As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Ageto Bobi (Kenya)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main message from “As a Man Thinketh” is that your thought patterns have a significant influence on your quality of life. Our ability to control our thoughts can give rise to great achievements, peace of mind and even happiness. Our minds and what we think about can also lead to our destruction. Bad thinking can lead to terrible mistakes that harm ourselves and others.
Allen explains this in several parts of the book by comparing thought to a seed, it’s the beginning that leads to a result. What we think triggers an emotion, which often encourages an action. For example, if you feel inspired, you might be moved to start something new. The more you act a certain way, the more it becomes natural to you. Over time, those actions shape your character and influence your circumstances.
Just as a plant sprouts from a tiny seed, each action we perform is an outgrowth of our thoughts. From these actions, patterns emerge. In turn, these patterns come to constitute our character. Our character or personality begins with our thoughts. But why is this important?
Well, have you ever known someone who always seemed to give up on projects or relationships, and at the same time had a pretty pessimistic attitude? You guessed it: those two things: attitude and action are closely related. Underachievers tend to disappoint themselves because they think very little of themselves to begin with. Attitude problems often snowball and have severe consequences. Yet, there’s a very simple solution.
If our thoughts shape our character, it’s only logical that changing our thoughts will change our character, too. By changing the nature of their thoughts, pessimistic people might find that they have a bit more to smile about. Anyone who attempts to master his thoughts can do much more than eliminate negative character traits. By working on his thoughts the right way, an individual can even obtain what the author refers to as Divine Perfection. In other words, by weeding out bad or useless thoughts, a person can bring joy, strength, peace and wisdom to his life. Those are some pretty attractive benefits! So why not start mastering your thoughts today? The alternative, after all, isn’t pretty. Unmanaged thoughts can make you into your biggest obstacle; negative attitudes literally have the power to destroy the things you cherish and love.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why?List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you, use personal examples from your own life.
i. “Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.”
Our mind is powerful and driving force, when I wanted to start my business I had set my mind and indeed whatever we manifest in our mind and brain comes to pass and today i am a businessman
ii. “Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.”
We are what we want to be, nobody can make you but yourself you can do it by determining what your mind needs and put it in practical, my parents wanted me to be a teacher but i had made my mind to be a businessman
iii. “Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force: he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations; he who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers.”
Today I enjoyed my work. I am the boss of myself and determine what my day will be, the power of mind set controls the world. I am not employed but I have employed people the way I wanted in my life.
iv. “Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves, they therefore remain bound.”
We improve daily in our life cause we learn everyday, I make use of my brain to venture in different ways of bettering my business.
v. “Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err.”
vi. Effect of Thought on Circumstances
We are where we are because that is what we want to be, we mould ourselves and be proud of who we are, and i am proud businessman. A Man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind. Our mind should be active and give it challenges in daily life, by reading and making us have critical thinking we become sharp and focused in business. It is a learning exercise. I learn how to better my business by giving out free services after sales.
Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts.
vii. We need to know that if we do not keep our mind in good shape our thoughts will be evil and we won’t achieve anything. We have to task our mind and make it active and live
That is what I do everyday in my life. By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life. He also reveals, within himself, the laws of thought, and understands, with ever-increasing accuracy, how the thought-forces and mind elements operate in the shaping of his character, circumstances, and destiny.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
The ideas will help me be a better person and make my brain active and thoughtful
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 man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.”
“As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought.”
“Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits.”
“Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself.”
“As a being of Power, Intelligence, and Love, and the lord of his own thoughts, man holds the key to every situation.”
“Self-control is strength. Right thought is mastery. Calmness is power.”
“The body is the servant of the mind.”
“A man who cannot direct his thoughts is powerless to resist the influence of those who can.”
“He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure.”
“Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions.”
“The dreamers are the saviors of the world.”
“Men do not attract what they want, but that which they are.”
“You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.”
“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”
“To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve.”
“The mind is like a garden which can be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild.”
“Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, so may a man tend the garden of his mind.”
“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.”
“Thoughts of doubt and fear never accomplish anything, and never can. They always lead to failure.”
“A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it.”
“In the ocean of life, the isles of blessedness are smiling, and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming.”
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 presented
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
This is one of the book is the best mind awakening and a tool for a daily basis.
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.
It is well covered.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Ageto Bobi (Kenya)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
Richard paints a glorious picture of what most people would see when they view a flock of seagulls. But then he takes us right into the lone seagull ripping through the wind learning how to fly with accuracy and precision. But this story is way more than that.
Almost right away, as the reader, you can glean the message Richard Bach is going for.
Not only does Jonathan love to fly, he had pushed himself to new limits by experimenting with flight. Not everyone will understand what your passion is. Not everyone will understand the need to push yourself through challenges and to new opportunities.
Not everyone will be comfortable with leaving their comfort zone. Some people are just destined to split off from the norm and challenge themselves. Jonathan was praised for flying so passionately, claiming he could do so unlike any other seagull in history
The book’s portrayal of going after what you love, even if it means leaving behind people who don’t understand, it’s an important message. I think many people can relate to this, especially those who would like to follow their passion but are afraid they might be judged by others. This book is about pushing through the norm even when everyone tells you not to. It’s about finding what lights you up and showing it to the world. It’s about finding your gift, accepting it, and sharing it with others. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a story about reaching your heaven, which isn’t a time or place, but a state of mind within yourself. A realization that you, in your own being, are perfect.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why?List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you, use personal examples from your own life.
i. “Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly.”
It is through determination and not giving up that made me be where i am most people said that i wont make it in life even if i spend all my savings in business but today it is generally working for me because of not seeing the limitations.
ii. “Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flights; how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly.”
Everyday is a learning day and that has been my policy in my business, i learn daily even in my failures.
ii. “We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill.”
Ignorance is costly than trying if I had ignored not to start business today i could be regretting
iv. “Do you have any idea how many lives we must have gone through before we even got the first idea that there is more to life than eating, or fighting, or power in the Flock? A thousand lives, Jon, ten thousand!”
There is more in business than the success we see in had to endure to be where i am today
5. “We choose our next world through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing, and the next world is the same as this one, all the same limitations and lead weights to overcome.”
It is very true we can build ourselves or destroy ourselves, I am where I am because I made a decision.
vi. “To begin with, he said heavily, you’ve got to understand that a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull, and your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself.”
Limitation is just a mindset, if we believe we can achieve yes we can i did it and also you can do it.
vii. “You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way. It is the Law of the Great Gull, the Law that Is.”
We have all it takes to be what we want to be, I wanted to be a businessman and today I am so you can also be whatever you want to be.
viii. “You don’t love hatred and evil, of course. You have to practice and see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and to help them see it in themselves. That’s what I mean by love. It’s fun, when you get the knack of it.”
ix. “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.”
When we do what we want there is that satisfaction today. I am happy I started my business and I am a boss of myself.
x. “Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short, and with those gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed.”
Our fear makes us not to reach in to our goal, it is not harmful to try but not trying is harmful, that is why i had to start my business
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?
This book is a powerful tool for a better future and makes one think outside the books
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.
“He spoke of very simple things- that it is right for a gull to fly, that freedom is the very nature of his being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form. “Set aside,” came a voice from the multitude, even if it be the Law of the Flock?The only true law is that which leads to freedom, Jonathan said. There is no other.”
“Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight – how to get from shore to food and back again.”
“Boredom between two people doesn’t come from being together physically. It comes from being apart mentally and spiritually.”
“Do you have any idea how many lives we must have gone through before we even got the first idea that there is more to life than eating, or fighting, or power in the Flock? A thousand lives, Jon, ten thousand!”
“Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.”
“Jonathan Livingston Seagull was no ordinary bird. Most gulls don’t bother
to learn more than the simplest facts of flight how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this
gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else,
Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly.”
“A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise.”
“Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose to do with them is up to you.”
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 presented.
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 is a handy book or a tool for daily reading and exercising for a better me.
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.
It’s well covered.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10