What do I want the author to answer for me? I really don't know. The book is about How to Build Values through Values.
That's where purpose is important.
Okay you gave me a book with an interesting title. Since I wasn't at the bookshop, I don't know what section of the bookshop it is from.
So with my purpose of getting a concept of what the book is about. I looked at the TOC on Amazon.
Ok it appear the book is Conscious Business?
Assuming I have the correct book this book by Fred Kofman is about building using your personal values and building on those values for the good of self and business.
Personally this is a C pile book, one that I'm not likely to go further into so would dump it, never the less it appears interesting so in a bookshop I would have PhotoRead the book and perhaps it could have landed in the A or B reading list for me. Though it would have to have some real, WIIFM [what's in it for me] ideas jumping out to further activate. Okay I might do that in the bookshop too.
So going from there possible purpose might be, To find out how to add value to my values so that I can...
enhance my business,
enjoy my work more,
achieve better communication with my customers,
enjoy negotiations as required in my job
me...
so that I can improve my teaching
which would lead my first activation to be.. What in this book can be applied to teaching,
Not knowing what I would find at this point that would be the core of my first activation, looking for which sections of the book have ideas, methods, triggers knowledge (those ah-ha moments as to why something worked or didn't work or how I could have done something better in the past). Naturally in discovering those sections I will form questions. Turning subheadings or chapters into questions using the 6 W's (Who, what, why, when, where and how) if necessary. And from the looks of that TOC that's might be relevant since if this author is any good on his subject, he's going to love answering questions. It appears he ask a few for you in the early pages of the book.
In all it comes down to modifying your purpose. Obviously you feel that this book has something worth understanding so if you're not forming questions, review your purpose. Change it. I could have a purpose relevant to only one chapter of the book ad be done with the book or I can see multiple directions for the book. I don't expect it all at once, I just expect something to satisfy my purpose in the shortest possible time.
So if it doesn't catch me during preview and a photoread, I let it go. The book will come back to me if the information becomes relevant to my life or another better book will replace it. (Better in terms of my knowledge and resonance with the author. There are a lot of great book that fall away because they don't resonate).
With more than 3 million books being printed each year in the US alone, add to that books from other English speaking countries, I'm not afraid to only spend 5, 10 or a mere 15 minutes with a book after PhotoReading it and be done with it. What's the point of spending time with a book if it's not creating something new for me?
In the grand scheme of things, nothing is as important as I think it is. What about just finding out something? It doesn't have to be important, it's much neater if you find something that is meaningful to you, that you can work with. And if you don't find it in that book move on, try other books.
It is more likely that a book isn't what you need in the moment than you not being able to put the PhotoReading system to work. If you're not sure about the truth of that, consider how many books you started to read but didn't finish? How many book have you read to the finish without implementing anything that the book taught?
So keep playing with your purpose an move onto other books.
I know not everyone flukes like I did to select a book I didn't finish reading that I though should be great, given the cover the blurb and the first few pages I read. I went on to using the PhotoReading system on it and discovered, the book wasn't true to the subject. I've come across others since then that claimed they would teach you how to do something that turned out to be long winded advertising for something else.
So challenge yourself, at the end of each activation summarize what you just activated in your own words. Don't worry about it being right, because it is right, as that is how the book resonated with you.
Alex
