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Assessments by Bikundo Onyari...
Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude LESSONS LEARNT I must admit from the onset that this book was powerful to the extent it actually inspired me to spring to action. Every page was worth it and useful and I am growing impatient to read Napoleonís other book of Think and Grow Rich. Another factor that I would want to raise is that the books I have read so far seem to flow inter relate to each other. The selection was magnificent as most of the books continue to imprint tools that are badly needed to make the world a better place starting with the individual. WHAT WAS USEFUL/HELPFUL AND WHY? This is the starting point for either success or failure of the human being that has been termed as ìthe most important living person. Success has to be redefined once again to mean not only wealth but happiness, ability to relate with other beings and the power to control and use one attitudes for personal and community advantage. NMA is brought about by what Gerald G. Jampolsky said in his book Change Your Mind, Change Your Life where he says that attitudes can be ones great friend or enemy depending on how they are viewed. In this book of PMA the challenge lies where one has to contionusly develop and practice attitudes that are long lasting in the sense that the make one successful in the field they have chose to pursue on their lives generally. The are not wish lists that are to be used anyhowly, but are tools that can bring about change and desired results. I would like to emphasis on a point that I came across in this book "Every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit for those with PMAî". In life we seem to be looking at the negative side of the good stories that happen. You find that most can do a lot to avoid failure, shame etc but do less to be happy. In Kenya as an example, news without politics are no news. Politics are given undue advantage over other important issues such as innovation, agriculture or even economic recovery. Five Mental Bombshells for Attacking Success Anthony Robbins in his book Awaken Within You says "repetition makes perfect". This book on PMA has shown that this is possible for those who try and not for the faint hearted. Most of what Robbins says in the above mentioned book is repeated and emphasised in Napoleonís book, and that good. Why? All these issues are known to man/woman but they have been procrastinated for a long time. Most of us including myself when having a problem tend to give up and feel ashamed that I can't tackle it. But recently I have developed a method of addressing this. When faced with a problem, the first thing that I do is to call it a challenge. This will enable me to face and address the faced situation in a different perspective. We face challenges generally in life since we look at them from one perspective or angle we never quite go around to solve them. I once overheard a friend of mine telling his colleague who was having a problem at hand saying "a person who is surmounted by problems and cant be able to solve them, can only do so by stopping straight thinking". There is need to deschool ourselves from the trap of straight thinking since it shows only one way of tackling challenges. Procrastination is one of the challenges that are faced by all of us. A nice idea springs from the subconscious mind but implementing it can take a whole decade. The self-motivator DO IT NOW! Repeated in the mind can change a man/woman. This can be combined by self-motivation that induces action or determines choice. There are also Universal Principles of Success motivators that can work well in going to action. Motivating oneself for any reason or aim and to motivate others, its
prudent to understand and apply the ten principles that are outlined in this
book. These are 17 Success Principles These principles need to be memorised and stored in our hearts so that success can be achieved as if we are walking in a plain land. They can be used as indicators that measure where we are and where we are heading and the intentions and goodwill have to be present so that they can be achieved one by one. You can't have one or the other but you have to combine all of them as ingredients in a meal that is superb and healthy. All these need to be also combined with the seven virtues that are Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity. CONCLUSION The tools provided here are real and can change life definitely with one blink of action. More so in Africa where we cant compare it with America the land of opportunity as it is referred in the press.. Jonathan Livingston Seagull ASSESSMENT LIMITATIONS Conclusion CHALLENGE Conclusion DISCOVERIES/EXPLORATIONS Conclusion LOVE AND KINDNESS Conclusion. SUCCESS Conclusion ASSESSMENT 2 As A Man Thinketh ASSESSMENT I
APPLICATION CAP I - Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruit -By the right choice and the application of thought, man ascends to the divine perfection -Man can only thus become by discovering within himself the laws of thought.This discovery is matter of application …………. -If he will watch, control, and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon himself, upon others and upon his life and circumstances, linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation and utilizing his every ex perience -Only by patience, practise, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the door of the temple of knowledge CAP II - So true is this that when a man earnestly applies himself to remedy the defects in his character, and makes swift and marked progress, he passé rapidly through a succession of vicissitudes -Following the inmost desires, aspirations, thoughts by which he allows himself to be dominated, a man at last arrives at their fruition and fulfillment in the outer conditions of his life -Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results -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 life -Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life -A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances CAP III -At the command of glad and beautiful thoughts it becomes clothed with youthfulness and beauty CAP IV -A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it -He should make this purpose his supreme duty and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings CAP V -As he thinks, so is he, as he continues to think so he remains -A man can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up his thoughts -The higher he lifts his thoughts, the greater will be his success, the more blessed and enduring will be his achievements -By the aid of self control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and well directed thought a man ascends -He would accomplish little need sacrifice little; he would achieve much must sacrifice much. He would attain high must sacrifice greatly CAP VI -He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it -Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil -The strength of the effort is the measure of the result CAP VII -Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control Conclusion Thought is a powerful factor that can be employed to realize our visions or aspirations. But there is caution to this, if one thinks aimlessly then there is a danger of failing to achieve what was planned there before. Mere thought only won’t help, it need to be coupled with application and carefully assessing the challenges that are met on the way. Suffering will be met as one progresses that are brought about by weakness and until they are done away with, purification will be part of the way. SELF ANALYSIS Does introspection alter or change the outcomes of one’s thought? CAP I -A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of his thoughts -A noble and God like character is not a thing of favour or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long cherished association with God like thoughts -That man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, enviroment, and destiny CAP II -Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts that he has built into his character have brought him here CAP III -Change of diet will not help a man who will not change his thoughts CAP IV -Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force CAP V -He who has conquered weakness and has pushed away all selfish thoughts belongs neither to the oppressor nor oppressed. He is free -But he is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses CAP VI -The dreamers are the saviours of the world -To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve -Dreams are the seedlings of realities Conclusion If one belittles himself then that’s the way he will be. A powerful example from the book As a Man Thinketh has clearly stated that we need to insect ourselves, understand ourselves and thereafter control or be our own masters. Without this we will be lost on negative thoughts that we bring suffering and pain to us. EXPERIENCE How does one know s/he is traveling towards success? Are there signposts that guide? CAP I -Man is made or unmade by himself -Man is always the master, even in his weakest and abandoned state CAP II -Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are -Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain abound -Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction. It’s an indication that the individual is out of harmony with himself, with the law of his being. The sole and supreme use of sufferings is to purify, to burn out all that is useless and impure. Suffering ceases for him who is pure -Blessedness and riches are only joined together when the riches are rightly and wisely used -Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life. Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot CAP III -He who has strengthened and purified his thoughts does not need to consider the malevolent CAP IV -To put away aimlessness and weakness and to begin to think with purpose is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment -He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure CAP V -All that a man achieves and that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts -Victories attained by right thought can be maintained only by watchfulness CAP VI -Gifts, powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort. They are thoughts completed, objectives accomplished, visions realized CAP VII -The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Conclusion Three words from the book come to mind; patience, practise and ceaseless importunity. Unless we critically evaluate ourselves as we progress our journey towards perfection will be hampered. Signposts towards the success of our journey will include; gifts.powers, material, spiritual possessions. Without those one will need to reconsider where he is heading. ASSESSMENT II Some of the lessons that emerge are similar to those of Seagull Assesments. All the same, some of the things I have learnt include the following and that what I believe: -
AWAKEN THE GIANT WITHIN Assessments by Bikundo Onyari INTRODUCTION This book by Anthony Robbins has reawakened in me a strong desire of understanding myself and taking control of my destiny. Personally I think this book was timely and relevant for our quest to coexist together as human beings and bring about peace and harmony. I am proud to use some of the skills ideas to help out my friend who was hopeless and was waiting to die. I shared with her the relevance of life and the purpose of our existence. This was not easy as it took me almost a week to see the changes she so desperately needed. Interestingly the desire to change is not held by someone else, but by us. Its up to us to deicide to live a joyous and fulfilling life or a life full of miseries. Fortunately though for me there are some tips in this enormous book that I had started practicing before I joined IIGL. All the same to refresh ones memories and empowering oneself is in itself a great thing to practice. I will forever cherish the teachings in this book particularly the relevant examples that showed that it’s possible. As I will be doing these assessments, I would prefer to go chapter by chapter. The good thing about the author is that he bolded those important points. I have borrowed most of his lines as I share the same views and feeling about them. DREAMS What are they and why are they important to our lives? Can they really become true? -I made a decision in that moment which was to alter my life forever. I decided to change virtually every aspect of my life. I decided I would never again settle for less than I could be. -Concentration of power: most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all our resources on mastering a single area of our lives -I decided that somehow I must concentrate in some way that would live on long after I was gone -For changes to be of any value, they’ve got to be lasting and consistent -Changing an organisation, a company, a country or our world begins with the simple step of changing yourself -Our beliefs are like unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what’s possible and what’s impossible, what we can do and cannot do.
DECISIONS Can decisions shape the destiny of our lives and make us truly happy? -Different actions produce different results -If you don’t set a baseline standard for what you’ll accept in your life, you’ll find it’s easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that’s far below what you desire -Making a true decision means committing to achieving a result, and then putting yourself off from any other possibility -The way to make better decisions is to make more of them -We don’t have to allow the programming of our past control our present and future -Success truly is the result of good judgment, good judgment is the result of experience and experience is often the result of bad judgment -In order to succeed, you must have a long-term focus -Know that it’s your decisions, and not your conditions, that determine your destiny -Information is power when it’s acted upon -There are no failures in life there are only results FORCE What is force and how is it exerted in our lives/Is it relevant to our live and where do we get it? -Understanding and utilising the forces of pain and pleasure will allow you once and for all to create the lasting changes and improvements you desire for yourself and those you are about -Most people would work much harder to hang on to what they have than they would to take risks necessary to get what they really want from their lives -We are constantly weighing our own proposal actions and the impact they will have upon us -I realized that discovering idea and strategies that could help me to shape human behavior and emotion could give me virtually everything I wanted in my life -If we link massive pain to any behavior or emotional pattern, we will avoid indulging in it at all costs. We can use this understanding to harness the force of pain and pleasure to change virtually anything in our lives -What drives our behavior is instinctive reaction to pain and pleasure, not intellectual calculation -The force shaping world opinion and consumes buying habits is also the same force that shapes all our actions. It’s up to you and me to take control of this force and decide on our own actions consciously -Simply link pleasure to the new behavior you desire for yourself -Anything you want that’s valuable requires that break through some short-term pain in order to gain long – term pleasure -Most of the things that are valuable in our lives require us to go against the basic conditioning of our nervous systems BELIEFS Can we use beliefs to consistently shape our lives and bring about desired goals? Can we change our beliefs if they don’t help us? -It’s not the events of our lives that shape us, but our beliefs as to what those events mean -Beliefs are what cause some individuals to become heroes, while others "lead lives of quiet desperation" -A belief is an interpretation/feeling of certainty about something -Most of our beliefs are generalisations about our past, based on our interpretation of painful and pleasurable experiences -Sometimes we develop beliefs that create limitations or strengths within a very specific context -Once accepted, our beliefs become unquestioned commands to our nervous systems, and they have the power to expend or destroy the possibilities of our present or future -With enough emotional intensity and repetition our nervous systems experience something as real, even if it hasn’t succeeded yet -If you develop the absolute sense of certainty that powerful beliefs provide, then you can get yourself to accomplish virtually anything, including those things that other people are certain are impossible -New experiences trigger change only if they cause us to question our beliefs -The only true security in life comes from knowing that every single day you are improving yourself in some way -Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning you give it. INSTANT CHANGE How can we make instant change in our lives and how can it improve us? Why do some people take long to change than others? -Once we effect change, we should reinforce it immediately. Then we condition our nervous systems to succeed not just once, but consistently -The first belief we must have if we’re going to create change quickly is that we change now -The second belief that you and I must have if we’re going to create long-term change is that we are responsible for our own change -Two reasons why people take long to change; * The assumption that they make is that important changes must take a long time and be very difficult to make * In our culture, we have a set of beliefs that prevents us from being able to utilise our own inherent abilities -Nothing changes until we change the sensations we link to an experience in our own nervous system -Each time we experience a significant amount of pain or pleasure, our brains search for the cause and record it in our nervous systems to enable us to make better decisions about what to do in the future -So often we blame the wrong cause, and thereby close ourselves off from possible solutions -When you give brain mixed messages, you’re going to get mixed results. CHANGE YOUR LIFE What are the secrets of changing ones life? Is it really possible to change to completely change ones life for the better? -The first step to creating any change is deciding what you do want so that you have something to move forward -But change is usually not a question of capability; it’s almost a question of motivation -The only way to make change now is if we create a sense of urgency that’s so intense that we’re compelled to follow through -The greatest leverage you can create for yourself is the pain that comes fro inside not outside, knowing that you have failed to live up to your own standards for your life is the ultimate pain -One of the strongest forces in the human personality is the drive to preserve the integrity of our own identity -The failure by most people to find an alternative way of getting out of pain into the feelings of pleasure is the major reason most people’s attempts at change are only temporary -Remember your brain can’t tell the difference between something you vividly imagine and something your actually experience -Any pattern of emotion or behavior that is continually reinforced will become an automatic and conditioned response. Any thing we fail to reinforce will eventually dissipate. GETTING WANT YOU WANT How is it possible to achieve or get what you have some much desired in life? Are there shortcuts to get what you really want without sweating it out? -But first we must learn how to take control of them (feelings) consciously instead of living in reaction -The difference between acting badly or brilliantly is not based on your based ability, but on the state of your mind and or boldly in any given moment -Create patterns of movement that create confidence, a sense of strength, flexibility, a sense of strength, flexibility, a sense of personal power, and fun -Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear -Our ability to change the way we feel depends upon our ability to change our sub modalities -You’ve got to be in a determined state in order to succeed -Live your life in a way that causes you to feel tons of pleasure and very little pain -All that you really want is to change how you feel QUESTIONS Is there any need of asking yourself questions as continue to struggle to want to attain what you have set? Is it really empowering to continually evaluate the strategies you are using for success? -It’s not events that shape my life that determine how I feel and act, rather, it’s the way I interpret and evaluate my life experiences -I began to realize that thinking itself is nothing but the process of asking and answering questions -Successful people asked better questions, and as a result, they got better answers -Quality questions create quality life -The difference between people is the difference in the questions they ask consistently -Remember, it’s not the questions you ask, but the questions you fail to ask, that shape your destiny -Questions immediately change what we’re focusing on and therefore how we feel -Learning to ask empowering question in moments of crisis is a critical skill -Questions are the laser of human consciousness. They concentrate our focus and determine what we feel and do VOCABULARY What has vocabulary has to do with my life and my happiness? Does this help in any way or is it like literature that is sometimes used to write good plays or poems? -The words you habitually choose also affect how you communicate with yourself and therefore what you experience -People with an impoverished vocabulary live an impoverished emotional life; people with rich vocabularies have a multihued palette of colours with which to paint their experience, not only for others, but for themselves as well -Simply by changing your habitual vocabulary – the words you consistently use to describe the emotions of your life – you can instantaneously change how you think, how you feel, and how you live -This is the essence of Transformational Vocabulary: the words we attach to our experience become our experience -Thus, it’s important to realize that words shape our beliefs and impact our actions -If an assemblage of words you’re using is creating states that disempower you, get rid of those words and replace them with those that empower you -The words we use a as corporate culture and as individuals have a profound effect on our experience of reality DESTROY THE BLOCKS How can we live a life that we want and overcome every challenge we face along the ladder to success? -Whenever we explain or communicate a concept by likening it to something else, we are using a metaphor -We must take charge of our metaphors, not just to avoid the problem metaphors, but so that we can adopt the empowering metaphors as well -A whole set of rules, ideas, and preconceived notions accompany any metaphor you adapt -Changing one global metaphor can instantly transform the way you look at your entire life -Sometimes it’s useful and important to get us feel negative emotions with strong intensity -Life has its seasons -Take control of your metaphors now and create a new world for yourself: a world of possibility of richness, of wonder, and of joy TEN EMOTIONS OF POWER How can emotions control our life? Are we in charge of our emotions or we merely respond to the way the drive us? Can one-use emotions to propel him/her to greater heights? -If the message your emotions are tying to deliver is ignored, the emotions simply increase their amperage; their intensify until you finally pay attention -The emotions thoughts of as negative are merely a call to action -Realise that emotions you are feeling at this very moment are a gift, a guideline, a support system, a call to action .If you suppress your emotions and try to drive them out of your life, or if you magnify them and allow them to take everything, then you are squandering one of life's most precious resources -You are the source of all your emotions; you are the one who creates them -You can feel any way you choose at any moment in time -You don’t need any special reason to feel good - you can just decide to feel good right now, simply because you're alive, simply because you want to -Feeling depressed is another call to action, telling you that you need to change your perception -Getting curious helps you master your emotion, solve the challenge, and prevent the same from occurring in the future -So realize that a sense of vitality is a critical emotion to cultivate in order to handle virtually any emotions that come up in your life -Very feeling that you have - good or bad is based on your interpretation of what things mean CREATING A COMPELLING FUTURE Why is achieving your life goals sometimes become elusive? How can you get hold of what you want and arrive at where you want to go? -You possess a lamp that is not limited to a mere three wishes -Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into visible - the foundation for all success in life -All goal setting must be immediately followed by both the development of a plan, and massive and consistent action towards fulfillment -It’s not just getting a goal that matters, but the quality of life you experience along the way -The direction we're heading is more important than individual results -Sometimes we need to trust that our disappointments may be truly be opportunities in disguise -At least twice a day, you must rehearse and emotionally enjoy the experience of achieving each one your most values goals -Achieving goals by themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it’s who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that you can give you the deepest and most lasting sense of fulfillment. MENTAL CHALLENGE Are we in charge of our mental state? Can we control and use this state for the improvement of our lives? -The same pattern of thinking that has gotten us where we are will not get us where we want to go -A new level of thinking is now required in order to experience a new level of personal and professional success -In life, never spend more than 10 percent of your time on the problem, and spend at least 90 per cent of your time on the solution -All too often, the security of a mediocre present is more comfortable than the adventure of trying to be more in the future. MASTER SYSTEM What is this and what has it to do with my life and success? -People are not their behaviors -We all have a system or procedure that we go through in order to determine what things mean to us and what we need to do about them in virtually any situation in life -If someone is doing better than we are in any area of life, it’s simply because they have a better way of evaluating what things mean and what they should do about it -I am the source of all emotions. Nothing and no one can change how we feel except me. If I find myself in a reaction to anything, I can change it in a LIFE VALUES How do we choose these values and how do we use them to our advantage? -We must remember that all decision-making comes down to value clarification -Get clear about what is most important in our lives and decide that we will live by these values, no matter what happens -So often people are too busy pursuing means values that they don't achieve their true desire: their end values -Obviously there are some emotional states that you'll do more to achieve than others -People will do more to avoid pain than they will to gain pleasure. RULES How are rules useful to our lives? Can we break those that disempwer us and stick with those that are useful? -The truth is that nothing has to happen in order for us t feel good -As long as we structure our lives in a way where our happiness is dependent upon something we cannot control, then we will experience pain -Whether or not you feel like you're achieving your values is totally dependent upon your own rules -You could be winning and feel like you're loosing because the scoreboard you’re using is unfair -Make it easy to feel good and hard to feel bad -At the base of every emotional upset you've ever had with another human being is a rules upset -Don’t expect people to live by your rules if you don't clearly communicate what they are. REFERENCES Where can we get references and how can we use them to shape the destiny of our lives? -The larger the number and greater the quality of our references, the greater our potential level of choices. This enables us to more effectively evaluate what things mean and what we can do -it's not our references ,but our interpretations of them, the way we organise them - that clearly determine our beliefs -Imagination unleashed provides us a sense of certainty and vision that goes far beyond the limitations of the past -You want to learn from your past, not to live in it - focus on the things that empower you -Loss is imaginary. Nothing ever disappears in the universe; it only changes form -Expand your references, and you'll immediately expand your life. IDENTITY What is identity? How can it be used to be beneficial to our lives? -The beliefs that we use to define our own individuality, what makes us unique, good, bad, or indifferent -from other individuals -The kind of person other people perceive you to be controls their responses to you -We will act consistently with our views of who we truly are, wether the view is accurate or not -As we develop new beliefs about who we are, our behaviour will change to support the new identity -I believe that our true identity is something that's indefinable and greater than anything that 's describable. EMOTIONAL DESTINY How can I be successful? -There is not true success without emotional success. PHYSICAL DESTINY What has my physical well-being has to do with my destiny? Can I do away with physical fitness and yet attain my goals? -The failure of most individuals to grasp the difference between fitness and health is what causes them to experience the frustration of working out religiously and still having the same five to ten pounds stubbornly clinging to their midsection -Anyone can achieve endurance and vitality by deciding to condition their body's chemistry. RELATIONSHIP DESTINY How can I make my relationship worthy and self - fulfilling? -The only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as place to give, and not a place that you go to take -If you want your relationship to last, never, never, ever, ever threaten the relationship itself. FINANCIAL DESTINY How can I make enough money to get me what I want? What are the secrets of having a stable financial life? -Ability to take something that has very little value and convert it into something of significantly greater value -All wealth begins in the mind -The key to wealth is to be more valuable -Devise a way to consistently add real value to people’s lives, and you will prosper -the contribution makes life richer so don’t limit yourself to adding value strictly for personal gain -Spend less than you earn, and invest the difference. CODE CONDUCT Does this go hand in hand with rules/values? How does one go about making a personal code conduct? Is it helpful to have one? -What states would I be in if I were my highest best? What states will I commit to being every single day, no matter what? -Some of the states are the same as my values, and some of them are not -I had consciously chosen to live by what I now call my Code Conduct -States I committed myself included being friendly, happy, loving, outgoing, playful, powerful, generous, outrageous, passionate, and fun. MASTER YOUR TIME AND YOUR LIFE Can this improve my life? How can they be used simultaneously for a successful life? -Take control of the time frame you’re focusing upon -So often we forget that time is a mental construct, that is completely relative, and that our experience of the time is almost exclusively the result of our mental focus -The ability to distort time so that a minute feels like an hour, or an hour like minute -The most powerful thing I’ve learned to compress time is to learn through other people’s experience.REST AND PLAY Why rest in the pursuit of success? -Take a day off to have some fun. ULTIMATE CHALLENGE What next after all this? What can I be able to do to know that I have made it? -You have the power right now to control how you think, how you feel, and what you do -It is the small decisions you and I make every day that create our destinies -The solution to every one of these problems is to change our behaviour -The one thing we have absolute control over is our internal world – we decide what things mean and what to do about them -The only limit to your impact is your imiganination and commitment. Assessment 2 This book has impacted me in almost all areas mentioned by the author. It has reawakened some of those thoughts that can really spur on in the areas of emotions, financial, relationship and physical well-being. I must admit some of the exercises posed in the book; I have been using them while others are very new to me. If I were asked why then have I not yet achieved most of my goals, I would say that I lacked persistence to follow up to the end. As I mentioned in the introduction, some of this skills have really helped especially in the areas of beliefs, values, code of conduct, references and financial destiny. Last month I was very busy as I helped organise a street children exhibition in Nairobi. This is an annual event that uses exhibitions to expose and market what this young people who have been rehabilitated from the streets can do. This is in the areas of crafts, music, learning etc. I met with a lady who was volunteering in the event. (By then I had finished reading the book). She was staying with her cousin who was abusing her. This lady had lost hope in life and was even ready to die though she admitted that she feared death. I was able to challenge her and give her some tips I learnt in the Anthony Robbins book. Today she is one of the joyful people I have ever met in my life. Nothing is impossible to achieve, it’s all in the mind like the author says. All wealth begins in the mind and makes yourself worthy or valuable before you demand for an increment. I’ll want to conclude by saying the choice with which the chapters flow and also the books I have read from the beginning is marvelous. I am still sharing the secrets of having a joyous life that I know my fellow youth miss. PULLING YOUR STRINGS ASSESSMENTS I Chapter 1 How does victimization relate to freedom? How do you develop non-victim attitudes? Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 ASSESSMENT II Below are some of the lessons I have come across: - Debatable issue Uncondtional Life: Discovering The Power To fulfill Your Dreams Contents What was useful/helpful and why.Personal Healing - how to heal oneself using the energy and power within us to influence the health status of one self. Most times we rely on medicine(s) recommended by doctors which is not bad; but the one fact that has been ignored since the discovery of medicine is the ability of the body to produce or supplement medicine within itself. The challenge here is to discover this inner power to control ones outer health. Discovering Self - since I began leadership studies, almost all authors seem to reemphasise on the discovery of self. The major issue here is without knowing oneself, its is futile to achieve one dreams or reach a state of self-awareness. This indicates the purpose one has to fulfil in this life, not walking to be consumed tomorrow without personal concern. Making Miracles Happen - this is related to the aspect of discovering self. Anyone can while discovering the potentiality inside make miracles happen in his/her life. Most times this looks abnormal to the world we relate to everyday that looks "perfectly" glued together. A lot of people, interestingly fear to view their world as being able to perform miracles where they will be disruption or uniqueness in their lives. A thought of flying which was so appealing to a young child seems far-fetched to an adult. Least HelpfulMeditationPersonally I find that meditation wasn't very well addressed mostly on the way to go about it. I do not wish away or abhor meditation, from personal experience I have come across people who have been "brainwashed" due to meditation. My bone of contention therefore remains on the process towards meditation without necessary becoming brainwashed. Replacing of some of not all of a person's established thoughts is not that bad, but the thought here is that this is open to abuse. In pursuit of excellence in world leadership especially to young people, it should be conducted cautiously and the process thoroughly understood so that it brings about a world that is desirable to all as an end result. It all also shouldn't be abused for the purposes of creating short cuts on life journeys. Perhaps we can put on the discussion board the topic on MEDITATION and see what other students think. Challenged/Altered My Thinking/AttitudeTo some extent. Personal Healing - people who are sick look withdrawn and hopeless because of their physical health problems. The ability to look inside and come up with a solution to this situation is like an illusion to them. Before I discovered the word 'Personal Healing', I had visited a cousin of mine who was army and was in hospital since he had this growth on his throat. This guy used over a hundred ways to describe his situation. He totally believed and depended on medication to change his throat condition. I began to challenge him in using 'alternative medicine' from his body to influence that way he was feeling and responding to treatment. I didn't succeed in this mostly because of my limited understanding of the body power to heal by then. Time Distortion - during the beginning of 2003, I had a lot of spare time, which I really felt the need to utilise. Days/nights were long and sometimes I felt hopeless and questioned God the reason of being alive. There was need of converting the available time; and this was only through time distortion. The Leadership was very crucial to achieve this and lately by landing on a short-term contract to work in prison (giving legal advice to prisoners). The later job is overwhelming sometimes and just finding a creative way to distort time and yet attain set goals can vanquish this. CHANGE YOUR MIND CHANGE YOUR LIFE Lessons learnt from this book Attitudes affect our bodies and the outside world What was useful and why and the challenges linked to it through my life
experience I would like to use a common illustration that happens almost everyday in the classroom worldwide. Tom who is in a mathematics class has a habit of every time complaining on how algebra, calculus are difficult topics. The teacher looks at him and shakes her head and asks loudly, "what has the world become?" The student only needs to understand at that these thoughts can distract if not controlled and only can do magnificent changes if used to realize the set goals. Flowers of a Positive Mind (By the way this book, Change Your Mind, Change Your Life by Gerald & Diane goes hand in hand with the one by James Allen, As a Man Thinketh). The challenge to us is to continuously plant good seeds in our minds that will bring about positive thoughts, which in the end will bring forth empowering actions. This will miraculously change the world where war and civil strife are the only tools that are known to bring about "change" and "democracy." I am writing this assessment at a time when Rwanda and the world are remembering the 1994 Genocide that saw the death of over one million innocent people most of them being women and children who would have changed the course of their country and the world destiny. The conclusion here is that this all started from the mind due to planting of evil seeds. Positive Business Attitudes A word of caution though, it is meaningless to have all these on paper and not practice them. I have seen and come across companies that have a nice and ambitious vision an yet their employees donít know them by heart or donít give a damn about them. Most attitudes that prosper a company are derived from the kind of leadership that is practiced. If it is a situation where the top echelon is all knowing, the company is then doomed. The employees will not feel motivated or even share their ideas that are needed to prosper them and their companies. A good manager in a company and anywhere else is not one who gives orders but one who leads by example. Giving and Receiving are the Same The culture of giving not only money, but also time, expertise and other essentials should be given top priority. It should be realized that giving and receiving are all the same. Oneís life improves as s/he seeks to make a difference in the world however small it may seem. Conclusion Attitudinal Healing goes hand in hand with Personal Healing that was
covered in the previous book of Unconditional Life: Discovering the Power to
Fulfill Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra. Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude LESSONS LEARNT I must admit from the onset that this book was powerful to the extent it actually inspired me to spring to action. Every page was worth it and useful and I am growing impatient to read Napoleonís other book of Think and Grow Rich. Another factor that I would want to raise is that the books I have read so far seem to flow inter relate to each other. The selection was magnificent as most of the books continue to imprint tools that are badly needed to make the world a better place starting with the individual. WHAT WAS USEFUL/HELPFUL AND WHY? This is the starting point for either success or failure of the human being that has been termed as ìthe most important living person. Success has to be redefined once again to mean not only wealth but happiness, ability to relate with other beings and the power to control and use one attitudes for personal and community advantage. NMA is brought about by what Gerald G. Jampolsky said in his book Change Your Mind, Change Your Life where he says that attitudes can be ones great friend or enemy depending on how they are viewed. In this book of PMA the challenge lies where one has to contionusly develop and practice attitudes that are long lasting in the sense that the make one successful in the field they have chose to pursue on their lives generally. The are not wish lists that are to be used anyhowly, but are tools that can bring about change and desired results. I would like to emphasis on a point that I came across in this book "Every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit for those with PMAî". In life we seem to be looking at the negative side of the good stories that happen. You find that most can do a lot to avoid failure, shame etc but do less to be happy. In Kenya as an example, news without politics are no news. Politics are given undue advantage over other important issues such as innovation, agriculture or even economic recovery. Five Mental Bombshells for Attacking Success Anthony Robbins in his book Awaken Within You says "repetition makes perfect". This book on PMA has shown that this is possible for those who try and not for the faint hearted. Most of what Robbins says in the above mentioned book is repeated and emphasised in Napoleonís book, and that good. Why? All these issues are known to man/woman but they have been procrastinated for a long time. Most of us including myself when having a problem tend to give up and feel ashamed that I can't tackle it. But recently I have developed a method of addressing this. When faced with a problem, the first thing that I do is to call it a challenge. This will enable me to face and address the faced situation in a different perspective. We face challenges generally in life since we look at them from one perspective or angle we never quite go around to solve them. I once overheard a friend of mine telling his colleague who was having a problem at hand saying "a person who is surmounted by problems and cant be able to solve them, can only do so by stopping straight thinking". There is need to deschool ourselves from the trap of straight thinking since it shows only one way of tackling challenges. Procrastination is one of the challenges that are faced by all of us. A nice idea springs from the subconscious mind but implementing it can take a whole decade. The self-motivator DO IT NOW! Repeated in the mind can change a man/woman. This can be combined by self-motivation that induces action or determines choice. There are also Universal Principles of Success motivators that can work well in going to action. Motivating oneself for any reason or aim and to motivate others, its
prudent to understand and apply the ten principles that are outlined in this
book. These are 17 Success Principles These principles need to be memorised and stored in our hearts so that success can be achieved as if we are walking in a plain land. They can be used as indicators that measure where we are and where we are heading and the intentions and goodwill have to be present so that they can be achieved one by one. You can't have one or the other but you have to combine all of them as ingredients in a meal that is superb and healthy. All these need to be also combined with the seven virtues that are Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance, Justice, Faith, Hope and Charity. CONCLUSION The tools provided here are real and can change life definitely with one blink of action. More so in Africa where we cant compare it with America the land of opportunity as it is referred in the press.. Real Magic Creating Miracles in Everyday Life LESSONS LEARNT FROM THIS BOOK Having a Purposeful Life The book has provided breakthrough in terms of reminding us that we can affect the world situation if everyone of us can live a purposeful life. We won't be seeing the war and destruction of Iraq and other many countries if we tapped the resource within us. The first view of the book can make one dismiss the book as an illusion that has come to justify the existence of the world problems. But a deeper interest and review of the book reminds one of the things we should have been aware since we set foot on this world. The challenge then is for mankind (women included) to go within themselves and tap the resource that exist in their spiritual word and manifest it in their outside world. Youth especially are the ones that should be educated to be purposeful and influence the politics of the world and provide solutions that are desperately needed by tapping into ourselves. Spiritual Beings/Revolution This is where the 'World Bank' of humanity exists. The moment human beings realise that the don't need to look anywhere else for solutions to their lives, then the world will shift radically to something totally different and empowering. Many things are manifested in the spiritual realm of human beings. Dr.Dyer talks about the many pictures one visualises in the mind and the temporally inability to transfer the to our physical world. At the spiritual level there are no impossibilities as opposed to the physical world. This is true revelation that should be reminded often. The question that begs here is that, why is it not possible for us to manifest miracles in the physical world? The spiritual world has all the positive things one can imagine, peace, love, prosperity, harmony, healthy, unending possibilities etc. Why why is it so hard for us to tap into this resource and enjoy our physical life? Revolution here is needed here so that there is a radical shift from those false images you lay trust upon. The secret here is that everything is possible if you set your mind to it period. Unfortunately all we can afford to do all the times until we sleep is to whine, complain and curse. Those pictures/images we treasure in the mind can be transferred to reality. The pictures need to be made real by believing them and consulting them daily for guidance on what you want. A word of caution though, as spiritual beings we should avoid having mere wishes in our thoughts. Reason, we will start complaining and whining for wanting the wishes to come true instead of working hard to realise them. The Big Lie We should be able take charge of our personality and decide to do away with any kind of fear and affirm to ourselves what kind of habits, customs, levels of confidence and intellectual abilities we would like to have. We need to decide what kind of person we would like to become and that decision ultimately lies within ourselves. These have to be married with having a purposeful life and engrained in our thoughts then finally transfer it to our physical lives. Healing Miracles We need to once and for all and even for the sake of us to look and analyse the roots of ill heath. Yes I agree that sometimes there are those who are sick for various reasons and they need to tap into the inner power that can heal themselves in an extraordinary manner. Borrowing from the book and Dr.Dyer life experience in working with patients there's a possibility of a person himself or herself and become the miracle decided. It ties down to what kind of person you will like to be if as an example you are suffering from cancer. Do you want to look frail, withdrawn, feeble, no appetite etc? This can be able to guide you as you commit to change how your feeling as a person and its success can be applied in other areas of life. CONCLUSION Sometimes I have looked for happiness outside myself and learnt a vital lesson that without finding it in you, you can be able to radiate it to those you love and even strangers. I must repeat this affirmation here; 'everything that you need to know is inside you.' I didn't find anything that I didn't like or that wasn't useful in fact the book has trained me and challenged me to improve and look keenly inward and then decide what I want to be and do. I also need to radiate that what I have learnt to the outside world in order for me to influence it and not the other way round. I need to remember that I was placed here to accomplish a certain task and that needs to be the driving force that guides and teaches me the way. Finally I need to be ready always to learn new things, as this is the only way the teacher will appear in my life. I will be a student always. You'll See It When You Believe It As if it really happing all the time but until I read the book 'You'll see it when you believe it' by Dr. Wayne W Dyer The book tackles very real issues of transforming our life and adopting a positive attitude towards the development of our mind. Indeed your transformation is all about adopting a new attitude as putted by the writer in his preamble of chapter one of the book 'transformation is the ability and willingness to live beyond your form.' Just as I mentioned when assessing the book Giant Step, had it not been a personal transformation, I could not have taken that bold steps in securing the project with the Association of Global Citizens a subsidiary of World Assembly of Citizens Because I have for a long time hold the perception of inferiority and not-to-do-with, my way of doing things remain limited until that moment of transformation which led me clear the talisman of negative perception in my way of thinking. You'll see it when you believe it and the personal experience shared by the writer on how he left lecturing at the university to carry on with his own dream brings back into memory when I took such a risk decision some two years ago. I was working as a public relationship officer at the Ghana Telecommunication Limited, very successful and energetic and well admire by all due to my effort in turning the corporate image to the acceptable of management but meanwhile I have a dream of settling on my own since I have a long term dream of working in the area of humanity and helping young people to make an informed decision. I intend discussion my decision with my family but upon second thought, I rescind my decision and kept analysising why I wanted to do this, I asked myself series of question until finally I told my family of it. But unlike Dr. Dyer, I was discourage by almost all those I informed on my intension but having a dream and risking for it, enables you to become very successful. I finally walked into the office of the head of human resource department not to seek information but actually going to hand over me resignation letter, the woman became very disappointed and advised me of my decision, what interested me most of the was I told her, I have finally decided because I have thought of all that you had said. Upon resigning from Ghana Telecom, I faced different challenges in my new endeavour but now I'm laughing even though I'm not yet financially independent but I believed my transformation is no different from the writer's story. The words 'you'll see it when you believe it' drifted my thoughts as concluded, I feel such an inner sense of joy at honoring and encouraging this part of me, as I'm now seen everywhere working and lobbying for the right of the child and advocating for youth development and involvement in decision-making in national and international platforms. I was attach to the belief that I'm nobody and nothing seems to be working for me, in fact I declared myself useless just waiting for the lord to call me home until that transformation came when I took a bold steps in living beyond my form. In summary, it is recommended that we should continue to live beyond our form to mastermind our transformation. Living beyond our forms, enables a step in successful living Illusions: The Adventure of a Reluctant Messiah Introduction As I was perusing through the pages of the Illusions, three perspectives
quickly crossed my mind. They are as follows: - Imaginations (faith),
Curiosity and Imaginations Imaginations are an important component of our lives, although little has been done to tap this mysterious potential. I am drawn to the Success through a Positive Mind Attitude by Napoleon Hill that states that one can use his/her mind to produce the results desired. This is also true to imaginations but not if they are wished away. Instead they should be translated into practice by constantly working on them. Practice makes perfect as it has been said before. Imaginations alone cannot complete the picture or bring about the desired results. The secret lies in translating and transferring those imaginations into our daily activities. Most at times I have been dismissing my imaginations and not wanting to imagine of things, places what have you. By through this book I have learnt that one imagination is a true amazing asset one has to change ones life. The need to overcome fear and use the imagination to create any kind of live or success is available within me and everyone else. Curiosity Its disheartening to hear a common adage being used to lock people in a box, reason ìcuriosity killed the catî This should be discouraged at as soonest since it translates to mean that no matter what how aware you are it should stop at that. If I look back at my own experiences, without curiosity I would be just another looser. I sometimes think am obsessed with any new information that comes my way. I have to look at it found out if there is anything interesting and use that , anything contrary to that a leave out. With this kind of experience, I have noticed that itís easy to identify a good thing or relevant information just by a mere glance. Take an instance of how I enrolled to the Global Leadership Institute. If I hadnít been curious then, I wonít have dug up any information about the institute. Persecution We fear being unique, miraculous, successful, healthy, rich and even heroic for the fear of being persecuted. I have gone through these and it has been a challenge. I can go to a meeting and find out that am the only one who has a different view or argument of a certain issue that is being discussed. I fear to raise it up for fear of being wished away or something else. I have learnt that this should not worry me since as a ìmessiahî I have to stand out and proclaim what I know and even working for me. Thatís the only way that others may be wiling to learn and become true ìmessiahsî not to the world but to themselves ñ by believing in the Self and the potential that waits impatiently to be unleashed. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success Introduction Lessons learnt Potential and Purpose Over the years I have promised myself that I need to tap my potential since my purpose is very clear. However in the process I have experienced fear not knowing how I will be. I ask myself, ìwhat if I become totally different? How will I relate to my family, my colleagues and work mates?î Then I discover that fear drives us out and make us miss an opportunities. The driving desire I have developed is to be the best I can be no matter what. Itís opposite to the ìmessiahî who feared to use his potential for fear of being persecuted. Giving and Receiving Acceptance I am reminded of the youth congress I attended last year (2003) in Morocco. The theme of the congress was 'tolerance, solidarity and sustainable development'. There were approximately 1000 delegates from all over the world inclusive of the ones in Morocco. We are all aware that our brothers/sisters in Palestine and Israel don't get along very well for reason they understand better. It was a disappointing moment considering even the theme of the congress that some of them disagreed and fought. What shocks me about this scenario is that these are young people and still carry hatred towards each other. Who will bring peace if they can't bring the long needed change across their common | |
