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: "e;As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he,"e; which is basically saying: "e;All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts."e; 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 "e;positive thought"e; meditation in written form, meant to be read again and again for inspiration. Lastly, this book was the inspiration for the 2006 film "e;The Secret,"e; which restates Allen's notion that man is literally what he or she thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.