Inspirational Knowledge
Amb - Prof Bitange Ndemo
Kenya's Ambassador to Belgium & EU | Professor of Entrepreneurship | Technocrat | Columnist
The last genre of literature that I ever thought of reading or listening to was the inspirational type. But in my new found strategy of entertaining myself while running in COVID-19 boredom, I quickly searched for a short audiobook on YouTube. Then something titled Thoughts Become Things: The Secret Formula For Success! (This Truly Works!) by Jack Canfield. Canfield was attempting to explain an idea he coined, “The Law of Attraction” psychologists call it confirmation bias. Basically, “confirmation bias is the human mind’s tendency to notice and pay more attention to objects and experiences that match its preexisting thoughts and beliefs.” He emphasized visioning and writing down what you want to accomplish, what makes you happy and believe in the commitment with positive thinking. I decided to try by visioning myself to reading at least four books and reviewing at least four books a month. Other things that I wanted my mind stuck to included, climb Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro, clear my mortgage, write at least one book a year, work with youth to add value to agricultural produce or set up cottage industries and more other objectives.
I started with listening to all audio classics in economics then flipped through the actual books that had stayed on my shelves for years. The feeling of going through the five volumes Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, Marx and Angels’ Communist Manifesto, Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics, Intellectuals and Society, Intellectuals and Race, Wealth, Poverty and Politics, and several other books of philosophy in two months, is that: of happiness because you now know why thing are the way they are in Africa; of bitterness, because there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel considering the fact that none of the prospective leasers has any known beliefs, and of ambivalence, because radical change can be very expensive. The good news is that Internet has brought great resources to our senses. If we all read these books and more, we can possibly build a critical mass that can make the necessary changes that democracy has failed to bring as the rich continue to buy their way into leadership.
Back to Jack Canfield, his theory of the Law of Attraction indeed works. I did not only realize my first objective or reading as many books as I can, but I also achieved a lot more than I thought. I am trying to set new goals.
Bitange Ndemo.
Educator
3 年What you focus on grows. Thanks for sharing!
“work with youth to add value to agricultural produce or set up cottage industries ...”. I have been thinking of this too...Let's join forces - will ping you.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at United States International University - Africa
3 年The journey across China starts but with just a step. I also made a decision to read at least one book per week and so far I have made some progress somehow. Our professor of management science once told us that tasks have a tendency to expand to occupy available time. We thus tend to do less and less of what needs to be done. I permanently lost my Communist Manifesto during the aftermath of the ‘82 coup ( the Americans called it insurrection), will definitely read some Karl Marx books starting with Poverty of Philosophy which I still have before grabbing inexpensive copies of Communist Manifeto and Das Kapital.
Sales Director East Africa | Sales Management
3 年Well said Prof.Bitange Ndemo.Antony Robbins in his book,Giant Steps writes about Reticular Activating System(RAS).Simply put,the part of the brain that is responsible for screening information except that which is essential for your survival and success.Works like a magnet to attracting info orb opportunities to make you achieve your goals.Inspirational stuff right there grounded in science!
Venture | Crypto Assets | Investor | WHU MBA
3 年Basic Economics, A Conflict of Visions, Knowledge and Decisions and ALL Sowell books should be mandatory/required reading across all maths and finance universities in the country. Our local universities did not expose us to The Chicago or Austrian School of Economics. I hope this is now part of the current curricula.