Foundation Stones To Happiness And Success - Audiobook Part 1

Foundation Stones To Happiness & Success was written by James Allen around 1913. Some principles of a productive life remain unchanging. There are many tips in this book to help us enjoy the abundant, lifestyle that we deserve. This is part 1 of 3.

Transcript

Hi,

This is Stefania and this is an audiobook recording of the classic self-help book Foundation Stones to Happiness and Success.

This is part one.

It was written by James Allen around 1913.

The basic message is how to live a happy,

Productive lifestyle and it is just as relevant now as when it was written.

Except for I made a few updates to include both men and women.

Times have changed.

I'm publishing this in sections because many of us live busy lives so it's easier to listen in small bites and plus it gives us a chance to think about and absorb the lessons.

So please enjoy.

Part 1 Foundation Stones to Happiness and Success by James Allen.

Forward.

How does one begin the building of a house?

First,

Secure a plan of the proposed edifice and then proceed to build according to the plan,

Scrupulously following it in every detail,

Beginning with the foundation.

Should one neglect the beginning,

The beginning on a mathematical plan,

Labor will be wasted and building,

Should it reach completion without tumbling to pieces,

Would be insecure and worthless.

The same law holds good in any important work.

The right beginning and first essential is a definite mental plan on which to build.

Nature will have no slip shard work,

No slovenliness and she annihilates confusion or rather confusion is in itself annihilated.

Order,

Definiteness,

Purpose eternally prevail and one who in the operations ignores these mathematical elements at once deprives themselves of substantiality,

Completeness,

Happiness and success.

James Allen.

Number 1.

Right Principles.

It is wise to know what comes first and what to do first.

To begin anything in the middle or the end is to make a muddle of it.

The athlete who began by breaking the tape would not receive the prize.

He must begin by facing the starter and towing the mark and even then a good start is important if he is to win.

The pupil does not begin with algebra and literature but with counting and A,

B,

C.

So in life the business people who begin at the bottom achieve the more enduring success and the religious ones who reach the highest height of spiritual knowledge and wisdom are they who have stooped to serve a patient apprenticeship to the humbler tasks and have not scorned the common experiences of humanity or overlooked the lessons to be learned from them.

The first things in a sound life and therefore in a truly happy and successful life are right principles.

Without right principles to begin with there will be wrong practices to follow with and a bungled and wretched life to end with.

All the infinite variety of calculations which tabulate the commerce and science of the world come out of the ten figures.

All the hundreds of thousands of books which constitute the literature of the world and perpetuate its thought and genius are built up from the 26 letters.

The greatest astronomer cannot ignore the ten simple figures.

The profoundest man of genius cannot dispense with the 26 simple characters.

The fundamentals in all things are few and simple yet without them there is no knowledge and no achievement.

The fundamentals the basic principles in life or true living are also few and simple and to learn them thoroughly and study how to apply them to all the details of life is to avoid confusion and to secure a substantial foundation for the orderly building up of an invincible character and the permanent success and to succeed in comprehending those principles in their innumerable ramifications in the labyrinth of conduct is to become a master of life.

The first principles in life are principles of conduct.

To name them is easy.

As mere words they are on everyone's lips but as fixed sources of action admitting of no compromise few have learned them.

In this short talk I will deal with five only of these principles.

These five are among the simplest of the root principles of life but they are those that come nearest to the everyday life for they touch the artisan,

The businessman,

The householder,

The citizen at every point.

Not one of them can be dispensed with but at severe cost and she who perfects herself in their application will rise superior to many of the troubles and failures of life and will come into these springs and currents of thought which flow harmoniously towards the regions of enduring success.

The first of these principles is duty.

A much hackneyed word I know but it contains a rare jewel for one who will seek it by a serious application.

The principle of duty means strict adherence to one's own business and just as strict non-interference in the business of others.

The man who is continually instructing others gratis how to manage their affairs is the one who most mismanages his own.

Duty also means undivided attention to the matter in hand,

Intelligent concentration of the mind on the work to be done.

It includes all that is meant by thoroughness,

Exactness,

And efficiency.

The details of duties differ with individuals and each man should know his own duty better than he knows his neighbors and better than his neighbor knows his.

But although the working details differ the principle is always the same.

Who has mastered the demands of duty?

Honesty is the next principle.

It means not cheating or overcharging anyone.

It involves the absence of all trickery,

Lying,

And deception by word,

Look,

Or gesture.

It includes sincerity,

The saying what you mean and the meaning what you say.

It scorns quenching policy and shining compliment.

It builds up good reputations and good reputations build up good businesses and bright joy accompanies well-earned success.

Who has scaled the heights of honesty?

Economy is the third principle.

The conservation of one's financial resources is merely the vestibule leading towards the more spacious chambers of true economy.

It means as well the husbanding of one's physical vitality and mental resources.

It demands the conservation of energy by the avoidance of a nerve aiding self indulgences and sensual habits.

It holds for its follower strength,

Endurance,

Vigilance,

And capacity to achieve.

It bestows great power on one who learns it well.

Who has realized the supreme strength of economy?

Liberality follows economy.

It is not opposed to it.

Only the man of economy can afford to be generous.

The spendthrift,

Whether in money,

Vitality,

Or mental energy,

Wasted so much on his own miserable pleasures as to have none left to bestow upon others.

The giving of money is the smallest part of liberality.

There is a giving of thoughts and deeds and sympathy,

The bestowing of goodwill,

The being generous towards calumnators and opponents.

It is the principle that begets a noble far-reaching influence.

It brings loving friends and staunch comrades and is the foe of loneliness and despair.

Who has measured the breadth of liberality?

Self-control is the last of these five principles,

Yet the most important.

Its neglect is the cause of vast misery,

Innumerable failures,

And tens of thousands of financial,

Physical,

And mental wrecks.

Show me the business person who loses their temper with a customer over some trivial matter,

And I will show you a person who,

By that condition of mind,

Is doomed to failure.

If everyone practiced even the initial stages of self-control,

Anger,

Which is consuming and destroying fire,

Would be unknown.

The lessons of patience,

Purity,

Gentleness,

Kindness,

And steadfastness,

Which are contained in the principle of self-control,

Are slowly learned.

Yet,

Until they are truly learned,

A person's character and success are uncertain and insecure.

Where is the man or woman who has perfected themselves in self-control?

Where they may be,

They are masters indeed.

The five principles are five practices,

Five avenues to achievement,

And five sources of knowledge.

It is an old saying,

And a good rule,

That practice makes perfect.

And one who would make their own the wisdom,

Which is inherent in these principles,

Must not merely have them on the lips.

They must be established in the heart.

To know them and receive what they alone can bring,

He or she must do them and give them out in their actions.

And that's the end of part one of Foundation Stones to Happiness and Success by James Allen.

Until next time for part two of Foundation Stones to Happiness and Success.

Reviews

Interesting insights. Thank you 💜 x

Great food for thought! Thank you for sharing!