Right Mindset for Reading
Are you going in to alpha state before reading anything? How is your practice with drills going on?
I have mentioned previously that I am releasing very important lessons. I have released one important lesson few days back. Now is the time for another important lesson. In fact, it is the most important lesson of this course. If you get this lesson right, 80 % of your reading problems would be solved and you will never look at reading a book in same way. Read it multiple times if necessary. This lesson is the foundation for everything you read from now.
This lesson may challenge your beliefs. I want you to read with open mind.
Let’s get started…..
Author would have spent years doing the research and writing the book which you hold in your hands. You could learn years of knowledge and experience in few hours by reading it.
Have you ever asked yourself this question -- What is your definition of reading?
Stop here and think for few seconds!!
Here is how I look at reading: – “Reading is an interaction between you (reader) and the author through printed text.”
Don’t think reading as a passive activity or one way communication. Next time when you sit to read imagine the author or an expert sitting next to you and teaching the subject.
You read it right!! , Imagine the author or expert sitting next to you while you are reading.
If you are reading about law of gravity, imagine Newton next to you.
If you are reading about theory of relativity imagine Einstein next to you.
If you are reading a book Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins, Imagine him next to you.
Got it.
Important lesson 1. Reading is an interaction between you (reader) and author through printed text.
Before going to next lesson let’s understand how the author writes a book.
Writing process (in general):
Before writing the book, author sets purpose.
Next, from his knowledge, research and experience he will make outline for entire book. This outline would normally be in few pages. (Most of the times it is in one page). The outline covers main ideas and important concepts that must be covered.
After making outline, author will think about different examples and different ways to explain what he is writing.
From his outline, he will start writing the book.
So, in short, what started as one-page outline ended up as a 200-page book or even 500-page book.
To summarize, this is the process of writing a book.
Main Ideas and concepts ->Words -> Sentences -> Paragraphs -> Chapters -> Book
The final result is the book. Now ask yourself these questions ….
What exactly is written in 200 page book or 500 page books?
&
What exactly are you reading a book for?
Stop and Think for few moments……….
If you said words, or sentences you are wrong. We are reading for ideas and concepts in a book and not words.
This would require a shift in your mindset. From our school days we have been taught to give importance to words and sentences. I am asking you to do something different.
Let me explain this point with an example. One of the most influential books ever written is “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. For writing this book he has interviewed over 500 successful persons and spent 20 years doing research.
From his research he has come up with 17 principles. He explained these principles in approximately 300 pages. As a reader, to get the maximum benefit, all you have to do is understand these 17 principles and implement them. You don’t need to read all the words or pages to understand these principles.
Got It!!!
One more example,
In 90%+ of newspapers articles, majority of the information is there in the headline. If you read the headline, you would have got the most information. The article just expands on what you already know and gives you more specifics. Here is one of the headings in Indian newspapers today: Mahesh Bhupathi wins first doubles title in 3 years
If you follow tennis, then you would know who Mahesh Bhupathi is and the heading says it all. The article just gives more information on the event. If you were looking only for the news, you got that by reading just heading and nothing more. If you are still interested to know more about the news, then you can read the full article.
In case you are interested, here is the link to the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-mahesh-bhupathi-wins-first-doubles-title-in-3-years-2180284
Research has shown that in any book only 4 to 11% contains the Main ideas and concepts. Rest of book consists of explanations, examples and different ways of explaining these ideas or even fluff.
So, if you understand this 4 to 11% text, then you have got maximum information out of the book.
We will cover how to find this 4 to 11% text in future lessons. But for now:
Important lesson 2: Read for ideas and not words.
Summary
- Reading is an interaction between you (reader) and the author through printed text. Make it an active process.
- Read for ideas and concepts and not for words.
- This mindset is applicable to all the books including the technical books.
Action steps:
1. Read a non-fiction book keeping the above lessons in mind. i.e. Imagine author next to you and read with a mindset of reading for ideas and concepts.
2. When you are reading for ideas, you can choose to skip words that seems irrelevant.
In the next lesson I will be sharing STEP BY STEP system on how to read any book. You will get lot of clarity on how to apply this when reading a book. For this lesson, contemplate on this mindset and how you can apply it in your day to day life.
~Srinivas Reddy