Customer Reviews

Eight Pillars of Prosperity

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know why this book is so overlooked and underrated; As A Man Thinketh is probably the main cause. Napoleon Hill, Nightingdale, Clement Stone, Haanel, etc. have nothing on Allen although they do offer practical suggestions on applying Allen's principles. This is the last book Allen wrote before he died so it contains his highest thought on success; it is a work of genius, probably because he was able to concentrate his mind perfectly. The book is more about success/achievement than money, so if you're looking to find a 'prosperity' or 'money' book, look elsewhere. He says that all real successes are based on energetic activity, the intelligent management of one's time and money, integrity, and systemized living, and that four other elements are needed for higher successes. Here are some quotes for you to get a feel of some of the content:

"The whole world is always on the lookout to reward the best."

"The man who gets up early in order to think and plan, so that he may weigh and consider and forecast, will always manifest greater skill and success in his particular pursuit, than the man who stays in bed till the last moment, and only gets up just in time to start breakfast."

"It is impossible for one to fail who is full of energy, who carefully manages his time and money, and virtuously preserves his vitality, who practices unswerving integrity, and who systematizes his work by first systematizing his mind."

This work should inspire us all to develop the power of mental concentration. The other success books are more practical in application but Allen teaches the actual principles to work with and understand. Keep in mind that this book is somewhat advanced but if you don't struggle to understand the greater, you are likely to remain the lesser, because our actions come from our understanding. Unfortunately, As A Man Thinketh has overshadowed this work.

Keep in mind that the Beacon Hill edition is adulterated throughout. Compare for yourself:

Beacon Hill (July 21, 2009): "It is better to act with decision and make a mistake than to fail to act and make a mistake, for in the former you are moving yourself forward, in the latter is only stagnation."

Original from the Allen Library: "...and it is better to act with decision and make a mistake than to act with indecision and make a mistake, for in the former case there is but error, but in the latter, weakness is added to error."

This book should be recommended reading for every high school student and required for every MBA student. Over the past twenty years, we have begun to focus on getting wealthy on stock market bubbles, only to lose most of what we earned a few years later when the bubble finally bursts. We saw this in the late nineties with the dot com bubble, later with the real estate bubble, and most recently with a near collapse of the world economy.

If you were to take only one message from this book, it should be that long lasting prosperity doesn't happen in a few months based on a lucky gamble. Lasting prosperity, that doesn't fall apart when the stock market wavers, is built on a solid foundation of principled decision making, sustained effort, wise investments of your time and energy, and integrity in your quest for success.
As Allen puts it best, the principles in this book teach you to, "rise above the foolish who rise and fall on the uncertain flux of selfish desires, crown your career with completeness, and place yourself among the wise who, without uncertainty, build on a fixed and secure foundation."

We are at a crossroads economically, and this book delivers the message that we all need to hear again, for many have forgotten how lasting success is built.

In this refreshing book, Allen sets the table of success with "pillars" or principles based on moral integrity and earnest work. There are no promises of getting rich quick here or wishing your way to wealth, but rather a close look at the real tools you need to build a permanent and lasting level of success. I am a reader of Napoleon Hill, and I can see how one inspired the other, in this book.

By following the advice in 8 Pillars, it's hard to imagine how someone could be anything other than incredibly successful.

James Allen leads you to a certain path of success in Eight Pillars of Prosperity. This book is well balanced and a bargain for all.

James Allen's Eight Pillars of Prosperity offers some of the most insightful revelations on how true prosperity is acquired. Prosperity, according to Allen, rests on a moral foundation. So as you improve every defect in your character and adhere to the moral principles that he details, you will receive the knowledge it takes to achieve personal success. I think this book should be read by everyone whether they have a goal or are just workers. It helps to realize how the world works and how they may improve themselves. By reading this book, you will see business differently, you will see the first four principles of Energy, Economy, System, and Integrity working in and out of all things.

But this version has so many grammatical errors that it sometimes detracts from what is trying to be said. Also, I found it annoying that the paragraphs are not indented. It feels very sterile like a textbook or a transcript. I recommend finding a better version.

Over the years, I've read dozens of books on my journey to success. It appears that this is the only one I needed all along. If you are looking for a guide-book to success, Eight Pillars of Prosperity will get you where you want to be.

The book can be read many times over; you will gleam new concepts each time, depending on your state of mind at the time, and where you are in your journey to prosperity.

I can't say enough good things about this book and the messages in it. If you build strong pillars, your house of prosperity can never fall and your legacy will last for generation.

I really appreciated this book. If you have enjoyed and benefited from other personal development books like the Secret or Think and Grow Rich, you will like this book because it severed as the foundation for almost every other success focused book on the market. Even with all the technology we now embrace, the fundamental principles of success and prosperity haven't changed and they never will.

I like that this book really focuses on the basics: attitude, hard work, honesty, and belief in what you're doing. It reminds us that we create our own reality, not just through our thoughts, but through our actions, our integrity, and our treatment of other people. It's a great message for people of all ages and all positions in life.

James Allen reveals, in detail, what he defines as the eight pillars of prosperity. These are time tested principles for achieving success that have proven throughout time history to create a house of prosperity. Allen reminds us that building a temple of prosperity doesn't happen overnight, that laying the groundwork for a lifetime of achievement takes time and effort to construct. To that end, he makes clear that the eight pillars (energy, efficiency, integrity, organization, sympathy, sincerity, impartiality, and self-reliance) cannot be merely claimed or acknowledged, but that "you must regulate your thoughts, your conduct, and your life according to these fixed principles, consulting them in every difficulty, making every detail serve them, and above all, never deserting them under any circumstance to gain some personal advantage or to save some personal trouble."

I've read this book several times and have since introduced it to the Wednesday night study group at my church. The principles discussed in the book can and should be applied to anyone seeking prosperity in any area of life, whether in business, a church, or a home. Five stars for Eight Pillars!

Not only do I recommend that you read this but I also recommend that you reread it. Again, and again. Every time I do I learn something new. This is definitely one of James Allen's greatest works, but it is also lesser known than As a Man Thinketh.

Aside from the atrocious editing in the Kindle edition that others have already pointed out, this is just not a very good book. It has nuggets of truth and inspiring passages, but it also contains utterly absurd statements. Allen romanticizes a world that never was and frequently demonstrates a shocking level of naivete regarding the world that is. In hindsight, I would not have wasted the time or the money.