As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Anamebom Bright Oluwakayode (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The idea of the author is talking of the power of the mind which relays the function of thoughts to influencing the character, circumstances, health, body, purpose, achievement, visions, and ideal of a man. Man is the master of his thought in order to shape his character, circumstances, and destiny. No one is a product of chance but a product of his thought.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List seven ideas followed by explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Self discovery
It is learning of what kind of person one really is, or what one really wants to do with ones life. This is so important because it brings the best out of ones life, when a man is working in an area of his best potential he will definitely be the best. This is very important because it makes me to do things that no other person will be able to do more than me no matter how much they try, because it is my best area.
ii. Patience
This is another idea that can sustain the vision of a man, because it takes time before visions become clearer. It needs a lot of patience and perseverance to make a vision to be more expressive. This is an important virtue in my life which will help me to stand pressures that may want to make me to doubt my thought for life.
iii. Practice
Practice makes perfection as they normally says, because the more a man learn to discipline his thought, the more he makes the best out of his character and circumstances. Continuous thinking in a particular direction produces the kind of character a man possesses. This is a continuous way of ringing the bell of the objectives that I have thought about. This is very important to me because it will help me to continuously watch whatsoever comes to my mind.
iv. Dreams
This is the hope or wishes one has in a vision. Many dreamers exist but not all attain the level of their dreams, due to the various ways they have conditioned their thoughts.
It is good to dream big, to know what to hope or wish for at every point in time, because to dream is to desire and to desire is to obtain, but to aspire is to achieve.
v. Visions
It is the ideal or goal one always aspire to attain. Visions determines mission which must be well guided through a lot of concentration to ensure its sustainability. This is the next level of dreaming which is to aspire towards the dreams set in order to achieve. For example, I have been dreaming of building a house since I was young before marriage, and this made me to set a vision which is timely bounded and after a while I was able to achieve it.
vi. Chance
There is nothing like chance in life, there is nothing like an accident or unintentional, it is in the way with which one has planned his life by rightful thinking. The only thing is the level of thought that the mind has been able to attain which makes it looks like a chance.
vii. Purpose
It is an intention to do something out of resolution and determination. In attaining the best of a man, it needs to be guided by purpose which is out of a right thought from a right mind.
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, how?
The ideas listed above are very good lessons that will help in my daily life personally and to create a better world. This will help me in giving a direction in the way I will be handling my heart and mind. It will also help my management of information that comes around me at any point in time. Chance is never a reason for any excuse of failure that I will have, it all boys down to the way I have guided my thought to the character, circumstances, purpose and visions of my life. Self discovery will help me to stop behaving as someone else; it makes me not to be a second-best to anyone because I will always want to be the best in all I’m doing in business, career, and academics.
Also, this is another lesson for me in developing a quality leadership skill in me in many areas of my life. It has given me better chances to even build it up in the coming generation coming behind me. Especially to my teenagers foundation which I am already building up, which I have even started already. Recently, I have told them about the way to build up their passion and interest in other to determine what their vision and mission will be in life. This will make tem to start to have a right thinking about life and not as circumstances responds to them.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“Man is made and unmade by himself.”
This is the reason why I must hold myself responsible for whatever I want my life to be and which must make me to be on my toes at all times with whatever I am thinking about.
“Soul attracts what it secretly abhors.’
What I tend to think about the inner-mind attracts which will be poised to stick there in other to influence my behavior. This means I must be cautious of what I try to abhor in my heart at every point in time.
“Circumstances does not make a man it only reveal him to himself.”
Situation and circumstances is no what that determines a man it only reveal what his mind had been to himself. There nothing like a victim of circumstance, it is all about what the man at a particular period of time has thought himself to be.
“Act is a blossom of thought, joy, and suffering are its fruit.”
Thinking produces behavior and the result of it can either be joy or suffering depending on the way it is being constructed within. Meaning that as my mind is will determine the behavior which can either be joyous or suffering.
“Blessedness is not material possession but the measure of right thought while wretchedness is not lack of material possessions but measure of wrong thought.”
Being poor is not the absence of material possessions but the wrong thoughts which a man has which has seriously affected the direction of any man, and it will always guide against the progress of the man. For the fact that a man is not having enough for now is not a justification of his future, but a man should be seen by his way and mode of reasoning and thinking.
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?
I am not really clear about the statement that in the arrangement of life there is no element of chance and is the result of a law which cannot err. And I do not want to agree with it because the position of divinity still matter, he is the God that does whatsoever he likes in the life of man. Also, the statement pursuing the will-o-wisps of impure imaginings. I do not understand the statement at all.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find it helpful.
There is no exercise for this book at all, its only advise that could be helpful for the thinking process of a man in other to shape his character, circumstances, future, environment etc.
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.
There are still some elements of chances from birth sometimes though not all the time. God made things to happen like that at birth, which if its built on a good tutelage will tend to be conditioned in the rightful mindset which in the long run determines his own future. God still has a way of making a man to become what he wants him to be irrespective of the way he had been thinking. That is why a man would have been thinking about becoming a medical doctor while in the plan of God it is not what he wants him to be.
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
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Anamebom Bright Oluwakayode (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea in this book is dreaming big. There is nothing like a status quo in the journey of impact, it is a thing of the more you want it the more you get. As far as your mind can carry you so can you always reach. Dreams are meant to be criticized but when there is a reason to focus on the dreams, then no one can prevent the progress of the dream. Also, the end always justifies the means for every dream a man has in life, staying put to ones dream always give room for people to believe in it and want to join you in the dream fulfillment.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List seven ideas followed by explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Speed
In life I must learn to run my race in such a way that it can beat everyone around me to make myself unique and to make them realize the essence of my dream. Once we are on same level, there will be no reason to subscribe to my own way of doing things.
ii. Limitation
Nature will always tempt to limit ones progress in life, but one has to have the proper knowledge that nothing can limit ones dream, if there’s a good reason for having the dream. It is bound for my background to not be sufficient enough to support my dreams yet I must not allow the background to put my back on the ground.
iii. Touch of excellence
This is seriously needed in learning course of a man, it makes the man to be down to the heart in whatever he is trying to do. This is the idea that can keep a man from every form of discouragement especially during the downtime.
iv. Share your ideas
Always learn to share the idea you have with people who you think needs your help. Do not struggle to be a leader before making an impact, your way of life will determine your leadership ability.
v. Persistence
This is the obstinate intention of not to give up or let go, many dreams has gone down the drain all due to the impatience of people. Many a times I have left some dreams which I have in mind because I looked back to my environment and start to believe it cannot work around here which is not a reason for me not to stop but which I had stopped but which after sometimes will see the dream being picked up by another person and done perfectly.
vi. Inquisitive
This is also a good virtue which can make a man to have a good drive in anything he is planning to do. It gives room for man to be able to get quick access to information. The more you desires the more you get, in one of the adage of my country’s language, desire is meaning what you put in your heart, by more inquisition.
vii. Extraordinary
Exceptional is needed seriously in life, as it makes the unusual thing to happen in life. It makes the world so more interesting, if the great innovators had not taken the extra efforts then, we will still be living on the untapped resources of the world, which will be a great disadvantage to human. Since I have understood myself I have been longing for the extraordinary things to be done, which has not been done before. Many will say that there’s nothing new again in this world but to me I still believe there are a lot that have yet to be tapped into which until the extraordinary ones do that the we will se that there are still many new discoveries.
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, how?
These ideas are really there for me to know that there is nothing like limitation in life especially in the creation of new ideas and innovations. All I need is serious commitment and persistence in whatever I am doing. I must be striving to improve on whatever height I attain every time, knowing full well that one best might be another mans good which is why I must strive to be the best every time. Also, the issue of persistence has taught me to hold on to whatever passion I have for in due time it will work out, there is nothing like it is too new for people to accept, all they need is ability to see how the dreamer can stand the test of time.
Moreover, going extra miles will help me to making a tremendous legacy that the whole world will live to remember for life. This is why I have decided to start with teenagers who are just coming up by building in their consciousness all the new ideas I am getting as I move on life. Each and every day I have to striving hard to get new things which will be helpful to me and my generations coming after me.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“I don’t mind being bone and feathers mom. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can’t, that’s all. I just want to know.”
I love this because Jonathan Seagull shows that it is his desire to know what to do in air as against the normal culture of the seagulls. He believes in the power of information, because for any dream one has without a good understanding of the dos and don’ts then it will be so frustrating if care is not taken.
“His vows of a moment before were forgotten, swept away in that great swift wind. Yet he felt guiltless. Breaking the promises he had made himself. Such promises are only for the gulls that accept the ordinary.”
Accepting the ordinary makes a man to be a common man in life, in order to be extraordinary in life, it requires a lot of protocol breaking. Even so many compromise will be made on the philosophy or resolutions been made about a particular situation. It doesn’t matter if you are not consistent in decision but anything that will affect ones dream should be guided against. The extra added to the ordinary is the ability to go extra miles and the extra efforts that will be put in place even though it may entail so many failures yet it never matters, what matters is that man is moving ahead as the extra efforts are being added.
“There is such a thing as perfection, and another hundred again to get the idea that our purpose for living is to find that perfection and show it forth.”
The essence of living is not for imperfection, but for perfection which must be sort for no matter the circumstances. Perfection must be looked for in every phase of human life, In the course of this it makes a man to have a clear understanding of what he is capable of doing the more. After looking out for it then try to manifest it out by displaying it for people to see so as to also cultivate such attitude, this is a means of influencing people and then becoming a great leader with great legacy.
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?
I am not clear with this statement and also disagree that Heaven is not a place. Heaven is being perfect.” Does it mean that heaven does not exist or ones one strive for perfection then one is already a heaven? And if heaven is not a place or time, then what is heaven in this context because seagull travelled to the place called heaven.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find it helpful.
There is no exercise of any sort in the book, only that many insight can be deduced from the book which when applied to ones life will be of great advantage to follow passionately ones dream.
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
There is none that I will like to comment on for now, only that it took me more tie to understand this kind of rte up because it is like a complex story especially when it gets to the aspect of heaven where seagull got to.
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? 1
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7