As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe)
1. What Ideas were personally most important to you in this book? Do not simply list the ideas, but explain or discuss why they were important to you, using personal examples.
2. Can you relate the ideas or concepts in this book to your personal circumstances in life such as your relationships, your beliefs, your goals, your values, etc? Please use personal examples in your explanation.
A man is what he is because of his thoughts. The character is a sum of his thoughts.
Seeds of thought are exemplified with those individuals who killed themselves. Those with evil thoughts have therefore been at the end died, because of their movements. The biblical story of Cain and Abel is a good example of such as situation. At the first instances Cain became very jealousy because what his young brother had done for God and this lead to the death of Abel but the evil activity which Cain had done to his brother turned against him and at the end Cain hanged himself, he looked for the pain on himself when he killed himself, however to the similar incidence which happened to the close friend whom I know. The case goes like this; there was this close friend whom l was in good books with. So she fell in love with another man who was married to someone and she was thirteen by then and it was unfortunate to her that she got pregnant and the parents were actually not aware of her pregnancy, a terrible situation that their daughter had got into. The next think that she thought was the best was to abort. The day she aborted that is the day she struggled with life. The next day they rushed with her to the hospital but it could not work, it was a waste of time. And like that she died, however there are some who managed to go with life and now there are enjoying its benefits. The brains that we have as human beings can be able to take us somewhere and bring happiness, joy, peace and success. This can only be achieved when the direction of thinking is positive and sober.
The point which illustrates man as a being who looks and manufactures the weapons which destroys himself is quiet evident and this has been revealed globally. The guns and atomic bombs are not meant for the animals but it is the thought of the human kind that has come out with those dangerous devices that can destroy the person who has devised those dangerous weapons.
Man holds everything’s key and this is quiet evident world over, human beings are in control of almost everything. The natural resources and the artificial resources they take control. The keys to every situation they hold. The government leaders and presidents of countries are all human beings, this shows that man are a people with power and is quite dominant in all the sectors of life. A man can begin to be a man when he realises the situation that he get into.
Circumstances grow out of thought. Man does not attract that which they are. Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results. During my Advanced levels l had the thoughts of quitting my Course and venture into the department of nursing but l am now realising that nursing was going to be a tough field for me and at this moment lam realising that the art field that l am now into is so interesting, this has been necessitated by the good thoughts that l am seeing that they were good, the thought of continuous hardworking and persevering in what l was doing. Bad thoughts and action results in bad results as well.
The real manhood begin when the person ceases to through the blame to other people; the individuals who had noticed their weaknesses eliminate accusation to other people. This l have experienced it in the 2001, the year l set for my ordinary examinations. Only left with less than two weeks which required excessive reading, l was forced to read and utilise the time which I had left with, on such a case the only solution that l was left with was to attend evening study sessions which could start from 6pm up to 9pm and after the reading sessions l was supposed to walk more than seven kilometres in the darkness alone to my homestead and l could reach home around past 11 or to 12 midnight and with such a situation there was no one to blame. The worst part of this situation has been that, during that period there came out a report which say that there were lions which had ran away from the game park and everyone was so afraid of the situation which had been experienced with the people, in the community. My mother came to the extend of telling me to quit these evening study sessions, but however l did not take up this idea of my mother, l was not even rude to her but l remembered very well that by the time she told me about the results of this situation l did not even replied her, l remained loyal to her, but continued with the studies, and evening study sessions. This has been the noble idea to me and it was progress and an innovation to reclaim back my position to get the good passes that I needed to acquire at the end of my ordinary level course. lt was not necessary for me to have a blame to anyone for this situation but the movement which was supposed to be followed.
The other paragraph that explains on the negative thoughts that at the end produce negative thoughts. Actually this is true .lt is so practical and is the thing that is evident in real life situations.
3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain.
This book carries a lot of ideas that are so important “As a Man Thinketh.”Gives the ideas that are well explained and it shows the categories that the human mind can fall under relating all these ideas to the way people think, for example the thought and character as the first part of this article it explains all that a human being have the power that we have as human beings. More so the clean human mind is explained to be a machine that can produce clean habits.
4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how?
No. This article has not changed me but it concretised me. It is a very good book that is so encouraging to every person who has a quest for developing himself using the mind and dwelling much on his thought. One example of such people is myself. The statement that interested me is that which says “man can make himself strong by careful and patient training.” This is good to me because at times I am impatient. Therefore all this is showing out that thoughts are supposed to be used well.
5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why?
“Suffering is always an effect of wrong thought in some direction”, however this Statement l totally disagree with it. From my family which l came from l had a grandmother who was asthmatic and she passed away on the 13 August 2005 and the disease lead to the death. Before her death the women had serious problems with high blood pressure and could find hard to breath. So Most of the time she could find herself in the situation of suffering and hospitalised less than a year after the death of my Grandmother, my mother just became ill for a short while and she died as well. The pain became double to me because with my grandmother we were more of friends and we could just share everything. If l mean everything I mean everything no cheating or what. Because of such a relationship my grandmother used to provide me with the material needs that l could face. I got into a suffering situation. There is no one who can predict the coming of suffering. Anyone can suffer weather you are thinking in a good direction or not. The only thing that you can use a thought for is to control the situation. It is the same as saying if you don’t see the next day you have no sober thoughts. This idea I therefore totally disagree with it. However the suffering can be caused by wrong thought but to a limited extend.
Spirituality this book should be more of social, and should not propagate the Christian policies because this book is read by the world. People from different backgrounds and religions. So if this became so selective it would be towards the Christian ideologies and yet the other religions would just by pass and will underrate the book. However this is quite good book.
Personalising the issues that are supposed to be read with almost everyone is another thing that I totally disagree with. For example the man are revealed as the only people. In terms of the gender issues that prevail in most societies the gender equity issues are just omitted in this article. There has been a need or necessity to know that the society is made up of both the women and the man, hence the title was supposed to come out like “as a people thinketh”. This is done to avoid bias towards man and sideline women. Because if the man are only outlined in the book it will show them as the people who only think and the society as male dominated. However if the title was just said as a mere topic that represent everyone it is good but there is nowhere with the explanations on that.
6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book?
The issue of categorising the thought. For example “thought and character” “Effect of thought on circumstances” This way I find it so good and helpful as it could help me shift my mind from one area into another. The least helpful l don’t have anything that have been least helpful to me.
7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey.
The main idea focused on the human mind. For every person to function and remained on the good track in life and every situation that he is exposed to there is need to think, because the results produced are a clear output of the incurred type of thinking.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe)
1. What Ideas were personally most important to you in this book? Do not simply list the ideas, but explain or discuss why they were important to you, using personal examples.
2. Can you relate the ideas or concepts in this book to your personal circumstances in life such as your relationships, your beliefs, your goals, your values, etc? Please use personal examples in your explanation.
Individual effort and self-motivational working. This has been one of the most important ideas in this book. From this book efforts should not be gathered from all the members of the society, community, family members in the zeal to fulfill individual dreams. The efforts of an individual should not be geared towards consumption and should not be influenced by the behaviour of the majority. This idea becomes important to me in the case that: In 1998 l was enrolled into a Mission School to start my form one and l was not a boarder (l did not stay at the school premises) I was staying with my parents who were not working.
The location of the school is in the rural areas, one of the marginalized countryside areas, our homestead was far away from the school. On daily bases l was supposed to walk more than seven kilometres, because of not being well-up in terms of finance, l could just eat what my mother could afford preparing me. For the whole day from 7.30 am-4.30 pm the time we could finish up lessons breakfast and lunch was something else l could dream of. With the story of Seagull now it is just coming to complement my personal life which l survived. Reading and doing homework was the thing l spent most of my time doing. In this situation Seagull was well beyond the boat this is showing dedication, commitment and the dreams he had.
The visions that an individual keep on following is the good rail track that is supposed to change and transform a person to realise the more things that are coming up. Revolution is not brought by large numbers but an individual can achieve it .ln doing this the road to freedom is full of persecution, hindrances stumbling blocks and setbacks which can even be experienced as one goes. Seagull support this argument as at one point of time he has been persecuted and treated as an outcast for not conforming to the traditional practices of the Gull life however at the end Jonathan has been given the responsibilities to lead other Gulls. With my personal experiences doing form one the first term, l failed and i was rated in the bottom ten of my class but continuously l never lost hope I continued very hard in reading and in sports l never quit l continued with great efforts in the participation and I had improvements with better results in my school work.
When l got into my form three l was supposed to read very hard in preparation of my G.C.E Ordinary level which was coming in November 2001. In June in the year of 2001 l had two subjects which l thought l would pass, two weeks before the November 2001 examination that is when the June results were released and to my great surprise l failed all the two subjects, which l had ceased reading with the confidence of passing them. Disappointment and lose of hope gathered on me l thought I will never pass my exams all the subjects that l was doing. The period that I was left with before seating for the final exams was less than two weeks. Excessive reading and understanding of the content of 8 subjects, before seating for the final exams was then called for. Like Jonathan Seagull there is need to remain focused and maintain personal objectives dreams and became bold even though there are setbacks that we face in life Jonathan realised this and says “But no…I am a seagull and l will fly” With the words of seagull they are just coming to complement the way that l survived. The two weeks that l was remained with l got myself under the pressure of reading and revising. It was reading and reading only. The time that other students were playing and spent conversing, that was the time l utilised reading never drew my focus back. ln my academic life this is the memorable part of my life that has been in the book of Jonathan Seagull. However victory and success is the price for hardworking. The results for G.C.E Ordinary level came out in the following year 2002 and l had good passes in 7/8 subjects that I had written. Those who played and wasted the chance failed their Ordinary level .One major realisation that is therefore revealed with Jonathan is the fact that conservatives always stick to the traditional ways of living and participation. If people never realise the potential to do beyond expectation there would be problems. Development and success would be hardly achieved. As supported by Jonathan he leaned how to get to the fish from the deepest waters the big fish not ordinary ones that his counterparts have been used to.
“boredom, fear and anger” are the realisation that has been realised as the most forces that contribute towards failure. The ability to overcome this is the platform that leads to success. l managed to overcome this and now l am excelling with life on smoothly.
Now doing (IIGL) I think it will take me somewhere hope it is the right channel that will lead me to get enough leadership qualities that will allow me to show other people the exact way of leading. Hope the course will deposit me in my dreamland one day.
3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain.
The way that the birds survived, the Gulls or every creature have their distinct way of survival that they follow and this is more related to those of human beings but however the human beings are the people who have their traditional ways of survival. The same applies with animals and the animals do have their ways of survival and they always find the ethical means of finding survival. As we are a human kind we should therefore not fight or kill each other for the sake of power, money or greedness. The birds really appreciate good thing done by other hard working birds but us as individuals of the earth, who think we are jealousy of each other .As we are human beings lets try to unite and sound with one voice and live as one family. This is supported by Jonathan’s counterparts who letter appoint him as a leader at the end, to him he had been given the students to train flying, to the other gull family Jonathan was not jealousy and does not reject the duties which have been delegated to him. People should survive more than what the creatures do. The people whenever they became successful they want popularity and they need to be honoured and be treated like gods but Jonathan rejected this and says,
“Don’t… Make me a god ok” People therefore lets be people and be proud of who we are and the powers that have been given to us. Lets be liberals and accept changes from time to time.
4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how?
Yes it has. ln any way we should always be hard working and continue with everything that we will be dreaming of achieving and this will provide us with success. Dreams of persevering with this online course may take me somewhere. One-day l might find myself in the dream country. Jonathan never dreams of being appointed to become a leader but at the end happiness and gratitude call for his attention.
5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why?
l don’t have any disagreements that I have against the ideas revealed in this book the only problem that l encountered is getting the concepts on the heaven and earth issue thing. lt does not come out well. Heaven and earth issue l don’t get it well. Did Seagull change and became an angel at one point of time or it was something that an author used as a way of showing an expression of happiness to Livingston Seagull. Did Seagull managed to fly into the heaven or is it the facility that the gulls have, the ability to fly into heaven but they did not know about it that they can fly going into heaven and because of laziness they did not notice this because they did not bother to learn flying. This does not come out well and can therefore receive a number of interpretations on the message that it is trying to put across.
6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book?
The most inspirational and helpful idea that l found in this book mainly is one major point the point of hard working and focus maintenance. This is the most helpful idea in this book. The whole book seem to be focused on all that Jonathan undergo through when he was making his way to leadership and success in flying. Therefore there is nothing that can be least helpful in this book because of the consistence of ideas following each other to bring about the successes of Livingston Seagull. Therefore most ideas in this book are important and helpful.
7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey.
Leadership is the thing that is experienced and therefore the people should be able to share with others anything if ever they became successful. In any cultural society anyone who breaks the customs and tradition would be treated as an outcast, on the road to success these people should not revenge when they became in power.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
This has been a good writing l enjoyed reading it.
Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The book’s main message to the readers is about “Motivation”. The big names that appear in the book are not merely listed but are outlined to motivate readers. This is a strategy that has been applied with two scholars in order to provide the text with relevant material that will cover social and economic issues. The idea behind is to motivate the readers through provision of experiences of the people who become successful in life through realizing three movements. This being initiated with an idea. The book therefore stresses on three main aspects. These include
* Idea.
* Action
* Results
That is the platform of motivation that the two authors have used. As people we should follow our dreams and make use of the ideas that we have, turned them into actions so as to come out with results. If done correctly and in a good manner the results would be positive. What I found to be the book’s main idea therefore is “Motivation”
2. What were the seven ideas which were 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 quotation from the Danish philosopher and religious thinker, Soren Kierkegaard, was an interesting quote I found in this text. The philosopher says “it is a sign of a good book when the book reads you”. With no further explanations to this I appreciate the meaning of the quotation. One question that l hold to myself is why does one expects to be read with the text. The significant quotation shows that when the literature is well framed it has the capacity to penetrate into our lives and interprets it. This can be noticed when someone dedicate some of the precious moments in reading and analyzing other people’s ideas, concepts and views upon certain aspects. One such book that I have managed to come across and be fortunate to find splendid ideas and teachings is Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude by Clement Stone and Napoleon Hill.
Through an analytical reading and fact scrutiny from the book, I do come across unique concepts that I never had experienced for my past 24 years. The ideas that are most important to me include:
Vision to become rich.
The words from fuller’s mother are words of wisdom and emanating from a witty person. If bad things comes to the worst people come to blame other people for their own faults. The cause has its roots in losing visionary senses of what we want to be with our future. Fuller’s mother threw an argument saying the family is poor not because God wanted it to be poor but the fault had roots from the members who have been from his family. In this case his father had no vision to become rich. The idea of developing a vision over richness has been a unique one. Myself I only had the visions of living a good life not to be rich.
The idea had not clicked in my mind. As from the day I read the book. It instilled a spirit of change into my mind.
Generosity
Sharing the little we have with others is a good thing. It is a means of appreciating what God has given us in our lives. Though sharing, we can make other people realise their dreams and potentials. One might be talented in school but cannot show it out up until they go to school. All these can be expressed when the person has a chance to go to school and become accessible to books and other educational material. There is need to share with others, all that we have. On page 229 the author stresses that “ Everyone can help others by sharing a part of himself” Love for others, fairness, and caring are essential elements in life that are expressed through giving and sharing. I really accept this idea and do take it as one of the important ones that I have managed to come across in this book. If the world has been full of selfish people it could not be what it is today. Henry Kaiser, mentioned in the book that he becomes successful because of his willingness to extend some of his personal belongings to the needy. I really liked what this person has been doing to assist the weaker ones. My mother, who is an inspirational icon of my life, one day at home a mentally retarded person intruded our rural home. To my surprise my mother helped him with food after this session the person goes away in a jovial mood. My argument is, sometimes generosity is not a think that just happen but it has influences from the background of life of an individual. Sharing is good and Godly think. Lets share and listen to the stories of the other people on how they become successful. The door to succession comes from different angles and we might not know which way are we shall become rich.
Privacy
There is every reason to remain secretive to personal ideas that one will be developing until one has produced an outcome. Imagine if Henry Ford had been advertising for the ideas of developing a unique vehicle engine then some could have invented the engine well before him. In research and information technology development there is a lot of cheating that is in existence. In music industry and book publication, people still each other’s ideas and concepts and claim ownership. Exposing the ideas to the public perpetuates the problem. People in this business are losing billions of dollars through piracy and the main problem is lack of privacy. The quotation on page 11 support this idea when it says “if you give away your secretes, people will cheat you every time”. We have to be so secretive with everything that we do. During group presentations on developing topics and project proposals for dissertation. Friends that I worked closely with stole our topic and make approved well before us. We were actually forced to restart the whole process and forced to do it under hectic pressure. This could have been avoided by maintaining secreracy. There is a need to maintain secrete standards of our work and avoid the situation of selfishness because one can end up doing wrong things all in the name of secrete and his unwillingness to interact and see how other people are carrying out their activities. There is a need to balance the two: sharing and secretes with ideas.
Exoneration
When problems arise people always find someone or something to blame. We never accept that we are wrong ourselves. If the problem arises it is always good to start with ourselves, or to scan and see the position that we stand when a problem occur. When we exonerate situations and people from problems that we face on almost daily bases it will be easily to map out our way forward. It is the best way of navigating and finding the safer road on our way to success. Idea from page 43 it supports this idea “when you know the cause of a problem, you can often avoid it”. During my work placement I have been experienced with serious financial problems for transport and food like most students are faced with. At first I blamed my guardians for not helping me but through realizing that I am the gate keeper of my own destiny I realized that my problems are my problems and not someone’s burden. I accept myself and all that I had. Anything that I encountered belonged to me and I have to take care of those responsibilities. The courage and strength of accepting the situations I have got them from the book through understanding other people experiences. That is in the text Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude.
Associations and friendships
The issue of choosing good friends and companions is an essential thing as it influences behavior and attitude. Chalie Ward realizes the problems of his failures; on page 97 he says, “My mistake was being with the wrong companions.” Bad companions produce bad results and vise versa. I always wanted to be with people who want me to be successful or those who give me good advice. I hate cheating and all bad habits.
Realization of potential
There is a need to listen to all the potentials that we have and try to develop them. If we do not do so we will be wasting time and talents that we have. Hence the talent identification can help us to built reputation and businesses in our societies. Talent identification can be done at personal level. Or one can identify someone’s talent because someone might be talented and cannot be serious in whatever he would be doing. Ruth from page 134 managed to identify the talent of his father and they go on to form a Master Mind Alliance on painting. As an action to realize their dreams. On page 135 they testify that the results were “a profit to themselves and increased pleasure and happiness for many others.” if implemented well the action will bring happiness to other external publics. This idea was therefore important to me, because that is where success lays its foundation. This is the initial stage of development. Building ideas and realizing potentials forms the foundation of success.
God is the powerhouse of success
In everything that we do, we should not forget that God is the leader and is at the centre for everything that we do and he blesses us. We should always remember that he is for us and he leads us to everywhere we go and what ever we do. We should place him in our goals and ask everything that we do. On page 201 the issue of asking for divine guidance has been stressed. We should always ask God to lead us in everything that we do. I have been doing this since my childhood and things at the moment are doing on well.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
I have been that person who really knew what he wanted to do and now it is a matter of following the dreams to see how my life is going to be changed. As a person people I learn from other people who testify or tell their own stories. Now the content of the book has the ideas that are worth following and these are outlined as the seven ideas found from the book outlined above. The book helped me to build a good attitude and encouraged me to always read literature from other authors and see how they view the world and different people, minds and societies.
4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book, which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.
Yes I found some challenging quotations from the book and my attention has been called for. The first quotation is from page 05 it says, “We are poor-not because of God” this is a challenging quotation from the book and if one contemplates upon it, one will develop a positive mind. Most human failure and losing focus tend to be given to God maybe because he has not communicated with his people and told us were we go wrong, but however the quotation is communicating a lot. To me I regard it as eye opening and pushing all that I do to stand on a firm ground such that l will develop a burning desires to become rich, of which now I have developed. God has been exonerated, through this quotation. Most human failures did not accept that we are sometimes at the nuclei of its causes, but we never take time to analyze our faults starting by ourselves and everything that we do. Suffering and poverty cannot be said to be the problems caused by God however they can be punishments from him. Focusing on biblical stories in the book of the prophet Hosiah: God promised the Israelites a severe punishment, because of their iniquities. The same can as well happen, but poverty can be as well a trial to test strength, like Job who undergoes the suffering trial. However in real life God cannot carry the blame for one’s suffering. I there for even edge friends and colleagues to always find a way out through the identification of a talent or area of strength them work on that area and fight suffering.
“Study plan and think”: 208 this one of the essential quotations that I have found in the book. For one to learn how other people have prospered in their lives it is through an excessive visit to the literary shrines and read what the people have managed to achieve through their own histories and testimonies. Thinking is a process that allows an individual to surmise, consider, to reason and forming judgments about a certain aspect. It is through this process that people build their life or destroy it with what they think. To me the quotation from the book is a good one because the sequence of the aspects are good, if followed they produce a sounding output. The initial phase from the quotation is “Study”- studying includes reading and researching. Through such activities the people tend to know and see various definitions of life. Thinking and planning are two major aspects that produce the expected results. To me this quotation is relevant because all the big names of the world today did not become successful by any chance but through thinking and studying the principles of certain area and plan to engage in that field. To me planning means answering the question, HOW of which the next steps are characterized with actions.
“ If not met with PMA, can cause physical, moral and mental destruction in the power of sex”: 101 the quotation is one of the important one focusing on contemporary challenges that the world is faced with. The issue of sexuality is a pressing issue that needs to be well addressed and not to be touched in passing. The topic highlighted in the book has been an issue even during the biblical period. Yes the author of the book have managed to pick the problem area that hampers success but I think if there are other means of putting across this issue in a more transparent and holistic manner discussing it within the social obit and even through sharing information on the best ways of getting to know the best ways of preserving our moral standards through understanding the dangers of sexuality and casual sexuality and all the consequences that it offers to our spiritual lives and social lives. Many marriages have broken down because of this activity. Your course is widely read and I suggest we get a book that stresses so much on these issues because it is one such case that can easily block people to become successful in societies and the world. It is time to speak and share relevant and practical information about 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?
To me the ideas in the book are clear. I have found the book interesting because of the way it has been written and I really appreciated all the two scholars and their efforts of compiling the texts. Therefore the ideas in the book are so interesting and carry relevant ideas outlined clearly. To me the book and the content are not complicated at all.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
Yes it contains. The book is so motivational. It encouraged the reader to develop positive behavior and attitude towards success. However I did not come across formal written exercises, on page 24 the book says “they are blaming the world and circumstances, outside themselves for their failures” to me statements like these ones are more like an exercise because they take me to get into the stage of assessing and evaluating what my life has been for my past 24 years on the continent. I am now trying to strengthen my attitude towards building a positive mind. There are various quotations I have found interesting in the book.
Some of the lessons are costing the life itself. The output of the results and a pass to the success of doing these exercises would be shown out when l become successful with my life.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
1. How interesting was it to read? 10
2. How helpful were the contents? 10
3. How easy was it to understand? 10
4. Would you recommend it to others? 10
5. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Psycho-Cybernetics 2000
Assessment by Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
Maxwell Maltz (1993:218) argues that “Pyscho-Cybenetics is essentially about changing the habits – habits of belief, habits of attitude and habits of action – the procedures any two individuals may follow will closely parallel one another”. What I found to be the main idea in the book is centred on empowering a human mind as the quotation explains. The author explained about the ways the human brain functions. Hence the issue of building a positive mind as C.Stone and N. Hill (1963) stressed in their book “Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude” keep on recurring as it is mentioned in this literary text by M.Maltz and I consider it to be within the important main idea in the book.
With all the assistance that the text has, the main idea that is essentially important is the business/ personal orientation that the book offers to the readers. This is where the author talks of SMART goals. The best ways people can fully develop and realize their dream is mentioned on a high note. Summing up the major concept of the book, it is teaching the concepts on how to communicate with our brains to be successful in all aspects of life. That is what I found to be the main idea in the book.
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 roles of brains
The author differentiates the roles that are played by each side of the brain.eg. page 52, stresses on the roles the brains lead on everything that we pursue in life. This is important to me because I did not know all these things. What we were only taught are the five senses that human beings hold. It is always good to learn new concepts from different people. I always enjoy to be taught from people who are in different disciplines and I found this helpful.
Constructing Confidence
This is another concept I found to be among the important ones on my first seven ideas. According to Maxwell Maltz, one needs to be confident enough for him to move towards the realization of the goal, from the word SUCCESS. S- From page 13 means Self Confidence? John mentioned on page 33 becomes confident and “was able to change this image of himself and place himself on the road to success as he wanted” Confidence is the power force that pushes us to go for the hard offers, and assures ourselves that we will make it. On 08 July 2008, I managed to take a drivers licence and that has been necessitated with constructing self-confidence. I have been so happy about that, but during this session I had finished reading “Psycho-Cybernetics 2000 and I have been reading “The New Dynamics of Winning” by Denis Waitley. Combining the two texts I saw a possibility of achieving my goal at a first chance, as people we should not be afraid of success and I because of what the two scholars say managed to achieve my goal easily, however God was on my side this day.
Setting Goals
The book clearly states the difference between wishful thinking and goal setting. The book has this vital idea that I find to be an important one. The issue of goal setting is important to every person who wants to be successful. Some of the things that I come across I have been practicing them; I do appreciate the contents of the book and accept its teachings. The book to me is offering more and my focus become so biased towards business orientation and the basic principles of it. On page 170, Maxwell talks of “How to set Goals the SMART way” and this was of paramount importance, as it will show us the exact way we should realize everything that we really need in life. This was important to my life because I have things that I need in my life and the possible channels that would use to follow my dreams are outlined, and was so helpful because now I know the exact thing to do and the right channels to follow. One thing important on all things from the smart goal formula was that we should follow our goals one by one. Page 29 says, “When the conscious mind sets a goal, it eliminates all alternatives.” Page 89 says, “translate expanded awareness of your abilities into the attainment of specific goals.” To me the idea is more of offering public relations to life as a whole.
Stress Management
The issue of managing stress has been a distinctive element that I found in this book. How to react when one is stressed, and the best way of avoiding, problems and faults that one is faced with from time to time are important elements in the book. I am happy for the ideas that have been included by the author and I found the information so helpful. On page 97, Maxwell says, “learning to relax is a key step in becoming the person you want to be”. On page 149, on the herding written five “Red-Flag” Signals of Overstress” gives an insight of the sings of stress and below it are the positive ways to use when we want to resolve the problem. Stress is not a problem but it is sign of problems that one is faced with. I do appreciate the ideas that have been given by Maltz. Personally I had stress problems when I was doing my advanced level, and now I realize where the problems were emanating from, during that period I faced excessive stress its now four years back I was so adverse to the guidance and pressure of the reading material that i had. The idea is important to my life because now I can offer valuable assistance to friends and colleagues and will share information from experience. Thanks Maxwell Maltz for your willingness and effort of wanting to share some of your experiences with patients with others.
Focus oriented behaviour.
On page 38, there, is a summary of what sober behaviour is characterized with. Page 60 raises the argument “keep your conscious attention focused on your news self-image and keep on behaving as though you have already achieved it” as people we should always know what we need in life by always pressing for it. As people we need to always keep tracking our, dreams and keep focused to everything that we would be doing. Page 91; carry on that idea when it says, “don’t get discouraged if you fail to see immediate results”. To know the basics of focus you need other scholars like Maxwell who train you the way to do it.
Communicated relationship with others
It’s important to always communicate with each other and as people we share a lot though conversations that will necessitate sharing of information and experiences. Maxwell Maltz has communicated his experiences with people through a book, “P C 2000”. From all the conversations that he held with his patients and he is sharing all the experiences through this book and myself through analysing the book I am sharing it with other people my experiences through commenting the book and providing my personal experiences. Communication is done through interaction and in this case interaction can be in any form, like through reading other people’s ideas or physical interaction. I enjoyed social interaction with people from different cultural backgrounds because a lot is shared and learned through this process of communication and interaction.
Opportunity identification
Page 100 the idea that I found to be the important is the ability of an individual to be able to define and identify the opportunities to development. On page 100 there is a person named Dion who owned a seven day care centres, and she tried to think on the ways “to expand the concepts, to offer more than just the usual”. This is more of a good idea that all who endeavour to develop have to follow and as human beings who do have the brains we should always be in search of the gaps to penetrate in and develop ourselves. If we don’t use our brains to think about our future through scanning the environments to see what works and what did not work we will not be in a position to develop. The identification of an opportunity may start with a problem dominating the situation and the situation has to be changed into a context while the context can be translated into business terms. The example comes from Karen on page 101 she was being irritated by spending most of her time with the kids at home with almost nothing to do. It is through the situation that she identified an opportunity and ended starting a coop. The idea has been of much important to me as it taught me lessons of life.
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?
Setting the goals that are achievable one need to know how the other people have been doing it and it really helps to understand the situations that other people have undergo through and the experiences that they hold up until they have reached the climax point of development and success. In creating the better world it is no doubt that no one has any idea to transform the world but almost everything begins at a personal level and from the personal level then it could mean that the person can change the world through creating better channels and promoting fairness to each other. At personal level the ideas are of paramount important because the ideas are centred on the issues of communication and brain utilisation and avoiding stress through various means. If we all lean the does and don’ts and all that is followed to free ourselves from any factor that might derail us from reaching our goals. Through this way we can build a world of experts and the world can develop at any cost. Sharing as I understand is not centred on the materialistic commodities but can be ideas and information to each other. For example Maxwell Maltz has been so sincere to the world through his literature and this will transform the minds of many and builds a world of free souls and people who always use their brains to see things in the positive way. Hence the world is becoming smaller every day.
4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book, which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.
A) “measure success by your own standards”: Page 16. This is an important quotation as it forces an individual to rate the levels of success. The quotation forces people to understand things at personal level. The book is against the people with a depended syndrome. The text as I understand it is offering strong orientation to the people to be self reliant.
B) “the person is not inhibited; but that the person has ‘inhibited’ his own mechanism”:Page 113. People should device mechanisms that gear up success.
C) “when is life going to get better” Page 154. This is a challenging question and it forces every reader to define life. After passing this question, a question flashed in my mind “Does life undergo through stages” my say to this is that everyday we see a new day, we should treat it the best way we can and not wait for the future that we do not know that it holds.
D) “no pathis absolutely straight” Page 180. The main idea on the quotation is that we should accept all the things that happen in our lives to the extent of accepting all that are bad. Someone says if we do not accept the bad that happened to us then who do we want the bad things to happen to? All those things that happen are meant for us too.
E) “Plan your work before you work your plan” Page 230, is a good quotation, planning is essential in everything that we do. And the quotation draws my attention.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
Yes, there is one element in the book that did not come out well and this is from page 242 and 243. It is the issue of culture. Is the author saying people should learn and accept other people’s cultures or he is saying culture of people can oppress the people? Because the issue of cultures has a certain degree of political conflicts and I think it deserves an explanation. The Kenyan political crisis has roots from differences that existed from the two leaders who share different cultural backgrounds. Fighting for power was a result of sharing cultural differences. Many people died because of the situation, all was emanating from the area of culture. Can someone help me with a clear explanation for that because that is the area that I need to understand? However the book is not complicated to understand except that one issue.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all the exercises and did you find them helpful?
Yes the book does have exercises and I did fill in the questionnaires from the book. Yes they were so important to me but the book is too long. It is more of a science textbook so I found it impossible to run down the book and it consumed a lot of my time reading. The components in the book required to be well grasped and absorbed. It cannot be compared to the other two books from the first level.
7. Was there anything that you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so please comment.
Yes. I want to comment about the author and the book. A balanced book indeed, because it talks to everyone in terms of gender. The author was a doctor and he is a busy man but sacrificed to write a book. The people from various fields should write down what they come across in their fields and let the information circulate to other people, like what M Maltz has done with his book. A lot benefited from his book.
8. Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
1. How interesting was it to read? 10
2. How helpful were the contents? 10
3. How easy was it to understand? 9
4. Would you recommend it to others? 10
5. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
The New Dynamics Of Winning
Assessment by Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The book’s main idea dwells much on defining a champion. Hence from the introduction on page 13, Denis has the argument that, “being a champion means thinking like a champion.” That is what I found to be the book’s main idea.
2. What were the seven ideas which were 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) Mindset of a champion.
The book has a lot of its strength in influencing the readers to have a lot of focus and attention towards winning anything that they need to achieve. All this being achieved through the use of brains. The book tries to give an insight of the way champions thinks and therefore give the readers a chance to be winners in life because all those who are winners in life are just ordinary people just like everyone else. On the introduction part from the first sentence it has the question “what does it take to be a winner” this is a vital statement which is so inspirational and everyone has to draw attention to it and the real reason for this idea being one of my best ideas is because, myself I want to be a winner and the book has empowered my small brains and directed them to right channels that will lead me to personal development. Personal development needs a larger component of brain utilisation/mind over something.
B) Focus
Most successful Olympiads, come to fulfill their dreams, which is the thing that they trained for over a remarkable period. Phelps an American swimmer has broken the world record by winning eight gold medals in one Olympic competition held recently. I believe that all his achievements had come his way through him using his mind to focus on the winning side. On page 85 the author argues that “focus for a moment on the real meaning of the phrase, seeing is believing” focusing increases the chances of producing a desired outcome. That is why this is important idea to me. My desires of the outcomes are always positive.
C) Fear
Fear is the greatest obstruction that leads people to lose potential of what they can do. Fear inhibits people from reaching the peak in excellence. We as people need to take risks and it is through that way we experience life and achievements can be captured. From page 25, and page 26 stressed on the point that risk taking is actually a personal efforts towards attaining best results out of the challenging situations.
D) Endurance and patients
From page 117, we are told of Bill Toomey who started training four years before the Olympics started. It means that he trained well for the next Olympics while the other competitions where underway. It clearly reflects that Toomey was someone who was so persistent and was so patient to take such a long time preparing for the Olympics. These are the hard times and some are actually not capable of challenging the situation and found on top of it. Many people quit if situation gets tough but Toomey in spite of the setbacks he faced on the course of his training he continued with training. Toomey understood the importance of patience and hard work as he argued from page 118, he says “what appears soft and patient is really strong”. Some situations that we come across require us to be patient. This is a distinctive art of life. Lets be patient and endure some of the pains that we suffer. A hard time never kills.
E) Hard working and self-discipline
This is another crucial point that l found in the text. Although one might be excellent in one discipline and shows no respect to his leaders. The person end up losing respect from supporters hence the quotation “respect and trust for authority” clearly explained the role that respect should be extended to, however I appreciate this statement. Respecting authorities does not define those who occupy lower positions in society but to me it means appreciating and giving them a chance to demonstrate their ability of leadership. So in every aspect there is need to respect the leaders. However it is also the duty of the leaders as well to respect those they lead.
F) Relaxation
Page 91: There is a good recommendation for Dr Tutko who perfected relaxation techniques. This is an essential element that is needed for every performer. Fright and anxiety can cause failure although one had a capacity to be the victor. Deep breathing is one such technique of controlling fear that l learnt from this book. This was of much relevance to me because there are a lot of challenging times that I undergo through, one good example is when I go for the driving lessons tests, it was so challenging, but through relaxing l made a successful pass.
G) Success and victory
Page 18 “How will it take to succeed, hard work of course”. The reason why l take it to be among the seven ideas, it is because it provides an answer to the question that it asked.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
A better world would be better one if lead by those who really understand other people’s needs and the right direction to take on when going down towards success. All the seven ideas that are outlined above are of much relevance to me as they offer right channels to follow. They have been followed, by a different great sports people in the world. The examples and personal experiences of the winners that are offered in the book have been so inspirational and a learning curve to those who have a desire to learn. The text challenges not only the leaders in the world but ordinary people who have a desire to be good leaders in their societies. The channels of leadership are perfectly outlined in this book. If the ideas are practically put into use they will yield constructive results. To me I really welcome the ideas as they taught true lessons of life. On a daily bases we will lean to work up in the morning with a piece of mind that will ask us to see our destiny in the next, hour, week, month, year or four years from today.
4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.
Although some of the quotations are covered in the previous questions, l still feels to do justice to this assessment by extracting other quotations from the book and these are outlined below
Page 13 “what must you know to be a true champion”
This is a good quotation that l captured from the text and it provides an insight of all it takes to be a champion. The quotation invokes attention from the readers to know all that it takes to be a champion. Hence it draws attention to the readers and forces them to continue reading, but going one direction and force to extract main ideas on all that it takes to be a real champion. The quotation is complemented by the other on which is from the same page and it says “what does it take to be a winner?”
Page 140: “the people who read the most are the most successful, regardless of occupation”
This is an essential quotation from the book. It is through literary interaction that we learn the experiences and real life stories which the people from different sectors have encountered. It is through reading that we come across such ideas. However not all the people who read are successful. Some do read and are still not successful while others do not read but still successful. The crucial element that is behind this idea encourages the people to read.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No. I don’t have anything to disagree with in the book. This is a good and straightforward text.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the Exercises and did you find them helpful?
]
Yes it did contain exercises and they were so 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.
No.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Developing The Leaders Around You
Assessment by Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The book outlines the main idea on page 51-52 when Maxwell J.C says “Excellent people skills involve a genuine concern for others, the ability to understand people and the decision to make positive interaction with others a primary cornern…..A successful leader knows this”. The quotation provides a brief summary of the main ideas conveyed in this book. Therefore the main idea in the book is on developing other potential leaders to become leaders. The main idea learned from the text dwells much on teaching the in-depth secretes of leadership. That is what the assessor perceives as the main idea in the book.
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 life.
Importance of distributing power.
This is one of the seven important ideas in the book, “importance of distributing power”. It is essential to work with people around and avoid personal judgments. Potential leaders have the power to assist during trying times and difficult situations. Moses, a well known biblical figure, is one of the failures to realize potential in leadership by other people who were together with him during the exodus times from Egypt. As a result Moses had stresses in leading the Israelites. The idea becomes important because of the demands in leadership. It is so because most working with large numbers of people requires also utmost management and a buy in of ideas by different people. The distribution of power becomes important as it reduces stress and encourages innovation. Autocracy with its results in dictatorship is reduced. Conflicts between management and those managed are easily resolved whenever views of other people are considered. A result of a one men leadership brings with it a lot of cheating and at the same time promoting laziness by the subordinates.
Setting goals.
Any construction requires a foundation. Setting goals is a foundation or a pre-requisite for any intended and achievable task. Goals are like a blue print of the activities to be carried out. Goals map a direction and pre-determine destination. On page 95, a quotation “success never comes instantaneously.” reveals that there are steps which are followed on one’s way to success. Setting goals is one of the important steps. A road map to success has these: 1. setting goals 2. Organizing 3. Acting 4. Results (Success). Previous books covered in the course have strengthened the importance of this idea. Personally I have followed what the books talks of, on the importance of setting the goals. And what seems to be a general base for personal or organizational development in the book revolves on this idea.
Confidence
Confidence builds and develops the capacity and performance of people. It also increases self-esteem. Its results are of influencing others around. Confidence usually wipes away all negative thoughts which will instill fear on the eyes of many. On page 54, the author argues that confidence empowers. It gives strength. Therefore confidence is one of the seven important ideas to be uprooted from the book.
Planning
Planning is among my seven important ideas as well. The idea “planning” gives an individual time to review and organize hypothesis to be used in any intended work. Planning is not only important to personal growth but is also a correct way to follow when crafting any work. A harp-hazard and unplanned way of carrying out activities is like guess work. During the 2001 year when I was about to sit for my final GCE Ordinary level, I had plans to go for GCE Advanced Level. The only way I successfully managed my time was through working against the plan. As a result of planning I managed to realize my dream. In 2002 I enrolled for Advanced Level. This was only a success because I had planned for it. Planning as well involves goal setting. Personally I would view life as requiring proper planning for successful results. In this regard the idea will become essential. Commitment and dedication are highly embedded in planning. On page 116 it says “personal growth must be deliberate, planned and consistent”, this is one of the vital elements in leadership and personal development. More so Zig Ziglar on the same page “116” argues that “You were born to be a winner, but to be a winner you must plan to win and prepare to win”. The words made me see the idea an important one.
Communication
This is a deliberate move, were messages are shared or transmitted between two or more people, from point one to point two. Communication is essential in any setting or situation. It is essential to consider the idea important because of what it offers. It makes the expression of thoughts and ideas easy. The mind can be easily read out whenever there is this idea “communication”. On page 97 the author outlines that one of the critical problems in work place today is a lack of reciprocal understanding between the employer and the employee. Communication is at the centre of building a mutual understanding between two parties involved in the exchange of information. On page 57, the quotation, “never underestimate the importance of commutation.” Outline the importance of the idea.
Acceptance.
A good leader accepts and has the time to listen and reflect on other people’s ideas. An appreciative approach of dealing with people is of avoiding open criticism. Carrying pre-conceived thoughts about our subordinates sometimes results in losing important ideas and information that will develop organization. Accepting people, small or big with their ideas brings a positive change. To those who make errors, leaders should accept because errors are part of everyday life. This is one of important ideas from the book “Developing the Leaders Around You”.
Reward and appreciation.
A seventh idea obtained from the book. The obtained idea from the book hinges much on rewarding as a means of showing appreciation. Reward motivates and made a person continue performing duties. This is an essential move to those who will be rewarded. Reward shows honor and appreciation of the good work. The idea is an important one.
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?
Practically the ideas from other people or authors are so inspiring and if correctly used, assist in shaping our dreams. The ideas are a reflection by other peoples’ experiences in life. The way people shape life is usually through interaction and learning from other peoples’ experiences. The ideas from this book are so important and they assist in shaping the way I personally view life. In my daily life and academic wise I have been motivated to continue with my life the positive way.
4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.
There are a number of good quotations from the text, however below are the listed few ones among many that I have found to be brief and important.
On page 133, there is a quotation that got my attention. The quotation says “what we do for others make a lasting impact on our world”. This can be best said within the context of Second World War of the period around 1945, when the Hiroshima and Nagasaki was bombed. The effect of the bomb to this day has a lasting impact. Children with disabilities are still being born in the Middle East region. This is a result of what US soldiers of the period did to people in the Middle East region. If it was a positive move, investment could have been for the good as it brings with an everlasting impact and development.
On page 138 says “men died for their country because of the love they had for their fellow man” sacrifice is raveled by the move shown.
158 “A great leader does not treat problems as special” the quotation provides hope for those who face stumbling blocks in life. Good quotation in deed.
169 “why do some leaders fail to delegate effectively?” a good leader delegates activities and this gives a chance to subordinates to prove on power and potential.
184 “get to know your people and love and accept them you will have added value to their lives.” This is a good quote. People need to be well understood, for one to avoid criticism in their lives and that will give the people a chance to move and work with other difficult personalities.
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 book is easy to understand. I experienced no challenges in interpreting the contents in the book.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you find them helpful?
Personally I would view the contents of the book as the one that requires practical analyses of life itself. What the book teaches are exercises in their own right. The book requires a person to practically insert the views in real life situations.
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.
Not as yet.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
How interesting was it to read? 9
How helpful were the contents? 10
How easy was it to understand? 9
Would you recommend it others? 10
What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
The Winning Attitude
Assessment by Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The book is much on reaching and helping the readers to understand the concept of ATTITUDE. The book gives a clear definition of what it takes to have a positive attitude which helps the readers while living and interacting in their different spheres of life. The book explains clearly on the combinations which help in building up the attitude of a person. Page 20 gives a definition of the attitude. It states that “The attitude is an inward feeling expressed by behavior”. The ideas that are outlined in the book simply gear towards pressing for the people to change their attitudes and become better people who have a positive attitude towards life. The literary work also teaches on the Christian life and the way they should interact with God. This is what I have perceived to be the main ideas that the book is conveying.
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
The below outlined and explain elements consist of the seven ideas which I have seen as the most important ones.
* Attitude Makes Some & Breaks Others
The success and failures of people is grounded in their attitude. The idea which has just been thrown by the author is significant as it will go further in assisting us understand the truth and realities which attitude carries and determines in someone’s life. This idea has so much assisted the way I view life as it is giving clear biblical examples. By not allowing the attitude to break us, it is important to always have a good attitude regardless of the unpleasant situations which we face in life. Those who sow wind, they will reap, whirlwind. This idea is important to my life in the sense that, while I was doing my form one. I was a rascal. The mischief which I had came from the influence I received from friends and the people who was surrounding me. I then realized at the end of the term that I was surrounding myself with the people who were really badly affecting my development, in the academic cycles. My form one first term was horrible and I decided to change my attitude towards school work. Initially I thought it was a bad behavior but it is now that I realize, it was a bad attitude that I have. Success and failure is in the attitude that other people have. This reminds me of our first exam which we had during the first year first semester when we had just enrolled for the undergraduate studies. Some of the people after seeing the paper which we were supposed to seat for in 3 hours, other students walked out of the exam room within ten minutes, because they said we had not studied the things during the course of the semester. I realized that people had a negative attitude towards that exam. However some of us, set for it and passed it resoundingly. So really, attitude makes others while others are made to break by it.
* You Reap What You Sow
This idea has come to be amongst the seven important ones. Reaping what we have sown. Most people are reluctant in the field of sowing and they expect to reap. Galatians 6:7 is the reference point from the bible. Sowing entails, hard working, and preparedness and sharing of ideas. Positive results are an outcome. Those people who are un-willing to be in the field usually do not have anything to celebrate with others in the times of harvesting. My example in that I have include what I undergo through after completing my studies, in looking for employment, some people took most of their time looking for the people who connect them to employment but others spend most of their time applying. Those who apply, and cultivate and continue to weed on their cvs and seed more, reap more benefits than others who spend most of the times sleeping.
* Problems & Opportunities
Page 40 of the book simply advised on the issues of problems and opportunities. Quite a number of people when we are faced with the challenges, we don’t really foresee opportunities from the same problems, what tend to be the results of the problems is disaster or total destruction. It has come to my attention that the problems that we face in life really make us strong and there is every lesson and opportunity which lies in the same problems. On page 40, the author mentions that “Great leaders emerge when crises occur”. It is in this regard that while other people are on their exit ways in life, other will be striving to bring a positive change in their lives and the lives of those in societies. In the country, after the political crisis ravaged the nation of Zimbabwe, many people decided to run out of the country but others managed to establish businesses which are now being reverenced. A positive attitude brings with it, more benefits as that helps in the birth of many opportunities. Page 46 seals the idea by saying “wrong attitude in our lives will block the blessings of God and cause us to live below God’s potential for our lives”.
* Christian Attitude
Page 44 and 45 consist of important elements which assist in shaping our attitudes. In the Christian realms, the story of the prodigal son has been pinpointed as an important story. For Christians, Maxwell outlines that we should not live every bit of our lives like a prodigal son who thought that everything which he does was right. The right attitude entails that everything that we do should not be self-centered. Egoism is casted for a Christian attitude. Everything that we do should also consider the lives of other people. This is a positive attitude that really makes us respected as we interact with other people.
* Associations & Friendships
There is a clear quotation from the author which is found on page 76, it says “What you will become in five years will be determined by what you read and who you associate yourself with” a choice of making friends has a strong bearing on the things that we touch by the end of each year. Friendships and association can make us successful people in life or they can make us total failures. A very good example that has happened around me is that of a cousin who is experiencing a bad time in jail because he associated himself with bad friendship. This cousin of mine, was always staying at the village shops, and had teamed up with other guys who were alcoholics. One of the days, a break in was reported and most of the people rushed to beat the so said thief. The so-said thief was ruthlessly beaten up until he died. Amongst those who beat the person to death, is my cousin. A total number of the people who were reported to be awaiting trials before the court because of that act are 23. Last time I am told because of corruption levels, others managed to bribe the courts and get their relatives out but for those other ones who had no one to represent him, had to be punished for their actions, all this had emanated from bad friendships and association. Also, when someone associates with successful people he or she will always get insight and new ideas of approaching life and developing positively.
* Decision Making & Planning
The book shares an important idea in poor planning which results in many troubles. Planning is an important thing that should always guide us in our expedition processes and everything that we will be doing in various forms in life. There are four main components and the expectations which have been outlined and outlined in the decision making process. These are found on page 94. Page 103 says “winners don’t quite”. The planning part of the things that we do in life is that which includes stop surviving while they still breathe. This is justified by the statement on page 108 “we concur by continuing” and “The trouble with most people is that they quit before they start”. The way people make their decisions is determined by their attitude. If they can only plan to continue then the destiny of many could have been really so positive. I still remember very well during our ordinary level final term. Many people in our class had a negative attitude towards the mathematics subject. Many fellow students decided to quite/drop the subjects. Only those who decided to continue with the subject passed it well. Planning and the making of decisions are therefore very essential in the lives of many as we survive.
* Growth & Change
This is a very important idea which I have fished out from the book. The idea is on accepting change and development. The author on page 124 says “I have spent much time observing why and when people start resisting change” on page 125, he goes on to say “Change is essential for growth”. Change especially in the political divide in Africa is an important subject. Most of the revolutionary parties in the African continent have been in wars against the newly emerging parties in Africa. The governments are afraid of seeing change. Hence the seal of the idea can be summarized with the idea on page 125, when the author says “this whole process of conserving, criticizing and creating adds up to the one thing we fear: Change”. Change is important for growth. So it is important to have it.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily and personal life and in helping you create a better world?
I have already started revising my attitude. This book by Maxwell contains practical examples from life. As a Christian as well, the book is helping in shaping my Christian and religious life. The way we behave and interact with other people really help us in bringing up a good way of interacting with people in the society. Positive attitude is beneficial. Having a positive attitude brings with it more benefits. Attitude detects performance as outlined on page 16.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that practically got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
Page 27 “do you feel your world is treating you well?” The book wants to establish if we have a positive or good attitude towards life.
Page 31 “the most important single ingredient to the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people”: We are not supposed to be self-centered. Everything that we do, we should place other people at the center.
Page 39 “no society has ever developed tough men in the times of piece”: Regardless of the bad times, a positive attitude should always be with us and in us.
Page 40 “opportunities of life lie directly in our problem”: there is no need to blame the problems as they carry with them more opportunities.
Page 55 “many times marriage go through “deep waters” because of a mates attitude change”: the focus of everything that we do in life, should be more on the good side.
Page 80 “remember: others can stop you temporarily, but you are the only one who can do it permanently”: self determination and the power of our future directly lies in us and no one can stop us from doing what we are meant for in life.
Page 90 “what really matters is what happens in us, not to us!”; inward feelings are important than anything else happening outside.
Page 103 “to accept failure as final is to be finally a failure”: Failure should not be accepted in any way but rather it should make us strong to realize more life opportunities and realities.
Page 103 “winners don’t quite: Always persevere for a good result.
Page 120 “small people try to tear you down, but big people make you feel worthwhile”: if we are big people, we should always try to assist other people.
Page 143 “anything worthwhile is worth working for”: this is a clear quotation. Anything that we want in life is worth working for.
Page 145 “who we are today is the result of choices made yesterday”: making of choices in our lives determines our future.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with, and if so why?
All is absolutely clear
6. Did the book contain any exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
The book has important exercises which have helped me to review my attitude during the course of reading the book.
7. Is there you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? if so , please comment.
No
Please rate the following questions on a scale 1 to 10. Ten is good and 1 is poor.
a. How interesting was it to read? 10
b. How helpful were the contents? 9
c. How easy was it to understand? 10
d. Would you recommend it to others? 10
e. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
How To Win Friends & Influence People
Assessment by Simbarashe Mudhokwani (Zimbabwe)
1. What is the main idea that he author is trying to convey in the book?
The overall idea which the book conveys is hinged on offering training to the readers on the best survival means while interacting with other people from diverse cultural backgrounds. The book trains people to instill change while dealing with our families, business associates, school/college friends and every other human around us. A summation of this idea can be retrieved from page 16 where Dale Carnergie points out that “instead of condemning people, lets try to understand them……that’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism.” The book has an important element of training, teaching and mentoring the humans on the fundamental techniques of dealing with people. Overall that is what I can safely say is the main idea in the text “How to win friends and influence people”.
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.
The essential seven ideas retrieved from the texts can be read below.
Avoiding Criticism
This is one idea that I have found so interesting in the book. Statistics’ given by the author in the book is that 99% of the people don’t blame themselves for anything bad and this entails that when one is not self-examining they will shift the blame to someone else. Self-control and understand can only be archived after one has come to the realization of his own weaknesses, problems and faults. So this point is one of the important ones in this text. The book trains us to take time and criticize ourselves in the things that we do as people and to avoid finger pointing because of our failure and faults in life. Judging others and criticism brings disappointments and hatred between people but avoiding criticism creates friendship and a better world.
Understanding Things From A Friend’s Viewpoint
This is an essential idea that builds up friendship and lubricates the interaction of people from different areas. The more one views all elements from the view of the speaker and invoking more interest in the area and subjects of discussions, the more friendship is strengthened. On page 35 Henry Ford, pointed out that any success secrete lies in the ability to get other person’s point of view and seeing things from that persons angle. This is therefore an essential point that I have collected from the texts.
Creating Interest In Other People’s Lives
A great lesson which has just been drawn in this idea is that most people have interests in their own affairs and do not prioritize any work or the troubles which the whole world or small nations are facing today. An interest of creating a space for other people in our lives best help to create the space which will touch the lives of those who are disadvantaged in different societies, I can personally relate to this process through testifying on the ignorance that I had before working with children. After I had stayed home for a little beat, I just decided to join the two organizations as a volunteer and these organizations work with children, especially orphans and those other ones that are infected with HIV/AIDS. Initially I was promised to be paid after a shortly working for the organization, but what I saw of late touched me. Orphans rare in need of our help, they just feel appreciated if they have someone to talk to. Later on, I decided to help the organizations with proposal development and writing to look for funding so that the lives of children may transform and up to now I am still helping in proposal development so that the lives of childe can be changed. This interest in other people sometimes it comes in the negative form, but really it is essential and is needed.
Respecting Others Through Using Names
This is a unique idea that I have just retrieved from the book. Respecting is an essential element in the book which I have just seen to be among the seven most important ideas. If you would like to embarrass a friend or someone whom you have once known, just ask him his/her name, or to say who are you. It destroys relationships and you will also loose respect from the person to whom you will be relating to.
Avoiding Arguments
The book has one other important idea which has to be part of the seven ideas. The idea is of avoiding the arguments with anyone. Changing the mind of other people is an unchanging process that is really hard. Most of the arguments have an aftermath of wars and fights. This reference can be best given to most of the political debates in Africa. That is Zimbabwe, Egypt among many countries; serve to carry more case studies and examples. In Zimbabwe, the two political rivals caused the suffering of many innocent citizens because they were engaged in criticism. If the arguments were avoided many victims of violence in Egypt and the Ivory Coast, things could have been better. Arguments bring down development. This is really unnecessary. Business shuts down and all the industries production will stop. Just avoiding criticism solidifies relations and understanding between two conflicting partners.
Accepting Faults
The point of accepting a point that you may have played a role in any fault or you are wrong, best assist in working together to reverse any further effects of any damage. The telling of a person that he is wrong brings torments to the pointed out individual. This can be best accorded to the two political parties in Zimbabwe and Kenya. Certain side of the political part does not accept that it is wrong, always there is a finger pointing of faults to one political side. Accepting the faults help to crate new measures which best assist in resolving challenging issues.
Revealing Effectiveness Of Other People’s Work
Page 235 shows how relevant other people are while contributing to the work of the organizations/institution. Many people really need to accord the benefits to themselves and are not keen to show the importance of the people to whom they work with. A revelation of the effectiveness of the work done by other people best service to add strength to any organization and this has to be acknowledged. In most of the contexts, house maids and gardeners are not acknowledged of the essential work that they do in most firms and homes but rather left to do it in their hearts by themselves. These chores from these lowly perceived people in most societies require recognition even through the word of mouth.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily and personal life and in helping you create a better world?
These ideas help me to transform my personal life and that of others while working and interacting with people from various cultural backgrounds. A better world is created with people who have open minds and who really understand secretes of interaction with other people from any area in many nations.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that practically got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
Page 23 “there is nothing else that so kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms from superiors”: This is one true fact which de-motivates the creativity and work of the criticized person. This is an arrogant way of interacting with other people.
Page 27 “don’t be afraid of enemies who attack you. Be afraid of the friends who flatter you”. The greatest enemy is a friend rather than an enemy who one really knows that the person is your enemy.
Page 42 “the world is full of people who are grabbing and self seeking”. This is one quote which has moved my emotions. The world does not have extra feeling of remembering the weak and those in need. This has come to my realization after working voluntarily for a children’s organization. Children are in need of even the second had cloth and material but others just find it easy to through away those things, regardless of interacting and having in their roofs the needy.
Page 43 “some people go through college and learn to read Virgil and master the mysteries of calculus without ever discovering how their own minds function”.
Page 51 “but a dog makes his living by giving you nothing but love” the greatest lesson is that of giving out love. This is a true fact that we all learn from other animals which have been living with us for years.
Page 61 “ Publilius Syrus the Roman Philosopher says “ We are interested in others when they are interested in us”
Page 83 “listening is just as important in one’s life as in the world of business” Having the time to listen is just another important component that we really need and that is required in the communication processes.
Page 152 “every successful person likes to reminisce about his early struggles”. Our history as people should strengthen the vision that we have for the future. The people who have had terrible experiences in life find it hard to progress in life, but this usually brings a negative development to the same people. It is quite clear that everyone in society has a background and history. But this history, regardless of its nature, should strengthen the way we grow and interact with situations in our lives.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with, and if so why?
All is absolutely clear
6. Did the book contain any exercises for the reader to complete? If so , did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
The book did contain life exercises which are completed as one goes on and progresses with life.
7. Is there you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? if so , please comment.
The book talks much about the necessity of avoiding the arguments, but really at times it is so hard to avoid the arguments, when you want to win your idea you end up trapped in these arguments. In this instance I have learnt that we should always by all means try to avoid these debates and arguments. A reference of this idea can be obtained from Page 110.” There is only one way under high heaven to get the best of an argument- and that is to avoid it.
Please rate the following questions on a scale 1 to 10. Ten is good and 1 is poor.
a. How interesting was it to read? 9
b. How helpful were the contents? 9
c. How easy was it to understand? 10
d. Would you recommend it to others? 10
e. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9