As a Man Thinketh - James Allen | Audiobook Narrated by Earl Nightingale

hello this is Earl Nightingale some time ago I did a radio broadcast called the greatest things designed to help us remember what in life is important and what isn't it was an attempt to put the ideas of a number of philosophers into a very simple form the greatest puzzle life the greatest mistake giving up the greatest Comfort work well done and so forth as a radio program it was a success thousands of people wrote in for printed copies of the script but afterward as I often do I wish I'd mentioned one more thing in this

case the greatest journey I would have said I decided that the greatest journey is the Journey of the mind since this is what determines the Journey of life have you ever had the feeling that your mind is on the journey a voyage of discovery that sometimes it has to make long passages on dark Uncharted seas and at other times it discovers bright islands of beauty or of Truth Islands it will know from this day forward that it can always steer for and find in a storm while The gales of Life blow themselves out in the

enormous Seas of Misfortune or pain or sorrow or doubt subside into calm well if you'll come I'd like to take you with me on such a voyage of the Mind one that was charted for me many years ago by an obscure English editor and poet named James Allen in a little book called as a man thinketh now James Allen although he published 17 books the one of which has appeared in at least 10 editions and sold over a million copies was not is not a famous man why well your guess is as good as mine

it may be because James Allen was a so-called Victorian Englishman lumped in with a group who because of the writings of certain historians are more or less generally regarded as complacent self-satisfied products of a comfortable age which produced fat bellies with heads to match I've never felt that way about the late victorians there's too much evidence that they were anything but complacent I think they considered themselves Running Scared just as we often do they didn't have an h-bomb but they did have a population explosion and a rush to the cities their population increased more than

a third in the last generation of the 19th century and their cities almost doubled so great was the tension nervousness and social upheaval engendered by the rapidly Changing Times that the government created a special Commission on lunacy and there was a rash of quasi-religious movements that kind of almost always flow into the vacuums of social dilemma know the language of the victorians like Tennyson and Kipling may have been somewhat flowery by our standards but their life and times were no better roses another reason why James Allen is not in Webster's biographic may be his warranted

or unwarranted inclusion in another group variously tagged as exponents of 19th century individualism and so-called mind the Cure this group ran the gamut from Horatio Alger to Ralph Waldo Trang James Allen was a reporter the journalist was the more appropriate term in his day and I think he was infused with a sort of world Consciousness and I suspect that like Kipling he took an interest in the religious writings of other races and cultures the Hindu upanishads and probably the confusion Buddhist and mohammadan books too but I'm not sure and perhaps we'll never know I've written

to his Publishers enter the village of delphicum on the Devon Coast where he lived in an effort to learn more about him but the sum of my factual knowledge at this point is rather small he was born in 1864 and died in 1912 a true late Victorian he was a reporter and in later life the editor of a magazine called The Epic mainly he was an essayist a sort of how-to book writer and a poet and sometimes as an essayist he strikes me as very fine indeed I should qualify that opinion by disclaiming any pretensions

to literary criticism my literary tastes are often decidedly unliterary unlike the critics I'm most often happily oblivious to flaws in style and language if the author's ideas hit me where I live I consider James Allen's most popular book as a man thinketh a fine piece of writing a beautiful essay on an important theme more significant I believe it represents one of the most effective kinds of verbal communication it speaks often very poetically to some Mystic quality in each of us a quality that seems to discern truth listen to these little poems which are the beginning

and end pieces of as a man thinketh 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 and finally Tempest cursed Souls wherever you may be under whatsoever conditions you may live know this in the ocean of Life The isles of blessedness are smiling the Sunny Shore of your ideal awaits your coming keep your hand firmly on the

Helm of thought in the bark of your soul reclines the commanding Master he does but sleep wake him self-control is strength thought is Mastery calmness is power say unto your heart peace be still now you may say that's all very well I appreciate poetry and I believe in truth but is it relevant the truth I'm interested in are those that speak to my personal situation or at least are the times in which I live what in the world has an obscure 19th century philosopher got to do with me well consider this some of our important

contemporary philosophers tell us that man today is entering a new era one they call the age of unity they say that now for the first time the barriers between thought and actuality are beginning to disappear for the past two or three thousand years great philosophers and teachers have been showing their fellow humans how life on this small planet Earth could be improved but during most of this period man's control of his environment has been very limited today this is no longer true if man thinks he might like to unmake the atom he does if he

thinks of living in the depths of the oceans going to the moon or voyaging in outer space he does the problem then is no longer what man can do it becomes what men can think the words you will hear are essentially those of James Allen's as a man thinketh thought and character the aphorism as a man thinketh in his heart so is he not only Embraces the whole of a man's being but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and Circumstance of his life a man is literally what he thinks his character

being the complete sum of all his thoughts as the plant Springs from and could not be without the seed so the acts of a man spring from the hidden scenes of thought and could not have appeared without them this applies to those acts called spontaneous and unpremedidated as well as to those which are deliberately executed Act is the blossom of thought and joy and suffering are his fruits best as a man Garner in the sweet and bitter footage of his own husbandry thought in the mind hath made us what we are by thought was wrought

and built if a man's mind hath evil thoughts pain comes on him as comes the wheel the ox behind if man endures in purity of thought Joy follows him as his own shadow sure man goes by law not by artifice and cause and effect are as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things a noble character is not a thing of favor or chance but is the natural result of continued effort and thought the effect of long cherished association with high ideals an ignoble and bestial

character by the same process is the result of the continued harboring of groveling thoughts 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 toward 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 of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this that man is the master of thought the murder of character and the maker and shaper of condition environment and Destiny is a being of power intelligence and love and the Lord of his own thoughts man holds the key to every situation and contains within himself that transforming and regenerative agency by which he may make himself what he Wills men is always the master even in

his weakest and most abandoned state but in weakness and degradation he is the foolish master who misgoverns his household when he begins to reflect upon his condition and to search diligently for the law upon which his being is established he then becomes the wise Master directing his energies with intelligence and fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues such as the conscious master and man can only thus become by discovering within himself the laws of thought which Discovery is totally a matter of application self-analysis and experience only by much searching and Mining are gold and diamonds obtained

and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mind of his soul and that he is the maker of his character the Mulder of his life and the Builder of his Destiny he may unearthingly prove if he will watch control and alter his thoughts tracing their effects upon himself upon others and upon his life in circumstances linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation and utilizing his every experience even to the most trivial everyday occurrence as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is understanding

wisdom power in this direction as in no other is the law absolute that he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened for only by patience practice and ceaseless import tuning can a man enter the door of the Temple of knowledge the body is the servant of the Mind it obeys the orders of the Mind whether they be deliberate or automatic at the bidding of evil miserable thoughts the body May sink rapidly into disease and Decay at the command of glad and beautiful thoughts that may clothe itself with youthfulness and beauty

disease and health like circumstances are often rooted in thought sick thoughts May Express themselves through a sick body in Aboriginal society's thoughts of fear have been known to kill a man as speedily as a bullet and they are continually killing thousands of people in our society just as surely though less rapidly people who live in fear of disease are apt to become ill anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body and lays it open to illness and disease while evil thoughts even though they be no more than that will soon shatter the nervous system strong pure and

happy thoughts build Vigor and Grace the body is a sensitive plastic instrument which responds readily to The Thoughts by which it is governed and habits of thought will produce their own effects good or bad apartment out of a clean mind comes a clean life and a clean body out of a defiled mind proceeds a defiled life and a corrupt body thought is the fount of action life and manifestation make the fountain pure and the stream of life will flow with greater purity change of diet made little help a man who will not change his thoughts

when a man makes his thoughts healthy he no longer desires unhealthy food clean thoughts make clean healthy habits the so-called Saint who does not wash his body May well not be a saint if you would perfect your body guard your mind if you would renew your body beautify your mind thoughts of malice in the disappointment despondency can rob your body of its health and Grace a sour face does not come by chance it is made by sour thoughts wrinkles that Mar are drawn by Folly pride and passion I know a woman of 96 who has

the bright innocent face of a girl I know a man well under middle age whose face is drawn into inharmonious Contours the one is the result of a suite of Sunny disposition the other is the outcome of bad temper and discontent as you cannot have a sweet and wholesome Abode unless you admit the air and sunshine freely into your rooms so a strong body and a bright happy Serene countenance can only result from the free admittance into the mind of thoughts of joy and Good Will and serenity on the faces of the Aged there are

wrinkles made by sympathy others by strong and pure thought and others are carved by arrogance and resentment who cannot distinguish them with those who have lived thoughtfully age is calm peaceful and softly mellowed like the Setting Sun I have recently seen a philosopher on his deathbed he was not old except in years he died as sweetly and peacefully as he lived there is no physician my cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of male content there is no comforter to compare with Goodwill for dispersing the shadows of grief and sorrow to live continually in thoughts of

ill will cynicism suspicion and envy is to be confined in a self-made prison Hall but to think well of all to be cheerful with all to patiently learn to find the good in all and is to live in sight of the very portals of Heaven and day by day thoughts of Peace toward Every Creature will bring a bounding peace to their possessor thought and circumstances a man's mind may be likened it to a garden which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild but what a cultivated or neglected it must and will bring forth

if no useful seeds are put into it then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein and will continue to produce their kind just as a gardener cultivates his plot keeping it free from weeds and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires show me a man tend the garden of his mind weeding out all the wrong and useless thoughts and cultivating toward Perfection the flowers and fruits of right useful and pure thoughts by pursuing this process a man sooner or later discovers that he is the Master Gardener of his soul the director of

his life he also reveals within himself the laws of thought and understands with ever increasing accuracy how his mind operates in the shaping of his character circumstances and Destiny 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 related to his inner state this does not mean that a man's circumstances at any given time or an indication of his entire character but that those circumstances are so intimately connected with some vital thought within himself that

for the time being they are indispensable to his development 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 lasting element of chance but all is the result of a law which cannot err this is just as true of those who are discontented with their surroundings as of those who are contented with them as an evolving being man is where he is that he may learn that he may grow and as

he learns the lesson which any circumstance contains for him it passes away and gives praise to other circumstances man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be a creature entirely subject to outside conditions but when he realizes that he is a creative power and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which circumstances grow he then becomes the rightful master of himself that circumstances grow out of thought every man knows who has for any length of time practice self-control of his mind and thoughts for he

will have noticed that the alteration of his circumstances has been an exact ratio with his altered mental condition so true is this that when a man earnestly applies himself to remedy the defects in his character and make Swift and marked progress he passes rapidly through a succession of this institutes the soul attracts that which is secretly Harbors that which it loves and also that which it fears it reaches the height of this cherished aspirations it falls to the level of its unchasten desires and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own every

thought seen sown are allowed to fall into the mind and to take root there produces its own blossoming sooner or later into act and bearing its own fruitage of opportunity and Circumstance good thoughts bear good fruit bad thoughts bad fruit the outer world of circumstance is shaped by the inner world of thought and both Pleasant and unpleasant external conditions are factors which make for the ultimate good of the individual as the reaper of his own Harvest man learns both by suffering and Bliss following the inmost desires aspirations Thoughts by which he allows himself to be

dominated pursuing the will of the Wisps of vapored imaginings or steadfastly walking the highway of strong and high Endeavor a man at last arrives at their fruition and fulfillment in the outer conditions of his life the laws of growth and adjustment everywhere obtained amen does not come to the Alms House or the jail by the tyranny of fate or circumstance but by the pathway of groveling thoughts and base desires nor does a high-minded man fall suddenly into crime by stress of any mere external Force the criminal thought had long been secretly fostered in the heart

when the hour of opportunity revealed its gathered power circumstance does not make the man it reveals him no such conditions can exist as descending into Vice in its attendant sufferings apart from vicious inclinations or ascending into virtue and its happiness without the continued cultivation of virtuous aspirations and then therefore as the Lord and Master of thought is the maker of himself the shaper and author of environment the soul comes to its own through every step of the deathly pilgrimage it attracts those combinations of conditions which reveal itself which are the reflections of its own virtue

and vice its strength and weakness men do not attract that which they say 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 the food of their own choosing the Divinity that seeps our ends is in ourselves it is our very self man is manacled only by himself thought and action are the jailers of Fate they imprison being base they're also the angels of Freedom they liberate being Noble not what he wishes and prays for does a man get but

what he justly earns his wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they comport with his thoughts and actions in the light of this truth what then is the meaning of fighting against circumstances it means that a man is continually revolting against an effect without well all the time he is nourishing and preserving its cause in his heart that cause may take the form of a conscious Vice or an unconscious weakness but whatever it is it stubbornly Returns the efforts of its possessor and thus calls aloud for remedy men are anxious to improve their

circumstances but are unwilling to improve themselves they therefore remain bound the man who does not shrink from self-sacrifice can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set this is as true of material as of spiritual things even the man whose sole object is to acquire wealth must be prepared to make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his object and how much more so he would realize a happy joyful life here's a man who is wretchedly poor he is extremely anxious that his surroundings and home Comforts should be improved yet all

the time he shirks his work and considers he's justified in trying to deceive his employer on the ground of the insufficiency of his wages such a man does not understand the simplest rudiments of those principles which are the basis of true prosperity and is not only totally unfitted to rise out of his wretchedness but is actually attracting to himself a still Deeper wretchedness by dwelling in and acting out indolent deceptive and unmanly thoughts here's a rich man who is the victim of a painful and persistent ill health as the result of gluttony he's willing to

give large sums of money to get rid of it but he will not abandon his gluttony he wants to gratify his taste for Rich and harmful violence and have his health as well such a man is totally unfit to have health because he has not yet learned the first principles of a healthy life here is an employer of Labor who adopts crooked measures to avoid paying the regulation wage and in the hope of making larger profits reduces the wages of his work people such a man is altogether unfitted for prosperity and when he finds himself

bankrupt both as regards reputation and riches he blames circumstances not knowing that he is the sole author of his condition I've introduced these three cases merely as illustrative of the truth that man is the causer though nearly always unconsciously of his circumstances and that while aiming at a good end he may continually frustrate its accomplishment my thoughts and desires which cannot possibly harmonize with that end such cases could be multiplied and varied almost indefinitely but this is not necessary as you can if you still resolve trace the action of the laws of thought in your

own mind and life until you do this near external facts are not likely to persuade you circumstances however are so complicated thought is so deeply rooted in the conditions of Happiness vary so with individuals that a man's entire condition although it may be known to himself cannot be judged by another from the external aspect of his life alone a man may be honest in certain directions yet suffer privations a man may be dishonest in certain directions yet acquire wealth the conclusion usually formed however that the one man fails because of this particular honesty and that

the other prospers because of his particular dishonesty is the result of a superficial judgment which assumes that the dishonest man is almost totally corrupt and the honest man almost entirely virtuous in the light of a deeper knowledge and wider experience such judgment is found to be erroneous the dishonest man may have some admirable virtues which the other does not possess and the honest man obnoxious voices which are absent in the other the honest man reaps the good results of his honest thoughts and acts he also brings upon himself the sufferings which his vices produce and

the dishonest man likewise Garners his own sufferings and happiness it is pleasing the human vanity to believe that one suffers because of one's virtue but not until a man has extirpated every vicious bitter and resentful thought from his mind can he be in a position to know and declare that his sufferings are the result of his good and not of his bad qualities and on the way to yet long before he has reached that Supreme Perfection he will have found working in his mind and life the Great Law which is absolutely just and which cannot

therefore give good for evil evil for good possessed a such knowledge he will then know looking back upon his past ignorance and blindness that his life is and always was justly ordered and that all his past experiences good and bad were the Equitable outworking of his evolving yet unevolved self good thoughts and actions can never in the long run 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 mental suffering is always the effect of error in some Direction it is an indication that the individual is out of harmony with himself with the law of his being the soul and supreme use of such suffering is to correct and teach mental suffering ceases for him who's wise there can be no object in Burning Gold after the dress has been removed and the mind of a

perfectly enlightened being cannot be agonized the circumstances which a man encounters with suffering are the result of his own Bleak Outlook the circumstances which a man encounters with blessedness are again the result of his own attitude blessedness not material possessions is the measure of right wretchedness not lack of material possessions is the measure of wrong a man may be cursed and Rich he may be blessed and poor blessedness and riches are only joined together when the riches are wisely used and the poor man only descends into wretchedness when he regards his lot as a burden

unjustly imposed indigents and Indulgence are the two extremes of wretchedness they are both equally unnatural a man is not rightly conditioned until he's 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 search for the hidden gestures which regulates his life and as he adapts his mind to that regulating Factor he ceases to accuse others as the cause of

his condition and builds himself up in strong and Noble thoughts ceases to kick against circumstances but begins to use them as aids to his more rapid progress and as a means of discovering the hidden powers and possibilities within himself law not confusion the dominating principle in the universe Justice not Injustice is the soul and substance of life and righteousness not corruption is the molding and moving force in the spiritual government of the world this being so man has but to write himself to find that the universe is right and during the process of putting himself

right he will find that as he Alters his thoughts towards situations and other people situations and other people will alter toward him the proof of this truth is in every person and it therefore admits of easy investigation by systematic introspection and self-analysis that a man radically alter his thoughts and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will affect in the material conditions of his life men imagine that thought can be kept secret but it cannot it rapidly crystallizes into habit and habit solidifies into circumstance thoughts of fear doubt and indecision crystallize into weak

unmanly and irresolute habits which solidify into circumstances of failure indigence and slavish dependence lazy apathetic thoughts crystallize into habits of disorder uncleanliness and dishonesty which solidify into circumstances of confusion foulness and bakery resentful and condemnatory thoughts crystallized into habits of accusation and violence which solidify in the circumstances of hate injury and persecution on the other hand beautiful thoughts of all kinds crystallized into habits of Grace and kindredness which solidify and genial in Sunny circumstances selfless thought crystallizing the habits of temperance and self-control which solidify in the circumstances of repose and peace thoughts of Courage self-reliance

and decision crystallize into manly habits which solidify the circumstances of strength and freedom energetic thoughts crystallize in the habits of Industry which solidify the circumstances of achievement kind and Loving Thoughts crystallized in the habits of considerateness for others which solidify the circumstances of abiding comfort a particular train of thought persisted in be it good or bad cannot fail to produce its results or character and circumstances a man cannot directly choose his circumstances but he can choose his thoughts and so indirectly yet surely shape his circumstances nature helps every man to the gratification of the thoughts

which he most encourages and opportunities are presented which will most speedily bring to the surface both the good and evil thoughts let a man choose his thoughts wisely and all the world will soften toward him and be ready to help him let him put away bad thoughts and low opportunities will spring up on every hand to Aid his strong Reserves let him encourage good thoughts and no hard fate shall bind him down to wretchedness and shame the world is your kaleidoscope the varying combinations of which at every succeeding moment it presents to you as the

exquisitely adjusted pictures of your ever moving thoughts you will be what you will to be let failure find its false content in that poor word environment but Spirit scorns it and is free it Masters time it conquers space it cows that boastful trickster chants and bids the tarot circumstance uncrown and fill a servant's place the human will that forced unseen The Offspring of a deathless soul can Hew away to any goal the walls of granite intervene be not impatient in delay but wait as one who understands when Spirit Rises and commands the gods are ready

to obey thought purpose and achievement until thought is linked with purpose there's no intelligent accomplishment with the majority the bark of thought is allowed to drift upon the ocean of life aimlessness is a vice and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer 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 deliberate wrongdoing by a different route to failure unhappiness and loss for weakness cannot persist

in a power evolving universe a man should conceive of a worthy purpose in his heart and set out to accomplish it he should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts it may take the form of a spiritual ideal or it may be a worldly object according to his nature at the time But whichever it is he should instead fastly Focus his thoughts upon the object which he has set before him he should make this purpose his Supreme Duty and should devote himself to its attainment not allowing his thoughts to wander away into vague

and ephemeral fences this is the Royal Road to self-control and true concentration of thought even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose as he necessarily must until weaknesses overcome the strength of character he earns will be the measure of his true success and this will form a new starting point for future power and Triumph those who are not prepared to conceive and dedicate themselves to a great purpose should fix their thoughts upon the faultless performance of their Duty no matter how insignificant their tasks may appear only in this way can the thoughts

be gathered and focused and resolution and energy be developed which being done there is nothing that may not be accomplished the weakest will 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 strong as the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient exercise so the man of weak thought can become Strong by training himself

in thinking to put away aimlessness and weakness and to begin to think with purpose is to enter the ranks to 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 having conceived of his purpose a man should prudently Mark out a straight Pathway to its achievement looking neither to the right or the 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 never accomplish anything and never can they always lead to failure purpose and energy are weakened when doubt and fear creep in the will to do Springs from the knowledge that we can do doubt and fear are the great enemies of this knowledge that he who encourages them thwarts himself at every step he who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure is every thought is fraught with power is difficulties wisely bravely met and overcome his purposes are seasonably planted and they boom and bring forth fruit which does not fall prematurely to

the ground thought Allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative Force he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating Sensations he who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers all that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts in a justfully ordered Universe where loss of equipose means destruction individual responsibility must be absolute a man's weakness and strength wisdom and Folly are his own and not another man's they are

the product of himself and not another and they can only be altered by himself Never by another his circumstances also are his own and not another man's is suffering and his happiness revolved from within as he thinks so is he as he continues to think so he remains a strong man cannot help a weaker unless the weaker is willing to be helped and even then the weak man must become strong of himself he must by his own efforts develop the strength which he admires in another none but himself can alter his condition it has been

usual for men to think and to say many men are slaves because one is an oppressor let us hate the oppressor however there is among an increasing few a tendency to reverse this judgment and to say one man is an oppressor because many are slaves let us despise the slaves the truth is that oppressor and slave are Cooperators in ignorance and while seeming to afflict each other are in reality afflicting themselves a perfect knowledge perceives the action of law in the weakness of the oppressed and the misapplied power of the oppressor a perfect love seeing

the suffering which both States entail condemns neither a perfect compassion Embraces both oppressor and oppressed he who has conquered weakness and has put away selfish thoughts belongs neither to oppressor nor oppressed he is free a man can only rise conquer and Achieve by lifting up his thoughts can only remain weak and abject and miserable by refusing to lift up his thoughts before a man can achieve anything even in worldly things he must lift his thoughts above the animal level he may not in order to succeed give up all animality of selfishness by any means but

a portion of it at least must be sacrificed a man whose first thought is self-indulgence can neither think clearly nor plan methodically he cannot find and develop his latent resources and must fail in any undertaking not having commenced manfully to control his thoughts he's not in a position to control Affairs and to adopt serious responsibilities he's not fit to act independently and stand alone he's limited by the thoughts which he chooses there can be no progress no achievement without sacrifice and a man's worldly success will be in 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 and the higher he lifts his thoughts the more manly and upright he becomes the greater will be his success the more blessed and enduring will be his achievements the universe does not favor the greedy the dishonest The Vicious although on the mere surface it may sometimes appear to do so continuing abatement is for the honest the magnanimous the virtuous all the great teachers the ages have declared this in varying forms and to prove and know it a

man has but to persist in lifting up his thoughts intellectual achievements are the results of thought consecrated to the search for knowledge or for the beautiful and true in life in nature such achievements may be sometimes connected with vanity and ambition but they're not the outcome of those characteristics they are the natural outgrowth of long and arduous effort and of arduous searching thought spiritual achievement is the consummation of aspiration he who lives constantly in the conception of wise and Noble thoughts who dwells upon all that is elevating and unselfish will as surely as the Sun

reaches its Zenith and the moon is full become knowledgeable and Noble and Rise into a position of wisdom and blessedness achievement of whatever kind is the crown of effort the diadem of thought by self-control resolution erudition and well-directed thought a man ascends by animality indolence corruption and confusion of thought a man descends a man may rise to high success in the world and to Loft the altitudes in a spiritual realm and again descend into weakness and wretchedness by allowing arrogant selfish and corrupt thoughts to take possession of him the victories attained by thought can only

be maintained by watchfulness many give way when success is assured and rapidly fall back into failure achievement whether in a business intellectual or spiritual world is the result of definitely directed thought is governed by the same law and dependent upon the same method the only difference lies in the object of attainment he who would accomplish little need sacrifice little he who would achieve much must sacrifice much he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly vision and ideals The Visionaries are the saviors of the world as the visible world is sustained by The Invisible so men

through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers Humanity cannot forgive its dreamers it cannot let their ideals fade and die it lives in them it feels in them the realities which it shall one day see and know composer sculptor painter poet Prophet Sage these are the architects of paradise the world is beautiful because they have lived without them laboring Humanity would perish he who cherishes a beautiful Vision a lofty ideal in his heart will one day realize it Columbus cherished a vision of another world

and he discovered it Copernicus fostered the vision of a multiplicity of worlds in a wider universe and he revealed it Buddha beheld a vision of a spiritual world of stainless Beauty and perfect peace and he entered into it cherish your Visions cherish your ideals cherish the music that stirs in your heart the beauty that forms in your mind the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts for out of them will grow all delightful conditions all Heavenly environment of these if you but remain true to them your world will at last be built to desire is to

obtain to Aspire is to achieve shall man's basis desires receive the fullest measure of gratification and His Highest aspirations starve for lack of sustenance such is not the law such a condition of things can never obtain ask and receive 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 the oak sleeps in the acorn the bird waits in the egg

and in the highest vision of the Soul a waking Angel stares dreams are the seedlings of realities your circumstances may be unconvenient but they shall not long remain so if you would perceive an ideal and strive to reach it you cannot travel within and stand still without here is a youth hard-pressed by poverty and labor confined long hours in an unhealthy workshop unschooled and lacking all the Arts but he dreams of better things he thinks of intelligence a refinement of grace and beauty he conceives of mentally builds up an ideal life the vision of a

wider Liberty and a larger scope takes possession of him unrest urges him to action and he utilizes all his time and means small though they are to the development of his latent powers and resources very soon so altered has his mind become that the workshop can no longer hold him it has become so out of harmony with his mentality that it falls out of his life as a garment is cast aside and with the growth of opportunities which fit the scope of his expanding ability he passes out of it forever years later we see this

youth as a full-grown man we find him a master of certain forces which he wields with Worldwide influence and almost unequal power in his hands he holds the cords of gigantic responsibilities he speaks in low lives are changed men and women hang upon his words and we mold their characters and son like he becomes the fixed and luminous center around which innumerable Destinies revolve he has realized the vision of his youth he has become one with his ideal and you too will realize the vision not the idol wish of your heart be it base or

beautiful or a mixture of both for you will always gravitate toward that which you secretly most love into your hands will be placed the exact results of your own thoughts you will receive that which you earn no more no less whatever your present environment may be you will fall remain or rise with your thoughts your vision your ideal you will become as small as your controlling desire as great as your dominant aspiration in the beautiful words of Stanton Davis you may be keeping accounts and presently she'll walk out of the door that for so long

has seemed to you the barrier of your ideals as you'll find yourself before an audience the pen still behind your ear the ink stains on your fingers and then and there shall pour out the torrent of your inspiration you may be driving a sheep and you shall wander to the city bucolic an open mouth shall wander under the Intrepid guidance of the spirit into the studio of the master and after a time he shall say I have nothing more to teach you and now you have become the master who did so recently dream of great

things while driving sheep 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 intellectually exclaimed how highly favored he is and noting the character and wide influence of another they remark how chance AIDS him at every turn they do not see that trials and failures and struggles which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience they have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have

made of the undaunted efforts they've put forth of the faith they have exercised 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 they do not see the long and arduous Journey but only behold the present goal and call it good fortune they do not understand the process but only perceive the result and call it chance in all human Affairs there are efforts and there are results and the strength of the effort

is the measure of the result chance is not gifts Powers material intellectual and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort they are thoughts completed objects 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 serenity calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom it is the result of long and patient effort and self-control its presence is an indication of ripened experience and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of

thought a man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought-evolved being for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought and as he develops a right understanding and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve and remains poised steadfast serene the calm man Having learned how to govern himself knows how to adapt himself to others and they in turn reverence his spiritual strength and feel that they can learn of

him and rely upon him the more tranquil a man becomes the greater is his success his influence his power for good even the most ordinary traitor will find his business Prosperity increases as he develops a greater self-control and Equanimity for people will always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanor is strongly equitable the strong calm man is always loved and revered he is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land or a Sheltering rock in a storm who does not love a tranquil heart a sweet tempered Balanced Life it does not matter whether it

rains or shines or what changes come to those possessing these blessings for they are always cheerful calm that Exquisite boys of character which we call Serenity is the last lesson of culture it is the flowering of Life the fruitage of the Soul it is precious as wisdom more to be desired than gold even fine gold how insignificant Mere Money looks in comparison with a serenely joyous life a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth beyond the waves out of the reach of tempests in the Blessed calm how many people we know who sour their

lives who ruin all that is sweet and Beautiful by explosive tempers who destroy their Poise of character and make ill will it is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and Mar their happiness by lack of self-control how few people we meet in life who are well balanced who have the Exquisite Poise which is characteristic of the finished person as Humanity surges with uncontrolled emotion is tumultuous with ungoverned grief is blown about by anxiety and doubt only the wise man only he whose thoughts are controlled makes the winds and

the storms a babe Tempest tossed Souls whatever ye may be under whatsoever conditions ye may live know this in the ocean of Life The isles of blessedness are smiling and the Sunny Shore of your ideal awaits your coming keep your hand firmly upon the Helm of thought in the bark of your soul reclines the commanding Master he does but sleep wake him self-control is strength thought is mastery calmness is power say unto your heart peace be still