Dear Friend,
Will always extend support .Cause i can understand what you are going through now while learning the system.For me ,i had no other option.I have tried so many speed reading courses and thats one of the reasons i took longer time.Dont label anything.keep doing it.If you get frustrated and get down to regular reading dont beat yourself.Im only curious to know what type of books are you choosing to begin with.Cause that also makes a big difference.Have you read natural Brilliance?have you activated it til it gels?you must start with simple books to learn the system.I started of with a book called Fifth Discipline by Pete Senge and i got totaly frustrated.Its a great book but its very dense and huge.
I took more than 16 to 17 activation session and 5 to 6 session of mindmaps to get the entire book.I wanted to literally study the book at the level of mastery and application.My purpose was to be able to recognise all the system arhetypes in the company i am working in and provide solutions and be a systems thinker all my life.To enhance my market value as a problem solver !!!
Let me tell you why i am a big fan of photoreading.I have been an above average student all my life.But there was always a crucial element missing ,i could'nt apply what i had studied .And i was in awe of people who could do that.So i started searching for systems for learning.But the only system that really helped me was photoreading.I have passed 21 subjects in my course ,and believe me i have good memory of all the subjects i have studied and i can even see the ideas in action in daily life.I can recognise so many things instantly and relate it to the knowledge i have gained.Most important i am able to build on what i already know.This was not the case earlier to photoreading.I stuck to photoreading cause for some reason i could see geniuneness in Paul and then when i joined the forum ,Alex gave me the required edge.I have gone through the forum many times and gone through so many discussions and kept on making adjustments or kept reinforcing the ideas already learned.
Let me tell you in India wqe have a competitve exam call Common Admission Test.Its one of the toughest test in the country.Its required for entrance into preimum institutes.The preparation for cat is something like this.First you master the fundamentals in mathematics and English language.Then you take a 2 hrs test.Its an objective test.Then you analyse the test the following way.How many did i answer correctly?how many did i get wrong?how many did i not answer?for the questions answered correctly -can i do it better?For the questions i answered wrong,was it a silly mistake or was it due to lack of understanding?for the questions i did not attempt was it due to lack of time or lack of knowledge.So each 2 hrs of test one has to review in this manner for 10 days.And then review back the concepts where he lacks understanding or wants to refine for speed.Now do you think as one goes ahead with taking test more and more one takes 10 days to review .No.it takes shorter.Shorter cause you have added in so much more.Now that kind of preparation helps one to build knowledge and expertise.The reason i chose this analogy was that's exactly how one learns and masters a skill.One needs to review and hone thier skill and practice again.Each practice session should help you build more.You will not get hold of a new system just by magic!!!It takes some review and also some appreciation to recognize what is working(Develop Sensory acuity-notice things you have started understanding,or getting better comprehension,we fail to do that too and give it enough credit.One of the best affects of photoreading is very good understanding of the subject espcially if you have a purpose and activated it well--dont expect earth shattering results overnight).
My friendly suggestion to u is first dont give up!!!
second choose small simple books
activate chapter wise initially so that you get to know the entire book,cause initially this also irritates us ,we have been conditioned to believe that if we don't read in total then we are not reading well.We want to know it all.Thats when we understand the need for purpose.Some books you may want to "Read it all many many times" for your requirement.
For me i cant go back to my old system of reading.just yesterday i read 10 articles on taxation.I built on existing knowledge .Since they were small articles say 2-3 pages each ,i took very less time.I had photoread them 10 days back and had developed so many questions.So yesterday it was one exiting session of building on what i already knew.
I am in India and we don't get to attend any of the photoreading seminars,so if you are in a country where you can attend the course ,if it meets your budget do it.Cause physical presence of a mentor will make lots of difference.You can clarify your doubts.
And its just a system so don't label yourself anything ,just play with it and see.
Cause when you get it you will enjoy it.And one more thing i have stopped bothering about speed,what is speed actually?physical movement or instant application!!!For me its very fast understanding and application...you will get that with Photo-reading!!!
And i also write down my questions.So it sort of helps me focus.In office if i get time to photoread .I type down my question on MS word and it helps me review longterm and activate books many days later cause i can look back at the questions again.Do more of the mindprobes.prepare well and activate in 20 mins see the difference.
Cheerio Friend all the best,Have a nice day!!!!
