Superlearner story: Jason

This is yet another true superlearner story. Please notice that the name has been changed for privacy reasons, but most other facts are true.

Jason is easily excited. He is excited to help people, to build something new and to change his own life. He is excited to do physical activity and to talk before a crowd. He is excited to work with mentor and to mentor young people. The only thing that did not excite him when we met was reading books. Jason’s ADHD did not allow him to read tons of – often boring – books he was required to read if he wanted any chance of completing his masters degree.

Each one of our students is unique in one way or another. Sometimes we see this and sometimes we miss… With Jason it was on hit and one miss. Jason’s all-in hand-on approach generated an instant connection with Anna. All the exercises suggested by Anna were performed by Jason with great accuracy and immediacy. Within 4 lessons Jason reached 700wpm at 70% understanding. Moreover Anna taught Jason how to generate interest with every book he reads. After 5 lessons Jason said that he needs some time-off. Jason used the time-off to read all the assignments he delayed for months. After two weeks happy and satisfied Jason said that he sees no more reason to improve. Intrigued by this response I had a short pro-bono meeting with Jason, where I showed him the speed he could reach with advanced training. Jason was overwhelmed and took some more time off. After another week Jason said that he really does not see any reason to improve beyond his current level.

Jason is continuing to practice to remain at the same reading level. He did take some sessions to reach the same speed in other languages. Each time Jason needs to learn something he takes 20 min to read some news streams. The level of understanding he gets from this simple trick suffices to exhibit relevant knowledge and generate tangible results.

To be a superlearner you do not need to use your full potential. If you feel that 700wpm is good enough – you could be a superlearner with 700wpm reading speed. However, even then you do need to continue practising not to loose your learning edge.