Alfred Cosmas Okolie – Assessments

As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Okolie-Alfred Cosmas (Nigeria)

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

The book As a Man Thinketh is a very important book in the series of motivational and inspirational books. I found most of the text written by author of this classic, very thought provoking in the sense that, most of it tells you the reader that you’re the product of your thought and actions, while it is also a checker on how we should direct our ways in other to live harmoniously with one and another. As Man is a being of thought, Love, power, and intelligence and we are filled with great power within us to transform anything we want, once we truly desire it, whether it be good or bad, because every thing on this earth begins with a single thought and of all the animals and things created by God, man is the highest being because he is made of thought which is sometime referred to as Conscience which he can control and fashion out of it what he want from it. For man to truly discover who he truly is, he has to do some searching which is the beginning of the discovery of self.

The book laid more emphasis on what happens in the human mind as it relates to our everyday activities also harping on the principles of polarity which the bible also teaches, it is a masterpiece because I have found it conflicting with most of my belief especially in the aspect of revenge, where I sometimes try to justify why I sometimes strike back at my enemies, I also found that one can experience peace with his neighbours and even with himself if we adopt most of the principle here stated in the book.

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

Confidence: How powerful are your thoughts of belief? Dr. Maxwell Maltz said, “Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs.” Which is, what is worth having is worth praying about, just as is worth thinking about, Self confidence has been the reason most people feel or think less about themselves and I as a person has actually taken this as one important virtues because if you lack this as a person anything you set out to you will always comes out second best, for confidence is as contagious as any communicable disease, I observe the potency of self confidence first hand when I was campaigning for an elective position when I was a student of Engineering at the University of Benin, Benin-City Edo state, Nigeria, I noticed that before you can really make people to believe that you can deliver on your manifesto, you have act and talk confidently when delivery a speech, or when campaigning, I also notice that people would only follow that person who show them that he can lead and only confident person who has the right initiative can lead.

Accurate Thinking: Having also discovered that the body is the slave of the mind, it’s then not surprising that one can fall ill if you decide to dwell on any type of illness, which one has come across in the cause of the day, take for example a lady who has always had it on her mind that she will have cancer, because she lived in the same neighbourhood with a lady who died of the same illness, she would always visit her doctor regularly complaining that she felt a lump on her breast, few months down the year, she developed breast cancer and after various type of treatment had been carried out on , she finally died of breast cancer just as she has always thought of it in her mind, this goes to show how very powerful the mind is, more so if we fill our mind with thought of health and also live a healthy life style, you will find out that years will go by without even falling ill to the commonest illness, this goes to confirm a medical statement or state called or known as HYPOCHONDRIA:-which is a state of mind causing useless anxiety about one’s health.

As always it’s our thoughts that are in control and we won’t have the “will to do what we want, until we have the belief to do”. If man can only nurse the thought of goodwill in his heart or mind, then the product will be goodwill and if one can fill his heart with accurate, organize and good thought, he will become a good person and an accurate thinker and this will bring him success, because he will be able to organize his thoughts accurately which will bring him considerably success and power because power as I know, is simply accurately organize thought and effort which is nothing less than success.

Love: This book As a Man Thinketh has helped me to understand and uncover one truth about violence and its causes. It made me to know that the ultimate weakness about violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy, instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you can not murder the lie, nor establish the truth, through violence you may murder the hater but you do not murder the hate, in fact violence merely increase hate, so it goes, returning violence for violence merely multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars, darkness can not drive out darkness, only light can, and hate can not drive out hate, only love can do that.

Self Control; it’s very important for us to have and exercise. This is a very important virtue as one strive to attain human consciousness of not been evil or think evil about his neighbour, because in the process of attainment of success in life, we must exercise self control, and everything we do will be in harmony with what God tells us in his holy books, which uses one very important tool to conquer the world and that tool is love. Love your neighbour as yourself is all we need to eliminate evil from this world. This is what I always remember when I am dealing with people who do not share the same belief as I do or when am competing with or against anybody I try to be fair not to allow my personal greed becloud my judgement.

Character/Thought: Thought and character are one, as character can only manifest and discover itself through the environment and circumstance, the outer conditions of a person’s life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. This does not mean that a man’s circumstances at any given time are an indication of his entire character, but that those circumstances are so intimately connected with some vital thought element within himself that, for the time being, they are indispensable to his development, this is also true that there is no element of chance, because every man is by law where he is by the law of his being, or the thought which he has built into his character

Tolerance; its very important to tolerate people, as this is the chief reason why there is always conflict, which usually results to confrontations that leads to anarchy and wars, if we learn this very important virtues, and understand it, this quote ” Live and Let Live” which I have always love, will then make perfect sense.

Circumstance: “Difficulty is not contained, primarily, in the situation which gave rise to it, but in the mental state with which you regard that situation and which you bring to bear upon it. “It is one of the most difficult lessons to accept, understand and learn. Just as Circumstances are not negative or positive, circumstances are neutral. It is our thinking, our mental state, our perspective, that makes a circumstance positive or negative. If we work very hard and diligently and sacrifice greatly in an effort to create wealth, we can’t get the wealth until we change that we are inwardly and until we begin to think and act like wealthy people we’ll never attract the wealth that we really seek. Wealthy people don’t think and act the way they do because they have wealth. They have wealth because they think and act that way.

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

“Our behaviour is based upon our feelings, which are based on our thoughts. So the thing to work on is not to change our behaviour, but those things inside of our consciousness that we call thoughts. Once your thoughts reflect what you genuinely want to be, the appropriate emotions and the consequent behaviour will flow automatically. Believe it, and you will see it!” Even as the Truth begins to crystallize on the statements, “To attract attractive people, you must be attractive. To attract powerful people, you must be powerful. To attract committed people, you must be committed. Instead of going to work on them, you go to work on yourself. If you become, you can attract.” To get what you want, you change who you are, and you change who you are by simply changing the way you think and act. And one technique for doing that which is promoted by a lot of wise teachers is to “act as if.” If you “act as if” you’re slim long enough, then one day you will attract slimness even though you may be 100 pounds overweight today. If you act as if you’re wealthy long enough, then one day you will attract all the wealth you can imagine even though you may this moment be destitute and homeless.

As always, it’s our thoughts that are in control and we won’t have the “will to do” until we have the “belief to do.” To have a lot of success in areas which totally requires using positive visualization and affirmations, while thinking about a particular goal, “one can achieve the set goals by spending more time doing constructive mental work which when it’s transformed to reality by action will bring the desired results.

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.

No matter how bad the circumstance appears to be, taking another look, from another perspective, reveals to us the good. Or, as Napoleon Hill, author of the classic Think and Grow Rich, wrote, “Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit.

Bob Proctor one of the best teachers on the subject of universal law which he refers to as the Law of Polarity. “Everything in the universe has its opposite. There would be no inside to a room without an outside. You have a right and left side to your body, a front and a back. Every up has a down and every down has an up. The Law of Polarity not only states that everything has an opposite — it is equal and opposite. If it was three feet from the floor up to the table, it would be three feet from the table down to the floor. If it is 150 miles from town A to town B, by law it must be 150 miles from town B to town A; it could not be any other way. “Summarily, character is the sum total of your thought and deeds.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are there ideas which you disagree

Nothing in this book can be disagreed with as they book talks more about balance in nature.

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

There are no exercises in this book as a man thinketh, for the reader to complete; it would have been a checker for us to examine ourselves if such exercise were to be included.

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

“If something you considered bad happens in your life, there has to be something good about it. If it was only a little bad, when you mentally work your way around to the other side, you will find it will only be a little good.” Using Bob’s example, when I find myself in trying circumstances I put the circumstance in the middle of a circle. I then mentally walk around the circumstance until I’m on the other side. Then I let my mind go to work examining things from that perspective. And I’m never disappointed at what I find.

So it’s even clearer from Bob’s teaching that every circumstance can be viewed two ways. It’s the way we view a circumstance that determines its impact on our thinking and mental state. And we know from James Allen’s teaching that, that determines the quality of life that we live.

Rating

1. How interesting was it to read. 7
2. How helpful were the content. 8
3. How easy was it to understand? 7
4. Would you recommend it to others? 10
5. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8

 

 

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Okolie-Alfred Cosmas, Lagos, Nigeria.

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

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a story of a seagull who despite been a seagull has discover a talent which when perfected would set him apart from the ordinary day seagulls, who are used to scrambling for food from fishing boat and clustering together as a community of seagulls at the beach and sea shores.

Despite the fact that most seagulls only know how to only lift or fly from the shore to the boats for foods and back to the shore which has been their daily routine for survival because their lives are usually short, because seagulls are mostly suited for low flights and they sometimes catch fish which come to the surface of the water during the summer but disappear to the deep waters during the winters. Jonathan Livingston Seagull despite being a seagull has different goals and aspirations in life as a seagull, he wanted to overcome the limitations of the everyday common seagull and master an aspect which most of the other seagulls deems as unethical to the life style of a seagull and which eventually made him an outcast. Jonathan Livingston Seagull usually way off by himself, beyond boats and shores and hundreds and thousands of feet’s in the sky practising and trying to master high altitude flights and low altitude flights too. Despite his failures, he never gave up, but he even spurred on for perfection which he hoped that he will use one day,

The key to perfection he thought one day after one of his adventures in failures, as he was dripping wet, after attempting two thousand feet, must be to hold the wings still at high speeds – to flap up to fifty and then hold the wings still in mid-flight.

From two thousand feet he tried again, rolling into his dive, beak straight down, wings full out and stable from the moment he passed fifty miles per hour. It took tremendous strength, but it worked. In ten seconds he had blurred through ninety miles per hour. This time Jonathan Livingston Seagull had set a world speed record for seagulls, which delighted him.

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, and at ninety miles per hour it hit him like dynamite. Jonathan Seagull exploded in midair and smashed down into a brick hard sea.

When he finally regains consciousness, it was well after dark, and he floated in moonlight on the surface of the ocean. His wings were ragged bars of lead, but the weight of failure was even heavier on his back. He wished, feebly, that the weight could be just enough to drug him gently down to the bottom, and end it all.

As he sank low in the water, a strange hollow voice sounded within him. There’s no way around it. I am a seagull. I am limited by my nature. If I were meant to learn so much about flying, I’d have charts for brains. If I were meant to fly at speed, I’d have a falcon’s short wings, and live on mice instead of fish. My father was right. I must forget this foolishness. I must fly home to the Flock and be content as I am, as a poor limited seagull.

He was a normal seagull just for a day, before he went back to practising again, this time with a renew spirit, mastering flight and surpassing everything he had done before, without even caring for food, because he has hope that his new talent will in time of scarcity serve him a useful weapon against hunger, because he will be able to dive from high altitude at high speed, to catch under water fishes which never quite proved possible to the ordinary day seagull.

When it seems like Jonathan Livingston Seagull made a tremendous progress to his ambitions, there comes the disapproving eyes of the entire flock including his own parent, he was brought before the council I the presence of every seagull and was disgracefully banished beyond the mountain cliffs, far from everyone, like an outcast, that he felt his world has come to an end but within him he felt the drive and this time there will be no one to disapproved of his talent as he will strive for perfection.

Jonathan Seagull spent the rest of his days alone, but he flew way out beyond the Far Cliffs. His one sorrow was not solituile, it was that other gulls refused to believe the glory of flight that awaited them; they refused to open their eyes and see. He learned more each day. He learned that a streamlined high-speed dive could bring him to find the rare and tasty fish that schooled ten feet below the surface of the ocean: he no longer needed fishing boats and stale bread for survival. He learned to sleep in the air, setting a course at night across the offshore wind, covering a hundred miles from sunset to sunrise. With the same inner control, he flew through heavy sea-fogs and climbed above them into dazzling clear skies… in the very times when every other gull stood on the ground, knowing nothing but mist and rain. He learned to ride the high winds far inland, to dine there on delicate insects, exactly what he had once hoped for the Flock, he now gained for himself alone; he learned to fly, and was not sorry for the price that he had paid. Jonathan Seagull discovered that 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 fine life indeed.

Just about the time Jonathan has finally mastered flight beyond any seagull that ever lived. As he was floating in flight that cool evening, gliding peaceful and alone through his beloved sky. Then two gulls suddenly appeared at his wings shining pure as starlight, and their glow was gentle and friendly in the high night air. But most lovely of all was the skill with which they flew, their wingtips moving a precise and constant inch from Jonathan’s own. Without a word, Jonathan put them to his test, a test that no gull had ever passed. He twisted his wings, slowed to a single mile per hour above stall. The two radiant birds slowed with him, smoothly, locked in position. They knew about slow flying, surprised Jonathan as he folded his wings, rolled and dropped in a dive to a hundred ninety miles per hour. They dropped with him, streaking down in flawless formation.

Amidst all this flight demonstration, Jonathan never said a word, finally he spoke, asking the two glowing seagulls, who they were, “we’re from your Flock, Jonathan and your brothers.” They answered and the words were strong and calm. “We’ve come to take you higher, to take you home.” “Home I have none. Flock I have none. I am Outcast. And we fly now at the peak of the Great Mountain Wind. Beyond a few hundred feet, I can lift this old body no higher.”

“But you can Jonathan. For you have learned. One school is finished, and the time has come for another to begin.” As it had shined across him all his life, so understanding lighted that moment for Jonathan Seagull. They were right. He could fly higher, and it was time to go home.

He gave one last look across the sky, across that magnificent silver land where he had learned so much. “I’m ready” he said at last. And Jonathan Livingston Seagull rose with the two star bright gulls to disappear into a perfect dark sky.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull next phased of life was were he master a higher form of life (flight) under the mentorship of the Great Gull his teacher and flight in the art of thought, which he can simply be in a place by merely thinking and concentrating his thought on the subject location, without even moving or flapping of the wings, this confirms the power in thought that you can achieve anything you actually set your mind at. Jonathan later transforms his years of training and experience to use, as he returns to his old flock to find himself tutoring the likes of Fletcher Lynd Gull, Henry Calvin Gull, Charles-Roland Gull to perfect the act of flights and even the face of rejection and repressive action by the majority of the clan of seagulls did not deter the new converts of Jonathan Livingston Seagull from achieving his aims and this further attracted the like’s of Terrence Lowell Gull, and even spurred Kirk Maynard Gull to fly despite having thought of himself as a gull who will not take to flight because of his broken wing, and when he developed the thought about flying after a mentorship by Jonathan began flying again. Jonathan made all the gull believe in themselves that they could fly like him by instilling in them the thought of being gifted and special, little by little the crowd of new converts grew larger until they decide to challenge the entire clan and thereby braking the jinx of one being expelled from the clan of gulls by merely associating with those who take flight lesson from Jonathan Livingston Gull.

All this was achieved because Jonathan Livingston Seagull had Singleness of purpose in his life ambitions which was his chief essentials for success in life and with singleness of purpose one can achieve anything he set out to achieve no matter the obstructions one may be faced with in the process, once what may be one’s chief aim in life is underlined by singleness of purpose.

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.

Resilience: no matter the challenges one would face in life towards the attainment of his goals, if one pays close attention to those area of his life, which he feels, he is disadvantage and he knowing within him that if that area of his life is been perfected and then put to better use, he will be a success, committing more time to practice will surely be the way out, because with constant practice and preparations, I overcome my greatest challenge with is stage fright, which has usually hampered me from participating in public activities, I overcome this by making constant effort, by talking in small groups of my friends and trying to participate in group tutorial as the main speaker and also preparing myself everyday, despite the nervousness I usually encounter, I strive on and before I left the university, I had held various elective positions that required constant public speaking especially during campaigns.

Singleness of purpose: paying attention to set out goals in life is the main idea in this book, we all saw as it help Jonathan to achieve the unthinkable among gulls, I particularly, have had first hand experience in life as regards paying attention to my chief aims in life, I have had most of my goals come to pass as I try not to be unrealistic whenever I set out my goals. The magic I think is setting long term goals with laid out plans on I intend to achieve them.

Selflessness: learning to subvert one greed for the greater good of others will definitely bring one greater joy and happiness which usually accompany success in life endeavours. Jonathan Livingston practiced flight lesson which he intends to help the flock of gulls during hard times.

Charity: even when Jonathan was busy with flights lesson without food even enough to feed himself, because the flocks of gulls are busy scrambling for the food that’s available, even in the face of starvation, he could still show compassion to the older gulls who not struggle for food, by giving the little he came by. I particularly even in face of starvation and shortage of cash when I was doing my compulsory one year of service to my country in a community, culture and ways of life that is entirely new to me, I awarded scholarships to students of the community where I lived, that has brought me great joy and happiness, because as I write these assessment, I still get calls from members of that community whom I have affected their lives in my little way.

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

These ideas has help me to learn to know how to handle situations which require service to humanity and when I have to commit myself to goals that I think will in the long term benefit me and humanity in general, I have learnt to eliminate procrastination in it’s entirety, which usually deter one from achieving his main goals life, I have found that it’s the reason while people are either successful or failures. I have also come to realise the joy of giving instead of receiving, because when you give you make way for receiving in thousand folds.

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.

“so, But you can Jonathan. For you have learned. One school is finished, and the time has come for another to begin.” These I found very important because it harps on the need to put knowledge acquired in any stage of life to practice in anything we actually set out to achieve. More I particularly found most of the class room knowledge I acquired during my study to become an engineer very useful when I doing my industrial training with an oil and gas company. The knowledge we learn every day as we go through life is what God is using to propel us through all the difficulties we meet.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are there ideas which you disagree

I hardly find ideas stated in this book disagreeable and it talks more of purpose and perfection as it leads to attainment of one chief aim in life.

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

There are no exercises in this book for the reader to complete

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

The author was particularly more interested in the life of Jonathan as it concerns flights, his decisions even in the face of adversity. The life which he made out all his quest for knowledge, and how he finally return to make his flocks of gulls see their short coming, and how he finally made disciples from among the gulls who finally share in his dream and goals which finally ended the tradition of making outcast those who take flight lesson instead of gathering and scrambling food.

Rating

1. How interesting was it to read. 7
2. How helpful were the content. 6
3. How easy was it to understand? 6
4. Would you recommend it to others? 9
5. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7

Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Okolie, Alfred Cosmas, Lagos, Nigeria.

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

Napoleon Hill’s success through a positive mental attitude is a classic, an indispensable tool and rare self help book which has not only been around for decades but has transformed lives that had come in contact with it, because it is centred on an important subject or word which is synonymous with human existence “success”, this word has shaped the world of man to the extent that the word resounds so much that anyone not associated with it in any way or works of life seems to be a failure, the book also examines one thing only and that’s you, me, (the most important living person) and beings with a conscience, it speaks of change in a manner that it touches the ethics of human existence and would be a dangerous tool for self destruct if applied the other way, lets say with Negative Mental Attitude.

The book talks of how to set goals and achieve them without tampering with the laws of nature which say do or treat others the way you would want them to do or treat you. More so its talks of various steps that deals with the power of the mind which if its being master is a springboard to success, the author Napoleon Hill did state several self motivational steps that centres on human relationships with others and also keys to being cheerful, and most importantly how get rid oneself of guilt which a major hindrance to success. This book success through a Positive mental Attitude is a well articulated self help that teaches us how to recognize opportunities, relate with one and another, assimilate and apply universal laws that doesn’t violate the laws of God, aimed at motivating us Positively to set and achieve high goals, it’s a book pack with well proven blue print for success in any field of endeavour in life. Just like ships in the wide ocean without compass, this book success through a positive mental attitude, will help us steer through life to achieve the following; wealth, physical and mental health, spiritual health and most of all happiness if we apply the principle here stated in this book that is applicable to every individual.

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.

Faith: According to your faith be it unto you, this is particularly an important statement, because it is a motivational word and can either be for good or evil, to have faith in one’s ability to achieve the set out goals is important, for one has to believe in himself and that will then propel him to action, to have faith, is to believe in God the supreme creator of the world, for we can achieve little or no success without personal conviction about that particular goal with set out for. I myself display the particular virtue in everything I set out to do, by always praying first about any intention and then proceed to action because I believe within me that Faith without work is dead, the believe in divine power is also associated to faith, because to believe in a being without seeing it, is an act of faith, which comes from the information we obtain from the bible, which give several account about the wonderful power of the divine being known as the Almighty God, who wondrous work is everywhere for us to see, for according to the definition of faith which states as follow ; faith is the substance of things hoped for , even when not seen. Which also works in line with my beliefs, before I do anything I must have a firm believe that it is achievable and it helps me in setting goals for myself, the combination of faith with other principles that were state in the book will definitely leads to success in every life endeavour that do not violates the laws of the nature. According to Napoleon Hill, Faith rightly understood is active not passive. To have faith is simply to trust in God.

Hope; is a desire with the expectation of obtaining what is desired and belief that it is obtainable. It is a magic ingredient in motivating yourself and other to set high goals and achieve it, because of hope that success in my chosen career as a petroleum engineer will soon be achieved despite all the setbacks I have encountered day in day out and in the face of adversities, I am even more determined to face everyday with a renewed hope that success is within reach in the nearby horizon, its my drive to succeed

Honesty; dealing with people in a most transparent and truthful way will surely bring me success, because when people know that I am a honest person and trustworthy person, dealing with me will not be a problem and as the saying goes show me your friends and I will tell you who you are, this will definitely be the indicator that success is very close by as I am surrounded by honest people, I will continue to attract goodwill despite the adversities I face in this world that is so corrupt especially in my country where influential people in high place, see you as a treat to their existence. I charge myself to continue being honest so far I derive happiness from my way of living.

Love is the universal word that ensure our continue existence, without love we would definitely be extinct, because in the world where man’s inhumanity to man is the order of the day, I try my best to be fare in my dealings without love as a watch word, come to think of it, no nobody can be a successful entrepreneur with love, because how would you relate with their client without love in your heart, personal gains can never be achieved without love. Therefore I admonish every man, woman, boy, girl to love your neighbour as yourself just as GOD ALMIGHTY has commanded us in his holy book.

Motivation; motivation is that which induces action or determines choice. It is that which provides a motive. A motive is the inner urge only within the individual which incites him to action, such as an instinct, passion, emotion, habit, mood, impulse or an idea; it’s the hope or force which starts an action in an attempt to produce a specific result, whatever be our motivation in life lets us always apply in it with a positive mental attitude, then our goals will definitely be within our reach.

Doing more than we are paid to do is way to attract goodwill of our employer and even people we don’t know that watching, because recommendations from word of mouth can come in that way, when we engage ourselves more than we are paid and it will even help us to enjoy a healthy relationship with whomever we come in contact with, either in our work place or in our homes

recognizing opportunity; the ability to see opportunity comes when we try to see every adversity as a seed of growth, thereby working our way around every problem seeing the good on the other side of it, we will definitely by on our way of uncovering the next goldmine, because gold is usually covered with plenty of dirt which makes it difficult to discover excerpt to people who have the positive mental attitude, who see challenge as the necessary mean in moving ahead in life.

Attitude; it’s our attitude towards life, that will determine how far we go in life and how much success we find along the way. If we apply most of the principle here stated in this book with a positive mental attitude success definitely within our reach.

3. How will these ideas or lesson 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 principles that have been enumerated in this book are so invaluable to me that am a better person already with the information that I have added to my life my coming across the tool in the for of a book (SUCCESS THROUGH A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE) it has created in me an awareness that for me to created a better world I have to change my perception on the ways I apply most of this subject; tolerance, revenge, charity, doing more than am paid for, loving my neighbour. I believe that by applying all this for the general good of mankind, with fairness and equity and also with a positive mental attitude the world would be a better place to stay.

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.

“For you are a mind and a body, consisting of dual, invincible gigantic powers; the conscious and subconscious” the giant that never sleeps is the subconscious mind, the other giant when asleep is powerless. But when awakened its potentials is unlimited and one can achieve great things with it, and that giant is known as the conscious mind.

“Anything in life worth having is worth working for”; this statement really reaffirms the very ethics of hard work and with a positive mental attitude we can really achieve an unprecedented success in any field of endeavour if we will but work and pray.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are there ideas which you disagree

This book has been around for decades and has reach more people than any other book I can ever remember, and it has transformed great people and every race , from every part of the world and it has transformed the most important living person, me. As for ideas which this books talks about, are just literally, they are principles on which the very foundations of the world was formed on. I found all of it useful at some point in my life.

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

The book success through a positive mental attitude proved to be more than a book because it contained an exercise known as Success Quotient analysis, aimed on self analysis by whomever reads the book , it help me in really and sincerely examining my life as it is now, I found out that I was lacking in some of the criteria used in the analysis and with constant efforts positively I would really make significant progress in my life as I aimed to be a better person and also command a pleasing personality which I feel will gear me towards my life dreams

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

The assessment questions did touch most of they key issues being discussed in the book, but I must confess that who ever thinks that this is just a novel or a literally work to be read and shove down a library then you must have been mistaken, I must reaffirm once again that the book is a tool that has been weaved out of experience and once read, you will never be the same as I have experienced already. Thank you Napoleon Hill you are my hero.

RATING

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

 

 

Keys to Success
Assessment by Okolie-Alfred Cosmas (Nigeria)

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

Again this is another series from the best motivational and inspirational author Napoleon Hill’s, the book key to success is just another invaluable tool and guide that I have come to cherish and it dwells more on the principles of success, but this time it went further to articulate more on the seventeen principles of success and even more explicitly, the author talked more on cooperation, love, friendship, inspired team work, and how controlled attention, that is when related to our definite main aim, could harnesses many other principles, and heightens their power, and in turn increased itself to greater benefit to the individual and success if well directed with a positive mental attitude, he taught on how to see opportunity, how to develop a pleasing personality and take initiative because you can never be a leader without that very quality (taking initiative). He never fails in his acknowledgement of an infinite being (God) from whom all infinite intelligence comes from. expressing the importance of prayer. Furthermore keys to success revealed the essential principles of personal achievement, showing complete blue print of their implementation and guides to achieve a healthy, wealthy and successful life.

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.

Optimism; will increase your confidence and flexibility and your memory will also be enhanced by an alert interest, if you note something to begin with, it will remain fixed in your mind. The ability of the human mind to discover, embrace, and disseminate fundamental ideas and concepts is a further proof of the power of the mind and this is further proof of our ability to enter into a definite, positive relationship with infinite intelligence as our guide, to set higher goals and set out plans on how to achieve them, show that the human mind can achieve much more with a positive attitude which I call been optimistic about the realistic of human achievements. Having faith in you is an individuality thing that really distinguishes one from the rest.

Change; this is the only constant thing in this life, but for this to happen, the process requires a deliberate, organized intelligence with a definite plan on how to achieve a set goal.

Temper; is nothing but uncontrolled emotion and when your emotions are out of control, you may suddenly say and do things which will cause you and others great injury. A person with uncontrolled temper has a tongue that is mounted on ball bearing and swings widely and freely with and edge as sharp as a razor blade, temperament need to be to replace with tolerance couple with self control, only with these virtues that our definite chief will become a reality.

Character; is a system of relatively permanent motivational and other traits that are manifested in the specific ways that an individual relates and reacts to others, to various kinds of stimuli, and the environment that will most likely bring about a normal or productive structure, its usually a combination of years of acquired trait from parents to offspring and some social acquired traits. If an individual has a questionable character, its usually very difficult for the person to be generally accepted by everyone whom he/she associates with, it’s even worse if, the individual applies a negative mental attitude to his character, will be bad of business, which will definitely attract failure and its kind. But with a positive mental attitude and with a definite major purpose, couple with a good personality (Character) will definitely attract success.

Inspiration; Their must be something that usually arouse our interest, and such things can either be for the greater good of mankind or for destructions, having thing easily makes us lazy and we often feel fulfilled when we strive to get things done, but in all these there is always things that inspire us to get things done, take for example; fear of been poor usually make people to work hard to avoid poverty, all this depend greatly on our imaginations which makes us to recognizes our limitations and work hard to overcome them by using our creative visions. Success stories of people usually is a great way we get inspired to become rich, because having heard all the stories and how very influential the rich of the society usually are, we have no other choice than to be inspired to be rich, so that we can be bestowed with all the priviledge that the rich have at their disposals. So is death, which can inspire in us the need to know God personally and have him attend to our need and also to make us see heaven which the Bible strongly teaches us and this in turn makes us to want to be good to our neighbours because we have heard stories on how evil doers perish and go to hell, Defeat can be an inspiration to try again with renewed confidence and determination, attaining success will be only a matter of time, so inspirations can be an uncommon desire, forge by adversity with a goal that is driven by success, back by a positive mental attitude.

Disappointments; they are like road humps, they may slow us down or even change our directions, but when we overcome them, applying a positive mental attitude, we often enjoy the smooth road afterwards, when something happens to us, either good or bad, I try to consider what it means and try to see the seed of greater benefit than defeats, because I have come to see that there’s a purpose to every life events, trying to teach us how to handle situations to our own benefit, because the amount of difficult situations we face often makes us better persons at the end if we will only apply the principles on how to overcome defeat that have been so explicitly stated in the book, keys to success, I have always harp on these quote, which say’s that “Difficulty is not contained, primarily, in the situation(if you talk about disappointment) which gave rise to it, but in the mental state with which you regard that situation and which you bring to bear upon it.”It is one of the most difficult lessons to accept, understand and learn. Just as Circumstances are not negative or positive, circumstances are neutral. It is our thinking, our mental state, our perspective, that makes a circumstance positive or negative.

Time; just as the saying goes, that procrastination is a thief of time, I have come to agree with the statement, because procrastination can really waste precious time if we keep postponing what we need do immediately for other time, it can really be disastrous if we allow it to become a dominating habit in us, I can remember it’s effect on me while I was still an undergraduate, I had a hint form my classmate to try and read a particularly topic while preparing for my exams but instead of reading it immediately, I decided to postpone it , thereby forgetting entirely to read the topic, I only realise it when I was in examination hall writing my exam, this goes to show how fatal it could be to imbibe the procrastination habit, therefore to save time, we have to apply Napoleon Hill’s principles which say that we should eliminate procrastinations in all it’s form entirely, and success in our chosen endeavours would not be far beyond the horizon.

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

Ideas, principles and laws will never be useful to anybody if it’s not applied in any way that it will be useful to the individual or to general well being of the human race, this I have come to realise since I come across them as stated by Napoleon Hill’s. For them to be useful they require constant and persistent application with a definite aim as a guide. I have tried to commit most of my time to constructive and useful mental works because as we all know that our thoughts are in control of our behaviour and for us achieve our desired results we must devote most of our time doing profitable and constructive work that will enrich our mind thereby making our sub conscious to register all as we require them to be without affecting the balance in nature, as we are being of thought and we relate with our environment to make it a better place, it further affirms that you what you think.

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.

“Know what you wish to say, say it with all the feeling you command and then sit down” this simply affirms the areas which involves accurate thinking in the process of developing a pleasant personalities and with a positive mental attitude and enthusiasm we can become great in life.

“strength and struggle go hand in hand” we can never undermine hard work but if we engage work, in a constructive way, with PMA and enthusiasm imbibing the habit of going the extra mile in satisfying our client , success will surely be our portion.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are there ideas which you disagree

This book has been around for decades and has reach more people than any other book I can ever remember, and it has transformed great people and every race , from every part of the world and it has transformed the most important living person, me. As for ideas which this books talks about, are not just literally, they are principles on which the very foundations of the world was formed on, because if we remember that our mind is strongly influenced by its environment, and by filling that environment with the right thoughts, we will come to believe and act like them, and just as we have come to know that humans are the only thinking creatures, and this power allows us to modify our world and learn its laws, also knowing that before anything great will happen , we must first conceive the idea and believe it and then backed with positive mental attitude before we can achieve the idea. I found all of it useful at some point in my life. So why should I disagree with the truth.

6. Did the book contain exercise for the reader to complete?

Yes, it did contain exercise, but its more of an assessment reviewing most of all the information, principles and ideas contain in the previous chapters already covered, and possible practical application in real life and how it would affect my life if applied with positive mental attitude, inline with a definite chief aim.

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

Physical limitations cannot deter us from achieving greatness, because the only way to achieve greatness is with a smooth functioning mind on the wings of a definite major purpose, faith, enthusiasm and a positive mental attitude. I have also discovered that the body is the slave of the mind and whatever the mind so focuses at would come to reality and that the mind is always satisfied with the harmony produced by a well organized plan because only anxiety will develop from a poorly organized plan, since our mental and physical health is inseparable, we cannot work to strengthen one without having a positive effect on the other. Our mind and body are the navigator and the ship which will carry us to the success we so desire.

A. How interesting was it to read. 8
B. How helpful were the content. 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

 

 

Psyco-Cybernetics 2000
Assessment by Okolie-Alfred Cosmas, Lagos, Nigeria

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

Psycho – Cybernetics is a goal striving process on your path to chosen goal, there will be times and places where your reactions to external event threatens to send you veering off course. “Do it yourself tranquilizers are your internal controls that allow you to stay on course even though the events or situation may be beyond your power to change.

Psycho – cybernetics has reaffirmed that we don’t need drugs to stay on course. You only need to avoid pushing your own buttons.

When dealing or focusing about your specific goal or targets, stress can only result from the way you respond to outside events, not from the events themselves. Moreso, there are many techniques you can use to learn to avoid stressful over responses in the same way to learn new habit.

Goal setting is only a part of psycho – cybernetics, and our goals can only be achieved in conjunction with relaxation, reflective relearning, responding to defeat or feedback and building the self image that will make achievement of your goals a reality. Just as we have known through the course of reading the book that no path is absolutely straight in life, because the moment you start pushing your course, you are likely to find yourself whenever you find your mind wondering and replaying old negative tapes; restate and frame, thereby exercise your craft.

Say CANCEL. Replace the old tape with positive data. Affirm your ability to attain your goa. Focus on attainment of the goals in your imagination. Train yourself in a new role as if the goals has already been achieved and most importantly, Have a clear and positive goal to strive for.

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.

EMOTION- we mostly feel something, either in or out of our body, known as energy in motion. This is affirm because your behaviour springs from the way you feel about an event, the appropriate response to your feelings is to take the bull by the horns and immediately do something that reinforces your changing of self-image.

VEERING OFF TARGET – to succeed in life we should learn to keep vivid in our imagination the image of what we wish to make happen in our life, while at the same time remain open to adjustment, because we have to make some along the way, so far we make goals that are sincere and have specific follow through action plan, surely we will be entitle to the success and happiness and that come along with it.

CREATIVE IMAGINATION – is a quality everyone possesses, not just artist, entrepreneur and robot scientist. But it’s important to understand that you can only engage your creative imagination when you relaxed and learning when you are relaxed is the key in becoming the person you desperately want to be. Physical relaxation plays a key role in the dehypretization process says maltz, just as it took us less effort to form our current beliefs either good or bad, we must then apply the same process in forming new belief or habit, when we are in a relaxed condition, which in turn helps our creative ability. Only when you relax the forcing demanding aspect of your thought on your insightful intuitive self image. And only when your conscious mind frees itself from worrying, fretting, stewing and awfulizing situation is when your subconscious mind will be susceptible to reprogramming, if you approach reflective learning in a state of relaxation, your auto-mechanism will keep you on course to success and you may be amazed at how little effort it takes to create new belief (creativity) . This can with no doubt have illustrated how the relaxed state of mind can provide the key to unlocking your creative imagination, solving problems and achieving personal growth and also enhancing our personality.

WORRY – circumstances tend to send you into an unreasonable state of anxiety, panic, rage, despair, certain event or situation tend to aid their manifestation but in all they do not come from any event outside the body function but are all but our responsibility from within ourselves or our body to those event or situations that causes them.

POSITIVE BELIEF – Belief is an inner feeling towards anything that have our attention and whether good or bad, the influence it has on our subconscious is so enormous in a direct way because as we have learnt from various literature that our sub-conscious register anything which the conscious mind feed to it directly whether positive or negative in nature, I have also witness when it was in play and how it affect an entire community of people living in a particular region. What we believe have a way of showing off in our way of life and how we respond to it situations or issue. Referring to the classic as a man thinketh so he is, this also affirms the power of belief, so if it has to be either positive or negative it will surely have it desirous or undesirable effect on the personality of a man. It took to me that I will at all times recommend or project to my subconscious mind the positive belief that I can always achieve a set of goals before me. I start by simulating how I intend to complete the task, before I actually carry out the main task. This will in turn make the task to look like a revision of what I had done earlier and it also bring out efficiency in men.

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

As we all know that the greatest obstacle we usually face in the process of achieving a set of specific goals are self-doubt or negative belief and its usually difficult to break or change them if they are vividly registered in our subconscious mind and it show on our personality. We can change thought that are negative by changing the false beliefs with rational thinking, if you practice reflective learning daily, and if you have a positive and realistic goal that’s consistent with your new memories, you will experience your new belief redefining your attitudes, personalities and actions and capabilities. We should not always get discouraged if you fail to see immediate results because it usually take up to six week of daily practice to let your new belief take root.

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.

‘’ i have that one of the most effective means of helping people achieve a successful personality is to give to them a graphic picture of what the successful personality look like”

This quotes has reaffirmed the need to for me to always paint a picture of upcoming events in my mind personally before, i try to even carry them out., which also re-emphasized the need for mental conditioning. Because what the mind visualizes also it can cause to become real.

5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are there ideas which you disagree

I found all of it useful at some point in my life. So why should I disagree with the truth. As for ideas which this books talks about, are not just literally, they are principles on which the very foundations of the world was formed on, because if we remember that our mind is strongly influenced by its environment, and by filling that environment with the right thoughts, we will come to believe and act like them, and just as we have come to know that humans are the only thinking creatures, and this power allows us to modify our world and learn its laws, also knowing that before anything great will happen ,

6. Did the book contain exercise for the reader to complete?

Yes, it did contain exercise, but its more of an assessment, reviewing most of all the information, principles and ideas contain in the previous chapters already covered, and possible practical application in real life and how it would affect my life if applied with positive mental attitude, inline with a definite chief aim.

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,

Taking this course Psycho cybernetics taught me that real wisdom is simple. but Living life rightly does not have to be a complicated challenge. One of the best pearls I ever got from him was “your life is nothing more than a collection of experiences.” When I looked at the collection I had, I didn’t like it, and I set out to change it. My collection has become incredible in recent years thanks Psycho cybernetics insight.

Rating
A. How interesting was it to read. 7
B. How helpful were the content. 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

 

 

How To Win Friends & Influence People
Assessment by Okolie-Alfred Cosmas, Lagos, Nigeria

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

The author Dale Carnegie is a genius and an instructor; His book how to win friends and influence people is an instructional guide on effective speaking and human relations, the book is aimed at perfecting the act of dealing with people and better self organization, which is one of the main stream problems in human development and business success. The author went further in elucidating his points by using various illustrations and life case studies which gives a direct insight on how we can apply it in our daily lives, he gave better insight on how to better an already good situation and prevent confrontations by being diplomatic in the choice of words we use on fellow Human beings. Dale Carnegie went further in illustrating how we can improve on personality by using tact’s such as smiling, honesty and sincere appreciation as a tool to improved relationships with the society which we live in, thereby putting us in a good stead to succeed in our daily lives, either personality or collectively.

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. That everyone should be diplomatic in handling issues which are sensitive when it has to do with our fellow humans, because in trying to maintain our status in the society, personality is a major fundamental element which we must pay much attention to and I realize that most of the principles here stated in the classic guide are not just theories but practical guide which are invaluable if we apply it in our daily lives, and if we truly hope to live in a peaceful and prosperous world, if every one of us can recall specific events where we had either succeeded or fail, as regards to relationship with others, we would see vividly that Dale is indeed the medicine we need to forge ahead, either by accepting that we are inadequate and work hard to be better ourselves or remain in our ignorance to our own detriment.

I in particularly have come out from various encounter where my ego was bruised badly because I did not apply self restraint as described in this book (How to win friends and influence people), but as I began to take this course I discovered that am now more receptive and even harder to offend as I avoid confrontations which usually leads to breakdown in my relations with people and I have recorded more success in my business environment ever since.

ii. Our characters which is the building block of our very existence, is a mirror of our inner self, just as the saying goes, as man thinketh so he is, we should try very hard not to destroy our selves by doing those things which are not part of our being, we should try and copy positive things which I believe will benefit us all, as I have realized in my travails, that been honourable does not begin all of a sudden, it is a slow and gradual process which takes time to accomplish with dedication and should not be thrown away by any excuses which we make for me misbehaving or for crime which tarnishes our character and personality.

iii. Our thoughts must be a pure process of communicating with our subconscious mind to bring our laid out plans to reality through careful planning. If we keep in our mind on our life target and try to make it a realistic and honest one, we surely will achieve them because anytime we are deviating; our thoughts will definitely bring us back on track because by constant focusing of the plan on our conscious mind, it will in no time become part of us, for I have come to understand in the past year, that most of the time, we are our own enemy, because If we don’t take care of what we are we will definitely destroy ourselves,

iv. My health just like my personal life has improved due to some personal health tips, I have pick up while taking this course.

v. Thinking is one thing. Without plan most individuals, firms, would fail at whatever venture they embark upon, even before they begin. Plans provide goals for your growth; plans provide your investment a purpose and a return, without plans you will end up wherever you happen to wander. That’s why it’s important to always put down whatever we visualize in our conscious, as it is the building blocks that will help us to plan. A good personal plan must begin with of what you want to be in some distant time, because a vision is reality in future, its more than just thinking, this is just different than a dream, the vision you have established is your “What you want to be.” Once you can visualize your “What,” then develop your “Why.” Why do you want to grow to a certain size? Is it to provide you a better life? Provide better service to more clients? Create a firm that can be passed on to another generation of professionals? If you have a strong “Why,” you can accomplish almost any “What.” With a vision of the future, you must set forth action Plans that will likely lead to your desired result. Use action plans that include steps such as meeting with trade groups, writing articles in important journals, speaking at industry meetings, and meeting with important targeted clients and prospects.

vi. This course has given me some great insights into the reasons why people fail in achieving their set goals, because failure is really a matter of conceit, people imagine they will succeed without making an effort, and most people believe they will wake up someday and find themselves rich, they actually are half right, because they will eventually wake up and find that life isn’t a bed of roses as they had hope it will be.

vii. No man has ever made it in life without an external help of some sort, despite this truth it has up to 60% individual effort plus whatever sort of help you will get; that makes you successful, getting a guide on your path to success is the best help you can ever sort after, because most of us have ambitions and plans to be great entrepreneurs and great in our own ways but what really distinguish us from failure and success is the quality of guide we get , that extra edge to succeed, is what we get from Dale’s instructional guide (how to win friends and influence people)

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 principles that have been stated in this motivational guide by Dale Carnegie are so invaluable to me that am a better person already with the information that I have added to my life. My coming across some of the tools in this book (HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE) has created in me an awareness that will help me to create a better relationship with my friends, colleague and business associate, thereby creating a better business world for me. It has enable me to change my perception on the ways I apply most of these subjects; tolerance, revenge, charity, sincerity, doing more than am paid for, loving my neighbour. I believe that by applying all this for the general good of mankind, with fairness and equity and also with a positive mental attitude the world would be a better place to stay.

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.

“one of the most neglected virtues of our daily existence is appreciation” This statement is a very powerful one because if we do really show appreciation towards our creator for giving us free life, free will, free air to breath, we would rarely do anything to offend him, which means we would do anything to make god’s representatives here on earth (our neighbours) happy by all means, by appreciating that they are God’s creation and that we are just mere caretakers here on 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?

I find it hard to really disagree with any ideas been stated in this book because, they are just straight forward, clear and true facts which coincidentally are real life case study, which will make any sincere human being a better person with true effort to change one’s situation for the better.

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 was more of an instructional guide towards achieving a quality and balanced life, thereby proving life case studies with strong insights and basic principles which would make everyone a good neighbor, and its more of an assessment, reviewing most of all the information, principles and ideas contain in the entire text and possible practical application in real life and how it would affect my life if applied with positive mental attitude, inline with a definite chief aim

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

The only way to influence people is to talk in terms of what the other person wants. Lets try to figure out the other persons good points, lets forgot flattery, and we should give honest, sincere appreciation. Be hearty in your approbation and laugh and in your praise and people will cherish your word and treasure them all your life time.

Rating

A. How interesting was it to read? 9
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

 

 

Giant Steps
Assessment by Okolie-Alfred Cosmas (Nigeria)

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

Truly another captivating and life changing masterpiece from a professional an inspirational teacher cum motivating speaker, entrepreneur, motivator and mentor, Anthony Robbins. He is an exceptional researcher, on the finest tools, techniques, principles, and strategies toward a successful life when back up with actions. He further designed this masterpiece so that it will fit into our daily busy lives no matter our field of endeavours. Anthony Robbins also delve into fundamental steps which if we truly commit our selves towards the principle he has stated in this guide book, we are not far away from achieving specific improvements in our relationships, finances, healthy lives, no mincing of words this guide book is an action driven and inspirational book. He mentioned various ways in which we can evaluate opportunities to come out with better results at the end of every project we do engage our time in. Anthony also introduce the act of visualization which is also a very core ingredient to success, because as we all know that our thought and intentions firstly begin within our subconscious and if we can vividly visualize our goals properly in our subconscious, then our conscious mind will making them part of our life, he even outline principles and procedures on channeling our energies towards better use in our real life. So I have in my hands a weapon/tool that can transform and help me win battles in life’s journey.

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. Dreams; one way or the other, we all have aspirations and targets which we will want to achieve during our life times or specific periods of times, and this tends to structure our decisions and way of thinking, more probably our way we interact with our environment and all these make up our dreams, but after reading this book by Anthony Robbins , looking at the way he outlined and defined the subject , thereby helping me to clear some cobwebs in my thoughts regarding this very subject, I have come to realize that its our decisions that really determines how we eventually turn out in this life, not the target we set for ourselves, because its not enough to desire something, but the process we apply towards achieving these dreams with firm decisions in line with our aspirations is what distinguish us from success and failures, the only limit to what you can achieve is the extent of your ability to define firmly with precision that which you so much desire.

ii. Commitment; Most times our commitment toward a particular goal, do have consequences and is what usually builds our character and most times defines how we relate with people we do things with and how we judge situations, because when we intentionally set a high standard for ourselves, the resulting consequence tends to outweigh the original intentions for starting off on that course and no matter our initial intent, our commitment to that higher standard will always make us to remain on the path we have chosen especially when we have chosen to do those things in other to affect a change in our lives or amongst our immediate society, and especially if we are trying to model our lives according to some heroes, such commitment can opened for us floodgates of prosperity or poverty, joy or sorrow, companionship or solitude, long life or early death but no matter the consequence out sincere commitment towards the goal is what makes the difference at the end and as I have discovered in my course of doing things with a far reaching positive influence in my life that clarity of purpose is the only key to success.

iii. Behaviour; success and failure are usually not the result of a single event, so it applies to our personality, which do not result from a single attitude or character we posses but from a numerous things that we do and partake in every day of our life.

iv. The act of negotiation is an integral part of our very own existence, as we all know that all the choices that life situations throws at us during our life times, depends on how we can successfully negotiate through them and relating our experience to it will only make us strong and winners if we approach these choices with an open mind to enable us make right decisions to achieving set goals even in the face of uncertainties, when you consciously and consistently seek ways to improve on your relationship with your environment and people which you would shape the future with, it is very important to employ the best in terms of negotiation and never compromise on the truth, because these little things will decide the outcomes of every association while trying to make the world or our immediate environment a better place, its important to make little improvement no matter how small because by so doing, no matter how small that improvement is, it will definitely produce great results at the end.

v. Goal setting; goals shouldn’t be generalized desires, such as I want to be happy, just as I have learnt from my studies that goals need to be exact, specific outcomes i.e. results you get your head and emotions around, the first step of achieving your goals and living the dream life we truly want is to put our goals in writing, because what works for me might not work for you, but its most preferable to set your life time goals, thereby setting up the kind of achievement you would want to have during your life time which may be mental health, physical health, family, financial success and personal development e.t.c, then from that master vision, you then split it into one year goals with specific monthly, weekly and daily goals and actions that will move in the direction of your goals you have laid or set for your life time, and we must try to make our goals to be part of our daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly routines, just like all the activities that are involve in the development of a baby steps in life. It’s very important to have your goal forms and life planning documents at your finger tips, as these goals must be you. And its very important to have a mentor, somebody you look up to, or somebody you have appreciated his achievements and would want to achieve same things he has done, never abandon your goals because of the difficulty you have encountered along the way so far, you can set it aside for a day, then come back to it later and never feel you must complete your goals in less than 30 minutes or within 24 hours, as it actually takes more work, diligent, persistence and sacrifices to really achieve our goals that we have set in real time than mentally envisioning it happen. And to encourage you self about your set goals, just take out time to really consider how achieving your goals will make you feel, like how you will work, talk, walk and behave when you have achieve your set goals.

vi. The enemy within; “it matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishment the scroll; I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” as I progress with this study, I found that the enemy of my own progress can only be me, I am responsible for all that happens on my life time, even though there are circumstances that are beyond human comprehension but as we commit ourselves to our daily routines we tend to face challenges, which makes us either winners or losers, even when we fail, our ability to dust ourselves up and continue with our live is the main difference between success and failure. Most often we continue to dwell on the past and therefore waste valuable time on nothing, this is most sabotaging pattern in our quest to make progress in our life which, we most times continue to indulge in, But if we would make conscientious effort to always to leave the past behind and make little progress no matter how small it is, we would have began to defeat that enemy that is within us.

vii. Reprogramming our thoughts or subconscious is one act that can change our course in life, I have realize these very important fact during my quest to make significant changes in my personal life, it may sound very simple when we say the word reprogramming, but its not very easy a task to reprogram yourself, it involves abandoning old self defeating habit and replacing them with new ones that we have adopted from mentors that have influence us positively, it will take persistent and daily routine to make it a part of our life, we may even find ourselves wandering off our new chosen path, but our ability to retrace our way back, will determine how successful we will become either in our financial lives, or spiritual lives or whatever chosen path we want to make significant progress on.

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 principles that I have adapted from this classic guide to making or taking giant steps has been practically useful to me in my daily life activities, it has really made me a better person, because my mindset has already been affected, as I see myself a winner and have made strong resolve to always be a leader no matter the situation I found myself.

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 is nothing that can stop you in your tracks to success, except you; there is nothing you can’t do. There is nothing beyond your reach. The world is your oyster and the freedoms to do anything you desire has come from huge success you have experience in your career. All these is because you have refuse to settle for less any more in your life, because it all takes just one simple action with a positive mental attitude, and you will get the satisfaction, pride, financial freedom and peace of mind you have been working for.

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?

I find it hard to really disagree with anything written on this tool book, instead its has made me more ready to tackle challenges that life situations throws at me without having second thoughts about them.

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 it contains daily exercise which is more of assessment of the previous chapters of the book being put to work in our daily live and am still working with the exercise applying them to my personal life routine even after I have completed my reports on the book, I think its has to become a part of my life, towards making me a better person in the future.

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

Giant steps does not really entails supernatural progress, but giants steps involves making little steps daily towards achieving our set goals, because that little progress when put together at the end of the week, month, year, will definitely become great achievement. So I enjoin everyone to make conscious effort to improve your situations no matter how small that effort is, you will never be disappointed at the end if you made those efforts sincerely, and I promise you.

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

 

 

Real Magic
Assessment by Okolie-Alfred Cosmas (Nigeria)

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

As you all know that Dr. Wayne Dyer is one of the most popular authors and lecturers on spiritually motivational topics with real magic one of his great works, he has publish well over 30 books with most of them national best seller, he is also a major force in the personal development industry concentrating on the universal laws as it affects our spiritual and physical life, but I don’t just consider REAL MAGIC to be just a best sellers but magic been crystallized on pages of a book, towards creating miracles in our daily lives. If you are looking for a book that will challenge you both physically and spiritually, then I will urge you to please make real magic a very important component of your library, because in this field Dr. Dyer is the best to consider in the act of creating miracle in our every day life, he went further by simplifying what we most times neglect and tells us how creating miracles can be easy, but it comes with a great sacrifice thereby employing sincerity of purpose though the act of visualization which is also a very core ingredient to success, because as we all know that every thought and intentions firstly begin within our subconscious and the clearer we can visualize our goals properly in our subconscious, then our conscious mind will begin making them part of our life, thereby also manifesting them physically, as a product of our actions, he also share with us the best of the best strategies, tactics and processes which would help us get from were we are to were we would want to be, faster and easier. He even outlines principles and procedures on channeling our energies towards better use in our real life. So I have in my hands a weapon/tool that can transform and help me win battles and transform me spiritually and physically in life’s journey.

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. Miracles; when you hear the word miracle, we tend to think of something very extraordinary and supernatural and beyond human comprehension, and I have always been puzzled with the word and its attachments until I read the book Real Magic, in the course of reading and studying the book I discovered that miracles as we know it does exit but creating real miracles in our lives is the challenge we really have to focus on, Dr. Wayne went further in explaining ways we can create REAL miracles. It all has to start from within and then express outside, real miracles as I understood them to be are daily improvements in our lives, and being at peace with our environment and in a state of harmony. As we have known that we are a soul with a body and also dimensionless entity without boundaries, any miracle we want to create must first begin with the interaction of the physical body and that soul which is the force that controls the invisible or extraordinary things around us like, sleeping and waking up, knowledge, reasoning/thinking, ability and vibrations e.t.c., which all processes and parts involved in the creation of real magic or better put miracles.

ii. Meditation; this is the act of going within to look or proffer solution to problems be it a physical, emotional, health or financial problems. By mentally envisioning it and finding the real cause and dealing with the problem from the source and permanently. This act called meditation can bring about profound internal shifts that could alter the way you approach your life and any changes that comes your way. Meditation is the golden formula for success, because it engages the mind and the mind in turn engages the body and the sequence of powerful, sudden positive changes will occur in your life. The technique works for absolutely anything – from ridding yourself of stress to overcoming limiting beliefs to dealing with body aches and pains and you can do it at home on your own.

iii. Realm of Favour; I believe that this is the state where we have been tuned to achieve the unthinkable, those things people refer to as impossible. Being in the realm were favour is common place to you is also very rare, because to achieve this state of living, you must have been able to remove those self defeating habit and life style which are resistance to achieving your dreams. This is what I term accelerated awakening of our consciousness and always having the positive mental attitude to success at all times.

iv. “The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do.” – As A Man Thinketh, What James Allen means here is that we won’t attempt something unless we have the belief we can accomplish it. He says as much in his book Above Life’s Turmoil where he writes, “Belief always precedes action. As always, it’s our thoughts that are in control and we won’t have the “will to do” until we have the “belief to do.” I’ve had a considerably amount of success in my relationship with people and business dealings while applying and using positive visualization and affirmations.

v. Intelligence: sometimes I wonder what is the true meaning of intelligence, or Why intelligence has NOTHING to do with how much wealth and success you’ll attract into your life…why being “too smart” can actually hold you back …and how to “take the brakes off” your subconscious idea of wealth so you can double or even TRIPLE your income this year.

The “formula” your subconscious mind uses to decide how much wealth you “should” have…how you got “stuck” at a certain level of success far below your potential and how to instantly “raise the bar” deep in your mind to free you to finally attract the life you want. Dr. Dyer has given several instances and techniques which have been put to use by various people and have yielded positive results and he offer in the mode of examples to people who do not know how to take initiative ways they can approach the various challenges which can either be physical or spiritual problem deterring them from success.

vi. Attitude; “The only disability in life is bad attitude” whether you believe it or not, nothing will hinder or handicap more severely in life than a bad attitude, attitude refers to your system of belief/thoughts, the mental posture, your mindset or the way of thinking with which you approach life.

All of us have the priviledge and responsibility of choosing our attitude no matter what circumstances or situation we find ourselves. The key word here is choice. Attitudes do not just happen; they are the products of our choice because even in the face of death, you can still chose life. Sometimes, thinking correctly seems to be a battle because you have to guard your mind always if you want or wish to think correctly at all time and do not forget that the mind is like a battle field where decisions whether right or wrong are made and even conflicting one’s that will define our lives leading to frustrations, defeat, success and breakthrough. This battle will continue as long as we are alive. One thing I understand is that we should not believe that we can think what we want or desire into existence; else you shall be dreaming big but living small because there is no royal road to success, you have to work for every inch of success that will happen in your life time and at the root of every outstanding success or achievement is preparation. As our attitude affects our thinking it is pertinent to develop the right attitude (positively) that will propel us towards a brighter and successful future. Our worlds history is littered with examples of people who have maintained a good attitude even in the face of difficult times and thereby turned their problems into opportunities, a thorough review of history shows that they were not born great but I believe they had to make a choice and decides to make one that would benefit them as well as their immediate family and the entire world. The real magic here is to always allows yourself to think only those thoughts that match your principles and can bear the bright light of day, because day by day your choices, your thought, your actions fashion the person you become Knowing that your integrity determines your destiny.

vii. Doing the right thing at the right time; this little phrase settles any arguments that would have been raised from this phrase, a stitch in time saves time. It is very important to always identify areas in our life were we have difficulties either physically or spiritually and attend to them with right tools and with a positive mental attitude without delay or procrastination and we always seek help from people more experience in our chosen fields of life or seek for mentors to help our cause.

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 principles that I have adapted from this classic guide to making/creating real magic in our daily lives has been a practically useful tool to me towards making small improvements in my daily life and activities, I have made myself a moving progressive and also a better person, because in the course of reading this classic guide I have been challenge positively and I made positive resolve not quit on any project I engage because of little difficulties which are only challenges that need to be overcome, I now see myself as capable of achieving anything I set out to achieve. This has also informed my core value which is integrity in service no matter the odds I face.

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.

“Your behavior is based upon your feelings, which are based on your thoughts. So the thing to work on is not to change your behavior, but those things inside of your consciousness that we call thoughts. Once your thoughts reflect what you genuinely want to be, the appropriate emotions and the consequent behavior will flow automatically. Believe it, and you will see it!”

As always, it’s our thoughts that are in control and we won’t have the “will to do” until we have the “belief to do.” I’ve had a lot of success in this area using positive visualization and affirmations. In fact, for one extended period of time I told myself several hundred times a day while thinking about a particular goal, “I can do this and I know I can!” It took me a while, but eventually I had enough belief to go for the goal and achieve it. Even now when confronted with a challenging situation I’m likely to hear myself saying, “I can do this and I know I can!

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 real magic is a well thought out vision by Dr. Dyer and it has been a source of blessings to various people, from various works of life and I find it hard to disagree with any text therein because in practical application will you discover it potency.

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 it contains exercise which will be done by the individual at your own pace and convenience, towards making me a better person and helping to reposition you for the challenges which life will throw at you now or in the nearest future.

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

Real Magic is not all about spirituality alone as we all expect it to be but it also preaches how supernatural progress will contribute to our physical growth too. It also talks of process which will help to create tremendous improvement in our daily lives and activities, also involving us to making little sacrifice in our daily lives towards achieving our set goals. So I recommend this book to everyone who really wants to make genuine effort toward improving the quality of life you/they lead.

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