Why should I know James Allen?

“A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.”

“A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. And 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 the hidden powers and possibilities within himself.”

“A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.”

“A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether 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.”

“A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses.”

“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.”

“As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.”

“As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them.”

“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”

“Do not dwell upon the sins and mistakes of yesterday so exclusively as to have no energy and mind left for living rightly today, and do not think that the sins of yesterday can prevent you from living purely today.”

“Evil and weakness are self destructive. The universe is girt with goodness and strength, and it protects the good and the strong. The angry man is the weak man.”

“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.”

“Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bear bad fruit – and man is his own gardener.”

“He only finds peace who conquers himself, who strives, day by day, after greater self-possession, greater self-control, greater calmness of mind.”

“He who would accomplish little need sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much. He who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”

“Man is made or unmade by himself. By the right choice he ascends. As a being of power, intelligence, and love, and the lord of his own thoughts, he holds the key to every situation.”

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves.”

“No man is hindered by another; he is only hindered by himself. No man suffers because of another; he suffers only because of himself.”

“Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power. ”

“Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction. It is an indication that the individual is out of harmony with himself, with the Law of his being.”

“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 stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.”

“The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”

“The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state... Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.”

“The world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going.”

“Thou who adorest Jesus for his divine qualities, practise those qualities thyself, and thou too shalt be divine.”

“To the degree that you believe, you will achieve.”

“Whether you be man or woman you will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you;
you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”

“You will always gravitate toward that which you, secretly, most love.”