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Friday, July 29, 2011
If you don't like reading books but still wants to be a learner, read this.

 



“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”  - Harry S. Truman

If you want to lead in your organization or your company, you need to read books. I found this very true in my life and many people's life. I found that many leaders today are readers of books. There is something powerful about reading that it makes the reader a little smarter. But what if you do not like to read books?


I find myself in this category. I do not like reading. Yes, I've read books in the past but it has always been a struggle to do so. Also I found that I take more time reading any book compared to my friends. So what's the alternative?

All leaders are readers because they are learners so the key is not just reading it is learning. Over 5 years ago when I found the "magical" power of audio learning. I call it magical because I found myself easily recalling many of the concepts and facts that I hear from an audiobook or podcast. I found that I am a listener and not a reader. So what I did (and still doing) is that when I am on transit on my way home, I just pop in my headphone and scroll in my iPod audiobooks and sermons that I would like to hear. I see this as a better use of my time while waiting to get home. On my way home or on my way to the office, I learn something new about many things, things that I enjoy learning about. I normally spend 45 minutes going to the office and another 45 minutes going back home so that's over an hour or learning in a day. I listen to an audiobook average of  5 times a week which translates to around 6-7 hours learning a week. That's equivalent to half of a semester of graduate studies. Remember that this 6-7 hours of learning is not time taken from my other activities since I am using my idle time while I am traveling.

Where can you get these audio materials?
You can buy them from Amazon or get them from Audible.com
You can also get free podcasts from iTunes.

Buy yourself an mp3 player or an iPod then load it with podcasts and audiobooks.

Whatever your way of learning is, make sure that you are enjoying it. Relax, learn, and discover the miracle of audio learning.:)
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Thursday, July 28, 2011
Can you fake it til you make it?

There is a common phrase that says, "you got to fake it til you make it". This phrase became a philosophy for many people; they act successful and look successful so that they will become successful. They act to be larger than life in hope that one day they will become. I know some people who follows this principle and I even tried to do this in the past but I found out that it's not for me. I personally believe that its the one of the great self deception that a person can succumb into. I believe that faking yourself to be someone real will lead to delusion. The delusion that you already are successful when you are not.

So what is the alternative? I believe that there is a stronger way of life to "faking it" philosophy and that is "being instead of becoming". The "faking it til you make it" philosophy gives you the idea that you have not yet become. It means that you came from defeat to victory. So my proposal is, "Be" and then you "Become". This way to come from the point of victory to victory.

Whatever your approach to life is, make sure that you are not fooling yourself because the greatest form of deception is self-deception. Enjoy life, it's a waste of time spending it as someone else.:)
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Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Speak From the Heart



Whenever I am invited to speak in public and I feel unprepared, I would close my eyes and remind myself to speak from the heart. And when I start speaking, I am no longer afraid what I will be saying because I believe that when I speak from the heart, I could never go wrong.

A lot of speakers use words that they think would wow the listeners but in speaking from the heart there is a sense of fluidity and naturalness that's involve in the speech that makes it more emphatic than just putting words together. When you speak from the heart words tends to become more powerful than usual and often times more moving.  

When you speak from the heart you tend to become less conscious on what you memorized and you focus on what you understand. Of course you might end up showing that you do not understand the subject matter but I think it's better than trying to appear knowledgeable. If you have no idea what the subject is then you can start by being honest and say, "You know I have no idea what it's all about." And then start talking about what you think it means.

When you speak from the heart you are less focus on what others will say and more in tuned to how you feel about the matter. When you speak from the heart, you forget the technique and focus on conveying your thoughts and to me that is where the power of words lies.
So the next time around that you will be speaking in public and you do not feel prepared, close your eyes and remind yourself to speak from the heart.
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