As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Landry Ndriko Mayigane (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea being discussed by the author in this book is that a man’s vision can become a reality, simply through the power of thought. How you can use your thoughts to create the world around you and the kind of life experiences you would like to encounter.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
a) Man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment and destiny: There is another maxim that inspires me a lot in life and that goes this way” Sow a thought, reap an action; Sow an action, reap a habit; Sow a habit, reap a character; Sow a character, reap a destiny”. I strongly believe that If I want to be a good leader in my life, I have to start by breeding the right thoughts, act as a leader on daily basis and on every occasion so that I may develop the expected habits of effective leaders; I will then weave their character within me; and so my destiny of a good leader will come to manifest. Once I understand and own the above, and act accordingly, I will create my world. The author goes further by saying that the man garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husbandry. I have decided to garner only in my sweet fruitage of my own husbandry. I can make and unmake myself and nobody else will do that for me.
b) Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained: With this statement, I understand that nothing is easy in life, there must be some sacrifice. For whatever thing I want to do and/or achieve in life, I must be ready to sacrifice something, otherwise I may not get there. It can be leisure, sleep or even some friends and family quality time. And also, I understand the idea of perseverance. In life, one should persevere and never lose hope and determination.
c) Only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the door of the temple of knowledge. Through my years of veterinary education, I understood that acquiring knowledge especially practical knowledge is very demanding. You have to read and practice a lot, otherwise you are left behind and you will never be competitive in your area of expertise. Having good knowledge nowadays is also very expensive, but it is always rewarding in the long run.
d) Every man is where he is by the law of his being, the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life, there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err. This statement means a lot. It makes me think that luck does not exist, we are where we belong and where our character that we have progressively developed through the process of thoughts, words and habits, has taken us. Nobody should be held responsible of our conditions now or never.
d) Man does not attract that which they want, but that which they are: Every experience that we encounter in our lives is only the result of what we have attracted. Nothing happens to us, only that which we attract. By the time, I read this I felt embarrassed because I came to realize that the situation or condition I am in today, I attracted it; and what I will be tomorrow, I will attract it. So I have to make sure that I know and understand quite well what I want to attract in my life, what experience I want to encounter.
e) A sour face does not come by chance; it is made by sour thoughts: I love so much this statement as it infers that our thoughts have a huge impact on our health. Through a process of right and positive thinking, we prevent our body from diseases and promote sound health within our body. So if I wish to have a sound health, I must entertain only good and healthy thoughts. The author actually makes it clear by saying that and I quote” out of a defiled mind proceeds a defiled life and corrupt body”
f) Until thought is linked with purpose, there is no intelligent accomplishment: In life, each one of us must have a purpose for life, something that we yearn to become in life. Only when our purpose is clear and limpid, should we be able to have thoughts that are congruent with our purpose. As the author puts it, the man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it.
g) By the aid of self-control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and a well-directed thought a man ascends: I understand that having only good thought is not enough; one has to have good attitude in order to ascend in his aspirations.
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 only practical way is through ownership, self-appraisal and continuous review and practice of the lessons. I need to take time every day in the morning to reflect and meditate on the lessons and make sure that I align them with my life at every single occasion that I have. I must be consistent and persevering in practicing these lessons. I think also of spreading the words about my lessons by talking about them with my peers and family because I believe that the more we talk about something the more we become that thing. By repeatedly doing those exercises, we will develop the skills and character we want.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped”. This infers to me that the success and benefit of help depend on both sides. If one of the two sides does not accept either to give or receive help, no matter the efforts proffered, they will just be vain. This statement means a lot to me because I understand that in order to be helped and grow, I need to accept my weakness, be humble and be willing to be helped. Otherwise I cannot grow.
To desire is to obtain, to aspire is to achieve, that we need to cherish our visions and ideals: this means a lot to me because I understand that whatever I desire, I can obtain; whatever I aspire, I can achieve. It feels so good to comprehend and own the concept that God has given us the power to obtain what we desire and achieve what we aspire.
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?
When the author says “Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what at last unveil”. I don’t really understand the relationship that there is between destiny and prophecy. How your ideals can be the prophecy of your life?
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 did not contain any specific exercises. However each paragraph provokes a thought, a meditation that urged some actions. My life on a daily basis can be exercised according to the lessons learned in this book. I have already started applying those lessons since when I started to read the book and they are very 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.
There is something that I read somewhere on internet that I would like to share here:” To find what you seek in the road of life, the best proverb of all is that which says: ‘leave no stone unturned’”. The future is not always well and clearly defined, and even if we can anticipate for the best through our thoughts and actions, but we should not take for granted any opportunity that comes our way. Especially when we are young, we must try and experiment a lot of things to be able to discover ourselves.
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? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Landry Ndriko Mayigane (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea being discussed by the author is once you have a purpose in life, you have to persevere and take necessary risks even if the rest of the humanity does not seem to share or understand your purpose.
2.What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
a) Our nature or our past experience should not be our limit: I come from an average family and I am a black African living in Africa. For the past centuries, the Western community has convinced us of being inferior to them. Through the ages, our grandparents have developed that complex of inferiority. This sentiment has been contagious and transmitted through generations and has corrupted the mindset of most of our generation. Some people in the West and Africa still believe that Africans are naturally inferior to Europeans and Americans, especially in areas such as intelligence and life capabilities. The western community has taken and continues to take advantage of that weakness in Africans. Some ill-intentioned people used it or still use it to control the fate and manipulate Africans, and to loot Africa from its natural riches and this for centuries. But with our generation, some of us have become more conscientious of where we come from, what we have gone though, what are our true values as Africans and what we want for Africa for the years to come and for our kids and grand-kids. We have to break that yoke and make Africa a better place to live, make Africa even more competitive internationally economy, culture and communities’ welfare – wise. Personally I have changed my mindset and I am working to help my fellow Africans for them to change theirs as well. As Africans living in Africa, we have to continue the fight for freedom and equal rights for every citizen in the continent.
b) The years ahead are hummed and glowed with promise: With a clear and a well-articulated purpose and vision for the kind of future experience we would like to encounter in our lives, the uncompromised promise is already there once we stay focused and get prepared. One of the goals in my life is to be a leader who will serve as a role model for youth in Africa. Ever since this purpose was clear in my mind and as days pass by, and with staunchness in my purpose, I feel that life is opening up experiences and exposures that are taking me where I want to go.
c) Life is the unknown and the unknowable: with this, I see that there is so much to learn and experiment in life. We should just need to consider that fact and yearn for more. As Martin Luther King said and I quote: “Take the first step in faith even if you don’t see the rest of the staircase”. We need to have a lot of curiosity and yearnings and be able to pursue them. There is still a lot to discover and experiment. Life abounds with unlimited possibilities and opportunities. We just need to be open minded and take advantage of what life can offer. I like this proverb in Spanish which goes this way” Cuando Dios amenece, para todos amanece” meaning when God makes the sun shine, it is for all of us he does it. So we have to be keen for it. Because effective people in this world are opportunity-minded and not problems-minded, I have come to understand that in my life I have to feed opportunities and starve problems in order to succeed.
d) Always follows high purposes in life: What you expect in life is what we often get. We need to be very ambitious in life to get to the top.
e) Boredom, fear and anger are not good allies in life: I have come to understand that I need to get rid of those sentiments if I want to go somewhere in my life because these sentiments are only convincing me that I am meant to be small in life and nothing can change. So I have to change my attitude and entertain positive sentiments, only the ones that make me feel happy, motivated and energized. I have to control my thoughts and feelings and make sure that they are congruent with what I wish for my life.
f) Because any number is a limit, perfection does not have limits: for every ambitious person, the sky is the only limit. This makes me remember of a saying which states that” Always aim for the moon, if you miss it you can hit a star”. In my life I aim to become a global influential person like the UN Secretary General and I work hard toward that. And even if I am not able to be the one, I strongly believe that I will be somewhere on a position that will still have global influence and that will give me gratification.
g) The price of being misunderstood. People either call devil or they call you god: In life, we should not set our objectives and expect our peers to buy-in or understand them, we can easily get misunderstood and misinterpreted, and even discouraged. The beginning of a long journey is always not attractive as the destiny. That is why some motivational books suggest that we should always start with the end in mind for every journey we are about to undertake.
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?
All the above ideas will help me in my life once I understand them, own them, visualize them in my head, associate them with feelings in my body and practice them in my daily life. My better world starts with my inner self before my outer self. Because our outer side is in most cases the reflection of our inner self, so once i create my better world within me, this will be projected and reflected on my outside world.
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.
“Don’t believe that your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you will see the way to fly…”
This statement is very important to me in a way that our eyes blind us in most cases. One has to see and look beyond what the eyes can show, to be able to explore the beauty of life.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
“I don’t understand how you manage to love a mob of birds that has just tried to kill you.”
Sometimes it is very hard to mingle and feel comfortable with those that once tried to eliminate you because of our ideals. The reason being that we are always afraid that this eliminating-you-feeling can reemerge in that mob at any moment. There is one saying which says” No one is a prophet in his own land”. I believe that this saying is true in some cases. If one is not able to convince their own mob, they should not insist. They should instead concentrate on convincing other mobs who might be more receptive and maybe leave the facts and echoes to convince their own mobs, where they come from.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
There were no exercises for me to complete. However I have been very much inspired by this statement. If you want to begin flying a completely different seagull, “you’ve got to understand that a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull, and your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself.” After reading this, I started thinking about it and making some exercises of thinking how I can apply this idea of thinking and believing that I can fly as a Great Gull.
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 would like just to emphasize this statement: “You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way”. This statement is very strong and has a lot of implications and meaning for me. I understand and even get more convinced that I can be myself if I choose to. The potential that lies within me is bigger than what I think it is. I just need to take time to learn and explore myself, and make all that potential within me to manifest.
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? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8