As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Angello Musinguzi (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
Mans vision can become a reality simply through the power of thought. The author is trying to say that by hard work and use of the strongest resource of knowledge that God gave him, he can do everything possible to succeed in this world because he has the key to success or failure. He is trying to inform the readers that success can be achieved through endurance, practice and hard work.
Discovery and perception of truth that they themselves are makers of themselves by virtue of the thought which they choose and encourage, that mind is a master weaver both of inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance and that as they may hither to woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.
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.
a) Idea that a man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. This idea was an interesting one to me. When people think of bad things, they end up falling down even below the beasts. For example, in Rwanda in 1994, the perpetrators of genocide and killers who massacred more than 1,000,000 had bad thoughts. They killed people and are now in hiding and others in prisons. Beasts are better than them. This justifies the point that James Allen mentioned in his book that if a man’s mind has evil thought, pain comes on him as comes the wheel the ox behind. If one endure in purity of thought joy follows him as his own shadow-sure. He goes on further to say that man is the master of thought, the molder of character and the maker and shaper of condition, environment and destiny. Man holds the key to every situation.
b) Idea that for only by patience, practice and ceaseless importunity can man enter the door of the temple of knowledge. I liked this idea in that patient pays. By putting into practice what we learn from school and in our everyday life, then we can succeed and make the world a happy place to live in. this idea was important to me because in these days, you find many fresh young graduates on streets jobless because they are waiting for government jobs. This is not correct. They should use their mind and what they studied to create jobs and not become job seekers. The author indicated that only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul. Let people practice what they learn from school and good things learned from the environment from where they operate.
c) Idea of man being like a gardener. Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing flowers and fruit which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind weeding out all the wrong, useless and impure thoughts and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of rights, useful and pure thoughts. Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thought, bad fruit. The wishes and players of man are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions. Man whose sole object is to acquire wealth must be prepared to make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his object. If you do not attend to your mind and clean it, may be by learning and equipping him/herself with good ideas.
d) Idea of being honest The honest man reaps the good results of his honest thoughts and acts. People should be honest in their transactions. They should not be corrupt and should not cheat others. This is common in business where some business people reach the extent of killing their peers in search of wealth. Ultimately, they are brought to book and leave life below the standards of a beast. This is important to me because it teaches me ethics both at work and in my personal life. An employer who reduces wages of his staff in order to make profits is also a lesson to me. When he finds himself bankrupt, both as regards reputation and riches, he blames circumstances not knowing that he is the sole author of his condition. Man is the causer of his circumstances. He should not be selfish.
e) The body is the servant of the mind. I like the idea that the body is the servant of the mind. What the minds tells the body, the body does it. Sickly thoughts will express themselves through a sickly body. The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it. This illustrates that people should not leave in fear of their lives instead should leave in harmony, with hope to have a better future and standards of leaving. They should use their minds to tell the body good things to do. Of course this can only be achieved when people are hard working and trust worthy. Strong pure and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace.
f) The idea that a strong man cannot help the weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped. I liked this idea because of the fact that if someone is not willing to be helped, however much one tries he cannot develop this person. He may be given money and other resources but misuse them instead of investing them in good projects that may produce good results. There are some people who developed from utilizing small resources they had or that was given to them. I have also seen children and people from rich families fail in their life because of free and abundant resources available to them or due to resources they inherit. People must put in their own effort to develop themselves. Free things are sometimes not good.
g) Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.
Calmness is power. When you are calm and serene, you have total self control and confidence and this is a vehicle to prosperity. I have learnt that calm people have flourished in their endeavors and always succeed in almost everything they do as they are more liked by the society. The calm man knows how to adapt to others and to the environment he lives in. an example was given where traders who are calm are liked by many people.
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?
a) A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.
This will help me to think always positively to avoid any bad things that may ruin my reputation and work. It will as well help me build “wealth” ethically using the abundant resources that God gave me.
b) For only by patience, practice and ceaseless importunity can man enter the door of the temple of knowledge.
This will help me because I now understand that patience pays. But I should practice what I study in order to enter the door of the temple of knowledge. However, one should not only be patient but work hard, for example by studying further and improving his or her knowledge instead of sitting down, drinking alcohol in the bars and wasting the resources he has including destroying his mind. This idea helps in shaping and changing mindset towards positive thinking.
c) Ideas of man being like a gardener and the vision he glorifies in his mind.
As a plant springs from, and could not be without the seed, so every act of man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them. We have to weed our mind so that we reap the best seeds, seeds being good thought. This also goes with the idea in the last sentence of chapter VI that the vision you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart;–this you will build your life by; this you will become. What you picture in your mind is what you eventually become.
d) The idea of being honest
People should be honest in their dealings. There should be no corruption and other similar vices. This teaches me that in whatever I will be doing on this world, I should serve honestly and be a trust worthy person. With this then I shall succeed.
e) The idea of the body being the servant of the mind.
This idea teaches me the fact that whatever I think will be received by the body and the body will put it into action. So I should think wisely and positively to avoid ruining my body by inserting in it bad thoughts.
f) I have also learnt from the book that the weaker man cannot be helped unless he is willing to be helped. Therefore, people should be perceptive to good ideas from advisers and should be willing to put into practice what they are advised. They should work hard.
g) Calmness; to create a better world, to what you want to be, you should practice calmness. Patience pays. I leaned that we should be calm and serene in this world and this will drive my career throughout my life.
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.
a) “Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results”
This quote was important to me because it teaches people the direction that they should take. People should understand that however much wrong doings they make to create wealth, this wealth as a result of evil is short lived.
b) “Nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles”
This is true because a farmer reaps where he sowed. You cannot sleep and others go to prepare and sow their gardens and you expect to harvest. This teaches people ethics and hard work that will result into wealth that can be sustainable.
c) “Blessedness and riches are only joined together when the riches are rightly and wisely used” I liked this statement because some people may be blessed with riches but use them wrongly. To illustrate further on this point, let me give an example of a parent who was asked by his young son of pocket money to use at school. This guy was corrupt official in the Government. As such, he kept all the money at home, instead of putting it in the bank due to fear of being trailed. He told the son to go to the room and pick pocket money. The son picked two bundles equivalent to twenty million. At school, the little boy caused inflation, canteens run out of everything, could not attend classes like others because of money and so on.
Now teachers called father and demanded to know how much pocket money he gave his son. The father said he did not know. When he asked the son, he replied to him that he picked only two bundles. This rose suspicion in the community and police investigated him thus causing himself troubles. Righteousness not corruption is the molding and moving force in the spiritual government of the world.
d) “Selfish thoughts of all kinds crystallize into habits of self-seeking, which solidify into distressful circumstances” liked this statement because selfish people never crystallize into positive things. I will share an example that happened to me in life when I was in my secondary school. I used to discuss with a friend of mine in the evening preparations at school. Whenever he could read or obtain a new thing, he could that evening read it alone and don’t share with me/us. He was doing well in class at that moment. When time for exams drew nearer, he decided to read alone so that he can pass alone. This did not yield good results for him as he failed to join the university and all other members of the discussion group passed their exams despite the fact that he appeared to be more intelligent in class that all the other group members.
e) “He who would accomplish little need sacrifice little, he who would achieve much must sacrifice much” I liked this quote because it is similar to the one which says that you cannot harvest where you did not sow. The type of investment you make determines the results you will get. For example, if you abandon school at an early stage for a salary, you may forego future opportunities and regret the rest of your life. I have personally seen dropouts from school and have not achieved much in long run. People hesitate to go for further studies because of current salaries and pleasure and at the end, are not promoted at their places of work.
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 understood the contents of the book. I agree with all the ideas.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
There were no exercises to complete in the book by the reader.
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.
Nothing to comment on.
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? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Angello Musinguzi (Rwanda)
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 that nothing is difficult in this world. He is trying to say that we should not be limited by what we see but strive for perfection. You cannot get things you have not worked for and that the sky is the limit. People should not fear risk if they are to succeed in life. This can also apply to doing business where the higher the risk, the higher the returns.
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.
a) The idea of Jonathan Sea Gull disagreeing with the parents.
“I don’t mind being bone and feathers mom”. I liked the idea when Jon told her mom that he doesn’t mind being bone and feathers. People can be stopped from doing good things by peers because of ignorance or jealous or bad advice. If Jon had opted to obey the mother he wouldn’t have gone far and wouldn’t have studied much. There is always alternative foregone, either to remain fat or become bones and later have good life. This happened to me when I joined boarding secondary school. My mom visited me after one month I joined school and found that I had lost significant weight and looked like a sick person. He advised me to change school and go to day schools near our home and these schools had low standards compared to the one I was boarding at. I indicated to him that I am not sick and remained at the same school, studied very well and passed my exams and joined the university. If I had agreed with her to change the school, I wouldn’t have probably passed .
b) The idea of lifting gulls out of ignorance.
“We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill” “What a fool I’ve been!” Jonathan Livingston seagull realized that he was a full. Whatever resources you have, you can make it. Jonathan had a tiny little wing and was not making use of it but later made him succeed.
I liked this idea because when people are thinking hard like Jonathan Gull, they can lift themselves out of ignorance, poverty and misery. This was positive thinking and people should not lose hope in themselves. It is possible in the day today life to lift people from ignorance, poverty and misery. What is needed is planning and good leadership.
c) The idea of Jonathan declining honors after success.
“But I want no honors. I have no wish to be leader. I want only to share what I’ve
found, to show those horizons out ahead for us all” People should not study or be leaders for honors. Honors come by themselves. It’s what we do that make us honorable. It is not just to receive honors as a leader when people are suffering and leaving in abject poverty. You should be honored after eliminating this poverty. This is common for leaders in Africa to look for honors from their subordinates when the subordinates are suffering of disease and poverty.
d) The idea of not scrabbled after fish heads.
“For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live – to learn, to discover, to be free!” People should always strive for excellence. Even when there are stumbling blocks on the way, people should continue with courage and zeal. Jonathan Sea Gull had a bad learning experience but succeeded. Now can obtain good food of his choice.
e) The idea of gulls not getting tired or sleep.
“Gulls in heaven are never supposed to be tired or to sleep”. I liked this because once people achieve a certain level, they think that’s all. They enjoy and stop hard work. This is not correct, for example managers and CEO should always continue with developing themselves. People should work hard to get more and develop the societies they live in and therefore be honored for that. I am personally trying this by working hard. If I can share with you my example, I am a tax manager at KPMG Rwanda. We work eight hours but as a manger, most of the time I go beyond this hour limit because I have to deliver to the clients on deadlines. In addition, I teach at the university in the evenings (this is part time job and I teach three days a week) and the location of the university is several miles from my KPMG office. More to this, I am a student of an MBA degree in a neighboring country and I study over the weekends. I have to attend to my family, do some investments, go to the bank and negotiate loans, etc. I am enjoying his and hence the liking the idea of Jonathan.
f) Idea of Jonathan going back to earth to teach peers and freedom.
“And the more Jonathan practiced his kindness lessons, and the more he worked to know the nature of love, the more he wanted to go back to Earth” I liked the idea of Jonathan Gull going back to earth and train his peers. This shows that he had passion and empathy for his community. When people get perfection, information, etc should share them with the peers. Some people when they finish their studies forget about others. This is a bad idea.
He was free and wanted others to be the same. “Maynard Gull, you have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way.
People should be free to study what they want and do what they want as long as it is ethical. People should live in a free society with free minds. He advocated for just and true laws. “The only true law is that which leads to freedom. Governments should strive for democracy; people should be free and live in a democratic society.
g) The idea of Jonathan Gull helping his peers to learn first and loving enemies.
“Let’s try it together now, in formation Jonathan Gull assisted young Fletcher Gull when he was about to lose hope. People should encourage others and be practical so that others can learn from them. For example I got information about this course from a colleague who pursued it and completed it. “Every hour Jonathan was there at the side of each of his students, demonstrating, suggesting, pressuring, guiding……….” I liked this because Jonathan helped his students. If he sat down and left them alone then they would have perhaps pulled out.
“I don’t understand how you manage to love a mob of birds that has just tried to kill you.” Forgiveness is very important in society. Some people do wrong things to you because of ignorance and it is not good to revenge. People live in harmony when there is forgiveness. For example, in Rwanda, people killed others and left widows and orphans. These widows and orphans have forgiven those that killed their beloved ones and people are living in peace and harmony in the country.
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 will help me first of all to believe that everything is possible in this world and to encourage others to live enthusiastically. If I am poor today does not mean that I cannot use the resources I have to develop myself and later help others who are in need and the society I live in. I may be “bones and feathers” today but have bright feathers in future like Jonathan Gull.
We should not work for honors. Instead we should deliver services to our communities and to the people we lead. For example politicians should aim at providing services to people than getting honors and unjustified riches. This teaches me hard work and thus a step towards a better world.
Practicing what I study is very important. I will also encourage others to practice what they study to improve on the well being of the society. We saw that team spirit is important in a society. People should try to work in team if they are to avoid failure. Seagulls that could fail on first attempts were helped in the team. I will encourage team work wherever I will be working so that people can learn from their peers.
Forgiveness is important when there are misunderstandings between individuals or groups. I have learned that forgiveness is very important and this should be taught and inculcated in society for people to live in harmony. I will preach forgiveness. Freedom is very important. I will strive for freedom in my life and the freedom of others. I will encourage democracy if I become a leader. People should not be slaves of the law.
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.
a) “Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows a meaning, a higher purpose for life?” I liked this quotation because people who opt to discover things and aim high get rewarded. People should strive for a higher purpose for life and become responsible citizens.
c) “The gulls who scorn perfection for the sake of travel go nowhere, slowly. Those who put aside travel for the sake of perfection go anywhere, instantly” I liked this quotation because people should not start a project for the sake of starting but seek perfection and success. This quote to me serves as a guide in my life as I will constantly and always seek perfection in whatever I will be doing.
d) “Why is it,” Jonathan puzzled, “that the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he would just spend a little time practicing?” I liked this quotation because it is difficult to convince people that they can succeed in their lives. It was difficult to convince other gulls to practice what Jonathan practiced. For example, it becomes difficult to convince people to study relevant practical courses like this one offered by IIGL.
e) “They are saying in the Flock that if you are not the Son of the Great Gull Himself,” Fletcher told Jonathan one morning after Advanced Speed Practice, “then you are a thousand years ahead of your time.” This shows that hard work rewards and people appreciate at the end. Jonathan suffered but was rewarded at the end. It’s amazing and he is bright. They thought he is the son of the great Gull but most of the efforts were by himself, not even his father who had indicated to him to just get what to eat and leave practicing.
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 do not have any disagreement with any of the ideas cited in the book. It was clear for me.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
I did not come across exercises in the book. What I have done is completing the questions given at the end of reading the book.
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 was nothing special in the book to comment on. I only appreciate the brilliant ideas of the author for having put together this teaching information for people to benefit from.
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? 6
B. How helpful were the contents? 7
C. How easy was it to understand? 6
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7
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Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Musinguzi Angello (Rwanda)
What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea the author is trying to convey in this book is that of self motivation. It is about how to motivate one’s self and others with a positive mental attitude. The purpose of Success through Positive Mental Attitude is to help one help himself.
With motivation and positive mental attitude, people should aim high and achieve goals regardless of the obstacles they meet on the way. People can free themselves from the slavery of their undesirable thoughts, habits and actions and to help them seek and acquire the true riches of life by fulfilling desires that do not violate the laws of God or the rights of their fellow men.
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. We are poor not because of God. People do not develop desire to become rich.
This idea was important to me because when people fail in life, they shift the blame to God. We have seen a situation in this book where prisoners, the lame and blind could succeed through a positive mental attitude. How about those that are physically and mentally fit? People should work hard and stop shifting blames to God when they fail because God is a loving God.
An example of hard work, Tom Dempsey scored a goal when he was born lame. But because of his desires and with the help of the parents who encouraged him to practice and bought him an artificial wooden leg, he achieved his dreams. Greatness comes to those who develop a burning desire to achieve high goals. Success is achieved and maintained by those who try and keep on trying with PMA. To become an expert achiever in any human activity, it takes practice….practice…practice. Effort and work can become fun when you establish specific desirable goals. With every adversity, there is a seed of an equivalent or greater benefit for those who are motivated with PMA to become achievers. Man’s greatest power lies in the power of prayer. We should turn up our invisible talisman to the PMA side and stop blaming God.
ii. The Idea of loving people and serving them
Loving people and serving them is the greatest value in life. Love is a major important thing in one’s life. You cannot succeed in life if you are full of envy and hatred. Some people get pleasure and psychologically become satisfied when they love and are loved. Some people pretend that they love and serve people honestly. This is common with politicians. For example, some politicians during election period and when they are soliciting for votes, they promise to serve electorate without discrimination, promise to eliminate poverty and to bring justice to society, etc. But once elected to offices, they become corrupt and start embezzling peoples’ resources leaving their subjects in massive poverty. Inviolable standards of integrity are fundamental to all worthwhile achievement and are an integral part of PMA. Persons can achieve success without transgressing an inviolable standard of integrity.
Loving and serving others automatically leads to sharing with others. The more you share the more you will have in the long run. Share that which is good and desirable and withhold that which is bad and undesirable.
When you love and share, you become happy. One of the surest ways to find happiness for yourself is to devote your energies toward making someone else happy. We saw that Happiness begins at home. Members of your family are people. Motivate them to be happy just like a good salesman motivates his prospects to buy.
iii. The idea that With PMA, nothing is impossible
Henry Ford produced V-8 regardless of his engineer’s opinions that it is impossible to have eight cylinder gasoline engine block in one piece. If you know what you want, you can find a way how to get it. People should think positively and keep trying. When you corrupt your mind that things are impossible, the picture you place in your mind remains and this can be a source of failure. People should not stop trying and become has-been. Even in periods of economic depression. PMA is essential ingredient in all success.
To achieve anything worthwhile in life, it is imperative that you apply PMA, regardless of what other success principles you employ. PMA is the catalyst which makes any combination of success principles work to attain a worthwhile end.
A negative mental attitude is one of the primary causes of failure.
iv. The most important living person is me.
I was impressed by the idea that I am the most important living person. God created every human being equal. He gave all the necessary tools to human beings. Therefore, this human being should use these tools such as brain to think and make this world a better place to live in. I should not look at others and think they are important than me. In doing this, I should have hope. Hope is the magic ingredient in motivating one’s self and others.
v. Idea of cobwebs
Sometimes our thoughts become entangled in webs of negative feelings, emotions, passions-habits, beliefs and prejudices. Negligence is a cobweb. Socrates neglected to continue to employ the same pleasing personalities and mental attitudes that made his courtship with Xanthippe such a happy experience. Xanthippe did not motivate her husband. She didn’t see her beam in her eye rather than the mote in Socrates’. When you are faced with a problem that involves a misunderstanding with other persons, you must first start with yourself. Such all inclusive, restrictive words such as: always, never, nothing, every, everyone, no one, cannot, impossible should be eliminated as premises in reasoning until one is certain that they are correct.
We should not be near sighted. We should look to the future because of these cobwebs. You are near sighted if you do not make plans, form objectives and lay the foundation for the future.
vi. Idea of the secret of getting things done is: do it now.
Now it is time to act. DO IT NOW! I liked this idea because it helps one to act. Some people have good plans but cannot translate these plans into action. Sometimes these remain projects on paper. If one is motivated, he should act immediately. We saw motivation as that which induces action or determines choice. It is that which provides a motive. A motive is the ‘inner urge ‘only within the individual which incites him to action such as an instinct, passion, emotion, habit, mood, impulse, desire or idea.
vii. The idea of Think with PMA and grow rich
If you really think with PMA, you will automatically follow through with action. You employ PMA principles that will help you achieve any goal that does not violate the laws of God or the rights of your fellow men. Wealth repelled with Negative Mental Attitude (NMA). A positive mental attitude (PMA) will attract wealth, but a negative mental attitude will do just the opposite. With a positive mental attitude one keeps trying until he or she achieves the wealth he or she is seeking. One can also become rich by using OPM; other people’s money is the way to acquire wealth. If a person has no money, he should think of using other people’s money (OPM). One has to be honest in all dealings. The dishonest man is not entitled to credit. A banker is a friend. Bankers can even give free advice before they give a loan because they don’t want their client to default on loan repayment.
I also noted that PMA repels accidents and tragedies by keeping the person with PMA alert to dangers at all times.
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?
i. We are poor not because of God. People do not develop desire to become rich.
I will not blame God if I do not succeed. God created me and gave me all the necessary tools. I should use these tools to make myself happy and this world a happy place to live in and for others to live in as well using what God gave me. I will be motivated with PMA to become a great achier and become rich.
ii. The Idea of loving people and serving them
I will always love people and serve the with honesty and integrity. When you love others, share with them and even advise them, you get blessings from God. I am currently sharing my little resources with my sisters and brothers and they are happy. I will practically continue doing this and God will abundantly bless me with riches.
iii. The idea that With PMA, nothing is impossible
I will always be guided by positive mental attitude (PMA) in all dealings. I will always keep on trying and shall not tolerate failure. I will not accept negative things and negative mental attitude (NMA) in my life. I will not even be discouraged by others although will accept their advice. This will help me get somewhere better than I am today.
iv. The most important living person is me.
In my life, I will not admire others as if they are better than me. I am better than them if I can apply the 17 success principles. When one knows that he or she is the most important, he becomes self motivated and works very hard to achieve success.
v. Idea of cobwebs
I will remove from me the cobwebs of negative feelings, emotions, passions-habits, beliefs and prejudices. Negligence is a cobweb and I will try as possible to avoid negligence. I will try to avoid negative words such as never, nothing, every, everyone, no one, cannot and impossible. These shall be eliminated as premises in reasoning until I am certain that they are correct. Also, I should avoid being near sighted. I shall make plans, form objectives and lay the foundation for my future.
vi. Idea of the secret of getting things done is: do it now.
This is absolutely important to me because it leads to action. Once I develop a project or plan, I will execute it. With PMA, ‘do it now’ will help me fully develop my talents. For example, in studying this course, I immediately started because I found it to be a relevant course that can change my life for better. I remember others who are still contemplating on whether to do it now, or next year or not to do it at all.
vii. The idea of Think with PMA and grow rich
I will employ PMA principles that will help me achieve any goal that does not violate the laws of God or the rights of my fellow men. I will employ a positive mental attitude in order to attract wealth. I will keep trying until I achieve the wealth I need. I will as well try to use other people’s money (OPM). I will be honest in all dealings. I know that a dishonest man is not entitled to credit. This is true in Rwanda. I currently have loans from Rwandan banks that I am re-paying very well. I will keep it up so that when I finish paying them, I can get other loans. Creating a good relationship with a bank can create wealth for you.
I will use PMA to protect my life. I will for example not over speed when driving. I will eat good food (balanced diet) have enough rest and keep my home and family members clean at all times in order to avoid unnecessary illnesses.
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.
Andrew Carnegie’s observation “All achievement, all earned riches have their beginning in an idea”.
I liked this statement because what Andrew is saying is that you cannot have riches without ideas. People should have ideas and act on them in order to get riches.
Andrew Carnegie’s observation “Anything in life worth having was worth working for”
This quotation got my attention throughout the reading of this book because if you want good things in life, you have to work for it.
“You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by trying”.
I liked this statement in that it encourages people to keep on trying. Success is achieved and maintained by those who keep trying with PMA. The choice to be rich or poor is mine. For example, I have done this paper and suppose I fail it which I believe shall not be the case because I don’t believe in failure), I will lose nothing. At least something will remain in my head.
Henley wrote; “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” –we learn from this that we should be masters of our attitudes. We should manage ourselves so that we achieve good things in this world.
“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of man can achieve with PMA”.
I liked this statement because when you think of something, it is what the mind does. We should think of good things and avoid negative thinking. This is because a positive mental attitude and definiteness of purpose is the starting point toward all worthwhile achievement.
Quotation by Dr. Peale “Faith without works is dead”
This quotation impressed me in that people should not only be faithfull but also work. I have seen people just go to church to praise God but do not work hard. God helps those who help themselves!
“If God be for us, who can be against us?”
I liked this statement because it shows that God is great. If you believe in him, you can conquer all problems and become successful in this world.
“The only job where you can start at the top is the job of digging a hole”.
I liked this statement because it tells that one should start slowly and go up. For example people who started business with little money succeed because they managed their businesses well and understand their respective businesses. The chances of failure are therefore minimal.
“For knowledge doesn’t make you successful. But the application of the knowledge will. Action!”
I liked this statement in that a person should not boost of having knowledge. He should boost of what he did using this knowledge. If you go to school and get first class degrees, these are useless unless you can showcase and translate the knowledge into action.
“Sow an action and you reap a habit, sow a habit and you reap a character, sow a character and you reap a destiny”, said the great psychologist and philosopher William James.
I was particularly attracted by this quotation because James was saying that you are what your habits make you. And you can choose your habits. You can develop any habit you wish when you use the self- starter.
“Success must be continually practiced, or it will take wings and fly away”. Kenneth Hermon.
This particular quotation informs us that one cannot relax and sit down because he has succeeded. A successful person should instead work hard, compete and discover more. This is why a V-8 has been manufactured, Ipads and laptops and other soft wares are being invented today. The manufacturers of desktops could not sit down and say they succeeded.
“A failure uses up as much energy in his work at failing as a successful person uses in winning success”
I was attracted by this statement because people with NMA also use a lot of energy. A thief for example does a lot of planning. He sometimes do not sleep because he is planning how to steal.
Abraham Lincoln once made the remark “it has been my observation that people are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be”
I liked this quotation because everybody should be happy however much he earns. In fact, you find people who earn less are happier than those who earn millions.
“When two forceful personalities are opposed and it is desirable that they live together in harmony, at least one must use the power of PMA”.
I was interested in this statement because people should not be aggressive to each other. For example, if there is a quarrel between a man and a woman, one should use the power of PMA. The quarrel will disappear and they will live in harmony. Even at work, employer may not be happy with an employee. One should use the power of PMA, otherwise, an employee may lose his/her job or employer may lose the best employee because of temper and lack of PMA.
“Be respectful and listen to those who have experience”
I liked this statement because we should respect and listen to those with experience. By doing this, we can achieve more in life.
“The love of money is the root of all evil (1 timothy 6:10)”
I liked this biblical verse because people should not say money is bad. It is the love for money that may be bad. The love for money can lead you to doing bad things and become source of evil.
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. I understood everything in the book. I used dictionary to get the meaning of the words that were problematic to me.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
The book had enough exercises. I completed all of them and they were helpful to me.
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? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9