Readers are leaders and in this article you will learn several simple to implement Speed Reading Secrets that will assist you in efficiently absorbing all that information out there.

First Speed Reading Secret!

Before we begin, here’s a concept that you MUST understand about speed reading: shaving just a fraction-of-a-second off every page that your read will create a HUGE difference in your reading rate.

Even if you were able to shave just 1 second off the time it takes you to read a page that would still be FIVE minutes off a normal 300-page book!

So, it’s not always necessary to aim for the spectacular – just a little growth here and there will make a world of difference.

Even when it comes to something as basic as paging and pacing techniques…

When it comes to speed reading, learning to use your hands correctly and efficiently will require that you train yourself to accomplish the following 3 tasks:

1. Use your hands to guide and pace your eye movements through the text

2. Use your hands to force your eye to constantly scan through new information

3. Use your hands to prevent your eyes from repeatedly reading the same words

The Speed Reading Hand Motion:

Although it may seem uncomfortable at first, the ideal use of the hands of a right-handed person would be to use your left hand to pace your reading and your right hand to turn the pages.

To begin reading, place your hand at the start of a line. Move your hand towards the right hand margin. Make sure to focus your eyes upon the text that your hand is pointing towards.

When you reach the end of the current line, move your hand to the start of the next line. Repeat this method to the end of the page. To make paging faster, make sure that your right hand is always positioned at the top right hand corner of the book.

Go ahead and practice this movement. You don’t need to worry about reading any of the text, just practice the hand motion and paging techniques for now. Make sure that you are able to rapidly move through the pages of your book.

Believe it or not, you can reach the place where your reading speed explodes to the point that your paging and pacing hands will have a hard time just trying to keep up!

In the next part of this article, I will show you how you can begin improving your comprehension of text so that when you begin reading at the higher speed you will actually have a BETTER understanding of the text that you did at your lower reading speeds!

Your Second Speed Reading Secret!

Here’s something that you don’t hear everyday…

You CAN comprehend details better at higher speeds!

This is not a prank. In fact, if you will spend the next few moments reading through this email I’ll teach you some valuable insights into how you can begin improving your comprehension by leaps and bounds within just minutes.

The key to instantly increasing your comprehension of any book and any topic is to get familiar with the following universal publication tips. (Yes, these tips apply to almost every publication and can be applied immediately)

1. The first and last chapters of a book introduce and summarize its contents.

2. The first and last paragraph in a chapter introduce and summarize the contents of that particular chapter

3. Some books (such as text books and even most translations of the Bible) contain topic and summary sentences within their structure with introduce and summarize its contents

4. The VERBS and NOUNS of a sentence offer the *most important* information.

5. Be aware and ’sensitize’ yourself (through practice) to the use of negative words. Negative words (such as ‘not’, ‘no’, ‘can’t'…etc) can reverse the meanings of large groups of words – so keep a lookout for them.

6. By the same token, you also need to keep an eye out for the conditional tense. Conditional tense words (such as ‘could’, ‘if’, ’should’…etc) can also affect or change the meanings of a large body of words.

If you’ve been following with me then you’ll have already learned some valuable reading techniques that you can use to trim your reading time down AND improve your comprehension.

I’m going to give you just a few more tips on how you can use a book’s format to further increase your comprehension.

1. Don’t skip over reading the front and rear jackets of a book. These can really give anyone valuable insights into why the book was written and thus give you some insight into what you can expect.

2. By the same token, always check out the book’s forward and introduction. Oftentimes these overlooked segments can remove a lot of the confusion that arises when you have no idea about the authors intended direction BEFORE you begin reading

3. ALWAYS read the table of contents. It’s the author’s outline and will ‘prime your brain’ to his writing style and thus improve your understanding of his book’s structure.

4. Don’t just let the words ramble on in your mind. Make an effort to *actively read” the book. This means that you should continuously be asking yourself questions about what you’ve just read. Attempt to summarize the information you’ve just read at frequent intervals. By doing this you will soon discover your current level of comprehension and recall.

5. Devour charts and diagrams. If your book contains these features make sure that you stop and take time to actually understand the drawings and diagrams. Spending a few extra moments contemplating these features will ultimately increase your overall reading speed because you will have a clear visual representation of the information you’ve just read.

6. Make use of the glossary and index usually found at the end of most books.

Your Fourth Speed Reading Secret!

Now I’m going to show you an *exciting* part of any speed reading program.

It’s called skimming. Although it doesn’t actually involve ‘reading’ in the traditional sense of the word, it DOES allow you to experience some of the thrill of rapidly devouring vast amounts of information at blistering speeds.

If you are able to, it is always best to ’skim’ any book before you read it. (Whether you will be reading it at high speed or normal speed)

When you are skimming, what you are really looking for is the format of the book you will be reading.

It helps to give you visual clues to what you can expect and it allows you to compensate for some of those challenges.

At this point, let me take a moment to define what my definition is of skimming.

The process of skimming is nothing but the exercise of going through the ENTIRE book you plan to read (or speed read) at a rate of about TWO to THREE SECOND PER PAGE – MAXIMUM!

When you skim, here are some of the details that you are looking for…

Font and type sizes used

The presence or absence of chapters

The presence or absence of columns

The presence or absence of headings/sub-headings

Parts of the book

Diagrams and pictures

Any unusual or helpful features

Armed with the information that you acquire from skimming, you will be amazed at how DRAMATICALLY it influences your reading speed – even without using some of the other speed reading technology out there.

Your Fifth Speed Reading Secret!

How would you like to know the secret techniques to master different types of reading?

Well, that’s EXACTLY what I’m here to show you right now!

Are you just reading for pleasure? Do you need to study? Are you reading to develop a new skill?

Here is a quick reference guide to how YOU can get the most out of your reading experience by using a few simple guidelines.

PLEASURE READING

Do not skim or review the materials. Simply read at a comfortable rate.

HOBBY AND SPECIAL INTEREST

Perform a short skim, and review. Spend the majority of the time reading.

STUDYING

Spend about half the time reading and half the time skimming and reviewing materials Do NOT over-read. Read once though a chapter at your best comprehension speed, (highlight areas of confusion by placing a light pencil mark next to them – but do NOT stop at this point) then skim and review the materials. Lastly, return to the areas that require a more in depth analysis and work through them.

MAXIMUM POTENTIAL READING

Spend 70% of your time reviewing materials, and 10% skimming. Only read 20% of the time. Use the reading skills that you’ve learnt during this email course to locate key information. Place your emphasis on taking notes and studying.

Your Final Speed Reading Secret!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You’ve made it through the Speed Reading Simplified Article.

Now, I’m just going to recap on what we have already covered, and the best way to benefit from what you’ve learned!

Thus far, I’ve shown you:

* How to using your hands to correctly and efficiently shave a second or more off each page that you read.

* How to use your hands to guide and pace your eye movements through the text

* How to use your hands to force your eye to constantly scan through new information

* How to use your hands to prevent your eyes from repeatedly reading the same words

* That you CAN comprehend details better at higher speeds

* Keys to how you can begin improving your comprehension by leaps and bounds within just minutes.

* The secrets to instantly increasing your comprehension by making effective use of a book’s, first and last chapters, its topic and summary sentences, its negative words and its conditional tense.

* How you can use a books format to further increase your comprehension

* How to experience some of the thrill of rapidly devouring vast amounts of information at blistering speeds by using skimming..

* How to use skimming to receive visual clues to what you can expect when speed reading

* What my definition of skimming is.

* What the details are that you must look for when you are skimming

* The secret techniques to master different types of reading.

* How to make the most of PLEASURE READING, HOBBY & SPECIAL INTEREST READING, STUDYING and MAXIMUM POTENTIAL READING.

The average person typically reads between 200 to 400 words per minute (wpm) when we are reading for comprehension – that is, when we want to learn and retain the knowledge from what we are reading – and this speeds up to about 400 – 700 wpm when we are simply ’skimming’ or ’scanning’ which is to get an idea of the text or just to pick out the important bits. These techniques are things that we all naturally use in the course of reading; skimming and scanning consist of moving your eyes down a page, but not reading every word. You get the general idea of what a passage is saying.

Speed reading means reading at a rate that is significantly faster than that of normal skimming and scanning but with more comprehension. With speed reading techniques, most people are able to read up to 1000 wpm or even more. some of the fastest speed readers in the world can read up to as much as ten times that rate, with very good comprehension. Obviously, speed reading can be useful in many ways. So many of us – students and professionals – are inundated with a great volume of reading material every day. If we can get through this material at a significantly higher speed (and without sacrificing comprehension), the benefits are would be great meaning more study in less time. We are able to acheive more and learn more with less effort than we ever thought possible.

The best speed readers are capable of reading at speeds you might find amazing. For example, some can finish a novel or reference book at the bookstore or newsstand, and remember exactly what they have just read afterwards – imagine the money you’d save, as well as time! Reaching these speeds is not out of the question for you, if you find speed reading techniques that work for you. But if you increase your reading speed even by half (which is common and easily achievable) the benefits will be great, particularly if you have to do a lot of reading for school or work. It’s also especially useful for students who have an exam the next day, where you can quickly go over all your notes on the bus or in the morning.

Speed reading techniques vary greatly; in fact, they are based on different principles. Many of the techniques are really just accelerated versions of skimming. You are taught to read only part of each word or phrase, which is all you really need much of the time to get the information you really need and your mind will automaticaly fill in the rest. Sometimes this is achieved by using peripheral vision.

Other speed reading techniques, which boast much faster speeds and greater comprehension, work on a different principle. For example, one method (sometimes known as photo reading) engages the sub-conscious or para-conscious mind to mentally ‘photograph’ whole passages, enabling you to ‘read’ them without actually reading individual words or phrases at all. Though this claim sounds incredible, many testimonies and tests done on subjects indicate that it’s possible and that it works.

Last month I gave you my first three secrets to how I boosted my own creativity. I hope you have been taking full advantage of the information. Now I will reveal three more secrets that will bring your creativity up another notch. Are you ready?
Unlearn your creativity blockers. Our parents and teachers taught us what they thought was good for us and what they thought we needed to succeed. And most of the time, they do a great job. However, we live in a society where conformity is valued, and so in preparing us to succeed here, they also imparted lessons that block our creative spirits. So, if you want to boost your creativity, it’s time to unlearn some of these.
1. It’s good to be practical and sensible
Starting from early childhood, most of us have been trained to be sensible and practical. Now it is time to unlearn some of these lessons, especially if you want to become freer in your creativity. When you are working on coming up with a creative new idea, or a creative solution to a problem, you must suspend whatever judgment you have been programmed to make regarding the practicality of the idea until much later. A corollary to this point is to also ignore judgments of others while you are in the process of creating.
Do you wonder if people questioned Edison’s sanity when he started working on the light bulb? What do you think would have happened if Edison paid attention to what others were telling him? I am convinced that Edison himself at times doubted the practicality of his idea. But he didn’t give in to that judgment, and because of that, we are not still sitting here reading by candlelight.
You don’t have to boost your creativity to the level of Edison’s. However, I would not be the least bit surprised if you’ve had some pretty darn good ideas in the past you dropped because you felt they were impractical. Start giving these ideas some time to incubate and see what happens.
2. Be serious and productive
In his book, Roger Von Oech wrote: “If necessity is the mother of invention, play is the father. Use it to fertilize your thinking.” Obviously then, the advice is to allow yourself to play with ideas.
Did you think you were more creative when you were a kid? I certainly thought that of myself. Recall the wonderful games and stories you came up with while playing with friends when you allowed your imagination to run free? It wasn’t hard to be creative then, was it?
I am not a computer game fan, but I have seen examples of some of them, and I believe the images in these games are definitely some of the most creative designs I have ever seen. There is just something about play that sparks our creativity. So, let yourself play with ideas and problems. Don’t ignore the fact that some of the most inventive ideas came from playing around with something and adapting it to a new application. So, take my advice, and spend time playing. You can be serious later.
3. Follow the rules
I am not advocating that you abandon all protocol and act irresponsibly. However, our training to automatically follow rules all the time is detrimental to the creative process.
Have you ever considered that most rules are made up in the first place and that the situation and conditions might have changed so much that certain rules don’t apply anymore? Question your assumptions and the rules you unconsciously apply to your situation and/or challenges and see what happens to your thinking.
What rules did Dell break? What about Google? If the leaders at these companies stuck with the old rules of business, would they be as successful today? So, don’t worry about breaking a few rules when you are focusing on creating something new and exciting.
This installment is focusing on unlearning lessons that block our creativity…be silly, play and break a few rules.

I have professed to be the ultimate left-brained nerd. For years I saw myself as the analytical automaton, sorely lacking in creativity. And creativity is something that I really valued. Think about it – being creative is defined as “having or showing imagination and artistic or intellectual inventiveness.” Who wouldn’t want that quality?
As I am also a professed personal growth addict, I have worked hard on boosting my own creativity. And I am happy to report that I do consider myself much improved in that area. If you can identify with me, don’t despair. It really was not as hard as I thought. How did I do it? Here are some of my secrets to help you get started.
1. Exercise your creative muscle regularly
There have been lots of studies on the human brain and evidence shows that our brains works very much like a muscle, which means that the more we use it, the stronger it becomes. In order to boost your creative muscle, start using it every opportunity you get, especially when it is just for fun.
Here are some things you can do: • Pick up some brain teaser puzzles and work on those • Instead of reading from a book, choose a toy from your children’s collection and make up a story about it at bedtime • Play games that engage the mind such as mah jong or chess • Approach things differently – instead of writing down a list of words, try using pictures or symbols
2. Identify your Creative Environments and Schedule Time There
Do you know where you do your best thinking? For most of us, it is not sitting at our desks. My best ideas come to me in three places: the shower, on my long walks, and in the car. There is something about the isolation and the relaxed state I’m in while engaging in these activities that allow my mind to come up with solutions to problems. So your assignment is to figure out where your best creative environments are and schedule yourself to spend time there.
A word of caution though – once you have identified what these environments are, don’t spoil it for yourself by expecting that you will be doing creative thinking every time you are there. Look for it as a special bonus, like a prize you get when you open up the right bottle of Coke. If I went for a walk specifically because I need some creativity, it doesn’t come as easily. But if I just let my mind wander to whatever it wants to think about, the ideas start to come. Learn to relax into your creativity.
3. Adopt a “the more the merrier” attitude
One of the books that has helped me develop my creative muscle is “A Whack on the Side of the Head” by Roger von Oech. It is a fun little book and I highly recommend it. In it, he talks about the “right answer” and the “second right answer”, and the next right answer. His point is that while we are in school, we are trained that there is only ONE right answer to test questions. And we adopt that same approach to everything else in life.
In order to boost our creativity, we have to remember that there is often more than ONE right answer. So, don’t just stop after you have one answer, keep going and see how many other ones you can come up with. Make it a challenge. It doesn’t matter how outrageous it is. The most significant inventions seemed completely preposterous at the time they were first considered. Don’t start judging when you are in the brainstorming phase. That can come later.
When you start using these suggestions, I think you will notice an improvement in your creative ability, as I have. I must admit that now I really enjoy my creative activities, like writing these articles, brainstorming with clients, and just letting my imagination run wild. And if you stay tuned, I will have a follow up article on this subject as there is much more great information I want to share with you.

Author:  Andrew Fogg

So what is this golf mind and unconscious golf stuff that I’m always writing and talking about? And how does it actually work? These are questions I occasionally get asked by more sceptical golfers. Thankfully the vast majority of people I talk to either accept my explanations or trust me based on the results they’ve seen other people achieve.   Hypnosis tends to be experienced in many different ways with different [people and what works in one session with a client may not work as well, if at all, the following week. That means that golf psychologists and hypnotherapists have to be flexible in their approach to every client session. It also means that it’s difficult if not impossible to analyse and document hypnosis and hypnotic technique scientifically. For some people that means that hypnosis doesn’t exist and that it’s dangerous because it can’t be explained.   Now I’ve often explained the unconscious mind as the source of our autonomous or instinctive actions. I illustrate this with stories about how difficult it was to consciously learn to drive, tie your shoelaces or a bow or ride a bike and how at some point it just becomes an automatic process that we don’t have to think about.   Before starting on a long car journey, most drivers spend a little time planning their journey. They consider the merits of different routes, taking into consideration factors like road works, whether they prefer to drive on main roads, the impact of rush-hour traffic and many other factors including the weather. Once they start driving, most of these people drive safely while settling down to conscious pursuits like talking to their passengers, working out the personal and business problems in their mind or just daydreaming. Their unconscious mind keeps them safe and follows all the techniques and processes they learned years ago. How often have you drivers been on a long familiar journey and suddenly just seemed to “wake up” thinking, “How did I get here?” It can be quite worrying the first time it happens, but your unconscious mind has protected you along the way.   If a top golfer described a similar experience, we’d be inclined to think they were “in the zone” or, as Tony Jacklin famously referred to it after his major wins in the early 70s, in a “cocoon of concentration.” Years later, Nick Faldo talked about getting into a trance-like state, he called it a “cocoon”, during the week of a major. He went on to describe it as “a state of oblivion where I shut out all the people on and off the course.”   So, like the driver I described earlier consciously plans the journey in advance, the golfer consciously plans his shot taking into account all the information available, including his lie, how he’s playing today, the weather and wind conditions, the distance, the landing area and his chosen target. He completes his conscious preparation and then transitions to his unconscious mind by recalling a similar shot and vividly imagining the experience of hitting by stepping into his stance and trusting his unconscious mind to hit the ball. Put differently, the golfer is “in the zone” or in a “cocoon of concentration”, a trance-like state of oblivion. That sounds good to me!

Author:  Will Drapcho

Mind mapping is a great tool you can use to improve the flow of information in your life. It structures together information in a way that makes it easier for you to comprehend, analyze, and come up with new ideas and goals as well.

With mind mapping, concepts are graphically represented, allowing you to actually picture the ideas and goals. It’s a very simple method of organizing thoughts and ideas.

Mind Mapping 101?

To illustrate mind mapping, let’s start with a typical handwritten list of goals. Now add action steps to this list and draw lines to show how one action relates to another. All of a sudden your list mushrooms into a map and you need more paper to write on! That’s a basic mind map.

Mind maps work well with your brain because you’re using a structure that’s very close to the way your brain works. It includes artistic and analytical activity, getting your brain more involved in the information. You may even find mind mapping to be fun!

As you see how things on your list relate to each other through mind mapping, you will figure then be able to prioritize better.

Benefits of Mind Mapping

* Mind maps jog your brain’s creativity and make information easier to learn, remember, and work with.?
* Mind maps allow you to envision the big picture and how each part contributes to it.
* Mind maps help you focus on the important projects and tasks that are most beneficial for your business or career goals.

Various Uses for Mind Mapping

Mind maps are a new way of formulating a list of ideas into a visual plan. They’re excellent tools for brainstorming, whether it’s for personal, work, or educational purposes.

Mind maps are great for taking notes as well, making notes much easier for students to visualize and remember. Because of mind maps, your job or task can be easier and less time consuming due to memorization and studying information.

Problem solving and planning are simplified by mind maps. They work wonderfully for presenting information, from simple to complex. A mind map can be the perfect solution when trying to find a way to get your creative juices flowing.

You can gather information from different sources, and a mind map can help you consolidate the information.

* Mind maps come to life as you add in the details. They help you form action steps and timelines to reach your goals and bring you the success you desire.

How to Make a Mind Map

Making a mind map is easier than you may think. Have a large piece of blank paper, and something like a pen or pencil to write with. You’ll want to start out in the middle of your paper so that there’s room to expand in any direction.

Here are the steps to creating a mind map:

1. Draw or write down a specific idea.
2. Around the main idea, illustrate or write out different subtopics or tasks that relate to it.
3. Draw lines to connect your subtopics to the main idea.
4. For each subtopic, you can go on to develop more details and ideas, drawing lines to them as well, until everything is connected together.

There are also various mind map software tools freely available online. Once you start putting your ideas into a mind map, you’ll be able to see your projects with clarity and accomplish your goals with ease.

Positive thinking is an avenue utilized by lots of individuals in the world over for many different reasons. It is a way of using the mind and its creative thinking to allow positive thoughts, dreams, ideas, goals and other notions to drift through your mind, allowing for a greater comprehension and acceptance of these things. By practicing higher order thinking skills, you are opening yourself up to experiencing good and beneficial results in your life. You will begin to see the good in situations instead of focusing on negative areas, you will not be confined on things that have brought you unhappiness – instead you will see it as a learning curve.

Not everybody believes in the power of positive thinking and they scoff at the idea of the subconscious mind playing a role in setting our goals. They do not believe that creative thinking can have any impact on their life whatsoever and that anything they acquire in life is all due to fate – it was meant to happen that way. This is a perfectly reasonable attitude to have but it does seem somewhat narrow minded to those who practice higher order thinking skills.

The subconscious mind plays a very essential part in the process of positive thinking, it is utilized to allow thoughts to enter a person’s consciousness and grow in a beneficial method. The law of attraction is also utilized  in creative thinking, this is the theory that if a person thinks with regards to achieving something in life for long enough it will happen. Just thinking about something however is not the way in which the law of attraction works – for instance you might dream about owning a mansion but that is as far as it goes.

The law of attraction works on a various intensity, when used in connection with positive thinking it is argued that a person will take subtle steps to obtaining what they desire. They might not be fully aware that they are doing this, and this is where the subconscious mind comes into its functions. A person may think about retraining for a career change, they may begin to engage in goal setting and start to behave in a different way. All of these things are small changes and they may take time but they are all working towards the acquisition of these goals.

Individuals who contract potentially fatal diseases such as cancer, usually turn to positive thinking, as a way of strengthening themselves from within. As a matter of fact, those who have used positive thinking when facing treatments have found that they have had beneficial outcomes. They face each day with a renewed positive attitude and with higher order thinking skills, which come from positive thinking and this can have an outstanding impact on their recovery. Their subconscious mind is feeding their body with positive energy and this boosts their total being, aiding recovery and invigorating them.

Positive thinking is what you make it and if you are able to allow your subconscious mind to help you with goal setting you will be on your way to attaining whatever you want to achieve in life.