As a Man Thinketh
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book
In the book “AS a Man Thinketh” the author is trying to show the important of thoughts, he shows how the thoughts are important in daily life of a man. He is talking about:
– Effect of thought on Circumstances
– Effect of thought on Health and body
– Thought and purpose
– The thought and purpose
– The thought factor in achievement
Effect of thoughts on circumstances: “A man cannot directly choose his circumstances but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances” this mean though has impact on circumstances.
Effect of thought on Health and body: the body depends to mind because if in your mind you are feeling bad your body also will come weak. The body is the servant of the mind. It obeys the operations of the mind, whether they be deliberately chosen or automatically expressed. As author said “When a man makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure food. Clean thoughts make clean habits.”
Thought and purpose: the purpose has to be linked to thought in order to get an intelligent accomplishment or result.” As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking”
The thought factor in achievement: As the author said the thought have a big impact to the achievement because “All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts. All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought, are governed by the same law, and are of the same method. The only difference is in the object of attainment”.
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.
– Man is always the master.
This is idea was most important because first a man is responsible of his life, if you work hard and focus always you get good result, if you didn’t so you get worse result. This was my person experience many times when I have work of my bests I have got good result.
– Man is made or unmade by himself
Man is made or unmade by himself, by the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the divine perfection. Even if a man can get in his possession all tools and resources to use for his perfection if he don’t put his own effort this objective will never be accomplished.
– Strong pure and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace.(effect of thoughts on Health and Body)
The body is a delicate and plastic instrument, which responds readily to the thoughts by which it is impressed, and habits of thought will produce their own effects, good or bad, upon it. To my personal experience if I have the bad thoughts or unhappy always my body came weak or I feel like a sick
– As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training (thought and purpose )
The man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking. This is true because everything is possible with careful and patient training and with time. This can happen when a man start doing well small by small with repetition come habit and by time habit came a character.
– All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought.( thought- factor in Achievement)
We can’t achieve something without have a plan and a plan come in thought. With a good plan I have always realize my objectives
– The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream.
To get greatest achievement you must having an idea of image of that achievement in order to work for it. This image becomes your target, then after you will work on daily base after it will come reality.
– The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others.
A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought-evolved being. For such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as he develops a right understanding, and sees ever more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, he ceases to fuss, fume, worry, and grieve. A calm man has time for analysis of himself and himself to 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?
All those 7 lessons help in a practical way because all show me how to be responsible of my life, by having good thoughts, good dream, continuing to train myself for the best and to be calm.
– Man is always the master:
This shows me how much I am responsible of my life and the master, so I have the key for good or worse
– Man is made or unmade by himself
This help to understand the important of decision I took every day and shows me how this will define me in future, so help to try to be carefully every time in my decision making.
– Strong pure and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace
This help to make attention about daily thoughts because they have a big effect to my live and especially to my body.
– As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training
This helps me to understand that even if I have a weakness in some area, I can work on it with careful and patient training and I can become strong
– All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought
This help me to understand and to work on my thought because is the source of all achievement.
– The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream.
This point explains to how I have to make attention to my dream or imagination because can be the root of the greatest of achievement.
– The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others.
This has explained to me how calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control.
All those ideas help to create a better world in such way, they help me to improve my life day by day and to become a good resident of this world, and this can help others because some of them can take a good experience and example from 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.
– “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he”
A man is literally what he thinks, his character being his complete sum of all his thoughts. This help to understand how much I have to be carefully of my though
– “They themselves are makers of themselves”
This statement is so important to me because this shows me that I am the master and driver of my life, so I can make it good or worse, this gives me courage to work hard in order to continue day by day to do improvement as a master of my 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?
“As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training” on this point I have a concern about person who have physical problem or sick; this statement will not be applicable to such category of people. For handicap peoples will be difficult to train themselves in order to become physically strong because of their sickness.
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?
“Let a man cease from his sinful thoughts, and the entire world will soften towards him, and be ready to help him. Let him put away his weakly and sickly thoughts, and the opportunities will spring up on every hand to aid his strong resolves. Let him encourage good thoughts, and no hard fate shall bind him down to wretchedness and shame.”
The exercise here is about to encourage the good thoughts in my mindset and after leading the book I have started to encourage this exercise and it is so helpful.
“He who would accomplish little need sacrifice little; he would achieve much must sacrifice much. He who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”
This point is about the sacrifice we have to do for achieve something we have planned. This explains also that the big sacrifice generates the grater achievement. Also this exercise of sacrifice is helpful in my life because I will use it in my daily business.
Keep your hands firmly upon the helm of thought. In the core of your soul reclines the commanding Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, “Peace. Be still.”
This exercise is about to have right thought and be calm, to have always a peace in your heart. This is useful to me because even in the bad time I try to take control, to be calm and still have my peace.
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.
A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.
This point talk about circumstances as we know it is not easy to control circumstances but if we continually choose good thoughts, this will conduct to good habit, good purpose and good target; the result of all this will shape a positive circumstances.
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? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8.5
BOOK 2: Jonathan Livingstone Seagull
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book
The main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book is about to have courage to go for the highest, the book talk about the courage of Jonathan Livingston Seagull about to flight as highest as it can. This encourages the reader to do the same, having courage for the highest they can.
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.
– Don’t like the simple thing “Most gulls didn’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight – how to get from shore to food and back again”;in this world most of the time to get what you want is not easy. So to like simple life is not good you will be always limited to the simple, you can’t achieve a big thing. You don’t have a confidence in you. You always feel that you can’t do anything big.
– Change our life for better, for excellence, intelligence and skill “We can list ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill”. This idea is so important to me because every day my target is to change my life for the better and excellence in order to grow in everything good I do.
– Don’t work for only for the honors but for the target and for achievement “But I want no honors” this idea is also important to me because some time in our daily activities we look for the honors and some time we miss the target and focus. So the author of this book advises us to not work for only the honors.
– Knowledge sharing “I want only to share what I’ve found”. This idea is so important because through knowledge sharing we help other to advance in their knowledge, it also helpful for us because their feedback can be useful.
– To go for the higher purpose for the life “Who is more responsible than a gull that finds and follows a meaning, a higher purpose for life” This idea is so important because it teaches us how to set our purpose in maximum level and if we have higher purpose in our life we will achieve also higher targets.
– We can do whatever you want the one condition is to have courage and to be focus on the target “You can go to any place and to any time that you wish to go”. This idea is also important because it helps the reader to have a positive spirits face to their targets or objectives.
– The practice is good than theories “You know nothing till you prove it! FLY!” English proverb: “Practice makes perfect” this idea is important because it show the readers how is so important to do practice in their daily activity for their improvement.
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?
– Don’t like the simple thing
This help in practical way to go for also to other than simple thing, but also for complicated thing. To set the high target, this will help me and my environment. It will allow me with my colleague to achieve more.
– Change our life for better, for excellence, intelligence and skill
After reading his book I am going to try to change my life for better, for excellence, intelligence and skill. I will continue to read the books about how to set the objectives and to achieve them.
– Don’t work for only for the honors
In my daily activity I will be focus to my target not for the honors, this we will help me in time management and will help to be more focus to the objective.
– Knowledge sharing
I will share the knowledge with my environment and this will help in team work.
– To go for the higher purpose for the life
With this idea I will try to go for the higher purpose in my life, this will help to have a meaningful life. How to do so? is to set the meaningful objectives and work on it on daily basis.
– We can do whatever you want the one condition is to have courage and to be focus on the target.
This idea helps me to have a positive mind to my target. To be sure that I will achieve my objective
– The practice is good than theories
This idea helps to be focus on the action than the word. Practice will help to improve more and more. With time and repetition I can become perfect in my work. English proverb says that “repetition is mother of character and skill”
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.
– “We’re free to go where we wish and to be what we are,” Many people have liberty to do whatever they want but the problem is many of them don’t get profit of this opportunity. This idea has to give the leader the lesson of how to manage well our freedom.
– “Is nothing more than your thought itself, in a form you can see. Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too . . .”
This idea explains to readers how our thought is so important and how we can break the limitation come from 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?
Everything in the book is understandable and clear. I am also agreeing with everything it talking about.
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 exercise of having the courage in what you are focusing on and also toChange our life for better, for excellence, intelligence and skill. To have attention to your thoughts because is the one which define everything in our life. I am trying to do the same and it is 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.
“Everything that limits us where we have to put aside. That’s why all t”
This idea helps the leaders to don’t be focus too much to their limitations. In contrary we have to focus on opportunities and advantages we have to accomplish our objectives and targets so we have to have a positive mind.
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? 6
C. How easy was it to understand? 6
D. Would you recommend it to others? 7
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 6.5
Keys to Success
Assessment by Kibogo Patrick (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book
In the book “Keys to success” the author is trying to explain the keys of success in life; he is talking about 17 principles of personal achievement. These seventeen principles are the essence of the action and attitudes of everyone who has ever had a lasting accomplishment. The lists of these principles are the following: 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 Maintain sound health, Budget your time and your money and Use cosmic habit force.
In this book the author tries to explain how we can practice those principles in order to success in life and at the end of the book gives the chance to the leaders to do the commitments of how they are going to start to put in practice those 17 principles.
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 seven ideas which were personally most important to me are from 17 principles and are the following:
Develop definiteness of purpose:
This idea of developing definiteness of purpose was so interesting to me because it shows that in deciding on what you want, creating a plan for getting it, and carrying out that plan obviously will require you to concentrate the major portions of your thoughts and efforts toward the attainment of that end. You need an object upon which to concentrate your attention, and once you have selected that object, it will grow closer and your view of it will grow clearer the more you concentrate your attention upon it.
Assemble an Attractive Personality:
This idea is very interesting because it advice about how we can attract people to us and show that in developing an attractive personality, you remove much of the opposition you may face from other people and replace it with the cooperation of allies in addition to your mastermind group. Controlled attention helps you improve those elements of your personality that require discipline and gives you the resolve to remove bad habits. In return, your attractive personality provides more opportunities from others by peoples.
Positive Mental Attitude
Positive Mental Attitude subject was very helpful in this book because it show how we can change from negative thoughts to positive. it say that many of the self-imposed limitations of fear, doubt and discouragement will have disappeared because you will already seeing evidence of what you can accomplish. you will have no room left in your mind for thoughts of failure. After build your Positive Mental Attitude you will be so busy carrying out your definite major purpose that you will have no time for hesitation or procrastination nor any desire to do either.
Going the extra Mile
This idea was important in this book because somehow encourage to work as much as we can in order to meet our major purpose. It says “Render more and better service than you are paid for, and sooner or later you will receive compound interest from your investment. To apply this principle can bring many benefits as it has defined in the book: increasing returns, compensation, favorable attention, becoming indispensable, self-Improvement, opportunity ,favorable contrast, pleasing attitude, personal initiative, self-confidence and overcoming procrastination.
Self Discipline
This so important because is explaining the benefits and how of self discipline. self-discipline harnesses and controls all emotions, both positive and negative, allowing you to guard against the dissipation of energy through either expressing your negative emotions or neglecting to use your positive ones. Your emotional power is available for the concentration of your attention. At this point your mind is beginning to function like a well-constructed machine, with no wasted motion and no energy-sapping friction. You have acquired the skill of transmuting your emotions into a powerful driving force for attaining your definite major purpose. You have also begun to acquire control over your willpower. Your willpower brings all the departments of your mind under complete control and puts them to work in attaining your definite major purpose.
Accurate Thinking
The idea of accurate thinking is well explained to readers in this book; how they can control and have accurate thinking. it says that long before you have reached the point of actively cultivating accurate thinking, you will have stopped guessing and started making your plans on the basis of known facts and sound hypotheses. But as your plans begin to take effect, accurate thinking becomes a necessity. Controlled attention hones your thinking, and accurate thinking means that your attention is applied only where it is needed.
Learn from Defeat
The idea of learning from defeat is important to the readers, it show us how we have to get advantages from our defeat by get a experience and lessons. When setbacks occur, you will use your controlled attention to find, examine, and nurture the seed of equivalent benefit that comes with every unhappiness. Defeat will be nothing but a signal for greater and more determined effort. It will be fuel to feed the fires of your willpower. You will also learn to delve into your memory to examine defeats that occurred before you selected your definite major purpose. Controlled attention makes every moment of your life valuable to you.
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 those 7 lessons help in a practical way because all show me how I can apply those procedures in order to achieve my main purpose, they are contain many advises about the practice which can guide me to the success.
Develop definiteness of purpose
With the principle, I have understand that I have to define main purpose of my life and I will try to put this in action by defining this major purpose and put it on paper and focus on it in everyday and every time.
Assemble an Attractive Personality
This principle remembered me to try to have an attractive personality to be kind and flexible with people in helping them and this will help to have influence to them and opportunities from friends
Positive Mental Attitude
This idea will help me to always try to have positive attitude toward to my objectives, this will destroy fear, doubt and discouragement .
Going the extra Mile
After knowing the importance of extra mile practice, I will work extra hours to expected time in order to render more and better service and this will carried me to my major purpose.
Self Discipline
This principle will help to always do assessment before react and with this I will continue to avoid the bad habits replace them by the good ones and this will be also the channel which will bring me to the success.
Accurate Thinking
The principle of accurate thinking will help me to try to control and have accurate thinking . I will start to exercise to avoid unimportant ideas in my thinking and this will give me time to be focus toward to my major purpose.
Learn from Defeat
Everyone is condemned to defeat, as I know can’t escape it I will use my defeat to learn more and more in order to use those experiences in future time for no longer having the same mistake if it will be under my control.
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.
“If you would plant for days, plant flowers
If you would plant for years, plant trees.
If you would plant for eternity, plant ideas!”
This statement is emphasized how important is your own mind. Once you learn how to harness the tremendous potential of your mind and how to organize the knowledge you already have, you can turn them into the power necessary for attaining your definite major purpose.
“Wasting time is sinful”.
This statement shows us the important of time and how we have to use it accordingly. Most people waste enough time in gossip alone to earn them all luxuries they envy in others. Time is your most precious asset. If used correctly, it is like money in bank. You must spend it under strict self-discipline.
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 in the book is understandable and clear. I am also agreeing with everything it is talking about. The 17 principles are well explained and it shows how they can bring any person to success.
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?
Assemble an attractive Personality
This exercise of having attractive personality is necessary and is helpful in our life, but it is an exercise by which we have to improve on daily basis. You have to continue more and more perform in this practice by controlling the following habits as it is told in this book: positive Mental attitude, flexibility, sincerity of purpose, promptness of decision, courtesy, tact, tone of voice, habit of smiling, facial expression, humility, emotional control etc
Go the Extra Mile
Go Extra Mile is a good practice we have to learn and put in action, I have start already in may daily activity ” try render more and better service than you are paid for” and it very useful but I to improve more.
Budget time and money
Time and money are precious resources we have to make sure are well budgeted. Understanding how you use them is an important part of evaluating your progress toward success and analyzing what may be holding you back.
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 didn’t talk about his point of “maintain sound health “in pervious point and this was also interesting to me When I was reading the book. In this chapter the author is talking about body and mind. The health of your mind and body cannot be separated. Anything that affects the soundness of your mind will affect your body, and anything that affects your body will touch your mind. But you are also effected by your environment, subject to natural laws that govern your mind-body just as much as they effect trees, mountains, birds, and beasts. Understanding the way in which you can maintain a sound mind-body depends, therefore on understanding the way nature works. You must learn to work with natural forces, not fight them.
Rating
A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Kibogo Placide (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book
The main idea of author is to show how we can get the success using the positive Mental Attitude, he is showing how to get to the success require to pay a price in time, in thinking and also effort to each goal. He explain many techniques like how to explore the power of your mind, learn something more, learn to see, the secret of getting the things done, how to motive yourself, how to motive others, etc. Shortly, the author instructs the leader on what to do and how to do it when it comes to tapping and using the powers of your subconscious mind. Where have you been thought to constructively use, neutralize control or harmonize with your passions, emotions, instincts, tendencies, feelings, moods and habits of thought and action. He proposes the principles of how we can aim high and achieve our goals regardless of the obstacles.
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. You can change your world This idea show us that to achieve anything worthwhile in live it is necessary to set high goals for yourself and try to achieve them. we were born to be a champion, for practical purposes, we have inherited from the vast reservoir of the past all potential abilities and powers we need to achieve our objectives. The definiteness of purpose with PMA is the starting point of all worthwhile achievement. When we determine our definite aims, there is a tendency for several additional success principles to begin to operate automatically to help you achieve them. The formula which can help us to change our world is the following: “what the mind of man can conceive and believe the mind of man can achieve with PMA”.
b. Will you dare to explore the powers of your mind? “You are a mind with a body” Because you are a mind, you possess mystical powers- powers known and unknown. Dare to explore the power of your mind. In this idea the author explains that our mind has two parts: the conscious and the subconscious, those two works together. Autosuggestion automatically sends messages from the subconscious to the conscious mind as well as to parts of the body. The subconscious mind is the seat of habit, memory and inviolable standards of conduct. This idea recommends to us that self-affirmations repeated with frequency, rapidity, and emotion affect the subconscious mind and cause it to react. We have to use healthful, positive suggestions to help you, and we can also refrain from negative, harmful suggestions. It is say that our brain sends out energy in the form of brain waves. And this energy is power which can affect another person or an object.
c. And something more This idea explain how we have to do something more to be successful. If we have failed in an endeavor, it could be because we lack something more. The little difference between success and failure is often something more. For using this idea of doing something more we have to practice the principle of Positive Mental Attitude. A negative mental attitude is one of the primary causes failure. We may be needlessly ignorant of facts, universal laws, and powers. We may not know how we can affect, use, control, or harmonize with powers known and unknown. When we seek success with PMA, we keep trying. We keep searching to find something more. Failure is experienced by those who, when they experience defeat, stop trying to find the something more.
d. You have got a Problem? That’s Good! This idea explain to me that I become a better, bigger, more successful person each time I meet a problem and tackle and conquer it with Positive Mental Attitude. Everyone has problems; those with positive mental attitude turn their adversities into seeds of equivalent or greater benefits. Our success, or failure, in meeting the problems presented by the challenges in change will be determined by our mental attitude. One good idea followed by action can change failure into success. The seven virtues are: prudence, fortitude, temperance, justice, faith, hope and charity. The author of this book indicates how we can relate and assimilate those qualities into our own life. This book also show as how God is always a good God, when we have a problem, we have to ask for divine guidance, think, state the problem and analyze it adopt the positive mental attitude “That’s good!” then change the adversity into seeds of greater benefit.
e. The secret of getting things done This idea shows us that too often what we read and profess becomes a part of our libraries and our vocabularies, instead of becoming a part of our lives. We have knowledge of principles that could help us achieve any worthwhile goal in life we might desire. The secret of getting things done is: “Do IT NOW!” As long as we live, when the suggestion DO IT NOW! Flashes from our subconscious to our conscious mind to do that which we ought to do, immediately follow through with desirable action. It is a habit that will make us an outstanding achiever. In this book the author request us to study and apply what we have ready, not only to read what is written. He is telling us: “Now is the time to act.” WE HAVE TO DO IT NOW.
f. How to motivate your self This idea explains to us what a motivation is; Motivation is that which induces action or determines choice. It is that which provides a motive. A motive is the “inner urge” only within the individual which incites him to action, such as an instinct, passion, emotion, habit, mood impulse, desire or idea. It is the hope or other force which starts an action in an attempt to produce specific results. Here the author requests us to motivate you with Positive Mental Attitude, and to remember that: what the mind of man can conceive and believe the mind of man can achieve with Positive Mental Attitude. The 10 basic motives are: self-preservation, love, fear, sex, desire for life after death, freedom of body and mind, anger, hate, desire for recognition and self-expression, and the desire for material wealth. We have to keep your mind on the things we should and do want and off the things we shouldn’t and don’t want.
g. How to raise your energy level In this idea the author explains to us how we can raise our energy level. When our energy level is low, our health and our desirable characteristics may be subdued by the negative. We, like a storage battery are dead when our energy level is zero. Some of solutions for this are to Relax, play, rest and sleep. The author is explaining that when we are fatigued, our usually positive, desirable feelings, emotions, thoughts, and actions have a tendency to turn negative. When we are rested and in good health, the direction is changed back to positive. Fatigue often brings out the worst within us. When our battery is charged and our energy and activity level is up to standard, we are at our best. That is when we think and act with Positive Mental Attitude. He recommend us that if our feelings and actions indicate that your better qualities are being subdued by those which are undesirable and negative, it is time to recharge our battery. To maintain our level of both physical and mental energy we need to exercise both our body and mind. But there is a third factor. Our body and mind both need to be fed properly. We help to maintain our physical body by taking in quantities of wholesome, nutritious foods. We maintain our mental and spiritual vigor by absorbing mental and spiritual vitamins from inspirational and religious books.
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?
You can change your world This idea helps me in practical way because it shows me that I have a key to do the change in my life. We can do this by settings high goals for you and want to achieve them. I have and I will continue to learn from this formula: “What the mind of man can conceive and believe the mind of man can achieve with PMA”.
Will you dare to explore the powers of your mind In practical way this idea shows us how we can use the power of our mind positively. We will do so by giving positive suggestions to our you, and trying also refraining from negative, harmful suggestions. Personally I will try to always to have only positive suggestions and be aware of negatives suggestions.
And something more If we have failed in an endeavor, it could be because we lack something more. The little difference between success and failure is often something more. In practical way I will use this idea by trying to do something more in time to be discouraged. This will help me to success and this will help to create a better world.
You have got a Problem? That’s Good! Everyone has problems; those with positive mental attitude turn their adversities into seeds of equivalent or greater benefits. This idea has remembered me that the problems will be there but the important thing is what attitude I will use to face this problem. I will try to use positive mental attitude where every I will get a problem, this will help me to get benefit in my problems (learn from them). This will help to create a better world.
The secret of getting things done The practical way, this idea was helpful because it shows me that the secret of getting things done is: TO DO IT NOW, so whatever the good thing I will read or decide to do I will try to start at that moment. This will help me to have things done not to have them only in the mind.
How to motivate your self In practical way this idea remembers me to motivate you with Positive Mental Attitude, and to remember that: What the mind of man can conceive and believe the mind of man can achieve with PMA. In my daily personal life I will continue to trying to use this principle in order to motive myself and this will help to create better world.
How to raise your energy level This idea was very important in my daily personal life because it teaches me what to do when my energy is low; it shows me how to raise it up. In practical way I will use those principles to raise my energy level. I will use the proposed of solutions: Relax, play, rest and sleep etc
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.
“What the mind of man can conceive and believe the mind of man can achieve with PMA”. This idea is important me because encourage me to always have goals and have faith about the achievement. With Positive mental Attitude this principle will help me to get to the achievement.
“If a man is right, his world will be right” There’s a great lesson in this idea. If you are unhappy with your world and want to change it, the place to start is with yourself. If you are right, your world will be right. This is what PMA is all about. When you have a Positive Mental Attitude, the problems of your world tend to bow before you. It show us how is important to do right things, because if everyone comes right our world will be also 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, if so, why?
Everything in the book is understandable and clear. I am also agreeing with everything it is talking about, because author is showing how the readers can get the success using the positive Mental Attitude, he is explaining how to get to the success require to pay a price in time, thinking and also effort to each goal all this using Positive Mental Attitude.
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?
How to motivate your self Many people as myself sometime we become discourage, this idea is to me an exercise to motivate myself when I am discourage to achieve my goal. I have already started to try this exercise but I am not yet on level I wish, I will still continuing this until this practice become the character of my life.
And something more This also the exercise I have decided to put in practice in order to have success through PMA. When I will not getting the result as I wish, I will try to do something more, until I will get the success.
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.
Can you attract happiness? This idea was very interested to me because it explains how we can bring our happiness by using Positive Mental Attitude and by making others happy, as the author has explained in the following words: Can you attract happiness? Yes, of course you can attract happiness. How? You can attract happiness with PMA. A positive mental attitude will attract to you all the health, wealth, and happiness you desire. And a positive mental attitude consists of such plus characteristics as: faith, hope, charity, optimism, cheer generosity tolerance, tact kindliness, honesty, good-finding, initiative, truthfulness, straightforwardness, and good common sense. One of surest ways to find happiness for yourself is to devote your energies toward making someone else happy. If you search for happiness, you will find it elusive. But if you try to bring happiness to someone else, it will return to you many times over.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8
Psycho-Cybernetics
Assessment by Placide Kibogo (Rwanda)
What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book
The main idea of author is to show how it is an important and valuable contribution to man’s knowledge of himself and to his ability to improve himself. The author is also trying to help us to take a control of our live, he is saying that this book is our seminar, It will help us to empower our self to:
• Deprogram our self from self doubt and negative self-evaluations
• Expand the scope of our personal and professional goals
• Increase our earning potential
• Achieve a happier, healthier love life
• Overcome procrastination, excessive inhibition and irrational fears
• Become more assertive in personal and work-related situations
• Build into our personality the elements that lead to success
• Create an ideal job for our self
• Overcome our resistance to change
• Reduce the level of stress in our life
• Transform our dreams into action plans for self-fulfillment
• Effectively challenge such habits as smoking, eating disorders and aggressive behavior
• Cast off the scars of old emotional wounds
… in general, to become a person who acts instead of one who just reacts, to live our life according to our own plan.
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.
Your self-Image and How it affects You
In this idea the author explains how we always act, feel and behave in a way that is consistent with our self-image- regardless of the reality of that image.
We can achieve a positive self-image one that will empower us to set and achieve goals of personal happiness and professional success- by diligently practicing a few simple techniques.
Every one of us always acts, feels, and behaves in way that is consistent with our self-image – regardless of the reality of that image. The author show us that we are capable of taking control of our self-image and programming our automatic guidance system for success. Building an adequate self-image is recognized today as a necessary strategy in the empowerment of individuals and a promising step toward the correction of social ills.
This idea is so important to me because it shows how our self- image affects us in our daily file, affects the our decisions and at the end affects the our success.
How to Program Your Success Mechanism
In this idea the author is trying to explain to us how our built – in guidance system moves us toward the things we think about. if we watch limits instead of destinations, we bump against those limits every time. The main factor that determines the programming of our internal guidance system is our self-image. The CRAFT of reprogramming is five steps to a new self image. This help us to take control of our creative mechanism and reprogram it as a success mechanism. Change comes about through awareness of a negative self-image, by challenging the bad habits that support this image, and by creating a new, positive self-image that allows us to set and achieve worthwhile goals.
CRAFT stand for :
Cancel old, negative data
Replace it with new, positive data
Affirm your new image to yourself
Focus on an image of a successful you
Train yourself for lasting change
I like this idea because it help me to know how I can program my success mechanism, it is also so important to me because it shows me how I can overcoming the old and negative ideas. Those negative ideas are always challenges or barriers to me toward to the success
Fake it Till You make it : Imagining Your way to success
In this idea the author is trying to shows us how our attitudes, feelings and behavior change in the direction of what we believe to be true. Through our imagination we can create positive images of our self that with time and repeated practice will become our actual self-image.
It is often too impatient to wait for the cumulative effects of ” mental practice” and ” acting as if” to take effect. some people give up right from the get -go because they can’t keep their left brains from wandering all over the place. That is why the author urges us: to fake it till we make it. Building a new self-image doesn’t happen overnight. The process is cumulative. It takes daily effort for about six weeks.
Three guidelines for creating new images:
Choose the same time each day for your mental picturing
Make sure there will be no interruptions
Accept all positive images as valid and helpful
” Fake it till you make it” – act as if you have already achieved success and your feelings, attitudes and behavior will become consistent with actual success
This idea is so important to me because it shows me how I can achieve to get the new self image for helping have success. It explain how I have to be patient until I make it(new self image).
Free yourself from False Beliefs
Here the author is trying to explain to us that our self-images may be the conditioned and our capabilities constrained by false and negative beliefs about our self based on subconscious memories of early-childhood experiences . He is showing to us that every one of us has certain ideas about ourselves and our environment that we ” know” are true, even when they are not. These beliefs have been a part of us for so long that we may not even be aware of them, but our subconscious mind keeps on saying “yes” to them just the same. Most of the time they remain hidden to our conscious mind, and all we are aware of is their negative results.
The first step toward challenging our false and limiting belief systems is to understand that you are a human being who deserves better than to be constrained by unreasonable fears, expectations of failure, and feelings of unworthiness. The second step is to remember that false beliefs are nothing more than habits that you have learned. Like any habit, a false belief can be changed by using your rider to create new memories for your horse. The author is advise us to use rational thinking to challenge our false beliefs. To use our imagination to create new memories that will lead to positive beliefs. To make those new memories permanent by taking positive action that is consistent with our new programming .
This idea is import to me because it showings me how I can free my mind to the false beliefs, many time our past is big limitation toward to our success. This idea advises how we can be free ourselves to those negatives past believes
Live life by your own script: How to choose and set Goals
The author in this idea is advising and showing us how we can avoid living someone else’s scripts with choosing and set our own goals. He shows us how to set goals in the SMAT way, By now our left and right brain should be fully engaged in thinking about goals. We have a clear picture of what a goal is and isn’t and why goals are essential to success.
SMART approach :
Specific : Each Goal have to be Specific
Measurable : we have to set Measurable Goals
Action : We have to develop an Action plan for our Goals
Realistic : Our Goals have to be Realistic
Time: We have set Time-Conscious Goals
Here we are advised to ignore old programming that prevents us from setting goals, to determine our own best approach to goal setting.
This idea is important because is explaining how to avoid to live by someone else’s scripts, it is advise how I can set my own goals and this is very helpful in my daily life.
Moving ahead: From Goal- Setting to Goal-Getting
In this idea the author is trying to show us that our automatic mechanism moves us toward the things we think about. That is what a goal is: a target for our creative mechanism to act on. If we claim our goal in consciousness and have a workable action plan, we will move from thought to action form. He advises us to not forget to spend time every day in theater of our imagination seeing ourselves as having already achieved our goal. To say “Cancel” every time we catch ourselves indulging in negative self-talk and immediately reaffirm our goal. He said that by observing the procedures, we will find ourselves making the necessary adjustments and course corrections without resistance. By this we will find ourselves moving toward our goal without any interference from the goalie within.
The author is suggesting to use our internal guidance system to overcome procrastination. We have to tack our progress on a daily basis will help us stay on course. He advise to use slowdowns and setbacks as cues to reshape our action plan. Readjust our set point as necessary.
This idea is important because from it help to know how I can move forward from goals setting into action. This step is the most difficult to many people, it is easy to set goals but so difficult to achieve.
Beyond the self-image: Shaping your Personality for Success
One of the most effective means of helping people achieve “successful” personality is to give them a graphic picture of what the successful personality looks like. The author is saying that a “success-type personality” will empower us to set and achieve worthwhile goals throughout your lifetime.
Our goals are like orchards: the more energy we put into them, the more they bear fruit”, We need goals that are appropriate and attainable … Setting our own goals reflects our self-esteem, to imagine ourselves” I want to grow in my own direction, goals reflects our self-esteem; I want to grow in my own direction and I am capable of making competent and responsible progress as I learn. It is important to know that we are not on earth to live up to someone else’s expectations.
This is appropriate definition of success : ” to grow in my own direction, and to make competent and responsible progress as I learn.”
The easy way to remember the picture of the successful personality is contained in the letters of the word “SUCCESS itself”
Sense of direction, Understanding, Courage, Charity, Esteem, Self-Confidence and Self acceptance
The author advise us to take a look at each of these elements in turn, and see how it contributes to success and discover how we can get it.
This idea is so important to me because shows me the image I have to develop and this one will empower me to achieve my 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?
Your self-Image and How it affects You
This idea will help me to be care about the self-image I am developing in my life because my success depend of this. After reading this book I will try to build an adequate and positive self-image which will help me to achieve my goals. This will make able to develop myself, my family, my country and the whole world.
How to Program Your Success Mechanism
As we know the bad or negative ideas are the barriers of a success this lesson will help me in practical way to overcome the old and negative ideas. So this will empower me toward to my success.
Fake it Till You make it : Imagining Your way to success
In practical way this idea will help me to get the new self image. It explains how I have to be patient using mental practice until I make it(new self image). With new self image I will be able to get success for the better world.
Free yourself from False Beliefs
By this book I am aware of false and negative beliefs, These beliefs have been a part of us for so long that we may not even be aware of them, but our subconscious mind keeps on saying “yes” to them just the same. By this idea I will try to free myself from those negative beliefs. I will use my imagination to create new memories that will lead to positive beliefs. To make those new memories permanent by taking positive action.
Live life by your own script: How to choose and set Goals
This idea is helping me in practical way by explaining how I can choose and set my own goals by using SMRT way to avoid living someone else’s scripts. This will help to get the success in my life and to create a better world.
Moving ahead: From Goal- Setting to Goal-Getting
In practical way the author advise us to not forget to spend time every day in theater of our imagination seeing ourselves as having already achieved our goal. To say “Cancel” every time we catch ourselves indulging in negative self-talk and immediately reaffirm our goal. All this will help me from goal setting to goal getting.
Beyond the self-image: Shaping your Personality for Success
This idea helps me in practical way by showing me how I can develop a successful personality and this will empower me to set and achieve worthwhile goals throughout my lifetime.
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 time to worry about the decision is before you make it.” There is no reason of worrying about the decision taken, after making a decision we have only to take the responsibility
“One day at a time” Our automatic mechanism can only respond in the present. When we are worried about something coming up down the hill, we are focusing on something over which we have no control yet. Meanwhile, we may be missing something crucial in our present environment that we can control. We don’t have to worry about tomorrow.
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 first impletion to the title of this book look somehow complex for some who going to start. The word ” PSYCHO-CYBERNETICS” is not easy to understand it for the first time, but the remaining part of the book is understandable, clear and very interesting
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?
Use CRAFT to reprogramming my Success Mechanism
Cancel old, negative data
Replace it with new, positive data
Affirm your new image to yourself
Focus on an image of a successful you
Train yourself for lasting change
CRAFT way is one of exercises I have to complete after reading this book, I have started already in may daily activity to try to cancel old and negative ideas and change them with new good ideas which will help to get to the success.
Free myself from False Beliefs
To free myself from false beliefs also is another exercise I have to complete, I have already started to try removing those beliefs come from the past in my life and I found is very usefully to me.
“Fake it till you make it”: Imagining Your way to success
This also is another exercise I have to complete; to try and try until I get my new self image which will help me to get to the success. I started to do this exercise and I found useful.
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.
“Just say yes : De-stress yourself with drug-free tranquilizers”
This idea is so important because with stress we can’t get any success, in this book I learned how I can avoid stress. There are many techniques I will use to avoid stress in life. The stress results from the way you respond to outside events not from the events themselves. The author is advising how we can react to those outside events. The example is Psycho-Cybernetic responses with:
SEEDS
View the event as a fundamentally neutral S-ituation
E-valuate the problem
Change your E-motions to suit the situation
D-o what is necessary to confront the situation
Feel your S-elf-esteem increasing as a result of your action
Stress can sometimes be hard to recognize especially when you have become habituated to its presence in your life. This book also the author list out the warning signals to keep our automatic mechanism in good repair.
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
The New Dynamics of Winning
Assessment by Placide Kibogo (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea that the author is trying to convey as the title is cited dynamics of winning, the author is showing the mental strategies for winning. This book is a guide and an inspiration to achieve our personal best, it provides clear, no-nonsense advice on what it takes to succeed in any field of endeavor. The author is explaining to us that we already have the talent, the intelligence, and more than enough of any other necessary resource to achieve virtually anything we possibly want, in our career and personal life but this is not enough because we have got to know to put those resources to work. This book will help us to be able to transform ability into tangible accomplishments. The main topics covered in this book are :
* Focusing your mind for peak performance anywhere, anytime
* How paying the price prepares you for success
* How to use stress to your advantage
* Prevalent self-destructive beliefs
* the psychological traits of those who become winners
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. What Makes a Winner – This idea is important to me because it is helping us to know what make us the winners. It is explaining what is makes a winner, saying that: champions don’t shrink from risk. Champions know that the greatest risk is doing nothing, and the real security derives from constantly testing your potential. The most important traits of a winner are:
* Common sense, or the ability to simplify complex subjects by getting right to the core of what really matters
* Knowing your field, both through hands-on experience and the advice of other people
* Self-reliance, which means more than just feeling good about yourself. It means taking definitive action to get things moving in your life.
b. Nobody Else is going take you fishing – This idea is important to me because it shows me how I have fish myself, it is explaining how other people cannot do the things in my place, so I have to learn how to do it myself. For start I have to ask myself some hard questions:
* Am I dissatisfied with the status quo ?
* What do I have to change in order to move toward where I want to be
* Which fears do I need to conquer? Do I fear change? Do I fear success?
The author is suggesting that I have to forget the advice of all those experts, associates, friends and relatives who tell me I can’t possibly have what I want. Try to make it happen to me.
c. Paying the price – Important idea because it explains how to get to the success with paying the price of course. In this idea the author is showing seven rules for winners:
* Be proactive and preventive about your physical health.
We have received a body. we may like it or hat it but it will be ours for the duration, Take responsibility for it.
* View life as continuous learning experience
* You get what you pay for means, metaphorically, that you have got to put in the effort, the hours, or even the years that are required to master a skill.
* View mistakes corrective feedback to get you back on track
There are no mistakes or failures, only lessons. Growth is a process of gaining knowledge, of trial and error, and of courageous experimentation.
* Set your own internal standards for success
Don’t compare yourself to others. Competition should be viewed as a way to maintain excellence, to keep ourselves performing up to our own potential.
d. The mind is what matters – This idea is so important because whatever we think or do depend to our mind. we can daydream about what may be or what might have been, and our imagination will take us beyond the limits of space and time. If we see something in our mind’s eye, and we imagine it over and over again, we will begin to believe it is really there in substance. As a result, our actions, both physical and mental, will move to bring about in reality the image we are visualizing. The author is advising us to understand these ideas and take them to heart. They are fundamental to applying the New Dynamics of Winning in our professional and personal file, and to gaining the mind-set of a champion.
e. Letting your mind relax your body – This idea is important because the author is sharing with us the methods of physical relaxation: Deep breathing exercises, progressive relaxation exercises, and autogenic relaxation exercises.
Deep breathing exercises
When we are nervous or fearful, our chest throat, and diaphragm constrict, and our breathing becomes rapid and diaphragm constrict, and our breathing becomes rapid and shallow. We need more air when we are under pressure, yet it is then that our breathing becomes inhibited.
Progressive Relaxation exercises
Progressive Relaxation was developed professor Edmund Jacobsen. The exercise takes roughly fifteen minutes, and can be done lying down or sitting in a straight-backed chair. It consists of tensing and relaxing the various muscle groups, for periods of five to ten seconds. You don’t need to pay close attention to the timing of this exercise. Instead, focus all your attention on the feelings you experience.
Autogenic relaxation Exercises
This technique raises our sensitivity to visualization and verbal suggestion. First, find quit place where there will be no noise or interruptions. The exercise takes about twenty minutes. We should either be lying flat on our back or sitting comfortably, with our eyes closed.
f. How to get out of your own way – This idea is important because we discover how to get out of our own way. The author is giving the example of two individual, one faces challenge and adversity and becomes negative, frustrated, and pessimistic. Everywhere he looks, externally and internally, he finds reasons why he can’t succeed. Instead of fixing his mind on what he wants, he fixes on blame, and fears what is going to happen. Another person faces the same type of pressure situation and becomes stronger, more focused, and determined. His performance becomes increasingly more inspired and effective. In spite of the environment around him, he continues to move forward and, in the process, becomes an inspiration to everyone.
The fact is, many people mistake spontaneity for something it’s not. True spontaneity is learned behavior. When high- performing individuals appear to be acting effortlessly to be ” on a roll” it is really because of all the training that’s come earlier. We have to try to make our mind just a blank screen and everything we do should be spontaneous.
g. Focus on Desired results – Winners dwell on the rewards of success. Losers focus on the penalties of failure. This idea is important because is showing as winners how to react. Winners imagine the solid weight of the gold medal around their necks. They imagine the roar of the crowd in the stadium. The winner has to focus on the present. if we concentrate on the present, we eliminate what happened yesterday and any apprehension over what may happen tomorrow. In other words, two thirds of your worries automatically disappear. In this idea the author is suggesting to always focus in the events on the future.
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?
What makes a winner?
This idea helps me in practical way by showing me how to take a risk in my life and how to get things moving. From it I have got how to conquer a fear of risk taking. By taking risk I will be able to start working on my current objectives and this will help to achieve my goals.
Nobody Else is going take you fishing
This idea is very helpful in practical way because is teaching me to have self-confidence, and try to do the things myself because to always wait for others it may make me a looser. By doing the things myself I will contribute to create a better world
Paying the price
Practically this idea is helpful because author gave us the seven rules we have to obey as price for success. I will try follow these rules in order to get to my life success.
The mind is what matters
The whole idea of new Dynamics of winning is about our mind. This is idea is very constructive because is showing practical how much we have to take care of our mind and use it to get to the success, like using visualization method.
Letting your mind relax your body
This idea is very helpful in practical way because we learned how to use our mind to relax our body by using 3 methods as explained above. I will use these methods in order to be a relaxed person, and this will help me to be away of stress. This also will be a good experience for others, and by this habitude I will be creating a better world.
How to get out of your own way
This idea is very helpfully because is showing to get out of our way of fixing our attention on the things without important like (blame, and fears what is going to happen), but fixing of what we want. This will help to not miss the point of what I will be targeting
Focus on Desired results
This idea was helpfully in such way, I learned what to focus for in my life. The desired results will be my focus and this will help to achieve my goals.
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.
“Before you can see it, you have to believe it.”
This premise holds that our belief system is so powerful that thoughts can actually cause things to happen in the physical world.
” You aren’t beat until the moment you stop trying.”
This quote was important to me because it teach us to not give up to our goals. Winners believe that they have the inner resources to survive any number of setbacks on the way to achieving their goals. They don’t waste time studying the damage they may have sustained after encountering a disappointment.
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 in the book is understandable and clear. I am also agreeing with everything it is talking about new dynamics mental strategies for winning.
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 New Dynamics of Winnings” book is ended by proposal of twenty one-day training program to prepare us for our own personal Olympiad: the “competition” which includes literally everything we do every day throughout our personal and professional life.
All those twenty one day training program have been useful exercises for me. I have tried to complete some of those exercises like in Day1 : Feeling good about myself, referring to myself in positive terms, and seeing myself as a winner. This exercise is so helpful because with it I am feeling good and confidence. Day5: Learn to wake up feeling happy and optimistic about the coming day. This exercise also was a good experience because I wake up happy and optimistic the whole day become very good. Day12: It is natural to compare ourselves with others, but as we do so, there are things to watch out for. Winners know they don’t really compete against others. Success means doing our bests according to the standards we set for ourselves. This exercise also is good clear raison to compare myself with others.
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 “Coachability” Factor
Understanding the qualities of a good coach will help us motivate our employees, support our friends, and brighten our family relationships. It will also help us become more “coachable”
The quality of “being coachable” has three important aspects:
First, the coachable performer respects the role of authority figures. This is usually the result of previous positive experiences with parents and teachers. Respect and trust for authority, however, does not mean “blind submission” and robot like conformity. The coachable champion trusts his or her own judgment as well as the decisions of designated leaders.
Second the ability to accept guidance from others, coachable performers have a healthy personal impulse toward self-direction and freedom of interpretation. This means he or she enjoys innovation, and has the capacity of form new or different opinions from those held by other people.
The third quality of a coachable person is a high tolerance for order and organization. Training schedules, practice routines, and other sometimes bothersome daily requirements are taken in stride, if not actually welcomed. This is in contrast to disorganized competitor, who finds life overwhelming, and to the overly compulsive performer who is unable to adapt any change in routine.
The author is advising us to be as much as possible coachable in order to have opinions from others but also to trust in our own judgments.
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? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8
Giant Steps
Assessment by Placide Kibogo (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
In this book the author is trying to give the tools, techniques, principles, and strategies to us in order to access the best parts of ourselves so that we can consistently produce the results we desire. The goal of the author is to inspire us, to funnel the energy into measurable results by getting us to consistently take simple actions. Together, these daily inspirations and small actions will lead to giant steps forward in the quality of our life. This is book is also designed to fit easily into our busy lifestyle by helping us turn these philosophies, strategies, and techniques into bite-sized chunks we can digest in just minutes each day. It is designed to lead us from the simple power of decision a fundamental step in making any change in our life to the more specific, precise tools that can define the quality of our relationships, our finances, our health, and our emotions.
The author is considering this book as a source of both inspiration and action by doing whatever works for us. The purpose is to help us achieve the maximum results possible with the smallest investment of time yet also give us enough information for use over the course of an entire year. Giant step is a valuable treasure map, and we are treasure.
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. Dreams of Destiny
In this idea the author advises us to try to have a clear vision, to know and be sure about what we like our life to be. What we really want for our life. It is not what we do once in a while that counts, but our consistent actions. And what is the father of all action, what ultimately determines who we become and where we go in life. The author says that our decisions not the conditions of our lives determine our destiny. Each of us is endowed with innate resources that enable us to achieve all we have ever dreamed of and more. The more decisions you make, the better you will be become at making them. (Muscles get stronger with use).
The real purpose of a goal is what it makes of us a human being while we pursue it. Who we become as a person is the ultimate reward. In this idea the author is advise to write a brief paragraph describing all the character traits, skills, abilities, attitudes and beliefs we need to develop in order to be able to achieve all of our goals. This idea is important to me because it is explain to us how it is necessary to set the goals and shows the measures to take in order to achieve those goals.
b. How to get what you really want
To get what we want, we must discover what’s preventing us from taking action. We don’t take action to avoid the pain of the moment. The author is advise us: instead of asking ” How can I avoid this painful task” ask, ” If I don’t take action now, what will this ultimately cost me”. solution: pain can be our friend if we use it effectively. Each of us has the power of choice. The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure to our advantage. What we link pain to and what you link pleasure to shape our destiny. For most people their fear of loss is much greater than their desire for gain. Most individuals would work much harder to hang on to what they have than to take the necessary risks to shoot for their dreams. After reading this book in future might to react different. This idea is important to me because it is helping me to know how I will be successful, from this idea I have learned many strategies which I will use to be focus on what I want in order to get it.
c. The power to create, the power to Destroy (Beliefs)
It is our beliefs about what we are capable of, about what is possible or impossible, about who we are. Often people blame events for how their lives have turned out. Yet what really shapes our lives is the meaning we attach to events. The author give an example: “Two men who were shot in Vietnam, held captive, and tortured repeatedly. One man commits suicide. The other forges a deeper belief in himself, humanity, and his Creator than he ever had before. Today this man, Captain Gerald Coffee, shares his story to remind us of the power of the human spirit to overcome any level of pain, any obstacle, any problem”. Why people do what they do, it is all matter of their beliefs. Beliefs make the difference between a lifetime of misery and one of joyous contribution. Beliefs causing some individuals to become heroes while others resign themselves to wondering what could have been. Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Because of their amazing influence on our lives, we must understand these three challenges:
Most of us do not consciously decide what we are going to believe.
Often our beliefs are based on a misinterpretation of the past.
Once we adopt a belief, we tend to consider it gospel and forget that it’s only one perspective.
A belief is nothing more than a feeling of certainty about what something means. In this book the author is propose this: “One of the most effective ways to improve our life is simply to identify and reinforce any beliefs we have that will move us in the direction of our dreams. It’s time to get rid of beliefs that no longer serve us. ” From this advice I have found this idea very important to me.
d. Get the knack of change
We are advised to take personal responsibility for our change. No one can “program” us.
We must condition ourselves. Any change we make will be only temporary unless we make ourselves no one or nothing else responsible for our own change. Specifically we must we must adopt these core beliefs:
It must change. Believing that we should change is not enough.
I must change it. Others can coach me, but I am responsible.
I can change it. I create what I am experiencing; therefore, I can change it.
The technology developed “Neuro-Associate Conditioning” Change:
State clearly what you really want. Most people focus on what they don’t want.
Get leverage. Make change a must.
Interrupt the limiting pattern. Break the habit’s “hold” on you.
Create a new, empowering alternative. You can’t just stop a behavior or an emotion; you must replace it.
Condition it – until it’s a new habit.
Test it. Make sure it works.
What prevents us from making a change are some of our beliefs, both personal and cultural, can hold us back. This idea is very important to me because from it I have learned many techniques I will use to make change in my fife in order to achieve my goals.
e. How to use your action signals (Emotions)
It can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion. The best way to deal with negative emotions is to transform them by dealing effectively with the situation, looking for solutions, and learning from and using them to enhance our life and the lives of all those we have the privilege to touch. The author advices that whenever we feel a painful emotion, to use the following five steps:
Identify what we are really feeling.
Acknowledge and appreciate our emotions. Know that at some level they are supporting us to make a positive change by calling us to action.
Get curious! Realize that this emotion is offering us a message to change something.
Get confident that we can handle this emotion immediately because we have done so in the past. Remember a time when we successfully handled this emotion and model what we did to learn what to do today and in the future.
Get excited, and take action!
The best time to handle a “negative” emotion is when we first begin to feel it. It is much more difficult to interrupt an emotional pattern once it is full-blown. This idea was very important to me because it show how we can manage our emotions as one major key of success.
f. The keys to an expanded life (Identity and References)
What makes us different from all the other people on this planet, one very important source of our uniqueness is our experiences. Everything we have ever done is recorded not only in our conscious memory, but also in our nervous system. Everything we have ever seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled is tucked away in the giant file cabinet known as our brain. These conscious and unconscious memories are called references. These experiences are what we rely upon for certainty about what to believe, including some of our most important beliefs about who we are and what we are capable of. In order to accomplish anything, we need a sense of certainty. Our references help us to build this important emotional state. However, if we have no experience in(references for) doing something, how can we be certain about it? Realize we are not limited to our actual experience, our imagination has unlimited references to support us. An easy way to immediately expand our personal “reference experience library” is by exploring the wealth of literature, stories, myths, poetry, and music available all around us. Read books, watch movies and videotapes, attend plays, got to seminars, talk with strangers. All references have power, and we never know which one could change our entire life. Limited experiences create a limited life. If we desire enrichment and growth, we must increase our references by pursuing ideas and experiences that wouldn’t be a part of our life if we didn’t consciously seek them out. Rarely will a great idea interrupt us; we must actively seek it out. We have to remember that any limitations we have in our life are probably just the result of limited reference experiences. Expand our references, and we will immediately expand our life. If we genuinely want to expand our identity and our life then consciously decide who we want to be. We have to forget the past and don’t think about who we have been but think and decide who we want to become. Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. Then act up it!
This idea was important to me because teach how we have to be carefully with our identity and try continuously to improve it.
g. Putting it all together (Health, Finances, Relationships, and code of conduct)
In this book, the author is emphasizing to learn to condition our nervous system to produce the behaviors that will give us the results we want, our physical destiny depends on how we condition our metabolism and muscles to produce the levels of energy and fitness we desire. The human body is the best picture of the human soul. Few things in life are more important to master than our relationships. Success is unfulfilling unless we have someone to share it with-indeed. The only way a relationship will last is if we see it as a place we go to give, not a place that we go to take. The most important way to ensure success in any relationship is to communicate clearly up front. It is great to have a hierarchy of values to which we are committed. Most of us never feel this kind of certainty unless we decide in advance upon a set of characteristics we are committed to adopting and living every day of our lives. Actually writing these down, creating a personal “code of conduct” provides a superlative road map for all of life’s travels.
We have to make a list of all the states we are committed to being every day in order to live according to our highest principles and values.
To each characteristic, write our rule for how we will know we are feeling it.
Commit to experience each of these states at least once day.
This idea was important to me because it shows me what to put together and how in this journey of success.
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?
Dreams of Destiny – This idea is helping me in practical way by showing me how to setting goals in my life. By setting clear goals we know clearly what we want in our life. Having clear goals is first step of achievement. After reading this book I have decided to first have a clear vision and this will help me to get to my success. The time I will be successfully in my life it will be an improvement to me, to my family and to my country which will help to create a better world.
How to get what you really want – In practical way I have learned how can I get what I want, by taking an action and using pain and pleasure to my advantage. This will help in daily personal life to always to try to discover to barriers of taking action and to remove them. This will help to create a better world because by getting what I want it will be a benefit to me but also to others because It will give me capacity of helping them (in coaching, in giving them experience and others ways of help).
The power to create, the power to Destroy (Beliefs) – This idea is helping me in practical way by showing me how I have to always reinforce any beliefs I have that will move me in the direction of my dream. To remove the beliefs that no longer serve me. This will help me to improve my life, I will use this also to give advice to others in order also for them to improve their lives. By doing this we will be creating a better world.
Get the knack of change – In practical way this idea is helping me to condition myself in order to make change. using the strategies I will make change in my life which will give allow me to get improvement in my file. My improvement will be a benefit to me and other.
How to use your action signals (Emotions) – In practical way this idea is helping me to handle a “negative” emotion by using the strategies given by the author. This practice will help me to achieve my goals, this will help me to improve my life and other’s life.
The keys to an expanded life (Identity and References) – In practical way this idea is helping me to expand my references, which is immediately expand the life. This will help to create a better world because by expanding my life I will also help my family and country to have an improvement.
Putting it all together (Health, Finances, Relationships, and code of conduct) – This idea is helping in practical way by knowing how to condition my nervous system to produce the behaviors which will give me the results I want (In this I will be carefully of Health, Finances, Relationships, and code of conduct). This will be tool of getting to the success for me and my surround.
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.
Abraham Lincoln said “Most people are as happy as they decide to be”
Nothing has to happen for me to feel good! I feel good because I am alive, Life is a gift, and I revel in it. We can feel good right now if we choose to. After all, when all this happens, who is going to make us feel good. We are. So why to wait? The only thing that is stopping us is our rule(a belief) that all those things have to happen before we can feel good. Break these arbitrary rules, and experience the joy we deserve.
This statement is very useful to me because I have learned the strategies I will use in my life to be happy.
“The human body is the best picture of the human soul.”
In this book we have learned to condition our nervous system to produce the behaviors that will give use the results we want, our physical destiny depends on how we condition our metabolism and muscles to produce the levels of energy and fitness we desire. We have to note that we can’t archive our goals if our physical life is weak or sick. This in statement author is asking us to remember to take care our body in this journey of 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 in the book is understandable and clear. I am also agreeing with everything it is talking about the tools, techniques, principles, and strategies we have to use in journey of access and how to use the best parts of ourselves so that we can consistently produce the results we desire.
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?
Take personal responsibility for our change. After reading this book one of the exercises I have decided to complete: is to take personal responsibility for making change in my life. No one can program us. We must condition ourselves. I have started to use the advices from the author and I have found useful, I did complete this exercise but I will still working until I will archive all my goals.
See the situation as it is not the worse than it is. Another exercise I have found in this book is to take control of my mental and emotion. See the situation as it is, see it better than it is. Make it the way we see it. I have started to try this exercise and I have found very usefully. It will be a continuous action in order for me always to get whatever I want.
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.
Five Keys to financial mastery:
The first key is the ability to create wealth. If we can find a way to increase the value of what we do by at least ten to fifteen times, then we can easily increase our income. Start by asking ourselves ” How can I be worth more to this company?”
The second key to financial mastery is to maintain our wealth. The only way to do this is to spend less than we earn, and invest the difference.
The third key to mastering our finances is to increase our wealth. To accomplish this, we must spend less than we earn, invest the difference, and reinvest our returns for compounded growth. Compounding puts our money to work for us by increasing it exponentially.
The fourth key to financial mastery is to protect our wealth. If we need to consider asset protection, we can consult the experts and modeling the masters, just as we would in any other important area in our life.
The fifth key to financial mastery is to enjoy your wealth. Most people wait until they have accumulated a certain amount of money to start enjoying themselves. But unless we link pleasure to creating value and earning money, we will never keep it long term. So reward ourselves occasionally with jackpots (surprise bonuses). Money has no value unless we share its positive impact with the people we care about, and as we discover ways to contribute in proportion to our incomes, we tap into one of life’s greatest joys.
This subject is very useful because many people like me have problem of financial success. From it we learned how we will master our financial.
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? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Assessment by Placide Kibogo (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
In this book the author is giving the way of wining friends and influencing people, he is giving fundamental techniques in handling people, ways to make people like you, to win people using our thinking and changing people without giving offense. For each and every those techniques and principles in this book the author was giving several examples of people who used the same and have made success of wining and influencing people. This book has four main parts:
Part One: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People
Part Two: Six Ways to Make People LikeYou
Part Three: How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
Part Four: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
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.
Don’t criticize, condemn or complain
In this idea, the author is try to teach us how to deal with others in order to win them as friend and influence them. He is advising us to instead of condemning people, to try to understand them. To try to figure out why they do what they do. Lincoln said ” Don’t criticize people, they are just what we could be under similar circumstances”. That is a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism: and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness. This idea is so important because I have understood how to deal with other people in order to influence them by using this principle (“Don’t criticize, condemn or complain”).
B. Give honest and sincere appreciation
In this idea the author is explaining how much is important to give honest and sincere appreciation. We are advised to try to figure out the other person’s good points. Then forget flattery. Give honest, sincere appreciation. Be “hearty in our approbation and lavish in our praise”, and people will cherish our words and treasure them and repeat them over a lifetime. In our interpersonal relations we should never forget that our associates are human beings and hunger for appreciation. Try leaving a friendly trail of little sparks of gratitude on our daily trips. We will be surprised how they will set small flames of friendship that will be rose beacons on our next visit. This is idea is important because I have realized how I have to be carefully on giving honest and sincere appreciation in order to win friends.
C. Smile
In this book also the author is giving the advice that in order of to win friends and to influence people our smile is very crucial. Smile costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and Nature’s best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody till it is given away. Our smile is a messenger of our good will. Our smile brightens the lives of all who see it. To someone who has seen a dozen people frown, scowl or turn their faces away, our smile is like the sun breaking through the clouds. Especially when that someone is under pressure from his bosses, his customers, his teachers or parents or children, a smile can help him realize that all is not hopeless that there is joy in the world. This idea is very important to me because from it I have understood why I have to smile when I will be communicating with others.
D. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Another advice from the author in wining friends and influencing people is to remember people’s names. Most people don’t remember names, for the simple reason that they don’t take the time and energy necessary to concentrate and repeat and fix names indelibly in their mind. They make excuses for themselves; they are too busy. The importance of remembering and using names is not just the prerogative of kings and corporate executives. There is a magic contained in a name and realize that this single item is wholly and completely owned by the person with whom we are dealing and nobody else. The name sets the individual apart; it makes him or her unique among all others. The information we are imparting or the request we are making takes on a special importance when approach the situation with the name of the individual. From the waitress to the senior executive, the name will work magic as we deal with others.
E. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
In this idea the author is advising to be a good listener. If we aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that other persons will enjoy answering. Encourage them to talk about themselves and their accomplishments. Remember that the people we are talking to are a hundred times more interested in themselves their wants and problems than they are in us and our problems. “A person’s toothache means more to that person than a famine in china which kills a million people.” A boil on one’s neck interests one more than forty earthquakes in Africa. Think of that the next time we start a conversation. This idea is very important because it is teaching me how it strongly necessary to be a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselves in order to get them as our friends.
F. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
In this idea the author is trying to shows the way we have to behave when we are wrong in order to win friends. When we are right, let’s try to win people gently and tactfully to our way of thinking, and when we are wrong and that will be surprisingly often, if we are honest with ourselves let’s admit our mistakes quickly and with enthusiasm. Not only will that technique produce astonishing results, but, believe it or not, it is a lot more fun, under the circumstances, than trying to defend oneself. Remember the old proverb: “By fighting we never get enough, but by yielding we get more than we expected.” This is idea is important because I have realized how I have to react when I am wrong, just to admit it in order to win friends.
G. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
In this idea the author is advising us how to handle people’s mistakes if we want to win them as friends. Simple changing one three- letter word can often spell the difference between failure and success in changing people without giving offense or arousing resentment. Many people begin their criticism with sincere praise followed by the word “but” and ending with a critical statement. For example in trying to change a child’s careless attitude toward studies, we might say” We are really proud of you, Johnnie, for raising your grades thin term. But if you had worked harder on your algebra, the results would have been better.” This could be easily overcome by changing the word “but” to “and.” “We are really proud of, Johnnie, for raising your grades this term, and by continuing the same conscientious efforts next term, your algebra grade can be up with all the others.” We have to called other person attention to the behavior we wish to change indirectly, and the chances are he will try to live up to our expectations. Calling attention to one’s mistakes indirectly works wonders with sensitive people who may resent bitterly any direct criticism.
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?
Don’t criticize, condemn or complain
This idea helps me in practical way by showing me how to behave toward others people, to not criticize or condemn. The time I will be communicating others I will be remembering this principle. This will help me to not have conflict with others and will be example for other people.
Give honest and sincere appreciation
Practically this idea is helpful because author gave us an advice of giving honest and sincere appreciation to others people. This will encourage others to go forward, In may daily activities I will try to follow this advice in order win friends and create better world.
Smile
This idea is very helpful in practical way because we learned how to use our ability which is cost nothing but which can play huge for wining friends, this our smile. I will use this advice and this will help me to be away of stress and it will be also a good experience for others, and by this we will be creating a better world.
Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
This idea is very helpfully because we are advised to have this good habit of remembering other people’s names. This makes other people feel important and feel comfortable the time we are communicating with them. Make others comfortable and happy is creating a better world.
Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
This idea is very helpful in practical way because we learned how to deal with other people by listening them and encourage them to talk about themselves. I will use this advice and this will help me to make other people more comfortable during our communication, through this I will make them my friends and also it will be possible to influence them. By making friendship I will be creating a better world.
If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
Practically this idea is helpful because author gave us an advice that in case we are wrong to admit it quickly and emphatically. This will encourage others to be comprehensive with me. In may daily activities I will try to follow this advice in order win friends and create better world.
Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly.
This idea helps me in practical way by showing me how to behave with others people in the case they are mistaken, to Call attention to their mistakes indirectly. This make others people comprehensive without resistance and it will be easy for them to change. With this idea positively I will influence other people and create a better 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 criticize them! They are just what we would be under similar circumstances.”
Mrs. Lincoln
Instead of condemning people, try to understand them. To try to figure out why they do what they do. May be they are doing what they do because of their circumstances or their past. This idea is important because it show how to trait others with mind of comprehension.
“By fighting you never get enough, but by yielding you get more than you expected.”
When we are right, let’s try to win people gently and tactfully to our way of thinking, and when we are wrong – and that will be surprisingly often, if we are honest with ourselves – let’s admit our mistakes quickly and with enthusiasm. Not only will that technique produce astonishing results; but, believe it or not, it is a lot more fun, under the circumstances, than trying to defend oneself.
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 in the book is understandable and clear. I am also agreeing with everything it is talking about how to win friends and influence other people.
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?
This book has many exercises for the reader to complete, all are about how we have to behave in order to win friends and influence other people. I those exercises I can mention the following: (To not criticize, condemn or complain, To Give honest and sincere appreciation, To Remember that a person’s name, to Be a good listener, To Encourage others to talk about themselves, If we are wrong to admit it quickly and emphatically and other more).I have started already in my daily activity to try to practice those behavior in order to win friends and make others comfortable. As the author said this will help me also to influence others positively, of course they are 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.
“Let the other person save face.”
This principle was given in this book for us to try to understand other person. Even if we are right and the other person is definitely wrong, we only destroy ego by causing someone to lose face. The legendary French aviation pioneer and author Antoine de Saint-Exupйry wrote: “I have no right to say or do anything that diminishes a man in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him, but what he thinks of himself. Hurting a man in his dignity is a crime.”
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8.5
Real Magic
Assessment by Placide Kibogo (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
In this book the author is showing us how to create miracles in everyday life and he first explained what are miracles. The magic is not only a black cape sawing a woman in half, or a sleight of hand card trick. There is another kind of magic – real magic- that can enrich our file. According to Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, real magic means creating miracles in everyday life. Quitting smoking or drinking, achieving new job success, or finding a happy relationship – these are all miracles because they transcend our perceived limitations. The author teaches us how to achieve a higher level of consciousness. He asks us to imagine what would make us happy, then offers specific strategies for attaining these goals. In every aspect of our individual lives: physical health, finances, intimate relationships, and personal identity; there is always room for a miracle or two. And with Dyer’s help, each and every one of us can be a miracle worker!
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. Reserve your judgment and disbelief
Having an open mind and suspending our disbelief allows us to experience new vistas, while our closed mind and unwillingness to shed our disbeliefs keeps us trapped in our old ways of thinking and seeing. Real magic is available only to those who can imagine any and all possibilities, while letting the how it will happen take care of itself. What I am asking of you here is simply to do that. Nothing more. Just open your mind and suspend your disbelief. This is the beginning of miracle making. This idea is very important to me because the author is teaching us how to open our mind for the new ideas and suspend our disbelief. Most of the time we just make our limitations without reason, this will help me in changing the way of thinking.
B. Affirm yourself as a no limit person
When we have developed the real-magic in our mind and trust that we can go there at will, begin to affirm to ourselves privately that there are literally no limits to the powers that we possess. A great rule of thumb is: If you can conceive it in your mind, then it can be brought into the physical world. The point is that us and only us have the ability to create magic in our mind. The choice is always with us. It has nothing to do with luck, but with believing in ourselves as a part of the divine force that suffuses all form in the universe. This idea is important to me because I learned how to eliminate the limitation in my life.
C. Discover the secret that sits in the center and knows
Become familiar and comfortable with the notion that nothingness has something to offer us on our path to real magic. We have to remind ourselves we are form surrounding the invisible life energy. Keep this in mind and make every effort to discover ” the secret that sits in the center and knows.” Since it is invisible, we need to go there mentally. Ask ourselves, “why are we here? Who am I?” our deeply sought answers will astound us. Spend time in that inner space befriending the invisible director that guides our life. Trust it today. Allow it to function in the loving way that it wants to. Go with what it directs us to do, trusting and surrendering, and we will discover we can rely on the secret that sits in the center and don’t be embarrassed about it. The more we trust that our life is on purpose and that we will not be misguided. This idea is very important to me because is teaching us how use our inner born power.
D. Learn to learn through knowing and trusting rather than doubting and fearing
In this idea the author is teaching us how to remove doubt and fear and practice knowledge and trust. He is advising to try to say to ourselves, “I trust this person. I will not doubt him, and I know that things will work out in a positive way.” He asking us to keep in mind as we shift to this new consciousness that behind fear is powerlessness. That which we fear, we are fighting, and fighting always weakens us. Fear makes us impotent and makes higher levels inaccessible. But behind trust is empowerment and love. No judgment, no anger, no hatred, no fear and no need to fight. Love empowers us to higher levels. It is our choice always, and the choice begins in that amorphous inner world of the mind. This idea is very important because I have learned how to replace the doubt and fear by trust.
E. Affirm that your intention creates your reality
Intention is the energy of our soul coming into contact with our physical reality. What we see around us, whom we associate with, how we function daily, what we relationships are like, how much money we make, how we get along with others, the shape of our physical body, and virtually everything about the physical, is a result if our intention, or how our thoughts become energized into action. As we work toward a mind-set of real magic, please keep this notion uppermost in our mind. Creating miracles in our life comes from our intention to do so, not from our wish or desire or goal. You must move from an inert to an active mode within our mind to establish an inner environment of real magic potential. Then, and only then, we will turn that same potential into reality in the material world. This idea is important because the Author is showing us how much our intention important in our lives and we can use it in order make a real reality.
F. Learn to act as if the life you visualize is already here
Act as if that which we perceive in our mind were already here in the physical world. Begin creating our thoughts and visions as much more than simple amorphous meanderings of our mind. we create our thoughts, our thoughts create our intentions, our intentions create our reality. Consequently, we must begin the practice of ignoring our own doubt about the importance of our inner world and start the practice of acting as if the images we desire were already our reality. This may sound like self-deception, but it is the only way for us to get past the limitations we believe we have. This idea is so important to me because the author advise us what to do in order to overcome our limitations. He advises to act as if which we perceive in our mind were already in the physical world.
G. Practice daily meditation
this book also the author recommend us to learn how to meditate and make meditation an integral of our daily life. The process of meditation is nothing more than quietly going within and discovering that higher component of ourselves. After a while, we come into direct contact with what has always been a mystery in our life. We will discover God, that infinite invisible intelligence that is always a part of us and our daily life. Meditation is our opportunity to create what we will be, by entering the invisible world of thought and playing it out there first, most like a divine rehearsal for our life. This idea was important because I learned the important of meditation and how to perform it.
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?
Reserve your judgment and disbelief: In practical this idea will help me a lot because I have started trying to remove in my daily life to remove disbelief and the limitations thought, and try to imagine any and all possibilities, while letting the how it will happen take care of itself. After achieving this idea this will help me and help others by being their example, by this I will be creating better world.
Affirm yourself as a no limit person: Affirmation as a no limit person, is good practical exercise because from it I will be able to remove the limitation in my life. This will help me to achieve my goals. This will be helpful for me, my family and my country in general.
Discover the secret that sits in the center and knows: In a practical way, this idea will help me to be able to use invisible energy, my inner born power. By Trust this power today, Allow it to function in the loving way that it wants to. Go with what it directs us to do, trusting and surrendering. This will help me and others, so I will be creating better world.
Learn to learn through knowing and trusting rather than doubting and fearing: In practical way this idea will be helpful for me because I will exercise the advice of the author of practicing the knowing and trusting rather than doubting and fearing. This will make me a success person which will be good for me and for others.
Affirm that your intention creates your reality: Our thoughts or intention become energized into action, in practical way I will try in my daily life to clean my thoughts and intention, remove unnecessary thoughts in my life, this will help me to achieve my goals. This will be also a good example for my colleagues by this I will be creating better world.
Learn to act as if the life you visualize were already here: In a practical way, I have to try to remove doubts my life, act as if the life I visualize were already here. This will help me to go ahead for my objectives and achieve them.
Practice daily meditation: Meditation practice is the lesson I have got from this idea, it will help me to create what I will be, by entering the invisible world of thought. This will be way to achieve my objectives which will be a benefit for me, my family and country in general.
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 ancestor to every action is a thought.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is important to me because the author mentions the power of thought in our daily life. Thinking is our way of processing and recording our human experience. Thought originates from within a nothingness inside of us and gives us our humanity. All of our past is in this realm of thought, as is our future. We live the life we imagine we are living. When we stop imagining or imaging or thinking, we cease actively participating in our physical world.
“When the student is ready the teacher will appear.”
This is important to me because it remind me to be always ready of the change or learn new things. When we are truly determined tin our own mind to experience real magic and live each day at purpose, we will be shown how to make it happen. The author is advising us to stay open and willing to learn from everyone and anyone. He is requesting us to be students.
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 in the book is understandable and clear. I am also agreeing with everything it is talking about, because author is showing how the readers can create miracles in everyday 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?
Yes, this book contains exercises for the reader to complete, Those exercises are specially to achieve a higher level of consciousness. The author asks us to imagine what would make us happy, then use specific strategies for attaining our goals. In every aspect of our individual lives : physical health, finances, intimate relationships, and personal identity. I have started those exercises and I didn’t finish yet but I have found them usefully in 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.
Real magic and your relationships: The true meaning of how our life is going is in how we function with other people. When we are inspired in our relationships and have mastered how to live peacefully and joyfully with others, our life will be on the path that author have called purpose. In short we will be experiencing real magic throughout our life, when our relationships in order.
The author is advising us to use our thoughts to create our relationships, by asking ourselves the all important questions: what do we think about those people with whom we are in a relationship? Remember, what we think about is what expands, and our thoughts originate with us. If we are thinking about what is missing in the person we love, that will be our experience of that person, and will define our relationship. We will define our relationship. We will get stuck in a mode of dislike and unpleasantness. When someone else behavior in a certain way, do we process that behavior negatively, saying to ourselves, “I hate it when she does that” “I wish he would take better care of himself “or “I hate when he acts dumb like that in public”? A negative response results in more unpleasantness and negativity, because we are can only act upon what we think about. In this scenario negativity is all we have available to act upon.
Rather than processing another person’s behavior in the judgmental way author have just described, we have the option to process the behavior in other way. Remember, he or she is not creating the bad relationship; you are, by the way you choose to think. You could say,” she is on her own path and right now that is how she must react, but there are so many other outstanding qualities I love about her. Those are the things I am going to focus on. I want this relationship to be great, and if it is great in my thoughts, that will be my total experience of it. I have found this idea very important as the author teach us how to make a good relationship with others.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8.5
Goals
Assessment by Kibogo Placide (Rwanda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author of this book is trying to help people who want to get ahead fast, this book contains the advices to achieve much in the life and main advice among those is the “Setting Goals.” The author is saying: “The biggest waste of time and life is for us to spend years accomplishing something that we could have achieved in only a few months. By following the practical, proven process of goal setting and goal achieving laid out in this book, we will be able to accomplish vastly more in a shorter period of time than you have ever imagined before. The speed at which we move onward and upward will amaze both ourselves and all the people around us.” He is teaching how to unlock our potentials, how to set goals and gives the strategies of how to achieve them.
At the end of this book the author advices the readers to take immediate action and put in action the rules and strategies leaned from the book. He is concluding by giving 21 steps which will helps us in setting and achieving goals for living a wonderful 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.
i. Unlock Your Potential
In this idea the author is reminding us to unlock our potential, he said” The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good” Goals unlock our positive mind and release ideas and energy for goal attainment. Without goals, we simply drift and flow on the currents of life. With goals, we fly like an arrow, straight and true to our target. Clear goals increase our confidence, develop our competence and boost our levels of motivation. As sales trainer Tom Hopkins says, Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. Here the author has explained how setting of goals is major step we have in order to unlock our potential. This idea is very important to me because from it I have learned how much I dispose unused potential and how to unlock it.
ii. Determine Your True Goals
The author here is teaching us how to put our visions and values into concrete goals and objectives that we can work on, every single day. He is advising us to be absolutely clear about what we want, we can then think about our goals, most of the time. And the more we think about them, the faster they will materialize in our life. This process of asking ourselves questions about our goals in each part of our life begins to clarify our thinking and make us a more focused and definite person. As Zig Ziglar says, “You move from being a wandering generality to becoming a meaningful specific.” Most of all, we reach the point where we can determine our major definite purpose in life. This is the springboard for great achievement and extraordinary accomplishment. This idea was important because I learned a lot about how to make clarity in want I want.
iii. Remove The Roadblocks
In this idea the author is showing us how to remove all barriers in order to achieve our objectives. Most people give up before they even make the first try. And the reason they give up is because of all of the obstacles, difficulties, problems and roadblocks that immediately appear as soon as we decide to do something that we have never done before. The author is telling us to expect to fail and fall short many times before we achieve our goals. We should look upon failure and temporary defeat as a part of the price that we pay on our road to the success that we will inevitably achieve. As Henry Ford once said, “Failure is merely an opportunity to more intelligently begin again.” He is asking us to remember that, “we become what we think about – most of the time.” In the area of problems and difficulties, successful people have a particular way of thinking that he call “solution-orientation.” Successful people think about solutions, most of the time. This idea is so important, I have learned how to remove barriers in my way of success.
iv. Become an Expert In Your Field
This idea is important because it encourages to become an expert in our field, it teach why and how to excellent in what we do. “Be All We Can Be.” In our economic system, our income will be determined by three factors: first, what we do; second, how well we do it; and third, the difficulty of replacing us. “The author said that One of the qualities of top people is that, at a certain point in their careers, they decided to Commit to Excellence. They decided to be the best at what they do. They decided to pay any price, make any sacrifice, and invest any amount of time necessary to become very good in their chosen fields. And as a result of this decision, they pulled away from the pack of average performers and moved themselves upward into the income category where today they earn three, four, five and ten times as much as their peers who have not made this commitment”.
v. Associate with the Right People
In this idea the author advising about what people to associate with if we want to achieve our goals. Everything in life and business is relationships. Everything we accomplish or fail to accomplish will be bound up with other people in some way. Our ability to form the right relationships, with the right people, at every stage of our life and career, will be the critical determinant of our success and achievement, and will have an inordinate impact on how quickly we achieve our goals. The more people we know, and who know us in a positive way, the more successful we will be at anything we attempt. One person, at the right time, in the right place, can open a door for us that can change our life and save us years of hard work. This is idea is so important to me because it teach me how much I have to associate with the right people in order to be successfully in my life.
vi. Manage Your Time Well
This idea shows how to manage our time. To achieve all your goals, and become everything you are capable of becoming, you must get your time under control. Time management is a skill, and like any other skill, it is learnable. No matter how disorganized you have been in the past, or how much you have tended to procrastinate or to get caught up in low-value activities, you can change. You can become one of the most efficient, effective and productive people in your field by learning how others have gone from confusion to clarity and from frustration to focus. Through repetition and practice, you can become one of the most result-oriented people in your field. This idea is important to me because I have learned how to manage my time in order to achieve all my goals.
vii. Unlock Your Inborn Creativity
This idea is showing us how to unlock our inborn creativity and it explain how big our brain has inborn creativity. The author is saying that we have to make every thought, every fact, that comes into our mind pay us a profit. Make it work and produce for us. Think of things not as they are but as they may be. To not merely dream but to create. According to brain experts like Tony Buzan and others the complexity of your brain is therefore beyond belief or imagination so we have to use it. We do not need to achieve a miracle to bring about spectacular results in our life. We only need to use a little bit more of our existing brainpower than we are using today. This small improvement in our thinking ability can change our life so profoundly that both us and others will be astonished by what we accomplish in the months and years ahead. This idea is important because I have learned how big my brain capacity and how to use it.
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?
Unlock Your Potential
This idea is helping me in practical way by showing me how to use my inborn creativity. By doing improvement every day about some initiative and creativity, continue to improve more and more I will reach to the objective. The time I will be successfully in my life it will be an improvement to me, to my family and to my country which will help to create a better world.
Determine Your True Goals
This idea is helpful in practical way, I have learned from it to have specific and clear goals in my life. To do this we will analyze deeply what I want and what are the real goals and write it down in specific way. After doing this, it will be a big step in times of achievement. By achieving my goals I will improve my life, my family file and my country.
Remove the Roadblocks
This idea is helpful in practical way because I have learned to be patient toward my goals and remove roadblocks. When the success don’t come first time, I will not stop to continue going toward my goals, I will trying and keep trying until I reach my objectives. And always keep thinking about solutions. By doing this I will be contributing a lot on my life and on my country and creating better world.
Become an Expert in your Field
This idea is helpful in practical way because I have learned to be expert in our field, it teach why and how to excellent in what we do. I will pay any price(time or money) to get this excellence of what I am doing. This will have a very big impact on the development of my life, one of my family and my country.
Associate with the Right People
This idea is helpful in a practical way because it teach me the people I have to associate with, people who can make good impact to my life. The people with whom I can learn something which can help me to achieve my goals. With building good relationship I will be able to be quick in achieving my goals. This will be benefit to me, to my family and my country.
Manage Your Time Well
This idea has showed me in a practical way how to manage my time which every important in goals achievement. To have control on our time is the key of achieving our goals. To do the right thing at right time and do what is supposed to be done. This will help me to achieve my goals quickly. This will be benefits to me and others.
Unlock Your Inborn Creativity
This idea is helping me a lot in a practical way because I have learned how to use my existing brainpower than I am using it today. This small improvement in our thinking ability will make us achieve our goals and this will contribute in our daily life, one of our family and one of our country.
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.
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”.
All improvement in our life comes from changing our beliefs about yourself and our possibilities. Personal growth comes from changing your beliefs about what we can do and about what is possible for us. Would we like to double our income? Of course we would! Whatever we believe is possible we can do it. This quotation is important because it shows me that whatever I believe can be reality.
“To achieve something that you have never achieved before, you must become someone that you have never been before.”
There are no real limits on what we can accomplish, except for the limits that we place on own our mind and imagination. If we decide to become excellent, to join the top 10% of people in our field, there is nothing on earth that can stop us from getting there, except ourselves. This quotation is important because it shows me that there is no limitation for me to achieve my 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?
Everything in this book is understandable and clear. I am also agreeing with everything it is talking about Goals and how to get everything we want in our 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?
Remove The Roadblocks: After reading this book one of the exercises I have decided to complete is to remove the roadblocks in my way of achieving my goals. To remove those roadblocks as the author advises, it is to think in terms of solution. I have started to use the advices and I have found useful, I did not complete this exercise but I will still working until will archive all my goals.
Manage Your Time Well: Another important exercise to work on it is time management, the author has given us many techniques to use in order to manage well our time: Do the Right thing in right time, Determine our Long Term Goals, Begin With A List, Use Advance Planning, Consider The Consequences, Separate the Urgent From The Important and other techniques. I have started to use those techniques and I have found them useful and I will continue to use this as one of tools to achieve my goals.
Remain Flexible At All Times: Another important exercise, is to remain flexible at all times, here the author advises us to be open on the changes, be ready to accept new things. I have started to use those strategies found in this book and I have found them useful.
Do Something Every Day: For achieving our goals also author is advising us to try and every day do something toward to them. He is telling us to start small, still add on and add on and this will end up with big thing. I have started to use this strategy and I have found them useful and I will continue to use it as tool towards the success.
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.
Persist Until You Succeed: The point which was not commented on is perseverance, this another key of success mentioned by the author in this book. He said that every great success in our life will represent a triumph of persistence. Our ability to decide what we want, to begin, and then to persist through all obstacles and difficulties until we achieve our goals is the critical determinant of our success. And the flip side of persistence is courage. Perhaps the greatest challenge that we will ever face in life is the conquest of fear and the development of the habit of courage. Winston Churchill once wrote, “Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend.” This idea I have found it very usefully in this journey of goal achievement and I have decide to use it like others strategies for success.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8.75