Thompson Michael Ebi – Assessments – International Institute for Global Leadership

As A Man Thinketh

Assessmnent By: Thompson Michael Ebi

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

The main idea of the writer is that thought determines happenings. Whatsoever situation or circumstances a man faces is as a result of what he had conceived in his mind. in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. The power to make or mar one’s life is in the mind. Getting everything you want out of life through the power of your own thought, destiny can be determined by everyone through the power of thought. The mind is a powerful thing, and where the mind goes the feet will soon follow.

Thought attracts you to everything you need, your personal condition are the perfect reflection of your habitual thinking. Our thought morph into physical entities causing the universe to react in kind; you attract to your life whatever you give attention, energy and focus to. Thought makes one unlock the power hidden within the depths of your own mind and chart the course for your own destiny.

Your environment and financial condition are the perfect reflection of your habitual thinking; you are a living magnet, attracting what you want. Finding success is by accepting responsibility for the things that have occurred in our life, and these things occur as a result of our thought.

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 example from your life.

Thoughts and Dream:The foundation of success in destiny one will encounter lies not in ones physical body to overcome obstacle but of your mind to believe that a way lies around them; where there is a will, there is a way. Where the mind believes that there is a way for the body to achieve its heart desire, a way does exist. As a man thinketh so is he; a person who is emitting a positive vibes does attract positive result. I have always seen my future as if I have lived it already; this is the thought that has existed in me while growing up and want to pursue my destiny. Whatsoever that I have achieved so far is as a result of thoughts that I have had in my mind over the years; I have friends who never believed that they can be a graduate, this thought had stopped them from furthering their education. But this is not so for me as I am a graduate in spite of years of admission seeking into the university, the believe that I will be a graduate of the Institution of Higher learning.

Thoughts and the family. The people you loved are governed by what your thoughts are. Whatever is nursed in the mind sends out energy to the environment; like energy attract like (positive attract positive, so it’s negative. If one is vibrating positive energies and emotion which is controlled by thought, people will respond in kind. In order to achieve true serenity and harmony in one’s life and family, one must create an environment which is created from the mind. Being with someone who is happy in your family circle always radiated a glow which inspires happiness around them. By the same token, being with someone who is critical and unhappy always sends a negative vibe which seems to suck life and happiness out of those around them. When one thought is towards things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him. My younger brother was using hard drug which did affected him negatively. Anytime he is thought of and how deteriorating he was, sends a very negative vibe to the entire family, we were all sad and this really affects us negatively. My mother called us to a family meeting that we can’t “throw the baby away with the bath water”, this changed the thought we have towards him and did helped us in dealing with his problem and finding a lasting solution, and also helped us all in the family to achieved a positive mind set and serenity within the family circle.

Thoughts and relationship. In the process of attracting a significant other, one must be very specific when making a request regarding exactly what it is that one is looking for in a relationship. Your subconscious mind is going to be drawn to the subconscious mind of the other. What you wished in any relationship should be what your focus should be: focus should be on the values one wished and believe that you are going to find that paragon of virtues.

If one has the belief that a relationship with the person of your dream is beyond ones reach is going to result in you being absolutely correct. II did placed a request of the kind of a woman I wanted as a life partner, I was very specific when placing the request; a woman that is humble, caring, loving, kind at heart, good looking, understanding and brilliant. Paying attention to some external distraction made me go into some few relationships because I wanted it so quick, never waited for what I hoped for, but the reverse was the result I got, though they occupied my mind for some time, but it didn’t fit. Not until I was patient enough to allow the environment give me my kind of a woman, we met April 15th, 2004 and we are finally getting married 12th of November, 2011.

Thoughts and believing. Positive thinking occurs only on the conscious level, this is why positive thinking is not enough to put into attracting what one desired; it is necessary for belief to enter the subconscious as well. The mind operates in the conscious and sub conscious level. In order to get what your thought is all about is to believe in the positive thought no matter the time lag. Believing that what your mind conceived will be achieved. During my undergraduate years, Economics as a course scared so many student because it is quantitative in nature. When I got admission to study Economics, I had this positive thought towards myself that I am going to sail through the course. I graduated one of the best students, had a 2.1 (second class upper division). Another is when I went for a job interview at Nestle Foods, the Nigerian settings is that you have to know someone to get a job “the man know man thing”, so within me I had this notion that I am not going to be given the job because I don’t know anyone that works with the company, I got to the final stage of the exercise, I did lost the job because of the negative thought that had filled my thought at that time.

Thoughts and being patient. Thought interact with the universe, and the universe works at its own speed. Every action carries with it an equal and opposite reaction. People of today want something and want it now, confident have to be built, not mere testing if it is going to work or wanting it to meet your established time table. You have to sit and wait, and confident in the power of thought to bring to you the desired result. Patience is one of the greatest values a man needs to succeed in life as “slow and steady wins the race.”

Thoughts and Harmony. Thought determines harmony and peaceful life of a man; this is only possible if the limiting factor is removed. Why so much suffering in the world if people have the ability to determine event of their life?, the disbelief in their ability to change their life situation causes so many people to still remain in the continuous cycle of event. True harmony can only be achieve if positive vibe is sent out at all time, and a hundred percent confident is built on the ability to effect change. Self-control is strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power.

Thought and environment. What you see now is as a result of what u have been attracting to the point you are at present. What has occurred in one’s life to this date and what will happen later on is determined by you, whatever success or failure you have experienced have been the result of the energies your mind and bogy have released to the environment. it is not the conscious mind that controls life’s happening but the unconscious. One should be very mindful of what his thought is at all times, and the energies he releases to the environment because it affects what happens to us. Overcoming environmental obstacle is the key to achieving goals set by one. The outer world of circumstance shapes itself to the inner world of thought, and both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions are factors, which make for the ultimate good of the individual.

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 better word? If so, how?

Since I have gotten a better understanding of what thinking positive is all about and what impact it plays in the life of a man as he journeyed to greatness. I will have to think straight at all times about things that pertained to me. Will have to be patient while I placed my request, not just placing idle wishes, and also, my result should not be plotted against nature. That the power to attract all I wanted in life is within me- the power to command the glow of the sun, the fall of the rain, the tide and the winds direction- all towards me. Also the belief that the ability to change circumstances and make the world a better place is within me, to affect life and people around me; for thinking or dreaming does not bring out meaningful result, but believing in the power of positive thinking. For those who have changed things and make the world a better place do not dream alone, but believe in the possibility presented by these dreams. To becomes the luminous centre round which innumerable destinies revolve. In pursuing my career in my chosen field in life, I am confident that I will succeed. I have seen myself as been successful in my calling, relationship and networking, family, mental and mind and spiritual.

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

“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”

Because I have most a times blamed my present situation on circumstances not knowing that the present situation is a manifestation of my thought. For we do not attract what we want, but only reveals what we are.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?

Can you please help me out with the meaning of the highlighted sentences;

“So you will be what you will to be;

Let failure find its false content

In that poor word, ‘environment,’

But spirit scorns it, and is free.

“It masters time, it conquers space;

It cowers that boastful trickster, chance,

And bids the tyrant circumstance

Uncrown, and fill a servant’s place.

“The human Will, that force unseen,

The offspring of a deathless Soul,

Can hew a way to any goal,

Though walls of granite intervene.

“Be not impatient in delays

But wait as one who understands;

When spirit rises and commands

The gods are ready to obey.”

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.

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

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 was the content? 7
C. How easy was it to understand? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Assessment By: Thompson Michael Ebi

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

The main idea of the author is that man as a living creature can go the extra mile and achieve greater feat, one which no man has achieved. That those who go far in life do so because they motivate themselves and give life their best, regardless of how people feel about them, to be successful, they persevered. In life one shouldn’t accept the ordinary, but go for the extra-ordinary. Living a life of boredom, fear and anger are the reasons a man’s life is so short. We must be purpose driven; we must learn to be focus and understand the fact that life isn’t worth living until we find something that is worth dying for. Life is not a game that is won or lost but one that too often is not being played; we must learn how to play no matter what, and that the wonders that we seek are within us and also that there is more to life than eating, or fighting, or power. In life you don’t need faith to succeed; you need to understand what success is all about and also understand that the journey to greatness is like a game of golf ( as in life) ; it is the follow through that counts, just keep on keeping on, and that no one can ever make you feel average without you permitting it. Through hard work and diligence one can overcome ignorance, poverty and prejudice and make an impact on society in ways never before possible. We can lift ourselves out of ignorance and find ourselves as creature of excellence and intelligence and skill, and also understand that it breaks no law to be the best and be comfortable.

A. Burning Desire. Jonathan Livingstone seagull had a burning desire to fly; he understand that hoping and pecking in the suburb and finding comfort in crumbs as a others do is something he wasn’t settling for, he believe that the wings of wider span forage nearer the cloud and build their nest in remoter slope. That the opportunity to achieve a greater height in life is where he is at present; the best of now and here. Purpose in life must be definite, knowing what you want and where exactly you are heading to, work smarter and harder is one true key to success. During my undergraduate years I had this burning desire to do something no one had done before, a record no one had set in the history of my school. In 2005 a National Essay Competition was organized by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, I entered for it and came out the best, not in my school alone but among tertiary institution in the state and at the national level.

B. Building on Talent and strength. Recognizing ones innate ability and strength, and built on it is a key to achieving greater height in life. One shouldn’t underestimate the power of the gift that is within him, Work hard diligently, for the way to rise to the top is to improve on oneself. The only way to learn something thoroughly is by starting at the bottom. One shouldn’t ignore the ability he/ she have within. That was the strength Jonathan Seagull used in conquering all obstacle in his way to the top; he started from the bottom, mastering the skills one after the other and perfecting it. My mathematics was poor while growing up, when I wrote my final exam I failed mathematics which is one of the prerequisite for further studies. I had to work on my Mathematics skills by getting past questions and answer that spans a reasonable years, this helps me in passing my Mathematics in credit level.

C. Believing in you: To succeed in life one need to believe in his self. Jonathan Seagull believed in his self, he sees life as an opportunity and don’t intend wasting it: accomplishment in life is attained by one believing not in anyone but himself; the whole world may not have faith in what you do, all you need to succeed is believing, that was the difference, that was why Jonathan Seagull could achieved the feat he did, he didn’t see obstacle as a stoppage to his dream, he sees every obstacle as a step to the next level, a spring board to success. One have the freedom to be oneself, one true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way.

In passing Mathematics at the General Certificate of Examination, I did not only study, I believed that I can come out successful, that helped me in passing mathematics at credit level. During my undergraduate years, Economics as a course scared so many student because it is quantitative in nature. When I got admission to study Economics, I had this positive thought towards myself that I am going to sail through the course. I graduated one of the best students, made a 2.1 (second class upper division).

D. Resilience. Jonathan Seagull spent the whole day alone experimenting. So many a times the wind of discouragement had blown his way yet he kept rising and forging ahead. The pain, sorrow and desire that demand courage makes a man, for it isn’t life that matters, but the courage put into it. Courage is not the absence of fear but that there is something greater than fear. Jonathan Seagull was persistent in his doings and kept his head high. He did more than to exist, he lived. He did not only dream, he did all he could do to make the difference in spite of the discouragement, bouncing back to ones feet after a fall is what makes a man strong and a conqueror.

E. Beyond boundaries. Jonathan Livingstone does not retire to fate (to retire to fate is madness to him). He disregard their long held believe that his performance in flying has a limit (that one true nature lived is perfect as an unwritten number, that performance cannot be plotter in a chart). He believed that man is an unlimited being that has no ceilings: there is a place in man that can go the extraordinary. Freedom is the very nature of being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form.

F. Failure as a guide post. Failure in life should not be seen as a hitching post but a guide post to a man who want to accomplish something in life. As shadow proves that the Sun is shining, so is failure, a spring board to success to a persistent and hard working man, Jonathan seagull never sees failure as the end of its struggling, he forged ahead no matter the obstacle. One should only recognizes failure as one of the pathways to attainment; making all conditions serve him, and should think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully. I am graduate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria; I took the foundation exams and flunk financial accounting as a course, but this never stopped me from progressing as I planned to enter for the exam for the second time to move to the next level of the professional examination.

G. Someone opinion should not be your reality. Jonathan Seagull had the slogan in his head, I am capable; the reason he never bordered what others opinion of him was, he strived so hard to reject an old tradition by contradicting its practice. He was strong at heart and never gave up to side talk. In spite of his parents’ opinion and the entire Seagull family opinion of what he was doing as been wrong, he was determined. As an outcast.

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

The ideas learned will help me in defining vision- what one intend to be in life. It will help to be focus and purpose driven; aligning all forces (conflicting forces), managing change while identifying possessions and developing the potentials within. It will also help in the control of character which determines the success of competence and self concept- building of confidence level which determines assertiveness. In creating a better world, one has to show love in practice and see the real you, this will help in seeing the good in every one, and to help them see it in themselves.

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 Gull see farthest, which fly highest” In life, an achiever sees things differently from the way others see it. Just like the Eagle, the higher it goes the sharper the reflex. When you decide to see the good in you, you don’t only see yourself, you see the best in others and want to bring the best out of them.

“You don’t need faith to fly, you need to understand flying”. In order to achieve success, you don’t need to understand success alone but the keys to success. Jonathan Seagull he found out after much practice that single wingtip feather when moved in a fraction of an inch, gives a smooth sweeping curve at tremendous speed.

“Heaven is not a place; and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect.” in getting it right we need to overcome space by understanding that it is here that matters to achieving greater height, and also that overcoming time will bring us to now. That perfection is reached when space and time is being overcome.

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. Every paragraph and sentence in the book were understood, I have nothing to disagree with.

6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?

No exercises for the reader to complete.

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.

In achieving greater heights in life one needs to create an environment that is enabling even if such doesn’t exist.

Being timely-targets needs to be set and what time to achieve them.

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 was the content? 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? 9

Psycho-cybernetics

Assessment by Thompson Michael Ebi (Nigeria)

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

Psycho-cybernetics is the understanding of self image; the mental blue print of our self, it helps one to reveal man to himself. Also, the discovery of the real self can be the key to succeeding in life’s journey. It is the difference between freedom and the compulsion of conformity.

The blueprint of ourselves its there to the last detail even if we realize it or not. The self image is built up from our own beliefs, and that most of these beliefs are nursed unconsciously from our past experience; our success and failures, our humiliation and triumph and the way other people have reacted to us in time past.

That an idea once conceived about ourselves, it goes into the picture and becomes true. Man has a creative imagination in all he does; success mechanism can be directed by the use of imagination. Man, no matter how intelligently he had achieved, once his creative imagination is destroyed, he will not only suffer intellectual malnutrition and atrophy, but also suffers intellectual stagnation.

Man is the chief architect of his destiny and he acts to what he sees as true to himself and environments. The self-image sets the boundaries of individual accomplishment. It defines what you can and cannot do. Expand the self-image and you expand the “area of the possibilities.

Make pictures in the mind: The mind is a tool box; it is a place where the foundation of life is laid. By simply imagining what one wants in life, our actions; the way we acts and feels and performs are in accordance with what we imagine to be true about our self and the environment. Our nervous system cannot tell the difference between an ”imagined” experience and a “real” experience. In either case, it reacts automatically to information which you give to it from your forebrain. Also remember that your automatic mechanism does not reason about, nor question, the data you feed it. It merely processes it and reacts appropriately to it. It is very important that the automatic mechanism be given true facts concerning the environment. This is the job of conscious rational thought: to know the truth, to form correct evaluations, estimations

Purge the mind of false belief: A man is what he thinks of himself, the mind should only house what seems to be beneficial. The valuation or estimation of us goes a long way in determining what our achievements would be in life. Setting a sort of a standard keep us from moving further because the yardstick ones met makes us see ourselves as an achiever. The feat is achieved, which at the end is not, but because the programmed barometer tells us so, we agree to it and live with it. Our mind should be free from all thought that seems to put us where we are months after month, and year after year. All negative idea or limitation that has prevented us from expressing our full strength should be overcome. The power, the basic ability, to do these things was inherent in us all the time. Positive thinking cannot be used effectively when the old self is still inherent, the mind must be purged off the ”old man” and the garment of the ”new man”, the new self be put on.

Mistake is allowed; Mistake comes the making of a man, when a research work is been carried out, no matter how confident the researcher is (working within the confident interval), there is a critical region of a certain percentage for errors. Most discoveries in life came as a result of mistake. One should not be afraid of making mistake or better still ”temporary failures”, the negative feedback we get by making mistake help us in achieving the set target once we stay focused to it, that is, going forward, making mistakes and immediately correcting course. Skill learning of any kind is accomplished by trial and error, mentally correcting aim after a mistake is done until a successful performance is achieved. Errors, mistakes, failures were necessary steps to learning process; they were meant to be means to an end, not an end in themselves. Further learning, and then continued success is accomplished at the end, the mistake is then forgotten.

How it works. The creative mechanism should not be jam with too much concern on ”how” it works. We should not be too anxious of how it will carry out its job (whether it will work or not). It should be allowed to work rather than want to make it work. Once a picture is conceived, the creative mechanism should be trusted because it works beneath the level of consciousness. Its nature is to operate spontaneously according to present need. It comes into operation as you act and as you place a demand upon it by your action. Conscious rational thought selects the goal, gathers information, concludes, evaluates, estimates and starts the wheels in motion.

Think hard on them: Perhaps you see yourself as being unworthy of success, or you don’t deserve to have it. Your mind is filled with the belief that you are inferior to it because something always happen to cause you to miss out when success seems within your grasp. Behavior and feelings spring out from our belief, to root out the belief there must be a conscious effort by thinking hard and asking yourself the ”WHY” question; is there any rational for thinking in such a manner?, could it be that I am mistaken in this belief?, would I come to the same conclusion if it were to be someone else?, and if such a belief is not true why would I act as if it were true?. Such questions should be think hard upon; not just a passing feeling that won’t last. It has helped me in my personal life, though not the same question as the ones written above, but questions like why must I be a failure?, there is no job out there if you don’t have a God father?, happiness cannot be achieved except you have a lot of money?. As for me I am working and I have been successful in all I do. I am married and we are living happily amidst our income.

Strict attention to the task at hand: in life, as in golf, ”it is the follow through” that counts, and so it is in baseball, ”keep your eyes on the ball” is all that matters and nothing more. It is the job of one conscious mind to pay strict attention to the task at hand: to what one is doing and what is going on around the environment, the incoming messages will keep the automatic mechanism currently advised of the environment and makes it to spontaneously react. ” A wavering or a double standard man” is unstable in all his ways, when the mind is not fix on a certain goal, a task at hand, when he is distracted by external forces, the man takes whatsoever that come his way, and it is difficult for such a person to achieved anything life.

Doing more than one thing at a time made me lost focus while I was still in secondary school. I could remember vividly I was solving mathematical problems and was watching television simultaneously, I couldn’t grasp. When I decided to go to a primary school after the close of day, and concentration was on the mathematical problems, it was so easy for me to solve the problem.

Relaxation the key to discoveries: most of the discoveries in life were as a result of relaxation. Bertrand Russell said, for example, found that, if he have to write upon some rather difficult topic, the best plan is to think about it with very great intensity-the greatest intensity of which I am capable-for a few hours or days, and at the end of that time give orders, so to speak, that the work is to proceed underground. After some months I return consciously to the topic and find that the work has been done.

In my university days, solution to most of the difficult class room problems were gotten when I sat with friend under the mango tree in front of my departmental building discussing some other issues, at home talking with my girlfriend or walking on the road, the flash, as it come I will stop whatsoever discussion I was having pick a biro and a sheet of paper and start to write the solution, and if it happened on the road, I’ll go the side walk where I could find sand and do the writing with a stick on it. It was a lovely memory to behold.

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

The ideas learnt will help me in pursuing life more meaningfully. By thinking of consequences before acting, activities will be plan more carefully.

Faith, courage, interest, optimism, looking forward, bring us new life and more life; the absence of uselessness, a thing to accomplish, a thing to look forward to, a reason to live will make a man look younger than his age. Develop an enthusiasm for life, create a need for more life, and you will receive more life.

I believe that life itself is adaptive; that life is not just an end in itself, but a means to an end. Life is one of the “means” we are privileged to use in various ways to achieve important goals.

So as a person, I see life as a gift and don’t intend to waste any fraction of it.

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 age, not by years, but by events and our emotional reactions to them,” Dr. Arnold A. Hutschnecker.

“Experience has taught me to regard pessimism as a major symptom of early fossilization. It usually arrives with the first minor symptom of physical decline.” William Clarence Lieb

“I have found, for example, that, if I have to write upon some rather difficult topic, the best plan is to think about it with very great intensity-. the greatest intensity of which I am capable-for a few hours or days, and at the end of that time give orders, so to speak, that the work is to proceed underground. After some months I return consciously to the topic and find that the work has been done. Before I had discovered this technique, I used to spend the intervening months worrying because I was making no progress; I arrived at the solution none the sooner for this worry, and the intervening months were wasted, whereas now I can devote them to other pursuits. Bertrand Russell.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?

None that I disagree with.

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?

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.

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? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10

Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude

Assessment by Thompson Michael Ebi (Nigeria)

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

Its main idea is that man can achieve whatever he wishes to achieve as long as he is driven by positive mental attitude. That man is the chief maker of his fortunes and failures in life.

Irrespective of one’s age, one’s education and occupation one can attract wealth, but it all depend on what attitude drives one towards achieving the results so desired and deserved.

The invisible talisman has two amazing power: the power to attract wealth happiness, success and sound health and also has the power to repel those things that makes life worth living.

Our mind should be kept always on the things we want and off the things we do not want; this will create a picture for the future and a clear vision towards achieving it. If you know what you want you are more apt to recognizing it as soon as you see it.

We should start with a fewer advantage at our disposal and have a big goal at heart and go for it with the mind set of achieving it.

That greatness comes to those who have a burning desire to achieve high goals, and keep on trying no matter the fall, to go on, pressing onward to achieve what to them is seen as success.

Look for a place where life is in you: Man should see himself as an endless miner to the spirit man: he should explore to the place where life is in him, a place where the impossible becomes possible, and a place where the strength of a man is crude until it is refined. It can be achieved little by little, and employed moment by moment; it only takes determination and seeing the possibility in achieving it. In this place in a man lie the greatest wisdoms of long ago, the secrets to greatness, that one day through his findings man can make the world a better place.

Identifying oneself with an image of purpose at heart: Identifying oneself with an image of success can break a long constraint that had inhibit advancement in career, relationship and family, and also networking with people and life as a whole; it can help you make healthy decision that will make the world a better place for you and to serve others. An image is like a picture, the one you wish to be like. One should take time to identify himself with that picture he so wishes to achieve

Free your mind: Conscious act is the result of doing what we want to do, but one should try to find a balance between emotion and reasoning. There is noticeable tendency of some persons who are not properly educated and mature in their thinking and not very well adjusted emotionally to become fascinated with some certain things or happenings around his environment and this tend to affect happenings in one life. Imagination tends to threaten the sanity of the people if it runs rampant. An act of freeing the mind is the sure way of letting ideas flow easily.

Use autosuggestion: communicating the object desire to your subconscious mind through a positive mental attitude is a key to success. In all you do, in all your thought, the object desire should be communicated to the subconscious- this could be in the form of a habitual action; repetition of what we want, the mind should be kept on the things we want. Keep your mind on the things that you should and do want and off the things you shouldn’t and don’t want. This will make the mind focus only on those things that one wants and achieving it becomes easy.

Forming the habit of writing it down: Flashes of inspiration should be written down as soon as it comes from the subconscious to the conscious. The secret of hidden treasures comes most times as flashes. Using one creative ability is not just by thinking the thought, but by having a paper (a scrap note) and pencil where answers to the many questions that run your mind is being jotted down. Just like the many books we are reading that had been helping us in solving life’s problem are the jotted works of people from time past.

Could remember my Advance Mathematics lecturer, Dr. Okon Elkanem had a slogan then in class ” just write it down”, it did help me a great deal, for those written words are consulted to get solutions to problems.

Achieve one thing one week: concentration should be on a certain goal that had to be achieved. Most people fail in life not because they can’t succeed, but because they have too much to achieve with too little time, making them to lose focus. We should at least prioritise what it is we deem important to us, and achieving it should be done one after the other. Benjamin Franklin develops this habit by drawing up a chart and motivating himself towards achieving one after the other the 13 virtues in his chart

A time apart: Taking a time off doesn’t mean that one should take the whole day or maybe half of the day off, but taking time off from the disturbances of the day to do some reading and thinking. It is in the quiet that our best ideas come to us; we can achieve less by dashing around, our most efficient and effective self is achieve by thinking, reading the right book and planning. For through these aforementioned practices men of old had achieved goals speedily different than any other. In doing this, one should use two tools used by Thomas Edison, they are pencil and a piece of paper taking time off is a worthwhile venture.

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?

Each of the seven points stated above, that is, Looking for a place where life is, Identifying oneself with an image, Freeing the mind, Using autosuggestion method, the habit of writing it down, Achieving one thing one week and taking time off, all of these put together and turning on the invisible talisman will make a man the master of his fate and the captain of his soul.

And since one can control that which comes to him and that which he can get from the universe, he can then use the power in him to do that which will only benefit humanity and hence making the world a better place for all.

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.

‘Nothing is ever accomplished without work. If I leave you nothing else but the will to work, I will have left you the priceless gift: the joy of work”-Mary Kaiser to her son Henry J. Kaiser.

My dad used to tell us then that there was no substitute to work, he would say, don’t complain, just do what you have to do.

”Loving people and serving them is the greatest value in life”- Mary Kaiser.

Service to humanity, giving every bit of assistance one can to his fellow man is the priceless gift

”Go to work and stay on the job until you succeed no matter how much time is required.”- Henry Ford.

” If a man is right, his world will be right”. If a man that makes up the totality of men is doing what is right, then the world will be a better place.

”In all the history of the world there was never anyone else exactly like you, and in all the infinity of time to come, there will never be another.”-Amram Scheinfield.

”It’s wonderful to be in partnership with God”- LeTourneau.

‘Everyone has some creative ability, but most people haven’t learned to use it”- Alex Osborn.

‘Anything in life worth having was worth working for”- Andrew Carnegie.

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 ideas in the book were clear

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?

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