GrowthStarts

Quotable Quote ... Abraham Lincoln

I am slow to learn and slow to forget that which I have learned. My mind is like a piece of steel, very hard to scratch any thing on it and almost impossible after you get it there to rub it out.

HT: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005)

Quotable Quote ... Emily Dickinson

There is no Frigate like a Book to take us Lands away.

HT: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005)

Quotable Quote ... Doris Kearns Goodwin

Books became [Lincoln’s] academy, his college. The printed word united his mind with the great minds of generations past.

HT: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005)

Quotable Quote ... Doris Kearns Goodwin

Allowed to attend school only “by littles” between stints of farmwork, “the aggregate of all his schooling,” Lincoln admitted years later, “did not amount to one year.”

HT: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005)

Quotable Quote: Lee Cockerell

The written version of the Disney Great Leader Strategies begins with this statement: “In times of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”

HT: Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney by Lee Cockerell (New York: Doubleday, 2008)

Quotable Quote: Lee Cockerell

Great leaders know they don’t know everything. They learn as they go, and they’re confident enough to listen to people at every level of their organizations. As a result, they make better choices and fewer mistakes. They also inspire greater commitment to and more support for their decisions. By reaching out to everyone on your team, you give the benefit of a variety of perspectives. Make it clear that you want to hear from everyone, whatever his or her title or position, and that you want everyone to speak his or her mind. Ask for people’s opinions and ideas even if they don’t volunteer them.

HT: Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney by Lee Cockerell (New York: Doubleday, 2008)

What's your teachability factor?

How teachable are you? Scott Rodgers, guest-blogging at swerve, has some convicting thoughts here. Take his quick test to see how teachable you are.

Link of the Day: How to Become a More Effective Learner

I'm always interested in finding new ways to learn better and faster. As a graduate student who is also a full-time science writer, the amount of time I have to spend learning new things is limited. It's important to get the most educational value out of my time as possible. However, retention, recall and transfer are also critical. I need to be able to accurately remember the information I learn, recall it at a later time and utilize it effectively in a wide variety of situations.

1. Memory Improvement Basics

I've written before about some of the best ways to improve memory. Basic tips such as improving focus, avoiding cram sessions and structuring your study time are a good place to start, but there are even more lessons from psychology that can dramatically improve your learning efficiency.

Read more of Kendra Van Wagner's article HERE at about.com.

HT: Guy Kawasaki