Irene Dede Acquah – Assessments – International Institute for Global Leadership

As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The book is about “Self Help,” the ultimate power of the mind. It is simply a book that will help you to help yourself. The author James Allen tries to convey in the book is that man in himself is the author and determination of his fate particularly with the power of thought, and its application to any good cause. The book illustrates how, in a man’s his own thought-world, he holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may re-create his life, and alter his circumstances. He goes on to say that a tree doesn’t spring fruit by itself so a man character and action cannot also spring fruit from nowhere. Every action is a result of a hidden thought. Therefore nothing happens to a man that does not proceed without a thought, and until thought is linked to promise nothing worthwhile can be accomplished. A person is literally what she thinks which makes her character complete sum of all her thoughts.

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

i. Thought on health and the body.

The opening paragraph starts by stating that “the body is the servant of the mind. It obeys the operations of the mind, whether they be deliberately chosen or automatically expressed”. Our body responds to the way you think, feel, and act. This has been expressed in life as a type of “mind/body connection.” And it is manifested that when we are stressed, anxious, or upset, our body reacts in a way that might tell us that something isn’t right. The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it. If you fear in life it will lead you everywhere you go and will affect everything you do. Those who live in fear have the I can’t do spirit which makes life difficult for them and wish they were never part of life. Eg. I always had the fear of taking a bold decision and had a fear of hurting someone even if that friend is wrong. And it’s still affecting me in everything I do now. Anytime I become so doubtful about some food I eat that it is not healthy, I end up getting sick form food poisoning. Surprisingly, if I eat anything without any mentality, even if the food is gone bad, I do not feel anything but okay.

ii. Thought and Purpose.

Without a purpose in life we allow ourselves to become prey of worries, fears, troubles and self-pity. These feelings will eventually lead to failure, unhappiness and loss. Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority the bark of thought is allowed to “drift” upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction. The writer therefore states that it is necessary for any man to conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. Such purpose should become his supreme deity, figured out your purpose in the heart and set out to accomplish it. “Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mentally mark out a straight pathway to its achievement, looking neither to the right nor the left” implies that we use it as our compass, the steering wheel to your thoughts.

iii. Thought and Achievement.

All that we achieve and all that we fail to achieve is the direct result of our thinking. A man’s weakness and strength, purity and impurity, are his own, and not another man’s; they are brought about by himself, and not by another; and they can only be altered by himself, never by another. This is a strong instinct that applies to everyone. Everything is owed to us and we are our own helper. Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results. . I go into a race with doubt, I end up failing woefully but if I purport in my heart to be successful in a race, I perform very well. This is truly surprising and I have had a light on this.

iv. We are who we think we are. A person is literally what he/she thinks, her character being the complete sum of all her thoughts.

This ideal is personally important to me because what i think will make who I will be in future, it will determine my life as a whole. If I think negative like I can’t do this work it will lead me in everything I do same as if I think positive of I can do spirit it will also appear in everything I do. Only by much searching and mining, are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can fine every truth connected with his being, before one can make it in life he or she goes through tough time before one gets a good result. Every good thing doesn’t come easy, you sacrifice to go through pain and believe that one day will be a brighter day for you. Failing exams for several times in school I decided that I want to stop school a friend advise me to keep on and never to lose hope thanks to my friend I continued to write the other papers three times before I passed so nothing good comes easily in life.

v. Strong, pure, and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace.

When one have a strong, pure and happy thoughts you can see and feel that all is well with your soul, your body grows smoothly and healthy with a lot of smiles each day. You get confident and always excited in life. Whenever I have good thoughts it keeps my spirit clam and excited within, it makes me bright with smiles people wonder the secret.

vi. Fears and Doubt.

He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure. If you overcome obstacles in life you have know fear of whatever may happen to you. If you have the God on your side and believe he is the only one who can make you conquer doubt and fear you are hero in life. I was always doubting myself of being a failure and God helped me overcome it through prayers.
vii. Vision.

He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. When you cherish a good vision at a younger age it will guide and direct your life throughout. Good vision brings you peace in the heart which one notices in the future. I had in mind that will one day wants to become a great person in life, I keep encouraging myself even though its difficult but still keeps on and decided never to give up since I no will one day realize the good vision I had some time ago.

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 rich insights in the book apply to every person in every situation. There are no exceptions. It will particularly help me in daily personal life and in helping me to create a better world by developing the “I can do spirit,” encouraging myself, having a good thought in everything I do in life. I am set to refuse to be a failure. I am equipped work hard with the faith and believe in myself to attract best things in life. I will apply these principles at every place. I will be like my working handbook to help me solve any problem I encounter daily.

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.

“They themselves are makers of themselves.”

What you of yourself is what you will become in life. Your thought will decide the kind of person or what the future holds for you.

“He that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened; as it is also found in the Holy Bible, Matthew 7;7-8. The Lord says that whenever we go through difficulty and we seek answers through asking (attracting) we will find. he will help us gains everything back and whenever we knock at the door (link thought with purpose) the door will be opened to us.”

So we should take seek him in terms of difficulties in life.

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves, they therefore remain bound.”

Even the man whose sole object is to acquire wealth must be prepared to make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his or her object; and how much more so he who would realize a strong and well-poised life? This is thought provoking quote to create the awareness that as much as we need improvement, we should be willing to do more to improve ourselves, first and foremost our mindset.

“The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its unchastened desires and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.”

The beautiful truth pertaining to the soul has been reinstated and brought to light. Anything the soul loves, it attracts to itself. It is able to pull whatever good and perfect it cherishes, as much as what it fears. If whatever we want we attract, why then attract bad things instead of good things.

“Every action and feeling is preceded by a thought.”

It has apparently become clear that we are the result of our thoughts. In everything we do, whichever way we behave are direct reflex action of our thoughts. I am urged to henceforth live a life filled with faith, hope and optimism. This will translate into anything I aspire to be. This is important to me in work; It is possible to achieve any target set forth in my mind.

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

The book is well explained, easy to understand. I however observed two confounding statement/quotes that did not seem too clear to me. The quotes were;
“The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its un-chastened desires and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.” Also, “Men do not attract what they want, but what they are.”
The first quote claimed that the soul attract what it likes which is very practical in our lives. The second quotes also claims men (where men referred to the mind) do not attract, they actually are what they want. The book did not explicitly state or explain if there exist any significant difference between the mind the spirit and soul.

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

The book did not contain real exercises for the reader to complete. It is rather made up of real life examples that exactly illustrate man. The rich insights in the book apply to every person in every situation. There are no exceptions.

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 book is practical, vivid and well explained. It clearly explains and is linked to life. The book touches and provokes the senses of the reader. The book however uses texts and words that is not so easily understood by people who are not so fluent in English Language or those with English as a second language.

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

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

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The main idea that the author Richard Bach is trying to convey in the book titled Jonathan Livingston Seagull is that man should never give up in life. Richard Bach goes on to say that man will never get it for sure as long as man makes pull up so hard. You didn’t need faith to fly, you needed to understand flying, and man needs understanding in life for guidance and to make decisions. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull inspires us to forget about being more or less than others. Instead, happiness comes from the pleasure of exploring your own limits. It comes from giving yourself this opportunity, just as you offer it to others which are the greatest moment of crisis he also inspires us to dream big and achieve everything in the dream and that can only happen with determination.

i. Never stop learning and practicing and striving to understand more of the perfect, invincible principle of all life.

The idea is very important to me because it teaches me to keep moving on and practice what I can do to be perfect leader in life. I really dislike calculation especially in accounting had the fear even to study the particular subject. My lecture told me that for one to be a successful person in life you should never stop learning and practicing especially the difficult subject and it really helped me.

ii. Look with understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly.

The idea here is very important to me because I need to look with understand and to find out what I’ve learnt and who it will help me move higher or aim higher. eg. I really do believe in myself because I already know what I can do and what I cannot do in life and that’s what keeps me going.

iii. You have to practice to see the real person, the good in everyone and to help them see it in themselves. That’s love.

It’s fun, when you get the knack of it. The important ideal here is to practice everything you learn till you become perfect. Then you have the courage and be proud of yourself for making it without others help. And there you can also teach others who to practice to be better and even better than yourself. Eg. Practice makes man perfect; I never stop practicing till I get the end result.

iv. Know and master yourself, know what you can and cannot do and work to push beyond your limits one step at a time.

The most important idea here is to assess yourself and see what you are good at and what you can do best. I keep telling myself that I know I’m a slow learner but I always have it in my mind that the sky is the limit and it start one step at a time so will one day get there.

v. Learn from your failures.

The most important idea here is to learn from your mistakes and keep moving on doing your best. I always use my mother as an example she did advised and encouraged me when I was in the Second cycle school that whenever I fail in life I need to keep moving on till my mistakes learnt. And she keeps on advising me till today.

vi. I have learned that I must make a constant effort to loose myself from the burdens of grudges and hatred.

This practice of forgiveness can, to my mind only work in concert with love. I have made an effort to loose myself from the burdens of grudges and hatred when a close friend betrayed my trust which I did forgive her.

vii. Fear

Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short, and with those gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed. The writer is tells me to do away with fear and anger in life. Many people want some sort of change but fear, making a move for something better or different. Jonathan had no fear and he chose to live a life where he challenged himself and found the freedom to let go.

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

These ideals or lessons will help me in my daily personal life and in helping me to create a better world by developing the I can do spirit, though Jonathan Livingston Seagull stalled and fell many times he picked himself up and practiced some more, learned from his mistakes and kept on correcting. It is my dream to aim high no matter the situation I found myself and to put away fear till my aim in life is achieved.

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.

“Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly. Here, the writer Richard Bach is encouraging me to never believe what my eyes tells me for it can deceive me instead I need to look with understanding for through that I will be able to know and work towards the bright future with success.”

I’m to look for what is inside me to grow into who I want to be and to find peace within myself through personal growth.

“Why, Jon, why?” his mother asked. “Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, Jon? Why can’t you leave low flying to the pelicans, the alhatross? Why don’t you eat? Son, you’re bone and feather!”

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

Even though Jonathan Livingston Seagull’s mother was worried about the son’s failure and why he can’t be like the other flock, Jonathan never gave up till he was able to fly perfectly like the other birds and even train other birds to fly to him which was the mother’s priority.

“Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect. And that isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit and perfection doesn’t have limits, perfect speed, my son is being there.”

The writer tells me that heaven help those who help themselves, if you have the courage or faith to work and work with pure heart the heavens are there to support you achieve your aim and it starts one step at a time.

“We choose our next world through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing, and the next world is the same as this one, all the same limitations and lead weights to overcome.”

Jonathan follows his inner desire of gathering more knowledge and skills; he was learning new things each day.

“There was as much to learn about flight in this place as there had been in the life left behind him. But with a difference, here were gulls who thought as he thought.”

What is most important to me about this quote is that Jonathan teaches himself to fly better and faster through trial and error without anyone’s help. Once he’s learned all he can teach himself, two birds came to take him higher and he moves on to his next life where he finds birds like him discovers that there is even more to learn about flying, he tells me to learn and never give up in terms of hardship and be able to help or support others who are going through the same hardship to achieve their aims.

“You don’t need me any longer; you need to keep finding yourself, a little more each day, that real, unlimited Fletcher Seagull. He’s your instructor. You need to understand him and to practice him.”

The most important lesson here is to lead and encourage others to make the move to do something different, and to give them ownership of where they are going.

“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now and nothing can stand in your way.”

The important lesson here is that I have the freedom to be myself to be who I am and to learn to be myself without any fear and panic and not to allow others to overshadow or dictate for me.

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

Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull book tells the story of a young Seagull with big ambitions. Jonathan Seagull pushes himself to fly tremendous speeds, eventually reaching a higher goal or plane perfection and later returns to his flock to teach the ambitious among them what he knows. The writer made the book easy to understand and clear to everyone to understand and I agree with the ideas the writer used.

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

The main exercise for me to complete as a reader is to understand the book, read and pick ideas for my day to day activities and to help me build my future to become a great leader. The book is a guidance which will help me to improve on my weakness and failures and also find the freedom and teaches within me.

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

What I want to comment on the Richard Bach book that was not covered in the previous questions is that our parents always encourage us to do our best no matter the situation and they are there to help us achieve our success. Even when they realize they are doing the wrong thing or not doing our best.

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

A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 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? 10

PsychoCybernetics
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The main idea that the author, Maxwell Maltz is trying to convey in the book is our self-image. Our self image is the cornerstone of our mental state, and therefore of all the successes and failures that happen in our lives is as a result of it. The book starts with the concept that everyone has a specific mental portrait that defines who he/she is and what he/she believes in. That mental portrait is the result of our past experiences, successes, failures, feelings and behaviors.

i. Your mind is the most valuable asset you have.

A crisis is a situation that can either build you or break you. That’s why, when we fail, we can get up and fight back once again. That’s why, even when all the lights are shut off, we can still make a decision that can turn our life upside down. When we face a challenge that seems bigger than ourselves, we can find courage, strength and resilience at will. We discover powers that we never thought we had, but the secret is all inside our mind, true power lies in accepting the challenge and saying to yourself “No matter what happens, I’m going to make it. I can already see the finish line. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.” If you make it a habit of constantly reminding yourself of the direction you’re going toward, and see it vividly, as an already-reached objective, it is at that point that you’ll fully unleash feelings of self-confidence and conviction in your means that will lead, sooner or later, to a positive outcome.

ii. Being happy.

Most of us tend to postpone our happiness because of external circumstances. It’s like a deferred payment, we don’t enjoy life today because we take for granted that, in the future, we will. Life is not tomorrow, life has to be lived today, happiness is a habit, and if you don’t practice it today you’ll never experience it later on. If you want to be happy, you have to learn to smile despite problems, some of us think that being happy is a sign of selfishness, but actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Being happy is the first step in order to make everyone else around you happy. Obviously we can’t be happy all the time, but we certainly can be happy most of the time. Accustom yourself to act in a proactive way against challenges, always maintaining a clear and positive picture of the end result in mind, and watch results follow.

iii. Let your success mechanism do the work. As humans, we’re all born with an innate creative mechanism in ourselves, and although we often decide do ignore it to the benefit of the conscious part of our brain, it remains there. Once you get clear picture about the problem that you intend to solve, you should completely clean up your mind from any worry, expectation and anxiety related to the potential end result. As Maltz explains, “the creative mechanism works best when our conscious mind is less involved. Therefore don’t be surprised if your best ideas come up when you’re doing something totally unrelated to the problem you’re facing. It’s just your brain that, once received the proper stimuli, starts to work relentlessly on its solution, regardless of whether you’re conscious about it or not.”

iv. Let go of past failures.

While it’s okay to look back to our successes, as they can inspire us to do more of what worked moving forward, we should forget completely our failures. Our errors, trials and tribulations have been learning steps, absolutely necessary for our personal development. But, beside the lessons taught, they can do us no good, and they should therefore be flat-out eliminated from our mind. The continuous dwelling on past failures doesn’t simplify the process of getting better; on the contrary, it tends to perpetuate the behavior that you want to change.

v. Take time to relax.

Meditation has thousands of variables; and by simply looking online you can find everything you need to get started; the most important thing is to make it a regular habit in your life, as it will give you more clarity, emotional well-being and less anxiety, all things that will positively influence your self-image.

vi. Imagination is key.

The thing to point out is that our brain doesn’t distinguish between imagination and reality; instead, it acts based on the information we send it through our thoughts. Thus, we can imagine a new version of ourselves through our attitude and interpretation of various situations, describing the new paradigm to our brain which, in turn, will find a way to make that image come to fruition. However, to reach that new level, we must have a clear picture of the person we want to be. By regularly checking in on that mental picture, we make sure that every effort we make will be directed toward that goal, therefore enhancing its power.

vii. It’s all about self-image.

Most people let past experiences define them in a negative way. Therefore, they end up behaving in a way that’s not coherent with who they really are, but only with who they think they are. However, this mental distortion can be overcome, and that’s what the book is all about; adopting a new method for better defining ourselves and living life according to the person we were really meant to be. We have to construct a new self-image, one which resembles us in the closet. What we fail to understand is that every one of us was born for success; every human being has that internal greatness that is just waiting to be unleashed; inside of you. Regardless of the opinion you have of yourself, ability to be happy and successful in everything depends on what you put in your mind

3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
These ideals or lessons is going to help me in daily personal life and in helping me to create a better world by having courage in life, the writer, Maxwell Maltz encouraged me not to be afraid to take on new and scary challenges, as they will only make me stronger. He also talked about charity; successful people always take into consideration the benefit of others because they know that everyone is a son of God and a unique individuality that deserves dignity and respect.

Another lesson I learned from Maxwell Maltz is self-confidence, confidence is built upon success, and if you’re able to remember past successes in one’s life, you will naturally feel surer in your ability to replicate them in the future. It does not matter how many times you failed in the past, what matters is how many times you tried to be successful at something. Self assurance is also a lesson I learned was all this comes back to creating a more accurate image of your own self, which doesn’t mean trying to be somebody else, but simply accepting yourself as you are, an imperfect, always changing and worthy person. No one is perfect, and those who pretend to be are just fooling themselves.

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

“A human being always acts and feels and performs in accordance with what he imagines to be true about himself and his environment. For imagination sets the goal ‘picture’ which our automatic mechanism works on. We act, or fail to act, not because of ‘will’ as is so commonly believed, but because of imagination.”

I’m to change my view of the world and how I see things and things will start to change for me.

“You make mistakes. Mistakes don’t make you.”

It’s okay to make mistakes, what is important here for me is to make sure I don’t confuse failing with being a failure.

“Remember you will not always win. Some days, the most resourceful individual will taste defeat. But there is, in this case, always tomorrow; after you have done your best to achieve success today.”

It is important to me because I’m not going to succeed everyday and that’s okay but I can only do my best, and after enough successful days I will be a success.

“The self-image is the key to human personality and human behavior.”

It is important to me to change myself image and you personality and the behavior.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you have failed. What matters is the successful attempt.”

In life you can strike out as many times as I want and it doesn’t matter, all that matters is the time I hit.
“Time will change for the better when you change.”

“The only thing I can truly change in this world is myself and its more than possible for me. The greatest mistake a man can make is to be afraid of making one.”

It’s important to me because the writer said I should not be afraid to make mistakes. Because through making mistakes is where I’m going to learn and grow.

“Happiness isn’t something that happens to you. It is what you yourself do and determine upon.”

The most important thing here is I’m in charge of my emotions and happiness.

“We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.”

The most important thing is I’m to appreciate the obstacles that are in my life right now.

“You can always find the sun within yourself if you will only search.”

The most important thing is I don’t need anybody else to make me happy; I have everything I already need inside me.

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

Maltz was, in fact, a plastic surgeon and it was through his work he saw an increase in self-esteem of people who had “freakish” features on their faces surgically removed. And then there were people whose self-image remained the same despite being made aesthetically better looking. The writer made the book easy to understand and clear to everyone to understand.

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

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

None.

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

A. How interesting was it to read? 10
The story of Maxwell Maltz book is full of ideas and lessons full of self confidence and self acceptance will rate the book
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
It has been helpful to me to have courage to act and have daily courage to make mistakes and also to have an interest and regard for other people.
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
It shares to have self esteem which says the biggest secret of self-esteem is appreciating other people more.
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
I will therefore recommend this book to everyone especially people who are frustrated, hopelessness, insecurity and others to read.
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10

Keys to Success
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The main idea that the author Napoleon Hill is trying to convey in the book keys to success is that having confidence in our ability to perform will entertain the development of faith and if you really want to succeed in your life get the people who have the most influence in your life to aid you in achieving the goals. Using your time and resources wisely to learn, read and gain more knowledge will actually decrease your chances of failing on your set tasks.

i. Budget your time and money

Time and money are precious resources, and few people striving for success ever believe they possess either one in excess. Taking time everyday to move closer to your purpose and saving money to ensure steady financial growth is the surest way to go forward. Napoleon Hill said “tell me how you use your time and how you spend your money and I will tell you where and what you’ll be ten years from now.”

ii. Maintain sound health

Sound health begins with a sound health consciousness, just as financial success begins with a prosperity consciousness. Health begins with conscious choices and keeping your energy level up by eating healthy food and participating in physical exercise. As a general rule, good health and healthy lifestyle is good path to prosperity.

iii. Control your attention

Controlled attention leads to mastery in any type of human endeavor, because it enables one to focus the powers of his mind upon the attainment of a definite objective and to keep it so directed at will. Prioritizing your time and energy to stay focused on what is most important and beneficial to you. “The way to develop decisiveness is to start right where you are, with the very next question you face.”

iv. Inspire teamwork

Teamwork is harmonious cooperation that is willing, voluntary and free. Whenever the spirit of teamwork is dominating influence in business or industry and success is inevitable. Similar to a mastermind alliance. Teamwork and cooperation is a priceless asset you can acquire in proportion to your giving as well as going the extra mile, personal initiative, attitude and enthusiasm.

v. Go the extra mile

The quality of service rendered plus the quantity of the service rendered plus the mental attitude in which it is rendered equals your compensation. Compensation means everything that comes in to your life including joy, money, harmony with others, spiritual enlightenment or anything else worthwhile you seek.

vi. Use applied faith

Faith is a state of mind through which your aims, desires, plans and purposes may be translated into their physical or financial equivalent. You have internal senses (tough, sight, hearing, taste and smell) that put you in touch with your external world, however you also have other senses that put you in touch with another reality. Faith is a state of mind, which develops by conditioning your mind to receive infinite intelligence. Some religion believe that faith makes things work, and without faith it is impossible to please God or significantly achieve anything. This is coherent with what this book tries to illustrate.

vii. Enforce self-discipline

Self-discipline means taking possession of your own tongue, emotions, mental attitude, dieting and fasting, politics and religion and your mind. If you do not control your thoughts, you cannot control your needs. Self-discipline begins with the mastery of thought. It calls for a balancing of the emotions of your heart with the reasoning faculty of your head.

viii. Learn from adversity and defeat

Individual success can be in exact proportion of the scope of defeat an individual has experienced and mastered. Many so-called failures represent only a temporary defeat that may prove to be a blessing in disguise. “Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

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

These ideas will help me have the power to think of my own thoughts, and think of an idea and believe I can have it and commit to consistently and persistently taking action towards my dreams then will eventually achieve it.

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

”Successful people make decisions quickly as soon as all the facts are available and firmly. Unsuccessful people make decisions slowly, and they change then often. It can truly be worrying if one is unable to make decision quickly or often change decisions.”

This will slow progress and make things come to a standstill.

“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement, and its lack is the stumbling block for ninety-eight out of every hundred people simply because they never really define their goals and start toward them.”

“I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all humanity because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success.”

I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them and in myself such as Love, self-improvement, success.

“Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent. Example given, Silence, they say is golden. The wise say something because they have something important to say, but the fools because they have to say something.”

We speak less, we speak better.

“One single idea may have greater weight than the labor of all the men, animals and engines for a century.”

“Do not wait the time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.”

For example never, time.

“Every great leader of the past, whose record I have examined, was beset by difficulties and met with temporary defeat before arriving.”

By this we learn that failure is necessary if you want to eventually be successful. Fear of failure can hold us back and can prevent us from achieving anything significant in life.

“It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind.”

“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”

“Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”

“First comes thought, then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”

“A genius is simply one who has taken full possession of his own mind and directed it toward objectives of his own choosing, without permitting outside influences to discourage or mislead him.”

“If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water’s edge.”

“If you are not learning while you’re learning, you are cheating yourself out of the better portion of your compensation.”

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

The book is well explained in simplified language yet very insightful

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

The main exercise for me to complete as a reader is to understand the book, brings thing into perspective and makes you take a good look at yourself.

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.

None.

Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10

The story of Napoleon Hill book keys to Success says we are in charge of our lives. We choose how we want to live our lives and without a definite purpose in our lives we can be just like a ship drifting in the ocean without knowing where to go.

B. How helpful were the contents? 10

The content of the book summarize what the book is about, and also gives you what will happen in each chapter.

C. How easy was it to understand? 9

If you work inefficiently you could lose your job and if you are lazy to cook because you work a lot, you could lose your health. If you do not sleep enough but cook and sleep enough you could be tired all day.

D. Would you recommend it to others? 10

A few days ago after I read the book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. I haven’t stopped raving about it and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in entrepreneurship.

E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10

Success through a Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The main idea that the author Napoleon Hill is trying to convey in the book is that one’s frame mind is the deciding factor between success and failure. The author emphasize that, it’s not only a deciding factor for any business but it is a deciding factor for all aspects of your life.

i. Don’t be afraid of changes.

Climb the corporate ladder, and get your fair share of the profits. Get rid of these negative thoughts and sensations by challenging them, let them be and challenge their trustworthiness. Sooner or later, you’ll realize that you imposed those ideas on yourself.

ii. Be an indispensable member.

Although the people with NMA will fall short to meet deadlines, the real issue is way bigger. Their contribution is questioned due to their lack of passion and consequently they earn less and live less fully. Don’t be someone’s second choice, go for the “Golden Arrow” and raise your expectations.

iii. Never give up.

Everyone who can see their ultimate goal on the horizon needs to stop and wonder what that last piece is, if you let a negative attitude get in the way, failure will be accurate. The Wright brothers were excellent at it. They succeeded where others failed because they possessed strong positive mental attitudes. Instead of feeling like losers when the plane project failed, they saw the missing piece, movable flaps on the wings of the plane.

iv. Change your habits.

Good attitudes are what make us real people and improving the way we act is a matter of right training, we know that our feelings influence our attitudes. But the opposite is also true, our attitudes affect our emotions so by modifying our behavior, we can control and change our emotions. You can even train your preferences. Let’s say you want to stop eating chocolates because you know it’s not healthy. You could start by stopping eating two bars every time you sit on the couch to watch television after work. This simple change will make you feel even healthier and will help pay more attention to your body’s needs. Eventually you will prefer not to eat more chocolates. Just a few weeks you doing this and this behavior will become part of your personality. This way you will prevent bad habits from sabotaging your life.

v. Be determined and motivated.

When you feel determined to make a difference, your motivation will grow, which will help you achieve great things in your life. Along with your determination, you also need to have goals. It is best to write down your goals and set timelines for them. For example take note of what you want to achieve by the end of the year, the harder your goals the more you will need the ultimate goal.

vi. Live the present and plan your future.

You may not be able to understand the importance of planning had having future goals or it may be that you waste all your energy struggling with problems that are in front of you not being able to see the whole picture. Being able to plan for the future is one of our greatest evolutionary advantages.

vii. See your problems as opportunities.

Success requires you to confront and solve problems. Think about the great minds of history and about the big business tycoons behind every great invention or innovation, there was a problem that someone tries to solve. Those with an NMA will give up their goals and concede defeat in the first difficulty when the prototype fails or when a potential investor changes his mind.

viii. Develop your positive mental attitude.

Too many people success is a great mystery without a concrete explanation. You cannot blame anyone for your lack of success. Do not blame your circumstance, keeps in mind that you need to work hard to achieve your goals.

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

Success through a Positive Mental Attitude will do nothing for you. if you truly wish to change your life for the better, and are willing to pay a price in time and thinking and effort to reach your goals and id you’re not kidding yourself then you hold in your hands a diamond plucked from a beach of pebbles, a road map to a better future, a valuable blueprint that will enable you to completely restructure your future.

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.

“Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.”

Example given: Silence and wisdom is the key to success.

“To win the big stakes in this changed world, you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers of the past, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit that serves as the life-blood of our own country, your opportunity and mine, to develop and market our talents.”

Example given: Leadership, positive-thinking, positivity.

“An educated man is not necessarily one who has an abundance of general or specialized knowledge. An educated man is one who has so developed the faculties of his mind that he may acquire anything he wants, or its equivalent, without violating the rights of others.”

Educated, law-of-attraction, new-thought, science of mind

“The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.

Such as: Money, being rich.

“You may be hurt if you love too much, but you will live in misery if you love too little.”

“Set your mind on a definite goal and observe how quickly the world stands aside to let you pass.”

The only thing I can truly change in this world is myself and its more than possible for me.

“Do not wait; the time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.”

Such as Action, inspirational, time.

“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”

For Example Defeat, success

“If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way.”

Such as Achievement, being inspirational.

“When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.”

Such as Career, defeat, goal, self-help, motivation, money.

“You are the master of your destiny; you can influence, direct and control your own environment.”

You can make your life what you want it to be.

“The starting point of all achievement is desire, keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat example.”

I found this to be inspirational.

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

The book is well explained.

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

The main exercise for me to complete as a reader is to understand the book, brings thing into perspective and makes you take a good look at yourself.

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.

Nothing else.

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

How to Win Friends and Influence People
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The main idea that the author Dale Carnegie is trying to convey in the book is that man should always smile in everything that he do, and also to remember that a person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

The seven ideas which were personally most important to me are as follows:

i. Become genuinely interested in other people.

One can make more friends in two months by being interested in them, than in two years by making them interested in you. The only way to make quality, lasting friendships is to learn to be genuinely interested in them and their interests.

ii. Show respect for the other person’s opinions.

Never say you’re wrong. We must never tell people flat out that they are wrong. It will only serve to offend them and insult pride. No one likes to be humiliated. We must not be so blunt.

iii. Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.

The golden rule is to treat other people how we would like to be treated. We love to feel important and so does everyone else. People will talk to us for hours if we allow them to talk about themselves. If we can make people feel important in a sincere and appreciative way, then we will win all the friends we could we could ever dream of.

iv. Be a good listener.

Encourage others to talk about themselves. The easiest way to become a good conversationalist is to become a good listener. To be a good listener, we must actually care about what people have to say. Many times people don’t want an entertaining conversation partner; they just want someone who will listen to them.

v. Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.

Human nature does not like to admit fault. When people are criticized or humiliated, they rarely respond well and will often become defensive and resent their critic. To handle people well, we must never criticize, condemn or complain because it will never result in the behavior we desire.

vi. Give honest and sincere appreciation.

Appreciation is one of the most powerful tools in the world. People will rarely work at their maximum potential under criticism, but honest appreciation brings out their best. Appreciation, though, is not simple flattery; it must be sincere, meaningful and with love.

vii. Arouse in the other person an eager want.

To get what we want from another person, we must forget our own perspective and begin to see things from the point of view of others. When we can combine our desires with their wants, they become eager to work with us and we can mutually achieve our objectives.

viii. Begin in a friendly way.

“A drop of honey can catch more flies than a gallon of gall.” If we begin our interactions with others in a friendly way, people will be more receptive. Even if we are greatly upset, we must be friendly to influence people to our way of thinking.

ix. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires.

People are hungering for sympathy. They want us to recognize all that they desire and feel. If we can sympathize with others, they will appreciate our side as well and will often come around to our way of thinking.

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

These ideals or lessons is going to help me to give other person a fine reputation to live up to and it will make others work with vigor and confidence if they believe they can be better.

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

“The difference between appreciation and flattery? That is simple. One is sincere and the other insincere. One comes from the heart out; the other from the teeth out. One is unselfish; one is universally admired; the other universally condemned. Appreciation, flattery, insincere, sincere, unselfish and selfish.”

“Personally I am very fond of strawberries and cream, but I have found that for some strange reason, fish prefer worms. So when I went fishing, I didn’t think about what I wanted. I thought about what they wanted. I didn’t bait the hook with strawberries and cream. Rather, I dangled a worm or grasshopper in front of the fish and said: “wouldn’t you like to have that?”

“Everybody in the world is seeking happiness and there is one sure way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. Happiness doesn’t depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions.”

Happiness, life-lessons, self-control

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.”

“Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

Friends, friendship, self-help

“It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.”

Attitude, contentment, happiness, inspirational life.

“Actions speak louder than words, and a smile says, ‘I like you. you make me happy. I am glad to see you.”

“I have to the conclusion that there is only one way under high heaven to get the best of an argument and that is to avoid it. Avoid it as you would avoid rattlesnakes and earthquakes.”

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?

Dale Carnegie, how to win friends and influence people I learnt in the book is that Carnegie ran his popular self-improvement programs for decades with participants from every conceivable walk of life. His book is full of their stories. Stories about how they applied these principles, stories about the huge changes they made in their own lives. Criticism which is a futile because it puts a person on the defensive and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person’s precious pride, hurts his sense of important, and arouses resentment. Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.

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

The main exercise for me to complete as a reader is to understand the book, read this book, learn from it, keep it handy, refer back to it often, how to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment, win people to my way of thinking, how to make people like me, techniques in handling people which I trust and believe will make me a better person, it will improve my life most importantly, it will improve the lives of the people I love and the people I meet each day.

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.

Nothing else.

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

A. How interesting was it to read? 10
How to win friends and influence people book is really interesting, is a treasure trove of practical tips for building better relationships, will rate the book
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
The content of the book has been helpful to me to understand on practicing to be perfect in life
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
The book was made easy to understand o have a deep desire to improve on my ability to deal with people.
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
If you asked me for just one book that I should read this year, this would be my recommendation. Its timeless wisdom and will change my life. I will therefore recommend how to win friends and influence people book written by Dale Carnegie to everyone especially people who want to improve their relationship at home and at work.
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

Awaken the Giant Within
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The main idea that the author Awaken the Giant Within Anthony Robbins is trying to convey in the book is that our decisions about what to focus on, our decisions about what things mean to us, our decisions about what to do to create the results one desire. “By changing any one of these five elements whether it’s a core belief or rule, a value, reference, a question, or an emotional state you can immediately produce a powerful and measurable change in your life”. “Everything you and I do, we do either out of our need to avoid pain or our desire to gain pleasure” and “it’s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean”. “We need to focus on where we want to go, not on what we fear”.

i. Your decisions determine your destiny.

Your decisions are your tool to mold your destiny. Tony advises us that every new decision which one make creates a new path or curse of action in our life. Our decisions essentially provide direction in our existence. A decision should be followed by an action, if there is no action, and then you have not fully decided to enact a transformation in your life. Ensure that you follow through on your decisions. This can be accomplished by using the 5 qualities of a good decision. Which are your belief, rules, reference points, values and emotional condition. By fine turning these conditions, you can make high quality decisions that build you up and follow them.

ii. You can create instant change in your life.

Many people think that change takes a long time to perform. One major reason why they think so is because they have tried so many times to effect change without any positive results. Thus, they conclude that changing is difficult and takes a long time to do. According to Tony Robbins, the opposite is true. You can change in an instant. Majority of people think that change takes a long time because they do not know how to perform lasting change. They use willpower on its own. This is not a proper strategy of effecting lasting change in our lives. The author indicates that we should use willpower and reinforcement to create lasting, dramatic change in our lives.

iii. Once you make a decision to change, effect the change immediately. After that, reinforce it.

This is done by conditioning the nervous system to accept the change. The nervous system is responsible for feeling. This sensory condition extends to feeling emotion too. Thus, you can reinforce change by asking yourself some critical questions. For example, you can induce pain by asking yourself, “What will I lose if I don’t make this change?” you know that the answer causes you pain. To escape the pain, you will make the change. You can then perform further reinforcement by including pleasure. You can ask yourself, “What will I gain when I make this change?” The answer is positive and makes you feel good. By performing this sort of reinforcement regularly, you can change instantly and maintain your new condition.

iv. We can use our beliefs to change our lives.

A belief is the condition of being certain about something. It is the confidence that a certain activity will cause a desired effect in our lives. For example, getting a good job will lead to a nicer life. According to Tony Robbins, it is not the job which will lead to a nicer life but the belief behind this thought. The beliefs we hold on to can change our lives for the better or worse. Beliefs are general opinions that we generated in our past and held on to. They are created out of our interpretation of pain or pleasure. It is entirely possible to change a belief. Simply link pain to the old belief and pleasure to the one you want to start believing. This is a sure way to transform your life by changing your perspective.

v. Come up with rules for your life that promote your pleasure and reduce your pain.

A rule is essentially a belief which needs to happen for you to feel pleasure. For example, some people have a rule that they will only relax in the evening after they have a glass of wine. How can we apply this nature of rules to ensure a happy, productive life for ourselves? Tony indicates that we can do this by creating rules which make us feel amazing and that do not rely on events hat are beyond our control. Let your rules for happiness hinge on things and situations that are within your reach. In this way, you can avoid disappointment since your rules depend on internal events.

vi. You can get exactly what you want in your life.

Do you have everything that you really want in life? Are you living the life that you have always wanted? Majority of us do not live this way. There are still many things that we wish we would have in our lives. Tony Robbins shows us how to get everything that we want in life. He indicates that the key to this is simply to change how we feel. According to him, we are more likely to get what we want if we feel confident enough to get it. Our level of self-confidence affects how we act. If our level of confidence is high, we act in an excellent way. Otherwise, we perform poorly. Thus, we can induce self-confidence by doing things that make us feel confident. This state of mind and body is sufficient to help us get exactly what we want. Tony says that we can tune our emotions to feel confident. Doing this transforms our bodies and makes us hold ourselves in a confident way. This combination results in an appearance strength, flexibility and power. With the sort of appearance, you can get anything you want.
vii. The important take away.

Tony Robbins is always full of constructive advice. His book, “Awaken the Giant Within,” is a guideline on how you can transform yourself into your ideal image. By following the lessons above, you can change yourself into the man or woman that you always dreamed you could be. Learning these lessons can work wonders in your life and change it for the better, permanently.

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

These ideals or lessons is going to help me work every day to improve the quality of my life and also to get ready for change that may take even a lifetime. If you don’t plan for pleasure, what you get is only pain and don’t expect pleasure to somehow show up.

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.

“Your decisions about what focus on, your decisions about what things mean to you, your decisions about what to do to create the results you desire”.

“By changing any one of these five elements; whether it’s a core belief or rule, a value, a reference, a question, or an emotional state you can immediately produce a powerful and measurable change in your life.”

“If you’ve repeatedly attempted to make a particular change in your life, only to continually fall short, invariably the challenge is that you were trying to create a behavioral or emotional shift that was inconsistent with your belief about who you are.”

“As we develop new beliefs about who we are, our behavior will change to support the new identity.”

“We all will act consistently with our views of who we truly are, whether that view is accurate or not.”

“Limited references create a limited life. If you want to expand your life, you must expand your references by pursuing ideas and experiences that wouldn’t be a part of your life if you didn’t consciously seek them out.”

“You are not even limited to your own personal experiences as references. You can borrow the references of other people.”

“The way we use our references will determine how we feel, because whether something is good or bad is all based on what you’re comparing it to.”
“The key is to expand the references that are available within your life. Consciously seek out experiences that expand your sense of who you are and what you’re capable of, as well as organize your references in empowering ways.”

“Once again, its not our references, but our interpretations of them, the way we organize them that clearly determine our beliefs.”

“The larger the number and greater the quantity of our references, the greater our potential level of choices. A larger number and greater quality of references enables us to more effectively evaluate what things mean and what we can do.”

“Design your rules so that you’re in control, so that the outside world is not what determines whether you feel good or bad. Set it up so that it’s incredibly easy for you to feel good, and incredibly hard to feel bad.”

“The must and the must never rules are threshold rules; the ‘should’ and ‘should never’ rules are personal standard rules.”

“If you ever feel angry or upset with someone, remember, it’s your rules that are upsetting you, not their behavior.”

“Once we design our values, we must decide what evidence we need to have before we give ourselves pleasure. We need to design rules that will move us in the direction of our values, that will clearly be achievable, using criteria we can control personally so that we’re ringing the bell instead of waiting for the outside world to do it.”

“Most of us have created numerous ways to feel bad, and only a few ways to truly feel good.”

“We must remember, then, that any time we make a decision about what to do, our brain first evaluates whether that action can possibly lead to either pleasurable or painful states.”

“So often people are too busy pursuing means values that they don’t achieve their true desire: their ends values.”

“Anytime you have difficulty making an important decision, you can be sure that it’s the result of being unclear about your values.”

“The only way for us to have long-term happiness is to live by our highest ideals, to consistently act in accordance with what we believe our life is truly about.”

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?

Awaken the Giant by Anthony Robbins is very educative and has a lot of lessons in it.

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

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

The book is understandable.

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

A. How interesting was it to read? 10
The story of Anthony Robbins book is full of ideas and lessons full of self confidence and self acceptance will rate the book
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
The content of the book has been helpful to me to have courage to act and have daily courage to make mistakes and also to have an interest and regard for other people –
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
The book was made to develop strategies to consistently accomplish goals, including addressing underlying beliefs that ate holding you back from reaching your full potential
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
I will therefore recommend this book to learn to avoid self-sabotage (overeating, procrastination, jealousy, etc.) in practice, this means associating bad habits with pain and good habits with pleasure.

Creating your Path through Leadership
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book Creating your Path Through Leadership is to get testimonials about personal transformation and the discovery of one’s purpose, educate young people who left lucrative employment to serve humanity, to others who were already leaders in some area of endeavor but sought a spiritual perspective to their work, and finally to those who sacrificed through adversity and overwhelming odds to lead others to a better tomorrow.

2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List the 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. Vision

The students have the same vision for the world and many of the same values related to peace-building and leadership.

ii. A Perfect Timing.

Leadership is about taking responsibilities.

iii. Discovering Your Leadership Potential.

I was challenged to change my thinking and adopt a positive mental attitude. I am inspired to step out of my comfort zone and reach for my high places. I see the world as a bed of opportunities and no longer feeling like a victim of circumstance. Discovering your leadership potential is a journey, not a onetime discovery. It is something you keep working on and unveiling with time. It all begins with a desire to make a difference by using the opportunities and resources available.

iv. Be intentional.

Although some people stumble into leadership, most must work at discovering and developing this potential. You must be intentional about the kind of impact you want to create in the world. Being intentional means seeing the challenges that oppress people and making a commitment to go all the way in discovering and providing viable solutions. It is that inner resolve that will keep you going when everything in you wants to give up. Set your heart on the cause and choose not to waiver, no matter the distractions. The inner resolve to make a difference is what distinguishes average leaders from transformational leaders. Men and women who set their hearts on making a difference and keep working at it, are the people that build lasting solutions.

v. Immerse yourself in the optimum environment.

Joining IIGL was one of the best decisions I ever made regarding my leadership discovering and development. It is through this program that I discovered the kind of leader I wanted to be and those I wanted to positively influence. One of the quickest ways to unearth your leadership potential is by surrounding yourself with leaders who are passionate about creating positive influences because the energy of such people will inevitably rub off on you. Iron sharpens iron, hence the need to surround yourself with like minds. The people you surround yourself with have a huge impact on your vision and manifestation of your potential, as you will be continually challenged to aim higher, thereby expanding your capacities.

vi. Seek a mentor.

It is one thing for you to be in the company of leaders, it is another to learn from those leaders. I was fortunate to be mentored by great men and women throughout my IIGL experience. The profound lessons taught me have kept me going through the years. I have become what I am today because these mentors took my hand and helped me never have discovered what I could do, had I not been mentored and supported to “go beyond.” A mentor can teach you in single moment what would have taken a lifetime to learn.

vii. Embrace your uniqueness.

I was reminded by Michael Lightweaver, founder of IIGL, that the greatest leader I could ever be was the best version of me. That was a game changer because from that point on I aspired to become the best possible version of me. I do admire and respect various leaders but do not aspire to be any of them because there can only be one original version of them. I was created to be an original, not a photocopy. Many young people think that they can fake it until they get it right but that is fallacy. You can only truly benefit others when you have a clear sense of who you are and what makes you unique. Knowing yourself includes awareness of the personality, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, experiences and skills that distinguish you from others. Who you are defines the type of leadership style that you embody. Your leadership potential will be fully unveiled when you begin to walk in the authenticity of who you are. Be you and others will want to reflect you.

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

These ideals and lessons are going to help me to be able to discover myself, my purpose of existence which will add value to my life. Also to be professionalism, effective customer service, excellence, leadership and deadline-driven work. Strategies to become a highly paid expert, better time management skills, investment opportunities, effective communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal, financial and executive intelligence, business psychology and how to generate a huge return on investment, better consulting process and people management, confidence, humility and strong character formation, how to interpret balance sheets and evaluate case studies in my organization.

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.

“One book can change a mind; one mind can change the world.”

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

Here I understand that people who have similar vision or interests and who often spend time with each other towards achieving a common goal.

“Everything rises and falls on Leadership.”

Leadership truly develops from the inside out. If you can become the leader you ought to be on the inside, you will be able to become the leader you want to be on the outside. People will want to follow you and when that happens, you will be able to tackle anything in this world.

“Leadership has been defined by different people in different ways.”

There could probable be different ways of getting things done. Different people may use different approach or means in getting same things done. it depends on the circumstance and the individual

“Leadership is ultimately about creating way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. It is the ability to inspire people to go beyond what they are capable of doing, making it possible for a group to attain a goal that was previously thought unattainable.”

“Leadership is not easy, and there is no easy path to become an effective leader. Leadership doesn’t happen naturally, and it doesn’t occur overnight. It is a happy joining of someone who has the desire, training and circumstances to lead with a group of people that requires leadership.”

“Leadership is about engaging the heart of the team and gaining their emotional commitment to the overall goal.”

“We are unlimited beings. We have no ceiling. The capabilities and the talents and the gifts and the power that is within every single individual that is on this planet, is unlimited.”

“Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands but let it go, and you will learn at once how big and precious it is.”

“I am going to transform me from the inside out; therefore, I am ready to discover and live my purpose and potentials.”

“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”

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?

Creating your Path Through Leadership is very educative and has a lot of lessons in it.

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

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

The book is understandable.

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

A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
The content of the book has been helpful to me to have courage to act and have daily courage to make mistakes and also to have an interest and regard for other people.
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
The book was made to develop strategies to consistently accomplish goals, including leadership and communication skills.
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10

Leadership for Dummies
Assessment by Irene Dede Acquah (Ghana)

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

The main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book Leadership for Dummies is that the chapters help us to acquire an understanding of leadership and start to lay the foundations for becoming the great leader one aspire to be. It introduces us to common language used in practicing leadership and in management literature, and guides us to see the key differences between leading and managing. You can use these chapters to work on clarifying your expectations of yourself and others as leaders. The book help us to appreciate the need for leaders, understanding why people turn to (and into) leaders, spotting opportunities to take the lead, implementing change and leading different types of teams, leadership is common sense, but unfortunately not always common practice. With the right information gleaned from my experience of working closely with thousands of managers and some practice and thought on your part, leading can become natural as riding a bike, if you couple your common sense to this books numerous tips, prompts, guidelines, memory joggers and even pearls of wisdom you can literally get your ducks in a row-just like on the front cover reflected by your staff wanting to follow you without you having to look behind to check whether they are still there. Carry out the exercise and implement the advice throughout the book and you can turn effective leadership into your personal common practice.

Ideas which were personally most important to me are as follows:

i. Know thyself

Find out why authenticity is the key to becoming an effective leader, and how self-knowledge enables you to meet the challenges of leadership.

ii. Follow the leader

Cultivate the qualities people respond to in a leader, and inspire them to deliver their best every time.

iii. Teaming up

Discover tried and tested tips for leading different kinds of teams and how to overcome the challenges each presents

iv. Not-so-secret-agent

Become a change agent who leads teams, departments and even entire organizations through changes, big and small.

v. What is in a name

Come up with a definition of leadership that really works for you and zero-in on your leadership strengths and weaknesses.

vi. Common Sense

Leadership is common sense but unfortunately not always common practice, with the right information gleaned from my experience of working closely with thousands of managers, and some practice and thought on your part, leading can become as natural as riding a bike even if you do experience a few wobbles along the way.

vii. Integrity

The contents also helped me to clarify the purpose of my job and my team, the objectives you want to achieve and tips for how to be a high performer through achieving your objectives. Increasing your self-knowledge enables you to be authentic; the people who work with and for you respect you when they perceive you as being genuine, especially when you act with integrity and have a genuine interest in them.

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

These ideals or a lesson is going to help me discover how to lead my friends whilst remaining their friend, how to lead change in a way that people accept and understand, when and where to draw the line, and how to reflect on my experiences to become a better and more effective leader. To take time and effort to develop a range of leadership styles which work for me and those around me as well as discovering how to become comfortable leading others. To build and flex my leadership muscles, see opportunity amid change and crisis, develop my own leadership style, lead with communication, encouragement, and promotion, recognize the ten telltale behaviors of true leaders, earn greater respect, success, and recognition teacher, preacher, coach, project leader no matter what specific leadership role you wish to fill, leadership for Dummies provides you with a solid foundation on which to build, to understand my own leadership potential, to be flexible and adaptive without compromising my principles, to understand leadership as an ongoing process and preparing to assume the role of leader, to be a leader in everyday life including tips on volunteering and taking a more active role in my family community, and the world at large. To create winning teams and keep them following the lead.

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.

“Cooking the stew rather than being in one.”

“Experiencing leadership or perhaps not.”

“Looking after the pennies rather than the pounds.”

“Filling the vacuum with the right fluff (stuff).”

“Working with and not doing to people.”

“How well do I really know each person?”

“Tell me about or Talk me through.”

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?

Leadership for Dummies by Dr John Marrin is understandable and very clear, the book is fortified with practical tips and skill-building exercises guaranteed to get you up and running with all the confidence and skills you need to lead any team, department or organization successfully in no time.

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

The main exercise for me to complete as a reader is to understand the book, read and pick ideas for my day to day activities and to help me build my future. The book is a guidance it helps you to improve on my communication skills and also how to become a good leader to solve problems. To guide people through organizational change, lead a team spread across different locations, to become a better and more effective leader.

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 book leadership for Dummies by Dr. John Marrin is the quick easy way to become an effective leader; this book is a gateway to become an effective leader.

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

A. How interesting was it to read? 10

The story of Dr. John Marrin book is full of ideas and lessons, the book has been organized into six parts to make the material easier to understand and access by keeping related material together. Each part is broken down into chapters, and the table of contents gives you details on each chapter. it always act with integrity by showing that you have a genuine interest in our colleagues and are working with them to bring about changes for everyone’s benefit, to avoid them thinking that you are just promoting yourself or acting in your own self-interest.

B. How helpful were the contents? 9

The content of the book Leadership for Dummies gave me details on each chapter, the book is organized to enable you to take the lead, you can take a structured, sequential approach or read the chapters in any order; immediately diving into a section to find out what you need to know to deal with a situation or problem you’re experiencing. The contents helped me to see what is attracted to first. For example, if you want to improve your understanding of leadership you need to go to Chapter 2 or if you’d like to hone your skills in encouraging people to work to your standards turn to Chapter 11.

C. How easy was it to understand? 10

The book Leadership for Dummies explains how to lead and coach people to achieve and sustain peak levels of performance in addition; you can discover the need to develop a range of different leadership styles and how to modify your style to encourage people to change in situations.

D. Would you recommend it to others? 10

I will therefore recommend this book to every individual because it describes the importance of leaders, how and why you should step up to become a leader and how to lead different teams and implement workplace change successfully.

E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10

The overall rating I would give to this book is a 10 because it helped me to acquire an understanding of leadership and start to lay the foundations for you becoming the great leader you aspire to be.