Speed Reading: SmartAsses Rule!

SmartAsses Rule!

1. Evelyn Wood was a school teacher a generation ago - who left her mark.

She dressed the part, spoke in a whisper and never offended anyone during

her eighty-six years. More importantly – she was devoted to her students and

associates. I know – I was one of them.

She was a devout Mormon, but kept it to herself. She created

the field of speed reading, and she taught her friends about human relations.

2. She did not divide the planet into those who were ‘ascending’, and those

destined to ‘descend’ for their just-rewards. She did have her own unique

classification for us down here.

3. “There are SmartAsses and DumAsses, with a hundred DAs for each

SA - because SmartAsses have to be made, while DumAsses are often

born that way.”

4. Now Webster’s definition of ‘smartass’ – an annoying person who makes a show of their knowledge – ostentation-by-the-erudite, just didn’t cut it for

Evelyn.

5. “SmartAsses figure out how to manipulate the system – and become successful in relationships – financial affairs – and personal-growth, and really enjoy all aspects of their lives. And they stay healthy too.”

Wait! Manipulation is influencing-and-persuading folks, organizations and even government - to help you meet your goals.

You do that all-day, every-day, and so do the rest of us – right?

Manipulation is not exploiting folks – which is taking unfair advantage,

of a person, organization or situation – for personal gain. The operative

word is unfair – and you know the meaning of ‘unfair’ when you see it

in action.

6. “How do you recognize a SmartAss in order to avoid the DumAsses?”,

I asked.

“Guess which one has a smile on their face a-mile-wide, even when they

sleep? They intentionally smile like a grinning-baboon because they have

discovered and been taught – smiling changes your brain wiring.

Scientific research proves smiling for one-minute changes our state-of-mind, feelings and body language – and is cause-and-effect

for getting promotions, making successful presentations, and acing school,”

she said.

7. DumAsses work very hard for you to like and accept them – they try to

paste a phony smile on their face – but it’s like a cheap-wig – you just know

who and what they are – and choose to avoid them.

8. DumAsses are often experts, and given half-a-chance will quote half the

dictionary with its Latin and Greek derivations, then answer all your unasked-questions about the meaning-of-life, politics and child-rearing.

The only response a SmartAss gives – is a wide smile. SmartAsses never

make the other-person wrong.

Let’s repeat this truism because you were in the twilight-zone, thinking of what goodies you will have at lunch or dinner.

“A SmartAss never-never-never makes the other person - wrong!”

9. Sure, it is easy to agree – but who can suppress the need to point-out the error-of-their-ways to your uninformed friends, associates and relatives.

It just feels so good, so how could it be wrong?

You create enemies who will never forgive you, will inform a minimum of seventeen people that you are the worst form of ingrate, and to never deal

with you because you are unreliable.

“Well, there are almost six and a half billion people on the planet – so who cares about the DumAss and their seventeen dumber friends?”

Those seventeen DAs will each tell another seventeen, and so on – and you

will absolute discover the universal network of DumAsses who can

negatively affect your life and career.

The best reason to never make anyone wrong, especially DAs, is the physical

and mental effect on your own brain-body and spirit.

It is a profound scientific fact that making people wrong leads our

aggressive and territorial instincts to surface and cause us stress and

anxiety, and depression. It raises your blood-pressure, excites your heart-rate,

and makes you hold your breath, adverse respiratory changes.

Yes, really – and making other people wrong – pointing out their

ignorance – never improves them, they cannot accept they are wrong about

anything.

But the confrontation weakens your immune system because you get stressed about confronting a DumAss – and offending him or her.

10. William James, professor at Harvard in the 1890s proclaimed –

‘The Law of As-If,’ as significant in living and working successfully.”

Sure, it sounds like more of that soft science, but it has been replicated a century later using fMRIs, functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery – brain-scans.

How does this apply to the ‘smile’ of the SmartAsses?

“Act as-if, feel-as-if, believe as-if, and think as-if – you are enjoying yourself,

successful, and have obtained your goals – and it will soon become a reality

in the secular-world.

How come?

Your brain structures do not know the difference between - actuality and

virtual-reality. Your left and right brains will work to actualize what you

mental-visualize, and a smile permits you to function optimally.

When you use the law of ‘as-if’, and confront life as-if you are already

successful, you change the structure and function of both your consciousness

and non-consciousness to a winning-mode. You rewire (reprogram), your

brain.

Here comes another truism – “we cannot decide anything significant without

first visualizing ourselves doing it – in our imagination.”

11. If you want to be a SmartAss and ace speed reading – keep a smile, a grin,

and a feel-good laugh – handy. If you can smile for 60 seconds – you have

command of the right muscles and neuroconnections.

All the SmartAsses challenge you to keep a baboon-like grin on your face for a single-minute and see what happens.

The result of smiling is - your entire body peps up, your brainwave rhythms,

cycles-per-second of electricity coursing through your brain -

move into alertness, and your breathing, heart-rate, and blood-pressure move into the optimal healthy territory.

What about your immune system?

The fMRI shows a stronger flow of neurotransmitters, particularly

dopamine, the feel-good chemical, and a reduction of cortisol, the stress hormones – so it’s a no-brainer to smile and grin like a baboon.

12. Now the DumAsses pipe-up – “but what if I don’t feel like smiling?”

Somewhere down the line the DumAsses decided that it looked - professional,

academic and cool, to frown, snarl, be sarcastic, irritable and act hostile.

They have perfected the look and their list of illnesses - mental and physical,

and bad relationships – are the result.

13. The Law of Liking recites that people do business – have relationships and

help – people they like. And it is not a violation of the Civil Rights law.

Smiling – like an ape – even when you just don’t feel like it - is medicine for

your mind-body and spirit. It attracts other people, success and money-in-the-bank.

Coda: We all manipulate ourselves and everyone whose life we touch – every

waking hour – but we do not choose to exploit - man-woman-or child.

We smile because we choose to, and its reward is health, wealth and usefulness. We smile because we know that with persistence and determination – and pig-headed stubbornness – we will succeed in our

goals – including being expert speed readers.

May we respectfully suggest you forgot to smile – there, now isn’t that better?

copyright © 2004

H. Bernard Wechsler

www.speedlearning.org

hbw@speedlearning.org