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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 borders? One thing that they didnít embrace was that they needed to accept each other no matter what differences they had since differences are not always permanent. Notes from a Friend by Anthony Robbins Introductions The book can be classified as a pocket book that can be used for two purposes: - for reflection and for reference as one goes around with his /her duties in life. It reminds me of the many points I came across Level 1. Vision and purpose are very important for one to lead a purposeful life. However this has to be broken down to goals that are realistic and can be achieved daily or little by little and are in tandem with the vision. Conclusion I remember I commented deeply on the Awaken the Giant Within during my Level 1 studies and I feel that I should pause here. I do not want to repeat what I commented. I want to use this opportunity and say that all the potential lies within us and am aware of that. But I constantly need to tap that potential and utilise it for me and for humanity. That I should never doubt myself but to constantly thrive to learn a new thing everyday about myself. To finish, I would like to echo what the author said in this book - "the past does not equal the future". You’ll See It When You Believe It Introduction He has discussed many important topics some of them I would want to draw their similarity with Deepak Chopra book on the Seven Spiritual Laws. These are Detachment, Synchronity and Abundance. This shows that the authors speak in one language although from various and different perspectives. This to a student is vital not for the sake of comparing the authors but to understand deeply the fullness of embracing workable principles that are taught. Therefore I will limit myself to two main lessons I have learnt from the book. These are:- Transformation Why all this? I personally find it valuable for young people to be guided to discover who they really are and what they can accomplish given the right training, mentorship and exposure. This has worked well with several young people although others are shying form it. I must note from experience that its easier for most of us to conform to the world instead of purely and gently transforming the world by beginning with ourselves. Discovering transformation has sparked in me this question that I have started asking daily, “What potential do I possess that can make me successful?” It has made me to do my best of what I love to do and it has worked. And now I feel like writing and speaking to others that are in need of motivation and for them to “see it when they believe it” as the author continuously hammered home. Forgiveness The author has presented in the book one paradox “that what you fight weakens you and that what you cherish or love strengthens you”. He bought out three negative actions that will weaken us and make us defective or rusty. These can be stated easily as revenge, judgment, and blame. As I grew in my teen life staying with my parents who both struggled daily to make ends meet, I remember wasting time and energy blaming them for the situation we were at that time and judging their actions. Little did I know that I could be a lot freer if I accepted them for who they were and used that to propel me. The author therefore is not alone in blaming his father he never saw. It is liberating to stop judging, blaming hating and the likes and open to another possibility that has never been imagined. To use my energy to what can make me happy and successful. Conclusion The Little Book of Letting Go This book talks about what can also be referred as detachment through out i.e. from the start to the end. It was challenging to read the book and I must admit that the flow of the book was difficult to follow through. Or I can say that there was too much friction that prevented me from enjoying the book. One thing is clear though that as an individual there are several things that I need to detach myself from. These include misery, perfection, and prediction among others. In some of my assessments in Level Two I have commented about detachment and I want to restrain from repeating myself. Similar books I have read that talk about detachment are; You’ll See It when You Believe It by Wayne Dyer and The Seven Spiritual Laws by Deepak Chopra. Otherwise the book was fair in terms of it applications and exercises that it provided. Succeed and Grow Rich through Persuasion INTRODUCTION LESSONS Lesson 1: Prayer & Meditation Prayer and meditation provides guidance and enables one to tap that potential in the mind to provide solutions to any problems. I have tried practical meditation and I must admit that its not easy the first stages where you feel that you are heading nowhere. To overcome this I have learnt that I need total commitment and concentration from me so that I can enjoy the full benefits of the superior keys. Lesson 2: Applied Faith Personally this lesson has worked for me wonders. The whole of November I didn’t have a cell phone since the one I had developed some problems. I was out of touch from some of my daily activities. Then I had to apply the principle of detachment advocated by both Dr.Dyer and Dr.Chopra. One week to this month (December), I started telling my mind repeatedly that I wanted a phone, the rest is history for I have another phone now. Lesson 3: Master Salesman On 26th – 27th November, the Civil Society in Kenya organized the Kenya Social Forum, a replica of the World Social Forum (WSF). I happen to be affiliated to one of the human rights organizations that exhibited. This organization was selling human rights education materials and when I was given an opportunity I didn’t hesitate. When a customer came I would be bale to talk to him/her and convince them to buy the materials. I must admit that this worked out very well, I was even surprised by myself. Infact it went further than that since among the customers I was able to make new friends. There was a proposal from one of the friends I made to form a mastermind alliance for a strong and vibrant youth movement in Kenya since the youth have been marginalised from mainstream politics and national agenda. This is a big challenge I have to admit. Lesson 4: A Role Model or Symbol I have understood that young people have a lot of people in the world they admire as their role models. The only challenge that remains is for us from either by studying their works and if possible met them in their world. This calls for local role models to be identified and emulated. It will be inexpensive to meet them or learn from them since they are not far away. This doesn’t mean that international role models should be disregarded, but they should be both complemented with local ones learning from their experiences. Creating Money; Keys to Abundance 1. Discuss the main ideas that you found most important in this book and discuss why they were important to you. As I was going through the book, I came across the following points that I found useful and that can be easily applied in my life. The points are in italics and in red. If you are forcing yourself to do something, working at a job out of obligation or spending money because you feel you have to, you are not listening to your inner guidance. The aspect of doing what I love is important provided it is guided by my inner voice. It is boring to do anything for the sake of it, one’s happiness is vital to feel successful. If you are not happy with what you have created so far, you can learn to make different choices and change your life into one that brings you joy, aliveness, or whatever else you want. You cannot change the future except by actions you take today, so focus on what you can do today to create prosperity. Each day I live is important remembering that I have one life to live. My past has taught me important lessons that were not by coincidence but those that were guided by what I did each day. In the same spirit all my future depends on the behaviors that I practice everyday. Success comes from feeling successful in the present; it is not something you may feel someday when you have reached a goal or have something you want. I am reminded that success is doesn’t not come when you have something at hand. Success is how I feel at any given particular moment regardless of the situation before me. Realizing this will make it easy for me to achieve what I want without compromising my feelings. Indulge in unlimited thinking and expand your imagination of what is possible for you to have. The art of thinking creatively is so powerful that it makes one realize how easy it is to achieve any goal(s). We normally desire a lot of things in our lives; the interesting part is that we don’t want to imagine ourselves having what we desire. We are in other words good in wishful thinking. Our thinking therefore has to be guided and negative thoughts weeded out and in its place plant thoughts that are healthy. Nothing is ever wasted experience; even a routine job will teach you lessons you need to learn. Every aspect of our lives has lessons some which are painful and others that are fruitful. All in all each of that part of our lives no matter how it manifests, it teaches us a lesson(s) which is instrumental to either change our way of live or on how to use a certain skill for ones good and the society’s. For every part of you that is afraid there is also a part that knows you can succeed. Here I will use Napoleon Hill words which are similar to this point, “every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit”. What am getting from these two points is that there is an opposite of anything we feel or do. It is for us to realize that and use to the best of our advantage. Normally we focus our thoughts on the negative part of everything. Our thoughts are those of “what if something wrong happens, what if I fail, what if …………” If you resolve to think about money only when you feel confident and peaceful, you can increase your magnetism to what you want. I find this to be so powerful, the author in a way caught me flat footed. I think about money only when I feel vulnerable or when my guard is down. It is rare for me to think about money when at peace either within or outside. This is because am so concerned about the outside and not what goes on within me. Every time you are willing to take a risk you increase your ability to trust and believe in yourself. Risk taking is seen as an expensive undertaking that maybe requires insurance for you in order to take it. In as much as I admire this point, I personally try as much as possible to reduce risks in my life. Provided you feel joyful about that particular risk it its appropriate you go through it. When you ask for something that is way beyond what you have now, such as an enormous increase in your prosperity, it may take a while to come so that you can be prepared to handle it. This means that the bigger the goal, the larger the step and it will take time definitely to have what you want. That why the beginning of the book encourages the magnetism of small things that if you master that you can then move to a bigger goal. In other words you can have a big vision and to be able to realize that you first start by taking small steps. Don’t discard your fantasies as merely wishful thinking. Honor them as messages from the deepest part of your being about what you can do and directions you can chose. Any thought that comes to my mind is important and I should be keen to learn what it is trying to communicate to me. They can act as guide to show you direction or offer you clarity in whatever you are trying to achieve. Know that there is no one else in the world who is going to do your work exactly as you do it. I am unique in this world and I have a different role to play. If I don’t do what am supposed to do in this life then I will have failed on my duties of being me and performing me. 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? Explain. As I grew up and went to school, I was wondering if live was really interesting. I wondered why the teachers were ever insisting that we should take our studies seriously so that we can be successful in life. This is the only medicine that was pumped to our systems every day of school life. I wondered if there were other areas that had been ignored only to be shocked by what I found out. This didn’t stop there, back home my parents would substitute roles with the teacher and they monitored by studies at home. If I was seen drawing or imitating a radio presenter, I was chided that I won’t make in life. In the community where I was raised up viewed financial success as evil, not well deserved and that some unorthodox means were used to acquire wealth. The concept of working harder followed. Bikundo for this and that to happen you have to work hard, be submissive; don’t ask questions do as you are told etc. I now find myself fighting for personal freedom to cleanse myself this poison that I willingly allowed to pass through my throat. I have fond memories about my childhood and what I remember most is that I was a stubborn boy. In other words you could have easily labeled me a rebel without a cause! I never liked to stay in one place, dint like to be ordered around, pursued what I believed in. That spirit disappeared after I voluntary continued to drink the upbringing poison. I now find myself forcing myself to do things or jobs and funny enough to earn an income. I have locked safely my dreams, desires and joy until the right time comes. If there are goals I have been pursuing, they have been reluctantly followed. I thought that a job was a job and it didn’t matter whether my heart is there or not. Instead go after the money, don’t think or ask where it is coming from. Personal success was measured by what I had or how much money I could make at a particular time or even if I was in top of my class. It didn’t matter what my feeling were, what I was thinking was not relevant. At the end of the years I have been conditioned to conform to the world. I have been caged in a self constructed prison and thrown the keys to the ocean. The authors have opened my mind towards creating wealth and not just about making money only. It is like I have been given a chance to examine my past thoughts and feelings about money. I am happy to learn that success is not an outcome of a certain attempt but rather a peaceful feeling inside. I am now more focused on my relationships with myself, my fiancée and my other family members. Sometimes I easily realize how easy it is to argue endlessly for the sake of supremacy. However as I take small steps to address this situation and gain results, the more confident I am on other parts of my life. It is easier for me to change how I feel inside first before I rush to change my environment. A recent episode clearly demonstrates this; a lady friend of mine who lives almost 120 miles from where I stay had some problems with her ex-boyfriend. She wrote my several short messages through her mobile phone. She now had given up on getting another boyfriend since the ex said something to the effect that she won’t find any one to lover her. She was so hurt and at that moment didn’t have anything to tell her. As I was still meditating through her issue, a thought occurred to me, “joy comes from within and not outside. If you are having difficulties or challenges with your outside world, it is vital you examine yourself. If we want to change the world, we have to change how we feel inside”. This is what I precisely communicated to her. From the on she has developed personal joy that is radiated from her inside. Another part of my life that has received a boost from the teaching of Sanaya and Duane is on my life goals. I remember in Level 3 I developed 7 goals that I wish to pursue in the areas of education, financial success and marrying among others. I wish I had read this book before I made the goals. All is not lost since my goals are flexible and the insight I have received so far will be of additional value to developing them further. She clearly insists that I should avoid doing that which doesn’t not please me. She further observes the importance of following my joy in feeling and achieving success. Now I must say that this felt like she was speaking to me. From the way I have observed and examined myself after reading this book, I have discovered that most of what I doesn’t make me feel joyful. I still have a lot of work to do in breaking those socialization principles on money that I gained from childhood. I am also glad that we have started a new year (2006) since most of my resolutions will be based on the teachings of this book. From the way I have examined myself, it is like I have been living the life of the world and not my own. I had in a way forgotten about my goals and started pursuing the world goals. I have just discovered that I have passed through a lot of opportunities and that was that. Interesting a thought flowed through my mind,” if I am looking for a job I wont find, however I must be willing to create a job to find a job”. I guess this come after years of being ‘unemployed’. 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. The actions I take today can affect my future. Every step I take today will have an effect on tomorrow. My future is affected by what I do daily whether willingly or unconsciously. This therefore calls for a sober presence to take control of my life and guide it where I want. Life is not a rehearsal and that means to me that I should have influence in my life on how I feel, think, talk and act. Fantasies are important as the guide me. Everyday I have my own thoughts or dreams that take me to either a fantastic place or to some areas that are fearful. There is need for me to listen carefully to this feelings or thoughts since they try to communicate to me. There is need for me to listen to my body and deeper thoughts or what they are trying to communicate to me. Success if not derived from material possessions. I should not wait to hold something in my hand or to have an impressive savings account to be able to feel confident or successful. I can feel successful anytime I feel like, whether am going through a difficult time or am having a fun filled week. My health, how I feel, how I relate to others, what I eat etc are components of feeling successful. In other words, when I look at myself am a success story already because I have chosen to feel so. That am unique and there is no one who can do what I can do. I am one person who has a special mission on earth and I have to complete it before I return to my spirit state. What I do is totally unique and no one else can do what I say, speak as I speak, love as I love, rejoice as I do and so many other things. That risk enables one to be confident. I am looking at this in the positive light. It is very easy for me to risk something in order to avoid pain. I cannot do the same thing when it comes to risking gaining happiness or success. I have risked for the wrong reasons. It is time that I should feel confident and one of achieving that is risking sometimes even if the road ahead is not very clear. Through that I will begin to trust and feel confident about any situation I face. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? It has totally affected my thinking especially in stopping to complain about finances. I have learnt so much about how to create finances without feeling shy or guilty about it. The authors have further challenged me to do what I love to create money and stop finding excuses in doing jobs that are not self motivating or fulfilling. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? None. It was a great book.
That it is important to listen to my inner guidance and avoiding do things for the sake of it or which I reluctantly feel about. And further that I don’t need anything to feel successful, it is already there and I should start acknowledging it. 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. The book was enabling me to understand myself and the fears and values I have had about money and success. This is one of wonderful book I have ever read about finances, the authors go beyond the aspect of money by exploring the inhibitions that we have developed about money and the fear we have conditioned in ourselves about success. After taking you through discovering those roadblocks they go further to assist you change your mindset. Money is My Friend; 1. Discuss the main ideas that you found most important in this book and discuss why they were important to you. Five popular myths about money. About working hard, education, the right job that you can’t be paid while enjoying yourself and lastly that there isn’t enough money to go round. Through out history mankind has developed myths that tend to show who can be successful and how one can be successful using what means. What this has done instead of motivating people it has instead excuses for them and enabled them to live a life that is based on fear. All this myths apply to most countries of the world. They have been practiced overtime and their usage has become a daily occurrence. It is in fact easier to find this words used subconsciously by teachers, students, doctors and others. We have found an excuse of being unhappy and for completely failing that which we were created to do. This augurs with what Anthony Robbins said in his book Awaken the Giant Within, that we can come with my excuses in our lives of why we are unhappy and yet crack our heads searching for reasons of why you can be happy. If two people agree on everything, you can be sure that one of them is doing all the thinking. The context this statement use in the book is interesting. The author doesn’t support the idea of having a joint account since this will be turned into a competition to
see who will spend his/her money fast. According to my understanding based on relationships, both partners should be involved and actively participate in any plans of
finances since they affect both. There is need to talk to each other as opposed to the other common habit of talking to the other. I can further add that money is not a one persons business and involves a lot of people. This therefore calls for love and activeness so that a money disagreement cannot be turned into a battle zone. This happens when one party sees that it’s only them who deserve money and not the other. Your life is ordered by your thoughts. The thinker and the prover. As observed in the previous book of Creating Wealth, thoughts play a crucial role in being financially successful. Not only in finance but also in other areas of life. There is therefore need to store only those thoughts that empower us to create money and success based on our own happiness. This in turn will automatically have an impact on all humanity. The author has listed very well the two elements in our minds, the thinker and doer. The doer will only prove what the thinker has thought and the result has to be in tandem with the thought. This to me clearly means all the actions that I have taken were planted to my mind by my thinking. If I therefore have narrow thinking, the results will be narrow. The five biggies/inhibitors of the human mind; the birth experience, parental disapproval syndrome, specific negatives, unconscious death urge and other lifetimes. I like the way Phil has categorized some of the greatest inhibitors to the human mind. Starting from infancy there is a problem each and everyone suffered and this has had an effect on our actions. We have grown as a result of fear and this has been difficult to erase from our mind. Our socialization has also had a great role in that it has made us what we are today, whether we choose to accept this or not. The one that is come and can virtually apply to all our lives is the parental disapproval syndrome. It has be the tradition now to see children accepting everything the parents tell them. The worst part is that I have seen friends who end up pursuing their parent’s career. Fear of death on the hand is the other problem that doesn’t have a replacement soon. We all have come to view death as a thief who has come to take what doesn’t belong to him. The mere thought of it can drive one insane by the simple fact that one doesn’t need material possession in the spiritual world. An individual’s life is an expression of his purpose and goals whether these are consciously or unconsciously chosen. What makes us are our thoughts and what comes out of them are actions that are either intended or not to fulfill who you are. What we do says many things about us as compared by what we say. It is easily said that a man/woman will be better remembered long after his/her death by the actions exhibited during lifetime than words spoken. Even if you spoke a million words and did ten actions, it is the actions which will be better remembered. 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? Explain. The issue of money has been easily related to my upbringing and what I saw said, thought or done about money. I was taught that money was had to come by and I had to spend each penny I had with 100% care. My mind was also implanted the notion that money was and is the root of all evil. In other words, I should tread careful with money since it is the most negative invention to be created by man. The sounds of work hard sounded so sweet that I believed that life will be so smooth. If only working hard meant I would be finically successful, why not embrace this ancient philosophy. Little did I know that there is more required apart from working hard. When we elected a new Kenyan president back in 2002 during the General Elections, there he was in his inaugural speech talking about working hard! I am now supposed to work hard in every area of my live, be it in any job I do, in my relationships and also in campus. I have honestly been unable to make headway with this philosophy; it has refused to secure my financial independence. Breaking it from my thoughts is not easy since I find myself struggling daily to replace this condition. If only working hard is all that mattered, my life would have been different today. Really, when I look at how much I have given to facilitate community development in my estate, it pains me that am still far from achieving full development. What has also driven me to the wall are the fears I have in almost everything and especially about job security. If I did a job that was not joyful to me, was not paying me well and I told my friends or parents – they would just tell me to ignore those foolish excuses and focus on the job. It didn’t matter if I hated the job or not, in the words of the friends and family they tended to say any job is better than no job. Fear is the greatest obstacle I have even when it comes to pursuing my goals. It makes me afraid of speaking my mind sometimes. I have very nice goals that look magnificent to be achieved but I sometimes find myself reluctantly following through. Half of me is upbeat about the goals and the other not willing. In fact, I know deep in my heart that by overcoming fear I will be in a much better position to succeed on virtually everything I focus on. But no, this doesn’t come easily and it is not easy to lay a finger at a particular area and say eureka! Phil has talked from a personal experience and to me his thoughts are relevant for today’s leaders including me. He has outlined very well that financial success starts from the mind. Throughout his book, he has reminded me the importance of philosophy and why I should understand my thoughts. I like his four laws of wealth and mostly on the one on investment. The author has challenged me like a mentor that I should do something more about my financial life especially on the Investment Law. I agree that I should stop postponing buying securities and decide now and go for it. I have to stop waiting for my money to be enough. The decision lies on me and not anyone else. By learning to take risks then I will be able to trust myself. I posses qualities that can facilitate my personal growth that includes financial success. I am reminded that my denial life has ended and its place is a force that is powerful and can drive a space rocket. I have to be so intense on what I focus on, the wishful thoughts that seem to lead my life should henceforth stop. To be financially successful I need to stop coming up with funny excuses that tend to demoralize me as I think about money. Money is not my enemy anymore but a trusted companion who facilitates my life. Wherever I go and whatever I do money will always be there read to be used. For me to feel financially confident I should stop abusing money, to only use it to achieve my higher purpose. The personal thought of thinking that money is everything has evaporated from my mind. My words and actions need to stem from the purpose of my life. Money now has stopped being a number one priority in my life. I will first and foremost pursue my personal actualization and money will be part of it. I have discovered that I can create money anytime, anywhere when I decide to. This can be through many ways; doing what I love best and willingly receiving from others who want to bless my life. Another important part I found the thoughts of the book relevant is on my life goal 4: to be financially stable by January 2007. It takes more than the written word to
achieve set goals. Small steps like savings can be an important strategy for preparing to buy something or invest elsewhere. The little thoughts of opening separate
accounts were brilliant. For me funny enough I have only one account that is ‘one stop’. This means that I keep all money in it, be it college fees, small savings, any
monthly income I get and so forth. This account doesn’t not make it easy for me to know what am saving for. I don’t have a particular purpose for it, in other words it’s
multipurpose. This realization has challenged me to open several accounts like two for a start. Not just for another rainy day but for a lifetime purpose. 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. Five popular myths about money. I find this to be totally confounding. You can see me putting both of my hands on the head. If only I knew this some years ago, I perhaps would have a different kind of life. I am totally liberated from basing my financial life in myths that I now call excuses. If I become frustrated and am trying to find an easy to route to throw in an excuse, then I think these myths would find a store in my life. If two people agree on everything, you can be sure that one of them is doing all the thinking. It is boring to think alone especially when it comes to gaining financial success. There is need to talk to other people who have been successful or who have followed the same path like me. The five biggie’s inhibitors. The biggie or inhibitor about birth experience sounds well researched and I tend to agree with the author that here is where success issues start and needs to be challenged. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? The book has lived to its word or title that money is my friend. I have discovered that in all my handling of money I have become successful in abusing money instead of treating it well. I have also found out that I have almost accepted that money is everything and it can take me where I want. I have been able now to evaluate my thoughts and value about money. I have realized that the better I treat money, the easy it is going to find its way to my pocket. The last aspect that challenged me is the issue of opening separate savings account, each for a particular purpose. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? There is one idea only that I don not agree with and this on the discouragement by the author to hold joint saving account with your spouse. To me I look at it differently although it might not be easy to manage it. With the right consultation and having agreements then I don’t see any problem in having and managing a joint account. This can vary and can’t be used as a general rule to apply for everyone. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? The part on the Investing Law especially on securities was well researched and was really challenging since it is an area am seriously considering in venturing into. 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. The book intends to show how to create and treat money by overcoming the myths that we might have heard about money during our upbringing. It also shows the importance of investment and why it should be taken seriously. Please Rate this book on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor. A. How interesting was it to read? 5 Comments - Feel free to share any additional comments about the book or about the ratings: Money Magic: Unleashing Your True Potential for Prosperity and Fulfillment 1. Discuss the main ideas that you found most important in this book and discuss why they were important to you. This book is really wonderful and has continued to challenge me in seeking a fulfilling financial life. I was able to come across the following points that I found useful and that can be easily applied in my life. The ideas derived from the book are in italics. One of the most amazing keys to having more money comes from universal spiritual law – the greatest of these laws being to surrender to what we cannot control. Money cannot be controlled since it is both mysterious and elusive as the author has rightly put it! There is no way we can be able to own money no matter how hard we try. This is the most common trap we fall to since in all things we want to control, one of them is money. It is important to realize that money facilitates our human nature, the same as other resources that are available to us. Fulfillment is not about filling your life up with material possessions. As young people when we grow up and become mature one of our most desired dreams is to buy all the latest new furniture, electrical appliances, cutlery and what have you. We easily think that this will show our friends and colleagues that we are successful. When you get money the first easy thing that we want to show the world is that I am ‘rich’ which is actually temporarily. We end up squandering all the money we have acquired easily than the way we earned. It is come to hear among our peers when you question this habit, when they reply saying that we have only one life. Without this faith, we will not know true fulfillment, regardless of how much money we have or how many things we try to fill our lives with. We have gone an extra mile of basing our life entirely on how much we have. All our life from basic to the ‘most’ complex levels we easily agree that it is money that takes care of all of us. Actually come to think about it, we normally agree that ‘money makes the world go round’. True and satisfactory fulfillment will come from being peaceful inside, exercising faith and transforming our lives for something better. Wealth does not suddenly make personal or psychological problems disappear. In life we face a lot of challenges and one of them is how to handle the money that comes our way. It is common and easy for us to be heard saying that all our problems will be addressed by having ‘enough’ money. The contradiction to this feeling is that more and more money will expose our personal weakness and life problems that we have failed to address. We find ourselves easily using money to hide our failures and to buy love. Wealth without consciousness is but another state of poverty. Money does not guarantee happiness. Where a lot of money abounds there is a possibility that consciousness is inadequate and that we will now be operating on the basis of what is external to us. In other words the temptation to seek to control the outside world without conquering you inner self is higher. For us to be able to feel successful with whatever amount of money we have there is a genuine need to be striving for internal success first. Although we are powerless to rewrite history, we are infinitely powerful, through knowledge and creativity to reinvent the future. This statement cannot be truer!! In life we come across or go through many lessons although we rarely learn from them. Interestingly we keep on regretting this and that instead of focusing on how we can influence those learns to have a better life ahead. The closer you get to your personal truth, the closer you are to the source of life, which is limitless and available to us all. One thing that man (woman) has succeeded in doing is either distorting the truth or totally being oblivious of it! We refuse totally to listen to the voice that lives within us. As a result that voice either dies or disappears. We then move in life as the three blind mice derived from a famous childhood story. In essence few of us have discovered their purpose and the work they come to do on earth. It is no easy task to recognize that our resistance is the gateway to transformation. Fear of moving from the known – even if we don’t like our present life - into the unknown prevents us from realizing the magic and joy of being on our true path. That’s it! Resistance has become part of our lives starting from fear of changing jobs, shifting houses, getting married, retiring etc. Resistance is one of the sisters to the word fear. We tend to feel comfortable with where we are although inside we die to have a change. That does come because of the unknown and our fear to change. In fact if I was asked, I would say that resistance is our greatest obstacles in being financially successfully. Magicians embrace the inner life as the place of spiritual wealth and the outer life as the expression of enlightenment in the material world. Our joy and happiness exists in our ‘first’ world and this is where our inspiration lies. The much needed solutions are also found here because its one fountain that wont cease to exist. To be successful in the physical the journey has to start from the inside of our life and then the rest will fall into place. The possibility and potential of each individual is far greater than the sum of his or her past experiences. This is really powerful! No matter what we have gone through in our past life, there is really no need to cry about that. We have this greater power within us like a giant that is sleeping that is waiting for us to reawaken it. We can never know what power we posses until we are able to use what we have. Success of any future relationship greatly depends on resolving our own issues and clearing the way for the new relationship to evolve. Unhealed wounds, resentment, and blame are obstacles that block the flow of good into our lives. Most of us tend to grow with a lot of pain and in the process conditioned ourselves to be able to shock absorb any negativity or challenge we meet along the way. There is no short cut that we can be able to run from our past until we are able to address the pains we went through. Here is where we need to forgive our adversaries and show them love and only then can we be able to feel on top of the world. Every relationship that holds any significant value in our lives is a living energy system that needs attention, understanding, and nurturing. We take for granted many things in our lives from our family relationships, love affairs, relationships with colleagues at work and other friends. We rarely appreciate any kind of friendship that we do little to strengthen that bond or love that exists. Its time we treated everything in our live important and continue to nourish the same. To invite the power of abundance and prosperity into your life, you must first make room for it. This point is in relation with the two points above. When we fill our inner world with hate, jealous, envy and covertness, it truly puts abundance and prosperity in limbo. We have to shed the painful past so that we can create space for any new opportunity that comes our way. Our inner world is just like a computer space disk, if we fill it with unnecessarily junk, we will miss space for an important resource. True fulfillment can only be experienced internally. It is not something you can buy or acquire; it is an experience of completion and self realization. It is more a process than a destination. It is not something anyone can give you; it is something you become. Our financial success is related with our inner world as I have noted elsewhere in this assignment. We can never feel content however much money we have, if we haven’t discovered ourselves and what we stand for. In other words, what we looking for is actually inside us not out in the world. At a certain point, we realize we’ve bought a ticket to a life we no longer wish to live, and that there is no refund. As my friends continuously note, life is not a rehearsal for an upcoming show in the other ‘world’. We have to be conscious of how we live each and every step of the way based on our true feelings in our inside world. There is no such thing as a mistake when you are truly working hard toward finding your path. In life there are no failures, only results that can be changed as we continue to know ourselves. There is no way we are going to know our true purpose if we are unwilling to take the first step to find the way. If you’re trying to find your path, it will be easier to discover if you stop expecting it to be clothed with money. I must admit that this is not easy and the author didn’t deeply delve into this point. Normally there is no way we can see our live now and in the future without money. It is actually the fuel that drives our lives. It is the catalyst that propels us from this situation to the other. All this is illusion, lying to our minds! To faithfully discover our path, we have to remove the money attachment to it first. This we can’t know until we try it out! When we are on the right path, we are more likely to experience abundance and prosperity. This is more related with the above point. When we discover our path, several things are going to happen, one of them is to have fulfilled our life’s mission (fulfillment), and the other is being able to get what you deserve for you to fulfill that life mission (abundance). I think that miracles are happening all the time, all around us. They are simply waiting for us to become available to them. All we need to do is step into them with faith and surrender. Detachment to the end results is the most difficult things to do in this physical world. We are told that whatever we give out, it shall come back to us no matter what. The secret here as I discover it is that we should not be too attached to the results. I tend to admit that knowing the results of your work motivates one to move forward. I want to agree with Dr. Deepak Chopra in his book the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success that nothing is lost in the world. Whatever you give, it will surely come back. God simply loves us and wants us to follow our hearts and our path and to be happy. You can begin to transform your life by consciously planting at least a one seed every day of your life: a seed for change, creativity, love, joy, abundance, or prosperity. Following ones heart is one of the most challenging tasks I have ever come across in my life. You receive so much resistance that the easiest way out is to drop your hearts directions. I have seen bring conflict among children and their parents. Parents want to be listened to every time; they rarely listen to what their children are saying. The secret to start breaking this is by starting to achieve small life goals, like showing love, appreciating our family, friends and others. Praying daily is the best way to nourish your soul, your life, and your relationship to Spirit. Spirituality is truly a personal issue, all the same we need time for ourselves to meditate, pray and seek inner guidance. We rarely have private time with ourselves to think, evaluate our actions and seek for decisions to challenges that we come through. As I said above our solutions lie inside us, in our spiritual world. We must use the gifts we’ve been given – creativity, imagination, consciousness, and free will – to grow into the fullness of our being. Each and every one of us was given creativity, imagination, consciousness and free will. What we fail to do is to utilize this to fit into our lives. I agree that levels of this attributes might vary from one person to another. However if we haven’t tried them out, it will really be impossible for us to know who we are and what we stand for. 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? Explain. As I read through this book I felt like the author (Deborah) was speaking directly to me. She has reminded me first of the many wake up calls I have encountered in my life and done nothing about it. I have totally assumed most of the lessons I have learnt in the wake up calls. There have been many instances where I have felt to do what I really love, but by fearing that it doesn’t have money has instead deviated my original purpose severally. I think because of societal expectations of me and others to do things a certain way, behave ‘properly’ etc, has denied me a chance to discover who I really am. I tended to think that’s part of life, that there are times you feel like quitting but latter to feel that is a ‘passing’ wave fit to be ignored. Our human history is filled with money success. That no matter what you achieve, if it doesn’t have a money attached to it, it not worthwhile putting your effort there. From our basic school education it has been easy to get trapped in the money game. And when the great break comes as a result of a wake up call, I am deep asleep to my situation. The 10 exercises in the book have made me realized that my past and the values I acquired have affected my money situation. This is as a result of seeing my parents handling money and where money was supposedly the source of all our happiness. It has also made me catch myself justifying those many beliefs about money like: - * Money is the root of all evil Instead of giving me joy the beliefs have continued to work to my disadvantage since I have failed to realize that I can never be able be happy until I evaluate my spirit. Its also shows that I have been caught in the trap laid in the world that tends to state either you play with us or you disintegrate into pieces. I have discovered that there is no way am going to be successful if I am unwilling to address my past, to let go what needs to be released, to forgive those who might have rubbed me the wrong way, to show love to myself and others, to appreciate my family, colleagues and others. The author has exposed me to what she calls the 8 money types. These are the • Innocent, Victim As I started through the exercise to know which type I am, I was filled with a certain fear first. At first thought that I was an Innocent type – the ones who have the characters of trusting, happy go lucky, indecisive, fearful/anxious, financially dependent, non - confrontational, feel powerless, repress feelings & beliefs and seeks security. How wrong I was!!! This I realized after taking a short break and proceeding with the exercise. My, what I discovered was really hard hitting, totally exhilarating!!! I
was a Martyr, can anyone believe that? The Martyr had the characters of controlling, manipulative, long suffering, and secretive, caretaker, self sacrificing, and
disappointed, critical & judgmental, perfectionist, resentful, passive – aggressive, compassionate and wise. Although this doesn’t mean that I have all the characters
listed here, I was really dumbfounded. I realize the character is true since I have been denying myself for the sake of others. I do rarely take care of myself and this
was evident since my childhood days. As I grew with my siblings it was rare for me to go to a fight if one of them wore my favorite shoes or trouser. What I did instead
was to tell them to have it for good!! The good thing is that the author would want me to aspire to be a money magician since I have few magician characters. These are
trusting, compassionate, optimistic, confident and generous. As I can see am on my way to Damascus, sorry to being a money magician. In conclusion to this section, there is one great thought that occurred to my mind; my spiritual and purpose in life. I realized for the first time how important this
was. As I evaluated my self there are various expressions that have flashed through my mind like; teacher, facilitator, work with young people, mentorship and
socialization. It has made me realize that my true purpose in life as I wrote it down as follows, “My path and purpose in life is to work with young people. I want to achieve this through offering personal coaching services to young people who want to make a
difference in the world. It doesn’t matter if am going to get money as a result of pursuing it, but am more concerned about the fulfillment I will get”. I know understand why Mike you had to quit your job and establish the Global Leadership. It has really to do with your purpose in life and you have truly inspired many. 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. The 8 Money Types The Lesson of Wake Up Calls The Importance of Faith The Path and Purpose 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? It has blown my comfort zones away and through it am confident that now I am more aware of my purpose than ever. And I will test the path by try it out since there is no better way that testing every new thought. I am totally without words for being so lucky to discover what I have come across in the book. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? None. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? That all success in finance, relationships, work, purpose starts in the inner part which we have ignored for long. Success is not very far from us and unless we
discover that material wealth won’t bring us joy into our life since it is temporarily. We need to aspire that which is long lasting long love, peace, appreciation and
harmony. 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. It was journey to the spiritual world to discover the inhibitions that one possesses that blocks him/her from realizing a true fulfilling and prosperous life. Please Rate this book on a scale from 1 to 10. A. How interesting was it to read? 10 Comments - Feel free to share any additional comments about the book or about the ratings: The author has used practical tips and tools to easily enable a reader discover the true purpose and their beliefs about money. She has a knack of humor that makes it easy for one to grasp the contents. It is actually an easy book to use by virtually anyone. The Soul of Money 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. For some, the chronic absence of money becomes an excuse they use for being less resourceful, productive, or responsible than they could be - the author started by first defining the soul - that inner part that describes who we are truly are, where money is seen as a flow that is supposed to manifest our good to the physical world. For me I have continuously repeated to myself and others that I don't work because of money. Or rather, money is not the first achievement I get when I work. Since I left high school, money was never my main motivating factor; rather it was the joy I felt when I did what I loved. I have worked with different people and many issues that surround money affect them. They then easily use many excuses to be less productive in their work places. They steal their employers' time. When I challenge them to do something about their dissatisfaction, they make even more excuses. I have come to find this as normal and accepted that people work for money and they therefore don't feel resourceful because the have been “salary tagged”. I have fallen into this trap myself and I have come to learn that we think that money alone can meet all our needs. Right now am not working or better am not employed. Yet I have ideas that can be used to making something better. It has been so easy to complain and cry that because I have no money or have any income, why should I bother to use my ideas for something. In response I am running an entrepreneur project that trains youth to write business plans. It may not be much but am making a difference with the skills I have. Your relationship with money can be a place where you bring your strengths and skills, your highest aspirations, and your deepest and most profound qualities When we're in the domain of soul, we act with integrity. We are thoughtful and generous, allowing, courageous, and committed. We recognize the value of love and friendship. We admire a small thing well done. We experience moments of awe in the presence of nature and its unrefined beauty. We are open, vulnerable, and heartful. We have the capacity to be moved, and generosity is natural. We are trustworthy and trusting others and our self-expression flourishes. We feel at peace within ourselves and confidant that we are an integral part of a larger, more universal experience, something greater than ourselves - the author has challenged me to think from the soul when dealing with money. To be true to the self, who am I. in this life, it actually competition with who has what and how much more money do I have. I have seen what the pursuit of more money has done. We have believed that more is better, not for everyone but for me. In this pursuit we create jealous, covertness and hatred therefore blocking our souls from transforming us to who we are supposed to be. The secret I have learnt is to create friendship and show love to those I work with or work for. Sometimes it is not easy, because our society has been created to think that when you do more good you have more money. I have personally been attacked because of this. When we allow jealousy, envy, resentment, and even vengeance to become the focus of our attention and intention, we become jealous, envious, resentful, vengeful people with our money. Some of my friends have described me as too ambitious and unrealistic. For the simple reason of being truly who I am, not for money or anything but by sharing my goodwill with others. Partnerships have worked for me and in all types of work I do, I go for making friendship and contacts. In our relationship with money, more is better distracts us from living more mindfully and richly with what we have - When we buy into the promise of more is better, we can never arrive. If you get a piece of cake and eat the whole thing, you will feel empty. If you get a piece of cake and share half of it, you will feel both full and fulfilled. All the greatest spiritual teachings tell us to look inside to find the wholeness we crave. In pursuit of more we overlook the fullness and completeness that are already within us waiting to be discovered. I have many times felt like giving up on things I love just because money has not come from it. Resignation makes me feel hopeless, and cynical. Resignation also keeps me in line, even at the end of the line, where a lack of money becomes an excuse for holding back from commitment and contributing what I do have - time, energy, and creativity - to make a difference. In that resignation, I abandon my own human potential, and the possibility of contributing to a thriving, equitable, healthy world. I have to realize that there is enough, and that I am enough already. The author has suggested that if we are willing to let go, let go of the chase to acquire or accumulate always more and let go of that way of perceiving the world, then we can take all that energy and attention and invest it in what we have. I have come to realize that in pursuit of more material stuff in the world we disregard what we have, the richness we have in our heart. Personally am not a materialistic person, therefore it gives me peace because as I aspire for great things in life that manifest my soul's worth. Everyday I grow and I see it as a recognition for who am already are. Could it be that the key to turning around a runaway, unsustainable economy, culture, and almost frightening time in the evolution of civilization is in confronting and embracing the surprising truth that there is enough, we have enough, we are enough, and that at the heart of every circumstance is that possibility and that opportunity? - I like Mahatma Gandhi quote of there is enough for our need but not for our greed. In Africa that's one of the quotes we should be walking with tied around our neck! Our kind of education has taught us that after one is through the education system, a better prosperous life lies ahead - a future of accumulation. They therefore don't want to be known for what they allocate, rather on what they accumulate. I find myself in the same situation wanting more and more because that what I have been taught in school, at home and in society. This is not an easy value to break unless I muster all the courage to break it piece by piece. I am confronted day by day by parents, friends and others who ask me what a doing with my education. That at my age, I should have this and that. In our society, one is recognized with the material wealth s/he has rather on what he gives. No wonder that everyone in Kenya is interested in politics because they are among the better paid in the world. I often times see my self as different for having taking a stand, to make a difference. This is not easy because not many people understand that. I personally believe that we as a country (Kenya) have all that we need to reduce the gap between the rich and poor. The poor in this country constitute 56% and this is very sad and instead of looking within ourselves on what we can do together, we have left that job to aid agencies. Everyone has the perfect gift to give the world - and if each of us is freed to give the gift that is uniquely ours to give, the world will be in total harmony. Just as blood in the body must flow to all parts of the body for health to be maintained, money is useful when it is moving and flowing, contributed and shared, directed and invested in that which is life affirming. No matter how much or how little money you have flowing through your life, when you direct that flow with soulful purpose, you feel wealthy - we should invest money in ways that contribute the most to a meaningful, fulfilling life. Money is a great translator of intention to reality, vision to fulfillment. We use money as a direct expression of one's deepest sense of self is a powerful, miraculous thing. I have learnt that when am at peace, not worried about money or not feeling broke, I attract money. Interesting there are times I have money and I don't want to use it. At that time, I want to look at the money where I have placed it as a possession, as a flower! In this way, I hoard money without realizing it and therefore block the flow of the good I have. Then I am surprised and complained that money doesn't flow not realizing how I blocked the flow. Money is never really absent, and we can use it as a mirror for understanding who we are and what we stand for. Even in adversity, if you can appreciate your capacity to meet it, learn, and grow from it, then you can create value where no one would have imagined it possible. When you are crashed by the victim mentality, as they were, your ability to dream and envision is crushed, too. It goes dead. If I can re-look from the inside out and access and appreciate what's already there, what's already available, then its power, utility, and grace will grow and prosper in the nourishment of my attention. They suggest we shift from our frame of reference from one of “problem solving “to one that seeks to identify sources available in any collection of people for inspiring, mobilizing and sustaining positive change. If instead, you can put your full attention and appreciation on what's there, then you experience the bounty available in the moment - I have personally faced many adversities in life and especially this year, yet I have caught myself severely complaining and not getting the lesson. I am aware that each adversity has an equivalent or greater reward, yet I complain. In this situation I see and accept am the victim and that blocks me for sometime from rising up and dusting off myself and doing what I love and know to do. There are many things I take for granted when life seems to flow and interestingly during adversity that the time I remember and regret. A strong lesson I learn daily in my life is that I should appreciate everything each time and my life will appreciate. This will confirm that am sufficient already before I get that what I want. This is a time for transformation, and transformation comes not out scarcity but out of possibility, responsibility, and sufficiency. 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. Beliefs/Goals Relationships 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. To invest money in ways that contribute the most to a meaningful, fulfilling life - that is important how I treat money and how use it. I can use more to bring the best of me to the outside if am operating from the soul. To know that am sufficient in terms of gratitude, fulfillment, love, trust, respect, contributing faith, compassion, integration, wholeness, commitment, acceptance, partnership, responsibility, resilience, and inner riches. No matter how much or how little money I have flowing through my life, when I direct that flow with soulful purpose, I feel wealthy. If you get a piece of cake and eat the whole thing, you will feel empty. If you get a piece of cake and share half of it, you will feel both full and fulfilled - most times we are driven my greed and I want all attitude. We really don't want to share because we think we will loose everything. The world has become too individualistic when people say, “everyone for himself and God for us all”. My life has revolved around sharing because I was born in a community that shared its resources for the sake of the children who were growing up. There have been returns and in different forms apart from the way it was given. We find sufficiency and sustainable prosperity when we think of our resources as a flow that is meant to be shared, when we put our full attention on making a difference with what we have, and when we partner with others in ways that expand and deepen that experience. Appreciation is the beating heart of sufficiency. What you appreciate, and the way you direct your attention, determines the quality of your life - one of the things that has been taken advantage of in life is appreciation. There is one relative of mine who no matter what you do to her, she will never appreciate. So sometimes I wonder how I can make her appreciate things. I appreciate constantly in my life from life to what I am already. And although it takes time, I see the quality of my life improving day by day. Collaboration frees us from the obligatory chase to acquire more in order to feel we have enough, and becomes an opportunity to make a difference with what we have. The true law of survival is ultimately cooperation. Survival of the cooperative and collaborative. Collaboration is an essential part of our human story, the truth of sufficiency, and the key to a prosperous, sustainable future for us all - collaboration and partnership are words that are now being common around the world, but their true meaning has not really been understood. There is one author by the name John Maxwell in his book, The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork says in one of the laws the Law of Significance that one is too small a number to achieve greatness. There are many times I have wanted to work alone, especially know since I discovered some friends I was working with were not genuine and blocked very project we started. I have thought of working alone but that thought was countered by John Maxwell. I am willing to work with new people who have the same passion that I have so that we are achieve together. A dream is a catalyst for change, first in the dreamer, and again and again in the dream shared. The world is as you dream it. I have seen that we must redream, learn to question the cultural dream of more and begin to create a dream and a future that is consistent with our reverence toward, respect for and affirmation of life. Changing the dream may really mean to see the world completely differently. I like to say that when we take a stand, we can move the world - the world of ideas and people who act on them. We can take a stand, change the dream, and shift the conversation to enough - I must focus on what I want rather than what I don't. If am not happy with what I have created so far, I can still go back to my dream and changed it o fit what I want. I find myself at this moment viewing the world as completely different because of change of perspective. This therefore means I will get different results. You can never really discover your destiny because you are afraid to commit fully - I fear a lot to be disappointed, to be hurt, to be rejected, to be vulnerable etc. One thing I have learnt from this is that by only being committed without fear, it is the only way am going discover who I am and what I love. If we are in conversation about possibility, a conversation about gratitude and appreciation for the things in front of us, then that's the world we inhabit - talking to each other is important and exchanging ideas. In this way we may come across many good ideas that can be put in place to change our community and ultimately the world. Not only sharing ideas, but also encouraging each other and supporting others because every one is in need. We each have the power to shift, and create the conversation that shapes our circumstances. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? It has indeed changed my thinking as regards the issue of money and how it relates to my soul. I have come to learn that all richness about money start from the inside of each and every one of us. That I am rich beyond the amount of money I have or will ever have. I have also learnt that money is like a river that flows freely if we let it be. We dwell so much on discussing about scarcity instead of looking at the potential we have and how we can share it for good of ourselves and others. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? No. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? None. 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. The book is simply pointing out how rich each and every one of us is. The book points out some of the lies that we find acceptable when we talk about money. It further talks about collaboration to bring about a situation that we desire. That it is not necessary that al of us money, but we can work together with those who have, by sharing our ideas and others money to realize a project. And finally we should take a stand about money and how we can be sustainable fulfilling each other needs. Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor. The 40 Days Prosperity Plan 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 will of God is for all of us to be wealthy - one of the important truths that come out of this book (CD) is that, God is the source of all prosperity and abundance. It was in His plan during creation to see man become wealthy in all aspects starting from spiritual, financial, knowledge and in love. This assures me that I need not worry but be one with the Spirit in order to realize total abundance. It is more clear then, that there was a plan before creation of how humankind will relate and grow according to the desires of the Master. Therefore I don't need to struggle to question Him but in everything to recognize the opportunities presented daily of creating money and touching other people's lives. Sometimes I find myself questioning a lot the Master about prosperity and abundance. Yet I simply forget that I didn't create myself, that there is a Supreme and Divine being who knows me and my thoughts. Interestingly when I relate more with God, the more I find ideas to explore and try them out. This happens most times when I feel like am down to nothing. I therefore have to simply relax and tap this Source. Money is the symbol of divine mind - the mind is one of the truth wealth we have as humans. It is connected to the source who is God. It is in the mind where plans are created, analyzed, explored and then brought to the physical world to be executed. Among those plans in the mind is the creation of money and it is presented in form of a sign that inspires one to do something about it. Money has to be seen as an idea first before it is manifested in the physical world. I normally see money in mind in the form of ideas first before I do something about it. When I talk about money in the divine mind, am not really seeing “money” but ideas that can be used to create money. Money is not my supply. No person, place or condition is my supply. My awareness, understanding and knowledge of the all prevailing activity of the divine mind within me is my supply. My consciousness of the truth is unlimited, therefore my supply unlimited - most times we think that one has to be in a particular place at the right time and doing the right task to generate money. We forget that there is a difference between the source and supply. There can be no supply if the source is not available and not known. God is the source and the supply at the same time. Without Him we will be stuck and be unable to move. We all know the truth; however we are totally ignorant and oblivious of it. We know who we are, where we are heading to and our purpose in life. Instead of focusing on this, we instead become conditioned by life circumstances. I believe that I have potential and it is only by using it that I can realize that am unlimited in what I can do since am connected to God. The various tasks that I have carried out including projects have proven this. At the time am writing this project, am “jobless”. This is a big word if looked at literally. I have managed to change this by focusing and doing what I love. Without this realization, I will be pretending for the sake of making money. I have come to understand that when I talk about money, it doesn't have to mean hard cash. Money can mean creating contacts, friendships & new relationships, selling ideas, assisting others to discover themselves. When I am aware of the God's self within me, as my total fulfillment, then am totally fulfilled. I am now aware of this truth, I have found the secret of life and I relax in the knowledge that the activity of divine abundance is eternally operating in my life. I simply have to be aware of the flow, radiation of that creative energy which is continually, easily and effortlessly pouring forth from my divine consciousness. I am now aware. I am now in the flow - how true this is, without God we are nothing but with Him we are able to accomplish abundantly more. I keep my mind and thoughts of the world and I place my entire focus on God within as the only cause of my prosperity. I acknowledge the inner presence as the only activity in my financial affairs as the substance of all things visible. I place my faith in the principle of abundance and actions with me now. I keep on remembering that am a spiritual being having a human experience, therefore what I desire has to be felt in the spirit then manifested. It is easy for me to struggle because of worry of the unknown, yet the secret is to float in the flow of time and space. If my mind therefore is on source, on the cause, the supply flows freely. 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. Values & Beliefs Relationships My Goals 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. The will of God is for all of us to be wealthy I should stop worrying what will come from where, I should flow with energy of money that surrounds me and should be happy when spending money as it creates the circulation of money to be real. All of us all wealthy in many aspects and the secret is for use to use that to create prosperity for ourselves and others. We can realize this through collaboration and partnerships with others ho have different gifts from us. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? Definitely it has. It has demystified what money is and how we view it. I only knew money as being only liquid and not talent, potential and ideas we have. I further discovered that am already rich because God is and that is enough to propel us forward to greater heights. I have been challenged to stop focusing on scarcity and focus on abundance that already exists. That “money” is one way of expressing the true wealth we posses, therefore there are a thousand other ways that show that we are rich. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? No. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? None. 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. The book is simply challenging us to meditate on money and its effects in our life and how we should handle that. It further request us to change our attitudes towards money and explore our inner selves to discover our true potential that can create money anytime in our daily lives. We have to start step by step to remove those beliefs that exist out there in the world about money. 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 The Nine Steps To Financial Freedom The Architecture of All Abundance 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. It is the journey into silence that leads to stillness that can inform our actions and our lives with peace and with abundance - I have been going through various challenges in terms of finances and relationships as I was reading through this book. What interesting I was able to identify some similarities of what they author went through and I have gone through. Though very few areas are similar, I felt like she was speaking to me. As I have undergone those challenges, it was rather difficult to be still, to be at peace. I wanted to be active, to run away from those realities. Until finally I was unable to do this anymore after I had a gentle voice from within asking me why am I running away from what I want? I was shocked and had to review what this question meant. I was later able to experience true peace by understanding the abundance that exists deeper within my soul. If we acknowledge or share our fear with the goal of knowing ourselves and becoming free, it will lead us here and there, in and out, above and below - as I was going through this difficult experience, the presence of fear of the unknown was driving me crazy. I didn't realize that this would help me know myself better until I had to erase fear afterwards from my life. How did I do this? By demystifying fear to mean, F- alse Then I was able to admit to become my prayers and hopes, expressing them in my daily interactions, to create a more peaceful and loving world. And afterwards I feel transformed embracing change and what lies before me. There is sufficient for all our requirements and dreams. We are unable to see it, to know it, but providence is there. It is knowing that all we require is already before us; we simply don't see it. There is a solution; it requires commitment and courage; it requires that we forge beyond our comfortable our comfortable little realities and out into the unknown, the unseen world - as I sometimes look around at life, I most times see lack and want that makes me feel weak and discouraged. I ask myself very many questions, like how will I be able to meet my life goals, how am going to relate? And so forth. My live is surrounded by a lot of excuses, fears and doubts of the next step. Yes I am a risk taker, but that scares me off most a times. When I concentrate so much on lack, I close my mind to what probably exists that can help drive me forward. I understood that it was my nature of protecting my comfort zone, not wanting to move, not willing to risk and know my potential. The simple lessons I have learnt so far from my challenges are to be persistent, have faith, act on my hunches, question my soul more and more. Interestingly this has worked especially when it comes to question a certain activity I want to pursue. And I find the answers right there with less effort. If we ask the right questions, the answers will inevitably lead us out of undesirable circumstances. There is always a way for the determined person to understand their purpose and dream, and be guided to its fulfillment. There are moments in one's life when one has to stretch, to risk, to leap forward naked into the wind. You must first be who you really are, then do what you love to do, in order to have what you want - this is an important lesson that I came across in the book. I should stop fearing who I really am, my thoughts, fears, goals, needs, desires, wants, and desires. These are the ones that make me who I am. Like I said earlier I have learnt to stop to give excuses to what I need. I must be me and more of me. I have to be my purpose, to live it, sleep it to walk it and pray it. If peace of mind is what you value, then value it monetarily as well. If writing, or nature, or volunteer work is vital to you be sure that it shows up in your personal economy. Value yourself, value whatever is your lifeblood, and value your thoughts and dreams, your soul. Give them your power, your time and money, and energy. In business, it is necessary to invest a good share of the earnings back into business so that it remains healthy and generative over time. In the same way, your investment in yourself will bring the highest gain. It is the hunger to have purpose, the hunger to be filled with the wisdom of the Soul, to reconnect with our spiritual base, with one another, and with the earth that is our life - I discovered that my life purpose was being a teacher in late 2004. I haven't done much about it and for sometime I was stuck as to where I start. Just this month as I was going through a certain Christian literature, the message about my purpose was just there in black and white. It said that unless I did something about my purpose, nothing will happen and God won't move in that area until I decide to do something about my purpose. That got me scared all right!! For starters early this year I have been working with much effort to prepare a concept paper on a personal development programme I want to start for schools. Finally it was done and I gave it to be looked by someone. But I have done nothing about it, like contacting schools to find if they are interested and that kind of stuff. I have found that I need to fuel my purpose, give it my all and watch the results as they unfold. God makes everything ready but its up to us to see what's in front of our face! - how true and at the same time difficult to see. It is amazing in our prayers we ask
for many things, yet others are just in front of us. It calls fro creativity, inner guidance and understanding our intitution to be able to recognize the many
opportunities that lie before us but disguised as challenges. However because I normally catch my mind thinking scarcity at that state it is indeed not easy to recognize
an opportunity lie there. Sometimes I think it was how I was brought up and the many challenges I have faced. After going through those difficulties, I expect to find an
easy road, but that is not the case most a times. I have therefore changed my mind to take advantage of what's already there. Choosing what we will live to be our dream, choosing a life that is connected to our soul purpose - these are vital passages of our journey. We can only have deep satisfaction when our dream is coming from the very core of our soul; that is an abiding dream - I have come to understand what we draw to our lives is what we have all along wanted. I have reflected at about things about my life and amazed at how this is true. Back in 1998 I wanted to badly work with a certain NGO. This did happen immediately but after 3 years of waiting there I was, working with that organization in the promotion of human rights. The same happened when I wanted a laptop. There more I think about this, I become perplexed. Our souls indeed inspire our dreams although we rarely listen to it. Courage is required to create dramatic change in one's life. It is courageous when you change a habit, take a new direction, are deeply truthful and compassionate with yourself or another, when you act true to your values - one of the most difficult things any human has to come in terms with is change, moving from the known to the unknown. I have personally feared venturing into the unknown and instead preferred to stick within my comfort zones. Interestingly enough, just last year June I wanted to resign in a human rights organization I was working with because I felt it wasn't fulfilling my purpose. I can say that was not easy. Instead of focusing on where I was heading, I protected my security. It took me 9 months to gain the courage to move. One person once said, “You will never known your true potential in life unless you risk”. That sounds risky and crazy, however it has connection with the life purpose of everyone. I have been trying for the better part of this year to eliminate any kind of fear in my life. This is not an easy exercise although it's worth it. Keep asking. And know that you can carve out of the kind of life you want for yourself. Just keep at it, enjoying the process, until it feels right. Be responsible, also, to yourself. Keep listening to yourself an asking your questions. You will know - one thing I have learnt with my challenges this year is to never ignore my hunches and intuitions. Reason, the cost implications are high. My soul is important and sometimes I strive to look for answers, yet they are within me. The secret I have come to understand is to question my soul when am peace with my self. I ask myself various questions about anything I might be going through or something am not sure about. I indeed get answers to most of my questions although some answers are not what I expect. All the same this exercise has played and important role in my life. 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. Beliefs/Goals In my life I have honestly feared sacrificing anything for the sake my life purpose. I just wanted to be like any other human being, get a job, start a family and care less about how money is made. However am called to action when I remember as I was growing up, I committed to be different, to pursue that which would male me happy. There are habits I have found hard to break, I have feared loosing what I treasure in my life. I have feared taking care of myself and meeting my needs first. This has robbed me many opportunities that I should have taken advantage of. Relationships. There are things I have learnt about relationships that keeps me wondering. I give and give and give because when am committed, I give my best. At times I don't get the same from others. Sometimes I ask myself how possible is for nature to return the same love to me. How do I love those that hate me, sometimes for no reason at all? Hate is one of the worse things that can happen in life, especially when you loose your best friends because of it. In my life I have never known hate until I discovered my best friend contributed to the break up of my best relationships. I honestly questioned myself as what I ever did to him for him to hate me. I didn't find answers to all these questions. Eventually what I decided was to send him love energy whenever I thought about him. The good thing is that we talk a bit although we are not best friends as we used to be. Values My values in life affect my purpose in one way or another and that's very discouraging. The good that I have can boast about myself is that I have committed never to work for money as the first thing in life. Instead I focus I focus on the personal gratification I get of the job. If there is none, I start questioning it. In the job I quit, it was my values were being comprised especially when it reached a point I felt I was being “used”. 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. We are the fulfillers of prophecy. Therefore it would be wise for us to choose carefully those that we wish to fulfill. It is our choice. It is our dream. All that is our combined history we have dreamed. And the dream is the Creator dreaming us - I realize that am the one that has created this situation that am in with my thoughts, desires and dreams. If I don't like it at all, it's only me who change it. It's up me to gather the courage and start another life for myself. I have to connect with God since am called to be a co-creator with Him to create the future that I want. It is through Divine Connection I can realize this, that all that I need is already here. I can therefore prophecy my future and fulfill it as it manifests. Love, in truth, simply is. Love is. Love is the essence of the life force surrounding us; it is what allows everything to have cohesion. Love is both our birthright and our legacy; it is in the original blueprint of our Soul - love is the wonderful thing that can happen to any one at any time wherever. To connect with true love is a rare gift that inspires all of us to strive to achieve what we want. Personally love has been like fuel in my life, encouraging me no matter the situation, guiding me as I seek to understand myself and answering the many questions I have. If in everything I do, I add love, it expands and looks achievable. If we trust our own judgment, choices, healing ability, and self-honesty, we become free of the need to make others “behave” so we can feel safe. You can trust that your life is on course, that you are exactly where you should be, in every moment and situation - I have learnt to trust myself and what I decide I do. I should stop trying to please others so that they love me. I have to be love, peace and prosperity in order for me to realize this in my physical life. I have been discouraged and will be discouraged, but that doesn't stop me from trusting myself when I seek solutions to whatever I face. Most of our ideas about who we are and what are like come from outside ourselves. Investigating, challenging, educating, and allowing change of our current opinions, actions, understandings, an interpretations bring about our desired results - I have said that solutions lie within me and I don't need to look far away to see them. The challenge is for me to continuously question myself, find what I love, why I love it, where am heading and that kind of thing. In everything I do, I ask myself, how does it fulfill my higher purpose? I strive to learn more, to explore more and in that way understand my hidden precious potential. If it's everyone's first time, no one knows what they are doing - sometimes I like challenging my parents that no one goes to school before getting kids on how to raise children. In other words, I didn't come on earth to rehearse about anything. Instead I come to fulfill my purpose and the many mistakes I make the better since I will learn from them. From the failures I will gain free lessons for making my life worthwhile to live in. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor. Comments - Feel free to share any additional comments about the book or about the ratings: Full Steam Ahead! Unleash the Power of Vision 1. What ideas were personally most important to you in this book? Do not simply list the ideas, but explain or discuss why they were important to you, using personal examples. The book brings out three things in a clear crystal manner. These are purpose, values and vision. Full steam ahead means having a vision - being so clear about your
purpose, so committed to it, and so sure about your ability to accomplish
it, that you move ahead decisively despite any obstacles Leadership is about going somewhere So I decide to do two things; one was to educate the people on the voter process and two, market myself so that I could be voted. Before any politician name is printed on ballot papers, they have to go through nominations so that their parties can endorse them. This is stage where I was rigged out and didn't make it to the final elections. Now why am I saying all this? As a leader nothing scared me, I know that I can still serve in other capacities that require my expertise and experience. A leader has to show and act upon their beliefs. I was tired of talking and complaining about the poor services that were afforded to my community. I wanted to change things and I realized that very few people have a vision in their lives. Although am not running for public office this time round, the impact I left has challenged a lot of youth to run for public office. Through the last five years I have come to discover my true purpose. That is to be a teacher and that's what am pursuing to accomplish. Purpose Last year I was in the middle of implementing a 6 months programme that I had developed on entrepreneurship and the greatest challenge came. Adversity seemed to have the better of me and I watched as all my life goals crash and there was nothing I could do. I forgot the good lessons I had learnt as an IIGL student and suffered by choice. I started quitting everything I was doing from projects, groups, everything that represented my life. Somehow along this trail, I did muster some little courage as reminded by my life purpose and finished the project I was doing. Although it didn't turn out exactly as I had visualized, the lessons were valuable and we had some impact on our target group who were young entrepreneurs in my community. Vision About ten years ago I remember attending a church conference while I was in high school. What was very key to me in that conference was the way the speaker emphasized about vision. He said that vision is the picture one sees at the end of a story. Vision is knowing who you are, where you are going, and what will guide your journey. Knowing who you are means being clear about purpose. In 2005 I developed my personal life goals. Right now I don't seem to own the goals and they do seem strange to me. I keep on asking myself was that part of my vision or it was based on my life circumstances? This is not an easy question for me to answer and sometimes when I think about it, I easily freak out. Yet goals are the map to where one wants to go. At the moment am contemplating redoing my goals since circumstances change and the affect the goals. All these goals were a result of dreams I have had for so long. Sometimes I feel like giving up because it seems that the goals will never be materialized. I look for a reason for me to be focused on what I want in this life and I easily get discouraged but the circumstances I face daily. I can see the place I want to go and how I will be happy once I get there. I stretch my hands to reach to this vision and most times I get tired. However I have discovered that having a vision and aspiring to it are two different issues. Its like knowing where I want to go and doing nothing about it. Having a vision for me is what keeps me alive and makes me wake up everyday refreshed. Pursuing it is another thing altogether because it makes me grow scared for I have failed over “a million times”. In my own world I sometimes get mad with nature and think that its cruel. I ask myself when is the right time. I have been patient most of my life but when it comes to vision I feel desperate to realize it. As I read this book, I was once again reminded that realizing a vision is an ongoing process and there is no one day I will say that, look I have achieved my vision. Therefore instead of looking for a vision as this big picture, I should look at what contributes to that picture. For me, these are the seven goals I have. Its has been over a year since I looked at them and right now am challenged to relook at them and do something about them. 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. Values/Beliefs Over the years my values and beliefs have changed since there are those that have worked for me and others haven't. Right now the values I hold dear guide where I go, what I want to do and the kind of people I want to socialize with. At first this seemed strange, but not anymore. What has been outstanding for the last one year is that I now relate with people who do not feel am a threat because of my ambition(s), but instead feel that we both can learn from each other. I do not care what people think about my ambition, instead its more as to how they relate with me not only to realize mine but theirs also. As I was reading through this book, I took time to quickly browse through the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull. The book is very inspirational and I strongly feel like that seagull - rejected, scorned, embarrassed and doubtful. Until it realized its purpose and no matter what the other seagulls said, happiness started to be part of his life. If purpose is important because it explains “why”, then values are important because they explain “how”. (Purpose tells Why - Values tells How). Relationships 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. Good mission statements include a clear statement of purpose. An effective mission statement includes clear purpose. It's important for me to have a life purpose that is so clear and
compelling. In the same line I need to have a strategy as to how am going to
realize my purpose. If the purpose is vague then I will in the end feel
disappointed because of not being where I want. A good mission statement
might also include a description of how I deliver on the purpose, what
strategise I use an how they support the purpose. I need to embrace my values since I act out of them everyday. When I do something today or any other time, my values have played a role in it. I should develop and embrace those values that bring the best of me so that I can achieve me purpose and eventually my vision. I discovered that by being honest about my present, accepting the tension or uncomfortable feelings, and also focusing on my vision at the same time, ultimately a shift occurs. Like I mentioned in the introduction of this book, for the last one year I have felt desperate, lonely, ostracized, embarrassed, failure, unlucky and unable to put to my life in order. I did succeed a bit by hiding my true feelings about the situation. However this didn't help, but what as I supposed to do? Right now I smile at my situation, sometimes I laugh because I know it's a temporal situation. Honesty is the key word, I might not be where I wanted to be right now, I might have felt that my dreams crashed. However I owe myself the ability to stand up and dust myself and seek to rediscover myself once again. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? I thought having a vision is enough, how wrong I was. The book has challenged me although they used the example of a company to redefine my life purpose. I need to live and love my purpose. I need to develop a life mission statement. I need to be focused so that I don't miss those little miracles that occur daily as a result of my life purpose. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? None. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? None. 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. The authors have simply used the example of a company to convey the message on life purpose, mission statement, values and vision. They have showed me how all these interrelate and how I can use this for my life purpose. Having a vision is not enough, having a life purpose is not enough. For them to be enough, I need to develop a mission statement that shows how I get there. Finally having them is not enough, the challenge is for all of us to be our dreams, goals, purpose and vision. Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good
and one is poor. Goal Setting 101 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. This is a great small book that you can read in 30 minutes and later read it over ad over again. Gary Ryan in a very simple way has demstyfied the art of goal setting to be fun and a must for everyone who wants to achieve success. A vision is a way of seeing or conceiving what you want to create and achieve the are different definitions of vision and the one I like most is , “vision is the picture at the end of a story”. I had some many goals and I still want to achieve most of them but one thing that I didn't know was that that all my goals are related with my vision. In all honesty I have never thought about what my vision is. All I know was that I have goals and that is enough. This book has helped me see that how goals feed into my vision. The next step was for me to identify what is my vision. By having life goals its more easier to identify the vision than first knowing my vision an break it down to goals. A vision for me know is the big picture that I see when achieve my goals step by step. You are born with great capabilities, but you will not achieve your potential until you call upon yourself to fulfill it. I never knew the importance of goal setting until I joined IIGL. My studies taught me about the importance of putting down my goals in writing and not merely wishing them in m head. I learnt that writing something down is the first step toward achieving it. When I first wrote down my goals in Level 3 I felt great although I forgot one thing - to use all my abilities to see that my goals are achieved. I understand how its important to know my strengths, abilities and also my weaknesses. There are also areas that I need to improve in my life. I know that I have potential although it other people who see it easily than me. I therefore need to fully utilise my potential without giving excuses o any failure or success I make. Reality moves you toward your goal; denial moves you away. when I “failed” achieving 80% of the first goals that I developed, I felt weak, a loser, and made some excuses and complains about why I failed. This for me is how reality hit me so hard and I was shocked beyond words. I know see that experience as helping me to be clear about my goals and continue asking myself questions to better refine the goals. One does not plan and then try to make circumstances fit those plans. One tries to make plans to fit the circumstances. this statement cant be more truer than it is now! I have been raised in a very tough enviroment and the neighbourhood speaks volumes about this. Everyday I see how people like me struggle to make it in life and the challenges they face. Sometimes me and m peers have been guilty of forcing things work in our circumstances. I am aware that situations create people and those who make it are those who look around and decided to do something different about it. Goal setting involves establishing a delicate balance between planning and improvisation. I once thought that writing down goals was enough. I sooner than later realised that good planning and creativity are very helpful as I try to find a path in the midst of planning my goals and how to achieve them. It's not only planning but also to find out which ways I can use to achieve my goals. In the real world, however, there is no totally right time. Sometimes you have play with the cards you have. for me I think this is a great statement. Its more close to what Donald Welch in his book, Conversations With God (CWG). He says that in the world everything is relative and its only in heaven where everything is absolute. I hear myself and others say that they are waiting for the right time every time they are faced with difficult challenges like when to marry, when to star that business, when to do this or that. I have sang the same song and its boring. I listen to my heart and move as it directs. Even if I don't achieve the intended goal. I better describe myself as a man of acton, one who is on the move. There are times though I catch myself procastinating and this is a struggle I have to overcome. To go forward is a recognition that life is dynamic not static. in the last one year or so I have lost so much especially what I valued most. I spend too much time complaining and cursing how all this happened. This for me is how reality hit me so hard by realising that I needed to do away with those beliefs that have not worked for me. This has not been easy but it one of the reasons that has helped me move on despite the pain, the loss, disappointment and so forth. The author has put it so well for me, “expect reverses, expect losses, and expect rejection. They are inevitable. But why give them the last word? Take them as bumps in the road to success! 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. Relationships Beliefs Goals Goals never fail; only implementation does Values Success is an attitude and character - when I have valued success as an important value in my life, it automatically absorb it to my subconscious so that its an attitude that I see for myself and others see about me. 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. Leadership is a synthesis of theory and practice, of preparation and spontaneity and improvisation I have a friend who keeps on saying that leadership is a lonely place to be. Sometimes I experience it this way I relate with people and organisations that are supposed the interest of the vulnerable in society. Sometimes i so lonely and there is no one who understands you and it grows better when other feel threatened by my ideas or vision. How I handle this situation doesn't mean that its because I went to school No! It has been a journey of trial and error, testing of theoeries and impacts. I once thought that leadership is a stage where one gets to. How wrong I was, leadership for me is a state that we aspire everyday until we are no more in our human bodies! You can incorporate some of the individual into what you are creating or you can incorporate some of what you are creating into the individual. I love this statement although honestly I am unable to express it in words. The winning attitude is one of movement and progress, not digging in and holding ground I have failed and I will fail because as I have learnt this will happen. I have noticed that I complain so much when I fail or when I face resistance. I now accept to myself that complaining isn''t necessarily bad provided I don't waste too much time complaining! I have to get up and dust myself and move on boldly not fearing the next challenge that lies ahead. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? It has made goal seeing fun and exicting for me. I used that goal setting was a boring process. I am able to visualise the goals that I want to create and how to tap into my potential to implement them. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? None. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? Nothing! 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. Its a pocket book with very simple and easy steps on how to create goals that are enjoyable to reach. It also highlights the important life goals that should be given so much focus. 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 Goal Mapping: How to Turn Your Dreams into Realities 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. If you think you can, you can, if you think you cant, you cant - either way you are right This is a great way to start the book for it gives me courage to try again. In everything that I want to do the most important thing is how I feel and the passion I have towards realizing my goals. It all starts deep inside me and how I use that to drive me forward. I am the one who knows if I can or not, the answer to my success therefore doesn't lie with outsiders rather it lies with me. There are certain things in life that you can learn to get right only by getting them wrong first How true this is and yet at the same time it so “painful”. True success demands the best and most people me included give up after several attempts because at times we think its not worth our efforts. There are several things in my life like relationships and jobs that I have gotten them wrong in every attempt I make. It doesn't matter how many times I try these two areas seem to be very difficult. Sometimes I wonder when I will ever get them right. I now am aware that successful people stay fully focused on what they want and generate great power, rather than allowing themselves to be distracted and deflated by worrying about what they fear. Emotionally we are designed like a bicycle - if we are not moving towards something, we lose our equilibrium or balance and fall over For the last one year I have been struggling to be balanced in my life after I temporary lost it. Balance is the best state I can be and trying to gain that is not an easy ask but one that calls for great and true commitment to be able to realize it. When am balanced I know that am on purpose and therefore inspired to carry out great exploits. There is a time I thought I was in no way going to achieve my goals. That’s when I knew that was almost going to fall over. I now derive power from inside and am committed to trying again till I make it. To bring about positive evolutionary change we need simply to change the focus of our intentions and the goals that we pursue. By focusing on what you want to achieve, prior to taking physical action, your subconscious helps you to be your best - as I develop my goals it becomes easier to focus on me only and not think how this will affect the environment I live in. Most of the time its about me and not anyone else and this therefore can create satisfaction to me but destruction to the world! I remember the person who created the AK47. I keep wondering what was on his mind, what did he want to achieve? Personal fame or mass destruction at the press of a button? With all this questions in mind, I am called to focus and create personal goals that are beyond me, goals that make the world a better place than I found it. I am challenged by what the author calls change the focus of our intentions, if I know my intentions are for the highest good not only for me but to others, then I have somewhere to stand on and create my goals. Goal setting is the main ingredient in any recipe of success, goal setting is the trigger that fires your imagination and releases your potential. Goals are the sparks that light the fire of our intention When I developed my first life goals, it felt so tedious and uninteresting. Throughout this book the emphasis has been on goal setting, the reason for writing them down. For me at the moment am re-evaluating my current goals to reflect what I try want and the commitment I want to make to achieve them. I can have so many ideas but if hey are scattered then it would be difficult to achieve even the smallest success I want. Being able to motivate yourself and inspire others around you is crucial in all forms of business or personal endeavor This statement reminds me of some years back when I was developing my self esteem. It wasn't easy at first until I realized that I needed to start small and then grow from there. It was easy then to inspire others because I got concerned if people around me were not making progress. This is also true today for I find myself wanting to help others grow. In fact one of the philosophies I use nowadays is, “you can get what you want...............if you only help others get what they want”. In this line also is a school programme that I want to badly implement. When you are 'on purpose' you find your passion, your power, your flow, and it feels as if life is working with you. To be on purpose, you must discover 'that thing that makes your heart sing' This statement cant be more true than it is! Being on purpose made so many things possible for me. I used to feel like flying and being on top of the world. I remember I used to finish my assignments on time, had faith in whatever I was doing, used to dream to much. That’s the time I was on purpose. Now because of the transformation am going through some of the tasks I liked look a challenge to me right now. I honestly know how I feel and its hard to pick up myself after I have hit the ground so hard. I feel nowadays I struggle to be on purpose but am consoled by the fact that this is a phase of life which I must pass. I long for the day that I will feel like flying again and being on my true purpose. The author reminded me the difference between a purpose and a goal by first saying that a purpose and goals are different. A goal is tangible, quantifiable. It has a definite date. A purpose, on the other hand, is an ongoing endeavor, a long term mission, or life vision. Purpose is the direction; goals are the significant milestones along the way. Therefore am confident that I have not completely lost my purpose, instead I have been temporarily distracted and am on way to be on track! No one is more powerful than someone who speaks their mind and then does what they say I am one person who speaks his mind candidly without fear. Sometimes I think that am too honest, or maybe to conscious or at times too realistic. This doesn't augur well with the people I relate with in either social or professional circles. One thing that is clear is even as I struggle to be a man of my own words is to make that sure that I stand by word no matter what. I personally don't like people who are double minded, in one instance they want this and in another way they way something else. I guess to stand on my words is the way I understand purpose; that this is something I aspire to and grow through it everyday. Setting a goal is like firing an arrow: the more ambitious the goal the longer the arrow will take to reach its target. The lag-time between the setting of your goal and achieving it will be determined more by strength of your belief and consistency of conviction than by your physical circumstances and personal ability. People who know me tend to believe am a dreamer and an ambitious person. This I came to realize was true even to myself when I looked at when I have been, what I have done and what I want to do. I have come to accept that these two words better describe me. The dilemma however for me is how to achieve goals that deeply matter to me. I have been impatient to some level where I have sabotaged my life goals. I sometimes think they are not worthy pursuing. However when I read this book I found the reason; most of my goals were ambitious. They will therefore take time to achieve. The challenge right now for me is to break those ambitious goals into small realistic goals that would be easier to achieve instead of waiting for the major goal to come to fruition. 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. Relationships The first is not to tell anyone about you goals, plans or desires, just to keep them for yourself until you have achieved results I love this statement just they way it is. Easily sharing my goals or plans once got me to trouble because one of my friends used that to lie that I had gotten a certain benefit yet I hadn't. From that day I learn't to be careful with what I say because of that experience and for the reason that it can be easily construed. Another reason why for me its important to keep goals to myself is because I have seen that when I share them people become envious and try to either dissuade me from pursuing them or totally discourage me from pursuing them. Look for what's right in your self, and you'll boost your self esteem and build your self confidence. Look for what's right in your life and you'll spot opportunities and find solutions. Look for what's right in other people and you'll create harmony, peace and synergy I have learnt the cost of wanting to be different. It has almost cost me my life and everything that mattered. Right now as I go through personal transformation, I spend more time understanding myself and what my heart is saying. I am conscious of the way I relate with people. Just before I completed writing this assessment I happened to be invited for a small meeting of four persons. We talked about a project that we were pursuing and the obstacles we were facing. Most of the obstacles we were facing were because of people who denied us access to see a pastor so that the project could roll with less problems. What become apparent was that most Christians me included put our guards down when we deal with other Christians. We tend to easily forget that they are human and are bound to make mistakes. My key lesson here is that if I relate with people I should expect to be let down, however I should be vigil and keep my guards on. This doesn't mean that I wont bring the best of me when relating with others, rather I would be happily enjoying accomplishing my purpose. Beliefs I believe that true success depends upon achieving a balance of just three core values: happiness, peace of mind, and experience of abundance Right now I don't feel balanced and am working on it. I know the benefits of being at balance because its the same as being on purpose. When am personally balanced I feel like am flying and my goals interesting to pursue. When am at peace I can strategise, I am innovative and the like. That's a belief I have had and and continuously hold dear even up to this moment when I feel imbalanced. Love is the essence of creation Without love my goals will never have a positive effect on me and others who I relate with. My number one goal is to make love a part of everything am doing even if I feel unbalanced and uninspired. I want to develop business and if I don't love my clients then the business will be like any other that rakes profit and leaves the clients unsatisfied and used. Goals Successful people think successful thoughts Most of the times I feel overwhelmed by so many things especially because I catch myself focusing on lack. Recently I caught myself feeling sorry for myself and that got me thinking straight away. I remember in one of the books I read that clearly stated that no matter what I should focus on what I can offer and not on what I lack. The environment where I live offers an opportunity to do something although sometimes I feel impatient to see my initiatives come through. For me its time to learn from the greatest teachers on the commitment they had in realizing their goals. I challenge myself everyday to think like a successful person already and he rest will fall in place. Having a goal, a sense of direction or a compelling purpose, generates motivation and provides momentum, thereby producing stability in life I have lived for sometime a life of wishful thinking, following the current or wave, going through life unnoticed. This has been a life of lies to me. I now know my purpose and nowadays in everything I do, I have to make sure that aligns to my purpose. If not I make changes without feeling sorry or making excuses. Even when I feel like am limited and discouraged, I only have to look at my purpose and the get up and move on. Values Never be afraid to ask for help or advice I have been brought up in a society that considers asking for help as being weak and insufficient. The value placed on people who donot ask for help is high. We tend to admire people who are 'independent' and 'successful'. While I do not have anything personal against people who are independent or successful, it discourages others to learn from those who have made it. I struggle with putting aside the society value of asking help. Through my years of networking with people from different walks of life, I try my best to ask for help so that I can progress. I learn easily from people who have been before me. If you are experiencing any difficulty simply sit quietly for a moment and listen to what your heart has to say, instead of your head I remember some years ago I attended a seminar and the facilitator said something that interested me. She said that most men think with their head while most women think with their heart. (I am not trying to stereotype). The author clearly says that as human beings we are like bicycles in equilibrium, if we lose balance we fall. It is painful to lose balance because it made confused when I experienced that. I tried to listen to my heart but my head was having a field day. I have started to gain balance and that has been because I put my effort to what my heart was saying. My passion lies in the heart and I had to fish it from there so that I could regain balance among others things. Thought creates emotion, and the combination of thought plus emotion begins to influence our behavior Our goals start as thought and then we are able to write them down or wish that they come true. I have just realized that intention is powerful when I set goals. If its a strong intention it will definitely affect my emotions and I will thus become passionate about pursuing those goals. Then I start behaving as if I have achieved those goals just like one author who has said “fake it till you achieve it”'. 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. Learning is the ability to set and hold a thought that is positive in its intention, so as to develop your conscious desires, rather than your unconscious fears - I love learning new things and especially when am reading. I have been able to achieve this through IIGL. This helps me feed the unconscious part of my brain with workable ideas. Through learning I have discovered so many things especially how I can sabotage my goals without knowing or how I can achieve them if I want to. Every time you think a thought and make a decision to do something you are setting a goal I never knew this and its really a surprise to have learnt this. This will help me stop wishful thinking and instead engage in active goal setting even for the smallest things that I want in my life. Our left brain is generally logical, analytical, mathematical, and thinks by using words; whereas our right brain is emotional, lateral, intuitive, and thinks by using pictures I remember sometimes last year I was writing down what my strengths were and I wrote down analytical skills. Little did I know that was linked to the left brain!! Now it easy to notice which part of my brain is taking charge when am faced with an issue. I have discovered that to achieve my goals both parts of brain have different roles to play to enable me achieve my goals. The right brain visualizes in pictures and the left brain analysises how to achieve the goal(s). While goal setting is a natural mental process, developing it into a powerful tool for achievement is a skill, and like all skills it must be learned Through practice I can be able to better set my goals. Its good to have an ambitious goal, however it mattes how I have broken it down it small achieve sub goals that will contribute to the realization of the major goal. True commitment is doing the thing that you said you would do, long after the mood in which you said has left you' - George Zaluki I find this statement so powerful because it challenges procrastination. Many times I find myself with so many great ideas, later I tend to drop them because I sometimes think I can’t or I don't have enough motivation to carry them through. The statement is a motivator for me to carry one and purse my goals no matter what happens or how I feel. Stay focused upon your goals, knowing that they already exist at some level, and that your task is to draw them into physical reality through thought, word and deed I like the phrase that I have used under personal values that says “fake it till you make it”. I have to act as if I have achieved my goals, I have to be true to my goals and live according to them, people can call it pretending or faking it. However this is the way that I can use to draw my goals to reality. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? Yes, that to be a great goal setter I must visualize the results of achieving my goals, then from there devise ways to make the achieving of my goals possible. In other words the book has challenged me to see the results of my goals first then work towards realizing them. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? None. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? Nothing. 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. One major outstanding concept in this book that I find unique is the difference between the right and left brain. I have never thought of it that way. Now I know when I am too analytical am using the left side of my brain! The author throughout the book has made it clear on how to handle these two sides of the brain to get better results. He has therefore started by clearly declaring that Goal mapping is a communication link to our subconscious 'genie'. It is a way of conveying our intentions with heart, in words and pictures, emotion and logic, so that our subconscious understands clearly what we choose to achieve, and helps us move forward in life. Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good
and one is poor. Law of Attraction 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 Law of Attraction responds to whatever vibration you are sending by giving you more of it, whether it's a positive or negative. It simply responds to your vibration - am excited to know that as a person I release an energy/vibration. I therefore understand that I receive what I think whether consciously or unconsciously. If I for instance think about bitterness, the result I get is more bitterness. If it is love, more love. The vibration I send out can affect people I relate with. I have to be always on the look on what I allow to go to mind. When you make a statement containing the words don't, not or no, you are actually giving attention and energy to what you don't want. Simply ask yourself, “So, what do I want?” - I have come to accept that as human we always think of the negative incidences about our life that make us fear to boldly face the future. We easily attract that which we do not want and we end up frustrated and de-motivated. Answering the so what do I want question isn't an easy task for me. Reason, I have to switch to thinking to get answers on what I want in my life. At times I think the answers are right there, however because of the many years of conditioning it takes time to get the answers to the question. When you go from what you don't want to what you do want, the words change. When the words change, the vibration changes, and you can only send out one vibration at a time - I remember a period not so long ago when I was so optimistic and positive about life. I felt like I was virtually flying and the people I mingled with felt that I was influential. That's the power positive vibration and I know what it feels. Sometimes you loose this vibration for moment and you become fully aware what's missing in your life. To know whether you are sending out a positive or negative vibration, simply take a look at the results you're getting in that area of your life. They are a perfect reflection of what you are vibrating - I was very surprised to learn this, that what I have now or see now is a result of the vibration I have been sending! The secret for me therefore is to send out a positive vibration to everything I do however difficult it seems. Identify what makes you feel good and do more of it - there is nothing so good for me to do in this world than to do what makes my heart sing. In the Book Goal Mapping by Brian Mayne, he says that when you do what you love, you heart sings and you are life is on purpose. There are times life dictates what we should do, however we will be dragging ourselves to do what comes our way if it not what makes us feel good. I have to spend more time and write down what makes feel good and pick it from there. 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. Relationships Beliefs Goals Values 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. The Law of Attraction doesn't remember what vibration you were sending
out five minutes ago, five days ago, five months ago or 50 years ago. I have caught myself being too negative with life. I know where that has come from and it can be changed. When I am down or de-motivated, I can start by identifying the vibration I have been sending. The results I got in the last couple of months have been because of negative vibration. Its time for me now to turn a new chapter of my life by continuously sending forth positive vibration. 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? It has challenged my thinking in a simple way. I should be careful in what kind of vibration am sending out. If it is negative, I get negative results. I attract more of what I send out. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? None at all. It was a simple book with very practical suggestions. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? None. 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. The Law of Attraction is not something strange; it has been with us since existence. It operates through vibrations on energy we send out as we think of something that we want in our life. The vibration can be something or a way we want to feel. The author has advised us to be careful with what kind of vibration we are sending out. For positive results we should be sending out positive results. All this tied with goal setting to me means that we should give our life goals positive vibrations. That way we will be on our way in achieving goals. Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good
and one is poor. Psycho - Cybernetics 2000 Psycho - Cybernetics 2000 What to Say When You Talk to Your Self The Power of Intention 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. “Having lost hope of ever returning to the source of everything, the average man seeks solace in his selfshiness.” For me, personally, I attempt to return to the source of everything on a daily basis, and I refuse to be the “the average man” - if there is one thing that has come out loudest from this book is the word 'average man'. I remember when I was growing up and in school; I used to prepare for exams. And when the results came no matter how hard I tried the results would indicate that am an average student. I therefore grew up knowing that no matter what I did, I was an average student who led and average life and who aimed at average goals. I also remember that once asked by my favorite teacher how I would like my future life to look like - I answered straight to her eyes and much to her surprise that I would like to lead and average life. I am now tired of being an average person. Why? For the simple reason that this allows me to embrace my comfort zones, it allows me to be complacent. It gives me excuses of why I shouldn't try. Yes that how an average person feels. No ambition, avoids pain, avoids goal setting and hope that life will get better. Trust in intention. It exists for you. Stay alert, and be willing to accept any guidance that comes your way. Stay in vibrational harmony with the all providing Source - the Law of Vibration and the Power of Intention are closely related. The pressures of life and heartbreaks that come with it can break down even the toughest guy. We then become hard instead of soft and ignore the guidance that is available fro us. I have noticed personally where I once asked, 'what is the use of all this? Its getting difficult to get what I want. I want out'. This is the time when I lost hope on intention because I allowed my ego to take the lead in analyzing how unfair life was and why I should have everything that I want. It took me time to notice that I wasn't balanced and therefore ignorant of the guidance that existed out there about my situation. By banishing doubt and trusting your intuitive feelings, you clear a space for the power of intention to flow through - one of the main challenges in life is the ability to remove doubt out of my life. It so happens that even when I want to try something new that doubt sets in. Then my ego helps me to come up with so many reasons of why I will not succeed in what am doing. Doubt of course sets in and I abandon what I wanted to do. I give myself excuses that there is no need of putting so much effort into something and later feeling pain because it failed. I sometimes miss leading a balanced life. That's the only way that I can be able to be at peace with myself and trust my intuitive feelings. All this is because of the mindset that I have allowed through out in my life. However I have discovered that by choosing to hang on to one's corner of freedom even in the worst situations, we can process our world with the energy of appreciation and beauty, and create an opportunity to transcend our circumstances. The secret to manifesting anything that you desire is your willingness
and ability to realign yourself so that your inner world is in harmony with
the power of intention - I have noticed that I miss my targets for the
simple reason that I easily lose inner balance. This becomes hard when there
is a battle inside me, when my body fights with my spirit. Eventually my
body wins and unfortunately that doesn't long. I try to cherish moments of
silence to meditate or dream about what I want. This helps me be in touch
with the real me - the spiritual me. This is where I look for the best of me
and others. If I feel unstable inside I know that this will affect my
outside world. By all means, have an aim in life and be full of determination, but rid yourself of the illusion that you are the one who is going to manifest your heart's desire through you will. It's your imagination that I want you to focus on - I once read somewhere that we should pray as if everything depends on God and then do it as if it depends on us. I am not sure if I have paraphrased that well. However this can be easily taken to mean that everything in life depends entirely on us and not the Source. If this is true then it explains why we are pained if we fail. Why? We haven't learnt the secret of letting go or detachment. We are so fixed on the results and the way we want it to be that we forget that the Source has a way of doing things. Life is bigger that me and if am not in harmony with God there is very little I can manifest in my life. It is not about me, it's about God expressing Himself through me to accomplish something. In imagination, dwell on the end, fully confident that it's there in the material world and you can use the ingredients of the all creative Source to make it tangible. Through imagination, God imagines everything into reality. This is your new strategy as well - I have always loved imagining things and other times dreaming. In fact one of my mentors used to call me a dreamer. I still love to be associated with the word dreamer. I therefore love looking at something be it an idea or people and seeing beyond. I imagine beyond the person or idea and am amazed at what I see. Imagination for is like what one person defined vision to be, he said 'vision is the picture you see at the end of a story'. I can say the same of imagination! Someone can start telling me a story or explaining something and I start seeing pictures form. I think this is powerful since it enables me to pursue what is I see and feel. If you are experiencing scarcity, anguish, depression, an absence of love, or any inability to attract what you desire, seriously look at how you have been attracting these circumstances in your life - being out of harmony with the Source is a very frustrating experience. Since life has been an up and down journey for me, I have noticed that the best status is when am balanced. I found this to be the richest gift in this human experience. When one is balanced physically, emotionally, spiritually and physically, s/he is able to achieve more. However there are so many pressures of life that deny us access to the balanced experience. Everyday there are disturbing events, disappointing incidences and the like. The secret for me is to struggle to return to the balanced person who is inside. Chose to be in close proximity to people who are empowering, who appeal to your sense of connection to intention, who see the greatness in you, who feel connected to God, and who live a life that gives evidence that Spirit has found celebration through them - choosing friends is something I never took seriously in my teenage years and early adult life. I was a social being and mixed with everyone so easily that at incidences it used to create conflict with my parents and some of my friends who wanted me for themselves. However I came to find out that carefully deciding the types of friends to hand out with or socialize was so important. I have had friends who tried to drug me into the mess, or to be like them in thought and action. And if I didn't do that I was found to be shy and afraid of trying to 'some' things. In the process I lost so many friends and at first I felt so bad but later saw that it was worth it. I came to learn friends have so much influence in someone's life. Their opinions are so important that if you don't do as they advice you will feel out of place. Most of my friends especially the ones I used to have thought that I was a rebel because I used to chose to do things as I feel. When it comes to goal setting, most of the books I have read advice readers not to share their goals or plans with any one. Instead they advise that we only confide our intentions or goals with people who believe in us, who can give is a push and not discourage us. You'll feel most on purpose when you're giving your life away by serving others. When you are giving to others, to your planet, and your Source, you're being purposeful. Whatever it is that you choose to do, if you're motivated to be of service to others while being authentically detached from the outcome, you'll feel on purpose, regardless of how much abundance flows back to you - I have loved serving and helping others so much that I have been accused of ignoring myself. To some extent this is true although I have tried my best to reduce my service to others. This has been difficult and I have realized that it is hard to change what I love to do. I feel more on purpose when I serve others, when I show them love, when I lend them and ear and so forth. It reached a point when I need to be served by others and this didn't happen. I became so mad and thought that all I had done was a waste. I was so attached to the results of what I did. If I helped someone, consciously or unconsciously I wanted the favour back in the future. To my surprise this didn't happen and I was so agitated and questioned by passion of serving. I had learnt about detachment and it didn't mean so much to me then. It was an additional concept for me. However as I was evaluating this situation I made a conclusion that it didn't matter if I received all not, I should continue to serve others because when I do it I feel good, I feel on purpose. Slowly I started to internalize the concept of detachement. When I feel inspired, what appeared to be risky becomes a path I feel compelled to follow. The greatest danger for us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. Expand your reality to the point where you persue what you love doing and excel at it - it is so easy in this life of bones and flesh to be a conformist. Yes there are so many times I conform to what is happening around me although I don't realize it. Conformity is boring that it can kill a man. I have tried so many times to aim high and I have hit the ground so hard. When this used to happen I used to take a long break and then try again. If I failed several times, I would ask myself what is the use. Then later with time I would quit. I then started setting or aiming at small goals because I feared to fail. I just didn't have the patience of some of the great inventors. The secret for me is to do what I love and then scale it up. Sometimes reaching a goal doesn't mean that I should achieve all the steps to that goal. I feel happy at times by just having a goal or challenge. When its over I feel bad because I think I didn't give my best shot. The truth is, by just having a goal that enough challenge. It was just yesterday I was telling a colleague of mine why I love challenging jobs. “The moment the job or task is almost complete I feel like I need another challenge to pick on. I have no time to be somewhere where everything is working and smooth. I want a place where my impact will be felt. I was so shocked to realize what I had said”. 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. Relationships Sometimes life is about me and yet other times it is not. This looks a contradiction! I need to think about myself as much as I want to think about others. All this stems from inside of me. When I have low energies I will definitely affect those around me. My energy levels need to be higher than those I relate to so that I can influence their low energies to be high. The same applies to me - I should avoid company of people who are always negative or who seem to influence me to have low energies. Beliefs Everyday we are influenced with all kinds of ideas or opinions in our work place, in school and in our social life. We are bombarded by what other people think is right for us without question. Some people tend to give us their life experience in order to make it our own. I believe my own thoughts since that's freedom for me. It doesn't matter what my family say or friends about an issue, I always believe my heart. Sometimes I give myself permission to do something opposite to what my heart feels or guides. I do this at times so that I can learn and know how far I can stretch myself. Goals There is nothing frustrating as doing a job you don't love or being in a relationship that you don't enjoy. The solution will be to either cultivate love for what you do or change jobs or the relationship. It is inspiring to be on purpose by doing what you love, what makes you heart sing with joy because you give everything your very best. It was once said that, 'do what you love and money will come.' I find that statement to be a great guide as I develop my goals. I shouldn't look for the material benefits of a goal; instead I should focus on what joy it gives me when I accomplish it. I need to ask myself, will I be on purpose if I pursue this goal? Does the goal come from my will or ego? How does it balance me? That why I will be able to develop goals that have far reaching effects. Values I find this statement to be very unique and radical in this sense; most of us have been challenged to die for a cause just like Jesus Christ. However I believe that I shouldn't end up like him since he will be disappointed by me. I would rather see what I believe come to pass since I have intended it into reality. It is like the life goals I have, if I died without anything about them, then it was a waste to have them in the first place. My challenge is to make sure that the goals are realized. I love comparing goals to the parable of talents in the New Testament. We are all give goals to persue and that's our life's work. 3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Please Explain. When life appears to work against you, when your luck is down, when the supposedly wrong people show up, or when you slip up and return to old, self-defeating habits, recognize the signs that you are out of harmony with intention. You can and will reconnect in a way that will bring you into alignment with your own purpose - this one of the new things that captured my attention. I have experienced severally where life seemed to be against me no matter what I tried. I was so frustrated and full of complains and at times would curse. I wasn't aware that I was out of harmony with intention or Spirit. I used to think that it's a face I life when darkness surrounds me and then disappears. I have learnt that in can reconnect with the Spirit of intention if I listen to my heart, my feelings and if am detached from the results I intend to create. Feelings are clues about your destiny and potential, and they are seeking the full expression of life through you - I used to know that feelings where either good or bad and that you could buy or force them to come to you. I once argued with my mother that feelings make a relationship. I wasn't aware that they are clues to my destiny or potential. I only thought that its what makes us feel human and serve others. The way I walk, conduct myself or speak has a deep reflection of how I value or feel towards myself. Feelings can be measuring tools that gauge how you're doing in the manifestation process. Strong emotions such as passion and bliss are indications that you're connected to the Spirit, or inspired. You are not your work, your accomplishments, your possessions, your home, your family…. your anything. You're an aspect of the power of intention, dressed in a physical human body intended to experience and enjoy life on earth - I am reminded here that I am a spirit having a human experience. I should therefore avoid defining myself with what I have and instead focus on what I mean. That way I can enjoy life. I sometimes easily carried away by looking for what other people have and comparing it with what I have and sadness comes to my eyes. That discourages me from enjoying life. However I need to peruse life by enjoying every moment of it whether I have or not. The important character is to enjoy. The moments of my life, which I spend being happy and joyful and allowing myself to be fully alive and on purpose, are the times when I am aligned with the all creating universal mind of intention. Your desires, goals, hopes, and dreams will never be finished - ever! - I was trying to figure out the real meaning of this statement and I remembered that the author kept on insisting that I am an infinite being or a spiritual being for that matter. The moment one desire or goal is accomplished another one springs, there is no end. As infinite beings we are not limited, we like working and as soon as a particular quest ends, we run to another one. It is like a man who is thirsty, the moment he takes a glass of cool water to quench his thirst another kind of thirst develops! 4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how? I was intended and that's how I came to being. I am a product of intention and without that I would have never been materialized in the world of bones and flesh. Everything in my life is intended from what I have to what I want to have. I never knew how all this operated but know I am aware that the Power of Intention is real and it is backed by the Spirit of God. In order for me to tap in that power I need to be in harmony with God. Almost two years ago I developed goals and I failed in realizing them. I was never aware that there existed the power of intention and law of attraction. These are tools that are going to help me redevelop my goals. 5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why? NO. 6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book? Nothing 7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey. Intention is a strong purpose or aim, accompanied by a determination to produce a desired result. Intention is something that I can feel, connect with, know, and trust. I tend to find a close connection between intention and faith. Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good
and one is poor. Nonviolent Communication - A Language of Life The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writings on
His Life, Work, and Ideas Educating for Human Greatness Creating Learning Communities 1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to
convey in the book? True Prosperity - How To Have Everything 1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to
convey in the book? The Grip of Death 1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book? This a very complex book to understand that talks about how the monetary system in the world works (actually in the UK based on the case studies offered). The book further talks about debts including Third World Debt, mortgages and creation of debt. However there is more emphasis on mortgages hence the title The Grip of Death. I thought this book was relevant at this time when the world economy is facing recession. Instead the author captures vividly the history of economics dating back to 1963 which in itself is not a bad thing. To be honest the book is difficult to understand and requires one to do more background research on how economies function and how they affect people. As a leader I need to better grasp money/economics issues and I need not to make excuses on the subject. 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. Money is trusted. Monetary statistics are trusted - the financial system is Kenya is shrouded with a lot of secrecy. We as citizens trust what we are told by the Minister of Finance if when he says that there is no money to fund an important far reaching project. Statistics analysed by private economic organizations often contradict with the government. Unfortunately even members of parliament do not understand how the government budgeting operates. There has been a campaign to have citizens included in the budgeting process to reflect the realities on the ground in order to fund relevant projects. The origin of debt - the author has brought about an important aspect about debt. He says that modern money is created in parallel with debt. I always thought that when we borrow from a bank, we are borrowing other people's money. According to the book, banks and building societies create new money in order to offer loans. I think this is one of the confounding statement in the entire book. In Kenya, according to government and non government sources most the debts are brought about by borrowing from international financial institutions which include the World Bank and IMF. This then literally means that the money we get does not exist and instead is created. The issues of debt affect the universal principles of human rights by creating modern slavery. 35% of our revenues goes towards servicing international debts. It is said that every Kenyan owes the World Bank/IMF approximately $300 and this is a painful fact because we cant see what they money has done. So in reality we are slaves that need to be freed from these debts. The gap between the rich and poor - early in 2008 inflation rose to high levels of 12% monthly and as a result it was difficult for most people to put food on the table. The high food costs were not unique to Kenya or Africa only but to the whole world. This has made consumers used to borrowing-to-buy. They know that asking for an increase in salaries leads to raise of goods & services and threatens their companies they work for. It funny how the economy works in this world. For instance oil prices are at this moment selling for approximately $ 40 a barrel yet oil is sold here the same price it was when a barrel went for $120. There is something wrong in all this. Inflation has continued to rise yet the wages remain the same and therefore pushing more and more people towards debt and poverty. Essential services have become too expensive and now people in Kenya are living by what we call, 'The grace of God'. Transport systems - the author points out that transport crisis is just one aspect of a general disorganization of the economy in line with the financial pressures and economic trends generated by debt finance. The transport aspect in our city in Nairobi poses a real challenge to both the local and central government. We have a very bad transport system that is so frustrating and time wasting. For instance it takes 2 hours to get to town in the peak hours of the morning and the same time in the evening. Yet the distance between where I stay to town is 15 kilometres which is a 10 minutes drive. The private sector has generated good ideas to improve this situation but instead the government only shelves these plans. As a result we have lost our good engineers to countries in South Africa such as Botswana and Namibia. This situation has a major effect on the economy since a lot of man hours and fuel are lost in unnecessary traffic jams. Farming debt - our government with its agreement with the international financial institutions does not subsidize farmers' inputs while in Europe and the US farmers are subsidized. As a result there is unfair competition between these two types of farmers. Our farmers are then forced to be more mechanized to compete better and this leads them to apply for loans to achieve this without realizing that they are in being lured into a trap. To make matters more worse their products are scrutinized to meet 'international standards' while their counterparts in the west are not subjected to this. The best quality that meets this standards is shipped abroad while we are forced to buy what doesn't meet that same standard. In the end we produce good food products but not meant for the local market. This is 'necessary' because the government needs foreign exchange to service it debts. Focus on foreign investment as opposed to local investments - China is leading the modern scramble for Africa but offering cheaper products than the ones manufactured locally. Another country is Libya which is following Chinas footsteps by buying government businesses at throw away prices. This has brought about an unhealthy competition in the business sector. Unfortunately the government seems hell bent into making these foreign businesses succeed as opposed to local ones. Foreign businesses are offered a wide range of incentives at times called 'tax holidays' while local businesses are harassed to pay taxes and meet stringent government regulations. This kills local entrepreneur spirit and there is no support whatsoever. Take for instance if I want to start my own business its going to take me a long process for the simple reason that my investment is less compared to foreign business. Then I will require a loan to finance the business and its easier for the government to accept to receive than to give. This strategy kills a lot of creativity and puts to waste all the skills that have been developed by our young people. Multinational exploitations - back in 2005 I attended the Kenya Social Forum, a local chapter of the World Social Forum. There was a big fight in the forum when some guest came with sodas from Coca Cola. Local reformists are against mulitinationals such as these because they tend to take away all the profits to their mother countries. During the same time there was a campaign not to buy juice products of a multinational company called Del Monte. It was discovered that this company paid it staff less, they had bad working conditions especially for pregnant women and never contributed to the local development. As much as this international companies create employment and pay taxes, we as a country benefit less since a small fraction of their profit is ploughed back to local development. After pressure from various quarters including the human rights movement which I was part , the juice making multinational built a school, a small hospital and piped water to the village that provided their labour force. 3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how? What this book challenges me is to research more about world economies preferably starting with my country. This way I will be better acquainted with rest of the world economics and the whole issue of money creation. I will especially need to understand why the world is current on recession and what led us to this place. And since this is not the first time for the world to undergo this, we need to understand that which we do to contribute to this. I am concerned even here in Kenya, there is so much destruction and waste of meager resources. Forests are fast disappearing with little regard to the environment and posterity, we have a parliament that passes bills that serve the immediate selfish needs, we have an education system that wastes the potential of this nation and we have a myriad of other problems that are affecting us. Yet we little understand that this ultimately affects our lives at this moment and the future generations. Personally I bet this is one reason that there is an economic slump. Ideas have been suggested now and then but that doesn't mean that I can’t offer mine through writing and making commentaries. I also have a huge task of educating others to learn what I have leant so I can also be part of creating leaders. 4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you. None. 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? As I have mentioned above, the book is complex to understand since it focuses more on debt financing as one aspect of economic challenges faced. 6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful? No. 7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment. I wouldn't recommend this book highly maybe give a 3 because of two reasons: * Any reader must be first acquainted with basic economic books in order to fully grasp the serious issues this book is raising and * At this time based on where the global economy is, there is need for people to understand reasons as to what led them here. 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? 3 Matrix Energetics |
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