Affirmations are very helpful. You have probably done them at one time or another. Giving yourself a "pep talk" before an important meeting or event is a good way to bolster your confidence. Visualizing the outcome you desire is a powerful way to achieve your goals.
The way our brain is designed makes visualizations and affirmations possible. Strange as it may seem, your brain doesn't really understand the difference between imagination and reality. Astronauts have known this for years. During training programs, they will visualize their work in space and body monitoring equipment will register as if they were really doing it. Their bodies and minds learn the movements. Professional sports teams use affirmations and visualizations as a primary training tool. We use these techniques in our speed reading workshops, but you can use them every day to help you get by.
Affirmations help in our information drenched world as well. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by all we are surrounded with each day. We come into contact with more information each day than we know what to do with.
Today's affirmation: I move through the world with confidence and grace, learning what I need to know along the way, increasing my awareness of important matters in my life.
Try this when you feel overwhelmed: I have the ability to learn all that I need to know and that which I have to learn will flow freely into my life.
Take a few deep breaths and say these affirmations to yourself before you begin your day, before you begin work, or just when you are feeling overwhelmed.
Have a great day.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Google insures that books stay alive!
Print on Demand machines have been around for quite a few years. These amazing machines, part copier and part printer, can produce a 300-page soft cover book in about 5 minutes. I published both my books with publishers that used that technology. There is no need to maintain an inventory and the book can stay in print indefinitely.
Now Google has announced this week that it will make its catalog of 2-million digitized books available to On Demand Books "Expresso Book Machine" which it plans to make available to locations around the globe. These paperback books will cost the consumer about $8 each and will have access to the 2 million books on Google that are no longer protected by copyright. This includes titles published before 1923 and includes classics like "Moby Dick" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as well as very obscure titles.
What a wonderful balance this is between digital books on devices like the Amazon Kindle or Sony Ebook reader and the desire to have a real book in ones hand. For speed readers, it is an excellent development. Speed reading is best served by having access to the entire book, something that e-book readers don't yet do well.
We would all do well to check out these out-of-print older works being made available by Google. Too often these books are ignored since most can't be found during Internet searches. We must always remember that there are thousands of years of human thought that have been written down and we would all do well to explore this vast resource.
Now Google has announced this week that it will make its catalog of 2-million digitized books available to On Demand Books "Expresso Book Machine" which it plans to make available to locations around the globe. These paperback books will cost the consumer about $8 each and will have access to the 2 million books on Google that are no longer protected by copyright. This includes titles published before 1923 and includes classics like "Moby Dick" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as well as very obscure titles.
What a wonderful balance this is between digital books on devices like the Amazon Kindle or Sony Ebook reader and the desire to have a real book in ones hand. For speed readers, it is an excellent development. Speed reading is best served by having access to the entire book, something that e-book readers don't yet do well.
We would all do well to check out these out-of-print older works being made available by Google. Too often these books are ignored since most can't be found during Internet searches. We must always remember that there are thousands of years of human thought that have been written down and we would all do well to explore this vast resource.
Speed Reading Practice - Week 3
The beginning of the third week of speed reading practice could find you wondering if you have totally forgotten to read! The new techniques, not quite yet in your comfort zone, are becoming more and more familiar, but at times, you find yourself wondering if there is any merit to this new way of reading.
It is common for doubts to set in, especially when you are replacing long-held behaviors and beliefs about information intake. There is a part of our psyche that wants to hang on to the familiar, even if the familiar is painful or not working for us.
Be patient and ride out the confusion. Tell yourself, "this is only a temporary state of mind. Each day, I am becoming a better and better speed reader and soon, all these new techniques will feel familiar and easy."
By the end of the third week, you will likely find yourself feeling very confident with your new way of reading. If it takes longer, don't worry. It was months before I felt really comfortable with the new techniques, but I held the steadfast belief that it was the right thing to do and that it would eventually become part of my comfort zone. And it did!
Keep customizing the Triple Reading Process. Intentionally choose how you are going to read a book, how many passes through you will likely need (usually determined after the Overview), and whether or not you need to take notes while you read.
After a few months - sooner for some - you will feel less like you need a formal process. You will always Overview a book, article, or report, but then you will decide as you go what the process needs to be. I find myself moving back and forth between my notes and the book quite freely, always striving to "see the words and know that I know them."
Good luck!
It is common for doubts to set in, especially when you are replacing long-held behaviors and beliefs about information intake. There is a part of our psyche that wants to hang on to the familiar, even if the familiar is painful or not working for us.
Be patient and ride out the confusion. Tell yourself, "this is only a temporary state of mind. Each day, I am becoming a better and better speed reader and soon, all these new techniques will feel familiar and easy."
By the end of the third week, you will likely find yourself feeling very confident with your new way of reading. If it takes longer, don't worry. It was months before I felt really comfortable with the new techniques, but I held the steadfast belief that it was the right thing to do and that it would eventually become part of my comfort zone. And it did!
Keep customizing the Triple Reading Process. Intentionally choose how you are going to read a book, how many passes through you will likely need (usually determined after the Overview), and whether or not you need to take notes while you read.
After a few months - sooner for some - you will feel less like you need a formal process. You will always Overview a book, article, or report, but then you will decide as you go what the process needs to be. I find myself moving back and forth between my notes and the book quite freely, always striving to "see the words and know that I know them."
Good luck!
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