When I was preparing for my SRP, I often read books for hours continually. My fellow friends often asked how I could have done it. They often wondered how I got to enjoy reading continuously for hours. I simply said ‘what else could I do?’
Exactly, what else can I do? Because I have a goal to achieve! That is the power of a goal, the conviction to attain. It makes you to work hard; because there seems nothing else you could do other than striving toward achieving your goal. IF you have not been working hard toward your goal, it may be because it was not really your goal in the first place. You have only deceived yourself in setting that goal – throw it away. Ask yourself again; is this really what I want?
YOUR GOAL WILL EMPOWER YOU TO WORK HARD
When one of Napoleon Hill’s (one of the greatest self motivator and author of all time) employees asked him for a promotion, Napoleon Hill looked at him intently and said ‘if that is really what you want, there is nothing I could do to stop you from getting it’. What he was saying was, if that employee works hard enough, he himself as a boss could not help but to grant the employee the well deserved promotion. That is indeed a revelation for the discerning. If you really want it, nothing can stop you!
I have nurtured my fondness of reading primarily because I love stories. Before I knew how to read, I fondly remembered asking my aunt to tell me all sorts of stories. She was always seems amazed at my enjoyment of her story telling. Every time she tells a story, I will seat and listen with undivided attention with my mouth partly open. I still have that thrill now whenever I watch a good movie (a modern story telling).
After I have mastered reading in Primary School, I became an ardent reader. I read everything I could get my hands and eyes into. This including newspaper, magazines, bulletin and yes the ever famous GILA-GILA (a satire cartoon in Malaysia). In fact I must say thanks to the many humorous magazines that I could get at those times, despite frequent opposition from my parents. The humors somehow keep me entertained and as a consequence, wanting to read further. I believe my fondness of reading is due to the conditioning of my subconscious mind to associate reading with fun, joke, amazement and laugh.
In Standard Three and Four I always sneaked into the ‘library’ in our school (a two doors closet in teacher’s meeting room). I often got scolded for reading books when everyone else supposed to be somewhere else doing something. I was truly a maniac in reading. When finally borrowing book was allowed (Standard Five and Six), I was borrowing at least 2 books per day (the limit was 2 books per week). I borrowed all type of books, including the more-than-an-inch in thickness. My class teacher wondered how I could finish reading two thick books for an overnight lending. I told him I didn’t finish it overnight, I finished it in that afternoon itself. (You can imagine his disbelief.)
Usually, once I started reading a book, I could not put it down. I will read until the story ends. Sometimes I miss my meals and other errands while reading, much to my parents’ displeasure. Another reason I cannot wait until night to finish the book is the fact that we did not have electricity. I do not want to turn an enjoyable reading into a ‘pain in the eye’ reading in front of a kerosene lamp.
My incessant pleasure for reading gives me the cutting edge in my ability in studying hard. This is simply because most of the ‘studying hard’ part is down to ‘lots of reading’. So in SRP preparation, I was glued to books like an addict glued to drugs.
I still remember reading the whole History Text Book for Form One in one goes for less than 3 hours. I like reading story, history book is just a collection old stories. My fellow students hated history subject very much mainly due to many funny names, dates and places that were difficult to remember. I did not pay attention to any of those details when doing the reading for the first time, I just read to get the big picture. After reading it several times, all those details simply pop up in your ‘movie’ when you play the stories in your head.
I even read the numbers in Mathematics Text Book, to my friend amazement. I could read the numbers as if it is just a story. (In fact it is a story of how to solve common problems.) I must give credit to the authors of the Mathematics text books who seem to always present the mathematical problems in a story form, extracted from daily encounter.
One example is, A farmer want to buy x number of chicken to be put in y number of farm. Each farm must be filled up with 20 chickens before he could start filling up the next farm. If each chicken cost the farmer RM10, how many farms he can fill up with 20 chickens with RM 5248? Isn’t that a story? Even better, this story invite you to solve the mystery. Hey … this is like reading the ‘Seven Secret’ stories. By the way the answer is 26 farms.
In preparation for SPM, I often studied until 3.00 to 4.00 o’clock in the morning. I went to bed around 4.00 am and then woke up at 6.00 am for morning class (to be continued ... )
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