I read alot.

I have to so I can keep up with these things:

1.   What is going on in my industry

2.   Developments in my area of professional interest

3.   Ways to make my business even more successful and profitable

4.   Ways to develop myself

5.   Things I am generally interested in outside of my professional field.

I also listen to audio programs on a regular basis too.

I travel on a regular basis and regularly find myself in situations where reading a book just is not possible (or legal) and so the convenience of having my ipod loaded up with some great stuff means I can listen to the worlds experts at the press of a play button.

Whislt I do enjoy my reading, I especially enjoy listening to audio programmes.

You get to hear incredible authors and speakers delivering some great content and I believe that when you listen to an inspiring and inspired expert share their knowledge, espcially if they are in a live situation in front of an audience, some of the magic of their performance passes through the headphones.

I have listened to probably thousands of hours of audio over the last 15 years, many of the same programmes over and over again and I am constantly adding to my already large library.

Just recently I purchased a fabuolus audio programme from Nightingale Conant called "Success is Your Own Damn Fault" by Larry Winget.

Larry is a…mmm how do I describe him…..Larry is a colourful character to say the least. 

He is known by his trade marked title as the World's Only Irritational speaker and the Pitbull of personal development.

He is a tough, take no prisoners kind of guy who says what he thinks, is funny with it but essentially tells it as it is.

You won't find any suggestions for bonding, hugging or any other sort of touchy feelie stuff - Larry just is not that kind of speaker.

He is hard hitting and will tell you the truth about what it takes to be successful.

I like what he has to say and having seen him live at the National Speakers' Association convention in Phoenix a couple of years ago, I have always enjoyed (and benefitted) what he has to say and how he has to say it.

So when the regular mailing piece from Nightingale Conant dropped through the letterbox a couple of weeks ago promoting his latest programme, I sent off for it immediately.

It is good….very good.

And for Larry to get that good he has not only been there, done it and got the t-shirt in rising from poverty to riches, losing it and then getting it back again, but he also has researched the topic of success extensively.

He claims to have read over 4000 books (and I have no reason to doubt him and if I did I would not be stupid enough to challenge him on it!) and listened to approximately 5000 hours of audio programmes.

Now I am sharing this with you not because I necessarily want you to go out and buy this programme (although that is not a bad idea if you feel you are ready to be successful in whatever you do), but because of something Larry says on disc 2, track 2 at about 3:30.

He shares his experience of reading so much and after going through all those books, he probably knows a thing or two about being an effective reader and he offers a GREAT piece of advice that alone was worth the investment in the programme.

He says that you should read for INTENT and not CONTENT.

I will write that again because I think it is so powerful:

Read for INTENT not CONTENT.

So what does he mean?

Well if I give you a book and recommend you read it without telling you why, you would have to work your way through the whole book to see what you could get out of it.

But when you read for INTENT, you have a pretty good idea of what you need right now (assuming you have clarity on what you are trying to achieve and the focus to concentrate on that and that alone) and so you can scan through the book to find the stuff that is relevant to you, discarding or ignoring what is not useful to you right now.

Larry suggests that you can focus your INTENT by asking yourself:

What is the one thing I can get from this book (tape programme, speaker, DVD etc) that will help me in what I am trying to achieve and that I can USE RIGHT NOW!

By giving you mind that sort of clarity you can get through material very quickly until you find that one thing, that one idea or that one suggestion that will move you forward.

Now if you can get through a book a week (and if you can't you are going to be left behind in your industry or field) that is 52 books in a year, 52 great ideas.

What would your life, business, relationships, performance, income etc etc look like if you just took one great idea a week and applied it (and made it work)?

So as Larry says, read for INTENT and not CONTENT and focus on finding that one thing.

When you do this you will get through far more books and much quicker too - so just by changing your approach to books, you have accelerated your reading speed and you can do it instantly.

Let me know how you get on.