Nkemakolam Francisca – Assessments – International Institute for Global Leadership

As a Man Thinketh

Assessment by Nkemakolam Francisca (Nigeria)

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

In this book, the author, James Allen tried to make man understand that “He is a maker of Himself”. This does not mean that man created himself but that he is a determinant of what he becomes. His destiny is an open check in which he fills in the amount of money he wishes to withdraw. Life is a two way thing, garbage-in, garbage-out, meaning that what one put into his/her life and destiny is what he gets in return as his reward.

According to the author, a man is literally, what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. When a man notices his emptiness and seeks to be filled, he will be filled this is where the law of absolute comes in, which says, “he that seeketh findeth; and to him that that knocketh, it shall be opened. He also went ahead to say that what a man sow, that will he reap. When one sow a bad fruits or thought, he reaps bad fruits and if a man sows or invests good fruit or thought, he reaps good fruit or blessing. Nothing happens by chance; everything happens as a result of thought or calculated attempts.”

2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.

i. Act as the blossom of thought

This means that there is a thought behind every act, it confirms the quote from the Holy book which says that from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. From this book, am meant to understand that man is a maker of himself; this can be possible when men guide their thoughts to be only good thoughts. For my actions not to be negative, I will try as much as possible to make sure I don’t think evil, I will not hate anyone in my heart and I will make sure that I love everyone wholeheartedly.

ii. What you sow is what you reap; in all our personal lives, what we put into our destinies is what we reap in return.

What you sow is what you: Knowing that I will reap what I sow, I should be able and willing to sow good fruit at all cost and all times because this is the only determinant factor for me to reap good fruit. What I put into my life and destiny is what I will have in return, due to this, I have to put love, integrity and hard-work into my life and destiny to enable me reap good dividends.

iii. Pure thought

Pure thought which yields positive consequences; from this this book, “as a man thinketh” am meant to understand that when I think in a positive direction, my results will also come out in a positive direction. Out of the abundance of the heart or mind, the

mouth speaks, our actions and words are just the expressions of out thought. Even though action speaks louder than voice, they are all expressions of thoughts. Pure thoughts are deliberations of courage, self-reliance, energetic, gentle and forgiving thoughts which at the long run yield fruits of love, cleanliness, gentleness, pleasantness, prosperity and riches. You can make it, we all can make it.

iv. Impure thoughts

Impure thoughts which yield negative consequences; this means that negative thoughts also brings out negative results. Most times, the gin of our children will definitely depend on ours as their parents. Impure thoughts are negative thoughts and ideas that are capable of harming someone. Mind is the master-power that molds and makes, and man is mind, and evermore he takes the tool of thought, and shaping what he wills brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills. These are bad intentions behind every action we take; they can be in form of fear, doubt, indecision, weak, laziness, uncleanliness and dishonesty. These aforementioned thoughts are capable of causing destitution and disease, foulness and beggary, injury and persecution etc. For me to make my world a better and safe place, all these thoughts should not be found in me.

v. Objective oriented thought

This makes me understand that every of my ideas that is objective oriented will always yield fruitful results. There is a saying “that he who fail to plan, plan to fail.” Having an objective is one, and working towards achieving it is another thing. We all have where we are going, making up our mind to get there at all cost in other to meet our goal or objective, what should always occupy our mind is positive thoughts on how to achieve our aim.

vi. Serenity

This is the state of being serene, calm and calculated. When one is in a state free from anxiety and stress, the outcome of his or her action is always as expected. Serenity is the act of being calm, clear, quiet and still It is the calmness of mind, evenness of thought or temper; undisturbed state of mind, coolness and composure. It is also the absence of mental stress or anxiety. No one will want to stay with insane or anxious person, therefore being calm and calculative will attract good people and good things to one self just as the author said “self-control is strength, right thought is mastery, and calmness is power.”

vii. Nothing happens by chance

This means I have to work for whatever I want to become. Nothing happens by chance: People are fond of saying and making some comments like; he’s blessed, the man or woman is lucky, he has made it and we cannot reach him or get where he is or get to his level when they see a rich man. Nothing just happens, the wealthy/rich man worked hard and made sacrifices to be where he is today. The circumstances which a man encounters with sufferings are the result of his own mental in-harmony.

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

All these seven ideas and more that I have gotten from this book, when put into practice, I know and am sure they will help me grow in all aspects of my life.

Blessedness, not material possession is the measure of right thought, nothing happens by chance, opportunities comes when one is prepared. This world will be a better place if I have only good thoughts in me that will definitely bear and ring up good fruits, likewise everyone doing the same. As I want peace, love, orderliness, justice, harmony and serene environment, I have to give them in advance so that my environment will at the other hand reciprocate same to me. Taking responsibility of my actions will make me the better person I should be.

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.

Yes, there are some quotes in this book that got my attention, they are:

“Be cheerful; from this book, the author said that there is no physician like cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body; there is no comforter to compare with goodwill for dispersing the shadows of grief and shadows of grief and sorrow.”

This means that being cheerful goes a long way to heal the ailment of the body.

“Men are makers of themselves; this quote thought me that I am a maker of whatever I want to become, God has given us an open check being our destiny that whatever we put inside, we will be the ones to reap the rewards or dividend.”

“Man holds the key to all his situation; holding the means that he is

the decision-maker, he decides whether to be poor or rich, sick or healthy.”

“He that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, the door shall be

opened, ask and receive; Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected to with his being, if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul, this is where the law of absolute comes into place.”

For example, I lost a coin, I cannot sit at a place and the coin come looking for me, I will be the one to go and search after my lost coin.

“Peace be still; from the Advanced Oxford Dictionary, the word peace

may be seen as a state of quiet or tranquility, freedom from disturbance or agitation; calm; repose.”

It can also be seen as the absence of war or disputes.

“Let man cease from his sinful thoughts, and all the world will soften towards him, and be ready to help him. Law not confusion, is the dominating principle in the universe; justice not injustice, is the soul and substance of life. Righteousness, not corruption, is the molding and moving force in the spiritual government of the world.”

‘This is so, man has but to right himself to find that the universe is right. And during the process of putting himself right, he will find that as he alters his thoughts towards thins and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.”

“The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors: This is so because

out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Whatever one has in his/her heart or thought is what he acts out.”

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?

There is no idea in this book that I disagree with. Everything the author wrote about is very clear to me.

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

The book did not contain any exercise 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.

No, there was nothing I read that was not covered.

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 Nkemakolam Francisca (Nigeria)

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

The main idea I see in this book is seeing and turning limitations into possibilities. Having a mindset of a winner, conquering the present situations or conditions to attain greater heights not minding the laid down principles or rules, or even how other people have been doing it before you came. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a story reminding us about the history of a pilot, whose environmental factors almost hindered him from attaining and achieving his dream. Jonathan Livingston was a Seagull who grew up like other seagulls but became uncomfortable with their common goal of eating. Jonathan set up a pace that other gulls followed. He broke a law that has not been tampered with in ten years.

Throughout the stay of these gulls in that continent, they do not fly, all they did was to look for their food on the level land and the sea shore, eat and get their rest. Jon had the urge in him to fly and he looked for every possible way to achieve it, his parents and kinsmen were against him and his new found idea of discovery, when he eventually flew, he was made an outcast from his people, this frustration also did not make him stop his ambition because he loved to fly.

Coming from this part of the world (Africa), there are so many customs, beliefs and norms that had hindered so many people from attaining greater heights they dreamt of. For example, in the olden days parents were forced to kill or to throw away their children especially twins because it was believed to be a taboo or evil and that it brings curses to the inhabitants of the land. Through his act, talents and great lives were wasted in the name of doing what the tradition or custom said. Also, the author of this book made us to understand that practice makes one perfect; it is one thing to have an idea while it is another to practice towards perfection. To Jonathan, the subject was speed, he set a world speed record for all the seagulls, according the author, in a week’s practice, he learned more about speed than the fastest gull alive. From a thousand feet, flapping his wings as hard as he could, he pushed over into a blazing steep dive toward the waves, and learned why seagulls don’t make blazing steep pewer-dives. In just six seconds he was moving seventy miles per hour, the speed at which one’s wing goes unstable on the upstroke. So many times he fell and sank in water because he did not have a short wing or a falcon’s short wings, but all these did not stop him

The seven ideas which were personally important to me from this book are:

i. Practice makes perfect

Nobody is born with riches even though some people may be born into wealthy families; they still need to learn and work hard to earn or maintain the wealth. I have learnt so many things and that is what brought me to where I am today. Perfection only comes through learning.

ii. Turning impossibilities into possibilities

According to the author, “Seagulls, as you know, never falter, never stall. To stall in the air is for them disgrace and it is dishonor.” Not minding this, Jonathan Seagull was able to pursue his kind of thinking which was not a way to make himself popular with other birds. Even with the short wings, he was able to fly thousands of miles above the sea level.

iii. Surviving in a difficult situation or condition

When he (Jonathan) eventually went after and got what he needed, he was made an outcast from his kinsmen, he did not stop there or allowed the situation to kill him, although he felt bad at the first time when he taught he would have been honored but was treated otherwise.

iv. Training others or impacting knowledge

Jonathan did not say or decide to keep the new knowledge he found to himself but shared it with as many as were interested to learn. He taught other gulls that shared the same idea with him on how to fly.

v. Forgiveness

Jonathan forgave his parents and his kinsmen too. Starting from his father who advised him to go after food and learn more tactics of getting it instead of his new found idea of flying to his own people who made him stand at the center for shame and also made him an outcast.

vi. Determination

Jonathan did not care to be bone and feathers, according to his reply to his mother, he said “I don’t mind being bone and feathers mom, I just want to know what I can do in the air and what I can’t, that’s all. I just want to know.” So many discouragements came to Jonathan but he was able to overcome them because he was determined and focused, believing he could make it.

vii. Food is not everything

So many people today can sell their birthright because of food, feeding ones stomach at the moment in which he/she will still get hungry another time.

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

The above itemized ideas are of most personal importance to me in the following ways:

Practice makes perfect; from all I have been through, I’ve learned that continuous practice makes one perfect. If you don’t learn what you don’t know, you will remain in ignorance that is why one has to learn. The little I am today came through learning, and am still ready to learn more to make my world a better place.

Turning impossibilities into possibilities: so many things or ideas seem impossible in the world today, if a seagull who never falter nor stall in the air which is to them a disgrace can fly altitudes above the sea level, to me it means that no matter what my fear are, I can overcome them.

Surviving a difficult condition or situation: There are so many situations today that seem impossible, one of the lessons from this book is that no condition is permanent or cannot be survived. With war, insurgency, famine, drought, earthquake etc, everywhere in the world today, knowing that when there is life, there will always be hope, we will survive the situations so far we are not dead. In some countries in Africa today where some superstitious beliefs are still being practice, people thrown into evil forests still survive so far they did not die and live to fulfill their destinies.

Training others or impacting knowledge: There is an adage that says that wisdom or knowledge is like a tick forest in which one cannot know it all. I am trained to train others and I believe that when I train or educate others, I acquire more knowledge to add more value to my since no knowledge is a waste. Moreover, in the world today people lavish in ignorance and lack of understanding, since such people need others to teach them, if we all can join hands to share our knowledge of peace, our world would be a better place.

Forgiveness: From this book, am meant to understand that boredom, fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short. This is likewise in us human beings where one holds another person in his heart with so much anger without the other person knowing. Forgiveness is the key to prosperity and progressiveness. Looking into Jonathan Livingston’s life where he forgave his parents and his kinsmen and was ready to come home and teach other gulls that were ready to learn. Personally, if am able to forgive those that have hurt me in the past and do away with grudges, this world will be a better place for all where there will be peace and justice.

Determination: This is the key to success as all the great men and women in the world today have one story or the other to tell us showing that they did not just wake up and became rich, they went through a gradual process which was easy and possible because they were determined. Jonathan was able to fly because he was determined not giving up to advices and considering the law of the gulls. He was not also ashamed to pursue his dream in which it later became a reality.

Food is not everything: Like I said before, people do not mind selling their birth right in exchange for food. Is better I let food go to get what I want.

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.

Yes, there are quotes and sentences that the author used that caught my attention and are of personal interest to me, they are:

“The subject was speed; this meant so much to Jonathan and he was

able to get to his goal because he was determined.”

“One who has touched excellence in his learning has no need of that

kind of promise; due to the challenges Jon faced as a seagull, at a point in his life he thought he was a fool for dreaming to fly but later remembered that he had touched excellence and did not need to call himself a fool.”

“One school is finished and the time has come for another to begin, this thought came when Jonathan was made an outcast from his people, when he flew away not knowing the direction he was going, he was joined by other seagull who introduced themselves as his brothers that have come to take him home. This means that there is no limit to learning, it is a continuous process.”

“Learn nothing and the next world is as same as this world; we all to learn new ideas and methods of doing things or business to make our next world a better place.”

“Heaven is being perfect; apart from this quote in this book, the holy book (the Bible) made me to understand that heaven is actually a perfect place meant for perfect people without spot. So talking about heaven here, we are talking about attaining perfection.”

“Keep working on love; love is the only binding power that keeps the

world together as one body or entity.”

So for me to attain the height of having one world with one mind, I must show love wherever I am.

“The only true law is that which leads to freedom; this is just true because all the customs that hinder people from doing the right thing or living their rightful life should not exist.”