| |
| |
|
Success Information |
|
|
|
Reading For Success
We live in the information age, dominated by the development of the internet and computer power to levels that were unimaginable even a few years ago. Because out world is changing so rapidly, knowledge today is doubling approximately every two to three years. This means that you must double your knowledge in your field every two to three years just to stay even. Becoming a well-equipped and proficient reader today is not optional. Building a personal library and becoming an excellent reader is mandatory for success in any field. It is no longer something you can choose to do or not to do. It is absolutely essential and indispensable for your success. There is an unwritten law that says, to earn more, you must learn more. The future belongs to the competent. And the race is on. America today is not divided into the lower, middle, and upper classes. Rather, America is divided into those who know less, those who know more but do very little with it, and those who know a lot more and do a lot with it. The most powerful factor of production not just in America but in the world today is not money or real estate. The most valuable factor of production in the world today is knowledge. Money and opportunities flow to the people who have the most knowledge. So why don't people read more? One of the main reasons people often give, is that they don't have enough time. They are so busy with work and family that they barely have time to read the daily newspaper, let alone books or magazines. So if lack of time is a major factor for people not reading enough, let's look at how you can read more in less time. You possess the most powerful computer in the universe, right between your ears. To be able to read faster we have to understand how the brain actually assimilates information. Even though we have this phenomenal bio-computer inside our head, we plod along, reading at an average of two hundred words per minute. But recent research has shown that the eye/brain system is much more powerful than we've ever thought. How can we read and assimilate information so that the brain can function at its peak, creating and remembering more data? The eye is like a camera: it focuses on something, stops its movement, photographs, imprints, and moves on to the next thing. If you actually diagram the way the reading eye moves, it looks like a series of little hops over the words. Most people's focus skips, regresses, and wanders off the page, limiting the reading rate to one or two words at a time. The average person reads about two hundred words a minute. The average comprehension is about 70 percent. And the average recall of what has been comprehended is about five percent after two weeks. Think about your own education, of all the books you've read; How many book titles do you remember. How many authors? Formulas? Bits of information? How would you do on a test, if you were asked to take one right now? Most people have forgotten nearly all of their education. So reading has somehow not produced the kind of results that we've expected it should have. If we look at the way the eye works and the formulas for reading, we find that there are easy ways to improve both reading speed and comprehension. Most of us were told in school to read "slowly and carefully" to improve comprehension, but if you actually try to read that way, your attention will wander, the information will become fragmented, disjointed, and you'll comprehend less. For example, have someone read the last sentence of a paragraph to you, very slowly, and you'll see what I mean. The slower you read, the worse it gets. When you look at someone who reads faster than the average person, you'll find that their eyes move in the same way as everyone else, stopping on the words, photographing, move and stop, photograph. But the person who reads at an above average speed uses a very simple formula. Reading studies have shown, that it is the brain that sees, while the eyes just act as a "limb." The brain needs larger chunks of information so it can process them at the speed of its natural thought. In order to read faster, you need to focus your brain's attention to see three, four, five, or more words in phrased clumps, instead of the normal one or two words that most people see. In this way, you can take in larger amounts of information at once. At the same time, you have to shorten the time your focus pauses on each set of words. Instead of focusing on two words at a time and stopping for a second, you should force yourself to focus on four words and stop for a half a second. Another secret to help you improve your reading speed is to eliminate back-skipping and the regressions that characterize the reading of the average person. To do this, you simply use a pointer or a pen to point at each line, following the rows of text at rapid speed. The eye is designed to follow movement because the brain uses the eye as sort of a scanner of your environment. So, if everything is still, the brain subconsciously registers the idea that everything is peaceful and in harmony, thus eliminating the need for increased brain activity. But the moment there's movement, the brain's processes change. It activates instinctively and concentrates on the stimulus, processing a visual input. When you put a pen or some sort of pointer (do not use your finger because it tends to block too much of the page) underneath the line of the text and move it to the right, you pull your eye along. At the end of each line, move your pointer to the beginning of the next line. Always read line by line. Although it may not seem faster, consider that, with an average of 12 words per line, multiplied by your new rate of a half second for every three or four words, you can read each line in two seconds. When you do the math, you find that you're up to 460 words per minute. By using a pointer or a guide, you can increase your reading speed two, three, or more times. And your comprehension increases when you input information rapidly into your brain without lingering over it. With practice, you will achieve this positive, synergistic relationship between your eye and your brain. So, when you read, just remember to photograph, using your pointer or guide to move your eye along. The more you read this way, the more you will learn, the more you will remember, and the more you will be able to create. You need to read an hour or two each day just to keep current with your field. You need to read nonfiction books that are both educational and motivational. Read newspapers, magazines, newsletters, correspondence, and other materials. But you don't get ahead with regular reading. You must invest in the future while keeping current with the present. If you want to get ahead, you must read things that give you new ideas and insights, not merely things that confirm what you already know. Becoming a proficient and persistent reader is the key to your future. It may not be easy do, but it's certainly possible. Just as you can expand your vocabulary by practicing and application, you can become proficient in reading. The future belongs to the competent. Those who know more will always win out over those who know less. The true mark of a high achieving man or woman is that he or she is better educated and more knowledgeable than the average person. And the more you read, the better you get. The more you learn, the easier it is for you to learn. The more you challenge your mind, and the more you draw your intelligence, the smarter you get. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. If you want to move ahead and be successful, start building your personal library today. Dedicate yourself to lifelong reading. With knowledge, and the skills that come from applying that knowledge, there is no limit on how far you can go. Copyright© 2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. A former ad agency executive and marketing consultant, Joe's work in personal development focuses on helping his clients identify hidden marketable assets that create windfall opportunities and profits, as well as sound personal happiness and peace. Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Success - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Is Success About Money? Success could be just about making money, but I think it is much wider and simpler than that.? Success is doing what you intended to do whether it is a small or big thing. Success Lessons From TV - What Key Life Skill Did Sugar Ray Teach? Sugar Ray Leonard and Sylvester Stallone have recently hosted a fascinating reality show called "Contenders" in which 16 top middleweight boxers gradually eliminate each other from contention until the final two get a great opportunity to show their skills in Las Vegas and the winner gets 1 million dollars.Every week two boxers fight it out. A Stop On the Road of Life With three kids, a business, a husband with a business, a house, a yard, and a very close extended family, my time is at a premium. This means Iâ??m usually running as fast as I can to keep up with everythingâ?"and sometimes failing miserably in that endeavor. The Impossible Dream The 72,500 men, women and children sat in an uncomfortable silence, no one daring to cough, no one daring to speak, each one focussed on the young 27 year old. Each one knowing, this was the start of the impossible dream. Smile Your Way to Success Smile brings beauty to your face, charm to your personality and money to your pocket; apart from being your recognition as a cheerful, friendly, loveable person.When you smile you also bring smile to the faces of other people around you. STOP Trying Harder You've been searching for self improvement or personal development. Trying to increase your self esteem, achieve personal growth, have more happiness in your life ? or perhaps reach an important goal. How To Begin Your Journey To Success Becoming successful requires a lifestyle change. It requires that you know where you are going, where you want to be, but most importantly, it requires that you know how you will get there!Before you begin your journey to success, ask yourself these questions. Fanning the Flames of Passion -- Reconnecting With Life Imagine you are a fire. Fires burn at different levels of intensity, from low barely glowing embers to tall roaring bonfires licking the night sky! What kind of fire are you? What is it that fuels you, feeding your burning desires?It seems that a lot of us have simmered down to the tiniest spark on a cold black coal bed. How to Network Your Way to Success Successful people do not achieve success on their own, they surround themselves with a well-developed, sophisticated support network. In a world that grows more complex and more competitive each day, networking is necessary not only for survival but for high achievement"?excerpt from the best-selling book "Masters of Networking". Don't Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water Whenever we have a bad experience or we own up to having a weakness people immediately jump on the band wagon and tell us to work with our weaknesses. "Focus on them until you have overcome them and then you can move on". Success Through Enthusiasm Rather Than Surgery "Enthusiasm is worth any pot of cream ever offered."Can you be a President or a Prime Minister if you are bald? Many political advisers suggest that a Presidential or Prime Ministerial candidate should have plenty of hair and an attractive, youthful image. Characteristics of Successful People Each human being, who exists above the level of simple survival and therefore has the freedom to think and make choices, has the opportunity to choose to live either a life that is 'on purpose' or by accident.Choosing to live life by accident means deciding to be a creature of circumstance. Success Lessons From Tennis That Can Change Your Life Most sports are full of lessons for the discerning. Tennis is no exception. Building the Minds Framework for Success Man is the most advanced being on this earth. We are the dominant species for one particular reason; our ability to think! Although we have virtually unlimited ability to use our minds effectively, the vast majority of us do not really use the extraordinary powers of the mind for own advantage. I Have Failed Before Have you failed before and wished the earth could open up and swallow you?I have failed before, so many times. And I have learned a valuable lesson in the process. Lessons from My Garden What does "Lessons from My Garden" have to do with "getting organized? One of the things I've learned after 20+ years as an organizing consultant is that organizing has something to do with everything!Here's how organizing principles apply to the art of gardening:"Half of any job is using the right tool!" (Note I said "using" - not "having!") It took a blister to convince me to buy a new pair of loppers to finish trimming the butterfly bushes. With the new tool, pruning was easy and painless. Think of Wealth and Become Wealthy Our thought are magnetic ! Like a magnet we attract circumstances and opportunities. We litterally attract the life we want with our powerful magnetic thought !You might say :" But Michel i have been thinking about wealth all my life and the only thing i got is 5 cents in the banks !"Do you think about wealth or the lack of wealth ? This is different my friend. Freedom In Starting Over The story that is being used to illustrate the concepts of a lesson in life excavation and renewal is inspired by actual events. As a writer one of my greatest thrills is spinning life into what I hope will be original creations that inform you. Manifesting Wealth Many people talk or write about the science of success or the art of creating wealth. You don't want just the science. Success Doesnt Always Come Easy On a raw, cold day in the European Alps, Lance Armstrong steered his bike into the sleeting snow, then stopped. His partner riding in the car behind him urged Lance to give it up for the day and return to the comfort of his shelter.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
