100 Ways To Motivate Yourself, Third Edition

98. Read yourself a story

Abraham Lincoln used to drive his law partners to distraction. Every morning he would come into his office and read the daily newspaper aloud to himself. They would hear him in the next room reading in a booming voice. Why did Lincoln do his morning reading aloud? He had discovered that he remembered and retained twice as much when he read aloud than when he read silently. And what he did remember, he remembered for a much longer period of time. Perhaps it was because Lincoln was employing a second sense, the sense of hearing, and a second activity, the activity of speaking, which made his readings so memorable to him. Any time you have an opportunity to read something that is important to you, try reading it aloud and ...