As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Maduka Princess Ifunanya (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea of this book is about man and his thoughts. The author wants us to realize that our environment does not define who we are, instead it is our thoughts that make or mar us. The major message he’s trying to pass across is the fact that our mind is a very powerful tool that can be used to shape our lives if used correctly.
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. The human mind is very powerful.
I only just understood how powerful the mind is, how the whole essence of life revolves around our thoughts. Whatever you think, you become, good or bad.
ii. Your thoughts is who you are: there is no blessedness that comes by luck.
A blessed man is made by his thoughts and so is a wretched man. Positive thinking will breed positivity while a negative thinking will bring nothing but woes. I used to think that those who made it in their endeavors had a physical way they were able to achieve that, but after reading this book, I know better. The recipe is what they think, what their thoughts is focused on and how they put it to action.
iii. Your thoughts affect your health.
Prior to reading this book, I used to have thinking sessions where I question myself of why things are not going properly the way I think they should, one day I told my friend that I needed to take treatment and she screamed of how I have been taking drugs too much these days. The next day, I got this book and I started to read and I began to reposition my mind and started to think positive of my situation and I found out I didn’t have any need to go to the hospital. What happened is that, the book opened my mind’s eye to why things were not going the way they should and I became happy and healthy.
iv. The effect of thoughts on character.
Everyone is a reflection of their thoughts. A man who thinks of negative things and of a way to steal from people will one day steal and a man who has positive thoughts of how to become great will one day become. Our character is the aftermath of what goes on, on the inside.
v. Circumstances are borne by thoughts.
I used to think people are what they are by luck or chance, but now, I understand that circumstances are the result of long term thoughts. Bad thoughts will only produce suffering while good and positive thoughts will bring blessedness and fulfillment.
Any thought a man persist in, will definitely yield result, whether good or bad.
vi. You can change the world.
Yes, the world can be changed by our thinking, just like the writer rightly said, “all that a person achieves or all that a person fails to achieve is the direct result of thinking.”
If we think right, we can change the world positively by refusing to believe that our environment defines us and defining our environment.
vii. Serenity: the right thoughts will wield in you calmness of soul.
With the right thought comes self control at every situation which eventually crystallizes into blessedness.
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 lessons contained in this book will help me to change my thinking, thereby changing my environment and effecting positive change in the world. A positive mindset does not only benefit oneself but the world at large. The things contained in this book will effectively alter my thinking pattern and prepare me for the journey ahead. A positive mind rules the world, so here I am, preparing myself to conquer.
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.
“Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your Vision is the promise
of what you shall one day be; your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.”
“This is striking, this compels, it’s a push.”
This reassures me that my dreams are valid. It reminds me that I can achieve whatever I set out to. It reaffirms the fact that if I keep my vision alive, it will yield greatness at last.
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 understand everything and agree with all.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No, there were no exercises in the book.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
None at all.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 6
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 5
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Maduka Princess Ifunanya (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
Push yourself and don’t let society tell you that you cannot do it. Anyone can be different, anyone can soar higher, with determination. If you decide to be different, there’s no limit to what you can achieve
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. Don’t Stop
When the thoughts come to be different, don’t stop thinking. Believe in your positive thoughts because it makes you. No matter what you encounter on the way, don’t stop. I’ve told myself this and I’m going to stick by it!
ii. You can do it: Jonathan Seagull at a point felt he is not meant to fly but just to hustle for food like every other seagull.
He gave up on the chase and returned to the flock but couldn’t fit in, he went off again and discovered he could do more than he initially thought he could. Whatever one sets his heart on, he can do it.
iii. Everything is Achievable
Thomas Edison fail 1000 times in his quest to invent an electric bulb but didn’t give up. Everything is achievable only when you refuse to give up.
iv. There’s a Greater Purpose
Yes, everyone is created with a greater purpose of creating a better world but only those who set out to discover ways this can be done are able to achieve this. Refuse to settle for less, there’s a bigger purpose way beyond, getting degrees, getting married and building companies.
v. Refuse to follow the trend
There’s more to life for those who refuse to follow the trend, for those who believe that they can be more, for those who are not conventional. Life is more than being in a flock and being limited to the potentials we posses on the inside. The flock mentality kills dreams, wanting to be accepted by all limits potentials in a way many still do not realize.
vi. Satisfaction
There’s a satisfaction that comes with not allowing anyone or anything deter you. There’s a satisfaction that comes with pushing yourself. There’s a satisfaction that comes with breaking out of the norm. There’s a satisfaction that comes with achieving what others think is unimaginable. Strive for that satisfaction and reach for happiness that comes with it.
vii. People look up to you
To be totally happy with any achievement one must have made in life, there must be lives touched positively. Jonathan, was encouraged and trained better by the elder seagull and he in turn trained Fletcher. There’s a kind of confidence that comes with knowing that people are watching and want to learn. There’s another level of confidence that comes with knowing that you’re making them proud.
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 will be critics, there will be naysayers, there will be people who want to pull me down but one thing this book has done is build my confidence. Just like Jonathan Seagull, I dare to be different, I dare to show my world that there is more, I dare to stand alone if it calls for it just to bring positivity to my world, to let them know that there is more to life than meet the eyes.
“It is I who can push myself.” There’s no limitation to what I can achieve except the one I place in my mind. The sky is just a starting point and not the limit. I yearn for more because I know there is more!
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 only true law is that which leads to freedom.”
“All laws that restrict people from becoming are made by human and can be broken by human too.”
This quote made me understand that freedom is sure for whoever that refuses to be bound by restrictive laws.
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?
None at all.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
There were no exercises to complete in the book.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
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? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
PsychoCybernetics
Assessment by Maduka Princess Ifunanya (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
Answer: The author is trying to open our eyes to the powerful effect of visualisation. Envisaging the future helps you to work towards it knowing fully well that it is achievable. The mind is where the whole existence of man is born, the mind is a great tool to the actualization of whatever one wishes for. A great and positive self image starts from the mind. In other words, if you can envisage it, you can achieve it and whatever you build up in your mind is what your self image becomes, negative or positive.
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. Mistakes
Mistakes are not who you are. The writer made us to understand that mistakes are not who we are and as such should be associated to our behavior and not ourselves. Mistakes do not define us because the self image needs those mistakes to work perfectly…
ii. Speak Up Anyways
It is better to speak up and wrong than to be that perfect person who never speak at all. Better to fail at something than doing nothing at all. Because when you speak wrong or fail, you learn and correct the mistakes
iii. Identify Opportunities
In every crisis there lies an opportunity, look away from the crisis and try to identify the opportunity therein
iv. Shadow Boxing
Shadow boxing is a good tool. Try to envisage what you hope to achieve, see it in your mind’s eye and begin to work towards it and watch it come alive.
v. Look Forward
When you’re not goal-striving, not looking forward, you’re not really living… Even when it doesn’t look like it, set your goals and look forward to achieving them, only then do you start living. I have always been a futuristic person, I see myself 10 years from now and most times even if it doesn’t look like it’s going to work, I keep hope alive and in must cases, it works just like magic.
vi. Mistakes are part of life
Admit your mistakes and errors but don’t cry over them; correct them, have the courage to act and move on. I used to wallow in self pity and condemnation whenever I make mistakes, this makes me try to stay away from the rest of the world just to sulk, but after realizing that mistakes have nothing to do with who I am; my self-image became enlightened and I became better.
vii. Self-Esteem
Do not dig the pit of “self-disesteem,” it is deadly and hard to overcome, it is a pit designed and dug by our own hands and which destroys the self-image
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
A great self-image will rub off on everyone in your circle. The lessons contained in this book will help boost my already built up confidence, develop a great and functional self-image, help me check myself at all times instead of judging others and being happy.
Happy people are known to never be wicked, I have learned to intentionally be happy, not letting outside events or people determine my happiness. People naturally want to associate with happy people because they feel good around them and also learn from them as well.
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 are important to you
“All skill learning is accomplished by ‘trial’ and ‘error,’ by making a trial, missing the mark, consciously remembering the degree of error and making correction on the next trial, until finally a ‘hit’ or successful attempt is accomplished.”
There’s no truer words than this. Take for example someone who is learning how to sew, you’d never be right in your first attempts, the only way to achieve perfection is by correcting your mistakes and going again. I am going to try again for every time I make a mistake until I get it right
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 why?
Nothing at all I can think of.
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 does and I did complete them. They were most 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.
Nothing at all.
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? 4
B. How helpful were the contents? 6
C. How easy was it to understand? 5
D. Would you recommend it to others? 5
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7