Author: Bill

You gotta see this to believe it.

It’s called Workout Pass and it’s HUGE.

In a nutshell, workoutpass is a network of over 40 sites (and growing) featuring only workouts. We’ve got sport specific sites such as football, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, etc. We also have category-specific and equipment-specific sites like medicine ball workouts, weight loss for women, total gym, stability ball, bodyweight, etc.

Sign-up ASAP and you’ll get what may be the largest release of FREE stuff ever!

Get your Workout Pass

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America wants to get in shape. Here’s proof.

A recent poll asked 300,000 people what their goals were for 2007. Here’s the top ten goals for Americans based on their responses.

1. Lose weight, get in shape
2. Stick to a budget
3. Reduce debt
4. Enjoy more quality time with friends and family
5. Find a soul mate
6. Quit smoking
7. Find a better job
8. Learn something new
9. Volunteer – help others
10. Get organized

I think the primary reason that “Lose weight, get in shape” is number one (and usually is for most folks) is that they lack the knowledge and technology to allow them to accomplish their goal.

I can hear these people complaining that they’d be able to get in shape if only they had a method that they knew would work.

There is such a method.

My buddy Alwyn Cosgrove works with hundreds of clients each week with the same problems and the same goals. He’s tested his methods on hundreds of clients each week and has become THE expert in real world fat loss because his program works.

If you need a program to help you achieve your fat loss goals or know someone who needs some help tell them to check out Afterburn.

No more excuses.

Later

I set a personal record today of 139 pages in about an hour and fifteen minutes.

I think there’s a lot things that contributed to my PR in reading speed today.

1. I was reading something that I was looking forward to reading (No, it wasn’t a Spider-man comic).

2. I was familiar with the topic and some of the material (but I hadn’t read this book before)

3. I had scanned the book a couple of times.

4. I’ve been practicing my speed reading a bit.

Now, if there ever was a skeptic in regard to speed reading, I was a total nonbeliever.

I saw all the commercials of the kids with their school book pages turning at incredible rates with the announcer’s voice reminding you, “These kids are actually reading!!” Just in case you didn’t believe that they were.

I saw the late night infomercial of the guy that “read” an unfamiliar textbook with a 5-second scan per page claiming amazing retention (he was lying by the way).

Nevertheless, I have a lot of stuff I like and/or want and/or need to read. So I took a chance and bought a speed reading course. Yes, I felt stupid as I clicked the “checkout” button on the webpage, but I promised myself to give it an honest try.

I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did. From a productivity standpoint, it’s saved me hours.

I realize that this probably sounds like an informercial by now, but since I encourage folks to read as much as they can, I feel obligated to get you to read faster, so you can read more.

I’ll even give you a few tips that if you practice dilegently will almost immediately notice an increase in your reading speed.

1. Read with your finger

Remember how when you were first learning to read, and you were taught not to lead your eyes with your finger because you were told that it would slow down your reading?

They were wrong.

What you actually find if you follow someone’s eyes as they read is that there’s a great deal of back tracking and losing and regaining your place as you read. Having a cue such as a finger to lead your eye and keep it on track prevents unnecessary rereading and maintains your focus on the material.

I prefer to place my entire hand on the page and just slide it back and forth. It seems more comfortable.

2. Lose your “inner voice”

When most people read they actually hear their “inner voice” as if a voice was reading aloud. This is a time killer.

Have you ever scrolled your computer screen really quickly as you looked for a specific name or word in a list or on a page? As soon as your eyes recognized the name or word, you immediately stopped scrolling. Had you tried to read every name or word on the list it would have taken hours, yet your brain was able to identify the word you sought very quickly.

You can do the same thing as you read a book, but it takes practice.

Here’s what I would do to practice.

1. Read something that is familiar to you.

Either read something that you have read before or something that contains material or topic you are familiar with.

2. Scan it first.

Glance at each page or section to look for familiar words or phrases that will provide you with some preliminary information about what you’re reading.

3. Read small sections and determine what you’ve retained.

You’ll be surprised how much you pick up on the first try.

4. Keep practicing

I don’t think that I can maintain the same rate of reading speed with something that is totally unfamiliar, but today’s revelation was an indication that I’ve made dramatic improvements (and regained some that I’d lost from getting lazy).

BTW, here’s the course that I used. It’s been around forever (my Mom took the same course decades ago).

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P.S. It’s worth it.

I don’t like New Years resolutions.

They’re usually meaningless and made while in the presence of a group of friends after consuming a few adult beverages and goes something like this, “This year I’m going to start…”

Achieving anything worthwhile isn’t about the start.

It’s about the finish.

Later

Regardless of your chosen goals, here’s a 5 step program to achieve your ultimate success.

1. Read
2. Listen
3. Associate
4. Teach
5. Repeat

Now let me clarify.

1. Read

Devote a minimum of 15 minutes per day to reading something positive (BTW, the newspaper is not positive). About 75% of what you see and hear during a day is negative. Feed your brain the good stuff. In addition, devote an hour a day to reading something related to your primary goals. It could be business-related, fitness-related, or something from the self-improvement category.

2. Listen

I love my music, but I rarely listen to it in my car. Instead, my car is now a mobile university. Consider how much time you spend in your car on a daily basis. You consume a tremendous amount of information on your daily commute. Where you drive time was once wasted time, make it productive time. Listen to motivational speakers, sales training, business training, or fitness-related info.

3. Associate

Associate with people at your level or above. Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m not putting people into classes or being a snob. It’s a matter of making yourself better at what you do. Truth is that you’ll become like the people you associate with. To progress in your personal development, you need to spend more time with those people who are where you would like to be. Like it or not, you may have friends and family that drag you down or hold you back. How do you find the people to help you move forward? Go to every seminar or conference you can afford. Introduce yourself and ask questions.

4. Teach

Once you have been recognized as achieving a level of competency within a specific arena, teach what you know to someone else. Not only will you be “paying it forward,” you will find that you will learn more about what you know and yourself in the process.

5. Repeat

Repeat this entire process until your reach your goals and beyond.

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