economicmultipliers_87

Economic Multipliers (87)

Do you know what these are?

They help CREATE wealth in systems.

Knowing HOW to read is an economic multiplier if you never really learned.

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If you’re reading this text, you can read.

I worry though that if I recommend a book that’s a few hundred pages long, some really intelligent person who could gain value or just enjoy the book who tends to hate reading will miss out on the opportunity.

If a 300 page (or even 10 page) book ‘scares’ you, read strategically ...

For fiction:

• • Just enjoy and if you struggle with reading, get an audiotape or have someone read the book to you, and/or

  • Get an eReader or computer with text to audio software and take advantage of it recognizing that some of the words (even ‘read’) might be mispronounced.

For non-fiction:

• • Look at the Table of Contents and the indexes. Pick a few topics/pages that you might be interested in and just read those, and/or

  • Read a page or two a day. Books don’t have to be read all at once, especially books with technical content which might have a lot that you’d like to remember, and/or

  • Get a professionally prepared audiotape of the book (share the cost if some friends also want to take on a particular ‘book challenge’). Professionally prepared audiotapes don’t just provide content: They help you improve your language skills, and/or

  • Have someone read the book to you or take turns reading with friends, and/or

  • Get an eReader or computer with text to audio software and take advantage of it recognizing that some words might be mispronounced.

Always keep in mind (other than those required for education and work) that you never have to read a whole book. And, if you don’t have to read a whole book, a 1000 page tome is really not any more challenging than a 10 page short story.

Of course, finding time to read can be a challenge.

Staying focused on reading can be a challenge. If you usually watch a lot of television or play a lot of computer games, you might have a bit of attention deficit disorder: Read one or two pages or paragraphs and check your recall. Do other tiny tasks in between.

Finding peace and quiet to read can be a challenge.

With a bit of strategy though, reading books should be (become) easy.

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P.S. I do not read technical books fast. Likewise, I read fiction books slower than many people but probably faster than most. People sometimes identify ‘speed’ with ‘intelligence’ and ‘quantity’ with ‘quality.’ I hope that you do not.

Carefully selected books and other reading materials are not to be rushed through: Usually they are designed to be read and reread over the course of a lifetime.

And, if you’d find it embarrassing to read in front of other people (because you lack reading skills), 10 years from now you’ll probably lack the same skills if you don’t take advantage of all the great audiotapes (coupled with the books) that are now available (even in the kids sections of libraries).