Pius Oluwatosin Reis – Assessments – International Institute for Global Leadership

As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

1. What Ideas were personally most important to you in this book? Do not simply list the ideas, but explain or discuss why they were important to you, using personal examples.

The book “As a Man Thinketh” has opened my minds eye to a new dimension to positive thinking.

Ideas that I found personally important to me are
1. thought and character,
2. Effect of thought on circumstances and
3. Effect of thought on health and body

I find the idea of thought and character very important because it gives me an in-depth understanding of the power of my thought, it has also made me conscious of the fact that my character is principally shaped by my thought. The writer explains that ‘good thoughts and actions can never produce bad actions, and bad thoughts and actions can never produce good actions’ reflecting on this statement I realize that it cant be more true, that there has been no action good or bad that I have taken that was not influenced by my thoughts at the time I made them. As a young boy I read the book the incorruptible judge and I admired the character of the judge to maintain his integrity at all cost, ever since I have shaped my thought to protect my integrity and this has really shaped my character because before I do any thing I try to understand if it is in line with my values where it is not in line I don’t find myself doing it. I find the statement God-like character, the book explains is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking to mean that good character is achievable by all, it is something we all can learn and it is only learnt by what we feed our thoughts with. I have found my character being tried by various kinds of temptations that comes in everyday life. I strongly subscribe to the writers opinion that man is the maker of his character, the molder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, because when I began a study on the depth of man I realized that the mind is the most powerful tool on earth. It is the mind that can make or mare a man and his mind is shaped by his thoughts.

I also find the idea of thought on circumstance important because it is actually our thoughts that will determine how far we can go in life. If we are pessimistic in our thoughts we are most likely to encounter more problems than someone who is optimistic, the simple reason being that a pessimist always anticipates problems which his imagination most often times creates. The writer states that every man is where he is by law of his being, the thought which he has built into his character has brought him there, this statement relates personally to me because where I stand today was as a result of my thought to change the status quo of my life to be more productive and relevant to my society led to the radical change in my behavior. Also the writer makes a striking point that when a man earnestly applies himself to remedy the defects in his character, and makes quick and marked progress; he passes rapidly through a succession of vicissitudes this is true because when we take the first step of changing something about us we rapidly make significant changes. When I was a small boy, I got into too many fights this was because I was short tempered, but when I took a deliberate effort to work on my temper, in no time people were surprised at the sudden change from being a trouble maker to becoming a peace maker, and I have worked on it till today. I also remember once when my team and I organized a seminar that at two days to go, everything seemed to have a turn around for the worst, from one of the key facilitators coming down with a flu to the venue suddenly being previously booked by another organization I fore saw a failed seminar a typical me would begin to panic. But because of the way I had built my mind to stay composed in the mist of adversity and think positively, I took charge of my thought and developed a mental picture of a successful seminar, I had the strength and enthusiasm to work towards making it a success and it finally turned out fine. This was possible because my thought helped me to change the circumstance of a failed seminar to success. This demonstrates that the outer world of circumstances shapes itself to the inner world of thought.

Finally I find the idea of thought on health and body also important, this is because I believe our physical being works in harmony with our thought, think that you are sick and in no time you are. Personally I have never visited the hospital for treatment at all and this could be largely attributed to the strong thought that I have developed over time with regards to my health, I see my body as steel that no sickness can enter. I have seen sickle cellar that never falls sick because she had conditioned her thought to resist sickness.

2. Can you relate the ideas or concepts in this book to your personal circumstances in life such as your relationships, your beliefs, your goals, your values, etc? Please use personal examples in your explanation.

I have always seen the mind as the strongest and most effective tool that any human can possess. Our mind can only be developed by feeding it with positive words and always positive thoughts. When I took control of my thought I found myself doing more than I have ever imagined, people who knew me are surprised at who I have become, because I was always in the wrong company when I was growing up and that meant getting into a lot of trouble, but when I took charge of my thoughts, and saw that I was worth more than being who I was at the time and that I was destined for a purpose, I was able to identify the weed that hard grown in my life, I changed the company of friends that I kept and my thought and actions today is a radical departure from my previous actions. Every time I go mountain climbing I find a way of using it to take my thought to the next level I do this by putting all the negative thoughts like falling off, encountering a wild animal and so on under check, climbing helps me to take charge of my thought throughout the whole process. I strongly believe that our thoughts as human beings determine our destiny, our thoughts shape who and what we will become, and how far we will go in life. Today I see that my values are far different from what they were some ten years ago. My thoughts have made me to be more optimistic about life, and having the courage to take on new challenges; I have a dogged determination to succeed and ready to pay the price for success. When I shaped my thought I indirectly shaped my perception towards life, I pictured success initially in material terms, but now I picture success in terms of how much impact I can make in making a difference in my world.

3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain.

The most important new ideas I learnt from this books are
(1) thought factor in achievement
(2) visions and ideals

The concept of thought factor in achievement is a new idea that has showed me how my thought could be used to achieve success. The writer explains that all achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought, what this translates to is that to achieve success we must have a focused thought, it is usually common that we are posed with distractions and various stopovers in our journey to success and it depends on our ability to stay focused and direct our thoughts to the end result that will lead to our ultimate achievement. For every endeavor we will encounter some problems and it is with our thought that we will be able to over come those challenges. Thought factor in achievement has helped me to understand that if we always visualize success in every thing we do, we will surly achieve our dreams. Also I find important to me the writers idea that he who would accomplish little need sacrifice little; he who achieve much must sacrifice much. He who attains highly must sacrifice greatly. I have always had a mind set to sacrifice what ever it takes to attain success (legitimately) but speaking with people they see me as too ambitious and desperate, this had made me to change my thought and stepping down on my determination, but reading this book I have brazed myself up again to dare my thoughts to achieve greatness. I also found the concept that the universe does not favor the greedy, the dishonest, and the vicious, although on the mere surface it sometimes may appear to do so, until I gave the phrase a thought I realized that it was true, there is this misconception that greedy and dishonest people are actually the ones that eventually succeed but if we follow their story to the end there is always a great fall at the end. I also find important and new the way by which the writer fused the need for sacrifice with the ability to raise ones thought to achieve success he demonstrate that both of them go together, and one cannot be divorced from the other.

Another idea I find new and important is the concept of visions and ideals it shows the makers of the world are actually dreamers, and it is the dreams that we have in our heart that shapes our destiny and the world eventually. Personally it was when I looked back at my journey through life that I made a decision to help young people maximize their potentials to leave more productive lives. It is this dream that has shaped my thoughts and my actions, it is this dream that gives me the inner strength I need when I face disappointments and feel discouraged.

4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how?

The book “as a man thinket” has helped to build my control over my thought. The book has given a deep understanding about the power of my thought, before I read this book all the control I had over my thoughts were ideas I picked in bits and pieces from other books. I have learnt that my thoughts are my most priceless possession which has challenged me to do everything to keep it fresh and positive. The book has especially changed my thinking with regards to the way I allow my thoughts wonder, I find myself being conscious about the kinds of things I think about, the book has challenged me to be the master of my thought. Also I have been challenged to use my thought to control the events around me, to see myself larger than I think I am, and if I really want to achieve greater height then I have to rise my thought, the higher my thought, the higher my achievement.

5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why?

I find myself disagreeing with the writer’s idea that suffering ceases for him who is pure, and that suffering is the effect of wrong thought in some direction. I believe that suffering has nothing to do with a person’s purity. Suffering at times comes to test our strength and our faith. The bible tells of Job who was faithful to God all his life but still went through suffering for his faith to be tested. Jesus Christ himself who is an epitome of purity also went through suffering. Being pure does not exonerate us from the problems of this world, because in-fact it is these problems that strengthen us, and also help us to develop spiritually and psychologically, in the book of Romans chapter 8 vs. 17, the Bible says “but we must suffer like Christ suffered. Then we will be able to share his glory”. I have come across some people whose thoughts are not good but on the surface, they don’t seem to be suffering. I feel it is a very wrong mind set for a person to feel that he suffers because he is not pure, with this kind of thinking he will fail to learn the lesson, or learn to grow from the suffering.
Another idea I do not buy into is the writer’s notion that the circumstances which a man encounters with suffering are the result of his own mental in-harmony.

6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book?

What I found most helpful in the book is the idea of thought on character, we usually here the saying that goes our attitude determines our altitude. The writer holds a man responsible for his destiny, he writes that man is made or unmade by himself, that in the armory of thought he forges the weapon by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy strength and peace. I find this most helpful because a lot of people I have helped to move ahead basically blamed some one for their misfortunes or blamed the society; they blamed everything and anything except themselves. But what I observed was that when they took responsibility for what happened in their lives they made remarkable growth and achievements.

What I found least helpful in the book is the concept of serenity as good and important as it is, it’s quit abstract from the whole concept of the book.

7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey.

The main idea the whole book is trying to convey is that the thought of man is the determinant of his destiny and that we are the master of our thoughts, we determine how it is shaped. That we are in control of our thoughts; which makes us responsible for whatever we become in life.

RATING OF THE BOOK

1. How interesting was it? 8
2. How helpful were the contents? 10
3. How easy was it to understand? 9
4. Would you recommend it to others? 10
5. What is the overall rating you will give the book? 9

“As a man thinket” is a good book for people who especially feel that they are failures because of certain events that had happened in their lives or because some people had told them so. It has the power to inspire and awake something in the minds of everyone who reads it.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessmement by Pius Oluwatosin Reis

1. What Ideas were personally most important to you in this book? Do not simply list the ideas, but explain or discuss why they were important to you, using personal examples.

The ideas I found personally most important to me in the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull are:

Practice
Learning
Precision
Commitment
Overcoming limitations
Risk taking
Determination and courage
The power of possibility thinking.

In the book, practice was given much emphasis because it is one of the foundations that a person must master to attain perfection. The saying goes “practice makes perfect”, but I got a better quote from a book which says “Perfect practice makes perfect”. This was what Jonathan demonstrated to attain perfection. I find myself still working on my speaking ability through practice and studying other speakers to learn new styles and skills. We demonstrate our willingness to be perfect by our quest for knowledge and our willingness to learn, I am always hungry for knowledge that is why I enrolled for this programme. I realized that in our quest for knowledge we are able to suppress our pride because we are always ready to learn regardless of who the person is. The writer shares that also learning from our experiences will help us in our personal growth and development, he explains this with Jonathan’s constant evaluation of what works and what doesn’t. I try as much as possible to get feed back from friends as to what my performances were at a particular event or activity this helps my learning and growing process my team has developed a culture to always find out what has worked for us and what has not really worked, this helps us to learn from our experiences . I see practice and learning as very important tools in a leader’s development especially when you engage in self development. I have always wanted to be a very inspiring and captivating motivational speaker, but was shy on the one hand and did not know how to go about it. I practiced and also got friends to evaluate me at every outing and I use their evaluations as my learning tool. Today I still practice because I know I can do better that I am doing now.

I also find perseverance and commitment ideas very important to me because without them success in any endeavor will be an illusion. I believe that before we can achieve anything our guts has to be tested, and we will only succeed through commitment and perseverance. Perseverance and commitment are two qualities that distinguish the be’s from the want to be achievers. When you are committed to a course you find yourself doing it no matter what it takes in terms of your time, resources and what have you. Personally it was determination, perseverance and commitment are the qualities I had to demonstrate to bring my organization to existence, and looking back at all the challenges I can firmly assert that perseverance is one of the keys to achieving greatness.

Based on my childhood experiences I was determined to help youths who feel incapacitated about their potentials because of what they hear and see about their lives. With no money, disappointments and discouragements I was able to get Global Leadership Development Association (GLDA) registered to help young discouraged people build their capacity and build lasting values.

Another idea that I find important is the ability to over come your limits, too many times I have found myself being limited by my thoughts as to what I can do simply because I don’t see myself as being ‘qualified’ to handle it, but learning from the book I have come to realize that those thoughts are only little foxes that try to discourage me from actualizing my dreams. I have had the dream of helping young people long before I started my organization, until I took the bold step I always told myself that I was too young, inexperienced and anything to discourage myself from realizing my dreams. If I am made to take only one thing from the book it will be to challenge myself to overcome my limits to reach for the next level.

Also risk taking is another idea I find very important, as the saying goes ‘he who risks nothing risks even more’ is particularly true, I remember once I failed to take a risk in a business venture and not only did I not make profit I also lost my capital.

The writer’s demonstration of courage is another idea I find most important. Courage is the ability to stand up for what you believe in, to face fear and not see it, I learn from great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, the kind of courage they demonstrated in the course of their struggle.

Finally the idea of love is one that I find very important, I have always seen love as one of the most potent instrument to end the problems in the world. I have made a personal resolution to show love to every one. The book demonstrates that love conquers all, that regardless of what might have been done to you. I take a conscious effort to love because I believe love is an art and we learn it, with love the world will be a better place for us to live.

Majority of the ideas enunciated in the book are ideas I have found myself demonstrating when I took the bold step to change the status quo of my life to become a better person, I came up with a quote that was my motivator it was ‘A mans limitations are where his imagination puts it’. I know I have made significant improvement because people tell me how much they admire my determinative spirit, I have the will power to succeed and determination and courage to finish what I have started. My personal believe in life is that God has made us like him, and what that means is that we can achieve anything we set our minds to achieve. I have never lost anything that I truly set my mind at the reason of this is not because I got them at a platter of gold but because I promised myself never to take NO for an answer. I am determined and I see failure as an event necessary for the story of my success to be worth the mention. My ability to come from nowhere in terms of knowledge but with a dream of making a difference in my life has led to my unprecedented growth and development.

Another idea that is personally important to me from the book is influence. Influence is the ability to persuade people to your path of reasoning. A good leader must have the power to influence his subjects, I find very interesting the way writer demonstrated how Jonathan was first able to influence his students and later the flock. The beauty of influence is that if the action is for a just cause, it will not take time for people to follow that path.

3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain

Handling rejection is one of the most important new ideas I have gotten from the book. The book tells of how through focus on our dreams we are able to overcome rejection because we will be overwhelmed by what we want to achieve that we will not even notice when we have been rejected because of our beliefs. A feeling of rejection often times makes us abandon our dreams, several times when I face rejection it has cost me temporary set back in my pursuit to actualize my dreams.

Also the idea of Jonathan’s continuous quest for knowledge is a new important idea to me, the writer demonstrates that in other for us to survive success and move to a higher level we have to keep seeking for knowledge. When we seek for knowledge we eventually find out how to do things differently and it is with the knowledge that we are able to get that will determine the level we are going to attain. It is what we know that makes us an authority in our field, if we want to be ahead of our works or organization we must continuously seek new innovative ideas to doing the things we are already doing. Many people make the mistake of not seeking for higher knowledge and eventually they find out that on the long run they no longer become relevant in their field. From the idea gained in this book, I have learnt that to survive success and be ahead of your game one must constantly seek knowledge.

Another new concept that is important to me is the power of limitless thinking; this idea is demonstrated so powerfully when Fletcher flew into a rock while trying to dodge a small bird, for a moment he thought he was dead but because of the power of limitless thinking, he was still alive. Limitless thinking eliminates flawed thinking and makes us realize that there is no limit to what we can achieve. One attribute of great achievers is that they are not limited in their thought as to what they can accomplish limitless thinking is thinking outside the box, this is one area of my life that I am strongly working on presently.

Finally the concept of perfection is one that I find particularly new and important; this is because my mind has been made to wrongly believe that we cannot attain perfection. The writer states that “there is such a thing as perfection… to get the idea that our purpose for living is to find that perfection and show it forth.” By this, the book has encouraged me to believe in perfection and to strive towards it. In seeking to be perfect we move to a higher level of development and understanding of who we are.

4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how?

The book Jonathan Livingston Seagull has done more than challenge me; it has inspired me never to give up on my dreams. Through the book I have come to realize that challenges are the hurdles we have to overcome to be successful. Also the book has challenged me to strive for perfection and in doing so I will reach a higher level of spirituality and fulfillment in life.

Jonathan’s continuous practice has shown to me that for me to be the best in my chosen field it requires more than determination, but practice is what will get me to a higher level.
The book has challenged me to rise above my limitations because there is in-fact no limit to what I can achieve, and to what higher level I can attain. The book has started helping me to overcome my limits.

5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why?

I do not agree with the writer’s idea about heaven. He writes that heaven is not a place, and it is not a time, he further goes on to say that heaven is being perfect. I believe that there is a place called heaven because the Bible tells me so. From the writers perspective, being perfect is being in heaven, the questions then I find myself asking is what happens to people who are not perfect? Does it mean that they will never experience heaven?

I also disagree with the writer on the idea of faith when he said you don’t need faith to fly, you needed to understand flying. In every thing we do in life we need faith to believe that what ever we are doing is going to work, it is from having faith that we begin to take other necessary steps to accomplish our dreams. Faith could also be said to mean conviction and if you are not convinced that what you are doing is good then you will barely excel at it.

6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book?

What I found most helpful in this book is striving for perfection, overcoming limitations and the step by step approach to making my dreams come to reality. In every developer’s life, the altitude he will attain largely depends on his ability to overcome his limitations. The book gives an insight as to how we can overcome limitations and the rewards we get from doing so; I use mountain climbing as a sport to challenge my limitations.

I have also found the idea of striving for perfection very helpful, because what striving for perfection does is to help you survive success, remain relevant in your field, reach for higher levels in life and maximize your potentials to break new grounds.

Sincerely speaking I found no part of the book least helpful even though I am accustomed to some of the ideas expressed; the book gives new invigorating insights to all the ideas.

7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey.

The main idea the whole book is trying to convey is that we can achieve anything we want from life. That if we can DREAM it, we can ACHIEVE it through perseverance, determination, practice, courage and love.

RATING OF THE BOOK

1. How interesting was it? 8
2. How helpful were the contents? 9
3. How easy was it to understand? 7
4. Would you recommend it to others? 10
5. What is the overall rating you will give the book? 9

The New Dynamics Of Winning
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis

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 “the New Dynamics of Winning” is that everyone can actually become an achiever in any field of life by developing the winning attitude in him/her.

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 most important ideas that I found personally most important in the New Dynamics OF Winning are;
A. The four categories of fear
B. The three most important traits of a leader
C. Paying the price for success
D. The inner winner
E. The seven traits of a genuine leader
F. Strength through mental toughness
G. Opportunities, not obligations.

A. The four categories of fear: the author identifies the four categories of fear as (1) Fear of catastrophic danger which causes us to react to what we consider life threatening confrontations, with the flight or fight syndrome. (2) Fear of change, (3) Fear of success and (4) Fear of failure.

I find these four groups of fear personally important because it will help me identify the category to always put my fears and in doing so it will also help me to analyze them put them in the right perspective and eventually overcome them. I agree with the author when he says that “fear is a powerful negative motivator”, and the only way to overcome this negative motivator is by rationalizing it when it comes.

B. The three most important traits of a leader the author identifies as (a) Common sense (b) Knowing your field (c) Self-reliance. In everything I find myself doing, I try as much as possible to do a research so that I can be properly grinded in the field or on the topic. This helps to build my confidence level, and to prepare for the unexpected. Because I love body-building, I studied the various body types we have and the best training programme for each body type, also because of my adventurous nature, I took to studying about drugs and their biological compositions and how they aid the body in rapid growth and of course their side effects.
I find these three important traits of a leader important because I see a lot of people making a whole lot of mistakes in both their personal and public lives for the simple reason that they do not apply these three leadership traits in their lives. Also on another note, it is because I want to be an authority in the field of leadership and development that I have enrolled at the International Institute for Global Leadership IIGL.

C. Paying the Price for success; I find this idea personally important to me because it is in line with one of my life philosophies that ‘if you are unwilling to pay the price for success, then you can never be successful’. This philosophy has helped me develop what I consider my greatest strengths which are determination and perseverance. I have developed the ability to bite pain and walk through the fire once I’m sure of the success that awaits me at the other end, and this to a large extent is responsible for all the successes I have achieved so far. When you are willing to pay the price for success, it doesn’t matter how many times you fail and how long it takes, you just find your self on that road working towards success.

D. The inner winner is another idea I find personally important. The author describes the inner winner as one who recognizes his or her internal value, and who is able to use that recognition as the foundation for achieving any goal. For me my inner winner is my ability to perceiver in any situation I find myself, and against all odds to achieve what I want. A case in point was when I finally made up my mind to start Global Leadership Development Association (GLDA), I had no dime but when I sit back today and think about how I brought it to life, it gives me joy and an ever rejuvenated inner conviction that anything I set my mind at I can achieve.

E. I also find the seven traits of a genuine leader important because it has equipped me with some new ideas that have empowered me to be a more effective leader. I have this desire to empower young people to leave up to their full potentials and to be highly effective leaders, to this end I continuously seek out new dimensions and principles of leadership so I can be well grinded and pass on something of value. As the saying goes “ne mo dat quod non habet”.

F. The idea of strength through mental toughness is another idea I have found to be very helpful and important. The author describes mental toughness as the ability to thrive on pain and adversity. Now that I look at it, I realize that the economic situation has helped a large percentage of Nigerians to develop mental toughness, only that we call it “suffering and smiling”. Also I find this idea very helpful because the author also explained how to develop mental toughness.

G. Opportunities, not Obligations: the author makes it clear that leadership isn’t based on theory or technique. It depends on our ability to subordinate your own ego for the good of the team. I have worked in groups comprising of young people and most times I allow every one to fit into the various roles just so they are able to develop and learn because of this decision I some times find myself playing a supportive role to the most delicate part of the group, this decision is sometimes hard to make especially when you fell that without you at the hem of affairs of things, it would not just go well.

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 I have gotten from the New Dynamics of Winning are going to help me in achieving the success I want in life by putting them into practice in my day to day activities. On of the fundamental conclusion I have arrived at that would help make the ideas relevant in my every day living, is that to be a winner, I need to develop the winners edge, and I can only attain this by learning from winners, intensely training and developing my potentials, be more determined than yesterday, aim high and visualize and mentally expect success. One of the most productive ways the ideas I have learnt from this book can be used to create a better world is to pass on the ideas to other young people. I intend to achieve this by organizing seminars first, and also when I am financially capable I would organize a discussion forum where young people will come together and be divided into groups to read the book and discuss the ideas in them.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

No I actually did not find any quotes that caught my attention, not because they were not good but they are quotes that I have heard or read before. But they are all very useful and important to me on my road to success.

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?

Not really, I seem to understand all the ideas explained in the book perfectly well. I also did not find any idea that I don’t seem to agree with all seems straight forward and they are in consensus with my personal beliefs.

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 ‘New Dynamics Of Winning’ contains a major exercise which is the Twenty-one Day Plan. I am currently using the plan to achieve a goal that I have set for myself and so far it has been helping me to be more effective and efficient. I am finding the Twenty-one Day Plan very helpful and would use it as my personal achievement planning guide

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

The author wrote that ‘most of our hurdles in life are self imposed limitations that can be over come if we never, ever give up on ourselves’. I find this statement to be a very powerful and a thought provoking one. Going through the biographies of world leaders and changers, at a point in their lives they were told that their dreams were unachievable and that they should quite. But because they never gave up on their dreams and also in their own abilities they kept pressing on and the rest is history.
I strongly believe that nobody can understand a dream better than the dreamer so I try very much not to discourage people from any kind of dream they ever come up with. One of the basic principles of life is that the greatest form of motivation is self motivation. When you are self-motivated you don’t just give up on your dreams because someone cannot make a sense form it.

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

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

Psycho-Cybernetics 2000
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis

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 that we are who we are because of what has been imprinted in our minds as a result of our past experiences which determine our self image, and we can never go beyond our self image. Also, that for us to change our self image we need to change all the things in our minds that holds us back.

The seven most important ideas I got from psycho-cybernetics 2000 are:
A. CRAFT
B. The principles of the sub-conscious and the conscious mind.
C. Developing a fake-it-till-you-make-it Attitude.
D. Seven tips for making relaxation a way of life.
E. SEEDS
F. Courage: A prerequisite for creating change.
G. The road to success; six ways to maximize your progress.

A. CRAFT: According to the book, Craft stands for Cancel, Replace, Affirm, Focus and Train. I find this idea personally important because it has helped, and is still helping me a great deal to short out negative thoughts that inhibits my success. Since I have learnt CRAFT, there is hardly a day that I don’t make use of it and it has been working pretty well.

B. I also find important the two principles of the sub-conscious which are (1) The agreement principle and (2) The compliance principle and also the two principles of the conscious mind which are (1) The selection principle and (2) The elimination principle.

A personal experience I had that all the principles in one way or the other played out was when I was in secondary school. I used to like mathematics and I actually thought my friend’s math’s until my SS2 when a family friend became my mathematics teacher, she kept picking on me in class that I began to hate the subject. It got so bad that when ever I try to study a math’s sum for thirty minutes I come down with malaria, but this situation only occurred because my conscious mind developed it and my subconscious over a period of time accept it to be true.

C. I find the seven tips for making relaxation a way of life personally and very important; because of some personal goals I have set for myself, times I feel I am too busy for myself. Everyday I have to get to my organization and get things done, I am also the associate editor of a magazine and for some time now the editor-in-chief has been absent so I have hard to work in on his behalf, I also work with a team of ten working on the Millennium Development Goals, and some other business projects, I feel I will just break down. But using the relaxation techniques (explained in psycho-cybernetics 2000). Everyday I set out twenty minutes in a split set of ten minutes in the morning and ten at night for relaxation.

D. I also find the SEEDS idea of defusing anxiety personally important. One of my greatest challenges has been working in a group especially at a time when it seems we are not going to meet deadline, I always feel as though my world was falling apart and I can get really edgy with the people I work with. After reading about seeds, I wrote the process in a simple easy to carry catalog that I refer to from time to time when ever I sense that anxiety crippling in.

E. Courage as a prerequisite for creating change is one of the attribute a person must posses to become an effective and successful leader. To be courageous is to act, the author writes that we do not develop a success type personality by standing still, and the California Task Force also adds that we can grow, solve problems, and discover the potential within ourselves only by developing the courage to explore new thoughts, behavior, and possibilities, to take appropriate risks, and to venture out across ‘safe boundaries’. In my own words, these two statements can be summarized as “the foundation for change or growth to occur is to have the courage to act”.

F. Finally I find the six ways to maximize one’s progress that the author provides in the book personally important. These ideas help me to develop a daily action plan and progress report on achieving my goals. There are times that when you have tried doing some things you tend to look back and get discouraged especially when you don’t seem to see any physical progress that you have made.

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?

For the ideas in the book to help me practically in my daily life, I have decided to focus on using both CRAFT and SEEDS until I get used to them and know them like second nature, I will then proceed to learning another two ideas. The essence of this strategy is to enable me maximally utilize the ideas I have gotten from the book. In creating a better world, I am still thinking of how I will use the ideas gotten for effective change.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Yes there are two quotes in the book that got my attention, they are:

(1) ”The creative mechanism with you is impersonal. It will work automatically and impersonally to achieve goals of success and happiness, or unhappiness and failure, depending on the goals which you yourself set for it”. Maxwell Maltz.

This statement is particularly true because in every man’s hands he holds his destiny, whether to be successful and happy, or a failure and unhappy. Also a life that is goal oriented has everything to live for because goals give us a reason to keep striving no matter the circumstance. I have carried out a research among people who are 45 years old and above to find out why they were not financially successful, and I realized that while they were a lot younger they had no dream, no goal, no vision, they just lived each day as it came; but the most surprising thing I discovered was that they actually had hope that they would some they be rich, but took no practical steps towards that direction.

(2) ”We are not on earth to live up to someone else’s expectations. To make our unique contributions to the world, we each need to prize our individual worth and pursue our dreams”. – California Task Force to promote self-esteem.

Most times it is as a result of family pressure that people find themselves trying to live up to someone else’s expectation, they consider themselves as failures if they don’t meet up. A person who finds himself/herself trying to live up to someone else’s expectations is usually unhappy with himself and his immediate environment, this is usually so because there is conflict of interest between the person’s heart desires and what he has found himself/herself doing at the time. I have a friend who is currently studying medicine because that is what his dad wants him to study so that he can have someone to hand over his surgical blades to so to speak, but this my friends desire is to join the military, he had nursed this idea since we were kids, till tomorrow he still has a military camouflage hanging on his wall, he says it gives him passion and makes him feel as though he was already a military person. He says immediately he graduates he will hand over the certificate to his dad and go for his own dream. Seeing him one could see that he is not happy with life.

To find one’s self not living out some one else’s expectations requires courage. Courage to stand up and say no to where ever the pressure was coming from. You need courage to accept your true feelings and reject anything contrary to it. Courage is what will help to prize our individual worth and pursue our dreams and heart desires.

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 understood all the ideas explained in the book, and I don’t disagree with any of the ideas. I have found the ideas in the book very helpful especially in developing my mental alertness and my sub-conscious mind.

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 some exercise on how to relax, going into the theatre of imagination, placing our fears into proper perspective, goal setting amongst others. I have completed the exercises contained in the book and have found them very helpful and empowering.

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.

Yes, area where the author made a comment that “the subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between experience and one that is vividly imagined”. This statement is very true, I have found myself in situations where I can’t really say whether they actually happened or it was just my imagination. At times it gets me angry when this happens because it just makes me feel as if I’m losing it. But I have learnt to relax and think deeply about the situation. But it really can get confusing.

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? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10

A man’s limitation is where his imagination puts it. Dare to be GREAT, it’s inside YOU!

Success through a Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis

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 ‘success through a positive mental attitude’ is this; that the fundamental requirement to attain success in any area of life is to develop a positive mental attitude about yourself and also a positive mental attitude towards the goal(s) you are pursuing.

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

The seven ideas which were personally most important to me were:
1. With every adversity there is a seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.
2. The idea of the cobweb caused by a negative mental attitude.
3. The idea of inspirational dissatisfaction.
4. The idea of “something amore”.
5. The secret of getting things done.
6. Thought as the foundation upon which all else is built.
7. Having a study, thinking, and study planning time.

1. With every adversity there is a seed of an equivalent or greater benefit for those who are motivated with Positive Mental Attitude to become achievers. I find this idea to be true and regard it as personally important to me because I believe that no man can pass through life without adversities, but the beauty of all challenges, adversities, is that the solution is always attached to it; though so faint that you would have to look with an eagle’s eye to find it. One thing I have come to agree, and I try to preach it when ever I can is that when you are faced with a problem go over it, and if that seems impossible then find your way around (solving) it, but what ever you do don’t let it linger for too long. One of the most recent instance that tested my belief and that also clearly demonstrate that every adversity has a seed of an equivalent or greater benefit was when I needed to develop my organizations website. Since I was not knowledgeable in the field of web designing I sort to contract it out, unfortunately the money being call was too exorbitant. I took an e-training on wed designing and I developed my site myself and now I develop for other people and am being paid for it, I also host and am planning to own an online store in Nigeria very soon. All emanated from my challenge of not being able to pay for a web design “With every adversity there is a seed of an equivalent or greater benefit for those who are motivated with PMA to become achievers”.

2. The idea of the cobweb caused by NMA: The writer explains that there are many varieties of cobwebs, but the strongest cobweb spun by NMA is the cobweb of inertia. I find this idea important to me because it now helps me to be consciously aware of when I’m spinning a cobweb of NMA and so I quickly flip my talisman to PMA. Before I started reading books, I was a victim of being unable to overcome the inertia, my main fear was the fear of failure. For this reason I never dared to do anything because I was afraid of the consequences of it eventually flopping and so I never achieved much, or anything. Even though those years are gone, I can make for them with the coming years of my life.

3: Inspirational dissatisfaction is an idea that is personally most important to me because I see it as the stepping stone to achievement, change and greatness. Some people are dissatisfied with where they are but at the same time they are discouraged, which means they are on the negative side of their talisman and will never leave their present state. But with inspirational dissatisfaction you hear yourself saying “this is not the best place for me, I can be some where better” and because you are working with a PMA you begin to take steps that would eventually lead you to your goal. When I was inspirationally dissatisfied with where I was, I took some steps to change it, and one of the fundamental steps I took was to start reading books.

4: The idea of “something more” is also personally important to me, maybe because I have always used it, but I have never carried it out in the proper perspective as the writer put it. From my understanding “something more” is that extra thing missing from your puzzle of success, or the extra mile one has to go to attain success. Every time I embark on a project and it doesn’t turn out as expected, I make it a principle to ask myself two questions (1) what went wrong and (2) What can I do differently. I believe these two questions will provide the something more that is needed for success.

5: The secret of getting things done (do it now): This idea is important to me because it has dramatically helped me to overcome a personal problem of procrastination. There are times I find myself procrastinating some things I need to get done. This might be because I find them simple and can be done at any time, so I procrastinate. On the other hand I might see them as a difficult task so I also procrastinate doing them. But applying the do it now principle in my daily life has helped me to cut down on the activities I procrastinate; now I don’t care whether the task is simple or difficult, I just do it.

6: Thought is the foundation upon which all else is built: Just as stated by James Allen in his book ‘as a man thinket’ our thought determines who and what he would eventually become. I find this idea very important because in life, it all started from a mind of a simple individual. For us to really achieve anything worthwhile we need to keep our thoughts healthy. Personally I have made a commitment to stay optimistic no matter the situation I find myself knowing that my thought would determine my actions.

In line with this idea is also the concept of engaging in study, thinking and planning time, I dare to say that every one who engages in study, thinking and planning time will become an achiever because these three processes helps you to analyze the situation on ground, proffer a solution to the problem and finally strategize on how you will implement your solution. Personally I go into study, thinking , and planning time just about the last thing before I go to bed, it allows me to reflect on the days activities, and plan for the next day, and its just about the most quiet time I have to my self.

7. Learning how to set your goals: I find this approach of goal setting enunciated by the author as very important to me principally because he challenges any goal setter to set the standards of his goals high, he relates that the higher you set your major goal, the more concentrated will be the effort you make to achieve it.

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 I have gotten from ‘Success through a Positive Mental Attitude’, is going to help me in my daily personal life by keeping me on the positive side of my talisman. With the application of the ideas gotten from the book I will make it a conscious duty to stay positive no matter the challenge or adversity, I have in fact started having these peace within that no matter the challenges I am facing right now, with persistence and a positive mental attitude success is sure to come.

The book is helping me create a better world as I have a incorporated some of the ideas into my speaking engagements, and I have shared the idea with some young people with the hope that they will apply it in their personal lives and also pass it on to others. Also the book is helping build a better world and especially my immediate community by changing my perception to the way I see things that is happening around. I now have this positive conviction that one day the world will be a better and a more habitable place for us all if we keep contributing our own little quarter to change and development that we want to see.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

“ I bargained with life for a penny, And life would pay no more, However, I begged at evening when I counted my scanty store….., I worked for a menials hire, only to learn, dismayed, that any wage I had asked of life, Life would have willingly paid”.

This quote actually stirred something inside me that challenged me to ask more from life. I have always asked, but his quote dares me to ask for more. I have written out the quote and placed it where I could always read it everyday before stepping out. The quote also reminds me of the fact that everyday God gives each and everyone of us a blank cheque and it is what we request he gives to us.

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 understood all the ideas explained in the book, but I tend to disagree a little with the idea that grief, disaster, tragedy, disease and death are rewards of a negative mental attitude. Life on earth is a temporary assignment and a journey, and so all the problems mentioned by the author are all the things we have to contend with in life to remind us that there is a place better than where we are right now and we need to strive for that place (Heaven). Also the idea of death as being a reward of NMA I find most unacceptable, we all must die someday, would it then be right to say that at the point of death, we operate on the negative side of our talisman? When a person falls critically sick to the point of death and eventually survives, it will be absurd for such a person to attribute his survival to anything aside God’s mercy.

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 provide for exercises as such, but I found the book most 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.

Not really.

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

How To Win Friends & Influence People
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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 “How to win friends and influence people” is this, to be successful in life one must be successful in handling and relating with people, and the book provides for techniques how to be successful in relating with people.

The seven ideas I found most important to me from the book are:
* Don’t criticize, condemn or complain
* One of the most neglected virtues of our daily existence is appreciation
* Learning to bait the hook to suit the fish
* Thought is supreme
* Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves
* Make the other person feel important, and do it sincerely
* Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person
* Don’t criticize, condemn or complain:

In my daily dealings with people I have seen this to be prevalent I have been to many offices where the boss sees everything done in his absence as wrong. The author states that when dealing with people, we should always bare in mind that we are not dealing creatures of logic but people of emotions. Most times we are driven by our emotions, being in the right state of mind helps us to be more active. People who criticize, condemn or complain about everything never bring out the best in the people they work with. Condemning criticizing or complaining has a psychological way of making the person that is being condemned or criticize become less productive. In Nigeria older people & parents especially are guilty of criticizing and comparing their children (my own opinion anyway).

One of the most neglected virtues of our daily existence is appreciation: most times, we are too busy and too interested in details that we forget to appreciate the little contributions of friends and loved ones. I have been guilty of this on several occasions but when I became cautious of it I worked at changing. One of the lessons I learnt at the time was when you fail to appreciate people for their efforts and for who they are, chances are you will not have their support the next time you need it. This idea struck a cord in my mind and I realized that I still have to do more in appreciating people, and the good thing is that the book provides for how I can go about appreciating people. When we appreciate people, it is like motivating them for next time.

Learning to bait the hook to suit the fish: this is yet another idea discussed by the author under the principle of “becoming genuinely interested in other people. Learning to bait the hook to suit the fish requires you to think about another person other than yourself. I recently put this into practice in a new business venture, my new business requires a whole lot of marketing and so I got in touch with a friend who is into marketing, I looked for what was important to him and how I could integrate it into my business and gave him a call with just a little clarification, I had him on my side. Thinking about the other person gives a better understanding as to how one can genuinely make a difference in their lives, and also keeps them close to you like white on rice.

Thought is supreme: the author explains that you picture in your mind the able, earnest, useful person you desire to be, and the thought you hold is hourly transforming you into that particular individual. Personally I have come to appreciate the thought power, the more I focus my thought on a particular subject matter, the more it gets rooted in my mind and I find myself working hard until I achieve it. Our thoughts are so powerful that what ever we focus it on is achievable, your thought when properly directed provides you with solutions to the problems to which such thought is being directed.

Be a good listener, encourage others to talk about themselves is an idea discussed by the author that struck me, being a good listener is an art and can be learnt by any person. Being a good listener reflects to a large extent your interest in the other persons problems and success. Experience has shown me that people who are genuinely interested in other people tend to have more faithful friends than those who like to talk only about themselves. In our world today, our hearts are pre-occupied with all the problems that they find it difficult to give other people listening ears, it is our ability to stop being selfish for just a short time and pay attention to another person that makes the difference.

Make the other person feel important, and do it sincerely, to my understanding of the authors point of view this should not be done with an ulterior motive. Making a person feel important is like appreciating the person as a human being and to a large extent respecting his dignity. I find this idea very important because it is a character that has been abused in the part of the world where I come from, you find people trying to make others feel important for what they stand to gain from them we usually refer to them as sycophants.

Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person: I find this idea personally helpful because it has helped me reflect and make some adjustments in the way and manner I criticize others, prior to reading this text, I was quick to criticizing team mates and friends, but now I no better. Talking about my own mistakes before criticizing any person helps me to personally achieve two things, (i) that we all are humans and we bound to make mistakes and (ii) it helps me reduce the number of people I have to criticize for making mistakes.

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 I have gotten from the book “How to win friends and influence people” will help me in a practical way by improving my relationship with the people I interact with on daily bases, in creating a better world by sharing this ideas with young people that I come in contact with. I also believe that when I put these ideas into practice in my daily life I will be passing a message to the people I interact with and hope fully I would through my actions influence theirs.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself” Galileo.

I find this quote very important because it not only shows where all strengths and weaknesses of human beings emanates, but also tells where everything is achievable. This quote is similar to one of my guiding principle which is “A battle is won or is lost in my mind, within me is the power”. The more we realize as humans that we can do all things the more we transcend to a level of total self realization and actualization.

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 understood and digested all the ideas shared by the author. There were no ideas that I disagree with the author on.

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?

Not really, the book did not contain express exercises to be carried out.

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.
Answer:

No, I think the questions asked took care of the core parts of the book.

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

Keys To Success
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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 are the life principles that guarantees personal achievements and success in everything we do.

Answer: the seven ideas I found most important to me from the book are:

* The idea of developing Definiteness of purpose
* The power of the subconscious
* The idea of a master mind alliance
* Assembling an attractive personality
* Using applied faith
* The concept of fear
* The idea of going the extra mile

Developing Definiteness of purpose: I find this idea very important because it explains the basic fundamental requirement that must be adhered to before success can be achieved. The author averts our minds to the fact that progress towards success begins with a fundamental question: where are you going? This question as simple as it may sound remains one which has been widely ignored. From my personal experience I would say that answering this simple question will save you the trouble of embarking on a roller coaster ride, before I began to practice definiteness of purpose in achieving my goals I made too many blunders that cost me valuable time and changing some decisions that I have made previously. I find very motivating in particular the aspect where the author writes that “if you know what you want from life, if you are determined to get it to the point that it becomes an obsession, and you back that obsession with continuous effort and sound planning, then you have awakened and developed definiteness of purpose. I lay particular emphasis on CONTINUOUS EFFORT and SOUND PLANNING. The author goes on to say that definiteness of purpose develops self-reliance, personal initiative, imagination, enthusiasm, self-discipline, and concentrated effort.

The power of the subconscious: any dominating idea, plan, or purpose held in your conscious mind through repeated effort and emotionalized by a burning desire for its realization is taken over by the subconscious and acted upon through what ever natural and logical means may be available. In understanding this text I realized that the more you occupy your mind with a particular thought it gradually registers in your subconscious that when you are not consciously thinking about it your mind is still working on it. I remember times when I spent longer times pondering on a particular problem I discovered that as each day went bye the problem got a little more easy until I finally came up with a lasting solution. I particularly remember a situation when I was carrying out a research over the internet; the search engine was not given me the desired result because I couldn’t marshal my words properly in the search engine, I remember waking up at about 3:00 am on day with the words to input into the search engine, I wrote it down and tried it the following day and Bingo, I got exactly what I needed. My subconscious had taken over from my conscious mind and went to work processing every available data until it came up with the right words.

Establishing a Master Mind Alliance: I find this idea personally important as it helped me identify the missing part of my puzzle. I have been found of trying to go the whole road on my own and this has been responsible for my little accomplishment in certain areas if I may use that word. The author describes a master mind alliance as built of two or more minds working actively together in perfect harmony toward a common definite object. Ever since reading about the master mind alliance, I have started working on creating one but my challenge is that I am still skeptical about some issues, but I am really working hard at building a Master Mind Alliance.

Assembling an Attractive Personality: I find this idea personally important to me as it has helped me work on what I tag the weak links in my personality either because I wasn’t conscious of it or I neglected it. The author elucidates a total of twenty-five personality traits that should be developed or improved upon, they are PMA, Flexibility, Sincerity of Purpose, Promptness of Decisions, Courtesy, Tact, Tone of Voice, the habit of smiling, Facial expression, Tolerance, Frankness of manner and speech, keen sense of humor, faith in infinite intelligence, keen sense of justice, the appropriate use of words, effective speech, emotional control, alertness of interest, versatility, fondness for people, humility, effective showmanship, clean sportsmanship, good handshake, and personal magnetism. I find all these attributes of personal attractiveness to be inter woven and so where there is a deficiency in one it might be detrimental to the personality of the person.

Using Applied Faith: I find this idea very important because as a Christian it forms the basis of my existence. Faith in the book is defined as a state of mind, and for it to be useful in achieving lasting success; it must be an active not a passive faith. I perceive an active faith to be one that is expressed regardless of the circumstance, believing that a target I have set for myself is attainable is an example of an active faith, our faith is usually tested at the darkest part of the tunnel when the journey seems to have hit a brick wall. The author however describes active faith to be the process of relating oneself to the vital forces of the world, which is called infinite intelligence; and I consider that infinite intelligence to be God.

The concept of fear and overcoming fear: the author writes of seven basic fears which understanding them has been personally helpful. To me I am of the opinion that fear in itself is not bad, as humans fear is something that helps protect us against danger but fear becomes a negative vibe when it exceeds a certain limit that leads to insecurity. I believe that understanding the particular form of fear we express at certain situations helps us overcome them and also be in control of our minds.

Going the extra mile: just writing about this sends a lot of blood through my veins, when ever I set my mind at I make sure I achieve it, I always try my best to go the extra mile in everything I do. I once tried to get feedbacks from all my close friends and those I have worked with as regards what they consider my greatest strength, and all to the exclusion of none said it was my ability to keep my head up when the heat is on. Personally I regard this strength as my personal conviction to go the extra mile in everything I do, and to develop a dogged determination never to quit at least not until I have exhausted all my options. The author writes that going the extra mile is a state of mind that must be developed so that it is a part of everything we do, I find this statement to be absolutely true.

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 I have learnt from the book Keys to success would help me in a practical way to achieve success because the ideas have exposed me to a systemic and logical sequence that if mastered properly success would be inevitable. I intend to put all ideas I have learnt into every thing I do.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

No, but all the quotes I came across were really helpful but I have come across them before.

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, I perfectly understood all the ideas discussed by the author in his book, also I do not hold any contrary view or opinion with regards to the ideas and philosophies of the author.

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?

Not actually, the book did not contain express exercises to be carried out.

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.
Answer: No

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

Real Magic
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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

The main idea expressed by the author in the book “Real Magic” is that in everyday of our human existence we can experience real magic in everything we do regardless of the physical circumstances that we are faced with.

Answer: the seven ideas I found personally important to me from the book Real Magic are:
1. The three paths towards enlightenment
2. The seven beliefs for manifesting real magic
3. 14 keys to creating a miracle mind-set.
4. Responsibility to ones self
5. Five aspects of prosperity consciousness
6. Creating miracles in your physical abilities
7. The power of thought

The tree paths towards enlightenment: the author describes three ways by which we learn various lessons in life, he calls these three processes enlightenment because they are expected to serve as a learning platform for life lessons. The three paths towards enlightenment as enunciated by the author are (i) Enlightenment through suffering (ii) Enlightenment through outcome (iii) Enlightenment through purpose.

I find the three paths towards enlightenment personally important because understanding them has helped me to look back at certain incidents that have happened in my life and still learn a lesson from it. The fundamental lesson from understanding the three paths towards enlightenment is the fact that regardless of the situation or circumstance you look at it from an objective and not an emotional point of view. The author writes that when you are focused in your mind on what you can learn from an experience, your mind cannot dwell on thoughts that will lead to your suffering, thoughts such as “why me?”. Many times as humans we are faced with different forms of trials in our lives that force us to question the existence of God, I have found myself in such situations; but understanding the paths towards enlightenment our minds will be programmed to learn from experiences other than question the happenings.

The seven beliefs for manifesting real magic: in describing the beliefs for manifesting real magic, the author writes that there is an invisible but knowable life force within us, and that our thoughts are something that we are in control of and they originate from with us, in going further, the author writes that we have no limits because our lives has a purpose and finally that we over come our weaknesses by leaving them behind. I find the beliefs for manifesting real magic personally important because they provoked something in the inside of me that spurred me to action.

The 14 keys to creating a miracle mind-set: these keys to creating a miracle mind-set have helped me work on my mental attitude to be prepared to accept the miracles of every day. I find most important the key of learning to live according to our spiritual self first and your physical self second, personally I have done some really bad things that I am not proud to talk about, the good thing is that most of these acts are on the down low but sitting and reflecting over these acts I see how deep I had gone physically. Putting my spiritual self first has helped me resist doing certain actions that I would ordinarily have done without a second thought, also putting my spiritual self first has helped me personally to respect my creator which gives me this inner peace and makes me feel happy with my self.

Responsibility to ones self: the author writes that our first responsibility is to our spiritual side. That we should consult our minds before acting, by doing this we become authentic to ourselves. I must confess that most of the ideas I have gotten from the book Real Magic has really helped me improve on my spiritual life, my interpretation the authors idea is that we have to place our priorities right and in doing so we discover that our spiritual life supersedes our physical life, why ? because this life is temporal but the life after is eternal.

Five aspects of prosperity consciousness: not until I read the five aspects of prosperity consciousness I have been laboring under ignorance, I spent more time pursuing from the outside and not from the inside, my mind was programmed to do two things, that I would make money and make it “no matter the cost”. Reading the words “you don’t need anything else to experience prosperity” I meditated on these words for three hours and I never remained the same all I need to experience prosperity is me, nothing in the world can guarantee me prosperity.

Creating miracles in your physical abilities: the author recommends that to create miracles in our physical abilities we need to shift our inner consciousness to a place of limitless possibilities, I find this idea very important because I have observed that as humans, when we want to accomplish something or we set a goal for ourselves we are quick to looking at how difficult the goal is to achieve or we feel that we are not the right person to carry out the task. We engage in negative self-talk that we demoralize ourselves before we even take the first step. Shifting our inner consciousness to a place of limitless possibilities makes us prepared for success in everything we do. I try to maintain my inner consciousness of limitless possibilities by always remembering the bible verse Philippians 4:13 which says, I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens me.

The power of thought: the author writes that our thoughts create either prosperity or scarcity in our lives, also our thoughts create either joyous or miserable relationships. Our thoughts create our personality, and the very physical circumstance of our lives and these same thoughts affects others around us. I believe this to be particularly true as I remember one of those days I wake up on the wrong side of my bed I got into a heated argument with a good friend of mine which ordinarily shouldn’t have been so. Over the yeas I have come to accept that no body can push my button, when I am angry or happy it is a choice I made at that point and no body or circumstance made it.

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 I have gotten from this book has helped me improve on my spiritual life, putting my spiritual self before my physical self has helped me avoid some destructive acts that I had engaged in previously. The ideas I got from the book has also helped me look at the picture from an entirely different perspective. Knowing that I am a spirit with a self, and not a self with a spirit helps me maintain a kind of peace and tranquility with the world around me. I have serious intentions to share my ideas with people around me especially the youths, in this part of the world this is a message that if young people are conversant with and imbibe in themselves these ideas as their life principles or philosophy, we would not be having the kind of problems we face.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

“Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him” James Allen
I find this quote to be very motivational as well as challenging. To my understanding of the quote, our true self is tested by the circumstances we face, a person who claims to have faith cannot be sure to which extent he has built his faith up to unless he is faced with a circumstance that tests his faith, if he comes out victorious it is at that point that such a person can vouch for the kind of faith he possess, I would like to take an example from the bible (not meaning this in any negative form) Paul to Christ that he was going to die before Christ can be arrested, but his faith and courage was tested, he denied Christ three times. Also the circumstances we go through are not expected to make us for the simple reason being that we are in control of our feelings and actions and what ever we do is our choice, a person cannot rely on the fact that because of the prevailing economic hardship take to stealing as a way out, a crime is a crime.

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, I understood the book, also there are no ideas that I disagree with the author on as far as the book is concerned.

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, some exercises to be completed especially with respect to meditation, I have started practicing and I am not doing too badly.

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.

Yes, there was a part where the author said that when the student is ready, the teacher would come along. I find this statement to be very true as I have experienced this in my life on several occasion, one particular experience I would like to share was how I became a student at the International Institute for Global Leadership, I was desperately seeking a programme on leadership that would help me improve on all the aspects of my life, I did a search on Google and there was my answer IIGL, now while this might look so simple the fact is that I had been conducting this search for over a year and on that day I got my answer. Till this day I cannot remember the words I put in the search engine and I am still trying to remember because I try it out every time I surf. When the student is ready, the teacher would come along.

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? 10
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

What To Say When You Talk To Yourself
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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 “What to say when you talk to your self” is that the sum total of our lives is that which is produced from our dialogue with ourselves, and also that armed with the right kind of self-talk we can achieve what ever we want and maintain an equilibrium physically mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

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

The ideas I found to most important to me are:
* The idea of the self management sequence
* The five levels of self talk
* Motivational myth
* Methods of using self-talk
* Solving problems and accomplishing goals
* Situational self-talk
* Creating your own self-talk

The self management sequence: I find this idea very helpful, the author analizes the self management sequence in five parts which are (a) Behavior (b) Feelings (c) Attitude (d) Beliefs and (e) Programming. My understanding of these sequences has helped me to consciously be in control of my actions both physically and mentally. I find of particular importance the sequence of programming. The author explains that we believe what we are programmed to believe. I find this to be very true as I still find myself battling with some negative feelings that have been programmed in my mind, what I have also observed is that I have found it much more difficult to over come some negative feelings I have built about myself when I was much younger than those that I built at later stages of my life.

The author writes further that in logical progression, what we believe determines our attitudes, affects our feelings, directs our behavior, and determine our success or failure, understanding this has helped me work on the various sequences of management in my life.

The five levels of self-talk was an eye opener to me, I have engaged in various forms of self talk without knowing it. The writer identifies the five levels of self talk to include (i) the level of negative acceptance (ii) the level of recognition and the need to change, (iii) the level of decision to change (iv) the level of the better you (I am…) (v) the level of universal affirmation. Reflecting on all the stages I have experienced in my life I can recall myself being in all the levels of self-talk. The level of negative acceptance which the writer identifies as the least on the scale happens to be one of my greatest challenge, personally when I intend to accomplish something, I find myself thinking a thousand reasons why it would not work, or why I was going to fail, or why I was not the right person for the task. These negative thoughts has really deprived me of a lot of accomplishment and joy I ought to have enjoyed in life. Also a particular instance which I vividly remember demonstrating the second and third levels of self talk was when I was told to repeat a class in my secondary school, I was so hurt that I made a personal commitment to change a lot of things about myself that I went to the extent of also changing the name I used at school. I really find the five levels of self -talk personally important because they have helped me to identify and understand the kinds of conversations that are going on in my mind which helps me to quickly put a check on the negative ones.

Motivational myth: the author distinguishes motivation into two kinds, the external motivation and also the internal motivation. The external motivation is temporary the type the writer refers to the motivation that wakes you up but fails to keep awake, in my early stages when I sought for motivation, I concentrated more on the external motivation by attending motivational seminars, I found out that at the time I attended these seminars I felt like a super achiever but when faced with real challenges the motivation gotten from the seminar seemed to have evaporated leaving me almost at where I started, except for the fact that I was more armed with words that provided me with some form of strength to carryon.

The second form of motivation being the internal motivation, that is the motivation that comes from the inside and is expressed in the physical through our actions. I consider my internal motivations to be one of my greatest strengths, over the years internal motivation has helped me build my level of determination to a level that once I set my mind at achieving something I never quit until I get it. Personally I think internal motivation helps you to put your eyes on the reward and not get distracted.

Methods of using self-talk: I find the methods of using self-talk as elucidated by the author to be very important as they have been helpful to me in building my own self-talk. The methods of self-talk mentioned are silent self-talk, self-speak, self-conversation, self-write, and tape-talk. I am currently using silent self-talk and self-speak which have been very helpful in keeping me focused and motivated for about 80% of the day. I must confess that when I started out using the self- speak I wasn’t too comfortable with it but I realized it had a kind of power that awoke my contiouseness.

Solving problems and accomplishing goals: I find this idea personally important because the author gives some useful insights on how to solve problems and accomplish goals that are not in most of the other books I have read, he marries this with self-talk as the basis for solving problems and accomplishing goals. The author writes that to solve a problem or reach a goal, we must learn to give ourselves the most precise and complete directions we can muster, and that also in using self-talk in this instance, the key to a good self-talk is that it covers the problem and it gets specific.

Situational self-talk: the author writes that this kind of self-talk adjusts situations by adjusting how we look at them, it doesn’t expect you to instantly change every bad situation into a good one but simply gives a way to consciously put the best construction on any situation which keeps you in control of your self and allows you to function at your best under any circumstance. Situational self talk has personally helped me to solve and deal with problems on situational basis allowing me to look at the problem from different perspective. Situational self-talk as a concept has brought to my consciousness the fact that there are certain situations that would arise that would require me to deal with them differently, and also understand them differently.

Creating your own self-talk: I find this idea personally helpful because I see it as the cake itself and not the icing, its like telling a child about a better place than his present place and not giving him map as to how he can get there. The authors ideas of creating personal self-talk is very simple to understand and apply.

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 would help me practically by empowering me to maintain a healthy and positive self-talk at all times and in any situation, though there are times I am overwhelmed by certain situations and forget my self-talk, the ideas in this book has helped me maintain a positive mental attitude through self-talk. Also the ideas I have gotten from this book would help me make a difference in my world by making positive assertions about the world and in doing so I would be guided to carry out positive actions that would make the world a better place. Since I noticed that many people are quick to saying things that undermine their potentials and live below expectation, I intend to start a small study group that would teach the core ideas of the book.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

“You are everything that is, your thoughts, your life, your dreams come true. You are everything you choose to be. You are as unlimited as the endless universe”

This quote gives the sum total of where the buck lies at the end of it all. I have come in contact with people who blame someone or a particular circumstance as being responsible for what ever they are passing through in life. I believe that what ever a man achieves or fails to achieve was solely his choice. This quote puts the whole responsibility of your life in your hands, which in my opinion is the truth. No body owes us anything in life, yes we can say the government owes its citizens a duty to provide jobs, but when it fails in that duty is it a just reason to become a thief? Or would one decide to go hungry because the government has failed to provide him with a job. It can be debated as to whose responsibility it is to provide what and do that but the bottom line still remains that no body owes us anything, and what we achieve or fail to achieve is up to us to the exclusion of all others.

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

No there was nothing in the book that I did not understand or that I was unclear about. I also do not disagree with the author on any position.

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 some exercises to be completed and yes I carried them out.

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.

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

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

Giant Steps
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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 his book Giant Steps is that if we understand our personality, we would become super achievers. Also the author shows that no matter the kind of personality we have built for our selves we can change them to be healthy for success.

The seven ideas I found to be personally most important to me are:
a. Guidelines for Goal setting (Programming your RAS)
b. How to get what you really want
c. The power to create and the power to destroy
d. The problem solving questions
e. The vocabulary of success
f. The ten day mental challenge
g. The Keys to an expanded life (section 10)

a. Guidelines for Goal setting: I find this idea personally important as it has helped me to improve on my ability to set goals and achieve more within a short period of time. While reading the book I found the four simple guidelines for setting goals on page 29 very helpful. They have helped to keep me in check and to grow emotionally while I enjoy what I do.

b. How to get what you really want: this idea has been particularly helpful to me as it is helping me to make informed decisions. The author writes that ‘to get what you really want, you must discover what is preventing you from taking action’ as simple as this sentence may sound, it has spurred me to take action when ever I find myself dragging my feet when I am supposed to take action.

The author explains that the most effect way to control focus is through the use of questions, for any question you pose, your brain provides an answer (Page 72), this has helped me to develop my own set of questions like (a) why am I not taking any action (b) what am I not doing correctly (c) if I had the opportunity of doing it again, what will I do differently? Etc. these questions have helped me to be more effective and to accomplish more.

c. The power to create and the power to destroy: I find this idea personally important because it confers a feeling of responsibility upon me. I find myself always being conscious of the fact that my destiny is up to me. The author writes that ‘nothing on life has any meaning except the meaning we give it…’ to this end, I would like to add that it is up to us to determine the pictures we see in life.

d. The Problem solving Question: I find this idea very important as it has made challenges look more like fun when you see it as a puzzle or a riddle that needs to be solved. And the beauty of this puzzle is that it can only be solved by you though with the help of others. The ‘4 what’ questions in page 124 if answered correctly in respect to a particular situation one would realize that the problem is half solved.

e. The vocabulary of success: I found this idea personally important as it has help to change my thought power, by the use of positive words I have become more optimistic about life, success, and everything I lay my hands on. The vocabulary of success is in line with the verse in the Bible that says “Life and death are in the power of the tongue”. What you confess with your mouth eventually becomes your reality.

f. The ten day mental challenge: I have found this idea personally helpful as it has helped me to prioritize what is most important in my life, and what I value the most. Knowing what one values most helps to define ones path and making his journey to success and victory less stressful, the Bible says ‘Man know thy self’.

g. The keys to an expanded life: this idea talks about the uniqueness of every individual and that it is relying on these unique qualities that we possess that would spur us to greatness. The author gives an insight as to how we can improve our personal reference experience library which I have started implementing and found to be very rewarding.

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?

For some time now, I have been thinking about how I can effectively share the ideas I have learnt form IIGL with other young people and I have come up with a wonderful plan, since I am still developing the model I would still want to keep it on the down low, but once I have it up and running IIGL would be the first to know.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Yes I found many quotes that got my attention from the book but one that really struck my mind was “Imagination is more powerful than knowledge” Albert Einstein. This quote literarily explains why some people have been very successful and others barely managing to survive. In Nigeria where I live it is a common sight to see many graduates who are “knowledgeable” roaming the streets with nothing to do, you get to see some of them doing menial jobs, and the reason for this is not far fetched, they have failed to allow their imagination run wild with regards to what they can do. I am of the opinion that the wilder your imagination, the higher your level of creativity.

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, I understood the book, also there are no ideas that I disagree with the author on as far as the book is concerned.

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, some exercises to be completed especially with respect to the ten day mental challenge, I have been practicing the programme and have found it 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.

Not really

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

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

Goal Mapping
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis

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

The main idea Brian Mayne tries to convey in his book ‘Goal Mapping’ is that we can achieve everything we set out accomplish in life with a simple goal map that engages the left and right brain.

The seven ideas which I find personally important are:
a. The nature of success
b. The rules for talking yourself out of negativity
c. Climbing the LIFT ladder (Principle 2&6)
d. The seven natural laws of manifestation
e. Failing to succeed
f. The seven steps of Goal Mapping
g. The goal mapping ritual

a) The nature of success: the author writes that true success depends upon achieving a balance of just three core values which are Happiness, Peace of mind and Experience of abundance. I find this idea to be very helpful to me as it has helped me to understand the basic areas of my life that I need to focus my energy in order to be successful. In setting my goals as regards various aspects of my life, I try to put them under the three main categories the author has described and I have found that it has made things much easier for me to accomplish.

Also this idea has helped me especially in building my emotions and being in control of my thoughts. From what I understand, the author perceives abundance to be more of a mental state than a physical state which I agree completely. I have had instances in my life where I felt achieving some particular goals or objectives will bring me happiness or self fulfillment but after achieving them I still feel a little empty.

b) The rules for talking yourself out of negativity: I would say that one of the most consistent idea I have found to be present in all of the books I have read since being on the IIGL program is talking one’s self out of negativity, looking at the world we live in today, and our immediate environment it is easy for one to get discouraged about many things in life, form their jobs to their future dreams and aspirations.
The author presents us with two rules for talking our selves out of negativity which are:

* Look for reasons to enjoy what you are doing
* Choose to talk yourself by asking ‘what can be great about this?’

As simple as these two rules are, they carry in them the power to transform any situation when we find ourself not being motivated to act. I made a deliberate effort to make use of the two questions in my everyday living and it has worked magic.

c) Climbing the LIFT Ladder is another idea that I found very important to me, in all there are seven principles but I find the second and sixth principles more important. The second principle states that we should ‘Develop Possibility Consciousness’ personally one of my greatest challenge before coming on the IIGL program was that I doubted that I could achieve certain things, I believe that this kind of thought originated from my poor performances at school while I was younger. Unconsciously I started learning to overcome it with the help of a friend who never saw anything as impossible, he talk in such a positive way that you could almost see what he spoke about in reality. Reading about it in the Law of Attraction has made it stick to my head.

Also the sixth principle states ‘Maintain a positive focus’, the author in explaining this principle encourages we should think about what we want and not what you fear, most times I find myself thinking more about what I fear rather than what I want. I remember a time when I was to organize a seminar, I spent half the time ‘fearing’ that people will not show up and developed cold feet which affected the overall planning process, but at the end it turned out to be a success. I feared what was not a reality at the time. The author has also given me new insights and a form of encouragement when I read the part that says ‘maintaining a positive focus will raise your awareness increase your energy and begin to operate form your super-conscious mind’.

d) The seven natural laws of manifestation: I find the ideas discussed in the seven laws personally important as they have helped me immensely in my personal development exercise. The author explains that the manifestation we bring forth in our lives are expressions of our inner thoughts, feelings, and actions. The seven laws of manifestation as enunciated by the author are:

A. Have belief in yourself and your goals.
B. Balance your goals
C. Live in the moment.
D. State your goals in present tense
E. State your goals in positive tense.
F. State your goals in personal tense.
G. Allow for lag-time.

All these laws have helped me develop and enter into a higher level of consciousness.

e) Failing to succeed is another idea shared by the author that I find personally helpful and important. He writes that one of the greatest differences between successful and unsuccessful people is that successful people have learnt a major life lesson and do not see failure as a negative dead end that stops them in their tracks. Instead they see it as a learning opportunity, a signpost that helps point out the right path forward. I agree with this statement in totality. I see many young people in my community not taking that leap of faith because they are afraid to fail. I also once saw failure as something that was negative and a sign that I could not do anything right at first attempt, but I have a new consciousness and awareness now and I know that not succeeding the first time hasn’t made you a failure, but being afraid to act makes you a coward.

f) The Seven steps of goal mapping: the seven steps of goal mapping explained by the author are
1. Dream “what do you want”.
2. Order “What’s my priority”
3. Draw “What does it look like”
4. Why “Why do I want it”
5. When “When do I want it”
6. How “How will ii achieve it”
7. Who “Whose help will I require”

I find the seven steps of goal mapping personally helpful to me as it has helped me develop my goals and action plans faster in a clearer way.

g) The goal mapping ritual: I find the goal mapping ritual personally important because it has helped me to develop a higher level of commitment to my goals. The author writes that the higher you raise the energy of your new thought-command above the level of any old limiting beliefs and self doubt, the faster your subconscious will work to make your goals come true. This has helped me to consciously control my thoughts so I can operate more on my positive vibration bubble.

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 I have learnt from this book will definitely help me set long lasting goals, and also help me achieve more within the shortest possible time. The goal mapping technique is unique because it consciously helps you to engage the left and right part of your brain in your goal mapping process, unlike some other ones I have worked with so I intend to teach this method to youths in my locality

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Yes, the book offers many quotes and I have found some of them captivating.

“To win…you’ve got to stay in the game”—- Claude M. Bristol
This quote is intended to help a person stay committed to what ever he/she is doing, meditating on the quote, I came to realize that people who quit easily never gets to achieve anything in their lives, because when they fail here they look for another thing to do and that is how they keep jumping from one thing to another achieving nothing.

“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped”– Anthony Robbins
This quote is so true that if we take time to remind our selves of this simple fact, many people would not have found themselves in some situations which they are right now. Some decisions we make as simple as they may be can have a lasting effect on our lives. An example just came to my mind as I was typing this text, that a person who smokes was actually not born that way, he/she made the decision without thinking about the long term effect it would have on their health and when it is almost too late, they want to quit which becomes difficult. It becomes difficult to quit something that started in less than 5 minutes.

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 the book is straight forward and easy to understand and assimilate. I don’t seem to disagree with any of the ideas shared.

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 various exercises and I made an attempt on them. I found the 13day mental challenge to be very helpful, taking such mental exercise every month will in no time make you an optimist.

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.

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

Goal Setting 101
Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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

The main Idea the author tries to convey in the book Goal Setting 101 is that we can achieve anything we set our minds at provided we set goals that are specific measurable and have a time frame within when we want to achieve it.

The Seven Ideas that I have found personally helpful from the books are:
A. Knowing why Goal setting is important
B. Anatomy of a goal
C. Accepting your power of choice
D. The ten crucial life dimensions
E. Practice speed, simplicity, and boldness
F. Maintaining Momentum
G. Learning to manage failure

A) Know why Goal Setting is important: I find this idea very important to me because I have never really given it a thought, I always just knew that to achieve anything you just had to set goals, but reading about the idea in the book helped me to have a better understanding as to why it is important to set goals. I have now learnt that it is important to set goals because (a) they establish direction for your life, (b) goals identify results, (c) goals challenges us to grow etc.

B) Anatomy of goal setting: I find the idea of anatomy of goal setting important because it brought out all there is to know about setting goals in a simplified manner.

C) Accepting your power of Choice: I find this idea personally helpful as it has helped me to be more conscious about the decisions I make. This has really helped me because I have made some decisions that I would say I took “at the spur of the moment” and perhaps regretted later. But now I know better.

D) The ten crucial life dimension: I found the ten crucial life dimension particularly helpful in dividing my life into various aspects. In my previouse goal setting approach I divided my life into different areas but with this new idea I have developed a clearer perspective.

E) Practice Speed, Simplicity, and Boldness: over time I realized that many people fail to achieve their set goals for the simple reason that they fail to keep it simple, I was in the school once, and from experience I know that failure to keep things simple can make set goals overwhelming.

F) Maintain Momentum: This idea actually excites me. The author rightly mentions that it takes great energy to over come the inertia- to get going. Once we are able to get past this stage it would be unwise to give up or work at a slow pace. Personally I motivate my self on a given task by working on it every day either physically or mentally.

G) Learn to manage failure: the description given to failure by the author has personally encouraged me, he says failure can be an opportunity for learning, for recovery, for the creation and demonstration of character. I use this statement to challenge myself any time I experience a set back.

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

The lessons I have learnt from this book will help me in a practical way in my entire goal setting process. In creating a better world, I intend to organize a little workshop in my church to teach the youths in my church the ideas I have learnt from the book.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

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

Yes, the author said something about Murphy’s Law but never stated the law and am interested in what the law says.

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 a handful of wonderful exercise which I practiced. I used some of the exercise along with ideas gotten from the book to set my goals for 2010.

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.

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

The Law of Attraction
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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

The main idea Michael J. Losier tries to convey in his book ‘Law of Attraction’ is that we constantly attract things to our selves based on our dominant thoughts, and that using the laws of attraction, we can attract more of the things we desire and less of the things we don’t.

The seven ideas which I find personally important are:
a. Words that are causing you to attract what you don’t want.
b. The 3 steps formula for deliberate attraction
c. the tools for rewarding your affirmations
d. The power of allowing
e. The concept of the vibration bubble
f. Resetting your vibration
g. The tools to help you allow

a).The words that are causing you to attract what you don’t want: I find this idea personally important as it has increased my awareness and helped me to be more conscious of the words that I am feeding into my mind. The author writes that using the words Don’t, not or no have a way of attracting to us the actual things we dread. When growing up, I heard a lot of don’ts and just reading the law of attraction I really see how it has affected my thinking and also what I have attracted to myself.

b). The 3 steps formula for deliberate attraction: I find this idea very revealing and helping, the author describes the 3 formula for deliberate attraction as (1) Identifying your desire (2) Give your desire attention and (3) Allow it. Each and every step stated has helped me to use the laws of attraction more deliberately, while reading I recalled instances where I desired certain things and some of them I got them instantly and for those that I got instantly, I remember having a strong desire for those things at that time, what I have now come to understand as giving my desire attention. I interpreted the author’s explanation on giving your desire attention as the more thought you commit to something the more it becomes rooted in your mind and it will manifest itself.

c). The tools for rewarding affirmations: I find the first tool that requires us to start our affirmative statement using the words “ I am in the process” very helpful. Using this opening statement has given me a kind of excitement that pushes me to move on and pursue my desire.

d). The power of allowing: this is conveyed by the author as doing away with all forms of negative vibrations and that doubt is also a negative vibration, he further goes on to say that the speed at which the law of attraction would manifest is directly proportional to how much one is allowing. In my personal life I realize that I have experienced the law of attraction at work but did not have the knowledge of it as attraction. Once I needed money to execute a project, so I did some goal setting and took some actions without a doubt in my mind that one of my plans was going to work and I just allowed events to unfold, and just at the right time I received an unusual call form a friend who handed me the exact amount I was looking for. Likewise, I have also had experiences where I doubted my ability to accomplish some task or acquire some assets, and I must say that I paid the price, now I understand that I was only attracting the things I didn’t want.

e). The Concept of the vibration bubble: I find this idea very revealing as I have come to understand and also realize that at every material time of the day, I am operating under a vibration bubble which is either positive or negative vibration bubble. The explanation given by the author has helped me understand how to identify which vibration bubble I am operating on at every given time. Unlike in the past, I now take conscious effort to ensure that I am always operating on my positive vibration bubble. I have developed a mental picture to see me operating on my positive vibration bubble, I imagine myself in a balloon that is propelled with the use of hot air, now this hot air is my positive vibration bubble, as long as it is blowing hot, I see my self ascending and attracting the things I want, but when I am blow cold air (negative vibration bubble), I am descending and attracting more of the things I don’t want, and if I don’t do anything about it, I will eventually crash.

f). Resetting your vibration: I find this idea personally important because living in a world of too much negativity and disappointment it is easy for one to find himself operating on the negative vibration bubble. The writer informs us that we can identify which vibration bubble we are operating on by identifying the feelings we are experiencing at the time. He further goes on to say that we can reset our vibration bubble form negative to positive choosing different words and different thoughts. I have played with this idea and I must say it is funny how one can change is mood in less than 5 minutes.

g). The tools to help you allow: I find this idea personally important and helpful as it has helped me to a large extent take away negative thought from my mind. Since I started the IIGL program, I have grown more confident and become more excited about the future not having doubt or fear of what lies ahead. The tools to help you allow has gone a long way in helping eliminate doubt in my endeavors, and am still in the process of being doubt free.

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

I will first start by saying that reading the book ‘Law of Attraction’ has awakened a new consciousness within me. I now know that through the use of deliberate attraction, I can attract what I want to myself, and so I practice the steps taught in the book. I am in the process of mastering deliberate attraction and when I comfortable with it I will empower others with the technique.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

Not really

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 the book seems straight forward and easy to understand, and I don’t seem to disagree with any of the ideas shared.

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 exercises and I completed them, to an extent I found them helpful, but I believe that repeating the exercise over time would be more 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.

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

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

The Power of Intention
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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

The main idea the author tires to convey in his book Power of Intention is that Intention is a force in the universe, and that everything and everyone is connected to this invisible force.

The seven ideas which I find personally important are:

i. The seven faces of intention
ii. Obstacles to connecting to intention
iii. Seven steps for overcoming Ego’s hold on you
iv. How your energies impact others
v. A sense of the possible
vi. A sense of knowing
vii. Living a life on purpose

i. The seven faces of intention: I have fond these faces very helpful and insightful, in a special way the seven faces of intention has helped me develop a new set of character to live my life by. When I was much younger I remember crying once when I saw a very young boy begging for alms on the street, I was very kind and it got to a point I felt I was “weak” so I tried putting up a though attitude and tried to turn a blind eye to the sufferings of others so as not to be seen to be a weakling, little did I know that I was walking away from my calling. The seven faces of intentions have helped me in a spiritual way to unite with my childhood and to follow my path. The author describes the seven faces of intention as Creativity, Kindness, Love, Beauty, Expansion, Unlimited Abundance, and Receptivity. The statement made by the author that “If you doubt your ability to create the life you intend, then you’re refusing the power of intention” has personally motivated me to step out.

ii. Obstacles to connecting to intention: this idea has been personally helpful to me as the understanding of these obstacles is helping me to work consciously work to being in attune to intention on daily basis. Specifically the four ways of thinking that prevent a person from reaching for and connecting to the universal creative spirit of intention has taking my thought factor to a higher level and I find myself living in peace with the universe. I must confess that people around me keep telling me that something about me has changed, and that is a sign that I am operating on a new level of consciousness.

iii. The idea of the seven steps of overcoming ego’s hold has been particularly important to me as it is helping me in a unique way to live a life of humility. I am not some particularly driven by my ego, but the truth is once in a while it takes hold of me. Living a world that has thought you that you either win or you lose, and that wining is the ultimate, it is not easy to overcome egos hold on you. I personally had a saying that at the time I used to remind myself in the name of motivation “that second best is first loser”. But with this knew knowing I have come to realize that life is not about wining at all, but about living it to the fullest of your intention.

iv. The idea of how your energy impacts others has particularly been important to me as it has helped me to be more conscious of the energy I radiate to others around me. Throughout my leadership studies I have understood that as a leader, at all times you must be seen to show confidence even in the face of fear and doubt. Working with this strategy over the years has proven to be very effective. Personally I see myself as a pathfinder, Motivator, Teacher, to others, and so the ideas I have gotten from the energy impact on others will go a long way in helping achieve my above intentions.

v. A sense of the possible: this idea has been very important to me as it has motivated me in a way that I cannot describe. It has a spirit behind it that awakened something within me. The author explains this idea as creating acts upon the everlasting possibility that anything that is thought of can be. Meditating on this statement and considering achievements round the world that we never thought possible until they became; I have become more convinced that ever that there is a higher source that can bring every thought of ours from the spirit realm to the physical realm of reality.

vi. A sense of knowing: this idea the author explains as one that comes from the active side of infinity, and that we no longer think in terms of limits. And that we are the Source, and the Source is unlimited, it knows no boundaries, its endlessly expansive, and endlessly abundant. This idea is particularly important to me because it has helped me to transcend physical limits and to see myself in a form that is way bigger that my body. Here in Nigeria, the poverty level is so high that for someone to really understand this concept it will really take a divine intervention as we see and hear a lot that keeps you depressed other than keeping you in a positive vibration bubble, so this idea has helped me to constant focus on my source of abundance.

vii. Living a life on purpose: this is perhaps the idea of the totality of the book and the ultimate purpose of human existence. This idea has personally helped me to understand the concept of living a purposeful life, and has helped me finally solve the riddle that has been bugging my mind as to what my purpose here on earth is.

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 I have gotten from this book and all the other books I have read since being on the IIGL program are helping me develop lasting programs for my organization GLDA

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

“You cannot see outside of you what you fail to see inside”. Anthony de Mello.

Reflecting on this quote I had the understanding that no matter who or what you have in life, if you cannot look inwards and be happy then nothing around you will. This is why we see people around us who we see as successful and we wish to be like them engaging in the use of drugs and other substances to make them happy, and we ask ourselves what on earth could make them sad. Also I have come to realize that the best form of motivation we can ever have is self motivation, to be able to have that little voice within that whispers every time we are down “move on I am with you”. So if you cannot see happiness, joy, peace and any other thing we desire in life within us, we probably will not see it anywhere else.

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, I understood all the ideas shared in the book, and I don’t disagree with any of the ideas shared.

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 whole book is really a life transforming exercise and I am practicing them all.

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.

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

Unlimited Power
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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

The main idea the author tires to convey in the book ‘Unlimited Power’ is that we can become better people and accomplish all that we are by effectively modeling others who have those qualities and traits.

The seven ideas which I find personally important are:

i. Seven fundamental character traits of successful people
ii. The power of State
iii. The seven lies of success
iv. Limitation Disengage
v. The power of precision
vi. Six steps to reframing
vii. The 5 keys to creation of wealth and happiness

i Seven fundamental character traits of successful people: I find this idea personally important because they have showed me the qualities I already posses and the ones that I need to possess or work on to be even better. The author states the seven fundamental character traits of success as (i) Passion (ii) Belief (iii) Strategy (iv) Clarity of values (v) Energy (vi) Bonding power (vii) Mastery of communication. I very much agree with the writer on these character traits because when I try to remember things that I have accomplished I discovered that at one point or the other I exhibited all the traits, I am of the opinion that where one of the traits is missing, it will be difficult to achieve success. When I was initially starting my Organization, I was driven by a passion that I remember being up for two nights without sleep just writing down all the ideas as they came into my head. Reading about these traits again has rekindled in my heart what I will call a dying flame. I feel that at the point I started losing it was when I actually stopped exhibiting two character traits, but thank God now I think am back.

ii. The power of State: the author writes about two states of mind, the enabling state of mind which comprises of confidence, love, inner strength, joy, ecstasy and belief. And the paralyzing state which comprises of confusion, depression, fear, anxiety, sadness, frustration. I find this idea very helpful because in a unique way, it has helped me to develop a consciousness to always ask myself if my thoughts are putting me in an enabling state or a paralyzing state and this has been working for me. Being in a country like Nigeria, it is very easy to find yourself depressed all day long. The concept of the two main components of state as explained by the author has helped me to be conscious of both my internal representations and my physiology.

iii. The Seven lies of success is another idea I find personally helpful and important to me, these lies are helping to live a much more full life with a better understanding. A line struck me in particular, that is where the author said ‘people who fear failure, make internal representations of what might not work in advance’. I have read such similar phrase before, and it was on that day, I had a rebirth, it was as if I was brought out of a cave, and ever since then my life has been filled with endless possibilities.

Iv. Limitation disengage is another idea I have found very important and helpful to me. The author writes as part of his explanation on this idea that ‘even if you have the skills and resources to do something, once you tell yourself you can’t; you shut down the neurological pathways that make it possible’. I remember once when I was at the gym with some friends, we were on a challenge and we kept on increasing the weights we carried to see the last man standing, I remember when the weights went to about 200kg something within me said I could not press on such a heavy weight, and guess what I couldn’t and I lost out, the funny side of the story was that two days after I pressed on a weight heavier than 200kg, I remember being in a state where I felt I was “incredible hulk” and could rip a building apart. I also remember a time when I was teaching a song to a friend, though she new the first verse perfectly but had a challenge using the same rhythm to sing subsequent verses after some few attempts, she said she couldn’t learn it and that took us about three hours before she could get it without mistake. As soon as she said she could not learn it, I made it my job to see she did, and thinking about it now I had used some NLP techniques without knowing. This idea has helped me develop a consciousness to deliberately find myself saying “I CAN” or “It’s Possible” before I ever get a second thought and I must confess, its been working.

v. The Power of Precision: this is yet another idea shared by the author that I have found very helpful. The five guidelines for asking intelligently and precisely has helped me develop a new sales and marketing strategy for my new firm.

vi. The Six steps to reframing: before reading about this idea, I was one of those who had a way of storing up negative frames of events in my mind and thinking about it now it has limited me unconsciously. Something within me came to life when I read where the author said “there is a valuable lesson in everything that happens. The best leaders are the one’s who learn the lesson and put the most empowering frame on outside events”. In my life, I had always made sure that I learn the lesson(s) that I needed to learn from events, but what I have missed out in the puzzle is putting the most empowering frame on outside events, and am getting to work in this area.

vii. The 5 keys to creation of wealth and Happiness: I find this idea personally helpful as they serve as pointers and a form of motivation that reminds me of what I need to do in other to remain on the road to success.

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 I have gotten from the book will help me achieve some personal development goals that I have set for myself as the book to a large extent has provided me with valuable tools. I am also considering starting a training workshop under my organization to teach the ideas I have learnt from all the books I have read since being on the program. I am also still thinking of a name and also how to develop the training module.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

“Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt”. William Shakespare.

From my experience I have come to understand that one of the main reasons why people never live up to their capabilities and potentials is as a result of fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of not being embarrassed or disgraced. I have come to the conclusion that fear is the greatest weapon the devil has over us, that is why in the holy Bible, we keep hearing Jesus saying “fear not”. The quote by William Shakespare is absolutely true, and the more we can meditate on it the more good it can do to our lives.

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 wouldn’t like to use the word disagree, but I am not too comfortable with the idea of the author emphasizing the concept of “modeling other people” personally I feel that if it does not have a limit, you will end up not having a personal identity.

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 some activities and I tried my possible best to try them out even though some required a little bit of professionalism to master or get it right. Never the less I found them very rewarding.

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.

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? 10
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? 10

Non Violent Communication
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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

The main idea the author tires to convey in his book Non Violent Communication is that the world could be free from all the wars and conflicts it is presently experiencing if people knew how to communicate their needs to each other and in return are able to identify the needs of others.

The seven ideas which I find personally important are:

a. The Four components of Non violent communication
b. The idea of “Observing without Evaluating”
c. Taking responsibility for our feelings
d. How to respond to negative message
e. The concept of Emotional Liberation
f. Using positive action language
g. Listening for feelings and needs.

a. The author describes the four components of non-violent communication as (1) observation (2) feeling (3) needs and (4) Request. Understanding these four components, one will be able to give from the heart. Observation has to do with paying attention to what is being said to you without being judgmental. The author explains that for a statement to be properly made, it must contain all these four elements otherwise the statement would be ambiguous or incomplete. Example where you make a statement of displeasure about someones behavior and you don’t make a request, the person would most likely repeate that thing which you have complained about because you haven’t requested it not to be done again.

b. The idea of “Observing without evaluating” is one that I have personally important and helpful because in the part of Nigeria where I come from, people most times would not observe, rather they evaluate and hope that such evalution will solve the problem. Most parents over here are quick to “taggin” their children with names especially if they don’t do well at school. Over time, I have discovered that such children with this tags develop inferiority complex as they begin to live by the tag they have been given. Reading the Book Non-violent communication has helped me to understand how to observe and not be judgmental at the same time, which will go a long way in not hurting peoples self esteem.

c. Taking responsibilities for our feelings is an idea I have found very vey helpful and important. Before I started my IIGL program, I can say that I was 80 percent of the time depressed as a result of the events happening around me which I could not control. I had a mind set that either God could not solve my problems or he just didn’t want to do anything about it. My IIGL program has helped me to take control of my thoughts especially with the book “What to say when you talk to yourself” so reading about taking responsibility for your feelings in this book has just helped me re-affirm my commitment to myself that no matter the circumstance or whatever anyone says about me, I am in charge of my feelings. The author writes that our feelings result from how we chose to receive what others say and do, as well as our particular needs and expectations in that moment.

d. I found the idea about how to respond to negative messages very important, as negative messages are things we receive in our day to day living, and knowing how to respond will keep us in a positive mental attitude. The author writes that the four ways to how respond to negative messages are either to (1) Blame ourselves (2) Blaming others (3) Sensing our own feelings and needs (4) Sensing others feelings and needs. This has helped me to understand my feelings in various circumstance better. One statement made by the writer that struck a chord within me was where he said “what others say and do may be stimulus but never the cause, of our feelings.” Previously, I was concerned about peoples opinion and thought about me, but now I am more concerned about my own opinion about myself.

e. I find the concept of emotional libration personally important because it has helped me to understand that I can make request of others for things that makes me happy and comfortable in a manner that I don’t become self-centered. The author describes Emotional Liberation as the art of stating clearly what we need in a way that communicates that we are equally concerned that the needs of others be fulfilled.

f. The idea of the use of positive action language has been personally helpful to me as I now have a better understanding about how I can make request from others. The author writes that to use positive action language, we should express what we are requesting rather than what we are not requesting. Before now, I requested more of what I didn’t want from people rather than what I would have them do and it had always led to one form of conflict or another.

g. The idea of listening for feelings and needs has been personally important to me as it has brought to my consciousness to reframe peoples statement so I get to know what message they are really communicating, this has helped me not to feel offended or resent people when they make comments or statements to me which ordinary would make me want to put up a defense.

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 I have gotten from this book will help me communicate more compassionately with a view to bringing out the best in other people and also in my counseling sessions and in my daily interaction with people.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

“The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear what is happening outside” Dag Hammarskjold

Since my study at the International Institute for Global Leadership, I have come to realize that the solutions to any problems we might have is deep within us. I have developed a new consciousness that the mind is the most powerful tool that man is equipped with. But because of the distractions of daily living, we seldom take out time to meditate and look inwards, and that is why we experience so much problems.

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

No, I understood all the ideas shared in the book, and I don’t disagree with any of the ideas shared.

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 exercises, and I was excited getting the answers to the exercise as it served as a form of feedback to me that I was understanding the ideas and concept the author shared.

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.

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

The Law Of Attraction In Action
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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 “The law of attraction in action” is that everything that the world presents us with is a reflection of what we concentrate our thoughts on, and if this is so then we can consciously create and receive the kind things we want from life using the law of attraction.

The seven ideas I found most important to me from the book are:
Positive Psychology (Pg 29) (L3)
The 3 key steps in the LOA in Action model (Pg33) (L9)
State the fact (Pg46) (L16)
Travelling on the “Inner State” (Pg56) (L9)
Taking Inspired Action (Pg 91) (L3)
Fountain, Flood, Flow (Pg119) (L9)
Six ways to make gratitude a way of life (Pg126) (L1)

Positive Psychology: The writer explains as art that focuses on emotional wellness rather than emotional illness….it stresses strengths rather than weakness, and asserts rather than deficits. She further goes on to say that positive psychology is about adopting constructive ways to thinking and acting that benefit all aspects of our life. I find this idea personally helpful as it reemphasizes to me the need for positive living. Everyday we are most likely faced with bad news, setbacks, and disappointment, but when we develop a consciousness to be positive regardless of what is happening around us, we have that inner peace that we just cannot explain. Personally, in the past three months I have been working on a project that I seem not to be making any headway, and I must admit that I have started getting discouraged and would say I just started losing kind of because everything write now is about this project as if my life depended on it. Reading the idea of positive psychology has helped me to at least see the problem as it is and my mind is no longer engrossed in the sadness, and anger that has been building up.

The 3 key steps in the LOA in Action model: is another idea that I have found to be personally helpful and important. The three key steps in the LOA in Action model are (i) Choosing your state, (ii) Setting your intention and (iii) Taking inspired action. After I read this idea I decided to revisit all the steps and action I have taking in the past three months on my project at hand and following the three key steps prepared another action plan.

This has helped me accomplish more in the past two weeks while reading this book than in the past three months, using the three key steps and the law of attraction. Particularly while taking inspired action I woke up with a voice within me telling me to go to the bank I have been discussing with but this time another branch that also came to my mind. So I did and just like magic I was directed to speak with my account officer who helped me solve the first aspect of my problem which to me is the biggest part the rest is just mere formality. I came out of the banking premises that they so excited. I realized that I have spent most of my time in the last three months getting myself all worked up and frustrated just because I wasn’t getting what I wanted.

State the fact is another idea shared by the author that I found personally important. The book explains that State is the all-powerful combination of thoughts, beliefs, and emotions that make absolutely everything possible. It further goes on to say that we are actually controlling our state all the time, most often unconsciously, by allowing our moods and feelings to be dictated by outside circumstances. These was actually what I let happen to me before I started reading this book, because my plans and desires where not playing out according to plan, I allowed myself to get upset. Reading this idea has reminded me of the fact that I am in control of my thought, also I remember one of the ideas I read in an earlier book “Law of Attraction by Michael J. Losier which is the idea of “Allowing” where he said when you put the law of attraction to work you have to allow it to manifest at its own time and not to force it. That was exactly what I found myself doing at this time forcing my intentions to manifest.

Travelling on the “Inner State” is another idea I found personally important, the author writes that the only things we have control over in any circumstance are our thoughts, including the meaning we ascribe to what we observe, and the action we decide to take to influence our situation. Presently I am consciously choosing my thoughts, and instead of just interpreting a situation on the spot, I look at it objectively to really understand it. In line with this, I also found the activities that support our efforts to consciously choose our state to have been very helpful. The two categories of activities are (i) GIGO which means Good in Good out and (ii) Spacemakers

Taking Inspired Action: at my current state of mind and the activities I was engaged in made this idea about the most important thing I learnt in the book. In taking inspired action, the author writes that it is intuitively identifying your “next best step” and moving forward with a learning mind and committed heart. It is in putting this idea into practice that led me to going to the bank and what I have pursued for over three months was achieved in less than two hours. She also writes that taking inspired action is the art of thinking big and acting small; from my experience I have come to understand that it is the little things that we do while focusing on a goal that helps us to accomplish the big task. Unfortunately around me especially my friends whom we all had the dream of starting up our own companies are all taking up paid jobs for the simple excuse that the capital in question is high and so they need to just let the dream go for now perhaps may be in the future they will come back to it, as difficult as it may seem I have held out and refused taking up any employment and focusing on building my company, now taking inspired action every day. This idea was easy to implement as the author provided an action plan on how to take inspired action.

Fountain, Flood, Flow is an idea I found personally helpful because in understanding the idea I have learnt to enjoy the experience of all my activities and I am not bothered when things don’t go as planed, or I am not getting the results am expecting at the moment. In the book, the “flood” image is about flooding your mind and body with productive thinking and positive energy that keep you in the best state to manifest your dream. The “fountain” image guides your thinking and insights in ways that spray intention and possibility upward and outward in your life and daily experience. While the “flow” concept goes back to the idea of joyfully (and productively) travelling with the current toward your dreams, rather than paddling upstream to get there.

Six ways to make gratitude a way of life, I find this idea personally important because it helps me to appreciate the beautiful things that are happening in my life and around me. In a world where bad news is what sells, we can easily get carried away in negativity and forget to see the beauty around us. According to the author, the six ways of making gratitude a way of life are (i) Counting your blessings (ii) Gratitude Journaling (iii) Gratitude letter (iv) wealth walk (v) the power shower and (vi) abundance practice.

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 I have gotten from the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” will help me in a practical way to live a principle centered life. I intend to write a brief extract on the ideas and principles I have learnt from the book to share with young people and people who don’t have the time to read the book.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

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

I understood and digested all the ideas shared by the author. There were no ideas that I disagree with the author on.

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 worksheets activities to help put the law of attraction in action and am using 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, I think the questions asked took care of the core parts of the book.

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

The 7 Habits of Highly effective people
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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 “The 7 habits of highly effective people” is that, there is no quick fixes to personal change, and that to achieve success in life, one has to learn the basic principles of effective living which is centered on character ethics and not personality ethics.

the seven ideas I found most important to me from the book are:
Seeing and Being
The principle centered paradigm
The concept of true effectiveness
The 7 habits (a) Be proactive (b) Begin with the end in mind (c) Put first things first (d) Think win/win (e) Seek first to understand, then be understood (f) Synergize (g) Sharpen the saw
Circle of concern/circle of influence
The difference between reactive and proactive people
The 3 character traits essential to the win/win paradigm

Seeing and Being: this is one of the ideas shared by the author that I find personally helpful, I understand that the way you see the world is identified in the way you perceive, understand, and interpret circumstances. A person that has grown in an abusive and negative environment would most likely see, and interpret situations from negative perspective. Reflecting on this idea has helped me to always stand out of a situation which has helped me to understand it better. I particularly appreciate this idea because I am now more conscious of the way I view the world and the situations around me, I now try to make an informed interpretation of situations.
Another idea found personally helpful is the principle centered paradigm, the author writes that character ethic is based on the fundamental idea that there are principles that govern human effectiveness, natural laws in the human dimension that are just and real. A detailed explanation of these principles has helped me in evaluating myself to know which principles I actually live my life by. Some of the principles discussed by the author include integrity and honesty, human dignity, service or the idea of making a contribution, quality or excellence etc. in evaluating myself against the principles stated I am in the process of imbibing those principles that I am yet to live my life by.

The concept of true effectiveness is an idea I have found to be personally helpful to me, the author writes that true effectiveness is a function of two things, what is produced (the golden eggs) and the producing asset or capacity to produce (the goose). In my business life I have committed myself to be consistently effective. Understanding this idea has helped me to pay attention to both my production and production capacity.

The 7 habits which are the fundamental ideas shared in the book have been personally helpful to me, they have helped me direct my life to be more effective. All the seven habits bring a new insight to living. I particularly found most rewarding Habit 5 “Seek first to understand, then be understood”. I have found myself in the position where I want my own opinion to be accepted, but reading Habit 5 I realize that even when I think I understand another person’s point of view, it is still is my own interpretation. Presently I am conscious of seeking to genuinely understand the other persons point of view, especially what matters relating to the way forward in carrying out business activities. Seeking first to understand, then to be understood has helped me to appreciate my team members point on view, and I realize that the resentment that builds up in me when they criticize my opinion or the way I feel things should be done is no longer there, I have come to understand that they also have the interest of the success of the company at heart.

Circle of concern/circle of influence has been a very helpful and important idea I got from the book, before now, as much as I try to be in control of my thoughts I kind of lost it under certain level of pressure. Understanding this idea I have it at the back of my mind that proactive people focus their efforts in the circle of influence, they work on the things they can do something about, while reactive people focus their efforts in the circle of concern. As I was reading this book I had a little financial constrain that was almost getting me frustrated, my company require a certain amount to execute a project that we believe will totally launch us big time, but raising the initial capital is proving more difficult than expected, we keep hitting brick walls in all our attempts and I unconsciously drifted from creative thinking to I don’t know what. So reading this part of the book brought me back to life, and I am presently using the law of attraction and focus to get things to work.

Closely to this idea is ‘THE “HAVES” AND THE “BE’S” which has helped me understand the concept of the circle of concern/circle of influence. I now understand that when we are on the ‘have’ side, we are operating under the circle of concern, while when we are on the ‘be’ side we are operating under the circle of influence. Presently I am working on focusing and working more on my circle of influence.

The difference between reactive and proactive people is an idea I found personally helpful, it is funny how if we don’t guard our thoughts especially when we are under pressure, we become reactive and lost all form of being proactive. The author writes that reactive people are often affected by their physical environment. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn’t it affects their attitude and their performance. While proactive people can carry their own weather with them. Whether it rains or shines makes no difference to them. They are value driven.

The 3 character traits essential to the win/win paradigm: I find this idea personally helpful as it helped me change my paradigm especially from the paradigm lack to the abundance mentality which basically states that there is plenty out there for everybody. I must confess that any month we don’t make good turnover in terms of increasing our clientele, I have this uneasy feeling that our competitors are having all the clients. But reading and understanding the abundance mentality has helped me not to worry about it and just know that our clients will come to us at the right time.

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?

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

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

I understood and digested all the ideas shared by the author. There were no ideas that I disagree with the author on.

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 some action activities to help you practice the habits thought, and am working on practicing 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, I think the questions asked took care of the core parts of the book.

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

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

Your Faith is Your Fortune
Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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 “Your Faith is Your Fortune” is that there is no other God to call upon aside the God within us, which is our consciousness that I AM. And that when we are in tuned to this consciousness we can make manifest all our desires.

the seven ideas I found most important to me from the book are:
a. You shall decree (Pg 10)
b. Whom seek ye? (Pg20)
c. Who am I? (Pg27)
d. To Him That Hath (Pg52)
e. Interval of Time (Pg 71)
f. Daniel in the lion’s den (Pg 94)
g. Clairvoyance (Pg105)

a. You shall decree: the author writes that man can decree a thing and it will come to pass, I believe this to be particularly true as the bible says that what we bind on earth is bound in heaven, and what we loose on earth is loosed in heaven, meaning that what we profess with our mouth so it shall be. He goes further to say the man is today decreeing that which is appearing in his world and he shall continue to do so as long as he is conscious of being man.

b. Whom seek ye? : the author explains that the man who is conscious of being poor does not need the assistance of anyone to express his poverty. I find this to be true, because just unconsciously ones thought is usually based on his present physical state, and it would take consciousness and deliberate decision to change your thought. So a person that finds himself in this thinking pattern would naturally attract more poverty. Through the understanding of the ideas gotten from the book, I am consciously creating the world I want to see and live in. the author writes that you rise to a higher level of consciousness by taking your attention away from your resent limitations and placing it upon that which you desire to be.

c. Who am I? : This is an idea I found personally helpful and important, the author writes that our world is our consciousness objectified. And waste no time trying to change the outside; change the within or the impression; and the without or expression will take care of itself. The author writes further that the power conceiving and the thing conceived are one but the power to conceive is greater than the conception. To my interpretation the power for us to conceive is the god within each and every man that makes him co-creator with God. Just as God conceived the world and all that is in it, we also have the power to conceive things but to do this, we must awaken to the I AM that is within. The bible tries to emphasize this when Jesus said “when you pray believe that you have received and it shall be so. All things are possible to him who believes” the use of words by Jesus were carefully selected, the word believe is the condition precedent for there to be manifestation. The author made a statement that challenged my thinking and at the same time inspired me, he said “No man has faith in God who lacks confidence in himself. Your faith in God is measured by your confidence in yourself”. Confidence here can be interpreted to mean your Consciousness of Being.

d. To Him that Hath: this idea gave me another understanding to the statement made in the bible, and I find the explanation to be helpful. The author writes that you can only magnify that which you are conscious of being. He goes on to say that one should consciously define himself as that which he desires.

e. Interval of time: I found this idea to be personally helpful and eye opening. Understanding the idea has helped me to overcome the anxiety I have when things are not coming at the stipulated time. The author writes that “Man is such a slave to time that, if after he has appropriated a state of consciousness which is not now seen by the world and it, the appropriated state, does not immediately embody itself, he loses faith in his unseen claim; forthwith he drops it and returns to his former static state of being. I have come to know that in spirit there is no day, month, year or time, only the appointed time.

f. Daniel in the lion’s den: the author gives an interesting explanation for this story which I found helpful. Amongst other things, the author writes that every problem automatically produces its solution in the form of a desire to be free from the problem. The author suggests that we should turn our back to our problems and focus our attention upon the desired solution by already feeling our self to be that which we desire.

g. Clairvoyance: is another idea that I found personally enlightening and helpful. The author writes that true clairvoyance rests, not in our ability to see things beyond the range of human vision, but rather in your ability to understand that which you see. This has given me a clear understanding of Jesus teaching in the bible where he said some have eyes yet cannot see, and some have ears yet cannot hear. From I understanding, I am of the opinion that when we fail to see, or hear then we are most likely being controlled by our human nature and not by our spirit man. The author also made a statement that I find to be very prevalent in our society today (at least in Nigeria), he said man in his attempt to find security in this world is misled by the false lights of greed, vanity and power. And that is what you see around; everyone is trying to grab all they can at the slightest opportunity, without fear or concern for his neighbor.

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 I have gotten from the book “Your Faith is Your Fortune” will help me in a practical way to live in consciousness, to know that I AM and everything that I desire in the physical I can make manifest through my (consciousness) thought. My consciousness being, that infinite source of abundance that lies within me.

4. Quotes: Are there brief quotes from the book which really got your attention? If so, please list and comment on them.

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

I understood all the ideas shared by the author. However I don’t seem to agree with all his ideas as in a way they go contrary to my biblical teachings and understanding. The author writes that there is no God anywhere else aside the God within us, and he further goes on to say that it is because people pray to this “non-existent god” that is why millions of prayers goes un answered, well I have my reservations to this opinion. Let me accept the fact that there is a God within each and every one of us, a logical question would be that what is the source of this god, on the second hand as humans we all have a head in form of presidents, chiefs etc. that govern us to maintain order and hierarchy, how much more in the spirit world and God who is the master of order.

Also I do not subscribe to the explanation the author gave about the virgin Mary her birth of Christ, and at a point I felt the author was contradicting himself. To a large extent he watered down the life of Jesus and his divine mission, making it to look as though Christ was just another man in the bible that Christians have ascribed so much power and respect to.

I would advise all reading the book (especially Christians) to read with caution, take what is most valuable and important to you and leave the rest. Like with all books, don’t take everything hook line and sinker.

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?

No the book contained no 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, I think the questions asked took care of the core parts of the book.

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? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 8
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

Failing Forward

Assessment by Pius Oluwatosin Reis (Nigeria)

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 “Failing Forward” is that to be successful you must be prepared to accept failure as part of the process. The book teaches that developing a healthy attitude to failure could be the most important attitude that would guarantee success, in the authors words “the difference between average people achieving people is their perception of and response to failure” (Pg2) (L22)

The seven ideas I found most important to me from the book are:

a. Realize there is one major difference between average people and achieving people

b. The seven abilities needed to fail forward

c. The concept of taking action and reducing your fear

d. How to cultivate optimism

e. Don’t let the failure from outside get inside you

f. The benefits of adversity

g. How to learn from your failures and mistakes

a. Realize there is one major difference between average people and achieving people is one of the ideas that I found very helpful to me while reading the book, it kind of woke me up from my ‘slumber’ and I realized I had to do much more than I was presently doing to attain the level of success I envisioned. To become successful, you would have to take more risk than an average person and in taking more risks failure is inevitable. The author throughout the book tries to encourage the reader to accept failure as part of the process to learning and not to take failure personal.

b. The seven abilities needed to fail forward: is another idea in the book that I found to be personally important, the seven abilities needed to fail forward shared by the author are ;-

(i) Achievers reject Rejection (Pg27) (L18) to keep the right perspective, take responsibility for your actions, but don’t take failure personally.

(ii) Achievers see failure as temporary (Pg28) (L3)

(iii) Achievers see failure as isolated incidents (Pg28) (L14)

(iv) Achievers keep Expectations Realistic (Pg28) (L26) the greater the feat you desire to achieve, the greater the mental preparation required for overcoming obstacles and persevering over long haul.

(v) Achievers focus on strengths (Pg29) (L17)

(vi) Achievers Vary Approaches to Achievement (Pg29) (L29)

(vii) Achievers Bounce Back (Pg30) (L27)

The seven abilities shared by the author has not only helped me to see failure from a different perspective and not seeing myself as a failure when things don’t turn out as I planned, but it has also empowered and motivated me to take greater risks knowing that failing at it does not make me a failure.

c. The concept of taking action and reducing your fear: this is another idea that I have found personally important and helpful to me, in my many experiences I have come to learn that the more you take action in areas that you fear, the more you develop self confidence and over come those fears. I remember my first appearance before a judge, I was petrified, but the more I appeared before various justices the fear gradually disappeared and I gained more confidence. If after my first experience I refused to take further action I would not have been able to build my confidence to this level and probably would have quit practicing as a lawyer. The author writes that “to conquer fear, you have to feel the fear and take action anyway” (Pg41) (L3)

d. How to cultivate optimism is an idea that I found personally helpful and important to me, the author writes that to cultivate optimism is by learning the secret of Contentment. in our society today especially Nigeria, we are having so much problems because of greed and lack of contentment. The author put the concept and if you like, the definition of contentment perfectly “Being content doesn’t mean being satisfied with a bad situation. It simply means having a good attitude as you work your way out of it” (Pg66) (L27). He went on to say that Contentment comes from having a positive attitude. It means

* Expecting the best in everything––—- not the worst.

* Remaining upbeat——- even when you get beat up.

* Seeing Solutions in every problem —— not problems in every solution.

* Believing in yourself —- even when others believe you’ve failed.

* Holding on to hope ——– even when others say it’s hopeless. (Pg67) (L5)

e. Don’t let the failure from outside get inside you is yet another idea shared by the author that I have found personally important, from my personal experience I realize that when you take failure personally and beat yourself over your failure, your self confidence begins to diminish, fear of failure begins to feel your mind whenever you want to carry out another task and before you know what is happening, you become pessimistic other than optimistic about life. With the help of the book I have been able to develop a consciousness that failing on a particular assignment or task does not translate to me being a failure in life. The author advice that we should remove the ‘You’ from failure; To achieve this the writer suggest that (1) Examine your expectations for that area, (2) Find new ways to do your work (3) Focus on your strengths (4) Vow to bounce back. (Pg33)

f. The benefits of adversity is another idea in the book that I have found to be very important and helpful to me, the bible says in everything we should count it all joy but this is only the spiritual angle to accepting adversity, the idea of the benefits of adversity has helped me not to dread adversity as I used to do but to understand that adversity like any other experience in life comes to achieve a purpose, and to teach me something. The author describes the benefits of adversity as (i) Adversity creates resilience (Pg115) (L8)

g. How to learn from your failures and mistakes is an idea that has been very helpful to me, before I started my IIGL programme on more than one occasion I remember making a mistake twice, and mistakes I made just once, I never reflected on them. The author writes that anyone can make failure a friend by maintaining a terachable attitude and using a strategy for learning from failure. The author further offers suggestions on how to turn losses into profits by asking some questions. IIGL has helped me to develop a reflective and meditative attitude; when I fail at something I now take out time to re-evaluate the whole process, and ask myself “if I have to do it all over again what would I do differently”. Asking myself this simple question has helped me to avoid some pitfalls that occurred in the process.

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 I have gotten from the book “Failing Forward” will help me in a practical way to live a principle centered life. I intend to write a brief extract on the ideas and principles I have learnt from the book to share with young people and people who don’t have the time to read the book.