Phillip Ogwal Owino – Assessments

As A Man Thinketh
Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

The book is a treatise on thought and the thought process. It reveals to us the relationship that exists between our thoughts as individuals and our character, actions, circumstances, health, purpose and achievement. It also looks at our visions and ideals as individuals and serenity and how it can positively influence our lives. Right from the outset, the book postulates the idea that man is master of his life. “They themselves are the masters of themselves” is a quote found on page 5 and it’s a challenging one at that. The book is written to jolt you into action and I find that pretty distinct. It implores us to take responsibility for our own lives, everything we do is a manifestation of our thoughts and thus we really have no secrets as our thoughts will be manifest in our lives anyhow.

It also elucidates the cause and effect relationship that many of us fail to adequately understand. There’s the analogy that thoughts are like seeds sown in a well prepared garden, they naturally grow into plants and the fruits will be visible to all.

Our thoughts, whether they are positive or negative and the fruits that accrue from these thoughts can lead either to success or failure. It’s imperative that we consider our thoughts very carefully and think thoughts that help us to achieve our dreams. ‘As a man Thinketh’ also implores us to realize that we ought to see to it that that we take personal responsibility for our lives and move away from blaming and complaining as regards our perception that any negative aspects of our lives as a result of external factors. It also sheds some light on the relationship between the effort we employ and the achievements we attain in life.

Once we have understood the thought process and mastered it, we should have calmness about us that is brought about by long and patient efforts in self control. These are all woven together like threads in a piece of fabric to help us make our lives and the world in which we live better.

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.

Our thoughts are a powerful force. There is a law of attraction that states that when a person thinks about ideas, fears, doubts or aspirations, the universe responds to these thoughts and actually works to grant them. They are granted regardless of whether they are negative or positive and consciously or unconsciously made. This left me with plenty of ‘food for thought’. If every man is where he is by law of his being, then I am where I am by virtue of my thoughts over the course of my life thus far.

Having a purpose driven life is also something I consider a very important idea as regards the fact that I can actually mould the life I aspire to have. Our outlook on life is magically transformed the minute we begin to look at it from the view point of purpose, aspiration and determination. Strategic decisions can only be made to furnish strategic goals and objectives. For example, I’ve personally changed because I now have a better idea of what exactly it is that I want to attain as regards my academic performance.

These can be achieved by a willingness to discipline myself and engage in self control, being resolute, purity, righteousness and well directed thought. In many instances, we fail to make it because we do not take the necessary steps to achieve our dreams. If we take the first step, and we are determined to break down barriers, I think there are no limits to what we can achieve.

It is easy to get excited about a dream, but achieving it is another story altogether. We tend not to be willing to ‘pay’ the price that is required to ‘purchase’ victory. I remember a time while in high school when my grades had drastically dropped, I had to choose between spending more time on my academics and relaxing with my friends. I chose the former and although it was tough at the beginning, I eventually excelled in my studies and actually got closer to my friends because I ended up helping them with the same work I was struggling with.

We are composed of body, spirit and soul, they are the three facets that make us living beings with the unique characteristics that we have. The link between all three is inextricable, and as such our thoughts play a big role in determining our mental and physical state. Uganda has been heralded as a success story in the fight against HIV/AIDS; the prevalence rate fell from double digits to 6 percent in a relatively short period of time. I can attribute this to the mental attitudes of our people who decided on behavioral change. My personal experience with HIV/AIDS victims in Uganda has also proved to me that those who are in the right mental state and can control their thoughts actually outlive those who think that contracting the disease is the end of the road.

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 realization that my thoughts are like seeds in my head that can create and the power to control my thoughts rests with me. The more positive my thoughts are, the better the prospects for my life in the short and long term, and the reverse is true for negative thoughts.

I believe that learning continuously will lead to a better level of personal development on my part, and I intend to make every effort to consciously evaluate all my thoughts and make sure I only give prominence to those that are positive and beneficial.

Self sacrifice is a virtue I’ve learnt first hand from my Mum, but I actually think I still have room for more improvement in order to achieve my dream of being a successful world leader in the not so distant future. I intend to carry this attitude to my encounters with other people and give my best to serve others as indeed I’ve been doing at the prisons project.

It’s good that I’ve joined the IIGL at this time of the year when we are all taking stock of the ending year and making plans for the new-year ahead. I intend to apply as much as possible all the positive lessons I’ve learnt from this book in order to be a better person. A journey of self discovery starts now and hopefully I’ll soon be able to reach my final destination a contented individual with great pride at what I’ve discovered through the IIGL and others.

The book has also raised a high level of curiosity in me and I intend to do a serious ‘What if analysis as regards the notion that we manifest our thoughts in every aspect of our lives.’

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.

“As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them. This applies equally to those thoughts called ‘spontaneous’ and ‘unpremeditated’ as to those which are deliberately executed.”

Immediately I read this quote, my eyes almost popped out of my head. What? Even spontaneous events? I found this difficult to accommodate. But that’s what learning is about, and I intend to observe this more carefully.

“Mans mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild, but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will , bring forth.”

This quote is particularly of interest to me because it not only looks at one side of the coin. In fact, we have to work at improving our minds and considering very carefully what we allow to preoccupy us. The flip side is that if we let it be and don’t take care of what our minds are preoccupied with the repercussions are detrimental to us.

“Men do not attract that which they want but that which they are.” “Our whims, fancies and ambitions are thwarted at every step, but their inmost thoughts and desires are fed with their own food, be it foul or clean”

I found this quote quite interesting because it gave me an insight on a couple of friends I have at Lira central prison. These gentlemen don’t seem to be the ‘type’ that ends up behind bars for capital cases. The realization that perhaps their inmost thoughts are the ones being manifest, even though they may be operating on a subconscious level, made the situation or clearer. Come to think of it, I actually made some decisions that I felt were out of step with my beliefs and yet after a while, I came to terms with them.

“A sour face does not come by chance; it is made by sour thoughts.” “Wrinkles that mar are drawn by folly, passion and pride.” Where I come from, depression is not a key healthcare concern, but from my own experience, I think it’s a silent killer that’s finishing off many of our young and able bodied people. Our recent past that was marred by civil war has left a generation of young men and women who do not know how to cope with the trauma we experienced during the time of war and we are now held captive by that mentality. It’s not in tandem with the post conflict situation, so reconciling the two is not possible. This is pushing many of us to the brink, and I’m afraid, many have fallen victim. Paying with their own lives.

“Victories obtained by right thought can only be maintained by watchfulness. Many give way when success is assured and rapidly fall back into failure.”

I’d like to conclude with this quote because it’s quite telling as regards our ability to keep on achieving more and more goals. Many of us stop along the way in our pursuit of success when we get to a comfort zone, we get comfortable so quickly and lose our zeal to go further and reach higher. It’s a call to action, that we should never stop setting goals for ourselves and not set any barriers for ourselves because even the sky can’t hold us back.

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?

Every act of man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them. This applies equally to those thoughts called ‘spontaneous’ and ‘unpremeditated’ as to those which are deliberately executed.” What? Even spontaneous events? By definition, something spontaneous isn’t arranged but, at the same time it, thoughts affect them. How can this be? How can we explain the bludgeoning of a three year old child to death by a bunch of deranged rebels as a result of that child’s thoughts? How?

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

The book did not contain any exercises.

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

No.

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? 6
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7

 

 

Jonathan Livingston Segull
Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a very inspirational book. I found that it’s basically about achieving our dreams. It’s about dreaming big and going after those dreams no matter what hurdles we might face. Jonathan faced failure, rejection, shame, embarrassment and solitude because his dream was to achieve true freedom. Jonathan was passionate about flying and this view was contrary to what the gull community saw as important.

Jonathan’s story is one of self discovery, he knew what he loved to do with his life and set his heart on doing it. Even though he had to struggle to achieve it, he was willing to discipline himself and continuously learn all he could about flying. The book is an excellent expose on the need to take personal responsibility for our lives. It shows how, as individuals we can rise above our circumstances to achieve and even exceed our aspirations. There is no need for us to wallow in misery, complain, and whine about our situation if we are not ready to take charge. At one point in the book, Jonathan was reprimanded by his parents for not being like his fellow gulls. Because he was unwilling to be an average gull, he was cast out of the brotherhood. His passion for flying was more important to him than joining the bandwagon and being an average gull. To him, flying was more than just about getting his tummy stuffed.

The author reveals to us the very important aspect of empowerment. This is not easy to achieve as shown by Jonathan’s disappointment at being cast out of the brotherhood. It drained him emotionally but left him not with bitterness and anger, he went past the disappointment with courage and determination. Even after moving on to the next level of enlightenment, Jonathan did not forget his brothers, he forgave but did not forget them and indeed moved back in order to teach, train and provide leadership to those amongst the brotherhood who were willing to learn.

Triumph over adversity is a recurrent theme in the book; the author narrates to us the process of transformation of this individual gull who touched the lives of so many others by living an exemplary 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.

A passion and determination to achieve your dreams. Jonathan’s story shows us that in order to succeed we all need to be very passionate about achieving our dreams. We must dream and indeed dream big and be determined to attain those dreams. It’s very easy to sit back and let other factors determine our destiny. When we throw our hands to the sky in desperation and give up, then we will never know how much we can achieve and indeed contribute to making the world a better place for us all.

The idea that we should dare to dream and to dream big acts like the jet fuel that propels us out of our comfort zones in order to do something instead of sitting back and complaining about the things we think are not going our way. I was once told by a now deceased relative that being a man is not easy, he said that the world is a hard place and dared me to prove it by stumping my foot on the ground. He dared me to think [dream] of a future in which I would be proud of myself. This idea resonates with me so much; it really touched base and had me pondering for a long time.

A willingness to go against the norm and swim against the onrushing currents. Society has a way of looking at people with different opinions to the average view with a lot of skepticism. Most people have brilliant ideas, dreams and aspirations but these don’t ever see the light of day because of fear that can be very debilitating. This fear comes from the stigma that could be directed at them because of the perception that they probably see themselves as different, or even better than the rest. Society sees them as rabble rousers and trouble makers out to disturb the structure of things in their current form. There is a saying in my native Luo tribe that can be loosely translated to this equivalent, “ The nail that sticks out gets hammered down”. This clearly shows what awaits those who are not seen to be in tandem with the social norms. Cultural practices have a tendency to keep us thinking mediocre thoughts and having very low aspirations for our lives. Jonathan risked being ostracized and becoming an outcast and he knew it but was still willing to pay the price of achieving his ultimate dream of flying high.

We should be willing to accept full responsibility for our actions. Sometimes we tend to blame others for our pitfalls in life. However, this is very dangerous as it takes the spotlight away from us and lays it at the feet of other individuals or circumstances. This makes it appear like we have no control of the occurrences in our lives. Whereas if we first take a closer look at ourselves and evaluate our actions, we can remove that tag of victim from our minds and then seek for solutions from within ourselves. This empowers us by allowing us to realize that though we have varying levels of control over things that happen to us, we do have full control over how we respond to these situations.

An attitude of compassion and forgiveness, especially in instances where an individual or group of people have faced real and perceived injustices. When we are angered or aggrieved by others, whether it’s intentional or unintentional, we are almost by default set to retaliate to these injustices. The’ eye for an eye’ school of thought agitates for revenge in order to settle the injustices faced. However, ‘an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind’. We are not perfect and as such there will always be some level of offence of some sort so we should look at our own frailties and in doing so realize that humans are prone to error, by extension therefore we should be willing to ask for pardon when we are in the wrong and also pardon those who cause us grief.

Jonathan’s experience after being sent away from the brotherhood as an outcast was tough on him. He could have given up, but he didn’t. It was encouraging for him that even while he was far away from home, he found some like minded gulls to support and encourage him in his tough time. These new friends spurred him on to learn even more and be inquisitive and daring. We all need support at some point in our lives and this was a shot in the arm and it gave him a new perspective on his life purpose.

The notion of sharing what he had learned with other interested gulls is intertwined with a couple of other ideas already stated. Jonathan forgave his brothers for sending him away in disgrace but he never forgot his hearts desire to share his knowledge and experience with those who he’d left behind that had an interest in learning how to gain their freedom.

It’s also important to note that the attainment or achievement of personal freedoms and success is worth the toil. As a matter of fact, I believe that the rewards of pursuing your dreams far outweigh the challenges we face on the way to achieving them. Nothing is impossible if we are ready to face our future with confidence, determination and discipline. It’s true that we have to make sacrifices, sometimes these appear to be too huge but as I’ve learned from my life, the loftier the dream, the costlier the price one has to pay. If we realize this and prepare ourselves adequately, then nothing is impossible. Actually we tend to set up the very barriers that we end up facing in life. My time with the Northern Uganda prisons project showed me that the benefits of hard work and determination are great. I remember the time I was processing the project’s permission to get access to the inmates, I had to make trips to the office of the commanding officer everyday for close to three weeks and nearly gave up. But when we eventually got the access and started working with the inmates, I then realized that the persistence was well worth the result.

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

I believe these ideas can help me in a practical way in my personal life by giving me a set of key guidelines that I can follow to see to it that the dreams, visions and aspirations that I have are achieved in my lifetime. As noted from the book, there’s a link between having big dreams and a desire for one’s freedom and emancipation. Having big dreams and having a desire to see them come to pass will require that I work hard in my studies to see to it that I can gather as much knowledge as I can. Knowledge is power and can thus emancipate me and those I interact with.

Taking full responsibility for my life and making better decisions, not only for me as an individual but for those that I have some level of influence over. I can learn to appreciate all the aspects of my life and to study my responses to all the scenarios that I encounter in my life and try to adapt them in order to get the best possible course of action for my direction in life. I’ll also readily accept the fact that I’m not perfect and therefore I should be more considerate of other people’s frailties.

The realization of the fact that the attainment of success comes at a cost is also important to me because it helps me to prepare myself mentally to face the challenges I may face along the way to achieving my dreams. It is within my objectives to double my efforts at whatever I do, not matter how menial in order to excel. My time at the prisons project gave me an interesting take on society and how one can be viewed through their eyes on account of being different. Many people were not happy to see me work with a project that helped prisoners because they assumed that prison is not a place where a young man can learn anything good. I’ve since learnt a lot about life that no sage could ever teach me. While there we had a policy of ‘each one, teach one’ and this is in tandem with the author’s view of teaching, giving instruction and encouraging our brothers and sisters, whoever they might be.

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

“Seagulls, as you know, never falter, never stall. To stall in the air is for them disgrace and it is dishonor. But Jonathan Livingston Seagull, unashamed……was no ordinary bird” The realization that we are not meant to be average is to me an inspirational one. He knew who he was and what his hearts desires were and did not let them be derailed by the fear of failing or failure itself.

“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.”

The search for knowledge is one that many people have undertaken for as long as humanity has been in existence. I believe in the need to know all we can about as much as we possibly can. Especially in the areas where we have a keen interest. It is fundamental that we keep learning and relearning as we move on in life. Day by day, everyday.

“His vows of a moment before were forgotten, swept away in that great swift wind. One who has touched excellence in his learning has no need for that kind of promise.” Once we respond positively to the pitfalls we face in life, there are bound to be benefits for us. Doors get opened and our confidence in our ability to effect change soars. Our past successes spur us on to greater achievements even as we learn from and correct our past mistakes.

“The trick was to know that his true nature lived, as perfect as an unwritten number, everywhere at once across space and time.” Chiang was telling Jonathan that the biggest limitation to achieving his objective was himself. We tend to limit ourselves by thinking thoughts that see us as less than we actually are. It implores us to not set any barriers to our success and have the self belief necessary to get things done.

Jonathan said to Kirk Maynard Gull, “you are free.” The realization that we are indeed free to be whatever we want to be and can achieve whatever we set out to is one that is in our will to be and to do. And we should not believe anyone who thinks otherwise.

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 a well written and delivered fount of wisdom; I didn’t find anything I was really unclear about. I did however wonder what exactly the author meant by levels of enlightenment as transposed to his idea that heaven is not a place. I’d also have loved it if he explained a little bit more, the link between faith and our ability to succeed. I found it a little ambiguous.

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

The book did not contain any exercises.

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

No.

Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10.

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

 

 

Keys To Success
Assessment by Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

Napoleon Hill’s Keys to success is a masterpiece. The book is about the attainment of one’s ultimate dreams in life. The author has a very clear way of revealing to the reader the fact that one can indeed succeed even where others fail and structure life in order to live it in abundance. There is a general notion that only a certain group of people can achieve success, the author very tactfully disproves this notion with many valid real life examples. We can all be successful if we apply certain fundamental principles to our lives. The principles of personal achievement are the result of the author’s quest to discover what implicit and explicit attitudes, traits and beliefs were synonymous with all the great leaders of his time who achieved success and critical acclaim. Napoleon Hill totally believed in personal achievement, he continually espouses the dictum of personal responsibility. If your lot is to improve, you must master and fashion your destiny as opposed to waiting on fate to control your life. Keys to success, shows us the seventeen principles that a person determined to achieve ultimate success must follow. In addition it guides us on a step-by-step journey describing how each principle can be applied practically on its own and in conjunction with other principles and insights into their practical influence on our lives.

The author also vividly shows what can happen to an individual who ignores these principles or applies them inappropriately. These principles are; develop a definiteness of purpose, establish a mastermind alliance, assemble an attractive personality, use applied faith, go the extra mile, create personal initiative, build a positive mental attitude, control your enthusiasm, enforce self discipline, think accurately, control your attention, inspire teamwork, learn from adversity and defeat, cultivate creative vision, maintain sound health, budget your time and money and use cosmic habit force.

In a nutshell, the author postulates that if personal achievement is a destination, applying the principles of success is akin to following the map to that destination with a compass in hand and a toolkit for eventualities that may arise along the way. All the while, you have a guide and companion to move with you all the way to your final destination.

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.

Creating or developing a definiteness of purpose. This idea really struck a chord with me. According to the author, definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. It raises the fundamental question, ‘where am I headed?’ For surely, only when I’m able to determine my destination will I be able to chart a route to that destination. Once my purpose is clear to me it isn’t difficult to convince myself and others to plan adequately for the attainment of this purpose. A desire to deliver will arise within me to propel me to this quest for achievement. Once truly harnessed, knowledge and the potential of our minds to create revolutionary ideas, in combination with our innate spiritual powers can arouse our determination and zeal to go forth and claim the things which are rightfully ours. It also arouses within us a sense of personal initiative, imagination, enthusiasm, self-discipline, self-reliance and focus. Definiteness of purpose allows us room to specialize, excellent performance in anything requires commitment to it and this is a benefit of specialization. Society rewards those who can find their niche and perform exceptionally within it.

Definiteness of purpose creates a keen sense of alertness to opportunities that may be unclear to others. The lookout for these opportunities makes an individual a critical decision maker as time and tide waits for no man. An abiding faith in things to come and cooperation that develops confidence in your own integrity and character attracts favor from others and inspires more cooperation. It also raises a key knowledge of the sub conscious and the power that it wields in regard to our attitudes. The subconscious is revealed as a partner to our conscious, it acts instinctively to our basic emotions and this is important to anyone in realizing his/ her dreams.

I vividly remember a period of time in the recent past when I was out of school and had no work to do, waking up in the morning was a monumental task, after all, what was I to do with myself for the entire day? There was no definite place to go to and staying home would even be worse, seeing that this state of affairs cold not subsist anymore I started going to the local bus park to while away time. There was still no purpose and as a result I ended up hanging out with questionable characters and the results were not so good for me. It was an absolutely dreadful experience, I got to do things am not very proud of. Lack of purpose is slavery; you end up abiding by the wishes and whims of anyone and anything. Life is a precious gift to behold and handle with great care, this we can do when we have a definiteness of purpose and a will to see it through.

Assembling an attractive personality. I personally think this idea requires one to be a master juggler because a pleasant personality is a well rounded one. With no less than twenty five different aspects of personality to improve on, there is plenty of room to interlink them and use them to improve internal and external harmony. A positive mental attitude is a plus for any one on the path to success. It opens doors and allows you to display your skills and ambitions. Flexibility in disposition that allows one to quickly harmonize with the environment is also as vital as courtesy which is the habit of respecting other people’s feelings under all circumstances, going out of one’s way to help the less fortunate and controlling selfishness. We need also to take note that we should be able to discern situations so as to be able to say and do the right things at the right times. Smiling is one of the traits that stand out as far as I’m concerned as I used to pay very little attention to it but I now realize that it’s a good tonic for life in general. We must be tolerant and willing to show fairness towards those with divergent views or opinions. I also believe that faith in infinite intelligence is the epitome of great achievement. Faith is the master guide through which we gain full and free access to the tremendous power of our minds. A well rounded individual must also have a keen sense of justice which establishes the basis of confidence and strengthens our relationship with others and inspires us to move towards our definite major purpose with greater personal initiative. Appropriate use of words and effective speech are also important in an attractive personality. We need to know what to say, when and how to say it. The ability to control our emotions also helps us alot. We are emotional beings and as such we owe it to ourselves to understand and control them. Our fears, hatred, anger, greed, jealousy, revenge and superstition must be tamed as we nurture and positively cultivate our feelings of love, hope, faith, sympathy, optimism and loyalty. In addition to the previous, we should show a fondness for people, humility, effective showmanship, a good handshake and personal magnetism among others.

I grew up in a household with many adults and as a result I tended to be by myself most of the time. This made me develop an antagonism towards groups, especially when I left home to go to boarding school. I was comfortable being alone and my attitude exuded this behavior, as time went on however, I learnt to associate better with others and this was critical in my roles as a student leader. My academic performance was good but I rarely said anything in class and was almost unnoticed by teachers and even fellow classmates, I realize that I needed to moderate my outgoing nature with my generally quiet persona. My dress sense also had to go through a radical change, especially since joining the university. When we used to hang out at the park, it didn’t matter what clothing we had on or if it was even clean for that matter but that has since changed and I continuously work on my personal grooming. Back when I spent a lot of time in the park, I dressed like a tout but was more advantaged by the fact that I spoke English a little better than most of them and had studied a lot more. This was a double edged sword because I regularly got to meet travelers who needed assistance and I got them stunned by my demeanor; one described me as the man with the multi colored face!

Everyone with an eye on success must create a mastermind alliance. No man is an island, is an easy motto to regurgitate but we sometimes don’t practice the core principle of working with others to attain stated goals or objectives. A mastermind alliance is built of two or more minds working actively together in perfect harmony towards a common definite objective, it allows you to appropriate and use the full strength of the experience, training and knowledge of other people. Mastermind alliances allow great minds to be reinforced through contact with others that allow them to grow and expand. In order to form a mastermind alliance, we must determine our purpose. No rational person will form an alliance with a person who has no clear purpose. Having determined this purpose you must select the members on your alliance based on their ability to play their role well and with the ability to work well and with a spirit of harmony with others. The members of the mastermind alliance will be contributing to a shared goal but must each benefit from membership and contribution to this alliance. Determining at the outset what rewards to offer for the work of others is also important. A time and place for regular meetings to ensure progress is being achieved is also important. Meetings should be in person if possible, though these days it’s easier to meet even if you are in different locations thanks to advanced information and communication technology. I agree that this alliance must be founded and based on confidence, trust, faithfulness to duty and obligations, understanding all the propositions that the group faces, fairness, justice and courage to implement plans. The call to make a mastermind alliance with ourselves makes a lot of sense to me. Oftentimes we rush to make alliances with other people even before convincing ourselves of the things we need to do.

I’m where I am today thanks to amongst other things the alliances that I’ve created in the course of my life. I met our current coordinator of the Northern Uganda Born again Prisons Ministry at the bus park! Augustine is a mechanic with one of the bus companies in one of the companies in lira and though he doesn’t have a very good educational background, I admire his work ethic, determination, wisdom and tenacity in the face of the myriad challenges of prisons ministry. NUBAPM would not be what it is without this alliance we have, and I’m sure we can improve on the areas where we are lagging behind to make it even more effective.

Another enlightening idea is the one that implores us to go the extra mile. The author states that it is a state of mind that we must develop so that it is a part of everything we do. I appreciate the extra mile formula that puts into relief the components of quantity of service rendered plus the quality of service rendered plus the mental attitude in which it is rendered is equal to our compensation. Going the extra mile is beneficial because it helps us to gain favorable attention, become indispensable, self-improvement, opportunity, favorable contrast, pleasing attitude, personal initiative, self confidence and overcoming procrastination. There is also the law of increasing returns, which states that the quality of extra service rendered will come back greatly multiplied, the other is the law of compensation which ensures that everything we do will bring us some sort of result of the same kind. This is important because it reinforces the law of motion that states that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. On other occasions it seems like those of us who go the extra mile don’t gain but this has been disproved as sometimes these rewards are not instant but they come to those who persevere.

Building a positive mental attitude is another key idea that resonates with me. A positive mental attitude in my humble view is the bedrock of possibility thinking. We must put our minds to work with a positive mental attitude and believe that success is our right, our belief will guide us unerringly toward whatever our definition of success might be. The difference between a positive mental attitude and a negative mental attitude is as stark as the difference between night and day. Our application of a positive mental attitude will yield results and a negative mental attitude has associated penalties. If you take possession of your mind and direct it toward desirable goals, you will enjoy success consciousness, sound physical and mental health, financial independence, a labor of love in which to express yourself, peace of mind, applied faith, enduring friendships, longevity and a well balanced life, immunity from self-limitation and the wisdom to understand yourself and others.

A positive mental attitude can be developed and cultivated by recognizing that it is the only thing over which we have complete control. Closing the door of our minds on all failures from the past and finding out what we want most in life, determining what kind of resources that we need and setting up plans for acquiring them and moving on to achieving our goals. We must understand that what whips us is not defeat but our mental attitude towards it. The selection of a pace setter in our lives is also a viable aspect of having a positive mental attitude because they can be a beacon of hope for us to know that if they can make it, so can we. In order to join the club of highly successful people, we must be willing to adjust and get along peacefully with other people, ignore trivial circumstances, learn the art of selling oneself directly, analyzing setbacks and determining their causes, concentrating on the can-do attitude to the tasks we face, avoiding associates with a negative mental attitude, looking on life as a continuous learning process and recognizing that prayer brings the best results.

Enforce self discipline. Self discipline is that adhesive that holds personal initiative, a positive mental attitude and controlled enthusiasm together. This is because self discipline without making progress on these other principles is meaningless. Self discipline requires self knowledge and an accurate assessment of one’s current abilities. Correspondingly, the other principles can’t be put into action without self discipline. It is the channel through which all your personal power for success must flow. The essence of self discipline is to release the minds potential power in precise quantities and specific directions. It must be measured, we must balance emotion with reason. Thus we must direct and control our emotions and not banish them and this applies for both positive and negative emotions. Self discipline allows us to control our emotions and balance reason, it’s important in controlling our appetites for food, drink and influences such as drugs. It also allows us to ensure that we use our mental attitude to attract the things we want and to repel things that threaten us. Time is a key resource that we can’t get back once lost for eternity. We must spend it under strict discipline by scheduling it accordingly. Once we combine self discipline with definiteness of purpose, going the extra mile, applied faith and mastermind alliance, it can catapult us to greater heights. Having spent some time in local garages, allow me to use this analogy. Self discipline is like a turbo charger in an engine, by itself the turbo cannot work and the engine will give less power but when you have a turbo charged engine the amount of output in torque and power is enormous. Knowing which elements we can subject to discipline is pivotal. We can control our ego, emotions, reason, imagination, conscience and the memory. Those we cannot control are infinite intelligence, the subconscious, telepathy and the senses. The greatest manifestation of self confidence is the will which is the theoretical authority to order all our mental processes, depending on constant, consistent and ethical exercise. My experience has shown me that self discipline doesn’t come easily but the rewards are far reaching. My regular fasts have resulted in me having a stronger resolve and benefit from this not only by being healthier but I also exercise regularly and put in more effort in my endeavors even when I feel like giving up.

Learning from adversity and defeat. This idea implores us to look for the seed of an equivalent benefit in every defeat we experience. That we should begin mastering this skill long before we suffer a setback is also very revealing. This calls for humility so that we can acquire wisdom and understanding. The turning point at which we begin to attain success is usually defined by some form of defeat or failure and at this point we need to accept defeat as failure but only as a temporary event that may prove to be a blessing in disguise. However, defeat does not promise the full blown flower of benefit, only the seed from which some benefit may be coaxed. There are major causes of personal failure which include amongst others drifting aimlessly through life, meddling in other people’s affairs, lack of ambition, negative mental attitude, egotism and vanity. We must resolve to do something to mitigate the effects of these traits especially if we recognize them in our own lives. Defeat reveals and breaks bad habits, releasing energy for a fresh start. Defeat supplants vanity and arrogance with humility. It also causes us to take inventory of our assets and liabilities both physical and spiritual. Defeat strengthens our willpower by providing it with a challenge to greater effort. Every time we return to where we started, we should do it deliberately, concentrating on the process so that we train ourselves to make even stronger and powerful progress the next time.

Our attitude towards defeat is crucial to mastering it. We must not seal our own fate by failing to recognize that there is never just one chance, never just one tide that leads on to fortune. I’ve been down, busted and disgusted by defeat in my life and must admit I nearly lost all hope and gave up. But I believe in the infinite intelligence and that there is indeed hope and a second chance for all who seek it. “At sunrise, every soul is born again.”

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

These lessons have given me plenty of insight into how I can achieve success in all that I do. I’ve truly learnt plenty about how I can deliberately and methodically move in the direction that will lead me to a life of fulfillment for myself, my community, and the world. I read somewhere a while back that in order to be successful I life, we must be able to manage three things which are time, money and other people. This book is an expository read that reveals a lot more about these three things and so much more. I feel like the man who went to the sea to fetch water with a cup! The cup of water will suffice to quench his thirst at the moment but there is still plenty of water in the sea and he will get thirsty again soon. These ideas are a resource that I will regularly refer to for more and more insights on life and living.

The idea on developing a definiteness of purpose is a great starting point on the path to attaining all we intend to achieve. Once we envision a definite purpose, it allows us to benefit from clarity of direction and a clear, concise picture of what we seek. The prison ministry we run is currently not as active as we hoped it would be by this point in time because I left Lira to continue with my studies. It’s not doing so well because as I now realize, our plan for the medium term and long term running of its affairs wasn’t well thought out. However, I cannot purport to give out what I don’t have, change must begin with me, how can NUBAPM benefit from my contribution if I don’t have a clear definiteness of purpose for my own life? I have a keen interest in policy making and implementation especially in regard to economic empowerment of vulnerable communities. With this in mind, I plan to increase my knowledge by learning as much as I can in this and other related fields in order to make my dream of leading a pioneering organization that can drastically improve on the socio-economic well being of vulnerable people. My interest in the wellbeing of other people is one of the reasons why I volunteered with Pathfinder International in order to make a humble contribution to improving on the terrible conditions in which the women and children of northern Uganda live. Looking back, I realize that I could have done much more if I’d set up a mastermind alliance. I met a few individuals who could have been of great help. Going forward, my interest in people will not just be for common courtesy but to establish networks and ties with likeminded individuals with whom I can work in a mastermind alliance. I’m already doing this at the university and the results are very encouraging, people are really interested in working with others especially where they realize that there will be certain benefits.

I indicated earlier in this essay that a positive mental attitude is the bedrock of possibility thinking. Dealing with community groups has shown me that even the most challenged groups of people can make it in life if they have a positive mental attitude. I can do anything if I go out and act in faith with a positive mental attitude. My vision is possible, it can become a reality and I’m acting on it now! Going the extra mile is becoming second nature as regards being one of my key character traits, as a matter of fact I’m already reaping benefits as I read ahead of my lecturers and readily understand most of the concepts. This has made me a consultant to my fellow students and my interactions with many of them has improved a great deal; my grade point average is also very good.

At one point in time I was destitute, the irony is in the fact that I actually had options and good homes in which could have been accepted but I took defeat to mean total failure and had actually given up on life. However, knowing that I can rise up again and learn from my defeat has helped me to realize that the human spirit is a very powerful force if we allow it room to be free and creative. My friends in Erute prison and Lira central prison challenge and remind me every week.

My personality is also a factor that I must admit is still rough around the edges and I’m doing everything I can to see to it that I improve on my character, demeanor, general grooming and communication skills so as to be an effective and efficient visionary in society for this generation and those to follow.

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.

“If you would plant for today, plant flowers. If you would plant for years, plant trees. If you would plant for eternity, plant ideas.”

This quote is so aptly stated, but I’d like to put it into context, the author reinforces this by stating that the most important part of the book is not written on its pages but is already in my mind. The idea of the book is to induce a flow of ideas through my mind. The author is not presumptuous in his views and does not take on a one size fits all approach but continuously implores us to harness the tremendous potential of our minds to conjure up ideas, and organize the knowledge we already have to and turn it into power necessary for attaining our definite major purpose.

“There is a theory which pops up again and again that the opportunities for success are fewer now than they were in the past, that the world is dominated by people who already have money, and that success is a finite realm already filled to capacity. There is no scarcity of opportunity. There is only a shortage of imagination……

Anyone who cries ‘no opportunity’ is simply issuing an alibi for his own unwillingness to assume responsibility and use imagination.” I must admit that on some key issues in my life, this quote caught me ‘pants down.’ My personal responsibility to take action for the things I need to change is mine and mine alone, creating excuses will not suffice and I must take action now.

“Whatever personal obstacles you face, you must start getting to know the other side of your personality that knows no obstacles, that recognizes no defeats.

‘Cultivate’ a friendship with the other you, so that you no matter what you are doing, you are allied with someone who shares your goals” We must be in absolute agreement with ourselves, when we do this it builds our confidence and this spurs us on and gains us alliances.

“Render more and better service than you are paid for, and sooner or later you will receive compound interest from your investment. It is inevitable that every seed of useful service you sow will sprout and reward you with an abundant harvest.”

This quote touches on a maxim that I love and try to apply in every aspect of my life which says give and it will come back to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

“Our strength grows out of our weakness…”

We must continually look for the seed of an equivalent benefit in every defeat we experience. My defeats have made me see some of the realities of the world that I didn’t know and others that I knew but took for granted. The underbelly of society, living on the fringes and what it really means to be alone and lonely in this world are now much clearer concepts. The experience rather than the theory is the better teacher. I’m grateful for my defeats and look to learn from them and improve my life as I go forward.

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

There isn’t anything unclear in the book and I generally agree with the principles in the book.

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

Yes, there were exercises that I did and completed all and found them very 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.

No.

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? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
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? 8

 

 

Psycho-Cybernetics
Assessment by Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

The author of the book, Psycho-cybernetics 2000 seeks to give people a roadmap that can take them from despair to happiness and hopelessness to zestfulness. The book is intended to ignite in us a renewed vision, confidence and energy as we turn and face the future. It’s packed with many techniques, methodologies and proven action strategies that show us how to; develop a personal action plan for improving our personal and professional lives, to be assertive with friends, family members and difficult co-workers. The book also shows us how to successfully cope with several emotional blows, anticipate and prepare for career changes, take on new responsibilities without feeling overwhelmed and eliminate stress and anxiety and replace it with positive action. The author implores us not to assign blame for the past but to build a plan for the future. It also clearly shows that there are ways to enhance and preserve our self image as we meet the challenges of change and that it is indeed possible to reshape ourselves for success using the ideas and techniques of psycho-cybernetics. Our self-image is the key to our personality and this is an important launch pad if we are to be successful.

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.

Your self image is the key to your personality. Every one of us always acts, feels and behaves in a way that is consistent with our self-image. Each of us has within us a destructive instinct that is set by default to make it easy for us to identify with our failures. As a result of our negative self reinforcement we become trapped behind walls of fear, anxiety, guilt, self-condemnation and self-hate. It is our self image that prescribes our limits i.e. we limit ourselves as a result of how we view ourselves and our environment. The point is revealing in that we have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind, these two parts of who we really are, are divergent in outlook. The self-image is the key element that determines whether our internal guidance system functions for success or for failure. It defines the scope of the targets our goal seeking device has to shoot for “the area of the possible.” The good news is that we have within us the power to create change; each of us is capable of taking control of our self-image and programming our automatic guidance system for success. Anyone of us can start a self fulfilling life by changing one’s self-image. I can be the person I want to be but it is incumbent upon me to feel good about myself, In fact I owe it to myself to focus on my positive qualities and the principles of psycho-cybernetics can help me programme myself to getting more living out of life. The decision I made to change my outlook on life and my self-image made a whole lot of sense to me.

How to program your success mechanism. As I mentioned in the previous point, the good news is that we can create change. However, in order to create change we must first understand how our internal guidance system works. Breaking old habits and replacing them with new habits will lead to happiness, success, job promotions, developing new skills, overcoming self-consciousness and chronic worry. The human brain is a servo mechanism that continually corrects its course, keeping the difference between desired outcomes and actual positions as close to zero as possible. All living creatures posses such a built in goal striving mechanism, a success instinct that guides them toward goals of nourishment, defense and reproduction. It’s interesting to note that in human beings the success instinct helps us achieve emotional and spiritual satisfaction in addition to physical survival. It operates a creative mechanism guiding us toward fulfillment of the goals that make us human beings and contribute to a rich and satisfying life. We can really change using the CRAFT of reprogramming by cancelling old data, replacing it with positive new data, affirming our new self-image to ourselves, focusing on images of our successful selves and training ourselves for lasting change.

Free yourself from false beliefs. It’s been revealed that what you believe conditions what you can do; every one of us has certain ideas of ourselves and our environment that we ‘know ‘are true even when they are not. “It is not exaggeration that every human being is hypnotized to some extent.” We can identify our false beliefs and where they come from. We need to understand how our beliefs were formed and free ourselves from them by forgetting the mistakes we made in the past. We should understand that we are human beings who deserve better than to be constrained to unreasonable fears, expectations of failure and feelings of unworthiness. False beliefs are nothing more than habits that we have learned and relearned. We can use reflective relearning to create new memories and fashion these new memories into positive behavior.

Give your success mechanism some slack. We can use relaxation to oil our success mechanism. Only when we relax the forcing, demanding, aspects of our thoughts can our insightful, intuitive selves emerge. When our conscious mind frees itself from worrying and awfulizing situations is our subconscious mind susceptible to reprogramming. Relaxation sparks creative insight is the gateway to learning and can change the way we perceive ourselves. In order to disinhibit the creative mechanism, we should worry before we place our bets and not a second after the wheels start turning, form the habit of consciously responding to the present moment, try to do only one thing at a time, sleep on it and relax while we work.

Beyond the self-image: Shaping your personality for success. Success is a future oriented concept. If we don’t consider what’s ahead when pursuing our goals then we may reach the place where we thought we would find success only to find that it’s not there. We should create for ourselves a success type personality, one that will empower us to set and achieve goals throughout our lives. Success is a sense of direction, understanding, courage, charity, self-esteem, self-confidence and self-acceptance. We need to prepare for several career changes, approach life as a life-long learning process and adjust accordingly to changes in life.

Making the most of psycho-cybernetics: Being alive Vs living. Once we give ourselves a definite goal to achieve, we can depend upon our automatic mechanism to take us to the goal. We must think of the end result in terms of a present possibility. A healthy self image can add years to our lives. We can become the master planners of our lives and find our own best selves and must keep our servomechanism well tuned using seeds backwards where seeds is; self esteem and doing something to restore it, taking stock of our emotions and using them effectively. We shouldn’t let negative thoughts erode our self esteem or react to imaginary failure and expect to be happy all the time. Don’t wait to be happy, make every minute count. We only get to live once.

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?

Psycho-cybernetics 2000 is a very revealing book; I must admit I at times had to read it using a candle because of frequent power cuts in the area where I live. The ideas in the book are no stroll in the park as they need alot of concerted effort on my part especially with regard to the notions of how my subconscious is programmed and consequently, how I respond to internal and external circumstances. Dr. Maltz at the beginning of the book states that personality is key. I now believe this to be true and with the help of this book, the ideas inherent can make me a better person when I put in the time and effort. It’s a huge shot in the arm because my life has been on a spiral of change in the past and I really needed something like this. I ‘naturally’ used to ‘enjoy’ being by myself, had a few close friends and didn’t bother to network at all. The days when I was destitute seem a long time in the past but I vividly recall those days and realize that if I had a better personality things would have turned out differently. I learnt the hard way with a few nights in police cells which I can now say were great experiences though I say this with a tinge of remorse for the truth is that I should have known better. This quiet and unconventional loner, had a future after all. The misunderstandings I had were all as a result of a lack of self-esteem and self-worth which I didn’t have while growing up. With a better personality and an improved self-worth and better communication skills I can beat all the odds stacked against me in life.

The chapter on your success mechanism revisited had me pondering several issues in my life, drawing a blue print for my life got me hooked. It was awesome as I developed an awareness of why it is that I really love prisons work and yet I had never been to prison and I had no really compelling reason to be involved in it as opposed to any other type of ministry. Several people asked me why and I usually came up with the typical answers like, ‘I just want to be of service’ but the real was reason was not known. By developing an awareness I revisited my past and recalled a period of time when I was still in primary school and had gone to spend the holidays at the end of the school term with a relative. This individual was too strict for a kid to live with, every aspect of my life was determined and I had to obey without question, this wasn’t bad in itself but the daunting bit was that since he was away at work during the day, he would lock me up in the room all day. I missed home, my friends and family terribly, and being locked up left me feeling emasculated, oppressed and worthless. My life was not a life and I wept bitterly all day. This feeling of incapacitation has always propelled me to question and resist draconian rules in any place I find them. I truly believe in justice and equality, and will not hesitate to help out those I can wherever I can in whatever way I can. Don’t get me wrong the criminal justice system has a role to play in society and many of the people incarcerated actually belong in correctional institutions, my query is that the system in this country is inept to deal with rehabilitation of people’s lives, in fact most of the people who get into prisons end up as repeat offenders when they are released. I believe this should not be the case; there is plenty of room for transformation in society through the transformation of the lives of the men, women and even children who are incarcerated. We can’t attain perfection but society can be freed from oppression and the social ills bedeviling it only if we look inside ourselves and develop a positive self-image, self-worth and self-esteem.

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.

“Whether we realize it or not, each one of us carries… a mental blueprint or picture of ourselves. It may be vague and ill defined to our conscious gaze. In fact it may not be consciously recognizable at all. But it is there, complete down to the last detail. This self-image is our own conception of ‘the sort of person I am.’ It has been built up from our own beliefs about ourselves. But most of these beliefs have been formed from our past experiences, our successes and our failures….and the way people have reacted to us….Once an idea or our belief about ourselves goes into this picture it becomes true as far as we are personally concerned. We do not question its validity, but proceed to act upon it just as if it were true.” The story of my life….. Until I got enrolled for this course.

“Anything that has been learned can be reevaluated and challenged. Anything that has been challenged can be relearned with new data to replace the old.” I believe in life as a learning process and that it should not stop with formal education as is usually the case but that we should learn as much as we can for as long as we possibly can, that is, from cradle to grave. Knowledge is power.

“Our errors, mistakes, failures and sometimes even our humiliations were necessary steps in the learning process.” “However, they were meant to be means to an end- and not an end in themselves. When they have served their purpose, they should be forgotten.” (Emphasis mine) I found myself a captive to my failures, errors and mistakes in my life and the experience was dreadful. I’m glad I had to go through what I went through because I came to the realization of what the under belly of society is like. Had I not experienced this, my outlook on life and appreciation for this precious gift would not be as positively grounded as it is now.

“When we say that a person has a good personality, what we really mean is that he has freed….the creative potential within him and is able to express his real self…… A good personality is one which enables you to deal effectively and appropriately with environment and reality, and to gain satisfaction from reaching goals.” A good personality is evidence of personal liberty, liberated minds and bodies and this liberty is contingent on situational circumstances. A liberated individual is one whose vocabulary does not have the word impossible, impossible is nothing!

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?

Some of the terms were technical at first (including the title) but after reading them and internalizing the concepts they became clearer. This is my personal view but the title to such a wonderful book should be more appealing, I did a non scientific survey amongst my friends and almost 90% said the title is a put off, and yet the book is such a gold mine of valuable wisdom and truth.

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?

Yes, there were some exercises that I did complete and I found them very 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.

No.

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

 

 

Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

The author of the book, success through a positive mental attitude uses this amazing book to draw our attention to the fact that whatever the mind of man can conceive, it can achieve with a positive mental attitude. The idea is that the difference between winners and losers is the small matter of attitude and this is further categorized into a positive mental attitude and a negative mental attitude. Those who have a positive mental attitude ultimately find happiness, wealth, health, and all round well being whereas those who have a negative mental attitude normally find the opposite of these which in effect are penalties. Success depends on how we make up our minds, our attitudes determine our altitude.

Success through a positive mental attitude is a wonderful manual with techniques and methods that propel us from our comfort zones or from the status quo to living a limitless life in an adventure that takes us from self mastery to the realization of our destinies. The book challenges us to look critically at ourselves, realize that we can change our world by thinking clearly and daring to explore the powers of our minds. Through it, we realize that we can flip our problems over and succeed where others fail by applying a positive mental attitude. We can motivate ourselves and others, attract wealth and use other people’s money, find satisfaction in our jobs and find our magnificent obsession. It also sheds light on getting ready to succeed through raising our energy levels, enjoying good health and attracting happiness. We can then test ourselves so as to better understand our own success quotient and finally awaken the sleeping giant within each and every one of us.

There is no secret to success; if we are ready, we can achieve physical, mental, and moral health; happiness, wealth, or any other worthwhile goal whose attainment does not violate the laws of God or the rights of our fellowmen.

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.

Meeting the most important person. Who is the most important person? As far as I’m concerned the most important person is me. My success, health, happiness, wealth depends on how I use my invisible talisman. My mind is my individual talisman. According to the author, the letters PMA (Positive mental attitude) are emblazoned on one side and NMA (Negative mental attitude) on the other side. A positive mental attitude is the right attitude for each specific occasion. It has the power to attract wealth, success, happiness and sound health and also the power to repel these things that make life worth living. Through a positive mental attitude, assimilating and adopting the universal principles of success, we can make it life. Greatness comes to those who develop a burning desire to achieve goals, try and keeping on trying with a PMA, become expert achievers in human activity and engage the power of prayer.

You can change your world, and this is coming from someone who was once and still is considered in some circles as an ‘outcast’. In addition to knowing that indeed, I’m the most important person by virtue of the bearing that my thoughts and actions have on me. My responsibility is to see to it that I make a positive impact on my family, friends, community and the world at large.

To achieve anything in life it is imperative that I apply PMA to the seventeen principles of success. We should aim to change as opposed to blaming the world and circumstances outside us for our predicaments. If we are unhappy with the world and want it to change, the place to start is within us. For if a man is right, his world will be alright. We are special and were born to be champions. Victory is built into every living person. The starting point of all achievement is definiteness of purpose with PMA. In order to be able to change our world, we must effectively use self motivators deliberately memorized for the purpose of flashing from the subconscious to the conscious in time of need. When our NUBAPM project was started, we looked at it as a fellowship meeting that we were tasked to keep alive by the wonderful missionaries that started it. Now I see that it’s a wonderful springboard for positive change not only in northern Uganda but all across the length and breadth of the world.

The secret of getting things done. Overcoming procrastination and inertia have been a real challenge for me. The call to action and immediate action at that is finally within reach. I can now draw from my internal motivation to get things done. An earnest and burning desire to attain my goals will prod me along. The self-starter to do it now is a great motivator and I really believe in it. We must banish timidity and inspire ourselves to get things done NOW.

How to motivate yourself. Motivation is that which induces action or determines choice. It is the inner urge within the individual, which incites him to action, such as instinct, passion, emotion, habit, mood, impulse, desire or idea. We must motivate ourselves with the magic ingredient and this ingredient is hope. Hope is a desire with the expectation of obtaining what is desired and belief that it is obtainable. Once we know the ten major motivators which are; love, fear, sex, life after death, freedom of body and mind, anger, hate, recognition and self-expression and material gain; then we can better understand the motive behind some of the key decisions that we have made in the past and those that we continue to make on a daily basis. This is a wellspring from which we can gain insights on how to motivate ourselves and those we interact and work with. It’s also important to note Benjamin Franklin’s virtues that are very relevant to us in this present day and age. They are; temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility.

If you don’t have money, use OPM. It’s been said over and over again that the main cause of a failure of most entrepreneurial ideas in my locality from becoming reality is a lack of sufficient capital. Many budding business owners continuously decry the fact that there isn’t enough money to meet all the obligations of the business because of a lack of capital. We must be willing to prepare ourselves to be custodians of people’s money by operating on the highest ethical standards such as integrity, honor, honesty, loyalty and the golden rule. I also agree strongly that it is the lack of a satisfactory credit system within a country that keeps backward nations back. Honesty is one thing for which a satisfactory substitute has never been found. We must make investments with OPM, but be careful because credit can hurt us. The honest man with common sense does not abuse credit privileges.

Your magnificent obsession. As espoused by Lloyd C. Douglas, we should all develop an obsession, a magnificent obsession to help others. That we should share ourselves without expecting a reward, payment, or commendation and above all keep our good deeds a secret. Our most preciously valued possessions and our greatest powers are often necessarily invisible and intangible. No one can take them and we ought to share them. The more we share, the more we will have, therefore we should share that which is good and desirable and withhold that which is bad and undesirable. I should be part of a great cause, I should play my part in leaving behind a legacy when, not if I die and move on to the next realm. This can be done by initiating and making a humble contribution in the form of a heritage to humanity. NUBPM is my heritage at the moment and God willing we can attain this through NUBAPM and other humanitarian projects. Character is the cornerstone in building and maintaining success. A magnificent obsession in us all will prevail in spite of the obstacles that stand in its path. We live longer if we have a magnificent obsession for, the man who has something to live for lives longer.

Awaken the sleeping giant within you. ‘Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are great beyond measure’ is a wonderful statement made by Nelson Mandela. There will never be another individual like me, and I believe I have this great opportunity within me to be great beyond measure. I have the power to affect, use, control, or harmonize with all of the internal and external factors that affect me. The sleeping giant within me has the power to bring any hopes and dreams I harbor to reality. Amazing!! The highest ideal of man is the will of God.

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

The ideas in this book have set a light within me a fire to become somebody great. I’ve been pondering what the essence of life is, what a life well lived can be equated to and other issues pertaining to the purpose and meaning of life. I believe that having a positive mental attitude and applying the success secrets can help me to attain the benefits of success, health, wealth and happiness. Personally, I’ve always been one to push boundaries and test the limits of how far I can test conventional wisdom, I’m a rebel of sorts with a mild wild streak, the knowledge that I’m the fulcrum in determining what my destiny will be empowers me to take charge of my affairs. All I have to do is try, I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. With the invisible talisman, I can attract and achieve the good and desirable things in life. With the benefit of hind sight, it is because of inspirational dissatisfaction that I’m where I am today with great prospects for the future, otherwise I’d probably be behind bars or even worse – dead.

I owe it to myself, family and society at large to be a change agent in the silent revolution that is taking place across the African continent. Recently I read a very inspiring e-mail by our institute director; it was a commentary on the current wave pro-democracy wave of protests currently rocking the Arab world. Mr. Lightweaver challenged us to be part of the silent revolution that will bring real change to the world by acquiring requisite knowledge and applying it to remedy the problems that face the world today. We can be the change and we don’t have to use violent means to bring positive change to our communities. I’ve stated in my reports that I hope to one day head an international agency that is involved in the empowerment of vulnerable communities by providing adequate solutions to the socio-economic challenges that they face.

One of my pace setters is Dr. Myles Munroe, the founder and senior pastor of Bahamas faith ministries international. This book challenges us to get pace setters who we can look up to and model our lives around and I picked him because I believe he provides me with the right motivation to go forth. Dr. Munroe got three B.A degrees in four years! He oversees a successful international group of ministries that are touching the lives of millions of people around the world every day. Can I leave a legacy for my children when I die? Can I leave this world knowing I lived my life well and performed to the best of my ability and knowing that I leave behind a family that has all its needs met? Can I leave behind a trail of a love of service, humility, dedication and commitment to the empowerment of humanity? Yes I can and I will leave a heritage for humanity by giving the best of what’s best within me. This generation should and must be different from the last generation of African men who left behind only their names, genes and dashed hopes and dreams. (This is my personal experience, and it’s not a collective indictment). This generation can rise and change history.

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.

“It’s impossible for you to know how far up is except for the limitations of your own mind.” One of the key questions I like to ask myself is. How far am I willing to go? I like to push boundaries and test limits. This quote tells me that I’m limited only by the limitations of my own mind! So if I apply the principles in the keys to success even the sky won’t be the limit for me.

“We are poor- not because of God. We are poor because father has never developed a desire to become rich. No one in our family has ever developed a desire to be anything else.” Why is it that when a calamity or misfortune befalls us we are quick to call it an act of God or that it’s God’s will? Where did this toxic doctrine come from? Many of the people I’ve grown up with and lived with are those I can to refer to as prisoners to a ‘poverty mentality’, and they prefer to maintain the status quo. When we shift personal responsibility for our own well being we allow for ‘customary’ ways of life and as such continue to get embroiled in a death dance with ignorance, poverty and disease for as long as this mentality subsists. Without inspirational dissatisfaction there will be no change and yet we are rising up to say that change is indeed on the horizon, the time for change is now.

“If a man is right, his world will be right.” We are born to be champions, but unless and until we take the mantle, we can huff and puff until the cows come home. The social fabric of our communities in the north has been decimated by the war and its effects. This state of affairs need not be. I believe that every man, woman and child can be trained to be upright and the ripple effect on the world will be enormous. No matter what personal tragedy we have faced, every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit for those who have a positive mental attitude.

“Father Keller hoped to motivate little people to do big things by encouraging each to reach beyond his or her own little circle to the outside world.” This is a truly apt statement, I believe Father Keller’s mission is one to pick up and propagate. Each one of us should do all in our power in the sphere of influence that we have to motivate little people to do big things. Each one reach one and more….

“Too often what we read and profess becomes a part of our libraries and our vocabularies, instead of becoming a part of our lives.” One of the wonderful aspects of this course of study is that we get to read these awesome books but also to write reports about them. This gives us an opportunity to review the lessons inherent in them over and over again, repetition works, the more we review them, the better our understanding of these lessons. The authors encourage us to underline, quote and underscore important sentences, I think this is a good move, however, in addition I think we should also allow the books to evaluate, quote, underscore and monitor us.

“The more you share, the more you will have. Now if you doubt this, you can prove it to yourself by giving; a smile to everyone you meet; a kind word; a pleasant response; appreciation with warmth from the heart; cheer; hope; honor; credit and applause; good thoughts; evidence of love for your fellow men; happiness; a prayer for the godless and the godly; and time for a worthy cause with eagerness.”

A great quote that I read over and over till I learnt it by heart, my desire now is to walk the talk and live it out in my life.

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

There are no ideas that I disagree with but I was particularly interested in finding out more about the powers of the mind such as extra sensory perception (ESP) and psycho kinesis and would appreciate some more literature on this topic.

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?

Yes, there were some exercises that I did complete and I found them very 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.

No.

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

 

 

Giant Steps
Assessment by Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

The main idea the author is trying to convey in the book is a call to change, a call to action that he believes we can achieve by taking simple, cumulative steps towards maximizing the quality of our lives. Anthony Robbins allows the readers access to an unlimited cache of the finest tools, techniques, principles and strategies coupled with inspirations and small actions– exercises that compel us to take the first step of faith leading to giant steps forward in life. These can redefine the quality of our relationships, finances, health and emotions and place us at a higher level of living. If there ever was a handbook on how to strategize for life, this little book is it.

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.

Dreams of destiny; decisions and goal setting. We all have dreams. We all want to believe deep down in our souls that we have a special gift, that we can make a difference, that we can touch others in a special way, and that we can make the world a better place. As a corollary to this, our decisions- not the conditions of our lives- determines our destiny and the floodgates can be opened by our decisions, bringing us joy or sorrow, prosperity or poverty, companionship or solitude, long life or early death. The more decisions you make, the better you’ll become at making them. Success is the result of good judgment; good judgment is the result of experience and experience is often the result of bad judgment. The nature of this book is such that every single page has an inspiring quote that captures the imagination and get you going on this amazing journey. I recall growing up in a household that regularly had more adults than children; actually there would be only one child on several occasions (me) and I had to engage with adults on a regular basis which made me ‘up my game’, and in order to do this I developed a quest for knowledge which in turn compelled me to develop a reading culture and these books got me dreaming… of a better life and a better world for my generation and the one’s to follow.

The power to create, the power to destroy. Our beliefs- about what we’re capable of, about what’s possible or impossible about who we are, determines what we try or fail to try to accomplish in our lives. Our beliefs cause some of us to become heroes and some of us to resign ourselves to wondering what could have been. And yet our beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. It’s interesting to note that most of us do not consciously decide what we’re going to believe, often our interpretations are based on a misrepresentation of the past and once we adopt a belief, we tend to consider it the gospel truth and forget that it’s only one perspective. The previous statements remind me of one of the presentations I made in class on the topic of perceptions and the effect they have in the managerial efficiency of a leader in an organization. I gave a number of examples on perceptual errors but the one that got to the class was the one I told about an elephant that died in a fire because as a calf it was chained to a peg and had failed to free itself by yanking it out of the ground. This elephant had now grown up and could easily have yanked itself free but it had long before given up on freedom and thought this to be impossible. Consequently, I got an A+ for my presentation. (Thanks to IIGL and Psycho cybernetics 2000) The key question for me now is, Am I not the elephant in some facet of my life?
Questions are the answer. Questions are the laser of human consciousness and we can use their power to cut through any obstacle or challenge. Accordingly, successful people are those who have asked better questions and as a result got better answers. Therefore, if we want to change the quality of our lives, we must change what we habitually ask of ourselves and others for whatever area of our lives we want to improve, there are questions that we can ask that will provide us with answers- solutions that can catapult us and those we love to a higher level of success and enjoyment. All human success is preceded by new questions. One of the most life changing books for me is a little book that was given to me entitled ‘Now what?’ which as can be easily seen is a question. It had so many questions and answers about salvation that made it very easy for me to understand what salvation is about. No wonder many websites have a section for FAQs (Frequently asked questions). Questions provide an avenue to the solutions.

The vocabulary of success. One of the greatest discoveries we can make as mankind is the power to immediately change our experiences at a moment’s notice simply by consciously selecting the words we use to describe the way we feel. By adopting a new set of words, we could transform our emotional patterns i.e. transformational vocabulary. The words used by people can actually transform situations, emotions and outlooks. Japan was earlier this year hit by a massive earthquake that left thousands of people dead, millions more homeless and billions of dollars worth of property destroyed. But they responded stoically, why? Because the Japanese word for crisis also means opportunity, they look at the disaster as a double edged sword, it’s not all doom and gloom for them. So while others will agonize, they choose to organize.

Your personal compass- values and rules. The power wielded by those who have absolute clarity about what they value most, what they stand for, conjures in all of us a respect for these men and women who take a stand for what they believe, even if we don’t agree with their ideas about what’s right or wrong. The University I study at is called Uganda Martyrs university, its name is derived from the Uganda Martyrs who were a group of young men most of them pages and palace officials of the then king of Buganda Kabaka Mwanga Chwa. They were martyred because they were not willing to renounce their faith in God and their call to Christianity for anything let alone their very own lives. If only we could follow their shining examples and lead the world in knowledge and virtue as our motto says. “Virtute et Sapientia Duc Mundum”.

Putting it all together; health, finances, relationships and code of conduct. We need to be well oiled in order to have all the parts working together to make the whole better than the sum of it’s parts.

The ultimate gift, only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy- true fulfillment. The experience of close encounters with selfless contribution gives us a moment of exultation in which we catch a glimpse of our essential selves. And the only limit to our impact is our imagination and commitment.

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?

Giant steps take me back to what I’ve discovered in the other level one books I’ve read in this course of study. Over and over again, I keep getting this feeling of eureka! I keep thinking to myself I’ve found it but to my surprise, I move on to the next book or even the next chapter and alas, I find something new and very revealing. Giant steps is a lovely ‘little’ book but if I’ve learnt anything from the idea on transformational vocabulary then I must admit that it’s an action packed book. The book has challenged me to change and I’m responding positively to the call to amend the current manifesto on life that I have. It’s easy to wake up one morning and make a declaration but making this a reality is a whole different ball game. Key to real change and an improvement in the quality of life is the realization that we can take small incremental steps on a daily basis in order to make this a reality in our lives.

Anthony Robbins has taken me back almost ten years to the time when I lived in England. My experiences in England opened my mind to a plethora of dreams and ideas that I could actually bring to fruition in my life and the greater community. As I’d have it I returned home to Uganda with this new spring in my step hoping to excel in school and march into the big leagues in life. Well, things turned out differently and these dreams quickly fizzled out as I struggled from one crisis to the next. The dreams died but didn’t decompose, the corpse was still around and I’m glad to say that over time I’ve been able to resuscitate it bit by bit, one day at a time. The exercises and action steps on decision and goal setting, creating my reality through my beliefs, putting valid questions to the fore and finding solutions to them, conditioning my mind to success, transforming my vocabulary, revaluating my value system, putting the mosaic of life in areas ranging from health to finances, relationships, and code of conduct together put into one melting pot of life on another dimension that will assist me in making my humble contribution to humanity.

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.

“Nothing happens unless first a dream” Carl Sandburg stated what we all know as human beings but are in some instances unwilling to appreciate. Martin Luther king had a dream, my grandfather Reuben Owino had a dream, and so do I, to leave a legacy for generations to come and a heritage for humanity.

“It is the mind that maketh good of ill, that maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor” Edmund Spenser. Our beliefs create our reality, and as such, our interpretations of events or circumstances in our lives is key to our wellbeing. We should keep our priorities in focus and pay less attention to insignificant occurrences. There’s no point in creating a storm in a teacup.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has it’s own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of all the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” Albert Einstein. This reminds me of a series of programmes on DW TV commemorating the birth of Albert Einstein who was a genius even among geniuses. The tagline at the end of each programme which explained his theories was “Never stop asking questions.”

“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.” Bruce Barton
“If we all did things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” Thomas A Edison.

“Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tide and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.” Teilard De Chardin.

“Go put your creed into your deed.” Ralph Waldo Emerson. Enough said!

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

No, there are no ideas that I found to be unclear, or that I disagreed with.

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?

Yes, the book contained several exercises and I did all of them. I found the ten day mental challenge and the master system of evaluation very inspiring.

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.

When Mr. Robbins talks of putting it all together, why does he leave out the spiritual aspects of our lives? Our faith in God or some Deity has a very profound impact on our lives.

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

 

 

The New Dynamics Of Winning
Assessment by Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

In his masterpiece the new dynamics of winning, Dennis Waitley aims to bring out the winners and champions in every one of us. The book is about how to move from simply being average performers to peak performers in every aspect of our lives. It explains what we must know in order to be true champions in athletics, business, our careers/ professions, relationships and other aspects of life in general by imparting the practical mental skills to achieve peak performance in any setting we choose. The major points in the book include; the most important traits of a champion, the five most prevalent self destructive beliefs, how to focus your mind for peak performance anytime, anywhere, the important relationship between integrity and success, the secrets of mental toughness and how to overcome setbacks, the components of self leadership and the importance of coachability, how “paying the price“prepares you for success and finally how to use stress to your advantage.

The book is about transformation through inspiration, we can all become champions, entrepreneurs, coaches, managers, leaders if we put into action all the techniques, guidelines, tools and principles in this book that were discovered by the author after years of research. We can all become winners in our fields of interest and it’s up to us to make our dreams a reality.

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.

The drive to win. The difference between mankind and other animals is the desire to aspire to higher things and a self consciousness to attain lofty goals. We aspire to a great variety of things like fame, power, wealth and prestige. Every champion has the drive to win combined with action that equates to the motivation necessary to attain our aspirations. In order to be a champion we must put ourselves into the mind of a winner, we must think like winners and have the desire to win in life. In the zone, there is no past and no future, only the exhilaration of the moment, of going all out to achieve your target. At the world class level in any field, it truly is mind over muscle, mind over competition, mind over everything. All the winners in life must have a burning desire to succeed, Lee Iacoca called it “a fire in the belly.” We all need to have this internal force that drives us to peak performance, and this drive is activated from the inside out. The drive within us is a very important determinant to whether we succeed or not in overcoming our fears, we tend to have four major fears which include the fear of catastrophic danger, the fear of change, the fear of success and the fear of failure or rejection. I vividly remember the first time I challenged my fear as a five year old back in the ‘nasty nineties’, our region was in a very chaotic situation of war. Because of the rampant attacks by the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army especially around the bridge over Karuma falls on the river Nile, it was very difficult to get any form of transport to the capital city of Kampala. Incidentally, it was time for me to start my primary education and there was no one willing to take me to the city so even though I was really scared of what could happen to me I decided to plead with my grandmother to put me on any form of available transport. I was so desperate to start school, it was the only thing I could think about and barely slept at night because of the excitement I had and the zeal to go and study in the city. My grandmother eventually relented and put me on a tractor that was going to a nearby town called Arua and the driver of this tractor then put me on a bus to the city. My desire to make it to the city allayed my fears and helped me to get an educational foundation that I’ll always be grateful for.

Paying the price. The entry fee to success, according to the author is total commitment, and this commitment to paying the price is a key quality in the mind of a champion. We have to draw the energy necessary to stay the course from within ourselves, especially for those of us who don’t work in fields where there is plenty of support. We have to learn to say “This is a major priority in my life. I want to be good at this, and I’m going to do everything in my power to do this as well as I possibly can.” Our level of commitment to a cause or objective is determined by how much we want to achieve it and it’s been shown that those who want it more will be willing to train harder and longer and those who are able to delay immediate pleasure for long-term results will ultimately demonstrate the higher performances. The past academic year has been one of the most challenging to me since I started studying, but I’m glad I read my first level one books during the course of study as they helped me persevere in spite of all the challenges I faced. I’m not the most intelligent student in the class but my academic performance is second to none in the class, thanks to this course I’ve learnt to pay the price by giving my best in all I do . My commitment levels can be improved on and I believe the difference between me coming top of my class and dropping out was a single decision to pay the price.

The link between fame, fortune and integrity. Just as there’s a side to us that longs for power and money, there is also a genuine desire to live each moment with integrity and principle. Nowadays, it seems as though greed and money on the one hand, and honesty and integrity on the other, are destined to compete for our individual and collective consciousness as we enter the second decade of this century. We need to continuously have high expectations of ourselves; demand integrity, have respect for others and hard work from ourselves because the values we live by are going to change our future and that of those around us. In a couple of days, the world’s newest republic will be born; the republic of Southern Sudan will officially be an independent state on the 9th of July 2011. In it’s extensive coverage of the event, the BBC interviewed one of generals who fought in the secessionist rebellion against the North about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the new state. I’d like to concentrate on what he said about their oil wealth, 70% of the oil production in Sudan comes from the South and it’s the backbone of the economy but this general said that if the new state does not set high standards and expectations for itself, it will be mired forever in the depths of the pit of corruption like many of its neighboring states like Uganda. I found this very encouraging, coming from a man who didn’t have much by way of formal education. These are universal truths and we need to take on the responsibility of setting high standards for ourselves and living by them in order to set a shining example to others.

Visualization of victory. The mind is what matters is the first theme that introduces this idea. When your eyes are open, you see the world that lies outside yourself. We have this tendency to take for granted the fact that the objects are real and separate from ourselves, it’s like we are conceited by default and ignore anything that doesn’t seem important to us. However, winners see the act of winning in advance- vivid, multidimensional, textured and clear. Champions know that “what you see is who you’ll be.” When we close our eyes, images and thoughts flow through our minds, as a corollary to this, we may review memories of past events or preview future possibilities. We can daydream about what may be or might have been, our imagination has the power to take us beyond the limits of time and space. Most of us attach little importance to these visions and yet there’s a new way of thinking that suggests, “Before you see it, you have to believe it.” If we can see something in our own minds eye and then imagine it over and over again, we will begin to believe it is really there in substance. As a result, our actions, both physical and mental, will move to bring about in reality the image we are visualizing. I certainly believe this to be true, my colleague Augustine likes to invite us to his residence and beneath the shade of the massive mango tree in his compound he share with us his vision and we share ours with him. It is a very uplifting time because we ‘see’ the progress that can be made through the organization, we ‘see’ inmates in their thousands around the world re-integrating into their communities and bringing about positive transformation all over the globe. We ‘see’ our role in equipping them with the tools and skills necessary to bring this about…… and we get moving.

Self-confidence and self-transformation. We owe it to ourselves to achieve peal performance and we can do this by detecting and eliminating self-sabotaging thoughts, feelings and habits. And then by using positive mental techniques we can achieve peak performance. However, there are two great misconceptions about peak performance. First, there’s the idea we must always bear down and try our hardest to win and secondly convincing ourselves that we shouldn’t think about anything, that our minds should just be blank screens and everything we do should be spontaneous. On the contrary, true spontaneity is learned behavior, when high-performing individuals appear to be acting effortlessly- to be ‘on a roll’- it’s really because of all the training that’s come earlier. Learning, learning, learning and more learning. We can build self-confidence and transform ourselves in order to become peak performers. I had to work on my self-image and confidence, the best place that I got this done was in the bus park. Here, there’s a no holds-barred approach, if you are low on self confidence, you can’t step up to a complete stranger in the midst of cut throat competition from other touts and a sea of petty traders all out to sell their wares. This experience helped me to put aside my timidity and step up to the plate, it was either eat or be eaten and though I wouldn’t consider living life that way I learnt how to increase in confidence when push came to shove.

The coachability factor. This idea was introduced with a letter to the author with some questions which I found very revealing, considering this I decided to answer them on my own. They were; do you have a favorite success quote? Who are the people- past or present – whom you most admire? To these I kept adding interrogative why, how and what questions. I found it time consuming but the time spent was well worth it and the process was truly intriguing. I transposed my responses and found that most of the characteristics of winning coaches were evident in the people I admire but none of them had all. Why? Is it possible to have all? I believe so and hope that I’ll be able to adopt as my own as many of these character traits as possible in order to reach for the stars.

The quality of leadership. Authentic leadership is a very simple concept that many people try to complicate. The goal of the authentic leader is to cause people to think more of themselves. A real leader appreciates the differences among individuals and finds value in those differences that enhance all our lives. Leadership isn’t based on theory or technique. It depends on one’s ability to subordinate one’s ego for the good of the team. We must be willing to listen and learn and to ask questions before we offer opinions. Good leadership motivates others to their highest levels by offering opportunities not obligations, the best leaders are the best followers. Many of the greatest accomplishments of a true leader go largely unrecognized. I’ve always considered myself modest, but like clockwork, I keep finding myself in leadership positions. I excelled in some and didn’t meet the expectations in others, herein lies a window of opportunity for me to improve and to be a better leader.

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?

In the New Dynamics of Winning, the author shares several practical tools, techniques, methods and ideas on how we can become champions in any sphere of life from career to business and life in general. As indicated in the section on what the author conveyed in the book, the principles I’ve learnt will help me to appreciate the most important traits of a champion and how to adopt them and apply them where possible in my life. I’m a full time student at the moment and the educational landscape in our country today leaves a lot to be desired. The desire and drive to win or succeed seems to be waning, especially in the rural areas where most of our population lives. It would be easy for me to fix blame but I’d rather concentrate on the undercurrents fostering this trend and possible solutions.

As a nation, the drive to succeed is fizzling out, primarily because of apathy towards the inefficiencies in our systems. Large numbers of people in this country feel powerless to do anything to bring about change in the status quo. I believe we can break this feeling of powerlessness. We should put ourselves in a position where we mentally train ourselves to get to that special place where winners inhabit, where there is no past and no future, only the exhilaration of the moment, of going all out. We have to continuously put ourselves in a position where we are willing to do more than we or anyone else thought possible. With desire coupled with action, we can overcome our fears of change, catastrophic danger, failure and the tall poppy syndrome in some of our cultures. I feel I still have a lot to learn especially as regards applying the seven rules for winners like;

Being more proactive and preventive about my physical health, Viewing life as a continuous learning experience and reading as much as I can, paying more attention to “you get what you pay for” which involves taking the time to learn as I move along and that a sacrifice in terms of time has to be made in order to master a skill, viewing mistakes as corrective feedback to help me get back on track and I’m looking at ways of creating a mechanism for how to respond in instances where mistakes are made so as to not make matters worse, setting my own internal standards for success and not comparing myself to others, I will view competition as a way to maintain excellence, to keep me performing up to my own potential. My success must come from doing my best. The choice is mine, and I choose to win. After all, if you remove the Os from my surname that’s what you end up with! I’ll keep training and gaining without complaining and deny self gratification in order to succeed in the future.

Accordingly, I intend to weekly evaluate my performance to see to it that I keep on track. The seven traits of a good leader also got me pondering ways to apply them in my life and I’m currently doing so with amazing results. They are;

Question your motives daily. Do I believe in what I’m doing and is it true, right and honest?
It’s show not tell. I will live my creed and beliefs so I won’t need to labor telling my family, friends and community what to do or how to do it, all they will need to do is observe.

Be your own investigative reporter. The process of ‘checking up on me’ is catching on and I’m glad I do it even as I mould from within, character traits that will shine from the inside out. Because of this, I’m more conscious about the repercussions of my actions.

Be loyal to your inner circle. It has been a general perception in this country that people from my region (Northern) are generally more loyal and honest. However, because of several reasons including but not limited to the war that ravaged the region and it’s effects on our social fabric we have been lackluster in my opinion and indeed that of our grandparents as compared to our parents generation. This anomaly should and must be corrected; I believe I can be the spark of light in the dark that falls on the grass-thatched roof. We need as a generation to live up to the billing, not for a reputation per se but for a higher cause.

Follow through. Talk is never enough, even when we are speaking the truth. I will walk the talk and keep my word, this may mean speaking less and thoroughly considering any pronunciations I make.

Watch your watch. I will keep time and use it wisely because I don’t get back once it’s gone.
The dos and don’ts of leadership were also very revealing. I won’t delve into detail as regards them but my intention is to see to it that a better person emerges from the process I’m going through and we are well on our way.

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.

“To the real champions in life, those unsung heroes and heroines. The role models, mentors and coaches who teach us how to win, watching quietly from the sidelines, with inner pride, as we act out their knowledge and experience and claim the medals and fame as our own.”

I didn’t pick this from the body of the book but from the acknowledgements page and what an acknowledgement, it drew my attention to the peoples of Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan who are now rebuilding their homes after decades of war. This gift of peace from God should not be wasted but we must build and prosper with the knowledge that it was hard won. The freedom that the Southern Sudanese now enjoy has been paid for with the blood of men and women like the late Gen. Dr. John Garang De Mabior and their contribution should never be forgotten.

“What will it take to succeed? Hard work, of course. Careful decision–making. Technical expertise. The support of friends and family. These are all part of it, but what’s more important is your ability to access the inner resources of strength and commitment- the building blocks of a champion are inherent in us ALL. I don’t need a degree or rich and well connected parents. It’s innate, that means a former child soldier and a law graduate from the best university in the country can all be champions.

“Champions……at some point in their lives, not always early, saw something they really wanted to accomplish. They saw it, vaguely and non specifically at first. Then they began to think about it, to consider it, to get to know it, to examine it, study it, try it, fail at it, succeed at it, get knowledge about it, field test it, get coached in it, develop skills in it, and as the concept took shape, it also took root, and like the seedling of a red-wood tree, the motive-the goal- is pushed upward through the earth, through bedrock, up through mountains of doubt, sky-ward tolerating no distraction or obstacle in the way.”

This quote is a wonderful mosaic of the journey to success. It indeed is a process and within it is revealed several elements of what is necessary for us to get to the ‘promised land.’ Success is no mirage in the desert, it is real and with all the zeal, passion and commitment I can muster, I will reach the shore.

“Winners see the act of winning in advance-vivid, multidimensional, textured, clear. Champions know that ‘what you see is what you’ll be.’ What you see is who you’ll be….well I’m now pondering very carefully what I see because the more successes I see the more successful I’ll be.

“Real leaders come in all shapes and sizes from all walks of life. But they all have a few things in common. They are never so big that they can’t bend down to help someone else. They are never so wise that they don’t remember who taught them. They are never so gifted that they won’t share their skills with others. They are never so fearless that they don’t play by the rules and live by the law. And they are never such big winners that they forget what it feels like to lose.” It’s still sinking into my system…..

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 agree with much of the ideas in the book and that is what I’ll concentrate on for now. Most of the ideas were clear and easy 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?

Yes, the book had a series of exercises that I did and found very engaging. I even went on to expand on some of the questions posed in order to get a deeper understanding of my responses. I continue to do some because I’ve come to realize that today’s answers are not necessarily the ones I’ll give tomorrow.

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

No, there was nothing in the book that I would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions.

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? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
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 Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book Real Magic is about ordinary everyday people creating miracles in everyday life. The author shows us in the book how to achieve a higher level of consciousness. It’s about us imagining what would make us happy and strategic steps for attaining our objectives in life. The book is a call to action to take charge of our lives and create miracles in our individual lives- to our physical health, finances, intimate relationships and personal identity.

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.

The seven beliefs for manifesting real magic. In order for us to tap into the realm of real magic, we should hold these beliefs in high esteem, internally align ourselves with them and adopt them for ourselves. They are; –

There is an invisible but knowable force within you, – Your strengths are something you control and they originate with you, – There are no limits, – Your life has a purpose,- You overcome weaknesses by leaving them behind,- When you examine what you believe to be impossible, then you can change your beliefs, – You can go beyond logic. These listed beliefs were very eye catching for me because they resonate with what Sir Ranulph Fiennes is all about. During his T.V interview on CNN’s Talk Asia programme hosted by Anjali Rao, we were ushered into the life of a man who has circumnavigated the North Pole (Breaking a couple of world records along the way), scaled Mount Everest, successfully reaching the peak in 2009 after two previous attempts in 2005 and 2008, participated in seven different marathons on seven different days in seven different cities (7x7x7) and has raised over eighteen million dollars for charity through his expeditions. I was amazed at the connection between what he said in the interview as responses and the seven beliefs mentioned above. He creates real magic every day.

The spiritual dozen. In aiding us to becoming spiritual beings as opposed to just physical beings, Dr. Dyer lists the 12 spiritual truisms to help us in looking at that non- material part of who we are and allows us insight into how to appreciate our spiritual lives. Spiritual beings; utilize multidimensional thinking, believe loving guidance is available, focus on authentic personal empowerment, feel connected to all of humanity, know a dimension beyond cause and effect, are motivated by ethics, serenity and quality of life, practice meditation, understand intuition as God talking, know a violent response to evil as participating in evil, focuses on what he is for, feels a sense of responsibility and belonging to the universe, lives a life of forgiveness and believes in being able to manifest miracles.
Love, the central ingredient of a relationship at purpose. To love is the most important thing in life. But what do we mean by love? When you love someone because that person loves you in return, surely that is not love. To love is to have that extraordinary feeling of affection without asking anything in return. You may be very clever, you may pass all your examinations , get a doctorate and achieve a high position, but if you have not this sensitivity, this simple love, your heart will be empty and you will be miserable for the rest of your life. – J. Krishnamurti. Agape love, unending unconditional love is the miracle that redeems us from eternal damnation. If everyone of us loved our neighbors as like we loved ourselves, there would be a love revolution on earth that would tilt the globe over on it’s axis.

To experience prosperity we need to appreciate the five aspects of a prosperity consciousness. These were really interesting for me, but first what are they? We don’t need anything else to experience prosperity, we cannot experience prosperity if we believe in lacks, we are not separated into categories, we are at once the seer, seeing and the seen, we can’t experience prosperity if we believe that we don’t deserve it and rejoice in the prosperity of others. What is the difference between the developed world and the developing world? A couple of letters added to the word develop, perhaps? We are different because of our attitudes, especially our attitudes towards prosperity. As I write this, parts of the Horn of Africa including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and to a lesser extent Kenya are experiencing the worst drought in over 60 years that has caused the United Nations to declare a crisis in Somalia which is bearing the brunt of the drought and is actually now dealing with an onslaught of famine. The Dabaab refugee camp in Kenya which is the largest in the world is filled to the rafters and the situation there is unacceptable, we are grateful for the external support from individuals, institutions and donor agencies, but for how long will this state of affairs (this cycle of poverty, ignorance and disease) subsist in the developing world? For how long ? This will not change unless and until we change our attitudes and our mindsets.

We can create our own magical personality. We can improve our lives in the areas of personality, talent, intelligence, habits and customs, our aging and our emotional health. It is incumbent upon me to improve myself, to create my own magical personality and I’m on it.

Putting real magic into my personality. How can I put real magic into my personality? My personality is my own creation. I can create a miracle in myself by making that personality all that I am capable of imagining for myself in my omnipotent, omniscient mind. The author puts the ball squarely in my court and I’m ready to play ball!

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?

A recent study by the organization Human Rights Watch was really difficult for me to digest, the study that was carried out in 16 prisons in Uganda was really bittersweet for me. I didn’t know whether to mourn or rejoice. Why? This is simply because the report entitled “Even Dead Bodies Must Work: Health, Hard Labor and abuse in Ugandan Prisons” revealed some of the issues we have been raising with prison authorities for a long time. To some extent we as Nubapm* have tried to mitigate and solve some of the problems in these prisons but the situation is grave and the report shows it all, and more. Researchers visited prisons across Uganda and found out that inmates are forced to trade sex for food and that prison officers are illegally profiting from work done by the detainees.

According to one of the authors of the report Ms. Kathryn Todrys, prisoners in Uganda who may not be convicted of any crime, are brutally beaten and forced to work under conditions resembling slavery. With just over 50,000 people passing through our prisons every year, this state of affairs is totally unacceptable. A book like Real Magic gives us the impetus and some guidelines on how to infect the real world with optimism, hope and real solutions to these challenges. A wonderful example of what can be done is a suggestion from a man I have great respect for, Mr. Michael Lightweaver who once asserted that the prison system can be transformed through exposing the inmates to education and enlightenment, a course like this one would be just perfect, and time spent in jail would be slashed on the completion of a book and demonstration of it’s direct impacts on their lives. Now that’s the Real magic ideology.

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.

“We destroy the….love of learning in children, which is so strong when they are small, by encouraging and compelling them to work for petty and contemptible rewards- gold stars, or papers marked 100 and tacked to the wall, or As on report cards, or honor rolls, or deans lists, phi Beta Kappa keys- in short, for the ignoble satisfaction of feeling that they are better than someone else.” So true.

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving and that’s your own self” Aldoous Huxley.

“The great tragedy is not death, but what dies within you when you are alive…..”

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 found the recommendation to think with our ‘omnipotent, and ‘omniscient’ mind quite new and unique. This is because these two words were in my experience reserved for references to God. Is the author implying that there is a connection and if so what is 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?

The book didn’t have any clear exercises as such but the author requested the readers to think through some ideas and write them down, which I did.

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

No.

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? 6
B. How helpful were the contents? 7
C. How easy was it to understand? 6
D. Would you recommend it to others? 7
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7

 

 

How To Win Friends & Influence People
Assessment by Phillip Owino Ogwal (Uganda)

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

The author of the book, ‘How to win Friends and Influence People’ Dale Carnegie set a precedent in his multimillion copy bestseller. Dale Carnegie is someone who in my mother tongue we would refer to as ‘Atel yoo’ (the one who leads the way), and this is the way that is off the beaten track , in effect leading the way to a new path. A pioneer who dared go where no individuals had dared to, his book is about the fine art of how to get along with people. Cognizant of the fact that man is not an island and human nature is not an open and shut case but a series of experiences on a continuum, how do we get along with each other as mankind and get what we want from each other without squeezing it out? How do we employ our skills and talents in our life and times to act with tact and diplomacy in order to see our ends met but also to ensure that the means are the most suitable and optimal? Dale Carnegie conveys an ardent need, especially for those of us who see ourselves as world beaters or world changers, to draw people unto us and our way of thinking and to bring about a positive change in ourselves and others without breeding resentment. All of us need lessons on getting along, and the author of How to win friends and influence people is still spot on, over seventy years after it was first printed.

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.

In my first draft, I had no less than thirty ideas which were really important to me with reasons as to why I felt they were important. I had to make a short list in order to meet the requirement of seven, which was good because I had quite a volume. They are;

Don’t criticize, condemn or complain. As Dr. Johnson said, ‘God himself, Sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days. Why then should you and I?’ Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness. “To know all is to forgive all.” How many beehives have I kicked over? Well let’s just say earlier in life the bees and I were not the best of friends. Growing up in a family that had some expert critics had an effect on me, it was tough being tongue lashed and criticized at anytime and anywhere for anything deemed offensive. In the States the cops say ‘you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law’ our version was ‘you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be manipulated and used against you!!’ So naturally we decided to shut up and take it out on those we could, especially at school and this had disastrous effects. The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree but this apple has gone through a process and has improved significantly from those days in primary school. Can more improvement be 9
registered? You bet.

Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. In order to be a good conversationalist, we must remember that the people we talk to are a hundred times more interested in themselves and their wants and problems than they are in us and our problems. I take this idea with keen interest not only because I feel I should master and employ it regularly but because as I’ve already indicated earlier, I’m a relatively quiet person. This makes it easier for me to relate with others at a more personal level, and I get to stay my normal self in the course of the conversation. People are almost desperate to be listened to, be it at school, at social functions or even in our prisons. Whenever there is some kind of discussion say for example in class almost everyone wants to air out their opinion and through it dominate the entire discussion. People just love to wax lyrical about themselves and thanks to Dale, we can use this to our advantage in engaging with them.
Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view. In order to be effective in dealing with other people, we should increasingly think in terms of the other peoples’ point of view and see them from that person’s angle as well as our own.

Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely. We are often tempted to lord it over others when we find ourselves in better positions than they are, it’s growing into an obsession for people in this country to develop this feeling of magnanimity especially when they are put into positions of authority. So from the security guard to the chairman of the board, everyone demands their pound of flesh. We need to be able to make others feel important, but what happens when it is demanded of us and it’s obviously being taken too far. Our politicians are an excellent case in point, they demand the feeling of importance and grandeur and I think merely making them feel important would not be enough, what then?

Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly. This is an effective way to correct people’s mistakes because being direct and brazen about it could yield resentment and in some instances start a world war! My direct approach to dealing with people who were seen to be making mistakes won me a lot of fear and loathing, but in my senior five it came to a head. I stood in the school elections for the post of Education minister although I preferred the title of head monitor because that’s what I was. Education minister to me was pompous and ambiguous. Now in order to win, I had to get people to vote for me and this was not going to be possible if I remained quiet and critical, so I underwent a metamorphosis and I was successful in the elections. But that was not the end, dealing with class monitors was not easy, others didn’t take their work seriously and yet the buck stopped with me. If things were in order, they got the credit and when things went wrong, yours truly was called to account so I had to deal very tactfully with them, especially the ladies as they were very sensitive to any negative feedback. Silence did it for me, and that’s how I managed to be the best head monitor up until that time.

Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise. We often don’t use to the fullest extent our magic ability to praise people and inspire them with a realization of their latent possibilities. Abilities wither under criticism; they blossom under encouragement. This idea takes me back to what I think was my first leadership position when I was voted group leader in my primary six. We had a mathematics teacher called Mr. Isabirye Moses who knew just how to draw out latent abilities in individuals. I didn’t quite get it then but after all these years I realize why he nominated the smallest and quietest boy in the group to head it. He sought me out, recognized and appreciated me and for that please allow me to use this forum to say ‘Thank you so much Mr. Isabirye and May the Lord God bless you richly’.

I think it is also important for us as effective leaders to keep the following guidelines in mind when it is necessary to change attitudes or behavior. – Be sincere, do not promise anything you cannot deliver. Forget about the benefits to yourself and concentrate on the benefits to the other person. – Know exactly what it is you want the other person to do. – Be empathetic. Ask yourself what it is the other person really wants. – Consider the benefits that person will receive from doing what you suggest. – Match those benefits to the other persons wants. – When you make your request, put it in a form that will convey to the person the idea that he or she will personally 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?

The ideas discussed in the previous section are very interesting to say the least. It’s interesting to note that at the time of writing and compiling the book, there was no concise set of knowledge collected together to give guidance on the intricacies and skills involved in public speaking and winning friends and influencing people. We had mastered the sciences and the arts but have left self mastery and the understanding of the factors that drive other people to the unknown. Why was this the case at that time? I don’t know but one thing is for sure, Dale Carnegie did us a massive favor.

I remember a couple of years ago, walking with a relative of mine to his office, while we were about to get there, we met a colleague of his who happened to work in the customer service department of the organization. After saying my pleasantries I stepped back in order to let the adults catch up, but before she left she told my relative that I was “cold” and would never fit in a customer service industry setting. This surprised me and jolted me all at once, how could a stranger take one glance at me and declare me unfit to work in a given field? I was not happy and set out to do some soul searching, incidentally she was right to some extent and I quickly attempted to work on my personality as I soon discovered that it was how I was dressed that gave me away. I still evaluate myself and now, thanks to Dale I have a set of principles to which I can measure my performance.

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 great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men” S. Carlyle. I found this quote worth noting because it closely connects with one of my best quotes from Nelson Mandela, Madiba as he is commonly called celebrated his 93rd birthday today. In his autobiography, Long walk to freedom, he states how great a nation is not by how it treats the great and mighty but by how it treats the lowest of it’s citizens, the prisoners. He spent twenty seven odd years on Robben Island so he must have a much better idea than me on what this means. As far as Uganda is concerned we are way off the mark but Nubapm* is out to see to it that this changes.

The extract of the article entitled “Father forgets” was also important to me. I’ve memorized it and I look forward to the day I have my own children and can be as loving toward them as I can be and be the best father that I can to them. God knows, if I were to act like my own father, it would be a travesty of justice for me to even have children.

“I would rather walk the sidewalk in front of a person’s office for two hours before an interview than step into that office without a perfectly clear idea of what I was going to say and what that person- from my knowledge of his or her interests and motives – was likely to answer.” Preparation, preparation, preparation! Today it is not uncommon for us to do things on a whim, without thoroughly considering it in depth. We live in an age where almost everything can be instant and inadequate preparation can be very disastrous.
“Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our mental and physical resources. Stating things broadly, the human being thus lives far within his limits. He possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use.” If it wasn’t his birthday, perhaps I wouldn’t do this but once again this quote is similar to one from Nelson Mandela that says “Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are great beyond measure.”

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’ve already noted in section 2 above that we can make people feel important in order to win them over as friends and also to influence them, but what happens when people realize this courtesy and want to take you for a ride or demand it from you without question? What then?

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

There were no exercises in the book but the author encouraged us to write out our experiences and insights as we applied the principles and ideas in the book. In my case some are contained within this report and others are in my diary, especially the practical bits that are still ongoing.

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

No, there isn’t anything that I’d like to comment on at this point in time that was not covered in the previous questions.

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

 

 

Goals

Assessment By: Phillip Owino Ogwal

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 is the fact that we can achieve our goals. We can do it! Brian Tracy gives us simple, powerful, effective and timely methods for setting and achieving goals. The book takes the reader through a treasure trove of over 21 strategies of how to make our goals a reality. Using the 21 strategies, we can achieve all the goals we set for ourselves no matter how big. Why? Well simply because ‘success is goals, all else is commentary.’

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.

A. Get started, unlock your potential. This idea states that I have inborn ability within me to achieve any goal I could ever set for myself. It then asks what I really want to be, have and do. Additionally I should take note of those activities that give me the greatest sense of meaning and purpose in life. How could more of the same be done? The author asserts that you should look at your personal and work life today, and identify how your own thinking has created your world. What should you or could you change? Resolve to think and talk only about the things you want in life and refuse to talk about the things you don’t want. Determine the price you will have to pay to achieve the goals that are most important to you, and then resolve to pay that price. Starting today. Imagine that you are absolutely guaranteed of success in achieving your goals and that you had no fears at all. What goals would you set for yourself? What one action should you take immediately as the result of your answers to the above questions? I believe I have the inborn ability to achieve any goals I set for myself and as such I’d like to graduate with a first class honors degree in my current course of study and to go as far as possible in the field of academia i.e. to the rank of professor. It’s one of my ambitions to be president of a multi-national group of companies with affiliates all over the world that can contribute to the empowerment of millions of people around the world and to have sound health, physical and otherwise and a wonderful network of loving and supportive family and friends. The thing with regard to my thinking that has held me back has been my (now abandoned) aversion to start my own enterprise and yet I have what it takes to succeed at it. The one action I should take immediately is to invest some time and resources into setting up my own enterprise in the two months in order to apply what I’m currently studying (Business Administration and management) and to raise some income as I empower others as well.

B. Take charge of your life: The issues raised here are; identify your biggest problem or source of negativity in life today. In what ways are you responsible for this situation? See yourself as the president of your own company. How would you act differently if you owned one hundred percent of the shares of the company you work for? Resolve today to stop blaming anyone else for anything and instead accept complete responsibility in every area of your life. What actions should you take now that you are in charge? See yourself as the primary creative force in your own life. You are where you are and what you are because your own choices and decisions. What should you change? As earlier indicated, I’m facing a mammoth challenge as regards meeting my financial obligations. I’m responsible for this state of affairs because as a full time student I had not considered starting up a venture that can run even while I’m away at school, one that I can monitor with ease and have some income flowing to me even as I apply what I’m learning in my course of study in business administration and marketing and to provide empowerment for the people who will help me make it a success. If I were president of my own company, I believe I’d put more emphasis on making a contribution that is more qualitative rather than just quantitative, right now I’m pursuing my bachelors degree and my course of study with the International Institute for Global leadership in able to develop skills that will allow me to put more work into the hours rather than just hours at work. This applies actually to all areas of my life. Now that I’m in charge I’ll be more honest and courteous with people no matter who they may be, set big goals, challenge myself more and work as hard and as smart as I can in order to reach the finish line. I resolve to improve my attitude towards life, stop making excuses and start making progress, stop blaming anyone else and instead accept complete responsibility in every area of my life, forgive anyone who has ever hurt me in any way and let it go.

C. Clarify your values. The issues raised here are; Make a list of three to five most important values in life today. What do you stand for? Important values in life today are honesty, integrity, social justice, diligence, determination, and faith in infinite intelligence. I believe in a harmonious society in which every man, woman and child is born free and equal in dignity and rights. In a society where everyone is free from want and is the master of his/her destiny in a peaceful world. What qualities and values are you best known for today among the people who know you? I think the values are honesty, integrity and a strong belief in social justice and ethical behavior. What are your values regarding money and financial success? Are you practicing these values today? I believe that money is a means to an end and that I need to understand the lessons of wealth creation and apply them in my life. For example, tithing, saving and investing wisely. I currently do all though I must admit I’m quite inconsistent. Describe your idea of an ideal person, the person you would want to be if you had no limitations. If I had no limitations I’d the person I’ll term the warrior- poet. A person whose self-esteem is excellent, has a strong internal locus of control, a visionary leader, a people person who can listen to them, solve their problems, is intuitive, kind, compassionate, honorable, courageous and a philanthropist. A warrior poet is an individual who can master his life and environment no matter what cards life deals to him/her, like King David who could both slay Goliath to save his people and write Psalms and play the harp for worship and celebration.

D. Determine your true goals: Decide what it is that you really desire in life. What is it that others have that you wish you could have as well? I desire to be a financially free individual with the financial muscle to purchase anything that can be purchased in order to improve on the quality of my life. Three beautiful homes for a wonderful family that that will be catered for in every way that it can possibly be catered for and a business empire that can empower not only my children and their children’s children but thousands of other people around the world. I’d also very much love to leave a heritage for humanity when I pass on, an international organization that that helps redeem those who are in both physical and mental bondage. What is the one goal that if you attained it, would have the greatest positive impact on your life? Excelling at everything I set out to do. What one skill, if you were excellent at it, would help you the most to achieve your most important goal? The skill of management; if I mastered how to manage my time, my money, my relationships with other people and other resources this would help me the most. What is the largest single obstacle that stands between you and your goal? If I’d been asked to respond to this question a few months ago, I’d have been quick to look around me for the solution. The prime suspects for my obstacles would be inadequate finances or malicious friends and family. I’ve since had a big change in outlook and believe that my biggest obstacles will be my own attitudes, values and personality. As far as I’m concerned, my biggest challenge will be transforming myself into the visionary world leader I’m destined to be.

E. Set and achieve all your financial goals: In order to set and achieve my financial goals, it’s imperative for me to make some resolutions. With immediate effect, I’ve decided to; determine my net worth today so that I’m clear where I’m starting from, calculate how much I want to earn per hour, month and year in the next one, two, three up to five years, create a plan to get out of debt by living on less than I earn and cut back some expenses, calculate the amount I need to live comfortably each month in case I had no income at all and use this number as the basis for my financial planning; begin to study and learn about money, how to earn more of it, and how to make it grow, ask successful people for advice, especially before I invest any of my money and finally to save ten to twenty percent of my income for the rest of my working lifetime. I’ve already made financial independence a top priority.

F. Manage your time well: In order to improve on my time management skills I will do the following; make a list of everything I’d like to be, do or have in the months and years ahead and select those items which have the greatest possible consequences on my life, make a list of everything I have to do the following day and let my subconscious mind work on my list while I sleep. Organize this list of things to do by priority using the 80/20 rule and the ABCDE method, in order to separate urgent from the non urgent and the important from the non important before I begin. I’ll then work immediately on the most important task, and then discipline myself to concentrate single-mindedly on this one task until it is one hundred percent complete.

G. Visualize your goals continually: I’ll project forward and imagine that my life was perfect in every respect. Have a mental rehearsal before every event of importance seeing myself in my mind’s eye as performing at my very best in everything I do or attempt, continually feed my mind with clear, exciting emotional pictures as my imagination is my preview of life’s coming attractions and to make this process a regular part of my life.

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

These ideas will help me in my journey of life in a multitude of ways. More than anything I’ve had the amazing opportunity to discover who I truly am at a very deep level. These techniques really work. How do I know? I’ve just started using them and there are measurable results, for example I now wake up an hour earlier than I used to and the time spent praying, meditating, preparing for the new day and revising is worth it. I’m a lot more productive now!!

In the previous question, I answered the end of chapter reflection questions and resolutions and to a great extent I believe it incorporated most of the ways in which the ideas will help me in a practical way. This book is packed with golden nuggets of knowledge that I’ll carry with me all my life as undertake this journey of life on earth.

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.

“Success is goals and all else is commentary.” “Your time and life are precious. The biggest waste of time and life is to spend years accomplishing something you would achieve in only a few months” I found this quote worth noting because it touches me in a special place (my heart), most of the people I started school with are now working and yet I’m still in school. It may be true that am on the right path now but it shouldn’t happen to me again.

“A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with – a man is what he makes of himself” Alexander Graham Bell . So the question for me to answer is, what am I making of myself?

“The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.” Richard M Devos “You do not believe what you see; you see what you already believe.” Wayne Dyer “Belief creates the actual fact” William James

So true.

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

There was nothing I did not understand in the book or that was unclear and I generally agreed with all the ideas.

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?

Yes, the book contained several exercises that I did complete and some are included in the previous sections. I found them very 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.

No.

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? 7
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8

 

 

Goal Achievement Through Treasure Mapping

Assessment By: Phillip Owino Ogwal

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

Goal achievement through treasure mapping is a book that the author intends to use to re-awaken the dream-seeker within each of her readers. To help us remember our goals and dreams and guide us on a journey to accomplish them. The book is about using a goal achievement process called treasure mapping and to learn how to use it to accomplish and attain personal and professional fulfillment and to realize the magic of this truly amazing world.

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.

A. Choices. According to Gary Zukav and Linda Francis, your only choice is what experiences you will create. We can make the choice to use treasure mapping to represent what we want happen in our lives. I’ve not been using treasure mapping to attain my goals, but it’s something I’d like to explore further. It’s interesting to note that the universe will repeat what you need to hear until you make the choice to pay attention. This reminds me of a period of time about three years ago shortly after I’d lost hope of going back to school. Almost everywhere I turned, I’d bump into a reminder to go back to school. While working as a research assistant to a certain consultant, he’d regularly urge me to save up some money and go back to the university, at the time the tuition fee looked like an astronomical fee that I’d never be able to put aside just for school but I can now look back and appreciate the prodding and encouragement that this gentleman did. The other interesting experience was with an elderly gentleman in came across in Oyam district who had no one to look after him in his household, he told me all his children had abandoned school at an early age and so were reckless with their lives. None of them lived long, he told me of his pain brought about by the fact that he had to burry all his children and not one of them lived to inherit his assets and pass on his name.

It was almost everywhere, go back to school and finish school!!! Over time, I developed a deep desire to join school again, but not just to make up the numbers, this time I had a raging fire in my belly to excel at everything I did at school and I’m glad things are proceeding in the right direction.

B. Psychological preparation: Reframing and response-ability. In order to create a fertile environment in which goal manifestation will occur, we need to be certain our thoughts are prepared. In the words of Budha, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts, with our thoughts we make our world.” To get to the bottom of psychological preparation we need to ask ourselves whether our situations are ideal with regard to career, relationships, health and personal life choices. In order to create the right ‘environment’ we need to fertilize our minds by eliminating thoughts like ‘I don’t deserve this, or who do I think I am to deserve this, or it’s selfish for me to wish for this or that. To curb the effects of such doubting thoughts we need to reframe our negative messages and thought patterns and this helps us to shift our thinking from a fear-based to faith based mentality. And as we act from a faith based perspective, we are able to take response-ability for our lives. The general idea goes on to state that accepting lack in any area of our lives prevents us from maximizing our potential and expressing our highest selves. A personal prosperity definition enables us to create a lifestyle consistent with this definition. In the reflections section, the author encourages us to think about this and write down our own personality prosperity definitions, I personally agree that this should encompass all that fulfills me on every level of my life-spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.

C. Treasure mapping is an adventurous process. It was interesting to note that treasure mapping differs from goal setting in a number of distinct ways. The author states that treasure mapping is a fun, adventurous process of goal achievement and I found this to be true because cutting up pictures for my treasure maps and sticking them on a piece of manila paper that I can refer to often was actually more interesting than just writing down my goals. The process is deeply engaging and involves the participant emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Treasure mapping is liberating in that you don’t have to determine how, when, or the way in which your goal will be accomplished, and it can be used for anything our hearts desire. Treasure mapping results are the responsibility of the individual in terms of making the choice to set intentions, to have positive expectancy, and to release blame and other blocks such as guilt, fear and resentment. This means that the previous point on reframing our negative thoughts into positive thoughts is key. If I walk around blaming people or circumstances for my problems and living in fear and resentment, this can hinder the process in my life. Lastly, treasure mapping enhances our ability to listen to our intuition, to trust divine order, and to strengthen our faith.

D. Release: The first step in treasure mapping is to release what is not serving you. This is your opportunity to create the physical, emotional, and spiritual room for your good to flow to you. It says we are to release what is not serving us, but this leaves me with the question, what is serving me? And what isn’t? Responding to these questions raised another question, how do I know what is serving me and what isn’t? Having done a personal evaluation, I found that I indeed have some conflicting situations pertaining to my emotional and physical beliefs. The process is ongoing to find some clarity on where to go next. Blocks take many forms, they ma y be tangible things such as clothes, furniture, cards, books or they may be intangible, including negative emotions such as blame, fear, guilt and worry. Toxic people can also be blocks to goal achievement. This takes me back to a time in secondary school when I belonged to a group of very unproductive individuals, parting company with them was dangerous and difficult but in the end the results were tremendous. I still feel I can do more in my life with regard to dealing with blocks that are intangible in the form of negative emotions. Forgiveness is indeed a key to releasing negative thoughts and emotions from our lives.

E. Appreciating who, what and where you are. According to the author, appreciating our successes allows us to seize the opportunities presented by our unique challenges and make the most of them. We can’t afford to take our lives for granted or wish our lives were different because these are attitudes that directly conflict with our ability to achieve our goals. She also provides three techniques that will help us to appreciate our circumstances and these are; Using self talk to our advantage, seeing things differently and living in the present.

F. The importance of internal integrity. The direction we receive from our highest selves through meditation steer us toward our highest good, so the goals we set are convenient with our innermost desire. This ‘internal integrity’ is absolutely vital to goal achievement. I see the need to manifest internal integrity in all aspects of my life from a much better standpoint now.

G. Receiving: Learning to receive openly and joyfully is a key ingredient in successful treasure mapping. Gifts you may need to learn to receive before you receive your goal include; inspiration, information, opportunities, advice and feelings. Set out to practice receiving at every opportune moment.

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 can and will help in a practical way, both in my daily personal life and in helping me to create a better world. The first point on choices really helps me to gather my thoughts on my choices, according to Prof. Dumbledore of the Harry Potter books, “

It’s not our abilities that show us who we truly are, it is our choices.” I believe this to be true and concur that my choices can build me or destroy me and it is therefore incumbent upon me to build my decision making ability. We often make choices that we will later on regret in life. The only problem is that we cannot go back in time to undo these decisions. It is prudent for all of us to make choices based on ethically sound principles in our lives, and in the lives of those around us. This brings into relief the several experiences that inmates have shared with me about single, rash decisions that have destroyed lives and communities for even generations! We must listen to the universe, every time I see, feel or think about something important in my life, then I must pay attention, take heed and act accordingly and yes, even if it means biting the bullet and making tough decisions.

The issue of release is also important to me because I truly concur with the author’s assertion that I must release whatever is not serving me. This is my opportunity to create the physical, emotional and spiritual room for my good to flow through me. I have to learn to deal with the tangible and intangible things in my life and as it is, I’m now looking more critically at my life to deal especially with the intangible blocks like blame, fear, guilt and worry. Appreciating my successes allows me to seize the opportunities presented by my unique challenges and allows me to make the best of them. In the bible, there is a portion of scripture in which God meets Moses in the burning bush incident and gives him the response ‘I am who I am.’ God knows all things, and this includes who He is. I’d love to be able to be able to give this same response in respect to knowing who I truly am and at peace with that knowledge. This I’ve already started doing by using self-talk to my advantage, seeing things from a different perspective and by living in the present. How great and how pleasant it would be for us to incorporate internal integrity in all aspects of our lives. To meditate and listen to myself and to my highest self and respond in accordance with my internal integrity as frequently as I can and in the most expedient time possible would be a pleasure for me. I believe in living my creed and that every great movement starts with one thought in one individual. I will rise to the challenge and this is important for me to receive the mantle, the mandate, the promise and its achievement.

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.

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly….” Langstone Hughes. This quote particularly got my attention because there was actually a time in my life when most of my dreams were dead, but I’m glad that I held fast onto some and those pushed me on and interestingly, I now have bigger dreams and believe this bird will soar.

“All things are ready, if our minds be so” William Shakespeare

Our minds are powerful enough to bring into our lives; the manifestation of all we hope and dream for, the challenge for us is to prepare our minds to receive.

“It’s better to plant a $1 plant in a $5 hole than a $5 plant in a $1 hole.” Preparation is everything. If we could put as much time into preparation as we would in the execution of poorly planned activities, then all our activities would be more productive.

“It’s a funny thing about life, if one refuses to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.” W. Somerset Vaughn

“Two men looked out of prison bars. One saw mud, the other saw stars.” Anonymous

My outlook on life determines my response to life and my response to life determines everything.

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?

Most of the ideas in the book were clear and easy to understand and thus didn’t raise any queries. However, I wonder if treasure mapping can work for the achievement of group goals. What happens for instance in the relationship between a husband and a wife who both use treasure mapping exactly as suggested by the author but the two are using it to achieve directly opposite goals or even the same goal but with different specifications?

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

The book had written after chapter exercises called reflections for the reader to respond to, I completed some of them but found some inapplicable at the moment and will do them at the appropriate time.

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.

There was nothing that was not covered in the previous questions.

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? 6.5
B. How helpful were the contents? 7
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 7
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7

 

 

Law of Attraction

Assessment by Phillip Owino Ogwal

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

Michael J Losier in his book the Law of attraction attempts to convey to the reader the science of attracting more of what we want in life and less of what we don’t. The book gives us a psychological foundation for positive thinking and its effect in the law of attraction book. He states that the law of attraction isn’t a fancy term or new age magic but rather that it’s a law of nature that every atom of your being is in constant response to, whether you know it or not.

The law of attraction reveals a programme with tips, tools, exercises and techniques that the reader can incorporate into one’s life to immediately attract an ideal mate, increase one’s wealth and abundance, and bring more customers, clients and referrals into business 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.

The definition of the law of attraction is ‘I attract to my life whatever I give my attention, energy and focus to, whether positive or negative. What we ‘give off’ in order to attract the positive or negative is called a vibe. The word vibe is often used to describe a mood or a feeling that you pick up from someone or something. It’s a short form of the word vibration which can either be positive or negative. The main idea here is that we attract positive or negative things, occurrences or circumstances into our lives depending on the vibes that we emit. Feelings like disappointment, loneliness, lack, sadness, confusion, stress, anger and hurt are attracted by negative vibes while feelings like joy, love, excitement, abundance, pride, comfort, confidence and affection are attracted by positive vibes. Living rough made me recognize how difficult it was for me to get help because I was very depressed and very depressing to be around. I hit rock bottom and had to live near the bottom of the pile because that was what was in my vibrational bubble at the time. On the other hand, when I got the chance to travel to the UK I was on a roll, I was so happy, so full of life, hope, and everything seemed to flow in the same positive direction and this reveals a practical aspect of this point.

Understanding the significance of your words: Words are the common denominator for all the exercises in the deliberate attraction process. The words we think and speak generate the vibration we give out and they have a direct relationship between the words and our thoughts and feelings. Words like don’t, not and no cause us to attract what we don’t want and internalize our minds to the exact things we are telling ourselves not to do, think or say. When we use words like no, don’t and no we are actually giving attention and energy to what we don’t want. So what do I want?

Asking you, “So what do I want?” This is the transformational phase of the process in attracting what we want. From negative statements we ask the question “so what do I want?” and come up with positive statements. Having known what it is we want it is easy for us to reset our vibration by simply changing the words we are using and the thoughts we are thinking. This is interesting because the law of attraction does not remember what vibration we were sending out five minutes ago, five days ago, five months ago, or fifty years ago. It responds only to the vibration we are sending out at that particular point in time and gives us more of the same. So how do I know whether I’m sending out a negative or positive vibration? Well simply taking a look at the results I’m getting in that area of my life. They are a perfect reflection of what I’m vibrating.

The three-step formula for deliberate attraction, which is; identify your desire, give your desire attention and allow it. The first step in making the law of attraction work is to be clear about what we want. We must be cautious of contrast, which is anything we don’t like, doesn’t feel good or causes us to be in a negative mood. The moment we identify something that feels like contrast and complain about it, declare we don’t want it or talk about it then we are giving it attention. Giving attention increases vibration where vibration simply means to give your desire attention. Observing contrast is essential because it helps us to become clearer about what we don’t want, and when we identify what makes us feel good, we should do more of it. The second step is giving your desire attention. Giving attention increases vibration where vibration means to give your desire more positive attention, energy and focus. It is not enough for us to include the vibration of our desires in our current vibrational bubble. We should also have a desire statement and re-word affirmations to have them work effectively in attracting what we want in our lives. For example, we should say I’m in the process of having harmonious relationships rather saying I have harmonious relationships. The third and last step in the three-step process is allowing. Allowing is simply the absence of negative vibration and doubt is a negative vibration. Allowing is the most important step in the deliberate attraction process. We know we are allowing when we make statements such as ‘Ah, what a relief!’ or ‘Now this feels possible.’ It’s important to note that the speed at which the law of attraction manifests is in direct proportion to how much you allow.

More tools to help you allow: -When you find and experience proof or evidence of the law of attraction, celebrate it by acknowledging how close you came to getting what you desired. Simply find proof and rejoice. -Record proof of the law of attraction. Keeping a diary or a book of proof of the law of attraction in your life will help you believe it more, get excited more, allow more and trust more. -Appreciation and gratitude, this helps to send out strong positive vibrations. Keeping an appreciation and gratitude journal is an effective daily tool for maintaining a positive vibration. When we purposely take time to appreciate every day, we are intentionally attracting strong, positive vibrations in our vibrational bubble. – Using the expression ‘I’m in the process of’ we are always in the process of, the law of attraction is always unfolding and orchestrating events and circumstances to respond to my vibration and bring me more of the same. -Make yourself an attraction box in which to collect things that represent your desire.

Teaching the law of attraction to children. I found the techniques given by the author in this section very useful in teaching a Sunday school class, though I was teaching scripture, the ideas on using simple words, asking questions to get kids to relate in their own experiences, visual aids, asking and giving permission and keeping it fun were very helpful.

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

The ideas can pave the way for a transformation in the way I perceive the world and the things that go on in it. The law of attraction book has several ideas that I found useful in order to make improvements in some of my ideological leanings. For long, I found it almost offensive to be told some of the ideas with regard to the attraction of what happens in our lives. However, I now believe to a considerable extent that I have a key role in determining my destiny and that all my dreams and hopes can come true if I attract them into my life. From the time I started this course with the International Institute for Global leadership, I’ve noticed several changes in my life and will most definitely write an essay on this sometime in the future, books like this one have evaluated me, challenged me and pushed me to think. My best life now is possible and I will deliberately attract it. My belief in divine order to bring about the things I envision for my life, community and the world at large is reinforced by this book.

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.

“ When you go from what you don’t want to what you do want, the words change. When the words change, the vibration changes, and you can only send one vibration at a time.”

Remember, it’s the absence of doubt that will bring your desire faster. So true, the absence of doubt does indeed bring things we aspire to achieve faster.

“Abundance is a feeling. Be more deliberate to include the feeling of abundance in your current vibration-your vibrational bubble.” I find this quote a dare to see what happens and I’m rising up to it.

“Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time. One or the other must dominate. It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your 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?

I’ve come across this “attraction” issue before and I still have an inkling not to buy the story, hook, line and sinker. Can we say that a child bludgeoned to death by a bunch of deranged rebels attracted such a horrific death? How on earth can the nation of Haiti attract, catastrophe after catastrophe? Are there limits to the magnitude of what we can attract? How can I reconcile what I attract with, say a spouse who is attracting something that is the antithesis of what I’m attracting? As you can see, the questions could just keep flowing. Some more clarity is needed.

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 contained no clear cut exercises but there were a number of points to ponder which I duly did.

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.

There was nothing that was not covered in the previous questions.

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? 7
B. How helpful were the contents? 6.5
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 7
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 7

 

 

Non-Violent Communication – A Language of Life

Phillip Owino Ogwal

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

Dr. Marshall B. Rosenborg conveys a very compelling message in his book ‘Non-violent communication, a language of life.’ The book is about a non-violent communication process (NVC). It’s a communication technique, but more than that it’s aimed at transforming our thinking, language and moralistic judgments that keep us from the enriching relations that we dream of. The author teaches us how to live peacefully with ourselves and with those around us, to create personal and professional relationships grounded in mutual respect, compassion and emotional safety.

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.

A. Giving from the heart: The author introduces the book in chapter one by asking the following questions; what happens to disconnect us from our compassionate nature, leading us to behave violently and exploitatively? And conversely, what allows some people to stay connected to their compassionate nature under even the most trying circumstances? While studying the factors that affect our ability to stay compassionate, he was struck by the crucial role of language and our use of words. There is a specific approach to communicating-both speaking and listening-that leads us to give from the heart, connecting us with ourselves and with each other in a way that allows our natural compassion to flourish. Therefore, NVC is a way of communicating that leads us to give from the heart. The four components of non-violent communication are; observations, feelings, needs and requests and its two parts are; expressing honestly through the four components and receiving empathically through the four components. One of the key issues I’ve pondered about in this life is the summary of the two questions the author gave in the introductory chapter. Coming from a region in Uganda where everyone below the age of twenty three was born and grew up in a war zone, I was really perturbed by the violence that so ravaged this once peaceful land.

B. Observing without evaluating: We need to clearly observe what we are seeing, hearing or touching that is affecting our sense of wellbeing without mixing in any evaluation. Observations are an important element in NVC, where we wish to clearly and honestly express how we are feeling to another person. According to the Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti, observing without evaluating is the highest form of human intelligence. It’s so true that for most of us, it’s difficult to make observations, especially of people and their behavior, that are free of judgment, criticism, or other forms of analysis. I’ve written before about growing up in an environment where criticism was in abundance and I know for a fact that when we combine observation with evaluation, we decrease the likelihood that others will hear our intended message.

C. Taking responsibility for our feelings: Our feelings result from how we choose to receive what others say and do, as well as from our particular needs and expectations in that moment. With this component, we are led to accept responsibility for what we do to generate our own feelings. When someone gives us a negative response either verbally or nonverbally, we have four options of how to receive it. One option is to take it personally by hearing blame and criticism. A second option is to fault the speaker. Our third option would be to shine the light of consciousness on our own feelings and needs. Finally, a fourth option on receiving a negative message is to shine the light of consciousness on the other person’s needs and feelings as they are currently expressed. We need to take note because the more directly we can connect our feelings to our needs; the easier it is for others to respond compassionately. I feel it’s important for us to as individuals to select the best option when responding to what others say and do; my experience has been such that my responses were not always as appropriate as possible. This point shows me where the errors were and how to rectify them.

D. The power of empathy: Empathy allows us to percieve our world in a new way and to go on. Our ability to offer empathy can allow us to stay vulnerable, diffuse possible violence, hear the word no without taking it as a rejection, revive a lifeless conversation, and even hear the feelings and needs expressed through silence. Time and again people transcend the paralyzing effects of psychological pain when they have sufficient contact with someone who can hear them empathically. I cannot express enough how important this point is to me, considering the fact that I’d been a big part of the work that NUBAPM (Northern Uganda Born Again Prisons Ministries) has been doing in prisons. This is one of the most revealing ideas for me, especially in relation to how useful this will be to me in prisons work going forward.

E. Connecting compassionately with ourselves: According to Dr. Rosenborg, NVC’s most crucial application may be in the way we treat ourselves in developing self-compassion. This is because when we are internally violent toward ourselves, it is difficult to be genuinely compassionate towards others. When we make mistakes, instead of getting caught up in moralistic self judgments, we can use the process of NVC mourning and self- forgiveness to show us where we can grow. By assessing our behavior in terms of our own unmet needs, the impetus for change comes not out of shame, guilt, anger or depression, but out of the genuine desire to contribute to our own and other’s wellbeing. We also cultivate self-passion by consciously choosing in daily life to act only in service to our own needs and values rather than out of duty, for extrinsic rewards, or to avoid guilt, shame and punishment. If we review the joyless acts to which we currently subject ourselves and make our translation from ‘have to ‘ to choose to’ we will discover more play and integrity in our lives.

F. Appreciation in nonviolent communication: Conventional compliments often take the form of judgments, however positive and are sometimes intended to manipulate the behavior of others. NVC encourages the expression of appreciation solely for celebration. We state the action that has contributed to our wellbeing, the particular need of ours that has been fulfilled and the feelings of pleasure engendered as a result. When we receive appreciation expressed in this way, we can do so without any feeling of superiority or false humility-instead we can celebrate along with the person effecting the appreciation. I practiced this mode of appreciation on a couple of friends and they found it ‘weird but nice’ it will catch on with time and the results should be more fulfilling relationships for us all. Michael, when you admitted me to this course of study with the IIGL, I felt very hopeful and glad because I’d been searching for a while for an online course and it has so far been so much better than I’d anticipated. Thank you so much for saving my life.

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

By reading this book, I’ve come to discover a lot of new insights on life, living and how we can make the best of them by living at peace with all those around us. I’ve learnt to put my primary focus on connection to people through empathic listening rather than ‘being right’ or ‘getting what I want’. To transform conflict into mutually satisfying outcomes and defusing anger and frustration peacefully. It has also taught me a lot about creating personal and professional relationships grounded in mutual respect, compassion and emotional safety, breaking patterns of thinking that lead to arguments or depression and to move beyond power struggles to cooperation and trust. I was particularly drawn to the chapters on giving from the heart, observing without evaluating, taking responsibility for our feelings, the power of empathy, connecting compassionately with ourselves and expressing appreciation in nonviolent communication. This book has proved a treasure trove of life lessons to me and I resolved after reading it the first time to make its guiding principles my guiding principles. I acknowledge that I still occasionally revert to my old conditioning but I’m on the right track, it’s changed my mind, on a several issues especially about physical violence in our rural communities. I thank God for giving me an opportunity to serve in prisons ministry but knowing what I do, my best intentions were flawed to a considerable extent by my ignorance. My zeal overtook my quest for knowledge and thus I was inefficient at the point of need. This book has opened my eyes and empowered me, to allow me serve this world in the best ways that I can in order to realize my dream of seeing a wonderful world get 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.

“I am not very frightened. Not because I am brave but because I know I am dealing with human beings, and that I must try as hard as I can to understand everything everyone ever does.” Etty Hillsum

“People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.” Epictetus

“Let us become the change we seek in the world.” Mahatma Ghandi

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

No.

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?

Yes It contained some exercises and I completed all of them.

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

No.

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? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 8.5