for a job where you’d like to work, or choose to
not walk up and introduce yourself to someone you want to meet, or choose to not
make the effort to find and learn the knowledge you need to achieve some goal you
envision -- you believe when you choose to not do any of these things it’s because
you’re paralyzed by some mystical force field out of your control?

As I read that last paragraph back to myself it all sounds silly and absurd, like who
would ever imagine anyone believing it. Does it sound silly and unimaginable to you?
What, then, would we call it if it were true? Madness? Insane? Mental Illness? Well,
apparently, there are a lot of mad, insane and mentally ill people in the world, because
a lot of people don’t buy the idea that thinking gives them absolute control over their
lives and attitude.

I have my own ideas about why people don’t take thinking seriously. I’ll save those for
another time. But I will tell you this. Whatever their problem about thinking may be, it
doesn’t change the fact that thinking is the solution to every single problem.

Sometimes what we need to get serious about something we need to take seriously is a
good kick in the ass. Inspirational books and writings are great for this. They get your
mind and attitude in the right mood and they do it quick. Who can’t read a quote and
immediately have their outlook change on the spot. Hell, even a fortune cookie at
lunch can get you through the rest of the day in higher spirits. It’s amazing isn’t it?
Just a few words of someone else’s thoughts and ideas can have a powerful effect on
you.
 Warrior’sJournal
warrior wisdom

As I was thinking (Yes!!) about what book to start with in this pursuit of mine to
provide you insight into The Great Books and great Inspirational books, I couldn’t
think (Yes!!) of a better book than "As a Man Thinketh," by James Allen. It’s one of my
all-time favorites. I’ve read it at least 25 times. In fact, there are two books I carry with
me at all times. They are both small pocket books. One is of the Declaration of
Independence and Constitution and the other is “As a Man Thinketh.” It’s a short,
quick, intense (gotta love this! Ultimate Warrior-like!!) read, and the writing is true to
its title. It is a terse and powerful declaration of the very fact that, as you thinketh, what
thoughts your mind holds will manifest your external circumstances and determine the
quality of your life.

I’ve included a PDF file of the book for those who want to read it themselves.
Except for our thoughts,
there is nothing absolutely in For those who don’t, I’ve used my machete and lobbed off the book’s life-changing
our power. - Descartes chunks of knowledge for you and put them down in this 7 page pdf file.

Get enlightened. Act empowered.

Your Founding Father of Ring Intensity and Inspiration,

Always Believe,

Warrior

Man's greatness lies in his

power of thought. - Blaise
Pascal
 Warrior’sJournal
warrior wisdom

Mind is the Master-power that molds and makes,

And Man is Mind, and evermore 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

“They themselves are makers of themselves”

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the

sum total of all his thoughts.

Man is growth by law, and not a creation by artifice,

and cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating
in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of
visible and material things.

Man is made or unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the

weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with
which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and
peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to
the divine perfection. By the abuse and wrong application of thought he
descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all
the grades of character, and man is their maker and master.

Man is the maker of his character, the molder of his life, and the
builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove, if he will watch, control, and
Men fear thought as they
fear nothing else on earth, alter his thoughts...
more than ruin, more even
than death. Thought is
subversive and ....man is the master of thought, the molder of character,
revolutionary, destructive and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.
and terrible, thought is
merciless to privilege,
established institutions,
and comfortable habit. Man is always the master, even in his weakest and most abandoned state. But in his
Thought looks into the pit weakness and degradation he is a foolish master who misgoverns his “household.”
of hell and is not afraid.
Thought is great and swift A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated
and free, the light of the
world, and the chief glory or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will bring
of man. ~Bertrand Russell forth.

...a man sooner or later discovers that he is the

master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.

Thought and character are one, and as character can only

manifest and discover itself through environment and
circumstance, the outer conditions of a person’s life will always
be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state.
 Warrior’sJournal
warrior wisdom

Every man is where he is by the law of his

being; the thoughts which he has built into his
character have brought him there, and in the
arrangement of his life there is no element of
chance, but all is the result of a law which
cannot err.

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to

himself.

A man does not come to the alms-house or

the jail by the tyranny of fate or
You and I are not what we
eat; we are what we think. circumstance, but by the pathway of
~Walter Anderson grovelling thoughts and base desires.

Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are. Their whims,
fancies, and ambitions are thwarted at every step, but their inmost thoughts and
desires are fed with their own food, be it foul or clean. Man is manacled only by
himself; thought and action are the jailors of Fate--they imprison, being base; they
are also the angels of Freedom--they liberate, being noble. Not what he wished
and prays for does a man get, but what he justly earns. His wishes and prayers are
only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.

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 cooperate with it.

Indigence and indulgence are the two extremes of wretchedness. They are both
equally unnatural and the result of mental disorder. 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.

A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to
People demand freedom search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. And he adapts his mind to that
of speech as a regulating factor, he ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition, and builds
compensation for the himself up in strong and noble thoughts; ceases to kick against circumstances, but
freedom of thought
which they seldom use. beings to use them as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of discovering the
~Soren Kierkegaard hidden powers and possibilities within himself.
 Warrior’sJournal
warrior wisdom

Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot. It rapidly
crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance. Bestial
thoughts crystallize into habits of drunkenness and sensuality, which
solidify into circumstances of destitution and disease. Impure thoughts
of every kind crystallize into enervating and confusing habits, which
solidify into distracting and adverse circumstances. Thoughts of fear,
doubt, and indecision crystallize into weak, unmanly, and irresolute
habits, which solidify into circumstances of failure, indigence, and
slavish dependence. Lazy thoughts crystallize into weak, habits of
uncleanliness and dishonesty, which solidify into circumstances of
foulness and beggary. Hateful and condemnatory thoughts crystallize
into habits of accusation and violence, which solidify into circumstances
of injury and persecution. Selfish thoughts of all kinds crystallize into
habits of self-seeking, which solidify into distressful circumstances.

On the other hand, beautiful thoughts of all kinds

crystallize into habits of grace and kindliness, which
solidify into genial and sunny circumstances. Pure
thoughts crystallize into habits of temperance and self-
control, which solidify into circumstances of repose and
No problem can withstand
the assault of sustained peace. Thoughts of courage, self-reliance, and decision
thinking. ~Voltaire crystallize into manly habits, which solidify into
circumstances of success, plenty, and freedom. Energetic
thoughts crystallize into habits of cleanliness and industry,
which solidify into circumstances of pleasantness. Gentle
and forgiving thoughts crystallize into habits of
gentleness, which solidify into protective and preservative
circumstances. Loving and unselfish thoughts which
solidify into circumstances of sure and abiding prosperity
and true riches.

Change of diet will not help a man who will not change his thoughts.

The body is the servant of the mind. It obeys the operations of the mind, whether they be
deliberately chosen or automatically expressed....Disease and health, like circumstances,
are rooted in thought. Sickly thoughts will express themselves through a sickly body.

As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient
training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising
himself in right thinking.

Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve
themselves.
 Warrior’sJournal
warrior wisdom

“you will be what you will be:

Let failure find its false content
In that poor world, 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 average man never really
the offspring of a deathless Soul, Can hew a way to any
thinks from end to end of his goal, Though walls of granite intervene.
life. The mental activity of
such people is only a
mouthing of clichés. ~H.L. “Be not impatient in delay,
Mencken
But wait as one who understands;
When spirit rises and commands, The gods are ready to obey.”

Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent

accomplishment. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not
continue for him who would street clear of catastrophe and destruction.

They who have no central purpose in their life fall an

easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-
pityings, all of which are indications of weakness,
which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned sins
(though by a diff route), to failure, unhappiness, and
loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power-evolving
universe.

Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mentally mark out a straight
pathway to its achievement, looking neither to the right nor left. Doubts and
fears should be rigorously excluded. They are disintegrating elements which
break up the straight line of effort, rendering it crooked, ineffectual, useless.
Thoughts of doubt and fear can never accomplish anything. They always lead
to failure. Purpose, energy, power to do, and all strong thoughts cease when
What luck for rulers,
that men do not think. doubt and fear creep in. The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can
~Adolph Hitler do. Doubt and fear are the great enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages
them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at every step.

There can be no progress nor achievement without sacrifice, and a man’s worldly
success will be by the measure that he sacrifices his confused animal thoughts,
and fixes his mind on the development of his plans, and the strengthening of his
resolution and self-reliance. The higher his he lifts his thoughts, the greater will
be his success, the more blessed and enduring will be his achievements.
 Warrior’sJournal
warrior wisdom

Achievement of any kind is the crown of effort, the diadem of thought. By the aid of
self-control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and well-directed thought a man
ascends.

He who would accomplish little need sacrifice little; he would

would achieve much must sacrifice much. He who would attain
highly must sacrifice greatly.

All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his
own thoughts. A man’s weakness and strength, purity and impurity, are his own
and not another man’s. They are brought about by himself and not by another;
and they can only be altered by himself, never by another. His condition is also his
own, and not another man’s. His sufferings and his happiness are evolved from
within. As he thinks, so is he; as he continues to think, so he remains. A strong
man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped. And even
If you don’t control then the weak man must become strong of himself. He must, by his own efforts,
what you think, you develop the strength which he admires in another. None but himself can alter his
can’t control what you
do. Napolean Hill condition.

The dreamers are the saviors of the world. Dream lofty dreams, and as you
dream, so shall you 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. The
greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. Dreams are the
seedlings of realities.

The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of
things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man
grow rich, they say, “How lucky he is!” Observing another become skilled intellectually,
they exclaim, “How highly favored he is!” And noting the saintly character and wide
influence of another, they remark, “How chance helps him at every turn!” They do not
see the trials and failures and struggles which these men have encountered in order to
gain their experience. They have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the
undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised so that they
might overcome the apparently insurmountable and realize the vision of their heart.
They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy, and
call it “luck.” Do not see the long, arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal
Thinking is the hardest work
there is, which is the probable and call it “good fortune.” Do not understand the process, but only perceive the result,
reason so few engage in it. and call it “chance.”
Henry Ford

In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results. The strength of the effort is
the measure of the result. Change is not. Gifts, powers, material, intellectual and spiritual
possessions are the fruits of effort. They are thoughts completed, objectives
accomplished, visions realized. The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that
you enthrone in your heart- -this you will build your life by; this you will become.