9 Steps Serious Bloggers Can Use to Increase Reading Speed 50% to 100%

                 Time Your ReadingIf you are like most bloggers and self-employed people, you want to learn how to read fast just to keep current in your industry and to gain valuable information for yourself and to share with others. 

If you read all the available and useful information word for word, you'll wind up spending all your time reading and not have time for anything else.

These 9 Steps for Increasing your Reading Speed will help you to experience reading, not as a chore to be put off as long as you can, but as an enjoyable and satisfying skill as well as another way to take control of your future.

You can learn to read faster by following these 9 steps:

1. Take at least one minute to review the material before reading it. 
First, skim to get a feel of what the piece contains, then the introductory material, section and chapter titles, index, and any other signposts. Next, treat the body of the text as a series of paragraphs, each paragraph being a self-contained unit with his own message to convey.

As soon as you have grasped the message, move immediately onto the next paragraph and repeat the process.

2. Become an active, rather than a passive reader. 
Instead of reading individual words, actively search out the important, descriptive, and meaningful ideas. Don't get bogged down in details. Move rapidly over the material.

3. Develop the knack of concatenation (linking two things together). 
Stop reading one word at a time and develop the habit of joining several words and repeating them as one unit. Learn to read by thought units rather than by individual words. You should take in between four and six words in a single glance.

4. Don't linger or reread words, phrases, or sentences. 
As difficult as it may be to break this non-productive habit, doing so will pay tremendous dividends. One way you can do this is to place a small slip of paper over the lines you have just read.

5. If your time permits, read at least one hour every day. 
Break it up into 20 minute segments, if necessary, and both select your reading materials carefully and find an optimum reading speed. Get rid of distractions and concentrate on what you are reading.

6. Eliminate poor physical habits such as sounding out the words in silent reading. This step doesn't need any further explanation.

7. Watch for the signpost in reading. 
Signposts are words or phrases which tell you in a split second whether there's going to be an abrupt change in the author's trend of thought or whether, on the contrary, the writer is really going to add more details to what is already been said. 

Some of the common turn about signals are: but, despite, on the contrary, however, nonetheless, yet, and rather. When you see these words you know instantaneously that the author is about to introduce a thought that is in opposition to the one he has just stated.

8. While you shouldn't sacrifice comprehension for speed, make a conscious effort to increase your reading speed. Still, make sure you understand what you are reading.

9.Reinforce what you read. At the earliest opportunity, think back on what you learned in your last reading session. Review the important points and any related information relayed by the author.

To make it easy, here are 5 questions you can ask yourself about what you read, What was the piece about? What important information was presented? What, if any, opinions did the writer present? What is your opinion of the piece? Name one element of the piece that makes it stand apart. This procedure helps to firmly implant the information in your memory.

Your Thoughts. Leave your comments below. 

What You Need to Know About Depression

The blues is a temporary and usually normal reaction to stressful life situations. Most cases don't involve physical symptoms, loss of self-esteem, or suicidal thoughts, and the negative state usually passes within a few hours or days.

Depression on the other hand, is an intense, pervasive and long-lasting disorder of mood that attacks the body as well as the mind, often resulting in serious problems in work, social, and physical functioning. 

Unfortunately, some people don't recognize depression for the serious illness it is. They think of it as a personality flaw, a sign of weakness or a character defect.

To go further in depth, depression occurs in at least three different dynamics. 

People in the first dynamic are chronically depressed. Depression is built into them and may be passed from generation to generation.

The second dynamic concerns lasting grief that occurs after a severe loss. Its severity is entirely subjective but might occur with the loss of a child, spouse, or loved one, an amputation, mastectomy, a sizable career setback, or loss of functioning brought about by disease or trauma.

The third dynamic involves loss accompanied by anger. People who have unresolved issues with a departed loved one often do not know that they are angry. This despair can set in after messy divorces or after a close relative or friend passes away. Since they are not able to deal with these problems by interacting with the object of their anger, they take their antagonism out on themselves instead.

Loss is the common element in all three dynamics. It could be a loss of time, an object, an idealization of an object, or a person.

Symptoms of depression often include disturbances with sleep, appetite and body weight, energy, concentration, and sexual functioning. There is frequently excessive guilt, feelings of worthlessness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, and, in severe cases, thoughts of or attempts at suicide.

Some depressions are the result of a chemical imbalance and may only be treated by anti-depressant medication, some require psychotherapy, and still others a combination of methods.

Those with chronic depression can't be helped except by antidepressants. In these cases, psychotherapy may be of little help and a poor use of time and money. Time helps a person who has suffered a severe loss as well as an involved other person who listens to the aggrieved as he or she gives words to the pain. This does not necessarily have to be a therapist, but if there is not a strong support system, treatment is very necessary. 

Finally, only a strong guide can help people whose loss is accompanied with anger move toward slow recognition and safe expression of their real feelings. This is usually the only path out of melancholy.

The good news is that more than eighty percent of depression sufferers can be treated successfully. If you or someone you care about is depressed, seek help now by contacting a qualified mental health specialist.

Whole Life Insurance - the Best Choice in Funding a College Education

Include Whole Life Insurance - A Must

Whole life insurance, written on one of the parents, is an excellent funding vehicle to pay for a child's college education. 

There are several good reasons:

1. Life insurance is a "self-completing" plan. If a parent dies while the child is still young, life insurance would pay an income tax-free death benefit to the beneficiary (presumably the surviving spouse) who can use that money for the children's college education.

2. If you become seriously ill or disabled, with waiver of premium included as a feature of the policy, the company will pay the premium for you and keep your policy in force with the cash value continuing to build up.

3. Cash value in a life policy will not only grow tax-deferred, but can be borrowed tax-free for college expenses, through policy loans. If its never paid back, it will simply be subtracted from the face amount the beneficiaries will receive when the insured passes away.

4. After borrowing from the policy, it will still have cash value remaining or once again begin to grow for years to come. When you  retire, you can access that cash through withdrawals and policy loans. This is using your policy to its greatest potential. 

5. Also, money in a whole life policy is not a countable asset when a child applies for college financial aid.

The self-completion, locked-in investment gains, tax-favored access to cash throughout the owner's life, and exemption from countable assets are significant values to the client.

Furthermore, you may choose to have your children take out student loans to pay for college knowing that the interest rate is very low and that the money in the life policy will grow at a better rate. 

This provides leverage and options for the parent, and the ability to give more money to the child tax-free later on, to pay off the student loans and then some.

Leave your comments and questions below.