As a Man Thinketh — Thought and Character
The Aphorism of Solomon
James Allen opened "As a Man Thinketh" with the biblical aphorism: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." He took this not as moral instruction but as a statement of natural law. Your character — the totality of who you are — is the complete sum of all your thoughts.
"A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts," Allen wrote. Just as a plant springs from and could not exist without a seed, every act of a person springs from the hidden seeds of thought. This applies equally to spontaneous and unpremeditated acts and to those performed deliberately.
Allen's teaching was neither punitive nor moralistic. He presented it as liberating knowledge: if thought creates character, and character creates circumstances, then by learning to master thought, you gain mastery over your entire life. "Man is the master of thought, the moulder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny."