When our students start their training we ask them to sate their goals in terms of reading speed and retention. Once the student qualifies (800wpm 80% retention), he/she is encouraged to set and pursue any new goals. For those graduates, that still feel the need to improve their superlearning I suggest to pursue mastery. Mastery is not a measurable goal, but a way to greater success:
“Mastery is not the same as excellence, It’s not the same as success, which I see as an event, a moment in time, and a label that the world confers upon you. Mastery is not a commitment to a goal but to a constant pursuit. What gets us to do this, what gets us to forward thrust more is to value the near win.”
The first issue we learn to control is analysis. Analysis is not a part of the basic course. You are supposed to remember things, but we do not teach you to process them. How can we? There are so many subjects and each needs a unique approach. Fortunately our brain is built to find patterns and use templates. So once the reading skills become automatic, patterns start to emerge. By using the natural patterns of the subject domain, we start to analyse and reading becomes INTERESTING. This skill comes with a price. Reading and memorization can be quick and measured. Analysis can take time, and we are not aware of a good method to measure its quality. Very soon reading speed and retention quality stop being limited factor – the limiting factor is ability to analyse, to ask questions from perspectives, to look for innovation and generate more and more creative links.
The next question to address is the question of trade-offs:
1. We can read very fast, scanning the document for familiar patterns, but then how much will we remember and how many patterns will we miss?
2. We can generate dense markers and linking, but if we do not generate new understanding, we are just clouding our mind with useless information.
3. We can generate in-depth analysis, rereading the document with varying speed until we learn all we can learn. How many of such articles can we do per day?
4. No matter if we are scanning for information, gathering facts or performing in-depth analysis – we will get tired. How can we build a good routine that will generate success and not create a burnout scenario?
Again, this is something that everyone needs to learn and relearn, because we change and the world around us also changes.
Another question to address is building path to success, and tracing it step by step. What do you define as success? Influence/money/pleasure? Maybe something totally different, like ability to look in the mirror and love what you see. No matter what success means to you, simply generating a list of what you miss to get there is a daunting task. Learning all the subjects you will need takes years, and nobody guarantees that the path you have chosen does not end-up in something that drains your soul… So you can analyse a lot of data, how do you transfer it to working with people, creating value, driving innovation?
Some questions do not come with easy answers. Reading fast and remembering a lot is just the first step. To be able to take the next steps, we recommend commitment to mastery…
