Ghana - Gottfried Duku

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

They themselves are makers of themselves.

We are what we make of ourselves. Everyone has 24 hours to do all he must in a day. The outcome of the day depends on the inputs we make.

Man is a growth by law, and not a creation by artifice, and cause and effect are as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and materiel things.
Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits; thus does a man garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husbandry.

Man, it is said, is born neither god nor bad. Society makes him so. The thoughts you consciously dwell your mind on for the greater part of your life is what will determine what you become in the future.

Nevertheless, the consequences of the resultant character are not for us to choose. Pure thoughts bring about joy, evil thoughts bring about pain. That, in any case, does not just mean that everyone grieving does so because he made bad choices. Bad things sometimes happen to good people. Nevertheless, the universal rule says, “Good things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. We reap what we sow.” These are the ultimate outcomes of either good or bad thoughts, and these do not fail.

As a being of power, intelligence, and love, and the lord of his own thoughts, man holds the key to every situation, and contains within himself that transforming and regenerative agency by which he may make himself what he wills.

We control our thoughts, not the other way round. We have ourselves to hold responsible for the outcome of the thoughts that run through our minds. In other words we have the power to either encourage or flush out ideas that creep into our minds either voluntarily (reading, watching films, taking part in a discussion, etc.) or involuntarily (listening to music in one's neighborhood, etc.)

A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.

A garden does not turn out right all by itself. It always is a direct reflection of the thought patterns of its owner. It is the outward image of the thoughts of the gardener. Similarly, the circumstances of a person are, more often than not, the direct results of the way he consistently thinks. If he dwells his mind on something specific, he will end up with results that look like the thoughts he has borne in his mind. In like manner, if he keeps his mind on nothing in particular, he will not become anything in particular. A doctor must have kept his mind entirely fixed on the processes required for him to become a doctor for nothing less than 6 years.

The growth process is quiet and off the public domain, but the outcome is public.

The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears.

We unconsciously move towards the things that we like in life, and also to those that we fear.

We do not attract that which we want, but that which we are…. Not what he wished and prayed for does a man get, but what he justly earns. His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.

This holds a lot of truth for me. I have found out that we get misled when we are made to think that wishing onto a star is just enough to bring those stars to us. Mention is hardly made of the work that is required to get us to the place we wish to get to. Success is sometimes mystified when we are made to think that success comes when we fulfill certain spiritual requirements. This is often emphasized at the expense of the hard work, the perspiration, the risks, the possible failures that we may have to get through to reach the top. Spiritual help is certainly true, but that is part of the truth, and half of the truth is more dangerous than an outright lie. Hard work has no substitute if we should taste of the ends we desire for ourselves.

Men are anxious to improve upon their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves. We often admire successful people, but we hardly take time off to find out how they got there. They tell us, and we tend not to believe their stories. We only see the outcome of their painful journeys to the top. Therefore, we somehow feel we can also get there real quick.

Success requires long periods of relentless sacrifice. This process brings us to that point where we can think and act like successful people. This notwithstanding, wealth any other way acquired has that strong tendency of being lost, because no one can hold wealth he is not mentally equipped for, anymore than can a bucket with a hole in its side hold water beyond the hole for a long time. he can only handle wealth that is equivalent to the level of his thinking, just as the amount of electric power that runs through an electric cable is in direct proportion to the amount of electric power it is designed to hold. A 5 ampere cable cannot carry what a high tension electric cable can carry.

Therefore, to improve our circumstances, we must be willing to acquire more knowledge- enough knowledge equivalent to the circumstances we wish to have. To live in a mansion, learn, and do, what mansion owners do. By this, I mean do what genuinely successful people do.

Until thought is linked with purpose, there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority, the bark of thought is allowed to “drift” upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Aim at nothing and you will certainly hit it.

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

I have found out that I have been unable to achieve much in my life so far, because, like the garden, I have left my mind to wander aimlessly. I have tried, all this while, to find the road to success that has either none or the least resistance. I found none and could, therefore, not move on easily. After reading my favorite paragraph (Until thought is linked with purpose, there is no intelligent accomplishment…), I can see where I have gone wrong. My resolve to become a great Information and communication Technology expert and motivational speaker has not been strong enough. Now I know what to do, thank you for this program. I now believe that I can make it by working some more, linking my thoughts to my goals, cutting unnecessary extras away, and sharpening my focus.

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

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself. Wealth does not change a person. It rather magnifies a person's character. Similarly, poverty only covers up a person's real nature. Thus a person who has no money has no choice but to be humble. The rich choose to be humble. But those who acquire wealth through due process are naturally humble and down to earth.

Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.
The friends a person has show the character of the person. Change your thoughts and your friends will change.

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…He ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition, and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts; ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use them as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of discovering the hidden powers within himself.

For a man who is success bound, every situation is a good omen. Unpleasant things happen to us all, as well as pleasant ones. However, the response we give to these occurrences determines whether we win or lose. In other words, it is not what happens to a person that matters actually. Rather, it is the way he respond to what happens that matters.

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

I am yet to find another book that has done such good to my thinking as this one. It, first of all, confirms to me that certain steps I have taken, though against the wish of concerned people such as my parents, were appropriate ones. For instance, the book says that a man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart and set out to accomplish it…He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure…He who would accomplish little need to sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much. He who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.
I set out almost three years ago to pursue a dream of finding out who I really was, what I could actually do and enjoy doing, and to add more value to myself. I, therefore, moved away from regular teaching to find what I could really do. It was tough and rough in the beginning. Today , however, I feel very happy because life now makes sense. I can, to a large extent, relate better to the heart cry of people in need, because I have been there too.

I have been able to add some more value to myself thus making it possible for me to earn more income than I used to, even though I do not have to work under strenuous conditions as I used to. I am currently in school taking a course in systems administration, which will give me the requisite skills to operate and maintain computer and network systems of any organization. I have teaching appointments, which bring in money to meet my needs. Yet I have enough time left to be used to do other things that I deem to be important to me.
I sacrificed much, I think, because teaching was all I knew to be a source of income. It took all my time and left me almost empty in the end. Today, I am happy the sacrifice has begun to pay off. Yes, it is still far from entirely mature, but I feel better off now than then. I meet old time friends who tell me how proud they are of me for the bold step I took to move on. Thank God I did. I have only one regret. I should have set out earlier than now, I guess. But is it not also right? Better be late than never.

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

I cannot think of any.

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

The aphorisms are followed up with very simple explanations and examples, which bring out the writer's mind quite clearly. With those explanations, it is easier to relate the issue at stake to myself, and this enables me to see other ways in which the aphorism applies to me. The language is very easy to understand, because there are not many big words nor are the sentences too long.

This book, to me, is almost flawless. I cannot come up with anything that is less helpful yet. Maybe some day, but certainly not now.

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

We are exact products of our thoughts. If we do not like our circumstances, we ought to change our thoughts. It is within the capability of every man to direct his thoughts in a desired direction.

Our thoughts are subject to our guidance. They respond to the instructions we give them on a daily basis. We, therefore, have ourselves to blame if our lives do not turn out the way we want them to. Good things can happen to us in the midst of turmoil. We can rewrite the scripts of our past, that brought us where we currently find ourselves, if those places are not where we want to be.

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

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull
Assessment by Gottfried Duku (Ghana)

1. What ideas were 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.

“See here, Jonathan”, said the father, not unkindly,… “the reason you fly is to eat.”
For most people, work is just a means to feed and clothe one's self. Extra effort for extra productivity and thus extra income is irrelevant. Excellence does not matter. Survival does.
For people of excellence, it is not survival that matters, but the desire to find fulfillment.

“Stand to center for shame in the sight of your fellow gulls!”
Like Jonathan, dreamers are likely to be deserted or avoided by their friends and loved ones, initially. Friends and “well wishers”, in an attempt to show their concern for the visionary, advise him to abandon his 'dream' and be like everyone else. Sometimes they succeed and make dreamers choose the course of least resistance. This, however, is usually short-lived as inner satisfaction is the ultimate goal, not keeping up appearances. Jonathan could have opted to eat and grow fat just as other seagulls, but he chose to follow his inner prompting to pursue his work-saving low- attitude-flying dream. But Fletcher Seagull was told, “In casting you out, the other gulls have only hurt themselves, and one day they will know this, and one day they will see what you see. Forgive them, and help them to understand.”
But victory was short lived… Jonathan Seagull exploded in midair and smashed down into a brick - hard sea.

To be a pioneer is tough work. Many mistakes are made, like Jonathan crashing into
water for loss of control during his gliding lessons. Some of the mistakes are so
serious that they tend to justify the stance of one's 'well wishers'. The temptation to
give up then becomes very strong.. Such feelings interestingly follow moments of
great victory. There, certainly, is a good feeling associated with the decision to go with the flow and to be like everyone else He felt better for his decision to be just another one of the flock.. There aren't any challenges, no failures, no thinking to do. Just work to eat.

When failure strikes, there is the tendency of recalling one's limitations as reasons for which one cannot be what he desires to be (You do not have short wings so you cannot fly like falcons. You cannot fly in the night or you would have owls' eyes). But a person who has tasted excellence can never settle comfortably with the mediocre.

Jonathan spared no time to talk with other gulls, but flew on past sunset. Winners spare no time arguing with losers. Like Jonathan, real world changers never seek places of honor for themselves. Mediocre people are dignity and tradition conscious. They often outnumber achievers and, for their honor consciousness, tend to find their way into places of leadership to maintain the status quo.

Change is risky, and sometimes fatal. The moment he begun his pullout, … Jonathan exploded in midair and smashed down into a brick hard sea.

Jonathan Seagull spent the rest of his days alone, but he flew way out beyond the Far Cliffs. His one sorrow was not solitude, it was that other gulls refused to believe the glory of flight that awaited them; they refused to open their eyes and see.

The journey to success is a solitary one. It is an unfamiliar route and is full of uncertainties - you can never tell whether there are highway men or not. Nothing is guaranteed. Risk is at its peak, and only the bold make it to the end. However, for the visionary, there is nothing such as solitude. He has so much to learn and do that he becomes oblivious to the absence of people He learned more each day. In fact that rather makes him feel a lot alright as he then has the peace of mind he requires to reach out to the top where he yearns for.

He learned more each day…He no longer needed fishing boats and stale bread for survival…He learned to ride the high winds far inland, to dine there on delicate insects.
Learning never stops for visionaries. In the and they gain far more than they lose. Food or mere survival no longer becomes the reason for work. Life becomes meaningful. One's standard of living soars up through the skies. Abundance then replaces lack.

What he had once hoped for the Flock, he now gained for himself alone. Dreams are usually intended to improve the lot of a particular group of people. However, more often than not, such people turn their backs to such opportunities in the initial stages. Those privileges then get redirected to other people who, for respecting that opportunity, get the resultant benefits. Many times the first beneficiary is the vision bearer. He lived long having eschewed boredom, fear and anger from his life.

“We are from your flock, Jonathan. We are your brothers….We've come to take you higher…”

a. It pays to be humble. Remember, there are people who will always be ahead of you in whichever endeavor you set out to embark on. Here were gulls who thought as he thought. For each of them, the most important thing in living was to reach out and touch perfection in that which they most loved to do, and that was to fly.

b. Help always comes to those who pick up the courage to follow the leading of their innermost beings, to live for a reason other than just for the moment (learning that there is such a thing as perfection, then finding that perfection and showing it forth).

Any number is a limit, and perfection doesn't have limits. There is no end to the height a person can rise up to. You can never finish learning.

The gulls who scorn perfection for the sake of travel go nowhere, slowly. Those who put aside travel for the sake of perfection go anywhere, instantly.

Travel, in this context, could mean survival or desire for riches. People who take time off to study the skills of their business end up getting the very riches the first group chose to prioritize. Learn a skill, become perfect in it, then sell the skill for money. The value of this skill at this level gets higher than it would be without the extra learning.

You didn't need faith to fly. You just needed to understand flying.
There are principles that govern every level one aspires to reach. Anyone who applies those principles will certainly reach those heights and get the rewards that come with such accomplishments. Hard work is one of such universal principles. Whatever height a person desires to rise up to will require hard work and focus in the direction of the desired goal. Faith has nothing to do with this, because these principles are temporal and, for that matter, are within the reach of everyone alive.

Jonathan said to his students, “Your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip is nothing more than your thought itself, in a form you can see. Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too…”

A person is an exact replica of his thinking. One is successful if he thinks he is. The reason we are where we are is the thoughts we have nurtured all these years. Successful people think about success and actually see or visualize success most of the time.

The only true law is that which leads to true freedom
Every good law ought to pass the litmus test. Does it set people free to be all that they can be? Good laws, natural or man made, have only one motive- to set people's minds free.

He dropped down to the level of the younger gull.
Good leaders do not laud it over the weaker ones that they educate. They find ways first to understand the concerns of their student, and then they in turn do well to make themselves understood.

Jonathan puzzled, “Why is it that the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he'd just spend a little time practicing?”
I agree with Jonathan, but I also do not know why yet. That bothers me too, though.

You cannot tell how far you can go until you try. Jonathan eventually became good at flying not because he was born a good flier. He came that far because he decided to give it a try.
I was told several times to quit working on my book selling work. The purpose for this system is to give people cause to believe that they have all it takes to be as productive as other already successful individuals are. I have lost friends for this reason. I have been ridiculed by my neighbors and made to look foolish. Now, I have learned, though the hard way, to succeed using skills I have not given much attention to. I have learned to maximize my time by harnessing the strengths of other people towards the achievement of a common goal - helping people to discover the path to real success, and also giving people an opportunity to earn a living.

3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book?
The hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he'd just spend a little time practicing?”

This is one truth I agree with, because if it were not so, there wouldn't be this many people below the poverty level. In my opinion, this is the situation, because we are usually scared of failure when we start. It ought to be clear enough that, failure on the road to success is almost inevitable. It is not the failure itself that is the problem. I think that what matters is what we do with the failure. Unsuccessful people act the way they do because of fear. Successful people, on the other hand act the way they do in spite of fear.

You didn't need faith to fly. You just needed to understand flying.
Faith is good, but it has almost nothing to do with your success. Respect the principles that govern success, and you will succeed. Disrespect them and failure is inevitable.

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

I wish I had words good enough to explain the level of confidence this book has given me about the future. I have found out that it is my fault if I do not succeed, because success is very much within my reach. A lot of things in it have come to confirm that my instincts have not misled me after all. I have always wanted to live a full purposeful life and not the rather popular live-by-the moment idea that was pushed into my mind by the society.

Jonathan decided not to fly just to eat. He wanted to do more than that and that he did at last. In the long run his life was more fulfilling than that of those who just flew to eat.

This book challenges me to listen to my heart and to be very selective about the opinions of people about me or what I do. They may be right sometimes, but the truth is, my heart is never going to be wrong.

I have learned, among other things, that I do not need faith to succeed in my field of endeavor. I just have to understand the principles that govern such areas of life. If I can dream it, I can also achieve it. Jonathan became perfect at flying because he first of all could dream about flying. Every huge accomplishment starts with a dream.

Dreaming is risky business. Following your dreams is worse. You risk being cast out. You lose friends and sometimes family. You are scorned and made to feel insignificant. Then comes the day when that which you 'saw' alone in your mind's eye becomes manifest for all to see. On that day, you get to be hailed, praised and liked as though nothing ever went wrong. Success, it is said, attracts. Failure, of the truth, is an orphan.

5. Are there ideas in this book that you totally disagree with?

I cannot think of any. I agree with everything, now.

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

I like the plot. The story is very picturesque. This makes it easy to follow and relate to.
But there are typing mistakes, which make reading quite difficult. For example :

a. Page 1, sec.1, 1/27, At 7.2”, Ln. 41, col. 62---- For this gull, through(suggestion: though), it was not eating that mattered.

b. Page 2, sec 1, 2/27, At 7.2”, Ln. 41, col. 11---- It was not long before Jonathan Gull was off by himself again, far out at see(suggestion: sea)

c. Page 3, sec 1., 3/27, At 3.5”, Ln 17, Col. 17---------They key, he thought as last,(suggestion: The key, he thought at last,).

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

We often grow up in life with very fond ideas of what life should be. However, external pressure tends to squash the dream, often killing it in the process. Majority of this world's people fall within this group whose dreams have been killed. They, therefore, live and work just to eat.

The story, however, brings to light the fact that a few people, nevertheless survive this traumatic experience to become heroes. Such people initially get marginalized by society and are ridiculed, because they won't bow down to the status quo. Such individuals set out on their journey to perfection as lone rangers. But, before long, help comes to enable these people finish their course beautifully, thus leaving an example for the younger generations to emulate.

One thing that is certain is that, in the end, the thought process and character of such people get changed for the better. They get hailed by the same people who once rejected them.

7.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

Psycho Cybernetics 2000
Assessment by Gottfried Duku (Ghana)

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 subconscious mind can be compared to a car, while the conscious mind can be compared to the driver. The power is in the car, not the driver. The driver, however, must learn to release and direct that power (emphasis added). In other words, if he goes to sleep while driving, the car is sure to veer off the road carrying the driver along down the cliff, in spite of all the good intents of the driver to drive home safely.

Correct focus requires a clear definition of purpose….You decide what to include in the frame. The objects abound and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The contents of your picture is yours to determine. Garbage does not creep into the picture unless the lens of the camera “takes it in” Even to say, “I did not see this object ” will not stop it from leaving its image in the picture, once captured. This reminds me of a video clip my friend put together for TV recently. After he had gotten all the work done, he discovered the image of an unwanted old dirty bucket in the background of the film. He was left with one of two options. Either to take the bucket off along with the strategically selected flowers in the background or to keep them along with the unwanted bucket.

It was not sheer hard work that made these men (Andrew Carnegie & his four friends) successful….Education isn’t the reason either ..... Great success is the result of one’s using a positive mental attitude , NOT JUST MEMORISING A PACK OF MOTIVATIONAL LINES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD FOR A WHILE. The positive mental attitude is more about one’s actions and thoughts. It is about what you become, not just what you do, the latter notwithstanding though.

Success is a worthy goal… But if you are going to achieve success, you will do so only by extraordinary effort, effort that most people are not willing to make. No one gets something out of nothing. Nice cars are good, but I must pay the price to get the prize.

The value of the wealth that comes with success is that it carries with it the lessons you have learned in acquiring it…. People …..set their own salaries by the quality of their work………A person’s salary is determined by the sort of service he or she renders- the quantity and quality of that service, plus the mental attitude under which it is rendered. You are not getting anything in excess of the inputs you make. The quality of your life is always going to be a direct function of the time you spend learning new and relevant essential skills, the way you learn those skills (last minute cramming and cheating in the examination hall, bribing examiners to give you certificates you do not deserve) and the motive behind your choice of those skills (is it something you passionately want to do as your contribution to the wellbeing of the universe, part of which you are, or just for the money it promises to bring your way.) I have seen medical doctors who have left their profession, to which almost seven years of their lives were dedicated, to passionately do other things that bear no semblance to medicine. Many a time, we read in the newspapers about accountants who have done away with monies belonging to their employees - a clear indication of reason for which these people chose their career. I have also seen janitors who have succeeded in their work. Attitude, it is said, is everything. I teach, and there is nothing else more important to me than that. I am not surprised at the results either.

But if you are going to achieve success, you will do so only by extraordinary effort, effort that most people are not willing to make…..People seldom (hardly ever, rarely, infrequently, not often (see, I cannot find the right words to tell the world how much I believe this truth) profit by having money unless they earn it…..

Your achievements - like a company’s- correspond unerringly to the philosophy with which you relate to others. If you follow through on you willingness to deliver something useful in return for what you seek, the world will be compelled to reward you on your own terms…. Our most precious natural resource is not our mineral deposits or our beautiful forests. It is our mental attitude and the imagination of the people of every generation who have mixed experience with education to deliver goods and services that improve the lives of…people around the world. Our real wealth is the INTANGIBLE POWER OF THOUGHT. Is it any wonder the richest people on earth made it all by themselves by sheer determination, hard work, tenacity, focus, the desire to solve a problem they came to meet. None of them did so through the lottery, or even through the transfer of wealth, good as the latter may be though.

I choose to say it as Zig Ziglar does: Give to others, enough, what they want. Then will you get what you want.

Any worthless, superfluous, or harmful habit can be broken and replaced with a more desirable one if you want it to be so…WHATEVER YOUR MIND CAN BELIEVE, AND CONCEIVE, YOUR MIND CAN ACHIEVE. Belief alone is not enough. Conception is very necessary. This requires time. There is the need to apply one’s self to a particular line of action deliberately and stay in there for as long as it is required to acquire the desired traits. A seed must stay in the belly of the earth for, at least 3 consecutive days to become a seedling. The human zygote ought to stay in the womb for nine months to become a human being. The medical student must subject himself to at least seven years of learning and research. The least cannot be said about that which one dreams should it eventually see the light of day. It will be out of sight and lonely for a while. Then, and only then, will it have a chance to become that which it was made to become. You have what you are born with, and you cannot increase it, but you can use it.

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.

Whatever your mind can believe and conceive, your mind can achieve. I have won an award as a teacher a few years ago. The odds were so much against me that a fellow teacher asked if it was worth the effort. I was then coming from a rural school to compete with teachers who were in the city. However, I believed I was capable of rubbing shoulders with my fellow contestants. I worked as hard as I could to prepare for the contest. Finally, I came third in the entire district.

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

The space you occupy in this world is in direct ratio to the quantity and quality of the service you render for the benefit of others, plus the mental attitude in which you render it.

I have realized that people get rich as they set out to solve social problems. A new cleansing company has been set up in my country. It has the responsibility of ridding the entire country of waste and dirt. It uses very simple equipment and is labor intensive. Yet it has become one of the fastest growing companies in Ghana.

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

The story on page 149 captioned “Teamwork turns a company around” has changed my perception about life. In the story, two boys do the same piece of work and come up with different results. The first quits because he won’t be able to make a living out of that job. The second stays on and makes a reasonable living from the same income as the first boy.

I left teaching because I also could not see how I could live on what I earned. I have seen friends who have done very well with their earnings as teachers. I have thus learned that it is not how much I make that really matters. What actually matters is what I do with what I earn.

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

On page 117, there is a statement that says that the subconscious mind has access to all departments of the mind, but is not under the control of any. In Maxwell Maltz’s book, “Psycho-Cybernetics 2000” Dr. Maltz explains pretty convincingly the relationship between the conscious and the subconscious minds. To drive his point home, he likens the conscious mind to a horse rider, and the subconscious mind, a horse. The horse is always under the control of its rider. I therefore do not agree with the book’s view that the subconscious mind is not under the control of any of the departments of the mind including the conscious mind.

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

The fact that I can achieve success in anything I do is the most helpful statement I have found in the book.. It is just fine to do something else that pays huge dividends and comes with all its nice incentives. But many are the examples of those who have wrecked their lives with their fat incomes. On the other hand, others have risen to prominence from very humble beginnings.

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

Success is achievable by everybody. One is not successful only when he does a particular job or lives in a specific part of town. Success is attained when one has a definite goal and he sets out to achieve that goal. In other words, success is best defined by you.

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

A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10

The New Dynanics Of Winning
Assessment by Gottfried Xorlanyo Yao Duku (Ghana)

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

We must think as champions to become and be champions.

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

A. THE ZONE AND HOW TO GET THERE
The Zone herein mentioned, refers to the state of mind that champion such as Greg Lemond achieve during the last leg of their tournaments. Winning at the world class requires that we put our entire mind on the goal. Inspiration does only 10% of the work. 90% of the task requires off the camera bulldog tenacity.

I have seen this work for me in my examinations. I have found out that my examination results were all direct functions of the effect I put into learning those subjects. Mental training does more good than physical training does.

B. THE DRIVE TO WIN
Early in the game, champions risk playing the fool because champions know there never was a winner who wasn't at some point a beginner. The greatest risk is the fear of taking action. The greatest security derives from self-determination linked to specific, incremental goals. This then becomes a world-class victory.

My initial attempt at self employment was not fruitful. Yet there is one lesson I have learned quite well: Early in the game, champions risk playing the fool. Most beginnings are sloppy. However, with determination and unwavering focus bad beginners become excellent finishers.

C. PAYING THE PRICE
Commitment is formed at certain vital turning points in life, when we seize a moment and turn it into an opportunity for altering our destiny. We cannot win while doing business as usual. Life always offers us opportunities to win. None of those opportunities will yield any positive results until we are willing to commit ourselves to the task.

D. THE OLYMPIAN WITHIN
Before the competition begins winners deserve to win.
We are true reflections of what we are within. Winners commit themselves into what they set out to achieve. Losers lose not because they are less endowed. Rather they do so because they do not fully utilize the opportunity that comes their way. They do not train as much as they ought to. They do not learn as thoroughly as they ought to. They always make partial commitments to life. They are, therefore, not able to put enough emotional strength into themselves as they must, to be able to withstand the shocks that occur when they encounter challenges associated with their field of endeavour. I have seen myself in such light. I failed to patiently acquire the requisite knowledge regarding life. I was angry and quick at drawing conclusions when I had to take accusations calmly, reflect on them and react positively to those accusations. I walked away from places where I ought to have held on. Just like a tea bag, that which we are at any given moment shows up when taken through heat and pressure. We never win publicly until we have won privately.

E. INTERGRITY
Don’t Tell Your Children What To Do. Show Then.
Integrity is about honesty, probity, truthfulness candor, single-mindedness.
No one wins without integrity. People who just want the easy way out of issues never win. They are like rivers, which are always crooked as they try to flow along lanes that are free from obstacles. Like eagles, winners take advantage of storms to fly upward. They love only one goal- to win. Sam Jonah , the ex-president of Anglo gold Ashanti, is my example of a man with integrity. He rose up from a shovel boy (the lowest rank in the mining sector) to the highest, but in more than three decades. There were no short cuts. He went into mining when that industry was not popular. Nothing happens that is not a result of a single mind.

F. THE VISUALIZATION OF VICTORY
Seeing leads to believing. Belief leads to achieving. Until we can see what we want to achieve in our minds, we cannot achieve them.

G. STRENGTH THROUGH MENTAL TOUGHNESS
Go with the flow; be patient; don't try to rush success; hope for the best; prepare for the worst; keep your self ready for surprises.

More often than not there is a tendency to follow the crowd. We tend to avoid the challenges that will propel us to the next level. We like the promotion, but we do not want to give the interview. We want the baby, but not the pregnancy.

All good things are jealously protected by challenges, obstacles and pain. We must do well to break through the challenge in order to reach the reward therein. We must begin all things with an expected end in mind.

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

A. the zone and how to get there
I have learned that success is a science. There are principles which ought to be obeyed should I desire success. These principles work for anyone irrespective of one's age or status. It does not matter where you are coming from. It only matters where one is going. I read that three-quarters of the world's leaders began their lives from poor backgrounds. In fact, I have observed that children of poor people are becoming employers of children of the rich.

B. The drive to win
I believe that this world has run short of leaders because we do not want to fail at anything. For most of us it is just fine to follow. We do not want to take initiatives to do anything unique. Therefore, mediocrity tends to be the accepted order of the day. In my opinion, we can never rise up to the place we wish to be unless we are willing to go the extra mile. None wins who does not risk losing anything. Risk is a requirement to the top. This world will become a better place full of successful people if we should develop the attitude of winners. I believe there is enough of all that is necessary enable us live successfully. We are not successful, because we do not want to do what we must do to get what we want.

c. Paying the price
There is always a price to be paid for whatever we wish to achieve in life. Having done so, we tend to cherish the product. Our self esteem gets improved. We then see the result of our effort as that which we deserve.
Since there is a price to pay, we do thus see the need to rely on others for help. We, therefore, do not live either independently or dependently .We live interdependently, putting resources back where we get them from.

d. The Olympian within.
With everybody developing strength, self confidence gets developed. Individuals become stronger within. They become more aware of themselves as to what they are capable of doing. This truth has the ability to make me more confident. I have thus learned all the more to use my head, heart and hands profitably, and then teach others to do same.

I believe that what I can do is what I can teach. I also believe that if we will learn to eschew self doubt, we will develop individually. As we do so, there will be a big improvement in our lives. There will be more than enough for all of us.

e. Integrity
If I can be firm in my mind, I can focus on my life purpose and thus take my attention away and from distraction. I will be trustworthy if I have integrity. Then can I build and work with a team.

f. The visualization of victory
I am bound to achieve nothing which I do not have the ability to see in my mind. The things we see physically today came from the unseen. We all have the potential to become all that we desire to become should we develop that ability to see with the eyes of our minds. Jealousy, envy and strife will thus be things of the past as there will not be anything others can do and become that we can also not do and become.

g. Strength through mental toughness
I am always going to be a perfect product of my thought. I have learned it will not just be enough for me to visualize my future. I must also do well to keep my thoughts protected by choosing the material I put into it, in terms of what I read, the films I watch and the conversations that I engage in.

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

a. What happened earlier has absolutely no influence on what happens today unless you choose to let it. This tells me, as one minister puts it, that we may blame others for what we have become, but we cannot blame anyone for what we shall become.

Dr. Bill Newman puts it this way: “Your past cannot be changed but you can change tomorrow by your actions today.

b. “Nothing in the world can take place of determination. Talent will not; Education will not; Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent….

This quote has taught me that there is nothing I cannot do with a bag full of talents, education, fame,. I do not even have to be a genius to become successful. All I need is a dream and the persistence and determination to follow through.

c. life's most important revelation is that it's the journey that counts, not the destination.

Achievements are sign post, but success is a journey. It is not where you are today, that matters, but where you will be tomorrow.

d. don't tell your children your peers or your subordinates what to do, show them.

I am hereby reminded of another quote that says, “ Our actions speak louder than our words” I pray that we seek to be applauded for what we do in forty years rather than be given a standing ovation for what we say in forty minutes.

e. The master has no mind of her own. She works with the mind of the people….
The leader is all things to all people. She leads the way and then helps others to tread in it themselves.

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

No

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

I am currently going through the twenty-one days plan. So far I have found which I have done to be help full. The exercise actually helps me to stop running but to take stock on my life.

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

Ten Do's and don'ts of quality Leadership.

These ten rules bring to light the whole essence for living success is about leadership. No one succeeds who does not see herself as a leader. Leaders show the way. These ten are part of the stepping stones to success and fan that mater to leadership

With every body developing strength self continence gets developed. Individuates become stranger . I believe that what I can do is what I can teach. I also

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