As a Man Thinketh

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen is one of the grandaddies of self-help literature. This bestselling classic was published in 1902 as a literary essay, and its title comes from a verse in the Bible: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he," which is basically saying: "All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts." Allen, who's like the OG Tony Robbins, pulled from many areas of philosophy and faith to compile his groundbreaking tract.

This short essay is a swift and highly motivating read. Its poetic style makes it sing along - and no matter how hard a man's heart, this little gem is sure to affect him. As a Man Thinketh is old school "positive thought" meditation in written form, meant to be read again and again for inspiration. Lastly, this book was the inspiration for the 2006 film "The Secret," which restates Allen's notion that man (or "woman" or "person") is literally what he or she thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.