How Reading Fast Like Superman Saved The Day

Ever find yourself with a test tomorrow and you haven't studied a single thing? Do you have to give a report on a company's profile that stacks from your desk to the ceiling? If you answered yes, then you know where I was yesterday. I believe the correct term is "screwed". If you guys didn't know this time of year is the wonderful time of finals for us students. All is fun and games until you find out you have a final in 2 hours, and the last time you've seen the required text is when you were too cheap to buy it because $150.00 can feed a family of 20 in Tanzania. Read on to see how my life was saved.

The story dates back to when this blog was created. I created this blog to document my choice to actively play the game of life. I made the choice to make myself as strong(lifewise) as I can possibly be to succeed at life. About this same time I also came to the conclusion that I need to be able to absorb information faster and more effectively to test it out and apply it. I remembered buying a book a couple of years ago by Evelyn Wood called The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program, which was an ok book(there are a lot better speed reading tutorial books out there). The problem I encountered with that book was that it was not written in a language that could be easily understood and applied.

I found myself in a dilemma. I needed to learn how to read fast but I didn't know what was real and what was fake out there. I did what I do for all my information, went to google and typed in "speed reading forum". Surprisingly I was unable to find a lot of quality information about speed reading. I did come across a ridiculous amount of products that claimed almost impossible things(I haven't been able to try the read a book in an hour products but I'm willing to give them a shot and post you guys a review, I will do a post and individually review all of these products in seperate posts). The good thing is that I came across a couple that really helped me. In a month I got my reading speed from 234 words per minute with 80% comprehension to 789 words per minute with 90% comprehension (now you know my secret on being able to post about anything and everything, I read everything there is available because I'm cool like that ; p).

Fast foward to yesterday. I am walking down the street ready to go to the gym when my phone alarm goes off (I have a treo so my microsoft outlook synchronizes the calendar with it). In bright big letters of death my phone screams to me final 7pm(like the over dramatization huh?). I almost have a major panic attack, but instead I pick up my phone and call my friend and he sends me 5 weeks worth of notes. The notes end up being 40 full pages. I look at the time, it is almost 5pm, I have 2 hours to study. I run to the Starbucks on campus where all the tables are full. I use my charm to coerce a girl into letting me share her little 3 foot in diameter table with me. I speed read all of the notes and do a little exercise called mind mapping which the speed reading courses teach to really pound the information into the memory.

7pm comes I crank out the test in under 30 minutes (we were given 1 hour and 40 minutes). Speed reading had saved the day again. I recommend speed reading to anyone and wish that they taught it in elementary school to kids. Look foward for some posts on the products that helped me the most, and the products that deserver to call the trash home.

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Put A Leash On That Inner Extremist

You know those people, all or nothing, live or die, starve to be skinny, forget about life to get money. I myself am currently one of these people (if you haven't been able to pick it up from my other posts). Extremism has gotten me to a lot of places in my life that I would not be at otherwise, but it has also gotten me in over my head.

I am lucky enough to be surrounded by good "grounding" people who pull my head down as it starts to float away. In the life of an extremist like myself (and probably you since you're reading this) there is a perfect balance somewhere in the middle to be strived for. The balance is the place where we can stand firmly, go after what we want, without losing sight of everything else in our lives.

You've seen those "holics" people. Gambaholics and Alcoholics. These are all horrible forms of extremism. The good thing about these extremists (the "hoics) is that it is easily catchable and shunned upon by society. Now there is the other group that is extremist because of society. That few percent of society who try to conform to society so much that they give up the balance in their life.

Everything I have done up to this point in my life has always been All or Nothing. This is a good mentality but only when applied in the right circumstances. A key example of this for me would be healthy eating habits. When I first started planning my meals and calorie counting, I went completely OCD on it. I had to count every single calorie and plan everything else or I felt like I was not at maximum efficiency. Now a days, studies show that the more extreme you are with your diet, the less likely you are to keep it. There was a time when i dropped from 17% body fat to 9% from being extreme with my health behaviors. It was a good thing that I was able to reach that low of a body fat percentage in such a short time but the sad thing was, I did not keep it. 3 Months later my body fat % was up to 20%(+3 % from when I initially started) and I was 10 pounds heavier! The extreme diet that I had put myself on did not work. I could not keep up 2X a day of Cardio and 6 fully cooked meals per day.

Fast Forward to Now a Days. I am at a comfortable 11.6% body fat and a good weight. I've eaten Chipotle a few times this week and don't pay too much attention to my meals. I just simply keep in mind what is okay, excellent, or bad food. Instead of writing down what I ate exactly I just keep that in mind. I make the time to work out but I'm not spending 4 hours in the gym any longer (I'm spending at most 30-45 minutes a day 4 days a week). This healthy lifestyle that I live now I can do with my eyes closed. Instead of having to go extreme I just live life normally how it is supposed to be and get the good results.

This analogy applies to all aspects of my life. Now my life belief is to find something that will progress me as a person, but instead of going all out at it, just chisel away slowly at a comfortable pace. What would've taken the old extremist me 4 hours a day, 7 days a week in the gym to get results but then to lose them now takes me, the "comfortable life lover," 30 minutes a day 4 days a week.

The answer is always balance. Whenever I feel like I am heading too much in one direction of life and forgetting about the other important factors, it is time to stop, look around, and throw a leash on that inner extremist.

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Using Self-Help as an Excuse to Quit

The more I started reading personal growth books (that's right I had no life!) the more I started to believe that I had to listen to my emotions. This led me to quit every time I started to feel bad instead of hanging in there and persevering.

I would tell myself that if I could read one more book or get one more audio or go to one more seminar that my life would change and I would never have challenges with my emotions. The interesting thing is the only thing that I have found that changes your life is action. Insight without action is useless. John Locke said “A man's beliefs are reflected by his actions” Damn, I'm a slow learner. He's smart!

Please don't be like me in this regard. I'm a slow learner.

There is no excuse to ever quit, regardless of how you feel. I remember being at West Point and having the “no excuse” policy. You either got the result or you had “no excuse.” That is the policy that I'm taking these days. Either I get the result or I have no good excuse. That's it!

The policy with regards to my emotions is that I persevere until I can have the time to listen to my emotions. And guess what I am finding? Sometimes when I persevere my emotional challenges go away! Silly silly me.

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Feel in a Rut? Jump Out!

IN A RUT GET OUT

You in a bad mood? You upset because you missed the latest episode of Prison Break and want to know if Schofield was able to hot wire a turbine engine with the metal implants in his fillings?. Well, here are some tips to help you to get your butt in gear!

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1. GO ON A QUICK JOG AROUND THE BLOCK

Remember your grandma always used to say, “Johnny, get out of the house!” Well, this time and probably only this time. She was right. Sometimes all we need is a little motion and like that our emotion will change. What I like to do is go on a quick jog around the block. I grab my iPod and blast my favorite song as I run as fast I can. Some may say that you should warm-up first, and they're probably right, but when you feel bad you're not thinking about warming up =)

2. GO ON A WALK AND RELAX

Not the running type. Old college football injuries? Crazy Ex-girlfriend injuries? Whatever your story. You can still go on a walk and get some benefits. Another reason is that when you feel bad you start to anchor locations to certain states of mind. (We have Pavlov and his dogs to thank for that!)

3. SMILE

And smile for real, not the cheap smile you give to your girlfriend's dad. Studies at UC Berkley showed that when they took depressed patients and just had them smile for five minutes a day, that after thirty days they reported feeling better. Give it a shot and even if it doesn't work, at least you'll have a cool cheesy smile, like that used car salesman that you bought that Winnebago from. That's cool!

4. BREATHE

Pregnant chics practice breathing, and it helps them to deliver a baby! Imagine if you did it yourself! Follow this ratio! Breath in for a count for four, hold for a count of four, and exhale for a count of four. Why a count of four? Because it's easy to keep track of! Enjoy and before long you'll be instructing Lamaze classes!

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USING THIS BLOG TO WIN AT LIFE FOR DUMMIES V1.0

Today is the unofficial launch of How To Win At Life's official blog. This will most likely be the biggest accomplishment of your life up to this point (unless your name is Spider-Man, then you automatically win at life). The fact that you have found this blog alone has made you a candidate to win at life. The only question is ARE YOU MAN (or WOMAN) enough? If your answer is no please click this link to waste your life away now if you are like myself 5 years ago, sick of wasting your life away broke, playing video games, and just losing at life in general, please read on!

This blog (if you cannot already tell) is based upon winning at life. When we say life, we mean every single aspect of life. We will cover everything from fashion to health and wealth and even to.... (drum roll) dating and relationship tips.

As of now the blog will be split into 5 categories which we will try to update as much as possible. The five categories are:

General - This category is for general announcements just like the one you are reading. It is also here for us to bitch slap those who aren't winning in life and also my favorite: the haters (go lose at solitaire by yourself and come back when you're ready to win)

Health - Health tips, tools, and the occasional health boot camp schedule where i will be your host from hell

Wealth - We're rich and guess what you can be too! How to increase your income and further your career, or how to jump start a brand new one!

Relationships - Got a Wife? Got a Girlfriend? Got a F@!% Buddy? Want one? or if you're out there for the occasion one night stand our no hassle, no haggles, no bull $h!t (ohh no it still spells feces) tips.

And last but not least, the element that puts them all together, bundles them up and prepares them for the public... STYLE

Style - Are you a dork? Are you cool? Are you a champ? I bet you are!! but keeping that baby blanket on your bed as a grown man is not going to get you anywhere in life

Now would be the perfect time for me to introduce myself and the other writer and list our accomplishments in life. Instead I will write you tons of quality material for you to fall in love with. Then we might tell you who we are (if you're lucky).

Let the winning begin!

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A Never Ending Journey to Win At Life

I could go into the usual blog introduction and give you the coming of age story of my life, but i won't. I'm here to share with you guys my personality of over achievement (My Bloginality is ESTJ!!!). Am I someone who is ultra successful and has won at life? NO... but i am currently winning at life. This blog will detail you my thoughts, tips, tools, and even questions (I am no Expert) on how to win at life. Now you're probably asking yourself: How does he know if he wins at life or not? Good question! it all comes down to progress charts. Basically I will take the basic Anthony Robbins view on the three parts of life: Health (fitness, overall health etc.), Wealth (career, savings, investments, finance, etc.), and Relationships (family, friends, significant others etc.). Now you're probably asking yourself: what is considered "winning" is it a scale of 1-10? is it a 5 star rating? Well my fellow champion of life that is all up to you to decide. For some it is an easy answer: I want this much money, this hot of a wife, and to be 7% body fat weighing 150 lbs. For others it might be: As long as I am progressing (getting in my workouts, actively dating, trying my best at my job) I will be happy.

IT IS UP TO YOU TO DECIDE!!

lets just hope that you don't have a personality type of a chicken.

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