EFFECTIVE READING HACKS
When I was in fourth grade I was told that I wasn't a great reader. No concern arose until I was told I had to go to a separate room to read. I was labeled as a SPED kid. (Special Education). This went on for 7 years.
Early on this turned me off from school. I would just doodle in class. Drawing sports players. Or the Penn State Logo (I grew up in PA). Or skateboarders (Tony Hawk).
In year 5 my teachers, my parents and I had to make a decision about my future. I was 15. I didn't know what I wanted to do that night let alone for the rest of my life.
"College is not an option" a teacher that taught me 3 classes (Math, Reading and English/Writing).
A knife went through my heart. I knew all of my friends would be going there. My mother must have felt this knife.
"That is NOT true! I'm a teacher and skills can be improved." My mom said.
The rest of the meeting was a blur. I read a quote that goes along the lines
'people will forget what you said to them, people will forget what you did to them, but people won't ever forget how you made them feel'.
On that day, I remember feeling very low walking to my parents car. I was angry. 'Why can't I read like all of the rest of the kids in my grade!' I thought.
However, those are the moments that define our lives. You have two choices. You can react or respond.
I responded.
A) EMBODY THE WRITER
Life is lived forward but understood backwards. The dots only connect in hindsight. In life we're building the story day-by-day. Then one day the story ends.
In a book the end is clear. Therefore to understand a book I flip to the conclusion. People cringe when they hear this.
"That ruins a book!" I hear.
99.99% of the time I read to learn. Aristotle defined happiness as "audemonia" which translates into "human flourishing". I look for growth in all areas of my life. Therefore the more I learn the happier I am. It's pleasurable to learn.
I learn 10x more when I read the conclusion first. My favorite part is to read the LAST paragraph. Then starting from the introduction. Great artists always end with a gem.
B) HI-JACKING
I love hi-jacking the writer's mindset. Then I use their brilliance to better my life. Improving the way I write. Improving the way I think. Improving the way I talk.
I'll break those three sentences up because there's interesting components to each layer.
1. Writing
I read every day. I write every day. In that order. Naturally, I'm a terrible writer. However, I choose to read INCREDIBLY written books.This simple technique has improved my writing dramatically (now, I'm at least an average writer).
I study how great writer's structure their sentences. How they tell stories. How they connect with their readers.
2. Thinking
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" - Aristotle
The more I read the more creative I become. I ponder 'What Malcolm Gladwell (enter a name) would think about A?' 'What would Napoleon Hill think about B?'
Expanding perspectives increases happiness and creativity.
I become more compassionate because I can understand where others are coming from. Realizing there's more than one way to do things.
3. Talking
Reading improves vocabulary.
C) NOTES
Ryan Holiday writes a lot about a commonplace. A central resource for ideas, quotes, powerful information, and observations all learned from the books he reads.
He has a massive amount of information at his fingertips on countless topics. This commonplace has two major benefits.
1. Centralized information
When you need information about a particular topic (especially during writing) you'll have your own resource center. (Google doesn't have search power inside of books or interviews, etc).
2. Memory
I admit, I can read an entire book and walk away a week later and forget almost everything. Yet when I teach others what I read. I'll lock-in three to four main points from each chapter.
D) BECOME 300% MORE PRODUCTIVE
Most 300 page books are written after 1,000s of hours of researching and experimenting. On average it takes 3.5 hours to read 300 pages. You're looking at a 300% ROI on productivity. BAM!
E) BECOME 600% MORE PRODUCTIVE
Find a partner. Teach her about the book you're reading. Have her teach you about the book she's reading.
You retain more information when teach. Maximum you're timing by learning two book while reading one.
F) BOOK BRAINSTORMING
When I want to become more creative I will read four books at once.
Fifteen minute sessions for each book. Brain scientist. This puts hundreds of ideas into your mind. Gaining perspective from four professionals in one hour. This is a must-do exercise before any brainstorming exercises of mine.
-------------------------
It's very easy to tell someone you can't do 'A'. 'A' is scary. The person doesn't want to see you fail (or succeed but get rid of them). It scares them to see a potential risk coming your way.
It's hard to look a person in the eyes say you will do 'A' and believe it.
When I was in fourth grade I stopped doodling. My teacher stopped the class.
"Tom, I see you're drawing a Penn State logo." She said.
I said. "Yes. I'm s.."
"Tom, you will go to Penn State. You will graduate from Penn State." She said.
I never forgot that.
I graduated a year ago from Penn State with a 3.4 GPA. Two months after I wrote a book ('How to Find Your Passion'). That book sold 3k copies in 45 days.
If today I time traveled to that meeting room. Being in my 15 years-old body again. Starring into those teachers eyes. I still wouldn't know what I want to be. That's okay. I don't need know.
When I was in fourth grade I was told that I wasn't a great reader. No concern arose until I was told I had to go to a separate room to read. I was labeled as a SPED kid. (Special Education). This went on for 7 years.
Early on this turned me off from school. I would just doodle in class. Drawing sports players. Or the Penn State Logo (I grew up in PA). Or skateboarders (Tony Hawk).
In year 5 my teachers, my parents and I had to make a decision about my future. I was 15. I didn't know what I wanted to do that night let alone for the rest of my life.
"College is not an option" a teacher that taught me 3 classes (Math, Reading and English/Writing).
A knife went through my heart. I knew all of my friends would be going there. My mother must have felt this knife.
"That is NOT true! I'm a teacher and skills can be improved." My mom said.
The rest of the meeting was a blur. I read a quote that goes along the lines
'people will forget what you said to them, people will forget what you did to them, but people won't ever forget how you made them feel'.
On that day, I remember feeling very low walking to my parents car. I was angry. 'Why can't I read like all of the rest of the kids in my grade!' I thought.
However, those are the moments that define our lives. You have two choices. You can react or respond.
I responded.
A) EMBODY THE WRITER
Life is lived forward but understood backwards. The dots only connect in hindsight. In life we're building the story day-by-day. Then one day the story ends.
In a book the end is clear. Therefore to understand a book I flip to the conclusion. People cringe when they hear this.
"That ruins a book!" I hear.
99.99% of the time I read to learn. Aristotle defined happiness as "audemonia" which translates into "human flourishing". I look for growth in all areas of my life. Therefore the more I learn the happier I am. It's pleasurable to learn.
I learn 10x more when I read the conclusion first. My favorite part is to read the LAST paragraph. Then starting from the introduction. Great artists always end with a gem.
B) HI-JACKING
I love hi-jacking the writer's mindset. Then I use their brilliance to better my life. Improving the way I write. Improving the way I think. Improving the way I talk.
I'll break those three sentences up because there's interesting components to each layer.
1. Writing
I read every day. I write every day. In that order. Naturally, I'm a terrible writer. However, I choose to read INCREDIBLY written books.This simple technique has improved my writing dramatically (now, I'm at least an average writer).
I study how great writer's structure their sentences. How they tell stories. How they connect with their readers.
2. Thinking
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" - Aristotle
The more I read the more creative I become. I ponder 'What Malcolm Gladwell (enter a name) would think about A?' 'What would Napoleon Hill think about B?'
Expanding perspectives increases happiness and creativity.
I become more compassionate because I can understand where others are coming from. Realizing there's more than one way to do things.
3. Talking
Reading improves vocabulary.
C) NOTES
Ryan Holiday writes a lot about a commonplace. A central resource for ideas, quotes, powerful information, and observations all learned from the books he reads.
He has a massive amount of information at his fingertips on countless topics. This commonplace has two major benefits.
1. Centralized information
When you need information about a particular topic (especially during writing) you'll have your own resource center. (Google doesn't have search power inside of books or interviews, etc).
2. Memory
I admit, I can read an entire book and walk away a week later and forget almost everything. Yet when I teach others what I read. I'll lock-in three to four main points from each chapter.
D) BECOME 300% MORE PRODUCTIVE
Most 300 page books are written after 1,000s of hours of researching and experimenting. On average it takes 3.5 hours to read 300 pages. You're looking at a 300% ROI on productivity. BAM!
E) BECOME 600% MORE PRODUCTIVE
Find a partner. Teach her about the book you're reading. Have her teach you about the book she's reading.
You retain more information when teach. Maximum you're timing by learning two book while reading one.
F) BOOK BRAINSTORMING
When I want to become more creative I will read four books at once.
Fifteen minute sessions for each book. Brain scientist. This puts hundreds of ideas into your mind. Gaining perspective from four professionals in one hour. This is a must-do exercise before any brainstorming exercises of mine.
-------------------------
It's very easy to tell someone you can't do 'A'. 'A' is scary. The person doesn't want to see you fail (or succeed but get rid of them). It scares them to see a potential risk coming your way.
It's hard to look a person in the eyes say you will do 'A' and believe it.
When I was in fourth grade I stopped doodling. My teacher stopped the class.
"Tom, I see you're drawing a Penn State logo." She said.
I said. "Yes. I'm s.."
"Tom, you will go to Penn State. You will graduate from Penn State." She said.
I never forgot that.
I graduated a year ago from Penn State with a 3.4 GPA. Two months after I wrote a book ('How to Find Your Passion'). That book sold 3k copies in 45 days.
If today I time traveled to that meeting room. Being in my 15 years-old body again. Starring into those teachers eyes. I still wouldn't know what I want to be. That's okay. I don't need know.
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