December 2011

In this issue:

* Need more time?  Learn to read faster!

* How would you play this game?

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Personal Development -

Need More Time? Learn To Read Faster!

 

You can add hours to your day by learning speed reading - and you

don't have to take an expensive course to do it. Follow these

steps, and practice, practice, practice.

 

1. Determine your current reading speed.

Time how long it takes you to read a certain number of words on a

page. Or do an internet search for a "reading speed test" that

also tests your comprehension level. You'll need it to measure

your progress.

 

2. Before you start reading, scan the material for headings,

bullet points and sentences in bold. This will help you select

the parts you want to focus on.

 

3. Change your reading habits.

     * Don't read "a-word-at-a-time" as you learned in school.

       Teach yourself to read groups of words and expand the

       number as you go along.

     * Don't move your lips as you read or say the words in your

       head (not easy habits to break). We talk at about 250-350

       words/minute whereas an efficient scanner may increase

       the rate to between 400-500 words/minute. Plus, by not

       saying the words, you don't have to think about

       pronunciation.

     * Draw your hand or a card down the page as you read. Move

       it consistently and your eyes will follow the motion.

 

4. Build your vocabulary. You won't be slowed down by words you

don't understand.

 

5. Don't try to read and multitask. Turn off the TV, find a quiet

place and focus on learning this new skill.

 

6. Adjust your reading speed to suit your reading purpose. Speed

reading is not suitable if you're reading a book for the beauty

of the words, perusing a legal document or studying specific

material for a test.

 

 

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Quotes of the Month
 

I choose…

to live by choice, not by chance;

to make changes, not excuses;

to be motivated, not manipulated;

to be useful, not used;

to excel, not compete.

I choose self-esteem, not self pity.

I choose to listen to my inner voice,

not the random opinion of others.

- Author unknown

 

 

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too

high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

- Michelangelo

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Personal Development -

How would you play this game?

 

A friend and co-worker, Jennifer Lea, shared the following with

me:

 

Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest: Each

morning your bank would deposit $86,400.00 into a private account

for your use. However, this prize has rules, just as any game

has certain rules. The first set of rules would be: Any money you

didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you. You

cannot simply transfer money into some other account -- you can

only spend it. Every morning the bank deposits another $86,400.00

into your account for that day and by the end of the day it must

be spent. The second set of rules: The bank can end the game

without warning; at any time it can say, "Its over," and the game

is over!  It can close the account and you will not receive a

new one.

 

What would you personally do? You would buy anything and

everything you wanted, right? Not only for yourself, but for all

the people you love.  Even for people you don't know, because you

couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right? You would try

to spend every cent, and use it all, right?

 

Actually this GAME is REALITY!  Each of us possesses such a

magical bank.  We just can't seem to see it. The magical bank is

TIME!  Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift

of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is

NOT credited to us.  What we haven't lived up that day is

forever lost.  Yesterday is forever gone.  Each morning the

account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at

any time.... WITHOUT WARNING.

 

So, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?  Those seconds are

worth so much more than the same amount in dollars.  Think about

that, and always think of this:  Enjoy every second of your

life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.

 

So take care of yourself and those you care most about.  Be

happy, love deeply, and enjoy life! Here's wishing you a

beautiful holiday season and a rewarding new year.

 

And start spending!

 

 

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A note from the Editor -

What a year it's been!

 

I began 2011 was such good intentions!  You may recall that at

the start of the year I said my goal was to send out a newsletter

every month.  Well, that didn't happen for many of the same

reasons the newsletter was published infrequently in 2010!

Happily, this was another successful year for me but it required

me to travel more than in any previous year and, as many of you

know, being away from home takes a toll on you, mentally and

physically.  So I had to let some things go in order to be

effective in other areas of my life and, once again, publishing

this newsletter was deemed to be a lower priority.

 

One of the projects that kept me busy this year was my work under

the auspices of the Human Performance Institute ("HPI").  In

2010, after participating in their Train-the-Trainer program to

be certified to deliver the course in-house for a specific

client, I decided to pursue certification to work directly for

HPI as one of their Performance Coaches.  I achieved that goal

this past summer.  A good deal of my time since then has been

spent traveling around the country to deliver this program and I

anticipate continuing, and potentially increasing, my level of

involvement in 2012. 

 

(In future newsletters I will share more about the exciting work

of the Human Performance Institute.  For more information now,

you can visit www.hpinstitute.com.)

 

I consider myself a writer at heart and I enjoy doing the

newsletter.  That's why I am renewing my goal to publish it more

regularly in the months to come.  If any of you have ideas or

suggestions for future articles that relate to our core topics of

leadership, communication and personal development, please let

me know as I want this to be a tool to help you become more

effective communicators and confident, successful leaders.

Again, let me know how I can help.

 

Thank you for your support and I will look forward to working

with all of you in the future!

 

Best regards,

Morris

 

 

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About Morris Taylor

 

Keynote speaker and training consultant Morris Taylor has

been involved in education and training for over 25 years.

He has presented more than 1,300 lectures, seminars and

workshops in a variety of civic and corporate environments

including Fortune 500 companies, customer service centers,

amusement parks, and martial arts schools.  He has lectured in

various countries in Europe, South America, Africa, the

Caribbean, and the Pacific as well as throughout the U.S.  The

development of critical leadership and communication skills

is at the core of his presentations and skill building workshops

on public speaking, customer service, diversity, and personal

energy management.  His in-depth series of 12 train-the-trainer

sessions developed for Crestcom International, Ltd (rated the

worlds #1 management/sales training franchise) are currently

in use by its distributors in 49 countries.  In addition, several

of his recorded lectures on the topics of education,

spirituality, and community building are in international

distribution, and he is the author of six books, including one to

help children cope with death.

 

Mr. Taylor is owner and President of Talisman Training

Associates, LLC.

 

                                          *    *    *
      To schedule a keynote presentation or skill-building

                workshop, call 1-847-546-0789 or e-mail 

                            Mtaylor@talismantraining.com

 

        To subscribe to The Training Clipboard, click here!

 

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