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Assessment by Harriet Opondo...
As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author is trying to convey to the readers, the power of their thought patterns and how it affects all areas of life.
Our thoughts literally influences our character, circumstances, attitudes, health and even our destiny therefore if any one wants to see progress un their lives, the first area to check is the thought patterns and evaluate whether his thoughts match the desired change.
Also he is showing his readers how negative thought patterns can produce negative results in all aspects of life and how positive thinking can literally change our lives and destinies.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The seven ideas that were personally important to me include the following;
The effect of thought on character, it is amazing that we are literally what we think, therefore our thoughts form what we are and we have the potential to make or build who we are by the power of our thoughts.
The effect of thought on circumstances, many of us think that it is the external influences that dictate the circumstances that we experience on a daily basis however it has been fascinating to know that actually we have control over our circumstances through our thought patterns, by realizing the creative power and potential that we have within us.
Also the idea that circumstances do not make us, instead they reveal who we are!
The third idea that is personally important to me is the effect of thoughts on health and body. The author clearly showed how negative thoughts can show through a sick body and also negative thought patterns open an entrance for disease. Our bodies respond readily to the thoughts by which it is impressed.
Another idea that is important to me is the link between thought and purpose. The notion that until ones thoughts is linked to purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment was very stimulating for me and I believe the fact that many people do not link purpose and thoughts counts for the huge amount of failure and procrastination that we experience in society today.
As we focus our thoughts on our purpose, we should not allow fear and doubt to interrupt us so that we achieve what we have set our minds to accomplish.
In addition to the above, another idea that is important to me is the thought-factor in achievement. It amazing to know the correlation between our thoughts and achievements, and this therefore implies that we are responsible for both our failures and successes and the blame game does not apply!
Achievements actually start from our thoughts; once we can conceive the ideas in our thoughts then we can be able to see its manifestations physically and in order for this to be a reality we therefore need to conquer fear and doubt.
The idea of the fact that visions and ideals which actually takes place in our thoughts is also important to me. I’m a dreamer and love to envision my dreams in my mind and enjoy writing them in a journal, therefore this has encouraged me to even dream more because I know one day I will see my dreams and visions become reality.
Lastly the importance of serenity is another idea that is personally important to me.
Serenity has to first be achieved in our thoughts by learning who we are and being able to adapt to others. I’m currently learning to be calm as opposed to worry and panic especially when things do not go the way I wanted or expected them to be, hence this idea of serenity in the book has even given me ideas of how to achieve greater serenity in my personal life.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
The above ideas and lessons will help me in my daily personal life and to create a better world in the following ways;
The lessons will help me to be more careful about the thoughts that I have since my character is the complete sum of all my thoughts. I’m already practicing to only allow positive thoughts about myself, others and the world, I know I have a long way to go but I’m happy about the humble beginnings.
Also the lesson on visions and ideals will help me in a practical way since it has encouraged me to dream and envision my preferred future and that of my city, nation and continent. I’m beginning to dream about what I would like my future to be and that of my community.
In addition, the ideas will help me not to focus on circumstances but rather on myself. Since circumstances reveal who we are, I have learnt that I need to learn through circumstances and not simply complain about them.
The lesson about serenity will help me learn to make time to be alone, quiet and reflect on life. Life is really hectic these days, and everything seems to be so fast hence the need for serenity, also believe that serenity will help me make better decisions since I won’t be distracted by noise and interruptions.
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.
The following statements particularly caught my attention as I read the book.
“A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts”
This statement is important to me because it has made me more aware of the impact of my thought on my character and how it builds or breaks it.
“Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are”
This statement caught my attention because like many people I always think that we attract what we want but it has been an eye opener that I actually attract what I am.
‘A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances’
This is important, since in life we never really choose most circumstances however we can choose our attitudes and the way we respond to them. Everyday life throws at us different circumstances that we have no control over but our thoughts and attitudes shape the outcome.
“A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped”
“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound”
The above statement is important to me because it reminds of the importance of self-sacrifice even as I strive to achieve great things in my life and for my community.
“He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure. His every thought is allied with power, and all difficulties are bravely met and over come”
The statement is important to me because it reminds me not to allow fear and doubt to take control of my life.
“The strong, calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm”
“The outer world of circumstances shapes itself to the inner world of thought, and both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions are factors which make for the ultimate good of the individual. As the reaper of his own harvest, man learns both of suffering and bliss”
This is important to me because life has both negative and positive circumstances and I must be able to learn and grow from both circumstances.
“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set.”
The above statements are important to me because they remind me about the necessity and significance of hard work in achieving what I desire and set my heart to do. Sacrifice is needed for any achievement in life.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
I do agree with most of the ideas in the book; however there are some statements and ideas that I entirely do not agree with. The author seems to suggest the notion that we can dream of what we want and simply ask God to bless them, there seems to be a lot of power associated with our thoughts, it appears to me that the Author is suggesting that all we need is positive thinking. However though I believe that our thoughts by and large affect all areas of our lives significantly, I also believe and know that God has to be acknowledged in what we do and simply ask Him to do thinks for us but rather we need to acknowledge that He is sovereign and not at the human level.
Another idea I do not entirely agree with is the fact that the author seem not to acknowledge other factors that contribute to a good life and success other than our thoughts. I entirely believe in the impact of our thoughts on our lives however I do not think we can glorify the power of thought alone and ignore the contribution of our external environment towards our success or failure. Life is not just about our dreams and ideals; we need to interact with the external environment.
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?
There were no exercises to complete
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 enjoyed reading the book and loved the style the author used, it made the book more interesting and easy to ready. The statements in the book are thought provoking and indeed full of wisdom.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10.
A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book
The author is trying to convey the message of thinking out of the box and that of ambition where we do not accept the status quo, doing the same things that people around us or our forefathers have always done. There is always room for improvement if we will only think more widely and attempt to do new things and bigger things even if every person around us is conforming to the present circumstances.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The most important ideas that were personally important to me include the following:
Breaking out of the ordinary and trying new out new things.
In the book, Jonathan Seagull was able to break out of just flying near the waters as he looked for food like all the other seagulls to flying really high in the sky way above any other Seagull in his flock. In life most around us conform to the status quo, for instance most young ladies in my village are not very ambitious and do not take career advancement very seriously however even as a little girl I always dreamt about finishing college and even doing my masters and I’m glad that I finished college and will do my masters in due season.
Learning from others through their experience.
When Jonathan seagull met the other seagulls that had learnt to fly even higher than him. Jonathan was willing and eager to learn from the more experienced seagulls, especially Chiang. We always need to surround ourselves with people who are more experienced and who have been where we want to go. In my personal life, I’m privileged to have many older men and women who have experienced many things I have not. I have learnt a great deal especially about leadership, balance, marriage, discipleship, parenting and how to grow in my relationship with God.
Changing our mindsets
It is amazing that when Jonathan changed his mindset about flying, he was able to fly, and he was able to teach other seagulls who wanted to learn how to fly. When they thought that they can fly higher, they actually did! In order for anyone to achieve anything great in life, the process has begin in the mind, when we mentally envision something, we are on the road to victory. When in my last year of high school, I always pictured myself in college even as I prepared for my final exams and this encouraged me to work harder and indeed victory was achieved at the end of that year!
Practice makes perfect!
Jonathan Seagull had to make different attempts before he actually learnt how to fly higher, and with every attempt, he learnt new things and even new ways of how to fly higher and with less effort. The more we practice, the more learn, especially for a new skill or hobby. I used to love being indoors a lot however, I’m learning to hang outdoor more, and I have realized that the more I try staying outdoors with friends, say in a shopping Mall, the more I’m becoming more comfortable with it.
Mentorship
This is important for me, mentoring is teaching others what we have learnt, when Jonathan learnt how to fly, he become really good at it and since he had been expelled as an outcast by the elders of his flock, no one expected him to be interested in going back to the flock to reach other seagulls how to fly. However Jonathan went back and taught the seagulls that were interested in flying, this indeed was incredible. I love to tell others what I have learnt and currently I have many young people who look up to me and particularly I have young ladies that I’m mentoring, this gives me great delight and fulfillment.
Forgiveness
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull was expelled as an outcast for learning how to fly however we see him going back to that same old flock and he is willing to teach them flying. We need to always forgive those who hurt us and should be willing to let go of the offense. My principle in life is that no one is prefect and that includes me. Everyday I need God and other people to forgive me for my sins and mistakes hence I should be willing to extend the same grace and forgiveness to those that hurt me.
The last but not least idea is that of risk taking.
Right from the beginning, it was a huge risk for Jonathan Seagull to attempt to learn how to fly that high! What if he had died from the cold? However he risked and he learnt! We will never learn anything new or make progress unless we are willing to take risks. This is very important to me because I tend to want to know every detail before I try anything new! However, I’m learning to take more risks in life.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
I believe that the above ideas will help me in a practical way both in my daily personal life and in helping to create a better life in the following ways.
* The idea of breaking out of the ordinary will help me in that, I’m learning to be contented with just the ordinary but to try and reach out for the extra ordinary, by dreaming bigger about my future and working towards achieving the dreams. In creating a better world, I will challenge others around me to desire to achieve more than their predecessors were able to achieve and to be tired of old ways of doing things and to search for better and more efficient ways.
* Changing of mindsets will help me to envision things in my mind more and to put off negative ways of thinking and to adopt more positive attitude towards life generally. In the aspect of creating a better world, I particularly want to challenge the poverty mentality that is so common in my society, in the Third world countries many people have a poverty mentality and we think we should always be receiving however I believe that we all have potential and God has endowed every country with resources that if we only managed them well and changed our way of thinking we would be giving to others than receiving!
* The idea of mentorship has encouraged me even more in my efforts of mentorship than ever before, I’m willing to spend more time with the people in my sphere of influence, as I teach them all that I can and also by them observing me living out the same principles in my personal life. I’m also more eager to learn from others who are older and more experienced. I believe that if more people who are older and more experienced in my country were willing to coach and mentor the younger generation as opposed to running to the more developed countries, we would achieve more development than we are experiencing now hence a better world.
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.
The following quotes particularly got my attention
‘…yet he felt guiltless, breaking the promises he had made himself. Such promises are only for the gulls that accept the ordinary. One who has touched excellence in his learning has no need of that kind of promise’
The above quote is important to be because it taught me that need to break off old thinking patterns as we go to new places and areas of achievement.
‘…instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there is reason to life! We can list ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill’
The quotation above caught my attention because it showed me the that there is potential for growth and development in each individual, all we need is to kick out the ignorance mentality by willing to learn more and discover more.
‘…Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull’s life is so short, and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long and fine life indeed.’
The quote above caught my attention because I have realized how much fear and anger can rob out of our lives if we allow them to flourish; it sucks out every favor and excitement in life. I used to struggle with fear however since I learnt a while ago of its consequences, I have come along way in gaining victory over fear therefore the above quote, is helping me to keep every trace of fear in my life.
‘…his own way of demonstrating love was to give something of the truth that he had seen to a gull who asked only a chance to see the truth for himself”
This is important to me because it has showed me a new definition of love! Teaching and instructing others is love, and since love is the most excellent way, I will keep teaching truth to those who ask for a chance to experience it.
‘…is nothing more than your thought itself, in a form you can see. Break the chains of your thought and you break the chains of your body, too…”
The above quote indeed breaks out the power of thoughts and how it is important to break off negative thought patterns.
‘…you don’t love hatred and evil, of course. You have to practice and see the real gull, the good in every one of them and to help them see it in themselves, that is what I mean by love. It’s fun, when you get a knack of it’
The above quote helped to realize that there is always potential in everyone, and love is helping others realize their full potential.
‘don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly’
The quote above shows the role of vision and looking beyond what our eyes can see to what our understanding is showing us. We should look beyond the physical dimension of things.
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?
There is nothing unclear in the book.
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?
There were no exercises to complete
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Success
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book
The Author of the book is trying to spell out the different principles of achieving personal achievement. The seventeen principles are expounded and indeed when followed even the sky is not the limit as one strives to achieve success and impact the community and the world at large.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following were the seven ideas that were important to me
* Definiteness of purpose; this is important to me because over time and especially as I read the book, no one can succeed until they have a particular purpose or aim that they are focusing on. Personally my passion is for children and family and indeed the book has helped to think critically and actually spell out what I want to achieve.
* Self-discipline through emotional control; this helps to tie the other principles that are discussed in the book. Self-discipline requires self-knowledge and an accurate assessment of my current abilities and it is the channel through which all my personal power for success must flow. This is important to me because I’m quite emotional and learning to exercise emotional control is one of those aspects I still have to master. For instance I get easily angered when things do not go the way I expect them however I’m learning to keep my joy even when I don’t get my way as this is a sign of maturity.
* Control your attention; this act of coordinating all the faculties of the mind and directing their combined power to a given end. Concentration upon a single idea has been the hallmark of success for countless people and organizations. Controlled attention works hand-in-hand with the other principles; for instance after one has decided on a definite purpose, by controlling one’s attention, it is possible to concentrate and achieve success. This principle is important to me because I live in a busy world like most people with lots of demands screaming for my attention therefore I must learn the art of controlling my attention and focusing on what is important, for instance I work in large organization and my work involves working with the different departments however I need to make sure that I actually concentrate on the principle tasks of my job.
* Applied Faith; Faith has many definitions; it is the awareness of and belief in, and harmonizing with universal powers. When we look at the world around us and how everything is organized and systematic, there is no doubt that there is a supernatural power that is behind creation. Our faith must not be passive but rather active, putting into action what we believe. This principle is so key to my life, I’m a Christian and I believe in the existence of God who created the universe and mankind. There have been times when circumstances around me have been so difficult however I believed and had Faith that the God who created me and who cares would in a way make a way out of the difficult situation and each tine He has come through for me. My Faith in God has enabled me to attempt many things I would otherwise not have tried.
* Create Personal initiative; this is the power that starts all the action, it is the power that inspires completion of that which one begins; this principle basically spells out the skill of one going out of their way and doing more than expected and taking a keen interest in the task being accomplished, personal initiative creates work and opportunities, advancement and helps to shape the future. This principle is important to me because it does not encourage procrastination! There are moments when my morale to do anything is low and this principle has reminded me to a person who is self-motivated and who sees beyond what the physical eye can see and therefore discover ways of succeeding where others have failed.
* Build a positive mental attitude; a positive mental attitude is the right, honest, constructive thought, action or reaction to any person, situation or set of circumstances that does not violate the laws of God or the right of one’s fellowman. This principle is vital to me because it gives me the mental power, feeling and confidence to anything that I have made up my mind to do. I have realized as I read in the book, that my mind and attitude is the one thing that I have total control over. I can not have complete control over circumstances and people around me however I have control over my reactions and responses towards them. For instance there is a heavy traffic jam in the mornings as I get to work, I can either decide to get angry and upset about it or relax, listen to music and read a book as I wait for the lights to let us go!
* Budget your time and money; we live in a world with limited resources and time never waits for anyone! It is important therefore that I intelligently balance the use of my time and resources. There is need to take inventory so that one finds out how they use resources and time. This principle is important because it has taught me not to waste time anymore! I now focus my attention on what is important and use my money wisely, for instance I have increased my savings by 5% and I buy only what I need and not out of impulse.
* Establish a mastermind alliance-with PMA; a mastermind alliance is two or more minds working together in the spirit of perfect harmony toward attainment of a specific objective. This principle makes it possible to acquire knowledge and experience needed for the attainment of a desired goal. This is indeed a key principle since as the saying goes’ no man is an island’ we all need people to help us achieve our desired goals. For example, I have been battling in my mind whether to focus on child counseling first or pursue family therapy. However as i had a chat with a lady who is involved in general counseling; she told of the shortage of child counselors and advised to give child counseling more thought then make a decision as to what field I wanted to pursue for my masters. Talking with her gave me insight and is indeed helping me make career choices.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
The above seven ideas will help me in a practical way both in my personal life and in creating a better world in the following ways
* Developing a definite purpose is helping lead a more focused life as I have given serious thought to what I want to achieve and accomplish in this life and I believe by achieving a definite goals I will impact my world positibely.
* Self-discipline is helping learn to control anger temper. I’m practicing keeping quite in instances I would have otherwise talked! And also learning to keep negative emotions far away from my mind and life.
* Building a positive mental attitude is teaching me to remain positive even when things do not look so good. There are goals I wanted to achieve by this time of the year however I have not yet accomplished them however PMA and applied faith is helping me to keep positive.
* Budgeting time and money is helping me to minimize wastage of resources, for instance I’m learning to stick to my budget, live within my means and avoid debt as much as possible.
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.
“There is no scarcity of opportunity. There is scarcity of imagination”
The above statement is important to me because it encourages me to use my mind and imaginations so us to maximize the opportunities that are around me. The more we utilize our imaginations, the more opportunities you seize.
“No one can be successful without first knowing what it is he or she wants. If this principle is to have any value to you, you must follow it as a daily habit,”
It is important to be focused and to know what you want! The statement above can not over emphasize it.
“Personal ambitions must be subordinate to the fulfillment and successful achievement of the definite purpose of the alliance. This includes your own”
As we form alliances it is key that we each submit to the overall goal or purpose instead of pursuing our personal agendas which may conflict the purpose.
“There is a right moment and a wrong moment for everything. Tact is the habit of doing and saying the right thing at the right moment”
Timing is everything! We each need to learn to discern the right time for every activity. In fact the Bible says that there is a time and season for every activity under heaven. Therefore I need to learn to do things at their proper time.
“If you become a tyrant in the pursuit of your definite major purpose, seeking to dominate your family, your mastermind alliance, and your employees, you will be rolling back the cause of freedom just as certainly as does any revolutionary extremists.”
As we pursue our goals, it is important that we do not deny people around us of liberty, we should always give them an opportunity to be free and express their thoughts and ideas instead of bulldozing them.
“Cooperation, like love and friendship, is something you get by giving. There are many travelers on the road that leads to happiness”
Team work is important and therefore I should be deliberate about working with other people and hence making cooperation a priority.
“Make yourself understand that what whips you isn’t defeat, but your mental attitude toward it. Train yourself to look for the seed of equivalent benefit in every disappointment you face”
The statement is important to me because in life, we al face defeat and it is important how I respond to it. I need to learn to see the lessons and opportunities in every failure.
“Attune your mind to attract the things and situations you desire by expressing in a daily prayer your gratitude for what you already have”
Thanksgiving is important, we should always be grateful to God for the blessings He has already given us even as we wait for the other things that we desire.
“Learn to like people just as they are, instead of demanding that they be just as you want them to be”
The statement above is important to me because, we each meet different people each day and it is important that I learn to like people just the way they are; to accept them for who they are as opposed to asking them to change.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
I understood everything in the book and there were no unclear ideas.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
I did complete the exercise at the end of the book and it helped me to deliberately apply the principles of personal achievement in my daily life.
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.
There was none
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book
The main idea that the authors of the book are trying to put across is the power and role of our attitudes as we strive to achieve success. They then show how we can achieve success through a positive mental attitude. Our attitudes literally affects all aspects of our life, a positive mental attitude will attract the right people, wealth and increase emotional levels. On the other hand a negative mental attitude robs us of all that life has to offer.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The seven ideas which were personally important to me are:
* A positive mental attitude; this is important to me because as I read the book, I realized that every victory actually begins in my mind and attitude. In order to achieve success I need to keep trying with a positive mental attitude. For instance, right now I’m considering pursuing a master’s degree next year; this can be a hectic process however I’m determined to keep on trying with a positive mental attitude. therefore, I need to constantly practice how to control my mental attitude.
* Definite of purpose; it is vital that we each have something specific we are aiming to achieve, as opposed to trying to do many different things at the same time. This is important to me because it will keep me focused, for instance, my obsession right now is children’s welfare and particularly their development and emotional health, this has led me to read and learn more in this field.
* Going the extra-mile; this principle brings to our attention, the practice of doing more than expected or paid for, going the extra-mile has brought benefits to many people. For instance, I’m expected to work for eight hours however there are days where I need to put in more hours, this has earned favor before my supervisors.
* Pleasing personality; our personalities can either attract or repel people and opportunities from us. For instance smiling at others and watching our tone of voice is important as we work and relate with others. Also aspects like remembering someone’s name or a colleague’s birthday is important. I have made it a habit to remember my friends and colleagues’ birthdays; this has made my relationships stronger and more meaningful.
* Maintaining sound health; our attitudes greatly affect our health. PMA attracts good health. It is important to watch our thoughts, diet, read inspirational books like the Bible and engage in physical exercise. In my personal life, I have learnt to be careful about what I eat and have enough hours of sleep.
* Creative vision; we are each capable of using our minds constructively and to invent more ideas. Thinking of how things can be improved as did the Wright brothers. In my working environment we have been able to think of more creative ways to reach out to the young people, the idea of annual camps has been a great avenue.
* Learning from defeat; life can be very unpredictable, sometimes things do not go as we always plan therefore learning from defeat. It is also important to differentiate temporary defeat from failure. I have learnt numerous lessons from past failures.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
The ideas will help me practically both in my personal life and in creating a better world as seen below;
* A positive mental attitude and definite purpose will help me to be more focused and not give up on my dreams. Even as I strive to create a better world around me and I need to be specific about what aspects I desire to change hence the principle of definite purpose will be helpful.
* None of us can achieve lasting success without the help of like-minded people therefore by having a pleasing personality, I will be able to attract resourceful people who will become a mastermind alliance and this will help me not just to achieve my goals but also create a better world.
* “we fall down but we get up” are the lyrics of one of my all time favorite songs, we all face and encounter defeat and set backs, therefore following the principle of learning from defeat will help me look at setbacks in a different perspective hence grow and mature more, this is indeed will be helpful in my personal life.
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.
“character is something that is caught not taught”
Most of us desire to grow in maturity and character; this can not just be taught but caught as we place our selves in environments that will help develop desirable thoughts and attitudes. This is important to me because character development is one of the aspects that I need to daily develop if I want to be successful.
“man’s greatest power lies in the power of prayer”
Prayer is a powerful weapon that when used can bring great success. God is the creator of the universe and He is wise, powerful, loving and kind, therefore when we connect to Him through prayer we are indeed headed for success. This is important to me because I absolutely believe in the power of prayer and that it changes things and people.
“one of the surest ways to find happiness for yourself is to devote your energies towards making someone else happy”
The golden rule teaches us to do unto others what we would want them to do for us, therefore when we want to find happiness we should invest in things and actions that make another person happy. For instance usually when I’m tending towards depression, a visit to our babies’ home and by just helping the Nannies with feeding the children and playing with them, I start to feel better and my joy returns.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”
There are aspects of our lives that we can not change for instance, family and ethnic backgrounds, it is important that we don’t try to hide from it however we can change our attitudes, thoughts and behavioral patterns. We therefore need to know the difference so that we do not waste energy changing things that can not be changed!
“Satisfaction is a mental attitude”
Everything begins from our mind; we need to train our minds to see things positively. This is important to me because I believe that we need to be thankful and satisfied with what we already have even as we seek to achieve more.
“where there is nothing to lose by trying, and a great deal to gain if successful, by all means try!”
The saying goes “practice makes perfect” therefore if we want to master a certain skill we need to keep practicing. This even applies to our goals; we keep trying as opposed to fearing to lose. This is important to me because I used to give up easily; I’m now being reminded to keep trying and not to be afraid to fail.
“you will not succeed consistently unless you know the rules; you will not continuously succeed unless you apply the rules”
We need to read and study so as to know the rules of success however we only achieve success when we the rules move from head knowledge to action. this is important to me because u have learnt a lot through reading and from other people and I therefore need to apply what I have learned and observed.
“yes, you must take the first step. It makes all no difference how much thinking and study time you spend, it will avail you little unless you also act.”
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step” goes the Chinese saying. After all the study and thinking, we need to take action, I’m a logical thinker and careful one at that so since I’m still learning to be more proactive, this is key!
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
I did complete the exercise and it helped me test my success quotient and to establish where I fall.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it 10
PsychoCybernetics 2000
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea in the book is about achieving personal fulfillment by enhancing our self-image and how we view the world and circumstances around us. It looks at aspects like how to program our minds for success, freeing ourselves from false beliefs, how to choose and set goals and how to avoid failure.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following ideas were personally most important to me as I read the book;
• Self-image: the key to success; the way we view ourselves determines a lot how far we can go in life; if we view ourselves as stupid and insignificant, this will cripple our success however when we view ourselves as significant, intelligent and with potential to succeed, usually we achieve more, since our beliefs greatly affects our success level. For instance throughout my life I have always believed that I’m intelligent and my family has been very supportive in re-enforcing it, and as a result I have been able to excel in my academics.
• The CRAFT of programming: five steps to a new self-image; this principle is important to me because it has taught me how to recognize a negative self image, challenge the bad habit supporting it and creating a new self-image. For instance I always thought that I was not good at public speaking, with this principle I’m learning to affirm myself about public speaking abilities.
• Believing is seeing-How your imagination can guide you toward success: It was interesting to learn that the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between a real experience and an imagined one. In order to achieve success, it begins with our imaginations; this is important to me because I love to imagine a lot, I have literally imagined most of the things I desire in life, from being a wonderful mother to being a Family Therapist.
• Sow SEEDS and reap success. This principle is one of my favorites in this book! It is very helpful in handling stressful situations and avoiding all the health implications that stress can cause. My work can get stressful at times and I have been able to use this principle.
• How to set goals the SMART way; this indeed is a practical guide to goal setting; it avoids having ambiguous goals that are hard to achieve. With this principle I have been able to set and write more realistic goals and I have achieved some of them already.
• Today is another day: how to overcome procrastination; I was surprised to know that most of us procrastinate because of a subconscious desire not to achieve a goal! This principle is important to me because, I used to procrastinate a lot however I’m learning to do things immediately as opposed to postponing what can be done today; for instance I met a client today and I’m glad I wrote the report immediately, the principle is being applied!
• Self-Acceptance: acknowledging your worth; we are each created in God’s image and we have intrinsic value and worth, therefore we need to say ourselves as people of value. It is very frustrating to try and be what we are not. This is important to me because work with Young people and I constantly need to affirm their self-esteem and this means I should first of all be confident in who I am.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
The above ideas will help me in the following ways:
• The principle about self-image will help to keep a healthy balanced image about myself and the world around and I believe this will help me achieve more in life and encourage those in my sphere of influence to be positive about their self-image as well.
• The SEED principle is helping me already in handling stressful situations in my personal life and work related projects, I intend to share it with my friends and family, because stress has many negative effects upon our lives.
• Setting and achieving goals will be more achievable for me as I apply the SMART principle. Many people set goals and don’t achieve them mainly because they are not SMART goals. I’m encouraging people around me to set SMART goals and also to write them down and review periodically.
• The principle about avoiding procrastination is helping me accomplish more tasks since I’m learning not to procrastinate and also I’m helping those around me to do the same, for instance I’m currently helping a friend to plan an event and part of my role is to help him complete tasks at the agreed set times
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.
“Accepting ourselves does not discount the need for change and growth”
The above quote is important to me because it is helping to think of ways to grow in my character and abilities as opposed to accepting things the way we are. For instance I naturally do not enjoy speaking before a group of people however I’m learning to do it.
“Our self-image and our habits tend to go together. Change one and you will automatically change the other…”
Many people focus on changing habits as opposed to self-image; this has been an eye opener for me. I should not just focus on changing habits but also paying attention to the way I view myself.
“Your built-in system moves you toward the things you think about. If you watch limits instead of destinations, you bump against those limits every time”
We live in an imperfect world and we are bound to find limits and obstacles as we strive to achieve our goals, this statement therefore reminds me to focus on the vision and destination as opposed to the obstacles.
“Forgiveness is the key to freeing yourself from the ‘scar tissue’ caused by emotional wounds in the past”
We each need to forgive others from time to time since no relationship or friendship is free from hurt and pain. The statement reminds that I need to forgive those who hurt me and this indeed brings healing from bondage.
“Your self-image may be conditioned and your capabilities constrained by false and negative beliefs about yourself based on subconscious memories of early childhood experiences”
The above quotation is important to me because it has reminded me to be look back into my childhood experiences and see if there is any thread running from there that is affecting my belief systems.
‘Be careful what you say to your children. They may agree with you…’
The above statement is really important to me because I interact with children on a daily basis and therefore I need to watch what I tell them. Children seem to believe all that we adults tell them like gospel truth!
“Functionally, a man is like a bicycle …A bicycle maintains its poise and equilibrium only so long as it is going forward towards something”
I like the above quotation because it re-affirms the need for me to focus on my the vision and dreams that God has put in my heart. Once I get destructed by all the things around me, I can easily lose my balance in life.
“Life is like a moving vehicle with no brakes…if you spend too much time looking in the rearview mirror, you will hit a tree…That is why your front window is bigger than your rearview mirror…”
The quotation above is important to me because it reminds me that I cannot unscramble eggs! I cannot change my past, though I need to learn lessons from mistakes and achievements, I need to focus on the future because what is ahead is bigger and greater, even the Bible tells us not to dwell on the past but to instead focus on the new things that God is yet to do in our lives.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
I understood the contents of the book well and I didn’t find any ideas that I disagree with.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
The book did contain exercises and I completed them, the one on goal setting was very helpful, I was able to set both short and long term goals have achieved some of the short term goals.
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.
There are no further comments that have not been covered in the previous questions.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9
How to win friends and influence people.
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author of the book is trying to convey ways in which we can make others to like us and hence become our friends, how to influence people and win them over to our way of thinking and also how to effect change in others without causing resentment.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following ideas were personally most important to me.
i) Don’t criticize, condemn or complain; this is important to me because I’m learning not to complain and criticize! I can confess that it is always easier for me to see the wrong things first than the right ones. Therefore this principle has been a good reminder and motivator for me to look out for the good that has been done and not to be quick to criticize, condemn and complain.
ii) Give honest and sincere appreciation; it was interesting to learn that one of the things that humans crave for is appreciation. Personally I thrive on appreciation and encouragement, actually close friends know this and I’m thankful that I always get appreciated by them. This also is a reminder for me to be more generous with appreciation and encouragement as I relate with family, friends , colleagues and strangers!
iii) Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. My work usually involves meeting many new people almost on a daily basis and it is not easy to remember all the names. However this principle has brought to my attention the value that we all attach to our names. I have noticed that as i go through our children’s village, and call children by their names, there is brightness in their faces and the most amusing are those who are shocked that I actually know both their names! I have therefore been motivated and learn more names of the children and young adults that I meet frequently while performing my duties at work.
iv) Be a good listener, encourage others to talk about themselves; someone once remarked that “God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we talk” I believe that is true and this principle has indeed nailed it home. I have met total strangers who end up telling me a lot about themselves and then thank me for helping them, yet I hardly talked, apart from asking a few leading questions, hence this principle is indeed a tool I can use to win more friends.
v) Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely; we all love to feel that we are valued and important, though many times we act like some people don’t have this need. In my work, I have discovered that small gestures like warmly welcoming the clients , opening the doors for them and pulling a chair for them, makes them feel important, since many of them come to our office with all kinds of problems and generally not in high spirits, this principle cannot be over emphasized.
vi) Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view; it is more often easy than not to concentrate on our perspectives than stop and consider that of the other person. This principle is very important to be because, there were changes in the organization that I work for that I just seem not to understand and I was beginning to get upset! However this principle is helping me to look at the changes from the management’s point of view and also to have a bigger picture perspective. I feel a lot better about the changes already.
vii) Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to; generally most people desire to impress others and not to taint a reputation. Not so awhile ago, I had a conversation with a teenager who is about to sit his end of High school exams, he all seemed nervous and not sure if he will get the grades he desired, as we talked I told him that I believe he is intelligent and is therefore going excel, he then smiled sheepishly and I believe his confidence was boasted and I’m sure he is now reading hard so that I don’t think about him as not so intelligent.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The above principles will help me in a practical way both in my daily life and in helping to me to create a better world in the following ways;
i) The principle about not to criticize, condemn or complain will help me to always look out at the brighter side of people and circumstances as opposed to the dark side first and only. Also in my community it is easy to criticize the leaders however I’m learning to look out for the positive things that they are doing and bring them to light.
ii) In addition, the above ideas will help me listen more as I interact with others, especially the clients at work and people who come to me for counseling believe that when we listen to others, we make them know that what is going on in their world is important, therefore a better world will be created.
iii) Trying to honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view principle will help a lot as I handle work related situations especially unanticipated changes and also when conflicts arise in my relationships because I have realized that I always don’t consider other people’s perspective, therefore it is a habit I have to learn as I daily apply the principle.
iv) The principle about remembering people’s names will help me build more relationships more effectively. I will make it a point to remember the names of the people I interact with frequently and also I will continually call people by their names and also remember special days in their lives birthdays.
v) Lastly but not least, I will continually try to make people whom I meet feel important in the way I talk with them and generally interact with them.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
The following quotes and statements particularly caught my attention.
“Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person’s precious pride, hurts his sense of importance and arouses resentment”
The above statement is important to me because it reminds me about the negative effects of criticism and therefore I should avoid it. I have realized that the many times that I have received criticism, I have not been motivated to do more instead it has brought demoralization.
“instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do”
We easily condemn others without first understanding why the act the way they do, and the above quote encourages me to first understand before I criticize, I believe that in most cases if we try to fully understand, we will criticize less.
“I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among people…the greatest asset I possess and the way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.”
The statement is significant due to the fact that I desire to bring out the best in the people around me, therefore through appreciation and encouragement, I can achieve my goal. This principle is also particularly vital to me as I work with young people who are constantly in need of appreciation and encouragement.
“Give a dog a bad name and you may as well hang him” but give him a good name and see what happens!”
When we give people a fine reputation to live up to, they always don’t disappoint us. I’ve experienced the application of this principle first hand. While growing up, my family always complimented my academic performance and told me of the confidence they had in my academic performance and indeed I worked so hard each term not to disappoint them! However in High School, my Math teacher always criticized me and said I was not cut out for maths! This contributed a lot to my very not impressive math grades.
“everybody likes to be praised, but when praise is specific, it comes across as sincere-not something the other person may be saying just to make one feel good.”
The above statement caught my attention because it highlights the importance of specific praise and I intend to be more specific as a praise people since general praise could easily come off as flattery.
“Admitting one’s mistakes-even when one has not corrected them-can help convince somebody to change his behavior.”
Our human temptation is to try and hide our mistakes however the above statement reminds me that when we admit our shortcomings, it can help another person change his behavior. Therefore I don’t have to appear to be ‘Miss Perfect” but to admit my shortcomings and in the process, someone might be encouraged to change behavior.
“beginning with praise is like the dentist who begins his work with Novocain. The patient still gets a drilling but the Novocain is pain-killing.”
When we have to find fault with somebody, it is key that we begin on a good note-with praise, and that is exactly what the above statement is all about. I’m learning the art of healthy confrontation, therefore the above statement is very important to me. When we use praise first then tactfully mentioned what needs to be changed, I believe we are more likely to get a positive response.
“it took me years and cost me countless thousands of dollars and lost business before I finally learned that it doesn’t pay to argue, that it is much more profitable and much more interesting to look at things from the other person’s view point and try to get the person to say ‘yes, yes’”
The statement above caught my attention because it brings out the futility of engaging in arguments. I have learned from the statement that it is better to understand the person’s view and to focus on the things you both agree on.
“The sun can make you take off your coat more quickly that the wind; and kindliness, the friendly approach and appreciation can make people change their minds more readily that all the bluster and storming in the world.”
Once in awhile we all need to win people to our way of thinking and many times before I read the statement, I thought force could be one of the options! However I now believe that employing more friendly and calm tactics might play the trick, I can’t wait to try out the principle!
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?
There is none
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?
There were no exercises to complete.
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 have nothing else to comment on.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten being good and one being poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 1
Real Magic
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author is trying to convey how we can create and experience miracles in the different aspects of life like self-improvement, relationships, spirituality, health and finances. This will be possible people start to acknowledge the spiritual part of life and tap into that power as opposed to relying on only to what is available through the five senses.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following seven ideas were personally important to me;
i) The unspiritual person feels no sense of responsibility to the universe therefore he has not developed a reverence for life. The spiritual being has a reverence for life that goes to the essence of all beings: this idea is important to me because as a spiritual person who believes in God, I have been reminded to care for others and for the environment, which many people seem to be destroying these days.
ii) The non-spiritual being is laden with grudges, hostility, and need for revenge while the spiritual being has no room for these impediments to miracle making and magic: this is personally vital to me because as a Christian, I know that negative emotion sucks life out of us, that is what the Bible teachers, God’s work in my life can be limited if I’m so full of such negative emotion, therefore this idea was indeed a good reminder.
iii) Give space; this ideas is important to me because I have realized that in our relationships, we need to let others be who they are as opposed to us wanting to dominate them. I have had a few friends who decided to distance themselves from the friendship we shared, at first, this was very difficult for me, however I have learnt that many times people need their personal space to think over issues and it has got nothing to do with what we have done or not done.
iv) Love: the central ingredient of a relationship. Love is giving unconditionally not asking for things in return: this principle reminds me of what love really is, we more often than not tempted to love people conditionally, however love should be unconditional, and I have realized that when I love people without strings attached, I’m more at peace because I don’t have too many expectations of them. Earlier in my life, and even now I still get the temptation, I used to have lots of expectations in my friendships, for instance I would be upset if someone close forgot my birthday!
v) Stop pursuing what you don’t want: I used to think that one way of overcoming things we don’t like for example bad habits was to focus on them, however this principle has taught me that a better way of overcoming bad habits or tackling social evils is to pursue the very opposite. I have been having some physical pain in my body and in the first weeks I focused a lot on the pain however later when I decided not to focus on it, I have realized that the pain is not that intense anymore.
vi) Have an overriding spiritual goal that gives meaning to your work: this idea is important to me because I have been taught and I know that all of life is sacred act of worship to God. In fact the Bible says that we should do everything with all our hearts as unto God and not men. This idea really helps me when my work gets too routine or when I feel no one is appreciating my efforts, I always remind myself that I’m working unto the Lord. This idea also helps me to attach more value and significance to all that I do, however insignificant.
vii) When you have mastered the art of giving to others, then practice the equally important task of giving to yourself: this idea is vital to me because it was not easy learning to give myself certain things without feeling guilty. However a few years ago, I learnt to spend time alone at least each weekend, and also to save for personal development therefore this was a good reminder for me.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The above lessons and ideas will practically help me in the following ways:
i) The idea about having responsibility towards others and the universe will help me to keep caring about others and also to care for the environment, for instance by keeping it clean and not littering trash everywhere.
ii) The principle on unconditional love will help me to continually love unconditionally and not to put expectations on others, to accept them for who they are and I believe u better world will be created if more people learn to love unconditionally.
iii) The ideas will also help me to focus on what I desire as opposed to what I don’t like. I’m still learning not to criticize others, therefore instead of being so cautious not to find fault, I will focus on finding things to appreciate and praise.
iv) Lastly, the ideas will help me to keep being deliberate about keeping negative emotions such as anger and revenge out of my life. I should instead seek peace and promote unity with others and in the larger community.
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.
i) ‘they never seem to get the message that life gives exams and unless you learn from your mistakes you are doomed to repeat them’ this quote is important to me because it is good reminder that life’s struggles are lessons I should learn and therefore I should not simply complain when things don’t go the way I expected but rather I should learn the lessons and move on.
ii) ‘There are no accidents. Everything I’m experiencing is in some way necessary for me to move ahead to the next step’ this statement is important to me because it has brought to my attention the reality that everything in life serves a purpose and therefore there are no accidents; many times what we may look at as accidents are the stepping stones into our destiny.
iii) ‘I expect nothing, because I know they can only be who they are, not what I think they should be’ this quote reminded be not to have unrealistic expectations of others, not to pressure people to be what I want them to be but instead to allow them be who they are. Also I should not allow others to expect me to be like them!
iv) ‘the central premise is that you become what you think about all day and those days become your lifetime’ this is paramount to be because I do think a lot about different things and I have many dreams in my heart, therefore this has reminded that I will become what I’m thinking! Therefore I should only think about what I want to happen and it should better be something positive and purposeful. Also the quote in a way has encouraged me that one day I will see my dreams become a reality when I add action steps to them.
v) ‘Stay on purpose. Know that you are here to serve. If you get off course, simply ask “how may I serve in this situation?” this quote is vital to because, I love the word ‘purpose’ I believe we all have a purpose to fulfill and it involves serving others and it is therefore important that we stay focused on our purpose as we serve others.
vi) ‘send out love, even to the stranger you pass while out for a walk. Surely it is how you would want to be treated’-I must confess that I usually don’t talk to strangers, however this statement is encouraging me to show love to all even to strangers, I hope I will smile and great the next stranger that I meet.
vii) ‘Replace the belief that something you are capable of imagining in your mind is impossible with the belief that it is possible’ this statement is important to me because it reminds me about faith. The Bible in the book of Hebrews describes faith as being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. I belief and know that with God, all things are possible.
viii) ‘I want to be a part of a solution, not part of the problem’ this statement is key because in my country there are many problems like, hunger, high infant and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and poverty. I therefore need to work towards being part of a solution and not the problem for instance by encouraging an HIV positive person to seek counseling and treatment as opposed to stigmatizing him or her.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and if so, why?
I found the chapter on becoming a spiritual being unclear in certain instances.
There are also ideas in the book that I disagree with; for instance the book seems to suggest that we are the miracle workers and we have all we need to become all we want to, in certain sense that is true however I believe that God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth is the one who is the real Miracle worker and He simply uses us as His vessels, generally the book exalts ‘the self’ above all things but I believe only God can be exalted and not us mere humans.
Also the author mentioned in chapter six, as he talked about life and where it comes from, he seems to suggest that it is unknown how babies are formed at conception and on wards. However I seek to disagree, life comes from God indeed He is the one who created us and this is so clear in the Bible especially in Psalm 139.
Also the author seems to have the view that we as humans are generally good people and I didn’t seem to read anything suggesting that we are people who have sinned before God and therefore are in need of savior.
Lastly I don’t agree with the author’s ideas on meditation. He mentioned in the book that meditation involves empting ourselves and then we are taken to another realm. However I believe that meditation is focused thinking, one could for instance read a good principle in a book and then takes time to think and meditate on the principle and he will get ideas how to apply or he could get a deeper understanding of it.
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?
There were no exercises to complete
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 have nothing else to comment on.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10.
A. How interesting was it to read? 6
B. How helpful were the contents? 7
C. How easy was it to understand? 5
D. Would you recommend it to others? 5
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 6
Giant Steps
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author is trying to show how we can apply principles in our different aspects of life and achieve success. The different areas covered are dreams of destiny, how to get what you really want, the power to create, the power to destroy; questions are the answers and others. The small actions and exercises will compel any reader to make giant steps forward in the quality of life.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The seven ideas that were personally most important to me are:
i) Dreams of destiny; this is important to me because it has reminded me of the importance of effective decision making and goal setting. We all have all we need to achieve our goals, and all we need to do is tap into the resources. This idea helped me to review my career goals that I had made about two years ago, I was able to strategize ways of achieving more in my career in the coming year.
ii) The power to create, the power to destroy; the author’s concept of the importance of our belief system was very amazing. The concept of us being able to influence and command our nervous system was eye opening to me. Literally our expectations in life determine almost everything. For instance I realized that there are some limits that I had placed in my life however this idea is helping break through these limits as I stretch my faith and live to my fullest potential.
iii) The vocabulary of success. I have always known that words have the power to make or destroy however I had not yet known that my words actually have a deep emotional impact. for instance I learnt that I need to select words to define my emotions, if I want to feel good at the end of the day I shouldn’t keep saying that ‘my day has been crazy’ instead I should use a less emotionally charged word like ‘my day has been busy’
iv) Your personal compass. Living a life without values that we are consistently living by everyday is indeed unfulfilling. We each need to have set values that we are able to stand for, this principle has encouraged to consistently live by the values that I treasure and stand for them at all costs. I found the exercise of ranking my values helpful.
v) The keys to an expanded life: identity and references; it was rewarding to learn that our experiences make us unique and that our memories (conscious and unconscious) is what we rely upon for certainty about our beliefs. I also found the idea of having a positive interpretation for a negative experience. For instance I have had negative experiences in my life however when I applied this principle I have been able to extract very valuable lessons from them.
vi) Putting it all together; balance is key in all our lives, therefore this principle of putting it all together-health, finances, relationships and code of conduct is important to me. I found the difference between health and fitness very key. I found the cardinal rules of relationships very helpful.
vii) The Ultimate gift-contribution. I believe that life would be boring if it was all about us and no one else. The best gift we can give is touching those around us through acts of kindness, love and compassion. We all have the capacity to contribute significantly to our communities and nations. This principle is particularly important to me because of my current employment, we as an organization are committed to rescue vulnerable children, raise them to be productive citizens and we hope they will be part of the process of rebuilding our nation.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The above ideas will help me in a practical way both in my personal life and in creating a better world in the following ways;
i) The idea about dreams of destiny will help me in goal setting and in decision making. So that I can achieve the dreams that I have for my personal life and the community in which I live.
ii) The lesson about the power to create and destroy will help me in breaking boundaries in my life so that I can achieve more.
iii) The idea about the vocabulary of success will help use words that create the emotions that I deserve and want, for instance I’m already being careful the way describe my day to other people who ask me and also the choice of wording in my journal.
iv) The principle about personal compass has encouraged me to have clear-cut values and live by them consistently. I believe that as I live consistently according to the values and rules that are important to me, I will also in a way create a better world for the people around me.
v) The keys to an expanded life will help create and have more references especially through reading, music and poetry. Also using my mind to imagine the preferred future.
vi) The idea about the ultimate contribution will help me to keep influencing those around me positively and especially those who cannot do anything in return, like the vulnerable children and communities that I work with on a regular basis.
vii) Lastly but not least, the concept of putting it all together is helping me look for more ways of creating balance in my life, particularly I intend to give more attention to my health.
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.
i) The truth is, what you get will not make you feel good, but learning how to change your state of mind in an instant will.
This statement is important because it has reminded me that feeling good is my responsibility and I should not wait for people or things to help me achieve it.
ii) Whatever we focus on determines how we feel. And how we feel –our state of mind-powerfully influences our actions.
This indeed has reminded me about the power of focus and how it affects my emotions. I’m learning to focus on what I want as opposed to what I don’t like.
iii) Beliefs make the difference between a lifetime of misery and one of joyous contribution.
The above statement has brought to my attention about the importance of our belief importance, and it has prompted me to carefully examine my beliefs and I have to let go of some negative beliefs I had about life.
iv) Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning we give it. One of the marvels of being human is our ability to fill any event with uplifting or devastating significance.
This statement has empowered me to give positive meanings to the events in my life; the ability to choose is an awesome responsibility.
v) Time and again it’s been proven that our brains cannot tell the difference between something we vividly imagine and something we actually experience.
This is important because it has encouraged me to dream and envision more. I believe that as my brain is exposed to the dreams that I have mentally, one day I will see the reality!
vi) How we deal with adversity shapes our lives more than almost anything else. Achievers usually see problems as transitory.
There is a saying that you can never know the strength of a tea bag unless you put it in hot water. I believe that’s what life is, we can never know how strong we are unless in the face of adversity. The statement has also helped me to shift my perspective of problems, not as permanent but rather transitory.
vii) To create change quickly, the first belief you must adopt is that you can change virtually anything now.
Before I read the book, I always looked at change more as a process however I have learnt that change can occur right now, I don’t have to wait for the right circumstances always for change to occur.
viii) It’s critical to expand your emotional vocabulary so that the words you select produce emotional states you desire and deserve
The above quote has taught to be careful about the words I use to describe my emotions and to learn new ways of talking about my emotions.
ix) …just because you don’t see immediate results, it doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.
Giving up can be tempting for all of us, however the above quote has encouraged me to keep on trying until I see the desired results.
x) The best time to handle a negative emotion is when you first begin to feel it
The statement above has taught me a good principle of dealing with a negative emotion on the onset, as opposed to wallowing in self-pity, regret and all the other negative emotions.
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?
There is nothing that I didn’t understand and I agree with all the ideas.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
I did complete some of the exercises and I found them helpful especially the one about ranking our values.
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.
There is nothing more to comment on.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten being good and one being poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give? 10
The New Dynamics of Winning
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author is trying to convey the message that our mindsets determine our success in life and business. He challenges the readers to adopt the mindset of a champion as he shares experiences of many successful Olympic stars and talks about the principles they employed and that helped them achieve success in spite of obstacles they encountered and the author hence challenges us the readers to implement the principles and experience success in our personal and professional lives.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following ideas were personally most important to me.
i) Paying the price; this principle is important to me because it has been a good reminder for me. it is not just hard work but being committed and putting all of heart in whatever I’m doing. Also I should be willing to sacrifice my comfort zone sometimes if I want to achieve success. This also reminded me High school and college years, I had to stay put late some nights doing additional reading as examination periods approached and indeed I did reap success.
ii) Visualizing of victory; I believe that we either win or lose first in our mind and then physically. I totally agree with the author about visualizing victory before even we start have often been achieved of being a dreamer, I usually like to imagine things before they happen. I have visualized many aspects of my life and this mental preparation has indeed been helpful and contributed to the success I have achieved so far.
iii) The Olympian within; this idea reminded that winning begins from within; I need to have a positive outlook and to foster a high self-esteem. I need to avoid destructive self-beliefs. The world around us is never without imperfections therefore it is up to me to decide to look at the glass as half-full as opposed to half-empty. There are still a lot of things in my country that need change and there have been times when I almost lost hope about real positive change happening soon, however this principle has reminded me to stay positive and that change begins with me having a positive outlook.
iv) The ’ coachability ‘ factor; we can never know all that we need to know in life therefore it is important that we are willing to learn from others and also in turn teach those looking up to us. This idea is important to me because I have experienced the benefits of learning from others and I’m thankful for all the people who have taken time to coach me about various aspects of life like; Faith, relationships and leadership. I’m always willing to teach those around me what they would like to learn from me. My current job also avails me a lot of opportunities to coach the children and young adults that I work with, therefore reading about qualities of a winning coach was very fruitful for me.
v) Integrity; many define integrity in different ways however I liked the perspective that the author used in the book. He shared about thinking before we make a decision and asking very key questions like ‘ is this true? It is very easy for any of us to make selfish decisions and then claim to be people of integrity. Also liked the way he looked at showing others what to do as opposed to just telling them as integrity. This is important to me because it has reminded me to model to others what I would desire them to do but not to merely tell them about it.
vi) The quality of leadership; I believe that we all leaders in one way or the other. Leadership is influence and we all influence people within our circles both directly and indirectly. The author highlighted empowerment as foundation of real leadership. The idea of empowerment was important to me; I have been encouraged to empower those that I lead by delegating and trusting them. I lead a small fellowship within my community and I have found that by empowering the members, many have been motivated to be actively involved in the projects that we embark on.
vii) Beyond the arena; the example of John wooden was amazing, indeed real winners succeed in not just areas of specialty but in their personal lives. I have seen so many ‘super stars” who are only heroes on the sports field, pulpits and conference halls. However in their families, they are almost looked at as monsters. I desire to succeed in all areas of my life and looking at success and winning even beyond the arena has been very helpful.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
the above ideas will help me in a practical way both in my daily life and to create a better world in the following ways;
a) The lesson about paying the price will help me work hard with commitment as I handle different tasks at work and in my personal life. I’m willing to let go of my comfort zones in order to achieve my goals.
b) Visualizing of victory will help to continually dream of the victory ahead in my personal life, family and community. As I visualize, I will journal and I believe as the years go by I will look back into the journals and many of the goals would have been achieved.
c) The idea of coachability factor will help me learn to be more teachable and humble, willing to learn more from those around me and also being an excellent coach to those around me, I’m currently thinking of all the young people who look up to me.
d) Beyond the arena principle will help me to apply the principles of success in all the areas of life and I should set goals that will benefit the larger community as well.
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.
i) This commitment to ‘paying the price’ is a key quality in the mind of a champion. You could even say that if success has an entry fee, the cost is total commitment.
The above comment is important to me because it reminds about total commitment in all my endeavors and hence I will be able to achieve success.
ii) Winners work at doing things the rest of the population won’t even consider trying.
The statement above is key because it points out the importance of thinking out of the box, in order to be a winner I need to do beyond the conventional things the other people are accomplishing.
iii) Most of our hurdles in life are self-imposed limitations that can be overcome if we never, ever give up on ourselves.
The above statement is important to me because it encourages me to never give in spite of the obstacles that may come my way.
iv) Growth is a process of gaining knowledge, of trial and error, and of courageous experimentation.
I desire to see growth in every aspect of my life, therefore the statement above, has an aspect I had never thought about, courageous experimentation, I’m being challenged to take risks, if I’m to achieve growth.
v) Competition should be viewed as a way to maintain excellence, to keep yourself performing up to your own potential.
I like the above definition of competition; it encourages me to do my best as per my ability and not to compare myself with others, since we are all different
vi) You need to feel love inside yourself before you can offer it to anyone else.
We can never give what we don’t have hence this has been a good reminder for me.
vii) The truth is you can never win if your concept of success depends upon the perfect performance or the placing of a gold medal around your neck.
This statement is important to me because it has shed light on the fact that success is not just about medals or perfect performance. It is what we do in a daily basis
viii) Regardless of what happens in my life, I have decided to be happy.
Life is short! Therefore I need to enjoy every aspect of it and being happy is definitely important. I believe that circumstances should not dictate our level of happiness. There is always something to be thankful for.
ix) A high expectation of success is more important than natural ability or lack of it thereof. It is more important than practice or preparation
If there is one thing that I’m learning, is that everything begins in our minds. Therefore a high expectation of success is vital
x) A real leader appreciates the differences among individuals and finds value in those differences that enhance all our lives
One of the surest ways to frustrate others especially as leaders is to expect them to be like us and failing to recognize and appreciate their differences. Life would be so boring if God created all of us alike with exactly the same qualities, likes and dislikes.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and if so, why?
I understood the contents of the book and there is nothing that I disagree with.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
There were no exercises however I plan to do the 21 day plan training at the end of the book.
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. There is nothing more to comment on.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give. 10
Leadership for Dummies
Book assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea that the authors of the book are trying to convey is the importance of leadership and how we all need to have leadership skills whether we are Executive Officers or a Father in a home. the three basic skills that they share that one needs to become a great leader are; elicit the cooperation of others, listening and putting the needs of others before yourself. Therefore the book focuses on developing these three key leadership skills in the different areas of life. It covers topics like what takes to be a leader, leadership is a process, the art of leadership, leadership in everyday life, leadership and vision and team building.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The seven ideas that were personally important to me as I read through the book include the following;
i) Harnessing your strength and weakness; we all don’t have the same leadership skills, we are strong in some aspects and weak in others. It is therefore very important that we assess our leadership abilities. This idea is important to me because it has helped me to learn how to use both my strengths and weaknesses, for instance I have learnt that when I’m weak in a certain leadership skill, I should let the situation come to me however where I’m strong and in control I must handle the situation.
ii) What about expectations? As leaders we need to have and develop our own expectations which should be communicated clearly, doable and must be realistic. We should also figure out the expectations of the people on our teams and also know what our superiors expect of us. This is important to me because it has reminded me about clearly communicating expectations to the people I lead. I know I still struggle with having unrealistic expectations of myself and others at times however I’m learning to set realistic and doable expectations.
iii) Managing as a leader: Leading is a lot about decision making and many times we have to learn to let the team be part of the decision making process. As a leader I need to know what to delegate and what not to delegate. This is key for me because it has been helpful over the years as a led a small group within my community. By delegating some tasks to the other team members; they each felt part of the team and were motivated to be active members.
iv) Everyday leadership: Training for real life. Our everyday life involves leadership aspects more than we even realize! We are involved in leading ourselves, we cannot expect to lead a team effectively before we can properly manage our own personal lives, this begins with fairly sizing our selves by taking personal inventory of our strengths and weaknesses and assessing the opportunities and threats that are likely to present themselves as we lead. Self-leadership is indeed the starting point for any leader who desires to move towards greatness. Also everyday leadership involves training our own children and other people in our care to be leaders. This aspect is important to be because of the work that I’m involved currently; this idea has challenged me to be more deliberate in imparting leadership skills to the children and young people that I interact with on a daily basis.
v) Organizing your community; we all live in community and in these modern times especially those who live in the urban areas , we may think being concerned about the issues of our communities is not important, many people do not even know who lives next door! The idea of organizing our community has been helpful especially the aspect of mobilizing issues and expressing concern about the problems. In the community there are many issues that need to be brought to the attention of other community members; this idea has equipped how to go about organizing the community and being part of a mobilizing team to help foster change.
vi) What is a vision? We all need to have visions, first for our personal lives and for the teams that we lead. A vision is really doable dream that is different from present reality. My pastor refers to a vision as preferred future! Visions are important because they motivate, attracts commitment and energizes people. This idea is important to me because it has reminded me of importance of visions and how vision connects with leadership. I’m currently working on a policy for special needs children within the care of my organization, it is amazing every time I stop am imagine how more fulfilling the lives of these precious children will be when our special needs department has fully been established.
vii) Ten mistakes every leader makes; none of us perfect, right? Definitely! Even with the best training in the leading colleges and with numerous experience coupled with high IQ, we will all still fall short in our leadership roles. We are still human and hence will make mistakes. Reading this chapter and seeing the ten mistakes that every leader makes have helped me keep my antennas alert. We are all liable to making mistakes however we can avoid certain common mistakes as leaders. For instance we should not try being what we are not! This chapter has been helpful and important to me because it has highlighted the common mistakes and how to avoid them.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The above ideas and lessons will help me practically both in my personal life and in helping me create a better world in the following ways;
a) The lesson about expectations will help me in setting realistic and doable expectations for myself and for those I closely work with. I believe this will help keep stress levels down and also help achieve more goals.
b) The Idea about everyday leadership will help me in self-leadership and also helping the children realize their leadership potential from an early age. I therefore plan to be more deliberate in fostering leadership skills as I interact with the children and young people in the organization that I work for.
c) The ideas will also help me in learning how to exploit my strengths and weaknesses to my advantage. For instance since I have learnt that when I’m weak in skill, I should let the situation come to me as opposed to trying going out and try to take control of it. This will be very helpful as I learn to confront issues (I’m not yet strong in confrontational skills)
d) The lesson about visions, will help me to keep envisioning and dreaming of ideas in my both my personal lives and the community in which I live. I have also learnt to clearly communicate the vision to others whom I want to be part of it.
e) Managing as a leader, has taught me a lot about delegation. I therefore intend to be careful what I delegate and to whom I delegate to.
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.
The following statements where important to me:
i) Your assumptions won’t be perfect, but they’re better than no assumptions at all. This statement is important to me because it highlights the importance of forecasting and planning. It is better to make assumptions and achieve them than making none and achieving nothing! I believe that assumptions raise our levels of expectations.
ii) The important thing about vision is that you are able to visualize the outcome of your work and the work of your team in the form of a world that has been changed in some way. Every vision I believe should include something better and different from the current circumstances. This statement is important to me because it is a good reminder to me that all the visions that I have in my heart or that I will develop later must have something bigger and better than what is there now.
iii) The only way that you can make decisions well is if you have information-and lots it. What an amazing statement! We make decisions everyday and it is easy to make decisions prematurely without gathering all the necessary information. This is important to me because I have been reminded of the importance of having adequate information before make decisions and especially critical ones.
iv) You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop and look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along” this quote is personally key for me because it has encouraged me to face the things I fear as opposed to running away from them.
v) Leading is about decision making, and one of the most important decisions you can make is to let your team make decisions. This statement is important to me because it has clearly brought out the need and significance of allowing members within a team to make decisions and not just the leader making all decisions on his/her own.
vi) Failure can be stepping stone to success at a later time-if you handle the failure well and learn from your mistakes. This statement is important to me because it points out the fact that failure can indeed be helpful later if we learn from it. I have experienced this in my own life.
vii) “You don’t ask, you don’t get” I like this quote because it reminds me of the reason why I should keep asking! Even the Bible says, “ you don’t have, because you don’t ask”
viii) Teach your children to be leaders, show them how to be responsible, cooperate with others, listen, and put the needs of others above their own. this statement is key because it brings out the basics that we can teach our children about leadership as parents and significant adults in their lives.
ix) A vision reminds everyone why they are members of your group, and why they are struggling. A vision tells people that no matter what happens, their struggle is worthwhile. The importance of vision cannot be overestimated as reflected in this statement. Indeed without a vision people cast off restraints!
x) The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on. I believe that the influence of any leader is tested long after he/she is gone. We should always make sure we are mentoring another person who can take on from us.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and if so, why?
I understood the contents of the book and there is nothing that I disagree with.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
Yes the book had a few exercises; I found the exercise on personal inventory of skills very helpful. It helped me assess where I’m at as regards leadership potential.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so please comment.
No
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten being good and one being poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give? 9
The Law of Attraction
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The author is trying to show us how the law of attraction can work for us using the three-step method of Identifying your desire, give your desire attention and allow it. We attract to our lives what we focus on, whether positive or negative. The principles in the book can be applied in the different aspects of life.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The seven ideas that were personally most important to me are:
* Understanding the significance of your words; we all use words everyday and they carry more meaning that we even realize. Understanding that words generate vibrations (both positive and negative) have been very important to me. I have developed a discipline of avoiding words that generate negative vibes.
* Identifying your desire; this idea is important to me because it has reminded me to identify my desires and to focus on achieving it. I believe when we are able to identify and clarify what we really want we will be more deliberate in working towards realizing or goals and hence living to our fullest potential.
* Give your desire attention; after identifying what we really want, it is key that we attend to the desire that we can see fruits. This means we talk about the desire, make plans and channeling resources towards achieving the desire. This is important to me because I realized that in the past I have not been giving my desires due attention.
* Allow it; this principle is very important to me because I realized that I still struggle to remove doubt and unbelief at times. The principle has taught me not to allow negative vibrations even as I wait for the desires to materialize. Also the tools of celebrating proof of evidence and gratitude are helpful to me.
* Become more abundant and attract money. Sometimes it is easier to think of the lack in our lives than the abundance. This principle is important to me because it has taught me about generating abundance feelings through my words, thoughts and attitudes. Also looking at other sources of abundance was a great revelation.
* Relationships and your vibration. This principle is important because it has taught me that in any one moment I’m either sending a negative or positive vibration in my relationships. The idea has also taught how to keep my vibration high inspite of a ‘negative Nelly’ in my life.
* Learn how to teach the law of attraction to children; I love children and work with them too, so this principle is important to me. The tools shared by the author are great and I can’t wait for the opportunity to practice them.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The above ideas will help me in a practical way both in my daily personal life and in creating a better world in the following ways;
* The principle about the significance of words will help me daily as I have learnt to choose words carefully; I’m now practicing to avoid using the words ‘No. Don’t and not’. I’m instead focusing on words that generate positive vibration and that produce what I desire. In creating a better world, I plan to describe the world around me positively as opposed to using negative words.
* Identifying my desire idea has helped me to know what I really want and focus on achieving it. Also my clarifying what I really want by canceling what I don’t want has been helpful. For instance I was able to identify one desire that I’m focusing on this year.
* The principle allowing is helping me eliminate doubt and unbelief as I wait for results. I’m currently waiting for something to materialize however it is amazing how many times doubt had gripped be but by learning about the allowing principle I have been able to instead speak positive and using the phrase ‘I’m in the process of…” this has helped me a lot. In creating a better world, I plan to help those around me be positive and hopeful as they wait for their desires to materialize.
* As regards teaching children, I plan to use the tools in the book to teach the children in my circles of influence about the law of attraction. I believe that if children are taught this at a very young age, they will grow up to productive members of their community.
* Relationships and vibrations; I plan to avoid other people control the way I feel especially those who are negative, I have learnt that I don’t have to lower my frequency to their level and also to ask them “what do you want” when they are using the words “no, not and don’t”.
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.
The following quotes and statements particularly caught my attention as I read the book;
‘To know whether you are sending out a positive or negative vibration; simply take a look at the results you are getting in that area of my life. They are a perfect reflection of what you are vibrating’
This is important to be because it has taught me to observe the results in the different areas of my life and I will definitely know what kind of vibration I have been giving!
‘When you go from what you don’t want to what you want, the words change. When the words change, the vibration changes, and you can only send out one vibration at a time’
The above statement caught my attention because it has reminded me about the importance of words and the fact that if I desire change in an area of my life, the words that I use must change before I see I difference.
‘Observing contrast is essential because it helps you become clearer about what you want’
The above statement is important to me because it has taught me to build a contrast list so that I can be clearer about what I really want. For instance I was able to build a contrast list that helped me to be clearer about the qualities of an ideal mate.
‘Identify what makes you feel good and do more of it’
This statement caught my attention because it encourages me to identify what makes me feel good and do more of it. For instance I know that making other people happy is very rewarding for me, whenever possible I will get a friend or a family member an item they have been craving about.
‘Allowing is the absence of negative vibration (doubt)’
Many people will easily identify what they want and give it attention, I have realized that many of us miss our ‘promised land’ when we allow negative vibration in our lives. This therefore makes allowing a very important and significant part of waiting for our dreams to come true, most processes take a bit of time therefore eliminating doubt during the waiting process is very vital.
‘Take time to appreciate anything. It is the feeling that’s attached to your appreciation that is important. Appreciation and gratitude help you offer strong, positive vibration’
Being grateful is not just a virtue, it is something even the Bible commands us to do, therefore this was a good reminder. I’m privileged to live in a very beautiful environment, when I wake early enough before the African sun rises, I have a chance to see mist covering the surrounding hills, it is an amazing scenery, I’m always thankful to God for such beautiful piece of creation. I have realized that leaving my house in a grateful mood, sets the tone for the rest of my day.
‘Abundance is a feeling. Be more deliberate to include the feeling of abundance in your current vibration’
When you live in a resource limited environment like I do, where you don’t have to go far to see a great need, it is easy to live with a sense of lack than abundance. However the book and statement above has taught me to include the feeling of abundance in my vibration bubble. For instance by listing the sources of abundance, I have realized how blessed I am!
‘When you make a statement containing the words don’t, not or no, you are actually giving attention and energy to what you want’
Learning the effects of using the words don’t, not or no, has been a great revelation to me. Since words affect my thoughts and feelings, I’m practicing to avoid words that produce negative vibration and instead use words that produce what I want.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and if so, why?
I understood the contents of the book and there is nothing that I disagree with.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
Yes the book did contain exercises; I completed the clarity through contrast worksheet and desire statement worksheet exercise and I found them very helpful.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so please comment.
I have no further comments
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten being good and one being poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give: 10
The Power of Intention
Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea that the author is trying to convey is about the power of intention. He views intention from a different perspective, he looks at not as something we strive to do but rather as something we are part of- energy we can all access and begin to co-create our world. The book is written in three parts; the first basically introduces and explains the seven attributes of intention, the second part shows the reader how to apply the intention principles in everyday life and the last part contains the Author’s vision of an individual connected at all times to the universal mind of intention.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following ideas were personally most important to me as I read the book;
i). The face of creativity; this idea of creativity is important to me because it remains me of the creative attribute of God. God created the earth and man by simply speaking and therefore since we are all created in God’s image, we have creative power within us. Therefore we all have potential to co-create our surrounding especially through our thoughts, attitudes and actions.
ii). The face of love; I believe and indeed agree with the Author that Love is the greatest and most powerful force on the earth. God is love and therefore he desires that we all walk in love towards each other. Negative emotions like hate and strife choke life out of us.
iii). The face of beauty; from what God created; it is evident that He indeed desires that we expect beauty and see it in other people, ourselves and the scenery round about us. I believe that there is beauty in everyone and every situation; all we need to do is change our perspective.
iv) To realize your desires, match them with your inner speech. This idea was important to me because it was a good reminder about taking stock of how I speak to myself especially in the heat of tough circumstances. It always seems easier to talk about how things are not going the way we want than declaring what our desires are!
v) It is my intention to respect myself at all times. (What I think of myself is what I think of the world). I’m created in the image of God and it is important that I respect myself at all times by the way I take care of myself, talk, and act. The way I view myself greatly affects the way I view the world around me.
vi) It is my intention to live my life on purpose. Everything which was created has a purpose. Our greatest purpose on earth is to serve God as we serve those around me. This principle is very important to me, because it reminds that I’m alive for a purpose beyond just having my desires met. I need to lead a purposeful life that reflects the character of God.
vii) It is my intention to live a stress-free, tranquil life; this is important to me because it has taught me that no matter how stressful the environment around me may appear, I can chose and purposes to live a stress-free and tranquil life. My perspective, thoughts and attitudes determine whether I will give in to the stress around me or I will chose to be at peace.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The ideas will help me in a practical way both in my daily life and in creating a better world in the following ways;
i) The idea about creativity will help adopt more creative ways in solving the problems in my personal life and also helping those around me. I’m learning to look for solutions ‘out of the box’ instead of keeping the status quo.
ii) It is said that ‘Love makes the world go round’, I therefore intend to be loving towards family and those around me. God is love and since He created me in His image, I therefore have the capacity to unconditionally love others. I believe that most of the problems in our communities are caused by lack of love therefore practicing love will indeed offer solutions to problems like hatred, unforgiveness and bitterness.
iii) We live in a very stressful world; everyone seems to be running out of time to do something! However the idea about living a stress-free life will help look for ways of eliminating stress in my life and choosing to stay peaceful by focusing on positive thoughts in spite of the chaos around me.
iv) The principle of matching my inner speech with my desires is important to me. This is already helping me in my personal life. I’m going through a situation right now that involves waiting and at times I get weary, however I’m practicing speaking positive as I wait as opposed to giving in to doubt and discouragement.
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.
‘Act as if anything you desire is already here. Believe that all you seek you’ve already received, that it exists in spirit and you shall have desires filled’
The above quote is important to be because it encourages me to live and walk by faith and not merely by sight. i have realized over the years especially in my walk as a Christian that before I see a physical manifestation of my desires I have to believe that God has already provided it and it is just a matter of perfect timing.
‘Choosing to be kind is a choice to have the power of intention active in your life’
Our world seems to get faster each day and everyone seems to be in such a hurry, that many times kindness is not common. Therefore this quote has reminded me to make kindness a common asset I give away to those around me.
‘Love is the most powerful and still unknown energy of the world’
I totally agree with this statement, Love is the most powerful and if we all walked in the unconditional love of God we would have less problems than we have in the world. I have indeed come to know that love also covers over a multitude of sins as the Bible declares. I believe we need to focus more on loving God and those around us than anything else.
‘When doubt is banished, abundance flourishes and anything is possible’
The above statement is important to me because it has reminded me to kick doubt out of mind id I want to walk in abundance. I have been struggling with consistently keeping doubt as I believe and wait for things to work out in my life. I’m now more determined than ever to banish doubt.
‘Through imagination, God imagines everything into reality. This is your strategy as well’
It is written that God created the world out of nothing, He dreamt and imagined the world and He spoke it into reality, therefore the quote is a good reminder for me to utilize the power of imagination. For instance many times I imagine myself having the things I’m still waiting for and this builds endurance and keeps hope alive in spite of the obstacles that may come my way.
‘You cannot know the meaning of your life until you are connected to the power that created you’
The above quote is important to me because it captures one of the most important Truths-we cannot have a meaningful life without God, as Saint Paul puts it ‘it is in Him that we live, move and have our being’ it is until we are connected with God, Our Creator that we fully understand who we are and the purpose of our existence.
‘You attract into your life, what you feel inside’
It is indeed true that we attract into our lives that which we are, therefore it Is paramount that we are feeling the right way all the time. For instance if we feel inferior and insecure we are going to attract people who feel the same way and in most cases they are controlling and this further reinforces the negative feelings and perceptions. Also this statement is important because it reminds me that I should not be quick to blame others for my problems, I should first examine my life and how it is contributing to the problem.
‘Perhaps the greatest mistake we make, which causes a loss of self-respect, is making the opinions of others more important than our own opinion of ourselves’
The above statement is a good reminder because it is very easy to allow people’s opinions sing louder than our own, then we end up making decisions based on what others are telling us and hence when things go wrong we blame them and avoid taking any sense of responsibility.
‘No one is capable of making you upset without your consent, and you have given your consent too frequently in the past’
The quote above is important because it reminds of the fact that I have the power to chose whether to get upset or not. It is easy to blame our parents, siblings, bosses and friends for making us get upset however I have now realized that I have been giving others consent in the past and I’m determined to avoid giving consent in the future!
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and if so, why?
The ideas that I don’t agree with are: the author said we are guided by our infinite self, this seems to me that the author is suggesting that we are our own ‘gods’, I believe that we are made in the image of God but we are not ‘gods’.
I also don’t agree with the idea of emptying our minds as done in yoga.
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?
There were no exercises to complete
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 have no further comments
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten being good and one being poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 8
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C How easy was it to understand? 7
D. Would you recommend it to others? 7
E. What is the overall rating you would give? 8
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Nonviolent communication
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea the author is trying to convey in the book is how we can effectively communicate with others and having needs of both parties met. The main concept in the book is to help individuals, families and communities express themselves and listen to others by focusing consciousness on four areas that is ; what we are observing, feeling and needing and what we are requesting to enrich our lives.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following seven ideas were personally most important to me;
i) Observing without evaluating; in a typical world many of us are prone to observe and evaluate others and situations at the same time however this leads to making wrong conclusions too soon. However this principle of observing without evaluating is important to me because it has taught me to avoid making generalization about people and circumstances. Months ago I observed that a friend was distant and very non-communicative. Instead of inquiring from him what was going on, I instead made my conclusions and also kept my distance. However when we finally got to talk, my conclusions were not correct!
ii) Identifying and expressing feelings
We can either express our feelings correctly or choose to hide them behind a mask of many things. This idea is important to me because it has taught me to correctly identify my feelings and appropriately express them so that the people I interact with can understand me and hence meet my needs. I found building a vocabulary of feelings very helpful, it has helped me express my feelings to friends better and in turn I feel better understood and my needs met.
iii) Taking responsibility for our feelings
I had always thought that others are responsible for the way I feel however this principle has taught me that what others say or do may the stimulus but never the cause of our feelings. Our feelings result from how we choose to receive what others say or do and also on our needs and expectations at the moment. However primarily we each have a responsibility to choose how we feel. Most of our reactions and feelings indicate that we have underlying needs that we want others to meet. When we don’t express our needs we remain in pain and bondage, I did experience this first hand last year and I only felt a release when I expressed my needs appropriately.
iv) Power of empathy
Empathy is a very powerful tool in our interpersonal relationships. It has the power to releasing healing to hearts that are hurting. We all want people who can simply listen to us and not give advice or pass judgment. Recently my housemate expressed a need to open up and just talk to someone. When I kept silent and just listened she was able to open up and had a very meaningful interaction, empathy helped me connect emotionally to her and added more connection in our friendships.
v) Expressing anger fully
Many of us struggle with how to appropriately handle hanger. This is a battle I’m still fighting with and asking God to help me! Especially to expressing my unmet needs that generate the anger. I found the four steps of expressing anger helpful especially connecting with our needs and expressing the unmet needs. I recently moved work stations and that led to my transport costs rising and I was not happy about spending more money however when i expressed the need to my supervisor, she agreed to the company meeting the extra costs which resulted from the change.
vi) Connecting compassionately with ourselves
One of the crucial applications of NVC is the way we treat ourselves. Many of us have been taught to moralistically judge ourselves when we make a mistake which leads to a lot of shame and guilt. However through the process of mourning and self-forgiveness we can see the areas that need growth in our lives and hence the drive to change will not come out of shame or guilt but out of a genuine desire to contribute to our own needs and that of others. I used to struggle with indecision and when a close friend pointed it out it really caught my attention and instead of blaming myself and thinking I’m just ‘phlegmatic’ I thought about it, acknowledged the challenge and I’m now committed to growing in decision making!
vii) Expressing appreciation in non-violent communication
We all love to receive and give appreciation. However sometimes we do it to manipulate the behavior of others, through this principle I have learnt that we should give appreciation solely for celebration therefore we need to be very specific when we are appreciating others by stating the action that contributed to our wellbeing, the need that was met and the feelings of pleasure that we enjoyed as a result. Recently a friend asked me to describe him; I took the chance to appreciate him by noting the fact that he is generous and that he always shared his tea or coffee with me and I enjoyed these gestures. I’m sure if I had not read this book I would have just told him…’you are generous’ and stopped right there!
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The ideas above will help me in a practical way both in my daily personal life and in creating a better world in the following ways;
i) the principle of observing without evaluating is helping me to stay away from being critical and judgmental too soon and simply observe people and circumstances. I believe that if I learn to simply first observe people as opposed to passing judgment I will have better relationships with people around me and hence create a better world.
ii) Identifying and expressing feelings will help me to clearly name my feelings and appropriately express them so that my needs can be met instead of staying silent about how I feel and hence end up getting angry since my needs are being met. I have also been encouraging my friends who have been complaining about their friends or spouses to identify their feelings and communicate them to others.
iii) For long I used to blame my feelings on others and circumstances however the principle of taking responsibility for my feelings is helping me learn that I have total control about how I feel and that I instead need to find out the unmet needs that are causing me to feel the way I do. This in turn will help me create a better world since i will blame others less about my feelings.
iv) The principle of power of empathy will help me as I interact with the people that I work with and especially with the yoiung people that I talk a lot with. I’m practicing to listen more instead of giving advice and asking far too many uncalled for questions.
v) Lastly but not least, expressing anger fully principle will help to properly handle anger by following the four suggested steps in the book and I believe this will indeed create a better world around me.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“When we combine observation with evaluation, others are apt to hear criticism and resist what we are saying’
This quote is important to me because it has taught me to observe only when speaking to others if I want them to listen to what I’m saying and this is very important if I’m giving feedback or correcting another person.
‘People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them’
The above quote is paramount to me because it has reminded me that it’s not the circumstances around me that really bother me but mt view of them therefore I need to constantly check my attitude and world view whenever I’m feeling disturbed by things around me. For instance at the end last year I got agitated about some aspects of my work and I was blaming other people about my misery however when I checked my ‘view’ of the situation and was totally out of line! When I adjusted my attitude, I now feel a lot better about work.
‘By developing a vocabulary of feelings that allows us to clearly and specifically name or identify our emotions, we can connect more easily with one another . allowing ourselves to be vulnerable by expressing our feelings can help resolve conflicts.’
This is important to me because it will help me build more healthy interpersonal relationships and to handle conflicts better. I have practiced it already in handling a conflict and it was very effective. I therefore look forward to utilizing it even more.
What others say and do may be the stimulus for, but never the cause of our feelings.
‘The clearer we are on what we want back from the other person, the more likely it is that our needs will be met.’
This quote is important to me because I struggle to make my needs known especially in very close relationships, I used to assume that others can just read my mind and act accordingly! However this has taught me to clearly communicate my needs to others as opposed to being silent or vague.
‘The objective of NVC is not to change people and their behavior in order to get our way; it is to establish relationships based on honesty and empathy that will eventually fulfill everyone’s needs.’
I like the balanced view that the above statement brings out about NVC. Many times we act lovingly and kind to others because we want them to allow us have things our way however the statement has reminded me of the essence of NVC and all the principles I have learnt in the book is to create relationships that are mutually edifying to all.
‘It is impossible for us to give something to another if we don’t have it ourselves’.
This final statement is important because it reminds me of the principle of ‘practicing what we preach’. We can never give others what we don’t have. Therefore I need to learn to model all that I have learnt in my own life before I pass it on to others.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and if so, why? There is nothing that I didn’t understand.
Everything was clear.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
I completed the exercises and I found them very helpful especially the exercise about expressing our feelings.
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 have nothing else to comment about the book.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten being good and one being poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 9
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give? 10
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Unlimited Power
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The main idea that the author is trying to convey is the unlimited power that we all possess and he shares how when we master our minds and tap into all the potential that we have we will live more fulfilling lives in all the different aspects of our lives. The battlefield is really in our minds and if we can win the battle in our minds then all our limitations will flee and we will achieve more than we have dreamt of. The author shares topics like how to reprogram our minds so as to eliminate fears and phobias, how to establish rapport with almost anyone we meet and how to duplicate success of others.
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following ideas were important to me personally;
i) The difference that makes the difference; life many times offers us painful and difficult moments and none of us is immune. Many people have suffered tragedies raging from accidents to losing family members and they each had to make a choice either to allow the situations to leave them angry and bitter or to use these painful moments to grow and become better people. The difference therefore is how we choose to perceive and interpret these negatives situations and how we communicate with ourselves. I encountered many disappointments last year and I must admit many times I wanted to give up however I decided to allow these situations to grow my character and perception about life and I believe I'm a better person today, this makes this principle personally important to me.
ii) The birth of excellence; belief; beliefs are guiding principles in life, the compass and maps that guide us toward our goals and give us surety that we will get there. With powerful guiding beliefs we have the power to take action and create the world that we want. In order for us to model excellence, we need to learn to model beliefs of those who achieve excellence. Beliefs also command our brains, if for example we belief that we can succeed; our brains and nervous system will pick and it is almost definite that we will succeed. The birth of excellence begins with our awareness that our beliefs are a choice. Therefore it is important that we choose beliefs that support us not the ones that limit us. This principle is important to me because it has reminded me of the fact that my level of growth is actually dependent on what I believe in and I'm now more conscious of the beliefs that I hold on to.
iii) The seven lies of success; in order to be successful we need to have a set of beliefs or principles that we follow which lead us to achieve our goals. The author shared seven amazing principles that successful people have used and have worked. This principle is important to me because they have showed me how I can achieve more in life. The principle of 'there is no such thing as failure. There are only results' was very helpful to me; many times I get discouraged when I try something and the results that I get are not what I expected. However this principle has taught me to learn from the 'outcomes' and move on.
iv) The power of precision; words is one of the way we communicate our needs and desires to others; it is therefore important that we use our words precisely and effectively. Words should be used to link people and not divide them; the quickest way to get when we want is to ask, the guidelines for asking intelligently include; ask specifically, ask someone to help you, create value for the person you're asking, ask with focused, congruent belief and ask until you get what you want. I found this very important because it has showed me how to ask more precisely and effectively so that I can get what I want. I'm learning to use this even when I'm praying and asking God to certain things for me; in fact the Bible encourages to make our requests known to God and to be persistent.
v) Reframing; the power of perspective; the way we perceive things, people and circumstances is very important. in life there are many opportunities all around us but we have to be willing to step out of our trained patterns of perception in order to see them. We tend to frame things based on our past experiences however by changing these habitual patterns we create greater choices for our lives. Reframing is the art of changing a negative statement into a positive one by changing the frame of reference used to perceive the experience. Either through content or context reframing. This is key for me because I have learnt that in life I have to be willing to change my perspective if it is not serving me anymore.
vi) Limitation disengage: what do you want? Powerful tools aren't much use if you don't have a good idea what you want to use them for! This is the same with life, we have to know clearly what we want to do with our lives and what we want to achieve. When I know my outcomes, I'm giving my brain a clear picture of which kind of information is being received by the nervous system and their priority. This was very important to me, for a long time I have been trying to decide ona course for my graduate studies; and after much thought and prayer I have been able to make up my mind and this has given my life more direction and I have set clear career goals.
vii) The five keys to wealth and happiness; in life there are those experiences that put us in unresourceful states and in order for one to become all that they can be, it is important to know how to handle these perils. We must learn how to handle frustration, rejection, financial pressure and complacency and we should always give more that we expect to receive. This last principle has been very beneficial to me; I struggle with handling frustration, there are times I have given up on certain things because of frustrations however I have learnt how to effectively handle it and move on.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The above ideas and lessons will help in a practical way both in my personal life and in creating a better world in the following ways;
i) The principle about changing our perceptions will help me to be more careful how I look at and perceive the people and circumstances around me and also to have positive perceptions about the people in my world.
ii) The idea about the beliefs is going to help me formulate more clearly my set of beliefs and to allow them to guide towards the desired future. I will also challenge those around me to adopt sets of beliefs that serve them hence creating a better world.
iii) The five keys to wealth and happiness ideas will help handle frustrations better and to learn from them and hence achieve more in life.
iv) Lastly the limitation disengage principle is going to help me clearly articulate that which I want in life and give my all in achieving my dreams and I believe that as I do this the community in which I live in will benefit as many of the dreams I have involve helping others live a more fulfilling life especially children and families.
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.
The following quotes and statements caught my attention;
'Beliefs are the compass and maps that guide us toward our goals and give us the surety to know we will get there' this is important to me because it does remind me of the power and importance of beliefs and how they affect my level of success in life.
'the birth of excellence begins with our awareness that our beliefs are a choice' it is easy to think that we sometimes do have control over our beliefs however this quote makes it clear that I have a choice as to what my beliefs are, in order to excel I need to hold on to beliefs that empower and serve me.
'Everything happens for a reason and purpose, and it serves us'
When can either choose to make lemonade or lemon Juice out of life's negative circumstances. This quote is important because it reminds of the fact that nothing happens by accident and that I can decide to either get bitter or better when I experience setbacks.
'taking responsibility is in my opinion one of the best measures of a person's power and maturity' in life many times we all tempted to avoid taking responsibility and playing the 'blame game'; however this quote brings out the fact that taking responsibility for our actions is a sign of maturity.
'The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation' I spend more hours working than anything else, I therefore want to make my vocation enjoyable instead of dreading it, this quote is therefore a good reminder.
'nothing has any power over me other than that which I give it through my conscious thoughts' this reminds that the first place to win a battle is in the mind therefore I should be careful the kinds of thoughts I allow to abide in my mind.
'when too little fluid is supplied, the blood maintains a higher specific gravity and the poisonous waste products of tissue or cell change are only cast off very imperfectly' I like this statement because it reminds me of the importance of fluids in my body and I have since then developed a habit of taking more water and eating fruits that are rich in fluids.
'People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals-that is, goals that do not inspire them' this quote is important because it encourages me to set goals that will inspire me enough to want to work harder and achieve my dreams.
'if you do what you've always done, you will get what you've always gotten': The best to change our results is to alter our methods and strategies. It is only when we are willing to do this that we will see significant progress in our lives.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and if so, why?
There is none
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
I did complete some of the exercises and I did find them helpful.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so please comment.
I have nothing further to comment on.
Rating
A. How interesting was it to read? 7
B. How helpful were the contents? 8
C. How easy was it to understand? 8
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give? 8
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Goals
Assessment by Harriet Opondo (Uganda)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
The Author is trying to convey a simple but yet a very powerful and effective way of goal achievement. He shares twenty one principles and strategies that can be used to achieve goals in all areas of life like finances, career, health and health relationships
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 is important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
The following seven ideas were personally important to me as I read through the book;
i) Take charge of your life; I have to take charge of my life and accept responsibility for any change to happen, it is like crossing from childhood into adulthood; one the ways to take charge of my life is free myself from all negative emotions such as self-pity, fear and anger; these emotions are caused by factors like justification, rationalization, hypersensitivity and blame. It is amazing how better I felt when I decided to expel negative emotion of anger, I had a rather difficult experience I recently went through and I felt justified to be upset however after deciding that anger won't rob the joy out of my life, I feel great than ever before.
ii) Clarify your values; while character has been described as the sum total of all our habits, values make us who we really are, our values therefore is foundation of our character since clearly spells out who we are, what we belief in and what we stand for. I found this very important because it reminded of the fact that my goals in life must be consistent with my values. My values also will determine my beliefs and hence my outlook in life and this literally affects all areas of my life. I used to be quick to judge people's actions however I'm learning to give others 'the benefit of doubt' until I fully understand why they acted they did and it is helping me in my relationships with those around me.
iii) Become an expert in your field; everyone who is among the first ten in their field was once at the bottom, this implies that we all can excel in our chosen field if we are willing to commit to hard work and excellence. I found this really important because I'm at that point in my career when I'm finding out what I'm really good at and then commit to developing it more excellently. The principle of identifying my special talent was incredibly helpful; I'm excited about the future and what is yet to unfold as I commit to self-development and life-long learning.
iv) Remove roadblocks; roadblocks and failures are all part of the journey of success, though most of us are tempted to give up when we encounter roadblocks. It is therefore imperative that in our journey of life, we evaluate ourselves and find out why we have not achieved our goals and what roadblocks we are encountering. This helps us to identify the limiting factors and look for the best plan of action to solve the problem or remove the roadblocks.
v) Associate with the right people; the saying that 'no man is an island' perfectly fits in the description of this principle. We need to know whom to associate with because our careers are modified, shaped and molded by our surroundings and the people we come into contact on a daily basis. Therefore we need to be very intentional about whom we associate with. This has been a great wake-up call for me and I have listed the people who are excelling in my career and live with my city and I have made plans to find a way of contacting them in the next six months.
vi) Activate your super conscious mind; I believe that there is more than just what we can see with our 'naked' eyes. We all have the capacity to tap into the supernatural. God us body, soul and spirit and we have to learn to tap into the spiritual, as we will get solutions to our questions and guidance even as we work towards achieving our goals. I found this personally important because I believe in the spiritual and I know that God speaks to us if we will listen well enough and He wants us to achieve victory in our goals that are consistent with His character and that promote the wellbeing of mankind.
vii) Persist until you succeed; in achieving our most desired goals; giving up is not an option that we have therefore we must persist until we succeed at achieving our goals. In order to be excellent at persistence we must do away with fear (fear of failure and rejection) and learn courage, courage to get up when we fail and to try again and again until we succeed. The principle is personally important to me cause I have failed at different attempts in life, for instance I have applied for a couple of scholarships for my graduate studies and I have not been successful yet however I have not given up my dream of further education, therefore this principle has encouraged me not to give up and to remember that I'm closer to the dream than when I first started.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you create a better world? If so, how?
The above ideas will help me in a practical way both in my personal life and in creating a better world in the following ways:
The idea about taking charge of my life will help me to take more responsibility in the achievement of goals in my life and destiny as opposed to leaving to chance. This therefore means avoiding the blame game and procrastination
Clarifying my values will help me to clearly know what I believe in and stand for; this will lead to setting of goals that are congruent with these values, and hence I will be more focused in life and ultimately create a better world around me.
The lesson about associating with right people will help me to be more intentional and strategic in my friendships and to get deliberate in making my most important associations in my career life even more fruitful.
The idea of Becoming a n expert in your field is going help me figure out what I'm good at then begin the process of developing this skill until I become one top people in my career. I have applied for a course that I believe will take me a long way in becoming an expert in my field.
Persist until you succeed will definitely help me to 'keep keeping on' until my dreams come true. I'm determined not to quit and to persist until I succeed.
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.
The following quotes caught my attention as I read through the book;
'The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving'
This quote is important to me because it reinforces the power of focusing on the future as we plan our lives. Therefore no matter where we are today we can set goals for the future and strive to achieve them.
'Everything in your life started as a thought, a wish, a hope, or a dream, either in your mind or in the mind of someone else. Your thoughts are creative'
Our thoughts have incredible potential both for positive and negative outcomes depending on which type of thoughts we decide to dwell on, the above quote therefore reminds me that my thoughts have creative power and I need to use it to positively achieve my life goals.
'I saw clearly at that moment that if anything in my life were going to change, it would have to begin with me. If I didn't change, nothing else would change. I was responsible.'
The above statement caught my attention as I read the book because it clearly brings out the fact that for any change to happen in our lives it has to start with the individual, I have to take responsibility!
'Every time you blame someone else or make excuses, you give your power away, you feel weakened and diminished. You feel negative and angry inside. Refuse to do it'
We all many times find it easy to play the blame game when things are not going the way we expected however this statement illustrates the negative effects of giving excuses and blaming other people instead we need to own up and keep striving until we achieve our goals.
'Your actions on the outside will ultimately be a reflection of your innermost values, beliefs, and expectations on the inside'
The above statement brings out the fact that before we change our actions we need to look at our values and belief system, since our actions and greatly influenced by them. For instance if one believes that people are out to take advantage of him, this person is most likely to be very suspicious in his dealings with others.
'Within every difficulty or obstacle, there is a seed of an equal or greater advantage or benefit'
This quote is important to me because it brings out a positive perspective in viewing obstacles and setbacks in life. I believe that in life all things work out for our good and if we are willing to learn from the different difficulties that we encounter, the above quote will prove true in our lives.
'To achieve something you have never achieved before, you will have to do something you have never done before. You will have to become someone you have never been before'
Someone once said, 'we cannot keep doing the same things and expect different results' the statement above therefore urges us to be willing to change certain things in our lives if we want to achieve more, we cannot stay stuck to our 'old ways' and expect miracles.
When you send a goal message to your reticular cortex, it starts to make you intensely aware of and alert to people, information, and opportunities in your environment that will help you achieve your goal.
The above statement is important to me because it reminds me of having a definite purpose in life and setting goals towards achieving it, and when we send a clear message to our reticular cortex, doors will begin to open. I have witnessed this in my life, when I set out to learn more about psychology and therapy, it is amazing how many people I have met who are psychologists and have given me incredible insight and guidance in the field of mental health.
“The very best direction to ride a horse is in the direction it is going”
There is always pressure in our environment to take up careers that others look at as well paying and prestigious and many young people have been trapped into jobs they don't even like but stay stuck there just for the prestige however the statement above clearly shows that we excel in what comes naturally for us, it is therefore imperative that we each find out w which skills we are good at and work towards becoming among the best people in that field.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear”
We all face fear in our lives, however we don't have to give in to it, this last quote shows us that indeed each time we resist the temptation to give in to fears, we are developing and mastering courage. The quote is personally important to me since I'm still on journey of confronting all manner of fears in my life.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and if so, why?
I fully understood the contents of the book and I have no disagreements to any of the ideas.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
I did complete some of the exercise in the book; I found the one on clarifying values and strategic plans very helpful.
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so please comment; I have no further comments to make.
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten being good and one being poor.
How interesting was it to read? 9
How helpful were the contents? 10
How easy was it to understand? 9
Would you recommend it to others? 10
What is the overall rating you would give? 10
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