The Path of Prosperity

By James Allen

James Allen (1864–1912) was a British philosophical writer famous for writing many early inspirational books and poetry, as well as being a pioneer of the self-help movement. In this 1907 work, Allen continues his quest to reveal the true path to success in a world full of obstacles. Characteristically, he advises on both the spiritual and the practical, helping the reader understand the power of thought and use it to achieve success and prosperity. With timeless tips and invaluable lessons, “The Path of Prosperity” will be of considerable utility to those with an interest in changing their life by increasing their wealth. Contents include: “The Lesson Of Evil”, “The World A Reflex Of Mental States”, “The Way Out Of Undesirable Conditions”, “The Silent Power Of Thought: Controlling And Directing One’s Forces”, “The Secret Of Health, Success And Power”, “The Secret Of Abounding Happiness”, “The Realization Of Prosperity”, etc. James Allen is best remembered for his work, “As a Man Thinketh”, which has remained in mass-production since it was first published in in 1903, and has been a constant source of inspiration to people around the world. Other notable works by this author include: “Through the Gate of Good; or, Christ and Conduct” (1903), “Byways of Blessedness” (1904), and “Out from the Heart” (1904). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read & Co. Books
• Release date: Feb 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781528789004

James Allen

Born in 1864 in England, James Allen took his first job at fifteen to support his family. Allen worked as a factory knitter and later a private secretary before writing his first book, From Poverty to Power, in 1901. In 1903 he completed his best-known work: As a Man Thinketh. Allen wrote nineteen books, including his spiritual journal, The Light of Reason, before he died at age forty-seven in 1912. While not widely known during his lifetime, Allen later came to be seen as a pioneer of contemporary inspirational literature.

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THE PATH

OF PROSPERITY

By

JAMES ALLEN

First published in 1907

This edition published by Read Books Ltd.

Copyright © 2019 Read Books Ltd.

This book is copyright and may not be

reproduced or copied in any way without

the express permission of the publisher in writing

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available

from the British Library

Contents

Foreword

THE LESSON OF EVIL

THE WORLD A REFLEX OF MENTAL STATES

THE WAY OUT OF UNDESIRABLE CONDITIONS

THE SILENT POWER OF THOUGHT

Controlling and Directing One’s Forces

THE SECRET OF HEALTH, SUCCESS AND POWER

THE SECRET OF ABOUNDING HAPPINESS

THE REALIZATION OF PROSPERITY

Making up one's mind, even if it can only be to meet what comes courageously, is the secret of taking heart."

-

A. S. Hardy

Oliver Wendell Holmes says that it does not matter so much where one stands as the direction in which he is moving. If you are working according to intelligent plan; if you are trying to make everything you do a means of advancement to the goal you have in view; if your great ambition is, not to make yourself famous, or rich, or happy, but to make your life mean something in God's world, - go ahead, for you are moving in the right direction and will reach your goal. But if you are looking for an easy place, or running away from hard work; if you are too listless, or indifferent, or careless to take stock of yourself, to decide upon the path you wish to take, to look carefully ahead, but not too far ahead, or to make out an intelligent plan of action and follow it as nearly as you can, - no matter where you stand you are not moving in the right direction.

-

Orison Swett Marden

All of the door that lead inward to the secret place of the Most High are doors outward- out of self - out of smallness - out of wrong.

George Macdonald

Foreword

I looked around upon the world, and saw that it was shadowed by sorrow and scorched by the fierce fires of suffering. And I looked for the cause. I looked around, but could not find it; I looked in books, but could not find it; I looked within, and found there both the cause and the self-made nature of that cause. I looked again, and deeper, and found the remedy.

I found one Law, the Law of Love; one Life, the Life of adjustment to that Law; one Truth, the truth of a conquered mind and a quiet and obedient heart. And I dreamed of writing a book which should help men and women, whether rich or poor, learned or unlearned, worldly or unworldly, to find within themselves the source of all success, all happiness, all accomplishment, all truth. And the dream remained with me, and at last became substantial; and now I send it forth into the world on its mission of healing and blessedness, knowing that it cannot fail to reach the homes and hearts of those who are waiting and ready to receive it.

James Allen

ThE PATH

OF PROSPERITY

THE LESSON OF EVIL

Unrest and pain and sorrow are the shadows of life. There is no heart in all the world that has not felt the sting of pain, no mind has not been tossed upon the dark waters of trouble, no eye that has not wept the hot blinding tears of unspeakable anguish.

There is no household where the Great Destroyers, disease and death, have not entered, severing heart from heart, and casting over all the dark pall of sorrow. In the strong, and apparently indestructible meshes of evil all are more or less fast caught, and pain, unhappiness, and misfortune wait upon mankind.

With the object of escaping, or in some way mitigating this overshadowing gloom, men and women rush blindly into innumerable devices, pathways by which they fondly hope to enter into a happiness which will not pass away.

Such are the drunkard and the harlot, who revel in sensual excitements; such is the exclusive aesthete, who shuts himself out from the sorrows of the world, and surrounds himself with enervating luxuries; such is he who thirsts for wealth or fame, and subordinates all things to the achievement of that object; and such are they who seek consolation in the performance of religious rites.

And to all the happiness sought seems to come, and the soul, for a time, is lulled into a sweet security, and an intoxicating forgetfulness of the existence of evil; but the day of disease comes at last, or some great sorrow, temptation, or misfortune breaks suddenly in on the unfortified soul, and the fabric of its fancied happiness is torn to shreds.

So over the head of every personal joy hangs the Damocletian sword of pain, ready, at any moment, to fall and crush the