Be prepared
This guide isn't a conventional article or a book summary. The insights it presents are simple, but they’re also extremely elusive. So much so that we often say "they have a half-life of one sleep."
So don't skim it like a book or article. Read it once, quickly - to get the big picture – then at least twice more – more carefully – over the next 48 hours, applying it to your situation each time. Then follow the [ read > apply > articulate > implement ] cycle, until your implementation is complete:
Repetitive reading is a great reinforcer of new ideas.
Applying it to your situation accelerates the process by integrating it with your existing thinking.
Articulating your growing understanding – verbally and in writing – magnifies the impact, makes the concepts more tangible and locks them into your thinking.
– will have the biggest impact on your thinking and is of course, the point of the whole exercise.
You'll find new insights and applications that you hadn't noticed or seen the implications of pop out at you every time you go through this cycle.
You’ll always be vulnerable to the “half-life of one sleep” problem, though, so be prepared for it! The excitement you feel when each penny first drops will wane quickly and you’ll be tempted to assume that you were mistaken to have been so excited about it in the first place.
The reality is that you’ve merely lost the insight that excited you before. This is normal – it takes time for new neural network to become established. But you can overcome it in the short-term and accelerate longer-term insight development easily, simply by repeating the [ read > apply > articulate > implement ] cycle frequently.
