As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Sadiq Rita Salamat (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author is trying to convey the power of thoughts. He outlined how we can use our mind in positive ways to shape our life and bring them to reality. That all our actions are products of hidden seeds of thought whether positive or negative. He likened the mind to a garden, which if well cultivated and nurtured will produce and give a pleasant outlook, but if left untended, it brings out thorns, weeds and unpleasant to behold.
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 as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Thoughts are seed
James Allen made it very clear in this beautiful book that our thoughts are the seed that sprout out to show our habit, attitude, and character. As master of thought that we are, he let us know “that human are the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment and destiny.” In essence, whatever condition we find ourselves in presently is a direct proportion of the thought pattern of the individual. Therefore, the need to guard our thoughts flow. With the right thoughts, our mind gives orderliness, vitality, positive energy, and their fruits are always beautiful and successful in the endeavors we engage in. Good thoughts bear good fruits.
ii. Thoughts form character
Thoughts form the bases of the quality of character we build and exhibit. Our thoughts and imagination ultimately become our personality or character. The quality of our thoughts creates the reality of our lives. He explained that if for any reason, one has been a victim of his own thought, he can change at the point he realizes this truth. Not to concentrate on the effects but dig out the cause of that situation from the heart and deal with it. Deep thought reveals to us who we really are, shows you what your fears are, the things you are anxious for and in this process, you can unravel what needs to be changed and do so.
iii. Be purposeful in your thought
That we should be clear in our thought, not in a wishing and wandering pattern. All you have achieved or failed to achieve is a direct result of your own thoughts. Don’t be anxious to improve your life while there is no purpose or clear direction to attaining or improving it. “A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life.” Being purposeful means therefore putting away aimless wandering, lustful wishing and working hard to enter the point where you can be ranked among the strong. Those who defy all odds and make their condition bow to them not whimpering like a slave under a burden that cannot be undone. Channel our thoughts to attempt brilliant ideas and work to accomplishing same. Thought connected fearlessly to purpose becomes a creative force which abides for a long term in producing the effects it was directed to achieve.
iv. Know that your thoughts affect your health
Disease and health issues like circumstances are rooted in thought. The author makes it clear that thoughts of fear and anxiety contribute to degenerate the body. That pure and happy thoughts keep the body in vigor and vitality. “The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it. Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of disease; while impure thoughts, even if not physically indulged, will soon shatter the nervous system.” Having a good disposition towards life gives a harmonious outlook. Dieting without good thoughts will not help the body but instead degrades it. According to the author, there is no physician like cheerful thoughts. When we engage in cheerful thoughts, the risk of depression is reduced, there would be low level of distress and pain and this ultimately increases one’s life span.
v. Take care of your circumstances by your thoughts.
It is good to observe your thought process, don’t allow it to go out of control into the negative realm. “Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.” Every condition is a permeates products of thought. Our wishes and prayers are only answered when align with our thoughts, while we may not be able to choose our circumstances; for instance, where we come from or the family we are born into, but through thoughts and conscious effort, we can shape our circumstance to what we want from negative to positive, from sickness to health, from poverty to abundant wealth, all that is require is your focused thought and patience.
“Indigence and indulgence are the two extremes of wretchedness. They are both equally unnatural and the result of mental disorder. A man is not rightly conditioned until he is a happy, healthy, and prosperous being and happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a harmonious adjustment of the inner with the outer, of the man with his surroundings.” So, the inner affects the outer. As one ceases to kick against circumstances, but build up thoughts that are noble, ideas of progress will begin to appear thereby bringing to fore the hidden powers and possibilities within oneself.
vi. Don’t wish for things instead work it out
“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.” What the author meant here is that whatever your thoughts are, is what you get. Suffering is the effects of thoughts. Bestial thoughts crystallize into habits of drunkenness and sensuality, which solidifies into circumstance of destitution and disease: impure thoughts of every kind crystallize into enervating and confusing habits, which solidify into distracting and adverse circumstances etc. Beautiful thoughts on the other hand, crystallize into habits of grace and kindness, which solidify into genial and sunny circumstances. As one dwells on beautiful thoughts, it soon begins to shape one’s outlook to circumstances and the changes desired will manifest itself as you work on them.
vii. Continue to grow your capacity
To build capacity means your visions and ideals must continually be in focus. Continuous effort on improvement grows your capacity, this will come only because of your thought process. “Achievement of whatever kind is the crown of effort, the diadem of thought.” There should be no moment given to indolence and indulgence, you must master self-control for capacity to continue to increase, otherwise, you can see yourself coming down to decadence from the lofty height. In growing capacity, the following should be carefully considered:
· Self Control
· Resolution
· Purity
· Righteousness
· Sacrifice
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 am still a work in progress, hence my being in this class. I was in a meeting with a friend who I admired greatly, her disposition to life is superb. She talks like someone who knows her onions, then she mentioned some of the training she had undergone including IIGL, I was curious, I asked her about IIGL after our meeting, so here I am because I want to improve, I want to grow more. As for creating a better world, I already have a community project directed towards young people. As a young person born into an indigent environment and family, I desired a better life, but it was a far-reaching sentiment, I had no idea of what to do. The only thing I kept at was to ensure I get some education, which took a long and windy way to obtaining my first degree. Due to my experiences in life, I decided to start a centre for young people in 2014 to help them discover their purpose early in life, focus on building that purpose especially at their formative age and continue to build on it as they grow. At the Centre, value systems like hard work, honesty, ethics, respect, and acts of kindness are taught and held in high esteem. By this, I am helping to create a better world with a people-oriented mindset, being richer in positive thoughts and working the same out. I believed that if I had known a better way of reasoning, my journey to self-actualization would have been less treacherous. Then, I am grateful, that is why I said earlier that I am still a work in progress. Many young people have been influenced in the community where we are situated to realign their mind towards achieving purpose in life. The motto for our club is: “Building Destiny for Purposeful Living.”
A person’s character is the sum of his or her thoughts, simply put, we become what our thoughts are. Whether our actions are spontaneous or deliberate, it is still a byproduct of our thoughts.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
Some of the inspiring quotes I enjoyed in the read are:
“A strong man cannot help a weaker unless the weaker is willing to be helped, and even then, the weak man must become strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another. None but himself can alter his condition.”
Importance: This is to say that I must be willing to be personally responsible for my thought pattern and exercise the power thereof to my advantage. Otherwise, no matter who is there to help me will just be a futile effort.
“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances but are unwilling to improve themselves.”
Importance: In essence, if my circumstances must change, I must do what will improve me first, beginning with my way of thinking, then my circumstances will improve. For example, what training do I require to improve my present job or what skill will add value to my job to attract more earnings thereby improving my circumstances and wellbeing.
“A man may rise to high success in the world, and even to lofty altitudes in the spiritual realm, and again descend into weakness and wretchedness by allowing arrogant, selfish and corrupt thoughts to take possession of him.”
Importance: By all means, pride, arrogant behaviors and selfishness must be avoided at the height of success to not plunge down back to the bottom.
“The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors; that which it loves, and also that which it fears; it reaches the height of its cherished aspiration; it falls to the level of its unchastened desires and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.”
Importance: What one thinks mostly does happen, whether positive or negative. So, I need to guard my thoughts in a positive realm.
“By the right choice and true application of thought, the human ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thoughts, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character.”
Importance: Make the right choice to think right.
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?
It is a profound work; the book is well understood. I recommend that every human living should try and read it. It is a powerful tool that can revolutionize the way we think. However, in addition to the power of thoughts, environmental factors play major role in shaping us. No matter how choicest your seed is, the soil which it is planted matters, and the soil I mean here is the environment, not the soil of the heart. I am talking from the perspective of my environment; I am an African from Nigeria. Many a times, the environment is not friendly enough to pursue your dreams to reality. Poor leadership in authorities, unfriendly harsh socio-economic realities has led many and still leading many to a state of inertia. I know that a pure thought held high with optimism and working hard to achieve ultimately will attract the universe’ nod, but it does take so long that many do not possess the patience required to attain that lofty height, therefore succumbing to the status quo of the mundane. What I am saying in essence is that environmental factors are also a huge denominator in determining the quality of thoughts we acquaint ourselves with.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
Yes. The assessment questions. Yes, they are helpful.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
None. But I have this to reechoed. “The dreamers are the saviors of the world.” I must not stop dreaming.
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? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is overall rating you would give it? 10
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Sadiq Rita Salamat (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author is trying to convey overcoming limitations. Jonathan Livingston Seagull demonstrates how one can overcome limitations, obstacles, fear, and cultural inhibition in life, and get them replaced with overwhelming success and triumph. It is a simple story that demonstrates the power of daring. The result was an overwhelming victory.
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 as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Discover yourself
Jonathan Livingston Seagull showed the desire to discover more about himself. He was not contented with just being a seagull, even though by design and make up of his frame he could chose to accept who he was and there will be no problem about that, just like his other flock members, but he chose to explore his innate ability which is to fly. So not to be content with one’s present situation no matter how beautiful or ugly it might be is to start with a desire for discovery. He desires to be more than just a shore seagull struggling for daily survival amidst his flock group. Livingston’s discovery consequently helped him go beyond the mundane of daily struggles for survival. There must be a desire to reach a higher goal.
ii. Have belief in yourself
Self-belief is the power for propelling! For Jonathan, he longed for that limitless power of independence from his environment. No matter how difficult it seemed, Jonathan believed he could fly irrespective of others’ opinion around him including his parents who tried to convince him from trying so hard to change his inability to fly.
iii. Work hard
Jonathan set himself apart from others to develop his capacity to fly. The practice was severe, denial to the companionship of his beloved family and even going hungry sometimes. There is a lot of perseverance to undergo when working to achieve your set out goals, dreams, desires in life. It takes hard work to overcome most difficult situations in life and we should never give up until we attain success or result from our dreams.
iv. Improving your skill
Keep improving on the skill you are working hard at. After he was cast out by the “Flock,” he did not bemoan his being alone in his belief, but he pressed harder and learned more each day. That improved learning helped him to flew through heavy sea-fogs and climbed above them into dazzling clear skies…. In the very times when every other gull stood on the ground, knowing nothing but mist and rain. He learned to ride the high winds far inland, to dine there on delicate insects. One’s improved skill will eventually lead to higher ground and opportunities. This was what led Jonathan to meet the two seagulls and elder Chiang. Improved skills lead to opportunity.
v. Take your eyes off obstacles
There are obstacles that Jonathan Livingston Seagull faced and overcame which are also present with every one of us on our daily quest of life. Some of the many obstacles that Jonathan faced were:
1. His inability to fly higher.
2. Becoming an outcast.
3. Walking his dream alone
4. The success to fly was not automatic
5. Tradition: He had to break the belief system that a seagull cannot fly more than a few miles per hour which he broke to 250miles and higher.
vi. Failure is not the end
After he fell on his practicing skills, he was discouraged, he felt like a failure who was not meant to attain that height he is trying to attain by flying higher than it is accepted by his tribe of Flock, but he didn’t give up entirely, he was resolute and that brought him out of despair. So, we should not give up at the face of failure.
vii. Share your learnings with others
Jonathan Livingston Seagull with his learnings and mastery in flying, and the trait of love and kindness he learned from Chiang. He decided to go back to his native earth where he was cast out to help those who might be struggling to find meaning to living like he was.
My personal life experience is relatable to that of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I have been trying to get meaning out of life, so far, it is worth the struggle. But on a daily occurrence, something happened recently while I was still reading the JLS, getting home and reflecting on the happening of the day, I just smiled and decided I will share it hereth. I was at the bus stop after closing from work the evening of March 18, getting a bus was difficult because it was a rush hour and people were crossing to the other lane of the road to join buses discharging people. Instead of waiting patiently for the bus to turn the roundabout and get to our bus stop, people decided to cross, normal thing to Lagos people if you are familiar with our behaviour; so that by the time the bus get to where the loading bus stop is situated, where I was, there was no space again. I and a few others, I guess seeing those crossing in an absurd way remained where we were for almost an hour, tired and frustrated, I had to make the move to go the other side, though not the conventional way in a normal society, but then, Lagos is not a normal society of any typical civilization. Less than five minutes of crossing over, a bus came, and I entered. It was just a simple decision I needed to take, to cross over or remain where I was while I looked at those crossing over as funny yet remained with my feelings of frustration. As simple as this little experience may look, it is an example of the daily decision that we take every time which affects our entire outlook on life. So it is with our dreams, desires, and ambitions that drives us. Discover it, believe it and pursue 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?
These ideas will help me to be more focused in the pursuit of my life goals, to stay positive and to always see a way out of any situation no matter how daunting, instead of seeing obstacles. Ultimately, every obstacle once overcome will pave way for higher opportunity. Being normal is okay for everyone, but for a Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a normal is usually not enough, hence the need to want to fly from the zone of struggle to just eat. Being on the same page with everyone who wants an average life only is good, but that outstanding life and success requires a breakout.
So, to create a better world, I must follow my instinct of discovery and ensure that it passed round amongst my immediate environment and to as many as crosses my path who may need it. I currently engage young children, teenagers, and young adult in my community through volunteering programe to coach, impact skills and engage in extracurricular activities. At the centre, value system like hard work, honesty, ethics, respect, act of kindness are held in high esteem. By this, I am helping to create a better world by raising people with better ideas, superior motives, and willingness to do what is just and right.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
Yes. There is, the quote that endears me most is: “but the weight of failure was even heavier on his back. He wished, feebly, that the weight could be just enough to drug him gently down to the bottom and end it all.”
His upstroke practice of vertical dive failed on all ten attempts. His failure to sustain the just gained 90 mile per hour brought him to a state of dismal, it was a state of negative feelings. What could be more disheartening, here he is, a ten-time failure, all effort just seems futile. Different things that justify his giving up ran through his mind. His limited nature as a seagull, the features that he doesn’t possess if he were to fly at a high altitude.
“But amid his reminiscing, his solution came. The hollow voice of fear that tried to alert him of his inability to fly in the dark, from this fear came the solution. Short wings. A falcon’s short wings! That’s the answer! What a fool I have been! He exclaimed. All I need is a tiny little wing, all I need is to fold most of my wings and fly on just the tips alone! Short wings!”
Many times, the solution we seek for our challenges often lies in the challenge itself, all one need do is to look inward, think deeply, keep trying and never give up. If I must try 999 times over to get it right, so be it.
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?
Everything in the book is well understood, and there is no unclear subject. I do not disagree with the author’s view. The story is a mirror to most life of struggle and success.
What I see is that the seagull, though small and fragile, yet has the capacity to fly 50 feet or so if more effort is made. A simple but very profound message that shows we can be more than we care to believe.
Jonathan eventually became a leader to those willing to learn too, even from his former tribe of Flock. With determination, dedication, discipline and sacrifice, the set goal was achieved, the satisfaction this brings transcends personal gratification. It is a self-discovery process for personal growth in pursuit of excellence that ultimately influenced him to the role of leadership. And Seagull Fletcher was born as Jonathan went to higher height in the air. Same thing with us, after we have gone through the trials of life to triumph, we must teach others what we had learned to equip them adequately.
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 assessment questions. Yes, they are helpful.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
None.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
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 overall rating you would give it? 10
PsychoCybernetics
Assessment by Sadiq Rita Salamat (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea of this book is about self-image. Self-image is the feeling or view mostly mental that we have about ourselves, it can be negative or positive. Using the science of Psycho Cybernetics as coined by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, meaning to engage your mind to a gainful point to attain your set goals that can guarantee a successful life. The principle of Psycho Cybernetics is how human brains can be related to the operations of a machine as in area of servomechanism. However, this does not classify man as machine but only compare the similarity of the brain functioning and that of a machine.
Dr. Maxwell Maltz was curious to know why some people fail where others have succeeded. As a Plastic Surgeon, he wants to know beyond the surface of skin and look, because people he attended over time varies, while some quickly accept their new look which boost their image others still remain in state of despondency. He therefore delved into psychology, to understand this almost mystic issue of image and how it relates and affect our minds, success or failure in life. “The individual’s mental and spiritual concept or picture of himself was the real key to personality and behavior.” He was able to differentiate how the conscious mind conflict with one’s goal setting due to our early learnings in life and culture or belief system already inhibited in the sub conscious.
Beauty is more than facial look: The author recognized that altering someone’s look is beyond the mere physical and therefore the need for him to get more knowledge on the psychology of how these things work, for example it is notable that some patients showed no change in personality after surgery, while some do almost immediately. Self-esteem and self-confidence are expected to rise within 21 days post-surgery performance; however some patience still feel inadequate and inferior as though they still have an ugly face. The real key therefore is what the author termed “the face of personality.” If this nonphysical face in the mind of the affected person remained scarred, distorted or ugly, no amount of surgery can alter his behavior, he will always see himself as ugly and inferior, but if the old inhibition; it might be in form of scar or feelings could be reconstructed, then the person can change without even a plastic surgery. What this is saying is that your mental or spiritual picture of yourself is the key to personality behavior and self-image. The idea in the book therefore is how psycho cybernetic can be used to improve self-image or personality.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Self-Image:
Self-image from this book is an integral of an individual perception of self. Whether the person know it or not, it is the way we have been conditioned from childhood of who we are that plays the self-image we have of ourselves. It is the foundation on which our entire personality is built upon. Understanding the psychology of the self can mean the difference between success and failure, love and hate, bitterness and happiness.
I had a self-image issue growing up because of my looks; as a teenager, I had these horrible pimples that covered my entire face which cause school mates to laugh and make fun of me, this somehow undermine my self-image, I won’t go out unless it is necessary, I only go to school, outside school I will be and only do chores assigned me at home which include going to fetch water, because water was not readily available in our days. We travel quite a distance to get water, so these are the only important places I go because of the importance. This went on to my adult age until I learnt to understand that who I am does not necessarily consist of my outer look alone based on Biblical teachings. I am still not an outgoing person till date, but I have learnt to exude more confidence in my self from my inner strength.
The self-image personality can be captured in these five terms:
All actions, feelings and abilities are consistent with what you conceived yourself to be, Either a failure or a success. These feelings stem from the perception of how others view you or how you view yourself.
Self-image can be changed – The way we view ourselves can be changed, but sometimes it is difficult due to deep seated perception of one’s personality.
Consistent habit that has formed into self-image issue can be corrected, if we challenge the distortion. Adapting to self-image changes is a lifetime exercise, they need improving upon with acceptance and loving ourselves. Like in my case of pimples, the scars of the healed pimples are still there but I look past it to view my face as smooth and beautiful not the scars and not the past experience of the bullies. So once the old mental image of ugliness, failure, rejection or whatever such distorting image might have been, you begin to picture a new you put your desires through imagination, because if you don’t do this, nothing will change. The scalpel might have done the magic of facelift, but has the personality evolved or changed? It is important to engage imagination in this journey. Imagine yourself successful, imagine yourself beautiful, imagine yourself winning that award or contract with that winning smile you will exhibit when holding the award. Just the image alone will give your mind satisfactory sense towards your accomplishment. What we really want is more life or abundant life as Jesus Christ will put it.
ii. Success Mechanism
Maxwell Maltz’s idea of success mechanisms stated that the brain and the nervous system work together to achieve a target needs to be set to drive the goal by:
Visualization: when you imagine yourself achieving your goals, it impresses in your subconscious which helps to increase the success mechanism. It emphasized your visualization depth which consist of sense of direction, understanding, courage, charity, self-confidence and acceptance.
The book also talked about “servo mechanism” which stated that the objective need of an individual to discover the success mechanism within. It is that which the subconscious mind works to bring to reality from your dominant thoughts. By providence, this mechanism is inbuilt for animals and man. While the animal is limited to finding food and shelter, avoiding or overcoming dangers and procreates for future survival, the man is endowed with ability to create goals that can enable him ‘live more’ than the animal does. Living more means you must find a means of improving yourself from certain limitations or status quo.
We must have the understanding that the answer to our quest exist, because man is said to possess extra sensory to the universe which can be related to both objective and likely subjective matter. Our mind is connected to the inlet ocean of one universal mind. Great minds in creative work and science have attested to this discovery have used this approach of image picturing. What this mean is that every human being has been literally wired or engineered for successes by his creator. Every human being has access to a power greater than himself. All we need do is to exercise the potentials.
The success mechanisms show the importance of being relaxed, trusting and confident.
Your inbuilt mechanisms must have the following:
A goal or target: Have a goal either already in existence or in potential form.
Auto Mechanism: Think in terms of your end result, the means to attaining your set goal may not be readily available, your expected end will often take care of itself.
Mistakes are inevitable, we shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes, once there is mistake, correct it and go forward.
Skill learning is accomplished by trial and error, then to mastery.
Trust your creative mechanism to do its work without necessarily becoming worried with fear or anxiety.
iii. Imagination
Imagination is the first key to hold as your key to unveiling your self-image. It set the goal “picture.” Imagination according to Maltz is not reserved for special people with special talents, everybody can engage and use it with our automatic mechanism process. Imagination as the first key says role play this helps to know what to do or say in any given circumstances as they unfold because you have already imagined them in your mind, so it won’t be surprising, for example, the sales persons using the role playing image to increase their sales margin up to 400% was given.
The mental picturing or imagination has been used by successful people from time immemorial and if you don’t understand this, you can think it is magic, but it is a natural and normal functioning of our brains. So we too can engage our mental picture to improve on our self-image. Your mental picturing does not relief from efforts and work but propel you towards the image in your mind instead of engaging in futile mental conflict. Relaxation also plays a key role in the effectiveness of your mental picture practice, helps you to be calmer and act in a definite manner, be courageous and confident.
Experiences: One of the experiences I have had in the past that I could relate to here; I already shared it previously is about my pimpled face. I had to deliberately tell myself, I am beautiful regardless of the presence of pimple or not. By that I was able to relate with people freely without reasoning that their focus is on my look. Gradually I overcame the shame, then gain my confident.
iv. Allow your success mechanism work for you
The success mechanism can be unlocked to work by enabling it through the following:
Define the goal you want to achieve
Think about your goals consciously and consistently
Visualize that your goals are already a success
Alter yourself image, by this if you are used to think yourself a failure, begin to reason success instead, imagine yourself with that contract letter, put on your best smile the way it will be when you win. Imagine yourself winning that award not minding who the competitors are but imagine that you are the only one contesting and qualify to cliché the award.
Keep the success mechanisms activated, not that one moment you are positive and another you are despondent or negative.
Deeply desire what you want and create it by dwelling upon it, keep picturing them to yourself as a possibility. I have attached a picture one of my young mentees put on her WhatsApp display picture. It is good to have such mental picture of what we are creating, don’t just be empty. The young man seen in this picture is a clear example of how to allow your success mechanism work for you using your desires to create your picture.
Work creatively, creativity is not only associated with creative skills like painting or the art, but you can also equally work creatively, be a creative sales person, it takes persuasion to market your product whether you are doing it online or in person. Your contents must be persuasive enough for customers to desire it.
Don’t jumble your thought together, take your object of thought and concentrate on it, success mechanism doesn’t work riotously.
Success mechanism produces the goal we project, so we must not unconsciously project that old self, remove your focus from what you don’t want and project the new image of success.
v. Acquire the habit of happiness
Definition of happiness from medical point of view, “A state of mind in which our thinking is pleasant a good share of the time.” – Dr John A. Schindler. Happiness is akin to success because when we are happy, we think better, relate better, more productive and healthier. Happiness is native to the human mind; it is an effective machine necessary to create our positive self-image. To be truly happy, turn your mind from the undesirable to the desirable, especially the gloomy past. Being kind and loving to other people can bring happiness, become more successful and live a healthier life. To pursue happiness is not selfishness, it is rather to be an embrace because when you are happy, you naturally attract goodness to you and being unhappy can lead to being mean and ugly and it can be injurious to others around you. When someone is unhappy, he or she will not recognize the good around rather than increase the situation that has caused the state of unhappiness in the first place. Life is a series of problems, if one is to be happy at all he must be happy irrespective, not because the happiness is occasioned or engendered.
As much as no one cannot always be 100% happy due to circumstances of life, we shouldn’t and must not allow those situations to dominate us to self-pity or resentment. In life, you can blame a lot of people and you can wallow in self-pity, or you can pick yourself up and say, ‘Listen, I have to be responsible for myself.
vi. Our habits are literally garments worn by our personalities. They are
not accidental, or happenstance. We have them because they fit us. They are consistent with our self-image and our entire personality pattern. When we consciously and deliberately develop new and better habits, our self-image tends to outgrow the old habits and grow into the new.
Some salient points:
The pursuit of happiness is not selfish
Happiness is good medicine. Even The Good Book mentions this. Prov. 17:22
Happiness is not in the future but now
Happiness is purely internal
Deliberately choose to think pleasant thought
We must possess the following attributes to enjoy a state of happiness.
Courage: It is not enough to have dreams and desires. You must have the courage to start it, not only starting it, but be courageous enough to pursue it.
“Someone has said that Faith is not believing in something In spite of the evidence. It is the Courage to do something regardless of the consequences.”
We have got a lot of potential, but we would never know until you take bold steps to start working on your dreams or desires. My personal story can reflect this, I have love for children, and I have always had this desire to groom young people, but I have limitation in the sense that I don’t have a family of my own, despite this, I started ‘Young Children Centre Point’ today we are thriving, and I have been blessed with people that support the idea. If I didn’t take the courage to start it, it would have still remained an idea and probably forgotten by now. The beginning to pursue your ideas is to note it down in writing, come to it as a reminder as often as possible and you will see the desire growing. No matter how big the idea is, if you don’t note it down to keep reminding yourself of it, it can die a natural death. Be courageous enough to start little, don’t wait to start in gigantic way.
Esteem: Self-esteem is defined as how we value and perceive ourselves. It is your opinion about yourself, your belief in yourself not what others think or say. Your self-esteem when held high in the positive is like a buoy that propels you towards your goals.
vii. It is a vice to hold low esteem of yourself.
“Of all the traps and pitfalls in life, self-disesteem is the deadliest, and the hardest to overcome; for it is a pit designed and dug by our own hands, summed up in the phrase, It’s no use I can’t do 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?
These ideas are going to help me to continue working on my self-improvement while I also extend it to my world, especially through the club for young people I founded in my community. We all recognize that children are the future of this world, so at the club we are teaching them the principles of hard work, honesty, integrity, acts of kindness, respect for others, respect for humanity, taking care of the environment and volunteering to carry out assignments. All these teachings ultimately, we hope to build them up into strong character.
Another way apart from founding YCCP, is my volunteer work at my local church to teach Sunday School which I have been doing faithfully since 2011 till date. This has greatly increased my level of joy and state of happiness to see these children’s lives being transformed from timid to bold, from mischievous characters to well behaved individuals. The knowledge taught to them is helping them make well informed decisions, acquiring skills that can support them in their educational/career pursuit.
In my own daily personal life, I am pursuing my long life dream of being an author. I am constantly learning ways towards achieving that dream. My first book ‘Rose and Thorn’ is on Amazon. By God’s grace, I strive to be a source of joy to many that crosses my path, first from my family, siblings, nieces and nephews encouraging them to develop their capacity to enjoy the full potential resident in them, likewise those around me whether at work or on a random meeting, I tried to put smile on people’s face leaving them better, happier than I met them.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“Truth is where you found it.”
Comment: Truth is truth, it doesn’t matter who says it or where it emanates from. The truth of this book is that self-image is a 99% factor to one’s success or failure in life.
“Success is creative accomplishment.”
Comment: Success is not a wish, but action following your desire, your dreams or goals. Why is it a creative accomplishment? It is called thus because as you keep working, your ideas keep improving and get better.
“Life becomes worthwhile when you have worthwhile goals.”
Comment: Worthwhile goal should not only be about the individual but your family, community and the larger society.
“Self-image when secured and trusted help you to function to your optimum.”
“There are no great and no small.”
Comment: Don’t compare yourself with any other. You are unique, you are special.
“Ideas are changed, not by will but by other ideas.”
“Happiness is native to the human mind.”
“Happiness is purely internal.”
“Men are disturbed,” said the sage, “not by things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.”
“The measure of mental health is the disposition to find good everywhere.”
.
“Alas! the fearful Unbelief is unbelief in yourself.”
Unbelief in self is a destroyer, deadlier than unbelief of others in you.
“Men are disturbed, not by things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.”
A lot of times, it’s not even the personal opinion that disturbs us but of others, what people would say or think, then we become helplessly unhappy.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
The book is simple and easy enough to read with several interesting stories of real life characters, this should help readers to easily relate to their own state of being. The idea of exploring the power of the mind and the impact it makes to one’s success when we engage to reprogram the subconscious from past and belief is profound to improve on our self-image.
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 exercises were helpful.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
None.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
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 your overall rating you would give it? 9.5
Success through a Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Sadiq Rita Salamat (Nigeria)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea of this great book is about our mental attitude towards life, situations and circumstances generally. The authors (Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone) use personal experiences and other real-life experiences of people to demonstrate the importance of having a mental attitude. The book did not try dismissing the challenges of life but that one can choose to surmount those challenges with a positive mental attitude to get solutions without succumbing to failure.
On a daily basis, one must choose between a positive mental attitude or negative mental attitude. The two are powerful forces and they are opposite, so one must choose the right mental attitude that will lead to success, joy, health and wealth, a negative mental attitude on the other hand leads to failure, unhappiness and lack of achievement. In this book there are so many illustrations to life experiences that tell us human behaviors, attitude to life is universal and if we can adopt the mental positive attitude explained here, success is guaranteed. It is noted that the most optimistic person can have some low moments in life, that is natural. However, a negative mental attitude can blindfold you to your lucky break. A bad experience can really turn out to be good depending on how you handle it – positively.
Learning from this book can help you to transform your creative ability, your inherent talent, direct your energy towards success and get the wealth and happiness you desire. One must look at the book as though your “personal friend is by your side nudging you to the path you should go on to attain success.”
The Positive Mental practitioner must be fair, kind, honest, have integrity and generous towards himself and others. Being kind to others attracts a rich reward to you.
So, the candid advice is that anyone who is really willing to attain success should not just read Success Through Mental Positive Attitude but “read, study, read again and swing into action” with what he or she has learnt especially using the 17 success principles, success is guaranteed. Also of note, is that these are not creations of the authors, but carefully studied principles that have worked for millions of successful people over and over.
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 as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Meet the most important living person
The most important living person is me! A positive attitude is good, it attracts good and others to me while a negative attitude repels. If you are poor, it’s not because God is or he created you to be, you have to define what your attitude towards riches is. Does it mean that if one’s family is poor, that person’s life should be confined to a life of penury, lack and want? Must one embrace the tradition of inherited poverty and accept it as the will of God for their family? This question is answered clearly in this book when honestly explored. So, to have success:
Have a burning desire for it,
Set goals to help you work towards achieving your desire,
Don’t violate the rules of law and the rights of others in pursuing your goals.
Know that your mind is powerful enough to give that which you set to achieve.
Every victory or success is achieved in the mind first.
People who defied odds and made great success that they have become a reference point were mentioned in the book. An example is S.B. Fuller. He said, “We are poor because father has never developed a desire to become rich, no one in our family has ever developed a desire to be anything else.” S. B Fuller walked past this belief and began to work towards attaining success. First of all, he adopted the habit of reading and he chose the books that are relevant to building his dreams. Tom Dempsey’s story is another mind-blowing narrative in this book that begs for us to turn on our invisible talisman – PMA. Tom Dempsey with his crippled leg, kicked a record breaking 63-yard field goal. And you could hear, “We were beaten by a miracle.” “God kicked that goal.” But it didn’t just happen. Think about his wooden foot, his constant practice born out of his desire to play football. Your desire must be strong enough to resist the problem you are born with or into, the environmental situation notwithstanding. Know that the most important aspect in this journey is YOU. You are the most important living person, meet you, discover you and work you to your desired success. It is possible, it is doable, that is where the journey to success or achievement begins.
For me, I met myself long ago, I desire success and want it, unfortunately I didn’t know how to go about it. First of all, I tried to get myself educated, then, I began to work towards attaining some of my dreams, it has been slow as I still have struggles, but I am not giving up, not now, not ever, until my last breath I will do all that is possible within me to be successful. A new era has opened reading these wonderful books through IIGL, I can’t help but be grateful to God for the day my friend mentioned IIGL and I further inquired from her about joining. It’s a reawakening moment. It is here.
ii. Clear the mental cobwebs
The authors made it known that there are certain mental cobwebs that cause disorderliness in our thinking. This mental disorderliness can be summed up thus: Negative Feelings, Emotions, Passions, Habits, Beliefs and Prejudices. Habits formed over time either as a result of environment or background can cause mental cobwebs which we struggle with, the more we struggle the more we get entrapped in it, this can be addiction, emotion of anger etc. To overcome mental cobwebs, we need to use the powers of the subconscious through the conscious mind. This is because we have power over our mental attitude, we can choose to avoid mental cobwebs by clearing them off, sweeping them off as soon as the idea begins to develop, by freeing yourself of the negativity. This can be attained through accurate thinking. Let your thoughts be orderly, clean and pure. In measuring your reasoning factor to decisions towards your success plan, use your reasoning discreetly, put in balance your strong urge and reasoning and then take your decision. It might just happen that what you fear though real may simply not happen. Also, in relating to others, we must learn to see the beam in our own eyes if we must see the mote in another person’s. When faced with problems that involve other people, start with yourself, examine if you are not the problem of the misunderstanding. Cobwebs prevent accurate thinking when we start with the wrong premise especially, it can block our mental reasoning. Existing belief systems and prejudices cause mental cobwebs and they can be very harmful towards attaining success. My own mental cobweb was based on my look, I wasn’t bad looking but as a teenager to young adult, I always dwell on the fact that my facials have been disfigured by the bad pimples I had and this affected my social life.
iii. Definite of purpose and divine guidance
We can transform our desire into reality and make our dreams come true when we walk the principles stated in this book. In definite of purpose, you must identify what you want; have the right knowledge to drive your desired success. Then have a burning desire for it, enough to give you energy to pursue the success you want. Also, trust in God who created the universe yourself inclusive, pray for divine guidance.
iv. PMA attracts wealth
Positive Mental Attitude can help you probe your mind to wealth creation. This book is full of stories to learn from, for example Milo C. Jone, the story of Milo is very touching. When he became ill and couldn’t continue with his normal work, an idea came to him through the use of his PMA. He could have easily succumbed to NPA and gotten to the very pit of misery, instead he turned on his PMA and created wealth from the business of packaging pork sausage. He turned his adversity into a great opportunity. “Every adversity has the seed of equivalent or greater benefit.”
v. I am a mind with a body
You must remember that the thought you think, the statement you made concerning yourself make up your state of mental attitude. So, you have a mind with a body, be careful what you feed that mind. Someone said, “Your diet is not only what you eat, you must pay attention to what you watch, what you listen to, what you read and the people you hang around with.” If you have a worthwhile objective, find one reason why you must achieve it, not hundreds of reasons that make it too difficult to work. Who you hang around with matters most, don’t stay with people that will encourage you into vice activities or do things against the law of nature. Try not to keep indulging in the negative emotion or feelings that fuel the desire.
vi. Enthusiasm plus seeing beyond the routine
Having a Positive Mental Attitude can help you manage your routine work in such a way that they won’t be boring to you, you can have an unusual enthusiasm that many may not understand. The example of Jerry and his team of salesmen show that a positive attitude can help achieve a lot in your work. Be happy doing the job you do. Imbibe the use of step-stone theory, let your current job guide you towards achieving an ultimate goal. For an example, working as typist in a legal institution or as production clerk in large manufacturing company, maybe routine and boring, but as person with PMA, you can use the opportunity to learn new things, read better and broaden your knowledge on the job, this will help improve your performance and even take courses that can elevate your position. Working in a manufacturing firm as a production clerk presents an opportunity to learn the processes involved in the line of production, by creating opportunities for yourself. People with NMA will always have something to complain about no matter the nature of their work. Bringing enthusiasm and happiness into your work will bring satisfaction unequalled.
vii. The joy of contentment
When one is content it brings great joy, peace and harmony with oneself, fellow beings and nature. A contented person will turn on his PMA even in the face of tough challenges. Contentment imbibed being rich in values that endures, sound mind and living healthy by choosing food nutrients that are only needed for the sustenance of the body. Hate no one, envy no one but to love and respect all mankind. Engage in voluntary acts of kindness, don’t slander anyone’s name. Be on good terms with your conscience so that it can guide you accurately. Be free from greed and have contentment with such material wealth as you have. The authors pointed out all these from Napoleon Hill’s article titled, Contentment. I close this session with a verse from the scripture: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”
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?
Let me first mention that the ideas are great, especially with dramatic stories of people that dare to apply the PMA. I am turning on my PMA talisman on to handle day to day challenges as they arise by the day with the following and more:
Feeding my mind with good thoughts
Focus on the good things that have happened to me no matter how little.
Be grateful for the life I have, even though many of my aspirations are yet to be realized, I am grateful that I have life and therefore I can still pursue those dreams.
Know that only I have control over my mental attitude, so I take control of it.
I will be happy doing my job with enthusiasm.
To aim higher in my goal setting. As my friend who introduced me to IIGL humorously put it, “aim to the sun.” The higher the goals are, the more certain you will work to attain them. So, these ideas will certainly help me to work harder in achieving success.
To cultivate the habit of meditation, speak out my affirmative words consistently.
I have an optimistic outlook towards life to expect the best.
I will be more friendly to strangers thereby bringing joy to someone’s face. Something happen today (27.08.2024), we call our local food vendors mamaput, so there is one in my neighborhood where I decided to buy cooked beans to take to work today, so this young man came looking all angry, as he strolled with that abandoned careless movement, his hand hit the food vendors fried plantain in a container, he turned furtively, then towards my direction and our eyes locked, but instead of disdaining his overall careless attitude, I gave him a broad smile and said to him “you don buy market.” Meaning in our local parlance, you are indebted to pay for the goods damaged. Luckily for him, the plantain did not spill, the lid of the container was intact. I bent and lifted it and placed it back in its place. He didn’t smile back, but his angry face softened. All this happened in a matter of one minute and the owner, who was busy at a far corner, was not even aware. When it was time for the woman to sell for us, he nudged me to go ahead and buy since I was going to work. We parted in a friendly way. I was happy that I was able to make a difference to his world that morning no matter how small it seemed.
The ideas will help me in my leadership role whenever such an opportunity is presented to me both at work and on the family front.
How I will use it to create a better world”
I have an obsession to help others, especially the younger people, to take quality and informed decisions in their lives, set their goals early enough and pursue those goals with purpose and passion. Reject negativity in all its ramification, knowing it will only make success farther from you rather than solve your problem. The story from the Magnificent Obsession showed we should have a PMA attitude to situations even when people misunderstand us. If the man from The Boys America had taken offence at the man who walked him out, he might not have succeeded in changing the man’s attitude and receiving donations for the organization. Share what you have, a word of wisdom, encourage someone to pursue his or her dream, they are worth more than money.
Overall, these ideas will help me create a better world by sharing my learnings with those that I come across who probably might be struggling with NMA to turn on their PMA talisman. Also, I have many young people around me that need to hear these words, so I will recommend to them to read the book to help them as it has helped me and will continue to help me.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“With every adversity, there is a seed of an equivalent or greater benefit for those who are motivated with PMA to become achievers.”
Growing up as a young girl, my father was full of optimism for us his children, he didn’t have a lot of means, he was a grade 3 drop out, his father died early and the mother had paralysis of the spine and was bedridden for many years, so he practically catered for himself from young age including caring for his mother. As a young man, he tried his hands on many things for sustenance including farming, after he got married to my mother, they started their family and his odd jobs couldn’t do much, then he got a job in the bank in our town, (the now defunct National Bank of Nigeria), even though he only had grade 3 education, he was intelligent enough to balance ledgers after the necessary training by the bank, so he worked as clerical assistant. He used his meager income to ensure our necessities were met. He encourages us to read books and be the best we can be, especially me being the first child. The common belief in our culture is that if you get it right with your first child, others will turn out well, so he was very focused on me, he will not accept indolent attitude from me even though I was young. But then, in 1991, my father and all the junior workers at the National Bank were relieved of their jobs due to the bank’s liquidation. At that time, I was just in Senior Secondary School 1, I still had two years to go through finishing my secondary school, things began to fall apart, eating became difficult, paying school fees was a herculean task. Father was not doing anything again, only mum’s retail trading became our source of livelihood. Reading this book, I now can picture what happened to my father’s mind. He was not able to handle the new setback. He doesn’t talk about our education again. He complained of how unfair life has been to him, his health deteriorated, things turned to worse for us, but I still love him no matter what, he was my hero. He had been able to sow good seeds of focus in my mind. With the help of my mother, I was able to write the WAEC (West African Examination Certificate), but that is where my education was going to stop. I leave the story here, the truth is it took 20 years after my secondary education to have my first degree. I am not where I really dreamed to be but I am not where I would have been if I hadn’t been positive and worked hard. I, however, wish my father had known about the PMA and applied it; we would have ended better. My greatest joy now is that I have opportunity to tutor young people in making their world what they want it to be, by telling them my story, encouraging them to defy odds, defy the corrupt practices of our leaders that has crippled the economy of our nation and stay positive towards their goals and dreams.
“Success through a Positive Mental Attitude tells you specifically how to use the most magnificent machine ever conceived, a machine so awesome that only God Himself could create it. This machine is your brain and nervous system; a human computer from which the electronic computer was designed, as to function, but which it can never equal.”
This tells me that my mind is so powerful, that whatever I can conceive, I can achieve.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
The book is very educational, illustrative enough and carries the story of people you can easily confirm.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
Yes, there are exercises: “Thoughts to Steer By and they are helpful.” The thoughts to steer by are ongoing learnings that I will have to keep reading from time to time.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
None.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and 1 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