As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Akinyele Olamide (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in book?
The main idea the author is trying to convey to the readers is the “Power of Thought.” Thoughts shape the event of our lives, be it circumstance, health, purpose, vision, ideals or calmness. Circumstances (good or bad), health and body (bad or good), purpose (accomplished or unaccomplished), vision and calmness are all traceable to thoughts. The computer term “GIGO”- meaning garbage in garbage out- finds its applicability in the mind. Whatever a man gives to the mind is what it will reproduce. Seeds of thought are sowed daily into our minds thus reproducing fruits (healthy or unhealthy) that shape the course of our lives. The ideology of thought can also be x-rayed from the scriptures as it is written that “Above all else; guide your heart (thought) for it is the well spring of life. Wellness, greatness, failure, frustration, bad attitudes, joy, peace, strength, sorrow, depression, fear etcetera are products of thought. A man that gains mastery over his thought, gains mastery over his life.”
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Thoughts and Actions
The universe is full of energy and force, and those who can engage these entities with the right thought and actions will have unending success. Thoughts and actions are inseparable. This idea is very paramount to me because I was able to engage right thoughts with necessary actions during my service year. I embarked on some projects in Bida community of Niger State. Before the inception of these projects, I do go to the sites where they (projects) are situated now, to imagine them as though they were there. I could not just sit down and have beautiful thoughts alone; I had to take the necessary initiatives to make my thoughts a reality. The force of energy in my thought, backed up with necessary actions, made the projects to be executed and commissioned.
ii. Thoughts and choices
We consciously and unconsciously choose what we process in our minds. “what we think, feel and what we perceive is always in the process of becoming” from Albert Einstein. Choice determines our actions and shapes our character. Right choice and thought influence our perceptions about the world will live. They shape the course of our lives by making things to be favorable towards our direction. When I made the choice to make impact in Bida community, I knew within me with much feeling that I made the right choice. The thought of doing something worthwhile occupied my mind that I could not sleep sometimes. Thanks to fate, it later paid off in that the community leaders were able to make great contributions towards the success of the projects.
iii. Thoughts are seeds
A piece of land having the potential to support the life of any plant forbids lack of plant growing on it. Plants will grow either naturally or by human intervention on the land. This ideology finds its expressions in the mind (center for processing thought). The mind of man forbids vacuum. Every thought is a seed, sowed into the soil of the mind. A seed will always produce its kind. Bad seed begets bad plant while good seed begets good plant. A book titled “power of positive thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale exploded my mind. I was able to understand from the book that “thought create words; for words are the vehicles of ideas; words create attitudes.” This idea is very important to me in that there was a time in my life that I battled with negative thoughts. I imagined negative thoughts consciously and unconsciously. It took me several months with deliberate effort to deal with some of the negative thoughts. I had to employ daily positive confession with right thinking to remove them from my subconscious. I am still dealing with some. One of the most significant negative thoughts I battled with is failure. I was too afraid to face challenges because of the fear of failure and defeat. Power of positive thinking changed my paradigm; I learned the power of daily confession of faith. Through this daily deliberate effort, my thought was altered in the right direction, and things began to work out as desired. I was able to touch lives in my host community.
iv. Power of Calmness
“Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves” by Thomas Carlyle. For a man to operate at the realm of calmness, right thought mastery is needed. Successful people are calm people. The universe is full of despair, pain frustration, sorrow, worries etcetera. It takes a man of calmness through self-control not to give into the aforementioned things. Over the years, I have been able to discover that ideas and innovative insights are fashioned out of a serene mind. Calmness is needed in all spheres of life- relationships, business and health. The idea of calmness is very paramount to me because of some level of impatience within me. I was able to harness the power of calmness to sustain a relationship with a difficult lady friend. Through calmness, I have been able to understand that accepting people the way they are and looking at their good side is vital to maintain stability in relationships. It paid off in that we constantly exchange pleasantries from time to time even after we completed our service year.
v. Right thought the vehicle for purpose and accomplishments
A man of purpose is one who has learned to get his thoughts fixed on the right thing. He’s consumed by the mental picture of a preferred future in his mind. The mind is so powerful in the sense that, if it is fixed on a particular thing, a creative force is applied to it. Once it becomes powerful and creative; accomplishment and great success is inevitable. Aimless fluctuated thought is the root of doubt and fear. Every man wants to succeed but not every man is willing to pay the price of being in control mentally. I struggled with thought of limitation at a point in my life. The thought of limitation culminated to from a strong myopic belief system within me. I had to channel my thought through a path of “I can do anything if I am willing.” I re-affirmed to myself severally that “anything is possible and achievable”. This statement was the motivating factor behind the first steel cantilever bridge built by Andrew Carnegie as narrated in the film “The Men Who Built America.” It helped me in the construction of a standard of volleyball court- looking seemingly impossible at start- in my host community.
vi. Thoughts create the Real Man
The real man is x-rayed through character according to the illustration made in chapter one. Conglomerate thoughts give rise to character. Good thought gives birth to right character; unholy thought gives rise to bad character. Power of positive thinking by Normal Vincent Peale changed my perception about “influence.” Character cannot be separated from leadership. Law of E.F Hutton states that “when the real leader speaks, people listen.” People want to see a man lead himself before they can follow him. Leadership is all about influencing people. How does a leader influence? The answer is not far-fetched; it is by character. Noble people are always found in the company of good leaders. Likes attract likes. This idea is so much imperative to me because of “thought of perfection” I had within me in time past. The positions of leadership I was privileged to occupy made me to have a large heart to reposition my thought to tolerate people. I created a platform for people to grow.
vii. Laws of Thought; Absolute and Being
Wisdom and knowledge can only be gained through a transformed thought. The law of absolute states that “He that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Thought revolution is a serious work. A man’s thought is not transformed in a singular day. It will take him a conscious continuous effort. Law of being is set in place when a man knows his true nature through digging deep into his soul. To access understanding, power and wisdom, a man has to dig down into his soul and alter his thoughts in the right course. Discovering who I am has been a very difficult task. The more I dig deep into my soul, the more I know about my make-up. It is still a long walk to really unravel everything about myself.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so why?
Intra and interpersonal relationship
Setting of goals and having a mental picture as to how they are going to be accomplished
Maintaining a sound health spurred on by a deliberate calm mind
Digging more into my soul to have a better knowledge of my being
Setting my thought right through conscious effort and discipline, knowing full well the impact of unlawful thought
Creating a better world by seeing advantages in every circumstance. From page7, I realized both pleasant and unpleasant conditions are factors which make for the ultimate good of an individual. As the reaper of his own interest, man learns both suffering and bliss
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote and comment as to why they were important to you.
“Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.”
One of the laws that govern the universe is “Law of Attraction.” A man will attract his kind.
“A wise man will attract a wise man while a foolish man will attract a foolish man.”
This is important to me in the aspect of intra and inters personal relationship. I have to walk on myself first before I can attract like minds like me.
“Man wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.”
I really love this quote so much in that it has made me to have a shift in my paradigm as regard how I can make receive answers to my desires.
“He who conquers fear and doubt conquers failure.” The product of doubt and fear is failure. This quote will enable me never to allow any iota of doubt and fear in every of my endeavor.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercise and did you find them helpful?
No.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Akinyele Olamide (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea the author is trying to convey is the “Power of Identity.” Every race is plagued with identity crisis. Today Matters written by John Calvin Maxwell emphasized a quote that “you have to know who you are to know your potential”. A man who is able to provide honest answers to the identity questions “Who am I” and “Why a I Born”, will make a difference life. When a man knows his identity, everything will yield to order towards him. How a man sees himself determines how far he will go in life. The universe gives ticket to those who have dreams to fulfill. “Jonathan Seagull was born to be an instructor, and his own way of demonstrating love was to give something of the truth that he had seen to a gull who asked only a chance to see truth for himself.” Jonathan seagull has to break up from the shell of instant gratification and mediocrity that has hypnotized the flock gulls to face the reality of life. Jonathan illustrated the hypnotism with this statement “most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest fact of flight-how to get from the shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating.” When a man discover his true identity, then he would truly realize that there is a Jonathan Livingston Seagull that lives within him
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Power of Outside Voice
Jonathan Seagull was advised to quit what he loves doing. His mother Gull said “Why, Jon, why?” his mother asked. “Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, Jon? Why can’t you leave low flying to the pelicans, the albatross? Why don’t you eat? Son, you’re bone and feathers!” Also his fathers “See here Jonathan said his father not unkindly.” “Winter isn’t far away. Boats will be few and the surface fish will be swimming deep. If you must study, then study food, and how to get it. This flying business is all very well, but you can’t eat a glide, you know. Don’t you forget that the reason you fly is to eat.” He tried being obedient to his parents but he could not find happiness in flocking with other seagulls. He loves flying. Outside voices are most powerful especially when they are from people that are close to us- friends, parents, relatives and siblings. It has a great influence on us in the pursuit of our dreams. Jonathan’s parents never the good in what he was learning. I won’t blame his parents because they were born into an environment that has been hypnotized by mediocrity of instant gratification. This idea is very important to me because of an issue I faced I my life. I was almost dissuaded from embarking on a business after several advices from my sister. I summoned courage to ventured into the business, even though it means failing. I was ready to learn from my failures. I made a good profit to finance the projects I embarked on. The law of outcast was made because no gull has ever attempted to fly beyond hundred feet. Elder Gull was born to inherit a system of mediocrity. Elder Gulls are those who will not allow one to break loose from the shackles of smallness in thinking because they themselves have not thought of breaking loose. Negative outside voices are dream killers.
ii. Power of Inner Voice; Pages five and six illustrate the two inner voices that spoke to Jonathan Gull. The two voices are highlighted below: “As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him. There’s no way around it. I am a seagull. I am limited by my nature. If I were meant to learn so much about flying, I’d have charts for brains. If I were meant to fly at speed, I’d have a falcon’s short wings, and live on mice
instead of fish. My father was right. I must forget this foolishness. I must fly home to the Flock and be content as I am, as a poor limited seagull.” “Get down! Seagulls never fly in the dark! If you were meant to fly in the dark, you’d have the eyes of an owl! You’d have charts for brains! You’d have a falcon’s short wings!” The first statement is voice of defeat and littleness while the second statement is also voice of defeat but with a liberating secret in disguise. The still small voice “falcon’s short wing” was the secret to fly with high speed in high altitude. It created the channel for Jonathan to discover more diving skills. Inner voice sounds louder than outside voice. The inner voice to dare anything that would make a positive mark that I listened to during my service year, made me to make an impact via the projects I executed.
iii. Solitude is necessary for self-discovery
Jonathan Livingston Gull identity discovery unfolded was by constant practice done alone. Part one, pages two, three, four and nine buttressed this fact with the following illustrations:“ But way off alone, out by himself beyond boat and shore, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was practicing.” “Even his parents were dismayed as Jonathan spent whole days alone, making hundreds of low-level glides, experimenting.” “It wasn’t long before Jonathan Gull was off by himself again, far out at sea, hungry, happy, learning.”
“He spared no time that day for talk with other gulls, but flew on past sunset. He discovered the loop, the slow roll, the point roll, the inverted spin, the gull bunt, the pinwheel.”A man needs to be alone to know who he is. Distractions are needed to be avoided for one to discover oneself. Solitude creates avenue for a man to question who he is. Jonathan was able to make some discoveries of new skills. This idea is paramount to me because solitude has really helped me to channel my thoughts a right when I am disturbed within. It is one of the key tools I have harnessed overtime to gain inner peace on critical issues.
iv. Self-discovery is in stages; Discovery is made in stages.
The more a man digs deep into himself, the more truths about him will be unfolded. Jonathan seagull at some point, when he was banished from the flock of seagull, he thought he had known it all. The two glowing gulls that accosted Jonathan, made him to understand that he has just completed a school of learning and another one is about to be revealed. The two gulls said to him “We’ve come to take you higher, to take you home.” “Home I have none. Flock I have none. I am Outcast. And we fly now at the peak of the Great Mountain Wind. Beyond a few hundred feet, I can lift this old body no higher.” But you can Jonathan. For you have learned. One school is finished, and the time has come for another to begin.” As I search daily within me to know my identity, truths are being revealed to me from time to time. It has been a very interesting experience.
v. Those who discover who they are, take the lead by changing their world; Jonathan Seagull found few gulls in the new world he was taken. People that rule the world are few.
80/20 Pareto principle which states that “20 percent of the population will rule over the 80 percent population” governs the world. Successful people will always relate with their one another as Sullivan Gull explained, that gulls that were able to find meaning to true purpose of living occupied the world Jonathan was taken to. Perfection is attained when true purpose for living is discovered. The day I had the idea for true purpose of living in a school of discovery seminar I attended sometimes ago, my paradigm changed dramatically. Since then, I have been in total pang for knowledge and facts finding.
Kindness and Love rules the world; The formidable force that binds the world together is “Love.” The magnetic force on which “Law of Attraction” works is love. The creator made man because of love. Every discovery to better humanity is built on love. This attribute is found in the life of Chiang Gull. He mentored Jonathan to discover that he is a bunch of unlimited of potentials. Chiang made him to gain victory over his mind. He also mentored the likes of Sullivan Gull and other unnamed Gulls. A man whose thoughts are centered on love will attain perfection. The world will become a better place to live. I executed projects in my host community all because of love and kindness. Love is not in-burn but we cultivate and grow in love.
vi. Power of Mentorship
“As the days went past, Jonathan found himself thinking time and again of the Earth from which he had come. If he had known there just a tenth, just a hundredth, of what he knew here, how much more life would have meant! He stood on the sand and fell to wondering if there was a gull back there who might be struggling to break out of his limits, to see the meaning of flight beyond a way of travel to get a breadcrumb from a rowboat. Perhaps there might even have been one made Outcast for speaking his truth in the face of the Flock.” Jonathan found himself unfulfilled at appoint after much persuasion by Sullivan to stay in their world. The thought to show the path-way to self-discovery to other poor gulls overwhelmed him.
vii. Mentorship works by the “Law of Contribution.” Any knowledge to help humanity, withheld by an individual is apartheid. Jim Rohn quoted that “the greatest gift you can give to someone else is your personal development.” Also from George Washington “no individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him a distinct and legitimate reason for having passed through it.” Jonathan mentored eight gulls. My life was put in a new shape when I decided to have a mentor. My mentor made him to see things my sight could not see. He sparked up a new horizon in my thought and perception. I am always grateful to God for bringing him to my life.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so why?
These ideas will help me in my self-development, relationship and beliefs:
Self-development: Learning is for life time while schooling is for a moment. Idea number three and four will spur me to commit to learning. It will enable me to be take responsibility for my self-development. Jonathan committed himself to learning which made him to discover more skills and aerobatic styles. Self-development is for a life time
Relationship; Idea number six will motivate me to work on how to show love to humanity. Jonathan practiced kindness lessons, and the more he worked to know the nature of love, the more he wanted to go back to Earth. It was the mastery of love and kindness that made him to mentor other gulls.
Beliefs: Chiang Gull exhorted the gulls that learning, practicing and striving to understand, unleashes perfect invisible principle of life. This comment shattered my belief system in that there is no limit to what I can achieve. Perfection has no limit. I can achieve perfection with respect to my ideals and vision. Vision accomplishment brings perfection.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote and comment as to why they were important to you.
“Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too.”
This is important because it will make me to exploit the unlimited potentials within me through right thinking
“The only true law is that which leads to freedom.”
According to the author’s idea, the law that leads to freedom is “law of love.” This idea will spur me to allow love to be the fabric of my thought.
“Poor Fletch. Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly.”
Sight is limited. This quote is very important to me because it will make me to see things the way they ought and not the way should be.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercise and did you find them helpful?
No.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10