Бесплатный фрагмент - All secrets of speed reading. Master in 3 days

Speedreading: All Secrets in One Book!

Hello, my dear friend!

If you opened this book, it means that you want to change something in your life, to improve its quality, and I will try to help you with that. Having mastered the technique of speed reading, you will receive useful gift that will stay with you forever. I really hope both the book and the application will bring you a lot of benefits, happiness and pure fun. With its help You can reach your goals and achieve the results You wish to.

In order to maximize the benefit from the application and the book and more specifically:

learn to read quickly

memorize text

send useful information to long-term memory

be able to immediately analyze the material

apply acquired information in daily life —

it is highly recommended to use the premium version of the application, read the book very thoroughly, delve into each sentence and try to do the exercises DAILY.

Our application is unique. It is guaranteed to help you increase your speed reading skills to the desired level.

After reading the book and using all the capabilities of the simulators, you will be able to reach phenomenal results.

Constant and meaningful training is a key point of achieving success. The quantity-to-quality transition law works here in its best.

At first it will seem to be difficult to reach a high level of reading quality, but over time you will be amazed at how easy and effective the training process is and how well the acquired skills begin to work.

Thanks to the application you can eliminate pronunciation, increase the field of view, learn to concentrate and get rid of regressions.

The main advantage of our program and book is that you can learn speed reading on your own.

Spare no effort, means and time for mastering speed reading techniques. This is the best investment for your future. The result is guaranteed.

2—3 hours of daily meaningful training, alternating with one day breaks– and after a few months the result will not take long!

The perspectives after mastering the skills of speed reading are just endless!

So I wish you success, dear friend. You will surely succeed. The main thing is to believe in your strength and never give up!

Author’s introduction

Once I naively thought that it was necessary to read the text from the first word to the last, syllable by syllable, letter by letter. I diligently read into every word, trying to catch its essence, ignoring the general meaning of the text block. It looked like the following:

The text from the economic article «Economics close is the study of how people interact with each other and with their natural surroundings in producing their livelihoods, and how this changes over time» sounded in my head something like that: «He-re is Ed-ward Be-ar, com-ing down-stai-rs now, bump — bump — bump — on the back of his he-ad be-hind Chri-sto-pher Ro-bin»…

I supposed the effectiveness of the reading is composed of thoughtful reading, retelling and mental analysis, which the text goes undergoes.

By the way, did you notice how the second text was difficult to read? How does the eye stumble on each divider? Looking back, it seems to me that I was almost mentally retarded.

At the same time, I was quite stubborn. It seemed to me that my understanding of the reading process was as correct as put two and two together. Low reading speed didn’t seem to me something out of the ordinary.

About five years ago, just happened to, I came across an advertisement for speed reading courses, where just only in two months I was promised astonishing two hundred times of reading speed increase. Being a rather strong skeptic, I decided to study that proposition and was not quite satisfied.

The courses consisted of ten lessons, which, as you understand, are not quite effective. For a couple of classes, I just realized that I did not understand anything. I decided that if I want to master the technique of speed reading, I must use my main weapon — persistence. Because, you know, I’m really good at it.

So, instead of spending money on expensive courses, I downloaded several books and began to study from scratch.

During the study of literature, I realized the slower I read, the less I perceive information. I persistently tried to complete the simulators, but I understood that I was stuck at a certain point and could not move on. Due to the endless unsystematic exercises my eyes began to get tired at the end of the day. After several hours of training, my head constantly started to hurt and any will to go further dropped all the way to zero.

The technique of speed reading ran out of interest to me. After several months of inactivity, I returned to the old level.

Nevertheless, the issues of brain activity and possibilities still fascinated me. I studied articles about the results successful people, who have achieved the results by reading more than a hundred books a year. Former persistence came back as soon as I saw examples that inspired me to continue working.

However, I decided to approach the question not in terms of the classes quantity, but in terms of quality. I identified several reference points that I had to correct in the technique of my slow reading speed.

The answers were not easy to get, but they became the basis of this book and program. Thanks to my own developments, which have become a quite successful application, I have mastered many skills that are useful for speed reading!

Firstly, I decided to act immediately, because I realized the value of each day in mastering speed reading skills. Secondly, I made the classes systematic, i.e. types of simulators and time for their passage became streamlined. And most importantly, I dropped all sorts of doubts about my own strengths and abilities. I repeated to myself the phrase breaking any walls: «I can.»

Gradually, the reading speed began to increase. After several months, I was able to easily read a rather huge article from the field of my professional activity (it is related to the construction business). I quickly received information, but noticed that I was not getting any pleasure, since I had to keep several important conditions at the control: read paragraphs, analyze the text, memorize it, delve into the essence. It was really exhausting.

I remember how, for the sake of diversity, I took up a small interesting book, but on the fifth chapter I noticed that I swallowed those fascinating lines in a matter of minutes, but did not receive a single drop of satisfaction from the author’s wonderful style. At this moment I brought out the third, and a very important postulate — everything that I do at a particular moment in my life should bring joy. Fun. Euphoria

Since then, more than three years passed. Speed reading became my outlet. I decided to share the secrets of this fascinating and truly rewarding activity with everyone who seeks how to improve their lives. Having mastered a large number of trainings and exercises, I developed my own simulators, which became the basis for the speed reading application.

Seeing how are popular my designs, I decide not to stop at what had been achieved and create the book «Speed reading: all the secrets in one book». It is a more advanced material with interesting facts, stories and practices.

My most important goal is not only to assist in targeting an immense amount of information in the form of various text formats, but also to change the total understanding of the reader’s world.

Each section of the book is aimed to improve such qualities as concentration, memory, attention, reading technique (getting rid of articulation and regression). The old model of thinking will gradually be squeezed out by the new speed of processing information flows coming from various, not only textual sources.

The most important thing, in my opinion, in this book is that it eliminates many fears — the fear of failure, self-doubt. And again, I would like to note, the scope of my work is very far from scientific. I am not an expert in psychology or philology, but practical experience combined with knowledge gained from hundreds of thousands of sources, gave me the opportunity to share with you the secrets of speed reading.

You can apply this knowledge both in reading and in everyday life. For example, I became more attentive driver, stopped to get tired after long hours of hard work process. Now I have time to enjoy the amazing works of the classics before bedtime. I feel the taste of life and better understand people around me.

Finally, I want to offer my readers a few simple rules, thanks to which the development of the program proposed in the book will become much simpler and more pleasant:

Believe in your strength. Do not underestimate self-esteem. Remember — you are endless in your abilities. Your bar must be high.

Drop bad habits. Slowness and doubt will not help overcome obstacles. Do not be afraid to fight them.

Don’t think categorically. It is impossible to get everything here and now. Choose your tempo. Imaginary perfectionism will only delay your efforts. Enjoy the process.

Trust the inner sensations and intuitions.

Stop being nervous. Relax right now.

Drop the rush.

Start right now.

I believe in you and wish you a pleasant reading.

Introduction

According to scientists, the amount of information absorbed by the average person has increased fivefold over the past thirty years. Dr. Martin Gilbert of the University of Southern California conducted research that showed, about a hundred years ago, most people could read only 50 books in their entire life! However, along with the expansion of scientific disciplines, the increase in print products, the development of information technology, humanity gained access to an unlimited amount of information, which triggered a real brain race for leadership in the field of knowledge.

In the 21st century, operational perception and processing of material from the most diverse areas is a key factor for success.

Through reading, a person receives not only useful information, but also expands the vocabulary, develops a culture of speech. In the process of reading, the brain actively forms new neural connections, which contributes to an increase in the speed of thinking, an increase in the reaction rate and the formation of so-called «mainstream thinking» — the ability to capture the link between data from different areas to obtain effective conclusions.

We can safely say, that reading is a kind of simulator for the brain development. Each read book becomes one more step to achieve the goal — mastering a new profession, raising qualification, defeating competitors.

How to succeed in such a fast-paced competition for the information leadership?

At the end of the 19th century, a French ophthalmologist, Émile Javal, identified a person’s field of view that exceeded the standards of that time. This was done as part of the study of the reading process, when the scientist noticed that the reader does not focus on each letter, but «swallows» the line with stopping only 4 times. On the basis of this discovery, the first articles about speed reading method began to appear. The first courses on the new methodology were based at the United States Syracuse University in 1925.

Speed reading implies quick perception of textual material due to special techniques. The average reading speed of an adult person varies according to different sources from 120 to 200 words per minute, however, thanks to the speed reading this skill can be developed to an unlimited number. You will read as fast as you wish!

INTERESTING FACT! Howard Berg is considered the fastest reader in the world. «The Guinness World Record Book» recognized Berg in 1990 for his ability to read more than 25,000 words per minute and write more than 100 words per minute. So, you see, that’s real!

However, the question is still open — how speed reading is compatible with the qualitative perception and analysis of the information received?

Until now, it’s believed that the speed reading causes significant essence loss of the read text. Concentrating on speed, a person «disconnects» from semantic content. The solution of this issue led to research in this area and writing a separate book.

Any difficult task has its own solution, achieved through the use of innovative techniques. They allow you to develop concentration and memory– the basis for meaningful perception of the text. If we add awareness, memorization, critical assessment and analysis to the speed reading technique, we can reach a new level, designated as super reading.

Using this «recipe» will allow you to be at the very epicenter of information flows, that will be increasing every day: while standing in a traffic jam for an hour you will be able to easily read a scientific journal, study the latest marketing research on the way to work, run through all of lecture notes in minutes before the exam.

Specially selected exercises described in this book significantly increase not only the speed of reading any text, but also the quality of its assimilation.

Part I. Inspiration

What does our life consist of? Two plans — a routine activity, associated, as a rule, with work and daily hassle and entertainment, recreation, something, that can distract us from the dullness of everyday life. Happy people experience a sense of satisfaction by combining both plans; with the same drive, they do the cleaning and go hiking. Some have to go to the boring work only to maintain a stable standard of living.

The first are looking for inspiration. The second are looking for motivation.

The first part of this book is designed to generate enthusiasm that will turn reading into an exciting journey to the hidden possibilities of the human brain. The information breakthrough at the end of the 20th century created the conditions for the global development of human activity in the field of science and art. Does this fact generate the excitement of consumption and the study of information about our multifaceted world?

As the saying goes, the appetite comes with eating. It’s enough to read the first line of a fascinating detective story or a popular science article, as we find ourselves drawn into an information centrifuge.

Most people today have mastered the skills of slow reading perfectly — with the mental vocal reproduction of each word, with giving the text emotional coloring. Perhaps, that this process is suitable for fiction, which is savored bit by bit, like a chocolate bar, but what if you need to learn dozens of pages of necessary information per night?

Speed reading will allow everyone, who has studied the material below to become a step higher in their efforts to conquer top life positions. Just imagine, that thanks to this skill you will be able to achieve what millions of inhabitants of the planet dream of!

Today body shaping is popular. Fitness coaches and nutrition instructors call for this, offering the only motivation — to please yourself and others. This is a powerful incentive, forcing even the laziest to get up from the couch and train muscles for several hours a day. But the brain is also a muscle!

Trained brain no less contributes to the achievement of vocation. Inspired by the examples in this section of the book, you will be able to gain self-confidence, discover the unlimited possibilities of your mind and make sure that you and only you can radically change your life!

Chapter 1. Who Needs Speed reading and Why?

Quite possibly, stumbling on this manual online, you will ask a logical question, why study speed reading, if for my activities I have enough studying several books in a year and one magazine and several newspapers per month?

Let’s analyze the flow of information daily passing through our worldview. According to information experts, the material on the web is updated almost every second. Every day, scientists make a breakthrough in a particular area. Data is growing exponentially. Track updated data is becoming increasingly difficult. It is necessary to create a base for the absorption and productive assimilation of large flows of text messages. This can be done throughout life. Consider each stage separately.

For example, you are a student or a future applicant. At this interval of age, the brain is the most flexible for the formation of skills, the implementation of which will develop in the future. The foundation can be laid now! Effective speed reading helps not only to quickly learn school literature or materials for admission, but also to assimilate, and most importantly, to memorize the necessary knowledge in the shortest possible time.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER! Already in the third and fourth grades, slow reading is formed and, if it is not developed, you can get stuck for a long time at this level!

And now, having come out of your own alma mater, you see before you an immense field of activity in which you are going to make a revolution. You are a young specialist with a huge suitcase of knowledge and skills, but are you ready for real life?

Back in the middle of the last century, workers who could perform their function well — to process material or reduce debit with credit were considered the most valuable specialists. Most of today’s professions contain a wide field of industry knowledge. Marketers need to understand foreign policy, and the knowledge of several foreign languages can be useful to the medical profession.

!The future does not come tomorrow. Your future is what you do today.

Usually most of companies offer their employees internal training that extends over several months. How much faster you can join the workflow, if the material is mastered in just a couple of days!

Psychologists have proven that after five years of being in the workplace, the process of professional burnout begins. The work seems boring, monotonous, uninteresting. Many factors are annoying. First of all, it concerns informational stagnation — the brain receives the same amount of similar data every day and begins to «starve».

Before it was enough to graduate, and the knowledge gained was sufficient until retirement. Currently, to be in trend, you need to constantly improve and obtain new knowledge. Without quick mastering of information, becoming successful is quite difficult.

Speed reading skills help to correct this situation — the quick processing of new material in a particular area will force you to rethink the experience gained and make significant progress in an already familiar professional environment. Thanks to the flow of information, you get a significant head start in front to your employees and increase the chance of getting a promotion several times!

It is all the more difficult to remain in leadership positions, because without a daily analysis of recent surveys, without developing new management concepts and without studying the competing environment, moving up is almost impossible. Accepting and working through this information, you will see how much wider you start to think about, which facets open for you in terms of development.

Do you like to read? How much do you like to read? Do you not part with a paper or e-book, even in the subway? On a day off, are you organizing marathons to swallow your favorite pieces? Properly assimilated speed reading will help you to penetrate Bukowski’s volume in one weekend, read Dan Brown’s novel, know the denouement of the detective masterpiece from Conan Doyle in one gulp.

Speed reading at all stages of life brings what we crave the most — self-reliance. Each page read becomes one more step to the top of our capabilities. Memorizing and processing information, you learn, and, as you know, knowledge is an endless process.

As soon as you start exercising with simulators, you will realize how much the pace of your life has increased. The quality of your mind will make you move at a new speed. Many things will leave your life — lounge procrastination, lazy evenings on weekdays, sluggish weekends, endless watching TV series.

And you should not be afraid of change. Together with the speed reading skill, you will get much more — a chance to improve the productivity of life, to achieve your goals, to be not a victim of circumstances that you think interfere with the fulfillment of a dream, but to be the coordinator on the way to reaching the top.

!It’s easy to change life, but it’s hard to start.

Chapter 2. Speed reading: Learning to Read from Scratch

Remember the last thing you read. How fast was the text read? How many facts and names did you remember? How clearly can you reproduce the content of the article or story?

I am sure the results will not seem satisfactory.

The fact is that our thinking, that is, information processing, is significantly ahead of the speed of slow reading — by the whole word. On average, a person reads a page of text in 2 minutes, and it takes up to 30 seconds to understand the content. What do we do the rest of the time? We are distracted.

For example, you need to read a scientific publication. You study the information at your usual speed. A certain number of words for half a minute. But! In the intervening seconds, the brain begins to search hard for what else you can draw your attention. You inevitably start to remember the events of the day, make plans for the evening, distribute finances or think about your loved one. Thread read lost.

Most readers note that it is often necessary to read one paragraph several times and still not catch the main idea.

Hence the following problem — the text becomes boring, «not catchy.» From repeated distractions to external objects, the brain ceases to perceive material — and we lose interest in it. Boredom breeds fatigue, which is why we don’t want to read at all.

This can be clearly demonstrated with examples from school life. Pupils find it difficult to start reading books and textbooks, because they are confident in advance that the text will be difficult and tedious to read. But what if whole paragraphs can be read at the speed that does not allow to be distracted by external objects?

To better understand the above statements, we turn to our reality. Popular social networks: Twitter, YouTube. What is the principle of the informational presentation of these sites? Minimum text, maximum visual content. It is much easier to watch short videos or scroll through countless pictures and photos, read posts of 140 characters. Studies have shown that only a small percentage of the audience reads the description that accompanies the image.

Our thinking is a multi-lane highway through which thoughts run at different speeds. If we are guided by this comparison, the internal dialogue rushes at a speed of 120 km/h, and the reading process weaves 40…

During the day our brain is overloaded with information, it gets tired and needs rest. Who wants to learn the works of Stephen Hawking after a busy nine-hour working day?

But who said that the speed limiters cannot be removed?

Speed reading equalizes the speed of perception with the reading of the text. It’s a kind of fuel that feeds the mental structure of our brain. However, speed reading is not limited only to the speedy study of information, to mindlessly swallowing line by line.

The innovation technology of this book is reduced to the removal of speed reading to a qualitatively new level, suggesting a meaningful speed reading, designed in the reading process to process what has been read, structure it, draw conclusions and memorize. Thus, you get the superpower of any text to make it fun and desirable for reading.

In 1958, the Evelyn Wood Dynamic Reading School appeared, which laid the foundation for subsequent developments with an expanded base of exercises and training. The researcher excluded the use of the device to increase the speed of reading, highlighting the key idea — speed reading should be practiced in natural conditions. The result of the new methodology exceeded all expectations — Evelyn taught 12 senators of the United States of America to read quickly! In addition, its development has been successfully used in training courses at Harvard.

There were, of course, critics of speed reading art. The main postulate was a significant loss of the meaning of what was read, i.e. speed to the detriment of meaning. We will focus on refuting this conclusion.

Try to move away from your usual reading patterns. Imagine, that you learn this skill from scratch. Cube by cube, starting from the base, a new type of reading will be built into the pyramid, at the peak of which will be the most valuable speed reading skills.

Without the destruction of the old building, it is impossible to build a new building. It is worth remembering at least the comic situation, when at the first lesson at the university students are asked to forget what they studied at school, and after graduation the employer strongly recommends discarding everything that was mastered at the university.

Consider that this book is a guide to building a new house. Only this house is in your head.

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«Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune», Jim Rohn

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What makes an ordinary person different from a successful professional?

Suppose designer X has the task of developing a project for a loft-style restaurant. The same challenge is facing designer Y. Both have the appropriate education and experience. Both are allotted the same amount of time to prepare the sketches.

So X gets to work. First, he drinks a cup of coffee, opens and runs the program. After working for about five minutes, he goes out to smoke and discuss pressing problems with his colleagues. Returning to work, he is distracted by incoming calls, then decides to check email. It’s lunchtime. After a short snack, the work is stopped, because thoughts are busy planning the upcoming Friday evening. X decides to study the events and the availability of tables in his favorite pub. The project hangs at the initial development stage. The designer has one foot in the weekend. He doesn’t want to think about work at all. However, Saturday and Sunday he anxiously waits for Monday, because Boss will be clearly unhappy. It’s becoming more and more difficult to proceed with the design, since there is a chance that he will not be able to cope the order. And there is no time for revision and processing. Snowball. Vicious circle.

Let us now turn to designer Y. Having drunk an invigorating mug of coffee, he turns off the phone, closes the tab with the mail, and plunges into the design process. When colleagues address to him, he politely asks not to interfere with the working process. After half an hour, Y decides to take a short break, comes out to get some fresh air and returns to building walls and ceilings. By lunchtime, some of the work has already been done, there was inspiration, so after a quick bite of the sandwich, Y «dives» into work with passion. By the end of Friday, the lion’s share of the project is completed; on Monday, it remains to tweak the sketch a bit and show it to the customer. There is time for refinement, the mood for the upcoming weekend is great. He is satisfied and proud of himself. The Boss is preparing bonus.

What is the difference between the approaches that guided X and Y? What ensures the success of the second and the failure of the first? Circumstances? Difference in creativity? Laziness? Fear of failure?

!To start the upward movement, you need to feel the bottom under your feet. When you decide that everything is over, this will be the beginning.

The secret is simple, the main thing is

CONCENTRATION

This principle lies in the ability to immerse oneself in the matter in which you are engaged here and now: «one task is one period of time».

There are many training sessions on the development of concentration and increase in working capacity. I recommend the following.

Imagine your time in the form of piece of flavored cake. Each piece is a certain period of time on which you need to focus. One type of activity that you do for 25 minutes, without being distracted by secondary objects. Try to disconnect from external factors and devote the maximum time to solve the problem. After the specified time, take a break of five minutes and get back to work. There should be four such approaches. After two hours I advise you to take a half-hour break. This technique will not allow you to get very tired and feel the strain, especially if the five-minute breaks will be associated with physical activity. For convenience, it is recommended to set the alarm at the beginning of the experiment — in the future, your body itself will set the biological clock.

What is the use of this practice? You will learn to concentrate on one subject for a not very long time. In the five-minute break, you will have time to relax and reflect on the work done. Your brain activates hidden reserves that will unlock the inner potential.

The rule of concentration concerns absolutely all aspects of life — from professional to personal. The inability to focus on important aspects of life due to constant stress not only leads to the loss of precious time, but also to the appearance of diseases associated with scattered attention.

One of the modern practices of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) is associated with the feeling of «here and now», which leads to the creation of a platform for realizing one’s own importance, gaining self-confidence.

Focusing on the moment gives a sense of control over the situation, not allowing the secondary to obscure the true meaning of the present.

Start with the elementary. Remember how you purchased a new washing machine, how long you studied the instructions for it and loaded the wash for the first time. Do not like this example, choose any equipment — coffee maker, toaster — any item that you use daily. All your actions are brought to automatism. Try every day to consciously carry out all the manipulations on switching on and off the equipment. Make it looks like this item is in front of you for the first time.

By this analogy, we give an example. You picked up a book. You want to read it. However, extraneous sounds, flashing footage of a computer or TV, obsessive everyday thoughts do not allow you to focus on the process of reading. The reading speed slows down, and you put the book on the shelf, where it will gather dust while waiting for you to be inspired to read it.

A familiar story?

The main problem of lack of concentration is, first of all, incorrectly given motivation. The purpose of reading can be any — to know the outcome of the adventure novel, preparing for the exam, studying the latest developments in the field of Finnish dialects. But at the same time, motivation should not be just an abstract goal — it should be deeply individual.

The most powerful incentives are the basic instincts — self-preservation, power and continuation of the species. The first two associated with the acquisition of a certain status — managing their own lives and the opportunity to succeed.

These incentives make a person look for a more prestigious place of work, develop skills and abilities, strive for success. All these tasks are in one way or another connected with the acquisition of new knowledge that is concentrated in textual information that everyone has access to today.

From here we come to solving the next problem — the choice of material.

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«I need literature to understand the world», Alberto Manguel

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How were we taught to read at school and university? For a given topic, a list of references was proposed, on the basis of which we studied books, textbooks, and scientific publications. We did not do the selection ourselves — the education system did it for us.

I will reveal a little secret. All our studies, all the lessons and lectures, which, it seemed, will not be useful to us at all in the future, are aimed to teach thinking.

Not just memorizing facts, but learning how to create your own paradigm for exploring the world. Formed neural connections remain with you for life and help to master the information received from outside.

In the modern information stream, it’s not easy to select the necessary text, since a large number of publications are superficial, of poor quality, and even completely advertising.

IMPORTANT RULE! Do not continue to read the book if it seems unnecessary to you. Even after reading a few dozen pages, it doesn’t always become clear, whether it’s bad material or good. But if you realize the uselessness of literature — feel free to put it aside and start the search again.

Imagine the situation. You came to the shop to pick up the perfume. In front of you are hundreds of jars with labels on which brand names are written. It seems, that they all entice smells, that will carry you to seashore, to streets of spring Paris, to hot desert… But there is one caveat — you don’t know a single brand, you don’t have any idea what kind of fragrance you need. So, you start to randomly sniff all the bottles in a row. Dior mingled with Chanel, woody scents with floral. Your nose has lost the ability to distinguish flavors in principle. Unsystematic choice, without knowing the features of the manufacturer and not examining information about a particular collection, you could not get what you came to the store for.

The conclusion — a careful study of the content of the source will save a lot of time, since you will not spend it on unnecessary literature.

Before you start reading, carefully review the annotation of a book or article, pay attention to the table of contents, recommendations of authors and reviewers or critics. It’s useful to read the reviews of readers on special sites, so you can evaluate the independent opinion of the audience.

Why so much time is given to the selection of material to read? Because at this stage an analysis of the potential text is already being carried out. You apply the acquired skills of the thought process to evaluate the practical benefits of the book.

In addition, knowing the usefulness of the book, you get a great incentive to learn new information. If you know exactly, what for to read the text, it ceases to be abstract and turns into a tool for obtaining a specific profit.

After examining the outside of the book, scroll through it from beginning to end. Surely you will meet interesting moments that will hook the peripheral vision. You will want to come to these moments as quickly as possible — so you will receive another incentive to read.

This technique is called text «anchor». Interest in the text and the desire to keep in memory specific fragments helps to significantly improve the quality of speed reading.

Here we come to the detection of the next snag — memorization.

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«To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step to knowledge» Benjamin Disraeli

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So, the selection stage was successful — the required book is in your hands. You are fully assembled and focused on reading. However, over time, you realize that you don’t catch the essence of what you read, because you instantly forget the already processed text. You have to go back a few pages earlier to fill in the blanks. The more often you refer to the previous text, the more often there is a desire to quit.

This is called regression.

The regression refers to the return of eye movement, aimed at re-familiarization with the text. When this process is repeated, habit is formed. At the subconscious level, you will constantly return to the regression method, if you don’t learn to trust your own memory.

Most often, reader justifies the regression with simple excuses — «it’s okay, I will reread», «there are too many facts», «I just need more time». Thanks to the techniques of this book, the vicious circle will be broken. The simulators will help to get rid of regressions, and you will acquire the skill that will be formed by repeating the exercises and will be brought to automaticity.

Just imagine, how much time you spend on regressive reading! The same book can be read twice as fast if you master the skills of effective speed reading.

Let us turn to the real life example.

You’ve come to the famous art gallery, where world masterpieces of painting are collected. Visiting time is strictly limited, so you start a cursory inspection, being in each room for ten minutes and quickly looking at the pictures. You don’t stop thoughtfully before the canvas of the eminent master, don’t enjoy the combination of colors, overflow of light and shadow. You catch only the change of shapes and colors from the corner of your eye, so when you leave the gallery, you can’t really remember a single picture of a particular author.

This is the essence of effective reading. Any text, whether a separate paragraph or chapter, requires memorization and reflection. Only in this way the material remains in your memory. It is necessary not only to assimilate, what was read, to understand the main idea of the author, but also to transfer knowledge to your experience. So the material will be fixed in long-term memory.

Speed reading doesn’t imply a simple acquaintance with the material in record time. It’s important to apply the principles of effective reading at each stage — reading, learning, memorization.

Of course, 20 books read in a week without proper perception are much more useless than 5 books processed in a month. However, I strive to indicate a path that will lead to an increase in volume without loss of benefit.

Slow reading, among other things, is closely related to the emotional coloring of the text. Each word is connected with certain experiences and associations. There is nothing negative in the method of associative memorization, however, a certain amount of effort is required to study this skill without losing time.

!The comfort zone is a golden cage. Break out of it — and feel the sweetness of change and inner space.

We give an example based on this book. Possibly, that of all the reading you best remembered the story about the two designers. Why? This situation is endowed with expansion — interest in the outcome, transferring the situation to personal experience, the negative connotation of the first story and the positive one of the second. The rest of the text is impersonal. But it seems so only at first glance.

Using the techniques of concentration and selection of the desired material, any, even the most abstract, text can be translated to the rank of private, personal. Realizing that it was you, who made the choice, that you are focused on the content, you accept the text as a single canvas, where each fact has a positive coloring for you, that is, it benefits or generates interest.

LIFEHACK! After reading this book and going through all the exercises and workouts listed here, set it aside for a couple of months. Do not leave the practice in any case, but! After some time turn to the theoretical basis of this work and evaluate the information that eluded you for the first time. You will see the difference!

Often it happens that, precisely because of the emotional coloring of certain moments, some of the key postulates elude the reader’s attention.

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«An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest», Benjamin Franklin

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The ability to highlight the key idea is another aspect of productive speed reading. Our brain processes information four times faster than reading words individually. Hence, as mentioned above, there arises the difficulty of remembering, and hence the selection of semantic context.

Returning to the example of the art gallery, it is worth noting that after the «galloping» in the halls remain vague sensations. They look like this: «I recall a picture with straight lines on a black background, and there was also a portrait and, it seems, some kind of green-blue canvas, probably a landscape.» Are there many benefits from such memories?

However, if the viewing speed coincides with the processing speed, then after several hours the gallery visitor will tell you, that the first hall was associated with the history of abstract art, the second was devoted to the Renaissance, and in the third he got acquainted with the development of Impressionism. With proper attention training, he also tells about the artists whose canvases were present at the exhibition.

After reading a particular piece of text, you need to stop and think about the learned information. Try to highlight the root of the problem described, get into the author’s idea, try on the information obtained to solve your own problems.

Recall, at least, the notes, you gave at university lectures. The theses stood out in separate lines and were underlined by a color marker. Transfer this technique to the reading process. Try to mentally structure the text, and you will see, how much easier the process of assimilation.

Concentration is closely related to attention, which focuses on important points. If attention is scattered throughout the text, then the efficiency of concentration decreases significantly, hence the problems described above — loss of interest, poor memorization.

Mindfulness is practiced not only in the process of reading, but also in everyday life. Starting with the little things, we put a picture of our life, like a puzzle of mosaic pieces.

Imagine a brick wall in front of you. Literally ten centimeters at eye level. You see, and that is vague, only one brick or its part. Moving farther and farther away, you begin to see the whole picture. And just away from the wall for a few meters, you can appreciate the beautiful mural with the plot, the essence of which is understandable only at a distance.

Exactly the same thing happens with text. Individual words will not allow you to create a complete information picture. To comprehend it is possible only after passing a certain segment — a paragraph, sub-chapter or passage.

Focus on the main point of reading. Close your eyes and repeat the main idea. After the nth number of manipulations done in this way, your brain will learn how to do it right in the speed reading process.

Moreover! Thanks to the speed reading technique described in this book, you will learn to distribute attention in such a way, that even little details will not be left out of analysis and memory.

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«Stay true to yourself, yet always be open to learn. Work hard, and never give up on your dreams, even when nobody else believes they can come true but you», Phillip Sweet

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Among the features of speed reading, there is one problem that is almost the most importantю It’s solving is the root of stumbling for most beginners to comprehend science of speed reading. This is articulation.

Articulation is reading not with eyes, but with a throat. And it’s imparted even from school, when in the first grade students are forced to read aloud. The reason is that the text in the process of reading sounds in our head, and the muscles react reflexively to the word they see.

EXERCISE! Try to stick out the tip of the tongue while reading and lightly press it with your teeth. Did you read at least a couple of lines? If yes, you will master the speed reading skills with ease!

The internal pronunciation of words has a slightly different character — the speech center is involved, but the muscles are no longer involved in the process of reading. But this technique also significantly reduces the speed of reading the text. Of course, the internal speech is more concise, curtailed, but due to this, the reading rate drops significantly.

This is connected, as studies have shown, that speaking the words, we better remember what we read, focus on the text better. Visual processing of the text is transformed in the brain into a speech code.

Imagine, that you need to make a report at work. The presentation was made at the last moment, and you frantically repeat the material in the lecture hall. The eyes are randomly running through the text, the meaning is not fully understood, and you constantly pronounce words in a whisper in order to remember them well. In general, this is how the process of slow reading looks like.

The speech form of text perception must be completely eliminated during the training of speed reading. It is necessary to read not according to words. You need to perceive the word as an image, capturing whole paragraphs and chapters, turning them into meaningful blocks.

That is, to improve the speed reading technique, it’s necessary to mix the accent from the audio perception of the text to the visual one, turn off the appearance of the text in speech code.

Thanks to specially selected techniques collected in this book, you will learn the technique of reading without using a speech apparatus. Together with the simulators aimed at developing concentration, attention and memory, fast reading will turn into an art for you, the knowledge of which can become a vocation.

Chapter 3. Triumphal Reading

There is such a thing — spiritual mountaineering. It was developed by the philosopher and thinker of the XIX—XX centuries, Aleister Crowley, who conducted many experiments with the mind and subconscious.

The allegory is that people are divided into three types:

Those, who do not know about the existence of the mountain

Those, who admire the mountain

Those, who climb the mountain

The beauty of this metaphor is that any activity for a person is a journey to the height of the unknown. Many people live by inertia and do not realize, how wide and full the world is around. A certain part of population of the planet enjoys the diversity of mountain peaks, studies the approaches to them, fills his life with theoretical developments. And there is a very small percentage of people who, without hesitation, begin to climb. They break down, fall, stumble on sharp ledges, but always go forward. And reach the peak.

What percentage do you consider yourself?

Approaching the mountain, you will feel some discomfort. You will come up with many reasons to step back, postpone the ascent to tomorrow, Monday, to the next month, delay for a year. You will be too lazy to start the path already planned, it will seem to you, that your excuses are very expedient. And the reason for this — fear.

We are very afraid of failure. We are very afraid of the unknown. And we are very afraid of change.

If you are reading these lines, I hasten to congratulate you — you have come to the foot of the mountain and are seriously aiming at climbing. Some obstacles have already been overcome, you have learned something new. This fact sets you apart from the average percentage.

Moving on.

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«Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts», Winston Churchill

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Let us turn to one fascinating theory, which Malcolm Gladwell derived in his book “ Outliers: The Story of Success», 2008. The author is a permanent employee of the New York Times, as well as the creator of such bestsellers as “ Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking».

This work states, that genius is always accompanied by applied efforts to achieve mastery.

Using the biographies of Mozart, Bill Gates, and Bobby Fisher, Gladwell shows how important classes are to improve talent.

Many consider, that talent is actually the result of combining abilities, capabilities, and involuntary gains. Are opportunities in principle subject to any regularity? As it turnes out, yes, of course.

One of the most respected professions in the world is the medical profession. And for good reason. Every medic goes a long way of learning, consisting of continuous improvement of their skills. Six years of university study, two years of internship and two years of residency. On average, about ten years is required to form a knowledgeable specialist from an inexperienced student. Is it a lot or a little?

Gladwell derived a formula of 10,000 hours, which is required to form the skills that distinguish a true professional. Let’s translate this figure to our realities.

10,000 hours are about 417 days, i.e. just over a year.

Suppose that it takes 4—5 hours a day to concentrate on a particular subject and get a period of 7 years. It will take much less time dozens of times to master the speed reading technique. But to achieve phenomenal results will have to work a little.

Neurologist Daniel J Levitin, Ph. D. thought, that from numerous studies, the following picture emerges: no matter what field you are talking about, it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve a level of mastery commensurate with the status of a world-class expert. Whoever you take — composers, basketball players, writers, skaters, pianists, chess players, inveterate criminals, and so on — this number meets with surprising regularity. Ten thousand hours — about three hours of practice a day, or twenty hours a week for ten years. This, of course, does not explain why some people benefit more than others. But so far no one has encountered a case where the highest level of skill would be achieved in less time. It seems that exactly so much time is required for the brain to assimilate all the necessary information.

It would seem that this figure doesn’t inspire. Why spend so much time on what may not be useful in life? And now look back at your past life. Did the last seven years fly quickly? I think, yes.

During this period of time you studied at the university and began to work in the specialty, improving the knowledge gained. These seven years were not in vain. It is for this reason that you should seriously think about the fact that in the next seven years you will not regret that you started already now.

10,000 hours are worth starting to transform your own life, starting at this point.

!The difference between failure and success — in relentless improvement.

Twenty years ago, psychologist Anders Ericsson together with his colleagues conducted a study at the Academy of Music in Berlin. Students were divided into three groups. The first included real stars of the faculty, potential world-class soloists. In the second — those, whom teachers consider the most promising. In the third group — students, who could hardly become successful musicians, at best, they could be useful for the role of music teachers in high school. All participants were asked only one question: «How many hours did you practice from the moment you first took up the violin until today?».

The answer revealed a surprising pattern. Provided, that all students began to play at about the same age, for example, from age of seven, they were practicing an average of 1—3 hours per day, but after a couple of years there was a difference. The best students exercised the most: by the fifteen years of training, six hours a week were spent, then eight hours, and by the time they were studying sixteen! That is, they were constantly focused on improving their skills for more than thirty hours a week. By the time, they finished their studies, they had just gathered up to 10,000 hours of classes. The baggage of average students was 8000 hours, and the future music teachers — no more than 4000.

Many successful people do not realize that the beginning of their journey is a journey to the 10,000-hour mark, but you already have this advantage. Being engaged in 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening with speed reading exercises, you will feel the result after 50 hours. You will not want to stay anymore. There will be excitement.

Exactly with such excitement the Beatles started climbing the Olympus, playing in Hamburg five hours a night for two years! In total, they gave 270 concerts, which amounted to a total of 1,200 live performances. After that, a truly staggering success was waiting for them

Hamburg became for them a real race in the attainment of genius. Perseverance and unrestrained work made them world stars. How many talented musicians play in their garages? Do they really have any hits? I think, yes. But staying within the comfort zone and not improving skills, it’s hardly possible to take off to the world Olympus.

However, on the path of becoming, there may be a feeling, that it’s enough just to mechanically reproduce practical exercises in order to achieve the desired result. Far from it.

After you have clearly seen the positive dynamics, there is a chance to «thunder» on the so-called «okay-plateau». This is a psychological trap, which is very easy to become a hostage.

Easily going through some simulators, you begin to act on autopilot, which leads to the opposite result — degradation. The brain intentionally automates the process to reduce the load, so your attention is dulled. There is no thoughtfulness of the process.

If you follow the analogy, that the brain is a muscle, you can make out the situation with sports training.

Every day you come to the fitness center and lift your weight in 16 kilograms. At first, it’s very difficult. You barely lift the load off the floor. However, every day the muscles become stronger and get used to the load. After several months, you can easily perform the exercise and do not feel pain the next day. What happens to the muscles? They cease to grow stronger.

Our brain acts the same way. Having mastered a certain skill to a certain extent, he ceases to pick up speed. Only with a constant increase in loads, with an increase in the level of complexity of the simulators, you can upgrade your skills. Have you noticed that you can easily do speed text processing exercises? Press in the area of concentration and memorization.

Formula 10,000 hours works only with constant monitoring and improvement. That is why I recommend each time to check your skills. Select control texts and check the level obtained every week. Highlight your strengths and weaknesses to improve the former and pull up the latter. Without the right effort, the four-hour daily practice will be wasted.

Our simulators and «readers» (with different sizes) will help you to see the result of training, without resorting to complex calculations, they will do everything for you.

This wave recalls the story of my friend — musician. For over ten years, he has been practicing various musical styles, from classical performance to mastering rap culture. Every time he wanted to discover the nuances of a new genre, right up to polishing the material studied. And then he ran into one problem. Jazz compositions were not given to him completely.

What did he do with his already formed baggage? Engaged in overcoming obstacles. Over and over again he began to perform jazz in a small studio. Time after time he failed, but he was not going to stop there. From the time he realized that it was becoming easier for him to play songs, but he longed for perfection.

Being engaged in jazz for eight hours seven days a week, he revealed the full potential of this music and became so involved that it made it the main line in his work. It took him about five years to master this skill. He continues his professional growth to this day.

What is the moral of this story?

Enthusiasm, multiplied by daily exercises with increasing load, really brings results.

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«Education comes from within; you get it by struggle and effort and thought», Napoleon Hill

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The postulate hides the key to success. Congenital abilities are formed over time.

Books are an exceptional source of knowledge, indispensable at any stage of development. Many celebrities say, that without inspirational books, without a constant process of self-education, they would not have become who they are today.

Every book read today is the key to a successful tomorrow!

Undoubtedly, Elon Musk can rightly be considered an icon of the second decade of the XXI century. He is an innovator and revolutionary in the field of space development, the creation of alternative sources of fuel, technological systems. One of the secrets of his successful activity Musk considers the commitment to reading. Despite his busy schedule, he finds time to read every day, because it helps him move forward, be on the crest of the information wave. His favorite book, he calls the work of J. Tolkien «The Lord of the Rings.» Preferring the genre of fantasy and science fiction, a billionaire admits that he is a true dreamer. Such people are not afraid to look ahead and turn their dreams into reality.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the world famous social network, admits that reading is an indispensable source of inspiration and useful knowledge for him. With his busy schedule, he allocates every one to two weeks to read a new book. It seems to you that it is not enough? Do you develop projects 60 hours a week?

Well-known filmmaker Steven Spielberg observed in interview, that books have a function that nothing else has, because you can be delivered with them at any time and place. On the basis of the books read, Spielberg creates truly unique worlds. All his work is the processing of impressions from the read texts. His favorite work is the novel «The Last of the Mohicans» by Fenimore Cooper. This is a director’s book of the director, which he speaks of as a work for all times.

One of the top TV shows of our time — «Game of Thrones» — would not have seen the light if it were not for the enthusiasm of the authors of the book «A Song of Ice and Fire» by George Martin of historical novels. According to his confession, the inspiration for writing a series of books came to him while reading series of novels of the French writer Maurice Druon «The Accursed Kings».

Summing up the above, I want to assure my readers that I myself am a zealous supporter of reading. Every day I make a lot of discoveries thanks to the mastered texts. First of all, the writing of this book pushed me to want to share my experience with those who seek to achieve success. I collected and refined unique speed reading techniques, exercises for improving attention, concentration and memory. I am sure that with due diligence you will surely reach the level of perception of information and the world that you could only dream of before!

Success to you!

Chapter 4. Two Barriers

Before going directly to the practical classes, I would like to focus your attention on two cunning «barriers» of our world view.

Let’s imagine this picture. You have decided to read fast over the next few years to achieve a specific result. For example, learn Spanish using the self-instruction manual in one year. Imagine that the learning process is a track, and the goal and motivation is the fuel that allows you to realize your plans.

What happens next?

As soon as we enter the launch pad, we find some discomfort that does not allow us to move on. We see a barrier in front of which the word «laziness» is displayed in large letters.

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«Laziness never arrived at the attainment of a good wish», Miguel de Cervantes

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Psychologists distinguish several types of laziness. The first is the mental one. Our brain is much nicer to think about simple things, rather than make a decision, make a choice.

Often, such a mental trap is associated with an attempt to dodge the problem. Remember the famous Scarlett O’Hara replica «I won’t think about it today. I’ll think about it tomorrow»? In the context of the heroine’s history, this message expresses strength and wisdom, but in its everyday interpretation, its coloring is not so rosy.

There are two types of mental laziness: conditional and passive. The first is related to the fact that you intentionally avoid making a decision to engage in one or another type of activity — «I will never master it,» «I don’t have that much time,» «circumstances prevent me.» And the second is expressed in inaction after the decision is made, i.e. at the moment when the intention appeared, you do not get down to business, but mechanically continue to act ineffectively.

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«If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.», Dale Carnegie

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The second type of laziness is the most common — physical laziness. Many fitness trainers broke more than one spear in an attempt to fight this barrier. There is a huge number of techniques and literature aimed at combating laziness. They all boil down to the fact, that physical laziness is closely connected with the mental one.

As a rule, when a person realizes the need to introduce sport into his life, he begins to look for excuses related to the problem of getting to the fitness center, lack of time or a tracksuit. But at the same time, laziness instantly disappears, if he suddenly received an offer to go to the lake and swim. And laziness does not limit it to wanting to do every weekend!

What is the reason? Yes, the fact is that thought processes are essentially the product of our emotional state. I’m not talking about cases, when physical laziness is a symptom of a disease — apathy, depression, or other ailment. Physical productive activity reacts to the «must» / «do not» factor, because if you have to «do» sports, you do not have to swim, but the process itself brings incredible pleasure.

Let us return to the study of speed reading, based on the foregoing. Brain training should not have the «must» setting; do not link this path with «binding». Go through simulators in the most comfortable environment, practice mental practices in a pleasant environment. I specifically selected classes that are not boring, but rather entertaining. I understand perfectly well that some of the exercises described in this book will not cause enthusiasm when reading the description, but believe my experience, having begun, you cannot stop.

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«Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways», H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

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Among all the varieties of laziness, the most dangerous one I find is emotional laziness — the absence of any reactions to external events of life.

Modern psychologists derive this problem in the rank of the disease — apathy and depression as a response to a stressful habitat. Therapy and medications help to cope with emotional burnout, however, in my opinion, it is better to prevent the disease than to treat it.

Just a couple of decades ago, the practice of checking potential employees for interviews with tests for logical-mathematical intelligence (IQ) became very popular. Over time, the mind factor has shifted to the area of emotional readiness of candidates. Today, most employer interviews are aimed at determining the level of emotional intelligence (EQ) — a concept introduced in the same book by D. Goleman.

The conclusion suggests itself — if there is emotional intelligence, then it can be fed and even «educated», as well as mental one. Think, how strong your emotions are, can you be aware of and control them?

To train your emotional intelligence, you need to listen to your own feelings, analyze what kind of event causes you or other sensations. Through awareness of your own emotional state, a special susceptibility to reality will come. You will feel, that you have become not only better understand yourself, but also those around you.

Are you in doubt? Try the following exercise. It is called «mirroring.» This method is often used in the lessons of NLP, but it seems to me effective in everyday life.

!Laziness paralyzes our aspirations. One big breakthrough will not allow to get ahead of those who are stubbornly and unceasingly moving towards the goal.

Every time, when you see the interlocutor’s reaction or his emotion, manifested in facial expressions or posture, try to repeat it, that is, mirror it. Do not use this exercise as a manipulation, just track the change in its relationship to you. After some time, you will see that it has become warmer, more responsive. The essence of this method is as follows — what emotions would you like to mirror from you? Negative or positive? I think you know the answer yourself.

If you suddenly feel emotional devastation, if your favorite dish does not seem so tasty, if native people stopped pleasing you, if you stopped wanting something, take action, because only you are the lever of control of your own life. And will you achieve much without desires, dreams, aspirations?

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«A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others», Ayn Rand

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Creative laziness. This one is close to me as no other. Psychologists say little about it, but I will tell you about it in detail.

Creativity surrounds us from all sides — whether you bake a charlotte, repair a car, write a novel or draw up an annual report. By investing in any business soul, we get pleasure from the process itself. But there is a downside. It is connected with the «beginning».

Often, people around you notice, that creative people are scattered, lazy, apathetic. They can look at the monitor for days, drink coffee at night, do nothing for days. And suddenly, quite unexpectedly, in a few days they create a work in one breath.

One of my friends confessed, that when she wrote a scientific work, she always missed all imaginable and inconceivable deadlines for submitting the material. She stayed in prostration for several weeks, painfully thinking about the failed exams and expulsion from the university. But, according to her, one wonderful morning she bright and early, and, ignoring breakfast time, sat down to type the text. The work was coming out like clockwork.

I don’t think, that creative laziness is laziness. If you feel, that it is difficult for you to start any business, give yourself a little rest. Catch your breath. Comprehend what you want to do. Take out the idea before you get down to it. Often creative apathy is confused with the fear of failure, but what kind of failure can wait for someone who has not even tried?

A little advice from the author of this book — look for inspiration. This idea is not new, but in this section I focus on this component of the process. Read books. Watch movies. Study the biographies of famous people. Connect with successful people. It works.

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«The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear», Socrates

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The next type of laziness is familiar to few, but I would still like to talk about it. It is philosophical laziness. Each of us is a little philosopher. We like to talk about life among friends, sitting on the couch, having a cup of tea in the kitchen. However, some philosophical trends are fairly dense in our life, and this does not apply to ordinary conversations and individual assessment of the environment.

Buddhism, existentialism, nihilism — all these trends boil down to the denial of the meaning of the world around. The vainness of being is raised to the rank of the highest value today. Why strive for a higher ideal if life is finite? If everything around is only ashes, and we are «dust on the boots of the Universe»?

If you are lazy and you are justifying yourself with your own frailty, you are trapped.

Yes, our path is not endless. Of course, not every one of us will leave a mark on history. Of course, you are just a middle manager, a blogger or a primary school teacher. But doesn’t your life become devalued in the context of individual perception?

The value of any human life is measured only in the quantity and quality of the desires of the person.

Between the lines this is read in any philosophical work. Even if it seems to you that in comparison with outer space, the compiled statement does not matter, remember that only a professional like you can compile it!

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«The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence», Confucius

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And finally, laziness associated with the discrepancy between the desired and the possible. How does it differ from classical laziness, when we can take a step, but do not want to?

Suppose you are sitting in a dusty, stuffy office and at lunchtime you go through the pages of a travel website. You see a beautiful white yacht, swinging on the waves near a golden villa in the sun. You sigh and lazily think that you can never live in this picture. In your head the thought sounds, «oh if…».

Next to you a colleague for the hundredth time trying to make a presentation on the sale of the latest equipment, which he needs to present at tomorrow’s meeting. He is lazy, because he doesn’t have the slightest desire to do this work, he thinks only that the easel and paints are waiting for him at home. Tired of the hard work of everyday life, he will be drawing a snow-white yacht and a villa under the bright sun of Tuscany.

Often, laziness acts as a signal, that indicates excessive immersion in disembodied dreams or that the case in which a person is engaged does not suit him at all. It is required to carefully listen to yourself and honestly answer the question about the advisability of choosing a profession, about whether it gives a chance to get what you want.

During the passage of the simulators, as well as during the execution of the developed exercises, do not get carried away by the thought that something might not work out. From the first time even the great masters could not create a masterpiece. Only hard work will lead you to success — you will understand the simplicity and effectiveness of this statement in the learning process.

After reading this book, you can read it again as you like — in the reverse order, selectively, diagonally, skipping already mastered. But you should definitely keep in mind the idea that anyone can handle the program.

After getting acquainted with the first part of this chapter, I recommend you to sort out your own feelings and understand what type of «barrier» hinders the realization of life goals. Perhaps this is a series of obstacles, overcoming which your well-being depends on? As soon as you decide on the type of laziness, it is not difficult to overcome it, because, as you know, you always need to know your enemy.

!Laziness generates boredom. Laziness is healed by dedication. Dive into what inspires you and feel the freedom of flight!

To eliminate the barrier of laziness, I suggest using the visualization method. Many dismiss this method due to the (often contrived) lack of imagination, inability to mentally reproduce images, but I developed a system that will allow anyone to cope with this task.

Close your eyes and mentally imagine the road and any obstacle in your path with the type of laziness that is unique to you.

If you belong to the category of visuals, i.e. people who find it easier to perceive visual material, be it text or illustrations, detail the appearance of the barrier. What could it be? A wall, a small fence, a tree across the road? The color, texture of wood or metal, frayed and roughness. Visualize surrounding objects: a sandy or asphalt road, markings and stones, whether it is lined with trees or framed by a field. Paints should be bright, colorful. The smallest detail — the clouds, the font that says the word «laziness» — will help make the picture more realistic.

To another type of people — audial, more susceptible to the sound reproduction of information — I advise you to create a picture melody. Try to mentally reproduce the sound that surrounds you, to hear the sound of the wind, the rustle of leaves. Imagine, that the word «laziness» as if you are whispered by an inner voice. Under the influence of sounds, the blurry picture in your head will become brighter.

For some people, tactile sensations are more important — they are called kinesthetic. If you belong to this category, mentally feel the obstacle — will there be a warm tree under your fingers or a cold one to become, whether the paint on the post has been erased. Try to touch the font that issued the name of the obstacle. Touching will help to recreate the image of the obstacle to moving further the barrier.

Creating an image can take more than one hour. Invest in the appearance of the «lazy» barrier all the negative that it causes you, all the negative emotions generated by the idea that laziness slows down the movement forward.

When the image of the barrier is finally ready, proceed to eliminate it. Break and destroy it in any way, as long as the obstacle melts without a trace, and an endless level road leading to success stretches before you. Feel all the joy of the feeling of free space, appreciate how easy it is to take a step, if there are no barriers in front of you.

This exercise can be done more than once. Repeat it until laziness is gone completely and every time it feels like it is coming back.

So, the first barrier is removed, what is the next barrier?

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«If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude», Colin Powell

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Habit is second nature. Habits are both beneficial and harmful. The first must be acquired, the second — to get rid of.

Some of our habits are «embedded». They were formed over millennia and «registered» in the collective unconscious, the study of which were engaged in S. Freud and C. Jung.

INTERESTING FACT! Interesting observations were described in the film «Wakinglife» where the hero talks about an experiment, the essence of which is aimed at identifying a certain collective mind. A group of people was given a crossword puzzle specially compiled for the subjects, which they had to solve. After they were given a crossword puzzle for solving, which was released a day ago. The results were amazing — the percentage of unraveled words in the second case was higher by 20%! It turns out that the answer, which already exists in the universe, is much easier to get.

A single mind allows you to transmit information of behavior on an intuitive level, i.e. Some habits are already programmed in the subcortical consciousness. We perform those or actions simply by inertia.

There are habits, that are formed at the subconscious level in the period of growing up. We look at the parents, and the algorithm of actions is laid at the automatic level. Often, we ourselves choose habits in adolescence, wondering little about whether they are useful or not. Only realizing that, for example, the habit of being late brings discomfort, we try to get rid of it.

And here we come to the most problematic type of habits — acquired by artificial means.

Habit is the most bizarre barrier: in the open position, it acts as a positive pattern of action, and in the closed position — a negative one.

Harmful habits greatly complicate our lives — laziness, procrastination, the abuse of pernicious addictions, the manifestation of negative uncontrollable emotions — lead to destructive consequences. Everyone chooses their own good habits — someone doesn’t have enough morning runs, someone is trying to introduce a healthy diet, at the moment you are trying to get into the habit of speed reading.

It is rather difficult to get rid of stenciled actions, as well as to master them at the level of automatism. It is necessary the habit becomes an inseparable part of the daily ritual. Imagine that speed reading is your favorite pet, which needs its own place (time), food (exercise on simulators), care (practice).

At one time, Maxwell Maltz made a revolutionary discovery in the sensational book Psycho-Cybernetics, published in 1960, which made 21 days to form a habit. Unfortunately, this statement is erroneous, which is what the author himself says, but it has taken the form of ultimate truth.

The author, on the basis of the conducted research, derived a formula that states that the habit is developed in at least 21 days. Minimum.

In London the experiment was conducted, during which different groups of people were given quite harmless tasks, for example, to eat a piece of fruit for lunch, to run fifteen minutes after dinner. For some groups, the load was more difficult — fifty squats in the morning or an hour walk after breakfast. The study was conducted within 84 days and led to the following results.

Elementary routine actions became an established habit for at least 66 days, while participants in the second group dragged out the process for almost a year. The more complex the installation, the longer the adaptation period is required for assimilation.

During the experiment another important factor was identified. Bringing to the automatism of any action moves in a hopping way. The initial stage, filled with the enthusiasm of the subjects, passed quite easily. After a certain period of time (it is individual for each person) simple habits entrenched in the subconscious, but the complex ones began to disappear from the daily ritual.

Three weeks to form a multistage, time-consuming habit is not enough. Starting to learn from this book, plan no less than 50—60 days. Perseverance and conscious practice will help you get through the period of habituation. Constantly keep in your mind that setting in the form of motivation that you have developed for yourself at the beginning of preparation.

To identify your typical habits, analyze one day from start to finish. Celebrate every action, starting with a morning visit in the bathroom until the ritual of preparing for bed. What habits do you perform on an automatic level, and which ones require effort? Which of the habits benefits and which, on the contrary, is an obstacle? What habits would you like to put into daily practice?

Start small — choose one action that is not labor, for example, drink a glass of water every day before breakfast. Assess how often you forget to reproduce this operation, after what period of time a glass of water became a constant for your paradigm. On the calendar, mark the days when you drank a glass of water and skip the days when you forgot to do it. Did it happen that over time the number of empty cells became less and less?

According to the same scheme, proceed to the study of speed reading. Devote one hour in the morning and two hours in the evening to exercises, simulators, techniques, reading texts. Keep a diary where you will celebrate successes and achievements, where you can briefly describe how the barrier automatically disappeared at your will.