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Active Recall Technique – The art of learning and remembering more from the books you read

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“ Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you .” – Barack Obama Lately, I have been asking myself a very important question, which I believe will help me improve my reading experience. And that question is: How can I extract more information from the books I read and apply what I have learned to my personal and professional development? Finding the technique that helped me answer that question took some time. The technique is an amalgamation of several different reading techniques from different individuals, which I plan to improve. The technique is referred to as Active Recall Technique, or A.R.T when acronymized. Acronyms were invented to help us remember things with ease and for longer. On the other hand, art is about: inter alia , beauty and creativity. Let’s look briefly at the beauty and creativity of the Active Recall Technique (A.R.T), and how it can help us recall and apply the information we learn from books in a way that can im

The 5G Leader – Five timeless principles of leadership

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“5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.” - Qualcomm.com Although the 5G concept is a new kind of mobile network technology that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together; the 5G leadership concept is only about connecting everyone together (unity). It connects people from past generations, current, and future generations for the betterment of the society and the world at large through influence. In essence, leadership is a team sport that never dies. Looking back in time, which great leader(s) do you consider as most respected, charismatic and powerful; whose influence is still relevant today and will probably be so in generations to come?   I personally consider these immortals as 5G leaders because they possess the following five leade

Keynote speech: The Power of Reading

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It has been said that reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body. The good news about mental fitness is that, you don’t have to lift heavy weights and do push ups daily to be mentally strong.  All you need to do is befriend good books, and get lost in them daily and consistently. Ladies and gentlemen. Mr. toastmaster, speaking of mental fitness, I am reminded of Malcom X. One of the most eloquent, influential and powerful leaders in American history.  A street hustler who was convicted of robbery in 1946 and consequently spent seven years in prison, where he educated himself. What I found fascinating about his story is that he never went past beyond eighth grade in formal education. While in prison, he envied his inmate who was well-spoken and fond of books. He tried to read some books himself but couldn’t understand most of the words. But that didn’t deter him from becoming a good speaker like his jailed friend. In an attempt to improve his penmanship and speaking abil

Book Review: The Untold Truth About Pain; How to turn pain into power

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  “ Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved ”– Helen Keller. I had a privilege of interviewing Mogale Molala, the author of The Untold Truth About Pain; How to turn pain into power for my podcast. The aim of the podcast is to do book reviews together with their authors so I can dig deep and find underlying ideas, principles and concepts behind those books. In his book, Mogale share his story from a young age where he experienced pain in different aspect of his life, from family to relationships. At the age of 10, it’s almost impossible to imagine a boy child spending six months in a hospital bed because of ulcers derived from Stress. His predicaments started at age eight when the court ordered him to choo se between his mother and father as they were getting a divorce. He chose to live with his Mother despite being enticed by his rich father

Lesson from Babylon: How to free yourself from becoming a slave of money to its master

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“ Ill fortune pursues every man who thinks more of borrowing than repaying .” – George S Classon The tale that I am about to tell, began Dabasir, relates to my early life and how I came to be a camel trader. I was once a camel trader in Syria. When I was a young man, I learned the trade of my father, the making of saddles. I worked with him in his shop and took to myself a wife. Being young and not greatly skilled, I could earn but little, just enough to support my excellent wife in a modest way. I craved good things which I could not afford. Soon I found that the shopkeepers would trust me to pay later even though I could not pay at the time. Being young and without experience I did not know that he who spends more than he earns is sowing the winds of needless self-indulgence from which he is sure to reap the whirlwinds of trouble and humiliation. So I indulged my good wife and our home, beyond our means. I paid as I could and for a while all went well. But in time I discove

Three Type of Debts and how they affect your Credit Score

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“ Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, and to impress people they don’t like ” – Will Smith Your debts are the total value of everything you owe. Debts are the most savage kind of liabilities because they take out money from your bank with high interests. According to Warren Ingram, the author of Become your own financial adviser, the state of owing money is the biggest trap for wealth, and most of the world’s savvy investors have avoided debt at all costs. Whatever situation you find yourself in, always do your homework before you opt for a loan or anything that will incur debt under your name. Failure to handle debt negatively affects your credit score. Your credit score is a three-digit number that tells creditors how much debt you currently have and how you have handled credit in the past. This number range from 0 to 999; 0 is the worst score you want and it probably mean you are bankrupt or blacklisted. You should always aim for a credit

The Power of Compound interest

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“ Compound Interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it .” - Albert Einstein Compound interest is the interest generated on interest. It is the interest calculated on the initial principal investment amount and also on the accumulated interest of previous period. It is the money force that is more powerful than any other. Sam Beckbessinger give a comprehensive illustration in a form of a question from his book entitled Manage your money like a f*cking grown up. He asks, would you rather I gave you a million-rand cash, today, or gave you one cent that double for thirty days? I mean, they don’t even make one cent coins any more but let’s imagine they did. Sounds like a million rand would be a better way, right? Nope, if you take one cent and double every day for a month, by the end of 30 days you would have R5,3 million. From one tiny little cent that double every day your money would grow just over five million rand within a