Busani Sibindi – Assessements

As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The author is conveying the message that thought is the ultimate pivot in human life. The author seems to say that every circumstance that comes to pass in the universe is a result of either direct thought or thought manifested in the deeper desires of all souls. The idea is that man is responsible for the shaping of his everyday lives by moulding the circumstances they wish to experience in 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.

1) Thought is the basis of each experience; practically a person designs the kind of life that he wishes to live through thought. An artist for example would choose to live a life filled with imagination which is always expressed through his/her work. Likewise in my life since childhood i have imagined a life were i make the world a better for everyone to live and this has led me to be involved in humanitarian and development work.

ii) Thought is creative, every universal creation started as an imagined idea manifested into constant thought and brought to reality through action. Great inventors invested greatly in thoughtful ideas and which at the end became humanity’s most beautiful creations. Even in my personal life i have most often used my creative thought in solving problems or creating projects.

iii) Nothing exists in the world without sponsoring thoughts; Humanity has base thoughts that are often revealed in physical form. This is particularly true in the world’s greatest events both good and bad. Deeper hidden thoughts have been the starting point. Genocides have been conducted due to undesirable thoughts hidden in man’s deepest wishes and hatred of others. This is very important if people realise that what they think becomes and the author makes an emphasis of that as explains how the environment becomes a looking glass of man’s deepest thoughts. Many problems that we struggle to solve in our world are direct creations of other people who have thought about doing these things.

iv) Though is universal, thought is as universal as love and every other human condition. Many different societies and communities in the world have different thoughts about different things. We see this in different religions and beliefs. What we have thought the world to be it has exactly become that. Every human society has thought of a divine being responsible for the overall creation of the world and this has been so. God has been declared as universal even through different religions. All ideas of God are a similar thought. Just as i think that by all things possible there must be an ocean and beginning of life so has everyone. Even those who are unreligious have a base idea that there must be a beginning be through nature or evolution but the idea is universal.

v) Thought is Desire, what we think about we tend to desire and our desires stick with us until they are made reality. The first astronauts thought about going to the moon and they desired it until they made attempts until they were successful in their desires. In my life the thoughts that i have held to the most turned into desire and have become reality. My whole life has been the embracing of my thoughts be it they have served me or not. It is important that people regulate and embrace their thoughts to serve their purpose in life.

vi) Thought is collective; the author seems to suggest that the world is the way it is today because of the collective thought that is prevalent in the world. Successful societies have in unity desired and thought about better societies and have succeeded in doing that as they think like that as a nation. So is the same with societies that have dismally failed, they have in the same while cultivated thoughts of failure as a nation and so it has manifested in reality. In my experience leading projects i have realised that projects have either failed or succeeded due to the conscious thought of the team members. At times when everyone desired success projects have propelled to success, however at times when the team members have been divided in thought projects have failed.

vii) Thought regulates action and results thus it can be said that all in all thought regulates results. It is also however important for people to think about things that will bring about prosperity and growth and mutual benefit. As evil oriented thoughts bring about evil amongst people. People who have thought about stealing have turned into thieves; people who have thought about saving the world have occupied positions of responsibility. The grand idea expressed what one thinks about he ends up doing. Most successful people have thought about the same thing over and over again.

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 lessons will help me in my everyday life as they bring about a deeper explanation of why the world is the way it is. They definitely give me a strong foundation for creating my world. The ideas encourage me to regulate and shape my world, to encourage thoughts that bring about the desired outcomes in my life. The ideas make me aware of the creative prowess of thought that exists in everyone of us. This will make me cultivate in myself and amongst others progressive thoughts that will help the world in solving most of its problems.

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.

The quote that “Thought in the mind has made us, what we are” sums up idea that the author conveyed throughout the book that thought shapes character which in turn influences results.

Another quote that particularly caught my attention is ‘’Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction. ‘’ This caught gives out a clear explanation that when people fail to regulate their thoughts positively it they are exposed to suffering and bad things.

The quote that ‘’clean thoughts make clean habits’’ gives a clear explanation that as people meditate in their thoughts they act exactly like so in the world. This further suggests that for a man to achieve desirable results he has to cultivate the right thoughts. In the same chapter the author attributes disease and ill health to the negative regulation of thought oppositely expressed ‘’unclean thoughts make unclean habits” This is suggestion that constant thinking is like practising for a sports match or preparing for an examination. The one who prepares well is most likely to do well.

‘’Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. ‘’ this quote seems to link thought with purpose and results. It gives the reader an idea that thought should always be linked with the desired purpose and in a sense this is true as we have seen more often than not in the world people accomplishing great things by linking thought and purpose bringing about great accomplishment. People should always regulate thought with purpose and they will achieve great
things.

Another quote that is good to look at is that ’’ strength can only be practised by effort and practise’’ this suggests that for an individual to achieve true mastery he has to constantly practice refining both his character and mind.

The statement that ‘’ a stronger man cannot help a weaker man until the weaker man in willing to be helped ,and even the weaker man must become strong of himself ’’ this statement suggests that everyone is responsible for their own destiny. Through will and desire they are responsible for the shaping of their character and circumstances. It clearly suggests that the student has to be ready himself before the master appears. This is particularly relevant in my world as i have realised that in times of need i have been the key to my problems, By stepping out to in my time of need i have often got the help that i need. ‘’One man is an oppressor because many are slaves’’ this statement suggests that people in the world allow one oppressors to strive by taking part in the oppression by accepting the oppressive moves of the oppressor. In practical terms oppressors exist because people allow and help them. Really no one man can oppress millions without them agreeing to be oppressed. Another catchy quote is ‘’he who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty idea in his heart will one realize it’’ This statement is what keeps most people going. In my past few years s an adult i have heard of people who have struggled to reach their goals some of these people have had to go through the worst trials and tribulations to get to where they are. This greatly brings light to me to hang on to my dreams and continue towards attaining them.

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?

The author has clearly brought his ideas and i understood every bit of his 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?

Yes it had a few unfinished exercises and this helped me in trying to have my own input.

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.

The book in its entirety cultivates the powerful and wonderful elements of positive thinking. It gives a beautiful contrast of both negative and positive thinking. The book prepares the reader for a redefined and refined way of thinking that will change the way one sees the world. It does not seek to only explain the wonderful and different elements of thought but also acts as a catalyst to rightful regulated thinking. It gives the reader enough food for thought for one to effectively evaluate
his/her ideas.

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? 8
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 Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The author is trying to convey the fact that humans have an inmate desire to learn and reach amongst other things perfection and true potential. But however we are always limited by our fear to be. In most cases those who take and challenge this fear of reaching our true maximum potential often become victims of ridicule and suffer in the hands of our societies. Throughout the book those who dared to be different from the flock faced mob cruxification and were often outcast brought to us by tackling fear of the unknown. However he also instills the idea that those who dare to be different make a real difference in the world. We see this throughout the book when the first flight obsessed seagull we meet is brave enough to follow his true passion and in the process inspiring others to join follow their most true desires.

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.

Desire presented in the book all the characters that were labelled by the flock as outcasts had a common desire to learn more than they imagined, in my whole life my greatest desire has been to change the world i live in for the better and this has led me to live in that desire and strive to be what i want to be.

Freedom as expressed by Jonathan L Seagull and his learning associates after making bold decisions on how following their deepest desires they experienced true freedom, freedom to be what made them feel alive. I have enjoyed to a very large extent the choices i have made especially in line with my career

Potential fearlessly choosing what you love doing most gives you unlimited potential and opens up opportunities i have often believed myself to be an unlimited being and this has mostly helped me in doing whatever i do to the best of my ability.

Learning throughout the book the curious seagulls were searching for more knowledge and wanted to learn what else they could do with their beings as such i have always known that learning brings growth and i undertake any opportunity presented to me to learn even under the most difficult conditions. Even in the book those who seem to have reached maximum perfection seem to look for more things to learn. This implies that learning is infinity and those who desire it are constantly evolving.

Perseverance this is by far the most tested quality and idea i have faced in my life. The projects that i lead are mostly in their start- up have many times stretched my perseverance to the limit and i have in the process stuck to my truest passion. At times the world around me tries to knock it out of me and everyday i learn more of perseverance Believing all i have needed in my life is to believe in all my endeavours and this has kept me going in the book we characters believing in their potential and the power of belief has made them reach dizzy heights Love the love of what you do brings about love to world around you. In the book those who truly love their deepest desires seem to also love the world around them. This is inclusive of people with different paths to our lives. I have in my life realised the love of what i do has made respect and love the choices of others. The author seems to suggest that love is the all embracing greatest idea ever known to human kind.

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?

My vision of a perfect dream is unlimited worlds of joy were problems such as poverty hunger and disaster become something we can cure without difficulty. All the above ideas seem to be necessary remedies to most world problems. The ideas presented by the author practically enhance essential qualities i need to develop the world around me. These ideas give me an insightful strength to look at my endeavours without any doubt or fear and they give me strength to achieve both my personal endeavours and career objectives. The ideas seem to flow in a sequential cycle of development which when undertaken help people to reach their maximum potential and by so doing making the world a better place for everyone. By applying these ideas i will be able to achieve my objectives and at the same time changing the world i live in. These ideologies are presented as medicine which if properly taken will heal both personal and external problems.

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.

These first quote that caught my is ”But way off alone, out by himself beyond boat and shore, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was practicing” This quote instantly introduced me to a character that was taking so much of his time practising perfection alone without the need or the approval of anyone. This made me love the character of the book.

In the very chapter in his practice session Jonathan fell and failed to achieve what he wanted to do but he did not give up he kept on it this expressly shown by the quote
“Then his featliers ruffled, he stalled and fell. Seagulls, as you know, never falter, never stall. To stall in the air is for them disgrace and it is dishonor. But Jonathan Livingston Seagull, unashamed, stretching his wings again in that trembling hard curve – slowing, slowing, and stalling once more – was no ordinary bird.”

This made me learn from the start some important qualities that one should express and practise and perfect. In the quote the a/uthor communicates with us not to ever give up even in times of adversity.

“This kind of thinking, he found, is not the way to make one’s self popular with other birds.” Here the author at once communicates with us that thinking differently does not make one popular with the rest of the crowd around him.

“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.” This caught made caught my attention as it clearly showed how spirited Jonathan was and this gives us an idea that if you have desire nothing seems more important to you except that very desire.

“in a week’s practice he learned more about speed than the fastest gull alive.” This shows us how desire worked for Jonathan.

Another interesting quote is the one that shows Jonathan gaining more life after almost giving up on his dreams when in the midst of problems he finds the solution to his problems. This also shows us how the deepest need and desire constantly unleashes new solutions. Short wings. A falcon’s short wings! That’s the answer! What a fool I’ve been! All I need is a tiny little wing, all I need is to fold most of my wings and fly on just the tips alone! Short wings!

When they hear of it, he thought, of the Breakthrough, they’ll be wild with joy. How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s a reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly! The years ahead hummed and glowed with promise.

This quote shows Jonathan his first signs of unlimited love being so excited with his latest achievement and we the greatest hope and with no doubt that the flock will rejoice with him. It clearly shows us how people who master solve and at the same time conquer new heights beyond imagination. It shows us that most of time these people are so selfish that they wish to share with the world what they have discovered but only to realise that people care less about the most brilliant ideas and would rather stick to what they know and avoid the risk of finding out their truest potential. As it is expressed by the next incident in the book.

“No, Jonathan, there is no such place. Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect.” He was silent for a moment. “You are a very fast flier, aren’t you?” Chiangs response to Jonathan gives a clear insight of what perfection is according to the author and one tends to agree to a very larger extend that reaching perfection is in its basic explanation a substitute ideal of heaven.

“Me leading? What do you mean, me leading? You’re the instructor here. You couldn’t leave!” This quote at the last paragraph shows how doubt and fear always stands in way of capable people and if unconquered derails those with the potential to lead others.

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?

Most ideas in the book are perfectly presented and i agree with the ideologies presented by the author.

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?

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.

The book seeks to wake us up in our slumber and make us at once realize who we really are and our highest potential. It brings to the surface the utmost desire the desire to learn and master gracefully our unlimited potential and strengths. However it calls for us to be prepared to be misunderstood and be condemned for our ideas and ideals as well as our inmost desires.

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? 9
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

 

 

Keys To Success
Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1 What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book.

The main idea that the author tries to convey is that we are responsible for our own successes. This success is largely attributed to certain principles that we must master in order to succeed. He communicates to the reader that certain elements that makes a person successful or not is strongly attributed to an individual’s character. In keys to success Napoleon Hill suggests 17 principles that every man should acquire and master to achieve unlimited success. He stresses a lot of points that are a must to grasp if a man is to be successful in any goal.

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 your own life.

In keys to success Napoleon Hill puts across more than seven ideas that are most important.

i) That every one of us should start with the development of a major definite purpose. The basic idea is the fact that without a desired goal a man lacks direction and vision. This idea is put across almost throughout the entire book. All other ideas are totally based and dependent on this goal. Just like many people, I have always had a certain desire or major life goal to achieve. This has shaped not only what I study at school but also what I do in terms of career and the type of activities I engage in.

ii) Hill also stresses the importance of positive mental attitude. He presents positive mental attitude as the main driving quality within an individual’s character that needs to be developed and maintained in most times and cases. There are times in my life that I have faced milestones and stumbling blocks and in times where I have negatively viewed at things I have ended up failing in my endeavors yet in moments where I have kept a positive attitude I have always came out on top of the situation or at least managed to cross major bridges.

iii) Hill goes on to talk about assembling an attractive personality. In this idea Hill communicates to the reader that a person’s personality plays a very important role in attracting good things and company. Hill outlines this quality as one that helps a person to draw close to him important people as well events. This seems to make true the statement that what one sows one reaps. It emphasizes the point that our personalities cannot bring to our world the opposite of what they are. From my previous interactions with different people I have found it difficult to interact with people who have unattractive personalities. In cases where I have exercised tolerance I have found it very difficult to trust these certain calibers. Yet in instances where I have resorted to the bad nature of my character I have often found it very difficult to attract positive things in my life and most often have failed to maintain and keep good relationships.

iv) The Author also brings to the reader the element and idea of developing a mastermind alliance. A mastermind alliance seems to be a very important idea that is stressed in the book. In the examples given the alliance gives an individual enough leverage to achieve his/her goals. Alluding to my personal life it I have often achieved my goals in cases where there has been strong teamwork and collaboration with people. In cases where I have failed to work in harmony with associates and partners the result has always been overwhelmingly negative.

v) Napoleon Hill also goes on to convey the idea of going the extra mile in everything that an individual does. This principle also found in the wise teachings of Jesus Christ where he teaches people to do more than they are asked for by going the extra. Hill conveys to the reader why it is very important for an individual to go the extra mile. Not only does it make him resilient but it adds value to his work and strengthens his relationship with the world often making him more apt to solve any crisis that may develop. In sport this is one principle that I have mastered, by practicing more than required a sports person is able to fully participate in a competitive environment and also become a valuable asset. This is also important in other vital fields like study and work. This is actually what makes a person an expert in things they do.

vi) Enforcing self discipline is also another important idea that Hill puts across. In this idea he stresses how self discipline helps an individual master certain principles and helps him to manage other important personal and external resources like time, money and character that leads to development of skills, talent and moreover to the accomplishment of tasks and goals. Without self discipline all the other ideas and principles conveyed in the book would be very difficult to accomplish. This has more often than not proven true in most instances in my life. In cases where I have failed to manage myself and the tasks that lie ahead of me I have failed to accomplish the set down objectives. In cases where I have failed to manage money I have ended up in deep dept. This has been an area that has greatly attributed to all my known setbacks.

vii) Hill also talks about maintaining sound health. Simple and straightforward as it is put across the author puts emphasizes the fact that people who neglect their mental, emotional and physical health end up failing in most if not all of their endeavors. This I can also allude to my personal life, in cases where I have neglected my personal health I have often faced difficulties in my own goals and targets.

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?

To effectively make a better world in my own area where I live and to inspire change in the world in general I believe it is important to master and use these lessons and ideas. In going through the book and in depicting these important lessons, I made a realistic evaluation of myself in relation to my life and my goals and most missing elements in the success of my goals have been somewhat linked to the lessons learnt. Therefore learning these lessons will help me refine my practical life and help to attain my personal goals and ambitions. If properly used these lessons will become the greatest assets I have came across in a number of years. In putting some of these lessons to test I am convinced that they are helpful and my full adaptation of them will certainly spur me to more success.

4. Quotes are there any statements that the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.

Almost throughout the whole book there have been some very powerful statements that have got my particular attention but the one that strikes me the most is the quote.

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, you can can achieve when yo have PMA and apply it.

This quote gives an explanation of how powerful mind, faith and PMA is in anything that we do. To me it acts as a catalyst to following my dreams and achieving my goals. It helps me to remove all sorts of doubt fear and negativity which are very limiting elements in anyone’s life. The quotation also gives strong foundation to understanding other ideas conveyed in the book. It links important elements like enthusiasm and adds value to thinking accurately.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas that you disagree with and, if so why?

In my reading of the book I did not come across anything that I am unclear of, do not understand or do not agree with.

6. Did the book; contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all the exercises and did you find them helpful?

The book had fill in exercises. I enjoyed filling in the spaces at the summary end of the book. These exercises helped me to actually create a plan for attaining my personal goals. By filling in the spaces I was able to come up with specific plans on how I plan to achieve my goals. They also helped to carry out a personal evaluation exercise helping me to weed out all the things that I did not feel they were important to me in my life. They however also made me seriously think about my definite purpose which I did and wrote down. By filling these exercises I was also able to put down targets for achieving these goals.

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

 

 

Success through a Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Busani Sibindi (ZIMBABWE)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

Success has to do mainly with the mental setup of a person; it is not basically connected with the physical attributes of a person. Positive Mental Attitude is a quality that makes an individual adapt to the most pressing of problems and challenges. The more a person has strong mental
stamina the apt he is to face challenges and solve problems. Whereas the opposite of having a negative mental attitude is destructive PMA gives an individual strength and ability to change his/her day to day 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.

In success through a positive mental attitude Hill conveys important ideas to us.

i) Hill suggests that the having a positive mental attitude is one of the most important strengths a person can have especially a leader who is often faced with difficult mentally straining roles and responsibilities.

ii) He suggests that the most important source of inspiration is in the mind of a an individual it is the place that has no limitation in terms of ideas and solutions.

iii) Hill’s book opens with a lesson that the most important person is the individual himself. He communicates the ideology that everyone has to know that the most important living person is the person himself. Self value is most important in life. I had a friend who had a medical problem. He had growth cancer unfortunately it was in his forehead and quite visible. The
growth seemed to grow more by each year, my friend lost so much self worth and value. In 2007 my friend literally gave up on himself and finally he committed suicide.

iv) Hill also brings to the reader that the opposite effect of Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) is Negative Mental Attidute (NMA), which is often destructive and will cause destruction in a person’s life. Going back to the example of my friend who committed suicide, before he committed the act he was no longer sociable every minute in his life became hell on earth, he developed a high level of Negative Mental Attidute (NMA). He was now speaking of the whole world being against him certain people bewitching him, some plotting to kill him. His last days on earth were not only unbearable to him but even to his family and the bulk of his friends.

v) Another important lesson that Hill suggests in the book is the ability to see. Not only to see but to learn from the environment and surroundings. Most of the things I have done successfully in life have been the things that I have had more awareness over.

vi) Perhaps the most important lesson for me in this book is the secret of getting things done. In my life I have despised procrastination and yet in many instances it has been my greatest enemy. At times when I have a great idea or solution I reserve it for later, by the time I try to implement it, it would be almost too late. However all the things that I have done immediately have come to pass. DOING it now is the key to getting things going and achieving tremendously in life.

vii) On the overall the greatest lesson that cultivates all other good attributes found in most successful people is belief. Hill suggests that all those who believe develop a mechanism of success that is unbreakable. PMA is connected to the amazing power of belief. Believing is the starting point of PMA, whereas doubt attracts NMA and failure.

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?

The lessons found in the book are not only strengthening they are very direct and precise. They are mostly built on essential basics that are not complicated. We often ignore the basics because we think they are too simple to be true. By learning and applying the lessons found in Hill’s
book I will be able to reach my goals and ordain my destiny in the most direct ,short and precise way. They will help me to fulfill my tasks duties and obligations with less doubt more confidence and so much energy. This will help me to create a better world for me and those around 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.

Quote #1: Principles from Dempsey’s story

– 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 be 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.

These principles are motivating and strengthening principles if they are mastered and practiced one can achieve any desirable goal even in times when things seem impossible. This is evidenced by the way Ford also made his engineers to keep on trying even if they had personally given up.

Quote #2: You can do it if you believe you can.

The most spoken about golden principle and yet the most unapplied. From the time of Jesus to the modern day times of motivational speakers, psychologists and leaders, belief has been the most said motivational line. Even the current US President Barrack Obama became popular in his campaign for presidency by his famous statement YES WE CAN! More times than can be counted the world has been told to believe, yet in most moments of our lives we have been found in our greatest levels of doubt and therefore have failed to make the world a better place. If we all harness this wonderful line and believe all things are possible we could in a very short period of time solve the world’s most pressing problems. The first astronauts believed they could reach the moon and they did get there. All great religious leaders have believed and changed lives. All we need to do is to believe.

Quote #3: “Remember, that money is of the prolific, generating nature. Money can beget money and its offspring can beget more and so on. Also Franklin said “Remember, that six pounds a year is but a groat a day. For this little sum (which may be wasted either in time or expense
unperceived) a man of credit may, on his own security have a constant possession and the use of an hundred pounds.”

We gain and grow in life daily and every moment of our lives. Likewise we gain money and wisdom by keeping and saving on the extra values we come across with everyday. That extra dime we earn and invest it in making more money will get us more money. So are the extra lessons we learn and invest in life that bring about more wisdom

Quote #4:”As long as you live, never say to yourself DO IT NOW! Unless you follow through with desirable action. Whenever action is desirable and the symbol DO IT NOW flashes from your sub-conscious mind to your conscious mind, immediately act.”

The good book says faith without works is dead. The secret of getting things done is not work by just saying the words but is very effective when it is practically applied. Many people in the world have beautiful different hopes and aspirations of and those who succeed are those who have come out from their comfort closets and stepped up to follow their dreams. These people never give up even though they face hardships in their endeavors. The way they persist before they achieve their goals is as if every time they wake up in the morning they have the DO IT NOW logo in their foreheads. Striving to get things done at whatever cost, under whatever circumstances and in the shortest time possible and NOW, has been the biggest difference between failures and success stories.

Quote #5 “You have a guilt feeling. That’s good! But get rid of that feeling of guilt.”

Guilt is a result of good conscience in every human being, However if wrongly embraced it can be as devastating as NMA. Guilt is a good thing as it gives us a chance to change and correct our most undesirable actions and in the event it helps us to grow in honesty, thereby helping us focus our energies on more productive things. Getting rid of the guilt feeling also clears the mental airwaves and helps a person to focus forward and achieve his desires and goals.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

Yes, by completing the exercises I was able to make a true assessment of myself and my general direction in life.

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? 9.0
B. How helpful were the contents? 9.5
C. How easy was it to understand? 9.5
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9.0
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9.0

 

 

Psycho-Cybernetics
By Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book.

The main idea that the author tries to convey is that how we see view and evaluates ourselves plays a vital role in how we relate with the external world. Our deeper inner self image has all to do with our success or failure from the basic goals to the most highly sort after goals. Dr Maltz has described self image as by far the most important aspect of any human being. He suggests that what we believe ourselves to be tends to manifest itself in the real outside world. He basically expresses the idea that either success or failure is attributed greatly to the image we create in our deepest thought. This becomes the sponsoring mechanism for all our
activities that we undertake.

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 your own life.

In psycho cybernetics Maxwell Maltz puts across more than seven ideas that are most important. The following seven ideas are most striking to me.

i) That developing a positive mental image is like developing a success instinct. No one succeeds with a negative mental attitude. If we select goals and imbed them in our deep personalities we will not fail.

ii) Creative imagination and success are inseparable the brain stores processes and never erases
them thus success processes cannot be forgotten or lost. e.g. when writing this essay I automatically knew that i always start with which question. When playing soccer i almost score using the same technique over and over again. Even my best soccer dribbling skills are done without conscious effort.

iii) We all have a built in target servo mechanism or at least need to develop it or else we will spend time trying to reach it thus we have focused and unfocused people. Our success is all about what we imagine and think we are or can achieve. Imagination plays a very important role in defining success or failure.

iv) Live in the eternal now moment for today shapes tomorrow just like habits no one can develop a bad habit today which harms him there and there it takes time to manifest
itself to the fullest impact. Therefore success habits can only be developed in the same way so
does the way we develop our own self images. Maybe perhaps the best one can do about
tomorrow is write a script in the mind that he will unleash in the tomorrow (mental picture) anxiety is deadly. it dilutes one’s ability to work out problems. Like a student who spends his time worrying about an exam in a subject he has difficulties on instead of studying and increasing his chances of passing the exam. Face every challenge one at a time at any given moment. Happiness is a state of mind. The great teacher Jesus warned about being anxious about tomorrow. (Sermon on the Mount)

v) Maxwell goes on the suggest that Experiences shape our self image however if we are not careful our self images might be negatively developed by our negative experiences. Emotional scars are dangerous. However people tend to focus on the bad things that have happened them not on the good things that could ever be accomplished by them. This does not kill the self image but distorts its true nature. One course failure can disastrously affect a brilliant
mind if a person forgets the other great distinction passes he has ever attained. In essence human tend to measure themselves more on the number of times they have failed and not on the number of successes they have attained or can attain. This is true to most of us and is clearly
evidenced by the time we take mourning over our failures or mistakes against the time we spend
celebration our successes. We tend to focus more on the former than the later. In effect this adds an emotional distress to ourselves and greatly lowers our self confidence hence might severely
destroy our self images and personalities.

vi) Happiness and success are a state of mind. Mainly developed by the way we perceive ourselves and the way we scan and interpret the surrounding world. If we control our deeper selves we are then able to master the things that bring about abundance and happiness as well as
success.

vii) Another idea explored in the book is the fact that If we think a lot about what others are thinking about us we end up formulating negative perceptions through our opinions. Most of the time our judgment of what we think others think about us is on the negative, we tend to be overly conscious of the negative and thus base our opinions on it. Therefore this is particularly dangerous in the sense that we might get convinced that these are our real characteristics. This self shaped assessment tends to formulate a detrimental self image. In actual sense people spend so much time worrying about what other people are saying about than they spend time on determining what they want other people to say to them.

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?

The book gives a chance to any individual to create a better world within his own self first. By developing a winning, healthy and successful self image I can then be able to influence the rest of the world around me and make it a better place to live in. We cannot help others unless we learn to help ourselves first. Therefore I would begin by investing in my own self first and learn from all the mistakes and experiences I have had in life. By this I will be able to help the people around me. No blind man can help another blind man or other blind men to safety. Like the
universal principles of living you cannot love anyone better than you love yourself. As Jesus said it love your neighbor as you love yourself. The greatest love always equals to the self. Therefore developing a good self image is very vital in creating a better world around me.

4 Quotes are there any statements that the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.

The book contained in it wonderful quotes that relate to life wonderfully and these are

a) Your built-in servomechanism functions both as a “guidance system” to automatically steer you in the right direction to achieve certain goals, or make correct responses to environment, and also as an “electronic brain” which can function automatically to solve problems, give you needed answers, and provide new ideas or “inspirations.

This quotation warns us of worrying too much which closes out the infinite intelligence and powers we possess that are beyond conscious comprehension. We tend to worry so much trying to use our brain and forget the sub human potential of our brains which has both the capacity to solve problems and generate new ideas.

b) “You must learn to trust your creative mechanism to do its work and not “jam it” by becoming too concerned or too anxious as to whether it will work or not, or by attempting to force it by too much conscious effort. You must “let it” work, rather than “make it” work. This trust is necessary because your creative mechanism operates below the level of consciousness, and you cannot “know” what is going on beneath the surface. Moreover, its nature is to operate spontaneously according to present need. Therefore, you have no guarantees in advance. It comes into operation as you act and as you place a demand upon it by your actions.”

In this quote we are simply advised not to be anxious about tomorrow as it will solve itself. What we fail to understand as people is the fact that no matter how much we think about tomorrow we can never have a definite prediction on it. Therefore worrying about it only adds an emotional and mental strain on ourselves.

c) “Live life in “daytight compartments,” he advised his students. Look neither forward nor backward beyond a 24-hour cycle. Live today as best you can. By living today well you do the most within your power to make tomorrow better. Many times, if we do not “stop and think” about this, we continue to react automatically to some past environment. We do not react to the present moment, and the present situation, but to some similar event out of the past. In short we do not react to reality —but to a fiction. Full recognition of this, and realization of what you’re doing, can frequently bring about an amazingly quick “cure.”

The significance of this particular quotation in my life is that it relates to an incident in my life were I repeatedly had the same car accidents when I was driving in more than four instances and settings. My past road accidents replayed themselves so much in my mind that I ended up failing to comprehend with the present incidents and I literally lost all the power I could have had to solve the problems. I simply could not let my mind know that, that was then this was now!.

d) “Functionally, a man is somewhat like a bicycle,” I told him. “A bicycle maintains its poise and equilibrium only so long as it is going forward towards something.

This quotation explains the importance of looking forward and forgetting what has been though we can use past experiences and encounters to develop and maintain equilibrium. It is also however important to note that If we do not focus on looking towards a positive future we can also create a negative equilibrium which might keep on recurring in our minds.

e) Another striking quote in the book is ‘What art thou afraid of? Wherefore, like a coward, dost thou forever pip and whimper, and go cowering and trembling. Despicable biped! What is the sum-total of the worst that lies before thee? Death? Well, Death: and say the pangs of Tophet too and all that the Devil and Man may, will or can do against thee! Hast thou not a heart; canst thou not suffer what so it be: and, as a Child of Freedom, though outcast, trample Tophet itself under thy feet, while it consumes thee? Let it come, then: I will meet and defy it!’

Fear has contributed more to failure than success as one author once put it we attract what we fear. Even a sportsman knows that opponents can exploit fear for their own benefit. In life I have learnt that fearing something dreadfully cannot stop it, only facing it may actually stop it.
Even some decisions I have failed to make has been to great fear of the outcome and the unknown that I had within myself and yet they have to a certain degree proved to be my moments of regret. Fear takes away rational thinking and can make a man as vulnerable as a baby.

f) The book contains another quote worth looking at “Nothing succeeds like success.” This is true in every sense alluded to my life I find it easy to succeed in the things I have succeeded in before and dread those I have failed in.

g) The last quote that had a good lesson and a striking impact is “Everyone has known individuals who can be discouraged and defeated by the advice from others that “you can’t do it.” On the other hand there are people who rise to the occasion and become more determined than ever to succeed when given the same advice.”

In my life I have met this same quote over and over again even from the people who are very close to me. This has been one of the most contributing factors to all my success stories fighting the odds. However it is surprising that I have also met this statement in a number of times either being said by me to myself in some cases or being said by someone to themselves. Of all discouragements this is the biggest discouraging statements and not only has it hindered great potential it has destroyed the mindset of most people I know in my community. In reverse this is what has brought about all the great inventions in the world. That single statement that we can do it against all odds for we are made in the image of the creator we often allude and the creator is unlimited and so are we.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas that you disagree with and, if so why?

Though the book related to a lot of medical settings it was put in understandable and comprehensive manner.

6. Did the book; contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all the exercises and did you find them helpful?

Filling in exercises was helpful, as it helped me map a way forward on developing my own self image.

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? 9
C How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9.5

 

 

How To Win Friends and Influence People

Assesssment By Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The author seeks to communicate one important message to people who seek to lead other people in all spheres of life. His main message is that you cannot influence people by forcing them into your way of thinking he seeks to encourage people to be generally agreeable to other people’s point of view and people will also in turn agree with them. The basics apply people are inherently independent in their way of thinking,belief and opinion. Their points of view guide their opinions therefore you have to change their point of view, rudely destroying their point of view only makes one’s position of influencing people more precarious, Influence is always through persuasion, people must make the decision to your way of thinking.

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.

The author communicates certain fundamental principles of dealing with people and these lessons give a foundational understanding of how we as people want to be related to and how we can be influenced by these principles translated into lessons. I see the following as the 7 key points.

keep people in a knit environment, do not just criticize people, seek to send the message that gives someone his/her full dignity. Generally people do not want to do wrong that is why they get on the defensive when you openly criticize them about their shortcomings. Lincoln had to learn it the hard way. We must seek to forget the mistakes people make and look at the good they can offer and intuitively suggest that and will always put people on the personally initiated drive to achieve the best they can be. One mistake that I have always made in my own dealings with people has been my arrogant standpoint on matters. Though at times that would have been necessary given the circumstances, it has always to a great extend fueled more arguments than discussions. Arguments are the natural defense mechanisms of every human being and they always leave both parties at a worse position than before. For both would not have brought forth their opinions or facts and no consensus would have been reached amicably. I have learn t that being human as I am three quarters of the time I always fall back on the trap of arguments and more often than not they reduce the level of respect a person has on me, not that I would be deserving the respect at that moment but because my counterpart has already grouped me on the enemy zone. By far arguments create unneccessary rivalry and enemosity.

Influence is the most important catalyst that makes people do things.

So we must seek to influence people rather than force them. Remember the verse in the bible that states that the tongue can build or destroy, with our words actions or suggestions we always influence people either negatively or positively and as such must always remember to make people want to do something. Looking back,the few instances I have managed to influence people it has always been through persuasion and not force.

The author also puts an emphasis on how simple we are and the list of the things we truly want and desire are not more than a list of ten things. These revolve around recognition, respect and being listened to. Basic as these concepts are, we as people fail to even give the first desire that every human being has. The desire to be recognized as important. In instances were people have failed to understand my own standpoint and point of view I have often turned defensive and at times even unreasonably aggressive, and from here I have learnt the importance of listening to someone before communicating my own feelings and point of view.

The author also talks about genuinely looking at the other person’s point of view and trying to understand were the other person is coming from and going. Simplified this gives us a better position on basic human relations which gives us a stand point for judgment. Geniune interest into the other’s point of view and his model of the world has always worked in creating a positive atmosphere for engagement.

Napoleon Hill also emphasizes the importance of a warm approach to all things, almost suggesting that we reap what we sow a warm approach always equals a warm reception and a rough approach will attract a more aggressive response.

The author also writes about the importance of recognising the fact that people are different and will also look at things differently.Therefore must appreciate the diversity of opinions and we as part of the diversity will also be accepted into the larger diverse picture. In my homeland we have a proverb which says umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu( A person is a person because of other people) Therefore if you fail to appreciate the diversity in opinion you will also fail to fit in the larger picture.

In the book how to win and influence people the author also writes about making people a part of our way of thinking. If we influence people so much that they end up becoming a part of our way of thinking then they will to a larger extend even preach and defend that very way of thinking. All revolutionaries in the history of mankind have achieved greatly by making people a part of the revolution purely by influence and less by aggression. Even humanity as a whole has learnt through the world wars that aggression should the last resolution and if possible avoided.

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?

He who learns the art of influence and persuasion has the hold world on his side. By learning and mastering these concepts I will be able to achieve what I see as a part I should play in the world and by learning to influence people I will also learn to have people who will help me in this wonderful journey of life.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

The following qoutes are the qoutes i found most striking

“you will find examples of the futility of criticism bristling on a thousand pages of history”. A classic quote that reminds us that if not handled properly criticism is both futile and fatal

“Hurting people not only does not change them, it is never called for. There is an old saying that I have cut out and pasted on my mirror where I cannot help but see it everyday.

There is only way under high heaven to get anybody to do anything. Did you ever think of that? Yes just one way and that is by making the other person want to do it. Remember there is no other way.

I shall pass this way but once any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass way again”. In war volunteers have always made the best soldiers compared to those who have always joined the army for financial reasons.

“Emerson said everyman I meet is my superior in some way in that I learn from him”. In very simple terms the quote tells us to listen to open up our eyes and ears when we meet new people for we learn from everyone we meet.

“Why talk about what we want that is childish. Absurd of course you are interested in what you want .You are eternally interested in it. But no one else is. The rest of us are just like you we are interested in what we want”. This quote tells us about the importance of understanding that we all have selfish needs and wants and therefore must also respect each other’s wishes, by giving a man what he wants you have on your side.

“There is one important law of human conduct. If we obey that law, we shall almost never get into trouble. In fact that law if obeyed will bring us countless friends and constant happiness. But the very instant we break the law we shall get into endless trouble. The law is this always make the other person feel important”. As much as we love to feel important other people also have a need to feel important and therefore we must always exercise the practice of recognizing the importance of other people.

“There is a reason why the other man thinks and acts as he does.

Ferret out that reason – and you have the key to his actions perhaps his personality”. This quote acts as a guide to digging deep into the characters of people and by knowing the character of a person we get to learn how to deal with them more effectively.

“You may be right nothing will work in all cases – and nothing will work with all people. If you are satisfied with the results you are now getting why change ?. If you are not satisfied why not experiment”. The quote is an encouragement to get out of our comfort zones and try different approaches to life especially in dealing with people through the lessons conveyed in the book.

“asking questions not only makes an order more palatable:it often stimulates the creativity of the persons whom you ask. People are more likely to accept an order if they have had a part in the decision that caused the order to be issued”. The quote talks about the importance of issuing out orders in a manner that gives a person more reason to do the task ahead than to resist and reject the order.

“Let me repeat: the principles taught in this book will work only when they come from the heart. I am not advocating a bag of tricks. I am talking about a new way of life. Talk about changing people with whom we come in contact to a realization of the hidden treasures they possess. We can do far more than change people. We can literally transform them”. Through this paragraph the author emphasizes the importance of practicing the principles he has communicated genuinely so as to create a positive change in the world.

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?

The author has conveyed his messages in the most straightforward and articulate manner

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 no exercises

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? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8

 

 

 

Giant Steps

Assessment By Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

Anthony Robbins’ book giant steps has a fundamental idea of self mastery, He puts across that we must know what we want to achieve in life first and then make the necessary adjustments to achieve our deepest desires. When one reads through the book it is quite easy to understand the true goals and ambitions that we have set in our subliminal mind. Through his practical guidelines the Author emphasizes the importance of goal setting and not just goal setting but also understanding the deep goals embedded in our deeper selves.

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.

Below are some of the lessons that come out when reading the book Giant Steps

i. The idea that goal setting is an important function of success and therefore should be harnessed with great importance The author seems to say that without goal setting you will not achieve anything . Goal setting Leads to self discovery ,self acceptance and self realization. By constantly setting and evaluating our goals we discover what we truly want to achieve with our lives and this gives us the power to maneuver around and look for ways to get to our goals.

ii. He communicates the importance of having Clear and defined goals that will become our guideline to achieving what we truly want. Clarity is a very powerful guideline when your mind is clear on what you seek to achieve you, even become ready for the task at hand. Most of my failings in life have come at moments when I have been most confused. If you are not clear of what you want, you cannot get it and this is a basic natural law conveyed by the author in his book.

iii. By learning goal setting we get to understand fully the art of using the SMART formula. It gives us a chance to mind play all scenarios situations and events and be able to see if our goals are specific measurable achievable, realistic and time specific. By setting goals we give ourselves specific guidelines of living.

He emphasizes the points that goal setting gives you a guiding strategic point in whatever you do.

Goals define what we do next and what we do next is an attempt to achieve and reach a certain goal whether consciously or sub- consciously we are always chasing a certain goal. Goals actually motivate how we behave.

iv. Though goal setting helps one to know what he/she wants to achieve it must be followed by action. In his book the author writes about and communicates the importance of following through. What the author seems to put across is that we must put whatever we seek to achieve into action. As goals without actions are useless and are just but mere goals, another human dream. In my life I had set certain goals and to this date some of them I have not achieved due to the inability to follow through.

v. He puts across the importance of controlling our own behaviors emotional states and actions through the use of words. He talks about the importance of saying positive and constructive words to ourselves and to the people around us. The author talks about the importance of words. When reading this part of the book I engaged myself in a self assessment exercise. I discovered that at times I have failed to condition myself in relation to negative or challenging environments i have failed to deal with issues constructively. The result of this failure has been disastrous marred with self defeating reactions even in times and moments I could have managed to handle situations.

vi. Another idea conveyed in the book is that we must evaluate everything that we do so as to be able to look at all angles of solving a problem or achieving our ultimate goal. This process of evaluation gives us the next best platform to solve the problems that we come across. It helps us to plan and re-strategize according to the situation at hand.

vii. Another striking lesson that the author puts across is the idea that we must learn to condition ourselves. Condition the way we think, see and respond to situations.

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 lessons and ideas will help me to come out with a true reflection of my goals, intents and strategies I seek to implore in getting where I have to go. I will use them as a building platform for achieving my life goals.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them. The whole book is almost a collection of useful and quotable quotes and phrases however some of the most striking are the quotes below.

The book itself is a quotable quote as it has striking lessons and important messages in all the pages. Below are some of the quotes that I thought are most notable.

a) “ realize the power of a decision acted upon immediately and with utter conviction”. The above quote appeals to our utmost inner knowledge and belief mechanism and this a common trait that is found in most achievers and inventors.

b) ”Success and failure are not usually the result of a single event”.

This quote encourages and reminds the reader that we must remember that for us to succeed we at times have to fail many times and that constant failure should not be the end of our pursuit for success.

However on another note our repeated failures or successes all depend on our mental setup. What we tell ourselves before and after a failed attempt.

c) ”There are no excuses”. When we fail we look for excuses to why we have failed and this is a recipe for giving up. But when we look for reasons as to why we fail we make necessary changes and prepare for success. Therefore this quote seems to emphasize that we should look for reasons for our failures not excuses.

d) “The secret of unleashing your true power is setting goals that are exciting enough that they truly inspire your creativity and ignite your passion”. In simpler terms the quote encourages us to set goals that we truly believe in. Goals that we would give everything to see them through.

e) “Isn’t it possible that short- term failures may actually provide you with the necessary insights or distinctions to create even greater success in the future”. Here we learn to learn from our failures.

f) “In the same way your pursuit of worthwhile goals has probably resulted in unforeseen benefits for others”. The author communicates that our personal achievements seem to benefit more people than we can imagine. This we see through the benefits we ourselves enjoy from the greatest achievements of humanity.

g) ”Finding a way to help others and those who we care about deeply can inspire us for a lifetime”. The quote reminds us of a lesson that all great religious teachers and leaders have taught since the beginning of time. Whatsoever we do to one another that we do unto ourselves, a lesson from the bible.

h) ”There is a huge difference between achieving to be happy and happily achieving”. Most of the time we seek to achieve so that we become happy and in most cases we only get bored when we realize that we are not happy at all. However doing something we really love gives us the achievement before we attain it for we are happy to do it at whatever cost.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

Yes the book had very important exercises that helped me to evaluate my life’s ultimate goals and ways to achieve them. These were very useful for they gave me a realistic outlook of my life goals. Bringing me back to the drawing board for further self assessment and goal setting.

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? 7
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8

Comments:

Feel free to share any additional comments about the book or about the ratings:

This is a very involving and intense book and I personal think it might not fit to everyone on the first level of studies, maybe it should be introduced in the later stages when a student has fully discovered him or herself.

 

 

The New Dynamics of Winning

Assesssment By Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The main idea being presented in the book the new dynamics of winning Is that winning happens in our minds, it all begins with our self belief and drive to achieve our deepest desires, this breeds and leads us to our victory and prepares us for the tough marvelous journey of success which is filled with risks, challenges and constantly tests our mental ,physical, emotional and spiritual strength. He seems to communicate that If we can win in our own internal world then we can survive in the external world .Waitley also suggests that we must cultivate real love for our life’s work. Love what you do dearly despite all the hardships and challenges.

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.

Although the book presents more than seven important ideas, in my own perspective the following are the most notable and important in context to my life.

a) The first idea that I came across when reading the book the new dynamics of winning is that the winning streak begins with our mental preparedness and mental strength. We have to get to THE ZONE where all ideas run through our brains and minds. Every goal and target we set gives and puts us in a very competitive environment and therefore we must condition our entire self for the competitive environment ahead.

When I was still an active player I used to play and dance to my favourate song before the beginning of each match after which I would a mental picture of how I would perform. This was my own mental exercise which always took me to the zone in my mind.

b) Denis Waitley suggests that we have to do away with self defeating traits and characteristics of fear of the unknown, catastrophic danger, fear of change, fear of success and fear of failure and rejection. He talks about the traits of a winner which are common sense, knowing your field( nothing beats knowledge) and self reliance.

When we doubt ourselves we chase away the success we could have achieved. I like any other person have been a victim of my own self afflicted limitations by doubting my own abilities.

c) The author also talks about taking things as thy come and breaking tasks into smaller and more achievable tasks in a certain given period. High level of organization and order. SMART.

He seems to give the idea that we have the answers to most of the pressing problems and all we need to do is to seek inside our selves for answers and we will get them. When we practice order and organization we set the ground for success.

d) Paying the price (sacrifice) in baseball there was a popular motto which was No pain no gain and on days when the going was getting touch every student would chant the slogan and give the players a rekindled fighting spirit and such in life good things come to those more than try but those who are willing to go the extra mile. As such Denis Waitley talks about the art of paying the price for the success that we want.

e) The author seems to suggest that life is a continuous learning experience, you get what you pay for , mistakes are corrective feedbacks. Set you own internal standards for success do not live according to anyone’s parameters thats the path to internal happiness with that we develop less of a personal care of the things we cannot change at that moment and we regather strength to solve the problems that hinder our success. The choice to win is yours. Keep training and gaining without complaining.

f) The book also talks about Self discoveries which are.

Recognizing the moment of truth, the turning point of our lives the self awareness moment.

A dream is the beginning of a reality. It always begins with a dream. The unholy trinity denial rationalization and repression. Being genuine questioning our motives stress is a condition we can deal with.

If as a human being you cannot define who you are and what you wish to achieve then you cannot be in charge of any situation. The author suggests that life has situations we can deal with including discovering ourselves. I have often come to certain points in my life were I had to ask myself what do I seek to achieve in this world?,What are my dreams?.At times when the picture has been clear I have been able to take up the challenges that have come across me.

g) The author also communicates the importance of mental endurance he suggests that failure is the beginning of success not the end of success and we defeat ourselves by thinking that our failures are our end when they are just our beginning. For it is the discoveries and lessons we have just learnt from our failures that are most important. I have learnt more from my failures than from any other time.

The author also suggests that as people we should be coach able for a puppy always becomes a bulldog. A leader listens always for, if you can’t listen then you cannot decide you just but conclude and conclusions have limitations. He encourages leaders to never stop learning. This idea is basic we only grow when we seek to learn new things and new ways.

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 will help me to create a new winning system in myself and in the external environment.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

The following qoutes where the most striking and provided a new insight into how I look at myself and how I have conditioned myself for success.

“you will benefit from psychological research that has uncovered the keys to peak perfomance, so that you, too can develop the mental traits of a winner.”

“You will discover the inner skills and motivating habits of elite athletes and you will learn to apply them in your own working life”.

“You will gain the ability to block out distractions and negative influences in order to achieve total concentration.”

“You’ll be able to make stress and pressure work for you instead of against you in any situation no matter how intense.”

The above quotes preconditioned and prepared me for the new lessons I was about to learn throughout the book.”

Although you may be trained to execute certain skills impeccably, your mind must give you the power to perform flawlessly during the heat of competition. Life is always a heat and full of pressure to perform and such the above qoute seeks to remind us that our mind plays a powerful role in helping us achieve and reach our best abilities

“Fear is a powerful negative motivator.”

“We all have a natural aversion to being embarrassed or made a fool of in the presence of others. More than any other factor this fear of what might happen, not will happen, holds us back and causes us to procrastinate. We permit ourselves to fail by default rather than face the risk of success.”

The above quotes remind us that fear is a short sighted emotion that becomes an inhibiting factor in our decision making prowess and as well a hindrance to our success.

“If you tried to eat an entire steak in one mouthful you’d choke. But by cutting it into smaller bite sized pieces it’s digestible and enjoyable. Achieving goals step by step also builds up your confidence. While smaller, the successes are experienced more often.

This provides the positive feedback and reinforcement necessary for achieving any goal.” This quote is a reminder lesson that when tackling a big problem we must do it in a strategic manner making it easy for us to solve it.

“Forget the advice of all those experts, associates friends and relatives who tell you, you can’t possibly have what you want.” The above quote suggests that we are solely responsible for achieving our goals

“Second you must let go of all forms of support and balance yourself with the sheer force of momentum created by your own strength”. This is a suggestion that we must let go of our comfort zones and brave the unknown.

“You’ve got to realize that the best way to avoid falling doesn’t involve simply staying as far as possible off the ground.” By not doing anything we have already failed and therefore the above qoute reminds us that doing nothing is in any case more than failing.

“If the commitment is there, the achievements will follow attaining top level results may require some time but you can make the commitment starting right now.”

“Slowly but surely achievements grow out of commitment”.

The two above qoutes are reminders of commitment in whatever we do.

“Expect the best plan for the worst and prepare to be surprised. You cant control what others do. But you can anticipate the various alternatives and prepare for them as best as you can. You can also control your responses to what happens. Like Bill Toomey, practise in the rain – and bring along your rainy – day running shoes even when the sun is shining. Especially when the sun is shinning”.Here the lesson is that we should always expect and plan for the worst for life is more often what happens to us that what we plan and therefore we must prepare for the storms in life for the strength of a ship in the ocean in measured by its ability to stand strong winds.

“A grind? To be sure .fun? Not much then why? Because winners work at doing things the rest of the population won’t even consider trying.

She may not have enjoyed the routine, but she loved the sport, the challenge and the dream”. The quote is an eye opener of what true champions of anything are those that do the undo able and the unthinkable

“Paying the price of success for most of us seems like paying the United states’ national debt. It appears overwhelming for us to invest in ourselves the amount of time and effort for peak performance. too often we believe our own physical limitations are unique and much greater than those of gifted champions.” This quote is an encouragement to prospective to seek beyond their self limiting beliefs.

“The creed of a champion

1 be true to yourself

2 make each day your masterpiece

3 help others

4 read good books

5 make friendship a fine art

6 build a shelter against a rainy day.

7 pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings everyday.”

The above creed is a deep guideline for all those champions out there to practice the traits of champions.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

The book has a useful 21day guide that helps the reader to walk the talk of the new dynamics of winning

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? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

 

 

The Law of Attraction

Assessment By Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

In his book The Law of attraction Losier brings to the surface the idea that we attract circumstances and events that shape the ultimate outcome of our present lives. Losier goes on to articulate a three step process he prescribes to the reader to use in the process of attracting desired circumstances and outcomes. He suggests that for one to attract the right circumstances into his or her life he must identify the desire, give the desire attention and allow it to happen. In context the whole book clearly sets out the notion that we live within certain laws that govern and administer what we attract in our lives and that by following these laws we attract to our lives what we call for. He further expands his idea into the negative and the positive. Losier seems to suggest that we either attract negative circumstances or positive circumstances sub-consciously and consciously.

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.

By reading the book the law of attraction more than seven ideas are articulated and below are some of the ideas which where personally important to me.

i. The law of attraction is based on the premises of our sub conscious thoughts actions and consequently outcomes. In page 15 line 8-10 Losier gives an example of such a scenario. Often in our lives we get to moments where where we encounter one unfortunate incident and conclude that we are going to have a bad day or encounter more bad incidents . In some and in most communities people are quick to link unfortunate events to all forms of bad luck and superstitious beliefs. On the bases our belief system forms the events we encounter in life. We simply but call upon the things we believe or envision to be happening.

ii. We can muster our sense of being to influence our own experiences. In all religions, meditation and prayer give full life to manifested results. The greater being that resides in us works when we communicate with it spiritually. The results of prayer and meditation are remarkable and more often than not we hear people saying praying is like directly giving permission to a greater being to carry your life and burdens for you. In my life I have moments that are testimonies of either deliberate or desperate calling through conditioned prayer or through sub-conscious and informal praying.

iii. We have a natural emotional and spiritual incline towards lack,failure and despair. Our visual assessments and interpretations of current situations give permanence and life to the problems we encounter. In page 17 line 8-13 Losier writes about an example scenario of such moments.

“ For example, if you open your wallet and don’t see any money there, you are now offering a vibration of lack, fear or some other similar negative vibration Although you are not doing it on purpose, the law of Attraction is simply responding to your vibration and giving you more of the same”

The above example also elaborates how limited we are in terms of comprehension. In the bible when Jesus was walking on water he called upon Peter who at first walked and then looked down on the water. The moment Peter looked down he saw water instead of the miracle that was taking place. This immediately translated to doubt and consequently he began to drown. At a certain day I was walking with someone in the rural areas. I looked at the poor roads and also realized that there was no electricity. My first comment was that we can build good roads here and electrify every house in the area. The response I got was a very discouraging response a flat “this will happen in the hundred years stop dreaming”. Upon analyzing the statement I realized that my friend had just agreed with me that it will happen. But however his doubt made him to further forecast that possibility a century ahead. This was of course a sad encounter that I re-live everyday and feel sorry for the man who does not believe in possibilities. Even if we were to look at that possibility again after perhaps engaging special surveyors and engineers and given the area of the place we are talking about. We would realize that it would only cost a millions of dollars, which is by most standards something that can be done as there are more than 1000 billionaires in the world to be exact 1226 according to a Forbes list of billionaires 2012 and if this is an individual list of people who achieved billions why would a small project fail to be achieved by a community.

iv. Another idea depicted is that we must use words in silence and in speech that best describe other than words that talk about things we do not want. Focusing on things that we would rather have do and want manifests those things in reality. We must always ask ourselves what we want and what we would rather have happen

v. Losier further articulates that we should not fool ourselves by affirmations that are neither true or deeply embedded in our inner selves, as the truth of what we desire is deeply rooted in our hearts and cannot be erased by mere statements.

vi. The author alludes to the fact that we must learn to live a life without doubt or disbelief. Doubt and disbelief are very negative factors that are very destructive and dangerous. We also meet a sermon on doubt in Matthew 14 vs 31. Our thought system is highly embedded in the words we speak, think and write, they link to our emotions and reactions. All dictators have used words affectionately and effectively to mislead their people. Hitler’s Manifesto depicted and targeted the Jew race for persecution. Strong words of hatred were used to motivate Germans to believe in killing and exterminating them. In Zimbabwe the current dictator and murderer President used words to exterminate the Matabeleland people the very people who fought tirelessly for the equality of everyone. In his speech before the unleashing of the notorious 1983-87 genocide. He described the people of Matabeleland as dissidents. Today his very utterances are being taught at schools labeling the victims of the genocide as dissidents.

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?

By learning the three process system law of attraction I will be able to command and attract just the right circumstances to achieve on the personal, inter-personal and community level.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

There were several quotable quotes found in the book. The list below depicts some of these quotes which are

“I attract to my life whatever I give attention, energy and focus to, whether positive or negative “

“You will be able to attract all that you need to do, know and have, so you can get more of what you want and less of what you don’t want. As a result you will have your ideal client, your ideal job, your ideal relationship, your ideal vacation, your ideal health, more money in your life and all that you desire really!”

The above two quotes suggest that we are responsible for the things we attract in our lives. The above statement then gives us human beings who are always inquisitive about what would happen next, a sense of security as we are being told that we can attract into our lives what we desire.

The two quotes below seem to strengthen the fact that these laws of attraction exist.

“Suffice to say science has shown that if there are physical laws that can be observed and quantified in one arena, there are most probably similar laws in other arenas, even if they cannot be quantified at this time.”

“What you radiate outward in your thoughts, feelings, mental pictures and words, you attract into your life” Catherine Ponder Dynamic Law of Prosperity,

“So this person gets out of bed atubs their toe , burns their toast, the traffic is snarled, a client cancels and then they catch themselves saying “ I should have stayed in bed !” This quote gives us a classic example of how we always limit ourselves to the small incidents that happen in our lives and immediately align the rest of day or day to the negative forces thereby calling upon ourselves more negative circumstances.

“Or how about a salesperson who is joyfully excited about a huge sale they just made, thus sending out a positive vibration. Shortly after, they get an ideal sale. They catch themselves saying “i am on a roll!” This quote suggests the opposite of the negative incident by giving an example of a positive response from a positive incident.

Though the quotes give out relevant incidents and maybe perhaps what would test the idea would be a person who is involved in a small negative incident and immediately changes the fortunes by thinking positively, which he seems to assure the reader by the following four quotes.

“You will learn how to become a deliberate sender of your vibration so that you can change the results you have been getting and have more of what you do want and less of what you don’t”

“Its important to understand that the law of attraction is already existing in your life whether you understand it or not”

“The law of attraction responds the same way your mind does it hears what you don’t want. When you hear yourself make a statement containing words don’t not or no you are actually giving attention and energy to what you don’t want. “

“Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time. One or the other must dominate. It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind. “

In the following quotes Michael J Losier seems suggest that we must remove all doubt and allow events to take place especially according to our desires

“Allowing is simply the absence of negative vibration and doubt is a negative vibration. Allowing is the most important step in the deliberate Attraction process. One of my clients, Danny asked me why he did not attract his desires. He had built a great Clarity list of his ideal clients and made an awesome Desire Statement that felt great. So why didn’t he attract his desires”.?

The process was not enough for him to just identify his desire and really want it. He also had to remove any doubt surrounding his belief that he would attract it. This doubt removing process is called allowing.

“Sometimes it is hard to believe that you will get what you desire. This is especially true if you are focusing on the fact that you haven’t reached your goal. When you concentrate on what you don’t have, you are offering a negative vibration. So instead, feel the relief by saying I am in the process of….”

“Remember as a Negative-Nelly goes from what they don’t want to what they want their words change, and when their words change, their vibration changes so they now offer a new higher vibration. As their vibration rises it gets closer to matching yours, and the closer their vibration is to yours, the more harmonious your vibrations become”.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

Yes the book contained a lot of exercises, these exercises were very helpful as they kept on making me question my desires and refining how I would love to live my life.

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

Rating

A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

 

 

Leadership for Dummies
Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The main idea that the authors convey in the book Leadership for Dummies is that while leadership is a hard and demanding occupation it is a very easy to learn and fulfilling art. He communicates to the reader that leadership is more than just a vocation. It is an art that can be learnt and assumed by anyone who has the will power to lead, not only himself but other people, the society and community at large. The authors also state that leadership is also a necessary art for community prosperity and development. The authors also oppose the idea that leadership is an inherent quality and states that leadership can be learned. They attempt to define the aspect of leadership in a new dimension where it does not belong to one particular individual or family or group just like the monarchical style of rule and leadership.

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.

Below are some of the lessons that come out when reading the book Leadership for Dummies.

A. The idea that leadership is an art brings us to the point that it can be learnt by anyone who has the will and the guts to engage himself in the leadership occupation.
This is self evident as no one person is born with all the skills necessary to live in the world. What we are and what we will be has been centered and will be centered on what we learn.

B. The authors bring to the light of the reader that we as a people are always tested beyond our limitations either as followers or as leaders.
Many a times when leading or following the lead of someone else I have almost given up on my role either as a leader or as a follower.

C. In the book leadership for dummies the authors outline a set of principles that make it easy for people to lead in various fields and spectra of life.
Giving out the simple guidelines on how to use these principles and how to define the roles for both leadership and those being led. In all the circumstances I have found myself in either as a leader or a follower I have found that the role of the leadership and the group being led needs to be well defined as failure to do such will lead to chaos within the group where both the leadership and its followers end up mismatching its roles and responsibilities.

D. Leadership is also outlined as a process that we undergo through our various life experiences and life situations.
It tends to teach the reader that all around us we are surrounded by a lot of necessary experiences for the betterment of our skills in the leadership field. Characteristics like resilience and persistence are learnt through events of trials and tribulations hence most leaders tend to seem to undergo suffering at some point and then tend to develop the necessary characteristics needed for leadership.

E. The book tends to emphasize on the lesson that leadership is a basic skill that needs to be embraced with a willing and dedicated spirit that usually helps leaders to take charge over themselves and ultimately their surroundings.

F. The authors outline the lesson of servitude as a critical lesson that leaders must learn.
As outlined in the book, leadership is temporary and hence leaders should not take it personally. As in the bible the story of Moses he was recalled from duty by God after portraying the powers he had been given as his own, forgeting that he was just fulfilling a sacred role.

G. Ultimately leadership is the highest form of self-actualization.
As the authors insinuate that it brings high level fulfillment to both the leader and the community being led once a goal has been attained.

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?

As leadership begins at the personal level learning these lessons helps me to reflect on my own set of leadership skills, values, traits and characteristics giving me a much more balanced and realistic assessment of my personal leadership skills, my extra-personal leadership skills especially in relation to those around me and to those I lead. It will also help me assist those I follow to lead better. As an understanding of leadership as both a follower and a leader gives a well defined perspective of what leadership should entail and how it should be upheld. How its intrinsic values and principles should be upheld, how it should be applied to change and re-shape the world. The lessons entailed in the book give a new direction of people related skills and leadership dimensions. It brings to the centre core the humble qualities of a good leader.

4. Quotes are there any statements that the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.

Below are some of the quotes that thought are most notable.

“A good leader listens to all information and then sorts through it. You test contradictory messages by asking for more information in order to find the truth.” Making an informative decision is based on the facts at hand. As a leader one must strive to have facts at his fingertips so as to understand what is happening and as well as to make the right decisions.

“A poor leader will push opponents until they are forced to respond, often with disastrous consequences to both the person doing the pushing and the group they are leading.”
World over dictators and their followers have been defeated by the power of liberty exercised by the masses.

“Long before you can teach a team how to win and devise strategies and plays your job as a leader is selling your team members on the expectation that they can win and that winning is their sole mission. Selling is an intangible. You may have your SWOT charts in hand but selling requires that you be able to convince people that they can do something that they believe they can’t do.”
This quote also reminds us that we must also convince ourselves as well as we cannot sell a product we do not believe and belief is the only thing that will take people to greater heights.

“The people who selected you have expectations as well and you are going to have to balance their expectations against your own and those of your group. Just as your group maybe initially skeptical of you and your ability to lead, even the enthusiastic and encouraging executive team may have you on probation until you prove yourself. So you have to know what the expectations of upper management are, if you are going to meet them.”
When a society is need of a great leader to solve its underlying and deep problems, it generally sets down the guidelines and defines the character of the great person in the making. The distinct factor between all aspiring candidates for that greatness is the failure to meet the criteria and characteristic of the great person needed. It is like a vacancy posted at a doorway with a big advert headline written. Leader Wanted.
”You should also complete a sober assessment of your own strengths and weaknesses and you ought to be looking for people who can feel in where you are weak. If you have come this far as a leader you probably know where you need improvement and what your skills are. Look around your group to find people who complement your strengths and who can help you overcome your weaknesses, and give them the responsibility of doing things that you particularly do not do well.”
In business and the corporate world organizations and companies succeed because they continually assess the position and the status of their organizations in relation to its environment and its surroundings. The same is true in leadership. Leaders exist in teams and communities and for them to succeed must mitigate against their own weaknesses and enhance their own strengths. As such it is important to continually assess our strengths and weaknesses as a people.

In the quote below the authors share with us one of the hardest things for human beings to do learning. Learning is a discipline that brings forth crucial results as it allows us to grow and become better human asserts. In leadership learning becomes a core element of leading people as it allows us to see beyond our prejudices and perceptions. In my life I have discovered that mastering that discipline gives us a lot of benefits as both individual beings and as members of a larger human family.
“Learning how to learn is the hardest thing. It is not about taking notes and being well organized, though such things help. Learning how to learn starts when you assume that life’s lessons are all around you, and then seek to know what they have to teach you. When your boss tells you to do something for example, learn to ask for an explanation after you have complied with her request.”

“What is doable? The physicist Isidor Rabi, who worked on the Manhattan project and later won a noble peace prize once said, with enough money you can even suspend then laws of nature, Temporarily,” What he meant was that if it could be imagined then it could be done. You have to figure out the cause and whether the price is too great to pay for the result, and finally whether the result is sufficiently permanent to justify the effort. Those are hard in the short term, but what makes certain leaders great is the persistence of their vision.”
Persistence has been the leadership lesson that has been taught by example by a multitude of leaders who have succeeded in their visions and that becomes the lesson emphasized in the above quote.
“The world exists in myriad colors and subtle shades, and the leader who can learn to see the world in all its polychrome wonder and to make the fine distinctions in shadings that are required to solve problems without causing confrontations is the leader who will ultimately succeed.”
Leadership is about soliciting co-operation even from things and people we would rather not co-operate with. In this the authors of the book suggest that leaders ought to be open minded and allow for the world to unveil its own opportunities.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?
Yes the book had very important exercises that helped me to evaluate my life’s ultimate goals and ways to achieve them. These were very useful for they gave me a realistic outlook of my life goals. They helped bring me back to the drawing board for further self-assessment and goal setting.

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.

Feel free to share any additional comments about the book or about the rating. In every culture leadership has been portrayed as a humble occupation that demands the highest level of Godly conduct. This book cements that fact and hence most examples in religious books and stories have a recorded history of leaders from humble backgrounds who rise to serve their people.
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? 8.5
B. How helpful were the contents? 8.5
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8.5

 

 

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book.

The seven habits of highly effective people reminds us of the teachings that have been there since time immemorial. It is based on every natural principle that we have leant of, heard of or even experienced. As portrayed the seven habits also add value to the other things we do not often meet in more detail. In basic terms the author brings to the surface that highly successful people follow a set of habits that are principles that help us to reach optimum performance and optimum achievement. The author re-iterates that we can also be successful if we follow these set of habits that could change our lives entirely. Dr. Covey suggests that success is simply mastering the right principles and habits.

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.

The book itself is set in a seven tier lesson that takes from one level to another. As perfectly structured in the book the following lessons are easily depicted.

A. Being proactive

In this habit the author emphasizes that being a push individual is beneficial in many senses.

B. Beginning with the end in mind

The power of visualization is well noted in the book. Beginning with the end in mind is like embedding a goal in our minds a goal that will stay present. This goal affects our servo mechanism and cultivates the will power necessary to push for the success of the goal

C. Putting First things First

This habit centers on the fact that we have things that are priorities and hence should be given first attention. In leadership, both individual or group leadership there are things that are crucial and therefore should be given first priority. If we do not give first priority to these things they end up putting a lot of pressure in our lives or the lives of a group in the case of the group.

D. Thinking win/win

In this habit the author emphasizes on the aspect of making it work for everybody. In another sense he talks about finding an effective way of making all people reach their goals without necessarily having anyone to lose.

E. Listening

The greatest assert of any is the ability to listen, hence it is also emphasized in the book the seven habits of highly effective people by the author

F. Synergizing

The author tries to give us a clear understanding of the fact that synergy must be reached for us to achieve optimum results. He strengthens that with synergy the whole system and the whole wheel comes to harmony hence making it easy to maneuver forward.

G. Sharpening ourselves

The author also emphasized that it is important for an effective person to always have a formula for sharpening themselves, learning new things and hence ultimately achieving more results.

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?

By adopting these lessons I will be in a position to try and model my actions and efforts towards achieving my goals by using these principles.

4. Quotes are there any statements that the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.

There are many quotes that particularly caught my attention below are some of them.

“Reference to the character Ethic became mostly lip service, the basic thrust was quick fix influence techniques, power strategies, communication skills and positive attitudes.”

The above quote refers to the fact that at a certain point there was more talk than action on the subject of being highly effective. Thus people at some point concentrated on the talking side of the action. Moreover people were not prepared to do some character transformation on their own. In actual sense it is important to note that any quick fix methods does not transform the inner self of a person which is vital to the change of character and hence habits.

“Each of us have many, many maps in our head, which can be divided into two main categories: maps of the way things are, and maps of the way things should be or values.”

This quote emphasizes the fact that as people we have certain value systems, beliefs and views of the world in our heads and minds.

“The underlying chronic condition remains and eventually new acute symptoms will appear. The more people are into quick fix and focus on the acute problems and pains, the more that very approach contributes to the underlying chronic problems. The way we see the problem is the problem.”

Though the quote seems like two quotes in one. The first emphasizes on the fact that temporary measures are usually not the solution and hence by focusing on trying to solve things on short cuts only aggravates the problem. While the second part as it, were might be focusing on the fact that our perception of the problem is most of the time the problem. We often tend to overestimate or underestimate or completely miss the problem. It is in this time and place that we often turn away from the solution with our wrong perception of the whole scenario. In my life I have also been exposed to the self-defeating habit of quick fix or wrong perceptions and by the time I find out what could be the problem. It would have been too late.

Our Character is a composite of our habits. “Sow a thought reap an action, sow an action reap a habit, sow a habit reap a character, sow a character reap a destiny;” the maxim continues. Habits are powerful factors in our lives. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly daily express our character and produce our effectiveness or ineffectiveness.

Needless to say this quote emphasizes on our abilities to maximize on our potential by sticking to the right habits.

“The seven habits are habits of effectiveness. Because they are based on principles, they bring the maximum long term beneficial results possible. They become the basis of a person’s character, creating an empowering centre of correct maps from which an individual can effectively solve problems, maximize opportunities and continually learn and inter grate in an upward spiral of growth.”

In this quote consistency of character is greatly dependent on the consistency of winning habits. The author emphasizes on the fact that the most successful people stick to right habits. Like the examples given in the book of people who persisted in their lives through thick and thin. Until they broke through and from there on were unstoppable. For example Thomas Edison is one such example. Therefore what we consistently do becomes our leverage to success. Of the skills that I have mastered in my life, it has been mostly been doing the correct thing over and over again. To further emphasize on the habit. Once we stop doing things that make us succeed we also stop succeeding.

“While we are free to choose our actions we are not free to choose the consequences of these actions. Consequences are governed by natural law.”

I took particular note of this quotation as it brings to light a factual principle. It reminds us that choices simple have outcomes and repercussions. We have not control over the aftermaths. For example if I where to strike a person with an iron bar I would not have much power over the outcome of my action. I cannot in anyway take back the strike because my strike would have produced injury and hence which is a direct outcome of the choice I would have made. Climate change is also another sad example of bad human choice. When it was first referred to people, governments, corporations did not take heed, they were engraved in enjoying their lives. Thus the world is paying dearly for those choices now. In actual fact the effects of climate change are still to get worse and surprising enough we are still making the wrong choices as humanity.

“It’s a principle that all things are created twice, but not all first creations are by conscious design.”

This quote emphasizes on the fact that at times we make choices without being much aware of what we are doing until to such a time we have done the thing.

“The leader is the one who climbs the tallest tree, surveys the entire situation and yells ”wrong jungle.”

The above quote reminds us that leadership is a big responsibility and henceforth is embedded on the ability to look for signs of success, failure and excellence.

“Guidance means your source of direction in life. Encompassed by your map, your internal frame of reference that interprets for you what is happening out there, are standards or principles or implicit criteria that govern moment by moment decision-making and doing.”

In the above quote we learn that for us to succeed we must have a clear concise roadmap that would be preceded by our corrective actions towards achieving our goals.

“One of the fundamental problems in organizations, including families, is that people are not committed to the determinations of other people for their lives. They simply do not buy into them.”

“Effective management is putting first things first. While leadership is decides what first things are.”

“First things first is an essential not only in leadership but in all facets of life.”

“The power of focused leadership is the basis of effectively managing our lives and positively influencing the outcome. By identifying the most important things and making sure that we know what must be done we become able to effectively manage that outcome.”

This quote emphasized the fact that all leadership must come with us.
Basically if we cannot lead ourselves then we cannot lead others.

“Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience, and it doesn’t preclude the necessity to train and develop people so that their competency can rise to that level of trust.”

In simpler terms the quote emphasized the age long phrase, trust is earned.

“Because win/win is a principle people can validate in their own lives, you will be able to bring most people to a realization that they will win more of what they want by going for both what you want.”

In actual fact the quotation gives us a serious reminder of the fact that the world is in shambles today because we are yet to develop a strong concept of win/win where we all benefit by making an environment where everyone has the ability to achieve without necessarily causing others to fail.

“Emphatic listening takes time, but it doesn’t take anywhere near as much time as it takes to back up and correct misunderstandings when you are already miles down the road, to redo, to live with unexpressed and unresolved problems, to deal with the results of not giving people psychological air.”

This is a very crucial quotation. We make so many mistakes in our lives, environments, in the world and everywhere else. However we as people always miss the point. That misunderstandings, conflicts and unresolved problems lead to more problems. By also not listening to everything around us we are bound to make mistakes that will be very difficult to correct down the road.

“As you listen deeply to other people, you will discover tremendous differences in perception.”

As the quote depicts when we listen deeply to other people we also learn other things and find out a lot of things we would not have known.

“When you are communicating synergistically you are simply opening your mind and heart and expressions to new possibilities, new alternatives, and new options.”

I also like this quote as it gives a direction on how to synergy harmony.

“When a person has access to both the intuitive, creative and visual right brain, and the analytical, logical, verbal left brain, then the whole brain is working. In other words, there is psychic synergy taking place in our own head.”

A continuation of synergistic living and thinking the quote gives a testimony of the fact that we need to create a balance in our world beginning with our brains and all our mental faculties. When I was a young man at school both physical and mental activities were encouraged this was to develop a healthy functioning person. It is the same even today, when we have developed both a physical and mental synergy we are able to achieve beyond our imagination.

“Once we are self-aware, we must choose purposes and principles to live by, otherwise the vacuum will be filled, and we will lose our self awareness and become like groveling animals who live primarily for survival and propagation.”

“Know thyself has been the teaching of many years, by knowing our dreams, our aspirations our hopes we are able to transform ourselves, our lives and our environments in relation to what we truly desire.”

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, the book was clear.

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?

Yes.

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.

As a habitual manual the book was not actually fun to read because it was constantly reminding me of the many things that I have to change with my life, do away with a lot of self-defeating habits and adopt new habits that would lead me to a better level.

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? 7
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8.5

 

 

Goals

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The main idea that the author tries to convey in the book is that goals are the ultimate compass to our success and achievement. In summary he simply relates to the fact that without any tangible goals a person cannot achieve anything. In reality it is like sailing in a sea without a clear port of landing. He instills the idea of having clear cut goals and objectives as the foundational prerequisite of success. The art of goal setting is related in throughout the whole book and seems to apply to all areas of our lives. Brian Tracy suggests that we ought to set up goals in our personal lives, set up goals in professional lives, generally set up goals in everything that we do. In essence every entity in existence sets up goals. Companies and organizations set up goals in their strategic and tactical planning exercises. People in relationships set up goals in their relationships, those who fail to set up goals end up living their lives out of chance.

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. Clear goal setting

The whole book itself is about mastering the process, science of goal setting and sticking to the intended achievement of these goals.

ii. Regular revision

Brian Tracy also states that keeping stock of our goals and constantly revisiting them is a critical component of achieving our goals.

iii. Values and Beliefs

He also states that our goals should be greatly aligned to our values and beliefs as this in turn tends to be in sync with our inner selves and makes sure that we are being true to ourselves instead of just trying to achieve goals that do not hold true to our inner most beings which is an impediment itself.

iv. Flexibility

The art of flexibility is also depicted from reading the book. Being flexible with our goals generally means that we are in a position to align them with our present realities.

v. Breeding and influencing conducive environments for success.

Another idea that comes out in the book is the fact that environments play a big part in our belief system and therefore affect the quality of goals set or our ability to meet our target goals. Which also therefore means that sticking with the right people is essential to achieving the set down goals.

vi. Knowing what you want

Knowing what we want is like setting ourselves a start process that allows us to stand up and take action to get the things that we want. Being clear with what we want greatly assists us in achieving our goals as it helps us to set up goals and targets that are in sync with our core beliefs. Knowing what we want eliminates a lot of undesirable states like doubt and fear.

vii. We are the key to achieving our goals

The author also seems to suggest that after all has been written and examined the success of our goals depends heavily on us. No one is going to propel what we set out as our personal goals to success. Only we the goal setters are responsible for the execution of these goals.

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?

Since goal setting is an essential part of living a rich and successful life i will be able first to determine what my innermost important beliefs are and from there on model my goals according to those beliefs.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Some of the brief quotes that caught my attention in going through the book are as follows.

“There is no greater guarantee of a long, happy, healthy and prosperous life than for you to be continually working on being, having, and achieving more and more of the things you really want. Clear goals enable you to realize your full potential for personal and professional success. Goals enable you to overcome any obstacle and to make your future achievement unlimited.”

The above quote gives us a clear summary of everything about goal setting and acts as an important in our lives to always remember that goal setting is the most important exercise for success we can ever embark on.

“You are responsible for your own strategy and your relationships, both at home and at work.”

As also depicted as a key lesson that we are responsible for all actions that lead us to success. No one else but ourselves.

“Your beliefs in turn determine the third ring of your personality, your expectations. If you have positive values you will believe yourself to be a good person. If you believe yourself to be a good person you will expect good things to happen to you.”

I particularly took note of this quote as it emphasized an important aspect of success which is belief.

“Aristotle said the ultimate aim or purpose of human life is to achieve your own happiness. You are the very happiest when what you are doing on the outside is congruent with your values on the inside.”

This quote is important because it shows us that goal setting has been practiced since time immemorial and is a proven science of success.

“Self limiting beliefs at times based on a single experience or a casual remark, can hold you back for years. Most people have had the experience of mastering a skill in an area, where they thought they had no ability and being quite surprised at themselves. Perhaps this has happened to you. You suddenly realize that limiting ideas about yourself in that area were not based on fact at all.”

This quote by far is the most important to me as it reminds me of the negative repercussions that come with self doubt and limiting beliefs. If we learn to live above board such negative attestations we are then set to achieve whatever goal we want. This happens mainly with people who have the greatest potential to succeed, their limitation usually is doubt and most of the time the people around them instill such levels of doubt. If we are more than committed to live beyond such doubt then we achieve a lot in life.

“Proverbs 29 vs 18 says where there is no vision the people perish.”

The proverb has a greater element of truth. It is true, as it is true that a blind man cannot walk well.

“Your major definite purpose can be defined as the one goal that is most important to you at the present moment. It is usually the one goal that will help you achieve more of your other goals than anything else you can accomplish.”

I like this quote because it touches deep in the deepest aspect of life purpose. Without purpose the rest of these goals that we set end up being useless.

“Many decisions that you make will turn out to be wrong in the fullness of time. When you made a decision of commitment it was probably a good idea based on the circumstances of the moment. But now the situation may have changed and it is time to zero base it again.”

The quote teaches us mostly about flexibility and adaptability. Being able to adapt to the ever changing environments and constantly revising our methods to get to our destination

“You were put on this earth with special talents and abilities that make you unique and different from all other people who have ever lived. Throughout your life, you have often found yourself drawn to an area of activity where your special talents and abilities have enabled you to accomplish more and to enjoy what you are doing at a higher level than anything else you could do.”

The above quote assisted me in taking stock of what I can do and using my talents to the best of my ability in achieving the real goals that I have set out myself to achieve.

“Once you have a clear idea of what you want and the reasons you want it set clear deadlines for the achievement of each of your goals.”

“All improvements in your outer life begin with an improvement in your mental pictures. Create a clear exciting vision of yourself enjoying the highest levels of health and energy of your lifetime.

“Remember you become what you think about most of the time. In the area of problems and difficulties, successful people have a particular way of thinking that we cal solution orientation.

The above three quotes have an impact on me as they remind me of the importance of forming a picture that is ideal to my success ambitions.

“For every problem that is standing between you and what you want to accomplish, there is usually a solution of some kind somewhere. Your job is to be absolutely clear about what sets the speed at which you achieve your goal and then focus your time and attention on alleviating that constraint.”

The above quote is a process reminder that we need not to be overwhelmed by the problems we face but rather to be the masters of coming up with solutions.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

Yes the book contained a useful exercises and which assisted me in reviewing my life goals and modeling my actions according to what I want to achieve.

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.

I have realized that the book offers similar lessons with the books that I have learned this far from Psycho-Cybernetics, to books like Giant Steps to some extent it talks about the importance of belief, ourselves and a lot of other similar lessons.

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? 8
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

Maximum Achievement

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The book Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy is an interesting book to read. The author takes the reader in a journey of self discovery and self mastery. In simple and concise terms Brian Tracy conveys the message that we can achieve on the maximum if we learn to master ourselves. He states that we the key to the highest form of achievement is greatly embedded in their core inner beings. Unlike the popular belief that the outside world offers vast opportunities of success. He simply articulates that our inner deep core selves has all that is needed to succeed to the best of our abilities. The external world only responds and corresponds to us. He states all our circumstances are a result of who we are and therefore only us are responsible for the success that comes our way or the failures that we endure. Ultimately the author conveys to the reader that ultimate success is a result of self mastery. All lessons activities and ideas conveyed in the book are more or less related to the essential art of self mastery.

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. Inner Peace

Inner peace is the most referred to idea in the book, mostly from the beginning of the book to the end of the book. The author seems to state that the beginning of any success is attributed to an individual mastering inner peace. By achieving inner peace a person is mostly able to relate to his inner self, and control the external world. Though I have not yet mastered the art of inner peace. In the few meditation and self awareness exercises I have gone through I have realized a different set of being first within myself and next to everything around me.

ii. Super conscious mind

Another interesting idea conveyed by Brian Tracy is the mastery of the third force mind, the Super conscious mind most which humans relate as a external dimensional force from God. The super conscious mind as presented by the author here is the solutions bank that operates above general human comprehension. Brian Tracy however seems to insinuate that we can master this third force dimension. By compiling and relating our desires wishes, hopes ,aspirations and even problems to the super conscious mind we learn to master and use its force and power. I also agree with the author’s notion that we have all accidentally tapped into this force without being conscious of. Many times i have come across challenges that I believed where going to shatter my whole life and have been through some way pulled through these challenges. The difference between now and then is the fact that in the past I was unconscious and perhaps now i would be able to achieve that in full awareness.

iii. Belief

In performing miracles Jesus used to tell his followers and believers that faith and belief was the antidote of all challenges and problems. He even stated that if a person believed he could certainly move mountains. By then perhaps many would have doubted this. But today human beings are able to blow out mountains using all sorts of methods and change their terrains. In the book Maximum Achievement the author also relates to the art of belief as a critical and essential component of success.

iv. Desire

The author also states that desire is also an important aspect in achieving to the maximum. Without desire a person will mostly stop at trying to achieve an goal as soon as challenges start coming up. Desire makes one invincible and helps him/her to achieve their ultimate goals.

v. Avoiding Negative Emotions

Brian Tracy also communicates to the reader the importance of avoiding negative emotions like anger, fear, doubt, guilt, resentment and taking things too personally. He suggests that these are the first obstacles that we create for ourselves, before we even encounter serious challenges and obstacles in our quest to achieve our goals.

vi. Love

The idea of love is also presented in the book Maximum Achievement. Love in this book is presented as the key answer to key achievement. Love as presented here relates to the self, the other and the universe. The author suggests that when we love the world loves us back. Even after persecution of our love from opposing virtues like hate we remain rewarded. This is especially true in all the masters who have ever walked on this earth and have been persecuted for love and yet today their ideologies are shaping or have shaped a better world. In essence no one forgets those that show and express unconditional love to them.

vii. Forgiveness

Another striking idea presented in the book is also the idea of forgiveness. Brian Tracy suggests that by forgiving ourselves and everyone else we get rid of all the negative emotions that could be obstacles in our endeavors.

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?

There is no doubt that the ideas presented in the book are mostly indisputable as we have seen them working in various and different areas of life. These ideas have been preached and have to some extent changed the world. Mahatma Gandhi changed the fate of India by mastering some of these ideas. By mastering them myself I seek to make the much needed change in my society.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Below are of the quotes I believe caught my attention.

“Achieving inner peace must be a central organizing principle of your life. It must become the overarching goal to which all your other goals are subservient. In fact you are only successful as a person to the degree to which you can achieve your own happiness, your own contentment, your own sense of personal well being – in short, your own peace of mind.”

The above quote further communicates to me the need to develop inner peace so as to master myself and ultimately become a master of my own environment.

“Without a clear idea of what your really want in a relationship with another person, you will probably find yourself in situations of not your own choosing. Problems in life are almost invariably people problems. They come with hair on top, and talk back.”

Relationships are the most important in a person’s life they enrich him/her with a rich interdependency essential for success. I have not until recently valued relationships, I am one person who tried by all means to be emotionally detached from people. This I have grown to realize that might also have a negative effect on myself as I could not learn even to be in a relationship with myself. Therefore most of the relationships I have before entered into before had no personal clear terms of reference and hence were not as fulfilling as they could have been. The above quote has stuck in my mind and helped me take stock of my past and present relationships with a hope of improving on those I am already in and getting into better and enriching future relationships.

“You may already know that there are two types of laws in the universe: man made laws. You can violate man-made laws, and you may not get caught. But if you attempt to violate natural laws, you get caught every single time, without exception.”

This quote reminds us that the respect of natural laws is a key success tool.

“’Remember we are all afraid, Especially we fear criticism and disapproval. We will go to great lengths to earn the goodwill and acceptance of people we look up to. We will make sacrifices of all kinds to be liked. Soldiers will even risk their lives not to let others down. But you need to be constantly aware of this insidious influence. It can as Francis Bacon wrote, make a man who can in no way be true to his own ends.”

“Most people are immobilized by fears of all kinds. They fear poverty or loss. They fear criticism or disapproval. They fear ill health. They fear being taken advantage of. Above all they fear failure and rejection to the point where they are willing to lead lives of quiet desperation rather than to risk having any of their fears realized. Most of the population lives this way, most of their lives.”

By going through these two quotes I reinforced a resolve to never let emotions of fear hold me back in achieving my goals and mission

“A feeling of optimism is a prerequisite for success and happiness. Yet most of us are plagued by negative emotions of all kinds, especially anger, fear, doubt, envy, resentment, irritability, impatience, intolerance and jealousy. In spite of our best intentions, these negative emotions tend to arise unexpectedly, often at the worst possible moments, and cause us to act in ways that we later regret.”

I have realized that in my life pessimism is the foundation of failure itself. Without a dose of optimism a person will avoid any challenge and live a mediocre existence

“Negative emotions are feelings and responses that have been learned like any habits. They can be unlearned as well, if you have been the key to the lock that holds them in place. To unlearn them, however, you must understand the psychological factors that create a fertile breeding ground for negative emotions in the first place.”

The above quote is particularly relevant to people who seek to attain high level or difficult goals, which require a lot of emotional maturity. When we are harboring all sorts of negative emotions we become unstable and act out of desperation.

“There is a direct relationship between your own level of self esteem and the health of your personality. The more you like and respect yourself, the more you like and respect others. The more you consider yourself to be a valuable and worthwhile person the more you consider others to be valuable and worthwhile as well. The more you accept yourself just as you are the more accept others just as they are.”

This quote is to me a simple reminder of learning to love, respect and value ourselves as no one will ever do that for us.

“The third rule for good conversation is to think before you speak. Avoid saying anything that would make someone uncomfortable, unhappy or self- conscious. Be tactful and aware of the feelings and sensitivities of other people.”

Thinking before one speaks makes any conversation flow smoothly

“Each child is unlike any other and comes into this world with his or her own agenda, with his or her own special talents, interests and abilities. What your child will become, no one can possibly know until much later. The child’s job is not to conform to his or her parent’s expectations, but to grow and flower and become everything he or she is capable of becoming.”

Great Expectations are a disastrous force in the world, it certainly puts a lot of weight on people especially the tender hearted. In reality too much expectation can cause a lot frustration and can become a breeding ground for failure. As if a person cannot fulfill his own life’s mission then there is no way he can do that to other people’s expectations.

“First you can choose to accept yourself unconditionally, no matter what you have done or not done in the past. You can stand back and appreciate your special qualities and attributes. You can emphasize your good points and ignore the areas in which you may not be as good as someone else. You can like and respect yourself exactly as you are rather than as you would like to be someday. The foundation of self esteem is self acceptance.”

I like this quote on the basis that it reminds me to accept myself which unilaterally becomes the universal acceptance of everything and everyone around me.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

The book had a lot of exercises that assisted me in taking stock of myself and how i can better master myself an tap into my own reserves for maximum achievement an fulfillment of my life’s mission.

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.

In going through the book Maximum Achievement i observed that a lot of people who end up achieving greatly in life are people who have endured some of challenges, failure or disappointment in certain aspects of their lives. Its almost like a preparatory period for success. However the general possible conclusion is that we find our true potential the very moment we face challenges in our lives. It is like a self searching experience that the soul programs for us to bring about the best in us. Yet most failures in life are also a result of our failures to rise up against our temporary problems and learn the critical lessons these problems bring to our lives. It is perhaps the difference between successful people and failures.

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? 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? 9.5

 

 

Nonviolent Communmication

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

In his book the author Marshall B. Rosenberg shows NVC as a language of peaceful co -existence of all living human beings. He presents it as a proven communication tool that brings the best and the good nature of people to the surface. Rosenberg relates to Non Violent Communication as a tool that can be used to create a quality of connection with other people and oneself that allows compassionate exchange of ideas and solutions to take place. In the book non Violent Communication a language of life we learn that all actions are taken for the sole purpose of willingly contributing to the well-being of others, ourselves and the larger humanity. allowing us to connect with other people in a way that enables mutual respect to take place and creating a very peaceful and prosperous world.

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.

The whole book is set in chapter that I consider to be key lessons. However the outstanding seven ideas that were personally important to me are as follows:

i. Observing Without Judging

More often than not we are as people and individuals guided by value judgments and these value judgments end up impeding our abilities to change the situations that avail themselves in life. At times these become pre-judgments (prejudices). Once we are prejudiced then we lose all objectivity and relate to what we believe in, even against realities on the ground. By learning to observe without judging i personally think i will be able to detach a lot of negative emotions in any given situation and be able to truly observe what is happening around me. Observing without judging assists us in gathering all the facts about any given situation.

ii. Identifying Feelings

Most of the times we fail to relate to our own feelings and fail to identify what others are going through which end up making destructive conflict a reality. I have personally been one of the people who has for a long time believed that feelings should always be ignored. However by learning how to identify feelings, i am beginning how to relate with my own feelings, those around us and ultimately being able to be in harmony with my fears, their fears, and hopes as well as aspirations.

iii. Taking responsibilities

Taking responsibility gives us power over our situations in life and in any environment. By learning to take responsibility NVC has taught me to see myself as part of the solution and avoid the pitfalls of the running away from challenges and problems. Facing our challenges and problems gives us power over our life conditions and those around us.

iv. Changing Within Ourselves

The self is the most important aspect of our lives if we cannot change within ourselves then we cannot change the circumstances around us. Just as the icon of Non Violent Communication Mahatma Gandhi said ‘ Be the change, you want to see in the world’

v. Expressing Ourselves

If we cannot express ourselves fully then others cannot understand us and if they cannot understand us then we develop a problem with communication, which at times leads to unnecessary conflicts

vi. Protective Use of Force

I have learn t that in dire situations that demand us to use force to make important shifts and changes we have to apply it in a way that preserves dignity, life and humanity.

This protective use of force also makes sure that we prevent retaliation force from those affected. The force should never be to kill but to protect.

vii. Liberating Ourselves

If we cannot liberate ourselves from our inner hurts, feelings, personal problems then we are not in a position to liberate those around us. Therefore we need to liberate ourselves first and then we shall be able to liberate those around us.

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 geo-economic, social and political context that i currently reside is filled with a potential disaster for conflict. By mastering the art of non violent communication i hope i shall be able to assist in finding lasting solutions that will enable us to solve problems in an amicable manner.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Some of the brief quotes that caught my attention in going through the book are as follows.

“At the root of much, if not all, violence weather verbal, psychological, or physical, weather among family members, tribes or nations is a kind of thinking that attributes the cause of conflict or wrongness in one’s adversaries, and a corresponding inability to think of oneself or others in terms of vulnerability – that is, what one might be feeling, fearing, yearning for, and missing.”

This quote makes sense in situations like ours that have been polarized and have a lot of wrong information about certain people and that has tended to create a potential conflict zone. It reminds me of the current situation.

“Life alienating communication both stems from and supports hierarchical or domination societies, where large populations are controlled by a small number of individuals to those individuals own benefit.”

This quote shows us the power of communication on a mass scale and if used wrongly, this communication can destroy the larger lot for the benefit of a few individuals.

“As we know the message we send is not always the message that’s received. We generally rely on verbal cues to determine whether our message has been understood to our satisfaction.”

As NVC is a language of life the above quote reminds us that we should use clear, concise and positive communication to avoid any potentially volatile situations.

“The most powerful way is to communicate that we are making a genuine request is to emphasize with people when they do not agree to the request.”

The above quote puts an emphasis on the idea that people can agree with what they do not agree with if approached nicely.

“In NVC no matter what words others may use to express themselves we simply listen for their observations, feelings, needs and requests. Then we may wish to reflect back, paraphrasing what we have understood. We stay with empathy and allow others the opportunity to fully express themselves before we turn our attention to solutions or requests for relief.”

The above quote is a summary and a reminder of the NVC process and the fact that we have to avoid making judgments at whatever cost.

“I would like to suggest that killing people is too superficial. Killing, hitting, blaming, hurting others weather physically or emotionally are all superficial expressions of what is going on within us when we are angry, we would want a much more powerful way to fully express ourselves.”

Contrary to all the romanticizing of killing in movies and fiction novels and even real situations war and killing is really a destructive element in society. The quote above gives a reminder that killing itself does not actually show how angry we are but instead shows that we cannot handle our emotions quite well.

“I see all anger as a result of life alienating, violence – provoking thinking. At the core of all anger is a need that is not being fulfilled. Thus anger can be valuable if we use it as an alarm clock to wake us up – to realize we have a need that isn’t being met and that we are thinking in a way that makes it unlikely to be met.”

In times I have acted out of sheer anger I have failed to be rational and done things that I later regretted even though I tried to justify that I was angry.

“As mentioned earlier, we have inherited a language that served kings and powerful elites in domination societies. The masses, discouraged from developing awareness of their own needs, have instead been educated to be docile and subservient to authority. Our culture implies that needs are negative and destructive: the word needy applied to a person suggests inadequacy or immaturity.”

This quote reminds us that we are still the masters of our current settings and can still control our own philosophy and approach to our day to day problems.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

Yes the book contained a lot of helpful exercises.

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? 7
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8

 

 

Unlimited Power

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The book unlimited power looks at the art of self mastery as the basis arc of success and ultimate triumph over our environment and surroundings. Anthony Robins dissects the lessons into three categories and or phases, The modeling of human excellence, The Ultimate Success Formula and Section Three which deals with Leadership the Challenge of Excellence. The three phases expand the author’s core message which is according to my own understanding is the use of oneself as the ultimate resource. The Author like many authors of motivational and self development books such as the author of psycho cybernetics conveys the message that we are our own ultimate formula to success. He seems to suggest that only ourselves can have the ability to transform our conditions, realities, surroundings, environment and circumstances. He suggests that by mastering the process of unlimited possibilities, we actually have the power to turn our lives around.

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.

Anthony Robbins articulates several ideas on the art of tapping into our inner resourcefulness and attracting the right circumstances that will in turn make our lives a worthy experience on this earth. Some of these ideas are in the following seven ideas:

i. Unlimted Power

Power has become an accessible tool in our society. The author seems to say that we now have a lot of access to power due to the vast information available in this century. He relates to the fact that the information age has brought to the doorstep of every individual an unlimited amount of knowledge that will make it easy for us to achieve ultimate success. He alludes to the fact that in the past century and earlier times power was confined to a few individuals. Those born into the right families, those who have inherited from their fathers/mothers and the elite in society. He however states that today power is made accessible by the new dimensions of technology. He also suggests that power is a sweet tool any success valuing individual can uphold. The author also suggests that power is has a two way effect on people. It either improves their lives or makes them worse. Or it is either accepted or rejected in fear and in love. He simply communicates that power is power and only be appreciated by those who have a desire for it, whilst those afraid of it will have to live in the realms of other powerful individuals.

ii. Resourcefulness

The author writes intensely on the resourcefulness as a critical component of master art. In this case as represented by the author resourcefulness ranges from the state of mind which gives a lot of stimuli externally that brings about desirable and magical changes in a person’s state of being which in turn stimulates incredible success mechanisms. Resourcefulness involves but is not limited to self-mastery, self belief, state of being which in this case should promote continuing growth and draw a person to success. Mastery of effective communication is another area touched upon by the author on a number of chapters in the book across the three primary sections.

iii. Meta-programs

In relation to human relations Anthony Robbins seems to suggest that people are inherently or habitually programmed in certain ways that relate to their characteristic behaviors. However the author brings to the attention of the reader the idea that dealing effectively with meta-programs of all those who are a part of our life networks we are able to influence and lead their behaviors.

iv. Congruency

Congruency is another idea that I think was touched on in the book Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins. Congruency being the synergistic and perfect flow of our personal lives, those of the ones we love, care about or are responsible over. Congruency as presented in this book plays a great deal in helping an individual achieve success.

v. Reframing

What we see is only true as much as we perceive it. This is another idea that author seems to bring to the surface. This is applicable to personal perceptions, experiences and the evident circumstances in this case problems that can be channeled into opportunities.

vi. Anchoring

The Author also suggests that the one important thing is to anchor and position our goals to make sure that the right conditions are applied for success.

vii. Modeling

This idea is seen in most of the chapters in the book and illustrates that we can actually reach our goals in a more scientifically proven way which allows us to cut the pain of having to go through nasty and costly experiences by learning other successful people, which saves us on time and money. As presented by the Author, the art of modeling is copying successful behavioral traits and characteristics.

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 have a serious challenge with one of my most important relationships. In reading through this book on the importance of sharing values I realized that my personal relationships were suffering because I had not created enough rapport on the values with those I share relationships with. In coming across these ideas and tools in the book I was able to make a resolve to try them with my personal relationships. I choose to deal with personal relationships because I believe that the quality of my personal relationships will eventually translate into the external relationships I have.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Some of the brief quotes that caught my attention in going through the book are as follows.

“The exciting thing to note is that the key to power today is available to us all. If you weren’t a king in medieval times, you might have had a great deal of difficulty becoming one. If you didn’t have capital at the beginning of the industrial revolution the odds of you amassing it seemed very slim indeed. But today any kid in blue jeans can create a corporation that can change the world.”

This is a very true summary of the advantages of the modern world where information has become a critical component of our everyday lives.

“If it’s possible for others in the world, its possible for you. It’s not a matter of weather you can produce the results that someone has produced it’s a matter of strategy.”

This quote cements the age long gospel of possibilities.

“The first source is the environment this is where the cycles of success breeding success and failure breeding failure are played. The real horror of ghetto life is not the daily deprivations and frustrations. People can overcome those. The real nightmare is the effect that has on beliefs and dreams.”

This is particularly true in terms of learning habits from critical skills like language and behavioral trends we are all shaped by our environments

“Remember a belief is a strong emotional state of certainty that you hold about specific people, things, ideas, or experiences of life. How do you create that certainty? Through specific sub-modalities.”

The importance of belief plays an important role in our lives and is important in creating our realities. In all instances where I have applied the art of belief I have been able to succeed in my endeavors.

“Take a moment and imagine yourself a month from now having actually followed the principles and concepts we’ve talked about. See the person you will be after having changed your biochemistry by eating and breathing effectively.”

This is according to me a fixation quote which acts as a motivating reminder set on the wall and reminds me on times when I was taking my exams where I would right all the exam practice exercises and stick them on the wall. It helped me envision myself passing an exam and actually helped in the exams.

“You now have the techniques and insights that will help you discover how people produce results and how to model their actions so that you can produce similar results. You’ve learned how to achieve whatever you want and how to help others achieve what they want.”

This quote reminds me of the fact that after gaining the knowledge the next step is left on us to achieve our goals

“Winning starts with beginning anonymous.”

This quote depicts the important art of starting on an initiative

“Much of the language is nothing more than wild generalization and assumption. That sort of lazy language can suck the guts out of real communication. If people tell you with precision what specifically is bothering them, and if you can find out what they want instead you can deal with it. But if they use vague phrases and generalizations, you’re just lost in their mental fog.”

This quote is important as it touches on the importance of clarity in communication to ensure precise understanding.

“I used to think that to help poor people was to be one of them. I found out the opposite might be true. The best way to help poor people is to be a model of other possibilities, to let them know there is another set of choices available and to assist them in developing the resources to be self-sufficient.”

This is particularly relevant to my particular line of work and vocation I used to think that being part of the people I want to help was going to make me effective but I have since realized that it only makes me as vulnerable as they are and the best way is to understand their problems so as to help them well.

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?

Yes I disagree with the example used in page 291-293 that of the fair young lady depicted in the form of an old lady and justified as a young lady. I think the example in used is perceptive re-orientation and manipulation. Figure A & B are not as clearly illustrated as in Figure C. Therefore Figure A and B are not exactly the same figures as C thus if the artist truly wanted to draw a picture of his/her presumably beautiful daughter then he or she was a bad communicator.

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?

Yes the book contained a lot of helpful exercises and in completing them I found out that I was completing myself, who I am and where I am supposed to be going.

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 not really

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

 

 

The Secret

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The author of the book the secret Rhonda Byrne brings forth the idea that the secret of ultimate success is closer to us than we know. She puts across the idea in a way that reveals the secret in all forms and through various interpretative religions, oral history and traditions.

Rhonda Byrne’s book ultimately presents to the reader the idea that one way or the other we as human beings are aware of were the secret lies and we have the ingredients that simplify the process of utilizing the secret to the maximum. Even the examples presented of philosophers, great thinkers and inventors cement the author’s presented idea. All these great people have had the knowledge of the simple secret to success which is bordered on knowing, believing, visualizing, doing, trust, faith, experience and understanding amongst many things.

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.

The following are the seven most important ideas that I depicted from reading Rhonda Byrne’s book the secret. They have been important to me because they remind me of certain circumstances and scenarios where they have worked immensely

i. Knowing

The idea of knowing what one desires, wants and wishes for is presented in the book as a force that at times distinguishes our success or our failure and is also a creative force which gives birth to all other forms and levels of success. In my life I have come across times when a clear knowledge of what I want and wish for would come to fruition in relation to how clear I am in relation to the said goal. This has particularly been true since I started learning the art of writing down goals and plans. Knowing what I want has made me to be decisive and act in accordance with what I want. This has proven to work in terms of achieving the ultimate goal I have set myself to achieve on this earth.

ii. Believing

Rhonda Byrne also presents to the author the positive effect of believing, She presents believing as a prerequisite to other sects of the secret to success. With doubt one can hardly arrive at the powerful level of possibilities. In this case since I was a boy I have always envied the greatest discoveries that have been achieved by humankind. One of the most interesting phases of history that have always stuck in my head was the first trip to space. I have always wondered what was going on in the mind of the people who brought about the belief that space can be explored and we have the ability to do that or even more. Even Jesus thought so much about believing and achieving through believing. The greatest people who have lived here on this earth have used this power of belief to achieve almost seemingly impossible goals.

iii. Visualizing

The author also expores the idea of visualizing as a key ingredient to success. The idea entails the art of visualizing an outcome in our mind and casting all negative thoughts which may suggest or lead to failure. Visualizing manifests in reality our dreams and aspirations. If we visualize failure then failure we get if we visualize success with clear mental pictures we then are on the path of success. I may have sub consciously used the art of belief in my life before, however since there was no vivid record of that I attempted a visualization exercise on an outcome I desired and I was amazed at how quickly the goal unfolded even if there were challenges because I had already visualized its success and with unrelented belief I was able to do or stumble upon something that made what I visualized a success.

iv. Doing

One of the sayings that Christians and other religions are fond of is ”Faith without works is dead” This also an idea depicted from the book the secret. Acting in tandem with our goals, wishes and expected outcomes is another key to utilizing the secret. The author states that simply saying one wishes for this or that is not enough, one has to act in accordance with their desires and goals. In level three I made short and long term goals I have to some extent managed to work successfully towards achieving them but have realized that those that have not taken shape has been mainly the fact that I have not acted on them or I have just acted half heartedly retarding the whole process.

v. Trust

Another interesting idea depicted from the book is that of trust. The author states that if we trust the universe to provide for our intended goals then we have already set forth powers beyond our imagination to bring about what we envision and ultimately our success. I have often found myself in desperate situations and have realized that if I trust in the universe then I have been able to achieve the desired outcome.

vi. Faith

The idea of faith also cements other important ideas presented in the book, faith is presented as a final catalyst to the whole secret. By faith many have persevered where many would have given up. Faith is the apex of belief, and trust. It is the compass to unlocking success beyond our knowledge.

vii. Experience and Understanding

Finally the author relates to its reader that experience of the secret brings about understanding and repetiative success. This is so by examples given in the book of people who have experience, understood and used the secret effectively. If we experience the real power of the secret then we are able to use it in our everyday to day lives changing both our lives and the lives of the people around us and ultimately the universe

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?

To this level I have picked up important lessons on effectively living my life an becoming an influence to the people around me in my community and also given the fact that I have set it as my life’s mission to improve the lives of my community and bringing about a transformative change that enhance their quality of life. The learnt ideas will enhance my understanding of how success can be achieved and how I would be able to change my personal circumstances and those of my community, society and ultimately the world.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

The book contained a lot of quotes which acted as a reminder of the critical lessons and ideas being presented by the author in the book.

“You see it in your mind, you are going to hold it in your hands.”

“You are a human transmission power, and you are more powerful than any television tower created on earth. You are the most powerful tower in the universe.”

“Your life is in your hands, no matter where you are right now, no matter what has happened in your life, you can begin to consciously choose your thoughts and you can change your life. There is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Every single circumstance of your life can change.”

“You see you can have whatever you want in your life, no limits but there is one catch, You have to feel good. And when you think about it, isn’t that all you ever want? The law is indeed perfect.”

“Just like the law of gravity the law of attraction never slips up. You don’t see the pigs flying because the law of gravity made a mistake and forgot to apply gravity to pigs that day. Likewise, there are no exclusions to the law of attraction. If something came to you, you drew it, with prolonged thought. The law of attraction is precise.”

‘The principle which gives the thought the dynamic power to correlate with its objects, and therefore to master every adverse human experience, is the law of attraction, which is another name for love. This is an eternal and fundamental principle inherent in all things, in every system of philosophy, in every religion and in every Science. There is no getting away from the law of love. It is feeling that imparts vitality for thought. Feeling is desire and desire is love. Thought impregnated with love becomes invincible.”

“All you require is you, and your ability to think things into being. Everything that has been invented and created throughout the history of human kind began with one thought. From that one thought a way was made, and it manifested from the invincible into the vicible.”

“Nothing can prevent your picture from coming into concrete form except the same power which gave it birth – yourself.”

“The spiritual substance from which comes all visible wealth is never depleted. It is right with you all the time and responds to your faith in it and your demands on it.”

“The wealth that they have, you have also. The only difference between you and them is that they thought the thoughts to bring the wealth to them. Your wealth is waiting for you in the invisible and to bring it into the visible think wealth!”

“When it comes to creating wealth, wealth is a mindset. Its all about how you think.”

“Everything you want is an inside job! The outside world is the world of effects, it’s just the result of thoughts and frequency on happiness. Radiate the feelings of happiness and joy within you, and transmit that into the universe with all of your might, and you will experience true heaven on earth.”

“When you want to attract something into your life, make sure your actions do not contradict your desires.”

“When you do not treat yourself the way you want others to treat you, you can never change the way things are. Your actions are your powerful thoughts, so if you do not treat yourself with love and respect, you are emitting a signal that is saying you are not important enough, worthy enough or deserving. That signal will continue to be broadcast and you will experience more situations of people not treating you well.”

“Unless you fill yourself first, you have nothing to give anybody. Therefore it is imperative that you tend to You first. Attend to your joy first. People are responsible for their own joy. When you tend to your joy and do what makes you feel good, you are a joy to be around and you are a shining example to every child and every person in your life.”

“All stress begins with one negative thought. One thought that went unchecked, and then more thoughts came and more until stress manifested. The effect is stress, but the cause was negative thinking, and it all began with one little negative thought. No matter what you might have manifested, you can change it with one small positive thought and then another.”

“Let us remember, so far we can, that every unpleasant thought is a bad thing literally put in the body.”

“What you resist persists.”

“Everything in this world began with one thought. The bigger things get bigger because more people give their thoughts to it after it has appeared. Then those thoughts and emotions keep that very event in our existence, and make it bigger. If we took our minds off it and focused instead on love, it could not exist. It would evaporate and disappear.”

“There is lie that acts like a virus within the mind of humanity. And that lie is, there’s is not enough good to go around. There is lack and there is limitation and there is limitation and there is just not enough and that lie has people living in fear, greed stinginess and lack become their experience. So the world has taken a nightmare pill.”

‘The essence of this law is that you must think abundance: see abundance: feel abundance: believe abundance and. Let no thought of limitation enter your mind.”

“There is no limit to what this law can do for you: dare to believe in your own ideal: think of the ideal as an already accomplished fact.”

These quotes are sort of an instructive manual to achieving daily success.

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?

Everything was clear and simply presented.

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 some visualization exercises which enhanced my understanding of utilizing the secret.

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.

It was rejuvenating to read this book.

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

 

 

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

Martin Luther King Jr’s Autobiography edited by Clayborne Carson presents to the reader the tried and tested idea of non violence resistance as preached, practiced and lived by Martin Luther King Jr. during the struggle for civil rights movement in America. The book presents the idea of non violent resistance as a great tool for fighting for civil liberties. It tries to present to the reader the all important aspect of preserving life, minimizing bloodshed and at the same time addressing the problem affecting society in a loving and amicable manner respecting and preserving the dignity of those involved.

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. Faith

The faith exercised by King, the leadership of the civil rights movement as well as the whole negro and American community was far above excellence and a very exemplary attitude towards the respect and realization of human rights in America at that time and in the whole world in modern times. At first it was the black community who put their faith in their leadership and its ideology of nonviolence movement. The second most appalling example of faith was practiced by the leadership itself, who leading a very angry and bitter community against a very violent sect and ideology, managed to stick to the idea of non-violence. Even during times when it seemed not to work and was tested beyond its limits they still hung on to it and avoided a lot of violence and bloodshed.

ii. Belief

Only through believing in themselves, their community and the promise of God to stay with them even unto the end of time. The civil rights movement and all its supporters showed great belief and by that were able to effect enough pressure which pushed for the establishment of civil rights for black and minority Americans.

iii. Courage

The circumstances and challenges under which Martin Luther King Jr. and his movement lived and fought for civil rights in America where very challenging and a serious threat to their lives every day, but however the courage they showed and displayed was very inspirational. Especially taking into account the fact that they were always threatened with death with some actually facing the inevitable.

They became a great example of how courage can move mountains and change circumstances for oppressed people even under the most intimidating circumstances.

iv. Unity

Nothing great has ever been achieved without unity, this is shown as a great strength utilized by the civil rights movement. I particularly find the idea of unity very important as it is the foundational precept of any successful social movement.

v. Humility

I was particularly impressed by Martin Luther King Jr’s humility even in circumstances where he was in the hype of his activism. He always strived to see himself as just but a face and symbol of something greater than him.

vi. People Power

As evidenced by the kind of success the people of America had over an evil ideology that was now devouring the great nation of America. The Black Civil Rights movement left a great lesson for the reader and the world on the power of the people. The idea that people moved in the right consciousness at the right time and utilized that great energy to change their circumstances is a great example of how powerful people are.

vii. God guidance

In his whole life Martin Luther King Jr’s relied on God’s guidance this even made him become a very respectful and dedicated leader who had respect for God’s work especially in relation to the fact that they were facing a very determined and monstrous sect of hatred and racial discrimination.

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 above ideas are not relevant to the circumstances in my life but they are the most feasible in the given scenario and can help both unite the people of Matabeleland and help them claim their rightful place in society as equal citizens.

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.

“During this period I had about despaired of the power of love in solving social problems. I thought the only way we could solve our problem of segregation was an armed revolt. I felt that the Christian ethic of love was confined to individual relationships. I could not see how it could work in a social conflict.”

The above quote depicts King as a human being who like all of us gets to a point of despair and end up giving up on all reasonable channels of problem solving especially in a peaceful manner. This is very similar to the current situation in Matabeleland especially within the Zimbabwean context where the whole nation seems to ignore the fact that Matabeleland is underprivileged and oppressed and where day in day out we are faced with the wrath of the oppressive system.

“When I thought of my future, I also thought of my family. I had to think of what’s best for them also. One of the frustrating aspects of my life has been the great demands that come as a result of my involvement in the civil rights movement and the struggle for justice and peace. I have to be away from home a great deal and that takes me away from the family so much. It’s just impossible to carry out the responsibilities of a father and husband when you have these kinds of demands. But fortunately I have a most understanding wife who has tried to explain to the children why I have to be absent so much. I think in some way they understand, even though its pretty hard on them.”

King Jr’s concern for his family is the most depressing reality as depicted from the above quote. It is a fate that all civil rights activists suffer. I often think of my family too when I am under lock and key in prison or even in the courts. Especially leaving in the reality that your family can even fall to be direct victims at any point.

“I said to myself over and over again Keep Martin Luther King in the background and God in the foreground and everything will be alright. Remember you are a channel of the gospel and not the source.”

What I like about this quote is that it brings a realistic picture to King himself. It is like a self-affirmation statement reminding him to be humble always and save the purpose, as the cause is greater than any individual. This is a reminder I live in my everyday life.

“They all gathered around to find out why I was there, and showed some surprise that the city had gone so far to arrest me. Soon one man after another began talking to me about his reason for being in jail and asking if I could help him out. I turned to the group and said Fellows, before I can assist in getting any of you out, I have got to get myself out at this they laughed.”

I found humor in this peace as well; it is apparently true that when you are a human rights activist everyone else believes you have the solution to their problem as well. Any activist who has been remanded in custody will conquer with the fact that inmates will ask you for your help and often forget that at that given moment you are also a prisoner. Perhaps their comfort comes from the fact that you will probably be released in no time.

“Ordinarily a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal, but I was proud of my crime. It was the crime of joining my people in a nonviolent protect against injustice. It was the crime of seeking to instill within my people a sense of dignity and self-respect. It was the crime of desiring for my people the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was above all the crime of seeking to convince my people that noncooperation with evil is just as much a moral duty as is cooperation with good.”

This is both inspirational and true I could not agree with King more.

Nothing is as more satisfying as seeing your oppressor trying relentlessly to discredit and delegitimize the cause that you stand for. I also never counted my conviction as a criminal record but rather as a reminder of the sacrifice we endured in fighting injustice in Matabeleland.

“I have always felt that ultimately along the way of life an individual must stand up and be counted and be willing to face the consequences whatever they are. And if he is filled with fear he cannot do it. My great prayer is always for God to save me from the paralysis of crippling fear, because I think when a person lives with the fears of the consequences for his personal life he can never do anything in terms of lifting the whole of humanity and solving many of the social problems which we confront in every age and every generation.”

The above quote is simply a fact that is the driving force to all revolutionaries and change oriented individuals. It is indeed a personal sacrifice that requires one to give up things that are generally part of life. People have to have an opportunity to develop themselves and govern themselves. I love this quote as it is a fundamental basic foundation for the struggle for democracy freedom and self-determination everywhere since time immemorial. It is indeed the very reason that made me join the struggle for the emancipation of Matabeleland. After considering all the ills that were going on in our land I was very convicted that we also deserve and indeed demand that right.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

“I would agree with St Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all.”

“A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.”

“Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is the difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow that it is willing to follow itself. This is the sameness made legal.”

“I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.”

The above four quotes are a direct analysis of what law should be and how unjust laws can never be justified in any legal establishment. We were charged with contravening a sect of the law that was no longer constitutional but was kept and justified as an extra judiciary law meant to maintain peace while in its truest sense it was a violation of peace itself.

“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”

“Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.’’

At this moment King was now feeling the urge to have change come instantly, it is what distinguishes revolutionary leaders from other leaders the urge to change it today. I often feel like standing up and changing things like changing a light bulb in my room and of course physical realities are always the limiting factor, yet however if its people coordinated enough such change can happen overnight such examples were the recent Arab springs which brought about quick revolutions in North Africa.

“Man’s inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated by the vitriolic actions of those who are bad. It is also perpetrated by the vitalizing inaction of those who are good.”

“But I hope you can find a little consolation from the universality of this experience death comes to every individual. There is an amazing democracy about death. It is not an aristocracy for some of the people, but a democracy for all of the people. Kings die and beggars die, rich men die, and poor men die, old people die and young people die, death comes to the innocent and it comes to the guilty. Death is the irreducible common denominator for all men.”

I find this quote comforting no matter how powerful someone might look and how invisible he/she might seem the underlying simple fact is that we all die some day. So anyone who threatens you with death is merely affirming your destiny and should not deter you from fulfilling your mission.

“Branded everyone a communist with whom they disagree.”

Any unjust law will always try to turn the tables around and brand anyone who dare challenges the status quo with all sorts of names and labels.

“I’d like somebody to mention one day that Martin Luther King Jr tried to give his life serving others.”

“The essence leadership and indeed the duty of every true leader is to serve others. A true master is the one that creates more masters gives the most than the one who has many who serve under him and receive the most. This is in earnest the big difference between the echelons of democracy and any other form of leadership. I have discovered this to be true with my life experiences. In the little time I have spent on leadership I have often discovered that the more I serve the purpose and the people the meaning my life has and the more people enjoy and find happiness.”

The above two quotes are a testimony of a life of a leader they confirm again the idea that true leadership is service other than kingly enjoyment especially when one is leading in the most unpleasant circumstances.

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 exercises 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.

I think King really did a sterling job as a leader in that given scenario. Feel free to share any additional comments about the book or about the ratings. I enjoyed reading the biography it was like walking step by step with the Negroes in their fight for justice. It was indeed a captivating biography.

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

 

 

The God Code

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The subject of the existence of God has remained so controversial throughout the age of time. With some people questioning his very existence. While some people have tried to give a picture in the God code by Gregg Braden presents to the reader the fundamental and most basic understanding of what God is or he is. The author seems to suggest that God is interconnected to all and everything. He presents God as the very DNA of life; he seems to suggest that he dwells in us and in everything that is around us. He tries to bring to the surface that we are one with the world all interconnected in the DNA of our creator which is embedded as a code in science ancient language and all forms of communication. Thus by understanding this fact Gregg hopes that humanity will seek to work together as children of the same family. Destroying the culture of us against them and fostering a new culture of we which will transcend beyond our limited view of our world and give greater and much more meaning to a unified and one family with a purpose of peaceful and progressive co-existence with a greater hope for humanity.

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. Every religion links with God

Of utmost importance in the presentation of God as encoded in every religion and faith. The author clearly tries to show the reader that there is ultimately one God and the very same God that most if not all of the world’s religions pray for is the same God for every other human being. By bringing this to light the author presents to the reader that if God is the same throughout then many of the world’s conflict are unjustified and should be stopped.

ii. God lives in us with us and through us.

The author seems to suggest that God lives, in us through us and with us by bringing to the surface evidence of a God code that is embedded and enshrined into every life form through structural DNA. He suggests that every ancient recording has this code recorded in different forms and to him he argues is the very code of God found within our body cells and all life forms. Presented in modern day language as a scientific code of the four elements of life.

iii. People are in full knowledge of who he/she is

Another suggestive idea by the author is that most human beings are aware of who God and are often relieved when they get evidence of what they already know. I found this idea particularly fascinating as it gave me even a great sigh of relief that the larger than life character I have always suspected existed lives. Especially if considering the statistical presentation of the percentage of people who believe in God which is 95%. If human beings inherently know about God then a constant reminder of this knowledge will manifest all the universal values of a God loving species and give rise to more peace and less human suffering.

iv. We are part of something bigger than ourselves.

The very idea that we as human beings are part of something bigger than ourselves gives us the hope that we can all be bigger than most problems and challenges that we face as people.

v. There is a distinct difference between God and men

In his encoding of humanity, physical life forms and God. Gregg gave a distinct difference between us and God. In the four lettered code there is only one letter that makes us a bit lesser than God. The very difference in our DNA makes humanity and all other forms physical matter and the almighty a formless being. Thus I believe as depicted by the author being the all-important difference between God and human beings. This idea simply became a revelation in terms of understanding all the vague descriptions of God.

vi. God continuously manifests himself to people and life in different

forms.

God is the underpinning foundation to all forms of existence and change. At critical times God reveals himself to people to spread his messages and change the world for the betterment of humanity. Particular examples of anointed leaders like Moses give us a brief understanding of the way at which God manifests himself. The author also adds that though his revelations might not as clear to everyone but they are a common feat to all living beings. We have often experienced extra-terrestrial communication in one way or the other and more often than not always seem to doubt and reject that communication.

vii. Humanity has the ability to unite for common good.

Throughout the book the author has been trying to reveal to the reader that the complete Godliness in human beings is simply a by product of purposeful unity. Cited examples of people who have discarded this important aspect of humanity have led to disaster, war and famine.

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?

In understanding the very fabric of life I would be able to seek to understand the very important fundamentals of human nature and make an effort in finding solutions to the world’s problems than to become part of the problem. It will make understand others and seek to find more accommodative and progressive approaches to life’s impeding problems.

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.

“The Secret to revealing such a signature is that we must first recognize the universal principles that unite us with our world and perhaps most importantly with one another. In doing so we may find that our search of the past has been the catalyst, patiently leading us to the most ancient source of knowledge in existence, the library of life.”

The author cements one of the key lessons in his book that we are all one and by finding those similarities the human principle of one human family has tremendous efforts of re building a truly peaceful and progressive world.

“When on board HMS Beagle as a naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of the continent.”

These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species – that mystery of mysteries, as it has been called by one of our greatest philosophers.”

‘’While such findings may ultimately raise more questions than they answer today, each stage of investigation adds to what we know about ourselves, further defining our place in the universe and our role in creation. Additional evidence in the fossil record lends credibility to the genetic studies suggesting that, while we might share DNA with less evolved forms of life, we may have developed in a unique and unexpected way, along our own genetic time line.”

The above two quotes give account to the evidence of an ever intelligent and changing God who always strives to reveal a better part of world to his creation.

“In a similar vein when asked about the possibility that life has arisen from a chance series of events. Francis Crick once remarked that’’ an honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions that would have had to have been satisfied to it going.”

“He (humankind) unites both heavenly and earthly qualities within himself …. I (God) will create man to be the union of two.”

I again find the two quotes as evidence of God in creation as simplified and depicted in the Holy Scriptures from most religions. We are made in the image and likeness of God as the author has presented his argument and hence we always try to find reasons for not acting in the most amicable ways and cause harm to our very world and by so doing we are denying not only God as our source but ourselves as made in his image and with the infinite intelligence to change and influence our world for the better.

In Judeo Christian tradition, scientists and scholars have traditionally interpreted such references to God as an attempt to name the unnamable: a symbol for the source of creation. Even the earliest roots of Western traditions state that it is impossible to know or to represent God directly. The reason is because God exists everywhere in everything and, by His very nature, cannot be known or described.

“Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you: This shall be my name forever, this my appellation for all eternity.”

“Thus in his own words twice in the earliest records that form the foundation of more than half of the world’s religions God offered one very specific name by which people of this world would know him throughout time.”

The above three quotes present to us the important idea that God cannot be simply defined and described in human understanding. If he was to be simply explained as we would give meaning to an eclipse then it would be very difficult for humanity to respect life and more chaos would prevail in the world. By simply remaining a greater part of our lives God safeguards us from ourselves.

“In humankind’s most cherished tradition, we are reminded of our relationship to a greater power and the lasting nature of that relationship. At the very least, the discovery of God’s name within each cell of all life reveals a message, as well as a promise, that transcends any differences that we could ever impose upon one another. In a very real sense, the foundations of our existence are formed of an essence that is limitless, unbounded, and eternal. It is this spark of creation that texts such as the Sepher Yetzirah equate to the Creator a spark clearly shared through at least 50% of the name that accounts for our existence – that holds the promise for each of us to become more than the conditions and limitations of our lives. This is the promise shared be every man, woman, child and ancestor of our global family, as the living message coded within each cell of our bodies.”

The quote above is also another reason for humanity to believe in better ways of existence than war, destructive behavior killing oppression and repression it gives us a sense of responsibility as part of a creation above all forms of life. If we were to embrace this simple fact we would live in our world in a more responsible and progressive fashion.

This doesn’t prove that there is no God, only that God is not necessary I was particularly struck by this quote as it is in serious contradiction with all religious teachings and even the message that the author tries to bring forward. Perhaps maybe ritual religion might not be a necessary feat in our society but God is himself necessary for then there would be no balance in the world if he was not necessary. We would have the power to play God and if limitations of being human where to be taken away and humans where to have equal power with God, then life’s limiting factors will give room to even the worst atrocities in the history of human kind. Bad people and sick ideologies will become the normal reality other than the unfortunate events.

“As individuals and as a species, we generally must know where we are going and what we can expect when we get there, before we change the way we live. We need to know that the result is worthwhile and something to look forward to.”

This quote presents a critical idea of always trying to discover as a people the most fundamental and important purpose in a given lifetime and it is perhaps the reason why cooperates and institutes engage in strategic planning activities. The concept is to use the free will and power given to us by the creator to discover our destiny ourselves.

“Since more than 95% of our global family believes in the existence of a higher power to know so clearly that we carry a message from that power, to know so clearly that we carry a message from that power may rival even the most powerful media broadcast available to us today. Knowing of the message within our cells, however does not guarantee that a fundamental change in the way we view ourselves will occur. It simply sets the stage, providing a poignant reason and the opportunity it is the place to begin.”

The above quote cements one of the author’s idea that we are so interlinked to one another that any cruel treatment of each other on the basis of religious beliefs, race, tribe and geographical origin is a self-disastrous act itself, to ourselves and our world.

We are a species of survivors, capable of adapting to unexpected conditions. From such a history, its clear that change is an important part of who we are. Hopefully, we are now also willing to do whatever it takes to assure our collective future.

Current discussions at the United Nations are a great example of such a human characteristic. World leaders are already deliberating on a new development framework post the millennium development goals, and everyone in the world is now engaged in negotiating a sustainable framework and these have been termed the Sustainable Development Goals. In these goals part of the discussions are issues of climate change, peace and security, human existence through the sustainable and careful use of the limited resources found on earth. The current leaders are talking about the careful exploitation of the earth’s resources whilst making sure that future generations have are also able to survive within the earth’s resources. Part of the statements being promoted by civil society the world over are Aiming higher:

The negotiation of the post-2015 agenda is a once in a generation opportunity and failure to act collectively and decisively now will mean that the challenges faced by the next generation may be insurmountable: there is no way ahead if we continue on the current trajectory of increasing consumption, accelerating climate change combined with increasing inequality, deteriorating global social cohesion, and routine disregard for human rights and human security. (Beyond 2015 advocacy message to world leaders September 2014) Even economists are already suggesting that any meaningful and sustainable economic system must also look at the natural resources as the fourth sector of economics. Instead of just focusing on the three attributes of production land, labor and capital, natural resources must also be included as the factors of production have a direct impact on the environment. Either as by products of any commercial production system or the end waste of consumerism.

“On the most fundamental level my sense is that we are a kind, compassionate and caring species, as demonstrated by the man on the board. At the same time, out of necessity we are also a species of warriors and survivors. When driven to extremes we have the power, capacity and will to override our fundamental nature and become violent to protect and survive. Our violence can be triggered by circumstances either real or perceived, that we perceive threaten us as individuals, families, communities, or nations. At other times, we strike out in acts of sheer desperation on circumstances that seem beyond our control. Regardless of that reason that we betray what has been called our fundamental ‘’ goodness’’, it is in such moments that we witness the very worst and most frightening aspects of our nature.”

This above quote is an expressive description of what actually leads to wars and global crisis. It is particularly true in cases of conflict and usually becomes the basis of most if not all conflicts. I sense that my community is in such a current state of mental framework both the aggressor and the victim are looking set to square it off in a nasty way. As there seems to be no one presenting a different approach to the conflict that would both save and preserve lives.

“The remaining element necessary Is also the most obvious. Before we make a change in our lives, whether as individuals or societies, we need a reason to believe that the change we are about to make can be accomplished. We need a sign that it is doable.”

“The key to our survival is that we must recognize the fundamental principles of our relationship to life, one another and the cosmos before we can apply what we have learned.”

In a much same way its our ability to think differently and adapt to conditions of our changing world that assure our survival as a species. In a now famous statement, Einstein encapsulated this concept.

“The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”

The above three quotes are a testimony that the road to progressive human change is possible but only if we as individuals see it as a common goal and something that can be achieved. Unless it is seen as that then it would be difficult to change the circumstances in our lives. This is particularly true in conflict afflicted societies. World over we hear of crisis after crisis and there seems to be an age old belief that true peace is unattainable. Yet when the majority of the world was to believe in true peace then it would be truly attainable. This possibility can only happen if the majority of humanity were to believe in it . It would send a peace revolution that would end war as a necessity itself.

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?

Yes I disagree with the fact that God is not necessary as depicted as an argument in some part of the book. I believe humanity has not yet evolved fully enough to exist without guidance.

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?

Yes the book had exercises to presented as evidence for a greater understanding of the author’s idea of a God code embedded in all of life. These were periodic tables and graphical comparisons.

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.

As controversial as the author’s ideas were I enjoyed reading most of it. The author takes the reader to another dimension of understanding.

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? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 7
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7.5

 

 

Natural Capitalism
Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The book Natural Capitalism co-authored by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins brings a great insight to the world system of existence, particularly in relation to the environment, economy and the whole eco –system of human activity visa vie nature and the environment. The authors seemingly advocate for a new dimension economic and human activity that factors in a new system of sustainable use of natural resources. Their basic argument centres on the fact that human activity uses most of the earth’s natural mostly non-renewable resources, yet in the use of these resources humanity causes damage to the environment,

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. Environmental Protection

The book brings to the reader an unfortunate situation where the environment has been completely destroyed and humanity is almost completely responsible. The destruction to the environment is also unfortunately a great destruction to humanity itself. By destroying the environment human beings are also destroying their own sustainability and indeed survival as they solely depend on the environment for much of their existence. The authors of the book natural capitalism are appealing to all humans being to consider the environmental factor in all their activities. Make the natural world as much of the factors of production as the other elements like labour, land and monetary capital. The authors challenge commercial conversions at all levels citing the error of omission in the production system of economic activity. Authors argue that the human beings are missing the point when they ignore the natural element as a factor of production.

ii. Efficient and Effective use of natural resources

Another idea that comes out from the book Natural Capitalism is the fact that human activity uses the earth’s resources in an unfashionable and unsustainable manner endangering the present generation and many generations still to come. The book even makes examples of how activity extracts the earth’s resources and at the same time even fails to use it efficiently and effectively creating waste and further causing environmental damage and most unfortunately causing a dwindle in the source putting both humans and other forms of life at risk.

iii. Sustainable Use natural resources

Without much need of over emphasizing the sustainable use of natural resources through efficiency and effectiveness the authors also explore other alternatives of using re-usable materials instead of over exploiting nonrenewable resources. And only resorting to using these resources in areas where they cannot be replaced. This all as an attempt to reserve the precious resources and keep it for generations to come.

iv. Remodeling of the world economic system

As depicted in the book one of the most destructive and yet necessary systems of human is its economic system. The economy is a critical component of life. However the current human economic system does not factor in the fourth element of production. Throughout the world environmental policies that seek to protect the planet are being put in place. Yet the argument of the authors of the book Natural Capitalism is that even if environmental policies are there they are not ultimately the solution as they only make sure that waste does not go desired or protected places like rivers, dams and aquifers. Yet the book provides a critical question of would it not be better to avoid the waste all together by effectively, efficiently and in a clean and sustainable manner conduct our human and economic activity.

v. Climate Change

Perhaps the greatest challenge of our time the idea that we have contributed to this problem through our lack of efficient and effective use of resources comes to play.

vi. Re-cycling

Another idea I depicted from the book Natural Capitalism is the idea of re-use and recycle. The authors argue that we unnecessarily throw away products before they have reached their optimum life spans. They advocate for recycling of materials so that we efficiently make use of them in a manner that preserves the scarce resources. However the authors also suggest that businesses and manufacturers of various products should consider using renewable material in production material.

vii. Health

As expressed in the book Natural Capitalism, modern human activity also has negative impacts on health. It pollutes the air which is inhaled by human beings and animals alike and in the process affects the health and well-being of human beings.

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 world is currently pondering on adopting new ways of preserving the environment, life and improving the general lives of both people and animals. The lessons provided by the book Natural Capitalism are so critical, essential as well as relevant to both my personal and professional life. Personally they have brought about a level of consciousness and awareness on the vast damage we have inflicted on earth as human beings. Professionally they bring about a new dimension of critical thinking observation in relation to the kind of development problems threatening humanity. They help me in envisioning a world where we could both save dwindling natural resources and sustain life, especially in relation to my community which is still to fully develop. This will be in the lessons already learnt from much more advanced communities.

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.

Below are quotes that particularly caught my attention.

“One problem that hypercars cannot solve is that of too much driving by too many people in too many cars: Hypercars could worsen traffic and road congestion by making driving even cheaper and more attractive.”

The above quote reveals that hypercars can have a positive impact on the environment and at the same time cause an additional problem of road congestion and traffic.

“A fleet of 200mpg, roomy, clean, safe, recyclable, renewably fueled cars might keep drivers from running out of oil, climate, or clean air, but they’d instead run out of roads, land and patience – the new constraints du jour. Many of the social costs of driving have less to do with fuel use than with congestion, traffic delays, accidents, roadway damage, land use and other side effects of driving itself. Those social costs approach a trillion days a year – about an eighth of America’s gross domestic product. Because that figure is not reflected in drivers’ direct costs, the expenses are in effect subsidized by everyone.”

Same as the above quote the one also depicts the same picture where climate impacts have been reversed and yet another problem has been created. Perhaps one of the appealing attributes of the above observations is the fact the authors are trying to be as practical as possible. After suggesting an alternative they also try to explore the negative sides of that solution. Which makes their ideas a much more pragmatic approach to these problems and suggests to the reader that truly that much research was done and insight exercised in the writing of natural capitalism?

“Cars are a big component of the modern industrial economy but only one part. Think of the material flows required to maintain the industrial production of the United States in terms as its metabolic flow. Industry ingests energy, metals and minerals, water, and forest, fisheries, and farm products. It excretes liquids and solid waste – variously degradable or persistent toxic pollutants – and exhales gases , which are a form of molecular garbage. The solid waste makes its ways into landfills, backyards, junkyards, recyclers, and the ocean. The molecular waste goes into the atmosphere, oceans, rivers, streams, groundwater, soil, plants, and the flesh of wildlife and people.”

This quote reinforces the idea of adding the fourth element of production NATURE. It gives a clear outline on how our activity as humans shortchanges our life source. At the same time challenges the world to consider the whole production system in full.

“The only thing we have that comes close to (spider). Is polyaramid Kevlar a fiber so tough it can stop bullets? But to make Kevlar, we pour petroleum derived molecules into a pressurized vat of concentrated sulfuric acid and boil it at several hundred degrees Fahrenheit in order to force it into a liquid crystal form. We then subject it to high pressures to force the fibers into alignment as we draw them out. The energy input is extreme and the toxic by products are odious. The spider manages to make an equally strong and much tougher fiber at body temperature without high pressures, heat or corrosive acids. If we could learn to do what the spider does, we could take a soluble raw material that is infinitely renewable and make a super strong water – insoluble fiber negligible energy inputs and no toxic outputs.”

The irony of the above quote is that human beings are considered to be God’s smartest creatures and yet they are causing more damage than other less thought of lowly ranked forms of life. The comparison shows greatly that we are missing so much of the laws of nature that we are completely destroying it. The author’s emphasis could be the fact that we can learn more and become much more efficient if we consider integrating nature as a part of our all-round economic, social and technological system.

“Ultimately, though people get tired of even a well-designed and efficiently made object or it gets irreparably destroyed or worn out. Repair, reuse, upgrading, remanufacturing and recycling are then the five main ways to keep the gift of good materials and good work moving on to other users and other users. Repair, which works better if the product was designed to facilitate it, returns failed goods to another user, or perhaps to a new life with a different purpose.”

I like this quote as it reinforces one of the ideas depicted from the Book Natural Capitalism which emphasizes on maximizing resource usage by imploring methods of recycling and re – using material instead of wasting it.

“Efficient distribution of ventilation air, generally from the floor toward the ceiling, is another system that captures this multiple benefit of Thinking backward, Indeed, properly designed, such an air system offers many additional advantages.

It enables people to stay happier and healthier by eliminating toxic materials, improving thermal comfort, providing the options of individual ventilation control and even of operable windows or vents, and helping air to flow without fans by means of gravity, breezes and other natural forces.

It distributes the delivered fresh air more effectively to the people’s bodies and particularly to their noses.

It minimizes friction, from downstream (grillies) to upstream (ducts, filters, silencers, fans)

“It makes the resulting smaller fans, and their controls and power supplies, more efficient, and it re – optimizes them for their new operating conditions.”

In lessons learned I mentioned the Authors of Natural Capital as having clearly outlined the negative impact of human activity to the environment and ultimately to the health and wellbeing of people. The above quote reinforces the idea that human activity is very destructive to the health of human beings and at the end might cause serious health problems.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

Most exercises in the book where exemplifications and illustrations of points and facts and indeed they were helpful.

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.

The book Natural Capitalism is indeed a remarkable insight of how human activity has adversely impacted the environment endangering human beings and all species alike. The Author takes the reader through all the negative impacts of unsustainable human behavior that has brought about so much damage to the earth and environment. The writer does not only look at the adverse effects of unsustainable human behavior but also suggests a whole new economic model that would transform society and mitigate against the damage that has already been done.

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? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

 

 

Built to Last

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

Jim Collins and Jerry I.Porras in the book ‘’Built to Last’’ capture the most essential elements of building long lasting companies beyond their founders initial vision. The book Built to Last is a very powerful insightful and well researched piece of literature bringing to the surface the most important and fundamental concepts of building a company that lasts for ages. The main idea that the authors bring to the surface and that can be depicted from the entire book is that companies that have value in society are those companies that are built to outlive their founders. He seems to suggest that the true value of any company is the fact that it lives on more and many years even after its founders have gone away. Throughout the book Porras and Collins make comparisons of companies that folded away with the death of their founders and those that lasted beyond their founders as a way of emphasizing on this key concept, which is reinforced by other ideas outlined below.

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.

Several striking ideas can be depicted from the book below are some of the ideas I think the authors were trying to get across are:

i. Leadership development within

An interesting aspect of this idea is that the authors reflected it as an actual success key to the building and establishment of successful and visionary organizations. They seem to suggest that better able and great visionary institutes focus on building leadership from within. This is particularly important to people who want to build initiatives that will continue to serve humanity me included. I have particularly noted that at times organizations might end living outside their founding vision because of the fact that an external person was hired or outsourced and most of the time without proper induction. I have also met this in some of the organizations I work with.

ii. Talent Attraction

Another key lesson that came to light is the fact that investment in constant talent development and attraction is a critical component in creating, maintaining, and developing lasting organizations. The authors give examples of companies that invest in attracting and nurturing new talent from recent graduates other than sticking to proven and more talented individuals who have been in the industry for some time. They seem to suggest that even though experience is valuable to an organization it is nonetheless not a replacement for talent which brings about innovation and in turn breeds competitive advantage and product perfection.

iii Succession planning

Perhaps the question most start–up and organizations serving wider audiences ask is the issue of succession and leadership development. Many visionaries and companies constantly ask themselves the question of whether their institutes will survive beyond its initial foundations. The authors state that institutes should invest in the process of Succession development and planning to ensure that their organizations and companies live outside the initial founding ideas.

iv. Principles of lasting companies

The authors suggest that like any other discipline the key to building successful companies is a result of consistently following development principles that are proven to work and they have cited examples of successful companies that have followed these models.

v. The power of people

The authors seem to debunk the myth that successful organizations and companies are a result of people not great ideas or great leaders. This idea is by far the most controversial view points of the authors. The generally accepted norm has been that great leaders and ideas make a company great. Their summary of this notion is that it is only a myth that has been given more value than it deserves and should not be taken as a key success element for the establishment of great ideas and visionary companies.

vi. Sustainability

The ultimate measure point of any great company or organization is perhaps to sustain itself beyond its start – up phase and initial introductory stages. The authors seem to say that its easy to start an organization but extremely difficult to sustain it. I wish to harness this lesson to make sure that I also learn to build organizations that quickly get to sustainability and live beyond the founders.

vii. Organizational Culture of Success

I think the authors also seem to suggest that cultivating a culture of success and innovation within all levels of the organization or company increases its stakes of staying on top of the competition and surviving through time.

Above everything else the above key lessons are essentially important to me as they bring to my attention the most important things I must invest on in building successful organizational models that continue to serve my community for more generations to come. Just like the way companies like Walt Disney have continued to exist even after a long time since their foundation.

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?

For the past seven years I have been working on and with companies and organizations in trying to build capable and lasting institutes that will be build and reconstruct the livelihoods of the people of the community I live in. Many of these organizations have lacked the Sustainability DNA needed to make the succeed beyond their initial visions. By reading the book and understanding the key concepts I am able to work on a building a sustaining company able to balance its immediate goals, with its future purpose and built to solve unforeseen challenges in the far future. Especially if the organization is built for the greater good. It will also give me the necessary tools to build an institute that will have a hybrid model and structure capable making sure that pillar aspects of an organization are addressed Finance, Goals, Human Resource and Sustainability.

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.

Below are quotes that particularly caught my attention.

“We now turn to share the findings of our work . We hope you drink deeply from this book., for the history of these companies can teach us much, but at the same time, we hope you think critically and objectively, as you read, we would rather that you thoughtfully consider and ultimately reject our findings than that you blindly and unquestionably accept them, Let the evidence speak for itself. You are the judge and jury.”

I simply like this quote because it appealed to me to independently make an assessment of their findings through their control and measure comparisons. It did not otherwise seek to convince me that their ideology is the correct one.

“Having a great idea or being a charismatic visionary leader is time telling building a company that can prosper far beyond the life of a single present leader and through multiple product life cycles is clock building in the first pillar of our findings – and the subject of this chapter we demonstrate how the builders of visionary companies tend to be clock builders not time tellers.”

The fact that this quote compares Visionary company builders to clock builders. It gives a clear picture of how a visionary company looks like. A clock is a continuous and timeless tool which serves and has served generations and generations even long after its inventor has even passed away.

“From now, the important thing to keep in mind is that once you make the shift from tie telling to clock building, most of what’s required to build a visionary company has a charismatic visionary leader, it cannot become a visionary company. There is no mysterious quality or elusive magic. Indeed, once you learn the essentials – you and those around – can just get down to the hard work of making your company a visionary company.”

This quote serves as a reminder of all the other key lessons and the above commented on quote and emphasizes on the fact that visionary companies and organizations must exist beyond the initial founders.

“Indeed a visionary company continuously pursue but never fully achieves or completes its purpose – like chasing the earth’s horizon or pursing a guiding star. Walt Disney captured the enduring, never completed nature of purpose when he commented

Disneyland will never be completed, as long as there is imagination left in the world.”

This is a great example of a leader’s vision beyond a vision a message he left for timeless future employees.

“Visionary companies do not put in place an random set of mechanisms or processes. They put in place pieces that reinforce each other, clustered together to deliver a powerful combined punch. They search for synergy and linkages. Notice the clustering at Ford: Statistical quality control reinforced by employee involvement, reinforced by promotion criteria based on participative management skills.”

This quote will become particularly one of my favorites as it states a key element of successfully molding and building companies. A working model is very vital and key to building a long lasting and enduring company or organization.

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?

Not exactly but I would like to state that the value of visionaries in creating visionary companies has been entirely understated. It has to be stated that visionaries put in a lot of work and sacrifice in building a company and therefore their contribution in building visionary companies cannot only be merely limited to following principles that make their companies live beyond their founders. I would rather say that the author should have also added that Charismatic leadership of visionaries is not enough on its own and has to be balanced and some of the energy visionaries to be transferred to building a visionary company beyond its founding visionary. As the other cannot exist without other. Taking for example the Walt Disney company the author dwelt much on what Walt Disney did to build a Visionary Company and forgot to trace the sacrifices he made to build a company. It has to be fundamentally noted that the process of building a lasting company is heavily embedded on the Visionary’s ability to formulate a visionary company itself.

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 learning exercises completed through comparison to bring about the experiential learning touch and a clear picture of the key differences between companies and successful companies.

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.

I will use this book as a constant reference in working with and for initiatives and companies that I am involved. I also realized that this kind of book can also work in areas of state building and public institute management particularly in areas where centralization of power is the leadership style in place. I do sincerely believe that the contents of this book can be developed and synthesized into a module for various management and leadership courses being offered by various training institutes.

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? 9
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? 9.5

 

 

Difficult Conversations

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen bring to the surface a very enriching outlook on handling difficult conversations and getting most parties in any particular conflict or conversation to find common ground and agree in a mutually beneficial and peaceful manner. The book Difficult Conversations is a pure and complete manual of how to undertake and discuss what matters most in the process eliminating or reducing conflict and making sure both parties leave satisfied. The Authors seem to suggest that the most fundamental elements of successfully handling difficult conversations is working on yourself first and then tackling the situation. The author’s seem to suggest that in difficult conversations you always need to stay in charge of yourself, your purpose, and your emotional energy. The authors suggest that all people faced with difficult conversations should cultivate an attitude of discovery and curiosity. Pretend does not know anything to avoid any misconceptions and summary assumptions that may paint a wrong picture on the subject matter under discussion.

The Book also brings out critical lessons like investing in understanding and learning about a situation as much as possible. They seem to suggest that we should take an emotionally detached approach to any problem or conversation so as to remain objective.

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. Outlining the problem

This idea is one of the most important ideas the authors seem to bring to the surface is that failure to outline the problem from the start of any conversation is dangerous to the progression of that particular conversation. They seem to suggest that the goal of any conversation should be to outline what the problem is from the onset as this would put both parties at the same level and do away with any assumptions that they might be holding.

This also helps guide the involvement and participation of both parties. They also suggest that by outlining the problem both parties engaged in the conversation are also able to self – introspect and sometimes see where they are wrong. Which can even at times even cut the length of the conversation.

ii. Avoiding conclusions

The book also points out to the reader the reader the mistake of making summary conclusions and trying to simplify the problem by reminding the reader that if the subject of your argument were straightforward then there would not even be an argument. The authors suggest that if you jump into conclusions you might undermine the depth of the problem from the other person’s view and even escalate tensions. Therefore the idea here is to simply avoid making any conclusions and seek to understand.

iii. Listening Effectively

The book Difficult Conversations also brings to light the art the art of listening effectively. Here the authors suggest that listening effectively involves the science of hearing everything especially what is important other than hearing what we want to hear. They suggest that misunderstanding facts will definitely cause unnecessary friction and misunderstandings. The authors suggest that when engaging other parties in conversations Listen to what they have to say and keep an open mind and don’t jump to conclusions.

iv. Acknowledgment

The authors seem to suggest that like in handling difficult conversations it is important to acknowledge both the other person’s point of view as well as that there is a problem that needs to be solved. By both parties acknowledging that they need to solve the problem or agree on a solution they lay the foundation for a truly mutually engaging experience.

v. Finding Common ground

I found that the ideas presented in the book are almost linear and progressive by listening and acknowledging the authors suggest that a common ground can be established by both parties which makes a good foundation for a healthy ongoing conversation.

vi. Discussing What Matters Most

This is almost a subheading of the book Difficult conversations and I think it is also another idea the authors try to bring across that conversations must be guided by what matters most and not the parties’ view points.

vii. Problem-Solving

Ultimately any difficult conversation must in the end come up with a solution and many times both parties involved in a conversation will be looking forward to a solution that benefits or is at least satisfactory to both of them. The lesson here is that when coming up with the final solution we must work together, through brainstorming and continued inquiry. As well as asking the other party constantly what they think might work. Whatever the other person comes up with must be built upon so that they might agree at the end. These authors suggest that it will keep the conversation under proper check and guided enough to avoid any potentially eruptive behavior from both parties.

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?

We deal with difficult conversations in various forms and magnitudes in our lives I believe as a person who interacts with a lot of people in the work I do I will be able to handle conversations both pleasant and unpleasant in a better and more skilled manner.

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 have chosen the quotes below because they reinforce the above depicted ideas.

“No matter how skilled we become, there are certain challenges in each of the three conversations that we can’t change. We will still run into situations where untangling what happened is more complicated than we initially suspect.”

The above quote warns against jumping into conclusions and encourages us to seek to find out and understand first.

“There is nothing wrong with having these rules. In fact we need them to order our lives. But when you find yourself in conflict, it helps to make your rules explicit and to encourage the other person to do the same. This greatly reduces the chance that you will be caught in an accidental duel of conflicting rules.”

This quote makes understand that having personal rules is okay and allowed as it sets out into the open who we truly are , it also makes understand that laying out those rules and also encouraging the other person to lay out the same rules makes it easy for both parties to engage properly in a conversation with clear standpoints.

“Step back and look at the problem from the perspective of a disinterested observer. Imagine that you are a consultant called in to help the people in this situation better understand why they are getting stuck. How would you describe, in a neutral, nonjudgmental way, what each person is contributing.”

Objectivity is a fundamental concept of handling difficult conversations and having a very detached and objective overview of any conversation will guard against any emotional reaction which might damage the flow of the conversation.

“When it comes to acknowledging difficult emotions, we often adopt the strategy of the young batter. If we deny that the emotions are there, then maybe we can avoid the consequences of feeling them……. Feelings are too powerful to remain peacefully bottled. They will be heard one or another, whether in leaks or bursts. And if handled indirectly or without honesty, they contaminate communication.”

This quote simply encourages us to understand and be in touch with our emotions so as to be honest with ourselves the other person and make sure we do not at the end have outbursts of anger or negative behavior caused by inhibiting emotions.

“Some aspects of difficult conversations will continue to be rough even when you communicate with great skill: sharing feelings of vulnerability, delivering bad news, learning something painful about how others see you.”

The above quote is a reminder that difficult conversations will always exist.

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 exercises and did you find them helpful?

The various different examples used throughout the book where making it easy for me as a reader to understand and grasp important concepts and key ideas presented in the book “Difficult Conversations.”

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.

I particularly enjoyed the book and the key fundamental concepts it conveys. However I still think there is a need for an exploration of how to handle situations and conversations that seem to have no mutual understanding especially in circumstances where one person seems to be bent on forcing his will on others even to the extent of ending other people’s lives.

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? 8.5
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8.5

 

 

The Essential Gandhi

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The legendary Gandhi lived a life filled with humility, temperance, patience, perseverance, consistency respect for life and all living forms. Gandhi’s whole life was experimentation with truth and a practice of the Non Violent Philosophy. The Book, The Essential Gandhi is an anthropology of his writings his life, work and ideas edited by Louis Fischer depicts the art and practice of non violence as a key to peacefully influencing change and helping communities transform for the better through respecting and upholding the basic fact that we are all one in the world and it is a mistake to try and solve every human conflict through the use of violent confrontation.

Gandhi’s life is itself a reflection of his ideology and the events that led to the independence of India are also themselves a great testimony of what the power of non violence can do.

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.

Gandhi’s life was on its own a great testimony of many of his great lessons that shaped and changed the fortunes of India and had a great impact in the world. Below are some of the few ideas that the book The Essential Gandhi an anthropology of his life and writings reveals.

i. Patience and temperament

Gandhi a leader par excellence began targeting his Indian community and taught them to exercise Patience and temperament so as to objectively and positively affect their lives. I have also grown to understand that it takes patience to effect positive change in life.

ii. Forgiveness

This is another idea that Gandhi seemed to teach on to his fellow Indian community and the rest of Humanity as well. He approaches this philosophical stand point by suggesting that failure to forgive itself is a sign of weakness. While the ability to forgive is a great sign of strength. He seems to suggest that it makes a man much more able to deal with challenges to come other than being stuck in the past. Indeed forgiveness is a powerful tool in instances where I have exercised it I have certainly gained some sort of freedom.

iii. Love and Unity

In his teachings Gandhi also emphasized the importance of love and unity. Love for the self, love for the other person and general love for the whole community. Unity is a fundamental concept of progress in any endeavor I have realized that projects that have been carried in a united spirit have always resulted in good results whereas those that have lacked Unity eventually folded.

iv. Truth

This was perhaps Gandhi second most important conviction after the idea of non violence. Gandhi believed that any change in society must be inspired by truth. It is without doubt that any cause inspired by truth succeeds. In times when and where I have been arbitrarily arrested truth has always been my sanctuary.

v. Constant Development and Leadership

Gandhi also preached about constant development and leadership. He appealed to people to change and not only preserve what they know and believe in. Gandhi seems to have been against the idea of remain stagnant and not changing one’s circumstances on the premise of consistency.

vi. Action

Gandhi also believed in constructive and progressive action, he preached about action to change one’s circumstances no matter how the challenges looked even if there was more pacification and possible danger. Though he preached mostly and convincingly about non violence. I have before in my life participated in civil disobedience through non violent protests and I have seen the power of action over wishful thinking and the results are much more remarkable.

vii. Perseverance

Another idea that came out of the book is the idea of persistence. Not only did Gandhi teach his methods of non violence and change he persistently impacted them into his target audience even through leading by example. His life is generally a testimony of persistency and perseverance in what one believes in. I believe that I have exercised this idea throughout and since the start of effecting community change it is a very important aspect in the life of a civil rights leader.

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?

Gandhi remains to date the most influential figure in civil rights movements and change related action. Understanding his teachings and studies as well as experimentations with “Truth” as he would put it would help me in primarily searching my purpose in the world.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Gandhi is one of the most quoted icons in the world below are some of the most striking quotes I found in going through the Anthropology of his life and writings

.

“What then is the self sacrifice to be performed .. Every Indian must consider the question as if it affected him personally, put his hands into his pocket for the common good, give his time and energy. Individual differences must be sunk in the face of the common danger. Personal ease and personal gain should be surrendered. To all this must be added patience and self-control . The slightest deviation from the straight and narrow path mapped out here would bring us down the precipice not because the cause is at all unjust or weak, but because the opposition set up against us is overwhelming.”

Here in this quote Gandhi appeals to the people to be prepared to be prepared to pay the price for collective liberty and freedom.

“No race or community has ever achieved anything without the communal spirit …. A man is no stronger than the weakest link in it and unless we are prepared to stand and work shoulder to shoulder without flinching and without being daunted by temporary disappointments, failure would be the only fit reward or rather punishment.”

Here Gandhi talks about Unity of his community and emphasizes the fact that any community that does not exercise unity is not able to achieve anything tangible. Moreover he appeals to the people that the strength that will be derived from unity will make the community withstand any failures temporary or otherwise. I particularly like this quote as it is almost a description of the way my community is currently.

“Men in the selfishness that blinds their reason, may think to score by injustice and oppression. People are associated for their mutual advantage and so between east and west the interaction must eventually operate for the benefit of both were as unreasonable to doubt that hidden in the murky smoke of Western materialism are immoral qualities as to ignore the existence in the heritage of a long line of Eastern Saints and sages.”

The simplest lesson from the above quote is the fact that both parties had something to loose or gain by the choices they would make in engaging in the Indian problem.

“Constant development is the law of life, and a man who always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a false position. That is Emerson said that foolish consistency was the hobgoblin of little minds.”

The above quote puts an emphasis on the previous key lesson described in the ideas section. It details the effects of failure to uphold constant development.

“Mutual love enables Nature to persist. Man does not live by destruction. Self love compels regard for others. Nations cohere because there is mutual regard among individuals composing them. Some day we must extend the national law to the universe even as we have extended the family to form nations a larger family.

Again Gandhi in the above quote seems to appeal to humanity to uphold the biggest values of life in loving and nurturing every living organism. Gandhi’s above quote gives a great lesson on respect all forms of life. Also Gandhi emphasizes the importance of family interlink ages with nation building.

“I do not want to live at the cost of the life of even a snake. I should let him bite me to death rather than kill him. But it is likely that if God puts me to that cruel test. I may not have the courage to die but the beast in me may assert itself and I may seek to kill the snake in defending this perishable body. I admit that my belief has not become so incarnate to me as to warrant my stating emphatically that I have shed all fear of snakes so as to befriend them as I would like to be able to do so.”

This quote is one of the very few moments when Gandhi talks about and considers the use of violence as a means of retaliating and protecting one’s freedom. I took notice of this quote as it has always remained an unanswered question on the issue of the limits of non violence.

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?

There is nothing that I do not understand in the book.

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?

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.

It is not easy analyzing and commenting on the life of Gandhi his iconic contribution to the positive change of humanity. Though it was wonderful exploring Gandhi’s life the process of learning his key concepts is ever ending.

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? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

 

 

Journey of Souls

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

A truly fascinating piece by Michael Newton, his book the journey of souls takes the reader to another dimension of life and the world. The author’s main idea is that souls re- incarnate and live more times than we can imagine. As human beings we are more spiritual than physical and death is just but a human condition that happens to us as we change form. The whole book is almost an unbelievable explanation of life after death. The very fact that Newton brings out to the reader the aspect of a life after death in a different way, quite different from the usual religious beliefs of a heaven and hell with less emphasis on the evolution of the soul. His book attempts to unveil the deepest secret of our existence that of the soul.

Throughout the book the author unveils to us circumstances of people dying in certain circumstances and being re – born again in different sets and circumstances living different lives. Seemingly suggesting that the Soul is on an eternal journey of evolution coming to earth to evolve and improve. He suggests to the reader that the lives that we live are purposely chosen by the Soul to experience different conditions of life evolve and grow into a mature spirit that adds value to the whole world. However the author in this expedition of souls also alludes to a higher power which is the source of life, the maker

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. Multiple Lives

The prospect of being eternal spiritual beings who live forever through multiple lives and ages is a common idea presented throughout the book in many chapters. The author seems to suggest that we have lived here on earth and on other worlds more times than we can comprehend.

ii. Soul Families

Another fascinating idea presented in the book Journey of Souls by Michael Newton is the notion of soul families in the spirit world. Here through cited examples Newton brings in the book an idea of beings belonging to soul groups some sort of spirit families who we live together in fellowship and growth. Meaning to some extent that the people who we meet in our lives are there for a reason or purpose. Perhaps explaining the earthly concept of families, friends, and other groupings.

iii. Free will

Another interesting Idea I that of free will, in the book we meet souls who make choices and decisions and there is little interference from the heavens above unless we call for that help ourselves.

iv. Spiritual Guides

In religious circles we meet a lot of these in the form of angels and prophets, those who have some sort of overarching responsibility of keep us safe on earth however they do seem to be given the right to interfere with our free will. The book brings to the reader the idea of spiritual guides being a compass in our lives and playing an important role in our spiritual journey and goal.

v. Multiple Worlds and Dimensions

The idea of multiple worlds and different dimensions is also unveiled by the author in the book. Newton through hypnotizing his clients who reveal different aspects and dimensions of the world brings to the surface the idea of other worlds and dimensions.

We all have a purpose on earth , this is an idea also depicted in the book the journey of souls. Where we are here on earth on a soul expedition and journey of self-discovery, growth, awareness and evolution.

vii. Destiny

Destiny in the book the Journey of Souls seems to be a choice we make before we live the spirit world to come into earth. The author seems to suggest that there is no chance life on earth we all have a pre–destiny. Often hand I have heard people uttering self-contradictory statements like we make our own destiny and not believing in any pre – destined life. However the author suggests to us that we choose our destiny before we even come to earth for a purpose and the rest of the decisions we make are only a fulfillment of that destiny. .

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?

After reading the book one naturally feels at ease with the idea of death and dying. It will help to gain acceptance of the fact that we will all die without the fear of what will happen to me after death. Given that the author takes away the idea of a Hell being a place for punishment for our failings will give a lot of people some bit of comfort including myself. However given that one would question then what sort of transformation remedies are in place for truly evil souls who practice high forms of evil deeds. Though somewhere in the book there seems to be souls who are completely damaged and go back for re – manufacturing it leaves a lot unanswered about the

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.

“Are you afraid of death? Do you wonder what is going to happen to you after you die? Is it possible that you have a spirit which came from somewhere else and will return there after your body dies, or is this just wishful thinking because you are afraid?”

Taken from the introduction this quote raised my own fears and prompted me to discover what was contained in the book to get truths about the subject of life and death.

“Oh my God I am not really dead – am I? I mean, my body is dead. I can see it below me – but I’m floating – I can look down and see my body lying flat in the hospital bed. Everyone around me thinks I’m dead, but I am not. I want to shout, hey I’m not really dead! This is so incredible … the nurses are pulling a sheet over my head … people I know are crying. I’m supposed to be dead. But I am still alive! It’s strange, because my body is absolutely dead while I’m moving around it from above.”

This quote brings to the surface the idea of the spirit exiting the body.

“When the soul sees images in the spirit world which relate to places they have lived or visited on earth, there is a reason. An unforgotten home, school, garden, mountain, or seashore are seen by souls because a benevolent spiritual force for terrestrial mirages to comfort us by their familiarity. Our planetary memories never die – they whisper forever into the soul mind on the winds of mythical dreams just as images of the spirit world do so to the human mind.”

I have often heard dreams which have been strange and at times happen in the next morning at least the above serves as an attempt to explain why we at times see images of events before they happen.

“A curious phenomenon about the spirit world is that important people in our lives are always able to greet us, even though they may already be living another life in a new body.”

This quote gives an explanation of people we meet in life whom we feel we have known our whole lives when really meeting them for the first time..

“I have had many cases where a client has been incarnating for up to 30 000 years on earth and is still in the lower levels of 1 and 11.The reverse is also true with a few people, although rapid acceleration in spiritual development is uncommon. As with any educational model, students find certain lessons difficult than others. One of my clients has not been able to conquer envy for 850 years in numerous lives. But she did not have trouble conquering overcoming bigotry by the end of the same period. Another has spent nearly 1700 years off and on seeking some sort of authoratative power over others. However he has gained compassion.”

This is an example of the idea of living through times as depicted in many parts of the book.

“I talked to my client about his current life and his customary methods of learning in previous lives. He explained he had never been married, and that social non alignments worked best for him. I suggested a few alternatives for his consideration. Primarily, I felt his lack of intimacy with people in too many lives was obstructing his progress. When this session ended, he was anxious that we explore his mind further for perceptions about the spirit world in another session. Upon his arrival the next day I placed him in a super-conscious state and we went back to work.”

At this particular moment through this particular quote and the one below I asked myself a few questions like is the author not a higher spirit himself ?or is he not now trying to manipulate his knowledge and play God?

“Helping clients recognize people who were destined to have an impact on their lives is a fascinating aspect of my practice. I believe those who come to me about relationships are not in my office at a certain point in their lives by chance. Am I spoiling the purpose of their spiritual recognition class by assisting these subjects by recalling clues?” I don’t think so, for two basic reasons. What they are not supposed to know yet won’t be revealed in hypnosis, while on the other hand, quite a few of my clients only want confirmation of what they already suspect is true.

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?

Not really but after finishing the book a lot of things remain a myth and a bit unbelievable given the chance I would personally go and meet the doctor and experience this philosophical wonder. But my mind remains open and accepts the possibility of such a phenomena. However I would also be tempted to say that this could also be only a fraction of the truth the rest we all find out when we depart from this earth.

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 is mainly a dialogue as the author tries to interact with spirit forms and tries to bring to the reader different aspects of the spiritual world. To some extent they act as examples which seek to explain the expeditious nature of souls.

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.

The book itself touches on a controversial and highly debatable subject and topic. It is interesting to view issues of life after death from a different perspective we are after all, all searching for some eternal truth. I enjoyed reading the books

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? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9.5

 

 

Long Walk to Freedom

Assessment by Busani Sibindi (Zimbabwe)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?

The life of Nelson Mandela is itself a masterpiece of a journey of a man who amongst many struggles fought for self-discovery and defining his role in the world, found himself in a rather collective cry for freedom for a whole nation. Nelson Mandela himself through his life authored a life experience that has served as a great reference for humanity to emulate. Depicting various lessons from the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela the author attempts to bring to the reader the fundamental critical lesson of Leadership as espoused by the life experience of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Long Walk To Freedom is truly a remarkable piece that brings to the surface and to the reader the fundamental principles of Leadership as would be further explored under the lessons learnt section.

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. An inconquerable spirit

At the Rivonia trial, there was a risk that Mandela might be sentenced to death. He was so determined that he persuaded his comrades that they would not appeal. He urged them to have dignity and pride, and to be steadfast. Even after the 27 years of prison Mandela comes out unconquered and full of a warm welcome all-encompassing approach to all friends and foes alike.

ii. Forgiveness

Nelson Mandela’s great and most important lessons that will live in the world as a great testimony of themselves is amongst many the principle of forgiveness. This we see when Mandela is out of prison and elected the first Black President of a democratic South Africa, When he had at his disposal all the power to punish his former oppressors he chose to forgive. Thus the lesson would be Learn how to forgive, Nelson Mandela decided to learn Afrikaans, the language of his oppressors, while in prison? That was the first move in forgiveness.

iii. Nation Building

After winning the Presidency Nelson Mandela was immediately faced with the difficult task of building a nation. As a master tactician Nelson Mandela adopted an unorthodox strategy. He used sport to bring the nation together. Rugby was the sport of the white elite and many black and colored people cheered the opposing team as a way of protesting. Picture the scene at the 1995 Rugby World Cup when Mandela wore the rugby jersey of the Springboks, the South African team, who went on to win. That one gesture in participating at a great sporting event was a powerful way of bonding a nation.

iv. Do not let your past determine your future

Mandela had every reason to become bitter and twisted and to continue with aggression and confrontation. He was intelligent enough to realize that closure was essential and the new path towards peace and reconciliation was the only way.

v. Courage

Courage is not the absence of fear; it’s inspiring others to move beyond it. His life is a tale of courage. Mandela was often afraid during his time underground, during the Rivonia trial that led to his imprisonment, during his time on Robben Island. Even after winning elections and inheriting a feeble state at the brisk of an unmanageable war Nelson Mandela was always calm and willing to weather the storm of living beyond the crisis.

vi. Fight Discrimination

Nelson Mandela (Madiba) was single minded in his approach to the enormous task ahead. Today, society is confronted with many other forms of intolerance that lead to discrimination and oppression.

vii. Humility and Leadership

“Lead from the front but don’t leave your base behind. Lead from the back and let others believe they are in front.” Mandela, throughout his life, made a distinction. His unwavering principle; the overthrow of apartheid and the achievement of one man, one vote was immutable, he inspired the whole nation through his unifying nurture and extreme charismatic character, by simply understanding that leadership does not necessarily being in front and at times letting other take the lead was important in accomplishing the task.

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?

Reading (The Long Walk to freedom) is like reading an instructional leadership manual with live life experiences. The lessons referred to above and those not mentioned are an antidote of leadership worth taking and reading the autobiography has helped me shape and complete my understanding of what servant leadership is about. It has taught me that freedom is often than not the price of freedom and the struggle has a

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.

When reading the autobiography I came across a lot of quotable quotes which all qualify as great quotes. However my search for quotes to refer to in this assessment I was looking for something that is not a Nelson Mandela cliché but quotes that show the world through his lens how his life took a revolutionary trajectory. The quotes below are only a handful and show the critical life formation year of Nelson Mandela as a youth and a young adult. They show the personal struggles of a man who would later become a global leadership icon and a reference point.

“Clarkebury was a Thembu College, founded on land given by the great Thembu King Ngubengcuka, as a descendant of Ngubengcuka, I presumed that I would be accorded the same deference at Clarkebury that I had come to expect in Mqhekezweni. But I was painfully mistaken, for I was treated no differently than everyone else. No one knew or even cared that I was a descendent of the illustrious Ngubengcuka. The boarding master received me without a blowing of trumpets and my fellow students did not bow and escape before me. At Clarkebury, plenty of the boys had distinguished lineages and I was no longer unique. This was an important lesson, for I suspect I was a bit struck on those days. I quickly realized that I had to make my way on the basis of my ability, not my heritage. Most of my classmates could outrun me on the playing field and outthink me in the classroom, and I had a good deal of catching up to do.”

“I had never worn boots before of any kind.”

“In that first year, I learned more about poverty than did in all my childhood days at Qunu. I never seemed to have money and I managed to survive on the meagrest of resources. The law firm paid me a salary of two pounds per week, having generously waived the premium the articled clerks normally paid the firm.”

“Even though I thought what I was doing was morally right, I was still uncertain as to whether it was the correct course. Was I sabotaging my career over an abstract moral principle that mattered very little? I found it difficult to swallow the idea that I would sacrifice what I regarded as my obligation to the students for my own selfish interests. I had taken a stand, and I did not want to appear to be a fraud in the eyes of my fellow students. At the same time I did not want to throw away my career at Fort Hare.”

Nelson meets himself in the struggle for emancipation and continuously learns his limitations as a human being and build and work on himself. All the trials tribulations and Mandela’s almost fictitious record of his life where to some extent a prepation for a difficult role he was to later play in the democratization of South Africa.

“I cursed myself for not having told the whole truth. I had become so used to my deceptions that I lied even when I did not have to. I am sure Reverend Mabutho would not have minded, but when he learned of my circumstances from Festile, he felt deceived. In my brief stay in Johannesburg I left a trail of mistruths, and in each case, the falsehood had come back to haunt me.”

“Although I agreed with this, I was nervous about joining the league and still had doubts about the extent of my political commitment. I was then working fulltime and studying part-time and had little time outside of those two activities. I also possessed a certain insecurity feeling politically backward compared to Walter, Lembede and Mda. They were men who knew their minds and I was yet unformed.”

The quotes also show us the human side of Nelson Mandela.

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 exercises 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.

Reading the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela gives a much more insightful understanding of the necessary prerequisites of a great leader.

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? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9.5