Charles Kabera – Assessments – International Institute for Global Leadership

As Man Thinketh
Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The author conveys the idea that a person’s way of thinking influences his life. In his book, the author makes it clear that as one thinks, that person’s thoughts will have an impact on his life and can even affect his body and health. This means that people must have visions and missions in their minds to guide their lives. In his book, the author encourages readers to have positive and good thoughts which will in turn have a positive influence on their ways of living. In summary, the author tries to convey the idea that man will achieve what he thinks or what he has in his minds.

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

The following are the main ideas in the book that were the most important
to me:

a. Thoughts shape the character of an individual

Here, the author is trying to show that when one thinks, the thoughts of that person will influence his character. The Author is trying to encourage the reader to take care and direct his thoughts because bad thoughts can ruin his life and character.

On my side, this idea is important in that I can make judgement of my thoughts and direct them by avoiding bad thinking because I have learnt that the bad thoughts can affect my life and character. In turn my character can affect those around me.

b. You must nurture a garden to watch it grow.

This means that our thoughts should be likened to a garden which must be taken care of in order for it to grow. If we do not take care of what we feed in our minds we will have bad harvest which is poor health, bad character, failure in life,….I have witnessed people in Rwanda who suffer from trauma after 1994 Genocide to the extent that they are hospitalised! However, when these people are encouraged to develop good and positive thinking, the trauma goes away and they live a good life despite what they experienced in the past. The author goes on to say that He who has conquered weakness and has pushed away all selfish thoughts belongs neither to oppressor nor oppressed. He is free. This teaches us that hatred is just burdening oneself. This has taught me a lesson on how to live in harmony with those who have done harm to me and this gives me a peace of mind as opposed to the past where I thought of applying “ a tooth for a tooth, and eye for an eye” principle.

c. Suffering is always the effect of wrong thoughts in some direction.

The above thought is very important because when one develops bad thoughts, this will lead to suffering. For example I once suffered from a lot of diseases when I was still young and studying far away from my homeland because I always kept thinking of my family which was far away from me.

d. Thought and Purpose

The thought and the purpose is the vision and mission an individual or organisation develops. This guides that person or organisation to achieve the set goals and objectives. It provides direction for individuals and organization. This suggests that a person or organisation should set the mission and vision to assist in accomplishing the set goals and objectives. In order for a person to keep in line with his goals, he must have good thoughts to enrich purposes and prevent him from deviations. Whatever the case may be, when one keeps focused which clear minds on the purpose, he has to accomplish his objective(when this objective is a good one).

e. Keep your hands firmly upon the helm of thought

This means that we should always stick to our thoughts and have a direction. However this does not suggest that we should not have adjustments for a better direction. When we do have direction in our thoughts then it would be all, which we need to be on the right path in life. When we do no have a direction this will be like a person moving in darkness and our lives may be at risk of failure.

f. Thought with vision and ideals

The author says one should appreciate ones visions ideals and passions because they will form in ones mind and bring purity in thoughts, conditions and the world will be built around them if one remains true to them.

This idea has shown me that keeping focus on my desires, visions and ideals will help me groom my thoughts into lawful ones. It has encouraged me to have big dreams and cherish them because dreams are seedlings of reality and that the greatest achievement was at first a dream.

g. Thought and serenity

The author explains that “calmness of the mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom, result of long and patient effort in self control”. That as a result of thought, one becomes calm and gets the right point of view and studies situations more clearly and ceases to dispute, complain, be troubled, lament, but remains composed firm and calm.

This idea is important to me because it has shown me that I should be calm and learn how to govern my thoughts and know how to adjust around other people. In this manner I will be able to get respect from people and also become a source of inspiration to others.

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

The ideas in this book will help me to change completely my way of thinking and I believe this will have a tremendous effect on my life and my health. My character will also change and I will also change for the better the society in which I am living. As the proverb goes that Practice makes perfect, I am going to keep practicing the above these ideas and I believe they will have a perfect impact on my live. I am going to develop my vision and stick it on my desk. I will direct my minds towards 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.

There are many quotes that the author made and got my attention. There are so many that one can not cite them all. Some of them are listed below:

a. “Man is a growth by law, and not a creation by artifice, and cause and effect are as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things”. The Author puts the idea forward that we are responsible for every choice that we make. Each of these choices have consequences attendant to.

When he begins to reflect upon his condition and search diligently for the law upon which his being is established, he then becomes the wise master, directing his energies with intelligence and fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues.

b. “Measure success by your own standards”:

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.

c. “…that man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.”

The above statement suggests that man has destiny in his own hands. If he can master his thoughts and give them a good direction, he can have a good end and he can develop his environment and a society in which he lives. One has to take personal responsibility for his own life.

d. “A perfect love, seeing the suffering which both states entail, condemns neither; a perfect compassion embraces both oppressor and oppressed. He who has conquered weakness and has pushed away all selfish thoughts belongs neither to oppressor nor oppressed. He is free.’’

This teaches us that hatred is just burdening oneself. According to my own experience, I have learnt to love even those who hate me. This has given me a peace of mind and those who hate me sometimes turn into my good friend when they learn that their hating me does not affect me.

e. “A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped. And even then the weak man must become strong of himself. He must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another. None but himself can alter his condition”.

This quote was very important to me because it is similar a proverb in our country which states that “ Imana ifasha uwifashije” meaning that “Even God helps those who help themselves.” This means that we have to help ourselves before we seek assistance from other people.

f. “Strong pure, and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace. The body is a delicate and plastic instrument, which responds readily to the thoughts by which it is impressed, and habits of thought will produce their own effects, good or bad, upon it”

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, everything in the book was understandable.

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 had an exercise of adopting rightful thinking and noting the difference it has on ourselves, others and on my circumstances. Also learning to adjust myself around other people and becoming serene. I found the above exercises have been very helpful in a practical way. I will practice these exercises and they will change my way of living and living with others. I will also teach others the same exercises.

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

No there is nothing that I would like to comment about.

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

A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull
Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The author tries to convey the idea that the more one keeps on trying, he will succeed one time and that it is important to practice- “Practice makes perfect.”

a. Time Management

“It was morning, and the new sun sparkled gold across the ripples of a gentle sea.” The author starts his book with the above statement for a purpose. This suggests that for making a perfect work you have to start early. In my own experience, I used to have a friend whom we worked together. He used to come to work a bit late. When it was time to go home, he could beg us to stay a bit and do some more work. I always wondered why he should not come at work early and accomplish his tasks. There is a proverb that “an early bird catches the worm.”

b. Hardworking

“For most gulls it is not flying that matters but eating” This means that people tend to like enjoying and living simple life rather than working hard in order to achieve success”.

For my personal experience, I used to like living soft life but later I changed my minds. For example, during my forties I started studying law in one of our Universities in Rwanda. This was a very hard task as I studied in a language that I could not master (French). This used to study at night because I hard to study while working.

This book it is stated that Seagulls never fly in the dark. This shows how sometimes beliefs can be a barrier to development and success. My personal experience is that in most case in our culture women were forbidden and restricted from carrying out different activities but those barriers have been removed and women have proved to be successful in life. For example, it was a common belief that women do not study sciences at school. Sciences were mainly for men and women used to study arts. But now women have proved to be good scientists.

c. Perfection

“Heaven is being perfect”. This means that when you are perfect, you will already have achieved heaven. If one is not perfect he will always live in misery which I can equate to hell.

We are free to go where we wish and be where we are. This means that none is supposed to limit one’s success. Helping others, Jonathan Seagull tried to help his fellow seagull to learn to fly. This can remind me when I was at the University, I used to teach weaker students. This was an advantage to me because I could master the subject better as I was in the process of teaching.

d. We should not be discouraged by obstacles in life

“But victory was short-lived. The instant he began his pullout, the instant he changed the angle of his wings, he snapped into that same terrible uncontrolled disaster”. This statement is important because it teaches us that sometimes there are obstacles and difficulties it order for one to achieve his goal. However we are encouraged no to give up and keep trying. This reminds me of a proverb that “there is no gain without
pain.”

e. Fighting discouragement

“… a strange hollow voice sounded within him. There’s no way around it…. I must forget this foolishness”. The author conveys the message that our inner thoughts can discourage us and limit our success. We have to overcome this. If Jonathan had accepted the advice of this inner voice, he could have left his practices and completely failed. My own experience is when I was about to leave my studies because of financial constraints as it was difficult for me to get the basic necessities. However, I persistent with these hardships and I was later successful.

f. Caring for others

“His one sorrow was not solitude, it was that other gulls refused to believe the glory of flight that awaited them; they refused to open their eyes and see”. This statement teaches us that we should not be selfish. We should always care for the society in which we live.

g. Effect of fear anger and boredom

“…boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short, and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long and fine life indeed”. This statement teaches us that we should get rid of fear anger and boredom in order to live long. As we will have a ‘healthy mind’ we will as well have a healthy body and then live longer.

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

These lessons will help me in many ways. I have learnt that I have to have confidence in myself. From the experience of Jonathan, I will keep practising in order to learn a skill because practice makes perfect. I will also manage my time because time wasted is never recovered and “time is money.”

Finally, I have learnt a lot from this book, the most important is to always remain focussed, no matter problems and obstacles that come my way. Then secondly to always be ready to learn more either on what I believe or my unbelief. Jonathan may be right for discovering more of himself, what if he is wrong? And people near him try to put him on the right track. Jonathan embraced simplicity that was why he was sure he was not making a mistake. Then thirdly to always ready to impact any knowledge we learned or search for to other people that are ready to be impacted this knowledge.

I found most helpful, the idea that any thing one is doing, somewhere, somehow, sometime, we will meet people that has similar dream, minds or thinking, because there is no how one will be encouraged unless, one discourages him. We are not and will not be left in the dark but similar minds and dream will always come together.

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.

a. “…it is not flying that matters but eating…..it was not eating that matters but flying”

This statement was important to because it reminded me the importance of hard working. It suggests that one has to work hard and enjoy the fruits is his hard working in the long run.

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

The above assertion is important to in that it teaches us that learning is more important than eating. This implies that one can get what to eat after a acquiring a given skill.

c. “…you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived

This quote is important in that it teaches us that when we start a project we must have confidence that we have to accomplish it successfully. If we start to doubt that means that we will have already failed.

d. “Keep working on love”

This quote teaches us have love in whatever we try to achieve. If one does not have love he cannot succeed in life. He will always fail. For example if one love of teaching others a skill, that is when he will learn more as he will be learning more as he teaches others. And the more Jonathan practised his kindness lessons, and the more he worked to know the nature of love, the more he wanted to go back to Earth

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 nothing I do not understand. Everything is clear in the book

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

The book did not have any exercise.

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

I can comment that the book is excellent to read. It is written in simple
and understandable English. I recommend it to other leaders.

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

Keys To Success
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The book Napoleon Hill’s “Keys to Success” tries to explicate how to construct a master mind alliance with oneself and other people around you. The book goes further to teach us how the Mastermind Alliance can help us to succeed in life.

The book provides us with the positive attitude that we should develop and negative attitudes that we should eradicate. The book tells us that the negative attitudes and behaviors lead to failure while the positive attitudes and behaviors lead to success. The author clearly informs us that our success lies in our own hands. We have nobody to blame for our failures.

The author provides the Seventeen principles of personal achievement and teaches us how we can use these principles to attain success in our lives provided we use them in a positive way.

This book has been specifically written to say that for life to be meaningful it has to have a purpose, direction or goal this in turn develop one’s character, from being self reliant, ability to take personal initiative, enthusiasm, being self disciplined and concentrated effort.

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

a. Definiteness of Purpose

This idea teaches us that in order to succeed in life, one must have a defined goal and objective. Knowing what we want is the first and perhaps the most important step towards the development of persistence. A strong motive forces us to surmount many difficulties. Without a definiteness of purpose plan one cannot expect to live a successful life. This idea has helped me to set goals and stick to them. Even though I have not gone further I have started realizing positive changes in my life.

The idea that definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement is very important because to achieve any goal, it has to be clearly defined and visualized. Before embarking on a road toward success, one must know the destination and the purpose of the journey. The idea of
the author that definiteness of purpose develops self-reliance, personal initiative, imagination, enthusiasm, self discipline and concentrated effort was quite inspiring. In fact, once these characteristics are developed, nothing can stop the progress toward achievement.

b. The Idea of Mastermind Principle

There is a proverb that two heads are better than one. The Mastermind principle teaches us that when more than one mind are put together they will work better than one mind. The alliance of minds is built of two or more minds works enthusiastically collectively in perfect harmony toward a common definite object.

c. Learning from Defeat

“Keys to Success” has taught me that Every Failure or defeat brings with it a seed of success. However in order to achieve the success, we need not to be discouraged by temporary defeats. We have learnt from this book that almost all successful men described by the author did meet defeat at one time or the other. However, they kept on trying and trying and they eventually succeeded. There is an English adage that “Patience Pays”

Defeat should be accepted merely as a test which permits us to discover the nature of our thought and their relation to our definite major purpose. Knowing this modifies our reaction to hard times and keeps us striving toward our goal. Defeat is never the same as failure unless and
until has been accepted.

d. Replacing Fear with Faith

Faith is your awareness of belief in and harmonizing with the universal power. One should not simply have faith, he/she must use it in his/her daily life as a state of mind must use it in any achievement and success. Active faith is the process of relating yourself to the vital forces of the world, which I call infinite intelligence.

If we fill our minds with FEAR accompanied by doubt and unbelief in our ability to connect with and use the forces of infinite intelligence, the law of autosuggestion will take this spirit of unbelief and use it as a pattern by which our subconscious mind will translate it into its physical equivalent. Our mind should become sold on success and refuse to accept the possibility of failure

Faith is the only agency which will give our thoughts a spiritual nature.
Faith and Fear make poor bedfellows. When one is found, the other cannot exist.

Applied faith is the dynamo of the science of personal achievement the source of the energy to put your thoughts into action.

We should close the door of fear behind us, and we will quickly see the door of faith open before us.

e. The Principle of Control Attention

Making a decision to focus on something makes one to direct his attention thus the act of coordinating all the faculties of the mind and directing their combined power to a given end leads to control attention. If we turn to specialize on a single domain, this will increase our chances of
focusing our attention on that particular domain- here again concentration of our definite major purpose to one direction is vital. That is deciding on what one wants, creating a plan for it, strictly following the plan with faith, thought, positive mental attitude going the extra mile and the mastermind alliance just to name a few will not let you down.

f. Creating opportunity

It should be noted that there are opportunities around us but we are not aware of those opportunities due to shortage of imagination. The only limits we recognize are those within our own minds. Anyone who says that there is no opportunity is simply issuing an alibi for his or her own unwillingness to assume responsibility and use imagination.

g. Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination is a habit of putting off until tomorrow which should have been done last year. This is one of the most common causes of failure. “Old man Procrastination” stands within the shadow of every human being, waiting for his opportunity to spoil one. For instance, I have been
delaying in achieving my goals because of not acting immediately. This sometimes leads to missing available opportunities.

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, why?

The ideas in “Keys to Success” will help me with a perfect system of self analysis which will assist me to know what has been standing between me and the success during my past years. I will learn to spend more time analyzing my weaknesses and less time building alibis to cover them.

I will realize that all the riches and all the material goods that I acquire through my efforts begin with me having a clear, concise picture of what I seek. I will stop blaming others as the causes of my failure but analyze my weaknesses to eradicate them.

What I have realized when I started reading this book is that I feel happier and at peace with myself when I’m actually doing something or have some sort of goal that I need to achieve at the end of a certain period, this is the time that I feel that my life is actually good for something. However, there is need for improvement and going the extra mile.

I have started creating a better world by first analyzing my weaknesses. I no longer blame others for my failure. I have started teaching the principles in this book to the members of my family and we now live in harmony.

These ideas will be very important to me in that I am now able to define my direction in life. I no longer believe that success in life is mere luck. I no longer treat defeat as complete failure. I instead treated it as a lesson to correct a mistake that has been made in pursuit of my purpose.

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.

a. “Your first priority in any budget should be to set aside a fixed percentage of your income for savings. The rule is ‘pay yourself first’.” This statement caught my attention as I have always be always having difficulty in saving money. I sometimes save but when I have accumulated a considerable amount, I spend it there and then on things that are not sometimes a priority. I believe this quote will help me change my behavior.

b. “Know what you wish to say, say it with all the feeling you command, and then sit down.” This quote will assist me improve my communication skills as I have been have a difficulty in this.

c. “There are types of people who never amount to anything. There are those who never do anything except what they are told to do. And there are those who can not even do what they are told to do. Those who get ahead do the things that should be done without being told and they don’t stop there, they go extra mile and do much more than is expected of this.” This quote has helped me to identify the category in which I fall and I will always try to improve and go an extra mile.

d. “One single idea may have greater weight than the labor of all the men, animals and engines for a century” This quote is very important to me in that it helps me to recognize the importance of having good ideas. This teaches us to concentrate and develop ideas because all activities are made by first developing ideas.

e. “Time and money are precious resources and few people striving for success ever believe they possess either in excess. How you use them is an important part of evaluating your progress toward success and analyzing what may be holding you back”. This statement is very important because it teaches me to use my time effectively because time lost is not recovered. Also as I said earlier, I will learn to use money carefully and stop being extravagant. In short, I will develop a habit of budgeting my time and money and I will try to be conservative with these budgets.

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. everything in the book was clear and understood.

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 had an exercise for each of the seventeen principles, which required me to make a commitment on how I will use each one of them in my life. The book was so interesting that all questions were looked into and were completed.

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

I have had an opportunity to finish reading “Keys to Success” and I wish to express my appreciation of the splendid work done by the author of the book. I will try to assimilate and apply the 17 principles. The book contains some very fine material which every person in every walk of life should understand. I would not care to set a monetary value on this book because it brings to the reader qualities which cannot be measured in money, alone!

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

Psycho-Cybernetics
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The book is about how we can preserve and enhance our self-image as we meet the challenges of the current changes. It shows us how we can reshape ourselves for success.

This book provides a program for developing self-image you can live with, one in which you can feel secure, one that you can be proud to express to others, one that leads to self confidence and success. The book provides concepts to see how you can build a new, positive and realistic self-image- one consistent with the person you are and the person you want to be.

It also teaches us simple and effective techniques for accessing the right side of our brain to create new images of ourselves that will lead to new attitudes and patterns of action. We learn how to focus on desired changes instead of dwelling on past mistakes.

The book further provides procedures for overcoming procrastination, for monitoring our progress, for motivating and disciplining; and other strategies for keeping our automatic mechanism on target for success. It provides techniques, to the roles that imagination and relaxation plays in bringing about changes in our self-image.

In summary, this book is about our creative imagination and how we can use it to build a more positive concept of ourselves.

2. What are 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. It is your self-image that sets limits for what you and what you cannot achieve: This idea was important to because it taught me to view my self image in a positive way. For example, I used to see myself as a person who cannot acquire a Masters degree. But after reading this statement, I made applications and now I am getting promising results.

ii. Enhancing your self-image is a process that can continue throughout your life time: This idea is important to me in that it has assisted me to “rejuvenate’ my life. At the age of 46 I have been viewing myself as very aged without hope for any success. But this statement has given me the opportunity to change my life. I have got courage to learn new skill and I feel very comfortable. I even feel more energetic than when I was in 30’s.

iii. All too often we focus on our failures and disappointments and tend to forget or disregard our success: This Statement was important to me because it helped me to carry our inventory my past successes and found that I have been successful in life. In the Past I have been always concentrating on my ‘wrong side of the coin’ and viewing myself as a failure. I have now learnt that I have been successful and I am aiming higher.

iv. You have the right to feel good about yourself. In fact, you owe it to yourself to focus on your positive qualities: This statement has helped me to focus on my good qualities. The more I focus on them, the more I enjoy my life and develop more positive qualities and eliminate the negative ones.

v. He (Greg) found that alcohol temporarily lifted his spirits, and he soon developed a drinking problem: After reading Greg’s experience, I learnt how sometime back when I used to enjoy drinking thinking that getting tipsy relieves one from stress. However, I have learnt that this just spoil one’s life. It is just committing suicide slowly by slowly. Other than resorting to drinking as a means of enjoyment, I read
motivational books, do physical exercise, stay at home with my family and this gives more joy than alcohol. As a result, my life has improved tremendously.

vi. Instead of punishing yourself for your mistakes, acknowledge them as guideposts towards growth and change: This idea has helped me to acknowledge my past mistakes and concentrate on not repeating them and stop to always think about them so that they become the stumbling blocks towards my success.

vii. Surround yourself with people who want you to succeed. This idea has taught me a lesson not to associate with people who are always against success. There are some people who always think in “impossibilities”. When you seek advice from them on a project. They always tell you that it is impossible. I have started to associate with friends who always encourage me towards success and improvement.

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

These ideas will offer me a program for my personal fulfillment through self-image enhancement. They will offer me a practical program for building a better life. Through these ideas I will develop strategies of how I can: develop personal action for improving my personal and professional life; be more assertive with friends, family members and difficult co-workers; successfully cope with severe emotional blows; anticipate for career changes; take on new responsibilities without feeling overwhelmed; and eliminate stress and anxiety and replace it with positive action.

In a nutshell, the above ideas will help me achieve positive self-image:- one that will empower me to set and achieve goals of personal happiness and professional success.

4. 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.

There are many statements in the book that caught my attention to the extent that one cannot cite them all. However, I will just cite examples as listed below.

i. “Fake it till you make it”. This statement is important to me because it creates the message in my mind that I need to develop myself in 3 areas no matter what I am pursuing – I need to develop my Attitudes, my Skills, and my Knowledge. Knowledge will enlighten me on where I am going; it guides me on “what to do”, showing me a clear direction.

ii. “You can develop a self-image that will enable you to “add more living to your life” no matter how old you may happen to be”. This statement caught my attention because it taught me a lesson that at any time irrespective of one’s age and that as one improves and develop his self-image he will live a longer life as he appreciates his self-image. If he does not appreciate his self image, he finds life as a misery, he gets aged at an early age, and he develops different diseases and dies at an early age.

iii. “Focus on an image of successful you-“Focusing your daydreams.” This statement caught my attention because of the ‘miracles’ it makes. I started focusing on my daydreams and those dreams started becoming a reality when I concentrated my minds on achieving them.

iv. “Turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones…cast off feelings of inferiority that keep you from pursuing your ideal career, and discover hidden talents and capabilities that will aid you in achieving it”. This statement caught my attention because it made me discover that temporary failure is just with some seeds of success. For example, there is one time when I registered for and ACCA course and didn’t complete the course because of financial problems and being ‘weak’ in numbers. However the knowledge which I got was very important and useful to me when I started pursuing a Law Degree. I combined the knowledge of Accounts I had already acquired with Law and I added value to my career development compared to someone who has just studied Law only.

v. “Be careful what you say to your children. They may agree with you. Before calling a child ‘stupid’ or ‘clumsy’ or ‘bad’ or ‘disappointment,’ it important for a parent to consider the question, is this the way I wish my child to experience him- or herself?” This statement caught my attention because it taught me how develop our children in a positive way. Some parents believe that harassing children is the best way to make them develop into future responsible people. This is wrong! One has to motivate his children to excel in life through encouragement. Even if a child makes a fault, the parent has to condemn the fault but not a child. We should also know that we ourselves have time and again committed faults right from our childhood.

vi. “You will reduce your anxiety far more far effectively by addressing one problem than by worrying about six”. This statement teaches us that we should act upon one anxiety at a time rather than getting worried about many problems without finding any solution. This just adds stress and shortens our lives.

vii. “I ‘will’ rather than ‘I am’ suggests sometime in future”.. This statement has caught my attention because I for one has bee a person who always use “I will”. This is problematic because it leads to procrastination and cannot lead us anywhere.

viii. “Building a new self image doesn’t happen overnight. The process is cumulative. It takes daily effort for about five weeks”. This statement has caught my attention because it teaches that we cannot change our self-image overnight. It is a continuing process. I have personally tried to change my self-image gradually and it is giving positive results.

ix. “Our disturbed feelings- our anger, hostility, fear, anxiety, are caused by our own responses- not by externals… Thus relaxation is nature’s own tranquilizer, which erects a psychic screen…between you and disturbing stimulus. This statement has taught me to get lid of anger, hostility, fear, anxiety,…through practicing relaxation exercises and this enables me to feel relieved from these problems.

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

Everything in the book is well understood. However, the title of the book is a bit technical that it cannot pick the interest of a common man but the contents are excellent.

However there were very few minor editing errors that need to be corrected as highlighted below:

i. “..It may to fail to function…” line 18 on page 22. the “to” should be removed.

ii. “…you’re feel that…”(line 2 page 32). The re should be should be removed or change word ‘feel’ into word ‘feeling’.

iii. “…in an a cycle…”(line 10 of last paragraph on page 53). “an” should be removed.

iv. “…reality?”. (Page 55, line 18). Question mark (?) to be replaced by full stop (.).

v. “…to question 4 on page 72.”(Page 88 first line of paragraph 30). On page 72 there are only 2 questions. Question 4 cannot be seen on the same page.

vi. “…impoetence. ”.(Page 99 line 9 of paragraph 3). I think here the author intended to mean “impotence”.

vii. “…Four mounths….(Page 103, line 1 of paragraph 2). Here the author wanted to mean “months”.

viii. …in realtion…(Page 167, questionnaire 5.c). The author intended to write …in relation.

ix. …never to early to….(Page 180, line 8 of paragraph 2). The author intended to write …too early to….

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 useful?

Yes. There were some exercises and there were completed. I will keep repeating them to “Fake it tillI make it.” The exercises were very useful because the helped me to evaluate myself.

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

No. Everything was covered in the previous questions. However, I cannot end this assessment without emphasizing that this was a great opportunity to study Psycho-Cybernetics. I wish to express my appreciation of the wonderful work done by the author of the book.

Ratings:

Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is the development of a Positive mental Attitude (PMA). The Author emphasizes that people have a choice between a positive mental attitude and a negative mental attitude. A positive mental attitude contributes to one’s success while the negative mental attitude dejects one from achieving success.

The author enlightens us that the seventeen principles of success will not achieve the desired goals unless they are coupled with a positive mental attitude. We are informed that every person has the ability to change his or her mental attitude from negative to positive and the reverse is also true.

This book conveys the experience of different people of great success, who began at scratch, with nothing to give in return for success except thoughts, ideas, organized plans and a positive mental attitude (PMA)

i. “We are poor — not because of God”: “This statement teaches us to refuse to accept hand-to-mouth existence. Some of us take it for granted that if we were born from poor families, we will also grow and die poor. This is not true. It is because we were not motivated to break this vicious cycle of poverty. We should get lid of the NMA. We are poor — not because of God. We are poor because our parents never developed a desire to become rich. No one in our family has ever developed a desire to be anything else.” It is high time we motivated our children and ourselves to get rich. We should develop a burning desire to become rich among ourselves and our future generations. The book goes further to tell us that “If you know what you want, you are more apt to recognize it when you see it. When you read a book, for example, you will recognize opportunities to help you get what you want.” S. B. Fuller carried with him the invisible talisman with the initials PMA imprinted on one side and NMA on the other. He turned the PMA side up and amazing things happened. He was able to bring into reality ideas that were formerly mere daydreams. We have the right to say that “This is what I choose. This is what I want most to accomplish.” And unless our goal is against the laws of God or society, we can achieve it. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose by trying. Success is achieved and maintained by those who keep trying with PMA. What we try for is up to us. Not everyone would care to be an S. B. Fuller, responsible for large manufacturing concerns. Not everyone would choose to pay the costly price of being a great artist. To many, the riches of life are quite different. A skill in day-to-day living which adds up to a happy, love-filled life is success. We can have this and other riches, too. The choice is ours. This statement is important to me because it teaches me to develop a PMA that I was not born to be poor. I will also try to develop this motive among my children.

ii. The Most Important Living Person: This idea made me realize how important I am. I realized that God to create me had a purpose. This developed morale within me in that I have to change the way I live. I have to make my life meaningful to both myself and to the society in which I am living.

iii. It is good to encounter problems: If one is with a Positive mental attitude, encountering problems can be good. In my own experience, there is one time when I was employed by a person who was problematic to me because he used to harass me saying that I am good for nothing. He used to be rude with his staff including myself. This problem first of all taught me to work hard in order to avoid his harassments. This was an advantage to me because I had to run more skills and go an extra mile in order to avoid his harassments. I later left his job and applied the acquired skills in the organization where I am currently working and I am satisfied with my job.

iv. Act now: This was an important idea to me because I had a problem of procrastination. After reading this idea I made sure that I should act immediately on any project that may lead to a better achievement. Just as an example, I had failed to complete the assessments of the books in this course. But after reading this statement, I acted immediately and I am now towards completion of the first level. There is a saying that “time wasted is never recovered” and that “Time is money”.

v. There is need to Search for the Light: The metaphor “light” in Success through Positive mental Attitude is used to show that we sometimes fail in life because of the darkness that surrounds us to the extent that we do not know the right direction to take and find the solution to the problem. This idea was important to me because it taught me that every problem has a solution provided that one is ready to “think big” rather than remaining in the darkness of confusion. This darkness is caused by NMA.

vi. To get rid of guilt feelings make amends: If one has guilt feeling, there is an opportunity for him to amend and remove that guilt by becoming righteous. The worst thing is to commit a offense or a bad act and you don’t feel guilty. This means that there will be not chances of amendment. When you feel guilty and you amend, you feel relieved and develop a positive mental attitude and become successful and important person in the society.

vii. Attracting wealth rather than repelling it: The author tells us that positive mental attitude attracts wealth while having a negative mental attitude repels it. This means that we should engage ourselves in constructive thinking and studying with a positive mental attitude. We should learn how to set goals by writing them down, making deadlines for achieving them, setting the standards high and aiming very high. This is the first step in attracting wealth and we are encouraged to save of some of our earnings, go and extra mile towards achieving wealth. This is important to me because it has taught me to set clear goals for me. I will also learn to save some of my earnings to be reinvested to generate more earnings rather than “living from hand to mouth”. Knowledge alone cannot attract wealth, unless it is organized, intelligently directed, through practical plans of action to a definite end of accumulation of wealth. Therefore we need to put our knowledge to work in order to attract wealth. We have to awaken our sleeping giant.

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?

After realizing that I am the most important living person, I developed a sense of responsibility and pride. I used to regard myself as the least important person on planet earth due to negative mental attitude that had developed within me right from my childhood. However, I have now decided to take the right direction by developing a Positive mental Attitude (PMA). I am very sure it will lead me to success in life. Gone are the days that were wasted. It is now high time I awakened the sleeping giant within me. By developing a PMA when I face any problem, I will know how I go about it and look beyond this problem by anticipating success.

Generally, all ideas contained in this book helps the reader to develop a positive mental attitude which will lead to success. It is through this PMA that we can make our lives better and make this world a better place to live in.

The above ides will help us to realize that the negative mental attitude (NMA) is as deadly as poison even though it may not kill as quickly. So, will always develop Positive mental attitude as it attracts wealth, success, happiness and health and avoid NMA.

4. 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.

There are many statements that got my attention to the extent that one cannot cite them all. I will just give examples.

i. “Day by day in every way I am getting better and better”: This is a constructive and encouraging thinking and philosophy. We should appreciate what we have achieved and have faith that we will achieve even better.

ii. “You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by trying”: This reminds me of the proverb that “it is better to try rather than failing to try.” -Success is achieved and maintained by those who keep trying with PMA. I had applied this principle in life when I first studies French. People had discouraged me that I could not make it at an old age. This was because throughout my education right from primary to secondary, I had studied in English. However, I tried French language I and succeeded. I even graduated in LLB from a University that was conducting its studies in French by that time.

iii. “There is no glory in being the richest man in the graveyard”: This statement means that anything that I have to do I have to do it now. Your success will be measured by what you do on this planet and what you leave behind and can help the generation to come.

iv. “If you share happiness with others, happiness will grow richer within you. But if you share misery and unhappiness, you will attract misery and unhappiness to yourself”: This statement has taught me that I should strive to make others happy. This is what makes me happier than striving to make others make me happy. When you make others happy they will also strive to make you happy as well.

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. Everything in the book was clear and understood.

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 useful?

Yes, there was Success Quotient analysis. I found it important in evaluating myself. I have learnt that there is still room for improvement and I will keep using this analysis as a yardstick to measure my progress towards my success though a PMA.

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

No. Everything was covered in the previous questions. However, I cannot end this assessment without emphasizing that this was this was a great opportunity to read Success Through A positive Mental Attitude. I wish to express my appreciation of the wonderful work done by the author of the book.

Ratings:

Giant Steps
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea that the author tries to convey in this book, is that even small decisions and small actions, consistently made, have far-reaching consequences. The small changes and efforts we make shape our destiny and can add up to giant results (page 390). They determine the quality of our present and future.

i. What We Link Pain To and What We Link Pleasure To Shapes our Destiny (page 51): This idea is important to me because it triggers me to define my life’s destine based on the pains and pleasure that are attached to the way a decide to live. Fore example, the most tremendous difference in the quality of my life is that since my early age I began to link incredible pleasure to studying. Studying provided me with something to give, the opportunity to truly contribute something of value to all those around me. This offered me a sense of joy and fulfillment. At the same time, I discovered an even more powerful form of pleasure, and that was achieved by sharing what I’d learned in a passionate way. I have enjoyed studying and education to the extent that every time in my life I am taking a given course such as this one. Nothing in my life I have enjoyed like studying. There is one time in my life when I developed a habit of getting out of pain into pleasure by drinking and overeating. However, I have now changed this habit with reading inspirational and motivational books like this one or giving a phone call to a friend or exercising. This gives me more pleasure than the bad habits that I have mentioned above that I had started to develop. If we fail to direct our own associations to pain and pleasure, we’re living no better than animals or machines, continually reacting to our environment, allowing whatever comes up next to determine the direction and quality of our lives. The truth is that we can learn to condition our minds, bodies, and emotions to link pain or pleasure to whatever we choose. By changing what we link pain and pleasure to, we will instantly change our behaviors. In order to succeed in life, we should learn how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use us. If we do that, we are in control of our life. If we don’t, life will control us.

ii. Some simplest things that can make a difference in our life (page 65): This idea was important to me because, after studying this book, I started applying some simplest things like standing in front of the mirror doing nothing but grinning from year to ear, smiling at my reflection in the mirror etc. this practice sparked a feeling of happiness within myself and I have from now on made such things a daily practice.

iii. Beliefs determine what we try or fail to try to accomplish in our lives (page 79): This idea is important to me because I personally have failed in some endeavors just because I believed that I was weak and incompetent in this or that. For example, during my school time, I believed that I was intelligent in all subjects except in math where I believed I was weak and indeed I performed badly in math whereas I was excelling in other subjects. Now I have learnt that once I believe that something is true, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Therefore I have to change my mindset and develop a belief that aims at success in whatever goal and objective I intend to achieve and avoid beliefs that lead to failure. Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. One of my beliefs I have developed which has helped me to enjoy all of my life experience these days is the idea that there are no bad experiences, that no matter what I go through in life—whether it’s a challenging experience or a pleasurable one— every experience provides me something of value if I look for it. If I pull just one idea or one distinction from an experience, then it expands me. If we develop the absolute sense of certainty that powerful beliefs provide, then we can get ourselves to accomplish virtually anything, including those things that other people are certain are impossible.

iv. The words/vocabulary we use transform our emotional patterns (page 181): This teaches me that we have to adjust our habitual vocabulary because the words we consistently use to describe our sensations immediately change how we think, feel, and live. This is one of the simplest yet most powerful tools for changing anyone’s life in an instant (page 183). I personally have decided that it’s high time to use the tool of transformational vocabulary to replace my habitually disempowering words with more inspiring ones. This has helped me to consistently feel less pain and more pleasure in my life. Effectively using Transformational Vocabulary—vocabulary that transforms our emotional experience—breaks un-resourceful patterns, makes us smile, produces totally different feelings, changes our states, and allows us to ask more intelligent questions. I have decided to take control of my metaphors now and create a new world for myself: a world of possibility, of richness, of wonder, and of joy. When an assemblage of words I am using is creating states that disempower me, I get rid of those words and replace them with those that empower me! “Words can produce illness; words can kill,” “Therefore, wise physicians are very careful about the way they communicate.”

v. We have to capacity to feel good under whatever circumstances (Page 294): Here we are taught that we don’t need any special reason to feel good—we can just decide to feel good right now, simply because we’re alive, simply because we want to. In that moment, when we decide to feel good, we send a message to our brain to change our responses in the muscles of our face, chest, and body, to change our breathing, and to change the biochemistry within our nervous system that causes us to feel the sensations we call pleasure. Therefore there is no need why we should punish ourselves for no reason by letting us feel bad. For example I have trained myself to feel happy every morning because I wake up alive and I have decided to be happy thought my life because every day I am above the ground is a great day!(page 300).

vi. Health and Fitness are not the same (Page 348): Normally we tend to confuse health with fitness which can have a negative impact on our life. Fitness is “the physical ability to perform athletic activity.” Health, however, is defined as” the state where all the systems of the body—nervous, muscular, skeletal, circulatory, digestive, lymphatic, hormonal, etc.—are working in an optimal way ….” If we achieve fitness at the expense of health, we may not live long enough to enjoy our spectacular physique. According to my own experience, when I started doing physical exercises, I thought fitness implied health to the extent that I practiced much physical exercises without knowing that it can also affect my life. This could cause me headache, fatigue, dizziness and other problems. There is a saying that ‘too much of anything is always bad’. It’s ideal to have both health and fitness, but by putting health first, we will always enjoy tremendous benefits in our life. If we achieve fitness at the expense of health, we may not live long enough to enjoy our spectacular physique. I have learnt that, unfortunately, many people with positive intentions, including skilled athletes, are coming less healthy with exercise. Out of our drive to produce the greatest results in the shortest period of time, most of us create an improper balance between health and fitness, and suffer the consequences. Properly developing my aerobic system will not only make me a better athlete, [but] it will also burn off the extra fat from my hips, improve my immune system, give me more energy, and keep me relatively injury-free. I have learnt that poor training can develop a love-hate relationship with exercises. I will keep training with physical exercise but without exhausting my body because “It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently”.

vii. Turning ideas into a belief by providing enough reference experience to support it: This idea has reminded me that any limits that I have in my life are probably just the result of limited references. I will expand my references, and I believe this will immediately expand my life. I will consciously seek out experiences that expand my sense of who I am and what I am capable of, as well as organizing my references in empowering ways. I believe that I have an inexhaustible supply of references that can be designed any way I wish. What I am lacking is using these references. I will consciously dig through my life experience and pull out those memories that empower me most on a consistent basis. I will consciously interpret them in ways that empower me, in ways that support the achievement of my goals. I will not allow my brain to automatically latch on to individual experiences where I am not supported, which leads to developing beliefs like “Everybody’s out to get me,” or “Every time I try anything, I get knocked down,” or “I don’t deserve to be loved”.

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?

These lessons will awaken me to the conviction that I am truly the master of my fate, the director of my destiny. I will make small changes on a daily basis that I believe they will have a positive impact on my personal life and in helping me to help those around me. This will be achieved by putting into practice what I have studied in the sections of this book. I will learn to live in an attitude of positive expectancy, knowing that everything that happens in my life benefits me in some way. I will be guided a long pass of never-ending growth and learning, and with it, the path of everlasting love.

4. 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.

There are many statements in the book that caught my attention to the extent that one cannot cite them all. However, I will just cite examples as listed below.

i. “Nothing happens unless first a dream” (page 13): This statement is important to me because it tells me that I have to first have a dream of what we want to achieve. This dream which is the vision of our future will pull us like magnet towards achieving our goals.

ii. “Achievers usually see problems as transitory” (page 99): This statement reminds me that I should not be discouraged by any problem I encounter in life. I should take that problem as temporary and see it as something that will correct me to take the right direction. I will begin to use problems as a valuable feedback to help me steer a straighter course towards destiny, and be grateful for these gifts.

iii. “Questions are the laser of human consciousness. Use their power to cut through any obstacle or challenge” (Page 113): This statement is important to me because it reminds me that, since our brains are extraordinary (It would take two buildings the size of the World Trade Center to house the storage capacity of your brain! Page 120), we should use questions to retrieve and use all that has been stored to find solutions to given problems. Otherwise the capacity and the potential of the brain would be rendered useless. Questions determine everything we do in life, from our abilities to our relationships to our income. Questions create the answers where seemingly none exist. Our mental computer always ready to serve us, and whatever question we give it, it will surely come up with an answer. If we ask a lousy question we will get a lousy answer. On the other hand, when we ask a much more useful question, it will automatically lead us in the direction of the solution. We should always ask questions that will uplift our spirit and push us along the pass of human excellence. We should remember the verse in the Bible that ‘Seek ye shall find.’ Therefore we should be conscious of what we look for. The only thing that limits our questions is our belief about what is possible. “He that cannot ask cannot live.”

iv. “Habit is either the best servant or the worst masters (Page 145)”: This statement is very important to me because it reminds me that if we allow ourselves to be driven by our habits, it can lead us to self destruction. We fail to change our habits merely because previous attempts have failed. Or we might think change has to be a long and painful process, which is not the case if we make habits our servants rather than letting them become our masters. I had failed to stop drinking but when I made this habit my servant, I stopped drinking and when I told my friends about this development they could not believe it. Others thought it was painful yet I did not find any pain in stopping drinking because I had learnt to control my habits rather than letting them control me. The beginning of a habit is like an invisible thread, but every time we repeat the act we strengthen the strand, add to it another filament, until it becomes a great cable and binds us irrevocably, thought and act. We have to take personal responsibility to change our habits. We must realize that if we instantly create a problem, we can just as quickly as easily create a solution. What we need to create a change quickly is to first adopt a belief that we can change virtually anything now.

v. “Daddy, please stop killing yourself!” (Page 157): This statement reminded me of one time when I went with my nine year old daughter for treatment and I was given some tablets and the doctor told me that I should not take alcohol when I am taking that medicine. Then my daughter smiled and asked me for how long I will be taking this medicine. I told her it will take ten days. She said, “I wish it could take the whole of your life so that you can completely stop drinking!” I learnt that she against my drinking alcohol and this gave more courage to stop drinking. In conclusion, members of our family whether children or adults can influence our change.

vi. “Create a new, empowering alternative” (Page 164): This statement is important because it informs us that if we give up a bad habit and don’t replace it with a new and empowering one, we will soon or later resume those bad habits. Therefore, in order give up completely those bad habits, we should seek the empowering alternatives. I personally, when I quitted drinking, I created a new empowering alternative of taking courses like this one, reading motivational and inspirational books like this one, spending time with my family and doing physical exercises to reduce my weight and improve my health.

vii. “The Secret of living is giving” (Page 240): This statement is important to me because it teaches me that I have to give something to the society in which I am living in order to fully enjoy my life. Regardless of stature, only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy-true fulfillment (Page 377). However it should be noted that you don’t have to take the weight of the world on your shoulders. More people would contribute if they realized that they didn’t have to give anything up to do so. So I will do a little, and know that it can mean a lot. If everyone did this, fewer people would have to do so much, and more people would be helped!

viii. “Miss a meal, but don’t miss your reading (Page 256)”: This statement was important to me because it emphasizes the importance of reading. Reading is the food for our minds and helps us to share experiences with important and successful people and we use them as our role models. As I am taking this course, I have started cleansing my system, nourishing it with reading material that yields insights and strategies to guide me in the new lifestyle I’ve chosen-Leaders are Readers (page 256). ‘Reading Is Feeding Your Mind’: You are not even limited to your own personal experiences as references. You can borrow the references of other people. The power of reading a great book is that you start thinking like the author (Page 318).

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

Everything in the book is well understood only that the word ‘beat up’ (page 73 line 6) should be changed into ‘beaten up’

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 useful?

The book contained daily exercises that will compel the reader to take giant steps forward in the quality of his life. I completed the exercises but I intend to repeat them in order to fully digest them because ‘practice makes perfect.’

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

Nothing I would like to comment on. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

The New Dynamics of Winning
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is that the mindset is what determines winning and ultimate performance of a person, not talent or ability. The book provides us with the method of looking at our life in an organised and highly motivated way. The book teaches us how winners think and how they train themselves mentally. It teaches us how we can motivate ourselves towards positive change. We are taught how we can gain the mindset of a champion for unlimited success in life.

i. When you set goals, they become a reality (Page 29): This idea was important to me because it has made it clear to me that whenever you set goals in your life, however much they seem to be unachievable, you will have to achieve them. This idea has also been emphasised by other books for this course as well. As far as I am concerned, I have learnt that to live a life without well defined goals is like moving in darkness and it can lead hitting the wall or falling in a pit and failure in life. We cannot win with desires only. We have to break that desire down into smaller parts and reach our main goal by what the author calls “stair step” method. This reminds me of an English saying that ‘Where there is a will there is a way.’ What matters is commitment. If commitment is there, the achievements will follow (Page 38).

ii. We should view life as a continuous learning experience (Page 43): This idea was important to me because it encourages us to take lessons from everything we experience in life. We are also urged to keep improving our knowledge and what we do in our life. I personally have been with thirst for acquiring more knowledge and I enjoy it.

iii. A high expectation of success is more important than natural ability or lack of thereof (Page 103): This idea is very important because it teaches us that in order to succeed, you do not need to be naturally genius. You have to believe in success and forget of failure. We are reminded that when experimental subjects are told that a given subject they’re being asked to perform is very easy, their performance invariably turns out to be much better than an equal number of subjects who are led to believe that the task will extremely be difficult. This is a clear evidence to show that our success will depend on our expectations. We have to learn to always expect the best even if we have to force ourselves to do so. Even if we meet failures and frustrations in life, these should serve as lessons. ‘High expectations are the key to everything (Page 80). By focusing a gloomy outcome in our mind’s eye, we can act as our own witch doctors (Page 87).

iv. If you feel that criticism is definitely required, don’t do it in front of others (Page 153): This idea teaches us that we should never criticise anyone in front of others! But in our day-to-day life, we have the tendency of issuing threats, criticizing our children or subordinates in front of others, without even considering the hurt to the other person’s pride. This does not make the situation better but it makes it even worse. It is therefore high time we changed our behaviours and never criticise anybody in public.

v. Success is a process, not a place you can come to (Page 169): This idea is important to me because it has given me courage in life. It has made me carry out an ‘inventory’ of the past successes that I have made but which I did not recognise. This has helped me to view myself as a winner and I will build on these past successes and aim to more success.

vi. We should lead by example (Page 71): As the author says that “Tell your kids to clean their rooms, and they’ll check out the condition of your garage’’, this was very important to because it has made me evaluate myself before I evaluate others. People tend to forget about their mistakes (including myself) and focus on other people’s mistakes. This idea has taught me to correct my mistakes before I correct others including my children and subordinates at work. We should avoid the principle which says that “Do as I say but don’t do as I do.” We should lead by example. Whatever you do consistently, whether good or bad, is what people are going to take as the truth (Page 72). The author reminds us that we should not demand high grades from our kids when they never see us reading a book, they’re going to learn from what we do, not from what we say.

vii. We should learn to be flexible and not to use force in order for us to win (Page 118):” This idea was important to be as the author tells me that “Bend with the wind….and you’ll be around when the hurricane passes and good weather returns”. Here we are taught to use gentleness and friendliness in order to win. This idea reminds me of a fable I read in one of the books for this course “How to Win friends and Influence People” about the sun and the wind. They quarrelled about which was stronger, and the wind said, “I’ll prove I am. See the old man down there with a coat? I bet I can get his coat off him quicker than you can.” So the sun went behind a cloud, and the wind blew until it was almost a tornado, but the harder it blew, the tighter the old man clutched his coat to him. Finally, the wind calmed down and gave up, and then the sun came out from behind the clouds and smiled kindly on the old man. Presently, he mopped his brow and pulled off his coat. The sun then told the wind that gentleness and friendliness were always stronger than fury and force. Therefore, we should always go with the tide and the wind, without force, anger or impatience in order to achieve our goals. We should use the principle of “Patience, Pacing and Persistence”.

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?

These ideas will help me to understand what really winning means. They will assist me to take the talent and the potential that I was born with, develop it and use it fully towards success and winning. By mastering these ideas, I will view happiness as the natural experience of winning my own self-respect, as well as the respect of others. These ideas will also help to understand that winning begins with feeling good about myself, referring to myself in positive terms, and seeing myself as a winner. The ability to see myself in a positive light will make everyone around me feel better about themselves as well.

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

i. “Nobody else is going to take you fishing (Page 32”: This statement got my attention because it teaches me that it is me and only me who has to determine my destiny. I am in charge of causing my results. In order to achieve my results, I have to forget the advice of all those friends and relatives who tell me I can’t possibly have what I want.

ii. “Going through what I’ve gone through, there’s no obstacle I can’t overcome (Page 41):” This statement got my attention because it reminds us that if we can carry out an inventory of the obstacles we go through during our life time and we overcome them, we should be ensured that nothing can stand on our way towards achieving our goals provided we are determined and have committed ourselves.

iii. “I can’t grow any taller, but I can always grow a lot smarter (Page 115):” This statement caught my attention because it taught me that I should improve the quality of my life even if I cannot be an expert or a champion. For example I never used to like doing physical exercises but I have started practising them. Even if I cannot become a professional in physical exercises, I have improved my health and I will live a longer with good health and better life than the one who does not practise physical exercises. I have grown a lot smarter.

iv. “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you are not (Page 130”): This statement caught my attention because it taught me to avoid inferiority complex. I have been developing inferiority complex that I am not good at this or that. But after reading this statement and many others in inspirational/motivational books for this course and practicing them, the inferiority complex within me has disappeared and I have awakened the “Giant” within me and I now view myself as a champion.

v. “You don’t have to know everything as long as you know people who know the things you don’t,…(Page 137),:” This statement caught my attention and was important because it guided me to change approach of achieving my objectives at work. Being responsible for developing different policies and processes and procedures for my organisation, which requires expertise in different domains, I do not need to be “Jack of all treads” or an expert in every aspect which is practically impossible. I have to use those who have expertise in the given domain to assist me achieve my objectives.

vi. “When do you graduate from College? I hope never!(Page 139”: This statement attracted my attention because I personally believe that education is a life-long process. This has assisted me to challenge people who try to discourage me saying that I should stop studying and think of other undertakings. There is a proverb that “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

vii. “If you sit in two chairs, you will fall between them. In life you should choose one chair (Page 150):” This statement has attracted my attention because it teaches us to find our direction in life. If necessary we have to specialise in a specific field.

viii. “We have to connect people…and not allow hatred to divide us (Page 156):” This statement caught my attention because it reminds me the consequence of divisionism and hatred to my country, Rwanda. It was the Genocide of 1994. If all Rwandans had applied the above statement, genocide could not have happened. After the 1994 genocide, a Commission for Unity and Reconciliation has been set to unite/connect Rwandans and now they are living together in peace and harmony with the common goal of developing their country.

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 written in clear English and I understand and agree with everything. However, there is a minor typing error I would like to correct on the second line of last paragraph on page 109: …0you look tired should be written as you look tired.

Also the title of the book should be Dynamics of Winning as opposed to New Dynamics of Winning. I propose removal of New because, in my opinion, the principles of winning are the same since the time of Adam and Eve up to our present day.

Further more, the author uses a lot of technical terms used Sports to the extent that someone who is not used to Sports terms cannot get full understanding of the book.

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

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It had a twenty-one day plan that it was provided for the reader to practise for personal development and goal setting. I have started practising this plan and I believe they will have a positive change on 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?

Nothing more I would like to comment on. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Real Magic
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is how we can achieve higher level of consciousness. The author offers specific strategic goals that can make us achieve happiness in our life. We are taught how we can create miracles for ourselves for our own life and how we are capable of achieving perfect equilibrium of the mind. The author presents the central theme of this book as: “the universe and all that is in it is on purpose (page 138)”; “As you think so shall you be (page 181);” “living your life on a purpose (page 187)”; and “your thoughts create your physical reality (page 313”.

i. My presence in the world of form has a grand mission (Page 12): This idea is very important to me because it reminds me that my existence was not just an accident. This implies that I have certain thing to accomplish during my lifetime in this world. I therefore have to begin thinking, feeling and behaving in ways consistent with the mission I have to fulfill. I will learn to meditate in order to discover my real mission in life

ii. You overcome weaknesses by leaving them behind (Page 26): This idea was important to me because it encourages me to forget about my past weaknesses and instead build on my current strengths in order to perform real magic. I will work hard to overcome my old self-defeating behaviors. For instance if thinking that I was not born with luck, that I cannot make a good leader, etc. I will evaluate all my strengths and build on them to arrive at a higher level.

iii. One of the ways for becoming a spiritual being is to recognize how you’ve been taught to hate (Page 63): This idea is important to me because it helps me to reconsider the concept of enemies and hatred. In Rwanda, egocentric politicians taught Rwandans, who originally viewed themselves as brothers and sisters, to hate each other and this led to genocide of 1994. Even though the consequences of genocide re still in the mind of every Rwandan, we must forget past hatred if we are to move forward. This is the first step on the road to unity and reconciliation and reconstruction of our country. Personally, I will fill myself with harmony and extend this harmony to all people whom I am in contact with. Miracle making is impossible to experience when your insides are poisoned by bitterness toward others (Page 71).

iv. We should learn to ask nothing of anyone (Page 113): This idea was important to me because I have learnt that all my demands of others create an environment where miracles are impossible to manifest. If I ask nothing of anyone, this will give me more freedom as I will not allow someone else to control me with their action or lack of action. Asking of nothing of anyone gives me a true sense of freedom. On page 256 of this book I am reminded that if receiving is my aim, I will be living a life of constant deficiency. I am reminded not to demand anything. I am requested to loosen up and be willing to allow a miracle to happen without any insistence and then everything will come to me that I need (page 284).

v. Our thoughts should be used to create our relationships (Page 136): This idea is very important to me because it reminds me that what I think about those with whom I have relationship is how I view them. If I am thinking about what is missing in the person I love that will be my experience of that person and will define our relationship. I will get stuck in the mode of dislike and unpleasantness and negativity. In order to avoid this trap, I will focus on the other outstanding qualities love about that person. In fact I have started practicing this idea and if is improving my relationship with every human being I come into contact with. Real magic in relationship means lack of judgment of others.

vi. When you have mastered the art of giving to others, then practice the equally important art of giving to yourself (Page 211): This idea is important to me because I believe it will help me to change my spending habits. I am taught to take a percentage of all that comes to me in the form of money and invest it in myself by putting that money in a savings plan that I will monitor. This is a fantastic policy that I will also teach to my children, and I believe it will lead them in the direction of their own financial prosperity and financial independence.

vii. Anything you desire you can do (Page 253): This idea is very important to me because it helps me to get rid of thinking of limitations that can hinder me to achieve what I desire in my life. I am told that no one on this planet who is any better in God’s eyes than me. Therefore I have the capacity to achieve whatever other successful people have achieved provided I do not set limitations for myself. I have to fake it until I make it. Anything that has been accomplished by any other human being in the physical realm is within the field of possibility (Page 267). I will not be afraid to imagine for myself anything that has ever been accomplished. What is only required is to suspend my disbelief and my skepticism and allow myself to take the journey towards real magic. I have learnt that I am what I am because of my choices. I believe that if I can use the technique of first seeing what I desire, and then acting upon that image before the actual event is materialized, it cannot fail me. If I meet some stumbling blocks, I will bless those hurdles as lessons God has provided, and then move along on my path.

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?

These ideas will provide me with how to ‘get to purpose’ through service to others and unconditional love, how to become a spiritual being and how to create a ‘miracle mindset.’ These ideas will make my life a miracle unfolding everyday and I will live on purpose. These ideas will guide me to believe that miracles are very real. The forces that have created miracles for others are still present in the universe and can be tapped into. These ideas will help me to trust in my own unique ability to create in my mind anything that I choose. These ideas will help me on how I will treat others to assist them enter the realm of real magic. The ideas will me to align my live with love, harmony, giving, sharing, peace and forgiveness. These will help me to develop a sense of wholeness and holiness which I will share with others. These ideas will also help me to release that which has inhibited me up until now. I have also learnt that I have the capacity to accomplish anything that I conceive in my mind. These ideas will help me to develop a purpose to give, to serve, to promote peace and prosperity and become totally, unconditionally loving to all people. I will strive to serve others in all my actions.

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

i. “There are no accidents, everything I am experiencing is in some way necessary for me to move ahead to the next step (Page 7):” This statement has caught my attention because it teaches me that anything that happens to me has a purpose and I have to use that experience move ahead to create the outcome that I want rather than dwelling on the questions like “Why me God?.” Such questions increase sufferings and are only stumbling blocks that stop me from achieving my objective. I will see obstacles as opportunities to move towards my goals. I have gone back in my past experience and found that each experience in life was absolutely necessary in order to have gotten me to the next place, and the next, up until this moment.

ii. “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear (Page 18)”: This statement ha caught my attention because it teaches me that it is upon me to decide on my destiny before I expect anybody else or any book to change me. I am reminded that when I am truly determined in my mind to experience the real magic and to live each day at a purpose, I will be shown how to make it happen. The ability to create real magic involves first of all being a student of life. There is a proverb that “Experience is the best teacher.” As I toss away my limited thinking, the teachers that have long been absent in my life will begin to appear and guide me to miracles but thinking that I must have limitations is like putting a barricade in front of me that will not permit those teachers to appear in my life (page 269).

iii. “We are born into the world of nature, our second birth is into the world of spirit (Page 32)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me to reflect on the superpower that is in us and around us. This power, if listened to is the one that can make us perform miracles in our lives. From this statement, I have learnt how to shift from my rational mind and enter the dimension of spirituality in order to enter the world of real magic and create miracles in everyday life. By knowing that our second birth is into the world of spirit, I know that we are all connected, and I am able to see the fullness of God in each person with whom I make contact. This sense of connection eliminates the inner conflict that I used to experience as I constantly judged others, categorizing them according to their physical appearance or behavior and then proceeding to find the ways to either ignore them or take advantage of them for my own benefit. I believe that the invisible force (spirit) connects me with all others, and therefore I will treat all others as if they were part of myself. Miracles and real magic are unavailable to those who believe themselves islands in the sea of humanity (Page 45).

iv. “What would it take for you to prove that you can do this yourself? …Let us work together and make it happen (Page 64):” This statement caught my attention because as it challenges me to review my approach on how I can make those that I manage to achieve a given objective. For example, if I want to make my children perform better in class, I will replace being against their bad study behavior with being for a self-disciplined young children. Instead of forcing them to go to read, make revision and do homework, I will use the above statement and I believe it will make miracles and real magic. Children need to be guided not to be made wrong. The embarrassment that goes with being proved stupid leads to self image of stupidity (Page 146).

v. “How could I have been so blind for so many years? (Page 94)”: This statement was very important because it offered me a chance to take a break and look back to my past bad habits before I took this course. Those habits included but not limited to: addiction to alcohol; laziness; overeating; lack of exercising, short-temperedness, relationship sabotaging, extravagancy…I have left behind those negative habits and going back is just as impossible as returning to crawling when one knows how to walk (page 271). The statement has offered me a chance to see the positive changes I have made and I will build on these positive changes to create real magic. For booze, I have substituted it with taking enough water during the day, for anger, I have substituted it with love and harmony, for laziness, I have substituted it with immediate action. I have looked at significant positive shifts in my life and realized I experienced a moment of awakening. I have seen that what seemed so difficult and so impossible for me in the past is now my way of being.

vi. “Where do I go when I die…Where does my body go when it dies?”(Page 243: These statements caught my attention because they assisted me to differentiate between myself (as a soul) and my body which houses soul. My soul is real me. By differentiating soul from body, I have learned not to fear death because since I am a soul and the soul does not die, I have released any absurd notion of death. Through this understanding, I have lost my concern for what happens to my body, and replaced it with concern for a knowing. I now know that I, body and soul, are a miracle and nothing I can imagine in my mind is impossible (page 273). I can now see the miracle that I am.

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

Everything in the book is clear and understandable. However, I would like to comment on the central theme of the book. As highlighted on in question 1, the author provides us with the central theme of the book as “the universe and all that is in it is on purpose (page 138)”; “As you think so shall you be (page 181);” “living your life on a purpose (page 187)”; and “your thoughts create your physical reality (page 313”.

In my opinion, book would be more appealing if the author maintained a single central themes rather than using different central themes as highlighted above.

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain 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?

Ratings:

The Power Of Intention
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is that in the universe, there is an invisible force that he calls ‘Intention’ to which everyone is connected. The theme of this book is that intention is a force of universe, and that everything and everyone is connected to this invisible force (page 148). The author views Intention as a force in the universe that allows the act creation to take place. He explores Intention-not as something you do-but as energy we are part of. Indeed what this book is all about is tapping in the essence of originating spirit, emulating the attributes of creative force of intention, and manifesting into our life anything that we desire that is consistent with the universal mind-which is creativity, kindness, love, beauty, expansion, abundance, and peaceful receptivity (page 56). In short, the book teaches us how to overcome obstacles to the unlimited power of intention (page 61).

i. Beautiful thoughts build a beautiful soul (page 27): This idea was important to me because it has reminded me how bad thoughts can affect my being. I will intend to develop beautiful thoughts directed to love, kindness, abundance, success, and these good thoughts will attract beautiful soul and create tranquility in my mind. I will remove the barriers in my thoughts and allow the power of intention to work through me. If you knew that you were expression of the Universal Spirit, that’s what you’d see (page 71). We all have the ability to call this presence and the power of intention into action when we become conscious of our thoughts. I am going to stop thinking thoughts that make me feel bad (page 192).

ii. We should banish doubt in order to create the world we choose (page 33): This is a very important lesson to me because it teaches me that when doubt is banished, abundance flourishes and anything that I will intend to accomplish will be possible. I will get rid doubt in my mind to create the world that I choose. If I doubt my ability to create the life I intend, then I will be refusing the power of intention described in this book. Even when I find that nothing seems to indicate that I am accomplishing what I desire in my life, I will refuse to entertain doubt because I know that sooner or later I will succeed. ‘Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt’ (page 34).

iii. Our imagination is invisible connecting link to manifesting our own destiny (page 38): This idea is important to me because it teaches me how powerful imagination is in helping me to accomplish my goals. I will use this power of imagination over my will to accomplish my life’s work and this imagination will cause me to behave as if what I would like to accomplish is already accomplished. Now my principle is to “Imagine myself to be and I shall be”, and it is an image that I will keep with me at all times. It is my imagination that I will focus on in my life and I will view all my determined goals and activities as functions of my imagination working, guiding, encouraging, and even pushing me in the direction that intention had for me while I were still in an un-manifested state (41). I believe that by continued reliance on my imagination, my assumptions will materialize into reality. As I start level two of this course, I now imagine that I have completed it and this gives me courage to accomplish it in time!

iv. In order to reconnect to intention, you must be on the same kindness wavelength as intention itself (page 43): As I mentioned in question 1 of this assessment, one of the attributes of intention is kindness. In order to reconnect with intention, I have to be on the same kindness wavelength as intention itself. I will make every effort to live in a cheerful kindness and I am confident that this will make the manifestation of my desires possible. It is through acts of kindness directed towards others that our immune system are strengthened and serotonin levels are increased! (Page 44). When you are kind to others, you receive kindness in return. Kindness given is kindness returned (page 45). By practicing and extending kindness everywhere, I am sure I will find support showing up in ways that I could never have predicted. My kindness will not only be practiced to human beings, it will also be extended towards animals, huge and small and the entire kingdom of life on the planet earth because the power of intention resides in everything on this planet. Simple kindness to one’s self and all that lives is the most powerful transformational force of all (page 73). This lesson has helped me to remove all unloving thoughts from my mind and I will practice kindness in all my thoughts, words, and actions. I will cultivate this kindness in my immediate acquaintances and family, and it will ultimately expand to my community. I will also treat myself with kindness when I eat, exercise, and play, everything else. I will extend kindness, expecting and asking nothing in return. I will continue to extend aid to less fortunate, and I will do it from the kindness of my heart, expecting not even thank you. Any act of kindness extended towards yourself, others or your environment matches you up with the kindness inherent in the universal power of intention. It’s an energizer for you, and causes this kind of energy to flow back into your life (page 78). When you’re in the service of others, or extend kindness beyond your own boundaries, you will feel connected to your Source. You’ll feel content, knowing that you’re doing the right thing (page 149).

v. Let go of the need to be right (page 84): This idea is important to me because it reminds me that when you let go of the need to be right, you are able to strengthen your connection to the power of intention. As I mentioned in my assessment of How to Win Friends and influence People, I personally do not like arguments but I have been regarding it as a weakness on my side. After getting this idea, I have learnt that my avoidance of arguments is my strength and I will maintain it. I have learnt that one can never win an argument because if you win it, you triumph over the other man and shoot his argument full of holes and prove that he is non compos mentis, you will feel fine. But what about him? You have made him feel inferior. You have hurt his pride. He will resent your triumph. I will always let go of this ego-driven need to be right by stopping myself in the middle of an argument and asking myself: Do I want to be right or be happy? When I choose the happy, my connection to intention will be strengthened. These moments will ultimately expand my new connection to the power of intention. The Universal Source will begin to collaborate with me in creating the life I was intended to live.

vi. Life is eternal (page 112): This idea is important to me because it reminds me that life is everlasting and undying and this makes me get rid of fear of death in my mind. I view myself as eternal, an infinite soul in a temporary expression of flesh. Only my physical body dies. I have now learnt to be relaxed with the concept of infinity and I see myself as an infinite being. Now death is not something I fear. I see death as taking off a garment or moving from one room into another-merely a transition.

vii. Your family relationships are in your mind (page 165): This idea was very important to me because it teaches me to change my mindset on how I view relationship with the members of my family. This will help me to hold no grudges, and practice forgiveness to the members of my family who might have wronged me. This will create a peaceful mind and I will have peace in all my family relationships. For example, in most of African culture, it is common to beat children when they make any mistake and I had developed bad attitude towards my elder relatives who used to punish me by beating me when I was still young. This lesson has taught me forgive them because they were simply doing what they have been taught to do over a life time, and the lifetime of our ancestors. I will shower them with understanding and forgiveness from my heart and I will develop a good relationship with them. Now my intention is to be authentic and peaceful with them. I will be the peace I am seeking from others (page 169).

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?

These lessons will help me to be driven by Intention and I will have a strong will that won’t permit anything to interfere with achieving my inner desire. I will develop a never-give-up attitude combined with an internal picture that will propel me toward fulfilling my dreams. I will become someone with intention. I will be proud of my ability to recognize and take the advantage of opportunities that arise, which opportunities have been passing unnoticed. These lessons will help me view Intention as a new way and make use of it in a manner that will lead me to define my-self. These lessons will help me to examine any and all self-imposed obstacles that need to be challenged and eradicated as I work a new at living and breathing this power of intention that was placed in my heart before my heart was even formed. I will eradicate all self imposed roadblocks that have been hindering me to achieve my goals. These lessons have offered me the opportunity to become aware of these blockages and explore ways of overcoming them. They teach me to remove lower energy obstacles; I have learnt to raise myself to the levels of energy where I am in the light I seek, where I am the happiness I desire, where I am the love that I feel is missing, where I am the unlimited abundance I crave. These lessons will also teach me how to impact those around me when I raise my energy level to the highest spiritual frequencies and live my days connected to intention (page 88). These ideas have taught me to be an appreciator rather than a depreciator of everything that shows up in my life (page 145). These lessons have helped me to know why I am here, I know that I am more than an encapsulated collection of bones, blood and organs in a black skin and hair covered body. I will live with a purpose and choose to avoid being detracted by demands of the ego, I now have great reverence for the world of Spirit, and commune with this Source, and I stay inspired.

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

i. “Dormant forces, facilities, and talents come alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be (page 5)”: This statement caught my attention because it assisted me to carry out inventory of the talents that I have. I discovered that there are some talents that I have used and led me to move ahead but there are still others that are still dormant that need to be awakened in order to move further ahead.

ii. “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for and ask for, believe that ye shall receive them [Mark 11:24] (page 18):” This statement, which is a scriptural quotation, attracted my attention because it has assisted me remove all doubts so that I create a harmonious thought with universal mind or intention. I now treat myself as if I already am what I would like to become. ‘When you walk across the fields with your mind pure and holy, then from all the stones, and all growing things, the sparks of their soul come and cling to you, and then they are purified and become a holy fire in you’(page 20).

iii. “The Ancestor of every action is a thought (page 53)” This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that we become what we think. This statement reminded me of the first introductory book I read when I was beginning this course: ‘As Man Thinketh’- Generally this means that we become what we have in our thoughts- that is, if we think positively, we will produce positive results but if we think negatively we will produce stumbling blocks that produce negative results. This statement has helped me to monitor my inner dialogue and match my thoughts to what I want and intend and want to create. For example, instead of thinking that ‘I’ve been always poor; I was raised on shortage and scarcity; I will remain poor’- I will rather direct my thoughts and think that ‘I intend to attract wealth and prosperity in unlimited abundance’. Every thought you have has an energy that will either strengthen or weaken you. It’s obviously a good idea to eliminate the thoughts that weaken you, since these thoughts are obstacles to creating a winning match with the universal, supreme Source of intention (page 70). Generally, I have learnt to be conscious of my thoughts because I know that every thought I have impacts me.

iv. “Self-importance is man’s greatest enemy, what weakens him is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of his fellow man. Self-importance requires that one spend most of one’s life offended by something or someone (page 82)”: This statement attracted my attention because it reminds me to avoid behaviors of superiority complex, arrogance and pride which repel the power of intention. In fact our feelings of self importance are what make us feel special and is the major impediment to connection to the power of intention.

v.“What you think of yourself is what you think of the world (page 137)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that what I consider the world to be will influence my personality, character, and qualities. The attitudes I have towards the world will emerge from my own assessment of my personal interaction with life. For example, if I view the world as full of anger, hatred, fear, bitterness, revenge…that is what I will reflect. On the other hand if I view the world as full of love, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, that is what I will reflect. It should be noted that at every act of evil in the world, there are a million acts of kindness. Therefore there is no need to view the world as evil. The universal field of intention is love, kindness, and beauty which it has for all that it brings into the material world. If you view yourself disrespectfully, you’ve forsaken, cast aside, or at the very least, sullied yourself to the power of intention (page 139).

vi. “In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing…But somehow we cannot start…Every moment we expect the spell to break…but does continue, pulse after pulse and we float with it” (page 151) this statement caught my attention and it is very important to be because it reminds me that I am here for the purpose that I signed up before I entered the world of particles and form. The above statement has assisted me to affirm to myself in my thoughts and words that I am here on purpose and I intend to live this awareness at all times. I will know that I am living my purpose when I witness expressions of gratitude from those I serve in whatever form or when I extend assistance to someone in need and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to live my life purposefully in tune with the will of the Source of all. ‘When you’re living your purpose, you’re dwelling in live. When you’re not dwelling in live, you’re off purpose (page 161).’

vii. “When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you (page 173)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me not to view the world as a world of scarcity but to view it a world of abundance. The statement has helped me to see potential for prosperity where I have always seen scarcity. For example, today when I want to achieve something, I imagine myself as already having it, I know in my thoughts that I am entitled to it. With no doubt what I intend to achieve will show up because I can see it within. I will no longer vibrate scarcity; my every individual vibrational utterance will be in concert with what I summon from my Source. I intend to feel successful and attract prosperity. I now see the world as an abundant, providing and friendly place. I can now affirm that I am capable of attracting success and abundance into my life because that is who I am (page 183).

viii. “Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them (page 231)”: This Statement attracted my attention because it reminds me that the qualities of creativity and genius are within me, awaiting my decision to match up with the power of intention. This statement will assist me to make a shift in my thinking so that I let go of old labels from other people who describe me what I am not, like: ‘Charles is a bit shy, so he won’t be good dealing with the public; he is not serious, he won’t be able to accomplish this task on his own…’. I will make a shift in my thinking to let of those labels and open myself to possibilities of greatness (page 335). From the above statement I now declare myself to be genius! My Source knows that I am genius. I know that any thought that challenges this notion is resistance, which will inhibits me from realizing my intention (page 241).

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

Everything in the book is clear and understandable. However, in order to leave no stone unturned, these minor editing errors should be corrected:

i. ‘I hope you ll consider (page 93 line 9 of paragraph 2)’: should be rewritten as ‘I hope you’ll consider’ (include omitted apostrophe).

ii. ‘Feeling good becomes more valuable then polishing your jewelry (page 179 line 4 of paragraph 4): ‘then’ should be replaced by ‘than’.

iii. You goal… (Page 183 line 3 of paragraph 2): ‘You’ should be replaced by ‘your’.

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:
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

Law of Attraction
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is that we are capable of attracting to our life whatever we give our attention, energy and focus to, whether positive or negative (page 12). The author teaches us how to become deliberate attractors and start consciously attracting more of the things we want in life and less of the things that you do not want. In short, he provides us with the tools to let the Law of Attraction improve our life.

i. When you make a statement containing the words don’t, not or no, you are actually giving attention and energy to what you don’t want (pages 21-25): This idea is important to me because it teaches me how important it is to select the words I use on a daily basis. I am informed that words have the capacity to attract either positive or negative vibrations that can have either positive or negative impact on my life depending on my choice. From this, I am taught to always avoid the use of the words and expressions that attract what I do not want. I will eliminate words like don’t, not and no in my vocabulary (e.g. don’t panic, don’t forget etc) because when I use these words, I am actually internalizing in my mind the exact thing I am told not to. This means I am actually giving attention and energy to what I DON’T want. When I use these words, I continue to give more attention, energy, and focus to what I am focusing to. Now, instead of saying don’t panic, I will use ‘stay calm.’ Since positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time, I will make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence in my mind. From now onwards, when I hear myself saying, don’t, not and no, I will ask myself “So what” in order to change the vibration and attract what I want and repel what I do not want.

ii. Giving our desire more positive attention, energy and focus increases vibration (page 51): This idea was very important to me because I am taught that by giving positive attention to my desire ensures that I am including the vibration of my desire in my current vibration and the law of attraction will respond to this vibration. If we doubt we are having something, we are sending negative vibration. This negative vibration is diluting or canceling the positive vibration of our desire. In other words, having strong desire (positive vibe), and having strong doubt (negative vibe), cancel each other. In many occasions, it has happened to me that when I give my desires positive attention, I always achieve what I desire.

iii. Law of Attraction doesn’t respond to words, it responds to how you feel about the words you use (page 58): This idea is very important to me because it reminds me that I should not only mention what I desire but I must start to feel that desire in order for the Law of Attraction to attract that desire towards me. I have been offered 8 statements on page 58 to ask myself which vibration I am sending, negative or negative. I have felt that I send positive vibrations for each statement. The following are the statements: “All my family relationships are harmonious, I love my body, I’m a millionaire, my business is booming, I have ideal health, I have a perfect life mate. I was advised on page 61 to use “I am in the process of…” like “I am in the process of creating ideal family relationship…”As I use the statements “I am in the process of…” these statements become true for me and positive vibration which the Law of Attraction will respond to by bringing me more of the same. When I catch myself saying ‘I don’t have something yet’, I will stop and instead say, ‘I’m in process attracting (page 101).’

iv. Allowing occurs in the absence of doubt (page 73): This idea is important to me because I am reminded that having strong desire is not enough. It is only when our resistance is removed that our desire is manifested. The faster our resistance/doubt is removed, the faster our desire can be realized (page 77). In other words, the speed at which the Law of Attraction responds to our desire is in direct proportion to how much you allow. From this perspective, I will always remove all doubts as faster as possible from my mind in order to realize my desire.

v. The Common source of doubt (negative vibration) is from our own limiting beliefs (page 81): This idea was very important to me because it reminds me that when my thoughts consist of a limiting belief, I am offering or sending a negative vibration which will prevent me from attracting my desire. I have learnt how to use tools that will assist me in changing my limiting beliefs. I will identify the when I start using phrases with the word because like “I would like to study for a Master’s degree but I can’t because am too old.” In such a case, I will eradicate this limiting statement by asking myself: “Is there anybody my age on the Planet Earth that has studied for a Master’s Degree at my age?” If the answer is “Yes”. Then I will ask myself the second question: “If so, how many people have been doing this today? Yesterday? Last week? Last month? Last year?” Finding evidence that others are having or doing what I want to do will help me to remove my doubt (page 109). From there, I will develop Allowing statement that “Right now, there are hundreds of people, even in their fifties and sixties studying for their Master’s Degrees.” By this Allowing statement, I will lessen my doubt and increase my desire. As I begin reading my Allowing statement, I will begin to feel hope and the diminishing of doubt and the Law of Attraction will respond to my desire for my ideal education accomplishment. I will eliminate doubt and leave the rest to the Law of attraction. ‘You needn’t be overwhelmed because the Law of Attraction will bring the results to you (page 107)’. When I catch myself saying ‘I don’t know how to figure this out,’ I will stop and say to myself: ‘That’s not my job. I am going to allow the Law of Attraction to figure this out.’

vi. When you find and experience proof (evidence)of the Law of Attraction, celebrate it by acknowledging how close you come to getting what you desired (page 93): This idea is important to me because I am reminded that it is in the celebration of the closeness of the match that I offer more vibration of what I desire. At this moment, the Law of Attraction will respond to my vibration. Therefore, I will always find the proof of closeness to my desire and rejoice. In my life I apply this principle when I feel discouraged that I will not achieve my goal. I carry out an inventory of what I have already achieved in the past and this gives me courage to go forward until I achieve my goal.

vii. Appreciation and gratitude help you send out strong positive vibrations (page 99): This idea is very important to me because I am reminded how joyful it is to appreciate something. When I am appreciating something, I am offering a feeling and vibration of pure joy. As I appreciate, the Law of Attraction will be unfolding to bring more of what I am offering.’ As an example, when I was making this assessment, my daughter Charlotte who is in grade three entered my room and read my work which I was typing on the computer. She made some corrections on my work where I had repeated some words. I appreciated her corrections by saying “thank you”. This appreciation made me feel joyous and I got more courage to accomplish the assessment which I had planned to accomplish the next day. At that very moment, the Law of Attraction was responding to the vibration I was offering to my daughter and giving me more of the same. Imagine what would have happened if I would have locked myself in the room trying to avoid ‘disturbances’! From now onwards, I will always take time to appreciate anything. It is the feeling that is attached to my appreciation that is important. Appreciation and gratitude will help me offer strong, positive vibrations (page 100).

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?

These ideas will help me to use the powerful force called the Law of Attraction that is present within my life and make it work for me. These lessons will help me to shift my vibrations from lack to abundance and from negative vibrations to positive ones. They will bring to me some creative information on how I will manifest my desire. From now on, the moment I notice, a lack of results, I will focus on the possibility that ‘lots can happen (page 103)’. These lessons will help me to change the way I view myself and others. I am confident that my life will become richer and fuller because of these ideas.

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

i. “Having a strong desire with strong doubt means that your desire will not be manifested (page 78)”: This statement caught and attracted my attention because it emphasizes how important it is to remove doubt in order for one to achieve what is desired. In fact by listening to that statement, it will help me to manifest my desire which will lead to my self development and development of those around me. Having a strong desire with no doubt means my desire will be manifested quickly. On the other hand, if I have a strong desire and strong doubt, my desire will come slowly to me, if at all (page 79). The speed at which I will win my desire will be determined by how much doubt I have.

ii. “Remember, it’s the absence of doubt that that will bring your desire faster (page 93)”: This statement caught my attention and is very important to me because it reminds me that in order to manifest my desire, I need to remove the doubt because doubt is what stops my desire from coming to me. Doubt can hinder me from achieving my desire faster. This gives me more guts to avoid my doubts and increase my beliefs in whatever positive goal I intend to achieve. This has erased the tendencies of doubt in my minds.

iii. “Abundance is a feeling. Be more deliberate to include the feeling of abundance in your current vibration- your Vibrational Bubble (page 113)”: Since all feelings, whether good or bad, can be duplicated, and abundance is a good feeling, I will duplicate this feeling instead of duplicating bad feelings of lack, sadness, hopelessness… I will duplicate the feelings of abundance by changing the way I use my words and thoughts hence increasing abundance in my life. I will be more deliberate to include the feelings of abundance in my current vibration and become aware of many different sources of abundance (like receiving a free training course like this one, receiving a thank-you email, etc).

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 law of attraction is easy to read and easy to apply. The exercises are also easy to follow.

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 useful?

The book has practical exercise to assist the reader to apply the principles of Law of Attraction. I completed all the exercises and I found them useful.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Nonviolent Communication
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

This book is a powerful tool for peace and partnership. The author shows us how to listen empathically and also communicate our authentic feelings and needs. The main idea the author is trying to convey is how we can find an effective language for saying what is on our mind and in our heart. He provides us with practical skills urgently needed for a less violent, more caring world. In this book, the author describes that, in numerous conflicts, once ‘enemies’ have been able to hear each other’s needs, they are able to connect compassionately and find new solutions to the previously ‘impossible’ impasses. The author guides us in how we express ourselves and hear others (page 3).

i. We perceive relationships in a new light when we use our Nonviolent Communication to hear our own deeper needs and those of others (page 3): This idea was important to me because it reminds me to reframe how I have been expressing myself and hearing others. Instead of my habitual, automatic reactions, I will use my words consciously based on awareness of what I am perceiving, feeling, and wanting. I will learn to express myself with honest and clarity while simultaneously paying others a respectful and empathic attention. This idea teaches me to observe carefully, and to be able to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting me. I will eliminate my old patterns of defending, withdrawing, or attacking in the face of judgment and criticism and come to perceive myself and others, as well as my intentions and relationships, in a new light. Resistance, defensiveness and violent reactions on my side will be minimized.

ii. Unless we become the change we wish to see in the world, no change will ever take place (page xiv): This lesson was very important to me because it reminds me to first change myself before I shift blame to others. I have to change so that I can set an example for others to follow. I do not need to wait for the other person to change first. This idea is true to me-when I started changing as I started taking this course, my positive change had also a positive impact on my family, friends and other acquaintances. If we change ourselves we can change the world, and changing ourselves begins with changing our language and methods of communication (page xv).

iii. “We are trained to be ‘other directed’ rather than to be in contact with ourselves (page 37)”: This idea was important to me because it reminds me to view and evaluate myself without basing on the comments made by others. I have to develop confidence in myself and evaluate how I am developing irrespective of other peoples viewpoints provided I am progressing. I must be aware of some individuals who can discourage me when I take an initiative that aims at personal development.

iv. Making requests in clear, positive, concrete action language reveals what we really want (page 70): This idea was very important to me because it has helped me to change the way I have making my requests. I tend to believe that by simply expressing my feelings, it will be clear to the listener on what I want yet this is not always the case. The clearer we are about what we want, the more likely it is that we will get it (page 74). This is also true when addressing a group. When we address a group without being clear on what we want back, unproductive discussion will often follow. People to whom I make request normally tell me that I am not serious on what I am requesting. They tend to think that I am just joking and do not need that request to be met. They end up not meeting my request. I have now learnt to be clear and serious to concretely and clearly reveal what I am demanding. Just expressing my feelings may not be clear to the listener on what I want him or her to do. I will avoid vague, abstract or ambiguous phrasing and use positive action language by stating what I am requesting rather than what I am not (page 85).

v. Ask before offering advice or reassurance (page 92).This idea was important to me because it teaches me to first focus full attention on the other person’s message by getting clarifications from him or her on his or her position before offering my advice. I will always give to others the time and space they need to express themselves fully and to fill understood before I proceed to giving advice.

vi. Express appreciation to celebrate, not to manipulate (page 186): This idea was very important to because I have learnt that once people sense manipulation behind appreciation, their productivity drops. The beauty of appreciation is spoiled when they begin to notice the lurking intent to get something of them. I have learnt not to exaggerate when giving appreciation.

vii. “We tend to notice what’s wrong rather than what’s right (page 190):” This idea was very important because it has reminded me of the mistake I make especially when I am dealing with my children. In most cases, I bring up what’s gone wrong but I seldom bring up what’s gone right. I will learn to give the credit where it is due. I will continually search for improvements in this area. I will always celebrate with my children the things that are going well for example when they improve performance in school.

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?

These ideas will not only help me to improve my communication techniques, but they will also teach me to transform the thinking, language and moralistic judgments that have been keeping me from enriching relationships that I dream of. I believe that these lessons will help me to resolve conflicts with ease, more easily get what I want without using demands, begin to hear the needs of others with less struggle, strengthen my personal and professional relationships, and start living my fullest potential.

Applying these ideas will help and guide me toward a more loving, compassionate, and nonviolent way of understanding and functioning with others, and foster more compassion in the world.

These ideas will help me transform potential conflicts into peaceful dialogue. I will learn simple tools to defuse arguments and create compassionate connections with my family, friends, and other acquaintances.

These ideas will help me to be dominated by love, respect, understanding, appreciation, compassion, and concern for others rather than self centered and selfish, greedy, hateful, prejudiced suspicious, and aggressive attitudes that dominate our thinking (page xv).

With the above ideas, I will learn to: put my primary focus on connection through empathic listening rather than “being right” or “getting what I want”; transform conflict into mutually satisfying outcomes; defuse anger and frustration peacefully; create personal and professional relationships grounded in mutual respect, compassion, and emotional safety; break patterns that lead to arguments and depression; and move beyond power struggles to cooperation and trust. In short these ideas will change my life positively.

4. 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.

There are many statements which the author made that particularly got my attention and were important to me to the extent I cannot cite them all. I will just cite these four statements as examples.

i. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. For as you judge others, so you will yourselves be judged (page 1)”: This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because it reminds me of the danger of judging others and I will stop judging them because it is God who will bring judgment to his people. As I mentioned in my assessment of How to Win Friends and Influence People, this idea has reminds me of a proverb in our language that “Iyo utunze umuntu urutoki rumwe uba witunze intoki eshatu”, loosely translated as “When you point one finger at someone (as a sign of judgment), you are pointing three fingers at yourself (which means you are judging yourself three times).”

ii. “Don’t just do something, stand there (page 92”): This statement attracted my attention and was very important to me because it teaches me that the key ingredient of empathy is presence. I will always try to be wholly present with the other party who needs me and I will try to feel what they are experiencing. I have learnt that it is better to allow others the opportunity to fully express themselves before tuning our attention to solutions or requesting for relief. When we proceed too quickly to what people might be requesting, we may not convey our genuine interest in their feelings and needs; instead, they may get the impression that we are in a hurry to either be free of them or to fix their problem (page 101).

iii. “We need Empathy to give empathy (page 103)”: This statement was very important to me because it teaches me that that if we become skilled at giving ourselves empathy, we often experience in just a few seconds a natural release of energy that then enables us to be present with the other person. When we sense ourselves being defensive, or unable to empathise, we need to (1) stop, breath, give ourselves empathy; (2) scream nonviolently; or (3) take time out (104).

iv. “Let us become the change we seek in the world (page 129)”: This statement attracted my attention and was important to me because it reminds me to always set good examples of the change I want to see in others. I will avoid the saying “Do as I say but do not do as I do”. I will continue be setting good example especially to my family in order to make it behave properly. I believe that these good examples will be extended to my community and so on.

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

Everything in the book is clear and understandable.

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 useful?

Yes the, the book contained exercises for the reader to complete. I completed all exercises and my performance was as follows:

i. Exercise 1: Observation or evaluation?-9/10
ii. Exercise 2: Expressing feelings-8/10
iii. Exercise 3: Acknowledging needs -10/1
iv. Exercise 4: Expressing requests-7/10
v. Exercise 5: Receiving Empathically versus Empathically-9/10
vi. Average Points: 8.6/10

These exercises were useful to me because they helped me to master nonviolent communication skills. I will repeat them to ensure that I master them 100%.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Unlimited Power
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey in Unlimited Power is how we can achieve the extraordinary quality of life we desire and deserve, and how to master our personal and professional life. The author tells us that by harnessing of the mind, we can do, have, achieve, and create anything we want for our life. With Unlimited Power, Anthony Robbins passionately and eloquently reveals the science of personal achievement and teaches us: how to find out what we really want, the seven lies of Success, how to reprogram our mind in minutes to eliminate fears and phobias, the secret of creating instant rapport with anyone we meet, how to duplicate the success of others, and the five keys to wealth and happiness. The author shows us, step by step, how to perform at our peak while gaining emotional and financial freedom, attaining leadership and self-confidence, and winning cooperation of others. The book gives us the knowledge and courage to remake ourselves and our world. It provides the reader with a unique approach and the power to program his own thoughts and behaviors. The author is not teaching a mystical skill, but rather a practical set of tools on how to be able to get yourself to take effective action in spite of any fear you might have, and the ability to get yourself to do whatever it takes to succeed is a very real power. This book is directed toward providing our brain with the most effective signals to empower us to take successful action. It is about maximizing our personal power, learning how to be effective and successful in what we try to do (page 403). It gives us the tools and skills and ideas that can change our life.

i. Those who succeed are committed to changing and being flexible until they do create the life they desire (page 13): This idea was personally most important to me because it teaches me to make every effort and keep trying until I achieve my goal even if a meet some obstacles. I believe that if I keep trying, I will sooner or later be rewarded by achieving my desires. Throughout this course, I have been given examples of successful people who tried hundreds of times but in the end they achieved their desires. Whenever they failed, they took that failure to serve as a lesson to be flexible and take a different course of action. I will follow the example of these people and be confident that I will be rewarded for my disciplined efforts. For every disciplined effort, there is a multiple reward (page 11). This idea has taught me to take action instead of being stopped by fear (page 14). I believe that this will provide me with an opportunity for me to produce results I previously had thought as impossible (page 15).

ii. Our beliefs about what we are and what we can be precisely determine what we will be (page 16): This idea was important to me because it teaches me that if we believe in magic, we will live a magical life. If we believe our life is defined by narrow limits, we’ve made those limits real. What we believe to be true, what we believe to be possible, becomes true, becomes possible. As I mentioned in my assessment of “Law of Attraction”, when my thoughts consist of a limiting belief, I am offering or sending a negative vibration which will prevent me from attracting my desire. I have learnt that belief is the most important thing because if I can’t believe what is being put forward, then I won’t try it; I won’t discover its power; and I will miss the secret for good. But if I become prepared to give it a try, I will open up the possibility of making a really life-changing discovery… my own belief is that opportunity surrounds us every day of our lives but we tend to miss most of it simply because of what our minds are focused on. I will create an empowering belief system because I have learnt that people who succeed have very strong beliefs in themselves and the possibility of success. These successful people operate with positive, empowering beliefs about their own capabilities. They believe they are worthy of winning. This certainty is an essential component of success. It is these beliefs that allow them to set high goals and to never give up. I will eliminate negative beliefs like ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I am not creative’ or ‘it is too difficult’, ‘I can never get a well paid job because I don’t have a Masters Degree…’ which may hold me back and make me never achieve my full potential. If we represent to ourselves that things aren’t going to work, they won’t. If we form a representation that things will work, then we create the internal resources we need to produce the state that will support us in producing positive results (page 44). In short, this idea will help me identify and eliminate my limiting beliefs and adopt new winning beliefs instead!

iii. In every man and woman’s life there comes a time of ultimate challenge…some people use such tests as opportunities to become better people-others allow these experiences of life to destroy them (page 23): This idea was important to me because it teaches me that people who succeed in life do not have fewer problems than people who fail. I am told that the only people without problems are those in cemeteries (page 25). This has taught me to improve the way I communicate to myself whenever I encounter problems in my life. Whenever I meet any challenging problem, I will consistently communicate to myself that this experience has occurred for a purpose and that this experience will someday provide me with even greater advantages in my goal to make a difference in the world. As a result of this communication with myself, I will form sets of beliefs and values that will continue to direct my life to a sense of success rather than failure. ‘Good timber does not grow with ease, the stronger the wind, the stronger the tree’ (page 65). I now believe that every adversity contains the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit (page 70).

iv. Life is like a river. It’s moving, and you can be at the mercy of the river if you don’t take deliberate, conscious action to steer yourself in a direction you have predetermined (page 46): This ideas was very important to me because it reminds me to set a direction for my life because if I don’t plant the mental and physiological seeds of the results I want, weeds will grow automatically. If I don’t consciously direct my own minds and states, my environment may produce undesirable haphazard states and these results may be disastrous. I have learnt that the key idea in this book is that I am not just a leaf in the wind (page 62). I have the capacity to consciously direct my life.

v. “There is power in Goal setting (page 200)” This idea was very important to me because it teaches me the importance of goal setting. I will now start setting my personal goals by putting them on paper and evaluating my progress on a regular basis. I have learnt that in life successful people are the ones with written specific goals. I will follow their example in order to become successful. If I believe we all have the same neurology, then we all have the same potential resources available to us for becoming successful. It is our strategy-that is, how we use those resources available to us-that determines the results we produce (page 113). It is because some of us do not have a clear, specific set of goals written down with a plan for achieving those goals. “People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals-that is goals that do not inspire them (page 199)” and “Winning starts with beginning (page 201).” Knowing your outcome is the first key to reaching it and ‘a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step (page 205)’. Where there is no vision people perish (page 214).

vi. “Rapport is the ultimate tool for producing results with other people (page 231)”: This idea was important to me because it reminds me of the importance of having good relationship with others. I am told that rapport with others makes almost any task simpler, easier, and more enjoyable. I have learnt that people are my most important resource and I have to create good relationship with them in order to make them help me get where I want more rapidly.

vii. “One can stand still in a flowing stream, but not in the world of men (page 276)”: This idea was very important to me because it teaches me to be flexible when dealing with people and be ready to alter my opinions. I am told that “The man who never alters his opinions is like standing water and breeds reptiles of the mind (page 277).” Instead of opposing someone’s views, I will be flexible enough to sense the creation of resistance, find points for agreement, align himself with them, and then redirect communication in a way he wants to go. “One who is too insistent on his own views, finds few to agree with him (page 281).” However, this does not mean I should sell out my belief; instead, I will reach my outcome more effectively by gently aligning and then leading rather than pushing violently. One can persuade better through agreement than through conquest (page 287).

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?

These ideas will motivate me and provide me with the tools that I will use positively to affect every area of my life. They will help me to set and follow my personal and professional goals. They will help me to change how I feel about myself and my world. They will help me develop enabling states like confidence, love, inner strength, joy, ecstasy, belief that will tap great wellsprings of my personal power and eliminate paralyzing states like confusion, depression, fear, anxiety, sadness-that can leave me powerless (page 36). These ideas have provided me with a specific, scientific way to quickly change my beliefs so that they support me in attainment of my most desired goals (page 16). In short, these ideas will assist me to produce results I desire.

4. 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.

There are many statements which the author made that particularly got my attention and were important to me to the extent I cannot cite them all. I will just give examples.

i. “The Great end of life is not knowing but action” (page 3)”: This statement caught my attention and was important to me because it reminds me that having knowledge without putting it into practice cannot lead to success. This reminds me that I have to put into practice the knowledge I have already acquired. Action is what unites every great success…Action is what produces results…Knowledge is only potential power until it comes into the hands of someone who knows how to get himself to take effective action…the literal definition of power is the ability to act (page 7). I have learnt that knowledge is important, but it’s not enough (page 405). One of the steps to success is to take action; otherwise our desires will always be dreams (page 11). We must therefore take actions we believe will create the greatest probability of producing results we desire (page 11). I have learnt that I live in an age where fabulous success is available to all of us, but that those who achieve it are those who take action.

ii. “The ancestor of every action is thought (page 47)”: This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because it emphasizes the importance of thought and reminds me that I will achieve what I think or what I have in my mind. Therefore in order to act positively, I will have to develop positive thinking. “They can because they think they can (page 58)” and “The mind is its own place, and in it self Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n (page 69).” “There is either bad or good, but thinking makes it so.” I have learnt that “Nothing has any power over me other than that which I give it through my conscious thought (page 85).” In order to produce positive results, I will control my brain; it does not have to control me (page 94). It’s critical we look at what we are feeding our minds if we expect them to grow and nurture our ability to fully experience and enjoy this thing we call life (page 402).

iii. “Man is what he believes (page 53)”: This statement caught my attention and was important to me because it emphases the importance of belief in our life. We are told that beliefs are like commanders of the brain. They are compass and maps that guide us toward our goals and give us surety to know we’ll get there (page 55). When you believe something is true, you literally go into the state of its being true. I have learnt that handled effectively, beliefs can be the most forces for creating what I desire in my life. When we congruently believe something is true, it is like delivering a command to our brain as how to represent what is occurring (page 54). “One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interest.” This statement will help me to develop beliefs that will carry me through to success! I now know that with powerful guiding beliefs, I have the power to take action and create the world I want to live in. Beliefs will help me to see what I want and energize me to get it. If you have a strong belief in possibility, it’s likely you will achieve it (page 72). Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt (page 74).

iv. “Whatever humans have learned had to be learned as a consequence of only trial and error. Humans have learned only through mistakes (page 74)”: This statement caught my attention and is important to me because it teaches me that if I try something and do not get the outcome I want, it’s simply a feedback. I have to use that information to make fine distinctions about what I need to do to produce results that I desire. Belief in failure is a way of poisoning the mind (page 75). Nothing we can attempt to do if we believe we could fail. This brings me to think of a person learning to ride a bicycle or a baby learning how to walk. In both cases, if one does not try many times despite the fact that he falls down, he can never succeed. This is the same in all human activities.

v. “He who knows much about others may be learned, but he who understands himself is more intelligent. He who controls others may be powerful, but he who mastered himself is mightier still (page 366)”: This statement was very important to me and caught my attention because it emphasizes the importance of self understanding and self control. If we can be capable of understanding ourselves and controlling our behaviors, there is no doubt that we can take absolute charge of our life and make a profound change in our entire life. However, failure to understand and control ourselves is the major reason why we involve ourselves in behaviors and habits that ruin our lives. This statement has helped me to always take time to analyze myself to identify my strengths and weaknesses. I believe this will help me to improve my life.

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

Everything in the book is clear and understandable.

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Goal Setting 101
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is that achievements and accomplishments do not happen accidentally. They are the result of clearly defined goals acted upon until completion. The author tells us that goals determine what we will or will not become or accomplish. The author’s goal in writing this book is to offer goal setting methods, insights, and suggestions to those seeking their signature pass to success (page 4). In short, this book introduces us to the fundamentals of goal setting. It explains to us how we must think, plan, execute, manage and eventually celebrate our way to success (page 5).

i. To be or not to be is directly related to your ability to set or not to set a goal (page 4). This idea was important to me because it teaches me to set my own goals effectively. I will stop being content to make the most of what happens to come my way. I will rather devise, invent, and create situations tailored to my strength. I will create circumstances rather than merely responding to them (page 17). This is the essence of being proactive as opposed to being reactive.

ii. Developing a vision is one of the fundamentals of Success (page 8): This idea was very important to me because I am reminded that a vision is a way of seeing or conceiving what I want to create or achieve. I cannot plan without knowing what I envision for my life. It would be like starting a trip without first determining my destination, purpose of trip, and what I expect when I get there.

iii. You are born with great capabilities but you will not achieve your potential until you call upon yourself to fulfill it (page 10): This idea was very important to me because it teaches me that I was born with talents but what is lacking is developing these talents. These talents can only be developed if I set goals on what I want to achieve in life. I am told that the profound difference between successful people and others are goals they choose to pursue. Individuals with similar talents, intelligence, and abilities will achieve different results because they select and pursue different goals. It is high time I set my goals to determine what I want to be.

iv. Write down your own goals (page 19): This lesson was very important to me because it has touched my weakness of not writing down my own goals. Since I began taking this course, I have been reminded time and again to write down my own goals. I write them on a piece of paper but I sometimes misplace that paper believing that I will keep those goals in my head. I have learnt that this is a great mistake. It has been made clear in this book that “Don’t make a mistake of thinking that you can keep your goals in your head. For goal setting to have any value, goals must be written down. Only by writing each step can you see where you’re going. Similarly, writing down your goals also enables you to look back to determine if you have done what you planned to do!” I have learnt that I increase the probability of achieving my goal when I write it down. Writing something down is the first step toward achieving it because it is harder to deceive myself or someone else when my idea is exposed on paper. It is like signing a contract.

v. What does a leader do? A leader leads! You have no choice but to lead yourself in the direction of your goals, no one else will do the job for you (page 26): This idea was very important to me because it reminds me that I cannot lead others if I am not capable of leading myself. The only way to achieve a goal is to lead yourself to victory. I will learn to be a leader of myself before I learn to lead others.

vi. Always set deadline (page 28): This idea was very important to me because it reminds that lack of specific deadline often results in a lack of focused approach to attaining a specific goal. No timeline=No commitment! Litmus test of commitment is a clearly understood deadline. I have been unable and unwilling to establish the deadline for my goals (which are not even written down) but now I am going to reexamine my commitment.

vii. Learn to manage Fear (page 37): This was a very important lesson to me because as I mentioned in my assessment of Keys to Success, if we fill our minds with FEAR accompanied by doubt and unbelief in our ability to connect with and use the forces of infinite intelligence, the law of autosuggestion will take this spirit of unbelief and use it as a pattern by which our subconscious mind will translate it into its physical equivalent. This will stop us from achieving our goals. Our mind should become sold on success and refuse to accept the fear that may lead to failure of achieving our goals. If close the door of fear behind me, I am sure I will quickly see the door of faith open before me and hence achieve my set goals.

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

These ideas will help me to become intimately aware of my personal definition of success. I will learn how I can plan my way to success. I will be provided with the principles on how to implement my plan. I will also learn the rules that will keep me on track as I move toward achieving my goals.

4. 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.

There are many statements which the author made that particularly got my attention and were important to me to the extent I cannot cite them all. I will just cite these six statements as examples.

i. “A goal is an end toward which you direct specific effort (page 7)”: This statement got my attention because it provided me with a precise definition of a goal. Originally, I have been having a problem of differentiating a goal from other words like objective, target, mission, vision, strategy, project, aim, ambition, purpose, inspiration, … to mention but a few. Since I have got the clear meaning of a goal, this will help me to go a further step to set goals. Otherwise, one cannot set and achieve a goal without knowing its meaning.

ii. “The Wicked witch can never be happy as long as she continued to compare herself to someone else (page 11)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that I should not pursue things that I see other people achieve. I have to be authentic and set my own goals in order to succeed in life. This statement has taught me to set my own goals and take pride in them. It’s all about ownership and authenticity.

iii. “Prepare well, deeply and thoroughly, in advance! (page 20)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me to devote time to preparations related to an operation or a goal. I am reminded that committing resources to a poorly prepared project is a waste of time and resource. This goes with proper ‘planning as it is said that If you fail to plan you plan to fail’.

iv. “Results are judge and jury. In the long run, it’s what you do, not what you say, that will destroy you (page 27):” This statement was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me to act rather than saying or even writing down what I will not fulfill. Actions are of greater consequences than words. I will strive to say what needs to be said and then act accordingly.

v. “Everything that comes out of your mouth should be without doubt (page 31)”: This statement caught my attention because, as I mentioned in my assessment of Law of Attraction, having a strong desire with strong doubt means that your desire will not be manifested. This emphasizes how important it is to remove doubt in order for one to achieve his or her goal. In fact by listening to that statement, it will help me to achieve my goals which I will set and write down on paper. Setting goals with no doubt of achieving them will mean that my goals will be achieved. On the other hand, if I set goals while doubting if I will achieve them, my goals will partially be achieved, if at all. When I will achieve the set goals will be determined by how much doubt I have. In conclusion, I will remove the doubt because doubt is what will stop me from achieving my set goals.

vi. Go Extra Mile (page 27): This statement caught my attention because it reminded me of the quote I mentioned in my assessment of Keys to Success that “There are types of people who never amount to anything. There are those who never do anything except what they are told to do. And there are those who can not even do what they are told to do. Those who get ahead do the things that should be done without being told and they don’t stop there, they go extra mile and do much more than is expected of this.” In order to advance, I will always do more than what I am asked to do.

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

Everything in the book is clear and understandable.

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 useful?

Yes the book contained four exercises at the end of each section. They were on:

i. identification of goals;
ii. SWOT Analysis;
iii. Traits and characteristics; and
iv. Goals Setting;

I completed all the exercises and I found them very useful as they have helped me to learn how to set my goals, identify my strengths and weaknesses; identify my traits and characteristics.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Goals!
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is to explain why some people achieve all their goals while others simply dream of having a better life. The author presents the essential principles we need to know to make our dreams come true. He presents powerful and effective systems for setting and achieving goals. He teaches us how to determine our personal strengths, decide what we truly value in life, and focus on what we really want to accomplish in the years ahead. We are shown how to increase our self confidence, solve every problem or obstacle we meet, overcome difficulties, respond to challenges, and achieve goals no matter what happens. He provides twenty-one of the most important ideas and strategies ever discovered for achieving everything that we could ever want in life (page 5).

i. “Write down your goals, make plans to achieve them, and work on your plans every single day (page ix)”: This idea was personally most important to me because it emphasizes the importance of writing down goals and planning. I am told that, if I followed it, would be of more help to me than anything else I could ever learn. I am taught that this simple concept has been more valuable to many university graduates than four years of study. I have started to follow this idea and I believe that it will change my life. As I mentioned in my assessment of Goal Setting 101, this lesson was very important to me because it has touched my weakness of not writing down my own goals. From now onwards, I will not make a mistake of thinking that I can keep my goals in my head. For goal setting to have any value, goals must be written down. Only by writing each step I can see where I am going. Similarly, writing down my goals also will enable me to look back to determine if I have done what I planned to do!

ii. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent (page 22”): This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to keep my mind positive, refuse blame other people for anything. I will stop talking about who is to blame as the cause of my failure. Every time I criticize someone else, complain about something I don’t like, or condemn someone else for something that they have done or not done, I trigger feelings of negativity and anger within myself. And I am the one who suffers. My negativity doesn’t affect the other person at all. Being angry with someone is allowing him or her to control my emotions, and often the entire quality of my life, at long distance. This is just plain silly. I have learnt that once I decide to accept complete responsibility for myself, my situation, and for everything that happens to me, I can turn confidently toward my work and the affairs of my life. I become “the master of my fate and the captain of my soul. (Page 23)”. I will always remind myself that I am where I am and what I am because of what I have done or failed to do. I am very much the architect of my own destiny. I have learnt that it is me personally who is usually the major roadblock that is setting the speed at which I achieve any goal that I set for myself (page 110).

iii. Whatever you believe with conviction becomes your reality (page 70): This idea is important to me because, as I said in my assessment of Giant Steps, I personally have been failing in some endeavors just because I believed that I was weak and incompetent in this or that. For example, during my school time, I believed that I was intelligent in all subjects except in math where I believed I was not talented in that field and indeed I performed badly in this subject whereas I was excelling in other subjects. Now I have learnt that once I believe that something is true and possible, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have now changed my mindset and developed a belief that aims at success in whatever goal I set for myself. I will avoid beliefs that lead to failure. Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. The worst of all beliefs are self-limiting beliefs. If you believe yourself to be limited in some way, whether or not it is true, it becomes true for you. If you believe it, you will act as if you were deficient in that particular area of talent or skill. Overcoming self-limiting beliefs and self-imposed limitations is often the biggest obstacle standing between you and the realization of your full potential (page 72). My responsibility to myself is to cast off all the self-limiting beliefs and accept that I am an extraordinarily capable and talented person. I am engineered for greatness and designed for success. I have learnt that I have competencies and capabilities that have never been tapped. I have the ability within myself, right now, to accomplish almost any goal I can set for myself if I am willing to work long enough and hard enough to achieve. The good news about beliefs is that all beliefs are learned. They can therefore be unlearned, especially if they are not helpful. When I came into the world, I had no beliefs at all – about myself, my religion, my political party, other people, or the world in general. Today, I “know” a lot of things. There are many things that I know about myself that are simply not true. And these are almost always in the area of self-limiting beliefs. The starting point of unlocking more of my potential is now for me to identify my self-limiting beliefs and then ask, “What if they were not true, at all?” What if I were possessed of an extraordinary ability in an area where I didn’t think I were very good at all, such as selling, entrepreneurship, public speaking or money making? By questioning my beliefs, and by refusing to accept that I am limited in any way, I will take complete charge of my life and careers, and create new realities for myself and for those around me. And what countless others have done, I can do as well (page 76). “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, can achieve (page 190)”.

iv. “Eat less and exercise more (Page 103):” This idea was important to me because it taught me that I should improve the quality of my life through exercising. For example I never used to like doing physical exercises but I have started practising them. This has improved my health and I will live longer with good health and better life than the one who does not practise physical exercises. This idea reminds me to be careful with my eating habits. I am reminded that when you eat less you live longer. I am reminded that if I discipline myself to eat a little bit less, but eat higher quality foods, and simultaneously exercise a little bit more each day, I can get into the rhythm of losing one ounce per day. No matter how much I weigh today, if I lose one ounce each day that will equal about two pounds per month. Two pounds per month will be 24 pounds per year. I will follow this advice and I believe this will improve on my health.

v. “You become what you think about — most of the time (page 108)”: This idea was very important to me because it teaches me that my outer world ultimately becomes a reflection of my inner world, and mirrors back to me what I think about. I am told that whatever I think about continuously emerges in my reality. In order to be successful, I will practice to think about what I want, and how to get it. I will stop thinking and talking about what I don’t want. I will stop talking about my problems and worries. I will keep my thoughts and conversation on the topics of my most intensely desired goals. I will think and talk about what I want and I believe that by positive thinking, I achieve my goals. Whatever you can hold in your mind on a continuing basis, you can have (page 177). I have learnt that one of the important mental laws is, “Whatever is impressed, is expressed.” Whatever you impress deeply into your subconscious mind will eventually be expressed in your external world. Now my aim in mental programming is to impress my goals deeply into my subconscious mind so that they “lock in” and take on a power of their own.

vi. “Practice Single-Handling on Each Task (page 171):” This idea was very important to me because it teaches me to concentrate on a task without being distracted by other minor tasks. From this I will discipline myself to concentrate without diversion or distraction. If I find myself getting distracted, or I feel tempted to take a break or procrastinate, I will motivate myself by continually repeating, “Back to work! Back to work! Back to work!” I will then renew my efforts to push the task through to completion. Thomas Edison once wrote, “My success is due more to my ability to work continuously on one thing without stopping than to any other single quality.” I will practice this principle as well.

vii. Develop the habits of time management (page 174): This idea was very important to me because it is going to help resolve one of my problems related to time management and procrastination. From now onwards, whenever I find myself slowing down, or experiencing the urge to procrastinate or delay, I will repeat these words to myself: “Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!” I will develop a sense of urgency. I will create a bias for action. I will immediately get started, get going, and work fast. I have disciplined myself to select my most important task and then launch into it immediately and then stay with it until it is done. I put my daily tasks on paper and keep checking if I meet the deadline. I am confident that if I apply time management principles and practices, they will be the keys to peak performance in every part of my 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?

The above ideas will help me to accomplish any goals I set for myself. The regular and systematic practicing of these ideas will take me from poverty to prosperity, from frustration to fulfillment, from underachievement to success and satisfaction. These ideas will help me to set clear, written goals for my future and make plans to accomplish them. These ideas have taught me that Living without clear goals are like driving in a thick fog. No matter how powerful or well engineered my car, I drive slowly, hesitantly, making little progress on even the smoothest road. These ideas have helped me to crystallize my visions and values into a concrete goals and objectives that I will work on every single day. These lessons have helped me to know that within me I have the ability to solve any problem or to overcome any obstacle on the path to my goal, if I desire the goal intensely enough. I have learnt that I have within me, right now, all the intelligence and ability I will ever need to overcome any obstacle that could possibly hold me back (page 109). By practicing rules and principles provided in the above ideas, I will be able to accomplish more in the coming months and years than most people accomplish in a lifetime. The only requirement on my side for lifelong success is the habit of taking action on my plans, goals, ideas and insights.

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

i. “Living without clear goals is like driving in a thick fog (page 8)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me of the danger of living without goals. I will now decide upon my goals to clear the fog immediately. This will allow me to focus and channel my energies and abilities. Clear goals will enable me to step on the accelerator of my own life and leap ahead rapidly toward achieving more of the things I really want. On the other hand, if I do not give clear instructions to my brain and my subconscious mind, I will be largely unaware of all the opportunities and possibilities around me that can help me to achieve my goals. I will seldom see them or notice them. By simply deciding exactly what it is you want, you will begin to move unerringly toward your goal, and your goal will start to move unerringly toward you. At exactly the right time, and in exactly the right place, you and the goal will meet (page 9).

ii. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration (page 30): This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to develop a Burning Desire which is the starting point of all goal attainment. I am now developing an intense, burning desire for my goals in order to achieve them. I have learnt that it is only when my desire becomes intense enough that I will have the energy and the internal drive to overcome all the obstacles that will arise in my path.

iii. “Within every difficulty or obstacle, there is the seed of an equal or greater advantage or benefit (page 77):” This statement caught my attention because, with this kind of an attitude, I can benefit from everything that happens to me, positive or negative, I move upward and onward toward achieving my major definite purpose. Now, whenever I meet any obstacles that happen to make me seem ‘failing’ to achieve my goals, instead of worrying about these obstacles, I take them to be there for a purpose. I take them as an opportunity to serve as a lesson on how I can adjust and move forward to achieve my goal in a better way.

iv. Practice makes perfect (page 136): This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because it reminds me of the importance of practising. I am reminded that the more I practice what I am learning, the faster I will become competent and skilled in that area. The more I practice, the more confidence I will develop. The more I practice, the more rapidly I will overcome my feelings of inadequacy in that skill and the faster I will master it. The more I practice, the more rapidly I will add that skill to my mental toolbox where I will possess it for the rest of my career. I have learnt that anything that anyone has done, within reason, I can do as well. No one is better than me and no one is smarter than me. The most important thing is to set a goal, and work at it long enough and hard enough. There are no limits. I have learnt that anything that I practice over and over again becomes a habit (page 260).

v. “No success in public life can compensate for failure in the home (page 146).” This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because it reminds me the importance of investing all the time and emotion necessary to build and maintain a high quality home life and good family relationship. When my family life is solid and secure, characterized by warm, loving relationships, I will do better in everything else in the outer world. But if something goes wrong with my home life because of inattention or neglect, it will soon affect my results at work in a negative way. Problems at home distract your attention and drain your energy. They can often sabotage one’s career. It is now my goal to maintain and improve my relationship at home in order to perform better in the outer world.

vi. “Action without planning is the cause of every failure (page 152).” This statement was very important to me because it reminds me that in order to be successful, I have to work with written plans. In fact, I am reminded that every minute spent in planning saves 10 minutes in execution. I have learnt that every minute that I spend planning and thinking before I begin will save me time, money and energy in getting the results I desire. This is why it is said that, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

vii. “Use it or lose it (page 229)”: This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because it challenges me to use my creativity instead of letting it go untapped. I am informed that my creativity is like a muscle. If I don’t use it, I lose it. Just like a muscle, if I do not exercise my creativity and stretch it regularly, it becomes weak and ineffective. My ability to generate ideas must be constantly utilized to be kept in top condition. Fortunately, I have learnt that at any time, I can begin tapping into my creativity and using it at a higher level. I will actually begin activating more neurons and dendrites in my brain, creating more and more connections and interconnections. The poet Longfellow once wrote, “The great tragedy of the average man is that he goes to his grave with his music still in him.”

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

Everything in the book is clear and understandable. The following should be corrected:

i. …look life… (Page 32 line 2): life should be replaced by like…

ii. …who built build… (Page 269 line 3): build should be erased

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain 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?

No comment. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Leadership For Dummies
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey in this book is how we can develop the key leadership skills. The author shows us how to add leadership skills to arsenal of personal traits and explains how doing so helps us to achieve more happiness and contentment in all areas of our life. This book helps us to know more about ourselves and the skills we need in order to become dynamic leaders. We are taught how to harness our strengths and weaknesses and how to differentiate leading from merely managing. This book shows us how to recognize the needs of leadership in personal situations and gives us tools to lead in “real life.”

i. You are often a leader in your everyday life, even though you don’t realize it (page 51): This idea was personally very important to me because it has helped me to identify the different leadership roles I have been playing without recognizing them. For example, as parent I am a leader. I have assumed responsibility for other human beings who are my children.

ii. Failure can be a stepping stone to success at a later time-if you handle the failure well and learn from your mistakes (page 161): This idea is personally important to me because it teaches me that I should always take a failure as an opportunity to learn from and keep trying until I achieve my success instead of lamenting on the past failures. I am reminded that failure in life is sometimes bound to happen along the road to success but it should not be taken as complete defeat. I have learnt to take failure as an inspiration to try again with renewed confidence and determination and learn from the mistakes that had led me to that failure. As I mentioned in my previous assessments, throughout this course, I have been given examples of successful people who tried hundreds of times but in the end they achieved the success they desired. Whenever they failed, they took that failure to serve as a lesson to take a different course of action until they succeeded. I will follow the example of these successful people until I succeed. You have to be willing to err and err and err again, but less and less and less (page 200).

iii. There’s no tomorrow like today (page 199): This idea was personally important to me because it reminds me to get rid of procrastination. Getting rid of “tomorrow” from my vocabulary is all about embracing responsibility. In order for there to be harmony in my home and at work, I will learn to do things when they need to be done or sooner. Learning to do things before I have to will help me make decisions and manage my time so that I can keep from getting rushed or buried under ‘homework’. “The future is now (page 237).”

iv. Don’t think that the opportunities are rare-they are abundant and have always been there in every age (page 248): This idea was personally important to me because I am reminded of not worrying about the opportunities that will help me achieve success that I desire. What I need to do is to clearly define my vision and mission and set personal goals. Opportunities are out in the world. All I need is to open my eyes. The above idea has helped me to forget phrases like “Opportunity nocks only once”. The reality is that opportunity is a steady hammer on our windows and doors, a constant noise that we spend most of our time attempting to block out by stuffing cotton in our ears. The reality is that opportunities abound. Opportunities are everywhere, if we can learn to recognize them for what they are.

v. Allow your team to find its own path (page 270): This idea was personally very important to me because if it is put into practice there are chances of developing new leaders. For example, today I was picked by surprise by Director of our Department and I was requested to chair the Departmental staff meeting. In this case the Director made me find my own path and this was an opportunity to practice chairing the meetings which is one of leadership roles. After chairing this meeting, the Director made a positive criticism on me (in privacy) on where I was weak or strong and this was an opportunity for me to practice leadership skills and I identified the areas where I need improvement.

vi. What I am I doing wrong? (290): This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to evaluate myself and find what I am doing wrong that stops me from becoming a good leader whether in family or at work. From now onwards, if my children are misbehaving, I will evaluate myself to see if the fault does not lie with me as a parent who if failing to properly communicate my values and expectations to my children. I will check if I have properly explained the reasons why I want them to do this or that. I will see if I have not given them mixed signals, acting one way and telling them something else. I will see if I have acted in an exemplary fashion, so that my kids want to emulate my behavior.

vii. The final test of a reader is that he leaves behind him in other men and a will to carry on (page 281):” This idea was personally important to me because it reminds me the importance of Succession planning. If we do not groom those who can replace us when we are no longer there, we will be harming our community. This reminds me to always train the inexperienced staff who will be coming to me seeking guidance where they are under my supervision or not. These are the people who will replace us when we are no longer there. The first thing said in this book is that “all leaders are temporary.” This means that we are all going to be leaders for a fixed period of time which means we have to begin thinking about who is going to replace us.

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?

By putting into practice these ideas or lessons into practice they will help me to get more out of my life by helping me to gain: greater respect, greater success, greater recognition for the activities I do, greater cooperation from my friends and family, and greater and more effective direction in my life and the ability to make a greater contribution to the world around me. These ideas will help me to be ready to take on more responsibility in my life. They will also help me, as a parent, to communicate more effectively with my children. These ideas have helped me to believe in myself, in my ability to improve my lifestyle, and in my ability to improve the lives of people around me. In short, I will use these ideas to develop the tools I need to become a more dynamic in my everyday life. These lessons have taught me that everyone can be a leader and this has helped me to build confidence within myself and be ready to accept a leadership role. I have learnt that I don’t have to wait for a title to become a leader.

4. 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.

There are many statements which the author made that particularly got my attention and were important to me to the extent I cannot cite them all. I will just cite the following statements as examples.

i. “Every French Soldier carries a marshal’s baton in his knapsack (page 9)”: This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because it reminds me that we all have the capacity and potential to lead others which means that anyone can be a leader. This has helped me recognize that I also have leadership potential which I have to develop.

ii. “If things go wrong I’m ultimately the reason why. The failure is mine and no one else’s (page 10)”: This statement attracted my attention because, as a leader, I have to accept the responsibility if things go wrong. Leadership begins with willingness to take responsibility (page 93). This statement has helped me to develop enough confidence in myself to accept the responsibility of any failure of my team or family. By not blaming others will create trust and cooperation and this will in turn make my leadership role easy. Blaming people is distracting; finding the fault, correcting it, and moving on, is not (page 54). I will concentrate on solving problems and avoid assessing blame.

iii. “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other (page 45)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to keep practicing in order to become a leader. I have learnt that with perseverance and work, I can develop my own leadership traits. By working diligently to develop leadership ability will make me end up being better than those who just “get by” on their natural abilities.

iv. “No Matter where you lead, there you are (page 187)”: This statement attracted my attention because it reminds me that I have the capacity to determine my destiny or fate. This reminds me to take an initiative in getting something done in my own life by practicing leadership at its most basic level of leading myself.

v. “Knowing what thou knowest not is in a sense omniscience (page 105)”: This statement was important to me and attracted my attention because it reminds me to concentrate on finding out what I don’t know instead of showing off what I know. I am reminded to make every effort to fill those gaps in my knowledge.

vi. “The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on (page 281):” This statement caught my attention because it reminds me the importance of Succession planning. The first thing said in this book is that “all leaders are temporary.” This means that we are all going to be leaders for a fixed period of time which means that it is our responsibility and obligation to begin thinking about who is going to replace us when we are no longer there.

vii. “Put it in writing (page 301)”: This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because, as the previous books, it emphasizes the importance of wring down my plans and important points . I am assured that, based on long experience, aside from helping me to cover my backside, writing things down is the best way in the world to clarify what you actually propose to do.

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

Everything in the book is clear and understandable. I agree with everything in this book

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

No, the book did not contain exercises for the leader 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Debt Virus
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The author of Debt Virus is trying to provide a compelling solution to world debt problems. He is trying to show how the current monetary system can be revised in order to solve world Debt problems. He regards the interests charged by banks as the main source of Inflation and other related problems such as recession, foreclosures, bankruptcy, business failures, poverty, hunger, disease, unemployment etc. He wonders how and why there are still millions of people dying of starvation on a planet so rich in natural resources. According to the author, debt ridden money, laced with interest rate premiums is a deadly virus which destroys the economic foundations of society in that total debt repayment is mathematically impossible.

This book examines the fundamental flaw in our monetary system and supplies information that will allow accurate conclusions to be drawn by each and every one of us (Page 25). The author provides a careful explanatory progression and demonstrates that the majority of the woes of humankind are related to economic adversity that comes down one major flaw in our monetary system…the lack of debt free money. He asserts that if money is created as debt to be repaid at interest, funds that would otherwise be used to activate production of goods and services are removed from the money supply in the form of interest payment is to money creators (Page 137). 67). The author argues the nations to correct the error and cure the disease so that the symptoms can disappear (Page 70).

i. “If money is not an element of nature, it must be created by man” (Page17): This idea got my attention because it made me think deeply on the reason why money is always scarce yet there are no special materials that are used to manufacture it. There is only a need for a good and appropriate monetary policy to be put in place.

ii. “It has been said that the love of money is the root of all evil. An Alternative observer would conclude that it is the lack of it that is more likely the root of evil” (Page 23): This idea has helped me to realize that if we were living in the world of abundance, fewer crimes would be committed. In reality most of the crimes are committed not by people who are fully employed, well fed, and adequately housed, but by those in economic need. The author tells us that in the overwhelming majority of divorces in the United States, the lack of money is cited as the main reason for discord. People without jobs, hungry, with undernourished children, without clothing and adequate shelter are not likely to lie down and play dead (Page 182).

iii. “When Ancient Egypt fell, only 4 percent of the population held all the wealth (Page25)”: This idea was very important to me and it should serve as a lesson the Leaders of all countries to ensure that there is no inequality of wealthy among the citizens where you find that some people are very rich while others are very poor. This inequality should be bridged in order to avoid downfall of nations.

iv. “In All-debt or debt dominant monetary system, for one to succeed others must fail (Page 66)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me that failure of businesses with bank loans is not necessarily caused by mismanagement or management. This failure is built into all-debt money system. Therefore one should think twice before applying for a bank loan.

v. “When the profit figure includes this ‘greed’ factor, pricing is affected, and the businessman is placed in the position of receiving something for nothing, a condition that violates basic natural and moral laws (Page 83)”: This idea was very important to me because it states exactly what is practiced by most of business people in our society. This is particularly witnessed currently in Rwanda where we joined East African Community in 2007 and Duties on goods produced in the Partner States in imported to Rwanda were waived but the prices of these did not drop. This signifies that it is the Businessman who benefited yet the aim of Rwanda to join East African Community was to help all Rwandan Citizens to have access to their commodity needs at a lower price. It is in this perspective that I propose that Rwandan leaders should intervene to in order to save Rwandan citizens from being taken advantage of by some of the greedy businessmen and women who violate the basic natural laws and moral law and charge elevated prices from their clients in order to earn supernormal profits.

vi. “If money is working well, it should purchase the same amount of goods and services from year to year (Page 112)”: This idea was very important to me because it clarifies the quality of good money. This money which can buy the same amount of goods and services from year to year can make people have confidence in that money. They can save part of their money for future investment because they are sure that their money will not lose value over time. Money can serve as an excellent store of value. In turn this can lead to economic development. It is from this point of view that I urge all Prominent Economists of the world to make research studies to ensure that money becomes stable.

vii. “If one does not understand the problem, then assessing the solution becomes impossible (Page 155)”: This idea was very important to me because it teaches me that in case I meet any problem, I should first analyze this problem together with enduring solutions rather than finding a quick fix. The author tells us that lasting solutions should be found to alleviate the symptoms of inflation, recession, economic depression, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and involuntary unemployment. He says that lasting solutions should be found to eradicate the problems in our present day systems. We should learn to deal with the cause of the problem rather than treating the symptoms. It is incomprehensible that the problem has not been solved before now (Page 173). If a lasting solution is adopted, all countries would be infected with the virus prosperity (Page 174). The world would see the birth of new era, where economies deal in abundance instead of scarcity, where hunger, disease, illiteracy, and poverty are wiped out (Page 189).

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?

These ideas will help me to understand the real Science of Money especially on the causes of Inflation as opposed to what I had learnt in my Economics subjects. These ideas have helped me to take caution when I am applying for loans. I will also try to explain this to others so that they don’t ‘catch’ the ‘debt virus’ which, according to the author, will eventually lead to worldwide poverty, disease, destruction, death.

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

i. “I am not afraid to be eccentric in my opinion. Was not every opinion now accepted now once eccentric? (Page 14)”: This statement caught my attention because it has encouraged me to bring forward my views and opinions provided I believe they can add value to the society even though they may look unusual and peculiar. The idea has reminded me that new ideas are always rejected by the community however important they may be.

ii. “If I keep a penny instead of spending it…there is one hundred percent alteration in my holdings. I go from nothing to the sum of one (Page 14)”: This statement caught my attention because it emphasized how whatever little you save can help you to increase your assets property and wealth. I will stick to this principle and save at least 10% of my salary in order to improve my financial position and the status of my asssets.

iii. “They say that knowledge is power. I used to think so, but now I know that they mean Money (Page 26)”: This statement caught my attention because it is a reality. When one has knowledge without having money is not considered powerful and respected in the society. I witness this in our society, for example, teachers who are poorly paid, yet they play very important role in society, are not respected by our communities, compared to rich business men. However in my opinion I still believe that Knowledge is power but it is better to have both knowledge and Money because if you have money without knowledge that money can leave you at any time and go to those who are knowledgeable.

iv. “The greatest monopoly in this country is Money Monopoly. As long as it exists true freedom, and the divine right to fully enjoy the fruits of one’s labor will be non-existent (Page 40)”: This statement was very important to me because it shows that banks are the ones that have monopoly over money. Since they have this monopoly, they charge high interest rates from their customers who acquire loans from them and by paying high interest rates can never allow you to enjoy your freedom because you are worried that at any time your property can be auctioned in case there are some circumstances that may hinder you to pay the debt with the interest.

v. “Change is one of the constants of the Universe. If we are not prepared to adopt it, then out of necessity, we must be prepared to become extinct for the lack of it (Page 71)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to keep preparing to meet change because change it the fact of life. For example, in the past a person could finish a secondary school and immediately get a job but now due to changes there are even holders of Masters Degrees who are on the street. The above statement can be an eye opener for us to keep learning something new so as to keep moving with the current changes.

vi. “It is very difficult to remove from the minds of many people the impression that banks lend money deposited with them (Page 127) ”: This statement attracted my attention because I am also among those people who have impression that banks lend money deposited with them. The Author tells us that banks create money they lend or invest out of thin air, either electronically on a computer or with a pen on ledgers of the bank as a bookkeeping entry (Page132). The author tells us that banks lend or invest money that really doesn’t exist.

vii. “Debt is a state of continuing bondage. Once engulfed by debt one knows not rest or peace of mind be out of debt and experience true freedom (Page 176):” This Statement was very important to me because it reminds me to incur debts with caution. I have learnt that in all-debt monetary system, total debt is unpayable and that unpayable debt frequently leads directly to death and destruction (Page 180). It is also impossible to carry a large debt burden while maintaining a healthy, growing economy that fosters the well-being of its constituency (Page 185).

viii. “Knowledge in itself is not power. Only when knowledge is cohesively and systematically fueled by emotion, and propelled into action, does become a powerful force (Page214)”: This statement attracted my attention because it reminds me to put in practice what I have learnt otherwise the knowledge I may acquire in life would be useless.

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 idea that I disagree with is where the author promises to provide a solution that can ‘wipe out income tax and most other taxes…that are so burdensome to on the families of industrious and productive people (Page 137)’. He says that he will provide measures that will also wipe out the Internal Revenue Service and allow us to keep what we are willing and able to work for. He says that “Who could object the abolishment of taxes and the IRS?”

I disagree with the above statements and I agree with other authors who support imposition of taxes as sited below:

Oliver Wendell Holmes (Jr.) observed in Compania deTabacos vs Collector that “taxes are what we pay for civilized society,” and that “the power to tax is one great power upon which the whole national fabric is based”.

“Taxes are levied in almost every country of the world. It has been suggested that the tax system has become the ‘maid’ of all work”, Kirkbride J. and Olowokkufu, A., in The Law And Theory Of Income Tax, Liverpool Academic Press P.28, 2001[1].

“…it is necessary to the existence and prosperity of a nation as the air he breathes to a natural man” Mills S., Taxation in Australia, Macmillan, London 1925 p.1[2].

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain exercises for the leader 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

A. How interesting was it to read? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
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? 9

Building A Win-Win World
Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The author of Building A Win-Win World is trying to provide different Cooperative advantages that can be used to build a Win-Win world. She rightfully points a finger at the ruinous consequences of traditional economic wisdom. She proposes brilliant new solutions to old emerging problems and clearly shows that global economic growth is colliding with population and environmental trends, including desertification, ozone depletion, and proliferation of space debris in low earth orbits used by commercial satellites. Throughout this book, author explores evolution of more efficient and therefore environmentally benign technologies, and changes in human values, belief systems, life styles, and governance-all that can lead to world sustainable development. The author concludes the book saying that building a win+ win+ world is not easy or certain- but it is possible (page 329).

i. “The common definition of sustainable development is “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (page 11)”: This idea particularly very important to me because it reminds us (the current generation) to think of the future generation when we are taking development projects. For example, we should not exploit natural resources that may lead to environmental degradation. This is very common in Africa where natural forests are destroyed due to creation of farm land, grazing, charcoal burning, timber cutting etc. for the case of developed industrialized countries, there is creation of industries that pollute air and lead to destruction of ozone layer that cannot be rehabilitated. All these practices and many others should be fought against in order to ensure a sustainable development that caters for the current and future generation. In truth, implementation of sustainable development does not require new funds but simply a paradigm shift. Nations merely need to stop financing unsustainable activities, to cease subsidizing waste and pollution (page 25).

ii. “Reproductive health programs must also target male responsibility (page 17):” This idea was personally important to me because it reminds us as men to get involved in family planning issues. Formerly, it was only the responsibility of females to take birth control measures like using contraceptives. It is very interesting that now in Rwanda, there are some men who have taken initiatives to get involved in birth control measures. However the number is still very low.

iii. “Ironically, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are still the main arms merchants to the world, with the United States shamefully in the lead (page 28)”: This idea was important to me because it informs me that the developed countries which would have been taken as leading examples in promoting world peace and democracy are taking lead in arms trade. This is a shame to the world and I propose that sale of arms worldwide should be banned in order to prevent world conflicts and wars. Resources used to manufacture these arms should be channeled in other things that can lead to sustainable development.

iv. “The African continent good news…was overshadowed by massacres in Rwanda…(page 32) ”: This ideas was important to me because it reminds me of the genocide against Tutsis that took place in 1994 in my country and more than 1,000,000 people were killed in 100 days. This did not only overshadow The African continent good news but it was a shame to the entire world which did not prevent this tragedy. Now the good news is that Rwanda is one of the leading examples of peaceful and most democratic countries in Africa. The reconstruction programs have resulted in the elimination of Grass thatched houses in the country. People have reunited after having been torn apart. Grassroots associations have formed in order to improve farming and ranching, etc.

v. “Trees can substitute for air conditioning in residential neighborhoods, reducing ambient air temperatures, by as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit-Saving both electricity costs for consumers and new power plant investments for utility companies (page 45)”: This idea was very important to me because shows us the importance of planting trees. I would like to add that trees bearing edible fruits should also be planted in the neighborhoods to reduce diseases related to malnutrition especially among the children. Personally, I have planted 100 plants in my compounds with edible fruits. I believe that when these plants grow, they will add value to my home.

vi. “It is of little use merely to hire more police and buy more costly security hardware without viewing crime as part of social cost of misdistribution of wealth and income (page 86)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds leaders to watch out when there is rise in crime rates. This is a sign of unequal distribution of income and other social inequalities which can lead to even worse situations like toppling the governments. Therefore those situations should always be checked before it is too late like what has been happening recently in some of African countries.

vii. “We must learn humanity if we are to face the complexities we have created (page 90)”: This idea was important to me because it reminds us that as human beings, we have created many complexities that have a negative impacts on our lives. We should therefore be cautious of thee negative impacts what we call civilization and modernity can have on humankind otherwise human race can destroy itself in the long run. For example, capital-intensive technologies simply concentrate power, wealth, and knowledge in fewer and fewer hands, while making the rest of us poorer and more powerless and actually increasing overall human ignorance (page 91). It is time for science and technology of industrialism to realize its conceptual limitations (page 93).

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?

These ideas will help me to identify the havoc the current economic system is creating at the global level. I now understand how the global economy is unsustainable because of its negative effects on employees, families, communities, and the ecosystems. These ideas help me to understand that win-win strategies can become the norm at every level when people see the true current and the future costs of short-sited, narrow economic policies.

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

i. “Do as you would be done by (page 24)”: this statement attracted my attention because it reminds us to love others as we love ourselves and treat them as we would like to be treated. That is when we can build a win-win world where we can share the earth equitably and peacefully with each other and all species.

ii. “Training has been hailed as a ‘good thing,’ but few outline how training would help workers in the face of shrinking total job base (page 99): This statement was very important to me and attracted my attention because it has led me to think of our education system in Rwanda. Many universities are cropping up now producing job seekers other than job creators. The major programs taught in these universities include theoretical subjects like Law, Management, etc. Education policy in Rwanda and other developing countries should be reviewed to provide trainees with labor intensive technologies. Intermediate, labor intensive is a viable development alternative (page 161). There should be many training institutions in fields like carpentry and joinery, mechanics, floriculture, poultry farming, arts and crafts etc. Such trainings can empower people to be self employed and minimize high rates of unemployment. We should follow example of China’s labor intensive, rural model, which excites interest because it employs the resource that all less-developed countries have in abundance, the labor skills of their people (page 161).

iii. “As Windows 95 and Java take over the world, my own computer is still going strong: the portable one-pounder in my head, which has multigigabyte memory, runs on carbohydrates and water, and is free (page 116)”: This statement was interesting to me and caught my attention because it has made me consider how our brain miraculous, astonishing, incredible and extraordinary they are. This means that putting our brain fully at work we can do anything. What matters is to have a vision, mission and focus.

iv. “Most of us buy and consume far more than we need; it’s wasteful (page 124)”: This statement caught my attention because it has made me rethink of the things I buy or I consume which are wasteful and do not add value to my life or to the life of those around me. A good example is a TV I just recently acquired. I recently bought a bigger TV set to replace a smaller one that had got a mechanical problem. After using this set electricity consumption at home doubled and I am mow wondering what value has this TV has added to my home? Well, I was trying to please my kids but this may as well affect them in the long run if they do not concentrate on their studies and instead watch the TV. We should therefore be cautious, careful, and precautious about our buying and consumption habits if not it can have a negative impact on us and on those around us.

v. “Electronically linked citizen groups are becoming a truly global independent sector, a third way for global problem solving…a global civic culture (page 146)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminded me think of the importance of the Institutes like International Institute for Global Leadership (IIGL) in solving world problems. Together with the huge range of self-help books (like those distributed to IIGL students)…is evidence that people inspire each other towards development (page 154). Unfortunately we still live in the world of the info-rich and info poor where 95 percent of all computers are in the industrial countries (page 147) and this makes it difficult for these opportunities to reach a wider world community as it would have been.

vi. We cannot romanticize culture and tradition; sometimes they have led to human rights abuse page 170): This statement was very important to me because it reminds me of some traditions especially in African societies that would be considered as human rights abuse. For example in Rwanda, originally females did not have rights to get inheritance from their parents but now the law has changed and children, both females and males have equal rights. There are also some communities in Africa which practice female circumcision where their clitorises are removed to avoid female sensation during sexual intercourse. All these and many others are examples of human rights abuses based on culture and tradition which should be abolished. Otherwise cultures and traditions are very important in society except when such cultural traditions violate human rights, especially of women and girls (age 184).

vii. “We humans can build a win-win world; indeed we must if we are to survive (page 292): This statement was very important to me because it reminds us as the world community to cooperate for mutual benefit other than to compete. If we do not cooperate to resolve problems facing the world (of which problems we have created), we will lead to self destruction. We the people- must continue this task of building a win-win world (page 295). There are enough different roles for all the different souls –so that everyone can find their niche in the ecology of change (page 312). Even less than 5 percent or even 3 percent of the population can shift an entire society in new direction- if these people are active organizationally and become catalyst and enzymes of change (page 313).

viii. “Be Mindful of what you ask for-you may get it (page 329)”: This statement was very important to me because it reminds me to be watchful when I am asking the Source to provide with what I want. If I ask less, I will receive less. If I ask things that will have a negative impact on my life is what I will receive and vice versa.

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, everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain exercises for the leader 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

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? 9.5

The Grip of Death: A study of modern money, debt slavery and destructive economics

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is to explain why most people and businesses are so heavily in debt. The author offers important insights into subjects that concern us all-mortgages, building societies and banks, food and farming, transport, poverty and wealth. Among other things, he explains why consumers cannot get quality products, why business and corporate debt is at its highest level ever, why debts cannot be paid without monetary reform and how “Third World debt” is a mechanism used by the developed nations to inject-ever-increasing amounts of money into their own economies and why debtor nations can never repay the debts.

i. Money is a man-made device, and for an entire economy to be perpetually in the position of not being able to do what it wants, is simply for lack of paper with numbers on them, is a strong evidence that the shortage of those bits of paper and numbers lacks validity (Page 3): This idea was very important to me because it shows that there is a need for monetary reform that can provide an alternative to the current money which does not provide the solutions to the current scarcity of needs. The author goes on to tell the raw materials may be lying idle in a builder’s, yard, people may be desperate for work, but there isn’t enough money. Then one wonders, if money is man-made, why is it always scarce? Why can’t it be made abundant to make production possible? This lack of money in the economy which prevents it from doing what it clearly capable of doing, absurd. The general confidence in modern money and monetary judgment is utterly misplaced; the apparent neutrality of the financial system is quite false (page 4).

ii. The theoretical model of borrowing from World Bank/IMF…and repaying loans is one of the great failures of Contemporary Economics (page 8): This idea was very important it reminds me of the strings attached to these loans which make debtor countries even worse and they remain in debts forever. Even if the a [project makes a genuine contribution to the development of the borrowing country, because debt persists, the country is forced to more …loans, and is progressively impoverished as repayment becomes excessive and its domestic infrastructure suffers. The interest alone on these debts have has proved so burdensome that new loans are frequently required not so much for further development, but simply to meet current interest payments, guaranteeing increase in total of debt and even higher repayment in the future (page 136). Almost without exception, the development model offered by the IMF and the World Bank has led, not to prosperity, but directly to poverty far worse than the original state from which the countries started (page 137). What international finance gives, international finance can take away-overnight (page 172).

iii. “Banks build up their reserves…by creaming off some of the interest they charge to borrowers (page26)”: This idea was very important to me because it informs us that the huge differential between interests charged on loans and interest paid out to depositors is due to banks channeling money into their reserves, which are then invested for profit. This difference should not be huge. For example in many banks, when one opens a fixed deposit savings account, he is given an interest of around 5% but when a loan is offered, the bank charges around 17%. This is not realistic. Low interest rates encourage both industrial investment and consumer borrowing, leading to growth in money supply. High interest rates mean that the new borrowers are deterred and the growth of money supply is slowed (page 27). So we must reduce interest rates and wait for the consumer confidence and the positive investment climate to return (page28).

iv. If depositors all withdrew their money, banks and building societies would be unable to make [such] loans (page 11): This idea was very important to me because it reminds me how important we, as depositors, are to the modern banks. They do their business because we deposit our money with them. They should therefore not charge us high interest rates when we request for loans. This makes me repeat my comment in my last assessment of Money that ‘they [bankers] should run banks for the benefit of the community and earn a service fee rather than making profits. A banker is a trustee, and he has not more moral right to exploit the funds entrusted to him than a doctor has the right to exploit the sickness of the patients, or a lawyer the difficulties of his clients. Does it not strike you as preposterous that an institution that produces nothing more than figures in books, can acquire ownership of assets more vast than our greatest industries which employ thousands of people….and upon whose production the entire economy…depends (page35)?

v. The fact is that today, despite having wonderful gadgets available, it is far more expensive to live, relative to income, than it was thirty years ago (page 60):This idea was very important to me because it is an eye opener to us to consider how cost of living is going up from time to time. It is high time we looked for this problem. Also one wonders why we are living in creeping poverty not being able to secure adequate living in an age of such abundance and productive potential. All this will be solved by reviewing our monetary system. The existing monetary system is unworthy of our modern civilization.

vi. It is idle to talk of overproduction when we have a population clothed in rags, and most sparingly supplied with the mere necessities of life (page200): This statement was very important to me because it shows that resources are not evenly distributed and it is high time an economic reform is sought to solve this problem.

vii. I sincerely believe that banking institutions having the issuing power of money are more dangerous to liberty than standing armies (page 204): Based on the importance of money in the economy as a medium of exchange, it should not be issued by private banks. Creation and issue of money should only and only be undertaken by the government, not private institutions. The creation and supply of money is not only the supreme prerogative of government, but it is the government’s greatest creative opportunity. Fatal to democracy has been its failure to provide any proper authority and mechanism for the making and the issue of money, as and when it is required, to keep pace with growth of its wealth (page 212). No duty is more imperative for the government than the duty it owes the people to furnish them with the sound and uniform currency, and regulating the circulation of the medium of exchange so that labor will be protected from a vicious currency and commerce will be facilitated by cheap and safe exchange (page 220).

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?

These ideas have helped me to understand that widespread assumption that monetary statements and statistics commonly used as the basis of economic decisions are not valid. I have understood that conventional financial system is fundamentally unstable, and inadequate to support an economy (page 222). I have understood that the current monetary system has put us in danger of becoming slaves of our own creation (page 224) and this system has to be changed.

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

i. “Generation mortgages have been introduced, extending beyond the life expectancy of borrowers, requiring their descendants to continue repaying the debt (page 20)”: This statement caught my attention because it clearly shows how serious it a debt burden is to the society. The worst of all is when generations pay debts that were acquired by their countries and the money borrowed was abused. This is a common practice in the developing world.

ii. “Commercial debt is a major factor raising the costs and consistently elevating prices above what people can afford (page 33)”: This statement was important to me and I agree with it because it shows the impact of loans on the prices. The prices have to raise because the cost of producing that the good or service, profit and the bank interest has to go to the head of the final consumer and eventually he or she will not afford it and the business will fail. In summary, industrial debt elevates the prices of goods and services above the distributed incomes (page 39).

iii. “Someone has to borrow, but none wants to do it (page 38)”: This Statement caught my attention because it reminds me how stressful is to have a bank loan. However we are forced by current economic and monetary systems to depend on loans because consumers, industries, and governments cannot succeed without borrowings. Debt is the very condition under which modern money is present in the economy, so although some people may be able to avoid debt, and even become wealthy, overall this cannot happen.

iv. “Don’t blame the rich (page 60)”: This statement caught my attention because lets me know that the Poor are not poor because of being exploited by the Rich. The cause of poverty is due to the obligation of the Rich (industrialists) to repay debts, or pay interest on them, and so set high prices which make the consumers poorer. The total price raised above disposable incomes to repay debts the real cause of current poverty. Most big companies survive on slenderest margins and majority of firms have outstanding debts. In fact, the bigger the firm, the higher the borrowing. Any profit a company makes has to be seen in the context of outstanding debts before any judgment of excessive profiteering can be sustained. The matter of rich versus the poor wealth versus poverty is a minor issue in the context of a situation that is made completely intractable by the debt (page 67). Economists should know that modern business profit margins are tiny and more than offset by the rate of increase in industrial debt (page 69).

v. If you want to be slaves of the bankers, and pay the costs of your own slavery, then let the create money (page 36, 73 & 234): This statement was very important to me because it emphasizes the impact of debt in the current economy. We are paying the costs of slavery; we are paying with lifetime of utterly unnecessary economic servitude. If no monetary reform is made, the cost of slavery may not well include not just our lifetimes, but our lives and those of our children. It is vitally important to establish that the choice of word ‘slavery’ is not a matter of exaggeration (page 74).

vi. “In Africa, companies such as Shell and BP, which have cultivated an eco-friendly image in the northern hemisphere, have been heavily criticized for their environmentally damaging operations in underdeveloped nations (page 152)”: This statement caught my attention it teaches us to be careful with the multinationals which come to invest in Africa. Other than the above environmental problem, sharing of technology, which is the major gain to the host nation, the multinationals often employ their own imported specialists in technical areas, leaving local labor force to fill menial tasks – often dirtiest and most dangerous work, the chance of transfer of technology and skills to the host nation can be minimal.

vii. Free trade is a natural goal, but before the policy can be successfully pursued nations have to be on equal, or at least an independent footing (page185): this statement caught my attention because it shows the important part that is necessary to ensure that there is free trade between the nations. There can never be free trade between developed nations and developing nations when developing nations are still suffering from debt burden. It should be remembered that these developing nations have resources which more wealth nations are heavily dependent but they cannot trade freely with the rich nations because of the debt burden.

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, everything in the book was clear and understandable. Except that I would like to correct typing error on page106, line 8 of paragraph 3: the government ‘than’ proceeds. ‘than’ should be rewritten as ‘then’.

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain exercises for the leader 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Confession of an Economic Hit Man

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

In Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins provides an account of his career with consulting firm MAIN in Boston. According to his book, Perkins’ function was to convince the political and financial leadership of underdeveloped countries to accept enormous development loans from institutions like the World Bank and USAID. Saddled with debts they could not hope to pay, those countries were forced to consent to political pressure from the United States on a variety of issues. Perkins argues in this book that developing nations were effectively neutralized politically, had their wealth gaps driven wider and economies crippled in the long run. In this capacity Perkins recounts his meetings with some prominent individuals, including Graham Greene and Omar Torrijos. Perkins describes the role of an EHM as follows: Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly-paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.

The epilogue to this book provides a rebuttal to the current move by the G8 nations to forgive Third World debt. Perkins charges that the proposed conditions for this debt forgiveness require countries to privatize their health, education, electric, water and other public services. Those countries would also have to discontinue subsidies and trade restrictions that support local business, but accept the continued subsidization of certain G8 businesses by the US and other G8 countries, and the erection of trade barriers on imports that threaten G8 industries.

In this shocking memoir, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins tells of his own inner journey from willing servant of empire to impassioned advocate for the rights of oppressed people.

The story of this particular economic hit man is the story of how we got where we are and why we currently face crises that seem insurmountable (page xii).

i. “The loans of foreign aid ensure that today’s children and their grandchildren will be held hostage (page 56).”: This emphasizes what I mentioned in my assessment of The ‘Grip of Death’ that because debt persists, the country is forced to more …loans, and is progressively impoverished as repayment becomes excessive and its domestic infrastructure suffers. The interest alone on these debts have has proved so burdensome that new loans are frequently required not so much for further development, but simply to meet current interest payments, guaranteeing increase in total of debt and even higher repayment in the future and that the development model offered by the IMF and the World Bank has led, not to prosperity, but directly to a poverty far worse than the original state from which the countries started.

ii. “Most of these girls have lost their families-fathers, brothers, husbands, boyfriends (page 79)”: This idea was important to me because the situation is similar to that of the orphans in Rwanda who survived 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Some have resorted to seeking employment in bars as waiters where they earn meager salaries. They have taken up these jobs because of circumstances they have found themselves in. They need assistance like vocational training in different fields so that they can become future entrepreneurs.

iii. “Life is composed of a series of coincidences over which we have no control (page145)”: This idea was very important to me and I agree with the author that once we are presented with such coincidences, we face choices. When we make good choices, we succeed in life. For example, many people land on IIGL website by coincidence, some go ahead and register for the course, but a few who proceed to fully participate are the ones who discover the wonders of the course at it is witnessed by the testimonials provided by those students. The coincidences of your life, and the choices you have made, in response to them, have brought you to this point (page 265).

iv. The next day you are tempted to go shopping, read a book instead, exercise or meditate (page261): This idea was very important to me because it teaches me to shop wisely. There are many times when we shop unnecessarily. Most of the things traded that we buy do not bring positive and compassionate changes. Imagine if the logos of big companies became symbols of companies whose primary goals were to clothe and feed the world’s poor in environmentally beneficial ways (page 261).

v. “I must focus on creating a better world for my daughter and her brothers and sisters around the planet (page 270)”: This idea was very important to me because it is a call for all of us to take action to change the current situation. If each of us can do whatever little he can to change the world positively, we can create a better world for us and for our future generation.

vi. “I have found that people warm on you very quickly if you open your eyes, ears, and heart to their culture (page 129):” This idea was very important to me because it teaches me to accept other people’s culture and that is when we will live in harmony as brothers and sisters in this world. We are one family.

vii. “The numbers tell us that twenty-four thousand people die every day from hunger (page 226)”. Further in this book, we are informed that the United states spends over $87 billion conducting war in Iraq while United Nations estimates that for less than a half that amount we could provide clean water, adequate diets, sanitation services, and basic education to every person on the planet (page xiv). This is a wakeup call for the world to stop being greedy and selfish. Rich countries should open their hearts to the poor and downtrodden, instead of driving them further into poverty and servitude (page 53). Rich countries should take a decisive action to help the sick and starving of the world (page 55). None benefits from war and mass production of weapons or when hundreds of thousands people die from insufficient food.

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?

These ideas have helped me to change the way I view things. They have helped me to read between the lines of every newspaper article that comes before me and I question the deeper implication of every information that comes to me. Things are not as they appear. I will also speak it to my family and friends about this. The hour is now ours. It is now time for each and every one of us to set up a battle line, to ask important questions, to search our souls for our own answers, and take action to create a better world.

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

i. “On April1, 1890, I walked into Paul Priddy’s office and resigned (page 176)”: This statement caught my attention because the author did a courageous thing. Even though he was highly paid, he did not like the work he was doing as and EHM because he saw it as the real exploitation of the poor. The author tells us that he was even accused of insanity but this did not stop him from resigning so that he can have a peace of mind doing what he likes. We should all follow his example when we are confronted with such a situation.

ii. “How many decisions….that impact millions of people-are made by men and women who are driven by personal motives rather than the desire to do the right thing? (page 210)”: This statement caught my attention because it has let me remember of the proverb that ‘Where two elephants fight, the grass suffers’. Leaders should make sure that they do not make mankind which they did not create suffer. Our top government officials should not be driven by personal motives rather than by desire to do the right thing.

iii. “No need to cook the numbers…I’ll not be part of that scam, no matter what you say about the miracles of economic growth! (Page 39)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds us to be careful with the statistical figures that are normally presented to us especially related to economic development. We should read between lines.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain exercises for the leader 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

You Can’t Eat GNP: Economics As If Ecology Mattered

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The author shows us how the traditional tools of economics (cost-benefit analysis, discounting, and so on) don’t work when you are talking about concrete things like soil, forests, garbage. He states that ecology and economics are not doomed to be adversaries. He presents the exciting new insights of environmental economics. You Can’t Eat GNP offers a blueprint for a truly sustainable economy that recognizes the natural resources (like water, air, and soil) on which we ultimately depend. It offers a thought-provoking, stimulating, and clanging about environmental issues. The premise of this book is that the economic system will fail if the ecosystem is not carefully managed (page 8). We need not to go back to a peasant farming subsistence to appreciate the necessity of natural resources, nor should we ignore GNP and other measures of modern economic prosperity, but we need to stop and remind ourselves that our modern hi-tech economy is still based on the wealth of a natural resource base (page 6-7). The author concludes his book by saying that “A modest start is for you and me to make our case that you can’t eat GNP(page 216)”.

i. “Can we re-fit our swollen global foot into the finite shoe that is earthly biosphere? (Page xv)”: This idea was important to me because it challenges us to find the solution tp the environmental problems we have caused. The author says, optimistically, that we can, but only if we stop denying the diagnosis and start beginning the treatment, using tools of both ecology and economics to find resourceful solutions to the environmental challenges of today and tomorrow. The re-fitting requires recognition of some new rules from ecology that set limits on political action and on economics.

ii. “The more sophisticated our society, the more cushy our lifestyles and the higher the GNP, the less we need to think about where the basic necessities come from (page 4-5)”: This idea reminds us to be cautious when we are utilizing our natural resources to increase our wealth. We must know that our wealth is derived from a combination of natural resources-soil, water, air, forests, oceans mineral deposits, climate- and the skill and ingenuity with which we utilise and manage those resources. If we neglect or abuse those natural resources, we undermine our own prosperity.

iii. “As the population climbs to 8 or 10 billion people, however, and as soils erode away, and ground water is depleted and contaminated, will technological development keep pace and enable us to provide more and more food and clean water with fewer and fewer natural resources (page 8-9)?” This idea is very important because it challenges us to think twice how we use our natural resources. These essential natural resources include soil, fresh water, oceans and forests. It is a call for us to slow population growth, prevent soil erosion, conceive groundwater, and stop polluting atmosphere. Would it not be more prudent to take steps now to mitigate and avert problems resulting from global warming and, at the same time, work on developing possible future solutions (page10).

iv. “No place on earth, however remote, remains pristine or immune from human impact (page 82)”: This idea was very important to me because it clearly tells us how human activities have negatively impacted the entire world. It is high time we took action against this problem if we not going to lead to self-destruction. We have conquered the earth in many respects, but we have not yet learned how to live on it in a way that will not degrade it (page 182).

v. “God’s instruction to Noah have been interpreted by some as a moral imperative that we humans have responsibility to protect, preserve and help sustain our fellow species (page 163)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds us to preserve other species to maintain a balanced ecosystem. However, our current actions are becoming more immoral with every passing year as habitat is destroyed and the number of extinctions climbs.

vi. “Analyse your habits of using electricity, heating, water, automobiles, consumer goods and food (page202)”: If we can analyse how we use the above things, we can save the world. For example buying somewhat more expensive organically grown produce does not only provide us some peace of mind about what we are eating, it also supports the development of technologies and markets that rely less on polluting pesticides. Switching to an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb may not save the world (although it could make a difference to global warming if millions of people also switched), but definitely can save me money on my electric bill, and its symbolic significance should not be underestimated. If turning on a light bulb is symbolic for having a bright idea, then turning on an effective light bulb can symbolise a vision of where our comfort and wee-being come from and how we can use those natural resources efficiently and wisely (page 202). Is will start with simple things like change in workplace by avoiding waste of energy, water and paper.

vii. “Figure out how you can best use your particular set of skills to contribute to helping change the way our society currently values and uses resources (page 209)”: The first skills I will use are these ones I have learnt in this book. I will start by practising them, teaching them to my family and friends. Real change will occur when people actually change their habits, and we do not need to be activists, organisers, or writers to set examples that challenge old habits (page 214).

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?

These ideas have helped me to clearly understand the importance of environmental conservation. I have learnt not to choose monetary over no-monetary resources for the future. I have realized that protecting natural resources for the benefit of future generation is the right thing to do. We often yield to the temptation of ignoring the well-being of future generations for the sake of more consumption in the short-term. In short ideas have improved the way I relate to natural resources and environment.

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

i. “Between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of the currently cultivated land is being lost each year (page 30)”: This statement caught my attention because it shows the dangers ahead of us if we are not taking appropriate measure to conserve our environment. However, the problem is not that we are dumb- we understand why the soil becomes degraded and how to avoid it-but collectively we are forgetful, some of us are greedy, and some are desperate. The forces of greed, desperation, and ineptitude are strong adversaries that impede prudent application of knowledge and sound reasoning (page 31).

ii. “Many of the pesticides that the United States has banned for use at home is still being manufactured in the United States and exported to other countries (page 53)”: This statement caught my attention because it shows me how some countries are egocentric. United States should understand that some of these pesticides make their way back to the US as residues on imported produce. The government inspects only a small fraction of the produce as it is imported, and thus the control over pesticides in food is questionable (page 53). The author repeats the above statement (page 127) that although some of the most dangerous pesticides have been prohibited in the United states, many are still being exported and their use is increasing in other parts of the world.

iii. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (page 62)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds to find all mechanisms to remedy all environmental problems before they worsen. When they happen, it will be difficult and take a longer time to eradicate them. It takes long time for Mother Nature to make good, fertile top soil (page 23).

iv. “A few of the children might inherit fat bank accounts and big ranch houses, but the landscape and most of the population will be impoverished for the decades to come (page 67)”: This is a call for the general world population to take action to avoid this future catastrophe that will be caused by natural resources overexploitation. We should understand that in every society, we have greedy people who seek gains for themselves at the expense of others, both present and inborn. This destructive greediness and entrepreneurial self motivation at the expense of others should be controlled. We should accept many of the costs now of avoiding soil erosion, global warming, groundwater pollution, and vast destruction of forest habitat. We should accept these present costs for the sake of our children’s future being (page 71).

v. “In all cases the average rate of warming would probably be greater than any seen in the last 10,000 years (page 86)”: This statement caught my attention because it is showing us how the globe is warming at a very high rate as a result of human activities. This needs a strong action at the global level. This increasing global temperature is a strong indicator of trouble to come. To be prudent we must heed this warming by moderating our diet of fossil fuels and by exercising better judgement of how we manage the invaluable resource of the atmosphere and hospitable climate it provides (page 94). Global Climate change is a serious problem and we need to take steps to deal with it (page 111).

vi. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and conquer it….we’ve done that already (page 161)”: This statement caught my attention because it clarifies the biblical lesson about procreation. We have already filled the world and there is need for population control through family planning. There can be no doubt about that with about 6 billion people on the planet today and the projected 8 to 10 billion projected for the end of 21st century we have done well as species (page161). In the beginning God created Heaven and the Earth, and the Earth has been the same size ever since. Yet the number of people and constructive and destructive power of their technology has grown leaps and bounds.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Goodbye America! Globalization, debt and the dollar empire

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

In his book, the author analyses globalization and the international debt crisis as aspects of Western Economic imperialism. He explores the origins of the debt crisis, including its connection with unjust trade and its underlying monetary structure. The author affirms that the tangled development disaster of Third World debt can be tackled, and that this can be done directly and rapidly. He asserts that “Third World debts, the bulk of which lack both economic and moral validity, could be cancelled at a stroke, but only by breaking with certain aspects of current economic orthodoxy.” Rowbotham looks to a future where “international corporations, the US dollar and powerful multilateral institutions based in America no longer dominate world economic policy. A future where the ‘Washington Consensus’ has been replaced with a more benign, democratic and accountable economic ethic.” (pp.8-9). The author explains the problem, develops solutions, and works to promote them. His book is a valuable tool in our efforts to reform the existing debt-based financial system. The book emphasizes the historical role of debt as a tool of economic imperialism and political influence. Goodbye America! explains the problem, develops solutions, and works to promote them. It is a valuable tool in our efforts to reform the existing debt-based financial system.

i. Third World debts also impact negatively on the standard of living of citizens in the wealthy nations (page 6): This idea was important to me because it is a call for all of us both from the Third World and from wealthy nations to fight this Third world debt virus because it impacts us all as the world community. The boomerang principle emphasizes that there is a general economic loss due to debt in the form of social and economic chaos, waste and destruction. Straightforward measures by which these debts should be cancelled should be sought to allow the emergence of more humane, constructive and sustainable patterns of development that that can benefit both wealth and poor nations.

ii. There can be little dispute that Third World Debt was the greatest economic, cultural and humanitarian disaster of the twentieth century (page 10): This idea was important to me because it calls for correcting the past and the current mistakes. We are informed that the nations of the Third World have been robbed, and the debts they now carry are both a measure of this robbery. Appropriate measures should be put in place to solve this problem. The Third World debt constitutes a systemic failure involving major economic institution of money in its current form (page 15-16).

iii. Third world debt is now just being treated as a series of unpleasant numbers, for which the debtor nations should seek ‘forgiveness’ at the altar of ‘sound economics (page 12)’: This idea is important because it reminds us not to always put the blame on the Third World debtor countries. It is always claimed that economic incompetence, corruption, capital flight and excessive military spending in the Third world countries is the cause of the Third World debt problem. The author goes ahead and informs us that this is a supposition of the most extraordinary arrogance! (Page 27). He asks if all the governments of the entire Third World are either corrupt or incompetent. The problems of debtor nations are not, primarily, of their own making. These debts are not a product or measure of debtor nation incompetence or corruption, but an expression of the broad failure of economic institutions involved in the accountancy of world trade and finance. The call for widespread debt cancellation is the call to acknowledge this institutional failure (page 18). The historical record of detailed involvement of World Bank and IMF argues a high degree of co-responsibility on the part of multilateral institutions (page 31). In effect, the Bank and the Fund have an ‘unpaid debt’ to those developing nations that have suffered under their maladministration. Never has the World Bank, IMF or other Western development agency accepted any level of co-responsibility for the projects that failed. Nor has there been any recognition that even when these projects were not an outright disaster, few actually generated the financial returns that were predicted. All such projects were initially validated and endorsed on a financial basis, and the persistent failure to produce returns consonant with their financial investment has contributed to the gathering backlog debt (page 55). The lending institutions should accept co-responsibilities of these failures because of their inappropriate project approval, loan criteria, risk analysis, the insistence upon privatization/deregulation programs that lead to Third World debtor nation assets being acquired by powerful international commercial concerns (page 134).

iv. Encouraging a number of nations to increase production and export of identical commodities, and failing to anticipate that this would lead to surplus and falling prices is a truly schoolboy error (page 60): This idea is very important because it is a call for the Third World nations to diversify goods exported in order to earn higher prices….Yet the first and most universal feature of any structural adjustment package is the reorientation of the economy towards maximum production for export. Since dozens of countries are now subject to such packages, and since many of them export the same commodities, it does not take a Ph.D. in economics to foresee gluts and declining prices for everyone (page 61).

v. The debt is a black hole, growing large on the money it absorbs (page 61): This idea is very important because it cautions us to be careful when taking up debts. We are informed that tackling the problem of debt by issuing further loans that create more debt and raise interest payments certainly begs the most basic question.

vi. The continued existence and damaging effect of these [Third World] debts in spite of sustained economic effort by the developing world, is economically unjustifiable as well as morally repugnant (page 135): This idea is very important because it is a request for full cancellation of Third World Debt. Not only the Third World but the entire community of nations would benefit from debt cancellation. The many ‘debt boomerangs’, whereby Third World debt backlashes on the wealthy nations, would be ameliorated. The greater part of this book argues that complete debt cancellation is fully justified (page 140). It is clear that the cancellation of Third world debt is a matter of political will, not a matter of technical or financial difficulty (page 145). Many Third World governments, either because of governance problems or a lack of resources, do not engage in careful analysis of aid and so end up accepting bad deals from their donors who are only offering what their cost-benefit analysis suggests is a good deal for them. We should accept that, in the overall analysis, complete debt remission is by far the fairest and most constructive policy. It removes the export imperative entirely and permits debtor nations to establish their own development priorities. No blame could then be placed on the more powerful nations for institution of ‘environmental and social imperialism’ via ‘tied debt remission’. The governments of developing nations would be held fully responsible for the social, environmental and economic priorities they pursued (page 193).

vii. Loans were advanced to Third World nations on the understanding that these loans were unrepayable (page 190): This idea is very important because it is a justification for taking action on substantial debt relief. The legal point is that the developing nations were encouraged to undertake debt by lending agents who themselves presented these loans as part of development model where loans were payable. In addition, many loans were only advanced after the projects, and the fiscal projections accompanying them, were approved by World Bank or IMF economists. This places heavy responsibility with those institutions.

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?

These ideas have been an eye opener for me to understand how our monetary system really works. These ideas need to get into the hands of as many interested people who can demand action, and as many sincere policy makers who can implement them, as possible.

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

i. The acute financial pressure on debtor nations and sheer number of countries in this desperate position devalues all Third World Assets (page 5): This Statement is emphasized by the author that the state of permanent debt offers many opportunities to foreign commerce including a wide range of resources ‘up for grabs’ devalued assets, …Third World governments are once again at a huge negotiating disadvantage. Multinationals corporations have been able to buy up land, mining rights, public and private companies-in fact, entire sectors of debtor nation economies-all at rock-bottom prices. The money this has brought in has had hardly any impact in improving the finances of the debtor nations, whilst many of their most valuable assets are now owned and controlled by business interests in the wealthy nations (page 74). Every effort should be made to rectify this situation.

ii. Bank and Fund possess ‘hidden agenda’ to serve the interests of the more powerful nations and more particularly, international commercial and capital interests (page 67): This statement caught my attention because it has let me think of some of the conditions enforced by these institutions such as privatization programs imposed as part of structural adjustment. Instead of leading to new developments, they have frequently provided yet another cloak for overseas buyouts of valuable developing nation assets (page 64). In fact the purchase of debtor nation assets at critically low values, the swallowing up of these revenues by the ‘black hole’ of debt and the emphasis on exports and loss of potential future revenues means failure to improve overall living standards in debtor nations and flow of capital is now from South to North(page 64).

iii. It is idle to talk of overproduction when we have a population clothed in rags, and most sparingly, supplied with mere necessities of life (page 108): This statement caught my attention because it reminds us to review our monetary and economic system to ensure that goods and services reach those who are in need of them. The author tells us that the existing monetary standard is unworthy of our modern civilization and growing menace of the world (page 110).

iv. The war is tearing down …all of the Third World. Instead of soldiers dying there are children. It is the war over the Third World debt, one which has its main weapon, interest, a weapon more deadly than atom bomb, more shattering than a laser beam (page 123): This Statement caught my attention because it clearly shows how dangerous Third world debt with its interest are to the world. It is a call to find an everlasting solution to this problem.

v. It is hard to find a single case where IMF programs of adjustments have halted the economic decline (page 164): This statement caught my attention because it challenges us to show where the above programs have led to development. I welcome the readers of this assessment to comment on this. The author also says that there is a very broad consensus among African governments that the IMF and World Bank terms are often harsh and unsuitable [and have] generated severely adverse effects on overall economies of these countries. Also as I mentioned in my assessment of Grip of Death, even if the a [project makes a genuine contribution to the development of the borrowing country, because debt persists, the country is forced to more …loans, and is progressively impoverished as repayment becomes excessive and its domestic infrastructure suffers. The interest alone on these debts have has proved so burdensome that new loans are frequently required not so much for further development, but simply to meet current interest payments, guaranteeing increase in total of debt and even higher repayment in the

vi. Now it’s clear: Debt will destroy us in the end (page 203): This is the last statement that the author uses to conclude his book. It has caught my attention because it emphases the dangers of living in the world attacked by the ‘debt virus’. If no ‘anti-debt virus’ is provided, I agree with the author that Debt will destroy us in the end because it is increasing from time to time.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

No, the book did not contain 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Great Insights On Human Creativity

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The author brings together some of the most astonishing interpretations of human nature, indicating the centrality of creativity in human life and its absolute necessity for mental and emotional well-being, for high labor productivity, for social and ecological responsibility and for personal fulfillment.

i. “Each of us has a piece of the puzzle of solving the great world problems of our time and creating a more humane and beautiful world (page vii): This idea was very important to me because it encourages us to carry out an assessment of ourselves to identify what we can do better and contribute to making this planet a better world to live in. This does not need us to do much. For example, I recently came across an e-book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hills. I have made shared it with as many people as possible especially my fellow staff at Rwanda Revenue Authority (around 900 people). I believe that some will read it and it will change their lives positively. Another personal example of my talent is my ability to proofread which has been encouraged by IIGL Director. You can see my comments in question 5 of this assessment. I am trying to improve the quality of this book. The author tells us that if everyone who loved cleanliness and order, cleaned up, we would life in a beautiful world, if everyone who yearned to heal the sick did so, we would live in a healthier world, if everyone who cared about world hunger shared his creative ideas and acted to alleviate the problem, people would all be fed (page 111). We can also think of what IIGL is doing to change this world positively. I am spreading its gospel in Rwanda. We should all of us try to realise our creative potentials and contribute them for the common good. ‘Let each become all he was created capable of being (page 1)’.

ii. “The perception of money and the things that money can buy as the primary motivation to work has given rise to jobs that merely pay good salaries, with little regard for meaning, purpose, or personal fulfilment (page 5)”: This idea was important to me because it remind us always to do as our work, what we enjoy most. Jobs that offer no meaningful challenge to a worker’s imagination or that provide no opportunity for the worker to achieve something significant are regarded as meaningless and, in the long run, unproductive (page 7). We should know that money is not the most important reason why we work but it is only one of the many powerful motives for work. Others are : association-the desire to join with fellow human beings in a common enterprise; cause-the desire to promote a particular value, to advance a deeply held position, or to contribute to what one perceives a worthily and important undertaking; service-the desire to do something one perceives as bringing benefits to one’s community, state, nation, fellow human beings and/or natural environment; purpose-the search for meaning and the desire to do something that one perceives as one’s reason for existence; personal fulfilment-the desire to actualise one’s potentialities, to develop and give expression to those attributes (abilities) that one values most about oneself. I am looking for something more than money out of my work. I expect deep fulfilment and a little fun too (page172).

iii. “When people come to define themselves and measure their worth almost exclusively by their bank accounts and the size of their private estates, the world could end up with rich but unfulfilled and inwardly disenchanted human beings (page 79)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me that even though we have the right to economic and material wellbeing, such things should not overtake us and make us forget to live meaningful and fulfilling lives.

iv. “Raise creative self-confident children; help your children to recognise and appreciate their integrity, their special abilities, and therefore, to develop strong feelings of self-worth (page x): This idea was very important to me because it has made me correct the way I have teaching my children. I have always been trying to teach them what I love most. Their interests are not like mine. They have their own talents and abilities different from mine. What I will now do is to guide them and help them to develop their own talents and abilities rather than forcing them to take mine. Creativity often fades after children enter school, where they are rewarded for doing what adults want them to do (page 146). People need to be helped to discover their areas of maximum potential through guidance rather than iron control (page 154). I believe…it is important that children be permitted and encouraged to manipulate, to play around with objects and ideas (155).

v. “Do you show up to work more for the pay check or more for the passion, because you love what you are doing? (page 159)”:This idea was very important to me because it challenges me to think about the reason why I go to work. I have learnt that I have to work for something that I believe in: something that is compatible with my basic needs and fundamental values. If nobody were forced to accept work in order not to starve, work would have to be sufficiently interesting and attractive to induce one to accept it (page 176). Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it (page 186).

vi. “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers (page189)”: This idea was very important to me because it teaches me to train my subordinates to become future leaders during my absence. I do this by delegating powers to them and just giving them guidance while letting them carry out tasks on their own. The best indication of the quality of leadership is not what happens when you are in “control” but what happens when you are gone (page 213). For example, it is my gaol to set IIGL Rwanda Chapter Management Committee when the number of IIGL students will have expanded in Rwanda. The future IIGL National coordinator will come from these committee members.

vii. “Learning to live together is not simply a moral imperative; it is our only chance of survival (page 233):”This idea was very important to me because as a Rwandan citizen, I know what failure to live together means and leads to. This led to 1994 Genocide where an attempt was made to eliminate Rwanda’s Tutsi minority by the Hutu majority systematically and more than 1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred in just 100 days. The genocide in Rwanda was one of the worst cases of violence caused by divisionism in world history. Right from our childhood we were taught that Rwanda is a very unique place, that we are beautiful people, that we have a great country (in Kinyarwanda, the language of Rwanda, “Rwanda” means the universe), that Rwanda is God’s home. Rwanda is known as ‘the land of a thousand hills’ and it’s an absolutely beautiful country. These rolling hills that rolls up into the Northwest into the Volcano National Park where you can see the mountain gorillas. The people of Rwanda, Hutu and Tutsi alike, are extraordinarily friendly. It is hard to imagine that people could kill their neighbours. This was caused by those who propagated propaganda that Rwandans are not the same and that they should not live together. It is now fortunate we are living together as a united country. We are united as one people and our goal is to develop our country. Rwanda was devastated by 1994 Genocide and left with few resources, except people who are now united. And we rapidly learned under those humbling circumstances that the only way we could survive and prosper is to get to work hard and work together. Now other countries, especially from Africa, are coming to Rwanda to take lessons. All our achievements are the fruits of learning to live and work together. It is the greenness of every tree that makes the whole forest green (page 256). We must learn to live together as brothers…or perish as fools (page 263).United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

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?

These ideas have helped me to become conscious that I am able to develop my unique capabilities and contribute them for the common good. I am now able to realise my creative potentialities and I will always strive to develop them further and I will always try to contribute them for the common good. I have found these ideas in particular and the whole book in general, as a treasury of wit and wisdom that provides tools we need to handle some of the most pressing challenges of our time and restore meaning to our lives.

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

i. “We are all born with creativity (page 10)”: This statement got my attention because it reminds me that we are all born creative and every human being is inherently creative. Unfortunately, while every human being is innately endowed, not everybody has been able to realise his potential or to fulfil his unique purpose due to circumstances beyond their control. These circumstances may include, but not limited to, parental upbringing, lack of education or poor education system (no one knows how many would-be engineers and inventors have been steered away from their potentials in high school career cancelling sessions-page 152), cultural stimuli, economic and social circumstances, the political climate, and very importantly, self definition and lack of self confidence. We are all born creative, each with his own special abilities, talents or gifts. The last thing a human being should be told is that or made to believe is that he is not creative (page 56).

ii. “Man is the dwarf of himself (page 18)”: This statement was important to me because it reminds me that most of us are not living up to our natural capacities or are using only a fraction of the immense potential with which we are endowed. We are born free but everywhere in chains (page 69). The man who regards his life as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life (page 30).

iii. “No insignificant person was ever born (page 45)”: This statement attracted my attention because it reminds that we were all born and created for a purpose. We should know of the self fulfilling prophesy: people who perceive themselves as creative tend to believe in themselves and their abilities and, frequently, go on to achieve greater things. By the same token, people who believe that they are not creative tend to doubt their abilities and usually fail to deploy them. Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside (page 69).

iv. “Great things happen in small places. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Jesse Jackson was born in Greenfield (page 63)”: This statement caught my attention because it has let my build in myself more self-confidence. As I said in my Level three assessments, I was born in a refugee camp in Uganda where my parents were living after freeing Rwanda due to political unrests of 1960’s. I was born a stateless child with no nationality. I was not born in a hospital like other children and I did not attend a nursery school. I started school when I was over normal age because we had to move long distances to go to school. I sometimes attended school where trees were our classrooms and stones were our chairs. All these have not stopped me from keeping focused. My background will not stop me from achieving great callings. For example, I am now the first IIGL National Coordinator and I am proud of this. I believe that this project will continue exist and be beneficial to Rwandan Community even after my life on this Planet Earth. It is never too late to be what we might have been (page 82). Also as I have been admitted by Maastricht School of Management and I plan to start my MBA in September 2012 and I have a dream that I will do many great things to improve this world.

v. “It’s clear that some people …continue to learn and grow throughout their lifetimes (page 81)”: This statement caught my attention because it is in agreement with my belief. For example, throughout my life, I have been learning one skill or another. As I said above, I have been admitted by Maastricht School of Management and I plan to start my MBA in September next year. One can go on learning until the day one is cut off (page 91). My continuous learning will help me recognise my unique talents, and then, providing me with relevant experiences, facilities, and resources (including academic skills) to strengthen and, eventually engage my natural abilities in things that I perceive as important and beneficial to myself, my employer and my society. The more we learn the more we realise how little we know (page 291). The more we study the more we discover our ignorance (page 304).

vi. “People ask the difference between a leader and a boss…The leader leads, and the boss drives (page 227)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches us that in order to lead we should not force/drive people to do something. The great leader is seen as a servant first, and that simple fact is a key to his greatness (page 219).

vii. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you already have (page 326)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me to create a game in life that will take me beyond my status quo. I have learnt that it is not until I create a game in life that will take me beyond my status quo and that will take me beyond where I have been before in my experiences, that I will start looking around for the tools I will need to do that job. I am now here, doing this assessment, because I am interested in more than simply playing a game of surviving my life. I will go ahead and declare the game I really want to be playing and ‘get on the court’! The Sky is the limit!.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable. However I would like to make some corrections/editing/proofreading:

i. All the insights on page 27 were repeated on page 28. Information on page 28 should be deleted to avoid duplication.

ii. The insight “New opportunities and different stages in life call on us to use different gifts and to make different contributions” on page 87 is repeated on page 88. This should be corrected.

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 useful?

The book did not contain 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

In this book, the author provides us with the tools we need to become relaxed, effective, and commanding public speakers. He provides us with successful methods to increase our confidence as public speakers. He provides us with techniques that will help us overcome nervousness and discover our own natural style, connect with our audience with our very first words, write a speech that builds to an unforgettable conclusion, expertly blend humour and anecdotes into our talks and use proven techniques to memorize our speech.

i. “It is a common misconception that certain people are born good speakers (page 2)”: This idea was important to me because I myself have been falling in the category of people who believe that certain people are born good speakers. After studying this book, I have learnt that even though some people have a gift of being public speakers, becoming a confident public speaker is achieved only by desire to become a better speaker followed by effort and a lot of practice. I am now confident that I will become a good public speaker.

ii. “Public Speaking is the greatest of all fears…The fear of dying is number seven on the list (page 2-3)”: This idea was important to me because I learnt that I am not alone with this problem. If I am not alone, then the problem can be solved if others have also solved it. I have learnt that this fear of public speaking is perfectly normal and I am not alone. I have leant that one of the best exercises I can do before I speak to deal with the above problem is to practice some deep breathing techniques for five to ten minutes (page 13).

iii. “Realise that people want you to succeed (page 18)”: This idea helped me to understand that the audience is for me not against me, therefore there is no need of fear of addressing the audience when there is an opportunity to do so. They want me to succeed, not to fail. By this I have eliminated the fear of public speaking. Audiences by nature want you to succeed and are willing to help make it happen (page 144).

iv. “Getting started is probably the most difficult part of the entire process (page 23)”: This idea was very important to me because it encourages me to immediately start practising my public speaking techniques. I know that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ and my public speaking skills will not be built in a day either. I will keep practising and practising and practising until I become a good public speaker.

v. “The Internet has truly made this a smaller world….(page 37)”: This idea was very important to me because it mentions what is a reality. If there were no internet I don’t think I would have got the opportunity to connect with IIGL which is now giving me the chance to solve my personal weaknesses including fear of public speaking which I am now solving though studying this book .

vi. “It is amazing how many people never even record their presentations and use them as part of their practice (page 43)”: This idea was very important to me because it is as if it is talking about my personal weakness. I have been reading about the benefit of self-recording during public speaking practice but I rarely do so. I did it one time on my computer when I was preparing PowerPoint presentation and the following morning I delivered a very good presentation. I should make this a routine.

vii. Recognise people by names (page 57): This idea was very important because it emphasises the importance of recognising people’s names when addressing the public. Recognising people’s names is one of my weaknesses but I will try to improve on this because it makes the environment more personal.

viii. “No matter the size of your audience, each listener wants to feel that you are talking directly to him or her (page 114)”: This idea was very important to me because it teaches me the importance of eye contact with my audience. Also by looking at our audience, we determine how they are reacting to our presentation. If individuals are not looking at you, they may not be not listening either (page 115).

ix. “No matter what you believe, there is no such a thing as a perfect voice (page 119)”: This idea was important to me because it has made me appreciate my voice. I have learnt that each individual has his or her unique voice as the person’s hair style of manner of dress.

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?

I will practice the ideas learnt in this book and do a lot of practice to become confident public speaker. I have believed that there is no way I will be a good speaker or that I can never learn to be like those professional speakers. I thought that speaking just comes easily to them. The above ideas have cleared these misconceptions and I believe that through practice I will become a good public speaker-Nothing can be anything until it is first imagined.

4. 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.

There are many statements which the author made that particularly got my attention and were important to me to the extent that I cannot cite them all. I will just cite the following statements as examples.

i. “To Learn To Play the Trumpet, You have to play the trumpet (page 6)”: This statement attracted my attention because it reminds me that in order to learn a skill, I have to practice it. In the case of public speaking, in order to learn to speak, I have to speak. I have started right now practising my public speaking skills in everyday situations. You will not improve unless you practice, practice, practice…practice is the key to improving (page 167).

ii. “Reading is the foundation upon which all other skills are built (page 40): This statement caught my attention because it stresses the importance of reading. In fact there is a quotation which I make when I am introducing people to IIGL studies that ‘If you don’t read, you don’t lead’. Also according to Sir Francis Bacon, English author, courtier, & philosopher (1561 – 1626), ‘Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man’.

iii. “If you want me to give you a two-hour presentation, I am ready today. If you want only a five-minute speech, it will take me two weeks to prepare(page 40)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me that making a short presentation needs more time for preparation so that important points are not left out. A short speech that gets the message across effectively will take more work than a longer speech, since the words used need to be chosen carefully. The key is not to change the structure of your speech, but to reduce the level of detail. This is why it takes longer to prepare a shorter presentation than a longer one, because we need to constantly refine and rework our story, using fewer words and details but still keeping it intact.

iv. “AUDIENCE (page 49)”: This statement caught my attention because I did not know that it is sometimes used as an acronym. I have now learnt that it can be used to stand for: Analysis; Understanding; Demographics; Interest; Environment; Needs; Customized; Expectations. I will use this acronym to meet the needs of my audience when I am addressing it.

v. “Use KISS method (page 78)”: This statement stands for ‘keep it short and simple’ and caught my attention because it teaches me not to use no more than six or seven lines per visual aid and no more that six or seven words per line.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Change or Die

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is that we can change and thrive. He concludes his book by apologising for the title Change of Die. He says that the phrase Change or Die is a message of fear. He says that while fear may be an effective way of arousing emotions, it motivates change for only a brief time and then people go back to denial (page 204). The point of Change or Die is to show how people can change when the facts of fear haven’t motivated them (page 211). The author concludes that although we all have the ability to change our behaviour, we rarely ever do. From patients suffering heart diseases to repeat offenders in the criminal justice Systems, to companies trapped in the mould of unsuccessful practices. Explaining breakthrough research and progressive ideas from a wide selection of leaders in medicine, science and business, the author demonstrates how anyone can achieve lasting, revolutionary changes that are positive, attainable, and absolutely vital.

i. “A relatively small percentage of the population consumes the vast majority of the health care budget for diseases that are very well known and by and large behavioural (page 3):” This idea was very important to me because it alerts us to change our behaviours and live longer. We are told that despite of all that spending, we are not feeling healthier, and we are not making enough progress toward preventing illnesses that kill us, such as heart diseases, stroke, and cancer. I have learnt that if we decide to be careful with our behaviours, we can avoid most of such . This has made me review how I live I have changed my behaviours. I have reduce the food I eat to avoid overweight and I have stopped drinking. I have decided to exercise on a daily basis. I refuse using lifts when I am going in my office in the 6th Floor. In fact last night I ate little food and I slept well compared to other times when I over eat. As I write this assessment I have just come from lunch and I ate little and I am feeling very comfortable.

ii. “It’s very difficult to inspire a belief in others that you don’t believe yourself (page 33);” This idea was very important to me, because as I said in How to Make Collaboration Work, we should avoid the saying that ‘do as I say, not as I do’. Leaders persuade us not just by the stories to tell but also by the lives they lead-by personifying the beliefs and ideals they are advocating. In business this has been known as ‘walking the walk’ and not ‘talking the talk (page 89). But you need to walk the walk for a long time before your actions really change the way that people think, feel, and act. After years or decades of experiencing the old ways, people aren’t going to believe you when you tell them that things are different(page177). ‘If you are “walking the talk”, then the message will be taken seriously and the required change will place. Lack of conviction, betrayed by the look of your eyes or the tone of your voice or your body language, takes away from the impact of your words. Besides, what is more persuasive? Our words or our actions? Here, I have many personal testimonies where I used to tell my children that drinking is bad yet when I took them out they could see me drinking or I could send them to buy for me a drink when I am at home. I thank God that they detest alcohol even the youngest one at the age of two.

iii. “Fake it until you make it (page 78)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me of the importance of persistence in order to achieve a required change. With persistence, we should know that impossible change is possible. The fastest way to reach a goal is to act as if it is already accomplished or “fake it till you make it.” Since the subconscious mind merely agrees with whatever the conscious mind says, we can use this to our advantage by using our imagination in getting rid of any negative beliefs by keeping in mind the practice of traits and attitudes that we want to adopt (this is otherwise called reflective learning). The process requires a daily effort we can act as if we have achieved success in the areas they wish to change and that with time such feelings and behaviour will become consistent.

iv.“Punitive measures have never worked (page 93)”: This idea was very important to me because it has reminded me the tremendous and wonderful changes that have taken place within my family. Before I took IIGL studies I could threaten and punish my children if the made any mistake but this could hardly change them. But when I changed and approached them in a friendly manner, everything went smoothly.

v. “Treating every worker every employee as a manager (page 108)”: This idea was very important to me because it show that in a situation where every worker is treated as a manager, teamwork and responsibility improves at work. When a worker is accountable to his peers, not to a distant, oppressive supervisor, performance improves, because workers don’t want to let the rest of the team down by not showing up for work or doing a shoddy and substandard job. People work together as a family to solve problems and do the job.

vi. “We can learn complex new things in our thirties or even our eighties (page 123)”: This idea was very important to me because it emphasises that learning is a continuous process. It contradicts somewhere I read that ‘a fool at the age of forty is a fool for ever ‘. I fully agree with the above idea because in my life I have been learning one thing or another. In fact as I write this assignment I have reached 46 and I am still seeking for Masters Programs to attend. Unless you work on it, brain fitness begins declining (page 124). Change of every kind is about learning new habits and skills (page126).

vii.“Changing your own life often means changing your community, which is hard to foresee and very difficult to get through (page138)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me how it has been difficult for me to leave people whom we used to share a drink. For example, I planned to go for a gym and they called me asking my program I could there and then cross the gym program and join the to the drinking point.

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?

These ideas will help me to make changes that used to seem harder for me to adopt. They will help me to change when change isn’t coming naturally. These ideas will help me to make a permanent fix where there I have been trying to change some behaviour with difficulties. These ideas are powerful tools with universal appeal which deconstructs and debunks the age-old myths about change and have empowered me with three critical keys: relate, repeat, and reframe, to help me make important positive changes in our lives.

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

i. “Everyone has won and all must have prizes (page 20)”: This statement caught my attention because it emphasises the importance of working as a team where there are no winners and losers. This is practised by our organisation where when we surpass the target in revenue collections we all get the bonus on top of our normal salaries and I have discovered that this bonus motivates the entire staff to perform better.

ii. “Concepts are not things that can be changed just by someone telling us a fact (page 30)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me that we should change our beliefs in order to change our lives. This helps to explain why simply providing information does not sway people to think and feel differently.

iii. “I have twenty friends in this pack of cigarettes. Are you going to take away my friends? (page 52)”: This statement caught my attention because it shows us how dangerous is addiction to smoking or other behaviours. We have to understand addicts and inform them that they have to spend more time with human friends instead of being taken up by smoking or other substances. We have to show them that they need to discover greater joy and purpose through greater interconnectedness with others. They need to know new solutions that do not have side effects of worsening their life situations.

iv. “People don’t resist change; they resist being changed (page 94 & 153)”: This statement caught my attention because I have learnt that this resistance to being changed is from psychological self-defence against demeaning, condescending, and superior stances of those who assume the knowledge and authority to goad them. In order to make people change, it is better to inspire hope in them. For example it doesn’t usually help to tell a heart patient to “be healthy’, but it’s useful to introduce that heart patient to people who have suffered from the same illness and overcome it.

v. “So, kind reader, that’s my parting wish for you: Change and Thrive! (page 205)”:This concluding remark caught my attention because it concludes his book by not using the threats of fear of death but it encourages us to change and thrive. The author knows that fear may be an effective way of arousing emotions, it motivates change for only a brief time and then people go back to denial (page 204). That is why he replaces word ‘die’ with ‘thrive’.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

How to Make Collaboration Work

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

In How to Make Collaboration Work, the author introduces to us powerful principles of collaboration and he shows us how these principles can make people work together effectively. The author presents to us a vision of a better world in which people with differing interests can work together constructively to make decisions and solve problems, and even tackle the complex, systemic issues our societies face. This book is about the process of collaborative problem solving (page 6).

i. “Through collaborative action, you can produce a higher-quality ideas and solutions than you can if you work by yourself (page 4): This idea was very important to me because it has helped me to change my mindset where I have been enjoying solving problems as an individual as opposed to working as a group. I have learnt that incorporating the views of all members can produce synergy and creativity not possible when I work alone (page 59). There is a saying that ‘two heads are better than one’.

ii. “The power of collaboration comes from inclusion, not exclusion (page 39)”: This idea was very important to me because it has taught me to always involve those concerned when I am finding a solution to a given problem. For example if I have a problem in my family, I will involve my family members to find the solution instead of I alone taking the decision. Involving of all those concerned will naturally create a broader base of support. People who are directly affected by an issue deserve to be able to express their opinions about it and have a hand in formulating a solution. Power comes from inclusion, not exclusion (page 47).

iii. “If you are a leader, manager, or a chair of or organisation, you should seriously consider not running your own meeting (page 118)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds us of the mistakes we normally commit by running our own meetings. We are told that running our own meetings is akin to a person trying to be a player, captain, coach, and referee all at the same time (page 119).

iv.“Many leaders, once they understand the advantages of collaborative action, believe that all decisions should be made by consensus (page 147)”: This idea was very important because it reminds me that as a leader, I have to sometimes take decision when there is no consensus of the members. A manager always retains all his decision-making responsibilities.

v. “A facilitative leader must feel comfortable revealing what he or she know or doesn’t know and not be afraid of looking “stupid”(page151)”: This idea was very important to me because it encourages me to express to my team what I do not know so that I can learn from the team. I have to avoid what is said that ‘the boss is always right’. I have to stand to be corrected when I ma wrong and admit it.

vi. “[As a leader]Your words and actions must be congruent (page 154): This idea was very important to me because it remind me to avoid the saying that ‘do as I say, not as I do’. I am informed that what I do as a leader has much effect- as if not more than what I say. I have discovered that how I run my meetings, how I interact with my team, even the pronouns I use (we vs I) all send a message to my people whether or not I am serious about teamwork and collaboration. If you are “walking the talk”, then the message will spread through the organisation that a serious change is taking place.

vii. “Reward and recognition systems in organisations should support and reinforce desired behaviours (page 174)”: This idea was very important to me because it stresses the importance of rewarding and recognition. These rewards need not be expensive but can motivate collaboration and team work. This is practised in our organisation. When we surpass a target of revenue collection we are given a bonus and I have discovered that it motivates staff to perform better.

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?

These ideas will help me to facilitate collaboration, manage conflicts in my community and build effective teams. These ideas have shown me that collaboration can become a joy rather than a chore- a kind of chemical reaction that releases far more energy than it consumes. They will help me to harness the power of collaborative action for myself and my community. I have come to understand that the power of collaborative action holds a great promise for our organisations and communities as a means of building more humane and productive places to work and live.

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

i. “Working face-to-face to build agreement is significantly different from negotiating through a mediator (page 8)”: This statement caught my attention because I have discovered that if people are in a conflict, they will probably more readily agree to a facilitated meeting in which they will try to work out their differences face-to-face than to meditated negotiation in which an internal or external mediator could serve as a shuttle diplomat and try to fashion an agreement (page71). This is a very good lesson.

ii. “There is no one right way to solving problems (page 20)”: This statement caught my attention because I was taught to look for different ways when solving a given problem. This has encouraged me to use my brain effectively to find different ways for solving a given problem instead of depending on one approach. I will also collaborate with others to find the solution because it is said that ‘two heads are better than one’.

iii. “It’s better to have your enemy inside the tent spitting out than outside the tent spitting in (page 42)”: This statement caught my attention because I have come to realise that if I exclude those I consider to be my ‘enemies’ in finding a solution to the problem facing us all as a group, I will make them more powerful-more able to claim with justification that the process was unfair. If these so called enemies have been consulted and involved, they will be much more likely to support a decision. Wouldn’t you want to have a say in a decision that affects your life? Don’t you feel that others deserve this opportunity as well? (Page 59).

iv. “The continued evolution of United States as a democratic society depends upon civil society’s capacity to foster a new culture of collaborative civic engagement (page 192)”: This statement caught my attention because it also applies to my country Rwanda today. We have a monthly community work and meeting called ‘Umuganda’. This is held every last Saturday of every month where people meet at village level and hold to solve different issues. Citizens come together to build the community problems-solving capacity. Our communities in Rwanda are becoming more collaborative every day as opposed to past years when there was no community collaboration.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain 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?

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

A. How interesting was it to read? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
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? 9

The Quick & Easy Way to Effective Speaking

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is to show the reader how to have maximum impact as a speaker-every day, and in every situation that demands winning others over your point of view. The author teaches us the modern techniques for dynamic communication. We are taught the principles of effective speaking and the attitudes to make these principles come alive.

i. “Take heart from the experience of others (page 17): This idea was important to me because it has reminded me to learn from experienced speakers. For example, I have now started to listen to one of the radios in Rwanda which broadcasts live from the Parliament and I learn from the speeches made by the Parliamentarians.

ii. “Keep your goal before you (page 21)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to keep focused on my goal to become an effective speaker. I have now set my sights on the goal of increased confidence and more effective communication. I now think positively, not negatively about chances to succeed in this endeavour. I have now set a seal of determination every word and action that I devote toward the development of this ability.

iii. “Seize every opportunity to practice (page 28)”: This idea was important to me because it emphasises the fact that no one can learn to speak in public without speaking in public as no person can learn to swim without getting into the water. This means that even if I could read every volume ever written about public speaking-including this one, I can never be able to speak in public. Books are mere guides but I have to put into practice what I have studied. Therefore I have to practice public speaking and I will seize every opportunity to practice.

iv.“Personalise your talk using names (page 68)”: This idea was very important to me because most of the books I have read during this course have touched this issue. I will make every effort to remember peoples name when I am giving a presentation. “Nothing adds more realism to a story than names; nothing is as unrealistic as anonymity. Imagine a story whose hero has no name (page 69)”.Another way to open the lines of communication is to use the names of the people in the audience (page 91).

v. “Use concrete, familiar words that create pictures (page 72)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to set images float before the eyes of my audience. “Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. They are free as the air you breathe. Sprinkle them through your talks, your conversation, and you will be more entertaining and more influential (page 73). An an abstract style is always bad. Your sentences should be full of stones, metals, chairs, animals, men, and women (page75).

vi. “Avoid technical terms (page 126)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to put myself in the shoes of my audience and use simple normal terms other than using complicated technical terms. It is a good practice to pick out the least intelligent-looking person in the audience and strive to make that person interested in your argument (page 125). Think as wise men do, but speak as common people (page 128). If I am to use a technical term, I will not use it until I have explained it to everybody in the audience and they know what it means.

vii. “Don’t try to imitate others-be yourself (page 161)”: This idea was very important to me because it made me build self-confidence in the way I speak rather than trying to imitate others. In fact I have witnessed different people who imitate their superiors when they are addressing the public. I can remember a President who used to stammer and almost all the high ranking officials had acquired that way of speaking. All Fords are exactly alike…but no two men are just alike. Every new life is a new thing under the sun; there has never been anything just like it before, and never will be again (page 162). I will never force myself in a mould and thereby lose my distinctiveness. I will have to be myself.

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?

These lessons and ideas will help me to express myself more completely as an individual seeking a deeper personal fulfilment. They will help me to gain self-confidence, poise and the ability to think on my feet. I will be able to talk clearly and convincingly before any group. I will be able to develop confidence to get up and face people and address them in a coherent, fluent manner. Practising these ideas will help me to wear away audience fright that has been a problem to me. I will also tell others what these ideas did for me with the hope that my story will inspire some of them to get rid of the fears that are devastating their lives. By practicing these lessons, I am sure that I will be heading into an adventure in which my power of self-direction and my vision will sustain me and change me inside out.

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

i. “The ability to communicate effectively with others and win their co-operation is an asset we look for in men moving to the top (page 20): This statement caught my attention because it teaches me that without being a good communicator, one cannot become a top manager because you cannot stand up and confidently share your thoughts and feelings with your audience. I have been holding middle management posts for so long and I think the reason I have not moved to the top is because I have been lacking communication skills. If I practice the skills studied in this book, the sky will be the limit.

ii. “Pre-determine your mind to success (page 25)”: This statement caught my attention and it has set me in the mood of an effective public speaker. I have now started to picture myself before an audience I might be called upon to address. I can see myself stepping forward with confidence, I can imagine listening to the hush fall as I begin, feel attentive absorption of the audience as I drive point after point, I can feel the applause as I leave the platform, I can hear the words of appreciation with which individual members of the audience greet me when the meeting is over. “In almost any subject, your passion for the subject will save you. If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it (page 23)”. I will throw every shred of negative thought into the consuming fires and slam doors of steel upon every escape into irresolute past (page27).

iii. “Only the prepared speakers deserve to be confident (page 35)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me the importance of good preparation before speaking. Every time I get the opportunity to speak I will first prepare and at least jot down the main points.

iv. “I am so excited about life that I cannot keep still. I just have to tell people about it (page 80)”: This statement caught my attention because it exactly says how I feel when I am being transformed by studies of IIGL. I can’t feel relaxing and restful before I tell others about the wonders IIGL is doing to the world. For example, last night, I remembered that I have to share with my colleagues at work a book “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective people” and I could not sleep again. The first thing I did in the morning at work was to send the book to more than 800 members of our staff. I believe this will have a positive impact our community. ‘One book can change a mind; one mind can change the world’.

v. “Let no youth have any anxiety about the upshot of his education, whatever the line of it may be. If he keeps faithfully busy each hour of the working day, he may safely leave the final result to itself. He can, with prefect certainty, count on waking up some fine morning to find himself one of the competent ones of his generation, in whatever pursuit he may have singled out (page 214 ”: This statement caught my attention because it ensures me that with practice we can achieve whatever we want to achieve. This means that if I keep right on practicing intelligently, I may confidently hope to wake up one fine morning and find myself one of the competent speakers of my community.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable. Only a typo mistake on page 118, paragraph 3. The sentence should start with ‘Then’ instead of ‘They’.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Rating

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

In The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, Maxwell identifies top leadership traits as character, charisma, commitment, communication, competence, courage, discernment, focus, generosity, initiative, listening, passion, positive attitude, problem-solving, relationships, responsibility, security, self-discipline, servanthood, teachability, and vision–and then defines them in ways that readers can absorb and utilize. Each trait is covered in a separate chapter opening with a high-concept definition and continuing with relevant anecdotes, details on its meaning, suggestions for further reflection, and exercises for improvement. For example, in the section on vision (“You can seize only what you can see”), Maxwell describes how Walt Disney initially developed the theme-park concept after accompanying his daughters to a fun-filled but rather shabby amusement park. He then analyzes how Disney’s resultant projects drew on his personal history while meeting other’s needs, and explains how readers must “listen to several voices” to develop successful foresight in a similar way. Finally, Maxwell suggests methods to articulate these visions and measure their implementation.

i. “The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches but to reveal him his own (page 11)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to develop those that I lead by showing them their leadership potentials. I will apply this idea at home and at work. I will help my subordinates and my family to develop by appreciating them and encouraging them. This will help them reach their potential. I believe they will also love me for it and they will be willing to follow me as a leader.

ii. “Nothing is easier than saying words. Nothing is harder than living them after day (page 19)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to commit myself and live by my words. As I said in my assessment of Change or Die, I have to walk the talk. If you are “walking the talk”, then the message will be taken seriously and the required change will place and people will be ready to follow you

iii. Educators take something simple and make it complicated. Communicators take something complicated and make it simple (page 23): This idea was very important to me because it teaches me that I have to simplify my communication so as to pass my message. I have learnt that Leaders must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. Communication is not just what you say. It’s also how you say it. The key to effective communication is simplicity. Speeches = Exciting opening, dramatic summary, as close together as possible. Communication is not just what you say. It’s also how you say it. Contrary to what some educators teach, the key to effective communication is simplicity. I will forget impressing people with big words and complex sentences. I will keep it simple to connect with people.

iv. Quality is never an accident: it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skilful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives (page 34): This idea was very important to me because it encourages me to keep learning and improving. As I said in Corporate Rise, you will never run out of creative ideas if you keep reading and learning, so I have to develop an insatiable appetite for these pursuits. The more you learn, the more you will know, the more creative you can be. Eventually, creative thinking will become an almost effortless automatic response that will feel fun and exciting. Leader’s emphasis on continued learning is of course nothing less than a sincere quest for truth, which also shows in the leader’s continual search for opportunities to tell the truth and hear the truth. Leaders never stop learning, and they never stop leading. I will keep learning, growing and improving.

v. “No person was ever honoured for what he received. Honour has been the reward for what he gave (page 58)”: This idea was very important to me because it emphasises the importance of giving. For example after taking IIGL studies, they improved on my generosity and I can’t cite all the rewards I get due to my generosity. For instance, I recently donated blood and today I have got the opportunity to understand my blood group and my health status. I have learnt that giving is the highest level of living. It’s hard for a person to be generous when he is not satisfied with what he has.. Generosity rises out of contentment, and that doesn’t come with acquiring more. If you’re not content with little, you won’t be content with a lot. And if you’re not generous with little, you won’t suddenly change if you become wealthy. The measure of a leader is not the number of people who serve him, but the number of people he serves. Generosity requires putting others first. “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”

vi. “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit (page 66)”: This idea was very important to me because it encourages me to keep moving instead of remaining in the comfort zone. I have learnt that of all the things a leader should fear, complacency should head the list. Leaders are responsible for initiating a connection with their followers. But that’s not the only area where leaders must show initiative. They must always look for opportunities and be ready to take action. For example, Thomas Edison once wrote, “My success is due more to my ability to work continuously on one thing without stopping than to any other single quality.” I will follow this principle as well.

vii. “Nobody can be successful unless he loves his work (page 83)”: This idea was very important because it encourages me to love my work and concentrate on doing it in order to be successful. I have learnt that passion for work makes it possible for people who might seem ordinary to achieve great things. Your desire determines your destiny. Anyone who lives beyond an ordinary life has great desire. There is no substitute for passion. It is fuel for the will. If you want anything badly enough you can find the willpower to achieve it. If you follow your passion, instead of others’ perceptions, you can’t help becoming a more dedicated, productive person. And that increases your ability to impact others. In the end, your passion will have more influence than your personality. “A leader with great passion and few skills always outperforms a leader with great skills and no passion.” You can never lead something you don’t care passionately about. You can’t start a fire in your organization unless one is first burning in you. I am encouraged to concentrate on what I do well, and do it better than anybody else

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?

These ideas/lessons will help me recognise, develop and refine the personal characteristics needed to be a truly effective leader whom people will want to follow. I understand that part of leader’s development comes from learning the laws of leadership. The above ideas are the tools that teach me how leadership works.

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

i. “How can you have charisma? Be more concerned about making others feel good about themselves than you are about making them feel good about you (page 8)”: This statement was very important to me because it has taught me the importance of making other people feeling good in order for them to follow me as their leader.

ii. Share yourself (page 11): This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that as I lead people, I have to give of myself. I will apply this by sharing wisdom and available resources. Leaders who think about others and their concerns before thinking of themselves exhibit charisma (page 12).

iii. “People do not follow uncommitted leaders (page 15): This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to get committed in order for others to follow me. I am told that the world has never seen a great leader who lacked commitment. Some people want everything to be perfect before they’re willing to commit themselves to anything. But commitment always precedes achievement. Jordan – “Heart separates the good from the great.” The only real measure of commitment is action. There will be times when commitment is the only thing that carries you forward.

iv. “The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people (page 74)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to listen to people in order to be a great leader. “A good leader encourages followers to tell him what he needs to know, not what he wants to hear.” Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand. That’s the Law of Connection. But before a leader can touch a person’s heart, he has to know what’s in it. He learns that by listening. I have learnt that 60% of all management problems are the result of faulty communications! You have two purposes for listening: to connect with people and to learn. “Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.”

v. “You can measure a leader by the problems he tackles. He always looks for ones his own size (page 95): This statement caught my attention because it has provided me with the standard with which I can measure my leadership capacity. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy (page 40).

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied and I am committed to do so.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Rating

Corporate Rise

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The author wrote Corporate Rise to share his views on the subject of extreme personal leadership, what he calls X-Leadership. (page241). This book is written for people who are pursuing a great goal and who believe that they should be.

i. “An important characteristic of the X-Leader is that he or she wants to energise the entire company through personal achievement. The X-Leader believes that every member of the company should be developed to his or her maximum potential (page 13)”: This idea was very important to me because it is in agreement with what I do at work. As much I strive to develop myself, I also try to develop the entire staff of my employing organisation. I do this by sharing with them all the information I get related to personal development. This includes sharing e-books, training them in the skills I have and informing them of the training opportunities available like IIGL studies and many others.

ii. “Teamwork is what makes the dreams work (page 26)”: This idea was very important because it reminded me of a poem I once contributed for our Revenue Magazine. The poem had was titled ‘Teamwork’ and read as follows:

Team Work

It’s all very well to have courage and skill

And it’s fine to be counted a star,

But the single deed with its touch of thrill

Doesn’t tell the person you are;

For there’s no lone hand in the game we play,

We must work to a bigger scheme,

And the thing that counts in the world to-day

Is, How do you pull with the team?

They may sound your praise and call you great,

They may single you out for fame,

But you must work with your running mate

Or you’ll never win the game;

Oh, never the work of life is done

By the man with a selfish dream,

For the battle is lost or the battle is won

By the spirit of the team.

You may think it fine to be praised for skill,

But a greater thing to do

Is to set your mind and set your will

On the goal that’s just in view;

It’s helping your fellow to score

When his chances hopeless seem;

Its forgetting self till the game is over

And fighting for the common target.

I wish I had read this book and came across Teamwork is what makes the dreams work and make it the title of this poem. I have learnt that training employees to work effectively in a team environment is important. When every person in the team feels gratified and valued, the whole team’s performance will increase. In a team, not only do the stars shine more brightly, but marginal performers also contribute more. Every employee is much better off working with many talented people than working alone. He or she learns from the team, and is responsible to the team to make a major contribution. I also believe that my success is directly linked to the success of my team and one of the effective ways for me to build and effective career is though teamwork. The results produced by the whole always will be greater than the results produced by the sum of its parts. X-Leaders take advantage of synergy by building on the strength of the entire team (page 197). I will always think inclusively and use pronouns like we, us, and ours instead of they, them and theirs or I, me and mine.

iii. “Don’t presume that the important people in your operation are aware of your good performance! (Page 37)”: This idea was very important to me because it has touched one of my weaknesses. I rarely try to inform my superior of my performance believing that deeds speak for themselves. I will from now on start to make sure that I schedule periodic review of my performance with my boss. I will do this to ensure that there is correlation between my expectation and supervisor’s expectation.

iv. “In your process of personal self-development, decide whether you want to be mentored (page 39)”: This idea was very important to me because it emphasizes the importance of a mentor. Thanks to IIGL Management which provides mentors to IIGL students. I understand that mentorship is not the prerequisite to becoming extremely successful. However, every person deserves the opportunity to have a mentor, an experienced person who can help someone with less experience to deal with broad career concerns. For mentorship to be successful, the selected mentor should be a person who has time, the interest, and the capacity to be effective.

v. “If you do not care where you are going, then any road will take you there (page 43)”: This idea caught my attention and was very important to me because it reminds me of the danger of living without plans. I will now set my personal plans and adhere to them. This will allow me to focus and channel my energies and abilities. Clear plan will enable me to step on the accelerator of my own life and leap ahead rapidly toward achieving more of the things I really want. On the other hand, if I do not give clear instructions to my brain and my subconscious mind, I will be largely unaware of leadership opportunities and possibilities around me. By simply deciding exactly what it is you want, you will begin to move unerringly toward your goal, and your goal will start to move unerringly toward you. At exactly the right time, and in exactly the right place, you and the goal will meet.

vi. “Don’t hide your mistakes from your peers and supervisors; they probably are aware of them anyway (page 153)”: This idea was very important to me because it encourages me to be open and frank when I make a mistake. This will give other people room to demonstrate their skills, which contributes to great solutions and to their confidence as contributors. I will also let other people know that the people who make mistakes are the people who make everything else! I will encourage them to turn their mistakes into learning opportunities, instead of making the same mistake, again and again.

vii. “Remember, People imitate what they see (page 227)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to set good example to my subordinates and to others I lead. I have understood that whatever example I set as a Leader, my followers will emulate my behaviour. This is one reason why it is of considerable importance that my actions as a leader should conform to the highest standard of honesty and integrity. I understand that if I engage in dishonest or unethical behaviour, that behaviour will be replicated in my team.

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?

These ideas/lessons will help me to accelerate my rate of progress towards achieving extraordinary high levels of leadership skills and success in life. They will help me earn the opportunity to do great things in the corporate world. They will help me develop the skills, behaviours, and attitudes necessary to accelerate my progress in acquiring and applying leadership skills. I now believe in my own opportunities rather than waiting in the line for the next big break.

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

i. “Don’t wait for me to give you a business card labelled Supervisor. Start demonstrating the attributes the supervisor should master (page 2)”: This statement attracted my attention and taught me that it is not a good idea to wait for leadership to be granted to me. Instead, I have to find the opportunities to demonstrate whatever leadership powers I already have. I have started playing that role today. I use the power of my knowledge, experience and skill to prove that I have potentials and capacities to lead.

ii. “Managers are people who do things right, whereas leaders are people who do the right things (page 4)”: This statement caught my attention because it has given me a clear and precise distinction between a manager and a leader. I have learnt that leadership substantially differs from managing. Mangers ask: What problems must be solved? How can we keep people contributing to the company’s success? I have discovered that managers act to limit choices while leaders constantly strive fresh approaches to long-standing problems and to open most issues to new creative options.

iii. “The more I learn, the more I realise how much there is to learn (page29)”: This statement caught my attention because it exactly stated what I feel. For example, when I finished level three of IIGL studies, I first thought that I have reached the maximum level of personal development but when I reached higher levels, I felt that there is still much to learn and I felt thirst for more knowledge. You will never run out of creative ideas if you keep reading and learning, so develop an insatiable appetite for these pursuits. The more you learn, the more you will know, the more creative you can be. Eventually, creative thinking will become an almost effortless automatic response that will feel fun and exciting (page 81). Thanks to IIGL Studies that have availed to me many books that teach techniques for thinking ‘outside the box’! The X-leader’s emphasis on continued learning is of course nothing less than a sincere quest for truth, which also shows in the X-Leader’s continual search for opportunities to tell the truth and hear the truth (page 129). X-Leaders never stop learning, and they never stop leading (page 225).

iv. “Don’t shoot the messenger! Reward the messenger, whether he or she brings you good news or bad (page 139)”: This statement was very interesting and caught my attention because we have the same proverb in our mother language (Ikinyarwanda) that ‘Intumwa ntiyicwa ahubwo irarabirwa’ meaning that a messenger is not killed, instead he is rewarded. This statement teaches me that we should ensure that nobody among our team should be suffering in silence. Team members won’t reveal their true concerns until they believe that it is safe to do so, so we should not penalise people who come forward and give us news that we do not want to hear. The people who bear bad news we do not want to hear put us in a position to turn it into good news.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Rating

The Winning Attitude

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is to help the readers struggling with an ingrained negative attitude and give them the principles they can apply to change and become a winners. He teaches us how we can develop a positive attitude.

i. “Our attitude is the primary force that will determined whether we succeed or fail (page 26): This idea was very important to me because it has reminded me to always have a positive attitude in order to succeed in life. For some, attitude presents a difficulty in every opportunity; for others, it presents an opportunity in every difficulty. Some climb with a positive attitude, while others fall with a negative perspective. The very fact that the attitude ‘makes some’ while ‘breaking’ others is significant enough for me to explore its importance. There is very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative (page 35). . Most of the prison bars we beat against are within us; we put them there and we can put them down (page 139). We are either the masters or victims of our attitude. It is a matter of personal choice. Who we are today is the result of choices made yesterday. Tomorrow we will become what we choose today. To change means to choose to change (page 145).

ii. “We are individually responsible for our view of life (page 27)”: This idea was very important to me because it has reminded me how I used to view the world before I started to take IIGL studies. I used to see the world as if it was treating me badly and I could feel badly. Now I feel the world is treating me well and I can see opportunities everywhere I turn because of the positive attitude I have developed. My attitude towards the world is good and this gives me good results. Now I treat every person I meet without a single exception, as the most important person on earth and I have found that they also treat me the same way.

iii. “All my country has is spirit. We don’t have petroleum dollars. We don’t have mines or great wealth in the ground. We don’t have the support of a worldwide public opinion that looks favourably on us. All Israel has is the spirit of its people. And if the people lose their spirit, even the United States of America cannot save us (page 34)”: This idea was very important to me because it provides a very good lesson to my country Rwanda. After 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi Rwandan got united as one people and developed a positive attitude which has led to sustainability and national development within a very short period. The country has started to develop despite the fact that it does not have natural resources. It is now serving as an example to many African countries whose citizens are dying of poverty despite the abundance of natural resources like minerals and petroleum.

iv. “Today I made a conscience decision to change. This will not be done overnight, but it will be done. It will not be accomplished easily, but it will be accomplished! (Page 51)”: This idea was very important to me because it gives me encouragement to keep on making a positive change. For example, I have now reached level six of IIGL studies, which is towards completion of my studies but I have not yet got the full change I want to make. This idea has encouraged me and I know that positive change cannot be achieved overnight. It needs persistence. It doesn’t matter how big the rock is. If you just keep pounding, it’s gonna bust (page 65).

v. “How we see ourselves reflects how others see us (page 71)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to see myself with a positive attitude so as to improve on how others see me. I have learnt that if I like myself it will increase the chances that others will like me. Self-image is the parameter to the construction of our attitude. We act in response to how we see ourselves. We will never go beyond the boundaries that stake our true feeling about ourselves. Those ‘other countries’ can be explored only when our self-image is strong enough to give permission (page72).

vi. “If you knew me five years ago, you would not recognise me today (page 163)”: This idea was very important to me because it has helped me to evaluate the positive changes I have made during my IIGL Studies. My family, work and self-image have greatly improved. I am not what I want to be but I am not what I used to be either. I want to keep growing and to do this I must continually choose the right attitude.

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?

These lessons have created real hope for me! I have learnt that by practising them, I can develop the attitude of mind which brings peace, courage, and success! I have clearly understood what is attitude and why it is important; I have understood the necessary ingredients for high performance, what causes an attitude to become negative and disappointing and how a wrong attitude that is working against me can be turned around to work for me. I have learnt that negative attitude causes a closed mind and a dark future and that when the attitude is positive and conducive to growth, the mind expands and the progress begins.

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

i. “A person, who gives a look that kills, probably is not inwardly singing something good is going to happen to you (page 20): This statement caught my attention because it reminds to always smile. I used to think that smiling is lack of seriousness. But when I developed a habit of smiling, I developed a peace of mind and I felt more happy than in the past when I used to show a ‘serious’ face. It helped me to develop a positive attitude. I have learnt to “Put on a happy face”. It is a reminder that our expressions usually reflect our inward. Since an attitude is often expressed by our body language and by the looks on our faces, it can also be contagious and affect those around us.

ii. “Two men looked through prison bars; one saw mud; the other saw stars (page 36)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me that in whatever circumstances one may be, he can develop a positive attitude. I am sure that the person who saw the stars was later released and became successful in life. The last of the human freedom is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances (page 49). What really matters is what happens in us not to us(page 95

iii. “No Society has ever developed tough men during times of peace (page 39)”: This statement has caught my attention because it reminds me of Rwanda experience. We developed tough men and good leadership after the tough situations we passed through in the past years.

iv. “There is much more opportunity than are people to see (page 40)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me of the statement I made in my assessment of ‘Thinking for A Change’ that ‘More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than ever been taken from the earth (page 26)’.There are a lot of opportunities surrounding us but we cannot see them because of negative attitude. We are normally poor because we do not develop positive mental attitude and use our minds to find the solutions to the problems related to poverty. Sometimes I tell people that wherever we are we are stepping on gold but we can’t ‘see’ it and extract it to make us rich.

v. “People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care (page 59)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to use the knowledge I already possess to help others otherwise it would be useless.

vi. “Whether you are eleven, forty-two, or sixty-five, your attitude towards life is still under construction (page 78)”: This statement was very important to me because it has encouraged me to continuously improve my attitude irrespective of my age.

vii. “We can never do anything for others that will not have some eventual benefits for ourselves (page 166)”: This statement was very important to me because it reminds me to help others. I have learnt that there is a low of life which will, in time, return the good for good.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

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

Deep Change

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

Quinn’s book gives excellent insights and how both individuals and organizations go through deep change. The author demonstrates the crucial importance of deep change as the path to self understanding and the key to revitalisation of the individual and the organisation. By finding our own moral core and beginning to see ourselves and our organisations in new and more productive ways, he explains, we can transform ourselves from victims to powerful agents of change. Deep Change is filled with illuminating stories and personal examples of the stages of change and the dangerous effects of refusing to change. It also includes reflective questions and ideas at the end of each chapter to help us put insights into action. Deep Change assumes that one person can change the larger systems or organisation in which he exists. It is about the process of transformation or deep change. We must continually choose between deep change and slow death. This book is about confronting this dilemma.

i. “To bring about deep change in others, people have to reinvent themselves (page 11)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me of my past mistakes. Before I started to undergo gradual change, I used to see change as something that needed to take place in someone else. For example, at home, I was quick to direct others to change before I changed myself. Such directives would often fail and I would respond to the resistance by increasing my efforts like imposing punishments to children, which in most cases, it would not produce positive change I wanted from them. In my previous assessment, there was a statement that ‘Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself’. One of the most important insights about the need to bring about the deep change in others has to do with where deep change actually starts. It is from us. The problem is not ‘out there’ but inside each of us (page101).

ii. “Deep change requires discipline, courage, and motivation. We would rather experience the pain of slow death than the threat of changing our self (page 24)”: This idea was very important to me because it shows how we resist making deep change even if we know that our life is at risk if we do not make deep change. For example, a doctor may tell you that your heart is at risk of heart attach if you do not change the way you life. Yet you can continue living the same life. I have been viewing choice of slow death as something far removed from me but now I have realised that it is something much more basic. The tendency to choose slow death exists in everyone’s life, including mine. For example if I am missing my physical exercises, I am choosing slow death. I have come to realise that life is a constant process of deaths and rebirths. In understanding this, I am more free to grow. I have come to realise that I need to consider the reality of death more fully- and not just physical death but all forms of decay. Maybe with a living vision of slow death, the cost of taking more healthy paths will appear so dear.

Conceivably, upon re-examining my views on decay and ultimately death, I will have discipline and courage to engage in deep change. I have learnt that none of us can avoid the confrontation of slow death. We all must choose the strategy of deep change. Change is hell. Yet no change, to stay on the path of slow death, is also hell. The difference is that hell of deep change is the hero’s journey. The journey that puts us on a path of exhilation, growth, and progress (page 78).

iii. “A change of perspective can greatly alter how we see and relate to the world (page 65)”: This idea was very important to me because it has made me analyse how I used to see the world in the past and how I am seeing it today. After taking IIGL Studies, I removed the old life maps from my mind and I reinvented myself so that I can meaningfully connect with the current world. I have seen that deep change is not such a radical thought, it is an ongoing process. Deep change is, in fact, a reasonably common and ongoing experience necessary for internal development. In pursuing deep change, we redesign our maps or paradigms and we realign ourselves with our surrounding environment. We reinvent ourselves by changing our perspective (page 66).

iv. “What legacy would you live behind?(page 69)”: This ideas was very important to me because it has made me reflect on the life I would like to live and how I would like to be remembered when I am not still here. This idea has helped me to clarify what I want to do in my life. This is the legacy I would like to leave behind: I would like to be remembered as a person who was optimistic and who used to enjoy everything that could happen to him and everything he did. I would like to be remembered by my family, as a man who loved and cared; by my friends as someone who was always there to help them when need arises; by my employers as a fair, honest, responsible and hardworking individual. I would like to be remembered for giving out to charities and helping other people in need without expecting to gain anything out of it. I would like to be remembered as a person who was always at peace with the world, who gave kindness and consideration to other people, and who did not obsess with physical and material things.

v. “When one discovers what is right and begins to pursue it, the necessary people and resources tend to turn up (page 85)”: This idea was very important to me because it is related to the statement I quoted in my assessment of Real Magic that “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear (Page 18)”: I am reminded that when I am truly determined in my mind to experience the deep change and to live each day at a purpose, I will be shown how to make it happen. As I toss away my limited thinking, the teachers that have long been absent in my life will begin to appear and guide me to miracles but thinking that I must have limitations is like putting a barricade in front of me that will not permit those teachers to appear in my life ( Real Magic page 269). The problem we normally face is to ‘see’ our vision. When we can see it, we must be willing to put it into action then the rest will be the real magic.

vi. “The Land of Excellency is safely guarded from unworthy intruders. At the gates stand two fearsome sentries-risk and learning. The keys to entrance are faith and courage (page165)”: This idea was very important to me because it clearly shows us that if we cannot keep learning and take risks we will fail in life. If can take risks, keep learning, have faith and courage, nothing can stop us from succeeding. You become excellent because you are doing things normal people do not want to do. You become excellent by choosing a path that is not appealing to others (page 176).

vii. “Technical competence, without loyalty to the larger group, is selfish (page 192)”: This idea was very important to me because it encourages me to share whatever expertise I have with the bigger group in my community. In fact this is what I always do and I have discovered that I benefit from that because I gain something more in return, like learning more or as I teach others. If we cannot share our expertise with others, some people will never be technically competent, and as a result, they may not be effective contributors to the group and this will affect the entire group including us in the long run.

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 above ideas/lessons will help me to find my own internal leadership power and acquire the important skills to triumph in the face of change. These lessons have revealed to me the remarkable capacity I hold to change myself and, ultimately, my community. These ideas have helped me to understand how ‘deep change or slow death dilemma’ affects every part of our lives. In short, these ideas will help me to change myself and others. I hope that they will guide me as I strive to navigate deep change within myself and my community and that they will provide me with the strength to meet many challenges I may face in life.

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

i. “We are all potential agents of change (page xiii): This idea statement caught my attention because it reminds me that each of us can create a change in the communities or organisations in which we live. If we can experience deep change in ourselves, we are able to bring deep change in the systems around us.

ii. “To make deep personal change is to develop a new paradigm, a new self, one that is more effectively aligned with today’s realties (page 9)”: This statement caught my attention because I have realised that if I do not make a deep change, change itself will change me and have a negative impact on my life. Deep change requires us to leave our comfort zone and step outside our normal roles. In doing so, we learn a lesson that we can change the world by changing ourselves.

iii. “The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence (page 23)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me to think twice when I am about to change the employment. I might decide to leave my current employment for one reason or another and find next employment situation is very similar to the one I just left or even more worse than the previous one. Or maybe the problem might be with me not the employer. I have to analyse my performance before I take the decision. I understand that it is most difficult to admit our own hypocrisy. To thwart our defence mechanisms and bypass slow death, we must first confront our own hypocrisy and cowardice (page 78). In experiencing deep change, our selfishness dies (page 79).

iv. “If you fail, you get punished…if you succeed, you may get punished (page 134):” This statement caught my attention because in some organisations, some people are ‘rewarded’ for their success by being given additional work or by being seen as indispensable to their unit that they cannot be promoted. I see this as a punishment for success. Successful people should be promoted to provide the opportunity for others below them to expose their talents and capacities. No person can be irreplaceable.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Developing The Leaders Around You

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is to provide the strategies that leaders can apply to transform their vision into reality by identifying and training potential leaders who will succeed the and who can help them to achieve their goals. He also lists specific ‘people skills’ necessary for achieving that goal. The bottom line and the essential message of this book- is that you can’t do it alone. We are informed that if we really want to be successful leaders, we must develop other leaders around us. We must establish a team. In fact, much of this book is about developing a good bench: selecting, equipping, and developing people to do their best and get the job done when they are needed (page 146).

i. “An organisation cannot increase its productivity-but people can! (page 2):” This idea was very important to me because it reminds us that organisations should put their staff first because they are the ones who contribute to the development and productivity. They are the most important resources to the organisations. Unfortunately some employers do not recognise this. The asset that truly appreciates within an organisation is people. Buildings deteriorate. Machinery wears. But people can grow, develop and become more effective if they have a leader who understands their potential value. “Grow a leader-grow the organisation”. A company cannot grow without until its leaders grow within. I am often amazed at the amount of money, energy, and marketing focus organisations spend on areas that will not produce growth. Why advertise that the customer is Number one when the personnel have not been trained in customer service? When customers arrive, they will know the difference between an employee who has been trained to give service and who hasn’t (page 4). It is the responsibility of the leaders to train the personnel and help them make the necessary changes to reach the organisation’s goal (page 5).

ii. “You can take my factories, burn up my buildings, but give me my people, and I’ll bring my business right back again (page 12): This idea was very important to me because it emphasised the importance of people to the organisation. These ideas should inspire all the organisations leaders to value their employees and develop them for the organisational survivor and development.

iii. “I wish to have as my epitaph: ‘Here lies a man who was wise enough to bring into his service men who knew more than he’ (page 15)”: This was the wish of Andrew Carnegie. This idea was very important to me and I wish all of us would share this wish. If we could have this wish, we would make this planet earth the best place to live in. Unfortunately, most of us are so selfish and egoistic that we do not share the knowledge we have with others and this creates knowledge and skills gap which in turn leads to all the problems we are facing in this world. The man who lives for himself is a failure; the man who lives for others has achieved true success (page 69). It is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed. All of the certificates of recognition we receive in life will fade. The monuments we build will crumble. The trophies will corrode. But what we do for others will make a lasting impact on our world (page 133).

iv. “For the flower to blossom, you need the right soil as well as the right seed (page 18)”: This idea was very important to me because it still emphasises the importance of people development. Until the leaders in an organisation realise this, they will not succeed, regardless of the talented people they bring into the firm. Right atmosphere allows potential leaders to bloom and grow. Even when a leader from an organisation with poor climate steals away a potential leader who is beginning gloom from the rich ‘greenhouse’ environment of a healthy organisation, the potential leader will not continue to grow and bloom. Unless, of course, the leader has already converted his own organisation from ‘arctic’ to ‘tropical’.

v. “Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively (page 57)”: This idea was very important to me because it is in agreement with what I value most and what I am trying to improve on. I understand that I cannot manage to reach my potential leadership abilities without effective communication skills. I will therefore strive to improve my communication skills in order to convey my leadership confidence and become a good leader.

vi. “Reward your mentor with your own progress (page 66)”: This idea was very important to me because it has challenged me to take a step and try to achieve my goals in order not to disappoint my mentors as well as myself. I have realised that I owe a debt to my mentors because they want to see me progressing. If I show appreciation of my mentor but I make no progress, the mentor will experience failure. My progress is the best reward. I will strive for growth and then communicate my progress. I understand that my mentor knows that I have made a decision for progress and that I am a persistent person- a determined winner. I will strive to make sure that I will not waste their time.

vii. “Never criticise the person making a suggestion, even if it is a poor one(page 115)”: This idea was very important to me because I have learnt that people feel belittled if they are criticised and they will stop making suggestions, and I may miss out their next great ideas because I have discouraged them from contributing. I have learnt to adopt this attitude: Every idea is good until you have settled on the best idea. Each time I use their ideas and give them credit. They will feel valued and they will be encouraged and keep contributing.

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?

These lessons have taught me that I must find a way to get my vision seen, implemented, and contributed to by others. As a leader, I have to see the big picture, but I also need others to help me make this mental picture a reality. I have understood that this will not only enlighten my burden, but my vision will also be carried on and enlarged. These ideas have helped me to realise that the strengths any organisation is a direct result of the strength of its leaders and staff. Weak leaders equal weak organisations. Strong leaders equal strong organisations. Everything rises and falls on leadership (page 6).

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

i. “The people close to me ‘make me or break me (page 3)’: This statement caught my attention because I have learnt that those closest to me as a leader can determine my success level. I will therefore make every effort to develop them so that they should not ‘break’ me. I have realised that the determination of positive or negative outcome of my leadership will depend upon my ability to develop those closest to me. I have also realised that my development will depend on my ability to recognise the value of others.

ii.“The Best Way to go along is to go along with others (page 6)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that in order to grow, I have to interact with others. I have realised that I have to develop a positive interaction and create an attitude of interdependency with others which will create a win-win relationship. Instead of looking at others as enemies, I look at them as friends; instead of concentrating on myself, I will concentrate on others; instead of becoming suspicious of others, I will be supportive of them; instead of belief that there are winners and losers, I will change my attitude and believe that there are only winners. Unless you want to carry the whole load yourself, you need to be developing leaders (page10). After you work and live with people, you soon realise your survival depends on them (page138).

iii. “A lofty title doesn’t help poor producer. A lowly title doesn’t hinder a super producer. Position, like title, doesn’t make a leader either (page 24)”: This statement caught my attention because it has made me realise that what increases people production is creating good working environment like teamwork. The leaders should strive to look at what people really want in order to increase production.

iv. “Unless a man undertakes more than he can possibly do, he will never do all he can do (page28)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me to set higher goals so that I can stretch a bit and aim higher in order to reach my potential. Great leaders are never satisfied with the current level performance. They constantly strive for higher and higher levels of achievement. They move beyond the status quo themselves, and ask the same of those around them (page 60).

v. “You can hire people to work for you, but you must win their hearts by believing in them in order to have them work with you (page 70)”: This statement caught my attention because I have got the chance to work for both employers who believe in me and those who do not and I know how each affected my performance. You can buy man’s time, you can even buy his physical presence at a given place, but you cannot buy loyalty…you cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these (page 152).

vi. “It’s what happens to you; it’s what happens in you that counts (page 213)”: This statement caught my attention because it has helped me to change my attitude in order to become a leader. I have to forget about all my negative attitudes and develop self confidence. I have to eradicate all the limiting beliefs.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Becoming a Person of Influence

Assessment by Kabera Charles (Rwanda)

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

In this book, we are provided with dynamite principles that have power to change our lives-and the lives of all the people we can influence. The author teaches us what it means to nurture others and how to do it with the people in our life: friends, family members, and colleagues.

i. “A life is not significant except for its impact on other lives (page 9)”: This idea caught my attention and was very important to me because it remind me that my life is useless if I cannot influence others to have a positive change. Since I started taking these studies, I have strived to have a positive impact on those that are close to me especially my family and my colleagues at work. In the past, I used to have a negative impact on others but I have turned that around and I have made my impact to others a positive one. I admit that my level of influence is relatively low up to now but my goal is to increase it. This book has taught me strategies I can use to have an incredibly positive impact on the lives of others and add a tremendous value to their lives. I have learnt that if I help enough other people to succeed, I will succeed also.

ii. “Don’t ever assume that people know how you feel about them. Tell them (page 42)”: This idea was very important to me because I have been over believing that ‘deeds speak louder than words’ and that those I lover will know it by seeing what I do for them. Now I will take time to express my love and appreciation for the people close to me. I will tell them how much they mean to me. I will give them a pat on the back and when appropriate, I will hug them. I will make it my goal to make the people around me feel loved, respected and secure. I have committed myself to eliminate all the negative criticisms from my speech and I search for only positive things to say to others.

iii. “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticise me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you (page 47)”: This idea was very important to me because it shows me how important is encouraging people is. I have lealised that lack of encouragement can hinder a person from living a healthy, productive life. But when a person feels encouraged, he can face the impossible and overcome the incredible adversity. I will give the gift of encouragement to influence other people positively.

iv. “We all live under the same sky, but we don’t have the same horizon (page 72)”: This idea was very important to me because I have realised that all of us can live a successful life provided we have a positive attitude. I will see and help others see beyond today and current circumstances and dream big dreams. This will expand our horizons and motivate us to move to a whole new level of living. To bury our dreams is to bury ourselves, for we are really such stuff as dreams are made on. God’s dream for us is to reach our potential (page 145).

v. “People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for (page 113)”: This idea was very important to me because it has clearly stated what I have personally experienced. After acting on my beliefs, I have developed a positive attitude about others and believed the best of them. Now I see every person as a good person and I rarely have conflicts with people. A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world: Everyone you meet is your mirror (page117). All the significant battles are waged within the self (page page 204).

vi. “The greatest obstacle to discovery is not is not ignorance. It is the illusion of knowledge (page 128)”: This idea was very important to me because it teaches me to understand that I still have much to for personal growth and development. Many people lose sight of the importance of personal growth once they finish their formal education. But I will not let this to me. I will always make growth one of my top priorities in my life. Any day that passes without growth is an opportunity lost to improve yourself and others.

vii. “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself (page 137)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it has taught me the importance of helping others. I have learnt that if you give yourself on enlarging others and assisting them in reaching their potential, the rewards you reap will be almost as great as the ones of the people you help. I started experiencing this when I was still in school. When I used to teach other students the subject they were weak in, I could master that subject through teaching them.

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

The lessons have equipped me with insightful ways that I will apply to interact with others more positively.

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

i. “No man can for any considerable time wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which it is the true one (page 25)”:This statement because it reminds me to keep my integrity level high whether someone is watching me or not. I will always take integrity as my best friend. If I am tempted to take shortcuts, it helps me stay the right course. I have realised that anytime I compromise my integrity, I do myself an incredible amount of damage. God grant that men of principle shall be principal men (page 26).

ii. “We have been put on this earth not to be served but to serve (page 29)”: This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because I have realised the reason I m here on this earth. The service we render to others is really a rent we pay for our room on this earth. People of integrity are givers, not takers. There is no more noble occupation in the world than to help someone succeed (page 124). The greatest achievements are those that benefit others (page 125).

iii. “There are no hopeless situations; there are only men and women who have grown hopeless about them (page 67)”: This statement was very important to me because it has made me develop hope in myself and in other people. I have learnt that every person has seeds of greatness within, even though they may currently be dormant. When I believe and have hope in people, I water the seeds and give them chance to grow. Anytime you don’t believe you can make a difference, you won’t (page167).

iv. “Everyone has invisible sign hanging from his neck saying: ‘Make me feel important’. Never forget this message when working with people (page 68)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to praise so as to make them move forward and grow. I will praise them and help them remember their past success. I will emphasise their strengths to make them believe that they possess what they need to succeed.

v. “Half of all controversies and conflicts that arise among people are caused not by differences of opinion or an inability to agree, but by lack of understanding for one another (page 101)”: This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because it has encouraged me to always try to understand others in order to avoid conflicts. If we could reduce the number of misunderstandings, there could be fewer violent crimes. When we understand the other fellow’s viewpoint-understand what he is trying to do-nine out of ten he is trying to do it right (page102).

vi. “The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them; a man may live long yet live very little (page 127)”: This idea was very important to me because it made me carry out an auto-evaluation to see if I am serving this world better so as to live a better life. I will try to make the most of my life and help others to do the same.

vii. “I can do what you can’t do, and you can do what I can’t do. Together we can do great things (page168)”: This statement caught my attention and was very important to me because it emphasises the importance of synergy. No one can ever achieve alone what he can do when partnering with others.

viii. “People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges page 173): This statement caught my attention because it has reminded me to always avoid building an invisible wall that separates us. I will strive to build bridges that connect me with others in a lasting way by sharing my experiences with them.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

Some correction on page 210, bullet 7: Navigating them though…should be rewritten as: Navigating them through…

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Building The Bridge As You Walk Over it

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

Building the Bridge As You Walk On It tells the personal stories of people who have embraced deep change and inspired author Robert Quinn to take his concept one step further and develop a new model of leadership-“the fundamental state of leadership.” Quinn shows how anyone can enter the fundamental state of leadership by engaging in the eight practices that center on the theme of ever-increasing integrity-reflective action, authentic engagement, appreciative inquiry, grounded vision, adaptive confidence, detached interdependence, responsible freedom, and tough love. After each chapter, Quinn challenges us to assess ourselves with respect to each practice and to formulate a strategy for personal growth. The author emphasizes that developing leaders is not a simple matter of imparting a set of concepts or reaching into a toolkit of strategies and behaviors. He tells us that to become a leader requires engagement in the process of deep change in oneself, thereby inviting others to do the same. He informs that when this process is in motion, we truly begin to transform one another to become the type of leaders we strive to be. In short, this book is about how real people find courage to make deep change.

i. “When people alter their interior world, they also alter the exterior world (page x)” This idea was very important to me because it will help me to radically improve my current state so that I can construct a radically more positive world. I have learnt that anyone can be a leader of change, but to do so requires a transformation of self. ‘What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us (page 2) ‘. When we change ourselves, we change the world. This is the legacy of people who operate in fundamental leadership (page 24). The better world we seek is within us, if only we change our vision (page 37). I have learnt that if I act within, people will listen to me and I become a good leader. When we develop a better self, we create a better world (page 193). Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself (page 199).

ii. “Organisational excellence tends not to be a function of imitation. It tends to be a function of origination (page 5)”: This idea was very important to me because it has helped me to think deep that if I am to build a business, I have to be innovative other than imitating others what they have already done. Imitation is a common problem in Rwanda especially in business. I have been watching cases where one opens a business in one location and you find many others opening the same businesses in the same location which kills business growth.

iii. “Given the deep change or slow death, we tend to choose slow death (page 6)”: This idea was very important to me because I am reminded of how we ruin our lives because of resistance to make a positive change. Storms are usually preceded by dark clouds and others signals of danger. While these signals often call for a transformation, or what the author calls deep change, we tend to resist. For example people are informed of the dangers they pose to their lives due to smoking and they keep smoking yet they know their lives are at risk. Or we can see the signs indicating that our businesses are heading towards collapsing and we refuse to do something to rescue them. The path to slow death still ends at death. For individuals, it can be death of ego or the body. For corporations, it can be death of a particular set of assets or the overall enterprise. To remain in a normal state, refusing to change while the universe changes around us, it is ultimately to choose slow death (page 21). How shocking it is that we otherwise intelligent human beings resist becoming aware of the problems that are endangering or destroying us! We seemingly prefer to suffer rather than give up the bad habits that are destroying us. Some of us are so impulsive that we do things that destroy our own resources like rock musician who smashes his instrument on the stage (page174).

iv. “We do not need to be heroes, like the fire-fighters running into the World Trade Centre, to exercise courage (page 16)”: This idea was very important to me because I am reminded that we can do small good things every day and contribute to making this planet earth a better place to live in. We can do them in quiet ways because each of us has unique gifts. We have to use our courage and move forward with commitment and use these gifts to provide true services to the world.

v. “Recognising our hypocrisy is a source of power (page 24)”: This idea was very important to me because I am taught that when we become willing to monitor our hypocrisy, we discover that intense personal shame drives us to close our integrity gaps. Accepting the truth about our hypocrisy helps us to transform ourselves and others. I have discovered that the normal state is the state of hypocrisy. In fact, it is staying in the normal state that leads to a loss of energy and ultimately slow death (Page 40). In clinging to comfort and safety, we lose precisely what we seek to preserve (page 41). It is our hypocrisy and self focus that drains us. When we become purpose-centred, internally directed, and externally open, we discover energy we didn’t know we had. This lesson has helped me to recognise that everyone, including me and you, is by nature a hypocrite. I will deal with my hypocrisy by knowing that it is destroying me and my relationships. I now understand that monitoring and reducing hypocrisy is my greatest source of power as opposed to denying existence of this inherent hypocrisy. From now onwards, I will take time everyday to reflect on the match between my values and behaviours. I will continually work at reducing my integrity gaps. When I close my integrity gaps, I will experience increased creativity and avoid slow death.

vi. “I tend to spend plenty of time seeing myself negatively. So do you. So does everyone else (page 130)”: This idea was very important to me because it has made me check on how I view myself. I have a weakness where other people view me in a positive way than I view myself. This idea has helped me to view myself in a positive perspective and appreciate myself. When we see ourselves negatively, our self becomes a problem to be solved. I have now recognised that I am a totally unique human being and I appreciate who I am and I use my uniqueness to contributing to making this world a better one.

vii. “Some People argue that they are too old to change (page 229)”: This idea was very important to because it has reminded me of one of my colleagues at work whom I invited to participate in IIGL studies and he told me that he is too old for these studies. When I tried to convince him that there is no age limit for studying he dodged the subject by asking me how many books I read in a given time. There is another friend of mine whom I convinced to go to study for a degree. At first he resisted saying that he is too old but now he has graduated and he is holding a good post in the Ministry of Justice which had earlier fired him due to low level of education.

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?

These ideas have helped me to learn that anyone including myself can enter a fundamental state of leadership. I have learnt that I have the power to create the positive change-if only I am willing to see and step into my own capability. They have helped me to assess myself with respect to formulate strategies for personal growth. They have helped me to become a person who really loves myself. I am sure that my seemingly resistance to change will gradually change due to practising ideas I have read from this book. After studying these lessons, I have discovered that what previously seemed unimaginable now seems to happen with ease. I have no doubt that these ideas will change my life. They have challenged me to clarify my value system. I have to examine the gap between what I say and what I do. These ideas have helped me to reduce my hypocrisy and now I feel enriched and happier. These ideas helped me to recognise the integrity gaps that I had not previously acknowledged.

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

i. “In our heads, we tend to maintain a thick boundary between our lives at work and at home (page 48)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to balance my work and family life because one affects the other. The boundary between the two is an artificial construction. We live one life. If we are in slow death at work, we affect people we work with, but in our self-focus and despair, we also affect our spouses and our children. By the same token, if we are revitalised and living a vibrant life, we affect not only the people in our organisations but everyone with whom we have a significant relationship.

ii. “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers (page 64)”: This statement caught my attention because it is in agreement with what I do to my subordinates. I tend to delegate them so that they can have experience and become future leaders to replace me when I will no longer be present.

iii. “We transform our organisations by transforming ourselves (page 69): This statement caught my attention because I have learnt that by changing the way I work with my organisation, I can make a big change on it. I believed that I have very little voice in my organisation because I am not a senior manager. I have identified my major weakness where I do not air out my views for the improving performance of my organisation believing that this is the responsibility of top management. I will work on this weakness and I am sure that this will have a positive impact on my organisation. I have discovered that the fundamental state of leadership has little to do with formal position we occupy in an organisation (page 50). Entering that state is an option for all of us and doing so can empower us to have extraordinary influence. I must be the change I want to see. Only then I can invite others into creative state (page 191).

iv. “The unexamined life is not worth living (page 97)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to always keep reviewing my life and see if I m making a positive change.

v. “In a hierarchy. We really seldom know what is going on below us (page 138)”: This statement caught my attention because it remains me to interact with those below me-my children and subordinates at work so that I can understand what is at their heart. I am informed that we are sometimes uncomfortable being around ‘the masses’. In the midst of this slow death process, everyone continues to act as if there is a healthy organisation. This deception allows everyone to avoid the entering of fundamental state of leadership. Isolated and insulated people cannot succeed in motivating others (page 139). Though interaction and honest dialogue I will motivate others and I will learn more from them.

vi. “People think that values are permanent, like cement. Clear values can stabilise us, yet they are living systems and needs to be allowed to evolve (page165)”: This statement caught my attention because it remind me to keep evaluating my values so as to improve them. I have realised that the values I had when I was starting my IIGL studies have completely changed in a positive way.

viii. “Holding a position is not the same as leading. Most of the time, most top executives are administering (page 211)”: This statement was very important to me because I am reminded that as a leader, I have to be exemplary so as to encourage those following me to improve. I should stop living the normal state. I have learnt that there is now way to teach to ‘teach’ what it means to be a leader except by being what we wish to invoke in others.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Correction on line 6 of page 103: ‘More that…’ should be rewritten as ‘More than…’.

Ratings:

Thinking For A Change

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is about the different mindsets that we should have and the ones that we shouldn’t have in order to succeed in life. He identifies eleven types of thinking that successful people employ. He talks about the power of good thinking, which means thinking positively all the time and thinking outside the box. He teaches us how to not be happy with the minimum and strive for the best. In short, the author shows us how we can change ourselves when we take the responsibility to change our thinking.

i. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself (page 24)”: This idea was very important to me because it teaches me to change myself before I think of changing others. If each of us could think of changing him/herself, the world would automatically change because it is made of me and you. In fact, most of the books I have read for IIGL Studies are on personal development because I strive to change myself first. If I can personally change, those around me can change automatically.

ii. “More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than ever been taken from the earth (page 26)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me that we are normally poor because we do not think deep and use our minds to find the solutions to the problems related to poverty. Sometimes I tell people that wherever we are we are stepping on gold. This idea will help me to think deep and use the available resources to improve my financial status. For example, I have a big compound which is not exploited. If I can use it to make a poultry farm, it can produce meat and eggs to supply to hotels and generate income to supplement my salary. Creativity is pure gold, no matter what you do for a living (page 99). To become someone who can mine gold, you need to keep repeating the process of good thinking (page 52).

iii. “People will never attain what they cannot see themselves doing (page 27)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to first change my beliefs in order to change positively. Changes that have been happening to me came after changing the beliefs of my personal abilities first. The good thing is that human mind can change. In fact, that is one of the things it does best, if we are willing to put in the effort to change our thinking. The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible (page 29). The first and most important step toward success is the expectation that we can succeed. People who believe they can’t don’t. But if you believe you can! That is the power of possibility thinking(page 170). This reminds me something I learned when I was still in primary school that ‘A can can can but a can’t can’t can’.

iv. “If you wait until you feel like doing something, you will likely never accomplish it (page 51)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me not to procrastinate. The same is true for thinking. I have not to wait until I feel like thinking to do it. I have found that when I engage in the process of good thinking, I can use my emotions to feed the process of and create mental momentum.

v. “The problem with popular thinking is that it doesn’t require you to think at all (page 195)”: This idea was very important to me because it has helped me to go against popular thinking. I have learnt that if I value popularity over good thinking, I will severely limit my potential to learn the types of thinking encouraged by this book. Unfortunately, most of us try to live life the easy way. We don’t do the hard work of thinking or pay the price of success. Many people look for safety and security in popular thinking. They figure that if a lot of people are doing something, then it must be a good idea. If most people accept it, then it represents fairness, equality, and compassion, and sensitivity, right? Not necessarily (page 196). The above idea has helped me to discard the thought that the past routine, past ways of doing things, are probably the best ways. On the contrary, I must assume that there is probably a better way to do almost everything. I must stop assuming that a thing which has never been done before probably cannot be done at all (page 198). Many individuals follow others almost automatically. Sometimes they do so because they desire to take path of least resistance. Other times they fear rejection. Or they believe there’s wisdom in doing what everyone else does. But if you want to succeed, you need to think what’s best, not what’s popular (page 199).

vi. “If you combine the thoughts you have and the thoughts that others have, you will come up with thoughts you’ve never had! (page 212)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me that if I don’t have the experience I need, I have to look up with someone who does, because two heads are better than one. I have learnt that ‘He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master (page 213)’. Originally, I didn’t always value shared thinking. For many years, I tended to withdraw when I wanted to develop ideas especially when I was still in school. I have now embraced the idea of shared thinking, brainstorming and the interactive process. No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, you can do it better with shared thinking (page 219).

vii. “It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success (page 227)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me of the importance of rendering services to others. I have learnt that ‘there is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being- to help someone to succeed’. I believe that our purpose in life is to try to make a difference in the lives of those around us. If you will help others achieve what they want, they will help you achieve what you want (page 233).

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?

These ideas will help me to develop good thinking and good thinking will improve my life and help me to become an achiever. They will help me to become a better leader both at work and at home. I now believe that good thinking can change my life. These ideas on good thinking will solve my problems and take me to a whole new level-personally and professionally. These ideas will help me to consciously reject the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results. These ideas will help me to continually consider others and their journey in order to think with maximum collaboration.

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

i. “I never let my schooling interfere with my education (page 6): This stamen caught my attention because it teaches me to differentiate ‘schooling’ from ‘education’. I have to think deep and apply knowledge I got from school in order to be successful in life. I am also reminded of school dropouts who have become very successful because of deep and positive thinking. The problem with most educational institutions is that they teach people what to think and not how to think. Knowledge alone is not power. Knowledge has value only in the hands of someone who has the ability to think well. This idea has encouraged me improve the way I think in order to achieve my dreams and to reach my potential.

ii. “Who you hang around with can influence how you think (page 10): This statement caught my attention because it has made me remember another saying that ‘tell me your company I will tell you what you are’ or that ‘the birds of the same feather flock together’. This has made me to be selective of the people whom I hang around with. It has reminded me of the Ideas I used to have when I used to be with some of my companies in drinking places. No constructive ideas that we could develop except to criticise others and build castles in the air talking of the plans that we could not fulfil even remember the following morning.

iii. One person cannot change another person (page 27): This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that it is my responsibility and only my responsibility to change myself. Others can guide me how I can go through the process of personal change but they cannot impose change on me. This reminds me a proverb that ‘You can take a horse to the well but you cannot force it to drink’.

iv. “Changing your attitude changes your behaviour (page 30)”: This statement caught my attention because it has taught me to observe how my mood has been affecting the way I act. For example, when I feel particularly happy, I am more energized. I feel more likely to be kind to others; I take on tasks more likely and complete them with confidence and competence. When I am having a bad day, I get less work done; I am less patient with my family and colleagues at work. If you want to succeed where you have failed before, if you want to go to the level you never dreamed possible, if you want to become a person you always hoped you could be, start by changing your mind.

v. “Don’t ever be too impressed with goal setting; be impressed with goal getting (page 32)”: This statement caught my attention because it has challenged me to think about the goals that I set and do little to make them be achieved. I have learnt that reaching new goals and moving to a higher level of performance always requires change, and change feels awkward. But if change does not feel uncomfortable, then probably it is not really a change.

vi. “The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them; a man may live long yet live very little (page 65)”: This statement caught my attention because it challenges me to find my life purpose and fulfil it. As far as I am concerned, I will develop myself personally and help other people grow personally. If we cannot contribute to the betterment of this world then we are not worth living.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

The Power of Failure

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is to show us that failure is an essential component of personal and professional success. Using real-life examples, the author shows that: challenges are disguised opportunities; failure can spur positive change; setbacks catalyze creative coping skills; and collaboration with failure can be an ongoing part of being successful. The Power of Failure offers both inspiration and advice on how failure can provide us with the foundation for long-term success. In short, the author teaches us how we can harness failure to help us succeed.

i. “Failure is not something to be feared. It contains a positive challenge for successful living (page 11): This idea was very important to me because it has taught me to welcome a failure as temporary and opportunity for future success. I have learnt that today’s failures contain the seeds of tomorrow’s greatest success.

ii. “Learn the challenging secret to successful failure…Patience (page 25): This idea was very important to me because it has reminded me of the saying I learnt a long time ago that Patience Pays. I have believed in this and it is through patience that I am what I am today. Those who were not patient did not reach the level at which I am today. I have learnt that the secret to use the power of failure is patience.

iii. “In the face of failure, search for opportunities, not obstacles (page 33)”: This idea was very important to me because I have learnt that in every one seeming failure, there are three (even more) opportunities for success. A mistake is an event, the full benefit of which has not turned to your advantage. I have learnt that if I am to be successful in life, I should continually fill my mind with opportunities, not obstacles, so that I can create them. One way to increase our success in our work and life is to master the principle of failing small to succeed big. This wise approach is based on viewing every failure as the foundation for larger success. Obviously when we make small mistake on some activity or task, we can learn from experience and accomplish greater success later (page 108). Use failures, whatever their size, to achieve even larger success (page 109).

iv. “If we help others to get what they want, we usually get much of value ourselves (page 61)”: This idea was very important to me because it has emphasised what I have read in other books for IIGL studies. I have discovered that every time I help others, I get many benefits in return. For example, when I teach someone a skill, I master it more; when I edit a book for someone, I get a copy of that book; when help someone in need I feel internally very happy after offering the help. I have discovered that by focusing on helping others get what they want, and not on my own personal gain, I stand to gain a great deal.

v. “It’s always darkest before the dawn (page 97)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me that when I find myself in a tough, hard and harsh situation, I should not lose hope. At these moments, I sometimes become discouraged and view the situation as strictly a negative obstacle to success and happiness. But many of these situations are actually valuable opportunities for greater success disguised as pending failures.

vi. “Both beauty and ugliness are in the eyes of the beholder (page 101)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it has made me conduct an auto-evaluation and see how I used to view every situation and how I view it today. I have realised that every time I perceive a problem, worry, or failure- I need to understand that any negativity is first and foremost in my minds. I have discovered each of us encounters these perceptual distinctions throughout our lives. For example, if we are asked to make a speech, some of us will view it as a beautiful opportunity to successfully express our views and share what we know. Others will view it as a personal crisis, an occasion for failure that will publicly expose the embarrassed and unacceptable ugly character we think we are.

vii. “See the magnificent in the minimal (page 111)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it teaches me to appreciate the small successes I achieve in life in order to achieve big successes. I have learnt that life does not have to give us all we want. We should therefore learn how to see the possibilities and value what we do receive and have, even the smallest things. Seeming failures constantly give way to beautiful success possibilities when we are able to the magnificent in the minimal (page113).

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?

These ideas/lessons will help me to increase my awareness and ability to leap the rewards of many inevitable failures that I experience in my life. I have learnt how I can use failure in the short run in order to succeed on a long-term basis, throughout my life time. These lessons have helped me to discover that we can indeed live happier, healthier, and more successful lives if we can learn and discover the opportunities in problems. I have learnt that the problems we face in life become merely challenging opportunities that we can turn to our advantage. They provide opportunities for personal growth and can stimulate our creativity for finding better ways to live. I have learnt to concentrate on learning from every situation, especially those in which I seem to fail. I view short-term failures as the building blocks for future success and I will concentrate on learning all I can from them rather than trying to make excuses or trying to cover up these temporary setbacks. I have learnt that the trick is to always move forward as I fail. Setbacks are simply evidence of a need for change and a chance to learn (page 20). I have learnt that virtually nothing comes out right the first time. Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. The only time we don’t want to fail is the last time we try something…One fails forward toward success (page 104).

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

i. “Failure is the foundation of success, and the means by which it is achieved (page 13)”: This statement caught my attention because it has reminded me to understand that failure should not be viewed as the end of the story but instead as a stepping-stone to a larger success. If someone never fails, this is a telltale sign that he is not trying anything new or challenging. The principle is that we must experience failure in order to succeed. I have learnt that if I want to be successful I must double my failure rate (page 14).

ii. “Fear of failure is one of the biggest obstacles to living a full and rewarding life (page 56)”: This statement caught my attention because it has encouraged me to overcome fear of failure in order to succeed and live a better life. I have realised that avoiding mistakes or doing a poor job in performing a new activity can cause us not even try. I have seen some people who fear to learn new skills like driving or using the computer and they remain lagging behind.

iii. “Lose a disagreement to build a relationship (page 63)”: This statement caught my attention because it advises me to always avoid personal conflicts due to disagreements in order to remain in good relationship with others. I have learnt that by acknowledging the logic of someone’s differing point of view, and allowing their argument to carry the day, I present them with a special gift. Sometimes losing disagreement in the short term is a building block to longer term success with people.

iv. “The assumption that failure will necessarily lead to learning is not always true (page 75)”: This statement caught my attention because it has taught me to accept when failure is really failure. If I realise that failure is just that-failure- I will face it honestly, take from it what I can and get on with moving beyond it.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

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

Thinking Allowed

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

In Thinking Allowed, the author provides a collection of interviews from philosophers and truth-seekers. These interviews explore contemporary thought in seven areas: mind-brain relationship, growth and achievement, exploring the psyche, spiritual development, science and consciousness, and living and dying.

i. “If we truly were to experience our full nature, it would be something very surprising to us (page 32)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it made me realise that we have the potential that we do not use. This is why we do not reach maximum success. I have realised that limits are in our minds. I wish I had learnt this earlier in my life. I would have made wonders. Remember Christ said, “Did I not tell ye that ye are gods? (page61)”. Evolution of me, evolution of myself, evolution of each one of us, is a question of building up more character, more competence, and more stature, eventually become like a god (page 63). All that we possibly become is already there in the unconscious, and we have only to learn how to find it (page 129).

ii. “And to the word information simply spread until it covers all the intellectual categories seemed to me potentially disastrous for a student’s ability to think (page 45)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because I have come to think of how information technology is inhibiting our thinking capacity. I sometimes jokingly tell my friends that even when I am to add one to one I look for a calculator because I am used to it! There is a project in Rwanda called ‘One Laptop Per Child’ aiming at distributing laptops to primary school children and I wonder if it will not have a negative impact on our children’s thinking capacity at an early age. In the education system, what we should do is to start something very traditional-the great books, the great ideas; we should teach students to handle great ideas which are found in great books. What we need is good old-fashioned literacy rather than computer literacy. It seems to me that computer literacy can wait, because it deals with something much less important in our intellectual life-namely, the collection, storage and processing of data. It seems to me, computer should play very little part in a true education (page 51).

iii. “Speaking in the terms of biological evolution, animals have developed remarkable powers. An owl uses radar; a bat uses sonar. But man isn’t very good at any of these specialties (page 57)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me how we have been so lazy that we do not fully develop our capacities. Instead of developing ourselves, we develop tools that make us even lazier. We move from being something to having it; in other words, instead of being a bird, we can have the use of airplane. Or instead of specialising in rapid running, we get auto mobile. All this means that evolution of human body is not taking place because of the so called technology.

iv. “We are coming to a time when our society is becoming global-that we can’t think of ourselves as a group of competing tribes any longer (page 85)”: This idea was very important to me because it has made me think deep of Institutions like IIGL that are connecting people across the globe to make them one family-one people. For Example, in IIGL both students and Management, we see ourselves as one family-IIGL family. We should realise that the society with which we are involved is not this group or that group, or this social class or that social class, or this race or that race, but the planet.

v. “Whenever something you find out is true, the opposite is equally true (page 126)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it will help me to avoid conflicting with people when we are disagreeing on a given subject. If I come together with people of different opinions from mine, we can bring in something novel to the discussion that both of us don’t see and welcome the opposite and new perspective.

vi. “You can’t learn a language by sitting on the edge of bed and saying ‘I love French. French is so good. I am now speaking French (page 187)’: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me that in order to achieve something, you have to do something towards that goal other than just wishing for it. It has reminded me how people used to discourage me that French is complicated that I can’t master it at an old age but I studied it and mastered it. There is a human-potential attitude that if you shut your eyes and wish real hard, good things will fall out of the sky on you. It turns out that if you open your eyes the first thing that comes into your mind is the first thing you need to do towards the goal you have just wished for.

vii. “Oh man, if you only knew that you are free. It is your ignorance of your freedom that is your captivity (page 299)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me how we limit our potential. If we only knew what the potentials in our being are, we would realise that it is our ignorance of these potentials that limits us to our inadequate self esteem, to denigrating ourselves.

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?

These ideas have helped me to shift from being a judger of everything to being appreciator of it- just appreciating how it is. This has brought me to a much more intimate relationship. The judging mode has always been distancing me from everything.

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

i. “When the extraordinary becomes realised, it becomes the commonplace (page 31): This statement was very important to me because it has made me realise that we do extraordinary, amazing and wonderful thing on a regular basis but we do not appreciate them. This has helped me to appreciate whatever good things I do in my life.

ii. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts (page 99)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me of the importance of working as a team. It means that when you consider working as a team, you can achieve many things greater than each of you can achieve.

iii. “Every time we communicate we have a message, and we are also communicating a message out of our message (page145)”: This statement was very important to me because it has reminded me to take care of my body language whenever I am communicating. I have realised that my voice and body can say one thing which is different from my words.

iv. “You can’t take anybody anyplace you haven’t been yourself (page160)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to first correct my mistakes before I correct others. I can’t give what I don’t have. I have to set good example,

v. “We have found the enemy and he is us (172)”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me how I should relate with people. Instead of seeing people as my enemies, I have to see if I am not the one who has created that enmity between us.

vi. “You cannot love until you have first been loved (page 277)”: This statement caught my attention because it has reminded me to show maximum love to my children so that they can develop into loving and caring people in 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?

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity. The author believes that we and we alone can open the door to change within ourselves.

i. “To focus on technique is like cramming your way through school. You sometime get by, perhaps even get good grades, but if you don’t pay the price day in and day out, you never achieve true mastery of the subjects you study or develop an educated mind”: This idea was very important to me because it has taught me to think twice and deep when I am applying the human relations techniques I have studied. I have realized that if I try to use human influence strategies and tactics of how to get other people to do what I want, to work better, to be more motivated, to like me and each other — while my character is fundamentally flawed, marked by duplicity and insincerity — then, in the long run, I cannot be successful. My duplicity will breed distrust, and everything I do — even using so-called good human relations techniques — will be perceived as manipulative. It simply makes no difference how good the rhetoric is or even how good the intentions are; if there is little or no trust, there is no foundation for permanent success. Only basic goodness gives life to technique. Eventually, if there isn’t deep integrity and fundamental character strength, the challenges of life will cause true motives to surface and human relationship failure will replace short-term success.

ii. “To try to change outward attitudes and behaviors does very little good in the long run if we fail to examine the basic paradigms from which those attitudes and behaviors flow”: This idea was very important to me because it has helped me to look deep when I am trying to change my behaviors or the behaviors of others. I have to first identify the cause of the behavior I need to change. I have learnt to listen to others and be open to their perceptions, thereby getting a larger picture and a far more objective view. In the words of Thoreau, “For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root.” We can only achieve quantum improvements in our lives as we quit hacking at the leaves of attitude and behavior and get to work on the root, the paradigms from which our attitudes and behaviors flow.

iii. “Not All Paradigm Shifts are instantaneous”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because I have learnt not to be discouraged when I realize that the positive changes I intend to make on myself and on others does not come and manifest instantaneously. I have realized that some Paradigm Shifts are slow, difficult, and deliberate process needs patient and persistence. I have realized that instantaneous Paradigm Shifts are a symbol without substance. It’s the “get rich quick” scheme promising “wealth without work.” I have discovered that in all of life, there are sequential stages of growth and development. A child learns to turn over, to sit up, to crawl, and then to walk and run. Each step is important and each one takes time. No step can be skipped.

iv. “Independent people who do not have the maturity to think and act interdependently may be good individual producers, but they won’t be good leaders or team players”: This idea was very important to me because it has reminded the importance of interdependence. I have realized that in order to succeed in marriage, family or organizational reality there is need for interdependent thinking. If I am physically interdependent, I am self-reliant and capable, but I also realize that you and I working together can accomplish far more than, even at my best, I could accomplish alone. If I am emotionally interdependent, I derive a great sense of worth within myself, but I also recognize the need for love, for giving, and for receiving love from others. If I am intellectually interdependent, I realize that I need the best thinking of other people to join with my own. As an interdependent person, I have the opportunity to share myself deeply, meaningfully, with others, and I have access to the vast resources and potential of other human beings.

v. “There are organizations that talk a lot about the customer and then completely neglect the people that deal with the customer — the employees”: This idea was very important to me because it talks about the reality in many organizations. There are some employers who do not value their employees yet they expect these employees to handle the customers well. I have realized that it is excellent to always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. You can buy a person’s hand, but you can’t buy his heart. His heart is where his enthusiasm, his loyalty is. You can buy his back, but you can’t buy his brain. That’s where his creativity is, his ingenuity, his resourcefulness.

vi. “Our most important financial asset is our own capacity to learn”: This statement was very important to me because it reminds me to keep improving my capacity to earn by keeping learning otherwise the skills I own today can become outdated. If we don’t continually invest in improving my own capacity, I will be locked into my present situation without moving with the world.

vii. “Sometimes there are apparently noble reasons given for making money, such as the desire to take care of one’s family. And these things are important. But to focus on money-making as a center will bring about its own undoing”: This idea was very important to me because reminds me not to value money above everything. When my sense of personal worth comes from my net worth, I am vulnerable to anything that will affect that net worth. Money, per se, provides no wisdom, no guidance, and only a limited degree of power and security. Money-centered people often put aside family or other priorities, assuming everyone will understand that economic demands come first.

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?

These ideas have given me the opportunity to explore myself and my impact on others. I believe that these ideas and many others in this book will help me live, permanently, in the “Winner’s Circle.” These ideas have helped me to develop a discipline for my personal dealings with other people. I have read and mastered these ideas with the purpose in mind of sharing and discussing what I have learnt with others. These lessons will significantly increase my self-confidence. They will help me know myself in a deeper, more meaningful way — my nature, my deepest values and my unique contribution capacity. I have learnt to define myself from within, rather than by people’s opinions or by comparisons to others. These ideas have helped me to unleash both the desire and the resources to heal and rebuild important relationships that have deteriorated. I have learnt that whatever my present situation, I am not my habits. I can replace old patterns of self-defeating behavior with new patterns, new habits of effectiveness, happiness, and trust-based relationships. I am now free! I am let out of prison! No longer am I going to be controlled by the treatment of some person. These ideas have given me the changeless inner core, the principle centre, from which I can handle the more outward vulnerability with peace and strength.

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

i. “Through deep thought and the exercise of faith and prayer, we began to see our son in terms of his own uniqueness”: This statement was very important to me because it has helped me to know that each person has his own uniqueness. I will not criticize members of my family if they not behave as I do. They are not my duplicates; they their likes and dislikes which may be or may not be like mine. I have now decided to relax and get out of their way and let their own personality emerge. I have realized that my natural role as a parent is to affirm, enjoy, and value my children. Really helping our children grow may involve being patient enough to allow them the sense of possession as well as being wise enough to teach them the value of giving and providing the example ourselves.

ii. “What you are shouts so loudly in my ears that I cannot hear what you say”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me that what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do. I have realized that there are people we trust absolutely because we know their character. Whether they’re eloquent or not, whether they have the human relations techniques or not, we trust them, and we work successfully with them. In the words of William George Jordan, “Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil — the silent unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be.”

iii. “Anytime we think the problem is “out there,” that thought is the problem”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that whenever I encounter any problem, I should know that that problem is not from outside but within me. I have realized that I have the capacity to control my life and to powerfully influence my circumstances by working on what I am. The Way We See the Problem is the Problem. If I have a problem in my marriage, what do I really gain by continually confessing my wife’s sins? By saying I’m not responsible, I make myself a powerless victim; I immobilize myself in a negative situation. I also diminish my ability to influence her — my nagging, accusing, critical attitude only makes her feel validated in her own weakness. My criticism is worse than the conduct I want to correct. If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control –myself. I can stop trying to shape up my wife and work on my own weaknesses. I can focus on being a great marriage partner, a source of unconditional love and support. Hopefully, my wife will feel the power of proactive example and respond in kind. But whether she does or doesn’t, the most positive way I can influence my situation is to work on myself, on my being. When I start to think the problem is “out there,” I stop myself. That thought is the problem.

iv. “Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education”: This statement caught my attention because it has reminded me that the more I exposed my weaknesses during IIGL studies, the more I eliminated these weaknesses which originally seemed to be permanent to me and part of my life.

v. “Begin with the End in Mind”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that keeping that end clearly in mind, I can make certain that whatever I do on any particular day does not violate the criteria I have defined as supremely important, and that each day of my life contributes in a meaningful way to the vision I have of my life as a whole. To Begin with the End in Mind means to start with a clear understanding of my destination. It means to know where I am going so that I better understand where I am now and so that the steps I take are always in the right direction. As my goal is to raise responsible, self-disciplined children, I keep that end clearly in mind as I interact with them on a daily basis. I avoid behaving toward them in ways that undermine their self-discipline or self-esteem.

vi. “I believe that almost anyone who is seriously involved in any church will recognize that churchgoing is not synonymous with personal spirituality”: This statement caught my attention because it has reminded of people who are churchgoers but they do not bear any ggod fruits. There are some people who get so busy in church worship and projects that they become insensitive to the pressing human needs that surround them, contradicting the very precepts they profess to believe deeply. There are others who attend church less frequently or not at all but whose attitudes and behavior reflect a more genuine centering in the principles of the basic Christian ethic. I have realized that attending church does not necessarily mean living the principles taught in churches. You can be active in a church but inactive in its gospel. When you become church centered, you see the world in terms of “believers” and “non-believers,” “belongers” and “non-belongers which creates divisionism and conflicts among the society.

vii. “Between stimulus and response, man has the freedom to choose”: This statement was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me that as human beings, we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen. I now recognize my responsibility for what I am today. I no longer blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for my behavior. I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday.

viii. “You’re the creator. You are in charge”: This Statement was very important to me and caught my attention because it has reminded me that I am responsible for what I am today and what I will be tomorrow. This is based on the four unique human endowments of imagination, conscience, independent will, and particularly, self-awareness. It empowers me to say, “That’s an unhealthy program I’ve been given from my childhood, from my social mirror. I don’t like that ineffective script. I can change.” But as I examine this endowment in the context of effective self-management, I realize it’s usually not the dramatic, the visible, the once-in-a-lifetime, up-by-the-bootstraps effort that brings enduring success. It comes from the learning how to use this great endowment in the decisions I make every day. It also requires independent will, the power to do something when you don’t want to do it, to be a function of your values rather than a function of the impulse or desire of any given moment. It’s the power to act with integrity to your proactive first creation.

ix. “When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective”: This statement caught my attention because it teaches me to be a trustworthy person in order to be understood by those I communicate to. I have realized that even if I make mistakes, my trust level can compensate for that mistake. My communication may not be clear, but people can get my meaning anyway. They won’t make me “an offender for a word.” When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective.

x. “Keeping a commitment or a promise is a major deposit; breaking one is a major withdrawal”: This statement caught my attention because it reminded me of the mistake sometimes I make to my family where I make some promises which I do not fulfill. I have learnt that this can create bad relationship and I will correct this mistake. I have to adopt a philosophy as a parent never to make a promise I don’t keep. I will try to make them very carefully, very sparingly, and to be aware of as many variables and contingencies as possible so that something doesn’t suddenly come up to keep me from fulfilling it. If I do not fulfill them due to unavoidable circumstances, I will always apologize and let them understand the situation.

xi. “So often the problem is in the system, not in the people. If you put good people in bad systems, you get bad results”: This statement was very important me and caught my attention because it has taught me not to blame people when a problem arises. Instead, I have to create good systems that can lead to solving the problem at hand. I have to water the flowers if I want them grow. I have learnt to separate the person from the problem. I have to transform unnecessarily competitive situations to cooperative ones. In my family, as a parent, I will shift the focus from competition with each other to cooperation. I will set up family responsibilities with Win-Win Agreements that eliminate constant nagging. I have requested my family members avoid words like I, You, He/she but to use “We” when we are discussing family issues.

xii. If your private performance doesn’t square with your public performance, it’s very hard for me to open up with you: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that my integrity level will depend on how I behave whether I am alone, or in the public.

xiii. To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground: This statement caught my attention because it has emphasized the importance of listing and understanding others. The next time I communicate with anyone, I will put aside my own autobiography and prejudgments and genuinely seek to understand him or her. I have realized that when we really, deeply understand each other; we open the door to creative solutions and Third Alternatives. Our differences are no longer stumbling blocks to communication and progress. Instead, they become the stepping stones to synergy.

xiv. What is synergy? Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: This statement caught my attention because, as I mentioned in my assessment of Thinking Allowed (page 99), when you consider working as a team, you can achieve many things greater than each of you can achieve. I have learnt that the relationship which the parts have to each other is a part in and of itself. It is not only a part, but the most catalytic, the most empowering, the most unifying, and the most exciting part.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

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

The Starfish and the Spider

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

In ‘The Starfish and the Spider, spider and starfish analogy refers to the contrasting biological nature of the respective organisms, starfish having a decentralized neural structure permitting regeneration. In addition to giving historical examples of decentralized organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and the Apaches and analyzing their nature in contrast to centralized organizations, the authors consider conflict between centralized and decentralized organizations, including the “If you can’t beat them, join them” solution of creating hybrid organizations such as Citizendium. The book explores what happens when the starfish take on spiders and reveals how established companies and institutions, from IBM to Inuit to the U.S. government, are also leaning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success. The authors provide sharp insights into how to avoid becoming the next victim of market populism. This book is about what happens when there is no one in charge. It’s about what happens when there is no hierarchy.

i. “Remember, in 1995 the few people who even knew what the term ‘online’ meant were having enough trouble to navigating Web pages (page 32): This idea was very important to me because it has reminded me when in 1994 I was in college. Some of the subjects I studied included Computer Fundamentals and Data processing. We used to study these subjects yet I had never seen a computer! Technology is coming at a terrific speed! It is impossible to understand how many people are using the internet today (page 51).

ii. “If you thump it on the head will it die? (page 47) ”: This idea was very important to me because it challenges us to see if our organisations depend on one individual-the head. A good organisation is the one which will continue to survive even if the head goes. If you chop the spider’s head, it dies. The authors inform us that in centralised organisations with structures, when you take out the corporate headquarters, chances are you will kill a spider organisation. But the starfish (organisations with no structures) often don’t have a head to chop off meaning it is not easy to kill them.

iii. “All people have an ‘inner light’ and should be treated as equals(page 87):This idea was very important to me because it reminds us that we were all born equal and nobody should be treated as superior to others.

iv. “The internet has allowed circles to become virtual: members join from their computers without ever leaving home (page 88)”: This idea was very important to me because it has reminded me of the communities we are members of like IIGL and many others. Thanks to the Internet era that has made the world a global village!

v. “A leader is best when people barely know he exists; not so good when people obey and acclaim him; worst when they despise him (page 115)”: This idea was very important to me and we should, as leaders strive to be measured by and stick to the above idea.

vi. People really, really want to help other people. And that is most underutilised tool there is (page118): This idea was very important to me because it reminds us to help others in all ways that we can manage. I have developed enjoying helping others in whatever means I can afford, say, giving someone a lift, helping a colleague on a computer, putting importation information (like my dissertation), etc on the internet to help others.

vii. “It is the right as well as the duty of every managerial employee to criticise a central management decision which he considers mistaken or ill-advised (page 184)”: This idea was very important to me because it has encouraged me to pose a positive criticism to my superiors and encourage my subordinates to criticise me for the smooth running of our organisation. This does away with the saying that the ‘boss is ever right’ meaning that he can never be criticised.

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?

These lessons have shown me a provocative and confrontational new way to look at business. I have understood the patterns and potential of self-organizing systems. I have been thinking that when there is no hierarchy, there would be disorder, even chaos, in an organization, but I have discovered that in many arenas, a lack of traditional leadership is giving rise to powerful groups that are turning industry and society upside down. I have learnt that the absence of structure, leadership and formal organization, I considered a weakness, are a major asset

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

i. “Another thing is a culture of trust that works out really well (page 65)”: This statement was very important to me as it makes me think how this world could be if we trusted each other. It would be a paradise!

ii. “There is just something rewarding about contribution (page 75)”: This statement was very important to me because it reminds me that when I contribute, I get rewards even more than what I have contributed.

iii. “Wikipedia proves that people are basically good (page 91): This statement caught my attention and I agree with it. Can you imagine a lot of information we get from the internet free of charge? In fact people are basically good! I have learnt that everyone has something to contribute. An open and honest environment can bring out the best in people.

iv. “The Power of Chaos (page 197). This statement caught my attention as it teaches me that whereas conventional thinking is that to run an organization you’d better be organized and structured; in the decentralized world it pays to be chaotic; users are free to do whatever they want. Starfish systems are wonderful incubators for creative, destructive, innovative, or crazy ideas. Where creativity is valuable, learning to accept chaos is a must.

v. “I much prefer meeting people lower on the ladder than above me because I can help them move (page 117)”: This statement caught my attention because it talks of my character. I thought being in contact with lower cadres is my weakness and I have now realised it is a strength.

vi. “When people feel heard, when they feel understood and supported, they are more likely to change (page 125)”: This statement caught my attention because it has let me evaluate my listening skills in order to change people. I have realised that when confronted with aggressive push, most people shut down and become even less likely to change. I will not prescribe a solution or hit over the head with one. Instead, I will listen intently and assume a peer relationship.

vii. “There is hope-I can make my life better (page 146)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that whatever the situation I might be in today, I can make my life better. I have learnt that we don’t change our situations and worldviews overnight.

viii. “Shop without sharing financial information (page 165)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to be cautious with supplying my financial information like bank accounts. Even though people are basically good, there are some bad people in the society.

ix. “Trust begets trust (page 168)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that if I trust others, they will also trust me.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

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

The Secret

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The Secret describes the law of attraction as a natural law that determines the complete order of the universe and of our personal lives through the process of “like attracts like.” That is, as we think and feel, a corresponding frequency is sent out into the universe that attracts back to us events and circumstances on that same frequency. For example, if you think angry thoughts and feel angry, you will attract back events and circumstances that cause you to feel more anger. Conversely, if you think and feel positively, you will attract back positive events and circumstances. The law claims that desirable outcomes such as health, wealth, and happiness can be attracted simply by changing one’s thoughts and feelings.

i. “The Law responds to your thoughts, no matter what they may be (page 7)): This idea was very important to me because it reminds me to control my thoughts as they determine what I will be and have. I have learnt that I become what I think about most and I attract what I think about most. Thought become things. The law of attraction is giving you what you are thinking about-period! (Page 15).

ii. “The Secret Shifters, such as pleasant memories, nature, or your favourite music, can change your feelings and shift your frequency in an instant (page 43).” This lesson was very important to me as I normally use this technique when I am feeling bad. For example I call a friend or imagine a good scene and then I feel better. When I find myself angry or frustrated or not feeling good, I turn to my Secret shifters and they help me to shift my feelings in a positive way.

iii. “You can start with nothing, and out of nothing and out of no way, a way will be made (page 56)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me not to worry when I seem to be lacking something. All I require is ME, and my ability to think things into being. I am capable of creating anything with a positive mental attitude.

iv. “Create your day in advance by thinking the way you want it to go, and you will create your life intentionally (page 69)”: This idea was important to me because it has emphasised what I have studied and started practicing. Every morning before I go out of bed I first imagine having a good day and I spend the whole day with morale.

v. “Whatever we think about and thank about we bring about (page 75)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me the power of gratitude. Gratitude is now a powerful exercise for me. Every morning I get up I say ‘Thank you’ and then start running through what I am grateful for as I am brushing the teeth and doing the things I do in the morning. I go out in the morning and see my garden and say ‘Thank you’ to the Universe. As I do this, I am powerfully creating my day and all that it will contain. I have learnt that I am the creator of my life and I have to begin by intentionally creating my day. The daily practice of gratitude is one of the conduits by which your wealth will come to you (page78).

vi. “The shortcut to anything you want in your life is to BE and FEEL happy now (page 100)”: This idea was very important me because it mentions how I feel now as a result of taking IIGL studies. As I write this assessment, I don’t remember the last time I felt unhappy and I believe I will achieve anything I want in my life.

vii. “Every great teacher who has ever walked the planet has told you that life was meant to be abundant (page 148)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me what all the books I have read for IIGL studies talk about (abundance). This means I have to get rid of ‘scarcity’ in my mind and replace it with ‘abundance’. I have learnt that there is a lie that acts like a virus within the mind of humanity that ‘there is not enough for everyone’ which leads to greed and selfishness. The truth is that there is more than enough to be shared by everybody. Nothing is limited-not resources or anything else. It is only limited in the human mind. When we open our minds to the unlimited creative power, we will call abundance and see and experience the whole new world. Even though we say we have lack, it’s because we don’t open our vision and see what is around us (page 149).

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?

These ideas have helped me to know how I can have, be, or do anything I want. I have come to know who I really am. I have come to know the true magnificence that awaits me. I have learnt that I am the most powerful magnet in the Universe and that I contain a magnetic power within me that is more powerful than anything in this world. This is the unfathomable magnetic power emitted though my thoughts. I will use these secret lessons in every aspect of my life — money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction I have in the world. I have discovered the hidden, untapped power that’s within me, and I am sure that this revelation will bring joy to every aspect of my life

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

i. “Whatsoever ye shall ask, believing, ye shall receive (page 54): This statement caught my attention as it teaches me to claim the things I want by feeling and believing they are mine. I have learnt that whatsoever things we desire, when we pray, and we believe we shall receive them’ we shall have them.

ii. “Nothing can prevent your picture from coming into concrete form except the same power which gave it birth-yourself (page 89)”: This statement caught my attention and have given me more confidence that I can achieve anything that I desire. I will not allow the thought of doubt to enter my mind which can make the law of attraction act against my intention.

iii. “Whatever the mind…can conceive it can achieve (page 95)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that I should not limit my mind. I should use my mind to create anything that I need.

iv. “Success comes from within, not from without (page107)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to always have a positive mental attitude and have a mindset that I can create whatever I want. With this I can achieve the success I want in life. Now I know the Secret. I have the key. The key is in my thoughts and feelings.

v. “You cannot ‘catch’ anything unless you think you can (page 132)”: This statement caught my attention because it talks of the reality. When I used to look into the eyes of someone suffering from eye disease I could immediately feel my eyes itching. This is the real proof of the power of the mind. Man becomes what he thinks about (page 137).

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

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

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is that anyone can achieve prosperity if they so choose. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is about taking responsibility for our financial affairs and improving wealth by mastering money. The book is largely based on Kiyosaki’s upbringing and education in Hawaii. The book highlights the different attitudes to money work and life of two men (His rich dad and his poor dad), and how they in turn influenced key decisions in Kiyosaki’s life. Among some of the book’s topics are:The difference between assets and liabilities, What the rich teach their kids about money that the poor and middle class do not, Your house is not an asset, unless you use it to produce revenue, The value of financial intelligence and financial literacy, That corporations spend first, then pay taxes, while individuals must pay taxes first, That corporations are artificial entities that anyone can use, but the poor usually do not know how, The importance of investing and entrepreneurship. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a starting point for anyone looking to gain control of their financial future.

i. “Today, the most dangerous advice you can give a child is ‘Go to school, get good grades and look for a safe secure job’ (page 9)”. This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it helps me correct this mistake. I have realised that this is old advice, and it’s bad advice because if I want my child to have a financially secure future, they can’t play by the old set of rules. It’s just too risky. It is foolish to assume that the education the school system provides will prepare your children for the world they will face upon graduation. Each child needs more education. Different education. And they need to know the rules. The different sets of rules. When we as parents advise our children to “go to school, study hard and get a good job,” we often do that out of cultural and old habit. It has always been the right thing to do but that is not the case today. We need to advise our children with a greater degree of sophistication. We need new ideas and different education. Maybe telling our children to strive to be good employees while also striving to own their own investment corporation is not such a bad idea. I have learnt that one of the reasons the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the middle class struggles in debt is because the subject of money is taught at home, not in school. Most of us learn about money from our parents. So what can a poor parent tell their child about money? They simply say “Stay in school and study hard.” The child may graduate with excellent grades but with a poor person’s financial programming and mind-set. It was learned while the child was young. Money is not taught in schools. Schools focus on scholastic and professional skills, but not on financial skills. This explains how smart bankers, doctors and accountants and lawyers who earned excellent grades in school may still struggle financially all of their lives. I have learnt that our staggering national debt and lack of national financial sustainability Rwanda is due in large part to highly educated politicians and government officials making financial decisions with little or no training on the subject of money

ii. “The poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them (page 46)”: This idea was important to me and caught my attention because it has challenged me to learn how money works so that I can make it work for me. These lessons can be learnt through life experience with guidance from the rich, not because of any classroom. I have learnt that if I want to learn to work for money, I should stay in school. That is a great place to learn to do that. But if I want to learn how to have money work for me, then I have to look for successful people who can teach me that.

iii. “To live a life dictated by the size of a paycheck is not really a life (page 63): This idea was very important to me because it has made me realise that thinking that a job will make me feel secure is lying to myself. I have discovered that this is the trap that I have to avoid. I have realised that a job is only a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

iv. “An asset is something that puts money in my pocket. A liability is something that takes money out of my pocket (page 81)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because I have realised that even my car, house and other personal properties can be liabilities provided they don’t generate income for me. I have learnt that if I want to be rich, I have to spend my life buying assets that generate income. If I want to be poor or middle class, I have to spend my life buying liabilities. I can remember one mistake I made when I was on official mission in Irelands with other two colleagues. When they bought expensive cameras, I also bought one yet I am not fond of taking pictures! I still have the camera which is almost useless to me and I can consider it to be a liability. I have realised that the end result in making a decision to own a house that is too expensive in lieu of starting an investment portfolio early on impacts an individual in at least the following three ways: 1. Loss of time, during which other assets could have grown in value. 2. Loss of additional capital, which could have been invested instead of paying for high-maintenance expenses related directly to the home. 3. Loss of education. Too often, people count their house, savings and retirement plan as all they have in their asset column. Because they have no money to invest, they simply do not invest. This costs them investment experience. Most never become what the investment world calls a “sophisticated investor.” And the best investments are usually first sold to “sophisticated investors,” who then turn around and sell them to the people playing it safe. Buying a house is not bad but we have to understand the difference between an asset and a liability. When I want a bigger house, I will first buy assets that will generate the cash flow to pay for the house. After knowing the difference between an asset and a liability, I will concentrate my efforts on only buying income-generating assets. I have realised that that’s the best way to get started on a path to becoming rich. I will keep doing that, and my asset column will grow. I will focus on keeping liabilities and expenses down. This will make more money available to continue pouring into the asset column. Soon, the asset base will be so deep that I can afford to look at more speculative investments.

v. “Mind your own business (page 110)”: This idea was very important to me because I have realised that it is the secret of the rich to mind their own business. I have realised that financial struggle is often directly the result of people working all their life for someone else. I have realised that if I don’t change the way I do things today, I will have nothing at the end of my working days. However, it is not too late to change. I have started minding my own business. I will keep my daytime job, but start buying real assets, not liabilities or personal effects that have no real value once I get them home like the camera I mentioned earlier. I will keep my expenses low, reduce liabilities and diligently build a base of solid assets.

vi. “I believe that each of us has a financial genius within us (page 213)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me that we all can be financially independent. The problem is that our financial genius lies asleep, waiting to be called upon. It lies asleep because our culture has educated us into believing that the love of money is the root of all evil. It has encouraged us to learn a profession so we can work for money, but failed to teach us how to have money work for us.

vii. “There is gold everywhere. Most people are not trained to see it (page 214)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me that there are opportunities around us that can make us rich but we do not open our minds to see them. In the past, I have been telling my daughter about this idea. By coincidence, when I reached this point during this assessment, she just entered my room coming from school and I showed her this statement. I hope this will inspire her to read Rich Dad, Poor Dad! Also from my previous assessment of ‘Thinking for A Change’ I have learnt that ‘More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than ever been taken from the earth (page 26)’.There are a lot of opportunities surrounding us but we cannot see them because of negative attitude. We are normally poor because we do not develop positive mental attitude and use our minds to find the solutions to the problems related to poverty. Sometimes I am now very sure that wherever we are we are stepping treading on gold but we can’t ‘see’ it and extract it to make us rich.

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?

These lessons have helped me to realise that the main reason I struggle financially is because I have spent years in school but I learned nothing about money. I have learnt to work for money but I never learnt to have money work for me. As I write this assessment, I have secured some salary advance and I have invested it to generate some income to supplement my monthly salary. I have started small but I believe that a thousand miles distance walk starts with one step. I only wish I had learnt these lessons when I was still young, by this time I would be a millionaire. I learned a lot about how money really works and how to invest. Now I know I can choose a profession for the work I want to perform and not because of job security, benefits or how much I get paid. I have learnt that whatever my financial position I am in today, I have the ability to educate myself and teach those I love to take care of themselves financially. I have learnt that financial intelligence is the mental process via which we solve our financial problems. These lessons are the guideposts that will assist me and my children to grow wealthier no matter what happens in a world of increasing change and uncertainty. I have realized that we all have tremendous potential, and we all are blessed with gifts. Yet, the one thing that holds all of us back is some degree of self-doubt. It is not so much the lack of technical information that holds us back, but more the lack of self-confidence. Some are more affected than others.

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

i. “Getting a good education and making good grades no longer ensures success, and nobody seems to have noticed (page 3)”: This statement was very important to me because it has touched my area of weakness that needs to be worked on. I worked and I still work hard to study and get good grades thinking that this is the key to success. I have learnt that there is yet much to be done. That is, to learn how to make money work for me not to work for money.

ii. “If you want something work for it (page 30)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that we become poor only poor if we give up. The most important thing is to do something. I have learnt that most of us only talk and dream of getting rich and we don’t do something to make us so.

iii. “Most people become a slave to money… and then get angry at their boss (page 48)”: This statement caught my attention because it has taught me not to blame my employer for any of my failures or povery. Instead, I have to look for the means and ways how I can become self employed and solve my personal problems instead of expecting my boss to solve them. I have to think for the ways I can be in control of my own finances, not depend on the employer.

iv. “If you find you have dug yourself into a hole… stop digging (page 90)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to stop the mistakes I did in the past that have created my current situation and start to have financial discipline. I have realised that many great financial problems are caused by going along with the crowd and trying to keep up with the Joneses. Occasionally, we all need to look in the mirror and be true to our inner wisdom rather than our fears.

v. “Wealth is a person’s ability to survive so many number of days forward…if I stopped working today, how long could I survive?(page 103)”: This statement was very important to me because it has made me think deep on how depending on a salary is dangerous and risky. I have to devise the means and ways to supplement my salary dependency.

vi. “Job is an acronym for ‘Just Over Broke’ (page 171)”: This statement caught my attention because it talks of the reality. I don’t think there is anyone who depends on job 100% and is financially free. Unfortunately, this saying applies to most of us. Because school does not teach us financial intelligence, most of us workers “live within our means.” We work and we pay the bills!

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

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

Leadership on the Line

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the authors are trying to convey is about taking opportunities to lead and stay alive through the dangers of leading. The authors ask the following fundamental questions: Why and how is leadership dangerous? How can you respond to these dangers? And how can you keep your spirit arrive when going gets very tough? The authors are straightforward about the hazards of leadership and idealistic about the importance of taking these risks. This book is different from other leadership books which are all about the inspiration but downplay the perspiration. This book is about how to survive amidst the dangers of leadership. It is also about getting more out of life by putting more into it. It is about putting ourselves and our ideas on the line, responding effectively to the risks and living to celebrate the meaning of our efforts.

i. “Every day you have the chance to make a difference in the lives of people around you (page 2): This idea was very important to me as reminds me that I should strive to improve the characters and behaviours of people around me. This will be achieved if I live as an example. I have to walk the talk. I understand that people will push back when I disturb the personal equilibrium they are used to. I know that they can resist all kinds of creative and unexpected new ways of doing things but this will not stop me from keeping teaching them the values I have learnt.

ii. “Listen to the song beneath the words (page 55)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it teaches me that hearing people’s stories is not the same as taking what they say at face value. If I am not cautious, when people praise me, I can think that I am special and I can go off the line. Also people naturally, even unconsciously, defend their habits and ways of thinking and attempt to avoid difficult value choices. Thus, after hearing their stories, I have to take a step of making interpretation that gets below the surface.

iii. “If people have avoided a problem for a long time, it should not be surprising that they try to silence you when you push them to face it (page 62)”: This idea was very important to me because it has taught me not to push people much when I am making them move from their status quo. I have to start from where they are. Their view of the problem may be different from mine and if I don’t take their perspective as the starting point, I am likely to be dismissed as irrelevant, insensitive, or presumptuous.

iv. “To survive and succeed in exercising leadership, you must listen closely with your opponents as you do with your supporters (page 87)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me of the problems we make especially in politics where people make every effort to avoid others whom they do not share the same political party and ideologies. We have to listen to their opposing ideas and criticisms in order to minimise our weaknesses. We have to be with the opposing group and face the problem together so that each of us can accept some share of responsibility for it. Rwanda has taken an initiative to have a forum of political parties where all the problems facing the country can be discussed.

v. “I have a dream (page 121)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it reminds me that whatever we can dream of we can get it provided to do something on a daily basis towards achieving it. If we don’t do something towards achieving it, we become daydreamers. For example, Martin Luther King had a dream that little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as brothers and sisters. And indeed this has become a reality.

vi. “Take the work off your shoulders (page 124)”: This idea was very important to me and caught my attention because it has taught me that if I want to make change, I should not take the issue as a personal issue. I have learnt that when I take on an issue, I become that issue in the eyes of many and it follows, then, that the way to get rid of the issue is to get rid of me. Solutions are achieved when “the people with the problem” go through a process together to become “the people with the solution”. However, taking the work off my own shoulders is necessary but not sufficient. I have also to put it in the right place, where it can be addressed by the relevant parties. You stay alive in the practice of leadership by reducing the extent to which you become the target of people’s frustrations.

vii. “A hunger for importance can make you discount obvious warning that you are in danger (page 170)”: This idea was very important to me because I feel it should serve as a lesson to some leaders/presidents who cling and hang to power and then end up having a bad ending irrespective of good things they may have done to their countries. If you are a leader, people may even beg you to stay in that role; don’t let them seduce you. It robs them to develop their opportunity to settle their own issues. Don’t believe that the problem is yours to carry and solve. If you carry it at all, make certain you do so only for a limited period of time, while people accustom themselves to their need and ability to take responsibility for the challenge. There is a strong temptation to believe it when people say, “You’re the One”. Of course, you may indeed have valuable wisdom, but the need to be of special importance creates a dangerous condition, where leading can be misleading.

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?

These ideas have helped me to understand that leadership can cause conflict, challenge long held beliefs and demands new ways of doing things and can cause pain. I have understood that it is possible to put myself on the line, respond effectively to the risks, and live to celebrate my efforts. These lessons have helped me to understand that leadership is worth the risk because the goals extend beyond material gain or personal advancement. By making lives of people around us better, leadership provides meaning in life. It creates purpose. I have discovered that every human being has something unique to offer, and that a larger sense of purpose comes from using that gift to help our families and communities to thrive. I have realised that I have gifts like experience, my values, my presence, etc that I can use to make a positive impact on those around me. These lessons will help me put myself on the line in my family, my community, my job and my heart and soul.

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

i. “People do not resist change per se. People resist loss (page 11): This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that if I want to create change on people’s lives, I have to make every effort to clarify to them what they will gain from making that change. I have learnt that no one can critique you when you hand out big cheques or deliver good news. People attack you or resist change when they don’t like the message. It is easy, even enjoyable, for a doctor to say to a patient, “Here is you penicillin. You will be cured.” But what if the news is grave? “I don’t think I can save you. I wish I could, but I don’t think I can. Let me help you and your family grasp what you are about to face, so that you can make the appropriate adjustments in your lives (page 193).” It is not easy to receive such a message because it is frustrating and wearisome as it is about loss.

ii. “Getting off the dance floor and going to the balcony (page 51)”: This statement caught my attention because the metaphor reminds me to think twice, do self-reflection before I act or follow blindly the masses. I have learnt that I should not instinctively follow the dominant trend in the community without a critical evaluation of its merits.

iii. “Accept responsibility for your piece of mess (page 90)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to accept my responsibility whenever I make a mistake and even apologise. I will avoid the saying that ‘the boss is ever right’ and accept the responsibility of the mistake I may commit.

iv. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself (page 111)”: This statement caught my attention because it encourages me to eradicate fear in my mind. With fear, very little can be achieved in life.

v. “If you act like Christ, you’re going to end up like him (page 173)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that however much I serve my community, I have to be mindful of my life. I should not get to the far extreme of dying for people’s sins as Christ did.

vi. “If you save one life, you save the world (page 212)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to do something good I can afford however small it may seem. For example, I have now committed myself to donate blood to those in need of it and I believe I will save some people’s lives hence saving the world.

vii. “You know what gives satisfaction?…offering others what you have to give (page 220)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that we should give others what we can afford to offer. We were created to give, not to receive only. The more we give, the more we get. This is the law of nature. Giving does not mean giving out money. We can give our time, our concern, our storytelling. We can offer something we have. It’s not so hard. This is how we start to get respect, by offering what we have.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

Ratings:

Open-Book Management

Assessment by Charles Kabera (Rwanda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey is to explain what Open-book management is and why it is essential in today’s business world. He tells us, in nitty-gritty detail, how to implement it. Open-book Management is about creating companies in which everybody understands that they are competing in a market place, trying to make money. It teaches employees to think and act like owners of the company, like business people, and not like hired hands. In short, this book is about changing a way the company works (page 57).

i. “The competitors you have today may or may not be around tomorrow. But as sure as death and taxes you’ll have new ones (page 9): This idea was very important to me because reminds me to keep sharpening the saw so as not to remain behind. That is the reason I keep learning new skills so that I can remain on the job market. Companies also have to keep improving their products otherwise they can run out of the business due to competition.

ii. “In 1900, about 40 percent of working Americans earned their living on farm…in 1990 not even 3 percent of American was in farming (page 11)”: This idea was very important to me because it has made me think on how countries can differ in development. For example, as opposed to the above, most of African countries, more than 80% of the population depends on subsistence agriculture. There is therefore a lot to be done for African countries to achieve economic growth and development.

iii. “No matter how brilliant the plans, no matter how smart the strategy, nothing gets accomplished unless people execute (page15)”: This idea was very important to me because it reminds me of the importance of the people/employees to any organisation. If I create my own company I will put people first and provide them with all necessary requirements to make them deliver. I will ensure that there is cooperation at work because I have discovered that all businesses are dependent on the willing cooperation of their workers. I will treat my staff as adults. I will treat them as partners. I will treat them with dignity. I will treat them with respect. I have learnt that even that words like ’employee’ and ‘manager’ are out of fashion. Progressive companies now call their workers ‘associates’, their mangers ‘coaches’ (page 28). I will treat my employees like family. This will keep them focused to company’s profitability rather than their own wellbeing. They will think themselves as owners, as business people (page 148).

iv. “God took a week to create the world and it might be a durn sight better if he’d taken two (page 60)”: This idea was very important to me because it shows us how we cannot create the change we want to make overnight. Since we are human beings, creating change or transforming a company into open-book management can take not one week or two but many. Patience pays and practice makes perfect.

v. “Information please! Everybody has to know what’s going on in the business (page 60)”: This idea was very important to me because it has reminded me of the importance of sharing the information within the organisation. Some companies make a mistake where the information about how the organisational business is going is just held by the Senior Management and not communicated to other staff. Given the relevant information, people just act like business people, not hired hands. They do what makes sense without being told (page 65).

vi. “Make sure people share directly in the company’s success-and in the risk of failure (page 97)”: This idea was very important to me and has motivated me to give bonuses to my staff if I create my own company and I make success. This will motivate my staff to perform even better for their success and success of the company. I will tie their fortunes to the prosperity of the company. I will give them incentive to work hard, go the extra mile, and use their brains as well as their hands. I will always reward them when the company makes money.

vii. “Everything I’ve learned here has been very valuable. I wouldn’t give it up for a minute (page 153)”: This idea was very important to me because it gives me a conclusive closing remark as I come to the end of my IIGL Studies. Everything I’ve learned during IIGL studies has been very valuable. I believe they will be useful to me and to the community in which I am living as I put into practice what I have studied.

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?

These lessons have helped me to know the concept of Open-book Management. In fact it was my first time to hear the term. In future if I own my own business, I will use Open-book management system. These lessons have helped me to understand that when employees understand the economics of business, they will think and act like the owners. I will apply open-book management to build trust among my employees, empower them to make smart decisions and allow them to see the bottom-line impact of those decisions. I have learnt that in open-book companies, employees understand why they are being called upon to solve problems, cut costs, reduce defects.

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

i. “Life is too short to spend fighting (page xii): This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to stay in good relationship with others. I always avoid having grudges with others because I understand that we live in this world for a short time hence we have to love one another and live as friends who are about to part.

ii. “If they can do it, so can I (page 7)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that I am capable of achieving everything others have already achieved. The only thing that is impossible is impossible. This is why I am now thinking of creating my own business and become a job creator is instead of living as a job seeker. As I learnt in Rich Dad, Poor Dad, JOB is an acronym of Just Over Bloke.

iii. “The important decisions have to do with how to enlarge the pie, not how to divide it (page 47)”: This statement attracted my attention because the metaphor stresses the importance of teamwork. It has reminded me of the saying that “United we stand, Divided we fall”. I will teach my employees that we are all in business together and we are accountable to each other for making sure it succeeds (page 46)”

iv. “To most of us, financial education is boring, scary or both (page 80)”: This statement caught my attention because it talks of the reality. Many of us fear numbers but ‘if you want to go swimming you have to get wet’. Therefore we have to make every effort and at least have the basic knowledge of financial accounting for our companies to succeed.

v. “You learn by doing (page 105)”: This statement caught my attention, because, as I come to the close of IIGL Studies, I am reminded to put into practice what I have learnt. If I do not do/practice what I have learnt, I will have wasted time and resources. Therefore, I commit myself to practise what I have learnt.

vi. “When they are helping to run a company, people’s attitudes change (page 127)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me that in such a situation the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality vanishes and production improves as the people see themselves as one team with one goal.

vii. “If you do what you’ve always done, you’re gonna get what you always got (page 175)”: This statement caught my attention because it reminds me to change the way I am living and keep improving. I will always strive to get out of the comfort zone and step outside my normal roles. In doing so, that is when I will be able to change the world by changing myself.

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

Everything in the book was clear and understandable.

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 useful?

The book did not contain exercises for the reader to complete. It only encouraged us to practice what we have studied.

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

Nothing I would like to comment on here. Everything was covered in the previous questions.

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