Want to read books more effectively and powerfully?
Have you ever dreamed of having a superhuman memory, being able to remember every detail of thousands of books you’ve read?
You read a book but after a short time you completely forget its content?
Want to have the ability to argue and persuade others by citing accurate evidence and examples from books?
Then don’t miss this article! You will discover an extremely effective system for memorizing and applying knowledge from books. Using this method, many people have made the process of reading books extremely meaningful and interesting.
Ryan Holiday is a famous author who has published many best-selling books on thinking and self-development such as “The Obstacle Is the Way”, “Ego Is the Enemy”, “Stillness Is the Key”, etc. His books are always loved by readers all over the world for their great value and profound impact of Stoicism philosophy that he exploits.
Ryan used to be a research assistant to the renowned author Robert Greene. After working together for more than 10 years, Robert Greene inspired and taught Ryan Holiday important skills in reading books and organizing knowledge effectively.
Ryan is known for his phenomenal reading and memorization abilities. He once shared that he has read over 3,000 books throughout his career. Notably, Ryan can easily cite stories, examples and quotes from thousands of books he has read and researched.
So what is the secret that has helped Ryan Holiday gain such admirable superhuman memory and ability to apply knowledge? The answer lies in the system of taking notes and organizing information from books that he has applied in his own way.
This system helps Ryan not only memorize a huge amount of knowledge but also easily access and apply them in an easy and effective manner. His method has also helped thousands of people significantly improve their skills of reading books and memorizing information.
Here are the 4 steps in the effective system that Ryan Holiday has applied:
Step 1: Read books with a pen to highlight and take notes
When reading books, Ryan always reads with a pen and actively interacts with the content. He will mark, fold pages and write in the book itself to argue with the author, focus and remember key points.
According to Ryan, reading books should be like a dialogue between the reader and the author. Readers need to actively interact to understand deeply and remember better.
Additional information can be found in the following article: Effective Methods for Highlighting in Research and Study
Step 2: Review notes and select key points
After finishing reading the book, Ryan will let the book rest for a few weeks before returning to review all the notes he has marked. At this point, he will reread and select the best stories, examples and ideas from the book.
Ryan believes that letting the book rest before reviewing helps him look at the content more objectively, thereby identifying truly useful and memorable information.
Step 3: Write on note cards and categorize topics
After selecting key points, Ryan continues to write them on note cards and categorizes these cards according to different topics and purposes of use.
Writing by hand and classifying helps Ryan engrave information into his brain through the process of handwriting and arranging. In addition, note cards also help him easily retrieve information later.
Step 4: Store note cards in commonplace book
After classifying, Ryan will store all note cards from various books in a place called the commonplace book.
The commonplace book is where Ryan aggregates all classified note cards into a huge knowledge base. Thanks to this, whenever he needs ideas or knowledge for work, he can quickly find them through the note cards.
Thanks to the above system of taking notes and organizing information from books, Ryan Holiday has been able to read thousands of books, remember and exploit knowledge extremely effectively. At the same time, he also inspires thousands of others to improve their learning and working skills through this method.