It’s that time of the year again! Are you ready to do your holiday shopping for your friends, relatives, and loved ones?

“Gift cards for everyone would be an excellent idea,” you might think. Everyone gets to buy what they want from a brand they love, right? But a gift card implies that you haven’t put much thought into the gift – or the person you’re giving that gift to. Buying a gift card might say, “I was too lazy to even bother look for a gift, so here’s some free money. Oh, and Merry Christmas!” This is not the true meaning of a gift. Gift giving is about taking the time and effort to make a meaningful, thoughtful gift to a loved one.

A Book

For those friends and family members who love curling up in their book nest with a cup of tea, books make an easy but entirely appropriate gift. Whether you choose a New York Times best-seller or a classic title is entirely up to the recipient’s taste, so think about what you’ve seen them reading before you buy.

The Gift of Better Orthography

Do you have a colleague who is getting a bad reputation for their misspelled memos? Give them a helping hand with a gift of spelling software like Ultimate Spelling™. No more embarrassing misspellings in emails, reports, and PowerPoint presentations  – you coworker will be a friend for life.

A Rich(er) Vocabulary

Communication is a vital part of daily life. So for children and young adults whose vocabulary could use a little push, why not offer them Ultimate Vocabulary™ by eReflect? This software will allow them to expand and make their vocabulary richer and more relevant and will eventually help them become better communicators, negotiators, and writers. This is a good gift for someone about to graduate from school because it will help them get the vocabulary they need to succeed in the job market.

Pro Keyboarding Skills

Do you know someone who is struggling with modern technology? Maybe they can’t figure out how to video chat with you on Hangouts, or they take forever to reply to your Facebook messages because their typing skills are poor to non-existent. Ultimate Typing™ would be the perfect gift for that person, because it will help them “level up” their keyboarding skills in no time. Of course, that might mean you’ll be getting texts and messages from them more often, but you can handle that, right?

A Visit

Sometimes a gift doesn’t have to be something tangible. Pay a visit to your grandmother, have lunch with a friend from college, or invite someone you haven’t seen in years to your Christmas party. The gift of kindness and love are truly priceless!

An Extravagant Pampering Gift

A pampering, extravagant gift is always appropriate for those special people in your life. Your hard-working mother, your significant other, your best friend – no matter who that person, do your homework and offer them a gift they will be raving about for weeks to come. It could be a spa session, a two-day mini trip, or anything the person you have in mind will fancy.

Gourmet Pleasures For the Foodies

From artisanal jams made with vodka to one-of-a-kind tea blends and limited-edition vintage wines, offer your foodie friends a mouthwatering experience they can Instagram to their heart’s content.

Whether you choose to get gifts that expand your friends’ career options or their waistlines is up to you! There are plenty of compelling gift ideas to choose from. Don’t go for run-of-the-mill, uninspiring gift cards. Instead, offer a thoughtful gift and get the joy of seeing faces lit up with excitement when they unwrap them come Christmas.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments

Next time you’re bored out of your mind, don’t reach for your smartphone, reach for a book instead. Reading books provides a range of benefits you may not be aware of. In fact, the more books you
read, the more awesome you will be.

Reading makes you (more) empathetic

Reading fiction gives you an inside peek into scenarios and realities you couldn’t otherwise live yourself. This opens up your critical thinking capabilities and activates your empathy sensors. You become more aware and sensitive to people’s plights, cultures, and customs, and feel more forgiving and nurturing where you might have once been condescending or inflexible.

Reading is an immersive experience

A good novel will have you questioning reality. A good novel will drag you so deeply into its plot that your identification with the protagonist will be mind-blowing and reality-blurring. Enough said.

Reading is knowledge

You can watch a documentary or tutorial to learn a new skill but nothing beats the original experience of reading, processing, and understanding new knowledge or how-tos all by yourself.

Reading is a bottomless chest from which you will always be able to get a few jewels — with each book and each tale.

Reading is traveling for your soul

Reading helps you leave all your workaday troubles behind, even if for a short moment. It empties your mind until you’re powerful enough to confront your daily demons.

Reading is entertainment

For the bibliophiles out there, reading is a matchless experience. Reading gives you immense joy. It engages your senses and enthralls your mind with scenery, plots, and mind-blowing images.

Reading makes you interesting

From learning smart, little-known facts, to initiating great discussions with friends, reading makes you a knowledgeable, interesting person people will love to hang out with.

Reading is inspiration

Reading stimulates your creativity. You start thinking critically and more boldly, all because you’ve already been exposed to various scenarios and have garnered the tools and knowledge to be less ordinary and more unique.

Reading is growth

Even if you don’t read a self-improvement book per se, virtually any well-written book will help you become a better person. From building your self-esteem to becoming better at decision-making, books give you the tools to cope with life’s conundrums — and the ever-important Zombie apocalypse.

Reading is power

It’s a cliché but it’s nonetheless true: reading empowers you. The knowledge and worlds you experience when reading give you confidence and wisdom on how to deal with real life situations more gracefully and wisely.

Reading is your key to becoming a better person in all aspects of your life

Reading is how you improve your marketability, your communication skills, your empathy and emotional intelligence, your appeal — and even your sexiness. Reading is one of the few habits known to man that you can never have too much of. So go on, read on!

Bonus benefit

If you speed read you get to reap all these benefits in a shorter time. Awesome, right?

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments

What would we do without technology? There are so many advantages for the modern reader, now that we are no longer limited to printed books. Yes, your ereader might not be the best thing to take to the bathtub or the beach, but you wouldn’t want to drop a printed book in the water either! The ability to carry an entire library around with you more than makes up for any extra care you might have to take with an electronic reading device – and soon you might not even have to do that.

Technology keeps advancing with gigantic strides and this only means one thing for us: our day to day activities become easier, our hobbies grow more pleasant, and most importantly, our education and careers advance further.

Waterproof ereaders

Technology  has been exuberantly generous in giving us what we want, and most people have ultra smart mini computers that fit into our pockets. And now, there are waterproof ereaders we can take with us whenever and wherever we please — beach and bath included!

Kobo Aura H20 is a waterproof ereader with the main capacities and features of any ereader. But this device has something more: it’s the only one that has the added, much-coveted benefit of not being scared of water. Kobo Aura H20 can be immersed under 1 meter of water for up to half an hour without any damage done to its internal mechanism and screen.

As a result, high-risk, must-avoid places like the beach, the swimming pool, or the bath no longer apply to users of the Kobo Aura H20 ereader. While the Kobo Aura H2o is one of a kind for now, more ereader developers are focusing their attention towards this market demand for waterproof ereaders.

In fact, such technological advancements will become the norm in the years to follow as more companies will seek to offer their clients a seamless reading experience that’s not defined and limited by the environment (dust, sunlight, water).

Educational Technology For Struggling Learners

The impact technology has had and will be having on education can never be truly measured. Apps, software, and several other technological innovations like Fast ForWard and Read 180 are now serving many struggling students across the globe helping them acquire the fundamental literacy skills of the 21st century: reading, writing, speaking skills, and touch typing.

From programs that are integrated in classes and help children process information more effectively and quickly, to software like 7 Speed Reading™ that help students improve their word per minute rate and read more in less time (and therefore reap all the benefits of reading), Ed Tech is at this very moment serving millions of people with their educational growth.

From offering students reading motivation, to being able to use authentic speech patterns in ESL classrooms, to fully immersing students into the idiosyncrasies of English pronunciation through video and online media, the world of educational technology has come a long way.

Educational Technology And Motivated Learners

One of the most definitive benefits of technology is that it motivates and intrigues learners. It lures them into the world of knowledge and exploration simply by being an appealing medium.

A study (Harvey, 2002) looked into the typical learner’s motivation and found that an increased control over learning choices makes students more eager to engage with reading, as opposed to students who are told to what and how they should be learning.

Young students are well versed in technology and new media, and giving them the control and trust they deserve can increase their self-esteem and give them the confidence to explore and satisfy their curiosity and drive to learn.

Knowledge is mostly acquired through reading, and being able to advance your reading skills could help you remain ahead of the crowd. Expert reading skills will let you reap all the benefits of being a knowledgeable, passionate, powerful individual who’s expert in their field of choice.

It’s sometimes just too tempting to spend your free time playing games on your smartphone, or hanging out with your friends. That’s fun, for sure, but spending your time more constructively will provide you with more benefits in the long term.

There’s really no excuse for saying, “I’m bored out of my mind,” given the many fun activities you can try. Choose any of the following activities and make the most out of your free time!

Read a good novel, or a self-development book

Reading should be your go-to habit when you have free time on your hands. Reading expands your knowledge and keeps you up to date with new developments in your career. Not to mention that the news and knowledge you gain will make you an interesting person at parties and social gatherings!

Utilize your free time for learning. It will help you professionally and personally. Create a free-time reading list and go back to it each time you’ve a few hours to kill.

Keep your mind, knowledge, and memory sharp with a self-development book or biography, if fiction is not your cup of tea, and you’ll get two benefits in one.

Write/Blog/Live Tweet

If you think you’re as a good a writer as Shakespeare, why not make your own attempts at it?

Even if you don’t, writing is an excellent way to spend some time. It doesn’t have to be anything formal you will submit to a publishing house. Do it for fun, do it to sharpen your writing skills, and nurture your creativity!

Try guest blogging on anything you’re passionate and knowledgeable about — from Star Trek to the Kawaii Japanese culture. Live tweet a special TV or sport event or blog to get those thoughts and feelings out of your system and into the wider world.

Learn a new language

You’ve probably heard this tip a thousand times, but being bilingual offers many cognitive, social, and professional benefits. It’s a shame not to even try it at least!

Just think of all the French movies you will get to enjoy without having to read the subtitles.

Take a course

You know how you always thought you were destined to be a philosopher? Even if your degree says MBA, you can always go nurture your passion for philosophy by enrolling in a free academic class. Look for one of the courses offered by many high-profile universities including Harvard, MIT, Yale, and more.

Sharpen your brain and memory

Brain games are notorious for being addictive, just like other games, but these have a point. Get hooked on a brain game by choosing any game from a great online resource such as Lumosity.com and Fitbrains.com by Rosetta Stone. There are also various app-based ones like 92 Logic Games and Left Vs Right.

Cooking

Many people find cooking a creative, stress-releasing activity. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or a novice who is just starting to experiment with new foods, cooking can be an exhilarating experience.

Try to see cooking as a stress-relieving activity instead of something you have to do every day. Take the opportunity to recreate some childhood classics – it might not be exactly like your mum’s lasagna, but just picture the satisfaction you’ll feel when you put that first mouthwatering cheese-dripping bite in your mouth.

Star-gazing and astronomy

Feed your existential preoccupations and romantic side with star-gazing. Name a star via an online service for that special someone in your life or subscribe to NASA’s newsletter and prestigious magazines like the Sky and Telescope and All About Space magazines to become an astronomy buff.

Volunteer

Share your time, skills. and knowledge with people who need it. Check volunteering opportunities at your campus, school, or community and you will find one you will be able to contribute through.

The possibilities for projects and learning are limitless. Make an annual list of things, skills, and  activities you want to accomplish and make sure you check one after the other each time you have free time to spare.

Technology advances at a pace we can hardly keep up with.  The old sci-fi movie scenario where you could control everything around by pressing a button, typing a few keystrokes, or swiping a touchpad is no longer the realm of fiction – it’s a reality.

For many people, the demands required to cope with new technological advances is a cause of stress. The complexity of learning to use and make the most out of new technologies often makes people anxious and reluctant to integrate them in their professional and personal lives.

The inevitable question is this: how do we keep up with a constantly evolving world that’s becoming more and more tech-driven?

The answer is simple: we keep evolving, too.

As technology makes giant strides to improve our lives, we should be following its lead. If we want our lives to improve, we need to build the skills necessary for to take advantages of technology.

Build Your Tech Vocabulary

New technologies generally mean new words to learn. You need to understand the words and how to use them in order to be relevant and efficient in communicating with others. Building your vocabulary could help you understand more of the tech-based discourse you’ll find in most fields these days, even those that are not directly based in IT support and development.

Build Your Typing Skills

Keyboard-based devices are becoming more widespread. They already reign over the workplace, and are moving into more areas of the home.

You work on your desktop computer, watch movies on your tablet while commuting back home, and engage on social media through your smartphone while having dinner. Even if your typing skills are fairly weak, you will be still able to perform all these activities – you’ll just end up doing it in a counterintuitive, time-consuming manner.

Learning to touch type more efficiently is one skill that will help you cope better with technologies at home and at work. You will be able to work productively on any keyboard-based device, and do so  in less time. This will give you a sense of confidence and sovereignty over your technology. In other words, you’ll rule the device, instead of giving it power over you.

Read More, Read Often

Simply improving your typing skills and related vocabulary won’t suffice, however. There’s still a lot you can do in order to not just cope with technology, but actively leverage it to improve your life.

Start reading a lot of articles, blogs, and books on how new technologies work. Learn what the future could look like if scientists figure out ways to implement affordable technologies in our lives. Be one of the people who are “in the know” when it comes to new developments and new tech trends.

Technology has great potential, and there will always be new ways that it helps businesses grow and flourish. On a personal level, technology can enable people to capitalize on their skills and competencies in order to improve their lives.

Technology makes it possible for us to have responsive organizations: companies that are willing and able to adapt, revisit, and respond to a world that never stops changing and surprising us.

Don’t let technology intimidate you. Embrace its elegant beauty and stunning potential.

Yes, uncertainty and mistakes are part and parcel of using new technologies, but so is exhilaration and efficiency. Instead of running away from technology, try learning to use it. Experience the whole new world it makes available to you and you will soon wonder why on Earth you avoided it before.

Technology will first change how we work, and then the way we live. Just make sure you’re a competent and willing learner of technology, and it will be good to you!

We at Spreeder don’t discriminate between hard copy book reading and digital reading when we’re talking about the importance of reading in general. We believe that each method has a unique set of perks. What’s more, we know all of you are different types of readers, each with your own respected preferable reading habits. Some of you are hardcore soft copy readers, who prefer the feel of a printed book. Some of you have abandoned print books entirely and embraced digital publishing entirely. But most of you use both media, depending on your needs, the context, and your mood.

If you’re passionate about the printed book and you’ve been reluctant to read with an ereader, we’d like to present you with 6 ways ereaders actually change (read: improve) your reading habits. Who knows, by the end of this post perhaps you’ll be convinced to give ereaders a try from time to time!

It’s Easier!

An ereader is super light. If you frequently favor long reads you can testify to how difficult it is to balance a heavy 600-page book in your hand.

The heaviness of a book interferes with the pleasures of reading and your cramped fingers and wrist often keep grounding you back in reality, pulling you from the imaginary world of the book you’re enjoying. Yikes.

An ereader gives you a distraction-free reading space where physical limitations don’t interfere with your sacred reading ritual.

Privacy

You know how you feel when reading on the subway or other public place when you’re indulging in a “trashy” book you like to relax with. Those prying eyes scrutinizing your book cover – the people profiling you, the reader, by your book cover. Yes, people can be really hurtful sometimes. You don’t have to endure this RPI (Reader Profile Investigation), however, if you are reading on an ereader.

Countless Options

When you have an ereader you have instant access to virtually any book you please. You can purchase it and start reading the latest New York Times best-seller in a blink of an eye.

Besides, who doesn’t love the feeling of having a whole list of books ready and waiting? You’ll never have the frustration of getting to the end of your latest page-turner and having nothing new to read, especially when it’s late and both stores and libraries are closed.

Forgiving Formats

When you’re reading a printed book, you’re relying on the quality of the printer and publisher to give you a clear and legible text to read. Sometimes you don’t get the quality you need. For example, you might be familiar with the sensation of opening a printed book, only to realize that it’s printed in such a small font you have to strain your eyes to read. Or perhaps you accidentally picked up a book from the “large print” section in the library, and the font is so large it’s equally hard to read. With an ereader you won’t have this problem. An ereader is much more forgiving. It lets you increase and decrease font size; some even allow for font change as well. By adjusting the display you can make sure that your reading experience becomes more rewarding.

No More Props

Reading in badly-lit spaces means you need a book light clip so that you don’t disturb the person sleeping next to you. An ereader is a self-contained device that lets you read no matter the hour, the conditions and the place of your choice.

Speed Reading

With an ereader you can speed read non-fiction to your heart’s content. The possibility of running out of books to speed read is quite unlikely. An ereader gives you access to ample books to quench your thirst for new knowledge.

Reading hard copy books is a unique experience that engages more senses than ereaders are capable of. Nonetheless, the benefits of reading on ereaders are important and should not be overlooked. The increasing number of people who switch between conventional and digital reading prove that both have their uses. When it comes to reading, you can have your literary cake – and eat it too!

Cross-posted on the 7 Speed Reading blog.

Spring showers ruined your outdoor activities once again? Many parents dread rainy days because there’s not much room for creativity and play. Children easily get bored and distractions get into the way of learning – especially when the initial plan was to play tag in the yard and then go for a swim.

However, indoor activities can help your child learn new things and master essential skills. Indoor time doesn’t necessarily mean online games time. You can use technology in ways that are educational and constructive.

Vocabulary Improvement

Vocabulary is one aspect of language we never truly master. You can learn a new word every day and still have thousands of new words left to learn by the time you’re fifty. Why not invest in a vocabulary improvement software and play vocabulary games to improve the entire family’s vocabulary? People of all ages will benefit from adding new words to their lexicon.

A vocabulary exercise sharpens a child’s language skills and gives them new words and concepts to communicate with.

Spelling Improvement

Your child’s teacher might be doing an excellent job teaching students how to spell, but the true secret to spelling mastery is to learn to love spelling. Half the children in any given class probably hate spelling exercises, and most of the rest are generally indifferent. To get children interested in spelling the activities you engage them in must be fun. Did I say fun? I meant SUPER FUN.

Again, this is where a spelling program or website could come in handy. Create a two-hour spelling session with 3 to 5 brain breaks in between and play spelling games and other fun-based spelling activities like a spelling bee stand-off!

Keyboarding

While most online games don’t really help children learn to type, it’s a good idea to think of touch typing as a fun indoor activity that will entertain and educate at the same time.

Touch typing is crucial for your child’s academic performance this year, and will be needed until they graduate from college – and beyond. As technology becomes more entwined in every aspect of our lives, skills like keyboarding become the norm. The earlier your child learns to touch type the better off they will be.

Use indoor time to engage with a skill your child will benefit from throughout their entire life by helping them enhance their typing skills. The great thing is that keyboarding is one skill you can have a lot of fun with when practicing. In fact, you don’t even have to structure a keyboarding lesson as a lesson. After your child has learned the fundamentals, the entire learning practice can take place through typing games!

Reading Improvement

Reading has been touted as the key ingredient for personal success. Warren Buffet, the well known success maven, has testified to this, asserting that all he does all day is read in his office.

Unfortunately, cultivating a love for reading and learning in children can be a real challenge for teachers and parents. The secret is to make reading fun and effective.

What makes students dislike reading is often their lack of good reading skills. More often than not, they find reading boring because of bad reading habits, such as subvocalization and regression.

If children were to get rid of these reading-sabotaging habits then their reading speed would improve and they could effortlessly get through lots of reading material in less time.

Speed reading is more than the goal, it’s also a means to an end. When a student is a speed reader this further motivates them to study and learn more things. Essentially, a child enters a self-motivating circle of self-education and progress through the simple act of eradicating bad reading habits and improving their reading speed.

Indoor activity time shouldn’t be limited to sterile, uninspiring entertainment and passive pastimes like video games. Technology has spread out into the realm of education, and it is a parent’s duty to instill in their children a predilection for learning and self-development.

There are many online resources available where parents can find constructive, age-appropriate activities for their children. Here are some suggestions:

DiscoveryEducation.com,

PrimaryResources.co.uk

FamilyEducation.com

topmarks.co.uk.

Smarttutor.com

Raz-kids.com

Scholastic for Parents

These free, quality resources for parents will give you many ideas for learning activities and games for children from kindergarten up to 12th grade. For a more focused and structured learning experience on a particular skill, it’s wise to invest in the appropriate software. For instance, if you want to improve your child’s vocabulary you should consider getting a vocabulary program like Ultimate Vocabulary™.

Cross-posted on the Ultimate Vocabulary blog.

You know reading is good for you, but you can’t seem to concentrate on reading the book you’ve picked up from the library. You get a few pages in and then get distracted, and turn to the computer or your television. You end up dragging the book around for months, moving it from the coffee table to your bedside table to your briefcase, but you never seem to get around to actually reading it.

If you’re tired of this routine, there’s hope: reading is a habit you can develop and there are many ways you can turn into a bibliophile.

Make time for it

Unless you schedule reading time in your busy day, you may not be able to squeeze it anywhere between all of the other commitments and projects and tasks already crowding the calendar.

Even if you can only devote 15 minutes for reading— the time it takes you to commute to work— do put it in your schedule. By doing so you assign a sense of importance to it, and this will ensure that you treat reading with respect rather than ignoring it.

Book bags everywhere!

Add an extra item in your doorstep checklist; keys, phone, wallet, book. Carrying a book with you at all times is a great trick to start reading more habitually.

You will find that there are a lot of times where you can read a chapter or two, such as instead of staring at your computer screen or checking your email for the 15th time.

Make a reading list

Do a bit of research if you don’t know where to start or if your previous choices of authors have been uninspiring. Create a list with exciting books and stories – just don’t overdo it. Anything beyond 20 books for an entire year could be too overwhelming if you’re just getting started as a dedicated reader.

Know when to give up a book

Reading is meant to be an enjoyable, eye-opening experience. If you find yourself stressing out (or yawning!) over a difficult or boring book, do give it a try for a few more pages but give up if it ends up frustrating you.

Get excited about the book

To get into the habit of reading more you need to be excited about it in the first place. Read a review or two online to see what people are saying and raving about. If reviews are not your thing, try reading the first few pages of the content and the back-cover blurb to get an idea of the narrative.

This will make you look forward to reading the book by sparking your curiosity about “what happens next.” Just stay away from spoilers if you’re reading fiction!

Read to someone

A great way to get into reading more is to read to someone else: an elderly person or a shut-in, a friend’s child or your own son or daughter.  Reading to others is a fascinating way to spread the bookworm craze. It will make the listener feel flattered and inspired, and as for you, you will have a reading assignment that helps you stick to your reading habit!

Do you think you know everything? If you answered “yes,” then you can stop reading! But if like most people you answered “no,” here are 10 websites you should bookmark.

These websites are brimming with fascinating facts, motivating articles to improve your skills, and lots of ideas on how to channel your creativity and innovative thinking into your work and personal life. Yes, it’s high time you stopped looking at cat videos all day long.

Freerice

How often do you get a chance to improve upon a crucial life skill and at the same time contribute to society as a whole? Freerice lets you have your cake and eat it too. Freerice lets you improve your vocabulary, and for each correct answer you get, the company donates 10 rice grains through the World Food Programme. Cool, right?

Gibbon

Forget YouTube hits playlists. Gibbon is the self-learning playlist many people swear by. With Gibbon you can collect various articles, videos, and other types of content under a particular theme or category. Think of it as the Pinterest for self-improvement. You can learn virtually anything under the sun, from how to code to getting into the basics of 3D printing.

Lumosity

Ever think your memory could use a boost? Lumosity is the site you want to head to. It’s a science-based game website that exercises your brain. From memory and verbal fluency to spatial skills and attention performance, Lumosity ensures you don’t lose your edge.

Khan Academy

This is your chance to master a subject you were too sleepy to wake up in college in order to attend. Khan Academy offers a multitude of courses, including Math, Science, Computing and Microeconomics, just to name a few.

Nerd’s Fitness

A CrossFit junkie goes to the gym, but where does a nerd go to? Nerd’s Fitness. This website is for the geek in every one of us. There’s no such thing as being too devoted about your body and your health,  and that’s why Nerd’s Fitness exists. It gives you informative articles and how-to’s on getting fitter and stronger – and always from a nerdy viewpoint. Their number one rule: We don’t care where you’re coming from, only where you’re going.

Information is Beautiful

This website uses the magic of visuals to represent interesting information. We must agree, information never looked so appealing before. You can get data visualized on everything, from who rules the world,to figuring out the potential tax revenue if drugs were legally sold.

Elite Daily

Self-proclaimed as “The Voice of Generation Y,” Elite Daily should be your browser home page. You can read anything about and for Generation Y, or find great tips on how to improve your skills and master new qualifications. Plenty of cute, inspirational content is always available too.

TED

Attending star-studded seminars doesn’t need to cost you a fortune. TED brings them all to you for free. TED shares  the best stories and ventures right on your screen; you can watch inspiring videos on initiatives that seek to change our thinking, our world, and our future.

Unplug the TV

This website lets you shun the urge to sit on your couch passively watching whatever’s on TV. “Unplug the TV” recommends interesting videos you can seek out and watch on your computer or device. Once you start using these links, we can confidently say there will be no more NCIS reruns for you!

The World FactBook

Get mind-blowing facts about your own and other countries, and you will have ample conversation starters for the next office cocktail party!

What makes someone a success? What’s the secret of the world’s top leaders? Why do some people seem so charismatic and influential?

The art of success in leadership and society, as well as in other areas, is due to reading. What seems to be a fairly simple activity is in fact the alpha and the omega when it comes to success.

Reading presupposes a passion for being ahead of the pack and it exhibits an undying wish to be knowledgeable and relevant at any given time. Successful people are aware of how crucial reading is for success, and that’s why they are more often than not voracious readers.

While easy in theory, in practice reading can be a time-consuming process, depending on your reading speed. It’s not enough to be an avid reader, you need to also be time-efficient. If it takes you more than 5 hours to read a typical 250-word book then your reading speed is below average. It’s simple: the faster you read, the more you learn, and the better equipped for success you’ll be.

So what’s the best formula in becoming successful? In a few words, follow the 4 Rs approach: Read, Retain, Relate, and Read.

Read

The first step is the most crucial. Read a book in a distraction-free environment so as to make it possible for the next two steps to work. The more focused you are, the better the results will be, and the more you will get out of every book.

Retain

This step is not really a separate process from the first step, once you’ve trained yourself in the concept.

When you read you need to understand what you’re reading. That’s why reading is a complex cognitive process. It requires a great deal of concentration to be able to read, understand the information you read, and put that new information in a new context.

Retaining what you read essentially means being able to explain what you’ve learned to another person.

Relate

For knowledge to stick, you need to relate what you’ve learned to previous knowledge. If you keep each body of knowledge distinct from one another, you’re losing a lot of valuable insights.

This process is a creative and prolific habit you should get into. If you’re reading a book on emotional intelligence, for example, see how the new information relates to what you knew about it already. See how emotional intelligence contradicts or compliments your knowledge of other types of knowledge, and so on.

The “Relate” step is crucial because it solidifies what you know as merely information into usable knowledge. What you’ve learned is no longer stand-alone information; once processed, it becomes knowledge you can retrieve at a moment’s notice and which can help you deal with an unexpected scenario or new circumstances.

Read

The fourth step is to read again. But it’s a bit different than the first step, this time. Here, “read” means to continue building knowledge upon knowledge, a key component of success.

Becoming successful is not a one-time event, it’s a life-long pursuit that calls for determination and a great deal of drive to achieve. Unless reading becomes part and parcel of your life, you won’t be able to achieve your full potential. Turn your screen off and read, retain, relate and then read some more!

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments