ANCIENT& not so ancient WISDOM
offering a weekly positive perspective

May 1, 2003

Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be. Your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil. 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.

- James Allen, 1864 - 1912

James Allen was born in Leicester, Central England. When he was fifteen, the family business failed and his father left for America to find work. His father was robbed and murdered and James was forced to leave school to work an administrative assistant for several British manufacturers until 1902.

He was a man who believed in the power of thought. "As A Man Thinketh" was his second book. He was dissatisfied with it, and his wife Lily had to persuade him to publish it, even though it was concise and his most eloquent work. He failed to acknowledge its value even with the subsequent popularity it received.

James Allen strove to live the life of voluntary poverty, manual labor and ascetic self-discipline. He sought to improve himself, be happy, and master all of the virtues. During his life, James Allen achieved his lofty dream: he never gained fame or fortune during the nine years of his literary career.

According to Lily,  "Allen wrote when he had a message, and it became a message only when he had lived it in his own life, and knew that it was good."

Wishing you great and continued success!

Sincerely,