Newsletter 9 - 1 July 2004

"Winning Habits" - Reviewed! This is the newsletter for www.mindtools.com. You have received this newsletter because you have subscribed to our double opt-in newsletter. If you are not already a member and you would like to subscribe, please visit http://mindtools.com/testspark.htm. This newsletter is published by James Manktelow of Mind Tools Ltd, Hardwick House, Prospect Place, Swindon, SN1 3LJ, United Kingdom. To contact us, please email Newsletter@mindtools.com .

Welcome to Mind Tools’ July Newsletter!

This newsletter keeps you up-to-date on what’s new at Mind Tools and lets you

know about new career skills on the Mind Tools website.

In this edition, we take a look at Mind Tools Information and Study Skills section. This helps you absorb the vast amount amount of information you need to be successful. As with other areas on the Mind Tools site, the Information and Study Skills section (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_ISS.htm) boasts helpful articles, related book reviews, as well as techniques to assist in processing and remembering the data you need on a daily basis. As part of this, we take an in-depth look at speed-reading tools and review techniques that can be put to use today to understand more text more quickly and to enhance your short-term memory.

We also talk to best-selling author Dick Lyles about his best-selling book, "Winning Habits: 4 Secrets that Will Change the Rest of Your Life”. A powerful parable that identifies four fundamental habits that lead to success, this book is a fun, informative read with useful information that works! The book not only explains four life-changing secrets, it demonstrates how to apply these secrets (actually habits) to your day-to-day life right now.

In this edition you will also find a helpful article, “The Relationship Between Motivation and Talent,” written by Henry Neils, President and Founder of http://www.Assessment.com, the leading online career assessment company, and also a Mind Tools partner. In this article, Neils takes a close look at the differences between motivation and talent and their enhanced effects once combined.

We also want to thank the newsletter subscribers who took a minute or two out of their day to complete the Mind Tools survey. We are pleased to announce that Tracey McFerran and Stanley Rozewski have won two of the three prizes of $100 of Amazon.com vouchers awarded in our prize draw (we're still trying to contact the final prize winner - the first part of his or her email address is "nghtwriter" - please contact us if this is you!)

Even if you didn't win, thank you for your time: The survey has been extremely useful in charting the course we will follow over the next couple of years. Key things we've learned from it are:

• That you want to see new information on leadership skills, management skills, people skills and career development skills. We're already developing a leadership course in conjunction with Prof Felix Brodbeck of Aston Business School (which we expect to launch later this year), however we'll also put the other subjects into our development plan.
  
  
• That e-book format is far and away the most popular delivery format for our more-advanced material.
  
  
• That you may also be interested in personal, career and life coaching as well as written information.

As well as this, you were kind enough to give us a wide range of individual comments that we are still looking at and learning from.

Finally, we're proud to say that we're only a few of weeks away from completing the final draft of "Manage Time, Manage Yourself", our Time Management Masterclass. This new Mind Tools e-book helps you learn the essential skills that help you overcome workload problems and live your very best life.

Before we launch it, we want to beta test it, asking some of our regular readers to preview it and let us know their opinions. If you'd like to join the beta program, we're delighted to send you a free advance copy of the book in return for your feedback. Update 2 July: We regret that applications are now closed - we can only efficiently work with 20 people.

As you know, we place a great deal of emphasis on your input. We encourage you to keep those thoughts and ideas coming. We also want to know if you have any questions or suggestions on improving the Mind Tools newsletter and websites. We hope you will continue to share with us any products, services or books you wish to see reviewed, as well as tools you wish to see added to the Mind Tools sites. Please continue to contact us at Suggestions@mindtools.com.

In the meantime, enjoy using http://www.mindtools.com and http://stress.mindtools.com!

Great news! The new Mind Tools Stress Site is up and running. In the last newsletter we shared with you the exciting news of our new site’s debut. Since then, we have made great strides and are happy to report that the site is up and fully functional.

The new Stress Site brings together all the Mind Tools resources for identifying stresses in your life and combating them. It delivers the entire Mind Tools stress management program, which has already brought about positive change in more than 500,000 people just like you. This thoroughly researched program is offered to you free as part of Mind Tools’ comprehensive line-up of resources for controlling stress.

The new Mind Tools Stress Management website also boasts burnout tests, relaxation tips, information on dealing with work issues, even help on working with a “problem” boss. The new site makes available to viewers hypnosis downloads and important skills that are broken down into step-by-step details, ensuring you get exactly what you need to finally beat the stress in your life.

There are also important books, articles and other resources that you can immediately put to use. Additionally, we encourage you to share these developments with your friends and colleagues, as well as with members of your company’s HR Department. After all, if the array of information on the new site helps you, it will undoubtedly help others, so please help us spread the news of the new site today!

This new site is just one of the latest developments from the Mind Tools team to help you learn how to cope with pressure, win back control over your workload and improve even your most stressful situations. There are more developments to follow, so keep in touch!

Tools Reviewed:

Winning Habits: 4 Secrets that Will Change the Rest of Your Life

by Dick Lyles

Reviewed by Kellie Fowler

Admittedly, I am a compulsive reader. It starts with the cereal box in the morning, carries me through several newspapers (which I read front to back with a protein bar and juice), onto work where I read, write and edit for a living, then into my evening where I relax by reading and writing even more. That's right. I actually read and write to relax from reading and writing all day!

I share this with you in an effort to make a point about the book I reviewed for this month’s newsletter, "Winning Habits: 4 Secrets that Will Change the Rest of Your Life", by Dick Lyles. The point is this: the book is good, easy to read, and actually shares “secrets” that can make a difference. As a compulsive reader, I recognize a good, easy read and can appreciate its ability to hold my attention, offer me new information, and end, all in a single day.

Written as a parable, the book is comfortable and easy to relate to. It can be read, as the author Dick Lyles claims, on a single flight (and no, it doesn't have to be an international one). The lead character, Albert, learns the "four secrets" from a wise old admiral, making the book a fun, fast, informative read.

Both in his pre-taped interview and throughout the book, Lyles stresses the importance of moving away from society’s common prevailing theory of “it’s never going to be enough.” Instead, he recommends replacing such negative thoughts with the fulfillment and satisfaction that are brought on by contributing more and asking for less.

While I will not detail Lyles’ “four secrets,” I will tell you that he stresses that we all show up every day, put our best foot forward and go above and beyond – always! “With every job, every responsibility I take on, I create a foundation, a track record,” Lyles says. “Get out there first, stay late and create a good, solid foundation.”

Sounds great in theory, but can it really work? Admittedly, implementing Lyles "four secrets" is a daily task, at first. After working on these for a few short weeks, they have become second-hand, and the results are real. OK, so I haven't won the lottery, but I have been working more effectively and I catch myself long BEFORE I even think about making an excuse - for anything.

I confess that I used little reminders to make these “secrets” a part of my life. I made notes in my calendar, left Post-it® notes for myself, etc. But, this only lasted a few short weeks. Before I knew it, the four secrets had become useful, productive, even life-changing habits.

Even Lyles admits that implementing four new "secrets" can seem cumbersome at first. After all, we're all busy and most of us multi-task just to get through the day. "Think in terms of 'I'm going to do this tomorrow,'" Lyles explains. "Think about what opportunities tomorrow may bring that allow you to implement these habits. At the end of the day, evaluate where (you did) well and where (did you) have problems. Finally, consider where you can improve tomorrow."

Lyles also wisely recommends focusing our energies on doing a few things well, instead of stretching ourselves thin by doing a great deal, none of which can be done well. Trust me, it works.

In summary, this Amazon.com bestseller stresses more than quality over quantity, it gives good, strong advise, with Lyles personal favorite emerging as “Be the first on and the last off – always!” Lyles, who stresses added value, says that the biggest mistake we make today is adopting the damaging attitude of “appreciate me first, I’ll show you later.” I couldn’t agree more.

For more information on Winning Habits: 4 Secrets that Will Change the Rest of Your Life, by Dick Lyles, go to www.Amazon.com.

Advertorial: The Relationship Between Motivation and Talent

by Henry Neils, President and Founder of Assessment.com © 2003

(Mind Tools partner)

Henry Neils is President and Founder of Assessment.com, the leading online career assessment company focused on helping employees and employers work together for their mutual benefit. Millions of people have gained personal insight into their careers by using the tools, such as MAPP™ (Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential), provided at Assessment.com.

Hydrogen and oxygen are distinctly different elements, but sometimes they combine to form water. Something similar is true for motivation and talent.

Motivation is the desire to do something. Talent is what you do well naturally. They can exist independently, but when they combine, they create something special. They create motivated talents.

People often are naturally good at something (talented), but it just doesn’t turn them on. For example, Heather is good with numbers, but she doesn’t go out of her way to find tasks calling for that talent. Most people have such talents. But then there are those talents that we really enjoy using. These are the motivated talents, and this is where the magic is.

We use motivated talents every chance we get. Most of the time we don’t even think about it. For example, Larry has a motivated talent for conversation, and he naturally engages both friends and strangers in dialog. He doesn’t consciously determine to do so; it just happens. It’s natural and unforced. He enjoys it, and he’s good at it. That’s the hallmark of a motivated talent.

Motivated talents tend to be irrepressible. They find expression. In fact, if you’ve ever tried to stifle a motivated talent (either yours or someone else’s) it probably felt like you were trying to hold two dozen ping pong balls under water at the same time. Motivated talents pop out, even if no one else is asking for them. And doesn’t that make sense? After all, it’s what we do well AND enjoy.

Well then, wouldn’t the ideal job be one where you can use your motivated talents daily and get paid for it? Absolutely! But more on that later.

What are your motivated talents? Shouldn’t your boss know? You can let him/her know by giving them a copy of you own MAPP Career or Personal Appraisal. They are available at http://www.assessment.com.

Get a job you love and never work a day in your life..

Henry

Note from James: You'll have seen articles from Henry in previous newsletters. We make no apology for "going on" about this subject - having a job you love is just so important to living a happy and successful life.

Henry's company offers a useful free test that helps you get properly started in identifying your job needs. For only a few dollars, he offers you so much more. If you're in any way uncomfortable in your working life, try the free test and find out why!

Mind Tools “Old Favourites”:

Mind Tools Information Skills

This section of the newsletter is here to refresh your memory of some of the most powerful techniques featured on the Mind Tools site. In this edition, we take another look at the Mind Tools Information Skills section and detail information on speed-reading and review techniques, both of which can be used to process and retain important information quicker and for longer.

Speed-Reading

Speed-reading helps people read understand text more quickly, making it an essential skill when trying to process large volumes of written text in a very timely manner, as we are forced to do as students and again in the business world.

To make speed-reading successful, you must first consider what information you need from the text. Obviously, if you need only an outline from the text or perhaps just a few key points, skimming the document will work best. However, if you need to process the bulk of text, you may need to pay closer attention and slow your pace.

Most people naturally read by fixing their eyes on a block of words. By reading blocks and not individual words one-by-one, you are already speed-reading to some degree. By tapping into this further and refining it with additional information, you can reduce the amount of work you put into reading or reviewing a document and cut down on the time it takes for you to read and comprehend written information.

There are ways to increase the number of words you can read in a single block, reducing the time you spend on each block, while reducing the number of times your eyes skip back to a previous sentence - all of which will help to reduce the time you spend reading and processing documents.

For more information on speed-reading techniques and key-points, as well as speed-reading software and tried and true tips like using a pointer to guide your eyes when speed-reading, visit:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_03.htm.

Reviewing Techniques

Most people remember things best right after having learned them. With time, more and more of this is forgotten, making recall and relearning of such information difficult, at best.

By regularly reviewing the information, you may find an increased ability to recall it. By applying this simple technique in a more structured and effective way, you can easily rely on review techniques to help you remember more.

The first step in doing this is to review the information you need to learn just minutes after exposure to it. Take the time to confirm you understand it. This will help you to build a foundation for remembering the information by making connections you may not otherwise make.

You may want to then write the information down, perhaps in short notes. From there, commit to reviewing the information at specific intervals, including after one day; after one week; after one month; and again after four months.

Start each of these reviews by making a few notes on everything you remember about the information. Then, compare this to your notes.

Important key points and tips that support the review techniques can be found at:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_05.htm.

For more on the Mind Tools Information and Study Skills section, which offers reading strategies, additional tips and techniques for optimizing your information retention skills and improving study skills, visit:

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_ISS.htm.

Final note from James…

It’s an exciting time for all of us at Mind Tools as we shape and mold new products and services for you. As we mentioned earlier, we are currently working on a comprehensive time management masterclass, as well as developing others on leadership and career development. These new products and services will help us to better meet your needs, and we look forward to telling you more about them in the next newsletter.

Best wishes, thank you for reading, and have a great month!

James Manktelow & Kellie Fowler

Mind Tools

Essential Skills for an Excellent Career!

© Mind Tools Ltd, 2004.

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