Oghogho-omoruyi Amadinaiyangbon – Assessments – International Institute for Global Leadership

As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Oghogho-Omoruyi Amadinaiyangbon (Nigeria)

1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
In the course of carefully perusing the erudite material, one can testify to the very simple idea and message James Allen seeks to pass across to every one privy the content of this material. James Allen is unequivocally making clear the indispensability of the mind in the number of requisite tools or factors to the happenings in our lives, every now and then. Simply put James Allen is of the opinion in his material that the issues of live are a product of the seemingly insignificant factor called the mind- a place where we have all of our thoughts manufactured, stored and in due times put to negative or positive use (s) ,either ways. James Allen is highly revelatory of the fact that the mind is the factory of all that becomes of a man or that a man is, in his words, “They themselves are makers of themselves.” (By virtue of the mind or thinking capacity that every homo-sapien is endowed with. The author in every point in the text tends to inundate as many will-be readers on the importance of the thought of man in the face of things, as far as life and existence is concerned .He did well to show to everyone to what extent the abstractness of the mind could be material or brought to bare in its objective state
.
Amongst others he pointed out clear the very obvious results of our thoughts or may I say the results effects of our thoughts – studying things from the cause to effect.

A number of the effects of thoughts as mentioned are as follows:

Effect of thought on circumstances: there and then he made it clear that circumstances are only a revelation of who man is to himself, “circumstances does not make a man; it reveals him to himself.” So circumstances are man himself (the fruit of the factory called mind).

Effect of thought on body and health: He emphatically made it clear in his writing that the event of sickness or unwholesome health is a fruit of unwholesome or unhealthy thoughts of the mind and he therefore stated that for the excellent and healthy survival of the human body ,the mind which happens to be the maker of all that transpires within and without the body must be in good shape of excellent and healthy thoughts.
James Allen also made clear that the thoughts of man is so much important to the fulfilling of his meant purpose here on Earth. So there must be this resonance between the thoughts of man and is supposed purpose on Earth. In essence, there must be a level of thought to achieving a level of success.

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. As a Man Thinketh in his heart so is he.

The banal statement on comprehension brought to my understanding that, the without effects of enjoyment, career success, academic excellence, good health and on the negative end; shame reproach, backwardness, stagnancy, retrogression and all others that one can conceive are a product of the within, mindful cause of our thoughts. Metaphorically I saw and coined a compound word; “the-thought-the-man” phenomenon and that in my very words, succinctly explains that all that a man his and could ever be is one having it’s root in the very fertile soil of the mind(which solely producers thoughts of countless types and kinds). “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he; went far enough as at the time of reading this book to influence and correct my conception of the workings of the happenings in our society as I use to think that all I see had no further root than in the daily physical dispositions of the arms neglecting what a thing the mind/thoughts could be in the face of things. At that juncture amazingly I found out what part the mind/thought had to play in our dealings, achievements and even the unfortunate shortfalls we experience in our lives daily.

ii. “Circumstances does not make the man ;it reveals him to himself.” To clear the air on the somewhat gender bias noticeable in the writing, I must say that the author wasn’t at any time being exclusive or dismissive of the female state or gender in his book, but for the sake of enabling readers get a fixed and unequivocal insight into all that the book asserts or alleges. So a generic view is necessary on the part of the reader, to help him or her gain understanding of the applicability of the tenets of this book to both gender groups. In bid to refrain from digressing, I quickly will deal with the idea in view, “circumstances does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.” Circumstances as understood from the text is a product of the mind- circumstance-making factory. In other words circumstances are not man producing but man produced and as such does so well only to reveal to a man what his thoughts have been like and the effect which characterizes whatever he is faced with at the time. “He reveals him to himself,” tells one of how much he has done in the circumstance-making factory within whose products are thoughts (wholesome and unwholesome alike),which has affected his without. So the aforementioned quote acquaints me with the knowledge of the fact that indeed I rule my world. It lastly behooves me with the need to hold firm and wield the weapon of the establishment within me – the ever producing factory of thought.

iii. The effect of thought on the body and health.

The body is the servant of the mind: In the making of the body, the maker gave the body a slavish position in relation to the mind ,having the mind Lord it over the body in all ramification. In that respect the maker affirmed the root of all happenings by man and for man,saying out of the mind are the issues of life . In that light, the earlier one understands that the mind is and remains the governing seat of the body and takes charge of the mind ,the better. Good thoughts breed functional and healthy bodies; while the reverse is the case with unwholesome thoughts.

iv. To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to, achieve

Desire and aspirations are the companions and fruitage of the mind; they go into extinction without the breeding ground of the mind. Desires and aspirations are found in our thoughts; one cannot help but think of a thing before it becomes an aspiration or desire. In the context of “as a man thinketh, so he is,” it is good one understands that one’s aspiration to a very large extent has the capacity of becoming a reality, so an aspiration-cum-materialisation effect is a product of the mind, so good things first must start from the mind before it materializes.

v. Thought and Purpose

Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. The empowering or support system needed to actualizing a purpose is the mind and on that note, it behooves me to put at heart and harbor in mind all that I am set to do, because in doing that I afford my purpose an inevitable success achievement as time progresses. “Whatever isn’t at heart will never be heard (hearing of it here, signifies success).” If the thought of man is centered around the purpose of his heart, he obviously would be 80% off the way to achieving success in that endeavor.

vi. The thought of man is all a man has; it is the lot of a man’s acquaintance.

All a man has ever built or amassed, came by the virtue of thinking; his house, cars, children, betrothed wife and so many others, came to fruition, because he had mindful fixed gaze on the materialization of it in his lifetime, so having that in mind I have chosen to harbor very impossible contents in my mind and by the engineering of it, see to it’s fruition. Unequivocally no man ever gets more than what he thinks of.

vii. “He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”

The idea aforementioned made it vividly clear that my sacrifices in life are commensurate to all successes i will achieve. Sacrifices are obviously, stepping stones to success. In that light, there is the understanding that there is no such thing as unattainable or unachievable but unwilling people to pay the price necessary to attaining the height we so much revere.

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 or ideas gotten so far can be useful in various ways as the phenomenon of the mind and thoughts seems applicable various situations one an think of. The ideas and lessons can help me in the following ways:
The ideas can help me systematically and intuitively build a balanced mindset, where pure thoughts are built up as I now know I am a product of my thoughts.
These ideas will help in augmenting my approach to making the greatest of men I want to see in the world I envisage, as I already know that the starting point of effecting a change in the life of a man is his mind because the set mind of a man is the set action of that man so combating evil thoughts will breed good and worthwhile actions that will cause a transformation in the society I want to find myself in time to come.
The ideas point to my thoughts as the engineering force behind my actions and resolve and as a result I will do well to ensure I watch my thoughts to see to the success I want to see happen.
In making the world a better and healthy place, the ideas of this book will help sensitize the people, to be better thinkers and not individuals of adverse thoughts ,as evil t thoughts can breed illness and diseases in the body.
With the knowledge of the ideas this book stands to share with me, I have chosen to take careful watch at the thoughts of my mind and try to yield myself to thinking positively and optimistically because success and failure begins from the mind.

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.

“They themselves are makers of themselves.”

A man stands to be a maker of himself because the self-making mechanism stats within him and he chooses what to forge of his life with the mechanism. The thoughts of the heart are the makers of the being we are and as a result, the person we want to be seen as all starts with what our thoughts are.

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 totally understand all the writer seeks to achieve with the content of 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. The text was all out to teach.

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.

All was succinctly covered in the context of the questions brought to bare.

Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.

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

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Oghogho-Omoruyi Amadinaiyangbon (Nigeria)

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

This book is basically one I see as didactic; as it seeks to cause a reformation that is necessary for a 360° turnaround and change.

Basically from the perspective of Bach, Jonathan was driving home the everyday difficulties, obstructions, resistance and seemingly uneasy challenges that attend the rat race pursuit for success. Having this book as a fable, Bach took Jonathan, the bird he thought was best for describing and passing across what he had in mind as a case study. In line with what the eponymous character, Jonathan had to go through ,one can unequivocally tell of the fact that in achieving success great tasks and sacrifices stand to be demanded of you in the face of things- we always get to pay the price before the prize and persecutions and steep resistance that attends different success pursuits varies and that makes me sacrifices we have to pay for our different pursuits, different.

Amongst other ideas decipherable in the context of this book is that, “abnormal are the things or achievements the minds of people can’t carry and see to fruition.” The vast majority of the flock of birds of which JONATHAN was a member. He never saw it feasible for a bird of their caliber to fly tall or high and that made them resort to self-deprecating and inhibiting thoughts of themselves as visible in the book. Even at the advent of the deterring mindset of the people he found around himself. He kept unflinchingly to his ambition of a flight travel to the highest of places . He didn’t allow the minds of impossibility and the “this-is-abnormal” syndrome deter him from achieving his goal.

In the context of the book, the writer made it clear that only the resolute; those who are highly resolved, only can achieve the success they envisage and see themselves achieving. He was so clear on it that so much demanding sacrifices attend the success we want as seen in his neglect of the piece meal at sea ,for his love for flight. Bach was of the notion that you must desire and aspire to acquire. You must work end to end to see to it’s fruition, because so much unforseen oppositions are inherent in the “success way” and that makes it one that deserves a resolved mind. Emphatically the pursuit of success is Herculean and it promises victory in the end if you remain at it.

i. Love is the starting point for worthwhile achievements:

“More than anything else Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly.” He very well had so much love for the Enterprise of flying and that spurred him to venturing into it and doing very well at it. A very striking cliché statement is this; “passion drives to action and pushes all you do to fruition” and that hasn’t been any truer, as the vast majority of eager beavers and mavericks in the different Enterprise of life today once had passions for all they did and still do have passion for what they do. Success is a fruit of passion amongst other ingredients that fuels it’s achievement.

So a bandwagon indulgence mindset in things won’t really earn us what befits us as humans, but it’s important we do our best to find and pitch a tent on what we have passions for and that goes a long way to seeing us succeed at it . What also comes with having passion for a thing is the daily fulfillmenmt that attends every step we take in the work process in line with what we have a thing for. Success is a passion-borne fruit and that makes passion indispensable in the face of success pursuits.

ii. It costs a measure of resources (human and capital(financial) resources alike) to be a success:

“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.”

Just after I came across this book, I was inundated by the very costly steps to success that the very wealthy tech magnate, Elon Musk took to attaining the height he has gotten to in business and in life and that really prompted me to draw a conclusion that, success indeed costs. Show me a successful man and I will show you one who is a product of costly strides towards attaining success. Success never comes to fruition, whether in business, leadership or in life in general. This is an idea that should spur everyone to hardwork, as that is a means to seeing success amongst others.

iii. Exploration is key to becoming an achiever and exploration isn’t easy:

“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.” He just wanted to know and he knew getting to know ,will cost him something more than just anything, but he was set out for it many today are scared of going that far to knowing ,because of the perceived difficulty that they feel attends it. As most of us already know, exploration does so much in taking from you as much as it gives to you, exploration entails long nights of little or no rest long hours of seclusion from the many in the society and strong will in the face of adversity.

iv. It takes great hunger, thirst and a knowledge of the fact that there is so much to grasp to fulfilling your course and gaining mastery:

“I could be spending all this time learning to fly. There’s so much to learn!” It took Jonathan a sense of the need to come to terms with the fact that he had so much to learn to achieving great feats in flying and that hunger and thirst always drew him to the point of learning and gaining expertise. Learning is key to success in business, career and leadership and one who isn’t ready to learn or gather experience isn’t ready to make waves in life. The account of this behooves on us to do well to yield ourselves to learning at all times as it is a lifelong thing.

v. A time comes when you get tired of the whole thing as regards life pursuits:

“But no, he thought. I am done with the way I was, I am done with everything I learned. I am a seagull like every other seagull, and I will fly like one”

Giving up still is not an option. When trying times which are meant to make a better you aren’t meant to break you, so when you are faced with trying times it’s very important you stay on course and grow in your daily triumph over the prevalent difficulty at the time. There come trying times when you tend to conceive and believe the ill-talks of men as true and infallible and believing or taking the words of this people to be true most times spells our downfalls, because they never made attempts or they did but failed consistently and ultimately failed by giving up on the pursuit. When times you tend to give up come stay alone and get the courage necessary from within then you will do just well.

vi. Understanding the idea and concepts of life as necessary for an easy ride in your life time.

“You didn’t need faith to fly, you needed to understand flying.” We are in a world today where square pegs are put in round holes making life altogether difficult. It’s high time we go for what is necessary and not do things because they have always be done that way by a sect or group. His teacher did well to make Jonathan understand that understanding the rudiments of things and going past the level of the rudiments to understanding something or an art better us just what is necessary to being good at what you do. The application of Faith in humans or in ourselves in knowing things instead of inclining ourselves to understanding us tantamount to failure and setback and it is on that note is good we familiarize ourselves with the principle of understanding (knowing the intricacies) than leaving life pursuits to the arms of Faith.

vii. Success attracts to itself so many friends

Success remains an attractant to a person who carries it, as noticeable in the life of Jonathan at the successful completion of his training.

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 earlier stated ideas will be instrumental to the Reformation of the dying world of mediocres, sluggards and self-deprecating personalities and stance in the face of things in the following ways:

It will very well make the human race adopt the values of self-determination and hard work:The above two are very important to the attainment of success- you only work to success,not walk to success and that makes you one that has a high stake in determining your success in every ramification of life you find yourself-talking from my experience and the experience of a great few.

As many as will be conversant with this idea ,will to a very large extent abdicate every form of pessimism and hold fast to optimism in his or her heart because as man thinketh in his heart, so is he .

Greater resolves: A knowledge of the aforementioned ideas will to a very large extent help strengthens the resolve for excellence by burgeoning youths and elderly alike in our world today.

In my personal sphere/life:

An acquaintance with the aforementioned ideas will to a very large extent, helped me imbibe characters and develop good attitudes that are of importance to success attainment knowing what it is like to “work” to success and not “walk” to success. I will in all my endeavors do well to imbibe and put to good use, a plethora of feasible attitudes in the journey to success. Discipline – a function of subjection to bitter experiences for the greater good will be one thing I will at all times exercise in all ramification of life.

The ideas gotten from this writ will help cause the awakening of latent abilities that are indispensable when the matters of success are tabled. The ideas seen will most importantly, make of me a goal-getter, in my daily pursuit to achieve success. It also easily points to the fact that there is a motivating and inspiring duty to leadership and that behooves me to do well to lead and not Lord over people within my jurisdiction.

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

“I don’t mind being bone and feathers mom. I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can’t, that’s all. I just want to know.”

The aforementioned quote all went out to state the foreseen Herculean and high tag price of achieving success, since it had to make of him “bones and feathers.” Success and the “no-go” areas are only attained with so much difficulty and challenges as the fixed price tag in view in achieving it. It all points me to the fact that the lofty heights I envisage for myself must make demands of me in my every day sojourn and journey to attaining it.

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?

Some things were not so clear to me, but the book taking an overall assessment was good and informative.

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?

It contained no text necessary for completion, it was all out to teach without examining the reader.

7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.

Except for some very important points ,as regards the values embedded in the text that were not asked, I think the organizers did well to encompass the text in it’s 7 question test. A major value it sought to let down was that of determination, noticeable in Jonathan’s life.

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? 5
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 3
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 6

PsychoCybernetics
Assessment by Amadin Omoruyi (Nigeria)

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

PsychoCybernetics written by Maxwell Maltz M.D ,F.I.C.S , profoundly explicates the significance of a positive self-image in all ramification . It’s of the notion that it’s important that we all have a notion of positivity when it comes to how we deal with ourselves. Reminding me of the nuances of communication and the whole gamut of speaking to other people, our self-perception necessarily must be one that is on the positive light.

This book is basically trying to showcase to the world the significant stake of the mind in all that we do and that we intend to do- the mind as a driving force. The book seeks to vividly paint the picture of man’s psychology as a mechanism that serves his desire, based on the aw materials it provides the mind -our thoughts on a daily basis.

PsychoCybernetics talks of a seemingly wonderful servo-mechanism that steers man in the direction of needs fulfillment . This servo-mechanism- as pointed out by the writer of this book is the best engineering force to goal fulfillment and all that a man proposes to achieve. A mindset that is fraught with negative thoughts and conceptions is bound to be far from the beauty of young age. On the contrary, a positive conception and view of things aids in the maintenance of a healthy and young look.

The author went forth to explain the importance or significance of the frame of mind we carry in the face of things. Maxwell did well to explain the mind as the predominant factor that triggers the experience of positive and negative experiences. Just as William James purported , our conception or mind -interpretation of situations determines how we are affected by the situations in view:

“We are products of our minds. Our servo mechanisms function to the extent and as well as the mind allows it to.”

“PsychoCybernetics is a bent to explaining the inclination of man in the direction it’s mind steers it.”
“PsychoCybernetics explains the somewhat mystical phenomenon of the Mind-body mechanism; Mind-success mechanism; Mind-failure mechanism; Mind-achievement mechanism.”

The book is targeted at better enabling the likes of ignorant humans; ignorant of their mental ability to achieve the supposed ‘impossible’ and actually gain greater heights by simply harnessing the resource that in their minds abound .The book passes the idea of the importance of good thoughts and a well done physical exercise to the well being of the body that we carry about . It states that old age is actually a position attained by the decisions taken by an individual and that one can actually live so young as long as he or she wants . A number of misunderstandings and misconceptions of how the biological machine, the body functions has brought so much damage upon the body and has actually reduced to ground level what the body is actually capable of doing with it’s make-up. Healthy living is greatly encouraged that we may by so doing be able to harness the powers of the body that abound .

i. Your nervous system cannot tell the difference between an imagined experience and a real experience. In either case, it reacts automatically to information which you give to it from your forebrain:

This entails that ,on the positive our minds help us to better get at life or assume worthwhile positions without an actual experience and as a result one doesn’t necessarily have to be one who has a plethora of good experiences on which he or she can build the necessary self-believe(the empowering force to do great things ). So the brain works assiduously to seeing the realization of all fed in data; whether imaginary or real. So, it behooves on us to do well to ensuring that our thought processes are actually consequential, especially when it come to things of the mind and execution.

ii. “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be,”said Abraham Lincoln.

“Happiness is purely internal,”says psychologist Dr.Matthew N. Chappell. “It is produced, not by objects, by ideas, thoughts, and attitudes which can be developed and constructed by the individual’s own activities, irrespective of the environment.” This simply entails that happiness has no core determinant found in the physical things or environmental constituent of a place making Man the core and most important determinant of his emotional status whether happy or sad . So, similarly, in the words of Matthew Chappelle and Abraham Lincoln, Happiness is a fruit of one’s own decision, not a function of environmental factors such as family, friends and things. You choose to be happy or not.

iii. Man, on the other hand, has something animals haven’t; Creative Imagination. Thus man of all creatures is more than a creature, he is also a creator.

Man is accurately defined as God’s masterpiece, one made in God’s image after His likeness. Understanding that we were made in God’s image and likeness, that puts us on a pedestal of “creatorship” we too are creators the world is awaiting to see His or Her proceeds. Creation with man starts from the seat of creative abilities; the mind, through the process of creative imagination; creative thinking; mining the resources of the mind and beyond through intense and focused thinking. Man is a creator, not just a creature.

iv. “Much of what we call evil is due entirely to the way men take the phenomenon,” said William James.

I have an understanding of the fact that the best Outlook and outcome of things is dependent on what man thinks of an event . If man sees an event as problematic ,the mental flux nature of phenomenon will make it happen that way on the problematic end.

v. Thomas A.Edison lost a laboratory worth millions in a fire, with no insurance. “What in the world will you do?” Someone asked. “We will start rebuilding tomorrow morning.”

Optimism and a great sense of direction is key to a life of financial fulfillment and otherwise . It’s important that a man allows no problem ,no matter how grievous weigh the person that he or she can’t go about life pursuit again . In life pursuit ,it’s important you know how to stand up to problems promptly and tackle it as soon as possible.

vi. Although we may learn fast, we do not learn well under “crisis” conditions.

Lessons gotten from crisis situations do not in anyway take one through the rudiment of the process of mastery, there is a perfunctory disposition of reflexes in positions less thought of one does things in accordance with the best path or path of least resistance, not knowing the intricacies of the whole process that is entered into.

vii. Common experience teaches that when great demands are made upon us, if only we fearlessly accept the challenge and confidently expend our strength, every danger or difficulty brings its own strength. “As thy days so shall thy strength be.”

Difficulty stresses and problems actually come that they may be surmounted, overcome and dealt with and by so doing, mastery achieved gained new skill set developed and wider experience gathered. The path of adversity and challenges should be one, highly relished and joyfully plied that we may thereby achieve the qualities that come only by persevering to gain the greater good that comes with difficulty.

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 from the ideas gotten from this book as stated above can best help me in my daily life and in helping me to create a better world through the following means:

The above stated lessons or ideas will help me understand the importance of challenges as experienced in my life and enable me enjoy the process and do well to learn all I can in the process of being challenged.

The above stated idea tea he’s me to know how to take care of my biological and mental parts for longevity and the best of existence. With the above stated idea, I now have a number of reasons why physical exercises must be made a priority and toxic individuals must be abstained from for our mental health .
It points to the fact that there are so much capabilities yet untouched or tapped into and behooves on me to take steps to tapping into the plethora of abilities that abound and also assist others to do so for the purpose of building a better world where all-round healthy individual stay and thrive.

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.

“Our automatic creative mechanism always acts and reacts appropriately to the environment, circumstance or situation. The only information concerning the environment, circumstance or situation available to it is what you believe to be true concerning them.”

We as humans are built to believe and act upon what we perceive to be the condition of our environment and that is all our servo mechanism is available to work on. As many who never difficulty in any cumbersome activity, never find it difficult from their own personal experiences. That is how the creative mechanism functions. It works based on what you feed it from the happenings of the environment.

“Be like the promontory against which the waves continually break, but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it,” said Marcus Aurelius.

From this, I can categorically deduce the fact that we can decide the line that our lives as humans tow. Life shouldn’t determine us, we should determine our existence, how we live life per time. Yes! We should remain unshakeable in the face of daunting challenges and do well to respond as mentally appropriate as we deem it, not as circumstantially demanding or environmentally demanding.

“The building of an adequate self-image is something that should be carried out through out a lifetime,” because the quality of self-image built determines how well one will relate to others and how much of self-esteem the person will be having.

“All humans have being developed or engineered for success: There is actually no one individual that is not meant or built for success. The creator hasn’t at any point in time predestined anyone for failure and that it stands to be.”

“Faith, courage, interest, optimism, looking forward, bring us new life and more life. Futility, pessimism, frustration, living in the past, are not only characteristic of old age they contribute to it:”

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?

All ideas are explicit enough and I buy into a very good number of them. It still remains overwhelming how the thought of how powerful my being a human is.

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 exercises were actually beneficial and very engaging. They were 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.

God remains a very important determining factor in the pursuit of success. Even at the fact that God created a very powerful in which we exist, we still need his ever unfailing and ever indomitable empowerment to pilot our affairs to the topmost top . God is not and should never be seen as a second fiddle in the dealings of our 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? 10
It was a very interesting and mind engaging book to read .it did well to have really caught my attention and narrowed my view to the very importance of this being that we neglect and undermine. So many impossible seem already possible with me.
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
I think I can now have a better start in my life pursuit as a youth.
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 Amadin Omoruyi (Nigeria)

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

Napoleon Hill, author of Keys to Success was bent on passing the idea that there are definite factors that surely contribute to the achievement of success in any endeavor and he specifically listed this keys or principles out in clear terms for easy and communication to as many that will read the book.

Napoleon Hill pointed at the following factors as the prevailing Keys to Success:
Develop definiteness of purpose
Establish a mastermind alliance
Assemble an attractive personality.
Use applied Faith.
Go the extra mile
Create personal initiative
Build a positive mental attitude
Control your enthusiasm
Enforce self discipline
Think accurately.
Control your attention.
Inspire teamwork
Learn from adversity and defeat.
Cultivate creative vision.
Maintain sound health.
Budget your time and money.
Use cosmic habit force.

The above principles of success were deemed most important in achieving success in any endeavor and Napoleon Hill did well to have buttressed the points in an easy to understand manner.

Developing definiteness of purpose. He explained that the starting point of all worthwhile achievements is to have one high, desirable, outstanding goal and keep it before you. Napoleon hill insisted that attaining success borders on having a particular thing in mind that you want to succeed in. He stated that compulsorily on ought to have a thing in mind or goal or purpose that he or she intends to achieve because that is the basis on which such a person is primarily expected to pursue success- knowing what exactly you want to achieve in life. Definiteness of purpose entails a crystal clear, written down scope of pursuit that one has in mind. Its advisable that such definite purpose be written down for memory sake, in a bid to ordering your every step in the course of your daily activities. With the definite purposeful in mind, your steps are ordered to be daily pursue and achieve that definite one thing , thereby warding off every form of distraction Yes, the definite purpose is meant to point categorically at that one thing you ought to be pursuing or working at and not other things that comes to mind. The definiteness of purpose which appears foremost in the list of the keys to success appears to be a determining factor for every other keys to success that succeeds it.

Establish a mastermind alliance: With a positive mental attitude, a mastermind alliance is two or more minds working together in the spirit of perfect harmony toward the attainment of a specific objective. Mastermind alliance entails like-minded individuals who are keen or bent on achieving same purpose with you or who are necessarily a good or excellent party to your success. A mastermind alliance includes members not fewer that two who buy into your pursuit or Definite Purpose and are willing to go all in achieving that purpose. Necessarily, it is good one understands that a person can’t develop a mastermind alliance without knowing his or her definite purpose. On what basis will the choice of members of your mastermind alliance be if you seem not to know the goal exactly or what exactly should be pursued. So a definite purpose of building a multimillion dollar business entails that you develop a nice alliance of business minded people.

Assemble an attractive personality with PMA The book makes imperative that you develop the habit of being sensitive to your own reactions to individuals, circumstances and events and to the reactions of individuals and group to what you say think or do. And it is important that one understands that achieving the assemblage of a good personality and alluring personality and a welcoming personality is simply by doing unto others as you would have others do unto you; the golden rule.

Go the extra mile with a positive mental attitude (PMA). The book states that the quality of the service rendered plus the quantity of the service rendered ,plus the mental attitude in which it is rendered equals your compensation in the world and the amount of space you will occupy in the hearts of your fellow man . Q1+Q2+MA=C(Compensation). So the book enjoins us to do well to learn how to put in the extra effort and work in other to bring out the best product that wins the heart of as many as wish to purchase or subscribe to the service or product . The extra mile is the path to outstanding success.

Create personal initiative with Positive mental attitude (PMA). The book states that Personal initiative is the inner power that starts all action- it is the power that inspires the completion of that which one behind. Hope is the magic ingredient in motivation, but the secret of accomplishment is getting into action with your mind and heart involved-putting personal initiative to work

Build a personal mental attitude. PMA allows you to build on hope and overcome the negative attitudes of despair and discouragement. PMA is commonly referred to as the “I can I will” attitude applicable to all challenging circumstances in your life. A positive mental attitude is the catalyst necessary for achieving worthwhile success.

vii. Control your enthusiasm with positive mental attitude. Father John O’Brien ,research professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame says , “the first ingredient which I believe is absolutely necessary for a successful ,efficient and competent individual is enthusiasm . To become enthusiastic about achieving a desirable goal ,keep your mind on that goal day after day . To be enthusiastic; Act enthusiastically.

Enforce self-discipline with PMA. Self-discipline enables you to develop control over yourself. Self-discipline begins with mastery of your thoughts, what you really do and what you really are. If you do not control your thoughts, you do not control your deeds , self-discipline is the principle by which you may voluntarily shape the patterns of your thoughts to harmonize with your goals and purpose .

Napoleon Hill was of the opinion that this ingredients are key to successful and fulfilled living in the world we are in today.

i. Use cosmic habit force with positive mental attitude (PMA).

All of us are ruled by habits. These are fastened upon us by repeated thoughts and experiences. The book urges that one develops positive habits that will be in harmony with the achievement of your definite purpose or goal. Habitually reading my tertiary books actually culminated in my success so far. The book puts forward the facts as follows: Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.

ii. Maintain sound health with PMA.

The book emphasizes the importance of good health in the pursuit of destiny or purpose. The truth been told; a worthwhile life is only possible with a healthy lifestyle. Very little or minimal can be done in the face of ill health. So healthy living should be prioritized at all cost.

iii. The focus of maintaining your alliance.

On maintaining your alliance your attention should focus on the following areas; Confidence, understanding fairness and justice. Everyone must deal with each other on completely ethical terms. Courage shouldn’t be far fetched when it come to dealing with maintaining with a Mastermind alliance.

iv. Steps to forming a good mastermind alliance:

Determine your day purpose.
Select the members if your mastermind alliance (in mastermind alliance , personal ambitions must be subordinate to the fulfillment and successful achievement of the definite purpose of the alliance. )
Determine your rewards.
Set a time for place and meeting.

v. On overcoming fear

Napoleon hill stated that an important part of opening your mind to faith is ridding your mind of the fears which limit your belief. The seven kinds of fear as stated in the book are as follows:
Fear of poverty; Fear of criticism; Fear of ill health; Fear of loss of love; Fear of old age;
Fear of the loss of liberty; Fear of death. Persistent action backed up by definiteness of purpose will pump up your faith .

vi. Self-improvement also entails going the extra mile.

Going the extra mile means that you strengthen your ability to do your job and do it well . Going the extra mile is a way of writing yourself an insurance policy against the fear of poverty ,against the fear of want and against competition from those who only go halfway.

vii. Extra mile: the favorable contrast giver.

Going the extra mile turns a spotlight on you and gives you the important benefit of favorable contrast with others.

3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?

The ideas I have got so far already points at and ushers me into a world of possibility arming myself with the keys to success gotten from the book. It will also be a veritable resource to helping people get armed with necessary motivational and inspirational tools that will help foster a new path of excellence in pursuit, making me a well meaning person to the members of my society.

It’s a world of Excellence already, with this nuggets shared abroad in the hearts of people around the world. The ideas from the book already points a path to tow in a bid to finding fulfillment in life pursuit, as the necessary organs of successful achievement is embedded in those nuggets earlier stated.

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 five sources to Mahatma Gandhi’s power. Definiteness of purpose; Going the extra mile; Applied Faith. Mastermind. Self-discipline.”

This quote only points out a blueprint that everyone can follow to becoming a world changer .

“Your self-discipline will be important in 4 different ways: Appetite; Positive mental attitude.
Time; Definiteness of purpose .

“Following this strictly will birth an all-round disciplined personality.”

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?

Keys to success by Napoleon Hill is a very easy to understand book . For the ideas ,the book puts forward worthwhile ideas with clarity.

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 contained 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. The questions got a good grasp of the different parts of the book.

Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.