The document summarizes a session of the Positive Thinkers Club of Addis Ababa held on June 21, 2015. The session taught participants how to face their fears by playing a game called "The Forbidden 100" where the goal is to get rejected by doing things one normally wouldn't, like asking strangers personal questions or favors. The writer realized getting rejected was initially difficult but became easier and turned to laughter. Doing the game helped them overcome their fear of rejection by shifting their mentality to see failure and rejection as a form of success.

1. positivity
May
2017
Positive Thinkers Club of Addis Ababa was Founded on June 21, 2015.
Success in Rejection.Abel Desta Belai
The Forbidden 100
The 49th (April 23rd) Positive Thinkers Club
Session taught Us How to face our Fears.
Have you ever wondered what your life
would be like if you couldn’t fail?
Normally we try our best to be successful
in everything we do for example asking
the person we like out on a date, applying
for a job we want... but “If” and when we
get rejected we get a feeling of being un-
worthy, being less. And afterwards, to avoid
getting rejected again we teach ourselves
to play it safe, to stay inside our comfort
zone, even if that means to not do the
things we actually want to do the most.
I decided to face my fear of rejection. To
overcome it I played a game called The
Forbidden 100. I made a list of crazy
things I would do that I normally wouldn’t
dare to do. The goal is to get rejected,
to be unsuccessful.
You will have success
in rejection. This is
completely different
than what we are used
to. We always want
to be successful in
everything we do. We
were taught that way
and that is the only way
we know.
While doing The Forbidden 100, I realized
that the shift in mentality was strange for
me in the beginning. You fail, get rejected
and yet you are successful. This were some
of the things I did during the game:
- I asked for a free room at a 4/5 star hotel
- I asked strangers to race with me on the
street
- I asked strangers if I could
share a personal secret
- I asked strangers to let
me play football in their
backyard
- I asked strangers if I could
make a portrait of them
- I asked strangers if I could
hug them
- I asked strangers if I could
borrow 100 ETB. And I
asked many other “crazy” things.
Yes, I did get rejected and many times, to
tell the truth. In the beginning the rejec-
tions were really tough. After every rejec-
tion I reminded myself that it was my goal
to get rejected and then the pain went
away and turned into laughter.
---Continues on page 7
03 Art of Giving
Rajendra Singh
06 Dictator
Charlie Chaplin
08 HEARTBREAKS
DiAlchemist
B+
Live Positive
49 29,497 380Number of Positive
Thinkers Sessions till date.
Volume 01, Issue 02
Social media
(Facebook) population.
Number of Registered Positive
Thinkers Club Members.

2. Each of us wants change in our lives. We want to become a highly acclaimed speaker, a best-selling author. We want to move up the ladder at work, or
build a business empire. We want to introduce ourselves to an important person or ask for a raise at work. Yet, there’s a hitch: While many of us want
these things, we hear our inner selves saying, “That would be awesome! But I could never do that.” And it’s our job to shush that inner self. Because if we
just sit around and wait for confidence, it will never come. Here are four actions to immediately boost our confidence and go after the future we want.
Think of Wonder Woman, standing tall with her hands on her hips. She exudes confidence just through her posture. Columbia University and Harvard
University conducted a study on body posture. It found that a confident body posture actually affects the chemical balance in our bodies. The results
showed that high-power poses increased Testosterone by 20 percent (which boosts confidence) and decreased Cortisol levels by 25 percent (which re-
duces anxiety). So, take a lesson: Start your day by standing tall with your chest out and hands on your hips for two minutes. You can focus your breath-
ing for those two minutes by breathing in deeply for a count of 3, hold for 1, and then breathe out fully for a count of 5. This is a great combination of
breathing exercises, meditation, and power poses.
Incantations are not the same as affirmations. An incantation is an affirmation, times a hundred. When speaking (or shouting) your incantations, you are
engaging your entire nervous system with the full force of your focus, emotion and body to induce a new physiology and instantly cultivate new beliefs.
Make a decision, and stick to it. Tony Robbins has said,“If you want to take the island, burn the boats!” He explains that if you do not burn the boats
when things get rough, you’ll find it much easier to retreat. And there is safety in retreating. It is more pleasurable than the pain you are enduring. It re-
duces your fighting spirit. However, if a general gives the order to burn the boats, he is immediately reprogramming the mind-set of his soldiers. They no
longer have the option to retreat. They either fight or die. With their minds reprogrammed, the soldiers will associate fighting and victory with pleasure,
and death with pain. What metaphorical boats of yours need to be burned in order to push you forward? What is it that you are still holding on to as a
safety net? Have you accepted that a life of mediocrity is okay? Have you told yourself you aren’t ________ (fill in the blank: “smart,”“pretty,”“young,”“old”...)
enough to reach your goals? What beliefs are you holding on to that are allowing you to sabotage your vision? It’s time to let those old beliefs go and
make a decision to burn your boats. There is no looking back.The only option is success.
Dale Carnegie said,“Action breeds confidence. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy!” Similarly, trying
new things will breed confidence within you. You may not get it right the first time and might have to adjust your action steps, but consistent action
builds momentum which builds confidence. Keep in mind the words of Norman Vincent Peale:
“Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause of
fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different actions or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action
at all.”
Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/269695
Increase Your ConfidenceBy Katherine Keller [Submission Fassil Abate]
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09 23
Mission Statement:
To create and foster positivity among the
people for achieving their goals and help
others to achieve theirs too.
Objectives:
• To create and foster a spirit of positive
thinking among the people
• To promote the principle of positive
attitude.
Each experienced a variety of emotions, as
expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more
denial and eventually acceptance. Every
single patient found their peace before
they departed though, every one of them.
A nurse in End-of-Life care shares the most
common regrets of the dying
“When you are on your deathbed, what others
think of you is a long way from your mind.”
For many years I worked in palliative care.
My patients were those who had gone
home to die. Some incredibly special times
were shared. I was with them for the last
three to twelve weeks of their lives.
People grow a lot when they are faced
with their own mortality. I learnt never
to underestimate someone’s capacity for
growth. Some changes were phenomenal.
The art of giving...By Rajendra Singh [Founder]
“Nobody gets poor by giving”
Mother Terrassa.
Every day, I read about donations. Big
news like such and such person donated
millions and millions of Dollars. Whereas
organizations are concerned it is fine to
mention the donating body but when it
comes to an individual, there is no need to
mention the name of the individual if it is
a real donation. It is business in my eyes.
In my opinion, this is some sort of ego
satisfaction or having the intent of long
term benefits. Giving with the expectations
of some sort of return is not “real” giving
in my view. Giving doesn’t mean donat-
ing money; it can be a service, or any type
of emotional support, helping someone
to get rid of their problems, material or
mental. If you give or do anything without
thinking of anything else, that is “real”
giving. That is eternal. A pure act of help-
ing without anything else in the mind is
a very positive act. It may be difficult but
not impossible. Let us take an example.
You are standing at a Zebra Crossing and
you witness a very old man falling in the
The Five Regrets of the Dying
Bronnie Ware
Have you got an interesting story to tell, you can also write to us at positivethinkersaa@gmail.com
middle of the road. You run and help him
get up and cross the road. That is a pure
act of help. No return expected, no interest
involved. If you do most of the helping
and giving just like that, you will never
have any complain. You will be utterly
positive. You will find the definition of love,
love that is eternal not materialistic. This
type of practice will help you, indirectly, to
overcome many other negative emotions
such as anger and resentment.
“Action is thy duty,
Reward is not thy concern”
It may not be practical all the time but
giving without expectations and loving
without returns can be done time to time.
Anyone can find small acts of giving easily.
All that is not given is lost.
When questioned about any regrets they
had, common themes surfaced again and
again. Here are the most common five:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true
to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all.
When people realise that their life is almost
over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to
see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled.
Most people had not honoured even a half
of their dreams and had to die knowing that
it was due to choices they had made, or not
made.
--Continues on page 7
Adopt a “High-Powered” pose.
Action breeds confidence.
“If you want to take the island, burn the boats!”
Any action is better than no action at all.
Say an Incantation
Show some Certainty
Take Action.
Apr
32

3. Objectives:
• To take an active interest in the civic,
cultural, social and moral welfare of the
community.
Our Deepest Fear...
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our dark-
ness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be bril-
liant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does
not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking so that other people won’t feel
insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as
children do. We were born to make manifest the
glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some
of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own
light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same. As we are liberated
from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.
Marianne Williamson
Welcome
ThinkPosi+ive!Session Format
Positive Thinkers
Club of A.A
Sundays
03:00 Session Starts
03:05 Toast to Positivity
03:10 Self Introduction
03:20 Thought of the Day
03:30 Main Topic (Presentation,
Activity, Demonstration...)
04:00 Networking Break
04:10 Discussion on Main Topic
04:45 Personal Experiences
05:00 AOB
05:30 Toast to Ethiopia
Objectives:
• To provide a forum for the open dis-
cussion on the ways to eliminate negative
attitude and negative emotions such as
fear, anger, hate etc.
Laugh Factory
A child asked his father,“How were people
born?” So his father said,“Adam and Eve
made babies, then their babies became
adults and made babies, and so on.” The
child then went to his mother, asked her
the same question and she told him,“We
were monkeys then we evolved to become
like we are now.” The child ran back to his
father and said,“You lied to me!” His father
replied,“No, your mom was talking about
her side of the family.”
እሮጣለሁ ሮጣለሁ
የኔነቴን አሻራ በምድሪቷ ሳልጥል
በዕውቀቴ ሳልሰራ ለመኖር ሳልታገል
ለሞት ሙት ሆኜለት መች እቀመጣለሁ
እሮጣለሁ ሮጣለሁ X2
ለሞት ሙት ሆኜለት መች እቀመጣለሁ
የመኖርም ፈተና ምንም ቢያንገዳግድ
አታካችም ቢሆን መውጣትና መውረድ
ነፍሴን ልታደጋት ህይወቴን ዘክሬ
ሞቴም ትንሳኤ ነው በህያው መኖሬ
እኔስ ላይቀር ማለፌ ነበረ ማትረፌ
ለመሞት አልኖርም ለመኖር ነው ሞቴ-
እዮብ መኮንን/ኤልያስ መልካ
8 Movies That Increase Your IQ
Besides books and documentaries, you can watch the occasional movies like the following
eight films. These movies have peaked my interest in new subject matters, and also provided
some valuable life and business lessons.
The Fringe Benefits
of Failure...
“You might never fail on the scale I did,
but some failure in life is inevitable. It is
impossible to live without failing at some-
thing, unless you live so cautiously that
you might as well not have lived at all – in
which case, you fail by default.
Failure gave me an inner security that I
had never attained by passing examina-
tions. Failure taught me things about
myself that I could have learned no other
way. I discovered that I had a strong will,
and more discipline than I had suspected;
I also found out that I had friends whose
value was truly above the price of rubies.”
J.K. Rowling: Failure & Imagination (2008)
Objectives:
• To encourage the people to get rid
of the negative emotions and help them
to bring out their hidden skills, develop
self-confidence and improve their overall
personality.
Objectives:
• To encourage the people to achieve
their goals and be successful in their
endeavours.
1. INSIDE OUT (2015)
About the ways that different emotions
interact with each other.
2. Limitless (2011)
“Limitless” will prime you to think
smarter.
3.The Imitation Game (2014)
Code-breaking operation that shortened
WWII, How to think big, and learn more.
4. Memento (2000)
Nonlinear narratives that can help you
improve your attention and memory.
5. Good Will Hunting (1997)
Learn that education can come from
anywhere, and the importance of emo-
tions and relationships.
6. Primer (2004)
Learn about multiple angles of a story.
7.A Beautiful Mind (2001)
About the discovery of Nash Equilibrium.
8. Pi (1998)
Explores relationship of the universe to
maths.
John Rampton
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Positive Thinkers Club of
Addis Ababa peer reviewed, open access
and monthly electronic newsletter (PNL) in
English for the fostering positivity, positive
attitude and positive life style.The aim of
the PNL is to provide a portable, accessible
and energy boosting source of positivity in
addition to the bimonthly sessions.And more, this newsletter would
be a way to spread the news about the club and its vision of seeing
a happier society.
Editorial Committee
May Jun
07 21 04 18
4 5

4. Charlie Chaplin’s first talkie, The Great Dictator (1940), is loved and loathed in equal measures, but is an outstanding
film in many respects. Although some would say Chaplin, after staying silent for so long, now talked too much, you can’t
argue that he used sound to great effect and made the transition rather better than many of his contemporaries.
The film includes many classic scenes of comedy - especially the interplay between Hynkel and Napaloni - but it also has
serious undertones. The speech that ends the film is quite famous and even controversial - for some it is overly senti-
mental, for others it is a real message of peace from a man that the whole world would listen to. Chaplin was asked to
repeat the speech on national radio. It may seem a bit dated now in its style, but it’s still sadly apt for the world today.
The plot beforehand concerns an innocent Jewish barber (Chaplin) who ends up being mistaken for the Ptomanian dictator Adenoid Hynkel (also Chaplin).
He soon finds himself dressed in the Führer’s outfit, on a platform facing ‘his’ army, and expected to make a rousing speech to spur on the evil genocide
and invasions.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible
Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness - not by each
other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there’s room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide
for everyone.
The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men’s souls - has barricaded the world with hate - has
goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us
in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need
humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man - cries for univer-
sal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little
children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say: ‘Do not despair.’ The misery that
is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die,
and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
Soldiers! Don’t give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you and enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and
what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men
with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts.
You don’t hate, only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural!
Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St Luke, it is written the kingdom of God is within man not one man
nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power - the power to create machines.The power to create happiness!
You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful - to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy -
let us use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work - that will give youth a future
and old age a security.
By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but
they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with
greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason - a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers, in
the name of democracy, let us unite!
Hannah, can you hear me? Wherever you are, look up Hannah. The clouds are lifting! The sun is breaking through! We are coming out of the darkness
into the light. We are coming into a new world - a kindlier world, where men will rise above their hate, their greed and their brutality.
Look up, Hannah! The soul of man has been given wings and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope,
into the future, the glorious future that belongs to you, to me, and to all of us. Look up, Hannah... Look up!”
The Great DictatorCharlie Chaplin
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30
Code of Ethics:
• To show my faith in the worthiness of
my vocation.
• To seek success and to demand fare
remuneration or profit as my just due.
Code of Ethics:
• To remember that moving towards
my goal, it is not necessary to push down
others, and to be loyal to my customers or
clients and true to myself.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my
feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in
order to keep peace with others. As a re-
sult, they settled for a mediocre existence
and never became who they were truly
capable of becoming. Many developed
illnesses relating to the bitterness and
resentment they carried as a result.
We cannot control the reactions of others.
However, although people may initially
react when you change the way you are by
speaking honestly, in the end it raises the
relationship to a whole new and healthier
level. Either that or it releases the un-
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I
nursed. They missed their children’s youth
and their partner’s companionship. Women
also spoke of this regret. All of the men I
nursed deeply regretted spending so much
of their lives on the treadmill of a work
existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and mak-
ing conscious choices along the way, it is
possible to not need the income that you
think you do. And by creating more space
in your life, you become happier and more
open to new opportunities, ones more
suited to your new lifestyle.
...The Forbidden 100
As the game progressed the pain after a
rejection became less and less. I reached a
point where I was “rejection-proof”, like su-
perman being bulletproof. What I mean with
that is, there will always be fear for doing
things that are out of my comfort zone but I
developed a mentality to not let the fear stop
me from doing what I want to do.
When I became “rejection-proof” I was less
afraid to ask “crazy” questions. With the fear
being less and less I started to handle the
rejection much better. Whenever I was suc-
cessful I thought of what I did right this time.
I started to develop a technique to increase
the chance of being successful.
All of this made me realize that the only
thing that is holding me back in life is ME.
I’m the one who’s afraid to talk during an im-
portant meeting, to ask the girl I like out on
a date, to reach out to strangers and become
friends. In other words, I’m afraid of going
out of my comfort zone and with that fear I’m
playing life safe.
During The Forbidden 100 I learned that I ex-
panded my comfort zone when I lost the fear
of rejection and with that I expanded what I
thought of being possible for me. I couldn’t
imagine sharing a secret with a stranger. Now
I did it, it is within the range of possibilities
for me.
...Regrets
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healthy relationship from your life. Either
way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my
friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full
benefits of old friends until their dying
weeks and it was not always possible to
track them down. Many had become so
caught up in their own lives that they had
let golden friendships slip by over the
years. There were many deep regrets about
not giving friendships the time and effort
that they deserved. Everyone misses their
friends when they are dying.
--Continues on page 8
When the fear of being rejected does not rule
your life, you can be the real you. That means
that you can do the things you really want
to do. You can pursue the career you want,
you can ask for the promotion you know you
deserve, you can make the jokes you want
to make. You will gain the courage to be the
real you.
For me it means that I finally found the
courage to start my own business because I
will not let the fear of failure stop me from
the things I want to do in life. Even if I fail I
do not see it as a failure I see my “failures”
as degrees for me to teach others. I want to
leave you with this: What would you do if you
could not fail?
Jul
76 7

5. 05 17
Code of Ethics:
• To understand that communication is
not enough, connection is needed.
Code of Ethics:
• To be sure that praises cost nothing
and criticism has to be constructive.
I never wish anyone of you the feeling of
either a heartbreak or a rejection.
Or don’t I ???
Well, let me tell you the truth. If you are look-
ing for a true understanding of life and reach
a higher level of awareness, you have to go
through them, at-least ones. Believe me they
are not as scary as they sound and as awful
as people put them out to be even-though
they are being majorly held accountable for
the increase in demand for alcohol and grow-
ing number of bars these-days #DrainThePain.
Yes, it hurts. The first few weeks will most
probably be nightmares and it might take
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many
did not realise until the end that happi-
ness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in
old patterns and habits. Fear of change
had them pretending to others, and to
their selves, that they were content. When
deep within, they longed to laugh properly
and have silliness in their life again.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life.
Choose consciously, choose wisely,
choose honestly.
Choose happiness.
Rajendra Singh
Founder
Club President
0911 209569
Fasil Abate
Club Admin
0911 631843
bezawit tesfaye
Club Assistant
0944 053361
Dagmawi Bedilu,
PTNL Editorial
0911 342533
Biruk Yosef,
PTNL Editorial
0911 728209
Mesay Shemsu,
PTNL Editorial
0913 683315
It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle
to let friendships slip. People do want to
get their financial affairs in order if possi-
ble. They want to get things in order more
for the benefit of those they love. It all
comes down to love and relationships.
Heartbreaks…By Dialchemist
you months if not years of despair until you
are fully healed, if there is such a thing as a
complete recovery, but you have no idea how
strong of a person you become after going
through it.
“The Best Way Across, is Through”
But first you need to choose to go and pass
through it even-though the self-pity, the
finger-pointing, the free pass to the world of
unfairness and irresponsibility just because
the world was unfair to you and lots of mem-
bership privileges might at times make it feel
tempting to stay there. But you need to see
and follow the light at the end of the tunnel
and come back to the real world ones again,
new and improved.
Just a couple of tips while you are inside.
First, don’t make stupid decisions that may
hurt others or makes you regret in the future
(like stalking, threatening, bashing...and the
sort, it never ends well).
Second, don’t forget to take care of yourself
(eat healthy, workout and pray/meditate).
Third, MOVE ON in the sense that you should
change your routines, change your fashion
sense, add some to your hobbies, go out and
meet new people (I didn’t say a rebound :D ).
And last but definitely not least, NEVER EVER
try to suppress it or try to act like nothing
happened. If you must let-out find a close
friend, a spiritual advisory, a journal or even a
pet and let it all out.
It’s always better that way. Hope this helps. ;)
From DIALCHEMIST’S SCRIPTS
https://dialchemist.wordpress.com/
...The Five Useful
Numbers
Follow us on Facebook Positive thinkers
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jul
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