As a Man Thinketh
James Allen

This little book of 28 pages, written almost 100 years back, partly launched the self-improvement industry. It has influenced contemporary writers like Norman Vincent Peale and Tony Robbins.

"Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul that have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this - that you are the master of your thought, the molder of your character, and the maker and shaper of your condition, environment and destiny." These lines from "As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen reveal the theme of the book.

The logic of the book can be summarized as follows:

It is our own mind that creates our inner character and outer circumstances. Because a man can hide his thoughts, he thinks one way and act another. Our thoughts should be noble as negative thoughts churns out a miserable person. A person with positive thoughts has a world which is soft towards him and is ready to help him.

Circumstances in a person's life, however bad, give him an opportunity for growth, they reveal him. A person tries to bring out the best in him in various circumstances. No one is to be blamed for our present condition except ourselves.

Allen wrote "Most of us are anxious to improve our circumstances but are unwilling to improve ourselves and we therefore remain bound." We should use the circumstances as an aid to bring about progress, prosperity and happiness.

People with calm mind are successful in life. According to Allen calm, relaxed and purposeful people have a magnet like attraction. People who are unstable, success avoids them.

This short and simple book is devoid of any frills. It states the basic philosophy of the self-help movement. A must read.

IN A NUTSHELL

We are the maker of our destiny. We attract what we are (not  what we want). Only by changing our thoughts we can change our life.

 

Meditations
by Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius was the emperor of Rome from 161 A.D. for 19 years. He was a student of Stoic Philosophy which was a Greek school of thought. Stoics had an international outlook and believed in universal brotherhood.

Marcus faced many crises during his reign as emperor, like continuous wars with "barbarians," diseases, earthquakes. But he refused to be made miserable by the difficulties of life. He wrote Meditations by fire-light in the midst of his war campaigns. Though it was written 19 centuries ago, Meditations still lives on in hearts and minds of people.

Following are some the thoughts contained in Meditations of Marcus Aurelius :

There is nothing like immortal fame. All things fade away into the past. People do not even remember the men who had lived lives of glory. Lesser mortals are forgotten as soon as .... Immortal fame is an empty, hollow thing. Therefore we must aspire for only just thought, our actions must be unselfish and our tongue should not utter falsehood.

We should accept people as they are and not how we would like them to be. In life, you will face interference, insolence, in-gratitude, disloyalty, ill-will and selfishness. These are the result of the offender’s ignorance of what is good and what is evil. We must perceive the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its mean-ness. Let not these things injure you.

Try to see the world as it really is. Then you can have the ability to see beyond the world.

IN A NUTSHELL

Don’t get caught up in pettiness. Appreciate your life in a larger context. Have just thoughts, unselfish actions, and truthful speech.