The Science of Being Well

A short 1903 classic arguing that character and circumstance both grow out of the thoughts a person habitually holds. Seven brief chapters that laid the groundwork for the entire self development genre.

James Allen

A 1908 study of seven hermetic principles, from mentalism to cause and effect, presented as a framework for understanding how thought shapes experience. A foundational text behind much of modern mindset writing.

The Three Initiates

A practical manual of mental training that works through attention, memory, imagination and will one faculty at a time. Written in 1911 as a course rather than a motivational read.

William Walker Atkinson

The 1910 book that set out a step by step method for building wealth through what the author calls acting in a certain way. Direct, short chapters with no padding.

Wallace D. Wattles

Atkinson on the individual force he calls the secret behind achievement, covering desire, confidence and persistence. A concise companion to his longer works on mental training.

William Walker Atkinson