As A Man Thinketh - James Allen (2026 Review)

"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."

James Allen says men are makers of themselves by virtue of the thoughts they choose and encourage. You've been creating your life's circumstances in ignorance- you've been in the dark about how your thoughts shape your life. Now this book will be your guiding light so that you can no longer create in ignorance, but in enlightenment and happiness.

He reiterates the teaching found in the Bible, that, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. He says, "A man is literally what he thinks - his character being the complete sum of his thoughts."

Your thoughts are the seeds. The results you experience in your life are the fruits. Your actions are the stem and branches that support the fruits.

Every outcome of your life, every action you take, whether premeditated or spontaneous, are the results of your thoughts. 

You can either use the power of your thoughts to create weapons to destroy your life, or create tools to build yourself up to prosperity and joy.

As A Man Thinketh invites you to make a study of the power of your thoughts to create and shape your life, not only in the big important issues, but also in the trivial. Make a game of it. Try to connect the result to the thought. And then gradually shift from reactive posture to proactive. Decide the result you want, then deliberately create and nurture the thought that will give you this result.

Allen compares a person's mind to a garden. You can choose to cultivate your garden or neglect it. Either way, it will produce results. If you plant flowers and cultivate it, you will have a beautiful garden. If you neglect your garden and plant nothing, weeds will grow. Either way, the choice is yours.

He reiterates what has been said by many writers before, that your thoughts have brought you to where you are right now. Man's thoughts make his environment just in the same way that the environment influences his outcomes.

However, you are not stuck in your present conditions. You can change them, you can grow out of them, as soon as you learn the spiritual lesson this book contains for you.

If you believe you're doomed by the circumstances in which you find yourself, then, you will be. If you believe that you're the master of your destiny, you will take charge and change your thoughts, which will change your actions, and change your results.

Allen says, "The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and that which it fears. Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruit."

Now, as an intelligent being, you ought to learn from both suffering and bliss. Spencer Johnson, author of Peaks and Valleys, said that if you learn from your bad times, you will get better. If you don't learn, you will grow bitter.

Thought and action are the ingredients by which you make your life whatever you want to make it. Allen says that people don't get what they wish for or pray for. They get what they earn through thought and action, whether good or bad.
Prayers only come true when they align with your actions.

You can't improve your circumstances without improving yourself. If you're poor and you refuse to work or do shoddy work, you will remain poor. If you're fat and you refuse to eat healthy and exercise, you will not become fit by prayer and meditation. Everything in life has a cause and effect. Apply the cause successfully and it stands to reason that the effect will follow.

If you want to achieve a result, align your thoughts and actions with the thing you want. Make yourself do the things that make your desired result possible.

So, if you have something troublesome happening in your life, trace your thoughts and determine which thoughts and actions may have led to this unpleasant situation.

"Suffering is an indication that the individual is out of harmony with himself, with the law of his being."

Thoughts become action, which become habit, which produces results. Fear, doubt and indecision crystallize into weak irresolute habits, which solidify into failure and slavish dependence. Courageous thoughts crystallize into success.

He says, "A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances."

Allen continues, "Disease and health, like circumstances, are rooted in thought. Thoughts of malice, envy, disappointment, despondency, rob the body of its health and grace. A sour face does not come by chance. It is made by sour thoughts."

People who fear a disease are the ones who get it most, and die from it faster. But when you start thinking pure thoughts, you will attract pure habits.

Lack of purpose leads to failure and unhappiness - a man who has no direction in life will be miserable. Find a purpose and make it the central point of your thoughts. Focus on this purpose in thought, habit and deed. Be all in. Be deeply interested in it, as Emmet Fox would say.

Disregard temporary failure, learn from it, and keep moving towards your major purpose in life.

Do your best work in every with every assignment, even if you're in a lowly, unpleasant situation right now. You can only develop strength by effort, practice and patience. But it all starts with right thinking. So, get your mind right, and everything else will follow. Thoughts of doubt and fear only weaken your resolve and effort. They break you down and lead you to failure. Thoughts of courage and purpose make you stronger, healthier, and happier.

As a man thinks in his heart, so he is.

As he continues to think, so he remains.

While I agree with a majority of what James Allen wrote, I must confess that I don't think it's 100% accurate. Research now proves that environment influences our thoughts and behaviors more than we’d like to admit. My concern is especially with young children born in circumstances of abject poverty, misery, war, etc. Did they really choose their environments? It's true that we have a few superstars who rise above their circumstances and achieve unthinkable success. It's also true that we have people born with every conceivable advantage yet who end up ruining their lives through drugs, suicide and other stupid behaviors. But truth be told, your environment matters a lot. Systemic injustices, corruption, deprivation of opportunity, and all the rest of it matter a lot.

Having said that, it may not be your fault that you were born poor, but it is your responsibility to change your circumstances - if not for yourself, then maybe for your children and their children. We didn’t create these circumstances, but can we use the power of our minds to free ourselves from them? What will it really take for us to be free in every sense of the word, not just the manipulation, deceit and propaganda we’re being fed?

Moving on. Allen quips that in order to achieve anything worthwhile, some form of sacrifice is always necessary. You sacrifice your animalistic desires for discipline. You sacrifice your laziness for effort. You sacrifice fear for courage, negative thoughts for positive thoughts and actions.

I also do not agree with Allen when he says, "The universe does not favor the greedy, the dishonest, the vicious, although on the mere surface it may sometimes appear to do so. It helps the honest, the magnanimous, the virtuous."

I have no evidence to prove that what Allen says is true. Take a look at all the corruption, crime, fraud, murder, extortion, and wars that are taking place. Evil is winning on every level. I will need some concrete evidence to believe the above statement.

Allen then goes on to say,

"The greatest achievement was at first, and for a time, only a dream."

Success requires a vision. every major success has their beginning in a tiny seed. Nothing can be achieved without first thinking about it and believing in it. Action follows faith in the possibility of success.  If you don't believe it can be done, why would you even bother?

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