Speed Reading Update:
Make Speed Reading Systems
Work Better for You

Are you currently using a speed reading system? Are you thinking about using one?

If so, you're about to learn how to make the most of any system you use.

In fact, you'll be able to overcome the major stumbling blocks that hold most speedreaders back from their absolute, full potential (click on any of the links below to go to that section)...

How to Remove Any Doubt That Speed Reading Will Work
How to Quickly Get Into An Optimal Learning State For Speed Reading
Three Ways to Make Speed Reading a Habit That Works for You
Uncover Your Life's Purpose to Help Your Speed Reading
A Simple Formula for Speed Reading Success
Free speed reading confidence booster: Skim-read "The Learning Revolution" (the World's biggest selling book) in 30 minutes. To see how, click here.

How to Remove Any Doubt
That Speed Reading Will Work

You can make huge progress with any speed reading system if you remember these three words: uncertainty causes anxiety.

When you feel uncertain, you don't know what is true or which way to go. You can't proceed forward with ease.

Try It For Yourself With This Little Experiment...

You can feel the power of these three words ("uncertainty causes anxiety"), by trying the following exercise...

As you go throughout this week, tuck these three words in the back of your mind. Or better yet, write them down in a place where you will see them often.

Each time you feel of anxious or stressed, ask yourself, "is this feeling caused by uncertainty in any way?" Figure out as much as possible what you feel uncertain about. What are the various things that could be true in the situation.

Now, just for a moment, just for this exercise, pretend that one of them is the truth and really feel what it feels like to believe that. Do you feel what it feels like now to be more in the flow of what you're doing?

Here's an important point: what you decide to believe doesn't have to be flattering to you. You could even believe something like "I'm an idiot" in a situation. As long as you're not wondering whether or not it's true, you'll feel less stress.

Don't worry...even if you decide to believe something unflattering like "I'm an idiot", you're just believing it for that moment to reduce your stress. You're giving your brain a break from having to work on deciding whether or not it's true. The only reason you're doing this is to get back in the flow.

This is the feeling you want when you approach speed reading.

The Sedona Method
There is an easier way to free yourself from doubt and accelerate your speed reading progress. It's a method used by many famous people (Joan Collins, Michael Gerber) and deemed effective by Harvard and Columbia University. It's called The Sedona Method and is a method that I use extensively in my day to day life.

The heart of it is based on a very simple process of letting go of any unwanted feeling on the spot. Click here to learn more about it and request a free tape at the Sedona Training Associates website.

How to Quickly Get Into
An Optimal Learning State
For Speed Reading

Traditionally various forms of self-hypnosis and relaxation have been used to get people into optimal states for learning. This actually works quite well, assuming that you "get it", can do it, and don't give up after the initial frustrations of it possibly not working immediately for you.

Binaural Frequency CDS for Optimal Learning
An easier way to get your brain to the optimal learning state is to use binaural frequency CDS. That's what I do now when speed reading material that requires my full attention. And I no longer have to remember the various tricks and techniques to get my brain into the state I want. It's all done for me!

Here's how binaural technology can work for you:

You simply put on a CD to achieve the optimal brain state for learning and speed reading.

The CDs are based on what is called "binaural technology". When you put on these CDs, each ear hears different sound frequencies. The brain must reconcile the difference so as to interpret them. This supports bringing both hemispheres of the brain into unison causing a coherent brain-wave pattern, thus achieving a whole-brain state optimal for learning.

I've used CDs like this from a few different companies. The ones that are the easiest to use and the most practical are from RadioSonic Audio Technologies . This is the same technology used by Olympic Climber Geoff Weigand to achieve his personal best climb.

I've been using these CDs since the beginning of 2002 and they have been very helpful in many different areas. They not only helped with speed reading tasks, but my sleep and and overall alertness is markedly better. You can discuss which of these CDS best meet your needs by calling Human Potential, LLC at 801-484-5152.

Are you interested in how binaural technology can be used to enhance memory? If so, there's an excellent research paper online at the University Of Geneva called An Empirical Investigation Into the Effect of Beta Frequency Binaural-beat Audio Signals on Four Mea by Richard Cauley Kennerly. It's fairly long, so it may take a while to load.

Three Ways to Make Speed Reading
a Habit That Works for You

Have you tried a new speed reading system only to find yourself slipping into old reading habits? Rest assured, you're not alone.

Problem: You're probably trying to master too many speed reading skills all at once.

As Mortimer Adler says in his classic How To Read A Book (1940. New York, Simon and Schuster), "You must learn to forget the separate acts, you have to learn them first as separate acts. Only then can you put them together to become a good (reader)."

Here are three ways to make speed reading a habit that works for you:

Master Speed Reading the Ben Franklin Way

Any speed reading system you use will be made up of several new reading habits for you to learn. Ben Franklin was one of the most incredible learners ever and had a very sensible system for acquiring habits. Here's how you can use Ben Franklin's system for acquiring habits to master any speed reading system you use:

Determine what the components of the speed reading system are. For example, several speed reading systems consist of:


1. Defining you're purpose for reading the book.
2. Skimming the book and analyzing it's structure to get the big picture and a sense of what it's about.
3. Creating questions you would like the book to answer.
4. Reading through the book quickly without stopping to look up things that you don't understand.
5. Make notes about the material.
   
   

Make a grid with the days of the week running across the top and each of the new speed reading habits you want to acquire running down the side. It should like the following (the actual habits will depend on the speed reading system you use):

Speed Reading Grid, Example 1:



Speed Reading habit	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
Define purpose
Skim book/get big picture
Create questions I want book to answer
Read whole book quickly without stopping
Make notes



Now, do not attempt to master all these speed reading habits at once. Instead, fix your attention on one of them at a time. And, when you have mastered that one habit, proceed to another, and so on, until you master them all (see step 4 for details).


At the end of the day, make a mark in the column of a speed reading habit for any habit you forgot to do. This is not to punish you. This is just to give you feedback on how you are doing. See below for an example.

Speed Reading Grid, Example 2:



Speed Reading Habit	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
Define purpose	*	**		*
Skim book/get big picture	*		*
Create questions I want book to answer	**		*		*
Read whole book quickly without stopping	**		*		*
Make notes	***	*	**		*


Each week start with a clean slate (like example 1).

One thing you will find often is that the speed reading habits you previously mastered make it easier to master the next ones.

In fact, try to arrange the order in which you master your speed reading habits with this in mind (but don't worry too much about it). For, example, here "Define Purpose" is mastered first, because once you are in the habit of defining your purpose for reading, you will feel more motivated to actually do it. So the next speed reading habit to master comes into place more naturally.



Give a week's attention to each of the speed reading habits you want to master (of course you can try more or less than a week...it's up to you.

So, in this example, at first you would just practice defining your purpose before reading, leaving the other habits to happen as they might. And at the end of the day, you would make a mark in each habits day/habit intersection each time you forgot to do it. So, in Example 2, the reader forgot to "make notes" 3 times on Sunday.

If in a given week you can keep your first line (the one for "defining purpose") clear of marks you might assume you have mastered that habit and decide to now also practice the next habit, "skimming the book and getting the big picture".


Each time you have mastered an additional habit, stretch your attention to include the next one. You will see viually how you are doing. You will leave little to chance. The cleaner your sheet is getting, the closer you are to mastering your speed reading system.

And as Ben Franklin said:

"Like him who, having a garden to weed, does not attempt to eradicate all the bad herbs at once, which would exceed his reach and his strength, but works on one of the beds at a time...and having accomplish'd the first, proceeds to a second, so I should have, I hoped, the encouraging pleasure of seeing on my pages the progress I made...by clearing successively my lines of their spots, till in the end, by a number of courses, I should be happy in viewing a clean book."

Here's wishing you many clean books!

Use Technology You Already Have + Ben's Approach The Ben Franklin System described above is very effective for mastering speed reading. It helps you to break your speed reading system into individual habits and focus on one speed reading habit at a time.

The downside is that you must remember to use the system. And this is where technology comes in.

If you have a device that you can set to make a sound or vibrate at a particular time, use it to remind you to use your system. You can set most electronic organizers to beep or vibrate at specified times. Often you can set a message to display as well. In this case you're message might be as simple as "remember to use my speed reading system".

Free Computer-Based Reminder System If you're at your computer daily, you can also use computer-based reminder systems to do the same trick. One such one, called EZ Scheduler is available from American Systems for free.

The Motivaider
One device that sources I trust have recommended is a little device called The Motivaider. I have not personally tried it out, but it seems like an excellent way to keep your mind focused on habits you want to acquire or change.

Whatever system you use, set it for the morning to remind you to use the system. And set it for the evening to remind yourself to review how you did in using the habits you are trying to acquire. Set for more if you think you need it, especially at the beginning.

Look Deeper Into You're Life's Purpose

Many times new habits (including speed reading habits) won't take because you're just not really sure deep down whether acquiring them really matters to you. If this is the case, it's will be extremely helpful for you to go through a process that helps you do the following things:

Discover your life's purpose
Find out who you really are
Understand what you really want
Understand and cope with change and confusion
learn to make decisions and not worry about mistakes

When you do these things, you will be able to design your own RoadMap to success and use the best speed reading system for you to get there. Here's why:

When you are following your own plan based on your real life purpose, you are highly aware at a subconscious level of two simple, but important things:

What is useful to achieve your success.
What is not useful for achieving your success.

Strikingly simple! When you're serving your life's purpose, it's as if you're being pulled towards things that are good for you and pushed away from things that are bad.

The Unseen Forces That Shape Your Life
Bob Scheinfeld of The Invisible Path To Success calls these "the unseen forces that shape what happens to you - and equally important, what doesn't happen to you." He goes on to say, "When you understand what these unseen forces are, and you learn how to manage them in your daily life, amazing things start happening" (he offers a free 5 lesson course to show you a shorter path to success and really fills in some serious holes of traditional self-help courses).

Now, let's tie this all back to speed reading. And keep in mind as you read the following paragraphs that studies have shown that in general only 4% - 11% of the text people read is needed to fulfill their purpose for reading text.

First, one of the most important recommendations of any good speed reading course is to define your purpose for reading. And the clearer you are about your life purpose, the clearer your purpose for reading will be.

And the clearer your purpose for reading is, the less you will be distracted by irrelevant text. This means you get to the 4%-11% of relevant text much more quickly, which greatly improves your speed reading effectiveness...which in turn eliminates your doubts about speed reading...which in turn helps you have confidence using speed reading in your daily routine.

In other words, you won't even have to think about speed reading any more. Speed reading will just be something you do automatically!

A Simple Formula For Speed Reading Success

This formula is a summary of how to overcome speed reading stumbling blocks as outlined in this article. If you follow it, you can't lose.

(Uncover Life Purpose) + (Remove Doubt That Speed Reading Will Work For You) + (Acquire One Speed Reading Habit At A Time) = Speed Reading Success!

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