“Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force; those who know this are ready to become something higher and stronger than mere bundles of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations; those who do this – align their thoughts fearlessly with their purpose – become the conscious and intelligent wielders of their mental powers.” – Chapter 4. Thought and Purpose, As a Man Thinketh, p63 (revised version by Marc Allen, 1998)
“We who are in this race for riches should be encouraged to know that this dynamic world in which we live is demanding new ideas, new ways of doing things, new leaders, new inventions, new methods of teaching, new methods of marketing, new books, new literature, new applications for computers, new cures for diseases and new approaches to every aspect of business and life. Behind this demand for new and better things there is one quality one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.” – Chapter 2. Desire: the Starting Point of All Achievement, Think and Grow Rich, p24 (revised version by Dr. Arthur R. Pell, 2004)
“Each of us is what we are because of the dominating thoughts we permit to occupy our minds. Thoughts which are deliberately placed in our own mind, and encouraged with sympathy, and with which are mixed any one or more of the emotions, constitute the motivating forces. These forces direct and control our every movement, act and deed.” – Chapter 3. Faith: Visualizing and Believing in the Attainment of Desire, Think and Grow Rich, p50 (revised version by Dr. Arthur R. Pell, 2004)
Even though James Allen’s message is more inclined toward the importance of cultivating our mind in terms of spiritual growth and self-empowerment, two authors share the same principle: the power of thought in creating a life one desires in every aspect be it wealth, health or success.
If James Allen alerts us with infinite wisdom of the law of Nature (the power of thought as one form) that doesn’t err, Napoleon Hill leads us to see why it is so with his rational reasoning with scientific evidence available in his time and, more importantly, what should be done so as to ‘actually’ and ‘physically’ manifest one’s desire.
“Thinking is one thing, doing is another.”
We all know what this means. If everything starts from a thought or an idea, the connecting link toward the final materialization is doing. Thought requires action, and action must follow a well-guided thought. The value of Think and Grow Rich lies in that it lets us know how to do it so that any idea cannot stop being just as an idea.
I feel Napoleon Hill, let alone Andrew Carnegie (and more than five hundred exceedingly wealthy people whom Hill studied throughout his life upon mandate by Carnegie), had understood the truth, which was so evident but so veiled to ordinary people.
The strongest impact the book had on me, at my first reading of Think and Grow Rich, was that I came to exercise mindfulness of what I think by abstaining feeding of negative thought impulses (whatever that is) into my mind consciously. As one example, I completely removed negative words from my vocabularies even if I wasn’t a negative mind and tried to maintain a state of mind at a higher vibration and not to fall to a lower vibration by any means. I believe this practice helped me to have a more tranquil mind.
At my second reading, I found that I came to understand the author’s messages more clearly and also was surprised that I gained totally new insights on a few subjects such as the importance of the Master Mind Group and how to harness intuition and creative imagination. This book might have been intended as a personal self help book by the author, but I believe some of the qualities can be harnessed into practical business application as well. These I will share in my subsequent articles.
What is your favorite book that helped you build a positive habit? What book made you open your eyes to the law of Nature that equally guides and impacts human life?
Jay
Note: Pictures of both quotes are from As a Man Thinketh by James Allen revised by Marc Allen under the title As You Think, 1998.
Leading by Reading 