Note: This is a guest post from Scott Young of Learning on Steroids

We’ve been taught how to study, but not how to learn.

That’s the only conclusion I can draw when I watch otherwise intelligent people spend hours cramming for exams, while failing to understand the material being taught.

Studying tends to focus on repetition. If you study a formula enough times, it will magically glue itself in your head. The more you repeat, the better you remember.

Learning isn’t just about repetition, it’s about making connections. Simply staring at the same formula a dozen times isn’t learning, even though we’ve been told it qualifies as studying. Learning a formula means understand what its components are, reviewing the proof or relating it to similar formulas.

Instead of trying to memorize by rote, you should be learning by connections.

Learning Hacks to Allow You to “Get” Any Subject

I’ve aced tests without studying for them. Over four years of university, my GPA has always sat between an A and an A+. I even placed first in a regional academic competition, without having taken the course being tested.

But in the grand scheme of things, my accomplishments are relatively modest. I know polyglots who can speak 8 languages, students who graduated from competitive programs with triple the normal courseload and learners who went from C to A+ averages while studying less than before.

The underlying trend in all of these learners is their ability to learn by making connections. Instead of relying on memorizing material repeatedly, they weave any new information into their existing knowledge.

During the years since I’ve been writing about this idea, I’ve managed to identify some of the main tactics these learners use to connect ideas together. Here are seven:

#1 – Analogies and Metaphors

Whenever you learn a fact, ask yourself what the idea is similar to. You can learn abstract processes by creating metaphors for more common events. Variables in computer programming become jars. Derivatives become the speedometer and odometer on your car.

#2 – Mental Pictures

Have you ever tried to visualize a mathematical formula?

It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds. If you break apart a complex formula into components, you can try to imagine what it would like as a graph or how each component influences each other.

I used this to remember how to calculate the determinant of a matrix. Instead of just memorizing rules, I created a mental picture of my hands scooping through the diagonals, adding and removing the numbers.

#3 – Dig a Foundation

Do you ever get surprised how easy early subjects appear, once you advance in them. Arithmetic looks easy once you start with algebra, which seems trivial once you go onto calculus. Going a bit further in the progression means you still struggle with the furthest ideas, but the earlier ones become easier.

What if you applied this in reverse: did a bit of extra research on your most difficult topics. You might not understand the further research perfectly, but it would make understanding your testable material much easier.

#4 – Become the Teacher

Try switching roles: how would you explain what you’re learning to someone else? The act of explanation creates connections. Teaching also forces you to simplify and break down complex ideas, another good step to foster learning.

#5 – Stop Taking Rigid Notes

Are you trying to learn, or create a courtroom transcript of the lecture? My suggestion is to free yourself from rigid notes, and instead write down ideas in branches and connections. Add your own thoughts, diagrams and arrows linking ideas so you have a web of information.

#6 – Diagram

Remember when your teacher told you to stop doodling in class? Well recent research suggests that drawing can actually increase your concentration.

I’d guess that if you were actually drawing out information related to the class, that might improve your concentration even more. I don’t know if a picture is actually worth a thousand words, but it can often be worth many connections towards a greater understanding.

#7 – Pegging

Mental magicians actually use this tactic to memorize any number. The tactic is a bit complicated for a brief article, but the basic idea is to attach each digit to a specific consonant. So 1 = s, 2 = k and 6 = r.

The next step is to put these consonants together. So 16578 becomes s, r, d, l, p. You can then insert any vowels within these letters to create nouns. So srdlp becomes sword and loop. You then string the nouns together in a story: “The sword cut through the loop before Jonathan…”

Then, even to remember hundreds of numbers, you only need to remember the story and letters key.

Scott Young is the author of Learn More, Study Less. He runs a program designed to teach rapid learning tactics. The program is currently sold out, but you can go here to get on the announcement list for when it reopens.

Photo by Hermés

Note: This is a guest post from Bob Hartzell of Get Degrees

When I went to college, I was right out of high school, overwhelmed by the freedom and very quickly baffled by the academic expectations. Today’s college students are often much more mature, more experienced – and in many cases, returning to school to improve a life. More often than not, college students are working as well.

Whether you’re eighteen and new to it all or you’re back in the classroom to try and make academics work for you again, college can be rough water if you’re intimidated and/or pushing yourself with family/job/education. Here are some suggestions to maximize the value of your time spent in the academic fold:

1. Don’t let a pile of overpriced books and a quicker learning pace make you think you’re in over your head. It’s just a new environment.

2. No matter what the professors think, classes probably shouldn’t be optional. Look at it this way – until you’re sure you don’t need it, take advantage of all the help you can get.

3. Take notes you can read. If what you’re hearing is too much to process on any given day, find a classmate to bounce your questions off of. But don’t think you have to learn to be a court reporter overnight.

4. This might be counterintuitive or difficult as hell – but asking a few questions of the lecturer doesn’t hurt either. Give yourself a chance to feel like you have an investment in all that academic achievement as well – have a good conversation with someone who is opening up new intellectual doors for you can be an enormous boost. There’s more payback to those classes than credits and a grade.

5. All that reading isn’t insurmountable a chapter at a time. If you break it into manageable bites, you can get through it with a lot less indigestion – and learn more from it in the process. Besides, ignoring it will drive you crazy.

6. You have probably heard this during your previous fifteen years in school – but plan your studying. That’s not to blow a hole in your day, it’s so you won’t blow a hole in your semester. If you do it and stick with it, life gets easier.

7. Weekends may not always be for playing anymore. If you’re working and going to school, for sure they won’t be. Once again, the idea is to make school manageable, which makes it tolerable, which eventually may make it…really intriguing. You can build an afternoon on your bike or a few hours in front of a football game into any schedule if you hit the books when you have it pencilled in. Otherwise you’ll be trying to read a textbook during the beer commercials and not enjoying the game nor learning much either.

8. Always do a draft. As good as you are at slamming a paper together, do yourself the favor of time for a rough draft. Bang it out like it’s a first and final, but leave time to review it anyway. You’ll be amazed at how little adjustments can make a major improvement and once again, what was once anxiety and pressure becomes a manageable chore that may just become an achievement.

9. Now about those exams – they’re going to weigh on you no matter how well you’ve covered the material. The key to taking an exam with confidence is to do as thorough a review as you can and see at least seventy five percent of the material for at least the second time. There’s a difference between holing up for a final review and cramming.

10. Put your best into it and then consider college the art of the possible. If you’re going through the learning process with newly tested initiative and applying standards you’ve never held yourself to before, than you can call that a victory. If you get a little better at it the first few weeks or the first few semesters, there will come a day when you know you’re doing an efficient job. That’s all you can ask of yourself.

Don’t compare your insides to someone else’s outsides. It’s your college career, your major, your degree. Resumes aside, the value of an education is an intensely personal thing, so don’t demean it by thinking you should be some other kind of student. Every school experience opens up new horizons, but you won’t see them if you’ve got misguided expectations blocking your view.

Bob Hartzell is a freelance writer for Get Degrees®. They feature 100’s of online degree programs from accredited online colleges and universities worldwide.

Photo by orangeacid

As you may know, Amazon has a best-seller list that shows the hottest books at the moment. I often browse it to find interesting books to read. Not surprisingly, the list is dominated by newly-published books.

This makes me curious: is there a book that remains in the list years after its initial publication? If there is, then the book deserves a closer look. After all, the book has passed the test of time.

So I went through the list to find non-fiction books that are at least three years old. As it turns out, there were only five books that met the criteria (out of 100 books). Here they are along with their years of publication and Amazon ranks (at this time of writing):

1. Mastering The Art of French Cooking (1961) – #41

This is the oldest book in the list (almost 50 years old!). The book actually holds two spots in the list; the box set edition holds #69. I don’t know much about cooking, let alone French cooking, but it seems that many people love it.

2. The Blind Side (2006) – #52

This is a book by the same author who wrote Liar’s Poker and Moneyball. I’ve read those two books and enjoyed them (here is a post I wrote on Moneyball). The Blind Side has similar theme to Moneyball. While Moneyball dissects baseball, The Blind Side dissects another popular sport: football.

3. Three Cups of Tea (2006) – #54

I haven’t read it, but this book seems like a good source of inspiration. From Amazon’s review page:

…the book’s central theme, derived from a Baltistan proverb, rings loud and clear. “The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger,” a villager tells Greg Mortenson. “The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family.” An inspirational story of one man’s efforts to address poverty, educate girls, and overcome cultural divides, Three Cups… reveals the enormous obstacles inherent in becoming such “family.”

4. Freakonomics (2006) – #66

Freakonomics explores many interesting issues in our lives from an economic perspective. Reading it helps you understand how the power of incentive directs people’s behavior, often in unexpected ways. This is an enjoyable and insightful book to read. A sequel to the book (titled SuperFreakonomics) has just been released.

5. The Tipping Point (2000) – #96

The Tipping Point examines the phenomenon of social epidemics. How can a product or idea spread wildly in the society? What are the factors that contribute to it? The Tipping Point is Malcolm Gladwell’s first book that preceded his later best-sellers Blink and Outliers.

***

Of these five books, I’ve read two of them (Freakonomics and The Tipping Point). I’m not into cooking, so there are only two books left that I want to take a closer look at: The Blind Side and Three Cups of Tea.

What about you? Have you read any of them?

Photo by striatic

In The Medici Effect (here is my review), there’s a term I’m interested in: the Intersection. It’s a place where ideas and experiences from different fields meet and form new ideas. It’s a fascinating place to be because excitement from different fields come together at one place. Even more, you can get a lot of fresh ideas that make your and other people’s lives better.

Living in the Intersection has always been a dream of mine. The question, of course, is how. One good way to answer it is by learning from those who are already there. Specifically, there is a certain kind of people with Intersection experience I want to discuss here. They are the polymaths.

Polymaths are people who are extraordinarily intelligent in multiple fields. They live and thrive in the Intersection. Perhaps the most famous one is Leonardo da Vinci but there are still many others. Two examples of modern polymaths are Nathan Myhrvold and Jared Diamond.

I’m not saying that we should be polymaths but I believe we can learn from them about how to live in the Intersection. Here are several lessons I learn:

1. Be curious

Curiosity is perhaps the most obvious characteristic of a polymath. It’s their deep curiosity that fuels them to explore many different fields. They want to know about the world from different perspectives. They want to experience new adventures.

So build your curiosity. Don’t take things for granted. Keep an open mind and be on the lookout of interesting things.

2. Be enthusiastic

One thing I notice when watching polymaths speak is their level of energy and enthusiasm. Often their energy and enthusiasm are so contagious you can feel a fire ignited within you. They don’t do something because they have to. They do something because they love it.

So find things that make you excited. Find things you are passionate about and follow them.

3. Focus on one field before moving to a new one

I especially notice this with modern polymaths. Nathan Myhrvold got his doctoral degree in quantum physics and worked on cosmology. Later he moved to information technology until he became Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer. Jared Diamond, whose book Guns, Germs and Steel requires deep understanding of multiple disciplines to write, has similar story:

After graduating from Cambridge, he returned to Harvard as a Junior Fellow until 1965, and, in 1968, became Professor of Physiology at UCLA Medical School. While in his twenties, he also developed a second, parallel, career in the ornithology of New Guinea, and has since undertaken numerous research projects in New Guinea and nearby islands. In his fifties, Diamond gradually developed a third career in environmental history, and become a Professor of Geography at UCLA, his current position.

A polymath is like a serial entrepreneur who focuses on one business and makes it successful before creating a new business. By doing it this way, he doesn’t spread his effort too thin. He has the focus necessary to gain deep understanding of the field.

So dig deep into a field before moving to a new one. This will later help you connect the different fields better.

4. Connect different fields

This a big advantage the polymaths have over many other people. While specialists usually just see from the perspective of their field, polymaths can connect one field with another. When they approach a field, they bring their knowledge and experiences in other fields with them. This enables them to see things with fresh eyes. They can see things that other people can’t.

You should do the same. When you are dealing with a field, bring your experiences and ideas in other fields with you and find connections. This is how you get fresh ideas.

Photo by OliBac

Note: This is a guest post from Jonathan Beebe of Develop Minds

You may know all the reasons why you should keep a journal, but if you’ve never written in a journal before, or have limited experience with it, you may not exactly know how to get started. You’ve got your notebook out, and a blank page staring back at you… now what?

Of course, there’s no set rules to writing in a journal. You can write in it however you like and it’s effective either way; however, if you need just a little guidance to get you started on the right foot, I’ll show you an effective journal “template” that you can use day-to-day, and modify as you wish to suit your needs.

Remember, none of the “sections” listed below are required to be long. They can be as long as a few paragraphs, or as short as one sentence… it’s all up to you, after all, it’s your journal :-)

Gratitude

A good way to start any journal entry is to begin listing a few of the things you’re grateful for. If you do this on routine, it helps to write a few words as to why you’re grateful for each particular item, so you really feel grateful, rather than just writing from memorization.

Even if you only name one thing you’re truly grateful for, what this will do is help bring you into a positive mindset for not only your journal writing session, but for your entire day. Gratitude is one of the best ways to ignite positivity… and we all have something to be grateful for.

Personal Reflection

I then begin writing about where I’m at with the current goals that I’m working on, or touch on some of the things I mentioned in my previous entry (if applicable). For example, if I had planned on posting an article to my blog and also taking my wife and daughter to the park today, I’ll write whether or not I ended up following through and how it went (or why I didn’t end up doing it). If I see somewhere I need to improve as far as my goals go, I’ll recognize that as well.

This section of the journal entry is for making a “status check” of yourself to see where you’re at, evaluate your strengths, and assess your weaknesses. I recommend you also use this section to write down how you feel about certain things, and express your emotions.

Goal Focus

This is where you can make plans to fix the areas you’re weaker at, set goals for the next day, etc. The previous section was used for evaluating and assessing, and this section is for planning and thinking about the “next” step.

For example, let’s say my goal is to lose 25lbs and I took a nice walk the previous day to work towards my goal. In the “Personal Reflection” section, I can recognize the fact that I took some time to work on my fitness, but also take note that I should have probably ate less snacks during the day. Then, in the “Goal Focus” section, I could state that because the walk wasn’t very challenging, that I plan to go further the next day and cut back on my daily snacking.

What the above journaling template will do for you is:

• Get you started on the right track, with a mindset of gratitude.
• Allow you to assess your feelings, your strengths, and areas you could improve (whether it be goals or general personal growth areas).
• Ensure you are taking at least baby steps towards your goals each day.
• Allow you to have a clear “action plan” as to what you’re planning on doing next (whether it be later on that day, the next day, etc).

As I mentioned earlier, there is no “right” way to write in your journal, but if you’re unsure how to get started, following the above template will definitely give you an effective head start!

Jonathan Beebe is the author and creator of Develop Minds, a personal development blog dedicated to providing free content aimed at helping you improve you life by increasing your consciousness, intelligence, and teaching you to fully develop your mind in a positive way.

Photo by dailylifeofmojo

Note: This is a guest post by Amber Hensley of Online College

While you might already be ahead of the game if you are studying at all, you might as well make the most of the time you spend preparing for class and ensure that all those hours you put into reviewing notes and reading chapters actually pay off. Here are some tips that can help you learn to study better and get more out of what you’re studying so you can spend less time pouring over books and more time enjoying life at school.

1. Find some peace and quiet. Studies have shown that just 20 minutes of highly focused, quiet time can help you learn and remember more than hours of working with distractions and while multi-tasking. So, to get the most out of your study time retreat to a place where you won’t be bothered by loud music or talking and can just focus in on your work.

2. Get organized. If your papers and materials are all over, you’ll spend just as much time looking for what you need as actually reading through and absorbing material which doesn’t make for a very productive use of your time. Keep one notebook just for notes for a class and ensure that all your papers are in a place you can actually locate them. It might take more planning up front but it will pay off in the long run.

3. Take breaks. Studying intensely can really take a toll on your brain and eventually make it hard for you to think clearly at all. That isn’t much of a help when you’re trying to understand difficult concepts or learn new things. Take short breaks during your study time so you can rest your eyes and mind and come back refreshed and ready to learn.

4. Have a schedule. The problem with the way that many students study is that they wait until the last minute and begin cramming the day before a big test. This really isn’t the most effective way to learn or remember new information. While it might not be fun, spending time in the weeks leading up to a test reviewing the material will be much more beneficial and might actually help you remember the material after the test as well.

5. Consider the subject. Each subject has a particular way in which it will be easiest to learn and remember. Subjects that require memorization may be more easy to learn with flashcards and timelines while subjects like math that require problem solving might be better served with doing the practice problems in your book. Spend some time figuring out just how you learn each subject best and then use that knowledge to maximize what you get out of your study sessions.

6. Study more frequently. It isn’t the duration of your study sessions that really makes a difference, it’s the frequency. You’ll learn a lot more through repetition, so break up your study time into shorter sessions every day rather than trying to cram it all in at the last minute.

7. Write it down. For most people, writing things down helps big time when it comes time to recall things on a test or even just during study time. Take notes in class and use methods that require you to do something to actively participate in learning the material– not just reading it over and over.

8. Be realistic. You’re not going to be able to memorize an entire month’s worth of material in only one night of intense studying. You likely won’t remember a good chunk of it. Be realistic in how you break up your study sessions and tackle only the amount of material that you’ll actually be able to benefit from studying– not the whole book at once.

This post was contributed by Amber Hensley, who writes about the accredited online college. She welcomes your feedback at AmberHensley1980@ yahoo.com.

Photo by flgr

If you want to grow, one important thing you should do is keeping a journal. It may seem simple, but it can make a big difference in your life.

I myself have been journaling for years. Writing all the lessons I learn and all the ideas I get has become a habit for me. And to be honest, it’s difficult to imagine how my life would be without it.

Here are some benefits you will get by keeping a journal:

1. It trains you to be observant. Once you make journaling a habit, you will develop the habit of being observant in all your experiences. You will get way more ideas and lessons this way. Instead of paying attention to the negative side of things, you pay attention to the positive side to extract lessons from it. Instead of taking things for granted, you look for new ideas that you can implement.

2. It prevents you from losing an idea. Have you ever gotten an idea only to lose it later because you didn’t write it down? I often experienced that myself. But then I developed the habit of writing down every idea that comes into my mind as soon as possible. If I’m away from my computer, I usually write it down on a piece of paper that I bring wherever I go. I will then transfer the idea to the journal in my computer.

3. It helps you memorize an idea. Even if you do nothing else, the act of writing helps you memorize the idea better. I often remember the things I write down without looking back at my notes.

4. It trains you to express your thoughts. I often take lessons from my experiences and write them down in my journal. Since I want to write a concise statement that summarizes the lesson, I need to think for a while to make it concise. This is a good exercise for me because over time I can express my thoughts better.

5. It helps you expand your ideas. When you try to come up with a sentence to express an idea, you are thinking actively about it. Thinking actively helps you connect your idea to another idea. At the end, you will expand your ideas.

6. It helps you review all the lessons you’ve learned. Why should you repeat the same mistakes you’ve made? By reviewing your journal, you can quickly see the lessons you’ve learned and the ideas you’ve gotten. You can do whatever necessary to avoid repeating the same mistakes. You can use the ideas to propel yourself forward.

7. It allows you to see your progress over time. After keeping a journal for years, you can look back at it and see how far you’ve gone. Things that were big problems in the past might seem small today. The raw ideas you had in the past might have been realized today. Seeing your progress motivates you to move even further ahead.

Now that you have seen the benefits of keeping a journal, what tool should you use?

You don’t need anything complicated for your journal. If your prefer to use a computer, you can use a word processor like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. You can even use a text editor like Notepad. If you prefer not to use computer, you can use a notebook.

Just use whatever tool you feel comfortable with. The important thing is to make journaling a habit.

Photo by Crystl

Learning is something I always enjoy. I love learning because it gives me new challenges to overcome. In the past, however, I often learned just for learning’s sake. There was nothing real I got out of it. I just absorbed new knowledge without thinking about its practical value.

Recently I realized that while learning is fun, it’s even more fun if it’s related to my practical needs. The thrill of learning something that can immediately improve my life is more than just learning for learning’s sake. For that reason, now I mainly learn new skills that can improve my life and help me achieve my goals.

The best way to do that is project-based learning. With project-based learning, you create and work on a project that uses the skill you want to learn. Rather than just absorbing knowledge, you create something real.

Here are some examples of project-based learning:

• To learn a new programming language, you create a simple game using that language.
• To learn web design, you create a design for your personal web site.
• To learn to play guitar, you prepare to perform at a local event.
• To learn a new language, you write a short story in that language.

Why Project-Based Learning is Good

There are several reasons why project-based learning is a good way to learn:

1. It motivates you

Project-based learning motivates you because you can see the results of your learning. You have something to show for all the effort you put in learning.

Furthermore, you have a clear goal to achieve. It’s similar to the way having a finish line motivates a runner. If the runner just runs without a finish line, I’m sure he won’t be as motivated. Having a clear goal is motivating.

2. It pushes you to take the shortest path

Since your goal is to accomplish the project, you won’t waste your time with irrelevant things. You will spend time only on things that can help you finish your project. You will take the shortest path. This is a big benefit because otherwise you may get distracted by unimportant things.

3. It gives you feedback quickly

This is important because it speeds up your learning process. Rather than guessing if something works, you put it out there in the real world. You can then use the feedback to improve your skill. At the end, you will have a battle-tested skill under your belt.

Steps to Do Project Based Learning

Here are some steps to do project-based learning:

1. Choose a skill to learn that meets your needs

The first thing you should do is choosing a skill to learn. I recommend choosing a skill that meets your needs because that will make you more motivated to learn.

Look at your life and work. Do you have a plan to improve your life in a certain way? Do you have a plan to create a side business? Whatever it is, there must be a skill that can help you achieve your goal. That is the skill you should choose for your project-based learning.

2. Create a project around that skill

The project should have specific goals so that you know whether or not you are successful. For example, when I learned a new programming language (I have a background in computer science), I usually wrote a simple game using that language. I looked at the games that were out there and chose one of them to write. This way I had a specific goal in mind.

3. Aim to finish the initial version of the project as soon as possible

As I’ve mentioned above, getting quick feedback can speed up your learning process. So you should get your project out there as soon as possible. Don’t wait until everything is perfect before you show it to others.

4. Use the feedback to improve your skill

Based on the feedback you get, work on the areas that need improvements and test the result to get another round of feedback. Repeat this process until you reach the level of mastery you desire.

5. Create a new project if necessary

The project you choose might hone only certain aspects of the skill you want to learn. In that case, you might want to create a new project that helps you learn other aspects of the skill. Or you may choose to learn a new skill. It’s up to you.

Photo by cogdogblog

In The Joy of Living Today, I wrote that one reason to learn history is to make you realize how good your life is so that you can be grateful for it. But there are other reasons to learn history. Learning history helps you see current and future events from a rich perspective. It helps you avoid the mistakes people made in the past. It also helps you make the right decisions in life. In short, learning history makes you wise.

But what resources should we use to learn history? Here are my favorite resources:

1. Stuff You Missed in History Class Podcast

If you aren’t interested in history, Stuff You Missed in History Class Podcast is a good starting point. It discusses the interesting aspects of many historical events. For example, one episode talks about whether or not Genghis Khan really killed 1,748,000 people in one hour and another episode talks about the cursed tomb of King Tut. The episodes are short (usually under 15 minutes) so they won’t take much time to listen to.

2. Wikipedia

If you want to get a good introduction to a historical topic, Wikipedia is perhaps the best place to go to. It has articles on practically every historical topic imaginable. You may start with History of the world which gives you an overview of the world history. Next, you may learn history based on time periods so that you can easily see the context of each event.

Alternatively, you may browse the history by century. The interesting thing here is it gives you significant events of not only the past, but also the future (in the form of predictions). For example, do you know that Google aims to achieve its objective to organize the world’s information by the year 2300?

3. Visual History of the World

If you are a visual person, National Geographic’s Visual History of the World (or the smaller Essential Visual History of the World) is a book that fits your need. As its title says, it gives you a visual tour through the history of the world. The book starts at around 4000 BC and continues to the present time.

4. Guns, Germs, and Steel

While the resources above are good, they only discuss the surface of history. They tell you about historical events without telling you about the patterns and causes behind them.

For that purpose, the best resource I’ve found is Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond. Rather than just talking about historical facts and events, the book shows you the causes that shape history. Specifically, it discusses why some civilizations are more advanced than others. Guns, Germs and Steel is my favorite history book.

***

Do you know other resources that you’d like to recommend? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Photo by Tony the Misfit

Have you ever dreamed of getting all the topics of self improvement in one place and seeing how they relate to each other? Well, your dream might have just come true. The MasterMind Matrix Chart by Adam Sicinski covers practically all self improvement topics you can think of in one huge mind map.

Looking at the chart as a whole is like seeing the map of a city. You can see roads to multiple blocks within the city. Within each block, you can see how those roads split into small streets. Following the roads in the chart makes you feel like you are traveling in the city of Self Improvement.

For example, let’s visit the Goals block. There you can explore some small streets that teach you the process of setting goals and the characteristics of good goals. After exploring this block, you may want to continue your journey to the nearby Time Management block. Here you learn how to manage your time in order to achieve your goals. The streets in this block give you some time management tips like To Do List, Set Priorities, and Outsource. Continuing your journey from here will bring you to the Staying Motivated block that shows you how to stay motivated while pursuing your goals.

Here are some of the topics covered in the chart:

• Habits / Rituals
• Character Development
• Emotional Mastery
• Overcoming Fears
• Accelerated Learning
• Beliefs
• Attitude
• Behavior Modeling
• Visualization
• Choices & Decision
• Sleep & Energy
• Health & Wellbeing

With the number of topics covered, it could be difficult to know where to start. Fortunately, the chart gives you a clear starting point labeled “Begin Here”. That’s where you start your journey. You will then be guided to the other parts of the chart.

Here are several things I like about the chart:

1. It helps me see what topics are there in the world of self improvement
   There are some topics that I’ve never heard before and there are some that I’ve forgot. The chart brings them all to my attention.
2. It shows how the topics are related
   This is a big plus because it’s often difficult to relate one topic to the other. As a result, people tend to treat each topic separately. Seeing how they relate helps you have an integrated approach to self improvement.
3. It’s fun
   The chart is not only packed with information but also visually appealing. That makes studying it fun.

Mastering the chart will take time but it’s worth it. It could be your study guide to the world of self improvement.