Old Reading Habits or New Reading Choices
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It takes away our excuses It the thought of zipping through a book at a page a second sounds unlikely, remember that a new approach always seems outlandish when we view it through the lenses of the old model. When a paradigm shifts, everything begins again. Old rules may no longer apply. Even so, profound changes canhappen painlessly, in an instant, and have far-reaching effects. I like the way one of our PhotoReading graduates, a mechanical engineer, put it: "It is scary to think that our minds are unlimited. It takes away all our excuses." If you feel uneasy with the prospect of a paradigm shift, consider the words of another graduate: "Step into the unknown. Don't be afraid. You will either find solid ground, or you will be taught to fly." We must try new attitudes and experiment with new actions. Otherwise, how can we produce new results in our lives? A person in one of our seminars overcame his fear of success and said, "I finally understand. This seminar can transform my life— but I have been acting as though I can do it without changing any of my beliefs or my behavior!"
What you have to give up To master PhotoReading you must give up: • low self esteem as a learner • self-defeating habits like procrastination and self-doubt • perfectionism, "all or none" thinking that dwells on failure rather than feedback and learning • distrust in the other-than-conscious mind and intuitive abilities • the need to know everything right away • performance anxiety • a stressful sense of urgency More than anything else, you must give up negative attitudes that get in the way of your success. For example, one participant in a PhotoReading seminar never considered himself much of a reader, and his belief became a personal barrier: "I just don't think I am going to be able to learn this." Another participant in the same seminar also claimed poor reading skills, but her