How to Read 2x Faster and still remember everything

Summary

The speaker shares their journey from reading one book a year to almost 40, emphasizing the importance of reading for self-discovery and personal growth. They offer practical tips for effective reading, such as sitting upright, scheduling reading time, using a finger to track text, and reading silently. Additionally, they discuss the emotional aspect of reading, suggesting to stop reading books that don't resonate, skimming for key ideas, and following one's curiosity. Finally, they stress the importance of consolidation, recommending writing about what is read and applying knowledge immediately to enhance retention and impact on life.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker has transformed into an avid reader since starting YouTube and self-discovery, emphasizing the importance of reading for personal growth.
• 🛋️ Reading should be done in an upright position to avoid drowsiness and maintain focus, as lying down can condition the body to feel sleepy.
• ⏰ Scheduling dedicated reading time is crucial for consistency and forming a reading habit.
• 👀 Using a finger to track text while reading can help maintain focus and prevent losing one's place.
• 🤯 Reading without subvocalizing words can increase reading speed and efficiency, as the brain can recognize words without needing to say them aloud.
• 💔 It's okay to stop reading a book if it doesn't resonate with you, just as one would end a date that isn't going well.
• 📘 Non-fiction books often contain repetitive information, so skimming and skipping sections can be beneficial to grasp the main ideas without getting bored.
• 🌱 Reading should follow one's current interests and curiosities, as the relevance of a book can change with personal growth and life stages.
• 📚 Reading multiple books at once can keep the experience fresh and engaging, allowing for a variety of perspectives and ideas.
• 📝 Writing about what you read in your own words helps consolidate the information and encourages deeper understanding and reflection.
• 🛠️ Applying what you read immediately, such as starting a business while reading about entrepreneurship, reinforces learning and practical skill development.

Q & A

What transformation did the speaker experience in their reading habits since starting YouTube and self-discovery?

The speaker transformed from reading one book a year to almost 40 books in a single year, becoming a voracious reader.

Why does the speaker describe reading as 'downloading a piece of someone's brain'?

The speaker likens reading to downloading a piece of someone's brain because it allows them to access and absorb the thoughts and knowledge of the author.

What is the speaker's view on the purpose of reading multiple books on a single topic?

The speaker believes that the point of reading isn't to read many books on a topic, but to make lasting changes in life through the strategies learned.

What is the first technical tip the speaker gives for improving reading efficiency?

The first tip is to read sitting upright in a chair or on a couch, rather than lying flat in bed, to avoid inducing sleepiness and to maintain good posture.

Why is it recommended to schedule reading time?

Scheduling reading time helps to establish consistency and ensures that there is a dedicated, uninterrupted period for reading each day.

What is the purpose of reading with your finger according to the script?

Reading with your finger helps to track the text more smoothly, preventing the eyes from losing their place and improving the reading flow.

Why should one avoid speaking the words in their head while reading?

Speaking words in your head slows down reading speed as it requires associating each word with its pronunciation, which is unnecessary once reading becomes instinctual.

What is the speaker's advice on dealing with a book that one does not enjoy?

The speaker advises to stop reading a book if it is not enjoyable, just as one would not continue pursuing a date that did not go well.

What is the rationale behind not reading every single word in a non-fiction book?

Most books are repetitive and redundant, often presenting one to two main ideas with many examples. Understanding the main ideas allows for skipping redundant parts and staying engaged.

Why does the speaker suggest following one's reading curiosity?

Following one's reading curiosity ensures that the material being read is relevant and interesting at the current stage of life, enhancing the emotional connection and learning experience.

What is the significance of reading multiple books at once according to the script?

Reading multiple books at once adds variety and ensures there is always something engaging to read. It also allows for books to become more attractive at different stages of life.

Why are consolidation reading skills important according to the speaker?

Consolidation reading skills are important to ensure that the information read is not only understood but also applied and remembered, making a real difference in one's life.

What is the speaker's method for consolidating what they read?

The speaker consolidates what they read by writing about it in their own words, synthesizing ideas into a weekly newsletter called Mood and Mind.

How does the speaker utilize digital tools to aid in the consolidation of reading material?

The speaker uses apps like Kindle and Notion to export and sync highlights directly into their database, allowing for easy citation and reference while creating content.

What is the speaker's view on the relationship between reading and building skills in real life?

The speaker views reading as a way to acquire skill manuals for life, emphasizing the importance of applying what is read to build and improve upon one's skills in various areas.

What are some ways the speaker suggests to engage with what you read beyond just reading?

The speaker suggests discussing what you read with friends, joining a book club, or applying the knowledge in real-life situations as ways to engage with and consolidate the material.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Enhancing Reading Efficiency: Techniques and Habits

The speaker discusses their transformation into an avid reader and the importance of reading for personal growth. They share a series of technical reading tips, starting with the recommendation to read in an upright position to avoid sleepiness and potential injury. The speaker emphasizes the importance of scheduling dedicated reading time and using tools like the KRON app for consistency. They also suggest using a finger to track text, which helps maintain focus and reading flow. Additionally, they advise against subvocalizing words, which can slow down reading speed. The goal is to make lasting life changes through reading, not just to accumulate the number of books read.

05:01

💭 Emotional Engagement in Reading: Selecting and Interacting with Books

This paragraph delves into the emotional aspect of reading, likening it to dating where the reader should feel a connection with the material. The speaker advises to stop reading a book that doesn't resonate and to skip words or sections in non-fiction to maintain interest. They encourage following one's curiosity in reading and suggest that timing is crucial for the impact of a book. Reading multiple books at once is recommended to keep the experience fresh and engaging. The speaker also touches on the idea that books can become more meaningful at different stages of life, emphasizing the importance of consolidation skills to ensure that reading leads to learning and application.

10:01

🔗 Consolidating Knowledge: Applying Readings for Long-term Learning

The final paragraph focuses on consolidation reading skills, which are essential for learning and remembering information from books. The speaker explains that new information enters short-term memory and can be forgotten if not applied quickly. They advocate for immediate application of what is read, whether through writing, discussing, or practical implementation. The speaker shares personal techniques, such as using apps to export highlights into a database for later reference. They also suggest building something alongside reading, like starting a business while reading about entrepreneurship. The paragraph concludes with the idea that there are many ways to consolidate reading, and it's important to be intentional about applying the knowledge gained to improve one's life.

👋 Closing Thoughts on the Journey of Reading

In the closing paragraph, the speaker briefly signals the end of the video, indicating that they will see the audience in the next video. This paragraph serves as a sign-off without additional content or summary needed.

Keywords

💡Self-discovery

Self-discovery refers to the process of learning about oneself, one's interests, values, and potential. In the video, the speaker's journey of self-discovery is what led them to become an avid reader. They transitioned from reading one book a year to nearly 40, illustrating how self-discovery can significantly influence personal habits and interests.

💡Bookworm

A 'bookworm' is a colloquial term for someone who loves to read and spends a lot of time doing so. The speaker identifies as a bookworm, indicating their passion for reading and the significant increase in their reading habits as part of their self-improvement journey.

💡Reading strategies

Reading strategies are methods or techniques used to improve the reading process, enhance comprehension, and make reading more efficient. The video discusses various strategies such as sitting upright while reading and scheduling reading time, which are presented as ways to optimize the reading experience.

💡Consistency

Consistency refers to the ability to maintain a regular pattern of behavior or action. The video emphasizes the importance of consistency in reading by suggesting to schedule reading time in one's calendar, which helps in forming a reading habit.

💡Saccades

Saccades are the quick, simultaneous movements of both eyes between successive points of fixation. The script explains that our eyes do not move smoothly but jump around, which can lead to losing one's place while reading. Using a finger to track text helps to counteract this and improve reading flow.

💡Subvocalization

Subvocalization is the mental act of saying words to oneself while reading, which can slow down reading speed. The video suggests reading without subvocalization to increase reading efficiency, allowing the brain to recognize and understand words without the need to 'say' them in one's head.

💡Emotional investment

Emotional investment in reading refers to the emotional connection or interest one has in the material being read. The video likens reading to dating, suggesting that being emotionally invested in a book can lead to faster learning and a more enjoyable reading experience.

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is the desire to learn or know more about something. The speaker encourages following one's reading curiosity, implying that reading topics that genuinely interest the reader can lead to a deeper engagement with the material.

💡Consolidation

In the context of learning, consolidation refers to the process of integrating new information into one's long-term memory. The video discusses consolidation skills, such as writing about what one reads or applying new knowledge immediately, as essential for truly learning from books.

💡Memory Trace

A memory trace is a physical change in the brain that records the details of a specific experience. The script mentions memory traces in the context of new learning, emphasizing that applying new information quickly can strengthen these traces and prevent the information from being forgotten.

💡Skill building

Skill building involves the development and enhancement of one's abilities in various areas. The video relates reading to skill building, suggesting that books can act as manuals for improving skills and that applying what one reads is crucial for personal growth.

Highlights

The speaker transitioned from reading one book a year to almost 40 books in a single year, emphasizing the transformative power of reading.

Reading is likened to 'downloading a piece of someone's brain', highlighting the depth of knowledge one can gain.

The importance of making lasting life changes through reading is stressed over simply consuming many books.

A recommendation to read sitting upright to prevent drowsiness and maintain focus.

Scheduling reading time is suggested as a method to ensure consistency and habit formation.

Using a finger to track while reading can improve focus and prevent losing one's place.

The speaker advises against subvocalization, or saying words in one's head, to increase reading speed.

The emotional aspect of reading is introduced, suggesting that engagement with the material is crucial for learning.

Stopping reading a book that doesn't resonate with the reader is recommended, akin to ending a poor date.

Skipping unnecessary parts of a book is encouraged to maintain interest and efficiency.

Following one's reading curiosity and choosing books that align with current interests and life stages.

Reading multiple books at once is proposed to keep the experience fresh and engaging.

The concept of consolidation reading skills is introduced to ensure information retention and application.

Writing about what one reads in one's own words is suggested as an effective consolidation method.

Using technology to export and sync highlights into a database for easy reference and citation.

Building alongside reading by applying learned concepts in real-life situations for skill development.

Engaging in discussions about books with others as a form of consolidation and to deepen understanding.

The speaker concludes with the idea that reading should be personal, impactful, and connected to one's life for true learning.

Transcripts

ever since I started YouTube and got

into self-discovery I've become a

bookworm I went from Reading one book a

year to almost 40 books this year alone

and you know what reading is Chill I get

why people have been doing it for

thousands of years it's like I'm

downloading a piece of someone's brain

but I don't really care about reading

thousands of books I care a lot more

about learning like what's the point in

Reading 20 books on weight loss if

you're gonna go slam McDonald's every

night I want to make lasting changes to

my life through Reading and those are

the strategies I'm going to share with

you right now so the first cluster of

tips are related to the technical side

of reading these include physical

actions of reading like eyes to words to

brain and all the logistical stuff first

tip is to read sitting upright verbally

in a chair or couch as opposed to lying

flat in bed since most of us laid down

to sleep our body is conditioned to feel

sleepy when we're horizontal so when we

read in this position two things can

happen and both are terrible we either

get drowsy yawn and then pass out after

a couple Pages or we reprogram our brain

that laying is actually reading time and

then it's harder to go to sleep because

we've unconditioned ourselves for Sleep

plus it's dangerous to hold books up

like this you wouldn't want to risk

dropping it on your face and chip in a

tooth my recommendation pick a dedicated

spot that's well lit upright and reserve

it specifically for reading tip two is

to schedule in Reading time we suck at

being consistent without structure I

myself know that if I don't physically

pencil in time to read I'm never gonna

get around doing it there's always

something else that feels more urgent or

there's some dopamine heavy binge that

I'll fall victim to instead so if you

want to form a habit of becoming a

reader the best thing you can do to show

up is to put it in your calendar I

personally use an app called KRON where

I set up a recurring daily task to read

for 20 minutes this way I know there's

an uninterrupted chunk of time devoted

for reading every single day and I

usually end up reading for longer than

20 minutes anyways but just start with

20 minutes doesn't sound like much but

if you do it daily it adds up tip three

is to read with your finger our eyes

actually don't move smoothly without

something to track they jump around and

do a we call sakat movements which is

why a lot of the times you read you lose

your spot and end up rereading the same

line or sentence on accident actually

there's a really cool thing you can try

right now with me to demonstrate what I

mean so look up from your screen for a

second and don't Focus your Gaze on

anything in particular and try to move

your eyes very smoothly from left to

right it's probably going to be super

difficult to do really slowly unless you

use a lot of intentional focus and even

then you'll realize that your eyes

actually do these little jerky movements

and those are called cicads alright now

let's reset and try it again but this

time hold up your finger instead and

follow it from left to right

way easier right so pretty interesting

how her eyes work but the point is using

a tracking device makes it easier to

read and not lose your spot and it helps

get you into that reading flow tip four

is to read without speaking the words in

your head we first learned to read and

pronounce words we're taught to say them

aloud to make the association of words

to our brain but over time reading

becomes muscle memory and instinctual we

can read and recognize words without

actually having to say them aloud for

example if I flash a few words on screen

you probably didn't have to read them

but you know exactly what they said

right reading every word in her head

actually slows down our reading speed a

lot the visual data that our eyes get

from c words is enough for a brain to

recognize them and understand them

without actually having to say them

aloud it's kind of a challenging skill

to get the hang of because you have to

break a habit and you've been taught to

do it without even thinking but stick

with it because it can really speed up

your reading once you get the hanging so

moving on to the next cluster of tips I

call these emotional reading skills

because reading is an emotional

experience a great analogy to

demonstrate this section is to think of

reading like dating books make us feel a

certain type of way the way the author

crafts their stories but we also feel a

certain way towards books we have

preconceived notions about books or

maybe you've just been eyeing this book

for a long time right if I'm into

someone I'll clear my whole schedule and

move mountains to see them and talk to

them and as a result I'll learn about

them much faster the same goes for the

opposite if I'm not emotionally invested

I'll have no desire and learn way slower

so tip number one is to stop reading a

book if you don't like it like if I

didn't enjoy going on a date with a girl

I wouldn't plan another date or chase

after her just because someone else told

me they thought she'd be the one if the

book blows and doesn't fit your Vibe

then put a pin in it and go for another

book not every book we try has to work

out tip number two is to not read every

single word in the book this is really

for non-fiction but you don't have to

read every single word to get the idea

I've realized that the majority of books

are super repetitive and redundant a

chapter is usually like one to two ideas

followed by a ton of examples and

explanations and stories about those

ideas so if I'm reading and I get the

gist of it I'm just going to skip ahead

to another idea like this is the same

way you'd get to know someone on a date

you ask them lots of different questions

to get to know them you don't need to

spend the entire day asking about their

career or their dog you're both going to

get really bored so when you're reading

don't be afraid to skip forward skim

read it backwards or whatever remember

we want to stay emotionally invested not

bored in order to read more tip three is

to follow your reading curiosity I like

to think that every year I grow and

learn more and along with that comes new

ideas New Perspectives on life and new

curiosity for learning so to read stuff

that interests you now timing and

headspace are really important factors

depending on where you are in life a

book may be more meaningful like if I

read How to Win Friends and Influence

People five years ago I wouldn't have

cared about anything I read I probably

wouldn't have gotten past the first

chapter before I got bored but it's

because I've gotten so obsessed with

self-discovery and self development over

the last few years that is now so much

more impactful for me which leads into

tip number four where you should read

multiple books at once I'll repeat it

again reading is an emotional experience

similar to how people would go on

multiple dates with many different

people you should be doing the same with

books reading multiple books at once

keeps it spicy it adds variety and it

makes sure that there's always something

desirable and interesting for you to

read if one book starts to get dry then

set it aside and add another one to the

rotation this also doesn't exclude the

fact that a year from now maybe you're

growing out of your degenerate party

animal phase and starting to Deep dive

into another phase of your life then

maybe that book will suddenly become way

more attractive books speak to us at

different stages in our life and the

best part is they're never going to be

taken off the market you know by Giga

chat or something all right and the

third group I call consolidation reading

skills these are the clusters of skills

that make sure you aren't just stroking

your ego by reading thousands of books

but that you're actually learning and

remembering the information that you

read that's why we read books right we

we want to get ideas satisfy our

intellectual curiosity get knowledge or

at the very least be entertained by what

we read and Implement them into our

lives consolidation skills are all about

immediately applying what you read at

the first possible chance you get when

we're learning reading or experiencing

something new that information enters

our short-term memory this is called a

memory Trace where a few brain cells

specifically in hippocampus get

activated if that information isn't used

or applied in a meaningful way then the

memory Trace will fade and we're going

to forget it our brain isn't very good

at holding on to information if it's not

processed and applied quickly like think

about the last time you went on a

YouTube video binge to learn something

if you watched videos back to back to

back you probably felt like hell yeah

I'm learning a whole bunch this is great

but if you try to recall it tomorrow or

next week most of that information is

going to be forgotten I mean take this

video for example if you don't even try

to take action to consolidate what I'm

telling you right now in a week nothing

will change and you'll still be reading

like a snail but we're built different

Academy what are you rookies gonna do

instead stop and apply what you learn

right there on the spot some people

write directly in their books some

people highlight them some people use

Post-it notes I personally don't like

scribbling notes or highlighting

physical books like I'm not going to go

back through this and look at my notes

I've been teaching how to learn for way

too long to know that you don't learn

jack from rereading and

highlighting that's why tip number one

is to write about what you read in your

own words Mike and I write a Weekly

Newsletter called mood and mind which

you can join it's completely free where

we synthesize what we learn and read

about to come up with new ideas now for

me I do almost all of my book reading on

iPad using the Kindle app sync to read

wise what I like about these apps is how

they export and sync highlights directly

into my notion database I know I just

Trash Talk highlights but as someone who

writes a lot it's been a game changer

for me I'll highlight quotes that make

me think or that I want to refer back to

because I like to give credit where it's

due and I also have this organized

database so I can easily cite authors

and ideas while I create content

especially if I revisit or link an idea

from a long time ago tip number two is

to consolidate by having something to

build alongside with what you're reading

if you're starting an online business

and reading a book about business then

start building your business at the same

time if you're reading a book on social

skills or dating go out later and use

what you learn to strike up

conversations life is about upgrading

our skill builds and books are our skill

manuals we're constantly reading books

and trying to apply them and building

this business building this brand

growing on social media learning sales

all of these things and even if you

don't create content publicly like we do

although I definitely think you should

that itself is a super underrated skill

you can at least Implement and engage

with what you read in other ways talk

about what you read with your friends or

at the dinner table have discussions

about what you read and why they're

important to you you can join a book

club our amazing Club leaders in Discord

host regular book clubs to facilitate

this process you can definitely get

started there there are endless ways to

consolidate what we read to improve our

lives we just have to be intentional and

Implement them as soon as possible to

make sure they so those are the three

different skill build categories I see

for really developing the ability to

read more books that will actually make

a difference in your life reading has

become something very personal and

important to my life and I hope that

with these skills you'll fall in love

and find a similar way to connect with

it the way that I did if you want to

learn more skills check out any other

video in our skills lab and I will see

you all next