INTRODUCTION: Are you trying to expand your comfort zone and improve your social and personal life? Maybe you’re looking for ways to increase your motivation and productivity at work, or for tips on how to get the most out of your study time as you prepare for exams. Do you need a boost of selfconfidence right now? Or perhaps what you’re looking for are simply inspirational stories about things that have helped other people achieve success in all areas of their lives. For any and all of these reasons, we think you’ll like reading the articles at Steve Mueller’s website, Planet of Success, where he writes about personal development and analyzes motivational quotes. Here’s an interview we did with Steve recently.
Hello 7speedreading, thanks for having this interview with me.
7SR: On your website, you say that you enjoy helping people make the most of “their (undiscovered) abilities.” Why did you put ‘undiscovered’ in parentheses here?
I believe there are two major issues that keep people from growing as a person. The first problem is that some do not make full use of their given abilities. For instance, a person that is really talented but not at all motivated to put in a great effort to accomplish a given goal. The other instance is when people are struggling really hard at discovering talents and abilities that lie dormant within them. Instead of being able to discover and use these abilities, this group spends time pursuing activities that are not always suited to their abilities. As a result, they are not as successful as they could be if they were pursuing their true passions.
Basically, this was the idea that I tried to communicate when putting ‘undiscovered’ in parenthesis. The leitmotif of my website is centered around this idea.
7SR: People who are looking for ways to change their lives will find inspiration from the stories on your blog. What motivated you to leave your job and make a change?
I think it was sincere honesty with myself that motivated me to take another career path. Prior to starting my website I was working as an employee of an insurance company. I was faced with an area of responsibility that simply did not fit my abilities and skills. As a result, I was never really outstanding at what I did. For this very reason, I came to the realization that I needed to make a change.
Having the coverage to make a change helped me to work in a field where I can make better use of my given abilities and skills.
7SR: You follow a strict code when writing for your own blog, focusing on honesty and responsibility. Do you have your own rules for reading as well? Here are some examples: keeping an open mind; trying to look at things from the author’s point of view; reading to the end of an article to get all the information before beginning to disagree or criticize.
Yes indeed, I do have some principles for reading. I would not consider these principles as strict rules. It is more like following an intuitive approach towards reading that has always guided me pretty well. These are some of the basic principles I always try to adhere when it comes to reading:
The first principle is that I try to avoid reading materials that have nothing to offer for me. This is for instance the case whenever I’m confronted with dozens of scientific studies while doing research for a given project. In such a case it is really helpful for me if I can quickly select those articles that are of a great relevancy for my project. This is not so easy if one simply has not the time to read all these articles from beginning to end. Something that I found very helpful in such a situation is to either read the abstract or to use speed reading techniques, for example the 7 Speed Reading methods.
The second principle is centered all around efficiency. Whenever I’m reading something related to my business I try to read as efficient as possible. I do this mostly because my aim is to quickly absorb the knowledge contained within a given book, without spending too much time. Using speedreading tactics comes in handy in these situations.
Another principle that I consider really important is to really take myself time when I’m reading books for recreational purposes. In all the instances when I’m reading a book in my leisure time, I try my very best to avoid rushing through the book. Instead, I try to take myself all the time need to really enjoy reading the book without a rush. When I’m reading a book simply for the joy of it, the least thing I would want to do is to read it as quick as I can.
7SR: You probably spend a lot of time writing, but how much time do you spend reading every day?
I read a couple of pages in a real physical book daily. Reading inspires me and helps me to focus on that which is really important. Also, I could be mistaken, but I somehow have the feeling that I gain a lot more from reading a book than I could ever gain from watching countless hours of television.
Also, I read quite a lot of short e-books or blog articles that are somehow related to my website and help me to improve certain aspects of it.
7SR: One of your recent articles talks about the importance of writing a personal development plan. Can this be applied to individual goals as well, like learning to speed read?
Yes, I believe it can be applied to individual goals as well. The article pretty much emphasizes the importance of writing down one’s goals and developing a strategic approach towards the accomplishment of these aims. Speed Reading is no different.
If a person wants to learn to speed read it is important that they set themselves a couple of sub-goals that they can work towards. This approach helps to keep one’s motivation at a constant level as one will have a sense of achievement as one progresses.
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