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Intro Main Text

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These lessons are sold only on our website, EffortlessEnglishClub.com. If you bought
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these lessons somewhere else, you have an illegal copy. Please notify us and we will
take immediate legal action against the seller. Thank you.
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Hi, this is AJ Hoge, Director of the Effortless English Club. Welcome to our new set of
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lessons, these are called the Power English Lessons. The reason they’re called Power
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English is because in these lessons we’re going to do two things. Number one, you’re
going to learn English, of course. As always, we have the mini‑stories which are our
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favorite lessons for most of our members, but the content, the focus, the topics in these
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lessons are going to be focused on the psychology of learning and the psychology of
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success.
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Now these ideas, they’re not just my ideas. In fact, they come from a lot of other
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people. They come from people like Tony Robbins, who is a famous success coach,
Robert Anton Wilson, Joe Vitale, Robert Kiyosaki, Alan Watt, so I’ve taken a lot of ideas
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from a lot of different people about this topic of the psychology of success. And the
reason that we’re going to talk about this in these lessons is that in my experience, most
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English students struggle and fail because of psychology, not because of methods, not
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because of teachers.
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Those things are important, but Tony Robbins talks about the fact that psychology is
80% of success. And I think he’s right, based on my experience with many, many
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English students. Psychology is 80% of success, so 20% are the methods you use to
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study. 20% are the schools you go to, the teachers you have, the books you use.
Those are important, we talk a lot about them. But the other 80% is psychology, your
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motivation, your emotions, how you manage your time. All of these things are in fact
much, much more important.
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What I saw in my classes were that the enthusiastic students, the energetic students,
the optimistic students always learned much faster. They succeeded. The ones who
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failed, the ones who dropped out and quit, the ones who struggled had the opposite
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mentality. They had a very negative mentality. Their motivation was low. They tended
to be pessimistic. They felt that they weren’t good at English. They had ideas that
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English was very tough, very difficult, they struggled. They didn’t have enthusiasm for
English. They didn’t love English.
So in these lessons we’re going to talk about how can you manage your emotions. How
can you develop that strong, powerful, enthusiastic attitude towards English, how can
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you maintain it so that you don’t get bored? So that in fact you get stronger and
stronger with English and your psychology gets stronger and you succeed, you reach
your goals. You speak fluently, effortlessly. So among teachers, English teachers,
language teachers, this topic is called Non-Linguistic Factors. Non‑Linguistic Factors.
So what “Non‑Linguistic Factors” means is things that are not related to language
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learning directly. When we talk about language learning research, when we talk about
the best methods to use when you learn English, those are linguistic factors, right?
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They are related to the language. Non‑linguistic factors means not related to the
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language. This has nothing to do with English, it’s more about psychology. Motivation,
for example, is a non‑linguistic factor. So all it really means is just emotional factors.
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And there are actually many research studies about this topic.
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Dr. Stephen Krashen down in Los Angeles, probably again the expert in language
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acquisition and language learning, has done many studies and he has also looked at
many studies and he’s found that non‑linguistic factors are equally or in fact more
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important than the linguistic factors to determine who is successful ultimately. What that
means is that things like your emotions, things like your peer group, the community that
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you belong to, your feelings about English are as important or more important than the
methods you’re using to learn English.
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So how are we going to do this? How are we going to learn? Well, one of the things we
have to do is create a daily English ritual. You need to engage your physiology. That
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means you need to engage and use your body. You need to engage and use your
subconscious. That’s how you start to affect and strengthen your psychology. So we
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have to strengthen our psychology, what does that mean? Really it means affecting
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your body and your mind at the same time, so that you actually feel better. Your
emotions are happier while you’re learning English. And I know this is the opposite of
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what you learned in school.

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You probably didn’t feel very happy when you were sitting in your English classes. But
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when you’re learning with Effortless English, it’s very important for you to feel happy.
For your body to feel good, for your mind to feel good. For you to emotionally enjoy the
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process of learning English. Of course, it’s just more fun, you’re going to like it a lot
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better. But the other benefit is that you actually will learn faster. You’ll improve your
grammar faster, you’ll improve your pronunciation faster. You’ll remember vocabulary
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words better, longer and faster when you feel good. So there’s a very practical reason
for doing this, too.
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So we’re going to talk a lot in detail in these lessons about how to do this. But just right
now, during this introduction, let’s talk a little bit about a daily plan. Something you
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could do immediately, right now, today, to start improving your success with English by
changing your psychology. So here’s a little ritual, a little plan you can follow every day
to start improving, to start feeling better and therefore improve your motivation and to
learn English faster and faster and faster, better and better and better. And it’s very
simple.
So the first thing you’re going to do is when you get up in the morning, the first part of
this plan, this daily plan. You want to get into a peak emotional state. Peak means top.
For example, the top of a mountain, when we talk about a top of a mountain, the very
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top we call the peak. So we’re saying a peak emotional state means a top emotional
state or top emotional feeling. It means you want to feel great. Not just good, you want
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to feel really great. That’s the first thing you need to do before you listen to any English
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lessons. Before you study you want to first be sure that you feel great.
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How can you do it? Well, it’s really easy. I recommend, for example, using music. And
I actually do this myself in the morning, most mornings. I will put on some great,
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exciting music that I love, jump around, act like a crazy person, and get myself feeling
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energetic and happy. Do that first before you listen. So move your body, smile. We’re
going to talk about this more in detail in later lessons. But just for now, every morning
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when you get up first put on some music. Some energetic, happy music that you like,
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smile, move around. Do that for maybe 5 minutes, maybe 10 minutes. Then when
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you’re feeling really great, your body is moving, you feel like you have energy, you’re
happy, then start your English lessons.
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The first thing you want to listen to is the main article, the main audio. So the first thing
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is listen to the main talk. And you can read this as well the first time if you cannot
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understand easily, you can read the transcript and listen at the same time. Do this
perhaps two times per day, starting with the main story and reading. Use a dictionary if
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you need to to look up new words.

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Next, listen to the vocabulary. So in the vocabulary again I will discuss the meanings of
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some of the difficult words that I used. And again, you can read the transcript of that
vocabulary lesson. There’s always a transcript you can read if you can’t understand my
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speaking, if I’m too fast, then read at the same time. It’s okay.
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Next, you’ll listen to the mini‑story and the mini‑story is the most important lesson. The
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mini‑story is designed for deep learning. In the mini‑story I am going to ask a lot of very
easy questions while I tell a story. In fact I really ask the story, I don’t tell the story. Why
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am I doing this? Students ask me “Why are the questions so easy?” Well, the
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questions are supposed to be easy because I want you to answer fast and
automatically. I want you to train your brain, teach your brain to answer very quickly.
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I don’t want you to translate from your language to English or from English to your
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language. It’s a bad habit, it will make you speak very slowly. I want you to just answer
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quickly, automatically, very fast. So that’s why I ask so many questions, like questions
again, again, again, again, again…very easy. Your job…answer the questions quickly.
You can answer with only one or two words, its okay. Short answers are fine. You don’t
need to answer with a big, long sentence. In fact, short is better.
So that’s the order that you’re going to follow. You’re going to listen to the main article
first, one or two times. You can read as well if you need to. Then you’re going to listen
to the vocabulary one or two times, each day. And then finally you’re going to listen to
the mini‑story, one or two times or more. You can also read the transcript for the
mini‑story in the beginning.
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Now another important point, when you’re listening to these lessons do not study them.
Don’t struggle to memorize. Just relax and listen. If necessary, you can read as well,
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as I said if you need to. But relax, you’re not trying to memorize anything. Just let it
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come in. Let the English come into your ears and into your eyes. Don’t think about it.
Don’t analyze it. Do not think about grammar. The mini‑stories will help you learn
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grammar subconsciously, so don’t interrupt that process by trying to analyze it. Don’t
think about grammar rules.
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You want to learn like a native speaker and that means you’re going to learn the
patterns of English in these mini‑stories. You might not be able to explain them, just like
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native speakers cannot explain grammar rules. But that’s okay, you want to be able to
use them correctly. That’s the important part. So again, you want to relax. Do not
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study. Do not think about grammar rules. Do not try to translate. Just relax and listen.
That’s why we call it Effortless English. It should be effortless. You should be smiling,
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relaxed and just listening.

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Now another important point. You want to move your body while you’re listening to the
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lessons. This will keep your energy high. So, what do I mean by that? Well, a really
easy way to do this is just to walk. You’ve got an iPod, you’ve got your earphones in,
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listen to the lessons while you go for a walk. You can do two things at one time. You
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exercise, you improve your body and you listen to English lessons and improve your
mind at the same time.
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If you’re sitting in a train, then maybe you just stretch your body a little bit. If you’re in
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your car, you can move a little bit. You can move around in your seat. If you’re at your
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house you can go crazy, you can jump around. You can exercise very strongly. You
can go to the gym. Do something with your body while you’re listening to the lessons.
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It will keep your energy high. It will keep you feeling better. You will actually learn faster
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by doing that.
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And finally, a very, very important point. You need to use our deep learning method.
That means you listen to each lesson set for one week or more. So for example, this
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introduction has got three parts. There is a main lecture, a main talk. There is a
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vocabulary section. And there is a mini‑story. Well those three, you want to listen to
those three every day for seven days. You want that repetition.
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Repetition is very important. You want it to go deeply into your brain. Just one time is
not enough. Even if it is very easy for you, if you listen you understand everything, it’s
simple, still follow the deep learning method. Still listen to the whole set for one week or
more. On the other hand, if it seems very difficult, listen longer. Two weeks is okay.
Doesn’t matter, the point is you want it to go very deeply into your brain which means
you want it to be almost effortless. It’s going to just go into your brain and eventually
just come out without you thinking and that requires deep learning. It requires a lot of
repetition.
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So that’s kind of your basic plan for using these lessons. Again, first you’re going to get
into a peak state. You’re going to get excited. You’re going to jump around. You’re
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going to listen to music. You’re going to feel great. Then you’re going to listen to the
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main lecture, the main audio, one or two times. Then you’re going to listen to the
vocabulary, one or two times. Then you’re going to listen to the mini‑story, one, two,
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three, four, five times…every day. And remember, relax, feel good and enjoy the
lessons while you listen.
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Okay, that is it for our main section for this introduction. Next is the vocabulary.
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Intro Mini-Story Text

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Hi this is AJ Hoge. Welcome to the mini‑story for “Introduction to Power English”. Let’s
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get started. In the mini‑story I will tell a kind of strange, funny, stupid story. Usually
actually I will ask the story. It means I will ask a lot of questions. The reason I ask
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these questions is to get a lot of repetition so that the grammar structure, the grammar
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pattern will go into your brain deeply because you’re getting it again and again and
again.
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You don’t need to think about it. Just relax, listen to the story, answer the questions
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quickly. If you need to you can pause your iPod, pause your computer and answer the
questions. Or if it’s too fast, just listen. You don’t have to speak. Speaking is optional.
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If you can do it, if you want to answer the questions, great! Shout them out. If you
don’t, if it’s too difficult or you’re in a train with other people, that’s fine. Just listen and
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relax, that’s okay too. Okay, let’s start.

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*****
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There was a beautiful woman named Sophie. Sophie had to play Tiger Woods in
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golf in just one month.

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Who had to play Tiger Woods in golf in just one month?

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Well, Sophie. Sophie had to play Tiger Woods in golf in just one month.
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What kind of woman was Sophie?

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Sophie was a beautiful woman.

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Who did she have to play?

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Tiger Woods, she had to play Tiger Woods.

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Who had to play Tiger Woods?

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Sophie, Sophie had to play Tiger Woods.
In tennis, right?
No, no, no, not in tennis. In golf, Sophie had to play Tiger Woods in golf.
When did Sophie have to play Tiger Woods in golf?
In one month, Sophie had to play Tiger Woods in golf in just one month.
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Was Sophie worried or was Sophie happy?

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Sophie was worried.

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Why was she worried?

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Because Tiger Woods is the number one golfer in the world and Sophie was not
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good.
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Was Sophie a good golfer?

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No, no, no, no, no. Sophie was a terrible golfer in fact.
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Was Tiger Woods a good golfer?

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Oh yes, of course. Tiger Woods was a great golfer. And he still is a great golfer.
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So Sophie went to Japan.

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Where did she go?

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Japan, Sophie went to Japan.

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Who went to Japan?

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That’s right, Sophie. Sophie went to Japan.

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Why did she go to Japan?

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To find a golf coach, of course.

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She went to Japan to find a golf coach.

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Where did she go to find a golf coach?

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To Japan, she went to Japan to find a golf coach.
To find what?
A golf coach, she went to Japan to find a golf coach.
She found a coach named Yoda.
What was the coach’s name?
Yoda, the coach’s name was Yoda.

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Was the coach’s name Bob?

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No, the coach’s name was not Bob. The coach’s name was Yoda.
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Whose name was Yoda?

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Well, the coach’s name was Yoda.

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What was Yoda?

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Yoda was a golf coach.

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He said “I can help you learn golf Sophie.” He said “If you use your
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subconscious, you will become a golf master.”

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What did Yoda say?

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He said “If you use your subconscious, you will become a golf master.”
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What did Sophie need to use?

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Her subconscious, Yoda said “If you use your subconscious, you will become a golf
master.”
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So if she used her subconscious, what would she become?

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A golf master, he said “If you use your subconscious, you will become a golf master.”
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Would she become a tennis master or would she become a golf master if she used her
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subconscious?
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Well, if she used her subconscious, of course she would become a golf master.
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What did she have to use?

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Her subconscious, she had to use her subconscious to become a golf master.
Who said this to Sophie?
Yoda, Yoda said this to Sophie.
What did he say?
He said “If you use your subconscious, you will become a golf master.”
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So Sophie tried to use her subconscious. She closed her eyes every time she
played golf. Yoda said “Use your subconscious, close your eyes.” Unfortunately,
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it didn’t work.
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Did Sophie become a golf master?

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No, she didn’t. She did not.

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Every time she hit the ball it went into the trees.
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Did Sophie try to use her subconscious?

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Yeah, she did. She tried to use her subconscious. She closed her eyes and tried to
use her subconscious.
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When she tried to use her subconscious, was she successful?

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No, she wasn’t. She was not successful when she tried to use her subconscious.
Every time she hit the ball it went into the woods, into the trees. Poor Sophie.
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So Sophie went to Hawaii.

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Who went to Hawaii? Yoda?

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Not Yoda, Sophie. Sophie went to Hawaii.

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Why did she go to Hawaii.

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To find another golf coach.

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Why did she go?

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Did Tiger Woods go to Hawaii?

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No, no, no. Tiger Woods didn’t go to Hawaii.
Where did Tiger Woods go?
South Carolina.
Tiger Woods went to South Carolina.
Where did Sophie go?

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She went to Hawaii.

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Why did Tiger Woods go to South Carolina?

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Well, to find a coach.

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He also wanted a golf coach. He found an Army golf coach. The Army golf coach
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said “You must run 30 miles every day.”

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Did Tiger Woods close his eyes when he played golf?

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No, no, no. He didn’t try to use his subconscious. Tiger Woods ran 30 miles every day.
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He did not try to use his subconscious. Sophie had tried to use her subconscious.
Tiger Woods did not.
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So Sophie went to Hawaii and she found a surfing golf coach named Farley.
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What kind of golf coach did she find?

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A surfing golf coach.

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Who found a surfing golf coach?

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Sophie, Sophie found a surfing golf coach.

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He said “If you practice and surf every day, you will always succeed.”
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What did she have to do?

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She had to practice golf while surfing.

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Did she have to practice golf and surfing at the same time or at different times?
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Well, at the same time. She had to practice golf while surfing, at the same time as
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surfing.
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So she got on the surfboard. She was surfing and she was trying to play golf at
the same time.
Who was trying to practice golf while surfing? Tiger Woods?
No, not Tiger Woods, Sophie. Sophie was trying to surf while playing golf. She was
trying to play golf while surfing.
Was she successful?

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No, unfortunately not.

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She got very wet but she did not improve.

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Was Sophie successful practicing golf and surfing?

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No, she wasn’t.

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She fell into the water every time. Every time she got wet. She was still a terrible
golfer.
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Was Tiger Woods still a terrible golfer?

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No, of course not, Tiger Woods was still a great golfer, the best golfer.
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So who was still a terrible golfer?

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Sophie, Sophie was still a terrible golfer.

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She had tried to use her subconscious and she failed. She had tried to surf and
play golf and she had failed. Now she was very worried. Only one more week to
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play Tiger Woods. She went to San Diego.

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Why did she go to San Diego?

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Well, of course, she went to San Diego to find another golf coach.
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Why did she go?

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She went to Tony Robbins.

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Who was Tony Robbins?

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Tony Robbins was a peak performance coach.
Was he a peak performance coach? Or did he teach people to do things badly?
Well, of course, he was a peak performance coach. He taught people to do things very
well.
Who was a peak performance coach?
Tony Robbins, Tony Robbins was a peak performance coach.

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Was Sophie a peak performance coach?

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No, she wasn’t. Sophie was a terrible golfer. Tony Robbins was a peak performance
coach.
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Sophie said “Help me, Tony. Help me.” Tony said “If you engage your
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physiology, you will be a master.”

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What did he say?

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He said “If you engage your physiology, you will be a master.”

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Did Tony want her to use her mind, her brain?

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No, no, no. He said “If you engage your physiology, you will be a master.” Your body.
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Did he want her to use her body very well or did he want her to use her mind, her brain
very well?
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He wanted her to use her body, her physiology. He said “If you engage your
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physiology,” if you use your body, “you will be a master.”

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Who wanted Sophie to engage her physiology?

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Tony Robbins, Tony Robbins wanted Sophie to engage her physiology. Tony Robbins
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wanted Sophie to use her body correctly in a peak performance way.

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Tony taught her to get into a peak state.

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Did he teach her to feel bad?

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No, no, no. He taught her the opposite. He taught her to get into a peak emotional
state. He taught her to feel really great.
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Was she in a peak emotional state or a bad emotional state?
She was in a peak emotional state, a top emotional state. She felt top, great, wonderful,
best.
Who was in a peak emotional state?
Sophie, Sophie was in a peak emotional state.
Then Tony said “Now practice golf.”

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Did Sophie practice golf while she was in a peak emotional state?
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Yes, exactly. Sophie practiced golf while she was in a peak emotional state.
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Did she practice golf at the same time that she was in a peak emotional state?
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Yes, at the same time. She practiced golf while she was in a peak emotional state.
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She improved very quickly. Finally, the day came. Sophie played Tiger Woods.
Tiger was very tired. He looked very tired. But Sophie was in a peak emotional
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state during the whole game. Finally, at the end of the game Sophie won. She
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beat Tiger Woods! Tiger cried “Sophie, you’re the best now.” He wrote a check
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to Sophie for $85 million.

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How much money did Tiger give Sophie?

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$85 million, he wrote a check for $85 million. He gave Sophie $85 million.
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How much did Sophie earn?

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She earned $85 million.

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Li
Did Tiger Woods earn $85 million or lose $85 million?

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Tiger lost $85 million.

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Was Tiger happy?

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No, he wasn’t.
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Tiger cried and cried. He was very sad.

Ho
Was Tiger in a peak emotional state?

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No, Tiger was in a terrible emotional state. He was sad. He was depressed. He was in
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a very bad emotional state.
How about Sophie? Was Sophie in a great, top, peak emotional state?
Oh yeah, she was in a top, great, fantastic, peak emotional state. She was happy, she
was excited and now she was rich.
*****
Okay, that is the end of the mini‑story for the “Introduction to Power English.” Again,
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listen to this mini‑story once or twice every day for seven days or more. The questions,
the repetition will help you effortlessly learn the vocabulary and you’ll be learning
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grammar, too. It’s kind of a secret grammar method. Don’t think about the grammar,
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please do not think about it. Just relax, listen to the questions, answer the questions.
And every day you will start to learn these basic patterns of English, again and again
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and again, more deeply each day. So again, listen to this lesson every day for seven
days or more. If you get bored, move your body, jump up and down, feel better and
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then start again.

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Intro Vocabulary Text

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These lessons are sold only on our website, EffortlessEnglishClub.com. If you bought
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these lessons somewhere else, you have an illegal copy. Please notify us and we will
take immediate legal action against the seller. Thank you.
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Hello, welcome to the vocabulary for the “Introduction to Power” lessons. Let’s start.
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Okay, let’s talk about our first word is linguistic, linguistic. Linguistic means related to
language or about language. It’s an adjective. So linguistic factors, I mentioned
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linguistic factors. A factor is an element, for example, it’s a piece of something. So

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linguistic factors means elements about language, elements related to language. Or

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even more simply, things, things related to language. And then in this talk I talk about
non‑linguistic factors. Of course, non‑ means not, it’s negative.
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So non‑linguistic factors means things not about language. Things not related to
language. So in the talk I’m talking about, for example, two different things. One are
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emotional factors, emotional elements, emotional things. And then the other is linguistic
factors. So, for example, study method, that’s a linguistic factor. It’s connected to
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language learning very directly. It’s a linguistic factor. It’s a language related thing. On
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the other hand emotion is not directly related, is not directly connected to language
learning. At least most people don’t think so, so it’s a non‑linguistic factor. Alright great,
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so that’s linguistic and factor.

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Let’s talk about next subconscious. I mentioned the word subconscious. Sometimes
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you hear the word unconscious is another synonym for that but subconscious means
something that is under your normal thinking. So, for example, if you’re quite hungry,
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suddenly you find that you’re hungry but you’re busy, you’re thinking about something
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else. You’re reading a book. But kind of under your thinking you have this idea “I’m
hungry, I’m hungry, I’m hungry.” It’s not a conscious thought, it’s not a strong direct
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thought. It’s not at the top of your brain. Sub means under or below. So it’s kind of in
the bottom, the back of your brain, this sort of quiet, small voice, or this quiet, small
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thought. So that’s subconscious.

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So I mention that you want to engage your subconscious. Engage means to use. To
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use, or to, it’s like turn on. So to turn on your subconscious, to use your subconscious,
to engage your subconscious. It means you want to use those emotions that are in the
back of your brain or the bottom of your brain. You want to use that quiet voice. You
want to use those strong emotions that are kind of in the back because they are very
powerful. So engage your subconscious means use those. It means choose to use
them in a powerful way.
I also talk about engaging your physiology, physiology. Physiology means related to the
body. It’s related to the word physical, alright? Physical means body, something that is
connected to your body and in your body and not your brain, not your mind, it’s body.
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And physiology again is a similar idea. Physiology means what is happening in your
body. It’s the systems in your body. It’s the parts of your body. So again, engage your
w.
physiology means use your body, right? Engage is turn on or use. Physiology, body.
fa
So engage your physiology, engage your body. Use the parts of your body. Use the
systems in your body. That’s what that means. Alright, great.
ce
Next, let’s talk about the word peak. So peak I mentioned in the main story. Peak
bo
means top. Now, often we use this to describe, for example, a mountain. The very top
ok
of a mountain we say it’s the peak, the mountain peak, the peak of the mountain. The
very top part. We also use it in the phrase “peak performance”. Of course performance
.
means performing or doing something. Peak means top, so it means doing something
co
in a top way, in the very best way. Sometimes we use this with sports, say he is a peak
m/
performance athlete. He is a top‑performing athlete. He is the very best performing

athlete. So again that is peak meaning top, very top, or sometimes meaning best.
gr
Okay so peak meaning top. So emotional state, I talk about peak emotional state. So
ou
top or best, peak, emotional, of course, feelings, and state. State means kind of your
ps
situation or experience. So an emotional state means it’s the general emotional feeling
you have right now. So I might say I’m in an angry emotional state. That means, it’s
/T
kind of a long‑term idea, it means generally for some time I feel angry. Now this is a
very formal, kind of academic, or intellectual way to say “I’m angry.” Okay? So this is a
ai
little bit more formal kind of English. But again, an emotional state, it’s a general
Li
emotional feeling and it has a little bit of the idea of a long time. So a peak emotional
state, a top or best emotional state, it means feeling very good for a while. Right, say I
eu
am in a peak emotional state. I’m feeling very good for some time.
On
Okay, now that is the vocabulary lesson for the Introduction to Power. Of course, if
Th
there are other words you did not understand, you can use the text, use the transcript
and a dictionary and just find the word in your dictionary and write it on the text and you
iD
can learn more vocabulary that way. It’s very difficult for me to guess exactly which
ai
words you know and which words you don’t know, because every student is different.
So I will cover some of the main words, the words I think are quite important. But if
Ho
there are other words you don’t know, just use the text and a dictionary and write the
meaning on the text, that’s fine.
c0
1
Okay, I will see you next for the mini‑story. Thanks.
Emotional Mastery Main Text

ww
w.
Okay, welcome to the main audio for “Emotional Mastery.” So let’s talk about emotional
fa
mastery in more detail now. How can you manage your emotions, how can you control,
I don’t like the word control, but let’s just say manage your emotions so that you feel
ce
better and stronger while you’re learning English. So it’s easy to say that “Oh, feel good
when you’re learning English,” but unfortunately a lot of people feel bad when they’re
bo
learning English. A lot of people feel bored. Or maybe just in your life in general, you’re
ok
tired, you’re working hard, and it’s difficult to learn English also and still feel energetic
and happy.
. co
So we have to learn some techniques, some methods to manage our emotions, to make
m/
sure our emotions are feeling strong while we’re learning. And remember, again, that
emotion and psychology are 80% of success. And a lot of people talk about this in the
gr
academic world. Dr. Stephen Krashen, again he’s the top expert on language
acquisition, language learning and language education, and he talks about this idea of
ou
non‑linguistic factors. Which basically means psychological and emotional factors, that
ps
they’re more important than the method you’re using. Tony Robbins, the famous peak
performance coach, talks about this as well. He says directly success comes from
/T
emotion, 80% of success is emotion. The other 20% is the method, it’s how you do it.
ai
So we’ve got to master our emotions to master English. How are you going to do to
Li
that? Let’s talk about that now. There are two keys to emotional mastery. One is your
physiology, again it’s your body, how you use and manage your body. And second is
eu
your focus, your mental focus. Now a lot of this comes from again Tony Robbins and
On
Joe Vitale and some other peak performance coaches so I’m using their information and
I’m applying it, I’m focusing it on this process of learning English and how can you take
Th
those ideas and use them to increase your English learning power, so you learn faster,
so that you speak better. So again we have two ways to manage our emotions. One is
iD
physiology, through the body. And the other is through focus, mental focus. What you
ai
think about again and again and again.

Ho
In this lesson we’re going to talk about physiology, managing physiology. So this is an
c0
easy way to change your emotional state. So let’s imagine that you are tired. You’ve
gone to work, you’ve worked a very long day. You’re tired. And you’re thinking “I don’t
1
want to study English.” How can you change that feeling? Well you can try to talk to
yourself “Oh, I should study, I should study, I should feel better,” but usually that doesn’t
work, right? Usually you still feel tired. What you have to do is start with your body.
Change your body. What does your body look like when you’re tired?
Usually your shoulders are going to be forward. Is your head going to be up or is your
head going to be down? Well, usually when you’re tired you’re head is going to be a
little bit down, your chin will be kind of down. What about your face? Will you have a
big smile on your face or will your face be kind of loose? Well, it’s usually going to be
more use, right? You’re not usually smiling big when you feel tired. And your eyes,
where are your eyes looking usually when you’re tired? Again, down. So the whole
ww
body tends to be forward and down when you feel tired. So an easy, very simple way to
change how you feel, how you physically feel, your emotion and in your body is to just
w.
make small changes in the way you’re using your body.

fa
Try it now. Lean forward. Put your shoulders forward. Put your chin down. Look down.
ce
Put your body into a tired position, notice how you feel. Now let’s change it. Pull your
shoulders back and your chest up. Bring your chin up. Bring your eyes up. Look up.
bo
And now, even if you don’t feel happy, I want you to smile really big. Put a big smile on
ok
your face, fake it. Look stupid. Okay, so a big smile, shoulders back, chest up, eyes up
and a big stupid smile, a big grin, on your face. Do you feel differently now? You
.
probably do.
co
m/
Just by changing the position of your body, I’m doing it right now myself, I can feel that I
feel more energetic. I feel happier just by shifting my body. When I go back and I put
gr
my shoulders forward and my chin down and my eyes down, I can feel some energy
going down, right? The energy in my body gets less. When I pull my shoulders back,
ou
my chest up, my chin up, my eyes up, I’m smiling big, just faking it, acting like a crazy
ps
person, I feel much better. And you do, too. So that is such an easy way to change
how you feel, to change your emotional state just by shifting your body. It’s a simple
/T
way to get control of your emotions and to master your emotions.

ai
So here’s what I want you to do. Every time you listen to these lessons or any English
Li
lessons or any kind of English studying, I want you to first change your body. Before
you listen to those lessons and while you’re listening, I want you to think about,
eu
consciously think about pulling your shoulders back, pushing your chest up, chin up,
eyes up, and make yourself smile. You probably didn’t smile much in your English
On
classes when you were younger but this time I want you to smile even if you feel like
Th
you are being stupid. It doesn’t matter, do it.

iD
You’re going to change your body and by changing your body you’re going to feel better,
ai
you’re going to have more energy. And when you have more energy, when you feel
better, you learn faster. There’s a lot of research about this. And it shows that people
Ho
who have more energy, who are feeling good emotionally, learn faster. People who are
tired and bored learn much more slowly.
c0
1
What’s another way that you can change your emotion by changing your body? Well
another very easy way is through breathing. How you breathe determines the energy in
your body and how you feel. So for example if you have a very shallow breath, you’re
breathing very shallowly…small little breaths…tight chest. You’re going to feel different
than if you’re taking big breaths that are deep…that was just two breaths, already I can
feel in my body a lot more energy. So taking deep breaths, it’s such a simple way and
yet it’s very powerful. That’s why in a lot of spiritual traditions, in Buddhism for example,
and also in martial arts, in sports, you find that they will focus on breathing. They will
tell their students to breathe more deeply. They have a very kind of controlled way of
breathing because they know by breathing very deeply they can change their emotional
state and their physical state. Increase their energy. Increase the aliveness in their
ww
brain, the alertness in their brain.

w.
So this is another thing I want you to do before you learn English. Any kind of studying,
fa
these lessons or a book, anything, I want you to focus on breathing deeply. Maybe just
two minutes, for two minutes I want you to take deep breaths. Hold it for maybe 2, 3, 4
ce
seconds and then let it out. Then do it again. Hold it…and breathe out…and again and
again, 1 or 2 minutes deep breathing. Of course at the same time remember you’re
bo
changing how your body is moving and how you’re sitting.

ok
You’re changing your posture. Of course posture means body position so you’re going
.
to have a strong posture. It means you’re going to have the shoulders back, your chin
co
up, your eyes up, chest out. That’s number one. And then number two you’re going to
m/
breathe deeply. Hold…and out…and again. So again, strong posture, shoulders back,
chin up, eyes up and then deep breathing. Do this for 1 or 2 minutes every time before
gr
you study English. I know it seems crazy, it seems so simple and yet it will totally
change the way you feel while you’re learning. Because you will feel differently you will
ou
learn differently.
ps
Just this simple, simple technique can increase your learning by two or three times, two
/T
or three times faster because your brain will be awake when you’re listening to English.
When you’re bored, when you’re tired, your brain is half asleep. You’re just not learning
ai
efficiently. When you’re breathing deeply and your body is in a strong posture you feel
Li
better and you learn faster.

eu
Of course the next factor we already talked about a little bit is your face. You gotta
control your face. Why? Because your face shows emotion. But your face also can
On
create emotion. Just by smiling big, pretending, looking like a stupid person, it doesn’t
Th
matter. Just by faking it, just by making yourself smile bit you’ll actually change your
emotion. You’ll change your feeling. It’s very hard to feel depressed and tired when you
iD
have a big smile, even if you’re forcing the smile.

ai
So that’s another thing I want you to do. Everyone on the train will think you’re crazy
Ho
while you’re listening to Effortless English but I want you to have a big smile every time
while you’re listening to the lessons. Right now, do it. So you’re going to have a strong
c0
posture. You’re going to breathe deeply. And you’re going to smile big, every time,
1
before, during and after your English lessons.
What’s another way we can control our physiology and therefore influence our
emotional state? Well another thing about the body is the body likes to move so we’re
going to talk about movement. You’re going to have a strong posture. You’re going to
breathe deeply. You’re going to have a big grin on your face, smiling. And then you’re
going to move. Because movement creates energy and energy wakes up your body so
that you learn faster. I mentioned this in the introduction a little bit. We’re going to talk
about it more now in detail.
You should always be moving your body while you’re learning English. This is the
ww
opposite of everything you learned in school. In school they told you “Don’t move. Sit
in your chair.” Right, so you’re sitting in your chair and what happened? Your body
w.
became stiff, you became tired. You were bored. Well this is the opposite. You’re not
fa
in school anymore. You’re learning independently and it means you’re in control now.
And so I want you to do the opposite of what happened in school.
ce
I want you to move your body every time you’re learning English. This can be very
bo
simple. If you’re sitting in a train, okay, it’s hard to walk around. So you could just
ok
stretch your body. Consciously stretch, stretch your leg a little bit. Stretch your arm.
Move your head around in a circle. Small little stretches, just make sure your body is
.
moving even a little bit. Even better is to go for a walk. You have an iPod. You’re
co
listening to the lessons. Get outside. Walk on the street. Walk in the country. Walk in
m/
the woods. It doesn’t matter. Get out and walk. Move your body. Keep your posture
strong while you’re walking. Shoulders back, chin up, eyes up, chest up…breathe
gr
deeply while you walk. And of course, smile big while you’re walking.
ou
Everyone will think you’re crazy. It doesn’t matter. Use this system. I promise you
ps
you’re going to have a totally different experience while you’re learning English.
Nothing like the schools you went to before. So it’s very important. If you want to, if you
/T
love to exercise, you can run while you’re learning English. Put on your running shoes.
Get some exercise in your body at the same time that you’re learning. You can do two
ai
things at the same time. So walk or run. Keep that body moving at the same time
Li
always. It’s going to keep energy coming into your body, flowing into your body. That
wakes up your brain and that makes you learn so much faster. Another idea is go to the
eu
gym. Bring your iPod again and work out, lift weights or do whatever you do at the gym.
Again you’re using your body, engaging your body at the same time.
On
Th
Okay so let me just review very quickly how you’re going to use physiology to master
your emotions. Number one, posture. Shoulders back, chin up, eyes up, chest up.
iD
Number two, breathing…deep, deep breathing. Number three, your face. A big smile
ai
every time you’re learning English. Even if you feel terrible, I don’t care. Smile big
while you’re listening to these lessons. And then finally, number four, movement.
Ho
You’re always going to be moving your body somehow. If you’re in your car, if you’re in
the train or the bus, you’re going to maybe make small movements. But ideally the best
c0
thing to do is to be outside walking, moving that body, or in the gym, or even running.
1
So you’re going to change your physiology. Now what happens if after maybe 20
minutes, 30 minutes, you start to feel tired again. You’re listening to the lesson and
you’re starting to get a little bored “Oh, AJ keeps talking…oh god…oh I’m getting bored
with this.” Well, you can just quit…that’s what most people do. But don’t do that. What
you need to do is just wake your body up again so pause. Pause that lesson. Stop.
Give yourself a little break. Change. Listen to some exciting fun music again. Get up,
dance around, move, smile big, get your posture strong again, breathe more deeply.
Wake up your body, maybe for 5 minutes…and then back to the lesson again. Do this
every time.
ww
Anytime during a lesson you start to feel tired or bored, just pause. Take a break, a 5
minute break and wake up your body. So anytime during a mini‑story, during a main
w.
article, during a vocabulary lesson, it doesn’t matter. Pause anytime you feel your
fa
energy going down. Change, listen to your favorite music, jump around, move, make
your posture strong again, smile bigger. Start feeling great. Get that energy in your
ce
body then return to the lesson again.

bo
Okay, so that’s it for the main article here of “Emotional Mastery.” You’re going to focus
ok
on your physiology. You’re going to focus on mastering your body, using your body to
change your emotions. Using your body to change the energy that you feel and
.
therefore using your body to learn English much, much faster.

co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Emotional Mastery Mini-Story Text

ww
Okay, welcome to the mini‑story for “Emotional Mastery.” Let’s get started.
w.
fa
*****
ce
Vanilla wanted to be rich.

bo
Who wanted to be rich?

ok
Vanilla, Vanilla wanted to be rich.

. co
Who was Vanilla?

m/
Vanilla was a beautiful, intelligent woman.

gr
ou
What kind of woman was Vanilla?

ps
She was a beautiful, intelligent woman.

/T
And what did she want?

ai
She wanted to be rich.

Li
She said “Show me the money.”

eu
On
What did she say?

Th
She said “Show me the money.”

iD
Who wanted a lot of money?

ai
Vanilla, Vanilla wanted a lot of money.

Ho
c0
She was beautiful. She was intelligent. But, unfortunately, she was poor. So
Vanilla went to Las Vegas. She went to Las Vegas to get rich.
1
Where did she go?
Las Vegas.
Why did she go to Las Vegas?
To get rich, of course, she went to Las Vegas to get rich.
Who went to Las Vegas to get rich?

ww
Vanilla, Vanilla went to Las Vegas to get rich.

w.
She walked into Caesar’s Palace.

fa
Where did she go?

ce
Caesar’s Palace, she walked into Caesar’s Palace.

bo
ok
Did she run into Caesar’s Palace or did she walk into Caesar’s Palace?
.
She walked, she walked calmly into Caesar’s Palace.

co
m/
What is Caesar’s Palace?

gr
It’s a casino.
ou
Caesar’s Palace is a casino.

ps
Did Vanilla go to a casino in Japan?

/T
No, no, no, no, no. She didn’t go to a casino in Japan. She went to a casino in Las
ai
Vegas.
Li
What was the casino’s name?

eu
Caesar’s Palace, the casino’s name was Caesar’s Palace.

On
Th
And where was it?

iD
Las Vegas, it was in Las Vegas.

ai
She walked into Caesar’s Palace with a big grin on her face.
Ho
Was Vanilla happy or sad?

c0
1
She was happy. She had a big grin on her face. A big, huge smile.
Was she grinning or was she frowning?
She was grinning. She had a big smile on her face. She was grinning.
Who, who was grinning?
Vanilla, Vanilla was grinning.
When was she grinning?

ww
When she walked into Caesar’s Palace, when she walked into Caesar’s Palace she
w.
was grinning.
fa
Why?
ce
Well, because she thought she was going to become rich.

bo
ok
She was grinning because she thought she was going to become rich. In fact,
she knew she was going to become rich.
. co
Why was she grinning?

m/
Because she knew she was going to become rich.

gr
She walked to the blackjack table.

ou
ps
Which table did she walk to?

/T
The blackjack table, she walked to the blackjack table.

ai
Did she walk to the poker table?

Li
No, no, no, no, no, no, not the poker table. She walked to the blackjack table.
eu
Who walked to the blackjack table?

On
Th
Vanilla, Vanilla walked to the blackjack table.

iD
What was she doing when she walked to the blackjack table?
ai
She was grinning, of course. She was grinning when she walked to the blackjack table.
Ho
She took out money from her pocket.

c0
1
How much money did she take out of her pocket?
$6,000.00.
She took $6,000.00 out of her pocket.
Where did she take it out of?
Out of her pocket, she took $6,000.00 out of her pocket.
Whose pocket?
ww
Vanilla’s, Vanilla’s pocket, of course. Her own pocket. She took $6,000.00 out of her
w.
own pocket.
fa
She put the money on the table. She bet all of the money on the first game.
ce
How much money did she bet?

bo
ok
Well, all of it, all $6,000.00. She bet all $6,000.00.

.
And did she win or did she lose?

co
m/
Well, Vanilla lost.

gr
Vanilla lost all her money. She was really, really poor. She cried, “Oh no, I lost all
my money.”
ou
ps
What about Warren Buffett?

/T
Huh, who’s Warren Buffett?

ai
Warren Buffett is the richest man in the world.

Li
Does Warren Buffett play blackjack?

eu
No.
On
Th
Warren Buffett does not play blackjack.

iD
What does he do?

ai
He buys stocks.
Ho
He buys what?
c0
1
He buys stocks. Stocks are parts of companies, like a piece of a company. So Warren
Buffett buys stocks. He goes to New York and buys stocks.
So Warren Buffett went to New York at the same time that Vanilla went to Las
Vegas.
When Vanilla was in Las Vegas, where was Warren Buffett?
New York, he was in New York. Warren Buffett was in New York when Vanilla was in
Las Vegas.
ww
Did Warren Buffett lose money in New York or make money?

w.
He made money.
fa
He made $60 billion.

ce
How much money did Warren Buffett make?

bo
ok
He made $60 billion.

.
How much did Vanilla make?

co
m/
Zero, she made no money. In fact, she lost money. Vanilla lost $6,000.00. Warren
Buffett made $60 billion.
gr
Did Vanilla grin?

ou
ps
Well no.
/T
First she cried. But then she changed her physiology. She pulled back her
shoulders. She put her chin up. And she grinned. She said “I will become rich.”
ai
Li
Did Warren Buffett grin after he made $60 billion?

eu
No, he didn’t grin, he frowned.

On
Warren Buffett always frowns.

Th
Who frowned?
iD
ai
Warren Buffett frowned.

Ho
And who grinned?

c0
Well, Vanilla grinned. She cried and then she grinned.

1
Next, Vanilla went to Alaska.
Why did she go to Alaska?
She went to Alaska to dig for gold.
What did she want to do?
She wanted to dig for gold.

ww
Who wanted to dig for gold?

w.
Vanilla, Vanilla wanted to dig for gold.

fa
So she got a shovel and she started to dig. Every day she dug for gold, five days,
ce
ten days, digging for gold, digging for gold. After sixty days, her back hurt.
bo
Why did Vanilla’s back hurt?

ok
Because she had bad posture, of course.

. co
Vanilla had bad posture while she was digging.

m/
Did she have good posture or did she have bad posture?
gr
Vanilla had bad posture while she was digging.

ou
ps
What kind of posture did Vanilla have?

/T
Bad, she had bad posture.

ai
Was her back straight or was it bent?

Li
It was bent. Her back was bent. She had bad posture while she was digging for gold.
eu
Where did she have bad posture?

On
Th
Well, in Alaska, she had bad posture in Alaska while she was digging for gold.
iD
When, when did she have bad posture?

ai
While she was digging for gold.

Ho
After ninety days, Vanilla’s back hurt and she had no money. She started to cry
c0
“Oh, my back hurts. And I have no money.”

1
Did she cry, did she feel bad, was she depressed?
Yes, Vanilla was depressed.
How did she feel?
Depressed.
Was she super‑sad?

ww
Yes, she was depressed.

w.
Why was Vanilla depressed?

fa
Because her back hurt and she had no money.

ce
But then Vanilla changed. She changed her posture again. She smiled. She
bo
brought her shoulders back. She breathed deeply. She said “I will become rich.”
ok
So she went to Singapore.

.
Where did Vanilla go next?

co
m/
Singapore, that’s right, of course. Singapore, she went to Singapore.

gr
Why did she go to Singapore?

ou
Well, it’s obvious.

ps
She went to Singapore to start a chili business.

/T
What kind of business did she start?

ai
Li
A chili business, not a cold business. Chili, c-h-i-l-i, little pepers that you eat, very spicy.
She started a chili business.
eu
Okay, so she grew chilis in her apartment. She grew chilis, hot chilis, in her
On
apartment and sold them to restaurants.

Th
So she grew broccoli in her apartment and she sold them to restaurants?
iD
ai
Not broccoli, chilis, not broccoli…chilis. She grew chilis in her apartment and she sold
them to restaurants.
Ho
What did she sell?

c0
1
Chilis, hot chilis, she sold hot chilis to restaurants.
In which city?
Singapore. In Singapore she sold hot chilis to restaurants.
Where did she grow the chilis?
She grew them in her apartment. She grew them in her apartment then she sold them
to restaurants.
ww
What did she sell to restaurants?

w.
Hot chilis, she sold hot chilis to restaurants.

fa
So, what did Vanilla want?

ce
Vanilla wanted to be rich.

bo
ok
Where did she go first?

.
Las Vegas, she first went to Las Vegas. She played blackjack. She lost all her money.
co
m/
Where did she go next?

gr
Alaska.
ou
She went to Alaska, she dug for diamonds and she got a bad painful back?
ps
No, no, no, no, no, she didn’t dig for diamonds. She dug for gold. She went to Alaska,
/T
she dug for gold. But her posture was bad so her back hurt. No money and a painful
back. And finally she went to Singapore. She grew hot chilis in her apartment and sold
ai
them to restaurants.
Li
And she made $28 billion. She became the Queen of Hot Chilis…the Asian Queen
eu
of Hot Chilis. Vanilla became super‑rich. She got the money.

On
Did Vanilla become super‑rich?

Th
Oh yes, she did.

iD
ai
How much money did she make? $26 billion?

Ho
Oh no.
c0
$27 billion?
1
No, no, no. $28 billion, Vanilla made $28 billion. She was beautiful. She was
intelligent. And finally, she was super‑rich.
*****
Okay, that is the end of the mini‑story for “Emotional Mastery.” How about you? Was
your posture good during this lesson? Were you smiling while you listened? Were you
breathing deeply…while you listened? Were you moving your body as you listened to
this story? I hope so. You should. If not, it’s okay but next time, next time be sure.
Strong posture, deep breathing, big grin and moving your body as you listen to the
ww
story. And one more thing you can do. If you’re at home, if you can be loud, you can
listen to the story and shout your answers.
w.
fa
So if I say “What was her name?” you shout “Vanilla.” You can do this in the train on the
bus, too, if you want to. In San Francisco we have a lot of crazy people so if you do
ce
something like this nobody cares. So you can do that, too. But if you feel strange about
shouting in public, then maybe do it at home. If you listen at home, you know, stand up,
bo
move your body and shout the answers. Loud, strong posture, don’t be shy about
ok
speaking English. Teach yourself to be strong when you speak English. And
remember, posture, breathing, big smile, big grin and move your body as you listen to
.
every lesson.
co
m/
Okay.
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Emotional Mastery Vocabulary Text

ww
Okay, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Emotional Mastery.” Let’s get started.
w.
fa
A few of the words I used in the main speech, the main article. First let’s talk about
posture. Posture. So posture means the position of your body, it’s how you stand or sit.
ce
So we talk about good posture, for example. Good posture means your shoulders are
back. Your back is straight, your chin is up. That’s what we usually call good posture.
bo
And bad posture would mean, you know again, you’re leaning forward. Your shoulders
ok
are forward. Your back is not straight. So again, posture just means the position of
your body, how you position your body. How you hold your body, that’s posture.
. co
Another word I used was grin. A grin can be a noun, it’s a thing. Or it can be a verb, it’s
m/
something you do. So to grin means to smile, but to smile in a big way. When you grin,
you’re not using a small smile. You’re using a very, very big smile. Again, it’s also a
gr
noun so if you have a very big smile on your face, we say that is a grin. He has a big
grin. You could use both, I guess. You could say he is grinning a big grin. Okay, so
ou
grin again is a large smile or the act of doing a large smile.

ps
Another phrase I used was “tends to be.” He tends to be an angry person. Tends to be
/T
means usually is. So he usually is an angry person. He tends to be an angry person.

ai
So it’s something that usually happens, usually is true, mostly is true. But not always,
not always. So I could say, Tomoe tends to be happy. It means she usually is happy.
Li
It’s her normal thing to do or normal thing to feel. But not always, sometimes she’s not
happy. So tends to be, usually is or often is or mostly is.
eu
On
Okay, another word I used was shifting. Shifting your body and the verb is to shift. To
shift your body means to move it. It really means kind of to change its position. A shift
Th
is a change of position. So if I have my head down and then I shift it, then maybe I
move it to a different position. Now it’s up. I shifted from down to up. We use this in
iD
other areas, not just body. You can use it for driving, for example. When you’re driving
ai
you can shift from first gear to second gear. Or reverse, you’re going backwards, then
you stop, you shift the car and you change and you go forward. So again, you’re
Ho
changing the gear’s position. Okay, so shift is a change in position.

c0
I used the word shallow, shallow breath or shallow breathing. And I also used the word
1
deep, deep breathing or a deep breath. So they’re opposites, of course. Deep, we also
use this with water, for example. Deep water means water that goes down very far.
Shallow water means water that’s not very deep, right? It’s the opposite, water that
does not go down far. So shallow breathing is the same idea. It means breathing that
is very small, that doesn’t go down into your body very much. So…that’s shallow
breathing, right? It’s small little breaths. The air does not go down deep into the body.
That is shallow breath or shallow breathing. And the opposite is deep. Deep breathing
is…right, the air goes down into my body very far, very deeply. But shallow…does not
go deeply. Okay, so we use this a lot with breathing. Shallow breathing and deep
breathing, they’re opposites.
ww
Another word I used is force, to force, using it as a verb, an action. To force something
or to force yourself to do something. It’s a very common phrase. The whole thing
w.
again, to force yourself to do something. For example, force yourself to smile. So force
fa
means to try hard. It has an idea that you don’t want to do it but you do it anyway. You
make yourself do something difficult. You make yourself do something maybe you don’t
ce
want to do. So you use effort. You use your energy. You use your power to do
something. So when you force something it’s the opposite of really relaxed. It’s the
bo
opposite of doing it effortlessly. So force yourself to smile means use your energy.
ok
Make yourself smile, even if you don’t want to. Use energy. Force it. Try hard to smile.
So that’s to force yourself to do something.
. co
Another word I used is depressed or depression. So depression is the noun, depressed

m/
is the feeling, it’s an adjective. Like I feel depressed, it’s how you feel. So depressed
means very, very sad. Feeling very, very sad and bad about yourself, about your life,
gr
about everything. So if you say “I’m sad,” usually that’s more specific, you have a
reason. I’m sad about something. I’m sad because I lost my job. But if you’re
ou
depressed, it’s a very more general kind of feeling. You’re depressed about everything
ps
usually. “I’m depressed because I lost my job and I have no money and I don’t have a
girlfriend,” many reasons. Depression is deeper than just sadness.
/T
So again, to be depressed, you say “I am depressed” or “I have depression.” This is a

ai
general kind of rule in English. It’s not always, but generally we say “I have a noun…a
Li
thing.” I have depression. Not I have depressed. Say, I have depression. But if you’re
talking about an adjective, then you use “am”. I am depressed. They mean basically
eu
the same thing. I have depression means I have the feeling of being depressed. I am
depressed is more common. It just means I feel very, very, very sad.
On
Th
Okay, well that is the end of the vocabulary lesson for “Emotional Mastery.” Listen to it a
couple of times. In general the vocabulary lessons are the least important lesson. So if
iD
you listen to them a few times, if they’re boring, if you understand them all, it’s fine, you
ai
can skip the vocabulary. I want you to focus mostly on the main article, the main
speech and on the mini‑story. Those are the two most important lessons. The
Ho
vocabulary gives you a quick little lesson about some of the words and phrases. Listen
to it a few times until you know these words, but once you know the words focus on the
c0
main story, the main article and on the mini‑story.

1
Okay, I will see you in the next lesson.
Emotional Mastery 2 Main Text

ww
Hello and welcome to the next lesson “Emotional Mastery 2.” So in Emotional Mastery
w.
1 we learned about changing our physiology, changing our bodies to change our
fa
emotions. Remember in that less I said there are two ways to change your emotions.
Number one is physiology, we talked about that. There is something else you can
ce
change so you can be in a peak emotional state as you learn English and that is your
focus, your mental focus. What you think about consistently, that will change your
bo
emotion also. So what do I mean by mental focus? How do you change your mental
ok
focus? What should you focus on? What should you not focus on?
.
First, let’s talk about the negative. What should you not focus on? Try to remember
co
when you were in school in your English classes. What did you focus on when you
m/
were in school? What did you think about, worry about, consistently, frequently? Well
probably tests, right? That was one I always thought about. You probably were focused
gr
on tests a lot. “I gotta pass this test, I gotta pass this test.” Tests, and then grades.
“Will I get an A? Will I get a B? Will I get a C? Will I fail this course?” So you were
ou
thinking about judgment, other people judging you, the teacher judging you, getting a
ps
grade, getting a score. How did you feel about that? When you think about tests, tests,
tests a lot and you think a lot about a score, a grade, A, B, C.
/T
ai
Or maybe now you’re thinking about the TOEFL exam and you’re worried “What number
will I get on the TOEFL exam?” How does that affect your emotions? Do you feel more
Li
relaxed or more stressful? Well, most people feel more stressful, of course. The more
you think about judgment, the more you think about a test score, the more nervous you
eu
become, the more worried you become. And that’s not good. You actually learn more
On
slowly when you’re worried. You learn more slowly when you’re nervous, when you
have anxiety.
Th
Again, I’ll talk about Dr. Stephen Krashen, our favorite researcher. Anxiety is a major
iD
part of his research. It is the single number one most negative factor in language
ai
acquisition, in language learning. Anxiety means worry or stress and there are many,
many studies about this. They study different language learners, study different English
Ho
learners. And they put them in a situation where they are more stressed or more
worried. And they have others that are in a more relaxed situation. And the relaxed
c0
students always learn better and faster.

1
So let’s say after six months the relaxed students will have better grammar, better
pronunciation, better listening and understanding, better writing skill, better everything.
The anxious students, the worried, nervous students, the stressed students, of course,
have worse pronunciation, worse speaking ability, less vocabulary, worse writing, less
listening comprehension, listening understanding. So what was happening in school

was you were actually learning to fail. You were training yourself to be stressed and
nervous. You were training yourself to focus on things, tests, grades, teacher’s opinion
of you, that make you feel nervous and that nervousness made you learn more slowly.
So you don’t want to focus on that.
ww
Something else you don’t want to focus on. You don’t want to focus on every small step
to reach your goal. Your goal is to speak excellent English, to feel strong and confident
w.
when you speak. That’s a great goal. But what happens if you focus on everything you
fa
must do to reach the goal? For example, you think “Oh god, to become a great speaker
that means I’ve got to study every day. I’ve got to learn 20,000 vocabulary words. I’ve
ce
got to listen to 2 or 3,000 hours of English.” How does that make you feel? Probably a
little nervous, probably stressed, right, you think “Oh my god, it’s too much.” So you
bo
want to focus on the little individual steps because it’s going to seem huge, it’s going to
ok
seem so big it’s going to kill your motivation.

.
What else do you not want to focus on? Problems. Problems, so many students focus
co
on problems. In my classes in San Francisco they come to me “AJ, my pronunciation is

m/
bad. AJ I make grammar mistakes.” Well, of course you do. You’re a student. You’re
learning. It’s normal. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to have problems
gr
sometimes. You’re going to make a mistake with your pronunciation. I do, I’m a native
speaker, I’m an English teacher. I make mistakes all the time. It’s normal. You can’t
ou
focus on it. If you focus on it, if you focus on the negative, if you focus on mistakes, if
ps
you focus on problems your emotions become weaker and weaker. You actually get
worse. So you just need to relax about this. Everybody is human. Everybody makes
/T
mistakes. It’s a normal thing.

ai
Finally, you do not want to focus on the past. Most of my students have very negative
Li
experiences with English from the past. Most did not enjoy their English classes in
school. When I ask about their past with English “Oh, oh, it was terrible.” People tell
eu
me, students tell me “I’m not good at English. I was always bad in my English classes.
I’ve studied for 6 years, 8 years, 10 years, still I cannot speak well.” Focused on the
On
past, well the past is not the same as the present. The past doesn’t equal the future as
Th
Tony Robbins likes to say.

iD
And it’s true. In the past you used very old traditional methods that made you feel bad.
ai
Sitting in a class still, not moving, being graded and tested constantly. Studying boring
grammar textbooks, that’s not a method for success for most people. Some people
Ho
succeed with that but very few. So the past was different. You’re now learning in a very
different way. You are different now. Don’t focus on the past.
c0
1
Alright, so enough of what not to do. What should you focus on if you want to be happy,
if you want to be excited, if you want to learn very quickly, faster than before. What
should you focus on? What should you think about consistently all the time? Well
number one, instead of focusing on the little steps and all the little problems, instead
focus on the end result. The final result, that’s what you need to focus on. Focus on
your ultimate success.
So in other words use your imagination and see yourself, imagine yourself speaking
English fluently, quickly. Imagine yourself smiling as you speak English with a native
speaker. Imagine yourself feeling strong and confident as you speak English easily,
ww
effortlessly. Every day focus on this thought, the end result. What you will ultimately
reach, ultimately achieve, what you will finally do. Focus on the end result every day,
w.
the final result. Do not focus on the little steps you must take every day. Focus on the
fa
final result every day.

ce
Second, focus on the purpose, the reason you are learning English. I mean why? If
your purpose is to take the TOEFL exam, you’re going to be stressed and depressed.
bo
Nobody is excited about a test, nobody I know. That’s not a good emotional thing to
ok
focus on. It’s not a good reason to learn English. Taking a test is a terrible reason
because it makes you feel stressed, nervous, tired and bored. You need bigger, better
.
reasons. Yes, maybe you need to take the TOEFL exam but why? Why do you want to
co
pass the TOEFL exam? Maybe you want a great job that requires English, where you
m/
can use English in international trade perhaps.

gr
Maybe you want to study in the United States, go to a University in the United States,
have a great adventure in another country. Well that makes you feel good, right,
ou
thinking about that? Imagine yourself in New York City or in San Francisco, meeting
ps
native speakers, talking effortlessly, easily. Making new friends, a great new job with
more money, now those are great things to focus on. So you want to focus on
/T
compelling strong reasons why you’re learning English, why it’s important, the benefits,
things that make you feel great. Do not focus on a test, please.
ai
Li
So those are the two things, you focus on the end result and they’re related, they’re
basically the same thing. Number two you focus on the reasons why, the purpose. So
eu
you have to imagine very vividly, very strongly in your head what it is you will finally do.
See the end result. And then feel the emotions. The last step is you want to see the
On
end result with emotion, let yourself feel that it’s real. So when you focus on speaking
Th
great English, feel the emotions. Feel proud. Feel happy. Feel confident. Smile big.
Imagine how you will feel speaking excellent English.
iD
ai
Okay, so let’s review very quickly about focus. The main thing about focus, it’s very,
very simple. You’re going to focus on the end result, the final result. You want to focus
Ho
on the thing that makes you feel great, the situation, the benefits, all the great things
that will improve in your life by speaking excellent English. That’s what you need to
c0
focus on every day. Write it down. Write down, make a list of all the great things that
1
will happen in your life when you speak excellent English.
New friends, maybe? Maybe great new travel experiences. Maybe living or working
abroad. Maybe a better job. I don’t know, you have to make your own list, but make it a
big list. Write down all the great things that will happen in your life and then every day
focus on those. Review those every day. Teach your brain to focus on these positive
inspiring things, not on these negative things, not on problems, not on the past.
Okay, so that is it for this main speech on “Emotional Mastery 2.” Focus. Next let’s
listen to the vocabulary and then we’ll have the mini‑story.
ww
w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Emotional Mastery 2 Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ Hoge. Welcome to the mini‑story for “Emotional Mastery 2.” Now,
w.
before we start this story, I want you to do something. You know what I want you to do.
fa
Stand up. Pull your shoulders back. Chest up. Chin up. Eyes up. Stand strong. Now
breathe deeply. Good. Now big grin, a big, stupid, crazy smile on your face, come on,
ce
you can do it. And finally, move your body. Walk, you can walk in one place without
bo
moving if you want. Just lift up your feet. If you’re outside, then move. Move your
body. Okay, you need to be awake. You need to be alive while you’re learning. You
ok
ready? Let’s start the mini‑story.

. co
*****
m/
Elvis the spider can’t swim. But he wants to.

gr
What does Elvis want to do?

ou
Swim, Elvis wants to swim.

ps
What is Elvis?
/T
ai
Well, of course, Elvis is a spider.

Li
How many legs does Elvis have?

eu
Eight, just checking.

On
Okay, Elvis has eight legs because?

Th
iD
Because he’s a spider, of course.

ai
Elvis has eight legs because he’s a spider. Elvis the spider has a problem.
Ho
What is his problem?

c0
Well, his problem is he can’t swim.

1
Poor Elvis, he can’t swim. He wants to swim. In fact he wants to swim a very
long way.
Does he want to swim a short way or a long way?
A long way, he wants to swim a very long way.
How far does Elvis the spider want to swim?

ww
He wants to swim across the Atlantic Ocean.

w.
So where does Elvis live?

fa
Elvis lives in London, he’s a British spider.

ce
Which city does he live in? New York?

bo
ok
No, London. Elvis the spider lives in London and he has a problem. He can’t swim.
.
Where does he want to swim to?

co
m/
He wants to swim to New York City.

gr
Who wants to swim to New York City?

ou
Elvis the spider.

ps
From where?
/T
From London, he wants to swim to New York City from London.

ai
Li
Can he swim now?

eu
No, no, no, Elvis can’t swim now. He can’t swim now but he wants to swim from London
to New York City.
On
Th
So he decides “I’m going to practice.”

iD
What does he decide to do?

ai
To practice, he decides to practice.

Ho
Where does he practice?

c0
1
In the North Sea.
He practices in the North Sea.
What does he practice in the North Sea?
Swimming, he practices swimming in the North Sea.
So Elvis the dog practices swimming in the North Sea?
No, not the dog, Elvis the spider, of course. Elvis the spider practices swimming in the
ww
North Sea.
w.
He tries to swim but he has another problem. It’s very cold in the North Sea.
fa
Is it hot? Is it warm?
ce
No, it’s cold. It’s very cold in the North Sea.

bo
ok
Is the North Sea hot or cold?

.
Well, it’s cold, it’s very cold in the North Sea.

co
m/
Elvis freezes.
gr
Does he freeze? Is he very, very cold?

ou
Yes, he freezes.
ps
Where does he freeze?

/T
In the North Sea, of course, he freezes in the North Sea.

ai
Li
And he almost drowns.

eu
Does Elvis almost die?

On
Yeah, exactly, he almost drowns. He almost goes under the water forever.
Th
Why does he almost drown?

iD
ai
Because he’s freezing, it’s so cold he can’t swim.

Ho
Does Elvis swim successfully or not?

c0
Not, he does not swim successfully. He almost drowns. He almost dies.

1
So next he decides “Hm, I know. I will go to the gym. I will go to the YMCA and
swim in the pool.”
Why does he go to the YMCA pool? Why? What’s his purpose?
Well, his purpose is to practice for swimming from London to New York.
What does he want to practice for?
He wants to practice for swimming from London to New York.

ww
What is his purpose? What is his reason for practicing?

w.
fa
Well, swimming from London to New York. That is his ultimate purpose.
ce
So what is his ultimate purpose? What is his final goal?

bo
His ultimate, his final purpose, is to swim from London to New York.
ok
Is his ultimate purpose to swim from London to Rome?

. co
No, that’s not his ultimate purpose. His ultimate purpose is to swim from London to New
m/
York.
gr
What does he want to swim across?

ou
Across the Atlantic Ocean to New York.

ps
Does he want to swim across New York?

/T
Not across New York, to New York.

ai
Li
Does he want to swim to the Atlantic Ocean?

eu
No, he wants to swim across the Atlantic Ocean.

On
Is that his ultimate purpose?

Th
Yes, it is. It’s his final reason for practicing. His ultimate purpose is to swim from
iD
London to New York.

ai
Whose ultimate purpose is it?

Ho
Elvis the spider, it’s Elvis’ ultimate purpose.

c0
1
So every day he goes to the pool. And every day he visualizes arriving in New
York.
Every day does he imagine himself arriving in New York?
Yes, every day he visualizes, he imagines himself arriving in New York.
Every day does he seem himself in his mind arriving in New York successfully?
Yes, absolutely. He visualizes, every day he visualizes, he imagines, he sees, every

day he visualizes himself arriving in New York. All his eight legs swimming across the
ww
Atlantic arriving in New York.

w.
What does he visualize?

fa
He visualizes arriving in New York City.

ce
How often does he visualize this?

bo
ok
Every day, every day he visualizes arriving in New York.

.
He sees it clearly, vividly, in his head.

co
m/
Does he visualize vividly?

gr
Yes he does. He visualizes vividly. He visualizes powerfully, clearly and colorfully,

vividly.
ou
ps
How does he visualize?

/T
Vividly, he vividly sees himself arriving in New York City.

ai
Does he vividly imagine success?

Li
Oh yes, very clearly. Very powerfully, very colorfully, he sees success. He imagines
eu
success. He vividly visualizes arriving in New York. And he practices every day.
On
Where does he practice swimming every day?

Th
At the YMCA, every day he practices swimming at the YMCA pool. He swims with all
iD
his eight legs in the pool. Swimming every day, swimming and visualizing. Swimming
ai
and visualizing. Swimming and visualizing. He sees in his head arriving in New York.
And he swims in the pool, swims in the pool.
Ho
Finally, the day comes. He jumps into the Atlantic and he starts swimming.
c0
Swimming toward New York City. After 15 days he’s still swimming. Sharks try to
1
attack him. He hits them with his legs and he escapes. Storms come, bad
weather, rain, he continues to swim. Ultimately, ultimately, ultimately and finally
he arrives in New York City. He is successful. The mayor of New York City gives
him the key to the city. They have a big parade for Elvis to celebrate his success.
What does Elvis ultimately do?
He ultimately is successful. He ultimately arrives in New York City. He ultimately swims

from London to New York City. He finally swims from London to New York City.
Who is ultimately successful?

ww
Elvis, Elvis the spider is ultimately successful. He has problems, he has difficulties but
w.
ultimately, but finally, he is successful.

fa
*****
ce
That is the end of the mini‑story for “Emotional Mastery 2.” Again, listen every day, 1
bo
time, 2 times, 3 times, it doesn’t matter, as much as you can. When you listen, always
ok
have a strong posture. Breathe deeply, smile and move as you listen. If you get tired,
it’s okay, it’s normal. To get bored is also normal. Just pause, change your posture.
.
Change your breathing. Change your smile. Move and then start again.
co
m/
Okay, I will see you next time. Enjoy.

gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Emotional Mastery 2 Vocabulary Text

ww
Hello. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Emotional Mastery 2.” Let’s get started.
w.
Now are you smiling? Is your posture strong? Are your shoulders back? Is your head
fa
up? Are you moving? You should be. Get in a strong peak emotional state right now
before we begin. Okay, let’s start.
ce
Acquisition, the word acquisition. I talk about language acquisition. Acquisition means
bo
to get something and keep it. So to get and keep. So language acquisition means you
ok
get language, in other words you learn it. You get it and you keep it. So the idea is that
you don’t lose it. And sometimes, some teachers talk about language learning and
.
language acquisition. And the idea is that learning is more temporary, for example, in
co
school for a test you learn English, you take the test then you forget it. That’s language
m/
learning. Language acquisition means you get the English, you keep it, you never
forget it. So acquisition, to get and keep something.
gr
Another word we use in this lesson is anxiety. Anxiety. Anxiety is nervousness or a

ou
feeling of stress. So anxiety, a feeling of nervousness or a feeling of stress. Anxiety, it’s

ps
the feeling, it’s a noun. Now the adjective is anxious. So you might say “I am anxious”
or “I feel anxious.” It means I feel worried, I feel nervous, I feel stressed. I feel anxious.
/T
So anxiety is the noun, anxious the adjective.

ai
Our next word, vividly. I say imagine your future vividly. Imagine your goal vividly.
Li
Vividly means clearly, colorfully. It has this idea of very powerfully, right? You can
imagine your future. Let’s say, imagine yourself speaking English very well. Maybe the
eu
picture is kind of small and dark, not clear. But if I say imagine your future vividly, you
On
see yourself speaking English but it’s a big, clear, colorful picture. So vividly has this
idea of colorfully. The adjective is vivid. Vivid, we sometimes talk about a vivid picture,
Th
a vivid photograph. Very colorful, clear, strong photograph, a vivid photograph.

iD
Alright, another word we have in this lesson is visualize. You probably know visual.
ai
Visual means related to seeing, related to the eyes. To say “I am a visual person”
means I like to look at things. My emotions are strongest when I look. So visual,
Ho
related to seeing or about seeing, about your eyes. To visualize is a verb, it’s an action.
And it really means to imagine. It means to see in your head. So visualize your future
c0
means see your future in your head. I can say “Visualize a hamburger right now” it
1
means see a hamburger in your head, visualize. Visualize.
Another word we have in this lesson is comprehension. I talk about listening

comprehension. Comprehension means understanding, very simple. So listening
comprehension means listening understanding. It means you understand what’s
happening. The verb is to comprehend. I comprehended the story. I understood the

story. So what’s the difference, understand and comprehend? Well, comprehend is
really more formal, it sounds a little more intellectual or something. Understand is more
common.
Okay, our next word is ultimately. Ultimately or ultimate. Ultimately means finally. In
ww
the end, finally. Ultimately you must study every day. It means finally, the final point,
you must study every day. Ultimately. And ultimate means final, the last. Sometimes
w.
ultimate has the idea of most or best, it can have that idea in some situations also. But
fa
the direct meaning is final or last.

ce
And our final ultimate word in this lesson is compelling. Compelling. Compelling means
inspiring, something that motivates you. You say “That was a compelling story,” it was
bo
an emotionally powerful story. It was an inspiring story. It created strong emotion. It

ok
made you want to do something. So in the lesson I say you need compelling reasons to
learn English. You need inspiring reasons to learn English. You need strong, positive,
.
emotional reasons to learn English. Reasons that make you want to take action, to do
co
something. Compelling has this idea of wanting to take action, wanting to do

m/
something.
gr
And that is all for our vocabulary lesson for “Emotional Mastery 2.” Again, listen to it a
few times. Remember you need to be in a peak emotional state. If you get tired,
ou
anytime, any lesson, pause, change your posture. Breathe deeply. Smile and move.
ps
Feel better and then come back and start again.

/T
Okay, I’ll see you for the mini‑story.

ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Beliefs Main Text

ww
Hello, welcome to the fourth lesson. This one is called “Beliefs.” Let’s get started.
w.
fa
Beliefs are another important part of managing your psychology, of strengthening your
psychology so that you will learn English, or anything in fact, much faster. And there are
ce
two kinds of beliefs to general categories of beliefs. Limiting and empowering.

bo
Let’s talk about limiting beliefs first. Now limiting means, limit is something that stops
ok
you. It’s like a boundary. It stops you from going ahead. So a limiting belief is a belief
that stops you from improving, a belief that stops you from getting better. And I’d say
.
most English students have limiting beliefs and many English students have very strong
co
limiting beliefs. I call these beliefs English trauma and I got that name from a few of my
m/
Japanese students. They would tell me “AJ, I can’t speak English well because I have
English trauma.”
gr
What is English trauma? What is that, what are they talking about? Well, trauma
ou
means some kind of injury, some kind of hurt. Emotional hurt, deep emotional hurt. So
ps
what they mean is that they had some very negative, painful experiences with English in
the past. In other words, when they were in school in English classes, even as adults
/T
going to other English schools, they had very negative experiences. And all these
ai
negative experiences have created some very negative beliefs, some very limiting
beliefs. For example, they say “I am not good at English.” Well, that’s a belief. It may
Li
be true, it may not be true. But it’s an opinion, it’s a belief that they have.
eu
Another belief, a very common belief, English is difficult. Or, English is complicated.
On
Well, that’s just a belief. For me English is very easy, because I’m a native speaker, just
like your native language for you is very easy. Tomoe can speak Japanese fluently
Th
because she’s Japanese, so I might say “Japanese is difficult,” and she would say “No,
Japanese is super easy.” These are just beliefs that come from our experiences. The
iD
problem is these limiting beliefs limit us. They in fact do limit us. They stop us from
ai
getting better. They cause a lot of problems for us as students, as learners. I have
them, too. As I try to learn Japanese, for example, I have a lot of these limiting beliefs I
Ho
realize. I think “Oh, Japanese is so difficult.” Japanese is complicated, just look at the
writing system. It’s so different from English.
c0
1
And these beliefs hurt my motivation. They lower my energy, and in fact they’re wrong.
They’re not true. Japanese does not have to be difficult, it does not have to be
complicated. A small child, even a small American child, could learn Japanese very
effortlessly, very easily. And the reason is, the number one reason is, they don’t have
the limiting beliefs. They can sing songs and play games and enjoy the language, and
they’ll learn it so quickly, so easily, they’ll say “Japanese is easy.” Well, it’s the same
with English with you. You learned in a very painful, difficult way in the past. And so
you developed, you created these beliefs in your head. English is difficult. English is
boring. English is painful. I’m not good at English. I’ll never speak excellent English.
These are just beliefs.
ww
So how do you eliminate these beliefs? Okay, you have these beliefs. You know
they’re negative, you know they’re not helping you. But we have to figure out, how can
w.
we get rid of the limiting beliefs? That’s the first step, you have to weaken them. You
fa
have to make them weaker and weaker and weaker. You have to cut them down. Well
beliefs get stronger from references. And reference is just an experience or a memory.
ce
Sometimes it’s just something you imagine, actually. But it’s a specific experience or a
specific imagination, a specific moment, that makes the belief stronger or weaker.
bo
ok
So, for example, you have this idea “English is painful and boring.” And when you think
of this belief, where does it come from? Well, you think of all these past experiences.
.
You think of the time in middle school where your teacher corrected your mistake and
co
you felt terrible. And you think of maybe the bad grades you got on the test or all the
m/
red marks on your English papers. And you start adding more and more and more
memories, more of these negative experiences, these negative references. And if you
gr
get enough, you will develop a very, strong, deep, powerful belief “English is difficult.
English is painful. I’m not good at English.” So to weaken these, you just have to
ou
question the references.

ps
You have to question the experiences. Take the power away from the experiences.
/T
And an easy way to do that is just to ask questions about them. For example, let me
ask this question. Your past English schools, were they excellent? Were they just
ai
fantastic English schools with fantastic, amazing, fun, positive English teachers? Did
Li
you have a great time every day? Well, I know for most of you the answer is no. So
that’s interesting, so if your schools were not excellent, maybe the school was the
eu
problem. Maybe it’s not you. Maybe your English is not great because you did not go
to great schools. And did those schools that you went to, or the books you used, did
On
they use proven methods?

Th
Did they use research‑based methods? Did they know a lot about the research about
iD
English learning, English teaching? Did they only use the best methods? Or did they
ai
just use the textbook that everybody else uses? Well, I know from my experience as a
teacher, most schools just use the same textbooks. They don’t know why. Maybe the
Ho
boss tells them “We must use this book.” But they’re not choosing the very, very best
methods. They’re not choosing the very, very best books. And so maybe the reason
c0
you believe English is difficult is because you used difficult methods in the past, or your
1
teachers did. Maybe you think English is boring because in the past you used boring
methods. You went to boring schools. You had boring teachers. Maybe English isn’t
the problem. Maybe it was these past experiences. Maybe it was the way you did it or
where you did it. Ask yourself these questions. Think about them in detail. Weaken
your limiting beliefs. Challenge your limiting beliefs.
Another question, in school did you learn deeply? For example, did you take one
chapter in your book and learn it for a long time so that you totally mastered it, so that
you knew it completely, 100% and never forgot it? Probably not, most schools I have
seen and the ones I have taught in, it’s quite the opposite. The teachers go very, very,
very quickly. You learn one chapter in your book, boom, after one week on to the next
ww
one, and the next one. Each chapter has so many new words, so much new grammar.
w.
For example, my experience with Spanish in high school and university, I took Spanish,
fa
I’ve had a total of maybe two years of Spanish, but I forgot it all. Because we never
learned deeply. They just tried to make us learn as many words as possible, a lot of
ce
words, a lot of words, a lot of grammar, very, very fast. And then, of course, I forgot
everything. How about you? Did you learn deeply in your schools? If not, maybe that
bo
was one of the problems. Maybe English feels difficult because you never learned
ok
deeply. Maybe English is not the problem.

.
Finally, did you learn with a grammar translation method? Did you study a lot of
co
grammar rules? Did you take a lot of tests? Did you feel good about that? Again,
m/
maybe the method was the problem. Maybe the school is the problem, not English.
gr
So think about these questions and think about them every day. Think about them a lot,
especially this week as you listen to Lesson Number 4. I want you to think about these
ou
questions again and again and again. And really be honest about it. And start to
ps
destroy these limiting beliefs. Get rid of them. They’re wrong. English is not difficult.
English is not painful. English is not boring. It’s only a belief. It’s only a past
/T
experience. You can change that now and in the future.

ai
So let’s do that. Let’s talk now about empowering beliefs, the positive side. So to
Li
empower, the verb, to empower means to make stronger. It means to give power to
another person. Or in this case, it means the beliefs give you power. An empowering
eu
belief is a belief that makes you feel powerful, that gives you power. That’s the kind of
beliefs you want and you need to choose them.
On
Th
You must decide which beliefs will make you stronger. For example, here’s an
empowering belief. You can replace your old limiting belief, add this one instead. You
iD
can say “My brain is a natural language learning machine.” Because that’s what all of
ai
the scientific research shows, our brain naturally learns languages. It is designed to
learn language. It should be easy. It should be effortless. It should feel good. You
Ho
learned your native language that way. It wasn’t difficult was it? English was easy for
me to learn, because I did it in a totally natural way. And the more naturally I tried to
c0
learn Japanese, for example, or Spanish, the easier it feels. So this is a new belief and
1
you should write it down, think about it. Write down this idea, this belief “My brain is a
natural language learning machine.” Think about it every day. Decide to choose that
belief.
Here’s another belief you might decide to choose “English can be fun and effortless.”
English can be fun and effortless. That’s an empowering belief and it’s also true. You
can think of a lot of examples for this. Some of these mini‑stories you’re listening to,
right? They’re fun. They’re stupid, sometimes. They’re crazy, sometimes. But they’re
not serious. English can be fun and effortless. That’s an empowering belief you want to
choose and you want to remember it every day.
ww
And to make these beliefs stronger, you need experiences. Remember, you need
w.
references, you need examples that prove the belief. So I’m going to give you some
fa
examples and you can find more. Go find people who speak English very well. Or
maybe even that have learned another language very well. I’ll give you one of my
ce
favorite examples, Steve Kaufman of The Linguist speaks, I believe, twelve languages
now. I want you to find these people and look at their beliefs. I’ll tell you some of his
bo
beliefs because he’s a friend, I’ve talked to him a number of times, and Steve believes,
ok
for example, that language learning is easy and effortless. That’s his belief.
.
He’s a native English speaker, he speaks Cantonese, he speaks Mandarin, he speaks

co
Japanese, he speaks Russian. These are all, supposedly, difficult languages. For him
m/
they’re not difficult. They’re easy and effortless. That’s a very strong belief he has.
Another belief he has is that you must learn language naturally and you must focus on
gr
meaning. So in other words, he doesn’t focus on the grammar. He’s not focusing on
boring textbooks. He’s reading interesting things that he enjoys. He’s listening to
ou
interesting things that he enjoys. So, for him, language learning is interesting.
ps
What’s really interesting for me is that these are the same beliefs that all of my best
/T
students have. They all have these same ideas. The best students, the ones who learn
the fastest, the ones who have the best test scores, the ones with the best speaking,
ai
they all believe these things. They all believe that English is fun, interesting and
Li
effortless. They all believe that language learning is natural. They all believe that they
should focus on the meaning, not on the grammar and the little pieces of the language.
eu
So if you want to be like these successful people, you need to think like them. You need
to have the same beliefs as them.
On
Th
So here’s what I want you to do. Here’s your homework. This is the last thing, the last
part of this lesson. What I want you to do is write down two, three, four empowering
iD
beliefs, beliefs that give you power about English. Maybe “My brain is a natural
ai
language learning machine.” Maybe “English can be fun and effortless.” Maybe “I love
English.” I don’t know, write down, two, three, four empowering beliefs about English.
Ho
And every day you’re going to do an incantation. That’s a good word, that’s a new
word, incantation.
c0
1
An incantation is a phrase or sentence that you say again and again. It has almost a
magic idea, it comes from magic. An incantation is a magical sentence. It’s a sentence,
if you say the sentence something will happen. That’s where it comes from. But for us
an incantation is just a belief you are going to repeat again and again and again every
day. So here’s what you’re going to do. For example “English can be fun and
effortless.” You’re going to say that out loud every day while you’re walking along and
you’re doing your posture. And you’re breathing and you’re smiling. Well, you’re going
to add one more thing. As you walk, as you’re getting ready for the lesson, you’re going
to repeat this out loud. You’re going to say “English can be fun and effortless.” You’re
going to say it with some emotion. Say it with feeling so you’re smiling, you’re breathing
deep, you’re moving your body, you have good posture and now you’re also saying
ww
these strong beliefs. English can be fun and effortless. You repeat it again. English
can be fun and effortless. And then you say it again. English can be fun and effortless.
w.
fa
You can do this in your room and its fine. You can do it outside and make everyone look
at you and think you’re crazy. Why not? It’s better than feeling powerless, right? It’s
ce
better than being bored. I promise you will learn so much faster if you do this. So do
these incantations every day just before you do a lesson. Get your body strong, peak
bo
emotional state, and then say these incantations. English can be fun and effortless.
ok
English can be fun and effortless. Now your body, your mind, your beliefs, they’re all
together, very strong. Then you’re ready to learn.
. co
Okay, that is the end of the main story for “Beliefs.”

m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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Ho
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1
Beliefs Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ Hoge, and this is the mini‑story for “Beliefs.”

w.
fa
Are you feeling good? Good posture? Deep breathing? Big smile? Moving? I hope
so. I’m not going to start this story until you are. Alright, let’s do it.
ce
bo
*****
ok
There was a guy.

.
Was there a girl or was there a guy?

co
m/
A guy, I just said it. There was a guy.

gr
And what was his name? Was his name Bill?

ou
No, no, no, no, no.

ps
What was his name? Well, come on, what was his name?
/T
ai
His name was George.

Li
There was a guy and his name was George. And George, of course, had a
problem.
eu
On
What was his problem?

Th
Well in fact, George had two problems.

iD
Oh no.
ai
Not just one problem, George had two problems.

Ho
c0
How many problems did he have?

1
Two, George had two problems.
What was his first problem?
Well, his first problem was that girls always laughed at him.
Oh, that’s not a good problem.
Who always laughed at George?
Girls, all girls, all women, they all laughed at George.

ww
How often did girls laugh at George?

w.
fa
Well, always. Every time he talked to them, they always laughed at him.
ce
What did they always do?

bo
They laughed at him, they always laughed at him.

ok
They always laughed at…

. co
…George, that’s right. Girls always laughed at George. So that was his first problem.
m/
What was his second problem?

gr
Well, his second problem was that he loved, loved Angela. And, of course,
ou
Angela was a girl.

ps
So girls always laughed at George and George loved Angela. So that was a problem.
/T
Who did George love?

ai
Li
Angela, he loved Angela.

eu
He wanted to impress Angela.

On
Did he want Angela to like him?

Th
Yes, he wanted to impress her. He wanted Angela to like him. He wanted Angela to
iD
think good things about him. He wanted to impress her.

ai
Who wanted to impress Angela?

Ho
George, George wanted to impress Angela.

c0
1
What did he want to do?
Well, he wanted to impress her, make her think good things about him.
But, of course, girls always laughed at him. Oh no, big problem for George. In
fact, George had dating trauma.
What did he have?
Dating trauma.
ww
Dating what?
w.
fa
Trauma, George had dating trauma, dating pain, dating injury.

ce
Why did George have dating trauma?

bo
Well, because girls always laughed at him when he asked them for a date.
ok
They always laughed at him when?

. co
When he asked them for a date.

m/
When he asked them for a what they always laughed at him?

gr
For a date, when he asked them for a date they always laughed at him.
ou
ps
So what did he have?

/T
Dating trauma, George had dating trauma, dating pain, deep dating pain.
ai
Was Angela a girl?

Li
Yes, she was, she was a girl.

eu
What kind of girl?

On
Th
A gorgeous girl, a beautiful girl.

iD
Now was this good or bad?

ai
Of course, it was terrible.

Ho
Beautiful girls laughed even more at George.

c0
1
Did beautiful girls laugh more or less at George?
More, they laughed more. Poor George, beautiful girls laughed even more at him.
With beautiful girls he had super dating trauma. So George had some very big
problems. But one day he decided “I will develop new empowering beliefs.”
What did he say?
Well, he said “I will develop new empowering beliefs.”

ww
What kind of beliefs was he going to get?

w.
fa
Empowering beliefs, he was going to get empowering beliefs. He was going to develop
empowering beliefs.
ce
Was he going to develop old empowering beliefs?

bo
ok
No, not old, his old beliefs were negative. His old beliefs were limiting. He was going to
develop new empowering beliefs.
. co
New empowering what?

m/
Beliefs.
gr
What was he going to heal with his empowering beliefs?

ou
ps
He was going to heal his dating trauma. He was going to heal his dating trauma with
new empowering beliefs.
/T
So every day he said an incantation.

ai
Li
Who said an incantation every day?

eu
George, George said a new incantation every day.

On
When did he do it? How often?

Th
Every day, every day he said a new incantation.

iD
ai
What was the incantation? Do you know? Well, I’ll tell you.
Ho
His incantation was “I’m handsome and I’m cool.” Every day George looked in
the mirror and he said “I’m handsome and I’m cool.” It was his incantation. He
c0
said it all the time. He was eating breakfast, he said “I’m handsome and I’m
1
cool.” When he was walking to work he said “I’m handsome and I’m cool.”
During lunch he said “I’m handsome and I’m cool.” Going home from work he
said “I’m handsome and I’m cool.” Eating dinner, watching TV, all the time, every
day, he said the same incantation “I’m handsome and I’m cool.”
What was his incantation?
His incantation was “I’m handsome and I’m cool.”
He repeated it again and again and again and again. It was an incantation. He
started to believe it. So he started to go to the gym. He went to the gym every
ww
day. At the gym he worked out. He lifted weights. He exercised.

w.
What did he say when he was exercising?

fa
He said his incantation, of course. He said “I’m handsome and I’m cool” and he
ce
exercised “I’m handsome and I’m cool.”

bo
And he exercised “I’m handsome and I’m cool” and he exercised. He got
ok
stronger. Then he went to a public speaking class. He learned how to speak to

people.
. co
And before every speech, what did he say?

m/
You know, he said his incantation.

gr
He said “Hi, I’m George and I’m handsome and I’m cool” and then he gave his
ou
speech. And when he finished he said “Thank you, I’m George and I’m handsome
ps
and I’m cool.” He became stronger. His speaking got better and better and
better. And one day, amazingly, he was handsome. And one day, amazingly, he
/T
was cool. He walked over to Angela’s apartment. He knocked on the door. She
answered. He said “Hi, I’m George. I’m handsome and I’m cool and I want you.”
ai
Of course, she yelled “You bet, you’re hot, I love you!”

Li
What did she say?

eu
She said “You bet.” You bet means of course, definitely, I agree. If you say you bet it
On
means you’re awesome, I agree with you. So she said I agree, definitely. She said
Th
“You bet.” And she said “You’re hot.” She said to George you’re hot, hot means sexy.
Hot means handsome and sexy, or for a woman, beautiful and sexy. So she said I
iD
agree, you’re sexy, she said “You bet, you’re hot.”

ai
George was very happy. And of course, he was handsome and cool.
Ho
*****
c0
1
Alright, that is the end of the mini‑story for “Beliefs.” As always, listen to it many times.
When you listen, strong posture, big smile. Deep breaths and move, and if you want to,
you can be like George. You can say “I’m a great English speaker” in the morning.
During lunch you can say “I’m a great English speaker.” At work you can say “Hi, how
you doing? I’m a great English speaker.” When you answer the phone you can say
“Hello? I’m a great English speaker.” When you go home on the train, tell everybody
on the train “Hi, I’m a great English speaker, how are you?” And when you get home,
jump around your house, tell your girlfriend, tell your wife, tell your husband, tell your
kids “I’m a great English speaker.” And before you go to bed, look in the mirror and say
“Hi, I’m a great English speaker.” You might actually believe it. It might come true.
ww
Alright I’ll see you next time.

w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
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ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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Ho
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1
Beliefs Vocabulary Text

ww
Hello, this AJ Hoge again. Time for the vocabulary lesson for “Beliefs.” As always, be
w.
sure you’re standing strong. Good posture, big smile. Deep breath, move your body.
fa
Let’s begin.
ce
In this lesson I used a few difficult words. Maybe difficult, maybe not, I don’t know.
Let’s talk about them. Number one is the word trauma. Now trauma is a noun. Trauma
bo
means an injury or a deep hurt. Now it can be physical, for example, if you break your
ok
leg that is a physical trauma. It’s a physical injury. It’s a deep physical hurt. Trauma
can also mean a deep emotional hurt. So something very painful in your life, you feel
.
very, very sad, for example. Very, very angry, that is also a trauma, a very painful
co
experience. A painful, emotional hurt, trauma. So again, that’s trauma. So we have

m/
emotional trauma and we also have physical trauma.

gr
So, of course, in this lesson we’re talking about emotional traumas, hopefully nobody hit
you when you’re learning your English, so probably it was emotional trauma. You felt a
ou
lot of stress perhaps when you were learning English in the past or maybe just
ps
boredom. But for some students, I’d say probably for most students, there are a lot of
negative emotional feelings and beliefs about English learning and altogether I call
/T
these English trauma, English pain, English hurt. And so really what this entire lesson
ai
pack, all of this power English lesson pack is about is healing your English trauma.
Li
Okay, another word we talked about in this lesson, incantation. Incantation. Incantation
is a phrase or a sentence that you repeat again and again and again. So, for example,
eu
“Every day my English speaking is better and better. Every day my English speaking is
On
better and better. Every day my English speaking is better and better.” That’s an
incantation. You saying it again and again and again. And it has a little bit of a magical
Th
idea, that these words are magical. And you know, actually they kind of are magical
because they change your emotion. They change your feelings about English, in this
iD
case.
ai
So saying that again and again, every day, saying it with emotion, saying it strongly,
Ho
“Every day my English speaking is better and better. Every day my English speaking is
better and better. Every day my English speaking is better and better.” That actually is
c0
a little bit magical because it changes your feelings. Your feelings about English will
1
improve. You will start to believe this. You will believe your English is getting better.
And when you believe it, it will be true. You will be getting better and better. So there is
kind of a magical idea about incantations. By repeating these things again and again
with power, that you are changing your mind and you’re changing the situation. Almost
like magic. So that’s incantation. It’s the actual sentence that you say again and again.
Another word we use a lot in this lesson is empowering. The verb is to empower, to
empower. So, of course, power is the basic word, power, strength, right? Power, but to
empower, empower means to give power to someone or to cause power to grow in
someone. For example, maybe you have a child, a small child, and every day you tell
the child “You are so smart. You are intelligent.” You tell them again “You’re intelligent,
ww
you’re smart, you’re intelligent, you’re smart.” You tell this again and again and again,
every day for years and years and years.
w.
fa
You are empowering the child. You’re giving them power. Because they will believe it,
after some time they will believe it. They’ll think “Oh, wow, I am intelligent. I am very
ce
smart.” Right? So you’re giving them power. You’re making them feel more powerful.
You are empowering the child. You’re giving power to the child. So to empower is to
bo
give power or cause power in someone else. So in this way, these beliefs empower
ok
you. The beliefs give power to you. They cause power in you. So we call them
empowering beliefs. We add the “ing” it becomes an adjective. Empowering beliefs.
. co
And the opposite of an empowering belief is a limiting belief. And in the lesson I talked
m/
about, limiting means stopping. A limit is something that stops you. It’s kind of like a
border, a boundary. You can’t go past it. So a limiting belief is a belief that stops you. It
gr
prevents you from doing something. So in this case limiting beliefs prevent you, stop
you, from speaking excellent English. The belief stops you. You could speak excellent
ou
English but you have these negative beliefs, you have these limiting beliefs, and so you
ps
are stopped, you are prevented. You cannot do it. So it’s limiting, limiting beliefs.
/T
Our next word is complicated. Pretty common word, complicated. It’s similar to
complex, complex and complicated, very close in meaning, very similar. And they are
ai
the opposite of simple. So simple and complicated are opposites. Complicated means
Li
not simple. It means there’s a lot of little pieces, alright? If something is simple maybe
there’s just one piece. It’s very easy to understand. But if something is complicated,
eu
there are many little pieces to it, part of it. It’s difficult to understand all of them.
On
So some people think English is complicated. Oh my god, nouns and verbs and the
Th
past progressive and the future tense and past perfect progressive and all these
grammar terms and they “Oh my god, it’s so complicated.” And it is complicated if you
iD
learn that way. If you try to memorize, if you try to think about all these little grammar
ai
rules then absolutely, yes, it will feel complicated. But luckily it’s not necessary. You
don’t need to do that. English can feel simple.
Ho
Finally, we have the word reference. Reference or references. A reference is an

c0
example. It can have different meanings in different situations, but here it means an
1
example, a specific example of something. So you have this belief “English is painful.”
And then you have references, you have examples, that prove it. For example, “In
middle school my teacher made me feel stupid.” Right? That’s the reference, that is the
example, the specific reference, the specific example. And then you have another
reference, “I failed my high school English test.” So now you have two references, your
middle school teacher made you feel stupid and you failed your high school test. Two
references, two examples of the belief “English is painful.” So most beliefs have all
these little references, these little examples. You use the references to prove the belief.
So if you question the references you can destroy the belief. So again a reference is, in
this case, a reference is an example, a specific example of something. And references
support beliefs, references create beliefs.
ww
Okay, that is all, a very short and easy vocabulary lesson for this one. That is all of the
w.
vocabulary lesson for “Beliefs.” Listen to it a few times. Read the transcript, if
fa
necessary. But focus most of your energy on the main speech and on the mini‑story.
Those are the two most important lessons. Those are the ones you need to listen to
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very often, repeatedly, and learn them deeply.

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Okay, I will see you next time.

ok
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Thought Mastery Main Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ Hoge. Welcome to the next lesson. Today we’re going to talk about
w.
“Thought Mastery.” And what thought mastery is, it’s controlling and managing your
fa
thoughts. And when you control your thoughts, when you manage your thoughts, when
you can change and shift your thoughts, you change and shift your motivation. You
ce
change and shift your emotion. And that causes you to change and shift your actions.
And a lot of what we’re going to talk about today comes from NLP. That’s
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neuro‑linguistic programming which is a very long word. Neuro means nerve or brain,
ok
something to do with the nerves or the brain or the nervous system, neuro. Linguistic
we’ve learned already.
. co
Linguistic means language. And programming, of course, is similar to programming a

m/
computer, telling it something, what to do. So what it talks about is how to program your
brain with language and with thoughts and with pictures. That’s neuro‑linguistic
gr
programming. It was developed by several different people, one of the most famous
ou
people is Richard Bandler developed this system called NLP. And NLP is designed to
help you kind of control your brain a little better. To decide the kind of images, decide
ps
the kind of thoughts you want to have in your brain. And by doing that, by changing
your thoughts you will change your emotions and your actions.
/T
ai
One of the key techniques of NLP is to take images that you have in your brain and to
modify them and change them. So a lot of times we have negative pictures in our head
Li
and we don’t realize how powerful they are, how much they affect us, how they change
the way we act, how they change the way we feel. And so what we want to do is look at
eu
the pictures that we make in our head and we want to choose them. We want to
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change them and choose better pictures.

Th
Let me give you an example. Let’s talk about English class, English class. Imagine in
iD
your head an English class. What do you see? What picture comes into your head
when I say English class? For example, do you see a room with a lot of students in it?
ai
Are they sitting at little desks in rows? Are they moving a lot or are they still? What
about the teacher? Where is the teacher? Is the teacher at the front of the class
Ho
standing above the students talking down to them? Do the students look happy? Are
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they smiling or do they look bored? What about the quality of this picture in your head?
Is it bright and sunny and colorful? Or is it kind of dark, maybe black and white? Is it
1
loud? Is there music or is it quiet? Or is it silent? Is it big and in your face, close to
you, or small and far away?
All of these qualities of the picture will change your emotional feeling. So, for example,
if we take this picture and we imagine this class, this is the image I have in my head
when I think English class, and you know, it’s not a very positive one. It comes from an
experience I had in Japan. It’s kind of the typical English class that I see in my head
whenever I hear that word. It’s kind of dark, there’s no movement. It’s not a happy
picture.
ww
So what do I want to do if I want to change my belief about English and English

w.
classes? One thing I can do is change the pictures I make in my head. So, for
fa
example, we can take that picture, we can change it. We can choose a better picture.
Instead I can see a circle of students. Let’s imagine a circle of students. And then I’m
ce
going to add color. Everybody is wearing nice colorful clothes. And then I imagine
everybody smiling, big smiles. And I imagine movement, I add movement to the picture.
bo
So now people are up, they’re jumping around, they’re moving, they’re talking. They’re
ok
alive. I add sound. I add happy, talking, smiling, laughing, maybe a little music in the
background. I take this happy, colorful picture and I make it bigger in my head. I bring it
.
closer to me and bigger so it fills up everything in front of me. Now do that yourself.
co
Imagine this happy picture of an English class and make it big and colorful, with sound,
m/
with laughter, with music. Does it change the way you feel about this word…English
class? It probably does.
gr
So we can do this with anything, with any image. And what you do is you take first your
ou
negative image, so let’s go back again to the negative, sad image of an English class.
ps
Maybe you can remember one from your past. What we’re going to do now is look at
that negative picture and we’re going to change it like it’s a TV set and we’re going to
/T
play around with it. So the first thing I want you to do is make it darker. So you have
this picture in your head, it’s a negative feeling, it’s a negative memory…make it darker.
ai
Make the picture darker in your head. Next, push it away from you. So if it’s close to
Li
you, push it away so that it becomes smaller and smaller and smaller. Keep pushing it
away until it disappears to nothing.
eu
And now suddenly, think of the positive, happy picture. So replace it with the big, large,
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colorful, loud picture in your head of a happy, fun English class. See it in your head and
Th
let yourself feel how you would feel if you were in that picture. So put yourself now into
the picture, step into it so now you are in that English class with all these smiling, happy
iD
people with all this color, with all this laughter, with all the music. Does that change how
ai
you feel? It should, it usually does.

Ho
So what you want to do now is program yourself to do this every time. So what you do,
you do this same process again and again and again. Maybe 50 times, maybe 100
c0
times. You do it quickly. So, for example, you go back again. Go back to the negative
1
image. Okay, see that negative class, oh, boring, terrible, that old memory you have.
And again, quickly, make it darker, make it smaller. Push it away, smaller, smaller,
smaller, until it disappears. And now suddenly, boom, see the big, happy, colorful
picture again. This great, happy, wonderful English class, and step into the picture
again. Feel yourself there with all these people who are laughing and having a great
time. See the color. Make it big. Okay, great.
Now back again to the negative one, the old memory. See it again, the old, negative,
terrible English class. And again, make it darker. Turn the light down, darker, darker,
and then now make it smaller and push it away, farther, farther, farther, until it
ww
disappears. Boom! See the big, happy, wonderful English class again, color, laughter,
happiness. Step into that picture. Be part of it.
w.
fa
Now you can do this again and again and again. In fact, you could do this every day,
maybe 10 times or 20 times. If you’re really motivated you could do it 100 times in a
ce
row at the same time, very fast. You take the negative picture, you shrink it, you make it
darker, you push it away. It disappears suddenly, boom, a big, happy, positive, colorful
bo
picture. And then you go back to the negative, disappear, boom, a big, happy, colorful,
ok
positive picture, again and again and again.

.
So here’s what happens. What’s really interesting is when you do this again and again
co
and again you are programming your brain like a computer. So after you do it enough
m/
times, in the future when you think English class, or someone says English class,
automatically this process happens. Automatically, boom, you see in your head a big,
gr
happy, wonderful picture and you feel really good. You’re teaching yourself to feel good
about this phrase or this idea or this experience called English class. And in this way
ou
you can totally change your feelings about English or English class.
ps
You can do this with any negative memory or negative image you have in your head. If
/T
you’ve had several bad experiences with English, take those pictures, take those
memories, do this same process. Look at them carefully. Then make them darker, then
ai
smaller. Then push them away, and then suddenly, boom, replace them with a big,
Li
positive, happy, colorful picture and then join the picture. And back again and again and
again and again, you know, probably you need a total of 100 to 200 times, so you can
eu
do it very, very fast. It just takes a few seconds, so in 5 minutes or 10 minutes, you
could do this 100 times or 150 times. And you’re programming your brain just like a
On
computer to think in a more positive way. So you can totally change the way you feel
Th
about English learning. You can totally change your old, negative memories, beliefs and
feelings about English.
iD
ai
What will this do for you? It will give you so much more energy when you learn English.
It will totally change your feelings about learning English that will help your motivation
Ho
and that will cause you to learn faster. All of the things we’re learning in this program
and these lessons are about getting you to learn faster. It’s not just about feeling happy
c0
about English, it’s about learning more quickly, more efficiently. And it just so happens
1
that having more positive emotions and more energy and more motivation will cause
you to learn English much, much faster.
I’ve seen this myself in my experience as a teacher with many of my students. And
there’s also a lot of academic research about this same topic. And it all says the same
thing. That when you’re happy, when you’re motivated, when you have strong, positive
feelings and thoughts about the language you’re learning, in this case English, you learn
much faster. That the psychology and the emotion is more important than the method.
Good methods are important, of course. You want to use the best methods, but without
the psychology, without the emotion, no method will work successfully. You absolutely
must take care of this part of the learning process. You must manage your thoughts,
ww
your emotions, your motivation, if you truly want to speak excellent English.
w.
So, your homework is go through this process. Take some of your negative feelings
fa
and memories about English. And then using the same process, see the picture. Make
it darker, smaller, push it away, and then suddenly replace it with a big, strong, positive
ce
image, picture. And I want you to do this again and again and again. I want you to do it
100 times in a row, very quickly. I think you’ll find that it will make big changes to the
bo
way you feel about English and will really boost up and strengthen your motivation.
ok
Okay, that is all for this lesson. I will see you for the vocab.
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Thought Mastery Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini‑story for “Thought Mastery.” Are you feeling
w.
good? Are you moving your body? Breathing deeply. Smiling big! Good posture? I
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hope so. Let’s get started.

ce
*****
bo
There was an incredible woman named Sri. Sri was a linguist and she wanted to
ok
study Swahili.
.
What was Sri?

co
m/
Well, she was a linguist.

gr
What is a linguist?
ou
A linguist is a person who studies languages. Aha.

ps
So what did Sri study?

/T
ai
Languages, Sri studied languages. She was a linguist.

Li
Was Sri a truck driver?

eu
No, she wasn’t a truck driver. Sri was a linguist.

On
Who was a linguist?

Th
Sri, Sri was a linguist.

iD
ai
How many languages did Sri speak? Three?

Ho
No, not three.

c0
Six?
1
No, not six.
She spoke 247 languages.
How many languages did she speak?
247, Sri was an amazing linguist. She spoke 247 languages.
In fact, she had total mastery in 247 languages.

ww
Wow. Did she have total mastery or was she pretty good?
w.
Total mastery, she had total mastery in 247 languages.

fa
What kind of linguist was Sri?

ce
An incredible linguist, a super linguist, an amazing linguist.

bo
ok
But, she needed another language. She wanted to study Swahili.

.
Where do people speak Swahili?

co
m/
Africa, in Africa.
gr
People speak Swahili in Africa, of course.

ou
Did Sri want to speak Swahili or did she want to speak Japanese?
ps
Well, she already spoke Japanese perfectly, so she wanted a new language. She was
/T
bored, time for a new language. She wanted to speak Swahili.

ai
She wanted to speak 248 languages perfectly.

Li
What was Sri?

eu
A linguist, she was a linguist. Not just a normal linguist, she was a super duper
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incredible linguist.
Th
So she wanted to learn Swahili. First she tried a visual method.

iD
ai
Did she try to learn with her eyes or her ears?

Ho
With her eyes, a visual method. Visual means with the eyes, connected to the eyes,
related to seeing, visual. Visual. She tried a visual method first.
c0
1
What kind of method did she try to learn Swahili with?
A visual method, she tried a visual method for learning Swahili.
She read textbooks and grammar rules.
Did she listen to them or did she read them?
Well, she read them, right? It was a visual method, she used her eyes. She read
textbooks. She read grammar rules.
ww
What language was she studying?

w.
Swahili, she was studying Swahili with a visual method.

fa
She studied Swahili with a visual method for two years. Every day she read
ce
textbooks. Every day she read grammar books. After two years what happened?
Nothing. After two years Sri was frustrated. She still could not speak Swahili.
bo
ok
Was the visual method successful for Sri?

.
No, no, no, no, no, it was not successful for Sri. Sri failed with the visual method.
co
m/
For how long did she study with the visual method?
gr
For two years, right? She studied with a visual method for two years.
ou
Which language did she study for two years?

ps
Swahili, right? She studied Swahili with a visual method for two years.
/T
Who studied Swahili with a visual method for two years?

ai
Li
Sri, Sri studied Swahili with a visual method for two years.
eu
Was she successful after two years?

On
No, she failed. She was not successful after two years. She still could not speak
Th
Swahili.
iD
So, she modified her approach.

ai
Did she change her approach or did she keep the same approach?
Ho
Well, she changed it. She modified her approach.

c0
1
What did she modify?
Her approach, her method, her technique. She changed her technique. She changed
her way of learning. She modified her approach.
She modified her approach to what?
To learning Swahili, she modified her approach to learning Swahili. She changed her
technique for learning Swahili.
What kind of approach did she try next? Was it a visual approach again?
ww
No, it wasn’t. She modified her approach. She changed that.

w.
fa
It was a kinesthetic approach, a kinesthetic method.

ce
Ooh, a new word, kinesthetic. Kinesthetic means related movement and the body. So
related to movement, feeling, physical feeling, and the body.
bo
ok
She learned Swahili with her body, with movement and feelings in her body.
.
Sounds interesting. What kind of method did she try next?

co
m/
Kinesthetic, she tried a kinesthetic method.

gr
Who tried a kinesthetic method?

ou
Sri, Sri tried a kinesthetic method.

ps
For what?
/T
For learning Swahili, she tried a kinesthetic method for learning Swahili.
ai
Li
Did she try to learn with her body or with her ears?
eu
With her body, she tried to learn Swahili with her body. She tried a kinesthetic method.
On
What was the kinesthetic method?

Th
Well, it was called TPR and she had to jump and move while learning. The
iD
teacher said “Jump” in Swahili, of course, and Sri would jump. The teacher said
ai
“Sit” in Swahili. And Sri would sit. She did this every day. Every day she jumped
and sat and moved and walked and wrote and read, as the teacher told her to in
Ho
Swahili. It was a kinesthetic method, right? She had to move her body. She was
learning with movement. Kinesthetic.
c0
1
Did this boost her learning?
Oh yes, it did.
It boosted her learning. It raised her learning. It increased her learning. She
began to learn Swahili. She began to understand Swahili. She began to speak
Swahili.
Did the kinesthetic method lessen or boost her learning?

ww
It boosted her learning. It increased her learning.

w.
What boosted Sri’s learning of Swahili?

fa
The kinesthetic method, the kinesthetic method boosted her learning of Swahili.
ce
Did it boost her learning a little or a lot?

bo
ok
Of course, a lot, it boosted her learning a lot.

.
She began to learn much, much faster.

co
m/
Which was faster, the visual method or the kinesthetic method?

gr
Well, the kinesthetic method obviously. The kinesthetic method was much faster. It
boosted her learning a lot more.
ou
ps
What did it boost?

/T
It boosted her learning. It boosted her learning speed.

ai
Of what?
Li
Of Swahili, it boosted her learning speed of Swahili.

eu
What boosted her learning speed of Swahili?

On
Th
The kinesthetic method.

iD
So she used the kinesthetic method for one year. It boosted her learning. She
ai
learned faster and faster and better and better. But, but she did not achieve
mastery. She did not become a master of Swahili. She was good, but not a
Ho
master.
c0
Did Sri become a master of Swahili by using the kinesthetic method?

1
No, she did not. She did not become a master. She became good but she did not
become a master by using the kinesthetic method.
And so she modified her approach again.
Did she change her approach again, a little bit?
Yes, she did. She changed it again. She modified it again.
What did she modify?

ww
She modified her approach. She modified her way of doing something. She modified
w.
her way of learning Swahili.

fa
What did she do next?

ce
Well, she added something this time. She continued to learn with the kinesthetic
bo
method but she added something more.

ok
What did she add? What kind of method did she add next?
. co
Well, she added an auditory method.

m/
Auditory, another new word, auditory. Auditory means related to hearing or listening,
gr
related to the ears. It shares the same root as audio, right? Audio meaning sound.
Auditory means related to sound, related to listening, related to hearing, auditory. So a
ou
listening method is what she changed to or added. She added a listening method.
ps
What kind of method did she add?

/T
Auditory, she added an auditory method.

ai
Li
Who added an auditory method?

eu
Sri, of course. Sri added an auditory method.

On
Why?
Th
Because she wanted total mastery of Swahili.

iD
ai
Which language did she want to totally master?

Ho
She wanted to totally master Swahili, of course.

c0
So what did she add to her learning method?

1
She added an auditory method, an auditory approach.
What did she add an auditory approach to? What did she add it to?
She added it to the kinesthetic method. She was already using the kinesthetic method,
then she added the auditory method to it. She added them together, doing both.
Did she subtract an auditory method?
No, she didn’t subtract it, she added it. She added an auditory method, right?
ww
And she added a visual method?

w.
fa
No, no, no, no, no, she did not add the visual method. She subtracted the visual
method. She eliminated the visual method.
ce
So what did she add?

bo
ok
An auditory method, she added an auditory method.

.
She began to listen to Swahili every day, listening more and more and more.
co
Every day listening to Swahili, tons of listening, 3 hours, then 4 hours, then 10
m/
hours, then 23.5 hours of listening every day.

gr
How many hours did she listen to Swahili every day?

ou
23.5.
ps
So how many hours did she sleep every day?

/T
.5, only 30 minutes. She decided to only sleep 30 minutes each day and she listened to
ai
Swahili 23.5 hours every day.

Li
Was she successful?

eu
Yes she was.

On
Th
Sri became a total master of Swahili in only one year. After one year of listening
to Swahili 23.5 hours a day she became a total master of Swahili. Now she
iD
speaks 248 languages perfectly. Sri is the best linguist in the world.
ai
*****
Ho
Okay, that is the end of the mini‑story for “Thought Mastery.” As always, listen to it
c0
again and again and again. In fact, listen to this mini‑story 23.5 hours every day. If you
1
listen to my lessons 23.5 hours every day you will too become a master of English. But
if you want to, 1 or 2 hours is probably enough.
Thought Mastery Vocabulary Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Thought Mastery.” This is
w.
going to be a little bit of a short vocabulary lesson but that’s okay. Let’s start.
fa
Let’s start again with NLP. NLP is an abbreviation for neuro‑linguistic programming.
ce
NLP is a technique or really it’s a method for managing your brain. It’s a psychological
bo
method. And the parts NLP, the parts of that abbreviation are N means neuro, neuro.
So neuro means nerve, it really means nerve, something to do with the nervous system,
ok
related to the nervous system. So, for example, we have neurosurgeons. A surgeon is
a doctor, a kind of doctor, so a neurosurgeon is a doctor who specializes, a doctor who
.
focuses on nerves, especially the brain. So again, neuro means related to nerves
co
related to the brain, related to the nervous system, neuro. You see this in a lot of
m/
different words, so neurosurgeon, neuroscience, etc.

gr
Okay, and then we have linguistic which we’ve talked about already but let’s talk about it
ou
one more time. Linguistic means related to language, related to language, linguistic.
ps
And of course, programming again, programming means to develop specific commands

for something, a system of actions. Usually we use it with computers but you can do it
/T
with your own brain, too. Alright, so that’s NLP, neuro‑linguistic programming.
ai
Another word I use in this talk, a very common word, is modify, to modify. To modify
Li
means to change something a little bit. It has the idea of a little bit, so if you say modify
the picture, it means change the picture but it usually has this idea of a small amount,
eu
not totally. So we modify the color, for example, we change just the color. Then we
On
modify the size, we make something larger or smaller. And we modify, this, this, this,
this, and then totally it might be a big change, but each individual change is small. So
Th
we use the word modify, to modify.

iD
Alright, another word I used, another phrase actually I used in this lesson was boost up.
ai
To boost or to boost up, sometimes we say to boost, sometimes we add up and we say
to boost up. They both have a similar meaning. To boost means to make something
Ho
stronger or higher. So, for example, we can boost up a child, what does that mean?
c0
Well usually, we use it in a situation where the child is sitting on the floor, but they need
to be higher.
1
For example, to eat at the table, maybe they’re too low. They’re short so we want to
boost them up. We give them a taller chair, boost up the child. In this talk I’m talking
about boosting up your energy. It means lifting your energy, bringing your energy
higher. So a boost means to give something extra, extra high, push something up is the
idea. You boost up, it means you push up or lift up. So you want to boost up your
motivation. You want to boost up your energy. You want to increase it, lift it up, push it
up.
Another word I used in this talk, in fact I’ve used it a lot in these lessons, is the word
mastery. You probably already know mastery, but let’s talk about it a little bit. Mastery
ww
means to be excellent at something. So it comes from the word master, which is a

noun. A master is someone who is really, really, really good at something. For
w.
example, we’ll talk about Tiger Woods again. Tiger Woods is a master at golf. Right,
fa
he’s a super, really excellent, amazing, wow, wonderful guy at golf. He is a golf master.
So mastery, mastery is the situation of being really good at something. It’s the quality of
ce
being really good at something. I have mastery in English. It means I am super great at
English.
bo
ok
So you have mastery. I have mastery in playing tennis. I have tennis mastery. If you
say “I have tennis mastery” it means you’re a great tennis player. You are great at every
.
part of tennis, you can do everything. You’re one of the top tennis players. So that’s
co
what mastery means, to have mastery. To have golf mastery, English mastery, tennis
m/
mastery. It’s not just good, it’s not just very good, it’s super good. It’s the top. It’s the
very top. So you want English mastery, right? You want to have total skill in English like
gr
a native speaker. So I have English mastery, all native speakers…well I won’t say all…
but most native speakers have English mastery if they were born in an English speaking
ou
country. If you’re born in a Spanish speaking country you have Spanish mastery. So as
ps
a student, you want to acquire, you want to get that same mastery, that excellent level,
that top level of ability.
/T
Okay, that is the end of our vocabulary lesson, a very short and easy vocabulary lesson
ai
for this lesson. Listen to it a couple of times and then go, as always, to the mini‑story.
Li
Remember, the mini‑story is the most important lesson. In all of these lesson packs, it’s
always the mini‑story that you should focus on. The main article, yes, but also the
eu
mini‑story. The mini‑story is where you will get most of your English. The mini‑story is
On
designed to teach you grammar, especially grammar, intuitively, naturally. You don’t
need to think about it, just listen and answer the questions. Listen and answer the
Th
questions. All these easy repetitive questions are actually putting the grammar, English
iD
grammar, into your brain a little deeper each time. Don’t think about it, just enjoy the
stories again and again and again.
ai

Ho
c0
1
Models Main Text

ww
Hi this is AJ. Welcome to lesson number 6, today’s topic “Models.” Models are very
w.
important, and by model I mean role model, not the models you see on magazines.
fa
That’s a different meaning. A role model is kind of like a hero. It’s someone that has
success, the same kind of success that you want. So, for example, if you are a
ce
basketball player, you want to be great then maybe Shaquille O’Neal or Michael Jordan
is your role model, maybe both. It’s important to have role models. Role models are
bo
people who have done already what you want to do. Why is that important? Well, it’s
ok
important because you can learn from them. You can learn much faster if you find out, if
you discover what they did to succeed. This is the fast track for success. You don’t
.
have to make all the same mistakes. You can copy them in a way and learn much,
co
much faster.
m/
So, for example, when I started my own business, in the beginning I knew nothing, zero,
gr
I had no idea what to do. I was just an English teacher. Now I had two choices, I could
have just tried something, tried something else, kept trying things, trying things, making
ou
mistakes, failing, try again. And I did do that somewhat. But I wanted to succeed faster.
ps
That would be a very slow method if I only experimented, if I only tried and failed, tried
and failed, and tried to find everything by myself. So, of course, I wanted to succeed
/T
faster, so what did I do? I went and I found role models. I found other people who were
ai
already successful business people. I read their books. I went to their seminars and
their workshops. I learned everything possible from them. And then I used what I
Li
learned with my own business. And in this way I was able to succeed much, much
faster. I could take all the great strategies that they were using, that they discovered in
eu
their life, maybe with many, many years. I could take all those great strategies and I
On
could use them in months or in weeks.

Th
Well you can do the same thing with your English learning or with anything. You can
find role models, people who are total masters, and you can steal their ideas. You can
iD
steal the best ideas, the best strategies, the best methods that they have used, and you
ai
can copy those so that you will learn much, much faster. You will make fewer mistakes.
So that’s why role models are so important. They speed up the learning process, they
Ho
boost it up. They also, of course, give you an emotional boost because you can see,
hey, they did it. Somebody already did what I want to do. It proves it’s not impossible, it
c0
can be done. And I also had that a little bit with my business. I was a little bit scared. I
1
was an English teacher. I didn’t know much about business. But the more I read about
all these other people who started, like me, with no knowledge of business, with no
money, but they did certain things and those certain actions led to success. Those
certain strategies led to success and I realized if I used the same strategies I will get the
same result, the same success. It’s the same with English learning. If you follow the
strategies of people who are masters, you also will become a master, quite simple.
So let’s talk about this a little bit. In fact, this is how I developed my teaching system.
As a beginning teacher of English, I knew nothing, zero. I went to Korea and I got a job
teaching small children, and I didn’t know anything about English teaching. I had a
ww
degree in social work. I had studied social work in school and suddenly I needed to
teach small children. And I did what most English teachers do, I just grabbed some
w.
textbooks and followed the textbooks. And I followed what my boss told me to do. And
fa
the result was not so good. And I did this for a few years and later I changed to
teaching adults. And the same thing, I just used some textbooks, oh this textbook, this
ce
textbook, the school would give me some books to use and I just kind of randomly used
different activities from these books. And the results were quite poor.
bo
ok
But I began to notice something. I began to notice that a few students in my classes
were learning much faster than everybody else. They were doing much better than
.
everybody else. So I was curious, I wanted to be a better teacher and I thought “I need
co
to learn what are these guys doing differently? Why are they different than the other
m/
students?” So I talked to them. I interviewed them. I constantly asked questions. I

was very, very focused on my best students. What were they doing? And I focused on
gr
the other students, what were they doing? What was the difference? And over time I
began to realize there were patterns. The best students were always doing similar
ou
things and they were different than what most students were doing.
ps
Later, a few years later, I went and got a Masters Degree in teaching English as a
/T
foreign language. And during my studies, during my Masters Degree program, I began
to look for other models. This time I looked for researchers, for scientists who were
ai
studying English learning or, in general, language learning. And I wanted to find out
Li
again what were the results, the scientific results that showed which methods were
fastest, which methods were best for learning English or for teaching English.
eu
My focus, of course, was teaching. And again I began to find patterns and the very
On
interesting thing to me, the patterns were the same as what was happening with my
Th
best students. So the research was showing the same thing that my students were
showing. They were doing exactly the same thing. So from these two models, these
iD
role models, these academic role models, these scientists, and then my actual students,
ai
my best students, also role models, I learned a totally new way to teach English. And
that is what you have now, the Effortless English system, the Effortless English
Ho
approach.
c0
So let me talk about some of these examples and then I will talk in more detail about the
1
importance of finding role models and finding a peer group. So peer means…it’s a
person who’s equal to you. But a peer, really it means, it’s the people you have contact
with every day. Your coworkers, your friends, business partners, all of those people are
your peers, so people you have contact with constantly, every day, the people you see
again and again and again, every day, those are your peers. And it’s important to have
a very good peer group. You need to have a good peer group and you need to have
good role models.
So first let’s talk about role models. I just want to talk about a few success stories, a few
of my best students that I’ve had over the years. So one of my best students, her name
was Jeannie, she was Korean and she was a student of mine in San Francisco. And
ww
she learned so much faster than my other students, it was amazing. I couldn’t believe
it. So I began to ask Jeannie questions all the time about what she was doing. How did
w.
she study English? And I asked my other students the same questions. And I found out
fa
number one, Jeannie was focused on listening.

ce
Jeannie did a lot of listening after school. She had an iPod and she was listening to my
lessons all the time. She was listening to podcasts, she was listening to television, very
bo
focused on listening, an auditory method, learning with her ears. Another thing Jeannie
ok
liked to do was read English, but not textbooks. She read novels. Now in the beginning
she was reading children’s novels, very easy novels, but they were storybooks not
.
textbooks. And she read a lot of these every day, she just read for fun, in English. So
co
she was reading a lot of storybooks and she was listening, listening, listening a lot.
m/
Another key thing that Jeannie focused on was meaning and interest. In other words,
gr
she always chose English materials that were interesting to her that had meaning for
her. Textbooks usually don’t have much personal meaning. So she chose a story “Oh,
ou
this story is very interesting, I want to read this book.” She was focused on the
ps
meaning. She was focused on the story. She was not focused on grammar points or
vocabulary. And the same in her listening, she chose listening that was interesting and
/T
fun and meaningful to her. So that’s interesting.

ai
Well, later I talked to a guy named Steve Kaufman. Steve Kaufman is a linguist. He
Li
speaks, I think he speaks 12 languages now. He keeps adding languages so I forget

how many he speaks. But the last time I talked to him he was speaking 12 languages.
eu
Not bad. He’s a Canadian, a native English speaker, but he speaks French, he speaks
Japanese, Cantonese and Mandarin. He’s learning Russian now, he’s learning Korean.
On
He’s an amazing guy and, of course, I was very curious about Steve, another great
Th
language learning role model. And I asked Steve about his methods, “How do you do
it?” And he writes a lot about his methods on his website in his blog.
iD
ai
So Steve, guess what, same as Jeannie. Number one, he has a listening approach.
He focuses mostly on listening, probably 80% of his time he spends listening. He learns
Ho
with his ears. Another thing Steve does, he reads for pleasure. He reads storybooks,
he reads articles, he reads magazines. His reading is always for pleasure, it’s always
c0
focused on something that’s interesting to him or meaningful to him. He does not read
1
textbooks. He does not focus on grammar, this is another interesting thing. Steve does
not study grammar. He might learn a little grammar sometimes but, in general, he
focuses on listening and reading for fun, reading for interest. Just like Jeannie,
interesting.
Well I began to see these patterns again and again and again. The superstar learners,
the superstar students have these same exact patterns. They’re great role models and
they’re doing the same things. They seem to always be focused on listening…listening,
listening, listening. They like to read for pleasure. They focus their listening and their
reading on interesting content, meaningful content, articles, stories, novels,
newspapers. Another interesting thing, they never focus on grammar. They may learn
ww
a little bit of grammar, or not. Some of them will study grammar a little bit, some never
study grammar. But they all focus totally on listening to interesting content, reading
w.
interesting content…input, input, input is their focus.

fa
Another interesting thing that you find with these superstar students, these superstar
ce
learners, is that they do a lot of deep learning, in other words, a lot of repetition. My
favorite example of this is Jerry Dye, a man named Jerry Dye. Now Jerry was a native
bo
Chinese speaker and he moved to Canada. And he wanted to have perfect

ok
pronunciation. He wanted to sound like a North American. So number one, what did he
do? Well, he focused on listening again…listening, listening, listening. Every day he
.
listened to English.
co
m/
Something else he did very interesting. He learned deeply. It means he took the same
article, for example, or the same conversation, he listened to it 100, 200, 300, 400, 500
gr
times. Amazing. The same conversation. Why did he do that? I mean it sounds crazy.
It’s very different from what normal students do. Well, because he realized he needed
ou
that massive repetition so that he could really learn and absorb all the sounds of
ps
English, the patterns of English. He realized that deep learning was more important
than going fast and trying to learn a lot of words and a lot of grammar.
/T
Now you don’t need to do quite so much like Jerry Dye, 500 times with one thing is a
ai
little bit much. It’s kind of hard to stay motivated. It can become quite boring. But the
Li
general principle is important, deep learning. It’s something that all my superstar
students do, that the superstar learners do. They learn a lot very deeply first so they go
eu
deep, deep, deep, a lot of repetitions, and then later they add more.
On
Another guy who does a lot of deep learning, one of my favorite examples in my
Th
mini‑stories, Tiger Woods, we’ve heard a lot about Tiger Woods. Well, think about Tiger
Woods for a minute. Tiger Woods started to practice golf when he was a child. His
iD
father taught him golf and he learned how to putt. He would practice putting, right, the
ai
little short, little short strokes. And he practiced big, long strokes, driving in golf, it’s
called driving it means hitting it far, the same swing. Tiger Woods has been practicing
Ho
the exact same swing for years, since he was a small child until now.
c0
He’s a mater but he still practices his swing. I mean this is super deep learning. He’s
1
doing the same simple thing again and again and again, each time trying to make a tiny
little improvement, right? Tiger didn’t decide “Oh, well, I’m sick of this, I already know
this. I don’t need to practice anymore.” That’s what a lot of English learners do. They
say “I already know the past tense. I can take a test, I can pass it, no problem.” But
when they speak they make constant mistakes with the past tense. It’s because they
did not learn it deeply. They know it at a shallow level, they can take a test, but they
don’t know it deeply, deeply, deeply, the way Tiger Woods knows his swing because
he’s done it, I don’t know, 50,000 times, 100,000 times, maybe more. So deep learning
is something else we can learn from our role models.
So what you need to do then is find role models. And you can get them from a peer
ww
group. Peer group means it’s the people you associate with, the people you’re around,
the people you connect to every day. How do you find a peer group of super great
w.
English learners, of superstar students? Well there are different ways to do it but I think
fa
the easiest way to do it is online. I mean the internet is amazing because you can
communicate with people all over the world. So you can find super English learners in
ce
England, in Europe, in South America, in Asia, all over. And you can come together as
a group and communicate, learn from each other. And that’s going to increase your
bo
learning speed so much.

ok
That’s one reason we call ourselves the Effortless English Club. The Club part is
.
equally important to the lessons. The Club part consists of forums and also a new
co
member site we’re developing. And the purpose is to create a peer group, a group of
m/
superstar learners so that you can connect with people in different parts of the world
who are using these same patterns, these same methods, these same systems. And
gr
you can learn from them and so you can learn faster yourself. And another important
thing about a peer group is it gives you support, emotional support. When you have
ou
other superstars to help you, you learn faster and you feel better.
ps
Sometimes maybe you feel tired. Sometimes you have a problem. Well, you can go to
/T
these people, go to your peer group. Tell them “Help me, I feel tired.” They will help
you. They will encourage you. They’ll bring your energy back up. It’s very important to
ai
do this. Doing something alone is much tougher than doing it with a positive, superstar
Li
peer group. So you need to find a peer group, a powerful peer group of role models.
People who are great English learners, you need to connect with them. Learn from
eu
them, do what they are doing. If you do that, I promise you, you will be so much more
successful than you have in the past.
On
Th
Okay, that is the end of this talk number 6, “Models and Peer Group.” I will see [cuts off]
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Models Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, welcome to the mini‑story for “Models.” Are you ready to begin? Big smile!
w.
Shoulders back, breathing deeply, moving your body? Let’s go.

fa
*****
ce
bo
Laura wanted to be a tri-athlete.

ok
Who wanted to be a tri-athlete?

.
Laura, Laura wanted to be a tri-athlete.

co
m/
What is a tri-athlete?
gr
Well, a tri-athlete is a person who does three different sports, swimming, cycling…riding
ou
a bicycle, and running, right? So tri means three, T-R-I, tri means three so three sports,
a three‑sport athlete, swimming, cycling and running.
ps
Did Laura want to swim, cycle and run?

/T
ai
Yes she did. She wanted to swim, she wanted to cycle and she wanted to run. She
wanted to be a tri-athlete.
Li
Who wanted to be a tri-athlete?

eu
On
Laura, Laura wanted to be a tri-athlete.

Th
Did she want to be a normal tri-athlete?

iD
Not Laura.
ai
Laura wanted to be a superstar tri-athlete. In fact, she wanted to be the number

Ho
one tri-athlete in the world.

c0
What kind of tri-athlete did she want to be?

1
A superstar tri-athlete, Laura wanted to be a superstar tri-athlete.
She wanted to win the Ironman race in Hawaii.
Which race did she want to win?
The Ironman race, she wanted to win the Ironman race in Hawaii, the Ironman tri-athlete
race.
ww
Did she want to be a superstar tri-athlete or a pretty good tri-athlete?

w.
Well, of course, superstar, she wanted to be a superstar tri-athlete. Laura always wants
fa
to be the best. So Laura wanted to be a superstar tri-athlete. She wanted to win the
Ironman race.
ce
How long is the Ironman race?

bo
ok
Hm, well, the Ironman race is a swim that is 2.5 miles, 2.5 miles swimming, and
212 miles cycling, and 26.4 miles running.
. co
Is it a long race or a short race?

m/
Oh, it’s a long race, it’s a super long race. 2.5 miles swimming, 212 miles cycling and
gr
basically 26 miles running, that’s the Ironman race.

ou
Who wanted to win the Ironman race?

ps
Laura, Laura wanted to be a superstar tri-athlete. She wanted to win the biggest race.
/T
She wanted to win the Ironman tri-athlete race.

ai
But she had a problem, of course. Oh there’s always a problem.

Li
What was Laura’s problem?

eu
Her problem was her peer group were all lazy losers.
On
Th
Did she have a positive, strong, superstar peer group?

iD
No, no she did not. She had a peer group of lazy losers.
ai
Were her friends superstars?

Ho
No they weren’t. They were lazy losers. Her peer group was full of lazy losers.
c0
1
What about her job? Were they superstars? Were they athletes?
No they weren’t.
Her coworkers complained constantly and they were lazy.
What were her coworkers like?
Well, they were lazy and they complained constantly.
Who were lazy and complained constantly?

ww
Her coworkers, her coworkers complained constantly and they were lazy.
w.
fa
Were they superstar athletes?

ce
No, they weren’t. They were lazy. They were lazy and they always complained.
bo
And they stole from their company.

ok
What did they do?

. co
They stole money from their company. They were thieves. They were complainers and
m/
they were lazy.

gr
Was this a good peer group?

ou
No, it was a terrible peer group. Terrible coworkers for Laura, her coworkers were
ps
complainers. They were lazy and they were thieves. They stole from the company.
/T
How did Laura feel about her coworkers?

ai
Oh, she hated them.

Li
She hated her coworkers.

eu
Did she love them?

On
Th
No, of course not, she hated them. She hated her coworkers, they were a terrible peer
group. They complained. They were lazy. They stole from the company.
iD
ai
Did her coworkers encourage her and inspire her?

Ho
No, they didn’t encourage her. They didn’t inspire her. She hated them. They were
terrible.
c0
1
How about her friends?
Well, they were nice but they were lazy.
Her friends slept all day and watched TV and ate french fries.
What did her friends eat?
French fries, 20 pounds of french fries every day.
All her friends ate 20 pounds of french fries every single day, each!
ww
How much did they eat?

w.
fa
20 pounds, 20 pounds of french fries every day.

ce
Were they healthy?

bo
No, they weren’t healthy. They were very unhealthy.

ok
Were they in good shape?

. co
They were not in good shape, they were not healthy. In good shape means healthy or
m/
strong physically. So they were not in good shape. They were not healthy.
gr
Did Laura want to be in good shape?

ou
Yes, she did. She wanted to be in great shape. She wanted to be super healthy.
ps
What did she want to be?

/T
A superstar tri-athlete, she wanted to be a superstar tri-athlete.

ai
Li
Were her friends superstar tri-athletes?

eu
No, they weren’t. They were lazy french fry eaters. They ate 20 pounds of french fries
every day while watching TV.
On
Th
Was this a good peer group for Laura, who wanted to be a superstar tri-athlete?
iD
Of course not, it was not a good peer group for Laura.

ai
So Laura said “I want a new peer group.”

Ho
What did she want?

c0
1
A new peer group.
Who wanted a new peer group?
Laura did. Laura wanted a new peer group.
Who wanted a new peer group?
Yeah, that’s right, Laura. Laura wanted a new peer group.
Did she want new coworkers?

ww
Yes, she did.

w.
fa
Did she want new friends?

ce
Yes, she did.

bo
What did she want?

ok
A new peer group.

. co
So she got a new job.

m/
Was it a better job?

gr
Oh yes it was.
ou
ps
It was a better job with great coworkers, super enthusiastic coworkers.

/T
What kind of coworkers did she have?

ai
Super enthusiastic, she had super enthusiastic coworkers.

Li
Did they have a lot of energy?

eu
Of course, they did. They had a lot of energy, they were super enthusiastic, of course
On
they did.
Th
Who had a lot of energy?

iD
ai
Her new coworkers.

Ho
She also found new friends.

c0
What kind of friends did she find?

1
Well, she found super athletes, super athletes.
Her new friends were all super athletes. They all loved to run. They all loved to
swim. They all loved to cycle. They went to the gym every day. They ate healthy.
They were super healthy.
What kind of new friends did she find?

ww
Super athletes, superstar athletes, her new friends were all superstar athletes.
w.
Were they superstar athletes?

fa
Of course they were. They loved to exercise.

ce
So she had new coworkers. She had new friends. She had a new peer group, a
bo
great peer group, an inspiring peer group. Now she felt great so she trained
ok
every day. She practiced every day. Every day she ran. Every day she swam.
Every day she rode her bike.
. co
Did she ride her bike every day or sometimes?

m/
Every day.
gr
How often did she swim and run and cycle?

ou
ps
Every day.
/T
Who swam? Who ran? Who cycled every day?

ai
Laura, of course, Laura swam every day. Laura cycled every day. She ran every day.
Li
She exercised every day.

eu
Finally the day came, the Ironman race. First the swimming, she jumped into the
ocean and she swam and she swam.
On
Th
Was she fast or slow?

iD
She was fast.

ai
She was a superstar swimmer. She came out of the water number one! And next
Ho
she got on her bicycle and she rode and she rode and she rode and she rode.
Faster, faster, faster, she was a superstar cyclist. Finally, after 212 miles she
c0
jumped off her bike and began to run. She ran faster and faster and faster and
1
faster. She felt stronger and stronger and stronger. She was a superstar athlete
at last. Of course, she won the Ironman race. She became the number one
superstar tri-athlete of the world. Laura succeeded.
*****
Okay, that is the end of the mini-story for “Models.” As always, listen to it many times,
deep learning, deep learning, deep learning. I’ll say it one more time…deep learning. I
know this seems like repetitive points, but I’m going to keep saying it every time
because you need to learn deeply. Most of these stories are in the past tense because
most students need more practice with the past tense. And there are some other
ww
tenses mixed in there too sometimes. You don’t need to know the names, it’s not
important. Don’t think about it. The important thing is to listen, listen, listen. And if you
w.
want to answer the questions quickly, quickly, quickly. It’s okay to just listen. You don’t
fa
need to answer if you don’t want to, if you’re on a train or you’re around other people,
you can just listen quietly. But if you want to you can pause and answer the questions,
ce
pause and answer the questions. Try to do it quickly. But the important part is repetitive
listening, deep, deep learning. You don’t want to just learn these things, you need to
bo
master them.
ok
Okay I will see you next time.

. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Models Vocabulary Text

ww
Hi this is AJ again and welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Models.” Well, let’s start
w.
with that first word.

fa
Role model, as I mentioned already in the main talk a role model is kind of a hero. It’s
ce
someone you want to imitate. You want to be the same as them. It’s usually specific
though, it doesn’t mean you want to be like them in everything, in every part of your life.
bo
It’s usually specific, in one part of your life you want to be like them. So maybe Donald
ok
Trump, he’s a very rich man for example, so you might say “Donald Trump is my role
model for business.”
. co
So you want to be rich like Donald Trump but maybe you don’t want to be like Donald
m/
Trump in other ways. Like he had a big divorce, for example, so maybe you don’t want
your relationships to be like Donald Trump but you want your business to be like him.
gr
So you say “He’s my business role model.” And it’s the same with sports, if you play
golf then maybe Tiger Woods is your golf role model, but maybe you don’t want your
ou
personal life to be like Tiger Woods. So a role model usually has this idea of specific,
ps
it’s kind of a hero but just in a specific part of your life, or in a specific way.
/T
The next word we’re going to talk about is randomly, I mentioned the word randomly.
ai
Randomly means by chance, it’s not planned. So, for example, I said “I randomly chose
English lessons when I was a beginning teacher in the beginning.” So randomly means
Li
I just, by chance, I just picked a book and picked an exercise. I didn’t have a plan. I
didn’t have a clear, focused, organized reason. I just picked something and then I’d pick
eu
something else and pick something else, just by chance. It was random.
On
Okay, I used the phrase bring back up, to bring something back up. To bring something
Th
back up means to return it to a higher level. Bring back means return. So bring back
my book means return my book. So bring back up just means return up, return to a
iD
higher level.
ai
Okay, next, I used the word or the phrase actually, fast track. It’s a very common, kind
Ho
of an idiom actually, common phrase, fast track. The fast track or a fast track is a
method or a situation where you are improving very quickly. So, for example, you have
c0
two students are learning English, John and Jane. We might say John is learning
1
slowly but Jane is learning very quickly.
So we say Jane is on the fast track. On the fast track, it means she is improving very,
very fast. This is used in business sometimes, in careers. So, for example, in a
company if you are on the fast track it means you are going up, up, up, up, up in the
company very fast, right? You’re making more money and more money and more
money and more money, very fast. You’re getting better jobs, higher jobs, higher jobs,
higher jobs, very fast. You’re on the fast track. Faster than other people. You’re
improving faster than other people. Okay, so that’s the fast track. You want to be on the
English fast track, right? I hope so.
ww
Next is the word peer. I discussed it already in the main article but let’s talk about it
again. A peer is an equal. Someone who is equal to you, that’s the direct meaning. But
w.
the more general meaning is a peer is anyone who you have contact with frequently.
fa
Your friends might be your peers, your coworkers, just people who you associate with,
who you have contact with, who you communicate with regularly, often. Those are your
ce
peers. And it does have this idea again of your equals. So your bosses’ boss is not
your peer, usually. But your coworkers, they are your peers.
bo
ok
Alright, I used the word superstar a lot. You probably know this from celebrities, from
movies or music. A superstar is a very famous person. But a superstar can also just
.
mean a master, again it’s very similar to master. A superstar student means a super
co
excellent student, a great student, the top master in the class basically. So a superstar
m/
student, a fantastic super student.

gr
Okay, I used the word linguist again, using this one a lot. I said Steve Kaufman of The
Linguist. The Linguist is the name of Steve Kaufman’s company. Of course, a linguist
ou
is a person who learns languages, who studies languages. And Steve studies a lot of
ps
languages so he is a linguist.
/T
Okay, that is the end of the vocabulary lesson for “Models.” As always, listen and learn
deeply. So remember that Tiger Woods example, or any top athlete. You’re going to
ai
notice that they do the same simple things again and again. They continue to practice
Li
the most basic easy things again and again and again. Tiger Woods continues to
practice his most basic swing. He doesn’t say “I’ve already learned it. This is boring.”
eu
Well, it’s the same with you. You must continue to learn and practice the most core,
basic parts of English. You don’t know the past tense well enough yet. Even if you
On
think “I already know the past tense.” No you don’t. If you still make mistakes using the
Th
past tense, you don’t know it.

iD
So you need to listen to it more and more and more and more and more. It’s the same
ai
with all parts of English. Too many students try to go ahead. They want advanced
material, advanced, advanced. “I already know the beginning stuff.” Well, you know it
Ho
intellectually, but you don’t really know it deeply. And most students really need to go
back and focus more on the core, basic parts of English. Simple sentences, the past
c0
tense, the present tense, the stuff we use every day in conversation, you need to
1
master that.
Not just know it, you need total mastery and that requires deep learning, a lot of
repetition. And that’s why, in our system we always tell you to listen to each lesson set
for one week, every day for one week. Don’t go faster. Slower is okay. Every day for
two weeks, every day for five months is fine. But don’t go faster than every day for one
week.
Okay, I will see you next time for the mini‑story, bye.
ww
w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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iD
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Ho
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1
Repetition Main Text

ww
Hi this is AJ. Welcome to the seventh lesson. Let’s begin. This one is called
w.
“Repetition with Intensity.” Intensity means power, concentrated power, really, is what it
fa
means. Of course, repetition means doing something again and again and again and
again and again. So maybe this is the bad news or the good news, I don’t know, but the
ce
truth is to learn English, to learn any language, to learn any skill, to be a master you
have to have a lot of repetition. And this is something that a lot of people don’t like and
bo
they go “Oh my god, I’m bored. I don’t want to listen to this again. I don’t want to do
ok
this again and again and again.”

.
I’ll give you a small example. I’ve recently started taking singing lessons and every
co
lesson we do the same thing. We do these scales, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah,
m/
nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. Every single time. Every day, same scales, same exercises.
And anyone who wants to get really good at singing, and I do want to get good, has to
gr
do this. You have to repeat. You can’t just say “Oh, I already know this. I did it 10
times so I’m finished and let’s do something new.”
ou
ps
Unfortunately a lot of people have this idea with language learning for some reason.
Most people understand if you learn a sport you have to repeat the same basic actions
/T
again and again and again. If you want to be great at basketball, you probably know
ai
you have to practice dribbling, [which] means bouncing the ball, passing and shooting
the ball, again and again and again and again. Michael Jordan practiced these same
Li
basic skills from a child until he finished his career. What, 20 years maybe, every day
practicing the same skills, again and again. And not just practicing, practicing with
eu
emotion, practicing with power, practicing with energy, every day for 20 years or more.
On
We’ve already mentioned Tiger Woods a lot, same thing with golf. He practices the
same skills again and again and again and again, every single day, years and years and
Th
years.
iD
So why, when we’re learning English or learning a language, do we say “Oh, I don’t
ai
want to study this any more, I already know it. I already know the present tense. I
already know these words. I already know this grammar. I already know this lesson.”
Ho
What, maybe you listened to it 7 times, 5 times? It’s not enough. We need a lot of
repetition, a lot of repetition with power, with intensity. Your whole life, that’s why babies
c0
learn so quickly and so well, that’s why I’m a master of English and not a master of
1
Spanish. Because every day for 40 years I have been listening to English, the same
basic English.
When I was 5 years old I didn’t tell my mom “Mom, I already know the past tense so
stop using it. Let’s learn something more difficult now. I’m bored with the past tense.”
Of course, that’s ridiculous, right? I’m still hearing the past tense used correctly
constantly, every single day of my life. And that’s why I can use the past tense without
thinking, totally effortlessly. Because it’s something I hear again and again and again
and again and again and I have since I was born until right now and you need to decide
that you’re going to do this, too. So forget this idea of levels. Forget levels, there is no
level. You’re not an advanced English speaker and then suddenly “Oh, I don’t need to
ww
worry about the past tense anymore. Oh, I already know the present tense, I’m an
advanced speaker.”
w.
fa
Well bullshit! It’s not true. You never finish. And in fact you have to focus on the basic
things, the most frequent, core, fundamental, important parts of the language. You have
ce
to focus on them every day, you never stop. Yes, you’ll start to learn some advanced
vocabulary. Yes, you’ll learn some of that great advanced grammar that you always
bo
want to learn. But that stuff is just extra. Always, the core, main focus of your learning
ok
must be the fundamentals, the high frequency words, the most common grammar
structures, and the basic pronunciation of the language. You never stop practicing
.
those. You never stop improving them. Every day you continue to focus on them.
co
m/
Okay, you believe me? Alright, we agree? Alright, good. Well, your next question is
probably how. Because the problem with this is that it gets boring. Right, and you’re
gr
like “Oh, I don’t want to do it again.” And this is a problem that everybody has.
Everyone who wants to be a master has this same exact problem. I’m sure Michael
ou
Jordan at sometime said “I’m sick of shooting free throws.” Free throws are the basic,
ps
same shot, all basketball players practice them every day for all their life. Probably at
some time he decided, “Oh man, I’ve already done this 20,000 times, I don’t want to do
/T
it again.” But then he said, oh, I need to. He realized that he could never stop.
ai
How does Tiger Woods keep going? How does he continue to practice the same things
Li
every day when he’s already a master? It’s an emotional problem, right? It’s a mental
problem. It’s not a physical problem. It’s easy to do, the problem is we stop wanting to
eu
do it. So again, it’s a problem of our mentality. It’s a problem of our psychology. And
we have to learn how to practice with a lot of repetition but continue to feel strong,
On
continue to have energy and intensity. That’s the trick. That’s the secret.
Th
We’ve already talked about some ways to do this. So one way you do this is to manage
iD
your emotions. Manage your peak states. You get in that peak state. That’s why I keep
ai
reminding you…are you smiling? Are you moving? Is your head up? Are your
shoulders back? Are you breathing deeply? I continue to remind you about this
Ho
because it’s important. It will keep your energy high. It will help you repeat again and
again and again without boredom. When your body, when your physiology is strong,
c0
you get bored less easily, you focus more. You concentrate more. You can do more
1
repetitions. You can repeat more of the same thing. That’s great. So that’s one of the
key things, what we’ve already talked about, managing your emotions.
Managing your beliefs will also help. Thinking constantly about what you want in the
end. Imagining yourself as a successful English speaker. All of these things are
building your energy. And that will help you repeat more often with more energy. But
there’s one more secret to repetition and this is something that all masters do and have
always done. It’s a key point to using repetition most powerfully. Because if you just
repeat and do the same thing, if you do it badly, well then you’re teaching yourself to
perform badly. If you practice English every day with no energy, repeating, repeating,
well you’ll learn to be bored and tired when speaking English. And you don’t want that.
ww
So here’s what you’re going to do.

w.
First, of course, you’re going to get yourself in that peak state again. Always, every time
fa
before you listen to English, you’re going to manage your body, your physiology. You’re
going to move. You’re going to smile. You’re going to change your posture. You’re
ce
going to breathe. You’re going to change your emotions. You’re going to change your
focus. You’re going to think about that big goal, all those great benefits to speaking
bo
English. And you’re going to do your incantations. You’re going to say “I’m a great
ok
English speaker” or “I’m getting better and better with English every day.” And now
you’re feeling great. And you start to repeat. You say “Okay, now, I’m going to listen to
.
that lesson again. Again, 7 times, 12 times, 20 times, 50 times, 100 times.”
co
m/
On the 100th time how are you going to keep your energy still? Well, you’re going to
get in that peak state but you’re also going to change your focus. When you repeat, you
gr
don’t just do the same exact thing. You find small distinctions each time. A distinction is
a difference, an important difference, okay? An important difference. So you’re doing
ou
the same thing, maybe you’re listening to the same lesson, for example. But you, with
ps
your mind, are doing something a little differently each time, a different distinction each
time. What do I mean? Let me give you an example. Let’s say you listen to this lesson
/T
the first time. The first time you probably want to focus on just understanding.
ai
You need to understand all the words I’m using. You need to understand my
Li
pronunciation. You need to, most importantly, understand the whole meaning of this
lesson, of what I’m saying, the meaning, the basic meaning of the English I’m speaking.
eu
So the first time you probably read and listen at the same time. And you’re focused just
on the meaning, just on understanding. Maybe you do that 1 time, maybe 4 times,
On
maybe 10 times, it depends, everybody’s different. But eventually you start to feel
Th
bored. Eventually you think “I understand this, I understand the meaning. I know all
these vocabulary words, no problem.” Most people will then change. They’ll go to a
iD
new lesson “I’m bored, I already know this vocabulary, time for a new lesson.” That’s
ai
what most people do.

Ho
But someone who is focused on mastery will not do that. They will stay with the same
lesson. What they will do is find a new distinction, an important difference, a new way
c0
to focus. For example, you know now all of the vocabulary. You understand easily. So
1
next you change your focus, a new distinction. Next, you don’t focus on just
understanding. Next, you focus on speed. You decide “I’m going to answer those
mini‑story questions very fast.” And it becomes a game.
So the first time maybe you answer somewhat slowly. The next time you listen you try
to get faster. Maybe you still need to pause, but you’re getting faster. The next time
you try to go faster, answer those questions more quickly. Then you try to not use the
pause button. Answer before I answer. And it becomes this game, a challenge. It’s
repetition, it’s the same thing again but now you have a new distinction, a new focus, a
little bit different way of repeating. First, you were focused on just meaning and
ww
understanding. Now, you’re focused on speed, the speed of your response, faster and
faster and faster. And that’s kind of a game, it keeps your brain awake. It keeps your
w.
brain alive. It keeps you learning with this same repetition.

fa
Now eventually that will become boring. You’ll get really fast. You’ll become faster than
ce
me. At that point you have two choices. You can stop and go to a new lesson, what
most people will do. But you are a master, you want to master English. So you will not
bo
do that. You will continue repeating the same lesson but, what do you need now? A
ok
new distinction, a slightly new way to focus on the same lesson.

.
So next, for example, you might focus on listening deeply and carefully to pronunciation,
co
to my pronunciation. What do I mean by that? I mean you listen carefully, how do I

m/
pronounce each word? You especially listen to my intonation. Intonation is kind of the
music of a language, it’s when I go up and when I go down. It’s when I stretch a word or
gr
say a word very quickly. All of those things are important. If you want to improve your
pronunciation you’ve got to first listen very carefully. Not like a normal person, just
ou
listening and hearing it.

ps
You have to really focus on the sounds. You want to hear the emotion in my voice. You
/T
want to focus, when do I get loud and when do I get quiet. What do I stress, what do I
not stress. So that’s your next distinction, you’re going to focus on listening very
ai
carefully. Not so much for meaning, you already know that, you’re going to focus this
Li
time on the sound, the music. Pretend you are a musician and you want to hear the
notes, the rhythm, the small important sounds of my pronunciation. Hear everything.
eu
So you do that again and again and again, 5 times, 10 times, 15 times, 20 times or
more, focused on pronunciation, each lesson, the main lesson, the vocabulary lesson,
On
the mini-story lesson. This time you’re focused on pronunciation, listening, listening,
Th
listening super carefully. Very detailed listening.

iD
What’s going to happen eventually? Boredom, you’re eventually going to get bored.
ai
Not in the beginning, in the beginning it’s a new challenge. Your brain is awake and
alive but this will become easier and easier and finally you’ll think “Oh, I finished
Ho
listening to his pronunciation, I can hear it.” Now you have another choice. Is it time to
go to the new lesson or do you find a new distinction? Well, of course, you’re a master
c0
so you’re going to find a new distinction, yet again, a new focus, a small difference,
1
something a little bit different to focus on using still the same lesson. You’ve been
listening deeply for my pronunciation, well your next step is to imitate my pronunciation,
to imitate me. And to imitate means to copy perfectly.
So now what you’re going to do, you’re going to listen to me, after every sentence
you’re going to pause. And you’re going to say the same sentence. Now here’s what
you do not do. You do not do listen and repeat. So I say “Hi, how are you?” You pause
“Hi, how are you?” I mean that’s the normal school way of doing it, listen and repeat.
You’re not repeating, repeating has no power, repeating does nothing. You’re imitating.
Think like an actor or an actress. Your job is to be me, be AJ. So when I say imitate, I
ww
mean copy everything. Copy my speech exactly, perfectly, the sounds of the words, the
exact pronunciation. That’s just the beginning. The whole sentence, the words in the
w.
sentence, that’s easy, that’s just the beginning. I’m talking about my intonation, the
fa
exact music. You were listening to it before, now you’re going to do it.
ce
So when I go up, you’re going to go up. And when I go down, you’re going to go down.
When I’m loud, you will speak loudly. When I’m quiet, you will speak quietly. You want
bo
to sound like me, just like an actor. You want to copy my emotion. So when you speak
ok
it has the same emotion and power as my speaking. Copy my accent. If you’re really
serious, copy how I move. You can’t see me but you can imagine how am I moving.
.
Am I standing stiff, not moving? Not usually. I usually move around a lot when I’m
co
speaking. My hands are moving. My face is moving. You should do that, too. That’s
m/
the final distinction, imitation.

gr
You can do this with anybody, not just me. You can watch a movie and copy the actor
or actress. And this is great because you have a picture to look at, so you can
ou
definitely, you can copy how they’re moving their body, how they’re moving as they
ps
speak. And then you’re going to copy exactly how they speak. When they pause, you
pause. When they’re loud, you are loud. When they stretch a word, you stretch it. You
/T
copy everything. And that’s an even deeper distinction, a deeper level of repetition.
ai
So this is very important. This is how the masters do it. This is how Michael Jordan
Li
gets better and better and better, or got better and better and better as a basketball
player. He didn’t just shoot, shoot, shoot, same thing every day. No, every week or
eu
every month he changed his distinctions. He reached a certain level, he decided “I want
to go higher.” So he focused on something a little different. Same action, same skill,
On
but now he’s focusing on something even higher or something even deeper.
Th
And when that became easy, he found something else, something else that was new
iD
and he went higher still. And he kept doing that endlessly. Same with Tiger Woods,
ai
same with anyone who is really great at what they do. It’s what you did naturally as a
native speaker of your language. You didn’t know it, it was happening unconsciously,
Ho
intuitively, effortlessly. But it’s what you did as a child as you grew up. You were at a
certain level but then every day or every week or every month you focused on
c0
something new, you got something new.

1
So that’s what I want you to do. This is your homework. This is your homework for life,
for the rest of your life, every day. You’re going to learn more deeply than other people.
You’re going to repeat more with more intensity. And the way you’re going to do it is by
always finding new distinctions. You can start with these lessons now. You’re going to
go more slowly. And you can follow my plan. You can add more to this. There’s always
a new distinction. If imitating me becomes easy, think of something else. Keep getting
better and better. But for now, try my plan. So in the beginning you’re going to listen for
what?
Basically for understanding, that’s the first level of repetition. Listen for understanding.
ww
Focus on the meaning, the general and specific meaning of what I’m saying. And do
that for as long as you can, until you can hear it and instantly know the meaning, no
w.
problem, no effort. When that becomes super easy, then you go to the next level, the
fa
next distinction which is you’re going to focus on speed. You’re going to focus on
answering the mini-story questions faster and faster and faster and faster, until you can
ce
beat me. What’s next? What’s the next distinction?

bo
That becomes easy, then what do you do? Well then maybe after 50 or 100 repetitions
ok
with the mini-stories going fast, then maybe you decide “Well, now I’m going to listen
very, very carefully and deeply to AJ’s pronunciation.” Every tiny detail of pronunciation,
.
the intonation, the individual sounds, the loudness, the pauses, the emotion.
co
Everything, carefully, carefully listening to the music of English, the music of my speech.
m/
And you’ll do that as many times as possible. And then finally you’ll go to the deepest
distinction, the deepest for us right now, which is imitation. When that has become
gr
easy, you will go on to imitate me perfectly. You will try to copy exactly my
pronunciation. Be me when you speak.
ou
ps
By following this system for every single lesson you will get a lot more repetitions for
each lesson. Therefore, you’ll learn it much more deeply. Not just a couple times then
/T
on to the next one and forget it. You won’t forget this. You will never forget this. If you
follow this system, every lesson will be stuck in your brain 10 years from now. You’ll still
ai
remember it. I promise you but you have to follow this system.
Li
Okay, then. Good luck. Keep finding those new distinctions, always, again and again
eu
and again. Increase your repetition. Increase the intensity. And always go deeper,
deeper, deeper to a deeper level.
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Repetition Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ Hoge, Director of the Effortless English Club, here again with another
w.
lesson, the mini‑story for “Repetition with Intensity.” Are you ready? Are you standing
fa
strong, shoulders back, good posture? Deep breathing? Big smile, moving your body?
If not, do it right now. Because if you don’t, I will kick you out of the Effortless English
ce
Club, onto the street to cry and have a terrible life for the rest of your life. You don’t
bo
want that, so you better do it. So stand up, smile, peak state. Let’s go! It’s time for
English again. Let’s Rock!
ok
Alright our mini‑story today is about Asher.

. co
*****
m/
Asher had a dream. He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world. He wanted to
gr
be a rock’n’roll god.
ou
Hm, interesting. Who wanted to be a rock’n’roll god?

ps
Asher did, Asher wanted to be a rock’n’roll god.

/T
ai
What did he want to play? The drums?

Li
No, not the drums, he wanted to play the guitar.

eu
Did he want to be a good guitarist?

On
Hell, no, he didn’t want to be a good guitarist. He wanted to be the best guitarist in the
Th
world, a rock god.

iD
What did he want?

ai
He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world. He wanted to be a rock god.

Ho
c0
Who wanted that?

1
Asher, Asher wanted that. Asher wanted to be the best guitarist in the world. Asher
wanted to be a rock god.
You know there’s a problem. What’s the problem?
The problem is he doesn’t play the guitar. He didn’t play the guitar. He never has
played the guitar. No guitar for Asher.
That’s a small problem.

ww
So, of course, he decided to find the best guitar teacher in the world.
w.
Who did he find?

fa
He found the best guitar teacher in the world.

ce
Where?
bo
ok
In the world.
.
Did he find the best guitar teacher in Mexico?

co
m/
No, not in Mexico, not just Mexico, in the world…he found the best guitar teacher in the
world.
gr
Who was the best guitar teacher in the world?

ou
ps
Well, AJ Hoge, of course.

/T
AJ Hoge was the best guitar teacher in the world. Asher went to AJ and he said
“Teach me to be a rock god.”
ai
Li
What did Asher say?

eu
He said “Teach me to be a rock god.”

On
Who did he say that to?

Th
He said that to AJ. He said to AJ “Teach me to be a rock god.”

iD
ai
Why did he say that to AJ?

Ho
Obviously, because AJ is the best guitar teacher in the world. Everybody knows that.
c0
AJ said “My student, you must look good to be good.”

1
Hm. What did AJ say?
He said “You must look good to be good.” Hm.
AJ said “Imitate me. Dress like me. Jump and yell and look cool like me. Then
you’ll be the best guitarist in the world and a rock god.”
What?
AJ said “Imitate me. Dress like me. Look cool like me. Then you’ll be the best guitarist
ww
in the world.”
w.
What did AJ want Asher to do?

fa
He wanted Asher to imitate him, imitate him.

ce
Who did he want Asher to imitate?

bo
ok
Him, AJ, AJ wanted Asher to imitate him.

.
Did he want him to imitate Jimi Hendrix?

co
m/
No, not Jimi Hendrix, he wanted Asher to imitate him, AJ.

gr
Did he want him to copy him a little bit?

ou
No, not a little bit, he wanted him to imitate him, perfectly copy him.
ps
Did he want him to imitate his dress, how he dressed?

/T
Yes, he said imitate how I dress.

ai
Li
Did he want him to imitate how he moved?

eu
Yes, he said imitate how I move. Look cool like me.

On
Asher said “But don’t I have to practice the guitar?”

Th
What did Asher ask?

iD
ai
He asked “Don’t I have to practice the guitar?” Don’t I have to practice the guitar?
Ho
Did Asher think he needed to practice the guitar?

c0
Yes, Asher thought that he needed to practice the guitar. He said “Don’t I have to
1
practice the guitar?”
AJ said “No, just look good.”
Did AJ want Asher to practice the guitar?
No, no, he didn’t want Asher to practice the guitar.
Why not?
Because AJ said “You must look good to be good.” Looking good is the only important
ww
distinction.
w.
So, for one year every day Asher imitated AJ. He walked like AJ. He moved like
fa
AJ. He dressed like AJ. He tried to be cool like AJ, although that’s very difficult.
ce
How long, for how long did Asher imitate AJ?

bo
One year, for one year Asher imitated AJ perfectly, almost perfectly.
ok
How often did he imitate AJ?

. co
Well, every day, every day he imitated AJ for one full year.
m/
Who did he imitate for one year?

gr
AJ, he imitated AJ for one year.

ou
ps
Who imitated AJ for one year, every day?

/T
Asher, Asher imitated AJ every day for one year.

ai
But unfortunately, after one year Asher still could not play the guitar. In fact, he
Li
was terrible.
eu
After one year, could Asher play the guitar?

On
No, he couldn’t. After one year he could not play the guitar, still could not play the
Th
guitar.
iD
How good was he after one year?

ai
Well, he was terrible. After one year he was still terrible at the guitar.
Ho
Did AJ help Asher?

c0
1
No, no, no. No, he didn’t, he did not help Asher. Asher was still terrible at the guitar.
He was not a rock god. He could not play.
Asher said “You’re fired.”
Did Asher fire AJ?
Yes, he did. He fired AJ. He cut AJ, stopped paying AJ. Oh no.
Next, he went to his friend, Inka. He said “Inka, how can I become the best
guitarist in the world? I tried to study with AJ but he sucked.”
ww
And remember, to suck means to be very bad at something. So was AJ a great guitar
w.
teacher or a terrible guitar teacher?

fa
AJ was a terrible guitar teacher. He sucked at teaching guitar.

ce
Well Inka said “It’s vital to find a great player to model. Seek out Jimmy Page.
bo
He’s the best.”

ok
What?
. co
Inka said “It’s vital to find a great player.”

m/
Is it a little bit important to find a great player?

gr
No, it’s not a little bit important. It’s vital, very important, necessary.
ou
ps
What’s vital?
/T
Finding a great guitar player is vital.

ai
Vital for who?

Li
Vital for Asher, important for Asher.

eu
Why is it vital for Asher to find a great guitar player?

On
Th
Well, it’s vital, it’s important because he needs to learn from the best.
iD
What’s vital for Asher to do?

ai
Well, it’s vital for him to find a great guitar player.

Ho
Who should Asher seek out?

c0
1
He should seek out Jimmy Page. He should find Jimmy Page. To seek out means to
find, to look for and find. It really means to look for.
Should he look for Jimmy Page or should he look for AJ?
He should look for Jimmy Page. He should seek out Jimmy Page.
Who is Jimmy Page?
Jimmy Page is the best guitar player in the world.

ww
What does Asher need to do?

w.
He needs to seek out Jimmy Page. It’s vital, in fact. It’s vital that he seek out Jimmy
fa
Page.
ce
So he did. He went looking for Jimmy Page. And finally he found him in England.
bo
Where was Jimmy Page?

ok
In England, Jimmy Page was in England.

. co
Why was Jimmy Page in England?

m/
Well, it’s obvious, because he’s English. Jimmy Page is English so he was in England.
gr
Who found Jimmy Page?

ou
ps
Asher, Asher found Jimmy Page.

/T
He asked Jimmy “Jimmy will you please teach me to be a great guitarist? I want
to be a rock god.” Jimmy said “Okay.” So every day Jimmy Page showed Asher
ai
new key distinctions on the guitar. He showed him key differences, key new
Li
things to learn.
eu
Who showed Asher key distinctions on the guitar?

On
Jimmy Page, of course. Jimmy Page showed him a new key distinction on the guitar
Th
every day, a new thing to focus on, an important difference to learn.

iD
He told him how to hold the guitar, how to play the guitar, how to move his fingers
ai
quickly.
Ho
Did he learn new distinctions?

c0
Yes, he did, Asher learned a lot of new distinctions.

1
Who did he learn new distinctions from?
He learned new distinctions from Jimmy Page, of course.
Did he learn new distinctions about the piano?
No, not about the piano.
About what?
ww
About the guitar, he learned new distinctions about playing the guitar, about the guitar.
w.
And every day he practiced. Every day a lot of repetition but repetition with new
fa
distinctions.
ce
Who practiced every day with new distinctions and repetition?

bo
Asher did, of course. Asher practiced the guitar every day, a lot of repetitions, a lot of
ok
new distinctions.
.
Finally, three years later Asher became a great guitar player. He became a rock
co
god. Everywhere he went women loved him. When he was in Israel, the women
m/
loved him. When he was in Europe, the women loved him. When he was in North
America, the women went crazy and they loved him. The South American women
gr
loved him. African women loved him. Asian women loved him. He was a
rock’n’roll god.
ou
ps
The end.
/T
*****
ai
That is the end of the mini-story for “Repetition with Intensity.” Be sure to repeat this
Li
mini-story with intensity.

eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Repetition Vocabulary Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ Hoge again. And this is the vocabulary lesson for “Repetition.” Again,
w.
pretty easy today. Let’s talk about the vocabulary.

fa
First, let’s use that word distinction. I talked about it a lot in the main story so let’s just
ce
repeat it again, review it again, one more time. And again a distinction is an important
difference. It often has the idea of a small difference, not always but often. But it’s a
bo
difference, a distinction, something that makes two things different, so a small

ok
difference, an important difference, a distinction.

.
Right, next is the word vital. Vital means very, very important. Repetition is vital.
co
Repetition is vital for mastery. It’s very, very important for mastery. So again, vital, vital
m/
means very important, even necessary. Vital is something that is very important and
necessary, so vital.
gr
Next is the word intensity. I used it a lot, intensity. Intensity again means power. It
ou
really has the idea of concentrated power, so doing something with a lot of focus,
ps
concentration, a lot in a small time. So repetition with intensity means a lot of energy,
concentrated energy is what we’re talking about in this lesson. When I say you need to
/T
have repetition with intensity, you need to have repetition with concentrated energy,
ai
concentrated power, emotional power. That’s what we’re talking about with intensity.
It’s kind of the opposite of laziness.
Li
The next word is imitate. I told you to imitate me, imitate my speaking. And as I said in
eu
the main story, imitate means copy. It’s a verb, to imitate, to copy. But really imitate is a
On
bit stronger. To imitate means to copy very closely, exactly. And we usually use it when
we’re talking about people. So, for example, you can copy a piece of paper, you can
Th
copy a paper. But you can’t imitate a paper. We usually imitate people, something
that’s alive. Something that’s moving, we imitate it. So if you imitate a person, it means
iD
you try to speak like them. You try to look like them. You dress like them, everything.
ai
You try to be exactly like them. That’s called imitating and the noun is imitation. That
process, that action is called imitation. And the verb is to imitate.
Ho
Next we have one of my favorite words, bullshit. Bullshit is a great word and we say this
c0
word, bullshit, we say it when we totally disagree with something. When we think
1
something is foolish or crazy or wrong, it really shows that you think something is
wrong, totally wrong. So if somebody tells me, a student tells me “AJ, I already know
the past tense. I don’t need to learn it anymore. I want to learn the future perfect
progressive.” And I say “Bullshit, you’re totally wrong. You don’t already know the past
tense. Because you just made a mistake with it. You just said yesterday I go to the
store and then you say I already know the past tense. There’s a problem here.” And a
lot of students do this. They say “I know this, I know this.” They don’t know it because
they constantly make the same mistakes with it. When I talk about knowing, I mean
deep acquisition.
Remember acquisition? It means you have something and you keep it and you never,
ww
ever lose it. That’s real knowing. So when students say “I already know it,” I usually
say “Bullshit.” It means you’re totally wrong or I think you’re totally wrong. So you can
w.
use that word, that phrase, anytime you totally disagree with someone, with what they’re
fa
saying. When you think they’re saying something that’s totally foolish or wrong, you say
“Bullshit.” Or you can say “That is bullshit.” That’s another way to use it. It’s a very
ce
common word.
bo
Okay, and then in this talk I talked a little bit about scales. I was talking about my own
ok
singing practice and how I have to practice scales every day. So we’re talking about a
musical scale. Scale has other meanings but in this case, in this situation we’re talking
.
about a musical scale. And a musical scale is just notes that go up and down. It’s a
co
series of notes. You probably know, do re mi fa so…nah nah nah nah nah…right?
m/
Usually 8 maybe in a scale. So it’s just a series of notes and there are lots of different
scales in music. We don’t need to talk about the details of that. But basically a series
gr
of notes in music, we call that a scale, a set series.

ou
Okay, that is all, that is all of our vocabulary lesson today for “Repetition.” Now, as
ps
always, it’s very important to listen to these many times. That’s the whole point of this
lesson today, right? Or I should say this week because you’re going to be listening
/T
deeply for the entire week, maybe even longer than that. So none of this is going to
help you if you don’t use it correctly. If you just listen to each lesson one time, or a few
ai
times, one or two days, you will not get the same benefit. You’ll be entertained, maybe.
Li
You might enjoy it. You might learn a couple words, but you’re not going to learn
extremely deeply. You’re not going to learn how to speak English effortlessly and
eu
automatically like a native speaker. To do that you’ve got to really have this deep level
of repetition with intensity. You have to follow this system to succeed at that level and I
On
hope you’ll do it. I’m sure you will. I know you’re serious about it so you’re going to do
Th
it.
iD
Good luck. I look forward to hearing about your success on our forums on our member
ai
site. See you next time, bye bye.

Ho
c0
1
Identity Main Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to our next lesson. Today’s lesson is called “Identity.” Your
w.
identity is what you believe about yourself so this topic is a little bit similar to the topic of
fa
beliefs. We’ve talked a lot about beliefs before remember? Limiting beliefs and
empowering beliefs. Identity is really an important kind of belief or beliefs really, it’s a
ce
collection of beliefs, about yourself. The reason this is important, more important than
just normal beliefs, is because these are global beliefs.
bo
ok
Now by global I mean some that affects everything. It covers everything. Global comes
from globe which means all of the world. But we’re not internationally here. Here global
.
means everything, covering everything, about everything. So global beliefs are beliefs
co
that affect everything else. Your global beliefs affect all your other beliefs. They
m/
influence all your other beliefs. They influence all of your other emotions. They
influence everything. They’re kind of the most fundamental beliefs, the core, deepest
gr
beliefs, the central beliefs. And other beliefs come from them.
ou
So you’re already been thinking a lot about your beliefs related to English, for example.
ps
But now I want you to think about the beliefs you have about yourself, who you are.
What kind of person you are, what your abilities are. These are very, very important.
/T
You need to choose them because most of us grow up and we learn them from other
ai
people. We don’t even know its happening. For example, we grow up thinking we are
citizens of a certain country. And that’s true, of course it’s true. But if we identify too
Li
much, if that belief is too strong, we can become negative, possibly even violent
towards people from other country. Say “I’m an American. I’m an American, American
eu
is number one! I’m the best. Everyone else sucks.” Well, believe it or not, there are
On
people in the United States who think that. There are people like that in every country.
Obviously this is not a positive belief, not positive for most people. It has a lot of
Th
negative consequences.
iD
So we’ve got to be careful about our global beliefs, about what we believe about ourself.
ai
More commonly, we have a lot of beliefs about what we can do and what we cannot do.
We have beliefs about ourselves “I am this and I am not that.” I’ll give you an example
Ho
of my own, my own limiting global belief. For many, many, many years I had a belief
“I’m not a good language learner.” This was a very strong belief that I had, a global
c0
belief about myself. Now, every time I tried to learn a new language, this belief was
1
there. Do you think it helped me learn other languages? No, it did not. It had the
opposite effect. It frustrated me. It caused me to quit again and again and again. And
here’s what happens. I have this idea in my head from the past “I’m not a good
language learner. I’m a poor language learner.”
So when I start to try to learn Japanese, for example, what happens? Well, I start
learning. And unfortunately I was trying normal, traditional methods, not effortless
methods. I know better now, but in the past I didn’t know. So I was trying just these
normal methods. And, of course, it was difficult. I had problems. I made mistakes. It
was difficult to understand. So what happened is this experience touched, interacted
with, my global belief “I’m not a good language learner” or “I’m a poor language learner”
ww
and then these experiences which were kind of difficult. So I looked at these
experiences and I decided the meaning was “Well, see, I’m not a good language
w.
learner, of course. Of course Japanese is difficult because I’m not a good language
fa
learner.” So I quit.
ce
Now another person can have the same experience. Let’s say somebody who has the
belief “I am a great language learner. I love learning languages. I am fantastic at
bo
languages.” And they start to learn Japanese and guess what happens? They have
ok
some difficulties. They have trouble understanding, of course, they’re a beginner.

They’re just starting. Now they don’t think “Oh, see, I can’t do it.” They think “Well, this
.
is normal but I’m a great language learner so I’m going to solve this problem and keep
co
going. I’m going to get better and better. This will improve.” Their whole attitude is
m/
different. So when the same thing happens to them it doesn’t stop them. It doesn’t hurt
their emotions, their energy doesn’t drop. They don’t lose motivation. They get stronger
gr
and better. They decide “Well, this is a short-term problem. I’m going to solve it. We’re
going to keep going.”
ou
ps
So that’s the power of a global belief. It affects everything. Every specific experience is
filtered through the global beliefs. So every language experience I had was filtered
/T
through this belief “I’m not a good language learner.” And if I have the opposite belief
“I’m a great language learner” well then every experience will be filtered through that.
ai
Li
Okay, so we need to choose our global beliefs. It’s very important. We need to develop
empowering global beliefs as well. Not just beliefs about English or beliefs about
eu
specific things, but also beliefs about ourselves. Who we are, what we can do, what
kind of person we are. These are the most important kinds of beliefs, these global
On
identity beliefs. So you need to look at your own right now about English and learning in
Th
general. Do you have limiting, negative global beliefs? What do you think about
yourself? Do you think “Oh, I’m not good at English.” Or do you think “Oh, I am a
iD
fantastic English learner. I am a fantastic English speaker. I learn languages easily and
ai
quickly.” Which one? It’s a big, big difference. It will have a big effect which one you
choose.
Ho
So let’s talk about how can you build up this identity? How can you choose your
c0
identity? Well the first thing you need to decide, just rationally, very carefully, just
1
thinking logically, what kind of beliefs would help you? What kind of beliefs would
guarantee your success? Those are the ones you want to choose. Consciously choose
the beliefs you want about yourself. So go ahead right now, pause this. Get a piece of
paper and write down maybe three or four beliefs, positive, strong beliefs that will
change your feeling about yourself. Write down at least a couple that are related to
language learning and English learning, English speaking, and maybe just some very
general ones about yourself. And begin every sentence with “I am…” I am a great
language learner. I am a great English speaker. I am a fast learner, etc. Okay? So
four or five, I want you to write them down. Four or five positive empowering global
beliefs, identity beliefs. I am…something. And then after you finish, hit play again and
we’ll continue. So pause right now and do this, real quick.
ww
Okay, did you do it? Did you write down your empowering, strong global beliefs?
w.
Beliefs about yourself, the ones you want. Good. Well, here’s what you’re going to do
fa
now. You’re going to make those strong. And if you remember, the way we make a
belief stronger is we add references, we add experiences, we add evidence. We add
ce
specific examples that show that it’s true. And here’s what you’re going to do. You’re
going to think back, think in your life. Think about a time, any time, one experience
bo
where you succeeded. You did something that was difficult and you succeeded. And I
ok
want you to write that down again. Pause really quickly, write down just one example.
Something you did that was difficult, you succeeded even though it was difficult. Go
.
ahead, pause, do it.

co
m/
Okay. Here’s what I want you to do now. Think again. We’re going to find another
reference, another example. Think back again in your life, any time in your life, now, in
gr
the past, in the far past, as a child, last week, yesterday, doesn’t matter. I want you to
think about a time when you learned something…a time when you learned something
ou
that seemed difficult. So you learned something, it might have seemed tough at the
ps
time, but you did it. You learned it, a new skill, knowledge, anything. Just think about
successful times in your past when you learned something. And you should have more
/T
than one so I would like you to write down four or five of these. Four or five successful
learning experiences, things that you learned. One example, we all have, you learned
ai
your native language. You are a master of your native language. Write that down. And
Li
write down four or five other examples of successful learning in your past.
eu
Okay, did you do it? Good. Now I want you to think back, this one might be a little
tougher for some of you, maybe not. I hope not. I want you to think back to a time in
On
your past where you were successful with English. Maybe a time where you read
Th
something and you understood it and you’re really happy “Wow, I understood that
article. I understood that story.” Maybe a time when you listened to something in
iD
English and you understood, and you were very happy. Maybe a time where you spoke
ai
a little bit of English and you felt proud, you felt strong “Oh, this is great. I just spoke
English.” Maybe you wrote something in English. It doesn’t matter. It does not have to
Ho
be big, something small is fine. But I want you to find two, three, four, maybe five, man,
maybe ten if you have them, experiences, specific examples of success with English.
c0
They can be small, it’s okay. Just little examples from your past when you did
1
something successfully with English. Pause now and write them down.
Alright, did you do it? So now here we have, you have a list of examples. You have
examples of meeting a challenge, doing something difficult in your past. You have
examples of learning difficult things in your past. You have examples of succeeding
with English in your past. Review them, remember them. And the next step, with each
one, one by one, you’re going to remember these and you’re going to remember them
vividly. Remember that word? Vividly, colorfully, big, clear. So take the first one on
your list. A past challenge, something in the past that was difficult but you succeeded.
Imagine it. See it in your head right now. See the picture of yourself succeeding. Now
make that picture bigger. Bring it closer to you. Make it large. Make it brighter, like a
ww
TV set. Turn it, make it brighter, more light, more light. More light, it’s big and it’s bright
now, this success that you had in your past. Now add color. See all the colors in this
w.
picture. Make it very colorful. Remember all of the colors in this experience, in this
fa
picture. It’s big. It’s bright. It’s colorful.

ce
And finally, associate with the picture. Associate, associate means you’re connected,
you’re in the picture. In psychology we can disassociate or we can associate.
bo
Disassociate means you’re separate from something, an experience for example. It’s
ok
like you’re looking at it from the outside. But if you associate with it, it means you’re in
it. You’re part of it. So I want you to associate with this picture. Step into the picture.
.
You are there again. There you are, in your body again in this successful challenge.
co
You did it successfully, something that was difficult. You’re there. It’s big. It’s bright.
m/
It’s colorful. Remember every detail. Feel what you felt at that time. Feel the feelings
again. See what you saw. Hear what you heard. Live it again.
gr
Now come back. Now the next one, choose again something on your list. A time when
ou
you learned something difficult, you succeeded. It was difficult but you learned it, you
ps
mastered it. And again, see the picture. Make that picture larger and larger and larger.
Turn it up again, brighter and brighter and brighter. Add color, make it more colorful,
/T
more colorful. And finally, step into the picture. Associate with the experience. Live it
again. Be there again with this second experience. Successful learning, you did it.
ai
Feel it. Feel how it felt. Live it again, breathe it again. Feels good.
Li
One more time, let’s do it again. From your list choose a successful English experience.
eu
Anything, it can be small, it’s okay. It can be big, that’s fine, too. A time you did
something with English successfully, you understood. You spoke. You read something.
On
It doesn’t matter. But you had some kind of success with English in the past. I know
Th
you have something. So pick one. Got it? And one more time, the same thing. See
that picture. See yourself succeeding. Speaking English or understanding it.
iD
ai
Live it again. See it. Now make that picture bigger, bigger, closer to you, closer to you,
closer, bigger, larger, larger, larger. Let’s add some light. Turn it up. Make it brighter
Ho
and brighter and brighter. A nice bright, large picture in your brain, this successful
experience from your past with English. Once again add color. It should be a colorful
c0
picture. Remember the colors. See them clearly, distinctly, powerfully, vividly. And the
1
last step, step into the picture. Become part of the picture. Associate with it. Be in that
experience again. Live it again. Live it again, the success with English. Feel what you
felt. Feel the happiness. Feel the pride.
Okay, and come back again. Now here’s what I want you to do. Every day this week I
want you to do this. I want you to review your list. Look at this list and do this exercise
every time, every day. You pick something from your list. See it. Make it bigger. Make
it brighter, more colorful. And then step into it and live it again. Feel it again. Do this
every day this week. You’ll start to change your global beliefs. You’ll change your
identity. And just to be sure, make sure you write down those beliefs “I am a fast learner
ww
of English. I am an excellent English speaker.” Write those down and review them
also. Through this process, by doing this just one week, maybe ten days, maybe two
w.
weeks, you will have a big change in your identity related to English.
fa
You can do this in any part of your life. I’m focused on English learning so that’s what
ce
we’re focusing on but you can actually do this with anything. But for now, focus on
English and see if it makes a difference. See how it will change your learning, your
bo
confidence, your feelings when you learn English, when you speak English. You’ll feel
ok
stronger. You’ll feel smarter. You’ll feel more successful and you’ll become more
successful by doing this.
. co
Alright, well that is the end of our main talk for “Identity.” I will see you next time.
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Identity Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ Hoge. Welcome to the mini-story for Lesson Number 8, “Identity.” You
w.
feel good? You standing tall? Good posture? Deep breathing, moving your body, big
fa
smile? Are you ready? I thought so. Good, let’s go

ce
*****
bo
There was a really cool guy named Ken. But what did Ken have? Ken had a
ok
problem. You know, everybody has problems it seems and it’s true. Everybody
has a problem. Ken had a problem. Ken’s problem was he didn’t like his job.
.
Ken was a bored accountant.

co
m/
Was Ken a happy accountant?

gr
No, he was a bored accountant.

ou
How did Ken feel?

ps
Well, he felt bored. Ken was a bored accountant.

/T
ai
What was he?

Li
A bored accountant, Ken was a bored accountant.

eu
Was he a bored salesman?

On
Not a salesman, he was a bored accountant.

Th
He wanted a new identity.

iD
ai
Did Ken want to be a bored accountant?

Ho
No, he didn’t. He did not want to be a bored accountant. He wanted a new identity.
c0
Did he want a new job?

1
Yes, he wanted a new job.
Did he want to feel differently about himself?
Yes, he wanted to feel differently about himself. He wanted a new job. He wanted his
whole life to be different. He wanted a new identity.
Who wanted a new identity?
Ken, Ken wanted a new identity.

ww
Did he want an old identity or a new identity?

w.
fa
A new one, he wanted a new identity.

ce
Unfortunately, he had some negative global beliefs. He was an accountant and he

thought “Well, I’m an accountant so I’m boring. And I’m weak.”
bo
ok
What were his negative, limiting global beliefs?

.
Number one, “I’m boring.” Number two, “I’m weak.” So he had two limiting global
co
beliefs, identity beliefs about himself.

m/
Who had two negative global beliefs about himself?

gr
Ken, Ken had two negative global beliefs about himself.

ou
ps
What were they?

/T
Well, they were “I’m boring” and “I’m weak.” These were his negative global beliefs.
ai
Still, he decided to change his job so he quit his accountant job. And he became
Li
a taxi driver.
eu
What did he become?

On
He became a taxi driver.

Th
What kind of job did he get?

iD
ai
Taxi driving job, he became a taxi driver.

Ho
Did he become a bus driver or a taxi driver?

c0
A taxi driver.
1
Why, why did he become a taxi driver?
He thought it would be exciting.
What did he think about driving a taxi?
He thought it would be exciting.
Who thought it would be exciting?

ww
Ken, Ken thought it would be exciting.

w.
He thought what would be exciting?

fa
Driving a taxi, he thought driving a taxi would be exciting.

ce
Was it exciting?
bo
ok
No, it wasn’t exciting.

.
It was boring.
co
m/
How was taxi driving?

gr
It was boring. Taxi driving was boring.

ou
Was it a boring job or an exciting job?

ps
It was a boring job. Taxi driving was a boring job for Ken.
/T
Why was it boring?

ai
Li
Well, because every day customers complained to him.

eu
Who complained to him?

On
Customers, customers complained to him every day.

Th
What did they do?

iD
ai
Complained, they complained to him every day.

Ho
Who did the customers complain to?

c0
They complained to Ken every day.

1
Was this exciting for Ken?
No, it wasn’t exciting for Ken. He was bored. He felt bored.
Did he feel bored as a taxi driver?
Yes, he felt bored as a taxi driver.
Did he feel bored as an accountant?

ww
Yes, he felt bored as an accountant and then he felt bored as a taxi driver.
w.
How did he feel in his two jobs?

fa
Bored, he felt bored. He was bored as an accountant. He was bored as a taxi driver.
ce
He decided to change his identity. He decided to change his global beliefs.

bo
ok
What were his negative global beliefs? Remember?

.
Well number one was “I’m boring, I’m a boring person” and number two “I’m a weak
co
person, I’m weak.” Those were his two negative limiting global beliefs. He decided to
m/
change them.
gr
What were his new, empowering global beliefs?

ou
Well, number one “I’m strong and tough.”

ps
He decided on a new belief, new belief number one “I’m strong and I’m tough.”
/T
Every day he said this. “I’m strong and I’m tough. I’m strong and I’m tough.”
Every day he remembered references from his past when he was strong and
ai
tough. He had another empowering global belief. He said “I’m exciting. I’m
Li
exciting. I’m an exciting person.” He thought about references from his past,
every time in his past when he was exciting.
eu
What kind of beliefs were these?

On
Th
Empowering, these were empowering beliefs. Strong beliefs, positive beliefs,

empowering beliefs.
iD
ai
Whose empowering beliefs were these?

Ho
These were Ken’s empowering beliefs, his new empowering beliefs.

c0
So every day he made his empowering beliefs stronger and stronger. Soon he
1
had a new identity, a strong, exciting identity. He decided to get a new job. Ken
decided to become a vampire killer.
What’s a vampire?
A vampire is a monster, like Dracula. A vampire sucks blood from people. A

vampire kills people, a big monster. Ken decided I will kill vampires. That’s an
exciting job, much better than accountant.
Which was more exciting? Vampire killing or accounting?

ww
Well, of course, vampire killing. Vampire killing was a much more exciting job than
accounting.
w.
fa
Did Ken like to kill vampires?

ce
Oh, yes, he did.

bo
He loved killing vampires. It was exciting and fun. Every day Ken fought and
ok
killed vampires.
.
Was vampire killing boring to Ken?

co
m/
No, it wasn’t boring to Ken.

gr
How was it?

ou
It was exciting. Vampire killing was exciting to Ken. He loved it. It was so exciting.
ps
Did Ken enjoy vampire killing?

/T
Of course, he did. He loved vampire killing.

ai
Li
Did Ken have a new identity?

eu
Yes, he did.
On
He had a new identity. He said “I’m strong. I’m tough. I’m exciting and I’m a
Th
vampire killer.” Ken loved his new job and Ken loved his new identity.
iD
*****
ai
Okay, that is the end of the mini-story for “Identity.” As always, listen, listen, listen
Ho
deeply. Remember to use those different distinctions, remember those? Listen for
understanding for a while, for a few days. Then try to be fast when you respond, when
c0
you answer. Then listen very carefully for pronunciation. And finally, imitate me, my
1
voice, my emotion, everything. So you can do that for one or two weeks, at least,
possibly longer with each lesson. Then you’ll learn very, very deeply. That’s the power
of the mini‑stories. One time listening to them is nothing. It won’t help you so much.
But if you use that system, I promise you it will help a lot. You will learn so much
English grammar intuitively and naturally. And one day you’ll start speaking and you’ll
use correct grammar without thinking at all. But you have to follow that system, so
please follow the system correctly.

ww
w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Identity Vocabulary Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ and welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Identity.” Let’s get started.
w.
fa
Our first word is associate. In this main talk I use associate in a slightly different way
than normal. It’s a psychological meaning of associate, so psychologists use this word
ce
sometimes. To associate, when you’re talking about psychology, it means you’re

connected to an experience. And the opposite is to disassociate. To disassociate
bo
means to unconnect [disconnect] yourself from an experience. It’s like you’re separate
ok
from your own body. It’s like you are separate from your own mind, separate from your
experience. So it’s a psychological term, to associate or to disassociate. Associate
.
means you’re in the moment. You’re in the experience totally. You’re feeling everything.
co
You’re seeing everything. You are there. To disassociate means the opposite. It
m/
means you disconnect. It’s like you’re not really there. You’re not really feeling
anything. It might be happening to you but you’re not feeling the feelings. You’re not
gr
feeling the emotion. You’re disconnecting from yourself.

ou
So associate and disassociate. When we’re talking about positive experiences, positive
ps
memories, we want to associate. We want to be there in the experience and our

bodies. Living it again makes it stronger, makes the emotions stronger. It makes it
/T
more powerful for us. And the opposite is also true. If you have some negative
ai
memories about English, for example, one way to make them weaker is to disassociate.
Step out. Pretend you’re outside it looking at it. And then, of course, you can make it
Li
smaller and darker and push it away. So that’s all we’re doing when we’re playing with
these pictures in our head. We’re associating or disassociating. We’re associating
eu
more to the positive, strong, empowering memories and images and we’re
On
disassociating more from the negative ones, the limiting ones. Associate has other
meanings, depends on the situation, but this is the psychological meaning of associate.
Th
Okay, our next word is a repeat. We’ve had it before but let’s talk about it just one more
iD
time, just review it, and that’s the word reference. A reference is an example, basically,
ai
an example, a specific example. So when I talk about you need references for your
beliefs, you need examples for your beliefs. If you just say “I’m good at English. I’m
Ho
good at English. I’m good at English.” Eh, you know, that’s okay, but it’s stronger if you
have examples to support it. If you can think in your life, even something small, some
c0
small success with English, a specific example of success, if you can find one or two or
1
more and more and more.
The more examples you find, the more references you find. The stronger the belief
becomes. So you want a lot of positive references. You want to remember the good
things that happened, even when they’re small. And they did happen. You’ve got to
have some positive ones, everybody does. The problem is everybody forgets them and
everyone focuses on the negative references and everyone makes those stronger.
That’s not what you want to do. You want to do the opposite, weaken those. You want
to focus on all the positive ones from your past, even the small ones, and remember to
make them stronger, stronger, clearer, bigger. Build those references. Build those
positive references to support your empowering global beliefs, your identity.
ww
Okay, the most basic meaning of global means worldwide, about all of the world,
w.
connected to all of the world, related to all of the world. Global also has a little more
fa
specific meaning. It can mean about all of one topic or related to everything in one
category or in one topic, so, for example, global beliefs about English. It means beliefs
ce
that affect everything else in this topic, everything else in English learning. So in this
case global has this idea of kind of fundamental or it’s something that affects everything
bo
else that can also be global.

ok
Okay, the next phrase is filter through, to filter through. I said we often filter our
.
experiences through our beliefs. Hm, interesting. Filter something through our beliefs.
co
So we have an experience and we filter it through our beliefs fist and then we decide the
m/
meaning. Okay, filter through, a filter is something that you put between one thing and
another thing, and the filter changes what’s coming in. Let me give you a simple
gr
example to help you understand. Let’s say you have a camera. You have a camera
and you take a picture. And you get some red glass, red glass. You put it in front of the
ou
camera. Well, that’s a red filter, we call that a filter. T

ps
he red glass would be a red filter. It means the light comes through the glass first then it
/T
reaches the camera. And what happens? Only red light comes through, right? The
green light, the blue light, the yellow light is blocked so the camera only sees the red
ai
light. The filter blocks some of the information, some of the light, and it only lets through
Li
the red. So we have mental filters just like this. Our beliefs are mental filters. It means
information comes into our eyes and our ears but before it reaches our brain, deep in
eu
our brain, our beliefs block some of the information or change some of the information.
On
So some of us have happy filters, happy beliefs. So everything that happens, we feel
Th
happy. Even if something bad happens. We lose money, “Oh well, that means I’m
going to get more money later.” Right, that’s just a belief. That’s just a filter. So it’s the
iD
experience comes in and then the belief decides the meaning. On the other hand, if
ai
you have a very negative filter, negative beliefs, then maybe you get money, you earn
money. But then your belief is “Well, I’m going to lose it. I’m never lucky. Someday I’m
Ho
just going to lose all this money.” So the experience is not really the important thing,
right? Losing money or gaining money are not positive or negative necessarily. We can
c0
change that meaning. It depends on our beliefs. It’s like a filter, right? It blocks some
1
of the information. It changes the meaning of the information. So that’s what I say, we
filter everything through the beliefs we have. It means our beliefs are like a filter. So to
filter, it can be a verb too, it’s the act of blocking some information and changing it.
Okay, our last word is the title of this lesson, identity. I already talked about it. It’s a
common word. You probably know it already. But let’s talk a little bit about it
specifically. So again, identity means the collection of global beliefs about yourself.
What you think about yourself. All of your opinions and beliefs about yourself, what kind
of person you think you are. What you think you can do. What you think you can’t do.
What you think you must do. What you think you shouldn’t do. All of those global
ww
beliefs together create your identity, who you are to yourself. A lot of people think
identity is permanent, like you’re born with it or something or it can’t be changed. “This
w.
is who I am. I will always be this way.” A lot of people say that, right? “This is my
fa
identity. It’s who I am. I can’t change.” And what do we say about that?
ce
We say “Bullshit!” It’s not true. Identity can be changed because identity, it’s just a
collection of beliefs and as we have seen already, beliefs can be changed. Beliefs can
bo
be changed very dramatically, in a very big way. And if you start changing these global
ok
beliefs, you change your identity. If you change a lot of them, you can totally change
your identity. You can choose your identity. You can choose a powerful, positive,
.
enthusiastic, encouraging identity. You’re not stuck with the identity you have now.
co
m/
You can change it and I encourage you to change it. To choose the identity you want.
Be the kind of person you want to be. Believe what you want to believe about yourself.
gr
And change the references. Focus on the references that support the identity you want,
about English learning, about who you are as a language learner. But also just in
ou
general, who you are as a person, that’s equally important. Of course, it’s more
ps
important, in fact.
/T
Well, alright. That is the vocabulary for Lesson 8, “Identity.” Please listen to it a few
times. Most importantly, do that activity in the main talk every day. Do the whole
ai
exercise with the pictures, the images, making them brighter, making them bigger, all of
Li
that. Please do that every single day this week. And you will see a very big change
over time.
eu
Okay, thank you and I’ll see you for the mini‑story.
On
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Ho
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1
Kaizen Main Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ with your next lesson. The rest of the lessons are going to be a little bit
w.
different than what you’ve had up ‘til now. In the rest of these lessons, I’m going to talk
fa
about some book or article or idea, I’ll probably read a little bit of it just so you can get
the general idea of the topic, and then I’ll talk about that topic. And, of course, we’ll
ce
have our same mini‑stories, we’re going to have our vocabulary lessons, and we’re
bo
going to add one more kind of lesson, the point of view lesson. The point of view lesson
is really great for learning grammar in an intuitive way. Alright, so let’s get started.
ok
This lesson is called “The Kaizen Way.” So we’re going to talk about a book. The book
.
is called The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer. Now, kaizen is a Japanese word although
co
we use it in English now a little bit. Especially in Business you find it a lot, kaizen.
m/
Kaizen, as our Japanese students already know, means small improvements over time.
It really means constant and neverending improvement. But it has this idea of making
gr
little tiny improvements again and again and again and again, for one week, for one
ou
month, for one year, forever. So kaizen is kind of the opposite of innovation.
ps
Innovation means a sudden, big change, a sudden, big improvement. And that’s a great
way to learn and improve. For example, you could study English very intensely for one
/T
month or two months and you would make a big, sudden improvement. That’s the
ai
innovation idea, but there’s another way you can improve and that is the kaizen way.
And the kaizen way means maybe you just listen to English or read English or study
Li
English, maybe you just do it 20 minutes every day. And every day you improve just a
little bit. But the key, the secret is you do it every single day. Every day you make one
eu
little improvement. Well after one week, one month, one year, two years, five years, you
On
will make a huge change just by making little tiny improvements over time. That’s the
idea of kaizen.
Th
So I’m going to read a little bit from The Kaizen Way, just a couple paragraphs, and then
iD
I’ll talk about it more. Okay, so here’s a section, it’s called Kaizen Tip and this is from
ai
Robert Maurer, M-a-u-r-e-r, that’s his last name. Okay, Kaizen Tip:
Ho
“You want to do something creative. Write a story or a song. Paint

c0
a picture. Dream up your perfect career. Learn something or come

up with a zinger of a solution to an office problem. But you have no
1
idea where to start. Your mind keeps coming up empty. During

times like these, kaizen can help you summon your powers of
inspiration. Although you can’t force your brain to cough up
creative ideas on demand, you can program to launch the
imaginative process simply by asking yourself a small question.
Here are some of the most popular small questions my clients use
for creativity. Feel free to come up with your own. Whatever
question you use, your challenge is to ask it with a gentle and
patient spirit. When you use harsh or urgent tones with yourself,
fear will clog the creative process.
ww
So here are some questions you can ask yourself. Number 1,

what’s one thing I wish to contribute to the world with my project or
w.
idea? Number 2, whom could I ask for help or inspiration? Number

fa
3, what is special about my creative process, about my talents,

about my team? Number 4, what type of work would excite and
ce
fulfill me? Number 5, what small tiny change could I make now,
today, to improve?
bo
ok
Remember, if you repeat the question for several days or weeks, or

however long it takes, the hippocampus, which is the part of the
.
brain that stores information, will have no choice but to address it.
co
And in its own way, on its own timetable, the brain will begin giving
m/
you answers.”
gr
Okay, that’s the section from The Kaizen Way, so this is very interesting from Robert
Maurer here. This technique of asking small questions to yourself is very powerful. You
ou
can use it for anything. You can use it for learning English, of course. You could ask
ps
yourself small questions every day. For example, how could I improve today just a little
bit? Or how could I improve my pronunciation 2% this week? The important part of
/T
asking these questions is that they must be small questions. So don’t say how could I
be totally perfect with English in one month? That’s a huge question and often you’ll
ai
feel stress or worry or fear if you ask this gigantic, huge question. You’ll think, oh my
Li
god, I don’t know, can I do it?

eu
But if you ask a very small question, it seems so small, so easy, your brain will say “Oh,
I can do that, that’s easy.” And then you will start to take action. And, of course, action
On
is the most important part. Action is what we need. So if you try to ask big questions,
Th
you’re trying to improve very fast and you’re feeling stress, maybe you can change your
strategy. Try the Kaizen way. Instead, ask yourself little small questions. How could I
iD
improve just a little bit? How could I learn just one new word each day? How could I
ai
improve my pronunciation just a tiny bit each week? Ask yourself these little questions.
Ho
And another point from this article, you need to repeat the questions again and again
and again. You have to ask this same question or questions every day for one week or
c0
two weeks or maybe even a couple months. By asking yourself these questions again,
1
again, every day you’re asking the same question, your brain must come up with an
answer. Your brain must find an answer. It will find answers. Keep asking questions,
your brain will give you answers. It will give you better and better answers the more you
ask these small questions. So anytime you have some big goal, some big project that
seems so difficult, try the kaizen way. Try to approach this problem with little small tiny
improvements. Ask yourself little small easy questions every day, again and again and
again. Your brain will get more energy. It will find the answers. You’ll get momentum.
You’ll start to take action. And then after one month you’ll take bigger actions. After two
to three months, bigger actions, bigger actions. Actually these improvements start to
grow. The improvements get bigger and faster and faster. That’s the magic of the
kaizen way. It seems so small and tiny. It seems so easy but over time it builds. It
ww
grows stronger and stronger.

w.
So try this. Try this method. Try the kaizen way. And again, the book title is The Kaizen
fa
Way, that’s K-a-i-z-e-n, kaizen, The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer.

ce
Alright, and remember, of course, keep your psychology strong. Keep your physiology
strong. I hope you’re smiling right now. I hope those shoulders are back. Chin up.
bo
Lots of energy. Don’t forget that every single lesson. You must be smiling. You must
ok
be moving. You must have energy in your body. That’s how you’re going to learn
English much, much faster. Okay, I will see you next time.
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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ai
Ho
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1
Kaizen Mini-Story Text

ww
Hi this is AJ. Time for the mini-story for “The Kaizen Way.” Are you smling and happy?
w.
You jumping around? You’re up, you’re moving. Let’s get started.
fa
*****
ce
Jan was a very rude woman. She was always rude to everybody. She was always
bo
very harsh to everybody.

ok
How was Jan?

. co
Jan was rude. Jan was rude and harsh to everyone.

m/
Who was very harsh and rude to everyone?

gr
Jan, Jan was very harsh and was very rude to everyone.
ou
ps
Was Jan gentle and kind?

/T
No. She was not gentle and kind. She was harsh. She was rude.
ai
Was she rude and harsh to some people?

Li
Not to some people, to everyone. She was rude and harsh to everyone.
eu
On
People didn’t like Jan. Nobody liked Jan.

Th
Why not?
iD
Well, because she was rude and harsh to everyone.

ai
Jan always said rude comments to her friends. She always said harsh, rude
Ho
zingers.
c0
Zinger? What’s a zinger?

1
A zinger is something that’s surprising or shocking. So a zinger of a comment means a

surprise comment. Jan always said rude zingers. She always gave rude zingers to her
friends. It means rude, surprising comments. So a rude zinger would be a rude,
surprising comment.
Were her zingers rude or funny?
Her zingers were rude. Her surprising comments were always rude.
Were her zingers kind?

ww
No, not kind. Her zingers, her surprising comments were always harsh and rude.
w.
fa
Who always gave harsh zingers to her friends? Who always said harsh zingers to her
friends?
ce
Jan, Jan always gave, Jan always said harsh zingers to her friends.
bo
ok
What kind of zingers?

.
Harsh zingers, rude zingers.

co
m/
Who gave harsh, rude zingers?

gr
Jan, Jan always said harsh, rude zingers. Shocking, surprising, rude comments all the
time.
ou
ps
How often?
/T
All the time.

ai
All the time she gave harsh, rude zingers to her friends and everyone else.
Li
Were her friends happy?

eu
No, they cried.

On
Th
Jan’s so mean. Jan is so harsh. Every day Jan’s friends cried and cried. Well
one day Jan decided to change. She decided “I’m going to be a good person. I’m
iD
going to be kind and gentle and sweet.” She summoned all her friends to her
ai
house.
Ho
What did she do?

c0
She summoned her friends to her house.

1
Did she call her friends to her house?
Yes, she did. She called them to her house.
She said “Come to my house, please.” She said please because she’s trying to
be nice now. So she summoned her friends.
Who did she summon?
Her friends, Jan summoned her friends. She called her friends “Come to my house.
ww
Come to my house.” She summoned them.

w.
Who summoned all her friends to her house?

fa
Jan, Jan summoned all her friends to her house.

ce
Which friends did she summon?

bo
ok
Well, all of them. She summoned every friend, all of them. Jan summoned all of her
friends to her house.
. co
Where did she summon them to?

m/
Her house, she summoned them to her house.

gr
They all came to her house. They sat in the living room and then Jan coughed up
ou
a compliment to each one. Jan said something nice to each one. It was a little
ps
difficult for Jan because usually, in the past, she was always so harsh and rude
so she had to cough it up. She had to force the compliment out. It wasn’t easy in
/T
the beginning. So she kind of uh, ugh “You’re a very nice person. Ugh. You’re
really intelligent.” Right? She kind of coughed out the compliments. She forced
ai
them out of her body, forced them out of her mouth.

Li
Did the compliments come out easily?

eu
Oh, no, they didn’t. They didn’t come out easily. She had to force them out. She had
On
to cough them up.

Th
What did Jan cough up?

iD
ai
Compliments, a compliment is a nice statement. Something you say that’s nice to

someone. She had to cough up compliments.
Ho
Who had to cough up compliments?

c0
1
Jan, Jan coughed up compliments to her friends.
Who did she cough up the compliments to?
To her friends, she coughed up compliments to her friends or for her friends.
What did she do?
She coughed up compliments to her friends.
How did she say them?

ww
Well, she coughed them up. She forced them out. It wasn’t easy, but she did it.
w.
fa
She said “I’m very sorry. I will never be harsh to you again.”
ce
Was she going to be harsh to her friends again?

bo
No, she said “I will never be harsh to you again.”

ok
How was she going to be?

. co
Well, she was going to be gentle and kind. She was going to be gentle and kind to all
m/
her friends. She was not going to be harsh every again.

gr
And so, over the course of two years Jan became nicer and nicer and nicer. She
was super kind. She was super friendly. She gave compliments to everybody.
ou
ps
Over the course of how many years did she do this?

/T
Well, over the course of two years, for two years, during two years, for two years. Over
the course of two years.
ai
Li
Who was nice and kind over the course of two years?
eu
Jan, Jan was always nice and kind and friendly over the course of two years.
On
For how long?

Th
For two years, over the course of two years.

iD
ai
Over the course of two years, what did Jan do?

Ho
Well, Jan became very kind. Jan gave compliments every day, all the time, over the
course of two years.
c0
1
Who always gave compliments over the course of two years every day?
Jan, Jan always gave compliments every day to everybody, over the course of two
years.
Now, of course, everybody loved Jan. After two years they loved her. They gave
her kisses. They gave her money. They gave her love and friendship. Everybody
in the world loved Jan. And Jan, of course, felt very fulfilled, very happy, very
satisfied.
After two years, how did Jan feel?

ww
She felt fulfilled. She felt satisfied and very, very happy.
w.
fa
Why did she feel fulfilled after two years?

ce
Well, because now everybody loved her. After two years everybody loved Jan. So she
felt fulfilled.
bo
ok
How did she feel?

.
Fulfilled, she felt fulfilled. She felt satisfied and happy.

co
m/
Who felt fulfilled?

gr
Jan, Jan felt fulfilled. She felt loved. She felt appreciated. She felt fulfilled.
ou
*****
ps
And that is the end of our mini-story for “The Kaizen Way.” I hope you enjoyed it. Listen
/T
to it many, many times. Remember, deep learning, deep learning, deep learning. One
more time – deep learning. That means you listen to “The Kaizen Way” lessons, all of
ai
them in this set, every day for one week, seven days. Don’t go to the next lesson set.
Li
Keep learning this one. Keep learning the Kaizen way, every day over the course of
one week. Or over the course of two weeks if you want to. Deep learning is very
eu
important. You must repeat this mini-story many, many times.

On
Alright, good physiology. Smile. Shoulders back. Move your body, feel great. See you
Th
next time. Next lesson is the point of view lesson.

iD
ai
Ho
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1
Kaizen Point-Of-View Text

ww
Hi this is AJ again and now it’s time for our new kind of lesson which I call point of view
w.
stories. Now the point of view story, or stories actually, are designed to teach you
fa
grammar intuitively. Now there are a few important things you need to know and you
need to think about when you’re doing this lesson. Or actually, there’s a few things that
ce
you need to know that you should not think about and the number one thing you should
not think about are grammar rules. Do not think about grammar rules. Very important.
bo
Now I know you’ve been taught grammar rules for many years so it’s hard to get that
ok
out of your brain. But it’s very hard to unlearn that information. Because you learned
grammar in an analytical way.
. co
What that means is you intellectually learned grammar. You learned, okay, well the past
m/
progressive is this and we use it in these situations and da, da, da, da, duh…and you
took all these grammar tests. And it totally confused your brain so that when you
gr
actually speak, you don’t know how to speak with proper grammar. It comes out wrong.
You take a grammar test, maybe you do very well. But when you speak your grammar
ou
sucks, it’s terrible! What’s the problem here? Well, it’s because you learned grammar
ps
rules and terms. You studied it. You analyzed it. You memorized these rules. But you
didn’t learn it intuitively, naturally. It did not get deep into your brain the way a native
/T
speaker knows grammar.

ai
So the point of view stories are designed to teach you the way a native speaker learns
Li
grammar. And we learn grammar by listening, by understanding meaning, by

understanding patterns. So when you listen to these stories, here’s the good news.
eu
Just listen. Smile. Shoulders back. Feel great and just listen. Don’t think about
On
anything. Don’t think about rules, none of that. Just relax and enjoy the story. Notice
the patterns. You can notice the changes in vocabulary because in each story what I’m
Th
going to do is I’m going to tell this exact same story from the mini‑story. So in this story
you’re going to hear the same story about Jan being rude. But I’m going to tell it from a
iD
different point of view. It means from a different time.

ai
So, for example, I might tell that story but from the future. I might say that I have an
Ho
idea for a movie and the movie will happen in ten years, ten years from now. In ten
c0
years there will be a woman and she’ll be very rude. Her name will be Jan. And I’ll tell
the whole story from the point of view of the future. Of course, I’ll change some of the
1
vocabulary, especially the verbs, in order to tell it from the future. Now all you have to
do is just listen to it. Just say “Okay, this is the future” and just notice. All you have to
do is just listen, notice some of the words change. I’ll be using will, for example, and
you know that that’s the future tense. But forget this idea of the future tense. Forget
your grammar books. Just notice the changes in vocabulary. Sometimes I might
change the word order. Sometimes the structure might change a little bit. Just notice it.
That’s all you have to do. Listen carefully. Don’t think about it. Don’t analyze it. Don’t
write down rules, none of that. Listen and notice, listen, listen, listen, that’s all you need
to do.
Now in the point of view stories I’m going to use two basic points of view. One is the
ww
future, which I just mentioned, and the other I call the perfect tenses and there is
actually a few of them. But don’t think about that, oh my god, grammar, grammar,
w.
grammar term. All you need to know is I’ll start most of those stories with something like
fa
“Since she was young… Since 2001…” Right, it means something started in the past
and is continuing up until now.
ce
So that’s one of the points of view I’ll use and the other one will be the future. The main
bo
mini‑story, you may have noticed, most of the regular mini‑stories are from the past.
ok
Right, I said Jan was very rude. She wanted to change. So I did that by design. I did it
on purpose. Because most people need a lot of help, a lot of practice, a lot of listening
.
for the past, the past, the past. So that’s why the main mini‑stories are almost always
co
told from the past point of view. Alright, enough talking, let’s get to it. Are you ready?
m/
Let’s start with the first one.

gr
*****
ou
Since she was a child Jan has always been very rude. Since she was a child Jan
ps
has been rude.

/T
How long has Jan been rude?

ai
She’s been rude since she was a child.

Li
Was she rude when she was a baby?

eu
On
No, no, no, not when she was a baby. Not in the very beginning, no. Just since she
was a child, maybe since she was five years old. So since she was a child she has
Th
been very rude, very harsh.

iD
And who, who has been very rude and harsh since she was a child?
ai
Well, of course, Jan. Jan has been very rude since she was a child. From being a
Ho
child, maybe five or six years old, until now, all that time she has been rude.
c0
Has she always been rude?

1
Not always, just since she was a child. Not when she was a baby. But since she was a
child, since she was six or five or seven, she has been very, very rude.
She has always said rude comments to people.
Has she always done this? Has she always said rude zingers to people?
Well, always meaning since she was a child, sure. Since she was a child she has
always said rude zingers.
ww
Since she was a child she has always said rude zingers to friends, to family, to
everyone.
w.
fa
Since she was a child has she always said rude zingers or just sometimes?
ce
Well, since she was a child she has always said rude zingers to everybody.
bo
But one day, she summoned all her friends. And she said “I will never be harsh to
ok
you again.” She was very friendly. She coughed up compliments to each one.
She said “Oh, ugh, you’re very nice and you’re very intelligent.” She coughed
.
them up. It was difficult in the beginning. But then over the course of two years
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she was very, very kind. She was always kind during that time. Over the course
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of two years she was very kind, kind, kind, very friendly. And, of course, after two
years everybody loved Jan. They gave her kisses. They gave her money. They
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gave her love. And how did she feel? She felt very fulfilled.
ou
*****
ps
Okay, so this is the end of the first POV story. Now something happened in that story
/T
and you should notice it. Don’t think about the grammar terms but just notice that
something changed, I don’t know, around the middle of the story. Now the beginning of
ai
the story I was saying “Since she was a child she has been rude. She has always said
Li
rude comments to people since she was a child.” And then I said “She summoned all
her friends one day.” One day she summoned all her friends, right? Different
eu
vocabulary, different point of view, the point of view suddenly changed. So in the
beginning I’m talking about since, since she was a child. Something started in the past
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and then it continued. It kept happening again and again and again up until now or up
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until a certain time. There is a range of time there. Started in the past and then kept
going over some time. But then it changed, it became a sudden one time event. She
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summoned her friends.

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Now she didn’t keep summoning her friends every day for four years or for two years or
Ho
for one year or anything like that. It just happened. She summoned her friends, boom,
it was a one time event. She did it, it happened, it finished. So then I changed. And,
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you know, all you grammar people already know, I started using the past tense, right?
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So don’t think about that, don’t worry about it. The point is that it changed. And you’ll
notice that happening in most of the POV stories when I’m starting with “Since 2003…”
or “Since she was a child” you’ll notice that often, probably most of the stories I’ll start
that way and then something will happen.
Suddenly I’ll talk about one single event and it will change. The point of view will
change. Just notice that. In each of those point of view stories in the future, this one
and all the other ones. Just notice when it changes. That’s all you need to do. You
don’t need to think about the grammar. You don’t need to think “Oh, he went from the
present perfect to the past tense.” Don’t need to worry about that. Just notice the
change. And notice when it happens and that’s all you need to know.
ww
Alright, our next POV story, we’re going to the future. Here we go, let’s start.
w.
fa
*****
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I have this idea for a movie. Let’s just imagine this is a movie idea. And it’s going
to happen in ten years, ten years from now. In ten years there will be a woman.
bo
She’ll be very, very rude. This woman will always say rude comments to her
ok
friends. She’ll give zingers to her friends every day, rude, harsh zingers. She’ll
always be terrible, always harsh, always rude.
. co
How will she be?

m/
She’ll be very rude. She’ll be very harsh.

gr
What will her name be, this woman in the future?

ou
ps
Her name will be Jan.

/T
Her name will be Jan. And Jan will be very, very rude. She’ll give rude comments
to her friends all the time. She’ll give rude zingers to her friends all the time. Her
ai
friends will cry and cry and cry. They’ll be very unhappy. But one day she’s
Li
going to change. One day she’s going to summon all her friends to her house.
She’ll cough up compliments to each one. She’ll say “Oh, you’re very nice and
eu
you’re very intelligent.” Of course, this will be very tough for her in the
beginning. She’ll have to cough up the comments. But she’ll continue to be nice
On
and kind over the course of two more years. She’ll always be kind. She’ll be
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super friendly during that time. And, of course, at the end of those two years
everyone will love Jan. They’re going to give her kisses. They’re going to give
iD
her money. They’re going to give her love. She’ll feel very, very fulfilled.
ai
*****
Ho
Alright, that’s it. So easy. Now just a couple of things to notice in these future point of
c0
view stories. One thing to notice is a little difficult to hear sometimes is this “ll” sound, its
1
that L sound, right? Sometimes I’ll say, for example “Jan’ll be very rude.” Of course
that means Jan will be very rude. But in real conversation, normal conversation, we
often will just say “ll”, we add “ll” to something for the future. Jan’ll be very happy. Jan’ll
be very fulfilled. That “ll”, “ll”, “ll”. You don’t need to say that, it’s maybe difficult to
pronounce so it’s okay if you can’t say it.
Just say will or gonna or going to, but you do need to be able to hear it so that you
understand what’s happening. You understand someone is talking about the future,
something that hasn’t happened yet. So listen for that “ll”, that “ll” is a little bit difficult to
hear sometimes so you have to listen carefully. So in these future stories listen for the
“ll”, Jan’ll, they’ll. Okay? Another one is gonna. Now gonna, of course, means going
ww
to. I am going to eat this food tomorrow. Now that’s what you learned in your textbook,
I’m going to. But what we actually say very often in real conversation- we say gonna.
w.
I’m gonna eat this food tomorrow. I’m gonna go to the store tomorrow. So gonna
fa
means going to or will, it means future, future, future.

ce
Alright that is the end of the POV stories. Just listen, listen, listen. Relax. Burn your
grammar textbooks. Throw them away. Get rid of them. Stop thinking about that crap.
bo
Of course, crap means what? Crap means shit. Crap means bad stuff. You don’t want
ok
to think about that stuff. Just listen to these POV stories. Relax. Notice what’s
happening in the stories but don’t think about it too much.
. co
Alright, I will see you next time.

m/
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Kaizen Vocabulary Text

ww
Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “The Kaizen Way.” Are you smiling? Big smile,
w.
remember. Body up, shoulders back. Big smile, make it bigger, come on, a huge grin.
fa
Look stupid. Look silly. What about your body? Start moving it. If you’re sitting in a
car, if you’re sitting in a train, you know you can just move your legs around a little bit.
ce
People look at you and think you’re strange, it’s okay. Hopefully you have a chance,
you’re out walking. Get that iPod in your ears. Move your body. Energy, get some
bo
energy in your body. We’re going to learn some English. Are you ready? Let’s go.
ok
Vocabulary for “The Kaizen Way.”

.
Our first word from this article from this lesson is zinger, a zinger. Now a zinger is a
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surprise or a shock. So in the article, it came from the phrase “You want to come up
m/
with a zinger of a solution to an office problem.” So a zinger of a solution means a

surprise or a shock of a solution. It means a solution that is surprising, in a good way
gr
here, of course, it can be negative. Zingers can sometimes be a little bit negative, but it
has this idea of something that is surprising or something that is shocking. Something
ou
that is sudden, a zinger.

ps
Alright, our next word after zinger, our next word is summon. To summon or to summon
/T
up, sometimes we’ll say summon up, sometimes we just say summon. And in the
ai
article we had the phrase “Kaizen can help you summon your powers of inspiration.”
Summon your power, to summon means to call, call something to you, right? Like
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“Come here, come to me now.” Or to arouse, to arouse is another similar word to

summon. Or to conjure, all of these have similar meanings. So to summon your power
eu
means to call your power “Power come to me now!” That’s the idea. So kaizen, this
On
method, this way of thinking, this way of improving, little small improvements, asking
little small questions, it can summon your power. It calls your power to you. It gives you
Th
power. So again, to summon means to call someone or something to you. It’s kind of
like saying “Come to me. Come now.” To summon, to summon.
iD
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Next we have the phrase to cough up, to cough up. Now cough up has a very direct
meaning, a very physical meaning. But then it also has more of a mental idea meaning.
Ho
And let me read the phrase, in the phrase it says “Although you can’t force your brain to
cough up creative ideas, you can program it.” Okay, to cough up means to give or to
c0
produce quickly, right? To make something happen quickly, to give quickly, this idea of
1
calling up actually. And it comes from, physically, it means if we cough we would say
“cough, cough, cough”, right, so if you cough something up, imagine you eat something
and then “cough” you cough it up, it comes from your stomach, up and out your mouth
again. So that’s the direct physical meaning. This idea that something is inside and
then you bleah, you cough it out. It comes out of your mouth. So if you have that idea
in your mind you can see that picture. Well, imagine you’re doing that with an idea. You
have an idea in your brain. If you cough it up it means, it kind of, it’s in your brain and
bleah, it comes out, out of your mouth or out of your body or writing it.
So it’s deep in your brain and then, bleah, you force it to come out. So that’s that idea,
coughing up, this idea of forcing something to come out of you, come out of your brain,
ww
come out of your body. So if we cough up an idea it means “I need an idea, I need an
idea,” bleah, argh, got it, right? And suddenly a great idea comes out of you. That’s this
w.
idea of coughing up. So in this section Robert Maurer is saying you cannot force, you
fa
cannot make your brain cough up ideas, right? You say “I want an idea. I want an
idea.” Well, you can’t make it come out, right? Ideas come out when they want to it
ce
seems. But he says kaizen will help the ideas come out.
bo
Alright, next we have the word harsh, harsh. In the article we had the phrase “When
ok
you use a harsh tone with yourself, fear will clog the entire creative process.” We’ll talk
about clog in a minute, but let’s talk about harsh first. Harsh means very rough, too
.
strong, very bitter. It’s really the opposite of gentle. So if you use a harsh tone, it’s like
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“Get me an idea now!” That’s a very harsh tone. I’m speaking in a harsh way. Now the
m/
opposite would be gentle. I would say “Give me an idea now please.” That’s a very
gentle tone. So again, harsh is the opposite of gentle when we’re talking about
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speaking or emotions. Harsh, arrr, very rough.

ou
Alright, and in that same sentence we have the word clog, to clog. Now to clog means
ps
to block or to hinder, right? You stop something from happening. You block it. You
prevent it. So fear will clog the creative process. It means fear will stop creativity. Fear
/T
will block it, right? If you’re harsh with yourself, if you’re too rough, then you kind of get
afraid and then the creativity is blocked. It’s clogged.
ai
Li
Alright, next we have the word fulfill. One of the questions we asked, one of the small
questions we asked was what type of work would excite and fulfill me? What would
eu
fulfill me? Now fulfill means to satisfy, right? To fulfill means make you feel good, make
you feel happy, make you feel satisfied. If you fulfill someone, you satisfy them. If you
On
fulfill yourself, then you satisfy yourself.

Th
Alright, our next phrase is over the course of, over the course of. We had the big
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sentence “If you repeat the question over the course of several days or weeks, you will
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find an answer.” Okay, if you repeat the question over the course of several days, over
the course of several days. Well, really that just means for or during. It’s just saying a
Ho
length of time, during the time of several days, for several days. So if you repeat the
question for several days, if you repeat the question during the time of several days, if
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you repeated the question over the course of several days, same meaning, all of them.
1
Just means during this time, over the course of. It means you’re doing this thing during
seven days, for seven days or eight days or several days, whatever, any time period.
Okay? So over the course of just talks about a time period that you’re doing something.
Alright, next is the word hippocampus. Now, this is not a really common word, you’re
not going to hear it in conversation a lot. It’s a part of the brain that stores information.
It’s kind of like your memory. In a computer, for example, you have a hard disc and a
hard disc stores information long‑term, for a long time. Well, this part of your brain, the
hippocampus is basically like your brain’s hard disc. So you’ve got a little hard disc in
your brain, a little part of your brain. That’s where the information is stored. That’s
ww
where you remember stuff. So right now you’re putting vocabulary into that part of your
brain. You’re storing that information. You are remembering it. You’re keeping it.
w.
Alright so if you’re a scientist or something, maybe you need that word but most of us
fa
don’t use that word a lot.

ce
Finally, we have the verb to address, to address something. Now address is also a
noun, it has a totally different meaning. So we’re going to talk about the verb. In the
bo
article it said “Your brain will have no choice but to address the question.” Now here to
ok
address means to concentrate on, to focus on, to think about, do something about. But
I like this idea of to concentrate on or to focus on. So your brain must address the
.
problem. It must focus on the problem. It must concentrate on the problem. To

co
address, used as a verb. Now address also has other meanings, even when it’s used
m/
as a verb. But we’re not going to talk about all the meanings, you just need to know this
meaning right now because that’s the meaning we find in this article. Alright, so to
gr
address, to focus on, to concentrate on.

ou
Now that is all of the vocabulary for “The Kaizen Way.” Listen to it several times and
ps
then go and listen to the mini‑story. As always, in every single lesson, you better be
smiling! I’m going to come and check on you. I want to see that big smile. I want to
/T
see that body moving. I want to see those shoulders back, feeling strong. Strong
physiology is so important with the Effortless English system. You’ve got to do it. It is
ai
the core. It is the fundamental most important part of this learning system. Use it every
Li
single time you listen to English.

eu
Alright, that is the end of “The Kaizen Way” vocabulary lesson.

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Reading Power Main Text

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Hi, this is AJ. Time for the next lesson. Now this is one of my favorite topics by one of
w.
my favorite people so I want you to be extra happy, extra strong body and physiology for
fa
this one. So stand up straight. Get those shoulders back. Chest up. Breathe deep.
Get that air going in there. Energize your body. Big, big, super big smile, huge smile.
ce
Make everyone think you’re super crazy. Now move your body. Come on, get it moving
now. If you’re standing you just kind of wiggle around. Move those arms, move those
bo
legs. If you can, start walking. Get the blood going. Get that energy going. Let’s go!
ok
Are you ready?

.
This lesson is called “The Power of Reading” and it comes from an article by
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Dr. Stephen Krashen. He’s one of my favorite people in the world.

m/
Dr. Stephen Krashen is probably the number one expert on language learning and
language teaching in the world. He is just an incredible professor, an incredible
gr
researcher, an incredible intellectual. He has done an incredible amount of research on

the topic of learning languages. And today we’re going to talk about just one part of his
ou
research. Really, Effortless English is based a lot on Dr. Stephen Krashen’s research,
ps
all of the methods we use. But we’re going to talk about just one particular method, one
particular idea, very strong idea that comes from Dr. Stephen Krashen and his research
/T
and that is the power of reading. Specifically it’s the power of pleasure reading. It’s the
ai
power of easy reading. We’ll talk about that more in a minute.

Li
But first let me read a little bit from this article. Now this article, as you might guess, is
about the power of reading. And Dr. Krashen did a lot of research about reading.
eu
Specifically about how do people, native speakers, and people learning foreign
On
languages, how do they learn vocabulary? How do they get good grammar? How do
they get excellent writing skills? One of the most important methods is reading.
Th
Reading for pleasure. Now when we talk about reading there are kind of two different
ways to learn reading, even for small children, learning a native language. Now one
iD
method, the old method, is that you learn reading skills. So you have to study and
ai
analyze vocabulary, for example.

Ho
Spelling in English is very difficult and tough so we have to study that a lot in school.
Well, we don’t have to but often with old methods and old teachers we do. We study,
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study, study spelling. We study, study, study vocabulary. And we learn all these skills.
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We use all these textbooks to learn reading. And, of course, people learning new
language, a foreign language, well guess what. You do the same things, right? You
learn textbooks. You’re reading all these textbooks and you’re trying to learn all these
“reading skills.”
Now the other way, the other method, and this is the method, in fact that works much,
much better according to Dr. Krashen’s research, according to a lot of other research.
It’s just reading for fun, imagine that! And what that means is reading a lot of easy
books. Now for children that might be comic books. It might be just children’s novels.
And it’s just reading, reading, reading, in other words we learn to read by reading. We
learn vocabulary from reading. We learn a lot of our grammar from reading. We learn
ww
our writing skills from reading. Not by analyzing and studying grammar. Not be trying to
memorize vocabulary. If you read something very easy, you know most of the words.
w.
And then you find a new word, you don’t need to memorize it. You will start to
fa
understand that word just because you understand the general meaning of the story.
You understand the whole paragraph. You understand the sentence.
ce
So that one word you can guess the meaning. And then guess what happens? You see
bo
that new word again somewhere else in the book. And then you start, it’s in a different
ok
situation. A little bit different paragraph, a little bit different sentence, and now you’re
“Ah” you understand it a little more. Then you see it again in another paragraph,
.
somewhere else in the book. And over time you will naturally learn that word. You’ll
co
never try to memorize it. You will never study it but you will learn it. You will know it
m/
forever. That’s the best way to learn vocabulary. There’s a lot of research about this.
They compare people who try to memorize vocabulary with books, textbooks, that is.
gr
And then other people who learn just by reading easy books all the time. They’re
reading novels all the time. They’re reading, reading, reading.
ou
ps
Which group of people learns more vocabulary faster? The readers, the people who
are just reading for fun. They’re just reading a lot of fun, easy novels and books. Those
/T
people have much bigger vocabularies than people who are actually trying to study
vocabulary. It’s the same for grammar. People who are studying grammar, study, study
ai
grammar rules, study grammar textbooks. And then other people who are just reading
Li
lots of novels. They’re reading, reading, reading all the time. Comic books, novels,
articles, stories, the readers have better grammar than the people who are studying
eu
grammar from textbooks. It’s a huge difference. And the more you read over time, the
bigger the difference. The better your grammar gets compared to people who are using
On
textbooks. So this is a huge topic. It is so important.

Th
So let me read a little bit from Dr. Krashen and then we’ll talk a little more. Okay, this is
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from Dr. Krashen:

ai
“When second language learners read for pleasure, they develop

Ho
the competence they need to move from the beginning ordinary

conversational level to a level where they can use the second
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language for more demanding purposes. Such as the serious

1
study of literature, business and so on. When they read for

pleasure they can continue to improve in their second language
without classes, without teachers, without study. And even without
people to converse with.
When we read we really have no choice. We must develop literacy.

We rarely find well‑read people who have serious problems with
grammar, spelling and so on. They write acceptably well because
they can’t help it. They have subconsciously acquired good writing
style as well as the conventions of writing. Our problem in
language education, as Frank Smith has pointed out, is that we
ww
have confused cause and effect. We have assumed that we first

learn language skills and then apply these skills to reading and
w.
writing. But that is not the way the human brain works. Rather,
fa
reading for meaning, reading about things that matter to us is the

cause of language development.”
ce
So, very interesting, what does that mean? So what it means is that you don’t first learn
bo
skills. You learn writing skills. You learn spelling skills. You learn how to do a sentence.
ok
You learn how to make a paragraph. And then later you can read and write well. That’s
exactly the opposite of what actually happens. What actually happens is you read and
.
you read and you read. You read sentences. You read paragraphs. You read stories.
co
You read books. You read novels. And after reading so much you subconsciously, you
m/
intuitively acquire, get, learn great reading skills, great writing skills, great vocabulary,
great grammar. It comes from reading a lot for pleasure. The reading comes first. And,
gr
in fact, I would add listening to that. And Dr. Krashen adds that as well.
ou
This article is about reading but, in fact, listening is the same thing. So when you’re
ps
reading and listening a lot, that’s the first step. And you need to do so much of it.
You’ve got to read and listen for pleasure, for fun, a lot, a lot, a lot. Now the good news
/T
is you have to do it a lot but it’s fun, it’s easy. You’re listening to stuff you like, so it’s
okay. You’re reading stuff you enjoy. You’re not thinking about grammar rules. You’re
ai
not thinking about vocabulary. You’re just reading and listening and enjoying yourself.
Li
You do that first, the grammar skills then come later. They come from the listening and
the reading. The writing skills come from reading a lot. Your vocabulary comes from
eu
reading a lot and listening, too. Your pronunciation comes from listening a lot. It’s the
input that is the most important. And specific kind of input, it’s got to be meaningful,
On
real, enjoyable, pleasurable. So that’s the power of reading.

Th
Now I’m not going to talk about all the specific research studies in this book, but if you
iD
like get his book. The book is called The Power of Reading, that’s the title, The Power
ai
of Reading. It’s by Dr. Stephen Krashen. Now Stephen is spelled S‑t‑e‑p‑h‑e‑n. And
Krashen is spelled K‑r‑a‑s‑h‑e‑n, so Dr. Stephen Krashen and the book title, The Power
Ho
of Reading. You can get it on amazon.com. So if you want to see all the huge number
of research studies at different universities around the world about this topic of reading
c0
and learning better grammar skills, better vocabulary, better speaking, better
1
pronunciation. If you want to see the proof, the evidence, then get his book.
You can look at all the different studies. There’s so many of them. But, y’know, if you
trust me you can take my word for it. You can trust that I am trying to help you as best I
can, that I really care about you. You can trust that this is in fact how it works. That if
you want to write well, if you want to have a great English vocabulary, if you want to
have great English grammar you need to read and read and read. And what you need
to read are novels. Novels are the key, easy novels.
So here’s my rule. What does easy mean for you? My rule is you should not need a
dictionary to read the book. So if you grab a, let’s say you grab a book by
ww
Stephen King, kind of a famous writer in the United States. You get a Stephen King
book, in English of course, and you start reading it but, oh, there’s so many words you
w.
don’t know. And you need a dictionary. You get your dictionary and you’re looking up
fa
all these words. Well, it’s too difficult for you. If you need a dictionary to understand it,
it’s too difficult. Okay, so, you know, put it aside and wait. You can read it later when
ce
your reading skills are higher. But for now find an easier book.
bo
I recommend children’s novels. I think they are a fantastic way to learn. You can get
ok
the Goosebumps books for example. There’s a whole series. They’re for kids. They’re
called Goosebumps. And there’s, I don’t know how many, there’s probably 30 or 50 of
.
them, okay? They’re short and they’re pretty easy. You can probably read them without
co
a dictionary. What you should do is read all of them. Read all 30 of them. Read them,
m/
just enjoy them. Don’t use a dictionary. If you see a word you don’t know, just guess
the meaning and keep reading. If you’re wrong, it doesn’t matter. You’ll see that word
gr
again and again and again. Eventually you will understand that word. You won’t need a
dictionary. Just enjoy the story.
ou
ps
Another set of books I like are The Hardy Boys books. These are so old I read them
when I was a kid. And there’s another series of books called Nancy Drew. So The
/T
Hardy Boys books and the Nancy Drew books, another set of kids books, kids novels,
they’re fairly long but not too long, that are really great if you want to do a lot of pleasure
ai
reading that does not require a dictionary. So again, Nancy Drew books and The Hardy
Li
Boys books, and again, there are so many of them, 20, 30 or more in each series. You
can read the whole series if you want to. And of course you can just go to any
eu
bookstore that has English books.

On
Look in the children’s section or the young adults’ section. Another series of books I like
Th
are by Roald Dahl, I think Dahl is D-a-h-l, if I’m right. Anyway, he wrote books such a
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach. He’s got a lot of books
iD
so you could look for some of those. And, of course, there are movies that go with
ai
those books so you could watch the movies, too, and listen to them. You can also get
audiobooks. This is something I think is really great. If you can find an audiobook and
Ho
a regular book you can read it and then you can listen to it at the same time. And again,
using children’s novels.
c0
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So read a lot of children’s novels. And after you finish all The Hardy Boys books and
after you finish all the Goosebumps books, then find a book maybe by Stephen King.
OR maybe if that’s still too difficult, then find something for young adults. And then read
a lot of those books. Eventually, probably within one year’s time if you’re reading all the
time, if you’re reading every day, within one year you’ll be reading adult novels. You’ll
be reading the same books that I read for pleasure, for fun, that native speakers read.
But don’t start there. Go back and just start with children’s novels and read and read
and read. Your grammar will improve automatically and effortlessly. Your vocabulary
will explode, it will increase so much so fast. You won’t believe it. It’s amazing. So
please, follow this. Reading is so powerful but it has to be reading for fun, reading for
pleasure.
ww
Alright, I hope you enjoyed this topic. I’ll see you next time.
w.
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Reading Power Mini-Story Text

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Okay, are you ready? I hope so. Big smile. Deep breath. Move that body. Feeling
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good. You’re a fantastic English learner. Are you ready? Are you ready? Let’s do
fa
some English here. Mini-story for “The Power of Reading.”

ce
*****
bo
There was a monkey. The monkey’s name was Filbert.

ok
What was there?

. co
There was a monkey.

m/
And what was his name?

gr
Filbert, his name was Filbert.

ou
ps
What was Filbert?

/T
Filbert was a monkey, of course.

ai
What did Filbert like to do?

Li
Oh, you don’t know? Well, Filbert liked to shoot mosquitoes with a gun.
eu
On
Hm, interesting, yes.

Th
Filbert liked to shoot mosquitoes (y’know, bzzzz), he liked to shoot mosquitoes

with his gun.
iD
ai
What did Filbert like to do?

Ho
He liked to shoot mosquitoes with his gun.

c0
What did he like to shoot?

1
Mosquitoes, Filbert liked to shoot mosquitoes.
With what?
With his gun…pow, pow, pow…
Luckily he had total competence with his gun.
Was he very skilled with his gun?

ww
Oh, yes. He was very skilled. He was very good with the gun. He had total
competence with his gun.
w.
fa
Who had total competence with his gun?

ce
Filbert the monkey, Filbert the monkey had total competence, total skill with his gun.
bo
He had total competence with what kind of gun? With a small handgun?
ok
No, he didn’t have total competence with a handgun.

. co
He had competence with a rifle. A rifle is a big, long gun.

m/
Who had competence with a rifle?

gr
Well, Filbert the monkey, Filbert the monkey had total competence, total skill, great, high
ou
skill with his rifle.

ps
Because, in fact, shooting mosquitoes is very demanding.

/T
Is it easy to shoot mosquitoes?

ai
Li
No, it’s not. It’s not easy to shoot mosquitoes. It’s very demanding. It’s very tough. It’s
very difficult to shoot mosquitoes.
eu
Is it easy to shoot mosquitoes or is it difficult to shoot mosquitoes?

On
Th
It’s difficult. It’s very demanding. It’s very tough. It’s very difficult. It’s demanding to
shoot mosquitoes. It makes you tired. It’s tough. It’s not easy.
iD
ai
But Filbert the monkey practiced shooting mosquitoes every day. He practiced in
the morning, pow, pow, pow. He practiced in the afternoon, pow, pow, pow, pow,
Ho
pow, pow. He practiced in the evening, pow-pow, pow-pow. And he practiced at

night, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. It was very demanding. It was very
c0
tough. But he did it every day. He practiced with his rifle. Shooting mosquitoes
1
every single day, every morning, every afternoon, every evening, every night.
Filbert practiced shooting mosquitoes. It was demanding. It was tough.
Was Filbert a stupid monkey?
No, no, no, no, no, no. Filbert was a very intelligent monkey actually. In fact he was
very well read.
He would read books and shoot mosquitoes at the same time. So he’s reading a
book and shooting, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow.
ww
What kind of monkey was Filbert?

w.
He was a well read monkey.

fa
So did he read a lot of books?

ce
Yes, he read a lot of books. He was a well read monkey.

bo
ok
So he was a well read chicken, right?

.
Not a chicken, he wasn’t a chicken. He was a monkey. He was a well read monkey.
co
He was a monkey that read a lot of books.

m/
Who was a well read monkey?

gr
Filbert, Filbert was a well read monkey. He was a well read monkey and he had total
ou
competence with a rifle. In fact he could shoot and read at the same time.
ps
What did he shoot?

/T
He shot mosquitoes. He shot mosquitoes every day.

ai
Li
What did he read?

eu
Well, he read philosophy books.

On
Filbert read books about philosophy. He read books about religion and
Th
philosophy. He read Plato and Aristotle. He read books about Buddhism. He

read books by the Dalai Lama of Tibet. In fact, the Dalai Lama was his favorite
iD
writer.
ai
What did he read?

Ho
He read philosophy books, especially books by the Dalai Lama.

c0
1
While he read books by the Dalai Lama, what did he do?
He shot mosquitoes, right? While reading books by the Dalai Lama he also shot
mosquitoes, pow, pow, pow, reading reading reading, pow, pow, pow, reading reading
reading, pow, pow, pow, reading reading reading. So at the same time he read books
by the Dalai Lama and he shot mosquitoes. He was a well read monkey with
competence in the rifle.
Now because he read so many books by the Dalai Lama he subconsciously

learned the Dalai Lama’s philosophy.
ww
Did he consciously learn the Dalai Lama’s philosophy?

w.
No, not consciously. He didn’t try to learn it. He didn’t try to memorize it. Not a lot of
fa
effort. He subconsciously learned the Dalai Lama’s philosophy.

ce
Did he learn it effortlessly?

bo
Yes, he did. He learned it effortlessly.

ok
Did he learn it intuitively, naturally?

. co
Yes, he learned it subconsciously. He learned the Dalai Lama’s philosophy

m/
subconsciously, naturally and intuitively.

gr
What did he learn subconsciously?

ou
The Dalai Lama’s philosophy, he learned the Dalai Lama’s philosophy subconsciously.
ps
Who learned the Dalai Lama’s philosophy subconsciously?

/T
Filbert the monkey, Filbert the mosquito shooting monkey subconsciously learned the
ai
Dalai Lama’s philosophy.

Li
Now of course the Dalai Lama’s philosophy is very peaceful. The Dalai Lama
eu
does not like killing. He’s a peaceful man.

On
Was Filbert a peaceful monkey?

Th
No, every day he was shooting mosquitoes, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow.
iD
ai
So there was a problem. He was shooting mosquitoes and killing them every day
but he subconsciously learned the Dalai Lama’s philosophy. Oh no, oh no. And
Ho
so one day Filbert decided to never kill again. He said “I will never kill another
mosquito.” Filbert became a peaceful monkey. He threw his gun into the river.
c0
1
What did he do?
He threw his gun into the river.
What kind of monkey did Filbert become?
He became a very peaceful monkey.
Did he become a peaceful monkey or a violent monkey?
He became a peaceful monkey.

ww
Why did he become a peaceful monkey?

w.
fa
Well, because he subconsciously learned from the Dalai Lama. He subconsciously

learned the philosophy of the Dalai Lama, which was peace and kindness.
ce
So Filbert never killed again. He became a peaceful, loving, wonderful monkey.

bo
ok
The End.
.
*****
co
m/
Alright, good. Well, I hope you’re feeling peaceful and loving right now and I hope
you’re feeling happy and I hope you’re smiling. And if you’re not, do it now! Deep
gr
breath, big smile, shoulders back, chest up. Feel great. You are learning English. It’s a
great day. You’re feeling wonderful. See you next time.
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Reading Power Point-of-View Text

ww
Okay, welcome to the POV, that’s point of view, lesson for “The Power of Reading.”
w.
Okay, and I’m going to tell the same story about Filbert the monkey. We’re going to
fa
have tow points of view. One is going to start with “Since 2002…” and the other one will
be in the future. So let’s start with the first one. You ready? You feel good? You
ce
smiling? Standing tall, shoulders back! Deep breath, let’s do it.

bo
*****
ok
Since 2002, since the year 2002, Filbert has enjoyed shooting mosquitoes with his
.
gun. He has liked to shoot mosquitoes with his gun, since 2002.
co
m/
In 2001 did Filbert enjoy shooting mosquitoes?

gr
No, no he didn’t. Not in 2001. In 2001 and before he never shot mosquitoes, but since
2002 he has liked to shoot mosquitoes with his gun. He has loved it, in fact. Since
ou
2002 Filbert the monkey has loved to shoot mosquitoes with his gun. From 2002 right
ps
up until almost now, during that whole time. So since 2002 he has enjoyed shooting
mosquitoes.
/T
ai
And since 2002 he has practiced every day. In fact, in the morning, in the
afternoon, in the evening and at night, he has practiced shooting mosquitoes
Li
every day since 2002. Since 2003 he has had total competence with his rifle, with
his big long gun.
eu
On
Since when?
Th
Since 2003 he has had total competence. He has had total competence with his rifle.
iD
Since 2003 he has had what?

ai
Since 2003 he has had total competence with his rifle.

Ho
Now of course, shooting mosquitoes is a very demanding, tough thing to do. It’s
c0
very difficult. So he has practiced constantly shooting mosquitoes with his rifle.
1
Now Filbert the monkey has also been a very well read monkey for many years.
For many years he has read philosophy books, every day reading about
philosophy and shooting his gun at the same time, pow, pow, pow, read, pow,
pow, pow, read. He has been a very well read monkey. Probably since 2001,
since 2001 he has been a very well read monkey. Something happened recently.
He started to read books by the Dalai Lama. He read books by the Dalai Lama
constantly. And then something else happened. He subconsciously learned the
philosophy of the Dalai Lama. And he changed. Filbert the monkey changed.
Why did he change?

ww
Because he read a lot of books by the Dalai Lama of Tibet.

w.
How did he change?

fa
Well, he became very peaceful.

ce
Because he read a lot of books by the Dalai Lama of Tibet he became very
bo
peaceful. And he decided to never kill again. He threw his gun into the river and
ok
he said “I will never kill again.” Filbert the monkey became a very peaceful,
loving monkey.
. co
The End
m/
*****
gr
Okay, now, you probably noticed again there was a change. It happens in most of these
ou
stories that begin with “Since 2002…” or “Since something…” And the change
ps
happened when I said “He started to read books by the Dalai Lama.” Right? That
happened, it was a sudden thing. It was one point in time. He started. You can’t
/T
continually start something, right? It just, you start it, it happens and then it’s done.
You’re finished starting. Now you’re doing it. So in one point of time he started reading
ai
books by the Dalai Lama. He changed. He became a peaceful monkey. He decided to

Li
never kill again. He threw his gun in the river. He became a peaceful monkey.
eu
Alright, you don’t need to think about it any more than that. Just notice the change.
Notice when it happens. That’s all. Keep listening.
On
Th
Okay, next let’s do our future point of view. So the future point of view we kind of
imagine that I’m talking about something that will happen in the future. Maybe I’m
iD
imagining this story and I say “Oh this is a future story, this is what will happen in the
ai
future.” Maybe I’m predicting the future. It doesn’t matter but mainly the point of view is
the future, in the future.
Ho
*****
c0
1
In the future there will be a monkey. He’ll like to shoot mosquitoes.
What will his name be?
His name will be Filbert.
His name will be Filbert. Filbert the monkey will love to shoot mosquitoes with
his gun, with his rifle. In fact, he’ll have total competence with that rifle. He’ll be
excellent with that rifle. He’ll have total, complete competence with the rifle.
Now, of course, shooting mosquitoes is very demanding. It’s very tough. It’s
very difficult. So, he’ll practice every day. He’s going to practice in the morning.
ww
He’s going to practice in the afternoon. He’s going to practice in the evening.
He’s going to practice at night. He’s going to practice constantly because it’s so
w.
demanding to shoot mosquitoes.

fa
Now, of course, he’s not only going to shoot mosquitoes. He’s going to be a well
ce
read monkey also. He’ll be a very well read monkey. He’ll read a lot of
philosophy books. Especially books by the Dalai Lama of Tibet, he’s going to
bo
read a lot of books by the Dalai Lama. And because of this, he’s going to
ok
subconsciously learn the philosophy of the Dalai Lama of Tibet. He’ll learn about
the peaceful philosophy of the Dalai Lama. He’ll learn about compassion and not
.
killing. And so one day he’ll decide to never kill again. He’s going to throw his
co
gun in the river and he’s going to say “I will never kill again. I am now a peaceful
m/
monkey.” And, of course, he will be. He will become a very peaceful, loving,
kind‑hearted monkey.
gr
The End
ou
ps
*****
/T
That’s the end of our future point of view story. Once again, so easy, right? Just listen.
Just listen for my pronunciation. Listen how I make little changes. When I change the
ai
point of view I make small changes to the vocabulary. I say oh, oh, oh, I say gonna,
Li
gonna, gonna, and that’s all. You don’t need to think about a bunch of grammar rules.
Throw away your damn grammar book. Get rid of that textbook. Just listen to these
eu
stories again and again.

On
Remember, deep learning, you’re going to listen to this same story every day for seven
Th
days, maybe over the course of two weeks. Maybe more, I don’t know. But you’re
going to learn it deeply. You’re going to get this repetition again, again, again. And then
iD
the next lesson, again, again, again. And the next lesson, again, again, again. And
ai
soon you will learn this grammar subconsciously. That’s what we’re doing. That’s the
purpose of these stories, to learn this grammar subconsciously. So all you need to do is
Ho
listen and enjoy the stories.

c0
Okay, I will see you next time. That’s the end of the POV lesson for “The Power of
1
Reading.” And by the way, one last homework assignment, go find some easy novels,
easy children’s novels…Goosebumps, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory, I don’t care. Go buy some. Get on Amazon and find some and start
reading. Read every day for fun. Read something easy. Read something fun.
Okay, see you next time.

ww
w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Reading Power Vocabulary Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ again. Big smile…deep breath. Move that body, let’s start the
w.
vocabulary lesson for “The Power of Reading.”

fa
Okay, one of the words we had in there was competence. Now, Dr. Krashen said
ce
people develop competence when they read. They develop the competence they need
to move from the beginning level to a level where they can use the language for more
bo
difficult purposes. Competence, competence. Competence means skill or ability. So

ok
when you read you develop more advanced skill in English. You develop more
advanced competence in English. So competence means skill or ability.
. co
And then we have the word demanding, right? He says you develop the competence
m/
for more demanding purposes. More demanding purposes, more demanding actions.
More demanding challenges. Demanding just means difficult. Difficult. So in other
gr
words you get better and better. You can do more difficult things with the language. So
in the beginning maybe you have very simple, low level English or maybe intermediate
ou
level English. Probably most of you are intermediate level. If you read my website and
ps
bought my lessons you are definitely intermediate level. So if you’re intermediate level
but you want to use English for more demanding purposes, more difficult purposes.
/T
Maybe now you can talk a little bit but you can’t go to a high level business meeting and
ai
use English very well. That’s a demanding purpose. It’s a more difficult situation. It’s a
more demanding situation. So again, demanding has this idea of difficult, something
Li
that’s difficult.
eu
Alright, then we also had the word literacy. Literacy, that people develop literacy by
On
reading. Surprise, surprise, that seems pretty logical. Literacy means the ability to read
well. So again, literacy is just the skill, the competence, the ability to read well. It has
Th
this idea of proficiency or ability. It means you’re good at something. Now, usually it
means good at reading. We do sometimes use it in a more general way, where you
iD
could say “I have good computer literacy,” for example. Now, we’re not talking about
ai
reading. We’re just saying computer ability. Basic competence with a computer, we
would say computer literacy. It means I understand computers, I can use computers.
Ho
I’m not an expert but, y’know, I’m good enough. But more specifically, and in this article
especially, literacy just means the ability to read well.
c0
1
Okay, we had another little phrase, well read. In the sentence it said “We rarely find well
read people who have serious problems with grammar.” Okay, so well read means, it
just means that you have read a lot of books. A well read person is someone who has
read a lot. That means you have read a lot. You know a lot about books. Well not
about books, it means you actually have read books. You’ve read a lot of books. So
that’s what well read means. So that sentence “We rarely find well read people who
have serious problems with grammar,” it means people who read a lot almost never
have grammar problems. And by reading a lot we mean reading novels, reading books.
Okay, we’re not talking about textbooks.
Reading textbooks won’t help you. You have to read novels, lots and lots of novels. So
ww
that’s the key. But if you’re well read, if you’ve read a lot of novels, and, y’know,
magazines and comic books are fine, too, then you will rarely, almost never have
w.
problems with grammar and spelling. The more you read, the better your grammar, the
fa
better your spelling.

ce
Okay, next is subconsciously. Subconsciously, right? The reason you won’t have
problems is that you have subconsciously learned good grammar. You have
bo
subconsciously learned good spelling. You have subconsciously learned good writing.
ok
So, of course, subconsciously means intuitively. Another synonym is latently, latently or

intuitively. It means you weren’t really trying to do it, it just happened. It’s kind of
.
happening at the bottom of your brain, or the back of your brain. You don’t realize it’s
co
happening, but it’s happening. If you learn subconsciously, you learn but you don’t
m/
know you’re learning. And that’s a great way to learn because it’s so easy. And that’s
what Effortless English is about. That’s why we call it Effortless English, without effort,
gr
easy. So we’re talking about some subconscious learning. The idea is that you’re
learning but you’re not trying hard. And, in fact, in many cases, I would say in most
ou
cases, not just English, that’s the best way to learn. It’s actually the fastest and most
ps
effective way to learn.

/T
Alright, next we had the word conventions. Dr. Krashen said people who read a lot
learn good writing conventions. They learn the conventions of writing. Conventions, in
ai
this situation, means rules or habits. The rules of writing, the normal habits of writing,
Li
the conventions of writing. It’s the rules that most of us follow for writing. So the
conventions of writing, again the rules of writing, when you read a lot of novels
eu
especially, and I mean a lot, I mean every day you’re reading, you’re reading…why are
you doing it every day? Because you enjoy it. You’re reading really cool, funny stories
On
or interesting information. You’re not forcing yourself. It’s easy. Because you love it.
Th
It’s something you like. So anyway, when you’re reading a lot like that you learn the
conventions of writing. You learn the rules of good writing. If you want to write well,
iD
read books with good writing. Makes sense, right?

ai
Because then you’re constantly getting good writing, right? You’re reading, you’re
Ho
reading, you’re learning how do you make a good sentence? How do you make a good
paragraph? How do you tell a good story? The more you read you just learn that
c0
subconsciously, intuitively. You don’t need to learn a bunch of horrible writing books that
1
teach you all these rules about how to make a sentence and how to get the subject and
the verb to agree and all that bullshit. Forget that. Read, read, read and you will
acquire. You will learn the conventions of writing. You will learn better and better writing
just by reading a lot of books. So that’s conventions, conventions means rules, rules.
And finally, we have the word assume. Or in the past we said assumed. And the
sentence says “We have assumed that first we learn language skills and then we apply
then, then we use them for reading and writing.” But that’s wrong. Actually we read,
read, read and then we use the skills. We get the skills from reading, from listening. So
assume means to believe. To assume means to believe or to guess. It’s a belief but
there’s no evidence. There’s not a strong reason to believe it, it’s a belief with no
ww
evidence. So to assume means to believe. To believe, that sometimes has an idea of

guessing but belief is really the best thing, to believe, to assume.
w.
fa
Alright, that’s it. That’s all of the vocabulary for “The Power of Reading.” Next, let’s do
the mini-story. Big smile. See you next time, bye bye.
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Unlimited Main Text

w.
fa
Okay, hello, it’s me again, AJ, and we’re back for another lesson. This lesson is called
ce
“Unlimited Power.” Great title and of course it comes from the book by Tony Robbins
bo
who is another one of my favorite teachers. In fact, I really love Tony. I just got back
from a seminar of his. He is fantastic and I highly recommend his books, his tapes, his
ok
CDs, his seminars…anything you can get from Tony Robbins…fantastic!

. co
And we’re going to again do a little excerpt, a little section from one of his books and
this section talks about the number one trait that determines success and happiness in
m/
Tony Robbins’ opinion, and I agree with him. And that number one trait, that one factor,
that one thing that really creates success and powers and gives energy to everything
gr
else is passion. So this is a little section about passion from Tony Robbins’ book,
ou
Unlimited Power. So I am just going to go ahead and read that section and then I will
talk about it more. So here we go.
ps
*****
/T
ai
Success is not an accident. The difference between people who produce positive
results and those who do not is not some sort of random roll of the dice. There are
Li
consistent logical patterns of action, specific pathways to excellence that are within the
reach of us all. We can unleash the magic within us. We simply must learn how to turn
eu
on and use our minds and bodies in the most powerful and advantageous ways. Have
On
you ever wondered what a Steven Spielberg or a Bruce Springsteen might have in
common? What do John F. Kennedy and a Martin Luther King, Jr. share that caused
Th
them to affect so many people in such a deep and emotional way? They have been
iD
able to get themselves to consistently take effective actions toward the accomplishment
of their dreams. But what is it that got them to continue day after day, to put everything
ai
they’ve got into everything they do?

Ho
There are of course many factors however I believe there are fundamental character
c0
traits that they have cultivated within themselves. Characteristics that give them the fire
to do whatever it takes to succeed. These are the traits that can insure your success as
1
well. Trait number one: Passion. All of these people have discovered a reason, a
consuming, energizing, almost obsessive purpose that drives them to do, to grow and to
be more. It gives them the fuel that powers their success and causes them to tap their
true potential.
It’s passion that drives the computer scientists through years of dedication to create the
kind of breakthroughs that have put men and women in outer space and brought them
back. It’s passion that causes people to stay up late and get up early. It’s passion that
people want in their relationships. Passion gives power and meaning. There is no
greatness without a passion to be great, whether it’s the aspiration of an athlete or an
ww
artist, a scientist, a student, a parent or a businessperson. Discover how to unleash this

inner force of passion within yourself.
w.
fa
*****
ce
Okay, whew! So Tony Robbins, you can tell he’s a very passionate guy himself, very,
very passionate. And I really love this section because all the things we’ve talked about
bo
until now, they really are about passion. Changing your body, changing your focus,
ok
changing your beliefs, what you are doing is finding that passion inside of you. That
energy, that incredible physical and mental and emotional energy that will help you
.
succeed at anything.
co
m/
Without energy, it’s hard to succeed. Without energy, it’s hard to do anything. If you
have no energy, you can’t exercise. If you have no energy, probably your relationships
gr
will be bad. If you have no energy, you’re not going to learn English very well, you’re
not going to learn anything very well. If you have no energy, you’re not going to be a
ou
good teacher. You’re not going to be a good father, you’re not going to be a good
ps
mother, nothing in your life will be excellent or even very good if you don’t have that
energy and that passion. The passion drives everything else. It’s the fuel, it’s like the
/T
gasoline for your engine, for everything.

ai
And so, to learn English, for example, you need to develop a passion for English,
Li
exciting reasons to learn English. Not just take a test, taking a test, who gets excited
about taking a test? Almost nobody. In fact, usually it’s the opposite, right? Most of us
eu
get stressed about taking a test. Most of us have fear about taking tests. And it’s the
same in schools, not just English. All of education, in almost every country, kills
On
passion. Most classrooms, high school, elementary school, middle school, university,
Th
they kill passion, they kill that energy in the student unfortunately. It probably happened
to you, it certainly happened to me when I was growing up. It’s happened to 99.9% of
iD
the students I have taught. When they come to me their passion has been diminished,
ai
lessened or even almost killed.

Ho
The good news is it’s never completely killed. You can find it again. Because naturally
as human beings we love to learn, our brains love learning. So sitting in little desks and
c0
taking tests and being criticized by teachers and getting grades, all that bullshit, all that
1
crap, it kills passion, it may have killed the passion in you so just forget about it. That
part of your life is over. Thank god, yes, it’s over. Now you’re in charge, now you are
responsible. Now you are learning because you want to learn, so do it in a way that
gives you that passion, that gives you that excitement.
Find reasons to learn English that you love that are exciting. If you’re single, maybe you
could get a girlfriend or a boyfriend by speaking English. Hmm, that would be fun…date
someone from another country because of your great English skills. That would be
great. If you’re a businessperson or want to be one, maybe you could make tons of
money, lots and lots of money because of your great English skills. That would be
great.
ww
If you’re a parent, maybe because of your excellent English ability you could help your
w.
children learn English. Not the way you did, not the terrible way that is taught in
fa
schools, but in a much better way, a way that excites them so that your children have
great opportunities in the future. Those are exciting reasons to learn English.
ce
Maybe you could just make a lot of friends. Maybe you could make friends in the United
bo
States, in Canada, in the UK, in other countries, because we use English to connect
ok
with people in every country of the world. You could make friends in Japan, in Korea, in
China, all through Europe, all through Asia, all through South America, Central America.
.
You could have an incredible web of friendships, international friendships all over the
co
world. You could find incredible, interesting books written in English. Maybe you can’t
m/
find them in your language.

gr
So many cool, interesting opportunities open to you by being excellent with English.
Because right now, at this moment in history, English is the international language. We
ou
use it for science. When scientists in different countries want to communicate, they use
ps
English. We use it for business. We use it for relationships. We use it so many ways
right now so that’s why you’re learning English. Not to take some stupid test.
/T
So find the reasons that make you feel passionate about learning English. And in your
ai
life in general, find things in your life that make you feel passionate. Get that energy
Li
going, not just with English but with everything in your life and your life will just feel so
much more interesting and exciting. You will get this kind of energy, the kind of energy
eu
you hear in my voice, the kind of energy you see if you ever see Tony Robbins or read
his books or listen to him, anybody who is doing well, anybody who is excited, anyone
On
who has that energy, it’s because of this passion. They have passionate, interesting,
Th
compelling, exciting reasons to learn, to do what they do. Find those and you will get
that energy too.
iD
ai
Alright, that is the end of this article. See you for the vocabulary lesson. And
remember, smile, get that body moving. The first part of passion starts with your body.
Ho
Get the energy in your body. So those deep breaths, that chest up, that big smile, it’s
very important because it’s the first step to developing this passion, this energy.
c0
1
ww
Unlimited Mini-Story Text

w.
fa
Unlimited Power Mini-Story

ce
bo
Hello this is AJ. Welcome to the mini‑story for “Unlimited Power.” Now get some power
in your body right now. Get some passion in your body. Start with your body, look up
ok
not down. Get your chest up. Get your shoulders back. Stand tall, if you’re sitting, sit
tall. Big deep breaths. And then if you can, start moving and finally, big smile on your
. co
face. I’m smiling right now. You should be, too. Alright, now we’ve got some energy in
our bodies. I’m energized, you’re energized. Let’s start the mini‑story for “Unlimited
m/
Power.”
gr
*****
ou
There was a guy named Marco.

ps
What was his name?

/T
ai
Marco. There was a guy named Marco.

Li
Was he a girl or was he a guy?

eu
He was a guy, of course. He was a guy. His name was Marco.

On
And Marco did something foolish.

Th
iD
Did he do something intelligent or did he do something foolish?

ai
Well, he did something foolish.

Ho
He bet all his money in the stock market.

c0
Oh no, what did he do?

1
He bet his money in the stock market.
How much of his money did he bet in or on the stock market?
$67.7 million, in fact. All of his money. He bet all of his money on the stock market.
$67.7 million. Marco bet $67.7 million dollars on the stock market.
It was a roll of the dice.

ww
Was it a bet on a random event?

w.
Yes, he was betting on luck. He was betting on chance. He was betting on random
fa
events.
ce
Could Marco control the stock market?

bo
Of course not, no he couldn’t. He could not control the stock market. It was a roll of the
ok
dice. His bet was a roll of the dice. It was a random event. He was betting on luck. He
was betting on chance.
. co
Who made a roll of the dice? Who bet on a random event?

m/
Marco, Marco bet on a roll of the dice. He bet on the stock market.
gr
And how much did he bet on the stock market?

ou
ps
$67.7 million.
/T
Was that all his money?

ai
Yes, it was. It was all of his money. All of it, he bet it on the stock market on a roll of the
Li
dice. Unfortunately for Marco, he lost all the money. He lost everything.
eu
Marco became poor. He had no money at all.

On
How much did he lose?

Th
Everything. $67.7 million. Marco lost $67.7 million.

iD
ai
Was he happy or was he sad?

Ho
Well, he was happy, of course he was happy.

c0
Why was he happy?

1
Well, he decided it was an advantageous event.
Hm, interesting. Did he decide it was a beneficial event?
Yes, he did. He decided it was a good event. He decided it was an advantageous

event.
What did he decide?
He decided it was an advantageous event.

ww
What kind of event did he decide it was?

w.
fa
Advantageous, Marco decided that losing all his money was good. He decided it was
an advantageous event. It would help him.
ce
Interesting. Who decided this?

bo
ok
Marco, Marco decided it was an advantageous event to lose all his money. He decided
that was advantageous to him, beneficial to him, helpful to him.
. co
Why did he decide it was advantageous? How was it advantageous?

m/
Well, he said, now I have a lot of free time. I can cultivate my health.
gr
What did losing all his money give him?

ou
ps
It gave him free time, a lot of free time. Marco got a lot of free time. So now he had a
lot of free time, he decided to cultivate his health.
/T
Did he want to develop his health? Improve and develop his health?
ai
Li
That’s exactly right. Marco decided to cultivate his health. He decided to improve and
develop his health.
eu
What did he want to cultivate?

On
Th
His health, he wanted to cultivate his health.

iD
Did he want to destroy his health or cultivate his health?

ai
He wanted to cultivate his health, improve it, develop it.

Ho
Who wanted to cultivate his health?

c0
1
Marco, of course. Marco wanted to cultivate his health.
He wanted to what?
Cultivate, he wanted to cultivate his health.
In fact, his aspiration was to have a perfect body. Perfect body.
What was his aspiration?
His aspiration was to have a perfect body. His desire was to have a perfect body.
ww
Was his aspiration to have a great body or a fat body?

w.
fa
Of course, a great body. His aspiration, his hope, his desire, was to have a perfect
body.
ce
Whose aspiration was it?

bo
ok
Marco’s, Marco’s aspiration was to have a perfect body. A body exactly like Brad Pitt’s.
Marco wanted to have a body exactly like Brad Pitt’s. His aspiration was to have a body
.
exactly like Brad Pitt’s, a perfect, strong body.

co
m/
So, he ran every day. He went to the gym every day. He ate green vegetables
every day.
gr
How often did he run?

ou
ps
Every day, he ran every day.

/T
How often did he go to the gym?

ai
Every day, he went to the gym every day.

Li
How often did he eat green vegetables?

eu
Every day, he ate green vegetables every day. He ran every day. He went to the gym
On
every day. He worked out every day. Exercise, exercise, exercise!

Th
Who exercised every day, constantly, all the time?

iD
ai
Marco, Marco ran every day. Marco went to the gym every day. Marco ate green
vegetables every day.
Ho
And why?
c0
1
Because his aspiration was to have a perfect body, just like Brad Pitt’s.
Well, after two months Marco had a breakthrough.
Did he have a breakthrough after one month?
No, no, he didn’t. Not after one month. He didn’t have a breakthrough after one month.
After one month he was still a little bit fat and a little bit weak.
When did he have a breakthrough?

ww
After two months. After two months he had a breakthrough, a sudden improvement, a
huge, big, sudden improvement.
w.
fa
Who had a breakthrough?

ce
Marco, Marco had a breakthrough. A sudden, big improvement.

bo
What kind of breakthrough did he have?

ok
Well he had a health breakthrough. He had a fitness breakthrough.

. co
His body suddenly improved. He developed, he cultivated muscles. The fat

m/
disappeared from his body. He had a body just like Brad Pitt’s.
gr
Was this a breakthrough?

ou
Of course it was. It was a breakthrough, a big breakthrough, a big change, sudden, big
ps
improvement. Sudden, big change, Marco had a breakthrough.

/T
And who had the breakthrough?

ai
Marco had the breakthrough.

Li
Whose body did his look like?

eu
Well, Brad Pitt’s. His body, Marco’s body, looked exactly like Brad Pitt’s body now…woo
On
hoo!
Th
Well, of course, Marco’s life changed. Thousands, tens of thousands of gay men
iD
wanted him. They loved his hot, sexy body. Thousands, tens of thousands of
ai
straight women loved his hot and sexy body.

Ho
Now, of course, straight and gay, we’re talking about homosexual and heterosexual are
the formal terms. Homosexual means a man likes a man or a woman likes a woman, in
c0
terms of love and sexually. And then straight is the opposite. Straight means
1
heterosexual, it means when a man is attracted to a woman or a woman is attracted to

a man, we say straight is kind of the casual way to say that. So straight and gay. Okay,
so tens of thousands of gay men wanted Marco’s body because he was hot and sexy.
Tens of thousands of straight women wanted Marco’s body because he was so damn
sexy.
Everywhere he went gay men and straight women wanted him.
Was he happy?
Oh yeah, Marco was happy.

ww
The End
w.
fa
*****
ce
Alright, that’s the end of the mini‑story for unlimited power. I hope you enjoyed it. Listen
to it many, many times. Answer the questions. Have fun. Smile. Move your body.
bo
Relax and enjoy. You are learning English consciously and subconsciously, just let it
ok
happen.
.
See you next time.

co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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iD
ai
Ho
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1
ww
Unlimited POV Text

w.
fa
Unlimited Power_POV
ce
bo
Welcome to the POV stories for “Unlimited Power.” And of course, POV means point of
view. Same story about Marco, the hot, sexy man. This time we’re going to start with
ok
“Since 1979.”
. co
Since 1979 Marco has wanted a hot, sexy body. Since 1979 March has wanted a
perfect body. But, he didn’t have one. Unfortunately, he was a little bit fat, a little
m/
bit weak. Not terrible, but he didn’t have a perfect, sexy body. So since 1979 he
has wanted a perfect body. His aspiration was to have a perfect body.
gr
ou
What was his aspiration?

ps
His aspiration, his hope, was to have a perfect body.

/T
Since when has he wanted a perfect body?

ai
Since 1979, since 1979 he has wanted a perfect body.

Li
Who has wanted a perfect body since 1979?

eu
On
Well, Marco, of course. Marco has wanted a perfect body since 1979.
Th
So in 1980 did he want a perfect body?

iD
Yes.
ai
In 1983 did he want a perfect body?

Ho
c0
Yes.
1
Yes.
Yes.

ww
Yes, he has wanted a perfect body since 1979, starting in 1979, continuing until now.
He has wanted a perfect body during that whole time. Every day, every moment from
w.
1979 until now, he has wanted a perfect body.

fa
But he didn’t have one. But he did make a lot of money. He became rich. He had
ce
$67.7 million. In fact, since 1995 he has been super rich. Since 1995 he has had a
lot of money. In 1996 and 1997 and 2000, so since 1995, beginning in 1995 and
bo
continuing, he has been rich. He’s had a lot of money.

ok
Who has been rich since 1995?

. co
Marco has been rich since 1995.

m/
However, one day Marco bet all his money on the stock market. It was a roll of
gr
the dice.
ou
It was a chance, it was a random chance, it was a bet on luck, it was a random event.
ps
So it was a roll of the dice.

/T
He bet all his money on the stock market and he lost all of it. However, he
decided that it was an advantageous event. He decided it was a good thing.
ai
Because now finally he had free time. Finally he could cultivate his health.
Li
Finally he could cultivate his body. And remember, his aspiration was to have a
perfect body just like Brad Pitt’s. And so every day he went to the gym. Every
eu
day he ran. Every day he worked out. Every day he ate green vegetables and
finally one day after two months, a breakthrough, a sudden big change. He got a
On
perfect body. His body was exactly like Brad Pitt’s. And then tens of thousands
Th
of gay men wanted his hot, sexy body. Tens of thousands of straight women
wanted his hot, sexy body. He was very, very happy.
iD
ai
*****
Ho
Alright, that is the end of our first POV story, now our next one.
c0
Let’s imagine this is going to happen in the future. Maybe I’m imagining a story right
1
now. I’m just thinking of this story and it’s going to happen five years from now and I’m
telling you my idea for my story. So here’s my idea for a story. Let’s say maybe five
years in the future.
In five years there will be a guy named Marco and he’s going to bet all his money
on the stock market. He’s going to bet $67.7 million on the stock market in fact.
It’ll be a roll of the dice, y’know, it’ll be a bet on chance, a bet on luck. And
unfortunately for him it will be a roll of the dice and he’s going to have bad luck.
He’s going to lose all his money. But, Marco is a very positive strong person.
He’ll decide that it’s an advantageous event. He’ll decide it’s a good thing. He’ll
ww
decide this because he’ll say, “Well, now I have free time to cultivate my body.
I’m going to cultivate my health.” Of course, his aspiration will have always been
w.
to have a great body, to have a perfect body. And now he can realize his dream.
fa
And so he’ll run every day. He’ll go to the gym every day. He’ll eat green
vegetables every day and after two months he’ll have a giant, huge breakthrough.
ce
He’ll get a body just like Brad Pitt’s. Now, of course, tens of thousands of gay
men are going to want him. Tens of thousands of straight women are going to
bo
want him. He’s going to be a very happy guy. He’ll be very, very happy.
ok
Alright, that’s the end of our second POV story. Very simple, very easy, just listen to
.
these again and again and again. Big smile when you listen, big upright body, deep
co
breathing and move when you’re listening to every single lesson.

m/
See you next time, bye.

gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Unlimited Vocabulary Text

w.
fa
Unlimited Power Vocabulary

ce
bo
Hello this is AJ again. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Unlimited Power.” Let’s
start right away.
ok
Our first phrase is roll of the dice, roll of the dice. Now the sentence in the article says:
. co
The difference between people who produce positive results and those who do not is
m/
not some sort of roll of the dice.

gr
Okay, roll of the dice means a random event, random event. So a roll of the dice is a
ou
random event. It’s kind of a random chance, random chance, random event. So he’s
saying it’s not a roll of the dice, it’s not random. In other words, it’s not chance that one
ps
person is really excellent and another person is not. It’s not luck. It’s not luck, there are
reasons, there are very consistent reasons that one person is very excellent all the time
/T
and another person is not. Okay, so roll of the dice kind of is this idea of luck or
ai
randomness or a random event. Roll of the dice. He’s saying it’s not a roll of the dice,
it’s not chance, it’s not luck, it’s something else.
Li
Okay, another phrase in this article, the phrase within the reach of all of us.
eu
On
Excellence is within the reach of all of us.

Th
Within the reach of, within the reach of. Within the reach of means near, or easy to get
iD
or possible to get. Excellence is within the reach of all of us means excellence is near
all of us. Excellence is easy to get for all of us. Excellence is possible to get for all of
ai
us. Okay, so again, within the reach of means something that’s possible to get. We can
reach it, we can get it, we can grab it, we can have it. Possible to get, near. So it’s
Ho
within the reach of.

c0
Our next word is unleash.

1
Unleash the magic within us all.
Unleash the power inside of you. Unleash means to free, make something free. It
means before it was not free and then you open the door and it comes out. It’s free. So
if you unleash your power, it means you had the power all the time inside you but it was
like locked up, you weren’t using it, it wasn’t free. If you unleash it, it means you open
yourself and that power comes out. You set it free. You free it. So that’s unleash,
unleash.
ww
Next we have the word advantageous. Advantageous.

w.
fa
We want to learn how to use our bodies and our minds in advantageous ways.
ce
Advantageous. Advantageous means beneficial. It means something that is helpful,

something that is useful, something that is good. So reading a lot of easy novels is
bo
advantageous. It’s helpful, it will help you learn faster. It’s beneficial. Okay, so
ok
advantageous, beneficial, basically the same.

.
Next we have the phrase have in common.

co
m/
What do Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen, Martin Luther King, etc., have in
common?
gr
To have in common means to share, it means you have something that’s the same,
ou
those three people, something is the same. They share some trait. They share
ps
something in common, right? Share something that’s the same. So have in common.
Have in common, they have something that is the same, some trait. And Tony says it’s
/T
passion. They all three have passion for what they do. They have passion in their life.
They have passion in common. Have in common, it means share something that’s the
ai
same.
Li
Alright and then another phrase, he says to

eu
Put everything you’ve got into everything you do.

On
Th
How do these people put everything they’ve got into everything they do? Okay, put
everything you’ve got into something. Kind of a long phrase. It just means you put all
iD
your energy into something. It means you try 100%. You try very, very hard. Total
ai
effort, total energy. Say I put everything I have into learning English, it means you give
all your energy to this action. You try superhard to learn English. You give all your
Ho
energy to learning English. You put everything you’ve got into learning English.
c0
Next word is fundamental. Fundamental, Tony said

1
I believe there are fundamental character traits that cause success.
Fundamental means basic or core. It’s what’s most important. So fundamental traits, it
means the most important traits, the most basic traits.
Our next word is cultivate or cultivated.
These people have fundamental traits that they cultivated within themselves.
They cultivated passion. It wasn’t an accident. These people don’t have passion just
ww
accidentally. It’s not a roll of the dice. They actually cultivated passion. To cultivate
means to develop, to grow, to care for, right? So they developed passion. Maybe in the
w.
beginning they didn’t have very much passion but they grew it, they took care of the
fa
passion. They helped it to grow, they helped it to develop, that’s cultivate. You cultivate
something, it means you help it to grow. You develop it.
ce
Next he said that

bo
ok
They did something to give themselves the fire to succeed.

.
Now you know the normal meaning of fire, but fire also means passion. So these
co
people gave themselves fire, these people have fire in their life. They have passion. So
m/
fire and passion basically the same meaning in this kind of situation.
gr
Next we see the word insure. Insure.

ou
Passion will insure your success.

ps
Insure means guarantee. Alright, so passion will guarantee your success. Passion will
/T
insure your success.

ai
The next word is drive.

Li
These people have a reason that drives them to do more, to grow more, to be more.
eu
It drives them. So to drive in this situation means to push. It pushes them. It energizes
On
them, right, it kind of pushes them to do more. Because they have a strong reason, the
Th
reason pushes them to do more, to be more, to learn more. Right, it’s kind of like
driving a car, the energy drives the car, the gasoline drives the car, the gasoline pushes
iD
the car, it’s where the energy comes from. So the reason drives the action. The reason
ai
pushes the action.

Ho
Next we have the word fuel.

c0
Passion gives these people fuel.

1
Fuel of course here just means energy. It also means like gasoline but in the most
basic meaning it’s energy. So fuel is energy. Food, air, water, they are fuel for your
body, right? They give energy to your body, for example. So fuel means energy
basically.
Next we have the verb to tap. To tap.
Passion causes you to tap your true potential.
To tap means to let out, to open, to penetrate, right? Go into and let something out. So
ww
passion taps your potential, it means passion lets out your potential. It lets out what is
best in you, it taps it. Okay, so to tap means to let out, to open, to penetrate.
w.
fa
We have two more words, the next word is breakthrough.

ce
People with passion have big breakthroughs in their life.

bo
A breakthrough is a big and sudden improvement. It happens very quickly. You’re

ok
trying, you’re trying, and suddenly, boom! Big improvement, that’s a breakthrough. So
a breakthrough again is a very sudden, big improvement. Maybe you’re having trouble,
.
you can’t, no improvement, no improvement, no improvement, boom! Suddenly, big

co
improvement. That’s breakthrough.

m/
And finally we have the word aspiration.

gr
There’s no greatness without passion, whether it’s the aspiration of an athlete or an

ou
artist or a student.
ps
So, aspiration just means hope or desire. It’s something you want a lot. I have an
/T
aspiration to be a great English speaker. It means I have a hope to be a great English

speaker. I have a desire to be a great English speaker. I have a goal to be a great
ai
English speaker. So that’s aspiration. Again, aspiration just is a desire, a hope, a goal.
Li
Alright, that is all for the vocabulary lesson for “Unlimited Power.” See you at the
eu
mini‑story.
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Healthy At 100 Main Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ again. Welcome to our next lesson. This one is called “Healthy at 100.”
w.
Healthy at 100 is the name of a book by John Robbins. It’s a fantastic book, very
fa
interesting and the topic of this book is exactly what the title says. The topic of this book
is how to be a healthy person at the age of 100, which seems kind of amazing to most
ce
people. Can you be healthy? Can you be strong? Can you have energy when you’re
100 years old? And the answer is absolutely yes. Now how did John Robbins write this
bo
book? It’s very interesting. Well, what he did, personally and then with his research
ok
assistants, he studied cultures, places in the world where large numbers of people live
to be very old. But not only just live to be old, because, y’know, if you live to be old but
.
you’re weak, that’s not very fun.

co
m/
So he studied places that had a lot of very old people who were also very strong, very
energetic, very healthy, very happy. There’s a big difference if you’re 90 years old and
gr
you’re in a nursing home and you’re weak and sick, and ugh. That’s a terrible life. But if
you’re 90 years old and you’re out running and you feel great, well that’s fantastic. And
ou
there are cultures like this and there are also a lot of individual people like this. And
ps
when I say a lot, I don’t mean a lot by percentage. It’s a small percent of the human
population. But still there are thousands of these kind of people, I don’t know, maybe
/T
hundreds of thousands, maybe millions. I’m not sure what the exact number is. But
ai
you can find these people. You can find specific cultures where there are a lot of them.
And then you can find individuals.
Li
And so John Robbins was very curious about this and he wanted to know why. Why,
eu
why do some people live strong, long, healthy, active lives for a very, very long time?
On
Why are some people so strong when they’re older and live so much longer? And then
other people, y’know, they’re 60 years old, they’re already tired and sick. What’s the
Th
difference is what he wanted to know. And so he studied different groups. One of the
groups were people, traditional people, on the island of Okinawa, Japan.
iD
ai
So we’re not talking, Okinawa now has a lot of modern culture, a lot of American
influence. And those people do not live so long. And they’re not so healthy. But the
Ho
kind of people who live on Okinawa in a traditional way, the way they always have for a
very long time, those people are very special. They live very long lives and they’re very
c0
strong and healthy. They’re still working when they’re 80 or 90 years old, working like
1
on farms, like hard, physical work.
He studied another group of people in Pakistan, same thing. They lived to be 90, 100,
over 100, and the whole time they’re working, doing heavy, hard, physical work. It’s
pretty amazing. And then another thing they did is they studied individual people.
There are just certain people, for example one of my favorites, one of my favorite
teachers, he’s dead now but I think he’s a great example, I want to be like him. And his
name is Paul Bragg. Paul Bragg was in America one of the first people to start health
food stores. He kind of started the health movement in America. He was one of the first
people to start eating organic food, for example. Well Paul Bragg, he is so interesting.
He died when he was, I believe, 96 years old.
ww
You know, that’s pretty good itself, he lived to be 96. But here’s the cool part, this is the
w.
part I love. How did he die when he was in 96? Was he in a bed sick with cancer? No,
fa
he was surfing. He was surfing when he was 96 years old and it was a surfing accident.
Like I don’t know what happened. I guess he was surfing and he fell off the board and
ce
another surfboard hit him in the head or he hit a rock or something. You know, it’s sad
that he died, of course. But he died active. He’s out on the waves surfing in the ocean.
bo
Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, daaah. And he’s 96 years old. Awesome! Or Jack LaLanne,
ok
another great guy from the United States. In fact he learned from Paul Bragg. He’s still
alive today. He’s 90 years old. He’s still super energetic. He exercises constantly. He
.
swims. He runs. He lifts weights. His wife also, they’re both like 90‑something years
co
old and they’re just so strong and healthy.

m/
We can find a lot of people like this actually. And what’s really interesting when you
gr
compare Paul Bragg, Jack LaLanne, these different peoples in Okinawa, in Pakistan,
other parts of the world, they have similar things. They’re all doing similar things.
ou
There’s a reason. It’s not a roll of the dice, remember that phrase? It’s not a roll of the
ps
dice. It’s not luck. And it’s not because of their family members, because Paul Bragg’s
father and mother didn’t live really long and really strong.
/T
It’s something they are doing. So that’s what this book is about, Healthy at 100. And
ai
one of the things they study in the book is cancer. Why do some people get cancer at a
Li
high rate and other people very, very low rate of cancer? Let me read a little section
from the book now and it’s about cancer and it discusses the reason, or one of the
eu
biggest reasons. And it’s titled Cancer and Animal Foods. Here we go:
On
If the correlation between cancer and animal food consumption is

Th
indeed powerful, you would expect many studies to find a

connection between the two. It turns out there are many. For
iD
example, a study of 122,000 female American nurses found that

ai
those women who ate meat daily were two and a half times more
likely to get colon cancer than those women who ate meat less than
Ho
once a month. In 2001 a comprehensive Harvard review of the

research on dairy products and prostate cancer found that those
c0
who had over the course of their lives consumed the most dairy
1
products had double the rate of prostate cancer and four times the
rate of metastatic prostate cancer. A high intake of fruits and
vegetables, on the other hand, was associated with a lower risk of
advanced prostate cancer. Other studies including the famous
physicians health study have also confirmed a link between dairy
product consumption and prostate cancer. And a study of more

than 12,000 men found that those who drank soy milk regularly
rather than cow’s milk had a whopping 70% reduction in their risk of
prostate cancer. Today, men in China who are still eating their
traditional plant‑based diet without any dairy products have one of
the lowest rates of prostate cancer in the world. And no one can
ww
say these low rates are due to a genetic advantage because

Chinese American men living in the United States, eating the
w.
standard American diet, have rates 10 times as high as their

fa
genetic counterparts still eating in the traditional way in China.

ce
Whoo, okay. That’s a little bit difficult section. A little bit scientific and some long
sentences there, let me just explain what it means. So basically, he’s talking about a lot
bo
of research related to cancer. And here’s what they find, the basic result. The more
ok
animal food you eat, so that’s meat and dairy, the higher your risk for cancer, the higher
the rate of cancer. The less you eat, the lower the rate of cancer. So strict vegetarians,
.
which are called vegans, have the lowest rates of cancer in the world. People who eat
co
lots and lots and lots of meat and drink a lot of milk and eat a lot of cheese, they have
m/
the highest rates of cancer in the world. Interesting.

gr
That’s one reason I’m a vegetarian to be honest. And another thing that you find is
these people, like Paul Bragg, like Jack LaLanne, these different people in different
ou
parts of the world, they may not be total strict vegetarians. However, they eat very, very,
ps
very little meat. They almost never drink milk or dairy products or eat cheese. They are
eating a lot of fresh organic vegetables basically. And, of course, fruit as well. I mean
/T
that’s the big secret. Yes, you’ve got to exercise and move your body. That’s another
part of the book. He talks about that diet is one big factor but also moving your body
ai
and getting a lot of exercise and physical activity, of course, is very important as well.
Li
Those two factors are the biggest factors in determining how long you will live, how
healthy you will be, how strong you will be, how much energy you will have in your body.
eu
So, y’know, I never tell people “Be a vegetarian” because it’s a personal choice, I think
On
people need to decide on their own. However, if your goal is to be a very healthy,
Th
strong person, live a long time, reduce your risk for cancer, heart disease and a lot of
other things, you should think about it. You should at least reduce your meat and dairy
iD
intake a lot. And, y’know, again don’t just believe me. Maybe I’m just crazy AJ. Go look
ai
at the scientific research. Get the book Healthy at 100 by John Robbins.
Ho
There’s a lot of other stuff out there. Do your research. Get on the internet if you want
to and do some research. But I encourage you reduce the amount of fat and meat and
c0
cheese and milk and all that stuff. Get it out of your food. Get it out of your diet. Keep
1
it out of your body and start eating a whole lost more vegetables and fruit. Get some
real healthy, vital, energetic food into your body. You’re going to feel a lot better. And
you’re going to get the same kind of energy that people like Paul Bragg have, that Jack
LaLanne has, that Tony Robbins has, that I have.
Alright, we’ll see you next time. Bye bye.

ww
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ok
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/T
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1
Healthy At 100 Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story for “Healthy at 100.” Let’s get started.
w.
fa
*****
ce
There was a guy named Joe. Joe wanted to be a famous movie star.
bo
Was he a famous movie star?

ok
No, he wasn’t a movie star. He wanted to be a movie star.

. co
What did Joe want to be?

m/
He wanted to be a movie star.

gr
Did he want to be a TV star?

ou
ps
No, no, no, no, no, no. He didn’t want to be a TV star.

/T
What kind of star did he want to be?

ai
A movie star, Joe wanted to be a movie star.

Li
So, first he decided to get thin. He needed a good body. He stopped eating dairy
eu
products.
On
What kind of products did he stop eating?

Th
Well, dairy products, he stopped eating dairy products.

iD
ai
Did he stop eating cheese?

Ho
Yes, he stopped eating cheese.

c0
Did he stop drinking milk?

1
Yes, he stopped drinking milk. He stopped eating and drinking dairy products.
Who stopped eating and drinking dairy products?
Joe, Joe stopped eating and drinking dairy products.
What kind of products?
Dairy products, he stopped eating and drinking dairy products.

ww
Next he decided no more consumption of sugar and fat. He said “I won’t

consume sugar or fat anymore.”
w.
fa
What did he stop?

ce
He stopped all consumption of sugar and fat.

bo
Did he eat sugar and fat anymore?

ok
No, he stopped all consumption of sugar and fat.

. co
Who stopped all consumption of sugar and fat?

m/
Well, of course, Joe. Joe stopped all consumption of sugar and fat.
gr
He stopped all consumption of what?

ou
ps
All sugar and all fat, he stopped all consumption of all sugar and all fat.
/T
Why?
ai
Because he wanted to be a movie star, he wanted to have a thin body first. Movie stars
Li
are usually thin. So he stopped eating dairy products. He stopped consuming fat and
sugar.
eu
Next he studied famous movie stars. He studied them very carefully. What did
On
they look like? What did they do? And he saw a correlation between being a
Th
movie star and having big teeth.

iD
Did he find a connection between big teeth and movie stars?

ai
Oh yes, he did. He found a connection. He found most movie stars have very big
Ho
teeth. Interesting.
c0
He saw a correlation between what?

1
He saw a correlation between big teeth and being a famous movie star. They’re
connected.
Who saw a correlation between big teeth and being a movie star?
Joe saw it. Joe saw a correlation, a connection, between having big teeth and being a
famous movie star.
What did he find? What did he see?

ww
A correlation, a connection, between big teeth and being famous as a movie star.
w.
Did Joe naturally, genetically have small or big teeth?

fa
Well, unfortunately Joe had very small teeth. In fact, Joe had tiny little teeth.
ce
Genetically, did he have little tiny teeth or huge big teeth?

bo
ok
He had small teeth.

.
Joe’s father had little small teeth. Joe’s mother had little small teeth. All his
co
brothers had little small teeth and Joe had little small teeth. It was genetic.
m/
Genetically he had big teeth or small teeth?

gr
Small teeth.
ou
ps
Was it genetic or was it behavior that caused his small teeth?

/T
Well genetics, right? It was a genetic trait. It was connected to his biology connected to
his family. It was a genetic trait, having small teeth.
ai
Li
What was the correlation he found?

eu
Well, he found a correlation between big teeth and being a famous movie star. They’re
connected.
On
Th
He thought “Oh no, to be a movie star I must have big teeth. But mine are tiny
and small.” He had a problem. So he went to the hospital and he talked to a
iD
doctor. He said “Doctor, I need big teeth. Look at my teeth. They’re tiny. I’ll
ai
never be a movie star.” The doctor said “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. You need to
see a dentist, a special dentist.” And so Joe went to see a special dentist, a
Ho
dentist who made teeth bigger. And he said to the dentist “Please help me. I
want to be a movie star. But there’s a correlation between big teeth and being a
c0
movie star. I have to have big teeth.” And the dentist said “No problem.” And so
1
Joe had an operation.
Why did Joe have an operation?
He had an operation to get big teeth.
Why did he want big teeth?
Well, of course, obviously so he could be a movie star. And so he had the operation.
It was successful. After the operation Joe had big whopping huge teeth.
ww
Did he have whopping big teeth?

w.
fa
Oh yes, they were whopping huge. They were big gigantic whopping teeth, the biggest
teeth in the world.
ce
Who had whopping big teeth?

bo
ok
Joe, Joe had whopping teeth.

.
What kind of teeth did he have?

co
m/
Whopping, whopping big huge gigantic teeth.

gr
What happened next?

ou
Well, obviously he became a famous movie star. To be a movie star you only need
ps
huge whopping teeth. Everybody knows this. So Joe had whopping big teeth and he
was also thin. That’s all that was necessary. Joe had whopping big teeth.
/T
He became a famous movie star. In fact, one year later he was the most famous
ai
movie star in the United States.

Li
Why was he the most famous movie star in the United States?
eu
Well, because he had whopping teeth. He had the biggest whopping teeth in all of
On
America, in all of the world.

Th
Who had the biggest whopping teeth in the world?

iD
ai
Joe, Joe had the biggest whopping teeth in the world so, of course, he was the biggest
whopping movie star in the world.
Ho
*****
c0
1
And that is the end of our happy story. I hope you enjoyed the mini-story. I hope you’re
smiling. Shoulders are back. Chest is up. Breathing deep, moving that body, enjoying
your English learning.
See you next time.
ww
w.
fa
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bo
ok
.co
m/
gr
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ps
/T
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1
Healthy At 100 Point-of-View Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Let’s get started with the POV, point of view mini‑story for “Healthy at
w.
100.” Same story, different points of view.

fa
*****
ce
bo
Since he was 16 Joe has wanted to be a movie star.

ok
Since when?
.
Since he was 16, since he was 16 Joe has wanted to be a movie star.
co
m/
Who has wanted to be a movie star? Bill?

gr
Not Bill, Joe. Joe has wanted to be a movie star.

ou
Since when?
ps
Since he was 16, since he was 16 Joe has wanted to be a movie star. Starting when he
/T
was 16 and continuing.

ai
What has he wanted since he was 16?

Li
To be a movie star, he has wanted to be a movie star since he was 16.

eu
On
Has he wanted to be a music rock star since he was 16?

Th
No, he hasn’t wanted to be a rock star. He has wanted to be a movie star.

iD
What kind of star has he wanted to be?

ai
He has wanted to be a movie star.

Ho
c0
Has he wanted to be a movie star a little or a lot?

1
Well, he has wanted to be a movie star a lot, really, really, really wanted to be a movie
star. He has wanted to be a movie star so much, a lot, since he was 16 years old. And
now he’s 38.
So he’s wanted to be a movie star from 16 until age 38, during that whole time.
The whole time, every moment during that time, he has wanted to be a movie star.
Well, finally one day he just decided “I’m going to do it. I will be a movie star.”
He decided to get thin. So he stopped eating dairy products and he said “No
more consumption of sugar and fat.” Then he studied other stars. He studied
them very carefully. And he saw a correlation, a connection, between big teeth
ww
and being a famous movie star. Now, unfortunately he has always had tiny teeth,
I mean since he was born. He has had tiny teeth since he was born.
w.
fa
Has Joe always had tiny little teeth?

ce
Yeah, Joe has always had tiny little teeth.

bo
Since when?
ok
Well, since he was born, since he was a tiny baby. Starting when he was a tiny baby
.
until age 38, he has always had little tiny teeth.

co
m/
But he decided to change that also. He got an operation from a dentist and the
dentist gave him huge whopping teeth.
gr
What did the dentist give him?

ou
ps
The dentist gave him huge whopping teeth.

/T
And so, one year later, Joe became the biggest, most famous movie star in the
world.
ai
Li
*****
eu
Alright, that’s the end of our first point of view story. You notice that one changed a
couple times, right? I started with has wanted to be, since he was 16, has wanted to be.
On
And then we say he decided, boom, just happened. And then we went back again and
Th
we said since he was a baby he has had tiny teeth, starting when he was a baby until
now, well until 38. And then we change back again. Got an operation, gave him big
iD
teeth. Just notice the changes. That’s all you need to do. You don’t need to remember
ai
the name of the grammar terms or rules. Don’t remember any of that, doesn’t matter.
Notice the changes. Notice when they change, how they change. That’s all you need
Ho
to do. Don’t analyze it. Don’t think about it. Just notice it. Hear it. Listen to it. That’s
all you need to do. Relax.
c0
1
On to the next one, into the future. Now here’s my idea for a story and we’re going to
say for next year.
*****
So next year there’ll be a guy. This guy will be named Joe. Joe will want to be a
massive huge movie star. He’ll want to be a big movie star. Well, first he’s going
to decide to get thin. He’ll stop eating dairy products. He’ll stop consuming
sugar and fat. He’ll say “I’m not gonna consume sugar or fat anymore, starting
today, into the future. I’m not gonna consume sugar or fat.” So he’ll do that.
Next he’s gonna study famous movie stars and he’ll see a correlation between big
ww
teeth and being famous. He’s going to see, he’s going to realize, that there’s a
correlation between having big teeth and being a famous movie star. Now
w.
unfortunately, Joe’s gonna have tiny teeth, I mean genetically, naturally,

fa
genetically. His whole family is gonna have tiny little teeth. And Joe will have
tiny little teeth, too. So, he’ll decide to get an operation. He’ll go to a doctor first
ce
then he’ll go to a dentist. And this dentist will give him huge shopping teeth. Big,
big teeth. And this is going to be successful. It’s gonna be hugely successful. In
bo
fact, one year later, he’s gonna be the most famous, the biggest movie star in all
ok
of the United States and in all of the world. He’ll be a huge big star because of his
huge big teeth.
. co
*****
m/
And that is the end of our point of view stories. Hope you enjoyed them. Smile.
gr
Breathe. Move your body. Big, big, big grin on your face, come on. You just finished
the point of view story. Rock on. You’re great. You’re fantastic. You’re an excellent
ou
English learner. Thank you for being my student. I will see you next time. Bye.
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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Ho
c0
1
Healthy At 100 Vocabulary Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Healthy at 100.” Now, I know
w.
the vocabulary lesson is probably the least exciting and interesting lesson of the
fa
collection. And that’s okay. In fact, it’s really my least favorite as well. I’d say listen to it
one or two times, maybe the first and second day, and after that you don’t need to listen
ce
to it every single day. The most important lessons are, y’know, the main, the main
bo
lesson, the main audio and the mini‑story and the POV. Those are the most important
but, y’know, listen to the vocabulary lesson a few times the first couple days of the
ok
week. Alright, let’s get started with the vocabulary lesson for Healthy at 100. There is
actually a good amount of vocabulary in this one.
. co
Our first word is correlation, so he talks about the correlation between cancer and
m/
animal food. Cancer and animal food, there’s a correlation between the two.
Correlation means connection or association. It means the two go together. They
gr
happen at the same time. If you’re eating a lot of animal food then you’re going to have
ou
more chance of cancer. They’re connected. There’s a connection there. So that’s

called a correlation, correlation. Now, it does have a little bit more specific, scientific
ps
meaning if you’re talking about research but you’ll learn that in a research class or a
statistics class. The general meaning is a connection, an association between two
/T
things, correlation. So correlation, there’s a correlation between cancer, high cancer

ai
rates, and eating animal food.

Li
Next we have the word consumption. There’s a correlation between cancer and animal
food consumption. So here, consumption just means eating. Consumption, eating,
eu
very simple. Animal food consumption, animal food eating. When you consume, it’s the
On
verb is consume, to consume means to eat or to use up. Use it all. So consumption is
the noun. It just means eating. Very simple.
Th
Little bit later we have the word colon. There is a study of colon cancer. Women who
iD
ate a lot of meat had high rates of colon cancer. So colon is part of your body, it’s your
ai
gut. It’s your bowel. It’s your lower intestine, right? So your food goes in. It goes down
your throat into your stomach. From your stomach it goes into your upper intestine…do
Ho
da do da do…and then finally into your lower intestine. Into your colon, and then it
c0
comes out your body again. So colon is your bowel, your gut, your lower intestine.
1
Next we have the word dairy. Dairy products, dairy food. Dairy just means milk or
cheese. It’s something that comes from milk or cheese. Comes from an animal, you
don’t kill it. It’s not meat. You know, meat is the muscle of the animal. But dairy
products, it usually comes from the milk of the animal. So milk and cheese are the most
common dairy products. Milk and cheese, dairy, dairy products. So the more dairy
products you consume, the more dairy products you eat, the more cancer you’re going
to have, the more disease you’re going to have or may have. Your risk is much higher.
Next we have the word prostate, prostate cancer. So there was this study at Harvard
University and they found a correlation, a connection, between dairy products and
prostate cancer, that’s a specific kind of cancer. Prostate is a gland, it’s a, like a little
ww
organ, a little body part in men, and it’s kind of near the penis and testicles. It’s down,
y’know, it’s kind of in that area. It’s a little tiny area of tissue. And it is at risk for cancer
w.
so a lot of men get prostate cancer. In fact, my grandfather died of prostate cancer, one
fa
of my grandfathers. And a lot of men are at risk for prostate cancer. And more dairy
products men eat, drink, consume, the higher their risk for prostate cancer, whereas
ce
strict vegetarian men, for example, have a very low risk for prostate cancer. So again
prostate is the part of the body and cancer is the disease.
bo
ok
We see the phrase advanced cancer, advanced cancer. You know the word advanced.
Advanced means, y’know, high level. So if we’re talking about advanced cancer it just
.
means cancer that has already grown a lot. High level cancer means very bad cancer.
co
It’s not just starting, it’s already grown a lot. It’s developed a lot, so that’s advanced
m/
cancer. It’s very serious, very bad cancer.

gr
There’s another phrase, it’s not common at all, but it’s in the article so we’ll talk about it,
metastatic cancer. Metastatic means spreading. It means something that’s growing.
ou
It’s moving through the body. It’s not just in one part of the body. And of course, that’s
ps
very serious, it’s very bad. It’s a very terrible thing.

/T
Later we have the phrase on the other hand. You probably already know this one but
on the other hand means however. Say “On the other hand people who don’t eat dairy
ai
products have low rates of cancer.” So it means however. Okay.

Li
Next we have associated with, associated with, so high rates of meat consumption are
eu
associated with cancer. And that’s the same as correlation, it just means connected to.
So associated with means connected to, connected to…associated with. It means they
On
go together, they happen together.

Th
Next we have the word whopping. Okay, so they studied men and men who drank soy
iD
milk instead of cow’s milk had a whopping 70% reduction in their risk of prostate cancer.
ai
Whopping means very big, huge. So it’s a huge reduction. It’s not small. It’s not a
small reduction. It’s a huge reduction. Of course reduction means make something
Ho
smaller, get smaller. So much less, much, much less, whopping, big change. Big
difference, a whopping difference is a big difference. It’s a huge difference. It’s a
c0
whopping difference.
1
Next we have the word genetic. The differences are not genetic. So genetic means
related to biology, related to family, related to race, right? My father and I are
genetically connected, right? His biology and mine are connected, they’re similar. And
my mother and I and my sister and I, right, we are genetically connected. So the
differences are not genetic. It’s not because someone is Chinese. If someone is
Chinese it doesn’t guarantee they will be healthy. Their race, their genetics is not what
is important. It’s how they eat. A Chinese person who eats like an American is going to
be unhealthy. And actually today, many, many Chinese people are eating like
Americans and they are becoming less healthy. It’s happening in many parts of the
world. So it’s not genetic, it’s not because of family or race. It’s because of behavior.
ww
And finally we have the word counterparts. So it’s talking about the study between
w.
Chinese people who eat traditional food, vegetarian kind of diets in China, and then
fa
Chinese Americans who eat American food. So he says Chinese American men living
in the United States are 10 times more likely to get cancer as their genetic counterparts
ce
who eat vegetarian food in China. Okay, so they’re counterparts. Counterparts means
a match or equal, an identical thing, an identical part. So in other words you have
bo
genetically, biologically, a Chinese American and a Chinese person. They’re both

ok
Chinese, right? Their biology, their body, they’re both Chinese. One is living in the
United States. One is living in China. Maybe it’s brothers, for example.
. co
You might have one brother living in China, one brother living in San Francisco. So
m/
genetically they’re very close biology, right? They are counterparts, they are genetic
counterparts, genetic matches, genetic equals, right? So they are identical parts,
gr
almost identical, very similar. Two brothers, Chinese in China, Chinese in the United
States, right? They’re counterparts. They’re matches. They’re equals. But the one
ou
who eats a high fat, high meat, high dairy diet is going to get sick, has a very high risk
ps
for cancer. The one that eats a very low meat, low dairy, almost vegetarian diet has
very low risk for cancer. So they’re genetic counterparts but the behavior can determine
/T
their health. So again counterpart means two parts that are equal, two parts that are
very similar.
ai
Li
And that is the end of the vocabulary lesson for Healthy at 100. Big smile. Big breath.
On to the next lesson.
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
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1
Walden Main Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ again. Welcome to the next lesson. This week’s lesson is called “Walden.”
w.
And we’re going to talk about a book with the same name, Walden, by a writer named
fa
Henry David Thoreau. Now Thoreau is probably my favorite American writer, I guess
maybe my favorite writer in general. He wrote back during the American Civil War, prior
ce
to the American Civil War, and his book Walden is his most famous book. Now it’s quite
difficult. There’s a lot of big vocabulary in this book. And also the writing style is kind of
bo
old, very, very, very formal English and a little bit of an old style of English. So I’m going
ok
to read one paragraph from the book and then I’ll talk about it more. And that paragraph
may be quite difficult for you, but don’t worry. I’ll explain it after.
. co
Now, Walden, the book, is about an experiment, an experience that Henry David
m/
Thoreau had. He decided to go and live in the woods. Go away from the town where
he was into the woods, into the forest, and then build a very small little simple house
gr
and live in it by himself. And just think and relax and live a very simple life. And then he
wrote a book about this experience. Now, of course, this is something that people have
ou
done for centuries and centuries, holy people, religious people, spiritual people,
ps
philosophers.
/T
In many different periods of history, in many different locations in the world, they’ve
ai
gone off by themselves to some small remote place away from other people to think, to
live simply. And of course we have a lot of great intellectual breakthroughs from these
Li
people. So it’s a long tradition to do this and Henry David Thoreau was following the
same tradition. And it’s not a usual thing for Americans, I would say. He was maybe
eu
one of the first Americans to do this and write about it. I’m sure many did it but he wrote
On
about his experience. And this book is a book about his experience, his experiment, but
more so it’s a book about his philosophy, a philosophy of life that he developed while
Th
living in the woods alone.

iD
And the main part of this philosophy is to live simply. That in fact we don’t need so
ai
much in terms of things, buying things, getting lots of things. So even at that time in the
United States people were always trying to get more, more, more…bigger, bigger,
Ho
bigger house…more, more, more money…more, more, more nice furniture. Just
always buying things and of course today we have more, more, more computers and
c0
iPods and phones and bigger cars and nicer stuff. All the time people want more, more,
1
more. And he was saying this is a source of unhappiness if you’re always trying to get
more and more and more you will never be happy. And so his idea was actually to be
happy with what you need and then focus on doing other things. Instead of always
trying to get more, more, more, live more simply and you will have a lot of time for
yourself. You’ll work much less. You’ll enjoy your life. So that is the basic philosophy of
Henry David Thoreau. It’s also a very Buddhist or Taoist philosophy. A lot of different
religions and spiritual practices have this similar philosophy. So anyway, let me read
this paragraph about his experiment and then we’ll talk about it a little more. Here we
go.
I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances

ww
confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the

life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected
w.
in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an

fa
invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin
to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws will
ce
be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense.

In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will
bo
appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty
ok
poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the

air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now
.
put the foundations under them.

co
m/
Okay, that is the paragraph. What does it mean? Let’s talk about it. I’ll go from the
beginning and discuss the meaning of this. Now the beginning part he says if one (it
gr
means someone) advances confidently (strongly) in the direction of his dream (of their
dream), and endeavors (and tries) to live the life they have imagined, they will meet with
ou
a success unexpected in common hours. What that means is if you try to live your
ps
dream you will be successful. You’ll be surprised that if you really are confident and
strong, you say “I will do this,” whatever your dream is, whatever your big goal is, if you
/T
just start working towards it and trying to get it that you’ll be surprised at your success.
You will succeed. It will be less difficult than you imagined.
ai
Li
And then he talks about, y’know, new laws will open around this person…what he’s
saying is that the universe or God or the Tao, whatever your belief is, that it will help
eu
you. That in fact, that the more confident you are, the more strongly you try to get your
dreams, you will get help. Things will happen to help you. Y’know, if you’re religious,
On
y’know, maybe you think God is going to help you. But God’s going to wait until you are
Th
confident, until you actually try to live your biggest dream. And if you do that and you
keep trying and you’re strong and you believe, then God will give you help.
iD
ai
And if you’re not religious and you don’t believe in God, maybe it’s, y’know, the Tao, or
the force of the universe or, y’know, maybe it’s your unconscious mind that’s going to
Ho
give you that help. Whatever it is, some force or forces will help you. You won’t be
alone. That’s what he’s saying. So he’s basically saying to have faith, believe. Believe
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in your dream. Try to get your dream and if you do it you’re going to succeed. It’s going
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to be easier. Things will happen to help you. So that’s the first part of the paragraph.
In the second part of the paragraph he says that the more you simplify your life, the
easier life becomes, that’s what that means. In proportion as you simplify your life the
laws of the universe will appear less complex. What that means is the more you make
your life simple, the easier your life becomes. Everything becomes easier. It’s easier to
succeed. It’s easier to do everything. You have less stress in your life. Everything
becomes much, much easier the more your life is simplified.
And then finally he says if you have built castles in the air, your work is not lost. That’s
where they should be. Put the foundations under them. Castles in the air, I’ll talk about
ww
this in vocabulary, but castles in the air just means dreaming big. It’s a slang phrase, an
idiom actually, and it just means if you build castles in the air, to build castles in the air,
w.
means to dream big, right? You’re not building a house on the ground. You’re building
fa
your house up in the air. You’re dreaming a big dream. He’s saying that that is great.
That’s fantastic. You should dream very, very big. Don’t have small dreams. Have
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really big dreams.

bo
He says but the next step is you must do something. Don’t just dream. Just dreaming
ok
is not enough. If you dream only, nothing will happen. He says you have to put the
foundations under the castle, under the house. That means you have to take action.
.
You have to take action. You have to dream a really big dream, that’s the first step. But
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the second step, you have to take action. You actually have to work to get that dream.
m/
So he’s saying yes, dream big, but also take action.

gr
Alright, so that is the end of the Walden main story here. I hope you enjoyed it. Walden
is a fantastic book but I warn you, it is quite difficult so reading the whole thing might be
ou
very difficult for most non‑native speakers. In fact, it can be a difficult book even for
ps
native speakers. But I hope you get a little bit of the idea of Walden and of Thoreau’s
philosophy just from this paragraph alone.
/T
Okay, see you in the vocabulary lesson.

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1
Walden Mini-Story Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story for “Walden.” Take a deep breath. Shoulders
w.
back. Chest up. Big smile. Are you ready? Let’s get started.
fa
*****
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Inka wanted to build a huge beautiful house.

bo
ok
What did Inka want to build?

.
Well, Inka wanted to build a huge beautiful house.

co
m/
What kind of house did Inka want to build?

gr
A huge beautiful house, she wanted to build a huge beautiful house.

ou
Who wanted to build a huge beautiful house?

ps
Inka, Inka wanted to build a huge beautiful house.

/T
ai
Did she want to build a huge beautiful car?

Li
Not a car, no she didn’t. She didn’t want to build a huge beautiful car. She wanted to
build a huge beautiful house.
eu
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In fact, her dream was to live in a castle like a princess all by herself.
Th
What did she want to live like?

iD
Like a princess, she wanted to live like a princess.

ai
Where did she want to live?

Ho
In a castle, she wanted to live in a castle.

c0
1
How did she want to live?
Like a princess, she wanted to live like a princess in a castle.
Where?
www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com
In a castle, she wanted to live in a castle.
Did she want to live with other people?
No, she didn’t. She did not want to live with other people. She wanted to live by
ww
herself. Her dream was to live in a castle like a princess by herself.

w.
And who, who wanted to live in a castle like a princess by herself?

fa
Inka, Inka wanted to live in a castle like a princess by herself.

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And so she advanced towards her dream.

bo
ok
Did she wait?

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No, she did not wait. She advanced towards her dream. She moved immediately
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towards her dream.

m/
Did she advance away from her dream?

gr
No, no, no, she advanced towards her dream. She moved towards her dream.
ou
ps
Who advanced towards her dream?

/T
Inka, of course, Inka advanced towards her dream.

ai
And what was her dream?

Li
To live in a castle like a princess by herself. She advanced towards her dream. She
eu
went towards her dream.

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First she endeavored to build a castle of diamonds.

Th
What did she try to do?

iD
ai
She tried to build a castle out of diamonds.

Ho
Did she try to build a castle out of stone?

c0
No, not out of stone, she didn’t try to build a castle out of stone. She endeavored to
1
build a castle out of diamonds.
Did she endeavor to build a castle out of water?
Of course not, you can’t do that. She didn’t endeavor to build a castle out of water. She
endeavored to build a castle out of diamonds.
What kind of castle did she endeavor to build?
Well, she endeavored to build a castle of diamonds, a diamond castle.

ww
But there was a problem. Diamonds are too expensive and they’re really heavy.
w.
She couldn’t build a diamond castle by herself.

fa
Are diamonds too expensive or too cheap?

ce
Well, of course, they’re too expensive. Diamonds aren’t too cheap. Diamonds are very,
bo
very expensive.
ok
Are diamonds heavy or light?

. co
Of course, they’re very heavy if you have big ones. If they’re big diamonds, if you’re
m/
trying to build a castle with very big diamonds, they’re heavy. So she endeavored to
build her castle out of diamonds but she had to stop. It was too expensive.
gr
So next she asked her friends for help. She established a team of builders.
ou
ps
What did she create?

/T
Well, she created a team. A team of builders, a building team.

ai
What did she make?

Li
She made a team of builders. She established a team of builders, herself and her
eu
friends. They made a team. They established a team.

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Who established a team of builders?

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Well, Inka, Inka established a team of builders.

iD
ai
Why did she establish a team?

Ho
Well, because it was too difficult to do alone. She couldn’t build a castle alone. It was
too expensive. It was too difficult. And so she established a team. She created a team
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to help her.
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Every day the team worked to build the castle. But diamonds were too expensive.
And so they built a huge castle out of gum.
What kind of castle did they build?
They built a gum castle.
Did they build a rock castle?
No, they didn’t.

ww
Did they build a diamond castle?

w.
fa
No, they didn’t.

ce
What kind of castle did they build?

bo
They built a gum castle, a chewing gum castle.

ok
Who built a chewing gum castle?

. co
Well, Inka and her friends. Inka and her friends built a chewing gum castle.
m/
Was it a small chewing gum castle?

gr
No, no, no, it was a huge gum castle. Inka and her friends built a huge gum castle.
ou
ps
What kind of foundation did the castle have, the bottom of the castle, the floor and
under the floor? What kind of foundation did the castle have? Was it a gum
/T
foundation? Was the foundation made of gum?

ai
No, it was not. The foundation was not made of gum.

Li
Was it made of rock?

eu
No, no, no, it wasn’t made of rock. It wasn’t made of gum.

On
Th
What was the foundation made of?

iD
Well, obviously the foundation was made of spaghetti.

ai
It was a spaghetti foundation.

Ho
Who built a spaghetti foundation for the castle?

c0
1
Well, Inka and her friends. Inka and her friends built a spaghetti foundation for her
castle.
They built the castle on top of spaghetti. The floor was spaghetti. Under the floor
was spaghetti.
What kind of foundation was it?
A spaghetti foundation, they built a spaghetti foundation. It was very soft.
So what kind of castle did they build?

ww
Well, they built a gum castle with a spaghetti foundation.

w.
fa
Did Inka live in the castle alone?

ce
No, no, she invited all her friends.

bo
She lived together with all her friends in the gum castle with the spaghetti
ok
foundation. And they lived happily ever after.

.
The End
co
m/
*****
gr
Alright, I’ll see you next time. That’s the mini-story. See you for the point of view
lessons, bye bye.
ou
ps
/T
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Walden Point-of-View Text

ww
Okay, welcome to the POV, point of view, lessons/stories for “Walden.” Same story,
w.
different points of view. The first point of view starts with “Since she was 16…” Since
fa
she was 16 years old.

ce
*****
bo
Since she was 16 years old Inka has wanted to build a beautiful castle. She has
ok
wanted to build a beautiful castle starting when she was 16 until recently. Since
she was 16 Inka has wanted to build a big, wonderful, beautiful castle. She has
.
dreamed of living in the castle like a princess by herself.

co
m/
Who has dreamed of living in a castle by herself like a princess?

gr
Inka, Inka has dreamed of living in a castle by herself like a princess.

ou
What has she dreamed?

ps
Well, since she was 16 she has dreamed of living in a castle like a princess by herself.
/T
ai
She has dreamed about this every day. Since she was 16 she has dreamed about
being in a beautiful castle. She has dreamed about living like a princess. Every
Li
day she has dreamed about this. When she was 17 she dreamed about it. When
she was 18, 19, 20, 21, continuing…starting when she was 16 and continuing.
eu
She has dreamed and dreamed and dreamed. Well one day she decided to
On
advance towards her dream. She decided to take action. And so she did, she
advanced towards her dream.
Th
In fact she endeavored to build a castle out of diamonds. She tried to build the
iD
diamond castle but it was too difficult. Diamonds are very expensive and big
ai
diamonds are very heavy. And so she stopped. Next, she asked her friends for
help. She established a team of builders to help her build the castle. Every day
Ho
they worked on the castle. But they didn’t build a diamond castle. They built a
huge castle out of gum. But that’s not all. The foundation of the castle was made
c0
of spaghetti. They built a gum castle with a spaghetti foundation. Eventually

1
they finished the castle. And they all lived together in the castle, Inka and her
friends. In fact, they lived happily ever after.
*****
Okay, that’s the end of our first point of view story. Let’s next go to the future, back to
the future. Are you ready? So now I have this idea, a story that will happen in the
future. Hasn’t happened yet, it’s going to happen in the future.
*****
ww
So there will be a woman named Inka. Inka’s gonna want to build a castle, a huge
beautiful castle. She’ll want to live in this castle like a princess. In fact, her
w.
dream will be to live in a castle like a princess by herself. That’s gonna be her
fa
dream. One day she’ll advance towards her dream. She will take action. First,
she’s gonna endeavor to build a castle out of diamonds. She’ll try to build a
ce
castle out of diamonds. But there will be a problem. Diamonds will be too
expensive, of course. Diamonds are too expensive. They’re very expensive. And
bo
diamonds, big diamonds, are very heavy. So she’ll stop trying to build a diamond
ok
castle.
.
Next she’ll ask her friends for help. She’ll establish a team of builders. They’re
co
gonna work every day building the castle. Every day they’ll go to work. Every
m/
day they’ll work and work and work to build the castle. But they won’t build a
normal castle. They won’t build a diamond castle. They’ll build a castle out of
gr
gum. They’re gonna build a huge, giant, super-big gum castle. But that’s not all.
They’ll build a spaghetti foundation under the castle. The castle will have a
ou
spaghetti foundation. It’ll be a gum castle with a spaghetti foundation. Now

ps
when they finish, Inka won’t live along in the castle, no, no, no. She’s gonna
invite all her friends to live with her and they will. They’ll all live happily ever after
/T
in the gum castle with the spaghetti foundation.

ai
*****
Li
Alright, that is the end of the point of view story. I hope you’re smiling. I hope you’re
eu
moving and breathing and standing tall. I will see you next time. This is AJ, bye bye.
On
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Walden Vocabulary Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Walden.” Let’s get started.
w.
fa
Our first word is advance, to advance. So this is a verb. Now you probably know
advanced in another meaning, meaning high level. But this is a different meaning. This
ce
is a verb. It’s an action. To advance means to move forward, to move forward. So

advance towards your dreams means move towards your dreams. Go forward towards
bo
your dreams.
ok
Alright, our next word is to endeavor. This is a noun also but in this paragraph it’s a
.
verb, to endeavor to do something. To endeavor to live the life you have imagined. To
co
endeavor to live your dreams and endeavor means to try, to attempt. So, to attempt to
m/
live your dreams, to try to live your dreams, to endeavor to live your dreams. So
Thoreau is saying you should endeavor to live your biggest dreams. You should try to
gr
live your biggest dreams.

ou
Okay, and then a little later he says if you do this, if you try to live your biggest dreams
ps
and you try hard then you will have success unexpected in common hours. Unexpected
is kind of like a surprise, right? But in common hours means during normal times, like in
/T
your normal life. So maybe right now, during your normal life you imagine your big, big
ai
dream and you can’t imagine success. It seems so difficult. It’s like “Oh my god.” So
this is sort of your normal time, your common hour. But if you take a big chance, if you
Li
really try, your success will be huge. It will be bigger than you can imagine normally. So
in common hours means normally, during normal times, usually. It has that idea.
eu
On
Little bit later he uses the word liberal. Liberal has a lot of different meanings and uses.
It can be used in a political way, but here it’s used in a much more general way. He
Th
says if you try to reach your dreams, then liberal laws will begin to happen around you.
So liberal here means flexible, free, open, tolerant. Okay, so it’s this idea of more
iD
flexible, more free, more tolerant and open. So what he’s saying is that liberal laws,
ai
laws as in like religious laws, spiritual laws, scientific laws, physical laws. He’s just
saying that the universe or God or whatever will make things easier for you.
Ho
That the more you try for your big, big dream that things will become more liberal. Your
c0
life situation will become more flexible. Your life situation will become more easy and
1
free. Your life situation will become more open. So he’s saying that your experiences,
your situation, your environment will become more liberal because you have this strong
belief for your big, big dream. Because of that your environment will become liberal,
liberal meaning flexible, liberal meaning free and open.
Alright, next we have the verb, the word to establish. To establish. So he says this
liberal environment will establish itself around you. The liberal laws, the liberal
environment, the liberal situation, the free open situation will establish itself around you.
To establish means to create, basically. So this situation will be created around you. It
will be established around you, so to establish means to create, to start and create, to
make. Okay, so again establish means to create, to make.
ww
Alright, our next phrase “in proportion as,” we also say “in proportion to,” so in
w.
proportion as or in proportion to means equal to or in the same amount, in the same

fa
amount or equal to. So it’s in proportion, in proportion to, in proportion as. So when he
says in proportion as you simplify your life, life will be easier. It means those two things
ce
are equal. If you make your life a little simple, your life becomes a little easier. If you
make your life a lot simpler, your life becomes a lot easier, equal amounts. These
bo
amounts equal each other. So if one is less, the other is less. If one is more the other
ok
is more. Right, they’re in proportion. They’re equal amounts, or similar amounts.

.
I already talked about this next one in the main article but let me talk about it again, to
co
build castles in the air. He says if you have built castles in the air your work is not lost.
m/
It’s not bad is what he’s saying. Building castles in the air is not bad. So to build castles
in the air, it’s an idiom and it means to dream something big, to have a big, big, big, big
gr
dream. Some people think this is negative, right?

ou
Oh you’re a dreamer. You’re not realistic. You’re a dreamer. You are always building
ps
castles in the air. You’re always dreaming. Dreaming something big, dreaming
something big. Building castles in the air, to build castles in the air, to dream something
/T
big and wonderful. Of course, he’s saying that’s great, that’s what you must do. If your
dreams are small you won’t have any energy. You won’t have any passion. Nothing
ai
happens. So he’s saying you should build castles in the air. You should dream big.
Li
Then he says but the next step is you must put the foundations under them. So this is a
eu
metaphor, it’s kind of like poetry a little bit. He’s saying put the foundations under the
castle in the air. What does that mean? It’s a little complicated. Well, a foundation is
On
the bottom of a building. It has different meanings, this word foundation. But here we’re
Th
talking about the bottom of a building, kind of the floor and under the floor. The whole
building is on top of the foundations, it’s the bottom. So the foundation must be strong,
iD
right? You have to have a strong foundation, a strong bottom so you can build a big
ai
building on top. So that’s the direct meaning, it’s the bottom of a building.
Ho
But what he’s really saying here is that you have to have actions to support your
dreams. So if your dreams are in the air, they will fall unless you put actions under
c0
them, right? He’s comparing dreams and a building. He’s comparing dreams and a
1
castle. He’s saying if you have a castle, if you have a big building in the air, you must
put something under it. You must support it, right, a foundation. So if a castle is a
dream, the building is a dream, what’s the foundation? The foundation is action. You
have to put action or actions under your dreams. That’s how your dreams become real.
You must support your dreams with actions. That’s what he’s saying. That’s what he
means by foundation. Put the foundation under your dreams. Put the actions under
your dreams.
Alright, that is all for our vocabulary lesson for Walden. See you next time for the
mini‑story.
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Superior Man Main Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ. Welcome to the next lesson. This lesson is called “The Way of the
w.
Superior Man” and we’re going to talk about a book with the same title, The Way of the
fa
Superior Man, by David Deida, his last name is D-e-i-d-a. David Deida, another very
interesting book. I’m trying to introduce you to a lot of interesting books and after these
ce
lessons are all over maybe you can go find these books and read them yourself. What
a cool idea. But first, let’s get started. Get your body strong, strong physiology, right?
bo
Breathe deep, chest up, chin up, eyes up. Smile big. Deep breaths, move your body.
ok
Come on, get some energy in your body. Let’s get started.
.
So, The Way of the Superior Man, it’s an excellent book and it is in fact written for men,
co
although I think there are a lot of great ideas in there for women, too. But I do think that
m/
men especially will enjoy the book. So, if you’re a man, I especially recommend that
you go get it. But even if you’re a woman you could read it. You’re allowed to. It’s
gr
okay. Now this book is really about how to be a superior man, I guess what the title
says.
ou
ps
How to be a great person is what it really means. How to live that life of your dreams,
very similar to a lot of the topics we’re talking about, right? They all have a similar
/T
theme. Do you notice the topics are similar? Do you think I’m trying to convince you of
ai
something? Well, I am. I’m trying to convince you to live the life of your dreams,
whatever that it. I don’t know what it is, but you know. Whatever those big dreams you
Li
have, I want you to get them. Now, of course, one of those dreams is to speak excellent
English and I’m helping you with that right now. You’re helping yourself with that right
eu
now, too.
On
And you’re going to continue helping yourself speak excellent English, even after you
Th
finish all of these lessons. You’re going to keep following this system. You’re going to
find more listening, more English listening, and you’re going to listen to it every day.
iD
You’re going to find cool, fun, interesting English books, novels especially. And you’re
ai
going to read them every day. You’re going to keep following this system even after you
finish all of my lessons. It never stops. It never ends. But that’s okay because you
Ho
enjoy it. Because you’re smiling, you’re moving. This is great. You love it. So why
would you stop? No reason, you’re going to keep going forever. Alright, so get that big
c0
smile, come on – smile. And let’s get started.

1
I’m going to read a section of The Way of the Superior Man. This section talks about
fear, because what stops us? What stops us from living our dreams? Usually it’s fear.
Some kind of fear, fear of failure is a very common one. Probably the most common, I
think, fear of what other people think. Fear of other people’s opinions. Fear of not
being normal. Well, all these fears, everybody has them. It doesn’t matter who they
are, even if they are a top performer. Even if they are super rich, super successful,
super wonderful, everything is great in their life, they have fear and they had fear. So
we have to learn how to deal with fear. So let me read about this topic from David
Deida and then we’ll talk about it more. Here we go:
ww
“Pick an area of your life. Perhaps your intimate relationship, your

career, your relationship with your children, or your spiritual
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practice. For instance, you are currently doing something to earn a

fa
living. Where do your fears stop you from making a larger

contribution to mankind, from earning a higher income or from
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earning money in a more creative and enjoyable way? If you are

absolutely fearless, would you be earning a living in exactly the
bo
same way as you are now?

ok
Your edge, your limit, is where you stop. Where you compromise
.
your fullest potential, your biggest dream and instead cater to your
co
fear. Have you lost touch with the fears that are limiting and
m/
shaping your income and style of livelihood? If you have deluded

yourself and feel that you are not afraid, then you are lying to
gr
yourself. All men are afraid unless they are dead.

ou
If you cannot admit this, you are pretending to yourself and to

ps
others. Your friends will feel your fear even if you do not. Thus,
they will lose trust in you, knowing you are deluding yourself, lying
/T
to yourself and are therefore likely to lie to them, consciously or

unconsciously. Or perhaps you are very aware of your fears, your
ai
fear to take risks, your fear of failing, or your fear of succeeding.

Li
Perhaps you are comfortable with your life and you fear the lifestyle
change that might accompany a change in career. Even though the
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new career will be closer to what you really want to do with your
life.
On
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Some men fear the feeling of fear and therefore don’t even
approach their edge, don’t even approach their potential or their
iD
limit. They choose a job they know they can do well and easily.
ai
And don’t approach the fullest potential they have within them.
Their lives are secure and comfortable but dead. They lack
Ho
aliveness. They lack depth. They lack the inspirational energy that
is the sign of a man living his fullest. If you are this kind of man,
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who is hanging back, working hard perhaps but not challenging

1
yourself, well then, other men will not be able to trust you. They will
not trust that you can and will help them live fully.”
Okay, that is the end of the section. Let’s talk about it. What does it mean? So, he’s
talking about fear and one of his points, point number one, everyone has fear. All men
and women have fear. We’re all afraid of something. We’re all afraid of what other
people will think. Nobody likes to be criticized, for example. We’re all afraid of failing,
maybe some people a little bit afraid, some people very, very afraid. But all of us have
that fear. Sometimes we have fear of success. We’re afraid that our life will not be
comfortable anymore. “Oh my god, if I’m successful then I’ll have more stress,” or
something. Or I’ll be a bad person, or, I don’t know. We all have that kind of fear, too.
ww
Sometimes very small in some people and in some people it is a very big fear.
The point is, everybody has fear. So, he’s saying that you have to live with your fear.
w.
You have to see your fear. You have to recognize it. You have to welcome it. You have
fa
to accept it. You say “Yes, I have fear. Yes, I’m afraid of this.” That’s okay. That’s the
first step. You have to accept your fear. You have to be honest. If you tell yourself, if
ce
you tell everybody “I’m not afraid of anything. I’m not afraid. I’m doing what I want to
do,” then you’re probably lying. Maybe not consciously lying, maybe you’re
bo
subconsciously lying. But that’s what he’s saying.

ok
So next he’s saying that you must go past your fear. If you stop because of fear, your
.
life will become dead. It’s very strong language he’s using, right? He’s very strong
co
about this. He’s saying if you stop because of fear you will become dead. You will
m/
become a weak man. He’s talking about men here but, it’s the same for women. So
he’s saying you’ll become a weak man, a lying man.
gr
Other men won’t respect you. They won’t trust you. Because they see you’re afraid
ou
and you’re not living your true life. You’re not living your full potential, your full ability.
ps
You’re not trying to live your real dream. So, he’s saying if you do that, if you stop
because of fear, then other people, they’ll stop respecting you. They will know. And you
/T
will feel dead. Some part of you will feel dead.

ai
On the other hand, the good news, he’s saying if you do continue, you have the fear –
Li
yes – but you keep going. You keep pushing yourself, challenging yourself. Then you
will feel alive. You will feel energy. People will notice. They will see that you are living
eu
your dream or trying to, at least. And in this article he is specifically talking about jobs
and work. And, I chose this for a reason because it’s one area most people do stop
On
because of fear. Most people work a job that, oh, it’s okay maybe. I mean a lot of
Th
people work a job that they hate, they actually hate the job. They go every day, but they
never change. They’re afraid to try something more.
iD
ai
Other people just do something that’s comfortable. They don’t hate their job. But they
don’t love it. It’s okay, and then day after day, week after week, year after year, same
Ho
boring job. And they become more and more dead in their life. And unfortunately, I
think that’s probably the normal thing. I think most people do that. I’ve seen it in my
c0
family. Most people in my family have done it. I’ve seen it a lot. Most people I meet,
1
they’re not super excited and thrilled and feeling wonderful about their job or their
career. Because they’re not living their real dream, they gave up. They quit. Don’t do
that. If you have done that, well, it’s never too late to change. You can change right
now. Just do it. So he’s saying start here. Start with your job, start with your career.
What do you really, really, really want to do? If you really dream big, what kind of career
or job or business would make you feel excited and alive every day? Try to do that job.
Try to do that career. You might need to study more. You might need to learn a lot. You
might need to take a big risk. You might need to quit your job that you have now. It
might take time. But start trying to do it now. Keep working at it. Do it. Don’t stop
because of your fear. And he says this is a neverending process. You never stop
ww
challenging yourself. You never stop pushing past fear. The fear will always be there.
There will always be something new, a bigger dream you want to try and the fear is
w.
going to try to stop you and you always have to keep going. As long as you’re alive, this
fa
will happen. It will always happen. It never, ever stops.

ce
It’s true in my life. I’ve seen it. Y’know when I quit my job to start Effortless English, I
was afraid. In fact I was terrified, very afraid. I was afraid I was going to fail. I was
bo
afraid I would have no money. Be homeless, crazy fears. But I did it anyway. And I’m
ok
very happy that I did because now I am very excited. I feel very alive. I love what I do.
But I’m not stopping.
. co
Now I want to grow Effortless English. I want to bring more people into the company. I
m/
want to do seminars. All of these give me more new fears. Oh my god, maybe I won’t
be very good at a seminar. I have to stand in front of hundreds of people. Oh my god,
gr
I’m afraid, right? The fears always come. But you just keep going anyway. I’m not
going to be stopped by those fears. I will continue. And you must continue as well.
ou
ps
Alright, that’s enough for now. Stay strong. Big smile, strong physiology. Challenge
your fears. Keep going. See you next time.
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Superior Man Mini-Story Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story for “Superior Man.” Are you strong? You
w.
feeling good? Let’s get started.

fa
*****
ce
Kristin wanted to go to the moon. She wanted to visit the moon.

bo
ok
Who wanted to visit the moon?

.
Well, Kristin did. Kristin wanted to visit the moon.

co
m/
Where did she want to go?

gr
She wanted to go to the moon.

ou
Who wanted to go there?

ps
Kristin, Kristin wanted to go to the moon.

/T
ai
What did she want?

Li
To go to the moon, Kristin wanted to go to the moon.

eu
Why?
On
Why did Kristin want to go to the moon? She wanted to go for spiritual reasons.
Th
What kind of reasons did she have?

iD
ai
She had spiritual reasons. Kristin wanted to go to the moon for spiritual reasons. Of
course, obviously.
Ho
She wanted to meditate on the moon for 10 days.

c0
1
What kind of reasons did she have?
She had spiritual reasons.
Who had spiritual reasons for going to the moon?
Kristin, Kristin had spiritual reasons for going to the moon.
Did she have practical normal reasons or spiritual reasons?
She had spiritual reasons for going to the moon. She had spiritual reasons for going to
ww
the moon. In fact, she wanted to meditate on the moon for 10 days. To meditate means
to sit and breathe quietly and have a calm mind, calm brain. It’s kind of relaxing your
w.
body, relaxing your brain. So it’s a little bit like praying if you’re Christian or Muslim or
fa
Jewish, you pray. Buddhists and Hindus they meditate. They sit and they focus their
mind, clear their mind. So she wants to do that on the moon. So this is her spiritual
ce
reason for going to the moon. So Kristin wanted to go to the moon. She wanted to go
for spiritual reasons.
bo
ok
But, of course, she had some problems. The biggest problem was that rockets
are expensive. Rockets are very expensive. To go to the moon she needed a
.
rocket but rockets are expensive. So she had to earn a living with a great job to
co
make a lot of money to buy a rocket.

m/
Did she need to earn a good living to pay for the rocket?
gr
Yes, she needed to earn a great living to pay for the rocket. She needed to make a lot
ou
of money to pay for the rocket.

ps
What kind of living did she need to earn? Poor or great?

/T
Great, she needed to earn a great living to pay for the rocket. She needed to make a lot
ai
of money to pay for the rocket.

Li
Who needed to earn a great living?

eu
Kristin, Kristin needed to earn a great living.

On
Th
What did she need to earn?

iD
A great living, Kristin needed to earn a great living. She needed to make a lot of money.
ai
Why did Kristin need to earn a great living?

Ho
Well, to pay for the very expensive rocket. She needed to earn a great living to pay for
c0
a huge, expensive rocket.

1
Unfortunately, her job did not pay a lot of money. Oh no.
Did Kristin’s job pay a lot of money?
No, it didn’t. It did not pay a lot of money. Kristin’s job did not pay a lot of money. She
was not earning a great living. She was not earning a good living. She was poor.
Kristin started her own business. She decided to cater to penguins.
What?
ww
She decided to cater to penguins. She decided to sell to penguins. She decided to
w.
help penguins. Penguins would be her customers.

fa
She sold fish to penguins.

ce
Who did Kristin cater to?

bo
ok
She catered to penguins.

.
Who catered to penguins?

co
m/
Kristin, Kristin catered to penguins.

gr
Did she help penguins? Did she focus on penguins?

ou
Yes, she did. She catered to penguins.

ps
Did Kristin cater to dogs?

/T
No, no, no, not dogs. Kristin catered to penguins.

ai
Li
How did she cater to penguins?

eu
Well, she helped them by selling fish to them. She sold fish to penguins. That was her
new business.
On
Th
Every day she sold fish to penguins. Now, of course, she made a lot of money.
iD
Did she make a little money or a lot of money?

ai
She earned a lot of money.

Ho
Why?
c0
1
Well, obviously because penguins are super rich. And they eat a lot of fish. So Kristin
earned a lot of money from the penguins, from her business.
And finally one day she bought a rocket.
Did she buy a car?
No, no, no.
Did she buy a house?

ww
No, no, no. She bought a rocket, a huge powerful rocket.

w.
Why did she buy a huge powerful rocket?

fa
To go to the moon, of course, to go to the moon.

ce
And so one day…the rocket took off. It started to the moon. First it went to the
bo
edge of space.
ok
Did it go to the limit of the earth? Did it go to the limit of earth and space, the boundary?
. co
Yes, it did. It went to the edge of space, the edge of earth. It went to the edge of space,
m/
right to the limit.

gr
Did it go to the edge of the water?

ou
No, no, not the edge of the water.

ps
Did it go to the edge of her emotions?

/T
Not the edge of her emotions, it went to the edge of space. To the limit, the boundary
ai
between the earth and space.

Li
And it went beyond the limit.

eu
Did it go past the edge of space?

On
Th
Yes, the rocket went past the edge of space.

iD
All the way to the moon.

ai
Where did the rocket go?

Ho
To the moon, the rocket went to the moon.

c0
1
Was Kristin alone in the rocket?
No, she was not alone.
Who was with Kristin?
Well, a penguin, of course. Her favorite penguin was with her. So Kristin and her
favorite penguin, Bob, were in the rocket.
Kristin and her favorite penguin, Bob, went to the moon. Bob accompanied
Kristin.
ww
Did Bob join with Kristin? Did Bob go with Kristin?

w.
fa
Yes, Bob the penguin accompanied Kristin.

ce
What accompanied Kristin?

bo
A penguin, a penguin accompanied Kristin.

ok
Did a giraffe accompany Kristin or did a penguin accompany Kristin?

. co
Well, a penguin accompanied Kristin.

m/
Who accompanied Kristin?

gr
Bob, Bob the penguin accompanied Kristin.

ou
ps
Who did Bob accompany?

/T
Bob accompanied Krsitin.

ai
Where did he accompany her to?

Li
He accompanied her to the moon. He went with her to the moon.

eu
And together Kristin and Bob the penguin meditated…ommmm…they meditated

On
for 10 days on the moon together. They were peaceful, calm and happy.
Th
That’s The End

iD
ai
*****
Ho
That’s the end of the mini-story for Superior Man. Listen to it every day. Pause after the
questions and answer them. You can answer slowly in the beginning but try to answer
c0
quickly, quickly. Remember one word answer or two word answers are fine. You don’t
1
need a full sentence. One or two words or a short phrase, it’s okay. Shout it out. And
as always, always have energy. Always have your shoulders back and your chest up.
Always be breathing and smiling and moving your body. This is so important. You learn
faster when you are standing tall and smiling and happy. When you have energy in
your body you learn faster, your brain will learn much, much faster, three to five times
faster. If your shoulders are down and forward, if your head’s down, if you feel tired and
bored, you learn much more slowly. You’re wasting your time. So don’t do it. If you
start to feel tired, if you feel bored, bring your shoulders back, chest up, big smile. Take
a break. Put some music on. Dance. Jump. Run. Get energy in your body then start
again.
ww

w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Superior Man Point-of-View Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the point of view stories for “Superior Man.” Same story,
w.
different points of view. Let’s start.

fa
*****
ce
Since 1999 Kristin has wanted to go to the moon.

bo
ok
What has she wanted?

.
She has wanted to go to the moon.

co
m/
She has wanted to go to the moon since when?

gr
Since 1999.
ou
Since 1999 Kristin has wanted to go where?

ps
She has wanted to go to the moon since 1999.

/T
ai
Who has wanted to go to the moon since 1999?

Li
Kristin, of course, Kristin has wanted to go to the moon since 1999.

eu
Why has she wanted to go to the moon?

On
Well, for spiritual reasons.

Th
She has wanted to go for spiritual reasons.

iD
ai
What kind of reasons?

Ho
Spiritual, she has wanted to go to the moon for spiritual reasons.

c0
In fact, she has wanted to meditate on the moon. She’s dreamed about
1
meditating on the moon. That has been her dream.
What has been her dream?
Her dream has been to meditate on the moon. To meditate on the moon has been her
dream.
Since when?
1999, since 1999 her dream has been to meditate on the moon.
ww
But, of course, rockets are expensive. They were expensive in the past. They’re
w.
expensive now. Probably in the future, too. So they are expensive. Rockets are
fa
expensive. So since 1999 she has realized that she will need to make a lot of
money. She has realized that she needed a lot of money, or would need or will
ce
need.
bo
What has she realized since 1999?

ok
She has realized that she needed, or needs, a lot of money. Yeah, she has realized it,
.
she’s known that.

co
m/
But her job did not pay a lot of money. So one day she started her own business.
She decided to cater to penguins. She decided to help, to focus on, penguins.
gr
She catered to penguins by selling fish to them. She sold fish to penguins every
day. Kristin sold fish to penguins and she became very rich because penguins
ou
have a lot of money and they love fish. So finally one day she bought her rocket
ps
and she went to the edge of space in her rocket. And then she continued all the
way to the moon. But she was not alone. A penguin accompanied her. Bob the
/T
penguin accompanied Kristin to the moon. Together they went to the moon.
Together they sat on the moon and meditated…ommmm…they meditated for 10
ai
days together on the moon. They felt calm, peaceful and happy.
Li
*****
eu
Okay, that is the end of the first POV story. Now you notice a lot of little changes in
On
there. Maybe some of you were thinking “Oh my god, why did he say this? Why did he
Th
say that? But he said both! He said, uh, present and past…aaaahhh, I don’t know!”
Right? Students ask me this all the time, all these specific rules because you’re
iD
confused because you learned from grammar rules. Forget about it. Don’t ask me
ai
those questions because I won’t answer them.

Ho
Even if you ask them on the forum, I will not answer grammar questions because they
hurt you. They confuse you. Forget them. Just listen. All you need to know is in some
c0
situations you can use more than one choice. There’s more choices available. You
1
don’t need to know why. It’s not important. Native speakers don’t know why, okay?
Doesn’t matter. Just listen. Hear the changes. Let them go into your subconscious.
Let them go into your mind. Trust your brain. You don’t need to think about it
consciously. Trust your brain to understand subconsciously. Effortless English teaches
you grammar subconsciously, effortlessly. So don’t think about it. If you think about it
you’ll learn more slowly. So just listen. That’s all you need to do.
Alright, let’s go on to the next story which is the future.
*****
ww
In 20 years, 20 years from now there’ll be this beautiful woman named Kristin.
w.
She’ll want to visit the moon. She’s gonna want to visit the moon. She’ll want to
fa
go there for spiritual reasons. In fact, she’ll want to meditate on the moon for 10
days. Unfortunately, in the future, rockets are still gonna be expensive. They’re
ce
super expensive now and they’re still gonna be expensive in the future. So she’ll
need to earn a great living to save money to buy an expensive rocket. But her job
bo
won’t pay her much money. She won’t have a great job. She won’t have much
ok
money.
.
And so she’ll start her own business. She’ll start a new business. She’ll decide
co
to cater to penguins. She’ll sell fish to penguins. That’s gonna be her business.
m/
And it will be a successful business because penguins will be super rich and
they’re gonna give her a lot of money because they love fish. And eventually
gr
she’ll buy her big powerful rocket. And she’ll go to the edge of space and she’ll
continue and go all the way to the moon. But she’s not gonna go alone. She’s
ou
gonna go with her favorite penguin Bob. Bob will accompany Kristin. He’s gonna
ps
accompany her all the way to the moon. Together Kristin and Bob the penguin
will go to the moon and they’ll meditate together on the moon for 10 days. They’ll
/T
be peaceful, calm and happy.

ai
*****
Li
Okay, that is the end of the point of view stories. Again, big smile. Feel strong. Do not
eu
think about grammar. Just listen, just relax, just notice. That’s all you need to do. See
you next time. Bye bye.
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Superior Man Vocabulary Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ Hoge. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Superior Man.” Let’s start.
w.
fa
Our first word is intimate, intimate. In the first sentence David Dieda says pick an area
of your life, choose an area of your life. And he says perhaps your intimate
ce
relationships. So intimate, intimate relationship for example, intimate just means very
close, very personal. So your intimate relationships are your closest relationships. Your
bo
husband or wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, mother, father, daughter, son, those kind of
ok
relationships. Maybe your very close, closest friends, so your intimate relationships,
your very close relationships.
. co
Sometimes if someone says your intimate relationship, no “s”, relationship, then they’re
m/
usually talking about someone you’re dating or you’re married to, so they’re talking
about your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend. So sometimes it’s used just to mean
gr
that kind of love relationship between a husband/wife boyfriend/girlfriend. But

sometimes it’s a little more general and it just means your closest relationships. So if
ou
there’s an “s” there, intimation relationships, then we’re talking about the people who
ps
are closest to you.

/T
Our next word is spiritual. He says perhaps you should think about your spiritual
ai
practice. Spiritual is similar to religious. It’s quite close to religious…spiritual, religious,

very similar. The difference is that religious is organized, or religion is organized, right?
Li
So we’re talking about Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, those are
religions. So if you’re practicing one of those specifically, you can say “Oh, I am
eu
religious. I am a religious person. I am a Buddhist, I am a very strong Buddhist. I am

On
religious.”
Th
But spiritual is really very personal. It’s not organized. You might say you have a belief
about god or you have a belief about the universe or about life. But maybe it’s not
iD
Buddhism or Christianity or Islam, maybe it’s not a specific religion. It’s your own
ai
personal feeling. Your own personal experience, that’s spiritual. Spiritual. So spiritual
is the direct experience, the direct feeling. Religion or religious refers to something
Ho
organized. Okay, so your spiritual practice, it’s your practice or how you pray or
meditate, for example.
c0
1
Next we see the phrase “earn a living.” He says are you currently doing something to
earn a living that gives you passion. To earn a living means to make money. It really
means to work, usually it’s how you make money. So you can say “I earn a living by
teaching English,” right? I make money by teaching English. It’s my job. It’s my career.
Alright, so to earn a living means to make money or to work. So in this article he talks
about earning a living. How do you earn a living? How do you make money? Does it
excite you? Does it give you passion or are you kind of bored or are you afraid to do
something better? Okay, so earn a living.
Next he uses the word edge. He says your edge is where you stop. He says you have
to go to your edge and go past your edge. An edge is a limit or a boundary. It’s a
ww
stopping point. Alright, so it’s a limit or a boundary, edge. So we have, here, he’s
talking about an emotional edge, right? It means it’s where you stop because of fear.
w.
It’s your limit, your emotional limit. So maybe you have a good job but you’re afraid to
fa
start your own business. You want to start your own business but you’re afraid, right?
That’s your limit. That’s your edge, your stopping point. He says you must go past the
ce
edge. You must go past the limit.

bo
Our next word is compromise. He says do you compromise your fullest potential. Do
ok
you compromise your dream? Now compromise has different meanings. Some of them
are very positive meanings, in fact. But here, this is kind of a negative meaning for
.
compromise. Here this means to weaken, to make something weaker, to ruin it, to
co
dishonor it. So if you compromise your dream, it means you make your dream weaker.
m/
So if your dream is to have your own business, your own company, but you don’t do it.
You just work a really good job for someone else. You are compromising your dream.
gr
You are making your dream weaker. You’re killing your dream. So he’s saying, of
course, don’t compromise your dream. Don’t weaken your dream. Don’t kill your
ou
dream. Don’t destroy your dream.

ps
Next we have the phrase “cater to.” He says do you cater to your fears. He’s asking
/T
you. Do you cater to your fears or do you push beyond your fears? Do you break your
fears? Do you cater to them or do you go past them? To cater to something is to help
ai
it, to give help to it. It means to spoil it like you spoil a child, right? You have a little
Li
child and you give them candy and money all the time. What happens? The child
becomes horrible, right? So it’s this idea. If you cater to your fear it means you give
eu
energy to your fear. You help your fear. You’re spoiling your fear like a child. It
becomes stronger and stronger and stronger. So that’s to cater to, cater to, cater to
On
something. If you cater to something, you’re helping it or you’re trying to help it. You’re
Th
giving it energy.
iD
Okay, our next word is delude or deluded. Here we’re using it as a verb. He asks have
ai
you deluded yourself. Have you deluded yourself and said I am not afraid? Are you
deluding yourself? To delude means to lie, to lie to. So if you delude yourself, it means
Ho
you lie to yourself. You’re fooling yourself. You’re tricking yourself. So it’s this idea of
tricking, fooling, lying to. To delude, to delude is to lie to, to trick, to fool…to delude, to
c0
delude.
1
Our next word is accompany, accompany. He asks are you afraid of the change that
might accompany a change in career. Okay, to accompany means to go with, to join
with, to appear with. So he’s saying are you afraid of the change in your life that will
come with or go with the change in your career. They go together, right? If you change
your career then your life will also change. Your whole life will change. Those two
changes go together. They accompany each other. They go with each other. So
accompany means to go with, to happen at the same time, to be joined together with.
Alright, so happen with, go with, accompany, accompany.
Alright, next is the phrase “approach their edge,” “approach your edge,” “approach the
ww
edge.” He says some men fear the feeling of fear that happens when they approach
their edge. So he’s saying some men are afraid of fear. They’re afraid of fear itself.
w.
And they’re afraid of the fear that happens when they get close to their limit, when they
fa
get close to their edge, right? If you’re comfortable, you’re relaxed doing the same thing
every day, you won’t feel fear.
ce
But if you approach your limit, if you try to go to your limit or past your limit doing
bo
something new, changing, that’s when the fear happens, that’s when it comes. When
ok
you approach your edge, when you get near. To approach means to get near, right? To
go near something, go towards it, get near it. So if you get near your limit, your current
.
limit, if you get near your fear now, well that fear gets stronger, stronger, stronger. But,
co
eventually you go past it, the fear disappears. But it’s when you’re getting close to
m/
changing, that’s when the fear happens. When you approach your edge.
gr
Next is the word inspirational. He’s saying when you live your dreams you have
inspirational energy. Inspirational, here, means creative, creative energy, inspirational
ou
energy. It means hopeful, hopeful energy, positive energy. So inspirational means

ps
positive, creative, hopeful…all those ideas together. It’s really all those things at the
same time, inspirational. Inspirational energy. Inspirational energy, hopeful, creative,
/T
positive energy.
ai
And finally we have the phrase “hanging back.” He asks are you hanging back. Are
Li
you working hard but you’re not challenging yourself? Are you working hard but you’re
not trying to live your biggest dream? Are you hanging back? To hang back means to
eu
wait. It means to delay. It means to hesitate. So to hang back is to hesitate. To hang

back is to wait. So he’s saying “Are you waiting? Are you just waiting? Are you
On
delaying and hesitating? Or are you really taking action? Are you really trying to live
Th
your dream? Are you taking action? Are you doing it or are you waiting? Are you
hanging back?” Are you hanging back, waiting?
iD
ai
Okay, that is the end of the vocabulary for the Superior Man. Big smile. See you for the
mini-story.
Ho
c0
1
Taoism Main Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ again. Welcome to our next lesson, this one’s a really interesting one
w.
from one of my favorite writers. Absolutely love him, his name is Alan Watts. He
fa
actually died back in the ‘70s but just an amazing man, so intelligent and actually quite
funny actually, just a great sense of humor. And Alan Watts is a very interesting guy.
ce
He was one of the first western people, meaning American or European, to learn about
eastern spiritual practices, eastern religions. So he studied Buddhism, Taoism and
bo
Hinduism, most especially Buddhism. He was a Buddhist. He became a Buddhist. And

ok
then he came back, for example, he lived in Japan actually for several years and
learned Buddhism there in a monastery.
. co
And then he came back and he wrote in English about these religions. The other
m/
interesting thing about him is that he was a Christian minister before he became a
Buddhist. I believe he was Episcopalian which is a kind of Christian, but he was a
gr
minister, he was a preacher. And so the very interesting thing about Alan Watts is that
he has a great understanding of both the western and the eastern religious practices,
ou
religious beliefs. And not just the normal kind of religion, just go to church and pray and
ps
read your little book, but really the deeper meanings of both Christianity, Buddhism, etc.
And he has a great way of teaching eastern religions, especially Buddhism and Taoism,
/T
to western people in a way we can understand.

ai
So anyway, he’s also just a really funny, interesting guy and a very intellectual guy, very
Li
intelligent. So this is from one of his books about Taoism. Now Taoism is actually
spelled with a “T”, T-a-o-i-s-m, but it’s pronounced “Daoism” like it’s a “D”. Why is that?
eu
Because English spelling is crazy. English spelling, as you already know, is very difficult
On
and there’s no logic about it, or very little logic about it. So it’s spelled with a “T” but
pronounced as a “D”. I don’t know why. Why didn’t we just spell it with a “D”? I don’t
Th
know. It comes from Chinese words so I guess they wrote it, they heard it wrong and I
don’t know. Anyway, it’s pronounced “Daoism” and the book is called “Taoism Way
iD
Beyond Seeking” by Alan Watts, A-l-a-n and then his last name W-a-t-t-s. And by the
ai
way, he has a great podcast, alanwatts.com I believe is his podcast. So in this book
Alan Watts talks about Taoism.
Ho
Taoism is a philosophy, not really a religion, I don’t think. Maybe it is, I don’t know, but
c0
in my opinion it’s really more of a philosophy. It’s a way of living. It’s a philosophy about
1
life. And it’s a very natural philosophy. The basic idea of Taoism is that you should live
in harmony with nature. You should follow nature, be part of nature. And if you live with
nature instead of fighting it, your life will be much more successful and happy and easy.
It’s a little bit like Thoreau’s idea. Remember Thoreau, Walden, remember that lesson?
Well, Taoism has a similar kind of feeling. This idea that we don’t fight against things,
we go with them. We do what is natural. So Effortless English, in many ways, is Taoist

kind of English program. Because we’re trying to go with your natural brain, right?
We’re trying to learn in the most natural way. We’re not fighting against our brains.
We’re going with the brain. The brain loves stories so we use stories to teach English.
The brain learns grammar best from patterns and stories, not from rules.
ww
So we use patterns and stories to teach grammar. You learn vocabulary best and
fastest from stories and from reading interesting articles and books, so that’s what we
w.
use in our system. So this is the idea. You’re not fighting against something with effort,
fa
trying, trying, trying. You’re doing what is most natural. When you do what is most
natural it’s easier and it’s more successful. Wow, two great things at the same time.
ce
Alright, so now this section from his book talks about the subconscious. Remember,
bo
we’ve had this word before. It’s the part of your brain that is working all the time but you
ok
don’t know. It’s the part of your intelligence, your brain that makes your heart beat…
bom-bom, bom-bom, bom-bom, right? You don’t have to think about it. You don’t tell
.
your heart to beat “Beat now, beat now, beat now,” right? It’s automatic. Your brain is
co
making that happen subconsciously. Now you can breathe, for example, consciously or
m/
subconsciously. Usually when you’re doing something you’re not thinking about
breathing. But you still continue to breathe, right? You’re always breathing. You can
gr
also think about it, right? You can consciously think about breathing. You can decide…
breathe in, breathe out. That’s conscious breathing.
ou
ps
Subconscious breathing or unconscious breathing, it just happens automatically. You’re

doing something else. You’re not thinking about it, but it still happens. Your brain is still
/T
working. So that kind of intelligence, that unconscious, that subconscious intelligence is

the most powerful. That’s most of our intelligence. Thinking about things with words or
ai
consciously thinking, it’s very limited. We can only do a little bit with that. We think
Li
that’s so great and that’s what we always focus on. And our schools are always about
conscious, conscious, conscious learning. We analyze. We think about the little parts
eu
of things, the little pieces of grammar, the individual vocabulary words. But that’s not
how the brain works best.
On
Th
So let me read this part from Alan Watts now. Here we go:
iD
“Now, if you want to find an intelligent solution to a problem, your

ai
brain can do the work. You have all the necessary intelligence
inside of your skull. However, most people never use their brains.
Ho
They use their conscious minds instead. And they use their
conscious minds the same way they use their muscles. You can
c0
strain your head just as if it were a muscle. You can work very hard
1
trying to find a solution.
But it doesn’t really work well that way. When you really want to
find an answer to something, what you need to do is contemplate
the problem calmly. Visualize your question and then simply wait.
If you don’t do this, if instead you try to find the solution through
brute mental strength, you may be disappointed. Because any
solution that comes in that way is likely to be wrong. But when you
have waited for a while the solution will come by itself,
automatically. That is how to use your brain. And it will work for
you in the same way that your stomach will digest your food for
ww
you, without you having to supervise it consciously. Our attempts to

supervise everything consciously have led to consequences that
w.
are not good for our stomach, and the reason is quite simple.
fa
Conscious attention, which uses and employs words, cannot think

of very much.
ce
Therefore we are forced to ignore almost everything else while we

bo
are thinking consciously. We think along a single track. But the

ok
real world doesn’t proceed along a single track. The real world is
everything happening altogether everywhere at the same time. And
.
you just can’t take all of that into consideration because there isn’t
co
time. However, your brain, your subconscious brain can take it all
m/
into consideration, because it is capable of handling innumerable

variables at once. Even though your conscious attention cannot.
gr
Words are not capable of handling any more than a single very
crude and simple track. And that is why we have to trust our brains.
ou
We are much more intelligent than we realize.”

ps
Okay, well, a little bit of a long section there. And what’s the basic meaning of this?
/T
He’s basically saying that your subconscious, the part that you’re not aware about, the
part that does not use words. The part of your brain that doesn’t use words, it’s much
ai
more intelligent. And I think we’ve all had this experience, right? You have this
Li
problem, this problem, and you’re thinking and you’re thinking and you’re worried and all
this stress. You’re trying to solve the problem but you can’t quite solve the problem.
eu
And then finally, argh, you’re so tired. You just stop. You go to bed or you go watch a
On
movie or something. And then, when you’re not thinking about it…suddenly boom!...a
Th
solution, a great solution, right? Your brain, your subconscious brain is thinking about it
then. Finally, you let your subconscious brain work and it gives you the answer. It gives
iD
you a fantastic answer. So that’s just one small example. The point is you must let your
ai
subconscious brain do its job. You have to trust it. It’s far more intelligent than your
conscious brain is.
Ho
Now, of course, as I was saying already, this is key to learning English. It’s key to the
c0
Effortless English system. This is the foundation. This is the most important idea that
1
we use with Effortless English. We are teaching you English with your subconscious
brain. We are teaching to your subconscious brain. If you start thinking about it, if you
try to study grammar rules, for example, you’re going to destroy what I’m doing. You’re
going to destroy your subconscious brain. You’re going to turn it off. You’re going to
block it by thinking, thinking, thinking and studying all these grammar rules. Your
grammar will not improve quickly.
So you must use our system. That’s why I’m always telling you “Don’t study grammar.
Don’t study grammar.” Because we designed the system, I designed the system, to
teach your subconscious brain. If you trust me, if you use the system exactly as I tell
ww
you, you will succeed very quickly. You’ll be surprised. But you must do it. If you try to
use my system and also study grammar, well it’s not going to work very well. You’re
w.
going to learn more slowly. If you try to use my system and also try to memorize single
fa
individual vocabulary words using a vocabulary textbook, you’re going to hurt my

system and you’re going to learn more slowly. If you try to use textbooks or normal
ce
classes, normal English classes, and do my system at the same time, you can do that,
it’s your choice but you will learn more slowly. So please follow my system completely,
bo
100%. Just try it for six months. Do all of these lessons. After you can do something
ok
else if you want, it’s your choice.

.
But I don’t think you will because you’ll see the result. But you must use this system
co
exactly as I tell you. One lesson set for one complete week. Only listening, don’t try to
m/
memorize. Don’t try to think about the rules or why this or why that…don’t think about
that. Just listen and enjoy. Listen and enjoy. Listen a lot. Listen a lot. Enjoy, smile.
gr
And in the mini‑stories answer the questions quickly. That’s all you need to do. If you
do that then you’re going to start doing what Alan Watts has described. Your
ou
subconscious brain will just start to remember English. You’ll remember the vocabulary
ps
words. You’ll start speaking, it comes out. You won’t try. You will naturally start to
speak more correctly, more quickly. Your pronunciation will naturally improve. You’ll
/T
understand more English, faster and faster without trying. So it’s the Taoism approach
to learning English.
ai
Li
Alright, I will see you next for the vocabulary lesson.

eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Taoism Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story for “Taoism.”

w.
fa
*****
ce
There was a girl, a very happy girl…a very beautiful girl, an amazing girl. She had
a big smile. There was an amazing, beautiful, intelligent, wonderful girl. Her
bo
name was Tomoe and she wanted to fight a gorilla.

ok
What was her name?

. co
Her name was Tomoe.

m/
She was Japanese.

gr
What did Tomoe want to do?

ou
ps
Tomoe wanted to fight a gorilla.

/T
What did she want to fight?

ai
A gorilla, Tomoe wanted to fight a gorilla.

Li
So first she contemplated her goal.

eu
On
What did she do?

Th
She contemplated her goal. She thought about her goal calmly and slowly.
iD
What did she contemplate?

ai
Her goal, she contemplated her goal.

Ho
What was her goal?

c0
1
Her goal was to fight a gorilla.
Did she want to be nice to a gorilla?
Oh no, not Tomoe. Tomoe wanted to fight a gorilla. Tomoe was a very sweet, nice,
beautiful person but she wanted to fight a gorilla. She contemplated her goal.
Who contemplated fighting a gorilla?
Tomoe, Tomoe thought about fighting a gorilla very calmly, very slowly. She
ww
contemplated fighting a gorilla.

w.
What did she contemplate fighting?

fa
A gorilla, Tomoe contemplated fighting a gorilla.

ce
When she contemplated fighting a gorilla, she realized that gorillas have a lot of
bo
brute strength.
ok
What kind of strength do gorillas have…very careful, subtle strength or super strong
.
animal brute strength?

co
m/
Well, they have brute strength. Gorillas have brute strength.

gr
Did Tomoe have brute strength?

ou
No, she didn’t. She didn’t have brute strength. She was a small Japanese girl.
ps
So who had brute strength? Well, actually, who has brute strength?
/T
All gorillas, all adult gorillas have brute strength. Animal super strong strength, gorillas
ai
have brute strength. So she contemplated, she realized gorillas have brute strength.
Li
She realized, “Whoa, gorillas are gonna be hard to fight. It’s gonna be hard to
eu
fight a gorilla.”
On
Would it be easy or hard to fight a gorilla?

Th
It would be hard for Tomoe to fight a gorilla.

iD
ai
Why would it be hard for her to fight a gorilla?

Ho
Well, it would be hard for her to fight a gorilla because gorillas have brute strength.
They have brute strength. So it would be very, very hard for her to fight a gorilla. She
c0
realized this. She understood.

1
So of course she decided to go to the gym. She needed to become strong. She
went to the gym every day. She strained…arrrghhh…to lift weights.
Was she relaxed when she lifted weights?
No, she was not relaxed. She tried very hard. She strained…arrrghhh…1… arrghhh…
2…arrghhh…3. Every day she strained her muscles. Every day she strained hard to lift
weights.
What did she strain to do?

ww
She strained to lift weights. She tried very hard to lift weights.
w.
fa
Who strained when she lifted weights?

ce
Tomoe, Tomoe strained when she lifted weights.

bo
How often did she strain when she lifted weights?

ok
Well, every day actually. Every day she went to the gym. Every day she strained and
.
strained to lift weights.

co
m/
She got stronger and stronger and stronger. Finally she was ready. She
proceeded with her plan.
gr
Did she continue or did she stop?

ou
ps
She continued. She continued to follow her plan. She proceeded to follow her plan.
/T
What did she proceed to do?

ai
She proceeded to follow her plan.

Li
Who proceeded to follow her plan?

eu
Tomoe, Tomoe proceeded to follow her plan.

On
Th
And what was her plan?

iD
Her plan was to fight a gorilla. Her plan was to fight a gorilla and she proceeded with
ai
her plan. She continued with her plan.

Ho
She flew to Africa.

c0
Where did she fly to?

1
To Africa, she flew to Africa.
In Africa she saw a gorilla. She saw a huge, big, strong gorilla. Tomoe was ready
to fight.
What did Tomoe see?
She saw a huge, strong, brute gorilla.
But there was a problem. The gorilla had a baby, a baby gorilla. It was a big,
ww
strong gorilla mom with a little, tiny, cute gorilla baby. Tomoe stopped. She
visualized fighting the gorilla. And then she visualized the poor baby gorilla
w.
crying, “Oh, my mommy’s fighting.”

fa
Did she imagine the gorilla baby crying?

ce
Yes, Tomoe visualized. She saw, she imagined the little baby gorilla crying if she fought
bo
the big gorilla mom.

ok
What did Tomoe visualize?

. co
She visualized the baby gorilla crying.

m/
Did she imagine, did she visualize the big gorilla crying or the baby gorilla crying?
gr
She visualized the baby gorilla crying…oh no.

ou
ps
Who visualized the little baby gorilla crying?

/T
Tomoe, Tomoe visualized the baby gorilla crying.

ai
Who did she visualize crying, or whom?

Li
She visualized the baby gorilla crying.

eu
And so Tomoe took this into consideration.

On
Th
Did Tomoe think about the baby?

iD
Yes, she took the baby into consideration. She thought about the baby. She took the
ai
baby into consideration. She thought about the baby.

Ho
What did Tomoe take into consideration?

c0
The baby gorilla, Tomoe took the baby gorilla into consideration. She thought about it.
1
Who took the baby gorilla into consideration?
Tomoe, Tomoe took the baby gorilla into consideration. She thought about the poor little
baby gorilla. Tomoe wanted to fight the big one, but she took the baby into
consideration.
Tomoe decided not to fight the gorilla. Instead, Tomoe decided to play basketball
with the gorillas (because she brought a basketball, of course). Tomoe always
ww
brings a basketball every time she travels. Everywhere she goes Tomoe brings a
basketball, obviously. So Tomoe decided not to fight. Instead she played
w.
basketball with the gorilla and the baby. Everyone was happy.
fa
*****
ce
And that is the end of our mini-story this time. I hope you’re smiling. I hope you’re
bo
standing strong. Deep breath, if you’re not, do it now. Move your body. Get strong.
ok
Get some energy.

.
See you next time.

co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Taoism Point-of-View Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ. Welcome to the point of view stories for “Taoism.” Same story, but this
w.
time we start with “Since last year…”

fa
*****
ce
Since last year Tomoe has wanted to fight a gorilla. She has wanted to fight a
bo
gorilla starting last year until recently. Tomoe has wanted to fight a gorilla since
ok
last year. In fact, every day since last year she has contemplated her goal.
Starting last year, she started to contemplate and then every day she has
.
contemplated her goal every day since last year.

co
m/
What has she contemplated?

gr
She has contemplated her goal, her goal of fighting a gorilla. Because she has wanted
to fight a gorilla for one year, since last year.
ou
ps
But of course, every time she has contemplated fighting a gorilla, she has
realized that gorillas have brute strength. She has realized every time that they
/T
are hard to fight. And so every day since last year she has gone to the gym.
ai
Every day since last year she has gone to the gym and she has strained to lift
weights. She has tried very hard to lift weights. Every day she has strained to lift
Li
weights. Every day she has worked out, exercised. Every day she has gotten
stronger and stronger and stronger, since last year. So she has wanted to fight a
eu
gorilla. She has contemplated fighting a gorilla. She has gone to the gym. She
On
has exercised. She has strained to lift weights every day since last year, until
finally she was ready.
Th
One day she said “I’m ready. I will proceed with my plan.” And she did. She
iD
proceeded with her plan. She flew to Africa. In Africa she saw a big, strong, huge
ai
gorilla. But there was a problem. The gorilla had such a cute little baby. Oh no.
Tomoe visualized the baby crying. She imagined the baby crying. And so Tomoe
Ho
took the baby into consideration. She thought about the baby. And Tomoe
decided not to fight the gorilla. Instead she played basketball with the gorilla and
c0
the gorilla baby. And everybody was very happy.

1
*****
Okay, that’s all. That’s the end of our first mini-story. Again, you probably noticed there
was a change in there. Actually a couple of little changes, you may have noticed that.
Don’t worry about that. Just listen. Listen and understand. That’s all you need to do.
Do not think about. Do not analyze. Just listen. Understand the meaning, the general
meaning. That’s all you need to do.
Next one, into the future.

ww
*****
w.
So next year there will be this girl Tomoe who will want to fight a gorilla. She’s
fa
gonna wanna fight a gorilla. Well, first she’s going to contemplate her goal.
She’ll think about it calmly, quietly. She’ll contemplate her goal of fighting the
ce
gorilla and she’ll realize something. She’ll realize that gorillas have brute
strength. Gorillas are not weak. They have brute strength. She’ll realize this.
bo
She’ll realize gorillas are very hard to fight. And so Tomoe’s gonna go to the gym
ok
every day to get stronger. She’ll strain hard to lift weights. She’ll strain and she’ll
strain every day, lifting weights, getting stronger and stronger and stronger.
. co
Finally, one day she’ll be ready. She will proceed with her plan. She’ll fly to
m/
Africa. But when she gets to Africa she’ll have a problem. Yes, she’s gonna see a
huge, big, strong gorilla. But the gorilla will have a cute little baby. Tomoe will
gr
visualize the little baby crying. She’ll imagine the baby crying. Tomoe will take
the baby into consideration. She’s gonna think about the baby. And she’ll decide
ou
not to fight the gorilla. So of course, obviously, she’ll decide instead to play
ps
basketball with the gorilla and the baby. And everybody will be very, very happy.
/T
*****
ai
That is the end of the point of view stories for Taoism. Listen to this every day. Listen to
Li
the mini-story every day. Listen to the main audio every day for one week at least.
More is fine, but at least one week. And always, every time you are listening to English,
eu
you have to have a peak emotional state. So you gotta jump. You gotta smile. You
gotta move your body. Shoulders back, breathe. Feel great. Strong positive emotions,
On
connect them to English. You’ll learn much, much faster.

Th
See you next time. Bye.

iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Taoism Vocabulary Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Taoism.” Let’s get started.
w.
fa
Our first word is skull, skull. Alan Watts said “You have all the necessary intelligence
you need inside of your skull.” Now your skull is your head bone, right? It’s the bone
ce
that protects your brain. We call that the skull, your skull. So again skull is simply head
bone.
bo
ok
Next is the word strain. He said “You can strain your head just like you can strain a
muscle.” To strain means to try very hard, to work very, very hard, a lot of effort.
.
Sometimes it has the idea of working too hard, trying too hard, too much. Sometimes it
co
has this idea of too much. So if you strain your muscle, you work your muscle too
m/
much. Maybe you’re lifting something, it’s a little too heavy. If you strain your mind,
strain your brain, it means you’re thinking too hard. So it’s trying very, very hard. To
gr
strain, to strain, one more time, strain.

ou
Okay, our next word is contemplate, contemplate. Alan says you need to contemplate
ps
your problems. Don’t think about them, don’t strain. Just contemplate your problems.
Now to contemplate means to calm your mind. It means to have a calm mind, calm
/T
brain, very relaxed. It’s the opposite of straining your head, straining your mind.
ai
Straining is trying hard. Contemplating is relaxing and thinking calmly. So it’s thinking
very slowly, thinking very calmly, or maybe not thinking at all, just a calm quiet mind. So
Li
to contemplate means to make your mind calm, or to think very calmly and slowly, to
contemplate. Contemplate a problem, think very calmly and slowly about the problem.
eu
On
Our next word is to visualize, to visualize. To visualize means to imagine. So he says

imagine your question, visualize your question, then simply wait. So he’s saying just,
Th
just have a question, your question about your problem. Just visualize it. Just think
about it in a simple way. Just imagine it. Imagine the question only. Don’t think about
iD
the solution. Just visualize, just imagine the question and then just wait. So to visualize
ai
means to imagine.
Ho
Next is the word brute. He says if you try to solve your problem with brute mental
strength, you may be disappointed. Brute mental strength, of course mental means
c0
mind or brain, so brute strength means like animal…animal-like. Brute means very
1
strong and similar to an animal. So brute strength means strength like an animal, very,
very strong. It’s the opposite of subtle, if you know the word subtle. It’s the opposite of
careful strength. Brute strength just means super strong and…rawr…like an animal…
rawr. So he’s saying if you try to use brute strength, just if you try to use a lot of
strength, very strong strength, with your mind in this case, you’ll be disappointed.
Our next word is supervise, to supervise. So he says your stomach will digest your food
and you don’t need to supervise it. You don’t need to supervise your stomach. You
don’t need to supervise your heart, your heart will beat…bom-bom, bom-bom…
automatically, you don’t need to watch it and think about it all the time. So to supervise
means to watch, to watch. Usually to watch somebody or something, some action
ww
happening. So to supervise, to supervise your heart means to watch your heart and
think about it all the time. Watch it carefully. It really means this idea of watching
w.
carefully.
fa
Our next word is employ. He says conscious attention, conscious thinking, employs
ce
words. It employs words. To employ means to use, it’s very simple. To employ means
to use. So conscious thinking uses words mostly. Conscious thinking employs words.
bo
So to employ something means to use it. To employ words means to use words.
ok
Our next phrase “a single track.” Your conscious mind can only think along a single
.
track. A single track means a single way, just one way. It means one thing and then
co
another thing and then another thing, right? Kind of in a line, in a line. So a single track
m/
has this idea of in a single line. You have one thought, then the next thought, then the
next thought. One after the other after the other after the other…one by one, one by
gr
one. So a single track has this idea of one by one. A limited way, a single way, one
way. So you’re conscious mind only thinks about one thing at a time, one by one. Your
ou
subconscious can think about many things at the same time. That’s the difference.
ps
Our next word is proceed, proceed. He’s saying the world doesn’t proceed along a
/T
single track. To proceed means to continue or to happen. So to proceed means to

continue. To proceed…to continue…to continue or to happen. So the world doesn’t
ai
happen one by one, right? Everything’s happening at the same time. Many, many,
Li
many, many, many things all happening at the same time. Not a single track. Not one
by one. It’s not proceeding, it’s not going, it’s not continuing one by one. So to proceed
eu
means to continue, to keep going, to keep happening.

On
Our next phrase is “take into consideration.” This is a common phrase, we do use it a
Th
lot. He says your conscious brain cannot take into consideration everything that’s
happening. It cannot take into consideration everything that is happening in the world.
iD
Take into consideration means think about. To take something into consideration
ai
means to think about something, to think about it. Take it into consideration means
think about it. Your brain cannot think about everything consciously. But it can
Ho
subconsciously take almost everything into consideration. It can think about almost
everything at the same time. At least many, many, many things. So take into
c0
consideration means to think about.

1
Our next word is innumerable, innumerable. There are innumerable things happening
in the world at the same time. Innumerable means uncountable, too many to count. It
means there’s too many things to count, too many. Can’t count them it’s so big. So
uncountable, not possible to count because too many, innumerable. There are
innumerable things happening. There are too many things happening in the world, you
can’t them all, right? There’s too many. It’s too fast. In fact he says there are
innumerable variables in the world. So too many variables to count, too many variables.
A variable is a choice or a possibility or a potential. So choices really, there are

innumerable choices, there are too many choices in the world. There are too many
ww
possibilities, too many variables. Variables means choices or possibilities, variables,

choices or possibilities.
w.
fa
Just two more words…our next word “to handle.” It’s a verb, to handle. Your brain can
handle innumerable things at the same time, if you use your subconscious. So to
ce
handle means to manage, to take care of, to use. Kind of like this idea of manage.
Your brain can handle a lot of things. But your conscious brain, words, for example,
bo
cannot handle more than one thing at a time. Your brain can only handle things one by
ok
one if you use words. When we speak we use one word and then another word and
then another word, one by one…a single track, right? So our conscious brains using
.
language can only understand, can only handle things one by one. It can only handle
co
words one by one. So handle is to manage, to manage or to take care of and use. To
m/
take care of use, to manage, that’s handle…to handle, the verb.

gr
And finally, our last word is crude. Words are very crude. They are very crude, they
can only be understood one by one. Crude means very simple and primitive. So crude
ou
means simple and primitive, simple and primitive, simple and primitive…that’s crude,
ps
crude. So he’s saying our conscious minds are very crude. Our conscious minds,
which use language, which use words, they’re very crude, they’re very simple, they’re
/T
very primitive. Conscious thinking is very crude. The subconscious is more advanced,
more intelligent. The conscious mind is crude. It’s simple and it’s primitive.
ai
Li
Alright, that’s it. That’s the end of the vocabulary for Taoism. See you for the mini‑story.
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Big Picture Main Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the next lesson. This one is called “The Big Picture.” And
w.
it comes again from a book called The Big Picture. And The Big Picture is by a man
fa
named Dennis Littky. Now Littky is spelled L-i-t-t-k-y, Dennis Littky. The name of the
book is The Big Picture. I love this book. This is a book about education and Mr. Littky
ce
is an extremely interesting guy. He is just a fantastic teacher, a fantastic educator.

Mr. Littky used to be a teacher and then he became a principal of a middle school.
bo
Actually I think he started as a principal of an elementary school and then later a middle
ok
school, public school, just a normal public government school. Well, he created an
incredible school at his first school, just an amazing school. There were articles written
.
about his school. It just became so famous because this school had a lot of low income
co
students, students from poor families. So this was not in some rich neighborhood with a
m/
lot of money. And before Mr. Littky became the principal, the school was having a lot of
problems.
gr
But he came in and he changed everything. He changed the teachers. He hired only
ou
passionate, excited, energetic teachers, but not only that. He changed the whole
ps
system. He stopped focusing on testing. He stopped focusing on grades. He focused

on the students as human beings. He wanted his students to grow as people. Not just
/T
to memorize a bunch of facts, but to really learn how to think. And even more
ai
importantly how to use their thinking and use their knowledge. So for example, most of
his classes were project‑based. In other words, the students did not study textbooks
Li
and take tests, no, no, no. What they did is they created a project. And each project
was individual. Each student chose a project or projects based on their own interests.
eu
And of course the teachers helped to guide these projects and structure them.
On
So for example, if one child really loved dinosaurs they would create a project about
Th
dinosaurs. The teachers, the math teachers, the science teachers, etc., the English
teachers, would help that student learn math, learn science, learn English, learn history,
iD
learn everything, all focused on dinosaurs because this kid loved dinosaurs. So they
ai
would use dinosaurs to teach math, for example. Maybe they had to learn how to
calculate the size of a dinosaur’s bones or something. I don’t know exactly how they did
Ho
it, but they used the students’ individual passions to teach. And the students had to do
c0
these incredibly, amazing, huge, difficult projects. These were not easy. They were
really tough. But the kids were very passionate about what they were doing.
1
And another thing that Dennis Littky did, he involved the community. His school had
mentors, advisors, helpers, from the community…parents, especially parents, but also
experts. So for example, if a kid really loved dinosaurs or maybe a whole class was
really interested in dinosaurs, they brought experts from museums, from universities to
teach these kids very advanced stuff about dinosaurs, including math and science,
everything.
And so the kids were so excited. They learned to love learning again. They became
passionate about learning. No more bullshit tests. At the end of their big projects they
had to give demonstrations, presentations. This is what happens in the real world,
ww
right? If you’re at a job you don’t take a test…A, B, C, D. What you usually do is you
have some project at your job and when you finish the project you present the project to
w.
your customers or to your boss or to somebody. You stand up or in writing you have to
fa
present “Here’s what I did. Here were the results.” Well, that’s what the kids do. In
front of all the class, including parents, they stand up and they give these long
ce
demonstrations, exhibitions, presentations. And that’s how they’re graded, based on

their presentations, based on what they learned…not some stupid test.
bo
ok
The most powerful thing about this is, guess what? These students still had to take
certain tests. The government said they must take them. His students were fantastic
.
on the tests. They never took tests during their normal school time. They never
co
focused on the tests. They never prepared for the tests. But what happened is these
m/
kids learned to love learning. They learned so much more with his methods. And his
school became the top school in the state on the tests, even on the tests…interesting.
gr
Whereas the other schools that were focused on the test…test, test, test, test…all the
time, textbooks and tests, textbooks and tests, they actually performed less well even
ou
on the tests. What’s even worse is the normal schools, not only did they worse on the
ps
tests, the kids were bored. They didn’t like learning. The teachers had no energy.
They were bored. It’s just amazing.
/T
Now even better, here’s what Dennis Littky did after that. He decided he still couldn’t do
ai
everything he wanted to do at a public school so he created his own schools. They’re

Li
called the Met schools, M-e-t. And these Met schools are private schools. However,
they are not private schools for rich people. In fact, most of the students are poor, not
eu
rich. But they’re still very tough. They don’t accept everybody. They have to interview
to get into the school. Every student has to interview to get into the school. They have
On
to talk about their passions. They have to talk about why they want to join the school.
Th
There has to be some motivation for the students and the parents.
iD
The parents also have to interview. It’s not about money, it’s about passion. And these
ai
schools are absolutely fantastic. They’re probably the best schools in the United States.
He’s got a high school and a middle school…I don’t know…I think he has an elementary
Ho
school, too. I don’t know, they’ve got different schools around the country now. I’m not
sure how many. He’s got a website. Do a search for Dennis Littky or for The Big
c0
Picture and you can read more about it.

1
So anyway, in his book he writes a little bit about learning. It’s a fantastic book. If
you’re a teacher or if you’re a parent, I highly recommend this book. Let me read a little
bit from the book. Here we go:
“Real learning is not memorizing knowledge. It’s understanding

and knowing how to use and find knowledge. Learning is what you
do with knowledge, how you integrate it, how you talk to your family,
friends and classmates about it. That’s what learning is. As noted
psychology and education expert Seymour Sarason reminded me
recently, it’s similar to psychologist’s belief that patients don’t get
ww
better during their therapy but between their therapy times.

Students likewise don’t learn so much during class as they do
w.
between classes. That’s where the real learning happens. Now,

fa
I’m not suggesting we throw out everything schools do now, but I’m
suggesting that we look more deeply at what we define as learning.
ce
I’m suggesting we be honest and try different things and see what
works. Learning is about learning how to think.
bo
ok
My new friend, Tom Magliozzi, from National Public Radio’s popular

Car Talk show has a lot to say about what learning really is. One of
.
my favorite parts of his book is when Tom, a man with a Ph.D. in

co
chemical engineering from MIT says this: ‘It seems to me that

m/
schools primarily teach kids how to take tests which is a skill that
one hardly uses in real life unless one is a contestant on a quiz
gr
show. Elementary school prepares kids for junior high. Junior high
prepares them for high school. High school prepares them for
ou
university. University prepares them for graduate school. So the

ps
goal of schools, if we can call it that, is simply to prepare kids for

more school.’
/T
Okay, so interesting, huh? Very nice, I love that section of his book. I love his whole
ai
book. But he’s absolutely right. The traditional schools you went to when you learned
Li
English in middle school or high school or university, they were the same. They were
not preparing you for life. They were not teaching you how to learn. They were
eu
certainly not helping your passion. They were not increasing your passion for learning.
Probably they were killing your passion for learning. All that schools were really doing
On
were preparing you for more school. They were preparing you to take tests. Guess
Th
what. When you leave school, do you take many tests? At your job right now…do you
take tests every day, every week? Do they give you a test…choose A, B, C, D? And
iD
your boss gives you a grade, “Oh, congratulations, you got a 90% on your test. Here’s
ai
more money for your job.” Of course not.

Ho
School is sort of a bullshit environment that is only appropriate for school. That’s why
we have so many bored students. That’s why students hate school. It’s not because of
c0
the internet. It’s not because of TV. It’s because kids are smart. Maybe they’re smarter
1
now today, I don’t know. Kids are smart. They know that what’s happening in school is
bullshit. They know their classes are bullshit. They know their teachers are also full of
shit. I mean I figured that out when I was in middle school, I think. I was a slow learner.
It took me a long time to figure it out. A lot of smart kids today, they figure it out when
they’re in first grade or they’re really young.
But it’s true, what you learn in school, how much of what you learned in school do you
actually use now? I’m glad I learned to read. I’m glad I learned basic math. Other than
that, most of what I find useful in terms of knowledge, in terms of skills, in terms of
abilities, I learned by myself. I learned because I love learning, because I have read so
many books outside of school. And I have met so many great teachers outside of
ww
school. That’s where all my incredible learning has happened. Not in school.
w.
So it’s just terrible what we’re doing with education. It’s all over the world. It’s in the
fa
United States. It’s horrible. I taught in public schools in Japan. They are terrible.
They’re terrible in Thailand. They’re terrible in Europe. They’re terrible everywhere,
ce
because they’re focused on tests. They’re focused on preparing kids for more school.
And then you get out in the real world. You get out in the world of jobs and suddenly
bo
you have to do something completely different. Suddenly you have to actually perform.
ok
You actually have to do things. You have to communicate. You have to have good
relations with other people. You have to learn by yourself. You have to do research.
.
You have to find the knowledge.

co
m/
And you have to have, most of all, some kind of energy and passion and leadership.
That’s what success is in the real world. That’s what gives you success in the real
gr
world. In school those things get punished. Passion in school, that’s usually the kid
who’s getting in trouble all the time. The kid who has too much energy, the kid who has
ou
too much passion, right? The kid who asks too many questions, they get in trouble.
ps
The kids who sit there quietly, bored, doing what they’re told. They do well in school.
They do very badly in the real world.
/T
So Dennis Littky is saying we’ve gotta change our schools. We’re not living in the 19th
ai
century anymore. We’re not living in the 20th century anymore. We’re not preparing
Li
kids for factories now. We need kids and adults to be able to think creatively,
imaginatively. We need people who can communicate, who can stand up in front of a
eu
group and communicate with intelligence and passion. People who can create things,
people who can build teams, people who know how to find knowledge…you don’t need
On
to memorize it. You just need to be able to find it. Albert Einstein talked a lot about that.
Th
He said intelligence is being able to find knowledge, knowing how to find it. Not
iD
memorizing it. For example, phone numbers. You don’t need to memorize the phone
ai
book. You just need to know how to use it. And the internet is a great tool for that. We
don’t have to memorize all these facts. If I want to know a fact from U.S. history, I don’t
Ho
need to memorize it. I can just get on the internet and find it. When was the American
Declaration of Independence signed, what exact day? Well, we all learn that in school
c0
and of course we all know that. But if I didn’t know it, I could get on the internet, I could
1
find it in about 30 seconds. You could, even if you’re from any country in the world, you
never learn that. Very easy for you to find that information.
So what we have to be doing is learning how to find facts, not trying to memorize them.
That’s why we have computers. What we have to focus on is learning how to use our
brains. Learning how to learn, learning how to find knowledge, learning how our brains
work, that’s what we really need to do. That’s true learning. And that’s what we’re
trying to do. That’s what I’m trying to do at Effortless English for you, adult learners.
Most of you unfortunately have been through a lot of bad school experiences. You’ve
been through these horrible schools.
Well, I’m trying to destroy those experiences. I’m trying to give you something
ww
completely new and different. I am trying to awaken your passion for learning again.
That is my mission. That’s why I’m yelling. That’s why I jump around. That’s why I
w.
have so much energy in my voice. That’s why I tell these crazy stories. It’s because I’m
fa
trying to wake you up. Wake up! Learning is incredible. It’s not school. It’s not that
bullshit. Learning is what you are naturally programmed to do. It’s what your brain
ce
wants to do. Your soul wants to learn. So I hope I’m doing a good job. I’m sorry I’ve
been yelling all the time but I hope I’m doing that. I hope I’m waking up your desire,
bo
your love for learning.

ok
Alright, I will see you next time. On to the vocabulary lesson.

. co
m/
gr
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/T
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eu
On
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1
Big Picture Mini-Story Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story lesson for “The Big Picture.” Let’s start right
w.
now.
fa
*****
ce
Athena was the most famous dog in the world.

bo
ok
Who was the most famous dog in the world?

.
Athena, Athena was the most famous dog in the world.

co
m/
Was she the most famous dog in the world or was she the most famous cat in the
world?
gr
Of course, Athena was the most famous dog in the world.

ou
ps
Where was she the most famous dog?

/T
In the world, in all of the world. She was the most famous dog in all of the world.
ai
Why was she so famous?

Li
Well, I’ll tell you.

eu
On
First, Athena memorized 92,000 songs and played them all on the piano.
Th
How many songs did Athena memorize?

iD
She memorized 92,000 songs.

ai
Did she memorize 97,000 songs?

Ho
No, she didn’t. She didn’t memorize 97,000 songs. She memorized 92,000 songs.
c0
1
How many did she memorize?
92,000, she memorized 92,000 songs.
What did she memorize?
Songs, she memorized songs.
And how did she play the songs, on what?
On the piano, she played 92,000 songs on the piano.

ww
Who memorized 92,000 songs?

w.
fa
Well, of course, Athena the most famous dog in the world memorized 92,000 songs and
played them all on the piano. Amazing.
ce
So, she memorized 92,000 songs and played them on the piano. That’s amazing.
bo
But there’s more. Athena also learned the guitar, too. And she integrated the
ok
guitar with the piano. She played every song on both the piano and the guitar at
the same time.
. co
What did she also learn?

m/
The guitar, she also learned to play the guitar.

gr
Could Athena play 92,000 songs on the guitar?

ou
ps
Yes, she could. She could play 92,000 songs on the guitar and she could play 92,000
songs on the piano. In fact, she integrated the guitar with the piano. She played both at
/T
the same time.

ai
Did she combine the guitar with the piano?

Li
Yes, she did. She mixed them. She combined them. She did both together. She
eu
integrated her guitar skill and her piano skill. She put them together. She mixed them
in a useful way.
On
Th
What did Athena integrate?

iD
She integrated her guitar playing with her piano playing.

ai
Did she integrate her guitar playing with her car driving?
Ho
No, no, no, no…she did not. In fact, she never played the guitar while driving. It’s too
c0
dangerous. She integrated her guitar with piano playing. She played her guitar and the
1
piano at the same time. She integrated these two skills.
Who integrated the guitar with the piano?
Athena, Athena integrated the guitar with the piano. She integrated guitar playing with
piano playing.
She could play both at the same time. With different legs, of course…two legs on
the piano, two legs on the guitar. But that’s not all, there’s more. Athena was one
amazing dog. Because next she became a contestant in boxing matches. She
ww
could fight. She was a tough dog.

w.
Did she become a contestant, a competitor, a player in boxing matches or in basketball

fa
games?
ce
Well, in boxing matches…she became a contestant in boxing matches.

bo
What kind of matches?

ok
(And a match is just like a fight, a match is a fight, so in boxing fights.) She became a
.
contestant in boxing fights. She became a contestant in boxing matches.

co
m/
Was she a contestant in boxing matches?

gr
Yes, she was.

ou
What was she a contestant in?

ps
Boxing matches, she was a contestant in boxing matches.

/T
What kind of matches, what kind of fights was she a contestant in?
ai
Li
Boxing, boxing matches…fighting matches.

eu
So she was a contestant in boxing matches and she won every fight. She beat
everyone that she fought.
On
Th
How many fights did Athena win?

iD
Well, she won every fight. In fact, she won 6,022 fights.
ai
Athena won 6,022 boxing matches, 6,022 fights. She beat every single person
Ho
she fought. She was a contestant in 6,022 boxing matches and she won all 6,022.
Amazing. What an amazing dog. But there’s still more. Athena got a little bored.
c0
She could play the piano and the guitar at the same time. She was fighting and
1
beating everybody, “Yeah, I need something new.”
So next she decided to learn languages. She learned 55 languages perfectly.

Athena became a noted linguist.
Did she become an expert linguist, an expert language learner?
Yes, she did. She became a noted linguist, a famous expert linguist.
What kind of linguist was she?

ww
She was a noted linguist, a famous expert linguist.

w.
How many languages could Athena speak perfectly?

fa
55, Athena could speak 55 languages perfectly. She was a noted linguist.
ce
Who was a noted linguist?

bo
ok
Athena, Athena was a noted linguist.

.
Was she a noted piano player?

co
m/
Well, yes in fact she was.

gr
She was also a noted piano player. She was a noted fighter. She was a noted
guitar player and now a noted linguist, too.
ou
ps
Why was she a noted linguist?

/T
Well, of course, because she could speak 55 languages perfectly. That’s why she was
a noted linguist.
ai
Li
Well, finally Athena became a little bored again and she thought “What can I do
next…hmm…what can I do next? Hmmm.” She decided to become the President
eu
of the United Nations. And she did. Athena next became the President of the UN,
the President of the United Nations.
On
Th
Who became the President of the United Nations?

iD
Athena, Athena the dog, the most famous dog in the world.
ai
She became the most famous President of the United Nations because she ended
Ho
all wars in all of the world. Athena ended all wars.

c0
What did she do?

1
She ended all wars on earth.
Who ended all wars on earth?
Athena, Athena ended all wars on earth forever. She was the most famous President of
the UN. She ended all wars on earth. She memorized 92,000 songs and played them
on the piano. She played them on the guitar. She won 6,022 boxing matches. She
spoke 55 languages perfectly. She was the most famous dog in all of the world.
Now, of course, because she ended all wars everyone in the world was happy.
ww
They all loved Athena, the most famous dog in the world.
w.
*****
fa
Alright, that is the end of the mini‑story for The Big Picture. Listen to the mini‑story
ce
many times. Pause after every question. Shout your answers if you can. If you’re
alone or if you don’t care if people think you’re crazy…shout the answer. If you’re in a
bo
train and you don’t want people to think you’re crazy, then maybe kind of say it quietly…
ok
but say something, right? Let the air come out of your mouth. Don’t just think it. You
need to say the answers. It’s very important.
. co
Okay, well I’ll see you next time for the point of view stories.
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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ai
Ho
c0
1
Big Picture POV Text

ww
Hello, welcome to the point of view stories for “The Big Picture.” Let’s get started, same
w.
story about that amazing dog Athena.

fa
*****
ce
Well, since she was a puppy, Athena has wanted to be the most famous dog in the
bo
world. It started when she was a puppy. Now, of course, a puppy is a baby dog.
ok
We don’t say baby dog, we say puppy. So since she was a baby, since she was a
puppy, Athena has wanted to be the most famous dog in the world. She wanted
.
that. When she was young she would think about it.
co
m/
In fact, she has been memorizing songs since she was a puppy. She has been
memorizing songs since she was a puppy. She started when she was a puppy.
gr
She has been memorizing songs since she was a puppy. Now she knows 92,000
songs but she has been memorizing songs, one by one, since she was a puppy.
ou
ps
She has been practicing the piano since she was a puppy. It took time, right?
She had to practice a long time. So she has been practicing the piano. She
/T
started when she was a puppy. She continued, continued, continued until now.
ai
She still practices the piano every day. So she has been practicing the piano
since she was a puppy.
Li
And she has been practicing the guitar since she was a little older, but still a long
eu
time. So she has been practicing the piano since she was a puppy. She has been
On
practicing the guitar for a long time, for many years. Starting many years ago,
continuing until recently.
Th
She has been practicing fighting for a long time. For many years she has been
iD
training and practicing. It didn’t happen suddenly one day. No, no, no, no, no.
ai
She has been practicing boxing for a long time, for many years. She has been
going to the boxing gym. She has been practicing, practicing, practicing. And
Ho
then finally, of course, she started to beat other fighters. And finally she beat
6,022 boxers, 6,022 fighters, she beat them all.
c0
1
And finally, she has been learning languages only a couple years, actually. Two
years ago she started. So since two years ago she has been learning languages.
In that time she has learned 55. In only two years she has learned 55 languages.
Wow. Amazing doggy!
Finally, just last year she became the President of the United Nations. And one
month later she ended all wars on earth. Everyone was happy. Everyone loved
Athena the dog. Athena became the most famous dog in the world.
*****
ww
Okay, that is the end of our first point of view story. That one didn’t change until almost
to the end. Interesting. You don’t need to know why consciously. Just listen carefully
w.
and notice. That’s all you need to do. Relax and notice.
fa
Our next one, into the future. I’m going to imagine this special doggy. This is going to
ce
happen in the future. It hasn’t happened yet. This will happen in the future, maybe in
100 years when dogs can all talk. Because in 100 years dogs will all be able talk, of
bo
course. Let’s start.

ok
*****
. co
In 100 years, 100 years from now, there will be a special dog. Her name will be
m/
Athena. Athena will be the most famous dog in the world. Why? Well because,
first she’s gonna memorize 92,000 songs and she’s gonna play them all on the
gr
piano perfectly.
ou
That’s not all. She’ll also learn the guitar, too. She’ll integrate the guitar with the
ps
piano. She’s gonna integrate the guitar with the piano and play them both at the
same time, all 92,000 songs perfectly.
/T
That’s not all. She’ll also become a contestant in boxing matches. Not a normal
ai
contestant, she’s gonna kick ass. To kick ass means to do a great job. It means
Li
to beat other people or to win or to just do a fantastic job. So Athena is going to

become an amazing contestant in boxing matches. She will win 6,022 boxing
eu
matches. She’s gonna win all of them.

On
But there’s more. She’s also gonna learn 55 languages, perfectly. She’ll become
Th
a noted linguist.
iD
Who will become a noted linguist?

ai
Athena, Athena’ll become a noted linguist. And did you hear that? Athena’ll, it’s really
Ho
hard to hear sometimes. I’ll say it again. Athena’ll become a noted linguist. She will
become a noted linguist, a famous linguist.
c0
1
But that’s not all. Finally she’s gonna become the President of the United
Nations. She’ll become the President of the UN. And she will end all wars on
earth. Everyone will be happy. Everyone will love Athena. And, of course, she
will be the most famous dog in the world.
*****
And that is the end of the point of view stories for The Big Picture. I’ll see you next time.
Bye bye.
ww
w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
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eu
On
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1
Big Picture Vocabulary Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “The Big Picture.” I’ve got some
w.
good news. This is a pretty easy article so the vocabulary lesson is quite short. Yay!
fa
Let’s start it.

ce
Our first word is memorize. Dennis said real learning is not memorizing knowledge.
Real learning is knowing how to use and find knowledge or facts. To memorize means
bo
to remember. It really means to force yourself to remember…force to remember. Make

ok
yourself remember. Force yourself to remember. That’s memorizing. For example, you
have a word list and you want to memorize the meaning of each word. So you repeat it
.
again and again and again and again and again. Memorize means remember.
co
Memorize means remember. Memorize means remember. Memorize means

m/
remember. Force to remember, force to remember, force to remember, force to

remember. Memorize means force to remember. Memorize means force to remember.
gr
That’s the memorization technique. Memorization is the noun. You are memorizing the
ou
meaning…just repeating again, again, again, again. You are memorizing the word and
ps
its meaning. So we don’t memorize here. Do not do that. Just listen to the vocabulary.
Don’t try to study it, okay? We don’t study at Effortless English. We listen and we
/T
enjoy. That’s all. So you listen to the vocabulary a few times and then you listen to the
ai
other lessons. The other lessons are the most important. Don’t try to memorize. Don’t
force yourself to remember. It’ll happen. You will remember automatically with our
Li
method, don’t worry.

eu
Our next word is integrate. Dennis says real learning is knowing how to integrate
On
knowledge and use it. To integrate means to mix or combine or merge. It means you’re
putting things together, putting things together…mixing…so to integrate means to mix.
Th
And what it means is, it means you learn something new, it’s not enough. You have to
combine it, you have to mix it with everything you already know, right?
iD
ai
You already know a lot of things then you learn something new. You have to combine
the new thing with the old knowledge. You are mixing them together. You’re seeing
Ho
how they go together. You see how they fit together. How they integrate, how they mix.
So integrate has this idea of mixing and combining, putting things together in a useful
c0
way. So to integrate…again, to integrate…put together, mix together in a useful way, in

1
an effective way. That’s integrate.
Our next word is noted. Noted, he says as noted psychology expert Seymour Sarason
said…and then he tells you what he said. Noted psychology experts, so Seymour
Sarason is a noted psychology expert. Well, noted just means famous, that’s all it
means. Noted means famous or well‑known. And it also has this idea of skillful,
someone who is good at what they do. So it’s not famous, it’s not like a movie star
famous, like everybody knows them. That’s not noted. Noted means famous because
they’re good at something.
So Seymour Sarason is a very good psychologist so Seymour Sarason is a famous

ww
psychologist. Not in all of the world, but psychology people, they know this person. So
again noted has this idea of being famous and also has the idea of being an expert. So
w.
he is actually kind of repeating himself, he says noted psychology expert. So noted also
fa
has this idea of being an expert. You’re famous because you’re an expert.
ce
Alright, our next word is therapy, therapy. So Seymour Sarason said that patients don’t
get better during therapy, they get better between therapy sessions, therapy times.
bo
Therapy just means a cure. It’s a healing treatment, a healing action. So for
ok
psychologists, right, they sit and they talk to the patient. The patient is depressed, for
example, feels very sad. The psychologist talks to the patient, helps the patient feel
.
better. That’s therapy. That process is therapy. It’s a cure, it’s a healing treatment. The
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psychologist is trying to heal, trying to cure the patient. And the process, the action of
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doing that is called therapy, therapy.

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So the psychologists they think, they believe that actually the patients get better
between the therapies. It’s not the time that they sit and talk, it’s after…after the patient
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thinks about it and after the patient changes their behavior and after the patient changes
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their beliefs, changes their ideas. So that’s when most of the learning is really
happening for the patient. Not during the time they talk to the psychologist. So he’s
/T
comparing this to school. He’s saying that it’s the same for students. Students actually
learn more outside class than they do inside the class.
ai
Li
Our next word is primarily, primarily. So this is the quote from Tom Magliozzi, he’s
talking about what do schools do. Schools just prepare you for more schools. He says
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“It seems to me that schools primarily teach kids how to take tests.” Primarily means
firstly, or mostly. It really has this idea of mostly. That’s what they mostly do. Mostly,
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primarily, schools teach kids how to take tests, and adults, too. So they mostly teach
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kids and adults how to take tests. They primarily teach kids and adults how to take
tests. So again, primarily means mostly, mostly or firstly.
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And finally, our last word for the vocabulary lesson this time, contestant, contestant.
Contestant, he says that taking tests is a skill that no one uses unless they are a
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contestant on a quiz show. A quiz show is a game show like a TV show where you take
a test and then you win some money. So that’s the only time we take tests when we’re
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adults. In the real world we almost never take tests. Only in school, only for school do
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we do it.
So a contestant on a quiz show, a contestant on a game show…contestant means

player, someone who’s playing on the show. Or participant…someone who is
participating on the show. So contestant means participant or player or competitor. So
again, contestant means player or participant or competitor. They’re all similar

meanings. So the only people who need the skill of taking tests, the only time that skill
is useful is if you are a player, a contestant on a game show, on a quiz show. And of
course, that’s not many people. He’s kind of joking. It’s a joke.
Alrighty, well that’s the end of the vocabulary lesson for “The Big Picture.” Let’s keep
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going on to the mini‑story.

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Small Is Beautiful Main Text

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Hi, this is AJ again. Welcome to the next lesson. This lesson is called “Small is
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Beautiful.” Small is Beautiful is the name of a book by E.F. Schumacher. It’s a very
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interesting book. It’s a little bit difficult to read. The level of English is actually fairly
difficult, but I do recommend it. If you have an advanced level of English, go ahead, try
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to read Small is Beautiful. It’s an excellent book. E.F. Schumacher was an economist,
still is an economist. And he wrote Small is Beautiful to talk about the economic
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problems we have in the world. Now this book was published back in the late ‘70s, I
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believe, and it has been updated more recently. But the basic idea of Small is Beautiful
is that our economies in the world are big, big businesses, have become too big. And
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they are not sustainable anymore.

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Too big, in other words, we’re destroying the planet Earth because we are consuming
too much. Our economies are too big; our population, too big; our companies, too big.
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Everything has grown too large and his solution, as you might guess, is that we need
smaller economies, more local economies, more green economies. So he was writing
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about this long before Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth and a lot of other things which
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are quite common right now. But he was writing about these things way back in the
‘70s.
/T
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He realized that we’re going to have to make some changes. Our planet is being
destroyed, we have to do something. And we need to start at the economic level. We
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have to change our economic system so that it is more human, so that it serves human
beings not just super large companies. And, of course, he talks about these economies
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and his solutions in a lot of detail. Like I said, he was an economist, he is an economist.
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So he has a lot of very detailed economic arguments and he analyzes things from an
economic viewpoint. It’s very interesting.
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Today I want to read to you just a short passage from his book and this book and this
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passage really talk about the key, central core problem in his opinion. What is the most
ai
basic problem? What is causing all these economic problems we see in the world, all
the environmental destruction, the wars we see constantly, what’s the root cause? And
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let me read from the book right now.

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“Economically our wrong living consists primarily in systematically

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cultivating greed and envy and thus building up a vast array of

totally unnecessary wants. It is the sin of greed that has delivered
us over into the power of the machine. If greed were not the
master of modern man how could it be that the frenzy of
consumerism does not abate at higher standards of living and that
it is precisely the richest societies which pursue their economic

advantage with the greatest ruthlessness? How could we explain
the almost universal refusal on the part of the rulers of the rich
societies to work towards the humanization of work, soul
destroying, meaningless, mechanical, monotonous, moronic work
that is an insult to human nature. These are the facts which are
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neither denied nor acknowledged but are met with an unbreakable

silence. Because to deny them would be too obviously absurd and
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to acknowledge them would condemn the central preoccupation of

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modern society as a crime against humanity.“

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Okay, I told you it would be difficult and it is a little difficult so let me explain a little of
what this section means. What is he talking about? So he’s saying that our problem,
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our modern problem, economically in life, comes from greed and envy. Greed and envy
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are the problems. That our societies now cultivate greed and envy, of course, cultivate
means grow. So our societies, our cultures, are now growing greed and envy. They
.
encourage greed and envy in people. People getting more greedy, greedy, greedy…
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more envious, more envious, more envious.

m/
And as people become more greedy and envious, they develop a lot of unnecessary
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wants. They start wanting more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more…always
wanting more, more, more. So he said it’s this sin, it’s greed, this problem of greed that
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has made us slaves to machines. That’s what he’s saying, delivered us into the power
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of the machine. He’s talking about it’s made us slaves to our big companies, it’s made
us slaves to computers, to machines, to this modern life, that we’re not free anymore
/T
because of this greed and envy.

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And then he talks about, he says that you see that it’s true because the richest
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countries, the places where people have the most, such as the United States, they are
the most ruthless about wanting more and more and more. So, in other words, there is
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never enough. The richest countries are the most brutal, the most tough, the most
ruthless, trying to get even more and more and more. So he’s saying it never ends,
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right? If someone’s very rich then they want even more money. It never stops. And he
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says the other problem is that people who aren’t rich, they are stuck in soul‑destroying
jobs, that work is mostly meaningless, mechanical, monotonous and moronic. Moronic
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means stupid.
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In most of the world, most jobs, most work is just horrible. Now you may like your job
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but, of course, he’s thinking about all the thousands of people, for example, in China
working in terrible factories…well millions, not thousands, millions and millions. All over
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the world poor people working horrible jobs, terrible jobs, soul‑destroying jobs, jobs that
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destroy their health and their life and their happiness. So he’s saying these are facts.
Everybody knows they’re true. But there’s an unbreakable silence about then. So he’s
saying people don’t talk about it. You don’t hear about this on the news. People don’t
talk about all the horrible job and work conditions for most people in most countries.
There is silence about it. Nobody talks about it. They don’t condemn it because that’s
absurd, that’s crazy. They can’t condemn it. They can’t say it’s not true because
everybody knows it is true. But they can’t talk about it because then they would
condemn the central preoccupation of our society.
Preoccupation means what we think about, our goal. So he’s saying that everybody just
ignores it. We pretend it’s not happening. So he’s saying this is the problem. The
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central problem, that we are creating so much greed and envy everywhere that our
whole economic system is driven by greed and envy, that our whole culture, global
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culture, is based upon greed and envy. And that’s what most advertising is about.
fa
That’s what most of our whole economic systems and even our governments encourage
it: greed and envy, greed and envy, greed and envy, in all our societies. And that is
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destroying the planet. It’s destroying our culture. It’s destroying the people and their
jobs. It’s destroying everything.
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ok
So that’s not a very happy thought but I think he’s probably right. I think we can all see
that he’s right. Now luckily the book is actually very positive. So he’s talking about the
.
problem here and we all can see the problem and it is a very terrible problem. And we
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all know that people are suffering everywhere in the world, working these horrible jobs.
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And we all know that greed and envy are controlling most of our governments, most of
our countries, most of our societies. But the good news is that in this book, Small is
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Beautiful, he has a lot of great solutions about creating local economies that are not
based upon greed and envy. And creating sustainable economies, meaning that they
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can keep going year after year, decade after decade, century after century; without
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destroying the earth, without destroying people. So this book is a very practical book.
And he has a lot of very, very practical suggestions on how we can change.
/T
So I do highly recommend reading Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher. And if you

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don’t read that then I hope you will at least start learning more about ecology and the
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green movement and sustainable economics because these are very, very important
issues to our planet, to everybody living on it. So I hope you enjoyed this, Small is
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Beautiful. Next is, of course, the vocabulary lesson so I’ll see you next time.
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Small Is Beautiful Mini-Story Text

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Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to “Small is Beautiful,” the mini‑story. Take a deep breath.
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Smile, move your body. Shoulders back, let’s go!

fa
*****
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bo
Jeff had great hair.

ok
What kind of hair did he have?

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Great, Jeff had great hair.

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m/
It was long, blond and beautiful.

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What kind of hair did he have?

ou
Well, great hair, long, blond, beautiful hair.

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Who had long, blond, beautiful hair?

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Jeff, Jeff did. Jeff had long, blond, beautiful hair.

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But there was a problem, of course. Michael envied Jeff’s hair.

eu
What did Michael do?

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Michael envied Jeff’s hair.

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What did Michael envy?

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He envied Jeff’s hair.

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Did he envy Jeff’s money?

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No, not his money…Michael didn’t envy Jeff’s money. Michael envied Jeff’s long, blond,
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beautiful hair. Michael wanted great hair also.
So did Jeff envy Michael’s hair?
No, he didn’t. Jeff didn’t envy Michael’s hair. Jeff had great hair. Michael envied Jeff’s
hair.
Why did Michael envy Jeff’s hair?
Well, because Jeff had long, blond, beautiful hair and Michael had no hair.
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Michael was bald. Every day Michael thought about Jeff’s hair. Michael was
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totally preoccupied with Jeff’s hair.

fa
What was Michael preoccupied with?

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With Jeff’s hair, Michael was totally preoccupied with Jeff’s hair.
bo
ok
Did he think about Jeff’s hair all the time?

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Yes, he was totally preoccupied with Jeff’s hair. He thought about Jeff’s hair all the time
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every day.
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Who was preoccupied with Jeff’s hair?

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Michael, Michael was preoccupied with Jeff’s hair.

ou
ps
What was he preoccupied with?

/T
Jeff’s hair, he was totally preoccupied with Jeff’s hair.

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In fact, his preoccupation would not abate.

Li
Did his preoccupation become smaller and smaller, less and less?
eu
No, no, no, no…it would not abate. It would not get weaker. It would not get smaller. It
On
would not lessen. Michael’s preoccupation would not abate. It did not abate.
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What didn’t abate?

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Michael’s preoccupation, Michael’s preoccupation with Jeff’s hair did not abate.
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In fact, it got stronger.

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Did his preoccupation abate or did it get stronger?

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Well, it got stronger. His preoccupation did not abate. His preoccupation got stronger
and stronger and stronger.
He got more and more envious every day.
Who got more and more envious every day?
Michael, of course, Michael got more and more envious of Jeff’s long, blond, beautiful
hair every day.
ww
Was Jeff envious?

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No, Jeff wasn’t envious. Jeff already had beautiful hair. But Michael was envious and
fa
he became more and more envious every day.

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“I want Jeff’s hair. I want Jeff’s hair. I want Jeff’s hair!” He got into a frenzy.
bo
Who got into a frenzy?

ok
Michael, Michael got into a frenzy.

. co
He got into a frenzy about what?

m/
About Jeff’s hair, he got into a frenzy about Jeff’s hair, “I must have Jeff’s hair. I must
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have Jeff’s hair. AAAaaaahhhh!”

ou
Did he get into a frenzy?

ps
Yes, he did. He went crazy. He was yelling. He was running around screaming, “I must
/T
have Jeff’s beautiful hair! I must have Jeff’s beautiful hair, aaaahhhh!” Michael got into
a total frenzy about Jeff’s hair.
ai
Li
Was Jeff in a frenzy?

eu
No, Jeff was calm. Jeff already had beautiful hair. He wasn’t in a frenzy.
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Who was in a frenzy?

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Michael, Michael was in a total frenzy.

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ai
About what?
Ho
About Jeff’s long, beautiful, blond hair, Michael was in a total frenzy about his hair. He
was going crazy about Jeff’s hair.
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Finally, Michael got a big knife and he went to Jeff’s house to cut off Jeff’s hair.
He was in a frenzy, “I’m going to take his hair!”
What did Michael take to Jeff’s house?
A big knife, Michael took a big, big knife to Jeff’s house.
Why did he take a big knife to Jeff’s house?
To cut off and take Jeff’s hair.

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He knocked on the door. Jeff opened the door. Michael saw that beautiful hair.
He said, “I’m going to take your hair! I want your hair!” Jeff was calm. Jeff said,
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“This is absurd. Just buy a wig.”

fa
What did Jeff say?

ce
Jeff said “This is absurd. Just buy a wig.”

bo
ok
Did Jeff think Michael was acting crazy and foolish and ridiculous?
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Yes he did. He said “This is absurd,” this action, this desire is absurd. It’s ridiculous.
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It’s foolish and crazy.

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What was absurd?

gr
Well, Michael’s frenzy was absurd. Michael’s idea was absurd. Michael’s actions were
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absurd, crazy and ridiculous.

ps
Whose actions were absurd?

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Michael’s actions, Michael’s actions were absurd.

ai
Li
Were Michael’s actions calm and logical? Or were they absurd?

eu
They were absurd. Michael’s actions, Michael’s frenzy was and were absurd. Jeff said,
“Michael, this is absurd. Just buy a wig.”
On
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Michael stopped. Hm. He dropped the knife. He thought. He became calm. And
then he went to a wig store and he bought a long, blond, beautiful wig. He walked
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everywhere wearing his long, blond, beautiful wig. Everyone loved Michael’s new
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hair. Michael and Jeff became good friends. They were both very happy with
their long, blond, beautiful hair.
Ho
The End
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1
*****
That is the end of the mini-story for Small is Beautiful. Listen to it many times. Big
smile when you listen. Move your body when you listen. Breathe deeply when you
listen to this mini-story. And when you answer, shout your answers.
See you next time.

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Small Is Beautiful Point-of-View Text

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Hi, this is AJ. Welcome to the point of view lesson for “Small is Beautiful.” Same
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story…different points of view, different time frames. Let’s go.

fa
*****
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Since they were children Jeff has always had great hair. And Michael has always
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been bald. He’s never had hair. When Jeff was a baby, he came out with long,
ok
blond, beautiful hair. He has always had long, blond, beautiful hair. And Michael
has always been bald, from when he was a baby until now. And so, Michael has
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always envied Jeff’s hair. Michael has always wanted hair, since he was a little
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baby. He has always wanted to have great hair. He has always wanted to have
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long, blond, beautiful hair like Jeff.

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Michael has been preoccupied with Jeff’s hair every day since he was a little
child. He has been totally preoccupied with Jeff’s hair since he was a little child.
ou
His preoccupation has never abated. Not one day, it has never abated. It has
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never lessened. It has never gone away. Michael has been preoccupied with
Jeff’s hair every day. His preoccupation has never abated. In fact, he has gotten
/T
more and more envious every day of his life. He has gotten more and more and
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more envious.
Li
Well, one day Michael finally got into a frenzy. He just went crazy, “I must have
Jeff’s hair! I must have Jeff’s hair….aaaaahhhhh!” He got into a frenzy on that
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day. And on that day he grabbed a big knife and he went to Jeff’s house. He
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knocked on Jeff’s door. Jeff opened the door. And Michael said, “I must have
your hair! I’m going to cut off your hair!” And Jeff said, “This is absurd. Just
Th
buy a wig.”
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And Michael stopped. Suddenly his preoccupation with Jeff’s hair abated. He
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dropped the knife and became calm. Then he ran to a wig store and he bought a
long, blond, beautiful wig and he put it on. And every day he wore it and
Ho
everyone loved his new hair. Michael was very happy and Michael and Jeff
became very good friends.
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The End
*****
Okay, our next version, we’re going into the future. So perhaps I’m imaging this story
now. I’m imagining this story is going to happen in the future. I’m thinking…
*****
Maybe in the future there’s this guy named Jeff. There’s be a guy named Jeff.
ww
And in the future this guy’s gonna have great hair. In fact he’s gonna have long,
blond, beautiful hair. And there’ll be another guy. This other guy, he’ll be named
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Michael. And Michael will envy Jeff’s hair. He’s gonna be jealous of Jeff’s hair.
fa
So Michael will envy Jeff’s hair. He’ll want great hair also. But unfortunately, this
guy Michael, he’ll be bald.
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Well, Michael’s gonna be preoccupied with Jeff’s hair every day. Every day he’ll
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think about Jeff’s hair. And his preoccupation won’t abate. It won’t abate. It’ll
ok
never abate. In fact, his preoccupation will get stronger and stronger and
stronger. He’ll grow more envious every day.
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Finally, one day in the future he’s gonna get into a crazy frenzy, “Aaaaahhhh, I
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must have Jeff’s hair now!” He’s gonna grab a big knife and he’s gonna walk
over to Jeff’s house. He’ll knock on the door. Jeff will open the door. Michael
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will say “I must have your hair now!” Jeff will say, “This is absurd. Just buy a
wig.”
ou
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And Michael, he’ll stop. His preoccupation will suddenly abate. He’ll drop the
knife. He’ll become calm. Then he’ll run to the nearest wig store and he’ll buy a
/T
long, blond, beautiful wig. And he’ll put it on. He’s gonna walk around the town
with his long, blond, beautiful wig and everyone will love his new hair. Michael’s
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gonna be so happy. And then he and Jeff will become very good friends.
Li
*****
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And that is the end of the point of view lesson for Small is Beautiful. Have a big smile. I
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hope you are also happy and I will see you next time. Bye bye.
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Small Is Beautiful Vocabulary Text

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Hello, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Small is Beautiful.”

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Let’s talk about our first word. Our first word is cultivate, to cultivate. Of course, to
cultivate means to grow or to encourage something. So it’s to cultivate, it means to
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grow or to encourage something.

bo
Our next word is envy, envy. He says our cultures are cultivating envy, they’re
ok
encouraging envy. Envy really means jealousy. Jealousy, it means someone else has
something good and you don’t like it, right? You are jealous. You’re jealous of them. If
.
they have something better than you, you don’t feel good about them. You don’t feel
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happy because they are happy. Instead you feel mad or angry or jealous. You feel bad
m/
because you think “Ah, I want that. I want that. I want that,” right? So envy really
means jealousy.
gr
Our next word is frenzy, a frenzy. A frenzy is uncontrolled action. It really means just
ou
constantly doing a lot of things without control. So, for example, sharks in the ocean, if
ps
you throw a dead fish in the water they will…rawr…they will start attacking the fish and
they all go crazy. So that’s this idea of, that they just start attacking and moving and
/T
doing all of these things without control. So frenzy really means kind of go crazy, just…
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aaaahhhh…just start doing a lot of things, going crazy about it…lots and lots of actions
with no control.
Li
Our next word is consumerism, consumerism. Consumerism means the philosophy or

eu
the idea that buying stuff is most important in your life. It’s the most important thing. So
On
that you get meaning from buying things, that buying stuff, buying cars, buying
expensive houses, buying more, more, more, more, that’s what is most important in life.
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That idea is called consumerism. Consumerism, so Schumacher is saying that right

now most of our cultures are consumerist cultures…that we are focused on
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consumerism in most countries.

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Our next word is abate, to abate. He says that consumerism in most of our countries
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does not abate as we get richer. So to abate means to slow down or to stop, or to abate
can also mean to lessen. To get smaller, to get weaker, it has this idea of slowing down,
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stopping. So he’s thinking if someone gets rich then their greed, their desire for money,
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should go down. It should become lower. It should abate. But he’s saying it does not
abate. It does not slow down. It does not get less. So again, to abate, to get less, to
lessen, to slow down.
Next we have the word ruthlessness, or ruthless. So ruthless means really mean, cruel,
very, very tough and cruel, no mercy. So ruthlessness is the noun and ruthless is the
adjective. So he’s saying that rich countries are very ruthless about getting money.
They’re the most ruthless so those people, those countries that already have a lot of
money, they’re super ruthless about getting more. They are cruel. They’re tough, not
kind.
ww
Alright, our next word is humanize, to humanize. To humanize, for example, he talks
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about to humanize work, or the humanization of work. So humanization or humanize, to

fa
humanize is the verb…to humanize means to make something more kind, more human,
better for people. So, and the opposite is to dehumanize. To dehumanize means to
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make something less human. It means to make it less kind, less soft, less healthy. To
humanize, using it as a verb, means to make something more healthy, more kind, more
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good for people. So to humanize work means to make work, to make jobs healthier,
ok
happier, better for people.

.
Our next word is monotonous. Schumacher says most jobs, most normal jobs in the
co
world are monotonous. Monotonous means boring. Monotonous means doing the
m/
same again, again, again and again…very, very boring. So again monotonous means
boring. A monotonous job is a boring job. It means you’re just doing the same thing
gr
again and again and again. For example, working in a factory, people who work in a
factory, they do the same small task again, again, again, again. Every day, all day, that
ou
is a monotonous job.
ps
Our next word is absurd, absurd. So he’s saying this situation is absurd. Absurd means
/T
crazy and ridiculous, ridiculous. So it has this idea of foolish of stupid, foolish and
stupid, absurd. Absurd means foolish and stupid. Absurd means ridiculous,
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ridiculous…absurd.
Li
And our final word is preoccupation. We have a preoccupation with money in the
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United States. Preoccupation means something you think about all the time. Similar to
the word obsession, obsession and preoccupation, very close. Preoccupation,
On
something that you think about all the time. I have a preoccupation with money. It
Th
means I think about money all the time. We can use this as a verb also, preoccupation
is a noun but we can use it as a verb, as an action. We can say “I am preoccupied with
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money.” It means I am focused on money. I am obsessed with money. I am thinking

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about money all the time. I am preoccupied with money.

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That is all for the vocabulary lesson for Small is Beautiful. See you next time.
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Slow Burn Main Text

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Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to our next lesson. This lesson is called “Slow Burn” and this
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is about one of my favorite topics…energy. This topic today is about energy. How can
fa
you have, how can you get more energy in your body and in your life? Slow Burn, of
course, is the name of a book by a man named Stu Mittleman. Now who is
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Stu Mittleman? Stu Mittleman is a maniac. He’s an amazing guy. Stu Mittleman, who I
may have mentioned already before but we’re going to talk about him today in more
bo
detail, he is an ultramarathon runner. Now a marathon is 26 miles, 26.2…well, that’s

ok
not enough for Stu, that’s boring, that’s a short distance. Anybody can run 26 miles so
Stu runs 100 mile races.
. co
He also does crazy races where he will run for 6 days without stopping. Just running
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and running. He doesn’t even sleep. He runs for 6 days, 6‑day races. And they see
who can run the longest amount the farthest in 6 days and Stu has won several of these
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races. I believe it was for his 50th birthday, he ran across the United States from San
ou
Diego, California to New York City. Just to celebrate his birthday, he ran two marathons
every day until he reached New York City. He did not take a break, nope. I mean he
ps
did sleep, I think, but he did not skip a day. Every day he ran two marathons until he
went from San Diego to New York City.
/T
ai
So as you can guess, Stu Mittleman has a lot of energy. He’s an energy maniac. He’s
full of energy. And he’s very, very, very healthy, obviously. You can’t keep running that
Li
amount unless you’re very healthy. So Stu’s one of my heroes. I want to be like Stu. In
fact, I have decided to run a 50 mile race to challenge myself to get healthier and
eu
stronger. So my goal now is to run a 50 mile race. And you can check on the forums
On
and see if I’m doing it. So that’s my challenge.

Th
So this book, Slow Burn, that Stu wrote is about energy and it’s about his system of
training your body, of getting your body healthier, stronger and more energetic. And
iD
what’s interesting is that Stu has a very different approach than a lot of other fitness
ai
coaches. In fact it was a little surprising to me. I’ve been running many years during
my life. So I was a little surprised by his training method. So I’m going to read a little bit
Ho
from his book and then I’ll talk more about his specific training method. Something that
c0
anybody can use because it’s actually very easy, so I love it. Here we go. This is from
his book, the book Slow Burn by Stu Mittleman.
1
“Life is a marathon not a sprint. And you must prepare accordingly.

Unlike sprinters who focus on how fast they can get to the finish
line, endurance athletes have no finish line. There is only the
present moment in which they must remain connected to their body,
in tune with their every move. In a place that feels comfortable and
productive and that they are able to maintain indefinitely. People
today have challenges that are comparable to an endurance event
that seemingly never ends. We have to get up earlier, work longer
hours, and attempt to carve out high quality family or personal time.
Then we have to wake up the next day and do it again and again
ww
and again and again.

w.
To be productive in the long run of life you have to pace yourself in

fa
order to feel strong, alert and energetic. With the right pace, with
the right mindset, with the right diet, anything is possible, constant
ce
energy, feeling as strong at the end of the day as when you started
and maintaining a consistently positive attitude. For most of my life
bo
I’ve been a professional endurance athlete. And now, like you, I am

ok
participating in the marathon of life. I still run every day. I manage

a business. I raise a family with my wife. Running gives me the
.
energy to do this. No matter what’s going on in my life, I run a

co
couple of hours a day. Not because I think I have to, but because I
m/
am certain that when I am moving I feel great. I also know that

after I run I will have even more energy for the rest of the day. I’ll
gr
be able to think more clearly. I’ll be able to concentrate better. I’ll

feel more relaxed and at ease.
ou
ps
When I’m in this state anything and everything is possible. The

experience is magical. I consider it a gift, one that ignites my life’s
/T
mission, which is to get people to transform movement into an act

that is absolutely satisfying. I recognize that in order to receive the
ai
gift that running offers me, I have to commit some of my time. Yet
Li
in this instance, the relinquishing of my time actually creates more

time. An hour set aside for generating reliable and everlasting
eu
energy frees up two to three or more hours in a day that might have
otherwise have been allocated to sleep or rest. Suppose you could
On
sleep less yet feel even more rested and alive. What would you do
Th
with the extra hours that suddenly appeared in your day?”

iD
Okay, wow. That’s from Stu Mittleman’s book, Slow Burn. So, Stu is saying that
ai
actually the time he spends running gives him more time to do other things. So what
does he mean? He means if he runs two hours it gives him so much energy that he can
Ho
sleep less and still feel great. So maybe he sleeps two or three hours less every day.
Because he has so much energy he still feels fantastic. So it’s actually not costing him
c0
more time. He’s actually gaining time, productive time, by spending time for running, by
1
running every day. And then more generally what he’s talking about is the fact that by
moving, by running, and by also eating very well, that he is giving power to everything in
his life. He has more energy for his wife. He has more energy for his children. He has
more energy for his business. He has more energy for everything.
That’s the gift of running. And, you know, he is a runner of course you can also swim or
you could ride a bicycle if you prefer those activities. Running is a quite nice activity
because it’s so simple. There’s no equipment. There’s no special place you need to go.
You just need shoes. Or, you don’t even need shoes actually. There’s a lot of
professional runners in Africa who run without shoes. So you don’t need anything. So,
anyway, this is a great book.
ww
Now let me talk about specifically Stu Mittleman’s running program, because he has
w.
one very important idea about running that really is the most important. It’s the
fa
foundation of his running approach and it’s the reason his book is called Slow Burn. Stu
Mittleman advocates, Stu Mittleman teaches slow running. Most people, he says, run
ce
too fast. The reason that’s bad is that when you run fast you start breathing heavy. If
you’re breathing heavy it means your body is burning mostly sugar. You’re using mostly
bo
the sugar in your blood and in your muscles. You’re burning sugar for energy. That’s
ok
what happens when you run faster.

.
So anytime, if you’re running or exercising, any kind of exercise…if you’re breathing

co
heavy, like that, it means you’re burning sugar. The problem with that is sugar gives you
m/
quick energy in a short time but then soon after your energy drops suddenly. So you go
up with energy very high and then suddenly it drops, right? If you eat a lot of sugar
gr
you’ll feel very good for maybe 30 minutes or an hour and after that your energy drops a
lot and then you feel very tired after that. So it’s up-down, up-down, it’s not good steady
ou
energy.
ps
So Stu trains his body to burn fat. Fat is better for steady energy. If you burn fat then
/T
you just always have high energy, all the time. It doesn’t go up and down, up and down.
It’s nice and steady, just a high level of energy all the time. To burn fat you must
ai
exercise more slowly. So when I started using Stu’s program, I was surprised. I used to
Li
run a lot. I still run some. I’ve already run in two marathons and finished two marathons
so I thought “Hey, I’m a runner.” But when I ran I was running too fast. So now I’m
eu
training with Stu’s program, it feels so slow. It’s a very, very, very slow jog. In fact, San
Francisco has a lot of big hills. When I go up the hills I walk, so I walk up the big hills
On
and then I jog slowly if it’s flat and then I run a little faster if I’m going down the hill. But
Th
the main idea is that you want to exercise slowly.

iD
So you should never be breathing hard. If you’re breathing like that it means you’re
ai
going too fast. You should slow down. If necessary, just walk. Walking, you know you
can walk quickly. That’s still a great exercise. If you want to run, if you can run, that’s
Ho
fine, too. But job very slowly. A good rule, a good idea is you should be able to have a
conversation while you’re jogging. If you’re jogging with another person you should be
c0
able to talk to them comfortably and easily. If you can’t, if you’re breathing too hard and
1
you can’t really talk well that means you’re going too fast, slow down.
So again the general idea of Stu’s program is slow exercise for a longer time. So, of
course, you can do it longer because it’s not so difficult. You’re going slow, it’s very…it
feels nice. It’s very easy actually. And because it’s kind of easy you can do it for a
longer period of time. And that’s why he calls this Slow Burn. When you exercise in this
way you teach your body to burn fat. Now one great thing about that is you will lose
weight. If you’re overweight, if you have too much fat on your body, you’ll start to burn
that fat. And that’s a nice side effect. But more importantly, for me, is that you will get
more energy for all of the day. Recently I’ve noticed that I have more energy. In the
past I used to eat a lot of sugar and my energy would go up and down and up and
ww
down. And now I’m trying to eat less sugar and I’m also exercising more slowly and I’m
feeling more steady energy. Now sometimes I still feel tired, of course, and sometimes I
w.
still have really high energy. But in general, most of the day, I just feel better. I have a
fa
more steady high level of energy that doesn’t change as much.

ce
So I encourage you to get out and when you’re listening to these lessons, walk quickly.
Or even jog very slowly. You can do two things at the same time. You can learn English
bo
and you can make your body feel better. But when you do it just go slowly. Enjoy it.
ok
The nice thing about training in this way, exercising in this way, it feels good. You’re not
killing your body, right? You can get out. You go for a nice fast walk. You can smile,
.
look around, enjoy the city if you live in a city. Or enjoy the trees and the sky if you live
co
in the countryside. Look around. Look at people, smile. Or you can maybe walk with
m/
another person if you want and chat with them. Or put on your iPod and listen to me
and just do a nice slow jog or a nice fast walk. And you can do that for an hour, it’s very
gr
easy. You can do it an hour every day. You’re learning English at the same time so
you’re doing two great things at one time.
ou
ps
So please, I recommend this book very highly, Slow Burn by Stu Mittleman. And Stu’s
name is spelled S-t-u, that’s his first name, Stu. His last name is Mittleman, M-i-t-t-l-e-
/T
m-a-n. Alright, I hope you use this program. I especially hope you use it at the same
time you’re listening to me. Learn English and get energy and health for your body at
ai
the same time. Alright, I will see you for the vocab and mini‑story and you have a great
Li
day.
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Slow Burn Mini-Story Text

ww
Hi, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story for “Slow Burn.” Are you ready? Are you
w.
standing up? Are you moving your body? Are you smiling? Are you breathing? Good!
fa
Let’s start.
ce
*****
bo
There was a girl. Her name was Tiffany. And Tiffany had 29 cats.
ok
How many cats did Tiffany have?

. co
She had 29 cats.

m/
Did she have 47 cats?

gr
Of course not. She did not have 47 cats. She had 29 cats.
ou
ps
Who had 29 cats?

/T
Tiffany, Tiffany had 29 cats.

ai
What did she have?

Li
Cats, she had 29 cats.

eu
On
But as always, she had a problem. She needed one more cat. She wanted to
have 30 cats. But she needed a special cat. She needed a purple cat.
Th
How many more cats did Tiffany need?

iD
ai
Well, only one. Tiffany needed only one more cat.

Ho
What kind of cat did she need?

c0
A purple cat, Tiffany needed a purple cat.

1
How many cats did Tiffany want total?
Well, she wanted to have 30 cats totally, right? Total, she wanted to have 30.
And how many did she have already?
29, she already had 29. She wanted to have 30 total so she needed just one more cat.
Did she need one more purple cat or one more purple dog?
ww
She needed one more cat and she wanted a purple cat this time.
w.
Did she already have a purple cat?

fa
No, she didn’t.

ce
All her other cats were brown or white or black. So she wanted her last cat to be
bo
special, she wanted a purple cat. But purple cats are very expensive.
ok
Are purple cats cheap or are purple cats expensive?

. co
Well, they’re expensive. In fact, they’re very, very expensive.

m/
Purple cats cost $12,500,000 each.

gr
How much does a purple cat cost?

ou
ps
Well, purple cats cost $12,500,000 each. Of course, everybody knows that.
/T
And so Tiffany set aside money every day to save for a new purple cat.
ai
What did she do?

Li
She set aside money every day. She saved money every day.
eu
Who set aside money every day?

On
Th
Well, Tiffany. Tiffany set aside money every day.

iD
Why did she set aside money every day?

ai
Well, she set aside money every day to save for a new purple cat.
Ho
Did she set aside a little money or a lot of money every day?
c0
1
Oh, she set aside a lot of money every day.
In fact, she ate only a little bit because she didn’t want to spend too much money
on food. She wanted all her money to be set aside for the new purple cat. In fact,
Tiffany allocated all her savings for the purpose of buying a purple cat.
What did she allocate for buying a purple cat?
She allocated all of her savings. All of her extra money she allocated for the purpose of
buying a purple cat.
ww
Who allocated all of her savings for the purpose of buying a purple cat?
w.
Of course, Tiffany. Tiffany allocated all of her savings, she allocated all of her extra
fa
money to buying a purple cat. She saved. Every day she set aside money. All that
money was allocated for buying a purple cat. She would not use that money for any
ce
other reason. Not for food. Not for rent, nothing. All of her extra money was set aside
just to buy the special, expensive, purple cat.
bo
ok
Finally, one day she did it. She saved $12,500,000. She went to the store to buy
the purple cat. But they were sold out of purple cats. They had just sold the last
.
purple cat. Oh no!

co
m/
How much money did Tiffany save?

gr
Tiffany saved $12,500,000.

ou
Where did she go?

ps
She went to the pet store to buy a purple cat.

/T
Did she buy a purple cat with her $12,500,000?

ai
Li
No, she didn’t.

eu
Why didn’t she buy a purple cat?

On
Because they were sold out. They had already sold their last purple cat.
Th
Who or what was sold out?

iD
ai
Well the store was sold out of purple cats, no more purple cats.
Ho
Tiffany was very, very upset. But then she thought “Ah, I’ll go to another pet
store.” So she sprinted across the city to another pet store.
c0
1
Did she run slowly?
No, she sprinted across the city. She ran super fast across the city.
Where did she sprint?
She sprinted across the city.
Did she sprint home?
No, she didn’t run home. She sprinted across the city to another pet store.
ww
Who sprinted across the city to another pet store?

w.
fa
Tiffany, of course. Tiffany sprinted across the city to another pet store.
ce
Why did she sprint to another pet store?

bo
Well, to find a purple cat and buy it. She sprinted across the city to another pet store to
ok
buy a purple cat.

.
She arrived at the other pet store with $12,500,000 in a big bag. She said “I want
co
the purple cat.” And the pet store said “I’m sorry, we’re sold out.” Oh no! Tiffany
m/
was very upset.

gr
So she sprinted to another pet store. She arrived and said “I want a purple cat.”
But they were sold out. Every pet store in the city was sold out of purple cats.
ou
No purple cats anywhere.

ps
Tiffany cried “I want a purple cat. I need a purple cat.” She cried and she cried
/T
for 27 days and 5 hours.

ai
How long did she cry?

Li
Well, she cried for 27 days and 5 hours.

eu
Did she laugh for 27 days and 5 hours?

On
Th
No, no, no. She cried. She cried for 27 days and 5 hours.
iD
Why did she cry for 27 days and 5 hours?

ai
Because she couldn’t buy a purple cat.

Ho
Finally, after 27 days and 5 hours she relinquished her dream of getting a purple
c0
cat.
1
Did she hold on to her dream or did she let go of her dream?
She let go of her dream. She relinquished her dream of getting a purple cat.
What did she relinquish? What did she let go of?
She relinquished her dream of getting a purple cat. She decided “I don’t need a purple
cat I guess.”
Who relinquished the dream of getting a purple cat?

ww
Tiffany, of course. Tiffany relinquished her dream of getting a purple cat.

w.
fa
She said “Oh well, I guess I don’t need a purple cat.” So instead Tiffany bought a
beautiful, happy, little pink cat. She bought a little pink cat and she loved it. She
ce
loved her little pink cat. And Tiffany was very happy because now she had 30
cats, including a very cute and beautiful little pink cat. Tiffany and all her cats
bo
were very happy.

ok
*****
. co
And that is the end of our mini-story for Slow Burn. I hope you enjoyed it. Listen to this
m/
story many, many times. Always have energy in your body when you listen to these
stories. Always shout your answers when you listen to these stories. If you’re in a bus
gr
or a train, maybe you can’t do that. But maybe you can, I don’t know. Try it. I’ll see you
next time.
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Slow Burn Point-of-View Text

ww
Hello, this is AJ again. Welcome to the point of view stories for “Slow Burn.” Same
w.
story…different timeframes, different time frames. Deep breath, let’s start.

fa
*****
ce
Tiffany has always loved cats. Really, since she was a small child she has loved
bo
cats. And every year she has bought more cats. Or she has found more cats.
ok
But since she was a child she has wanted a purple cat. She has especially
wanted to have a purple cat. But she could never afford a purple cat. They have
.
always been too expensive for her.

co
m/
And so, starting when she was young, continuing as she became an adult, she
has set aside money every day to save for that special purple cat. Every day she
gr
has saved. Every week she has saved. Every month she has set aside money for
a purple cat. Every year she has set aside money. She has allocated all of that
ou
money for only one purpose, buying a purple cat. She has done this every week,
ps
every month, every year of her life.

/T
Well, finally one day she did it. She saved $12,500,000. Immediately she went to
ai
the pet store. But they were sold out of purple cats. Oh no! So she sprinted
across the city to another pet shop. But they were also sold out.
Li
She sprinted to another and another and another. She sprinted to every pet shop
eu
in the city. None of them had purple cats. They were all sold out of purple cats.
On
Tiffany cried and cried “Oh god, no purple cats.” She cried for a long time, 27
days and 5 hours, in fact.
Th
Until finally she relinquished her dream of getting a purple cat, she let go of it.
iD
Tiffany finally relinquished her dream of getting a purple cat. And instead she
ai
bought a nice, pretty, cute, sweet pink cat. Tiffany bought a little pink cat and she
loved it very much.
Ho
And so Tiffany and all of her cats were very, very happy together.
c0
1
*****
Alright, that’s the end of our first POV story. Let’s go to the next one…into the future.
So you can imagine maybe I’m talking about a story idea I have. Maybe I’m talking
about an idea for a movie that’s going to happen in the future. I’m telling someone
about this. Maybe I’m telling you. Let’s start.
*****
So in the future there will be a woman, a girl named Tiffany. And she’ll have 29
ww
cats already. But she’s gonna need one more cat and she’s gonna need a very
special cat. She’ll want a purple cat.
w.
fa
So every day she’ll set aside money to buy a purple cat. In fact, she’ll allocate all
of her spare money, all of her savings for the purpose of buying a purple cat.
ce
She’s gonna allocate all of her savings for that purpose.

bo
And one day, she’ll finally do it. One day she will save a total of $12,500,000. And
ok
immediately she’s gonna run to the closest pet store. But they’ll be sold out of
purple cats. They won’t have any purple cats. So then she’ll sprint across the
.
city to another pet store. They’ll be sold out, too.

co
m/
So she’ll sprint to another and another and another. She’ll sprint to every pet
store in the city. But none of them will have a purple cat. They won’t have a
gr
purple cat. They’ll be sold out. Tiffany will be very sad and she’ll cry and she’ll
cry. In fact, she’s gonna cry for 27 days and 5 hours.
ou
ps
She’ll cry and she’ll cry and she’ll cry until finally, after 27 days and 5 hours, she’ll
finally relinquish her dream of getting a purple cat. She’ll finally relinquish that
/T
dream. And then she’ll buy a nice, cute, wonderful, little pink cat. And Tiffany will
love her little pink cat and the little pink cat will love Tiffany.
ai
Li
They’ll be very happy and in fact Tiffany and all her cats, all 30 cats, will be very
happy together.
eu
*****
On
Th
And that’s the end of our point of view lessons for Slow Burn. See you next time.
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
Slow Burn Vocabulary Text

ww
Hello. This is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Slow Burn.” Let’s start.
w.
fa
First is the word sprint, to sprint. Now sprint can also be a noun, but let’s talk about the
verb. To sprint means to run very, very fast, really to run as fast as you can. So a
ce
sprint, so a noun, a sprint is a short race and you run very, very fast, maybe 50 meters,
100 meters, 400 meters is probably the longest sprint. And when people run a sprint
bo
they just go really fast, right? As fast as they can. So that action of running very, very
ok
fast is called sprinting or to sprint. So Stu says that when you train, to give yourself
energy and health you don’t want to sprint, right? If you’re a professional sprinter
.
athlete in the Olympics, okay, you need to do it. But for most normal people they just
co
want to feel good and have energy, you want to do the opposite. You want to run slowly.
m/
You do not want to sprint.

gr
Okay, our next word is in tune, in tune with. So he says you want to be in tune with your
body, in tune with your movements. In tune with means in harmony with. It means
ou
connected with. So if you are in tune with your body it means your mind and your body
ps
are connected, right? They’re both aware of each other. They are connected. So
awareness is another idea that in tune with means you’re aware of and connected to.
/T
I’m in tune with my body means I’m aware of my body and I’m connected, my mind and
ai
my body are connected. I know what’s happening in my body all the time. I’m in tune
with it.
Li
Our next word is indefinitely. He says you want to be able to exercise indefinitely. You
eu
want to have energy indefinitely. Indefinitely means never ending. It means there’s no
On
definite ending. There’s no ending time. So to have energy indefinitely means to have
energy forever, always, never ending. So you want to maintain your energy indefinitely.
Th
You want to keep your energy all the time, no ending, never stops.
iD
Okay, our next phrase is to carve out, to carve out. He says that we’re all busy and we
ai
all need to carve out quality time with our families or quality time for ourselves. We want
to carve out time for ourselves. To carve means to cut, to cut out. So he’s saying you
Ho
have a schedule, 24 hours in your day, you want to cut out, maybe 1 hour, maybe 3
hours, you want to cut out some time for your family. You want to cut out some time for
c0
yourself, right? So to carve out means to cut out or to take out.

1
Our next phrase is to pace yourself. He says in life, in the long run, you need to pace
yourself. Okay, to pace yourself means to go at a speed that you can maintain. Ooh,
that’s kind of a long definition. So it means you don’t go super super fast. You don’t go
super super slowly. You go at a speed that you can maintain indefinitely. That you can
keep doing forever. So, for example, you want to run a very long race, a marathon. You
cannot sprint a marathon, right? After one mile you’ll fall down. So for a marathon you
must pace yourself, right? You have to go a little bit more slowly. You have to go at a
speed that you can keep going at for a long time. So you run a little more slowly but
you can go a very, very long time. Doing that, slowing down a little bit and going a long
time, we call that pacing. So to pace yourself means make yourself slow down a little
ww
bit so you can keep going forever.

w.
Alright, later he says that running gives him energy. And that the energy ignites his life
fa
mission. His life mission means his life purpose. This energy ignites it. So to ignite
means to catch on fire, it means to light a fire…to start a fire. So he’s saying the energy
ce
gives fire, gives power to his life. It starts the fire of his life. It starts the power of his
life. So to ignite means to start a fire. So this is kind of like poetry or something, it’s like
bo
a metaphor. He’s saying that running starts the fire in his life. It starts the passion in his
ok
life. It gives the energy and power to his life. It ignites his life.
.
And he said, what is his purpose? He says my purpose is to transform movement into
co
something else. To transform means to change, to change something into another

m/
thing. So he says he wants to transform movement, meaning exercise, he wants to

transform exercise and make exercise become something else. So what he’s saying is
gr
he wants exercise to become power for your life, right? It’s not just exercising so you
lose some weight. It actually becomes power for all of your life. It gives you power for
ou
your family. It gives you power for your business, for your career, for everything. So it
ps
transforms, it changes into personal power. That’s what he’s saying. He wants to
transform movement, he wants to change movement and exercise into personal power.
/T
To transform, to change from one thing into something else.

ai
Our next word is relinquish, to relinquish. He’s saying I have to relinquish some time for
Li
running. To relinquish means to give away. It means you have something and you let
go…you give it away. So if I have $5 in my hand, I have some money in my hand. If I
eu
open my hand I give it, it means I relinquish it, right? I am not trying to hold it anymore.
I am giving it away. I am letting go. Maybe I drop it or maybe I give it to someone else.
On
But I’m not holding it anymore. I let go of it. That’s relinquish. So he’s talking about
Th
time. He has to relinquish time. Maybe he has two hours in his day. He’s very busy but
he has to give it away. Give it to running, right? He’s not gonna hold it, he’s not gonna
iD
do something else. He’s gonna let go of that time and give it to exercise. To relinquish.
ai
And he says I have an hour or two hours set aside for exercise every day. Set aside
Ho
means saved. If you set aside money then you save money, you don’t spend it, right?
So it’s to put it to the side, you’re not gonna use it right now. You’re saving it for
c0
something. So he sets aside time. Every day he sets aside, every day he saves one or
1
two hours just for running. He won’t go to a meeting. He won’t do something with his
family. He won’t do anything else. It’s only for running. It’s saved for running. That
time is saved for running. That time is set aside for running.
And he says running generates reliable and everlasting energy. To generate means to
create. Running creates energy. Running generates energy. Exercise generates
energy. Exercise creates energy or generates power, creates power.
And finally the word to allocate. He’s saying he allocates time for running every day.
Well, to allocate, it’s similar to set aside. It’s a very similar meaning. To allocate means
ww
to set aside for a specific reason. For example, money, we use it for money all the time.
I have $100. I am allocating this $100 to paying bills. It means I am setting aside this
w.
money. I am only going to use this money to pay bills. It is allocated for paying bills. It
fa
means it will only be used to pay bills. I’m not going to use it for any other reason. It
has been allocated. It has been saved only for this specific purpose. So he allocates
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time, for example, maybe in the morning from 7:00 to 9:00…he allocates that time for
running. He saves that time for a specific reason, only running nothing else. So that’s
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to allocate, to allocate.
ok
And that is all of the vocabulary for Slow Burn. I hope you enjoyed this lesson. Let’s go
.
on to the mini-story. See you next time.

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Leaders Make Mistakes Main Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the next lesson. This one is called “Leaders Make
fa
Mistakes” and it comes from a book called Leadership by Tom Peters.

ce
Tom Peters is one of my favorite business writers. The reason I like Tom Peters is
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that he’s very passionate. He’s not a boring businessperson. Most business books
are boring, but not Tom Peters. His books are excellent and they’re full of passionate,
ok
emotional language and words and emotional passionate ideas about how to make
.
business into something more, something special, not just greedy little people trying to
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get more money, but really trying to contribute and help people and do great things.
m/
So that’s what Tom Peters writes about and it’s why I really like him. He’s got a great
Website TomPeters.com and he’s got a lot of great books. And this book that I’m
gr
talking about today is called Leadership. And there’s a little section and the section is
ou
called “Leaders Make Mistakes”, so I’m going to read this small section and then I’ll
talk about it more. So here we go.
ps
“Leaders make mistakes and they make no bones about it. On the wall of my writing
/T
studio in Vermont hangs a quotation by David Kelly, “Fail faster, succeed sooner.”
ai
Next to that quote hangs another by Diane Arbus who told her students “Learn not to
be careful.”
Li
In placid times leaders may think they have all the answers. In turbulent times leaders
eu
must have the best questions, questions that encourage others to undertake voyages
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of mutual discovery and the essence of that process is letting people screw up. If you
try new stuff you screw up. If you try a lot of new stuff you screw up a lot. In fact, the
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best leaders make big mistakes.

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Mistakes are not enough, big mistakes are mandatory.

ai
My all-time favorite PowerPoint slide is this ‘Reward excellent failures, punish

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mediocre successes.’ These tumultuous times beg for bold initiatives. While
thoughtless recklessness is not to be applauded, the word reckless must be examined
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carefully.
1
Most people who change the world -- Martin Luther King, Galileo, and Picasso -- they
were indeed reckless, but not thoughtless. The Martin Luther Kings of the world, the
Galileo’s, the Picasso’s, the Churchill’s, the de Gaulle’s, they attempted to create an
EffortlessEnglishClub.com 1
entirely new world against long odds. If that isn’t reckless I don’t know what the word
means.”
Okay, that’s the end of this section, passionate language from Tom Peters, as always.
What’s he saying? Well, quite simply, he’s saying that you have to try new things.
You have to take risks in your life, in business. And when you take risks you will make
ww
mistakes, you will fail. Failure is mandatory. Mandatory means required, it means you
must do it. You must make big mistakes because without big mistakes you will never
w.
have big successes. He’s saying that the essence of succeeding is failing.
fa
The people who succeed the most, the people who become the richest or the
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companies that do the best, it doesn’t matter what area of life, they’re usually the
people who have the biggest mistakes because they’re always trying new stuff.
bo
They’re always trying to do something much, much better, much bigger, and much
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more interesting and many times, they fail.

.
Many times they make mistakes, but they don’t stop. They don’t cry “I made a
co
mistake, I failed”, they learn from it. They look at the mistake, they learn and then they
try something else even better and they keep doing that process again and again.
m/
They try something great, they fail, they learn, they think about it and then they try
gr
something else great, it never ends.

ou
Tom Peters says, “That is the process for huge success. That is the process that all
leaders must follow. Leaders must make mistakes and leaders must encourage their
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people, their team, to make mistakes also.” I love this because it’s absolutely true. It’s
/T
what I follow in my own business. I’ve made so many mistakes when I started
Effortless English, when I started the company. We started as a small membership
ai
site, but then that didn’t work. It was a failure, it was a big failure, so we quit and then
we tried something else.
Li
eu
We started recording the lessons and selling the lessons as a bundle, as a group. And
then that worked, but our first Website was really ugly. So then, eventually, we
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improved the Website and then our lessons. When I first made my original lessons the
sound quality was not too good. I didn’t have any money, so I had to record them in
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my apartment. But now we’re in a recording studio and these have a much better,
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higher-quality sound.
ai
It’s a never-ending process. As long as you try something new, as long as you try to
be different you’re always going to make a mistake. Unfortunately, in school people
Ho
are taught to be afraid of mistakes. What happens in school if you make a mistake?
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You get a big red (x). You fail your test. You fail on your paper. You get a bad grade.
You get criticized by the teacher. You get in trouble with your parents. All of school is
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focused on teaching you to avoid mistakes.
As you grew up going to school year after year you were taught again and again, don’t
make mistakes. Don’t make mistakes. Don’t make mistakes. Don’t try something
new. Don’t be different. School taught you to fail in life. They taught you not to fail on
tests, they taught you not to fail at small things, but that belief will cause you to fail in
your life. It means you’ll never improve very much, you’ll never be special. You’ll
never do anything great if you’re afraid to make mistakes.
ww
If you want to have a great life you absolutely must make mistakes. If you make big
w.
mistakes you’ll have a great, big, fantastic life. It doesn’t matter if you like it that is the
fa
truth. So you need to learn how to screw up and you need to learn how to accept it
and learn from it and do it again and again and again. That’s Tom Peters’ message,
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it’s also my message. So, please, don’t be afraid of mistakes, mistakes are fantastic.
bo
That’s why on our forums and in our Master Member Site I always tell people “Write on
ok
the forums and communicate. Never worry about mistakes.” I want to see mistakes
on those forums. I like the students who write on our forums and they have mistakes.
.
I like it! Why? Because most members never write anything because they’re afraid.
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Most members do nothing. They never contribute, they never write anything.
Because why? They’re afraid they’ll make a mistake, so they don’t learn. They learn
m/
slowly because of fear.

gr
The people who are writing and making mistakes, they’re the ones who learn faster.
ou
They’re the best members, they’re our Master Members. They’re not afraid. They
keep making mistakes again and again. They make a lot of mistakes when they write
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on the forums. Everyone can see their mistakes, they don’t care.
/T
That’s why they learn faster, that’s why they improve more quickly. That’s why they
ai
are our best members. They’re the ones that I really, really love, the ones who are not
afraid to make mistakes. The ones who make those mistakes every day and they just
Li
keep communicating, they keep on going, they never stop, they’re the best students.
eu
And I try to follow this same philosophy myself, in my business and as a teacher. As a
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teacher I always try new things. When I was teaching in the classroom I was always
trying new activities, new approaches, new methods, constantly trying them. Most of
Th
them failed. Most of the time the students didn’t like it or it was not effective. Did I
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stop? Did I cry? “Oh no, I made a mistake.” No, I did not. I learned and then I tried
something else and I tried something else.
ai
So, this Effortless English System we have now is the result of many mistakes in the
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past. And I hope and I plan that in the future the Effortless English System will be
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even better because I will continue to try new stuff. We’re playing with video now. We
have a Master Member Site which uses video. That’s something new. Some of the
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videos are going to be bad. I’m going to make mistakes. I will always continue to
make mistakes because I know that making mistakes is the key to growth. It’s the key
to improvement, it’s the key to innovation, and it’s the key to big success.
You need to learn that, too. So this is my message to you, do not be afraid. Get on
the forums now, today and write something, anything. Write about your life, write
about what you like to do, write about music, write about movies, I don’t care, write
about anything. Make mistakes. Make grammar mistakes, make spelling mistakes.
That’s the way you will improve and that’s the way you will get stronger as an English
speaker.
ww
If you do nothing, if you refuse to write, if you’re afraid to make mistakes, you’re going
w.
to learn slowly, so that’s my challenge to you. Every day, at least every week, get on
fa
the forums and write something and make mistakes. Do not correct your mistakes.
Don’t worry about it. Don’t look at a grammar book. You just write something, five
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minutes, 10 minutes and, boom, you hit enter. You publish it with the mistakes. Let
everyone see the mistakes. That is my challenge to you. That is what you must do if
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you are serious.

ok
If you really want to improve as an English learner, if you really want to speak better
.
and write better and understand better that’s what you must do. You must write on the
co
forums every week, every day, with mistakes. I hope you’ll do that. If you do that, if
you do it a lot, then you can become one of our Master Members. And Master
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Members, I email them personally sometimes because they’re my favorite members.

gr
They’re the ones I really love, so I like to give my attention to them.

ou
If you do nothing, if you sit and you stay quiet and you’re afraid to make a mistake,
well, you’re just not going to learn very fast. So make your decision. I hope you’ll
ps
decide to be strong, to be brave and to make mistakes so you will improve very
/T
quickly. I will see you next time.

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Leaders Make Mistakes Mini-Story Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the mini-story for “Leaders Make Mistakes.” Let’s start.
fa
ce
*****
bo
There were two penguins; their names were Todd and Louis. Todd and Louis
were penguins, they lived in Antarctica.
ok
.
Where did Todd and Louis the penguins live?

co
They lived in Antarctica.

m/
Did they live in Florida or Antarctica?

gr
ou
Well, they lived in Antarctica.

ps
What were Todd and Louis?

/T
Well, they were penguins. Todd and Louis were penguins.

ai
Were they ducks?

Li
No, they weren’t. They weren’t ducks they were penguins. Todd and Louis were
eu
penguins and they lived in Antarctica.

On
How is the weather in Antarctica?

Th
Well, it’s cold. The weather is always very cold in Antarctica.

iD
ai
Did Todd and Louis like the cold?

Ho
Well, they were penguins, but they did not like the cold. Todd and Louis didn’t like the
cold, they were strange penguins.
c0
1
What didn’t they like?
Well, they didn’t like the cold. Todd and Louis the penguins didn’t like the cold.
In fact, Todd and Louis wanted to buy a beach resort in Thailand.
What did they want to buy?
They wanted to buy a beach resort.

ww
Where did they want to buy a beach resort?

w.
In Thailand, they wanted to buy a beach resort in Thailand.

fa
And who, who wanted to buy a beach resort in Thailand?

ce
Todd and Louis the penguins. Todd and Louis the penguins wanted to buy a beach
bo
resort in Thailand.
ok
In fact, they told all the other penguins, they said “We make no bones about it,
.
we hate the cold!”

co
Did they apologize because they hated the cold?

m/
gr
No, they didn’t apologize. They said “We make no bones about it. We don’t feel bad
about it. We’re not going to apologize. We make no bones about it, we hate the cold!”
ou
What did Todd and Louis say to the other penguins?

ps
/T
They said we make no bones about it. We hate the cold!

ai
Did they try to hide their feelings?

Li
No, they said we make no bones about it. They were open. They were direct. We
eu
make no bones about it, we hate the cold! They were strong and direct.
On
Well, one day they decided to leave Antarctica. Against long odds they
undertook the long, dangerous journey to Thailand.
Th
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Was it probable that they would succeed?

ai
No, it was not probable. Probably they would fail. Against long odds they started the
trip.
Ho
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Would they probably succeed or would they probably fail?

1
They would probably fail, right? They were going against long odds, against long
odds, against difficult challenges, against probable failure, against long odds.
So against long odds they undertook a long trip from Antarctica to Thailand.
Did they finish a long trip from Antarctica to Thailand?
No, they didn’t finish they started, they undertook, they began. They undertook a long
trip, a dangerous trip, a difficult trip from Antarctica to Thailand.
ww
What did they undertake?

w.
fa
They undertook a trip from Antarctica to Thailand.

ce
And who?
bo
Louis and Todd, Louis and Todd undertook a long trip from Antarctica to Thailand.
ok
And what were they? What were Todd and Louis?

. co
They were penguins. Todd and Louis were penguins who undertook a long,
dangerous trip from Antarctica to Thailand.
m/
gr
They swam in the ocean going north and one night there was a big storm. The
ocean was turbulent and very cold.
ou
During the storm was the ocean calm?

ps
/T
No, it wasn’t clam it was turbulent. The ocean was turbulent, it was not clam.
ai
Why was the ocean turbulent?

Li
Well, because there was a storm. The ocean was turbulent because there was a
eu
storm.
On
How was the ocean?

Th
It was turbulent. The ocean was very turbulent (pow), big storm (pow, pow). There
iD
were big, big waves, it was turbulent and cold and dangerous.
ai
The storm was very long. The storm lasted 20 days. Twenty days and 20 nights
the ocean was turbulent, big, big waves crashing (pow, pow)! The water was
Ho
cold. Todd and Louis continued to swim. Todd yelled “We ain’t quittin’! We’re
c0
going to Thailand! We ain’t gonna’ quit!”

1
Would they quit?
No, they would not quit. Todd yelled “We ain’t quitting!” We are not quitting! “We ain’t
gonna’ quit!” We will not quit!
They continued to swim. They didn’t quit.
What did Todd say?
He said, he yelled “We ain’t quitting! We’re going to Thailand. Nothing can stop us,
ww
we ain’t gonna’ quit!

w.
And they did not quit. They continued to swim during the storm going north,
fa
going north to Thailand. And, finally, after 20 long, difficult days the storm
stopped. The ocean became calm and placid.
ce
Did the ocean become turbulent?

bo
ok
No, it didn’t, it became placid, very calm.

.
What became placid?

co
The ocean, the ocean became very placid, very, very calm.
m/
gr
Did it become turbulent or did it become placid?

ou
It became placid. The ocean became very placid and the water became very, very
warm, warm and placid. And then they saw it, they saw Thailand. They arrived in
ps
Thailand! Todd and Louis the penguins made it to Thailand.

/T
They swam through the placid warm water and they arrived on a beach.
ai
Where did they arrive?

Li
eu
They arrived on a beach in Thailand.

On
Who arrived on a beach in Thailand?

Th
Todd and Louis, Todd and Louis arrived on a beach in Thailand.

iD
What arrived on a beach in Thailand?

ai
Two penguins, two strange penguins arrived on a beach in Thailand; their names were
Ho
Todd and Louis.

c0
Immediately Todd and Louis said “We want to buy this beach.” Of course they
1
were rich penguins and they bought the beach.
What did they buy?
The bought the beach in Thailand.
Who bought the beach in Thailand?
Todd and Louis, the very rich penguins.

ww
Where did they buy a beach?

w.
In Thailand, they bought a beach in Thailand.

fa
What did they buy in Thailand?

ce
A beach, they bought a beach in Thailand and they built a huge, beautiful resort. And
bo
every day Todd and Louis the penguins laid on the beach in the sun next to the warm,
ok
placid waters of Thailand.

.
They were very relaxed and very warm and very, very happy penguins.
co
What were they?

m/
gr
They were warm, relaxed, happy penguins.

ou
Why were they warm, relaxed, happy penguins?

ps
Because every day they laid on a beach in Thailand under the sun.
/T
Who laid on a beach in Thailand under the sun every day?

ai
Todd and Louis the penguins, Todd and Louis the penguins laid under the sun every
Li
day on a beach in Thailand next to placid, warm waters. And they were happy, warm,
eu
wonderful penguins.
On
*****
Th
That is the end of the mini-story for “Leaders Make Mistakes.”

iD
See you next time.

ai
Ho
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Leaders Make Mistakes POV Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the POV (Point of View) stories for “Leaders Make
fa
Mistakes.” Same story, let’s begin.

ce
Number one, there were two penguins named Todd and Louis. Todd and Louis were
bo
normal penguins when they were young. When they were young they were very
normal penguins. They liked to eat fish and they liked the cold weather.
ok
.
However, five years ago they changed. Since that time they have hated the cold.
co
Since five years ago they have complained about the cold every day. Since five years
ago they have dreamed of Thailand. They have wanted to buy a beach resort in
m/
Thailand. Since that time five years ago they have talked about buying a beach in
Thailand.
gr
ou
Every day they have told the other penguins “We make no bones about it, we hate the
cold!” Staring five years ago and continuing every day they have told the penguins the
ps
same thing. Every day they have said to everybody else, to all the other penguins,
“We make no bones about it, we hate the cold!” They have done this again and again
/T
and again. The other penguins thought they were very strange.
ai
Until one day, finally, they undertook the long trip to Thailand. Against long odds they
Li
began. Against long odds they undertook the long and dangerous trip from Antarctica
to Thailand. They swam north and one day a big storm came and the ocean was very
eu
turbulent and dangerous. There were big, big waves (pow-pow), it was extremely
On
turbulent, but they continued to swim north to Thailand. And Todd yelled “We ain’t
gonna’ quit! We ain’t quittin’! We’ll get to Thailand, we won’t stop!” And so they
Th
continued to swim.
iD
The storm continued for 20 days and Todd and Louis continued to swim through the
ai
turbulent ocean during the entire 20 days of the storm. Until one day the storm
stopped and the ocean became very placid and calm. The water became warm and
Ho
they saw Thailand. They arrived in Thailand. They immediately swam to a beach.
They climbed onto the beach and immediately they bought it because they were very
c0
rich penguins.
1
They bought the beach in Thailand and they built a huge, magnificent resort. And
every day they laid on the beach under the sun next to the calm and placid waters of
Thailand. They were warm, happy and feeling great.
www.EffortlessEnglishClub.com 1
And that is the end of the first POV story, next, into the future. This is my little idea for
a story about the future. I’m going to tell you about it, are you ready? Let’s do it.
In the future, maybe 10 years from now, there will be two penguins, two strange
penguins. Their names will be Todd and Louis. Todd and Louis won’t be normal.
They won’t be the same as other penguins, they won’t like the cold. In fact, they’re
ww
going to hate the cold. They’ll have a dream. They’re going to want to buy a beach
resort in Thailand.
w.
fa
And they’re not going to make bones about this dream. They’re not going to
apologize. They’re not going to hide it. They’re going to say “We make no bones
ce
about it, we hate the cold!” They’ll tell everybody. They’re going to tell all the other
penguins about their dream.
bo
ok
And one day they’ll decide to do it. Against long odds they will undertake the long and
dangerous trip to Thailand. They’ll swim and they’ll swim and they’ll swim and then
.
one day a big storm will come. The ocean will become very turbulent, but they’re not
co
going go quit, they’ll keep going.

m/
The storm will last for 20 days and 20 nights, but they’ll keep swimming. And Todd is
gr
going to yell “We ain’t quittin’! We ain’t gonna’ stop! We’re going to Thailand!” And
they will, they will continue. They’ll keep swimming through the storm, through the
ou
turbulent ocean. Until one day the storm will stop. The storm is going to stop
suddenly and the ocean will become very placid and calm. And the water will become
ps
very warm and they will see Thailand.

/T
They will arrive in Thailand, finally. They will swim to the beach, they’ll come up onto
ai
the beach and they’ll yell “We want to buy this beach, right now!” Because, of course,
they’re going to be extremely rich penguins. And they’ll do it, they’ll buy the beach and
Li
then they’ll build a magnificent, huge resort on the beach. And every day they’re going
eu
to lay on the beach under the warm sun next to the placid waters of Thailand. They’ll
be warm and happy and relaxed. The end.
On
That is the end of the POV stories for “Leaders Make Mistakes.” As always, listen to
Th
these lessons every day for one week or two weeks or more if you want. More is
iD
okay, less is not okay, so deep learning, deep learning. And always have energy in
your body, energy in your mind when you listen.
ai
I will see you next time. Bye-bye.

Ho
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Leaders Make Mistakes Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Leaders Make Mistakes.”
fa
ce
Let’s go to the beginning. They have a phrase “they make no bones about it.” Tom
Peters says “Leaders make mistakes and they make no bones about it.” So that’s a
bo
little idiom there, to make no bones about something. When you say “they make no
bones about it”, it means they don’t apologize for it or they don’t try to hide it. They
ok
don’t feel bad about it. That’s the meaning of this phrase.
. co
It means you do something and you’re not worried about it. You don’t apologize for it.
You don’t feel bad about it. You don’t try to hide it. You feel good. So it says they
m/
make mistakes and they make no bones about it. It means they make mistakes and
they don’t feel bad about making the mistakes, they feel good. They make mistakes
gr
and they don’t apologize. They don’t say “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I made a mistake,”
ou
right? They make no bones about it. They do not apologize.

ps
They are direct and honest about it. They don’t try to hide it, they don’t feel bad about
it and they don’t apologize. They make no bones about making mistakes. They don’t
/T
apologize for making mistakes. They don’t try to hide their mistakes. They don’t feel
ai
bad about mistakes. They make no bones about it.

Li
Okay, then a little later he says “In placid times leaders can pretend to have the
answers.” Okay, placid. Placid means calm, calm (c-a-l-m), calm. So it means
eu
nothing is changing, right? Everything is calm and slow and relaxed. So during placid
On
times in the economy, in history, when everything is calm, then the leaders can
pretend they are strong. They can pretend they are perfect. They can pretend they
Th
know everything. So in calm times leaders could, in the past, pretend to know
everything. They could pretend to be perfect.
iD
ai
But he says “In turbulent times leaders must have the best questions, not the best
answers.” They can’t pretend to know everything. Instead, they have to ask a lot of
Ho
questions, always asking questions, asking questions. So that’s what happens in

turbulent times, what must happen in turbulent times.
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Now turbulent, of course, is the opposite of placid. Turbulent means not calm. It
means rough or changing fast, chaotic, so in chaotic times, in rough, difficult times, in
times when everything is changing quickly, in turbulent times, turbulent. Turbulent is
the opposite of calm, turbulent, not calm.
Tom says that these questions that leaders ask -- they ask everybody questions all the
time – the questions must encourage other people to undertake voyages of mutual
discovery. What does that mean? Undertake voyages of mutual discovery. Well, to
undertake means to start, to start doing something. So to undertake a voyage means
to start a voyage and a voyage is a trip, it’s a journey, a trip.
ww
So he’s saying you must encourage other people to take a trip, to start a trip, to
undertake, to start. So, again, to undertake something means to start something,
w.
usually something that takes a long time. So you’re going to start something and it’s
fa
going to take a while to finish it, to undertake.

ce
And you’re going to undertake a voyage. Again, a voyage is a journey, it’s a trip. Now
he’s not talking about a real trip, like New York to Los Angeles, he’s talking about an
bo
emotional trip, an intellectual trip. It means changing what happens in your mind, so a
ok
trip, a voyage of mutual discovery.

.
Mutual means shared, it means it’s something you do together with other people. So,
co
for example, you have a team. You want your team to take a trip together, a mutual
trip, mutual, together. It means everybody shares it, it happens to everybody. That’s
m/
mutual, mutual means shared or happening to everybody.

gr
And, finally, the word discovery means learning, learning. Or to find new things, find
ou
something new, learn something new. So that whole phrase, which is a little difficult,
to undertake voyages of mutual discovery, to start a trip of shared learning. So what
ps
he’s saying is leaders encourage their people to learn new things together. Leaders
/T
encourage their people to do, to try, new things together. That’s what he means.
ai
And he says the essence of trying new stuff is letting people screw up. Alright,
essence means the core, the most important idea. It’s what’s most important. So the
Li
most important part of trying new stuff, the most important idea, the most important
eu
point of trying new stuff is letting people screw up. To screw up means to make a
mistake or to fail. To screw up means to fail or to make a mistake. You say “Oh, I
On
screwed up!” It means I made a mistake. I made a mistake, I screwed up. To screw
up means to make a mistake.
Th
iD
He says “You must screw up. You must make mistakes. If you’re a leader you must
encourage your people to screw up. You must encourage them to make mistakes.
ai
Help them to make mistakes. Congratulate them when they make big, interesting
mistakes. Encourage them to screw up.”
Ho
c0
Out next word is mandatory. He says “Big mistakes are mandatory.” Mandatory
means required and necessary, something you must do. It is mandatory to make
1
mistakes. It means you must make mistakes. It is required, it is necessary to make

mistakes, it is mandatory. If you want to succeed, if you want your business to grow
and be great, well then you must make big mistakes. Big mistakes are mandatory if
you want big success.
And a great phrase, he says “Reward excellent failures, punish mediocre successes.”
Mediocre means normal, average. Not great, not terrible, just in the middle. So he
says punish, punish people for mediocre success, for so-so success, for average,
normal success. Tom Peters says that average and normal are bad. They will hurt
your business. Instead, reward excellent, great big failures.
ww
Next we have the phrase “to be applauded.” He says “Thoughtless, recklessness is

w.
not to be applauded.” To be applauded means to be rewarded, to be congratulated

fa
and to be complimented, right? Applauding means clapping your hands like this (clap,
clap, clap, clap, clap). I’m applauding right now…yeah, yeah! It means to be cheered,
ce
to be valued, to be applauded, to be complimented, to be rewarded. They all mean

similar things.
bo
ok
So he’s saying don’t applaud, don’t congratulate, don’t reward, don’t applaud
thoughtless recklessness. It means just random. Thoughtless means you don’t think
.
about it. And reckless means taking big risks, to take big, big risks. Someone who is
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reckless, you know, they don’t care about failing at all. Reckless means you don’t care
about the risks, you’re totally not afraid of taking a big chance. That’s reckless.
m/
gr
So he’s saying reckless or recklessness is the noun, it’s very good if it’s thoughtful.
People who think about being reckless, people who think about taking big risks, people
ou
who think about trying something very different, if they think about it carefully and they
really think about it and they have a plan, well that’s great.
ps
/T
And he gives examples, Martin Luther King and Galileo and Picasso. They were
reckless, they tried very different, almost crazy things at that time in their life, in history
ai
and they succeeded, but they were thoughtful, they thought about it carefully.
Li
And he says, “Against long odds they tried to create an entirely new world.” Against
eu
long odds, it means against difficult challenges, against difficult problems. It means
there’s a low chance to succeed. The chance to succeed is very small.
On
So against long odds, it means you’re going against what is normal. It means you’re
Th
going against what is probable. You’re probably going to fail if you go against the long
iD
odds, if you go against what is normal, if you go against what is probable. So all these
people, they tried something against long odds. It means they probably were going to
ai
fail. Most people thought they would fail.

Ho
And, finally, we have the word ain’t, ain’t. He said “If that ain’t reckless I don’t know
c0
what the word means.” Ain’t really just means is not or am not or are not. And it’s a
very, very casual way to say is not or am not. Say “I ain’t hungry.” It means I am not
1
hungry. Or “He ain’t handsome.” It means he is not handsome. So ain’t, again, is

very, very casual. It does not sound intelligent, it does not sound intellectual. It’s
really the opposite, it kind of very emotional, very, very, very casual. That’s ain’t, it
means am not or are not or is not. You can use it for all of those. He ain’t hungry. I
ain’t hungry. They ain’t hungry.
Okay, that is the end of the vocabulary for “Leaders Make Mistakes.”
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Attractor Factor Main Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the next lesson. This is AJ from EffortlessEnglishClub.com. Let’s

fa
start our next lesson the “Attractor Factor.”

ce
The Attractor Factor is the name of a book by Joe Vitale. Joe Vitale is an interesting
bo
man. He is an Internet marketer and businessman. He’s kind of a marketing expert,

especially for Internet marketing. But, he also writes about very general topics, about
ok
how to achieve your goals and how to reach your dreams in life.
. co
He’s a very positive man. He has a lot of energy, a very interesting and creative guy.
I really like him. I use some of his information and skills that he teaches. I use it for
m/
my own business, for my own Internet marketing.

gr
He wrote this book The Attractor Factor as a more general book to help everybody get
ou
what they want in life, to help everybody achieve their dreams. The Attractor Factor is
a quite simple book, a very simple idea and yet it’s very powerful. Joe believes that
ps
we attract things to our life. And how do we do that? With our thinking and our
emotion.
/T
ai
So for example, if we always think very positive thoughts and we always have very
strong positive emotions, he believes we will attract positive things and positive people
Li
into our life. On the other hand, if we think about negative things, problems all the
time, and we’re always feeling negative, frustrated, angry, sad or depressed, than we
eu
will attract more negative stuff into our life. It’s the basic idea of The Attractor Factor.
On
And so, he states very strongly and clearly that we have to be careful what we focus
Th
on, what we think about and which feelings we feel during every day. Because of
course, we want to attract, bring, positive things into our life, things and people and
iD
events. So, I’m going to read a little bit from The Attractor Factor and then I’ll talk
ai
more about it. Here we go.

Ho
Most people I talk to every day know what they don’t want. ‘I don’t want this
backache. I don’t want this headache. I don’t want these bills. I don’t want to
c0
struggle in my business.’ You know the list. You have one of your own.
1
Unfortunately, that’s where most of us stop.
The nature of our conversations, the nature of our newspaper reporting, the
nature of our radio and television shows and our talk shows surround us with
ideas of what we don’t want.
It feels good to complain. We don’t feel alone. We feel heard. We feel relieved.
We feel understood. Sometimes we even get answers that make our problems
easier. But, what we don’t realize is that we are activating the attractor force in a
negative way.
When we say ‘I don’t want these bills’ our focus is on bills. The spirit of life will
ww
deliver whatever you focus on. So if you’re talking about your bills you’ll get more
bills. You’ll attract it by spending energy on it.
w.
fa
Most people live on the level of fear. As Eleanor Moody wrote, ‘Let us remember
that fear is only wrongly directed faith. We are having faith in things we do not
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want rather than having faith in things we desire.’

bo
Again, this is the level most people live at. It isn’t bad, it just isn’t very positive.
ok
And it probably isn’t getting you the health, wealth or happiness you want.
Unfortunately, we seldom take this process to level two. It’s a rare person, it’s a
.
special person, who will stop complaining, stop fighting and stop fearing long
co
enough to focus on the opposite of what they are experiencing. Yet this level
brings miracles and the manifestations that we want.
m/
gr
Knowing what you don’t want is the springboard to your miracles. It’s the
springboard to knowing what you do want. Knowing what you don’t want is
ou
simply your current reality and current reality can be changed. So it’s important
as a first step to remove negativity. One way to protect yourself from the
ps
negative influences of the world is to abstain from them.

/T
I remember how Jack Canfield forbad any negativity in his office. I love the idea.
ai
I don’t watch the news or read the newspapers. Because after a while, you begin
to see how you are given only one-sided, very negative news. None of the news
Li
is designed to help your well-being.

eu
But you also have to watch your friends. The people around you will share their
On
views of the world with you. And sometimes it’s not easy to separate their views
from your view. If your friends are very negative you must be very, very careful.
Th
iD
Okay, that’s the end of the section from The Attractor Factor by Joe Vitale.
ai
And so, he’s really just talking about negative thinking, negative focus and Joe Vitale
and many others talk about this same very basic idea. You get what you focus on. If
Ho
you focus on problems you get more problems. If you focus on being poor you stay
c0
poor. If you focus on not having enough money, you continue not to have enough
money.
1
Thinking can create reality is the idea. What you focus on becomes real and stays
real. So he’s saying if you focus on negative things you get more of those negative
things. So what’s important is to change from negative focus to positive focus.
For example, don’t focus on being fat. You say oh, I’m fat. I don’t want to be fat. I
don’t want to be fat. I don’t want to be fat. You will attract more fatness. You’ll stay
fat. Why? Because you’re focused on fat and you’re focused on being fat, but you
have to change that a little bit and make it a positive focus.
ww
For example, you say I want to be strong, healthy and thin. It’s a small change that’s
really easy to do, but it will make a big difference. So, you start focusing all your
w.
mental energy on being strong, healthy, thin; strong, healthy, thin; strong, healthy, thin
fa
and that’s what you focus on. As you focus every day, every moment, every hour,
every minute on being strong, healthy and thin you will attract strength, happiness and
ce
thinness into your life.

bo
In other words, your brain will start to find solutions. Your brain will take the
ok
appropriate actions to get what you are focusing on. So be very careful about this. It’s
okay as a first step; step one decide what do you not want. What are you sick of in
.
your life? That’s fine. You can say I’m sick of being bad at English. I’m sick of being
co
a terrible speaker. That’s okay that’s step one, but you have to go to step two, to level
two and that is decide what you do want.
m/
gr
What’s the positive thing you want that’s what you have to focus on all the time? So
you decide, I will speak excellent English. And every minute, in every day, in every
ou
month, in every year you focus on the positive thing. I will speak excellent English. I
will speak excellent English.
ps
/T
You don’t think about the problems. You don’t think about the mistakes. You don’t
think about the negative bad thing that you don’t want. You focus on the positive thing
ai
that you do want.

Li
And you know it’s easy to fall into the negative thinking. I do it too. With the business
eu
sometimes, I’ll think oh we’re having problems. We don’t have enough sales this
week. And then, I’m thinking all week, we don’t have enough sales, we don’t have
On
enough sales, we don’t have enough sales and that’s what I’m focusing on. What
happens? We continue to have low sales.
Th
iD
I have to, you know, smack myself in the face and jump around, do something to break
my negative thinking and I focus then on the positive. We will have great sales this
ai
week. We will have great sales every month. Our sales are increasing and I think
about that again and again.
Ho
c0
I actually made a little picture and I put it on the wall with our sales goal. We will have
this many sales every week. And I look at that and I remind myself of the positive
1
goal, the positive thing. And so, you know, our business does get better. I’m focused
on solutions. I’m focused on the positive not just complaining.
So, that’s the basic idea very, very simple, but it can make a very big change in your
life if you do it constantly, all the time.
So good luck, please do this. Take your negative complaining beliefs and ideas and
statements and change them into positive statements, what you do want. And then
every day focus on those things that you do want. You will bring those things to you,
ww
just by focusing on them. You don’t have to do anything else, just by focusing on them
every day all the time they will come to you.
w.
fa
And that is the end of The Attractor Factor by Joe Vitale.

ce
See you for the vocabulary.

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Attractor Factor Mini-Story Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story for “Attractor Factor.” Let’s begin.
fa
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There was a cat named Eve.

bo
Was Eve a doggy?

ok
She was not a doggy, she was a cat.

. co
Eve was a cat. She was a cat who decided to abstain from eating mice.
m/
What did she abstain from?

gr
She abstained from eating mice.

ou
Did she abstain from eating chicken or did she abstain from eating mice?
ps
Well, she abstained from eating mice.

/T
ai
Who abstained from eating mice?

Li
Well, Eve. Eve the cat decided to abstain from eating mice.
eu
So did Eve eat mice?

On
No she didn’t, she did not. She abstained from eating mice, she did not eat mice.
Th
What was Eve?

iD
ai
A cat, Eve was a cat.

Ho
Did she eat mice?

c0
No she didn’t. She abstained from eating mice, she did not eat mice.
1
In fact, Eve was a mom and she forbid her kittens from eating mice also.
Who did she forbid from eating mice?
Her kittens, her little baby cats. She forbid her kittens from eating mice also.
ww
Did Eve’s kittens eat mice?

w.
No, they didn’t. Why not?

fa
Because Eve forbid them to eat mice. She said “you cannot eat mice.”
ce
Who did she forbid from eating mice?

bo
ok
Her kittens. Eve forbid her kittens from eating mice, too.
.
So did Eve eat mice?

co
No she didn’t.
m/
gr
Did her kittens eat mice?

ou
No they didn’t. Neither Eve nor her kittens ate mice.

ps
So Eve abstained from eating mice for a long time. And she felt great, she felt
/T
really healthy.
ai
How did Eve feel after abstaining from eating mice?

Li
Well she felt great. She felt very healthy.

eu
Why did she feel healthy?

On
Because she abstained from eating mice.

Th
iD
How about her kittens?

ai
They felt healthy, too. They also felt healthy because they also abstained from eating
mice. Of course, they abstained because Eve forbid them to eat mice.
Ho
c0
So how did she feel, Eve?

1
She felt fantastic. She felt great. In fact, this was the springboard to a whole new life
for Eve.
Was this the beginning of a whole new life?
Yes it was. It was the beginning of a whole new life for Eve. It was the springboard,
the sudden powerful beginning to a whole new life.
Was it a slow beginning or a sudden, fast, powerful beginning?

ww
It was a sudden, fast, powerful beginning. It was a springboard to a whole new life for
w.
Eve.
fa
What was a springboard to a whole new life for Eve?

ce
Well not eating mice, abstaining from mice was the springboard, the sudden beginning
bo
to a whole new life.

ok
Next she abstained from eating fish, too.

. co
Wow, what did she abstain from next?

m/
She abstained from fish. She abstained from eating fish next.
gr
So she abstained from eating mice and then next, because she felt great, she
ou
abstained from eating fish.

ps
What about her kittens?

/T
Well, she forbid them from eating fish, too. She forbid them from eating mice and then
ai
next she forbid them from eating fish.

Li
They all abstained from eating fish. They all abstained from eating mice.
eu
And how did they feel?

On
Wow, they felt super great! No fish, no mice, they felt fantastic, very, very healthy!
Th
iD
So this was the springboard for another change, the sudden beginning of
another change.
ai
So finally, Eve stopped drinking beer, because, of course, Eve drank beer every
Ho
day. She loved to drink beer. Eve was a big beer-drinking cat. Of course, most
c0
cats do like to drink beer. But Eve decided to abstain from beer also.
1
What did she abstain from next?
Beer. Eve abstained from beer.
No more beer for Eve. Oh, very difficult, but she stopped drinking beer.
Who abstained from drinking beer?
Eve, Eve abstained from drinking beer.

ww
Did she forbid her kittens to drink beer?

w.
No, she decided to let her kittens to continue drinking beer.

fa
So her kittens continued to drink beer, but she abstained from drinking beer.
ce
How did she feel after abstaining from beer?

bo
ok
She felt fantastic, super fantastic, outstanding! Eve felt outstanding after abstaining
from drinking beer.
. co
Why did she feel outstanding?

m/
Well, because she abstained from beer.

gr
She felt outstanding because she abstained from beer.

ou
Who did not abstain from drinking beer?

ps
/T
Oh, her baby kittens. Her baby kittens did not abstain from drinking beer.
ai
Did her baby kittens continue to drink beer?

Li
Yes they did. They continued to drink beer.

eu
Why did they continue to drink beer?

On
Well, because, obviously, baby kittens need beer to grow.

Th
iD
Eve did not need beer because she was already big. But her babies needed beer
so they could continue to grow.
ai
So who abstained from beer?

Ho
c0
Eve, Eve abstained from beer.

1
Who didn’t abstain from beer?
Her kittens. Her kittens didn’t abstain. Eve did abstain from drinking beer.
And, of course, Eve and all her kittens became very healthy, very strong and
very happy. The end.
That is the end of the mini-story for “Attractor Factor.”

ww
Listen to it several times every day for seven days, 14 days or more. I’ll see you next
time.
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Attractor Factor POV Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the POV (Point of View) mini-stories for “Attractor Factor.” Let’s
fa
begin.
ce
Since starting 10 years ago, Eve has felt bad. She has felt tried every day. She has
bo
had no energy. This started 10 years ago. Before 10 years ago she felt great, but
since 10 years ago…you know until now, until recently…she has felt very tried. She
ok
has not had energy. She hasn’t had energy.

. co
In fact, starting 10 years ago she has gotten sick all the time. She has frequently
gotten sick, since 10 years ago until recently. And during that time she has tried many
m/
different things. She tired exercise one time, it did not help. She tried various
medicines and drugs, but none of them helped.
gr
ou
So, since 10 years ago, during this time she has been very frustrated. She has been
frustrated because she felt bad. She has been frustrated because she couldn’t find a
ps
solution. Until one day she decided to abstain from eating mice. So on that day she
decided “no more mice.” She was surprised. After a few days she felt better. And
/T
she felt better, stronger and more healthy, it was amazing.

ai
And so, she forbid her kittens from eating mice, too. And they began to feel healthier
Li
and stronger. She thought “wow!” And this became the springboard for a whole new
healthy life. It was the sudden beginning of a whole new healthy life. Abstaining from
eu
mice was the springboard to a whole new healthy life for Eve and for her kittens.
On
And so next she abstained from eating fish, too, and she felt even better. So, she
Th
forbid her kittens from eating fish and they felt even better. Wow, she was feeling
great. So finally, she decided to abstain from drinking beer. She stopped drinking
iD
beer, no more beer and she felt outstanding!

ai
Now, of course, she did not forbid her kittens from drinking beer because we all know
Ho
that kittens need beer to grow. So her kittens continued to drink beer, but they
abstained from mice and they abstained from fish and they felt great, too. And so, as
c0
a result, Eve and all her kittens became healthy and happy and had lots and lots of
1
energy.
All right, that’s the end of our first story.
Next, we’re going to the future. This is an idea for a future story. I’m going to tell you
about a story that might happen in the future.
For example, there will be a cat named Eve. She’s going to be sick all the time. In
fact, she will have been sick for maybe 10, maybe 15 years. So she will have been
sick that entire time, staring 10 years in the past and then going into the present. So,
ww
she’ll have been sick for a long time.

w.
But one day she’s going to decide to abstain from eating mice. She will stop eating
fa
mice and she’s going to feel better. She’ll feel healthier. She’ll have more energy.
She’ll stop getting sick. So she’ll forbid her kittens from eating mice also and they’re
ce
going to feel great. They’re going to feel stronger and healthier and have more
energy, too.
bo
ok
This will become the springboard to a whole new life for Eve and her kittens. The
beginning, the sudden powerful beginning of a whole new life, the springboard.
. co
So next she’s going to abstain from eating fish, too. She’ll stop eating fish and she’ll
feel even better, more energy, more health, feeling fantastic. So, of course, she’ll
m/
forbid her kittens from eating fish and they’ll feel better, more energy, more fantastic.
gr
And, finally, she’ll make a very difficult and big decision. She’ll abstain from drinking
ou
from drinking beer. She’ll stop drinking beer. Now, of course, she won’t forbid her
kittens from drinking beer because kittens need beer to grow, but Eve will stop, she’ll
ps
stop drinking beer.

/T
And, the result? Eve’s going to feel super amazing, outstanding! Her kittens will feel
ai
outstanding! They will all be healthy and energetic and have a lot of energy and just
feel fantastic! They’re going to be super fantastic healthy cats.
Li
eu
And, that is the end of the POV stories for “Attractor Factor.”
On
I hope you’re feeling strong and healthy, too. Deep breath, move your body, big smile.
Th
See you next time.

iD
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Attractor Factor Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for the “Attractor Factor.” Now the
fa
vocabulary lesson is sometimes a little…not so exciting, right? It’s probably the least
ce
exciting lesson, so it’s even more important that you breathe and you bring your
shoulders back and you move your body during this lesson.
bo
You have to keep your energy high so you’ll focus, so you’ll concentrate on the
ok
vocabulary lesson. Are you feeling good? Wake up! Let’s do it!
. co
Our first word is activate (verb is to activate).

m/
And Joe said we don’t realize that we are activating the attractor force in a negative
way. Activate really means to turn on. That’s all it means. It means something was
gr
off before or something was not happening, something was not working and then
ou
suddenly you turn it on, suddenly it is working. Suddenly it is happening.

ps
So if you activate the attraction force, the attraction power, it just means you turned it
on, right? It was off before now you’re turning it on. Now you are causing it to start.
/T
ai
Our second word is manifestation (verb is to manifest)

Li
A manifestation just means a happening. It means something becomes real. It means

to become real if you’re using it as a verb, to manifest. To manifest means to become
eu
real. So, you could say my idea manifested. It became real. Before it was only in
On
your head, it was an idea.

Th
For example, I have this goal, this dream to speak English well. Then, finally, I speak
English well. You can say I manifested my idea. The idea manifested, it became real.
iD
Before it was an idea and now it’s real. So a manifestation is a thing that becomes
ai
real.
Ho
All right, he’s saying if you focus on these positive things with your mind, eventually
they will become real. They will become real manifestations, real things or real
c0
happenings.
1
Our next word is springboard.
He says that your dreams are your springboard to miracles. A springboard is

something that begins a process, something that causes a beginning or a start. It
gives a little push, it gives some power. It comes from like a diving board, like in the
Olympics, the swimmers, you know they climb up and they jump up and down and
then they jump into the water. They’re standing on that board, right? That board is a
springboard. It pushes them up into the air and helps them go higher.
So a springboard is anything that gives more energy to something, especially at the

ww
beginning. It gives energy to something you are starting. So, if you have a dream it
will give energy. It will give energy to you so that it will become real. It gives a big
w.
start.
fa
All right, so a springboard, something that gives energy, something that starts
ce
something, causes something to start. So dreams are springboards to miracles.

Dreams cause miracles. Dreams give energy to miracles. Dreams cause miracles to
bo
start. They’re a springboard to miracles.

ok
Our next word or actually phrase is to abstain from.

. co
So, he says you need to abstain from negative influences. To abstain from means to
avoid, to not eat, to not drink, to not listen to or to not use something. Say I am
m/
abstaining from alcohol. It means I’m not using alcohol. I am not drinking alcohol. I
gr
am avoiding alcohol.
ou
So he says you need to abstain from negative thoughts, negative influences. Avoid
negative influences. Don’t listen to negative influences or people or things. Abstain
ps
from them, avoid them.

/T
And then he said that Jack Canfield forbid negativity in his office. And to forbid means
ai
to deny. It means to not let something happen. You say “no!” I forbid you to drive the
car. It means I will not let you drive the car. I deny you. I stop you from driving the
Li
car. Okay, so forbid has this idea of to prevent, to stop, to deny and to forbid someone
eu
from doing something.

On
He forbade negativity. He said no negativity in this office. No one can be negative in

my office, in my business. His employees, he forbid them from being negative. He
Th
would not let them be negative. He stopped them. He denied them from doing it.
iD
And that is all of the vocabulary for the “Attractor Factor”, a shorter vocabulary lesson
ai
for this one. I hope you enjoyed it.

Ho
See you next for the mini-story. Bye-bye.

c0
1
ww
Healthy Heart Main Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the next lesson. This one is called “Healthy Heart” and I’m
fa
going to talk about, again, a section from Healthy at 100 -- the book Healthy at 100 --
ce
by John Robbins. I’ve already talked about it a little bit and I’m going to talk about a
different section this time.
bo
And in this section John Robbins talks about another factor that contributes to a long
ok
and healthy life. Now before we talked about diet and what you eat and how that can
.
really affect your healthy, your longevity, meaning how long you live, how strong you
co
are, everything.
m/
Well there’s another very important factor other than diet. Diet is very important, but
another important factor that John Robbins found when he studied all these people
gr
who were 100 years old or more and they were still strong, still healthy, well he found
ou
something else.
ps
So a kind of vegan diet, that was number one, but the next thing he found was these
people have strong social ties. They have rich social lives. It means they’re not alone.
/T
They have friends, they have family. They have communities. They’re connected to
ai
other people in many, many ways. And so what he found was that emotion and love
and caring and connection were equally important to diet and exercise. They’re both
Li
very important.
eu
So let me read a section from his book -- the same book -- Healthy at 100 and then I’ll
On
talk more about it. Here we go.

Th
”’We cannot live for ourselves alone,’ wrote Herman Melville. ‘A thousand fibers
connect us with our fellow men. Perhaps this explains why we are often moved by
iD
people caring deeply for one another.’ ‘There are also medical implications to whether
ai
we think of others or only of ourselves,’ as Larry Scherwitz found when he conducted a

most unusual study. He is now the Director of Research at California Pacific Medical
Ho
Center’s Institute for Health and Healing in San Francisco.

c0
“Dr. Scherwitz taped the conversations of nearly 600 men. About one-third of these
1
men were suffering from heart disease, the rest were healthy. Listening to the tapes,
he counted how often each man used the words I, me and mine. Comparing his
results with the frequency of heart disease, he found that the men who used the first
person pronouns the most often had the highest risk of heart trouble.
“What’s more, by following his subjects for several years thereafter, he found that the
more a man habitually talked about himself the greater the chance he would actually
have a heart attack. Apparently, counting the times a person said ‘I’ was an ingenious
way to quantify self-absorption. It seems that the less you open your heart to others
the more your heart suffers.
ww
“Dr. Scherwitz counsels, ‘Listen with regard when others talk. Give your time and
energy to others. Let others have their way. Do things for reasons other than
w.
furthering your own needs.’ This is sound medical advice and it speaks also to our
fa
spiritual and emotional needs. Many religions have taught that being trapped in the
illusion of separateness is the source of much of our suffering.
ce
“Modern Western society, of course, has become highly competitive. You see it,
bo
perhaps, most conspicuously in sports. ‘Winning is not the most important thing,’ said
ok
the famous football coach Vince Lombardi, ‘it’s everything.’ Another coach said ‘Show
me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.’
. co
“I’m sure these coaches were trying to urge their players onto greater effort and to
motivate them. But when we become hyper-competitive we may lose touch with
m/
honor, decency and sportsmanship and we almost always lose tough with each other.”
gr
So this is quite interesting. That’s a nice little section from John Robbins’ book. So
ou
he’s talking about the medical effects of being totally selfish or too competitive. So
very competitive people, very selfish people, people who only think about themselves,
ps
they have a much higher rate of heart attacks. They live shorter lives, they’re less
/T
healthy. Interesting…
ai
So the opposite is also true. People who care more about other people, who think
about other people, who are connected to other people, who are more grateful and
Li
loving, they live longer and they’re healthier and stronger. Pretty amazing, so maybe
eu
we should think about this and start applying this to our own lives.
On
I know I have found this to be true in my life, as well. As I have developed Effortless
English, the company, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with more people. And in
Th
the beginning…I’ll be honest, in the beginning…I was more focused on myself

iD
because I hated working these terrible jobs and I wanted to be free. You know I
wanted to be free from jobs. I wanted to be free from bosses. I wanted to be free from
ai
working other people’s schedules. So I was really focused on my needs.

Ho
And those needs were important. And I’m happy that I started the company and I’m
c0
happy that I solved those problems. I’m happy that I now am my own boss and that I
have satisfied my own needs. Certainly that has given me happiness. But what has
1
given me more happiness lately is that I have changed my focus because now I have
met my individual needs, I’m fine. I have plenty of money, I am free, I am my own
boss, I have, you know, lots of opportunities in my life, it’s great.
But once that happened I started to focus on other people because now what
motivates me is connecting with other people, helping other students. I want to excite
my students. I want to excite the members of the Effortless English Club. I want you
to be happier. I want you to find your dreams or remember them and achieve them. I
want you to meet all of your needs. I want you to be happier, healthier, more
successful. The more I think about other people, the more I think about helping my
ww
friends, helping my family, helping you, the happier I become. I get more and more
and more energy in my life.
w.
fa
So when I was only thinking about myself and growing my business for myself, sure,
that was motivating, it was definitely inspiring for me, but now I’m at a much higher
ce
level because now I’m thinking about other people. Now I’m connecting to other
people and it’s such an incredible boost of energy. It’s so much higher than before
bo
when I was just focused on myself.

ok
So I encourage you to do the same thing. Now, first, you must meet your own needs,
.
you cannot ignore yourself. If you just try to please other people, just help other
co
people and you ignore yourself then you feel empty and you won’t feel energized and
you won’t feel healthier and you won’t feel stronger.
m/
gr
So, absolutely, you must take care of yourself, you must meet your own individual
needs, certainly. That will give you the power and the energy then to be generous, to
ou
start thinking about other people, but that’s the next step and that’s what you must do
if you want to be healthy and strong and live to be 100 years old and feel great or if
ps
you just want to be healthy and happy right now. Start thinking about other people,
/T
how can you contribute to other people, also? How can you make yourself happy and
yourself successful and at the same time help other people be happier, help other
ai
people be more successful.

Li
The reason I’m so excited as a teacher is because I love to see my students succeed,
eu
it gives me amazing energy to see that. Now sometimes, for example, I’ve had a bad
class. Maybe I come to a class and, ah, you know maybe I have a bad lesson or it’s a
On
bad day for me, I don’t know, something happens. And I’m teaching the lesson and
I’m trying hard, but I’m looking at the students and the students are not responding.
Th
They’re not learning, they’re not excited, they’re not having fun.
iD
And what happens to me? Well my energy goes down, I feel terrible, even if it’s not
ai
me. Maybe it’s the students, maybe they’re just not motivated or they’re lazy or
something, I don’t know. But when that happens I feel terrible. Even if I’m making
Ho
money, it doesn’t matter, I feel bad because I’m not contributing to them. I’m not
c0
helping and that really bothers me, it upsets me, I hate it.
1
And so that’s why I try so hard to have a lot of energy, to do everything I can so that
my students learn and grow and succeed because when you succeed I feel fantastic.
It gives me so much energy and it helps me to succeed more, too. There’s so much
more power when you’re helping other people. And when you see them succeed and
you know that you helped you feel fantastic. It gives your life incredible meaning and
energy and passion and health.
And so that’s why I want you now to think about this. Think about all the goals you
have in life, think about all the dreams you have, all these great things you want to do
or be or accomplish. And look at them and then, think, how can I also help other
ww
people by doing these things?

w.
If you want to be rich, great, be rich and think about all the great things that being rich
fa
will, you know, give to you. That’s fine. But also think about, how will you help other
people by being rich? How can you contribute to your friends, your family, to your
ce
community, to the world by being rich? How will you help other people, also?
bo
Or your goal of learning excellent English, speaking fantastically well, being a fluent
ok
English speaker. Now you thought a lot about strong, powerful, compelling, emotional
reasons for yourself, why you want to learn English, how it will help you, how it will
.
help your life. That’s great, well now I want you to go to the next level, the next step.
co
And I want you to think very carefully, how will English fluency help other people?
How will you use it to help other people?
m/
gr
I’ll give you a great example. Our number one member right now is Inca on our
Members Forums and she is fantastic. And her English is excellent, she is a fantastic
ou
student. She has gotten a lot of personal benefits from speaking English very well.
For example, she wrote about a big success she had because of English where she
ps
helped her friend and business partner get a new contract. And, you know, they both
/T
are succeeding and their company is doing really well because Inca could
communicate so well with English.
ai
So she’s made more money and she’s succeeding with business because of speaking
Li
English well. But here’s the thing about Inca, she’s not focused just on herself.
eu
Because even in that story -- when she wrote that story – she focused mostly on how
her friend benefited from her English speaking because her friend got this great new
On
contract for the business. And her friend is going to make more money, her friend is
going to be more successful and that made her feel great because she helped him.
Th
Her English ability helped her friend get this new customer, helped her friend build his
iD
or her business.
ai
But that’s not all. Inca constantly helps other members on the Forums, she’s always
answering questions. Whenever somebody needs help, whenever somebody is
Ho
discouraged, Inca is there giving them encouragement, giving them advice, giving
c0
them answers. She starts topics where she answers questions for other members. If
they don’t understand a lesson she’ll help them.
1
And we have a lot of members like that it’s not just Inca. We have several members
like this. They’re contributing, they’re helping other people. They’re using their
English skill to help other people be happier or more successful. They’re using their
English skill to help their friends improve their businesses. So they’re using their
English skill to contribute and connect with other people, to help other people and that
gives them tremendous power. And you can see their energy, you can see and feel
their motivation because they’re not just learning for themselves, they’re learning for
other people, too, they’re helping other people, too.
ww
That’s why they are the top members in our club, that’s why their English improves so
quickly, that’s why they have such high motivation. So whatever your goals are in life I
w.
hope that you will add this other level, this other step and think about, how can I help
fa
and contribute to other people while also helping myself.

ce
And that is the end of the “Healthy Heart” lesson. I will see you next time.
bo
ok
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Healthy Heart Mini-Story Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the mini-story for “Healthy Heart.” As always, let’s take a
fa
deep breath, let’s get our bodies standing up strong or sitting up strong. Lift your
head, big smile on your face. I’m doing it now, so do it with me. Feel good?
ce
bo
Let’s move a little bit. Let’s move our bodies a little bit. I’m standing up right now I
can’t really move, but I’ll jump around a little bit and get my body moving. You move
ok
your body, too, and let’s start. Now for the mini-story, here we go.
. co
*****
m/
There was a guy named Zach. Zach loved bright and expensive clothes.
gr
Did Zach love dull clothes?

ou
Oh, no, no, he did not love dull clothes, he loved bright clothes.
ps
Did he love bright clothes or did he love dull clothes?

/T
ai
Well, of course, bright. He loved bright clothes.

Li
What kind of clothes did he like?

eu
He liked bright clothes and expensive clothes.

On
So did he love black and gray and brown clothes?

Th
No, no, no, those are not bright colors. He loved purple and green and pink clothes.
iD
He loved bright clothes.

ai
Who loved bright clothes?

Ho
Well, Zach, Zach loved bright clothes.

c0
1
He loved bright, cheap clothes, right?
No, no, no, no, wrong. Not bright cheap clothes, bright expensive clothes. Zach loved
bright, expensive clothes.
He loved bright, expensive what?
That’s right, clothes. Zach loved bright, expensive clothes.
In fact, he was always very conspicuous on the street.

ww
Did Zach blend in on the street? Did he blend in?

w.
No, he did not blend in.

fa
Blend in means to be the same as everything around you. It means not obvious.
ce
It’s the opposite of conspicuous. So of course Zach did not blend in, he was
conspicuous. He stood out. So stood out is the same as conspicuous. To
bo
stand out means to be very obvious, to be very conspicuous. Zach was very
ok
conspicuous on the street, everybody looked at him.

.
Why was Zach conspicuous?

co
Well, because he always wore bright, expensive clothes. He was conspicuous, he

m/
was obvious. He stood out because he always wore bright, expensive clothes.
gr
So who was always very conspicuous?

ou
Zach, Zach was always very conspicuous.

ps
/T
Where was he conspicuous?

ai
Well, on the street. When he walked on the street he was very conspicuous.
Everybody looked at him when he walked on the street.
Li
eu
And why did they look at him?

On
Well, because he was conspicuous because he wore bright, expensive clothes.

Th
So Zach was very, very conspicuous. Zach was also very self-absorbed.
iD
Did Zach think a lot about other people?

ai
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, he never thought about other people. Zach only thought
Ho
about himself and his clothes. He thought about his clothes all the time. “Oh, I hope
c0
my clothes look good. What should I buy next?”

1
Zach was self-absorbed, he thought only about himself and his clothes.
What kind of person was Zach?
He was a self-absorbed person. Zach was a very self-absorbed person.
Was Zach generous and caring?
No, he wasn’t. Zach was not generous and caring. Zach was self-absorbed, he
thought only about himself. He didn’t give to other people. He didn’t think about other
ww
people, he was self-absorbed.

w.
And who? Who was self-absorbed?

fa
Zach, of course. Zach was very self-absorbed. He always wore conspicuous clothes,
ce
he was always very conspicuous on the street and he was self-absorbed, thinking only
about himself.
bo
ok
And so he bought a coat. He went to a store and he bought a coat, a special

coat.
. co
Where did he buy the coat?

m/
Well, he bought the coat at Saks Fifth Avenue, a store named Saks Fifth Avenue.
gr
Was this a cheap store or an expensive store?

ou
Well, it was a very expensive store. It still is a very expensive store.

ps
/T
What did he buy at Saks Fifth Avenue?

ai
He bought a coat. He bought a coat at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Li
What kind of coat did he buy at Saks Fifth Avenue?

eu
He bought a coat made from gold fibers.

On
What kind of fibers were in the coat?

Th
iD
Gold fibers, gold strings, long strings of gold put together to make this coat. It was a
coat made from gold fibers, gold strings.
ai
Was this coat made from silver fibers?

Ho
c0
Oh, no, silver is cheap. This coat was made of gold fibers.
1
What was made of gold fibers?
The coat. The coat that Zach bought was made from gold fibers or was made of gold
fibers.
Where did he buy the coat that was made of gold fibers?
Saks Fifth Avenue. He bought the coat that was made of gold fibers at Saks Fifth
Avenue.
ww
And what kind of store is Saks?

w.
Well, Saks is a very, very expensive store, of course.

fa
So Zach bought a coat made from gold fibers, a very, very, very expensive coat.
ce
How much did the coat cost, the coat that was made of gold fibers, $1 million?
bo
ok
No, no, no, no, no that’s cheap.

.
The coat cost $72 million. It was a $72 million gold coat. Zach put it on and he
co
felt great. He looked in the mirror and he said “I look great. I’m so handsome.
I’m so rich. I’m fantastic!”
m/
gr
What kind of person was Zach?

ou
That’s right, he was self-absorbed. He was a self-absorbed person. So he looked in

the mirror wearing the gold coat and he said “Wow, I look great. I’m damn handsome.
ps
I’m fantastic. I’m just great.” And he continued to look in the mirror.
/T
What was he?

ai
That’s right, self-absorbed. He was totally self-absorbed thinking only about himself.
Li
Every day, every minute, every hour, every month, every year, all the time, he thought
eu
only about himself and his clothes and now he had a $72 million gold coat.
On
But one day something changed. One day Zach looked in the mirror and he felt
sad. He looked in the mirror and he felt sad.
Th
iD
How did he feel?

ai
Sad, Zach felt very, very sad. He thought about himself and he felt sad.
Ho
Who felt sad?

c0
Zach, of course. Zach felt sad.

1
Why did Zach feel sad?
Well, because he realized. He realized he had lost touch with other people.
Was Zach connected to other people?
No, he wasn’t. He lost touch with everyone else. He had no friends. He never
communicated with his family. He was totally alone.
ww
Who did Zach lose touch with?

w.
Everyone, he lost touch with everyone. He lost connection with everyone. He was not
connected to any other person. He did not communicate with any other person. He
fa
lost touch with everybody. He also lost touch with his happiness.
ce
He lost his happiness. He was not connected to that feeling anymore.

bo
ok
What feeling did he lose touch with?

.
He lost touch with his feelings of happiness. He lost touch with happiness. He did not
co
feel happy anymore. He lost touch with his family. He did not connect with them. He
did not communicate with them anymore. He lost touch with all his old friends. He
m/
never saw them, he never talked to them.

gr
Who did he lose touch with?

ou
Everyone, he lost touch with everyone.

ps
/T
What did he lose touch with?

ai
His happiness. His feelings of happiness. He lost touch with his feelings of
happiness.
Li
eu
Who lost touch with his happiness? Who lost touch with his family and friends?
On
Zach, Zach lost touch with everyone. And he lost touch with his family and friends and
his happiness, with everything in his life. He lost touch with all other people, with all
Th
other connections, with all his good feelings. He lost touch with everything and
iD
everyone. He was alone, totally alone.

ai
He went outside walking and then he saw a poor homeless man. And for the
first time he was moved by the man’s suffering. The man looked terrible.
Ho
c0
What was he moved by?

1
He was moved by the man’s suffering. He felt emotional. Very sad, very emotional
because of the poor homeless man.
The poor homeless man was hungry and dirty and had no money. Zach was
moved by his suffering.
How did Zach feel?
Very emotional. Zach felt emotional, upset and emotional because of the homeless
ww
man. He was moved by the homeless man.

w.
Who was moved by the homeless man?

fa
Zach, Zach was moved by the homeless man. Zach felt emotional because of the
ce
homeless man.
bo
What kind of man moved Zach?

ok
A homeless man. A very poor, suffering, homeless man moved Zach, made Zach feel
.
emotional and upset.

co
So Zach took off his $72 million gold coat, he gave it to the homeless man and
m/
he said “Here, take my gold coat and buy a big house with it.”
gr
What did Zach give the homeless man?

ou
He gave the homeless man his gold coat.

ps
/T
Who did he give his gold coat to?

ai
To the homeless man. Zach gave his gold coat to the homeless man.
Li
And who gave a gold coat to the homeless man?

eu
Zach, Zach gave a gold coat to the homeless man.

On
How much was the gold coat worth?

Th
iD
It was worth $72 million. The gold coat was worth $72 million.
ai
Why did Zach give his gold coat to the homeless man?
Ho
Ah, because he was moved by the homeless man. He was moved by the homeless
c0
man’s suffering. He felt emotional and upset because of the homeless man’s
suffering.
1
So he felt moved by the homeless man and he gave the homeless man his gold
coat.
How did the homeless man feel?
Well, he felt amazing! Wow! A $72 million gold coat!
The homeless man ran to the bank. He gave them the gold coat. He sold his
gold coat and he bought a big, huge house and he ate a big, big meal and he
ww
was very, very happy.

w.
How did the homeless man feel?

fa
He felt amazing. He felt ecstatic. He felt excited. He felt wonderful!

ce
How did Zach feel?

bo
ok
Well, Zach felt amazing, too. He felt wonderful and amazing and ecstatic!
.
Why did Zach feel great?

co
Ah, because he helped the homeless man. He felt great because he saw the
m/
homeless man’s happiness. He felt great because he helped the homeless man.
gr
Zach was very happy. The homeless man was very happy.
ou
*****
ps
/T
And that is the end of our story. Please listen to this story many times, as usual.
Remember, pause and answer the questions, if necessary. If you’re fast you can
ai
answer the questions without pausing, but, if you need to, pause and answer the
questions.
Li
eu
If possible, if you’re alone, shout the answers! Right? Strong body, standing up, big
smile and shout your answers very strong! Feel confident. Feel strong when you
On
speak English.
Th
If you’re in a bus or a train or around other people maybe you can’t shout, but you can
iD
still have your body strong, you can still smile. Even if you whisper the answers, do it
with a big smile, do it with a strong body. You will build your confidence with English
ai
by doing that.
Ho
So, please, it’s very important, do that. Don’t just answer nah, nah, nah, very weak.
c0
Answer strongly every time you speak English. Every time you answer a question in
the mini-story, do it strongly, with a strong body, strong physiology.
1
Okay, that is the end of our mini-story for “Healthy Heart.”
ww
Healthy Heart POV Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the point of view stories for “Healthy Heart.” Same stories, different
fa
points of view, different timeframes, let’s start.

ce
Since he was a teenager Zach has loved bright, expensive clothes. In fact, since he
bo
was a teenager he has always worn conspicuous clothes when he was on the street.
He has always been very conspicuous every time he walked on the street, since he
ok
was a teenager and continuing until he was an adult, until very recently.
. co
And since he was a teenager Zach has been totally self-absorbed. Zach has been
completely self-absorbed, he has only thought about himself and his clothes. So,
m/
since he was a teenager he has loved bright, expensive clothes. Since he was a
teenager he has always been conspicuous, noticeable. And since he was a teenager
gr
he has always been self-absorbed, he has only thought about himself and his clothing.
ou
But one day he bought a coat made from gold fibers and he bought the coat at Saks
ps
Fifth Avenue. This coat was worth $72 million, a super expensive coat! Zach loved
the coat. He looked in the mirror and he talked to himself and he said “I’m so
/T
handsome. I’m so wonderful. I’m great!”

ai
However, a few weeks later, he woke up one day and looked in the mirror and he felt
Li
sad. He realized that he had lost touch with his happiness. He had lost touch with his
happiness, he had lost touch with other people and so he felt very sad. He realized
eu
that he was totally alone.

On
He went outside for a walk and while walking he saw a poor homeless man, a poor,
Th
suffering, hungry, homeless man. Oh, so sad. And Zach was moved by his suffering,
he felt emotional because of the man’s suffering. And so Zach said “Here, take my
iD
gold coat and buy a big house.”

ai
And the man took his gold coat, he was so happy. He ran to the bank, he sold the
Ho
gold coat, he bought a big, big mansion and he ate a lot of food. And Zach also felt
very happy because he helped this man. He connected again with a person, so Zach
c0
was very happy and the homeless man was also very happy.
1
Okay, that is the end of our first point of view story. As always, in these first stories,
you’ll hear a change, usually, and the change is between something that has been
happening a while. It started in the past and it has continued happening for some time
and then we change because something just happened suddenly.
We talk about one event; he bought a coat made from gold fibers. That happened one
time. He didn’t buy a coat every day starting 10 years ago and continuing. No, it
happened one time and then it was over. So we’re talking about specific events after
the change.
ww
Before the change we’re talking about some things that were happening and continued
happening. He was conspicuous. He was always conspicuous, for example. So he
w.
has been conspicuous since he was 16. It means it started when he was 16 and he
continued to be conspicuous every day after that for several years. So it’s a
fa
timeframe, it’s a longer time period, it keeps happening over time. If we say “He was
ce
conspicuous yesterday,” well then it just happened, boom, one time.

bo
Alright, our next story, into the future, I have an idea for a story. It happens in the
ok
future, I’m going to tell you now. Here we go.

.
There will be a guy named Zach. He’s going to love bright, expensive clothes. He’ll
co
always be conspicuous when he walks on the street. This guy, Zach, he’ll be very
self-absorbed. He’s going to be totally self-absorbed. In fact, he’s only going to think
m/
about himself and his clothes.

gr
And one day he’ll go to Saks Fifth Avenue and he’ll buy a coat made from gold fibers.
ou
A coat made from gold fibers that will be worth $72 million. And he’s going to look in
the mirror and he’s going to say “Zach, you’re handsome. You’re great. You’re
ps
wonderful!” Because, of course, he will be totally self-absorbed.

/T
But one day Zach will wake up feeling very sad. He’ll look in the mirror and he’ll feel
ai
very sad and he’ll realize that he has lost touch with his happiness. He’ll realize that
he has lost touch with every other person. He’ll be totally alone.
Li
eu
So he’s going to walk outside wearing his gold coat and he’ll see a poor, homeless,
suffering, hungry man. He’ll be moved by the suffering of this man. He’ll be moved by
On
the homeless man, he’ll feel very emotional. And he’ll take off his gold coat and he’ll
say “Here, take my gold coat and buy a big house with it.”
Th
iD
Of course the homeless man is going to be super excited, super happy. The
homeless man will run to the bank and sell the gold coat and he’ll buy a big mansion
ai
with all the money. And he’ll eat a lot of food and he’ll feel great. And Zach is going to
feel great, too. He’ll feel great because he helped somebody. He’ll feel great because
Ho
he connected with another person and he contributed. So both the homeless man and
c0
Zach will feel very, very happy.

1
And that is the end of our point of view stories for “Healthy Heart.” Listen to them
many times for at least seven days, 14 days or more is fine. Less is not good, at least
seven days, every day. Listen to this story, listen to the mini-story, listen to the main
audio and sometimes listen to the vocabulary, too.
I will see you next time, bye-bye.

ww
w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Healthy Heart Vocabulary Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Healthy Heart.” Let’s get started.
fa
ce
Our first word is fibers, fibers. So in the story there was quote from Herman Melville,
he said, “A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.” Fibers are really like
bo
strings, basically, it’s just strings. It’s just long strings. Usually we talk about fibers, for
example, in clothing. So if you have, you know…your clothes are made of lots of little
ok
fibers that are woven together, that are put together. Each individual string is a fiber,
.
so fiber.
co
So he’s saying we’re connected by a thousand strings. So, obviously not really, but if
m/
you think about it kind of poetically it’s a metaphor. So you can imagine that we’re
connected in a thousand different ways to other people. We cannot be separate.
gr
That’s what the quote means.

ou
Alright and then next we have the phrase moved by. The sentence says “Perhaps this
ps
explains why we are often moved by people caring deeply for one another.” Now you
know the normal meaning of move, to move, but to be moved by something. I was
/T
moved by the movie, for example. It has a different meaning. When you say I was
ai
moved by something, it means that you felt strong emotion, it made you feel
emotional.
Li
Usually, kind of…kind of positive emotions, not negative emotions. So you could say,
eu
for example, you go to see Titanic, the movie Titanic, a romantic movie. And you say
On
“Oh, I was moved by that story.” All right, it means it made you feel very emotional.
Maybe you cried and it was so, you know, powerful, it was a very emotional story. So
Th
you say “I was moved by the story. The story made me feel emotional,” strong
emotions.
iD
ai
So in this quote it says “We are moved by people caring for one another.” So when
we see two people who care a lot for each other, they love each other a lot, we are
Ho
moved. It means we feel strong emotion also, just seeing them. Just seeing two
people who are very kind to each other, who love each other a lot, if we just see them
c0
we also feel some kind of strong emotion, right? We are moved by them, they make
1
us feel strong emotion also.
Alright, our next word is implication, implication. And the sentence said “There are
also medical implications to whether we think of others or only of ourselves.” There
are medical implications. And implication is a consequence or a result, a result of
something. So there are medical consequences, there are medical results, there are
medical implications.
If you think only about yourself then the implication is you will be less healthy, you will
have more of a chance to have a heart attack. That’s the implication, that’s the result
or the consequence.
ww
If you love a lot of people and you’re always contribution to other people and giving,
w.
the implication, the result, the consequence, is you will be healthier. Your heart is
fa
actually stronger. So, again, implication, an implication is a consequence or a result.

It has other meanings, but in this situation it means consequence or result, implication.
ce
Alright, our next word is to tape, the verb, to tape. It said “Dr. Scherwitz taped the
bo
conversations of 600 men.” Now here the word tape means to record, we’re using it
ok
as an action, as a verb. So to tape a conversation means to record a conversation

and it comes from the old, you know, cassette tapes, which are gone now, right? Now
.
we all use CDs and mp3, but in the past we had actual tapes, right, magnetic tapes,
co
cassette tapes and that’s how we recorded.

m/
So now we have this verb, to tape, it means to record something. I taped the movie. It
gr
means you recorded the movie on your DVD player or on your cassette player. Or I
taped the conversation means I recorded the conversation.
ou
Alright, our next word is ingenious and the sentence says “Counting the times a
ps
person said ‘I’ was an ingenious way to measure selfishness.” So ingenious means
/T
clever, clever or smart and it usually describes an idea or an action. Sometimes a

person, but mostly we use it to describe a plan or a strategy or an action or something
ai
like that. So an ingenious way means a clever way, a very clever way.
Li
He listened to these conversations and he counted every time they said I. I, I, I, one,
eu
two, three, he counted it. So measuring the number of times they said I was an
ingenious way to measure selfishness and an ingenious way to measure their risk for
On
heart attacks because the more times they said I in conversations the higher their risk
for a heart attack. So it was a very clever idea, right, a very clever way to measure
Th
this, an ingenious way. So, again, ingenious means clever, ingenious - clever,
iD
ingenious - clever.
ai
Our next word is self-absorption. So this was an ingenious way to measure self-
absorption. Of course, self means yourself, me, I. Absorption here means you’re
Ho
totally focused on. So it means totally focused on yourself. Self-absorption means

c0
totally focused on yourself. Self-absorption means thinking only about yourself. So

this is the noun.
1
The adjective is self-absorbed. You say “He is so self-absorbed.” It means he only

thinks about himself. All day he is thinking only about himself. He never thinks about
other people or other things, only about himself, self-absorption or self-absorbed.
Again, the adjective is self-absorbed. He is self-absorbed. She is self-absorbed. Very

similar to selfish, selfish, so self-absorbed again means thinking about yourself all the
time.
Next we have the word sound, sound. You probably know the common meaning of
sound, it means like noise, something you hear, but in this situation it has a very
ww
different meaning. Here’s the sentence, it says “This is sound medical advice. Caring
about other people is sound medical advice.” Here the word sound means good,
w.
good. This is good medical advice. This is reliable medical advice.

fa
So sometimes sound can be used as an adjective and sound means reliable, good,
ce
strong. You can say “His health is very sound.” It means his health is good. His
health is reliable, strong and good. There’s nothing wrong with his health. So, again,
bo
sound. As an adjective sound can mean strong, good, strong, good, reliable, sound.
ok
Alright, our next word is conspicuously or conspicuous. Conspicuously describes an

.
action, conspicuous describes things or people. So, again, he’s talking about
co
competition. He says “In Western society we have become highly competitive and you
see this most conspicuously in sports.”
m/
gr
Conspicuous or conspicuously means obviously, obviously. It means very easy to

see, it’s not hidden. It’s the opposite of hidden. So conspicuous is the adjective. So if
ou
something is conspicuous it means it stands out, it means you see it immediately.

ps
For example, if we have a room, 30 people in a room. Thirty people, 29 people are
/T
wearing black, black shirts, black pants, right. Everybody is wearing black shirts and
black pants, but one person is wearing a pink shirt and pink pants. The person
ai
wearing pink is very conspicuous, very conspicuous, right? You see them, everybody
will focus on them. They are conspicuous, they are very obvious. They standout,
Li
they’re not hidden. So it’s the opposite if hidden, right? They standout, oh, you
eu
immediately notice the person in pink because everybody else is wearing black.
That’s conspicuous.
On
So he’s saying that we see competition, hyper-competitiveness in sports. It’s very

Th
obvious in sports, right? It’s not hidden, everyone can see. Athletes are very, very,
iD
very competitive. It’s conspicuous, it’s obvious.

ai
And that word hyper, hyper-competitive, hyper just means very, very, very. It means
super, so hypercompetitive means very, very competitive, super competitive.
Ho
Hyperactive means very, very, very active, super active, lots and lots of energy.
c0
Sometimes I’m hyperactive. So, again, hyper means just very. You get hyper and
then you have an adjective, hyperactive, hyper-competitive, whatever.
1
And, finally, we have one more little phrase and that is to lose touch with, to lose touch
with something. And he says that “When we become hyper-competitive,” when we’re
very competitive, we’re trying to win, win, win, “we can lose touch with honor, decency
and sportsmanship.” To lose touch with something means to lose your connection
with it or to forget it or just to lose it. So if you lose touch with honor it means you
forget honor. You forget about honor, you don’t have honor anymore.
So he’s saying now we see some athletes, they’re so competitive, they’re always
trying to win so much, they’re not honorable, they kind of cheat. Maybe they use some
ww
kind of drugs to make their body stronger so they can win more easily or maybe they
cheat with the rules like you see in soccer or football. You know they fall down and
w.
they pretend they’re hurt so they get a penalty.

fa
You know we see it all the time in all sports now. That many athletes now have lost
ce
touch with honor, they’re not honorable anymore. They have forgotten honor, so they
lost touch with honor because they’re too competitive now. So that’s what it means.
bo
To lose touch with something means you forget it or you lose your connection.
ok
You can also lose touch with a person. You say “Wow, I lost touch with John.” It
.
means John maybe before was a friend, but now you lost contact. You don’t call him
co
anymore. And maybe he moved. You don’t have his phone number anymore. You
don’t know how to contact him, so you lost touch with him. You’ve stopped
m/
communicating with him. You can’t find him anymore. Alright, so that’s to lose touch
gr
with.
ou
And that’s our last phrase for the vocabulary lesson. So, listen to this a few times, get
the general meaning of these words and then move on to the mini-story lesson, which
ps
of course if our favorite lesson. Alright, I will see you next time.
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
The Art of Power Main Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to our next lesson. This lesson is called “The Art of Power”
fa
and it comes from a book. The topic comes from a book with the same name. The
ce
book is called The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh.

bo
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist Monk, he is a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk and really
one of my favorite writers, one of my favorite people, one of my favorite teachers. And
ok
I’ve been reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s books and listening to his audio teachings for
.
many, many years and he’s a very special guy.

co
Thich Nhat Hanh, again, he’s Vietnamese, a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk, and during
m/
the Vietnam War he created an organization and he created a movement for peace.
So I believe he was in South Vietnam during the War and he did not support either
gr
side. He was not supporting the Communist North. He was not supporting the United
ou
States-backed South. He was just trying to end the War. He was trying to get peace
in Vietnam and the Buddhist Monks that were in his group were doing the same. They
ps
were just trying to help people and trying to stop the War, stop the killing.
/T
Well, unfortunately, as happens in the world, because he would not join either side
ai
both sides didn’t like him. So the Americans and the South Vietnamese, they thought
he was bad because he was trying to stop the fighting and the North Vietnamese
Li
Communists, they didn’t like him either because he was trying to stop the killing and
the fighting.
eu
On
And, so, Thich Nhat Hanh, he had to leave Vietnam. His life was in danger from both
sides. And, eventually, he had to leave Vietnam and he could not return. I think he
Th
just recently returned a couple years ago. The Vietnamese Government allowed him
to come back because I guess he’s still quite popular in Vietnam.
iD
ai
But, anyway, he moved to France and he started to teach and write books and tapes.
And he created a monastery in France where he teaches people about peace and
Ho
about making your life better and about helping other people. And while he is a
Buddhist, many of his students are Christians or Muslim or Jewish or not religious or
c0
Hindus, it doesn’t matter. He’s not like a strict Buddhist like you must be a Buddhist,
1
he just wants to teach the principles of peace and understanding and love.
So he’s a wonderful person and he’s got many great books, this book is called The Art
of Power. And, of course, the power he’s talking about is the power to be good, the
power to control your own life and to have a good life and to help other people. So it’s
not power to control other people it’s power for yourself. So let me read a little section
from his book and then we’ll talk about this section and we’ll talk a little more about
Thich Nhat Hanh. Okay, here’s the section. Are you ready? Let’s start.
“When a seed is watered in our subconscious it manifests as an energy in our

conscious and becomes a mental formation or an emotion or a thought. You have a
ww
seed of anger, but when this seed of anger is asleep it is dormant in your
subconscious and you don’t feel angry. However, when the seed is touched, when it
w.
is turned on, when it is watered it becomes a conscious emotion, a conscious mental

fa
formation called anger and you feel the energy of anger arise.
ce
We can envision consciousness as a living room and subconsciousness as a

basement. If we water a seed of joy and happiness that seed will grow and manifest
bo
itself on the upper level of consciousness making the living room beautiful, making our
ok
mind beautiful, our thoughts and our feelings beautiful.

.
If we water the seed of anger or hatred it will make the living room of our mind a hell
co
for us and a hell for our loved ones. We all have a seed of anger, a seed of despair, a
seed of jealousy in us. If you live in a negative environment the environment can
m/
trigger these seeds. If you live in a positive environment then the seeds of craving,
gr
violence, hate and anger, are not touched, not watered easily. So it is wise for you to
choose a good environment, an environment that will prevent these negative seeds
ou
from being touched or watered often.

ps
You should not let other people around you to touch or water these seeds and you
/T
should not allow yourself to water them. When you read an article full of violence or
watch a violent television program or movie you turn on the seed of violence. So the
ai
first step is diligence. You need the diligence and discipline to control your
environment. You need the diligence not to turn on these negative seeds and not to
Li
allow the environment to turn them on.

eu
Diligence means the practice of selective watering. So if the negative seeds in the
On
subconscious have not grown keep them down there, don’t let them get watered. In
your daily life be careful not to give these negative seeds a chance to grow. Don’t
Th
suppress them; just don’t give them a chance.

iD
In your community, in your family, expose yourself only to sounds and sights that will
ai
help you touch the wholesome seeds within you. Try not to expose yourself to sights
and sounds that stimulate the seeds of craving or anger. You need diligence to
Ho
practice this and you may need a community or a group of friends with similar values
c0
to help you create a good environment.

1
You can encourage your partner, your children and your friends to help you protect
yourself from negative environments. You can also protect them by creating an
environment where they don’t have to be in touch with negative thoughts, ideas and
therefore don’t have to touch their negative seeds.”
Okay, that’s the end of that section from Thich Nhat Hanh. So, of course, he’s talking
a little bit poetically, it’s a metaphor this idea of seeds. This idea of, you have seeds in
your mind, in your brain, negative and positive, so they’re just waiting like a seed in the
ground. If there’s a seed in the ground, if you don’t give it water, if you don’t give it
sunshine, it will not grow. If you don’t give it food and energy it won’t grow. If you give
ww
it water and food and energy it will grow.

w.
So he’s saying imagine this is your mind, your mind. And in your mind, in the
fa
subconscious, you have all these little seeds…violent seeds, seeds of anger, seeds of
jealousy and also positive…seeds of love, seeds of caring, seeds of strength. So he’s
ce
saying we need to be careful about our environment. We need to be careful so that

we give food and energy and water to the positive seeds, help them grow more and
bo
more, stronger and stronger. And we have to be careful – have diligence means be
ok
careful – we have to be careful to not give energy and food and water to the negative
seeds.
. co
So what he’s just saying is that we want to be careful about our environment. We
want to be careful about the movies we watch. We want to be careful about the TV
m/
shows we watch. We want to be careful about the articles we read. Because if we’re
gr
always watching violent TV shows, we’re always watching the news full of violence
and war and terrible negative things, well then we’re watering those seeds in us. It will
ou
be easier for us to be angry or violent or upset or sad or depressed because we’re

giving food, we’re giving energy and we’re giving water to all those negative seeds.
ps
/T
Every time we watch a violent movie, every time we watch bad, negative news, every
time we read a newspaper that’s full of negative stories, we’re feeding the negative
ai
thoughts and feelings in our own brain, making it easier for ourselves to feel bad. So
he’s saying we want to do the opposite. We want to always be watching positive
Li
movies and TV shows or DVDs or whatever with positive messages full of love and
eu
hope and strength. We want to read stories that are very positive and inspiring that
give energy to our strength and our love and our generosity. We want to be very
On
careful about what comes into our eyes and our ears, in other words.
Th
And that’s part of the idea of these lessons, these Power English lessons. Because I
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want to do more than just teach you English, I want to be sure that every lesson is full
of positive messages, inspiring messages. I want to water and feed the positive seeds
ai
in your subconscious. So, yes, you’re learning English, yes, you’re learning
vocabulary, yes, you’re improving your grammar, yes, you will speak more fluently, but
Ho
more importantly than that you’re also feeding the positive emotions, the positive
c0
thoughts, the positive values in your mind.

1
So that’s a very important part of these lessons, it’s one of my main goals, is to make
sure that every single lesson has some kind of positive message so that you’re getting
lots and lots of positive energy from me. And if you want to help yourself you should
also avoid the negative. It means turn off the TV, don’t watch the news. You do not
need to watch the news. The news is full of negative, terrible stories and, you know,
as a former journalist I can also tell you a lot of the news is just not accurate. It’s just
wrong, it’s basically government propaganda. And, whichever country you’re in, you’re
getting the stories that they want you to hear, so you’re not really hearing very much.
If there’s a very big story, some huge event happens in the world, you’ll hear about it,
ww
other people will tell you. You’ll walk on the street, you’ll see it on the cover of the
newspaper, so, you know, you don’t need to worry you won’t be lost. But most of the
w.
news is not necessary. It doesn’t really help your life, it’s information that you don’t
fa
need and it’s negative, negative, negative. It feeds and waters jealousy and fear and
depression and sadness and anger in you.
ce
So just avoiding the news, avoid newspapers, avoid television news. Just doing that is
bo
going to increase your positive energy so much, you will feel so much better. Instead
ok
of listening to that crap and reading that crap, read books that are positive and
inspiring. Listen to CDs that are positive and inspiring that give you power and energy.
.
Do that every day and you’re going to feel fantastic. You’re going to gain power in
co
yourself and then you’re going to be able to use that power to help yourself and to help
other people.
m/
gr
So instead of feeling sad, instead of feeling afraid, instead of feeling powerless, you
will feel powerful and positive and you will actually make your life and your world better
ou
and you’ll help other people do the same thing. That’s why you need to be very
careful. That’s why you need to avoid all these negative influences and the negative
ps
environment and especially the news. That’s why you need to seek out and find
/T
positive messages all the time to make yourself emotionally powerful.

ai
Alright, well that is the end of “The Art of Power”, next is the vocabulary lesson. Again,
seek out and listen to positive inspiring things all the time, these lessons and also find
Li
other stuff. And read books. All these books that I’ve mentioned in these lessons go
eu
find them. Read them in English, read them in your language, it doesn’t matter, but
read them.
On
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The Art of Power Mini-Story Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the mini-story for “The Art of Power.” Let’s begin.
fa
ce
*****
bo
Sally was a cow. And Sally the cow craved chocolate. She desired chocolate.
She had to have chocolate all the time. She always wanted chocolate. She
ok
craved it.
. co
Who craved chocolate?

m/
Sally, Sally the cow craved chocolate.

gr
What was Sally?

ou
She was a cow. Sally was a cow.

ps
How did she feel about chocolate?

/T
ai
She craved it. Sally craved chocolate. She wanted it so much. She thought about
chocolate all the time. I must have chocolate!
Li
So she craved vanilla, right? No, wrong, she did not crave vanilla she craved
eu
chocolate. She thought about chocolate all the time.

On
So do you think Sally was thin or fat?

Th
Well exactly, of course, she was fat. She was obese, very, very fat. Sally was an
iD
obese cow.
ai
Why was she an obese cow?

Ho
Because she craved chocolate every day and she ate chocolate every day.
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1
Why was she fat?
Because she craved chocolate and ate chocolate every single day, all the time.
Of course, Sally wanted to lose weight. So, first, she tried to suppress her
craving.
Did she accept her craving or did she suppress her craving?
Well, she tried to suppress it. She tried to push it down. I don’t want chocolate. I
ww
don’t want chocolate. I don’t want chocolate. I don’t need chocolate.

w.
She tried to pretend that she didn’t want chocolate. She tried to suppress, push
fa
down her craving.

ce
What did she try to suppress?

bo
Her craving for chocolate. She tried to suppress her craving for chocolate.
ok
What did she crave?

. co
Chocolate. She craved chocolate.

m/
What did she do to this craving?

gr
Well, she suppressed it. Well, she tried to suppress it. She tried to push it away. She
ou
tried to push it down.

ps
Who tried to suppress her craving for chocolate?

/T
Sally the cow. Sally the cow tried to suppress her craving for chocolate.
ai
Why did she try to suppress her craving for chocolate?

Li
eu
Well, because she wanted to lose weight. She wanted to lose weight, so she tried to
suppress her craving for chocolate.
On
Who tried? Who tried to suppress her craving?

Th
iD
Sally, Sally the cow tired to suppress her craving for chocolate.
ai
But, unfortunately, one day she saw a candy bar in the store and the candy bar
triggered her craving.
Ho
c0
What did she see in the store?

1
That’s right she saw a candy bar in the store.
What kind of candy bar did she see, obviously?
Well, obviously, she saw a chocolate candy bar.
Where did she see the candy bar, the chocolate candy bar?
In the store. She saw a chocolate candy bar in the store.

ww
What did the chocolate candy bar do to her?

w.
It triggered her craving for chocolate.

fa
Did it turn on her craving for chocolate?

ce
Oh, yes, it did. It triggered her craving for chocolate.

bo
ok
Did it give power to her craving for chocolate?

.
Absolutely, yes. It triggered her craving for chocolate.

co
What triggered Sally’s craving for chocolate?

m/
gr
A candy bar. Seeing the candy bar. A candy bar triggered her craving for chocolate.
ou
What kind of craving did it trigger?

ps
Well, a craving for chocolate. It triggered her craving for chocolate.

/T
Whose craving did it trigger?

ai
Sally’s craving. The candy bar triggered Sally’s craving for chocolate. It turned on the
Li
craving again.
eu
So she saw a candy bar and it triggered her craving for chocolate. She said I
On
must have chocolate! And so she bought 4,000 chocolate bars and she ate all of
them.
Th
iD
How many chocolate bars did she buy?

ai
Four Thousand. She bought 4,000 chocolate bars. She ate all of them very fast and
she became more fat.
Ho
c0
Why did she become more fat?

1
Well, because she ate 4,000 candy bars in one day, chocolate candy bars of course.
Oh, no, poor Sally. Now she was even fatter. Well, she decided not to suppress
her cravings anymore, not to push them down. Instead she decided to study
yoga. Sally the cow studied yoga every day and she learned discipline and
diligence from yoga.
What did she study?
She studied, she learned yoga.

ww
How often did she practice yoga?

w.
fa
Every day. She practiced yoga every day.

ce
What did she learn from yoga?

bo
Well, she learned discipline and diligence. She learned to control herself. She
ok
learned how to be in control of her feelings and her thoughts. She learned diligence.
She learned how to be careful about her thoughts and her feelings.
. co
So what did she learn from yoga?

m/
Diligence. She learned diligence from yoga. Yoga taught her diligence.
gr
Did she learn laziness from yoga?

ou
No, no, no, the opposite. She didn’t learn laziness, she learned diligence. She
ps
learned to be controlled and strong with her mind and her emotions.
/T
Who learned diligence from yoga?

ai
Sally, Sally the cow learned diligence from yoga.

Li
eu
What did she learn diligence from?

On
From yoga. She learned diligence from yoga.

Th
What did she study?

iD
She studied yoga. Sally the cow studied yoga and she learned diligence, control and
ai
discipline from yoga.

Ho
Eventually, over time, her chocolate cravings lessened. They became weaker
c0
and weaker, they became smaller and smaller and eventually her chocolate
cravings became dormant.
1
What happened to her chocolate cravings?
They became dormant. They became quiet, they went to sleep, zzzzzzhhhhhh.
Were her chocolate cravings awakened, strengthened or were they made dormant?
Well, they were made dormant. They became dormant, they went to sleep.
What became dormant?

ww
Sally’s chocolate cravings became dormant. They became weaker and weaker and
w.
finally asleep. Her chocolate cravings, her desire for chocolate became dormant.
fa
They became sleepy and weak.

ce
Whose chocolate cravings became dormant?

bo
Sally’s, Sally’s chocolate cravings became dormant, became sleepy, became quiet.
ok
Did her vanilla cravings become dormant or did her chocolate cravings become
.
dormant?
co
Well, obviously, of course, her chocolate cravings became dormant.

m/
gr
Why did her chocolate cravings become dormant?

ou
Because now she had diligence. She had self-control, she had diligence. Because
she had diligence, her chocolate cravings became dormant, became quiet and went to
ps
sleep.
/T
Did she want chocolate anymore?

ai
No, she didn’t. Her chocolate cravings were dormant. And so her chocolate cravings
Li
became dormant. Sally ate only wholesome, healthy food.

eu
What kind of food did Sally eat?

On
She ate only wholesome food, only healthy food, only good, healthy food.
Th
iD
Did she eat junk food or did she eat wholesome food?
ai
She ate wholesome food. Good, healthy food.

Ho
What did she eat?

c0
Wholesome food. She ate wholesome food.

1
Who ate wholesome food?
Sally, Sally at wholesome food.
What was Sally?
She was a cow. Sally was a cow. Sally was a cow and she ate only wholesome food.
What kind of food did she eat?

ww
Wholesome food. She ate only wholesome food.

w.
fa
As a result, Sally became thin and gorgeous and sexy. She became a thin,
gorgeous, sexy cow. All the male cows wanted her.
ce
What kind of cow did Sally become?

bo
ok
She became a thin, gorgeous, sexy cow.

.
Who wanted Sally?

co
All the male cows. All the men cows. All the male cows wanted Sally because now
m/
she was a thin, gorgeous, sexy cow.

gr
*****
ou
And that is the end of the mini-story for “The Art of Power.” Listen to it many times,
ps
pause and answer the questions. Always answer the questions with a strong voice.
/T
Always have a strong physiology, shoulders back, chin up, eyes up, big smile, strong
voice, breathing deep, moving your body.
ai
So-so important, this is so important. When you do this you teach your mind, you
Li
teach your brain to confident when you speak English. You’re English will improve
eu
much, much faster. Okay, that’s the end of the mini-story. I’ll see you next time.
On
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The Art of Power POV Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the POV stories for “The Art of Power.” Let’s start.
fa
ce
Since 2002 Sally has craved chocolate. She has wanted it every day, every hour of
her life since 2002. She has become, unfortunately, super fat because she has craved
bo
chocolate so much. So Sally, since 2002, has become super fat because she has
craved chocolate every day and every hour.
ok
.
Now, of course, during this time she has wanted to lose weight. She has wanted to
co
lose weight all this time. Every day she has thought about it. Every day she has
thought, oh, I want to lose weight. In fact, every day she has tried to suppress her
m/
craving for chocolate. She has tried to push down the craving. She has tired to
pretend that she didn’t crave chocolate.
gr
ou
But, of course, this suppression has failed. It has always failed. In fact, one day it
failed in a huge way, it was a super big failure one day. Because one day she saw a
ps
candy bar in the store and the candy bar triggered her craving and she bought 4,000
chocolate candy bars. She ate all of them in one day.
/T
ai
So on that day she stopped trying to suppress her craving. Instead she decided to
study yoga. And she went to a yoga studio and she studied yoga. By studying yoga
Li
she learned discipline and diligence. And because she learned diligence her
chocolate cravings lessened. They got weaker and weaker, until one day they
eu
became totally dormant, totally asleep, totally quiet. Her chocolate cravings became
On
dormant.
Th
And after that she ate only wholesome, healthy food. And because she ate only
wholesome food she became thinner and thinner. In fact, she became a thin,
iD
gorgeous and sexy cow. And so all the male cows wanted her, they her because she
ai
was thin, gorgeous and sexy.

Ho
Okay, that’s the end of our first POV story. Next we go into the future. You already
know this, so let’s do it! Let’s start.
c0
1
In the future there will be a cow and her name will be Sarah. Sarah is going to crave
chocolate. She’s going to crave chocolate every minute, every hour of every day. Of
course, she’ll become super fat. Sarah the cow will be a super fat cow because she’s
going to crave chocolate.
Now she’ll want to lose weight, yes, definitely. And she’ll try to suppress her craving
for chocolate, but she will fail. She won’t be able to suppress it totally. In fact, one day
she’s going to see a chocolate bar in the store. That chocolate bar will trigger her
craving for chocolate and she’ll buy 4,000 chocolate bars and eat all of them in one
day.
ww
She’ll become even fatter and she’ll stop trying to suppress her craving. Instead she’ll
decide to study yoga. She’ll go to a yoga studio every day and she’ll study and
w.
practice yoga every day. By studying yoga she’ll learn diligence and discipline. As a
fa
result, her chocolate cravings will lessen. They’ll get weaker and weaker and, finally,
they’ll become totally dormant.
ce
After that she’s going to eat only wholesome, healthy food. And she’ll become thinner
bo
and thinner and thinner until one day she’ll be a thin, gorgeous, sexy cow and all the
ok
male cows are going to want her. They’re going to want her because she’s so damn
sexy!
. co
Okay, that is the end of the POV stories for “The Art of Power.” Listen to them every
day for at least one week.
m/
gr
See you next time. Bye-bye.

ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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The Art of Power Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “The Art of Power.” Let’s get
fa
started right away, here we go.

ce
Our first word is subconscious. We’ve talked about this word already several times, so
bo
I’ll review it quickly. Subconscious means the deep part of your mind. It’s the deep
emotions, the deep thoughts. They’re not at the top of your mind, you’re not thinking
ok
about them. You don’t realize that they are there, they’re deep down.
. co
And then, of course, the other kind of mind or consciousness is your conscious mind.
Your conscious mind is what you are thinking about right now. You know what you’re
m/
thinking about. You can kind of see it or hear it in your brain. But the subconscious is
deeper. You don’t see it or hear it immediately, it’s not obvious. So that’s
gr
subconscious.
ou
Our next word is dormant, dormant. So Thich Nhat Hanh said that often these seeds
ps
of anger or the seeds of violence or the seeds of sadness and depression, often they
are dormant. Dormant means sleeping. Quite simply it means sleeping, so, again,
/T
dormant. If the seeds are dormant it means they’re sleeping. They’re not growing,
ai
they’re not active. They’re not awake they are sleeping, so dormant means sleeping.
Li
You hear this word with volcanoes sometimes. They’ll say it’s a dormant volcano.
Volcano is a big mountain, right? It explodes sometimes. Well if it’s a dormant
eu
volcano it’s a sleeping volcano. It’s not exploding, there’s nothing happening, it’s
On
asleep. Okay, so dormant, again, dormant means sleeping or asleep.

Th
Our next word is formation, formation. He says that when these negative emotions,
these negative seeds are fed or watered, when you give them energy they become
iD
mental formations. So a formation is just a thing, an organized thing. So, in other

ai
words, they become real things. They become alive, they become awake, they
become real things.
Ho
So before you had this seed of anger, but you weren’t angry. It’s down there, it’s
c0
asleep, nothing is happening. But then maybe you watched the news or you’re around
1
a lot of angry people and then suddenly that seed starts growing. And now anger
becomes real, it becomes a mental formation, it becomes a real idea. It becomes a
real feeling in your brain, in your mind. So, again, formation is something that is real
and organized, something that exists in reality.
All right, our next word is manifest. We’ve had this before. To manifest means to
become real. Again, a very similar idea. So if you say anger manifests in your mind, it
means it becomes real in your mind, it becomes alive. So here we’re using manifest
as a verb, it’s the action. Formation was a noun, it’s the actual thing. But manifest, to
manifest, means to become real. It’s an action, it’s a verb.
ww
All right, next is the word trigger, to trigger. I believe we have talked about this word
before, so I’ll review it quickly, to trigger. He says “the environment can trigger the
w.
seeds of anger. The environment can trigger the seeds of depression or sadness.”
fa
So, to trigger, means to turn on, to turn on.

ce
So before the anger is asleep, it’s dormant. Something happens, it triggers the anger.
It turns on the anger. Now the anger is awake, now the anger is on. It was triggered.
bo
So, again, to trigger means to suddenly turn on, to cause something to turn on.
ok
Our next word is craving, craving. He says “If you live in a positive environment then
.
the seeds of craving are not watered easily.” Craving means desire, it means wanting
co
something a lot, wanting, wanting, wanting. But it has a negative feeling. It’s kind of a
negative word. So it means wanting something that’s not healthy, wanting something
m/
too much.
gr
So, for example, I crave fat foods. I crave lots of money. It means you must have it.
ou
You really, really, really want it and you’re constantly thinking about it. So here I’m
using it as a verb, to crave. To crave means to want a lot, to want too much. It really
ps
has this idea of too much. You want too much, you’re obsessed. So craving is a noun
/T
and to crave, the verb, to want too much.

ai
Our next word is diligence. Diligence really means discipline. It means self-control,
control of yourself, control of your thoughts and control of your desires and control of
Li
your emotions. It’s discipline, self-discipline. So, again, that’s diligence.

eu
Diligence also has the idea of being careful, right? It means being careful. And the
On
adjective is diligent, diligent. If you say “He is a diligent person” it means he is a very
careful person, very disciplined, very careful. The opposite would be reckless. Not
Th
careful, just totally doing anything and never thinking about it, never being careful.
iD
That’s the opposite. So diligent, again, means disciplined and very careful. Diligent is
the adjective, diligence is the noun.
ai
So Thich Nhat Hanh says “We need diligence to be happy.” It means we need to have
Ho
discipline. We need to control our environment more. We have to be careful. We

c0
have to be disciplined. We have to be controlled about what we watch and what we

read. We have to be diligent about our friends. We have to be careful that we choose
1
positive friends. We have to be disciplined.
Okay, our next word is suppress. He says “Be careful, don’t water the negative
seeds.” But he says “Also, don’t suppress them.” Don’t suppress. Suppress means
to push down by force. It means to use force, to push down.
So, for example, you feel angry, you’re starting to feel angry, right? It’s already
happening. It’s too late its happening. I’m angry err! Well if you suppress anger it
ww
means you ha-ah, ho-ah, mmmhhh and you don’t say anything, right? You push the
anger down. You don’t say anything, you don’t do anything. You don’t show your
w.
anger, you pretend. You are angry, but you pretend you’re not.
fa
That’s suppression, the noun, suppression. Or the verb is to suppress. You are
ce
suppressing your anger, you’re pushing it down. You’re pretending it’s not there. You
are angry, but you’re pretending you’re not. So that’s not healthy, that’s not good. So
bo
Thich Nhat Hanh is saying don’t suppress your anger. If it comes up, if it’s too late it
ok
already came up, well then you have to be honest and be open. Yes, I’m angry. You
don’t push it down. You don’t pretend you’re not angry because you’ll give yourself a
.
heart attack, it’s very unhealthy.

co
But he’s saying what you want to do is prevent the anger from happening, stop it
m/
before it happens. So by feeding yourself a lot of positive thoughts, a lot of positive

gr
videos, a lot of positive books, a lot of positive people, the anger won’t come up. But if
it does come up don’t suppress it, don’t push it down.
ou
Okay, our final word is wholesome, wholesome. He says you want to find a lot of
ps
wholesome influences. You want to find wholesome books. You want to find
/T
wholesome elements within you and within your environment. You want to be around
wholesome people. Wholesome means good and healthy, good and healthy,
ai
wholesome. So, again, wholesome means good and healthy.

Li
So, for example, wholesome food, you should eat wholesome food. It means you
eu
should eat good and healthy food, wholesome food. Or he’s a very wholesome
person. He’s a very good and healthy person. Wholesome.
On
Okay, well that is all for our vocabulary lesson for “The Art of Power.” Listen to it a few
Th
times so you understand the vocabulary and then listen and focus on the other lessons
iD
in this lesson pack. I’ll talk to you later.

ai
Ho
c0
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Excitement Mini-Story Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the mini-story for “Excitement.”

fa
*****
ce
bo
There was a guy named Brad. Brad was a student. Brad was a poor student, he
needed money for school.
ok
.
What was Brad?

co
A student, Brad was a student.

m/
What did he need?

gr
ou
He needed money, Brad needed money.

ps
What did he need money for?

/T
For school, Brad needed money for school.

ai
What kind of student was Brad?

Li
Well, he was a poor student. Brad was a poor student and he needed money for
eu
school.
On
Was he a rich student?

Th
No, of course not, he was not a rich student. He was a poor student. Brad was a poor
iD
student who needed money for school.

ai
So he needed money and he had a worthwhile purpose.

Ho
Was his purpose worthwhile? Was it good, beneficial, useful?

c0
1
Well, yes, it was, it was worthwhile. It was a good, beneficial, purpose.
What was his purpose? Why did he need money?
Well, he needed money for school, to pay for university, to pay for college. He had a
worthwhile reason for needing money.
What kind of purpose did he have for needing money?
A worthwhile purpose, it was a very good reason to need money.

ww
Who had a worthwhile purpose?

w.
Brad, Brad had a worthwhile purpose.

fa
ce
He had a worthwhile what?

bo
Purpose, he had a worthwhile purpose for needing money.

ok
And what was his worthwhile purpose?

. co
Well, school, university. His purpose for money, his purpose for needing money, for
getting money, was school. He needed money for school.
m/
gr
So Brad had a very worthwhile purpose. He had a very worthwhile reason for
needing money. And, so, of course, he got a gun and he went to a convenience
ou
store.
ps
What did Brad get?

/T
A gun, Brad got a gun.

ai
Where did he go?

Li
eu
To a convenience store. Brad got a gun and he went to a convenience store.

On
What did he have?

Th
He had a gun.
iD
Who had a gun?

ai
Brad, Brad had a gun and he went to a convenience store.

Ho
c0
Why did he go to a convenience store?

1
Well, to steal money, of course, obviously. Brad got a gun and went to a convenience
store to steal money.
Why did he want to steal money?
Because he had a worthwhile purpose, he needed money for school.
So Brad got a gun, he went to a convenience store to get money for school. It
was a worthwhile purpose. He walked into the store with his gun (pow). And he
said to the clerk “Give me some money!” and he pointed the gun at the clerk.
ww
What did he do with the gun?

w.
He pointed the gun at the clerk.

fa
ce
Where did he point the gun?

bo
At the clerk, he pointed the gun at the clerk.

ok
Who did he point the gun at?

. co
He pointed the gun at the clerk.

m/
Who pointed the gun at the clerk?

gr
Brad, Brad pointed the gun at the clerk.

ou
What did Brad say?

ps
/T
He said “Give me some money!”

ai

Li
To the clerk, he said that to the clerk. He said to the clerk “Give me some money!”
eu
and he pointed the gun at the clerk.

On
Where did he point the gun?

Th
At the clerk.
iD
Where was Brad?

ai
He was in a convenience store. Brad was in a convenience store and he said to the
Ho
clerk “Give me some money!” while pointing the gun at the clerk.
c0
Was the clerk scared?

1
Actually, no, the clerk was not scared.
The clerk said “That’s a very imprecise request, how about some specificity?”
What? What did he say?
The clerk said “That’s a very imprecise request, how about some specificity?” He was
a very intelligent clerk and he was not scared.
ww
What kind of request did the clerk want?

w.
Well, he wanted a precise request, a detailed, specific request.

fa
Did he want a precise request or did he want an imprecise request?

ce
He wanted a precise request. He said “That’s a very imprecise request. It’s a very
bo
general request, how about some specificity?”

ok
Did he want Brad to be specific?

. co
Yes, he did. He wanted Brad to be specific.

m/
Specific about what?

gr
Specific about how much money he wanted.

ou
Brad said “Give me some money, some money.”

ps
/T
Was Brad precise? Was Brad specific?

ai
No, he wasn’t. He was very imprecise, he said some, give me some money. That’s
very imprecise.
Li
eu
So the clerk wanted specificity or he wanted a general request?

On
Well, he wanted specificity. He wanted a specific request, a precise request from

Brad.
Th
iD
In fact, the clerk said to Brad “Don’t be ambiguous. Tell me exactly how much
you want.”
ai
Did he want Brad to be ambiguous, unclear?

Ho
c0
No, no, no, no, no, no, he didn’t. He said “Don’t be ambiguous.”
1
Who did he not want to be ambiguous?
Brad. He did not want Brad to be ambiguous. He said “Don’t be ambiguous. Don’t be
unclear.” He said “Tell me exactly how much you want.”
Who said “Don’t be ambiguous?”
The clerk. The clerk at the convenience store said “Don’t be ambiguous.”
Who did he say “don’t be ambiguous” to?

ww
Well, he said it to Brad. He said to Brad “Don’t be ambiguous.”

w.
Did he want Brad to be ambiguous or did he want Brad to be specific and clear?
fa
ce
Well, he wanted Brad to be very clear. He said “Don’t, do not be ambiguous. Do not
be unclear. Do not be confusing.” He said “Tell me exactly how much you want.”
bo
ok
How did Brad feel?

.
He was surprised! He was surprised by the clerk’s answer and he was silent.
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Did Brad talk?

m/
gr
No, he didn’t. He did not talk, he was silent.

ou
And how did he feel?

ps
He was surprised. Brad was surprised and he stood silent, silently with the gun.
/T
He stood silently with the gun thinking. And then he said “I don’t know. Bear
ai
with me while I think.”

Li
Did Brad want the clerk to be patient with him?

eu
Yes, that’s right. He said “Bear with me. Bear with me while I think.” Be patient while
On
I think.
Th
Who said bear with me?

iD
Well, Brad did. Brad said “Bear with me while I think. Please be patient while I think.”
ai
Who did he want to be patient?

Ho
c0
He wanted the clerk to be patient. He said to the clerk “Bear with me while I think. Be
patient while I think.”
1
Did the clerk say bear with me?
Not the clerk. He didn’t say that, Brad said that. Brad said “Bear with me.”
Why did Brad want the clerk to be patient?
Well, because he needed to think for a long time about his answer, about how much
money he wanted exactly. Brad needed to think about that answer, he didn’t know.
So he said to the clerk “Bear with me while I think about the answer.”
ww
And he thought and he thought and he thought. He stood silently with the gun
w.
for 17.5 hours.

fa
How long did Brad think?

ce
He thought for 17.5 hours, seventeen and a half hours.

bo
ok
Who thought for seventeen and a half hours?

.
Brad did. Brad thought for seventeen and a half hours.

co
What was he thinking about?

m/
gr
Well, he was thinking about how much money he wanted exactly, precisely.
ou
How long did he think?

ps
Seventeen and a half hours.

/T
Who thought for seventeen and a half hours?

ai
Brad, Brad thought for seventeen and a half hours. He stood silently for seventeen
Li
and a half hours.

eu
And, finally, after seventeen and a half hours Brad spoke. He asked the clerk for
On
$7,298. He said “I want precisely $7,298.”

Th
Did Brad’s answer have specificity?

iD
Yes, it did, it did have specificity. It had details, it was specific.

ai
What kind of answer did Brad finally give?

Ho
c0
He finally gave a specific answer. He finally gave a precise answer.

1
How much money did he ask for?
He asked for $7,298.
Why did he ask for $7,298?
Because that’s exactly how much money he needed for school. Oh, of course.
Well, the clerk smiled and said “Okay, that’s a great, specific answer.” And he
gave Brad $7,298. Brad immediately went home, then he went to school and he
ww
paid his university. Brad was very happy because now he could study.
w.
How did Brad feel?

fa
Brad felt very happy because now he could study in school once again.
ce
*****
bo
ok
And that is the end of the mini-story for “Excitement.” See you next time.
. co
m/
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Excitement POV Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the point of view mini-stories for “Excitement.” Let’s get
fa
started.
ce
Since last year Brad has needed money for school. He has been very poor since last
bo
year. He lost all his money last year, so since last year he has needed money for
school. Of course, he has had a worthwhile purpose for needing money. He’s had a
ok
worthwhile reason for needing money, during this whole time from last year up until
.
recently.
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So Brad has needed money for school since last year and since last year he has had a
m/
worthwhile purpose. And during this time he has thought about money every day. He
has tried to find a way to get more money, but he has failed. Since last year, up until
gr
recently, he has failed to get more money, so he has not been able to go to school.
ou
Well one day he got a great idea, he got a gun and he went to a convenience store.
ps
He went into the store, he pointed the gun at the clerk and he said “Give me some
money!” And the clerk said “Now that’s a very imprecise request, how about some
/T
specificity? Don’t be ambiguous. Tell me exactly how much you want.”

ai
Well Brad was surprised and he was silent for a while. And then finally he said “I don’t
Li
know. Ah, bear with me while I think.” Well then Brad was silent again. He stood with
the gun, thinking for a long, long time, thinking about the clerk’s question, the clerk’s
eu
request.
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He thought for seventeen and a half hours and then, finally, after seventeen and a half
Th
hours Brad asked for $7,298, precisely. And because Brad’s request was precise the
clerk gave it to him. The clerk gave him exactly $7,298. Brad ran home. Then he ran
iD
to school with the money. He paid for school and he started to study again. Of
ai
course, Brad was very, very happy. What a happy story.

Ho
Okay, next, same story, this time from a future point of view. This time using a future
timeframe, let’s go to the future, shall we?
c0
1
In the future there will be a student named Brad and Brad is going to need money for
school. He’ll be a poor student and he won’t have money for school. Brad’s going to
think about this problem a lot. Now, of course, he’ll have a worthwhile purpose. It’s a
worthwhile purpose to need money for school.
So he’s going to have a worthwhile purpose and, finally, he’s going to think of an idea.
“Aha, I know how to get money,” he’ll think. He’ll grab a gun and he’ll go to a
convenience store. He’ll go into the convenience store with his gun, he’ll point his gun
at the clerk and he’s going to say exactly this. “Give me some money!” The clerk will
be calm, he won’t be scared. And the clerk will say “That’s a very imprecise request,
how about some specificity? Don’t be ambiguous. Tell me exactly how much you
ww
want.”
w.
Well this is going to confuse Brad and surprise him. He’ll be silent for a while and then
finally he’ll say “I don’t know. Ah, bear with me while I think.” Then Brad will think.
fa
He’ll think and he’ll think and he’ll think, he’ll think for a very, very long time. In fact,
ce
he’s going to think for seventeen and a half hours, standing in the convenience store
pointing his gun at the clerk.
bo
ok
Finally, after seventeen and a half hours, he’ll ask the clerk for precisely $7,298. And
the clerk will be happy, “Ah, great, that’s a precise request.” The clerk will give him the
.
money. The clerk will give him exactly $7,298. Brad will take the money, he’ll run
co
home and then he’ll run to school. He’ll pay for his school, he will begin to study again
and he will be very, very happy.
m/
gr
And that’s the end of the point of view stories for “Excitement.”
ou
ps
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Excitement Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Excitement.” Let’s start.
fa
Our first word is specificity, specificity, a little difficult to pronounce, specificity. In fact,
ce
many native speakers have trouble pronouncing this word, especially if you say it fast
bo
in a sentence, specificity, specificity, specificity. Sometimes I have trouble

pronouncing it, too, but I’m doing it correctly now, specificity.
ok
.
Specificity is the noun. Specificity means, um…specific-ness is what it really means,

co
right? It means being specific, being detailed, being very exact. It’s kind of the
opposite of generality. Generality is the situation of being very general. So, for
m/
example, you say “I want a lot more money.” That statement is a generality, right? It’s
not detailed. But if you say “I want $2,496”, well that statement has specificity. It has
gr
detail. It has specific-ness, so that’s specificity.

ou
Our next word is imprecise. Imprecise is an adjective. And, in fact, it’s the opposite of
ps
specific and it’s the opposite of precise. Precise is very similar to specific, it means
you’d be very exact, very detailed. So, again, “I want $2,496.20.” That’s precise,
/T
that’s detailed.
ai
The opposite is imprecise, meaning not detailed, not precise. Imprecise means “I’d
Li
like some more money,” right? That’s not detailed. It’s very general, it’s imprecise.
So Tim Ferris is saying that the question “what do I want”, it’s an imprecise question.
eu
It’s not a specific question, it’s too general. It’s too imprecise.
On
Our next word is fated, to be fated. He says the question “what are your goals”, that
Th
question is fated for confusion, it’s fated to cause confusion. To be fated for means to
be destined for. It means something that absolutely will happen in the future or soon.
iD
So to be fated for confusion, it means it absolutely will create confusion in the near
ai
future or in the far future. So that question, that general question, what are your goals
or what are my goals or what do I want, it’s fated to cause confusion. It absolutely will
Ho
cause confusion.
c0
Next is the word worthwhile. So he’s saying “What is the purpose of goals? Why are
1
goals worthwhile?” Worthwhile means beneficial. So why are goals beneficial? Why
are goals useful, helpful, good to do, good to have, worthwhile? So worthwhile, again,
beneficial, helpful, useful, worthwhile, so worthwhile, why are goals useful? Why are
goals worthwhile? Why are they worthwhile?
Our next word is ambiguous. He says that “The idea of happiness is too ambiguous.”
And, again, ambiguous has this idea of being imprecise, general. Not clear is what it
really means. Ambiguous means not clear. Not easy to understand, not really clear.
It’s a little bit confusing, a little bit too general, a little bit unclear, all those ideas,
ambiguous, ambiguous.
ww
So happiness is ambiguous. He means that we’re not quite sure, what exactly is
happiness? What does it mean exactly? In his opinion it’s an ambiguous word. It
w.
means we’re not really sure what it means. We’re not totally clear. We have a general
idea, but we’re not exactly sure. We’re not totally clear. We’re ambiguous about it.
fa
We’re unclear about it. So, again, ambiguous means not clear, not perfectly clear. It’s
ce
the opposite of perfectly clear, ambiguous, ambiguous.

bo
Next we have the phrase bear with me. He says “Bear with me.” Bear with me while I
ok
ask more questions. Bear with me is an idiom and it means be patient with me. It
means be patient. Please be patient with me. So we say it when we need someone
.
to be patient. Maybe we’re going to talk a lot. Maybe we’re trying to explain a difficult
co
idea, so we want the other person to be patient. So we say “Bear with me” and then
we explain, right?
m/
gr
He says “Bear with me while I ask more questions.” Be patient with me while I ask
more questions. Please be patient with me. That’s what bear with me means. So
ou
bear with me means be patient with me. Please be patient with me. Bear with me,
bear with me. So we say it any time we’re explaining something difficult, any time we
ps
want the other person to be patient. We think they need to be patient with us. We’re
/T
doing something that requires them to be patient. Bear with me.

ai
Our next word is indifference. Tim Ferriss says “The opposite of love is not hate. The
opposite of love is indifference.” Indifference means not caring, no emotion, totally not
Li
caring about something. So let’s talk about an easy example a sports team. Let’s say
eu
Manchester United, soccer team, football team. So maybe some people love
Manchester United, they love them. They’re great, they’re great! And then some
On
people hate them, right? I hate Manchester United, they suck! I hate ‘em!
Th
So both of those emotions, they’re very strong, right? Love is a very powerful, strong
iD
emotion. Hate is a powerful, strong emotion. Both people, both groups of people,
have strong emotions. Both care a lot, right? If someone hates Manchester United
ai
they care, they still care a lot. They want Manchester United to fail. They have a lot of
emotion about Manchester United.
Ho
c0
But indifference is the opposite, it means no emotion about a subject, you don’t care.
And he adjective is indifferent. So if you say “I’m indifferent about Manchester United.
1
I’m totally indifferent.” You don’t care. If they win you don’t care. If they lose you
don’t care. You have no emotion, no interest, no caring at all. So indifference is the
noun or the adjective is to be indifferent. “I’m indifferent about that topic. I’m
indifferent about Manchester United.” Don’t care, no emotion, zero caring, indifferent.
Alright, our next word is synonym. “Excitement is the real synonym for happiness”, is
what he said. So synonym is just a word that means the same as another word,
they’re similar words, similar meanings. So every vocabulary lesson in these Power
English Lessons, every vocabulary lesson, is really a synonym lesson because I tell
you other words that have similar meanings.
ww
So he says “Happiness and excitement are synonyms.” It means they’re very close
w.
together, the meaning is very close. Two words with very close meanings, very similar
meanings, that’s a synonym.
fa
ce
Alright, our next and final word is bliss. He says “Many people suggest that you follow
your passion. Many people suggest that you follow your bliss.” Bliss is a very strong
bo
word and it means super happiness, incredible happiness. It’s much stronger than
ok
happiness. Happiness is kind of an average word, a normal kind of emotion. Bliss is a

very strong, powerful emotion, much stronger than happiness.
. co
So it’s a synonym. It means, basically, the same. It means happiness, but it means
very powerful happiness, very strong happiness, a lot of happiness, that’s bliss. So,
m/
again, bliss. Bliss is very, very powerful happiness. It’s a much stronger word, bliss,
gr
bliss.
ou
Okay, then, that is the end of our vocabulary lesson for “Excitement.” I will see you
next time.
ps
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Excitement Main Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to our next lesson. This one is called “Excitement.” We’re
fa
going to talk about excitement and I’m going to read a little section from a book called
ce
The 4-Hour Work Week, which is a fantastic book. I love this book.
bo
In fact, I’m going to do a few lessons based on sections of this book because I really,
really love it. I think it’s just an incredible book that really has a very creative way of
ok
looking at life and work and enjoying yourself.

. co
The theme of the book, really, is enjoying your life. I mean that is really what the book
is all about and Tim Ferriss is the writer of the book. Again, the book’s title is The 4-
m/
Hour Work Week written by Tim Ferriss. Absolutely excellent book, I highly
recommend it. Now the section we’re going to talk about today is about excitement.
gr
So let me read what Tim has to say about excitement and then I’ll talk more about it.
ou
So here we go.
ps
“What do you want? Well, first let’s ask a better question. Most people will never
know what they want. I don’t know what I want. If you ask me what I want to do in the
/T
next five months for language learning, on the other hand, I do know. It’s a matter of
ai
specificity. What do you want is too imprecise to produce a meaningful and actionable
answer. Forget about it.
Li
What are your goals is similarly fated for confusion and guesswork. To rephrase the
eu
question we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Let’s assume we
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have 10 goals and we achieve them. What is the desired outcome that makes all the
effort worthwhile? The most common response is what I also would have suggested
Th
five years ago, happiness. I no longer believe this is a good answer. I no longer
believe that happiness is the reason we achieve goals.
iD
ai
Happiness can be bought with a bottle of wine and the idea of happiness has become
ambiguous through overuse. There is a more precise alternative that reflects what I
Ho
believe is the actual objective for achieving goals. Bear with me. What is the opposite
of happiness? Sadness? No. Just as love and hate are two sides of the same coin,
c0
so are happiness and sadness. Crying out of happiness is a perfect illustration of this
1
idea.
So, for example, the opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference
and the opposite of happiness is boredom. Excitement is the more practical synonym
of happiness and it is precisely what you should strive to chase, it’s the cure all. When
people suggest that you follow your passion or that you follow your bliss, I believe they
are, in fact, referring to the same idea, excitement.
ww
This brings us full circle. It brings us back to the beginning, to our beginning question.
The question you should be asking isn’t what do I want, it’s not what are my goals, the
w.
question you should be asking yourself all the time is what would excite me?”
fa
Okay, that’s a nice little section from Tim Ferriss from The 4-Hour Workweek. And,
ce
you know, I think he’s right. Happiness can be found right now very easily. You don’t
need to achieve a goal to be happy. You don’t need to speak perfect English to be
bo
happy. You don’t need a lot of money to be happy. You don’t need to do anything.
ok
You can just smile, make your physiology strong and be grateful for everything you
have now.
. co
Be aware. Be grateful of everything you have now in your life, your family, your
friends, all the people you love and who love you. All the great opportunities you have
m/
in your life, your health. All of us have so many great things in our life. Happiness is
gr
really just a choice, an emotional choice. You choose to be happy. You can make
yourself happy right now in any situation.
ou
So we don’t need to have goals to be happy. We don’t need to achieve things and get
ps
success to be happy. But if we want passion, if we want excitement, well, that’s where
/T
goals come in. Goals make us grow. They push us to become more, to try new
things, to become bigger and better people, to live amazing lives. That’s why we have
ai
goals because, as many people have said, you’re either growing or your dying.
Li
So we can be happy anytime, anywhere, but if we really want to be passionate, we

eu
really want to feel powerful, positive emotions and feel this incredible energy, well, we
need to grow. We need to feel excited about our lives, not just happy, excited. That’s
On
the reason to have goals.

Th
So when you’re choosing your goals – and this is the most important point from this
iD
section – when you’re choosing your goals don’t choose small goals. Don’t choose
boring goals, boring goals are useless. Why have a goal if it’s boring? Just stay the
ai
same.
Ho
The only reason to choose a goal and to try to achieve a goal is if it excites you. It will
c0
give you energy and passion and excitement, trying to get it and actually getting it.
You should feel excited about both. That is the purpose of goals. They provide
1
energy, they provide excitement. So when you choose goals you must, you absolutely
must choose exciting goals.
When you write that goal down you should feel excited immediately. If you don’t it’s a
bad goal, throw it away and make a new one. All of your goals, your health goals,
your money goals, your job and work goals, your relationship goals, your language
learning goals, they should all be super exciting to you. Not just a little bit, “Oh, that
would be nice,” no, no, no, no, you should feel passionate and excited just thinking
about it. “Wow that would be great!”
ww
So let’s talk about money, for example, because it’s just such an easy, clear thing to
w.
talk about, it’s easy to measure. So let’s say money, you decide “Oh, I’d like to have a
fa
little more money.” Well that goal sucks. There’s no excitement in getting a little more
money, it doesn’t excite anybody.
ce
But let’s say you love cars and you say “I want enough money to buy a new Ferrari, a
bo
hot, red, fast, Ferrari, woo-who!” Well, as we’ve talked about before, that’s exciting.
ok
That’s a real goal. You will now have a lot of excitement and energy trying to get more
money. Because now you have something exciting, you have an exciting reason to do
.
it. You’ll be excited trying to get the money and if you succeed you will be very excited
co
to buy that car.

m/
Or maybe you have a more generous goal that excites you. Maybe your goal is to
gr
help hundreds or thousands of homeless people, to give food to people who are
hungry and to see the happiness on their face. That’s exciting. That’s an exciting
ou
reason to get more money. You can wakeup every day and feel fantastic about that
goal. It will give you energy every single day and when you accomplish that goal you
ps
will feel great, you will be excited when it happens. That’s a great reason to get more
/T
money, also.
ai
So, again, excitement is what we’re looking for. That energy, that passion, that
excitement, that’s the purpose of goals, so you need to evaluate every one of your
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goals. And, yes, we’re sort of repeating some of the ideas we’ve had in the past. It’s
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okay. This is a very important subject.

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And I want you to think about it again from a little bit different point of view here, that
your life should be exciting. You’ve got one life, you’re going to die. We all are going
Th
to die. Do you want to get to the end of your life, look back, and say well, it was kind
iD
of boring? It was okay, so-so. It wasn’t bad.” I mean that’s a wasted life. That sucks.
You might as well end right now if that’s your poor little goal. That sucks!
ai
But I know you don’t want that because you’re listening to me still. You would have
Ho
quit by now if that’s what you wanted. I know you want more. You want to get to the
c0
end of your life and look back and say “I lived an amazing life! I’m excited about all the
great things I did! I’m excited about all the people I helped! I’m excited about all the
1
things I learned!”
Well that’s what you want in your life right not too, don’t you? Don’t you want to be
excited about your job or your career, about your work? If you’re not you need to
change something. You need a bigger goal, a bigger more exciting goal. You need to
keep making that goal bigger and bigger and bigger until you do feel excited. That’s
when you know it’s a good goal, when you start feeling excited and a little scared, as
you know.
ww
And it’s the same when you talk about your body or learning English or anything.
w.
You’ve got to find the excitement in it and that’s so much more powerful than just
fa
achieving something. If you achieve, you make a million dollars, but you’re not
excited, there’s no exciting reason, you won’t be happy. In fact, probably the opposite,
ce
you’re going to feel very sad and disappointed. So find that excitement, find your
passions in life and choose goals that excite you. That is the only reason to have a
bo
goal.
ok
All right, good luck. I hope that you’ll go our Member Forums and write your goals.
.
Tell everybody about your goals. We want to know. Make us excited. I’m excited to
co
read great goals that other people have and I’m really excited to hear when they’re
working on them. So, please, go the Forums and write down your exciting goals.
m/
Share your exciting goals with all of us, all of your Effortless English Club members
gr
and family. Share your big, exciting goals with us.

ou
And then, you know, every week or every month, tell us what you’re doing. How’s it
going? And when you have successes, when you achieve exciting goals, when you
ps
feel great and excited, please, go to the Forums, share your excitement.
/T
You know most other groups, most other peer groups, most other learning groups
ai
they’re always just complaining all the time. It’s so negative. It just takes all the
energy out. But not our club, our club is the opposite. We share our excitement, we
Li
share our successes, we share our passion. That is the purpose of the Forums, it’s
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the purpose of our Master Member Site, it is the purpose of the Effortless English
Club.
On
So I’m asking you, please, share your excitement, share your positive energy with us.
Th
Give it to other people, inspire other members. Let’s do that for each other and build
iD
an amazing community, an amazing family of English learners. All right, I will see you
next time.
ai
Ho
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Adventure Main Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ. Here we are again for our next lesson. Now this lesson, once again,
fa
is based on a small excerpt, a small section from the book The 4-Hour Workweek by
Tim Ferriss. Again, I highly recommend this book. It’s a fantastic book, just a great
ce
book. I love it.

bo
And this lesson is called “Adventure”, one of my favorite words, in fact, adventure.
ok
And in this section Tim Ferriss talks about what he calls “ADD for Adults.” Now it’s a
.
bit of a joke because ADD means Attention Deficit Disorder. You don’t need to
co
understand that. But, what it means basically, is its children who cannot concentrate.
So usually it’s something for children and it’s a child who cannot concentrate. And
m/
usually this happens in school, right? They can’t concentrate and so the doctors or the
school or the teachers they decide “Your child has ADD. Your child has a problem.
gr
He can’t concentrate.”
ou
Now, in my opinion, this is mostly a bullshit diagnosis. This is mostly a bullshit

ps
problem. Because the real problem is bored because the school sucks! So, in my
opinion, ADD is actually quite healthy. Healthy children get ADD because they’re
/T
bored in school because the schools suck, so usually a teaching problem. In fact, in
ai
my opinion, always, 100%, the teachers and the school are responsible. You don’t
blame the child. You don’t blame the student, even if it’s an adult student. You have
Li
to take responsibility.
eu
Anyway, this ADD thing he’s kind of joking about this. But he has a different definition
On
for ADD for adults, not for children. He calls it “Adventure Deficit Disorder.” Deficit
means you don’t have enough. Disorder is like a disease. So adult ADD means
Th
adults who don’t have enough adventure in their life, they don’t have enough
adventure in their life. And Tim Ferriss believes this is a very serious disease that
iD
most adults have.

ai
So what he’s saying is most adults are damn boring, they’re boring. They have no
Ho
adventure in their life. They have no excitement in their life. And I agree, most of the
adults I have met are boring, there’s no adventure in their life.
c0
1
So, Tim Ferriss talks about getting more adventure into your life. Not just having
exciting goals, but having your entire life be an adventure. It means you’re trying new
things, you’re growing. You’re doing difficult things sometimes, sometimes scary
things, but exciting, too. So let me read this section and then I’ll talk more about it.
“Adventure Deficit Disorder”– Somewhere between college graduation and your

second job a chorus of people enters your internal dialogue in your mind, in your head.
They say ‘Be realistic and stop pretending. Life isn’t like the movies, stop dreaming.’
If you’re five years old and you say you want to be an astronaut your parents tell you
that you can be anything you want to be. It’s harmless, like telling a child that Santa
ww
Clause exists. If you’re 25 and you announce that you want to start a new circus the
response is quite different. People say ‘Be realistic, become a lawyer, become an
w.
accountant or a doctor. Have babies and raise your babies to repeat the same cycle.’
fa
If you do manage to ignore all the doubters and you start your own business,
ce
adventure deficit disorder does not disappear it just takes a different form. For
example, when I started my own company in 2001 it was with a clear goal in mind. My
bo
goal was to make $1,000 per day. And my goal was to make $1,000 per day from
ok
passive income, to make money whether I was banging my head on a computer or

cutting my toenails on the beach. This business was to be an automated source of
.
cash flow.
co
But, if you look at my chronology, it is obvious that this didn’t happen until a meltdown
m/
forced it despite the income. Why? Well, my goal wasn’t specific enough. I had not
gr
defined alternative activities that would replace the initial workload. Therefore I just
continued working, even though there was no financial need.
ou
I needed to feel productive and I had no other activities. This is how most people work
ps
until death. Most people think ‘I’ll just work until I have $1,000 or $1,000,000 and then
/T
I’ll do what I want.’ However, if you don’t define the alternative activities that dollar
figure will increase indefinitely so that you can avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty of
ai
not know what to do next. This is why both employees and entrepreneurs become fat
men in red BMWs.”
Li
eu
Alright, that’s quite a little section there. Tim Ferriss has quite strong ideas, as you
can see, about life and about working. In his opinion, working for money is a bad
On
thing. You want to work for passion. You want to work for excitement. You want to
have a life full of passion and excitement, you’re life should not be dominated by trying
Th
to get money.
iD
But he says what happens is that a lot of times we work and work and work not
ai
because we need money, just because we’re afraid to do something else. We don’t
know what else to do. For example, a lot of people who retire, after they retire they
Ho
lose their passion for life, they’re very unhappy. That seems crazy. Why are they
c0
unhappy they’re free? It’s because they don’t know what else to do. They have no
other dreams.
1
So what he’s saying is that we often work a lot, just to avoid thinking about our life.
Because we have no imagination, we’ve lost our imagination, we’ve lost our dreams,
and so we just focus on work all the time. And, you know, I can relate to this story.
This story sounds similar to my own story. Because after about one year, after I
started my company Effortless English, well after one year I was making enough
money. I didn’t need to work and yet I was still on the computer all the time. I still do it
sometimes, on the computer checking the advertising, checking the sales all the time.
Why am I doing this? Well because I haven’t created enough other activities that are
exciting and passionate for me.
ww
Now I’m doing that now, but I have to be careful about this. I have to be careful that I
w.
don’t focus on work just to avoid boredom, just to avoid adventure. I have to make
myself be adventurous. That’s why I travel all the time. That’s why I spend three to
fa
four months in Southeast Asia. So I break my pattern so I don’t just get stuck in this
ce
same boring routine doing the same thing all the time. I force myself to break that,
every year, break it, and go someplace different than San Francisco.
bo
ok
And so you need to do that, too. You have to find some adventure in your life. Go
someplace new. Find a new crazy goal, something strange and wonderful. Don’t get
.
stuck just working, working, working. And if you have a job where you’re forced to
co
work, work and work all the time, you know, get a new job for God sakes. Find a new
job.
m/
gr
Even if you start your own company, don’t let the company own you. You own the
company the company does not own you. Make sure you create a company that will
ou
give you plenty of free time so that you can have adventure in your life, so you can
travel, where you can learn amazing new things, different things. Not for money, just
ps
to learn, just to enjoy, just for the challenge and the adventure.
/T
So find other activities outside of work. If work is your only focus in life you’re going to
ai
become boring. That’s why I’m taking singing lessons and I’m practicing singing every
day. Because I’ve always wanted to do music and to be a singer, so now I’m doing it
Li
and it’s exciting. I love it. That’s why I travel to Thailand and to Malaysia and why I
eu
want to go to Vietnam and to South India and I want to go all over the world. Because
it’s an adventure, I don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s always a surprise
On
every day when I do that. It’s not the same boring routine all the time.
Th
And so I encourage you to do the exact same thing. Do something crazy, do

iD
something different. Bring surprise into your life. Bring variety into your life. Bring
adventure into your life. Go find it. If you do that you’ll find that, again, your energy
ai
and your love for life are going to increase so much. So I challenge you, go find
adventure.
Ho
c0
Have you been just doing the same thing every day, every week, every year after
year? Well it’s never too late, change it. Break that pattern and just do something
1
crazy and fun and adventurous. You will not regret it, you’ll be so happy you did it.
And then make it a habit again and again. Always be finding new adventures,
breaking your patterns.
Any time you just find yourself doing the same thing again, again, again, break it and
do something different, do something new. Even if it’s crazy, just do it. Travel to some
new place you’ve never been. And don’t just travel, don’t plan the vacation, go without
a guide book. Try that. You’ve never been there, no guide book, oh my God. That
will be fun. That will be surprising and interesting. That will be adventurous.
ww
Or start some crazy new project, even in your hometown. Go do something totally
different that you’ve never done before. Start breaking those mental patterns then
w.
you’ll get more creativity in your life and more energy.

fa
Alright, I will see you next time. I want to hear about your adventures. Again, go to
ce
the Forums, tell us your adventures. What crazy, fun, amazing things are you doing
now or have you decided to do soon? Tell us. Tell us so we can become excited.
bo
Maybe we’ll try it, too. Maybe we’ll join you.

ok
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Adventure Mini-Story Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the mini-story for “Adventure.”

fa
ce
Michelle hated her job. Her workload was too heavy.

bo
Why did she hate her job?

ok
Well, because her workload was too heavy. She had too much work.
. co
Whose workload was too heavy?

m/
Michelle’s, Michelle’s workload was too heavy.

gr
How did Michelle feel about her job?

ou
She hated it. Michelle hated her job.

ps
Why did she hate her job?

/T
ai
Well, because her workload was too heavy. She hated her job because her workload
was too heavy.
Li
Was her workload too light, too easy?

eu
On
No it wasn’t. It wasn’t too light it was too heavy. Her workload was too heavy.
Th
What was too heavy?

iD
Her workload. Her workload was too heavy, so she hated her job.
ai
Now Michelle made a lot of money. She was a Vice President at IBM.
Ho
What was her position?

c0
1
Well, Vice President. Her position was Vice President.
Which company was she a Vice President at?
IBM. She was a Vice President at IBM.
What was her position?
Vice President. Michelle was a Vice President at IBM.
Did she make a little money or a lot of money?

ww
Well, of course, she made a lot of money. She had a very high-paying job. She was a
w.
Vice President at IBM. Michelle made a lot of money.

fa
Who made a lot of money?

ce
Michelle, Michelle made a lot of money at IBM.

bo
ok
In fact, she got great cash flow from her job.

.
Did she have great cash flow from her job?

co
Oh, yeah, great cash flow, a lot of money moving from IBM into her bank.
m/
gr
She had a lot of money coming to her. She had great cash flow.
ou
Did Michelle have bad cash flow or great cash flow?

ps
She had great cash flow.

/T
Was her cash flow positive or negative?

ai
Positive. She had more money coming, less money leaving her bank.
Li
eu
More money coming in, less going out. That’s positive cash flow. Michelle had
very positive cash flow.
On
Why did Michelle have positive cash flow?

Th
iD
Well, because she had a great job at IBM. She was a Vice President at IBM. She
made a lot of money, so she had positive cash flow not negative cash flow.
ai
So what was the problem?

Ho
c0
Well, the problem was her workload was too heavy, so Michelle was miserable.
1
Was she happy?
No, no, no, very, very unhappy. She was miserable.
Why was Michelle miserable?
Because her workload was too heavy. She felt a lot of stress. She was too busy. Her
workload was too much.
Well one day, finally, she had a meltdown.

ww
Did she lose control of her emotions one day?

w.
fa
That’s right. She lost control of her emotions one day. She had a meltdown.
ce
What did she have?

bo
A meltdown. Michelle had a meltdown.

ok
Why did she have a meltdown?

. co
Because she was too stressed, she had a very heavy workload. She was too
stressed, so, finally, one day she had a meltdown.
m/
gr
Was she in control of her emotions or did she have a meltdown?

ou
Well, obviously, she had a meltdown. She lost control of her emotions. She had a
total, complete meltdown, total complete loss of control.
ps
/T
She had a meltdown. She screamed at her boss. She said “I have too much
work! I hate this God damn job!” Ooh, wow, she did lose control. She had a
ai
meltdown, she was screaming at her boss. “Aaahhh, I hate this damn job! I
hate it! I hate it! I hate it!” She screamed and yelled at her boss. She yelled for
Li
five hours “I hate this job! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!” It was a total
eu
meltdown. She totally lost control of her emotions. She screamed and
screamed and screamed.
On
Wow. Was it a small meltdown or a total meltdown?

Th
iD
Man, it was a total meltdown. A complete meltdown, she totally lost control. She went
crazy screaming at her boss. “I hate this job! I have too much work!”
ai
Phew, wow, poor Michelle. Well after five hours of screaming at her boss, ah,
Ho
she stopped. And her boss said “Well, no problem. We’ll just automate your
c0
job.”
1
Ha, what did her boss want to do?
He wanted to automate her job.
Did he want computers and machines to do her job?
That’s right. He wanted computes and machines to do her job. He wanted her job to
become automatic, no person necessary.
What did her boss decide to do?

ww
He decided to automate Michelle’s job.

w.
fa
Was he going to hire a new person for her job?

ce
No, he was not. He wanted computers and machines to do her job. He wanted to
automate her job.
bo
ok
What did he want to automate?

.
Michelle’s job. He wanted to automate Michelle’s job.

co
Whose job did he want to automate?

m/
gr
Well, Michelle’s job. Her boss wanted to automate Michelle’s job.

ou
And so he did, he automated her job. Michelle was replaced by a computer. She
lost her job.
ps
/T
What happened to Michelle’s job?

ai
It was automated. Michelle’s job was automated. It became automatic.

Li
What was Michelle replaced by?

eu
A computer. Michelle was replaced by a computer. She lost her job to a computer.
On
Her job was automated.

Th
How did Michelle feel now?

iD
Super happy, of course! She was very happy. She moved to a beach in Thailand and
ai
she relaxed every day. It was wonderful.

Ho
How did she feel about losing her job?

c0
She felt great!

1
Where did she move?
She moved to Thailand, paradise.
How did she feel?
She felt relaxed and happy.
*****
ww
And that is the end of the mini-story for “Adventure.”

w.
fa
See you next time. Big smile, deep breathe, strong physiology.
ce
bo
ok
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Adventure POV Text

w.
Hello this is AJ. Welcome to the point of view stories for “Adventure.” Let’s begin.
fa
ce
For the last five years Michelle has hated her job. She has really hated her job for the
last five years. Why? Well, because for the last five years her workload has been
bo
much too heavy. She has had a very heavy workload for the last five years.
ok
Now she has made a lot of money. For the last five years she’s made tons of money,
.
a huge amount of money. She has been a Vice President of IBM for the last five
co
years. So five years ago she got this job, Vice President. Since five years ago…for
the last five years…she has been a Vice President at IBM. During that time she has
m/
made a lot of money every year. In fact, for the last five years she has had a lot of
cash flow, very strong positive cash flow. She’s had great cash flow during that time.
gr
ou
But, unfortunately, Michelle has been miserable. She has been totally, completely
miserable at her job. She has been miserable because she’s been stressed, she’s
ps
been so stressed. And the stress has built and it has built and it has built until, finally,
one day she had a meltdown, a total complete meltdown. She screamed at her boss,
/T
she said “I have too much work! I hate this damn job! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I
ai
hate it!”
Li
Woo, she had a total meltdown. In fact, she screamed at her boss for five hours
without stopping. It was a total meltdown. She lost all control of her emotions. And,
eu
finally, after five hours of screaming, ah, she stopped. And her boss was kind of
On
angry, actually. And he said “Well, no problem! We’ll just automate your job.” And he
did, he automated Michelle’s job.
Th
Michelle was replaced by a computer. But she was very happy because she moved to
iD
Thailand and she lived on a beach and every day she felt relaxed and happy.
ai
Okay, that’s the end of our first story and you’ll notice, again, there was a change. By
Ho
now you should understand and you should know why the change happened. Just
listen to it, just see it, understand the meaning and do not think about grammar terms.
c0
For God’s sakes, please don’t do that.

1
Let’s go to the next story, into the future. In the future there will be a woman named
Michelle. Michelle is going to hate her job because her workload will be much too
heavy. She’ll have too much work. Yes, she’s going to make a lot of money. Her job
is going to be Vice President at IBM. She’ll be a Vice President at IBM.
And she’s going to have great positive cash flow, lots of money coming to her into her
bank account. But the problem is going to be that she will be miserable. She’s going
to be totally miserable because of her job. She’s going to have so much stress in her
life. And, finally, one day she’ll have a meltdown. She’ll scream at her boss “Ah! I
have too much work! I hate this job! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!”
ww
She’ll scream and she’ll scream and she’ll scream for five hours. Finally, after five
w.
hours, she’ll stop, ah. Now her boss, he’ll be a little angry. And he’ll say “Well, no
fa
problem! We’ll automate your job!” And he’s going to automate her job. Michelle will
be replaced by a computer. But it’s okay because she’s going to be super happy.
ce
She’ll move to Thailand, she’ll live on a beach and she’ll feel relaxed and happy every
day.
bo
ok
Okay, that is the end of the point of view stories, the POV lesson for “Adventure.” I will
see you next time. Bye-bye.
. co
m/
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ww
Adventure Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Adventure.” Now this will be a little bit
fa
shorter because it’s a little bit easier this time. Let’s start at the very beginning we
ce
have the phrase ‘internal dialogue’.

bo
He says that after you graduate from college or perhaps high school and maybe
before your second job, sometime in that time period, a chorus of people…chorus
ok
means group, a group of people…a group of people enters your internal dialogue.
.
Internal means inside, so he means inside your mind, inside your brain. Dialogue
co
means conversation.
m/
So what is he talking about? He means that other people’s opinions, what other
people say, it gets inside your head. You start hearing all these suggestions and
gr
advice because everybody is telling you what to do. Your parents are telling you, you
ou
know, get a good job. Get a good job. Get a good. Get a good job. And so that
becomes part of your internal dialogue. It becomes part of your conversation, the
ps
conversation in your brain.

/T
So internal dialogue means the conversation happening inside your head and other
ai
people put those ideas in your head. They become part of your internal conversation,
internal dialogue.
Li
Okay, next we talked about the word deficit. Deficit means not enough. It means not
eu
having enough. So adventure deficit means not having enough adventure, not having
On
enough adventure. And disorder basically means disease. It’s a kind of disease. But
it’s really more of a mental disease. We use it for mental problems, so we say a
Th
mental disorder, a mental disease.

iD
All right, next we go down a little bit and we see the word automated, automated. So
ai
Tim Ferriss created a company and his idea was to have automated income.
Automated means automatic, it has this idea of being done by machines or computers.
Ho
So automated income means automatic income, it means he doesn’t have to work for
it, it just happens automatically.
c0
1
So, for example, he has a website. People buy his product and the computer takes
the money from the credit card. The computer sends information to the warehouse.
The warehouse sends the product to the customer. Tim Ferris does nothing, he sits
on the beach. He doesn’t need to do anything, everything is automatic, right? There’s
an automatic system. So that’s what automated means, automated means a process

that is automatic, a process that happens automatically.
So his idea was to have a business that was automated. That means the business
happened automatically with computers, with other people and he wouldn’t need to do
anything. That was his idea. In fact, he wanted automated cash flow. Cash means
ww
money. Flow means movement, moving, movement, so money, movement, cash flow.
w.
Of course, he’s talking about positive cash flow. It means money moving to him, right?
fa
Money coming to him, it means the money is moving from his business to his pocket
or to his bank. That’s cash flow. Negative cash flow means the money is leaving your
ce
bank. It’s going to other people. You don’t want that you want. You want positive
cash flow, money moving to you.
bo
ok
So he wanted automated cash flow, automatic money coming to him. That was his
goal. But he says there was a problem. He says “If you look at my chronology you will
.
see that it did not happen in the beginning.” So he said if you look at my chronology,
co
chronology means history. It’s almost exactly the same meaning. Chronology means
history or timeline. But history is really a simple synonym, a simple word that means
m/
the same thing.

gr
So he says if you look at my history, if you look at my chronology. Look at my history

ou
when I started the company and then the first year, the second year, the third year,
look at that chronology, look at that history. He says “If you look at that chronology, if
ps
you look at that history, you see that I did not stop working.” He said “I could have. I
/T
could have had automated income, but instead I kept working and working and
working. I didn’t need to work, but I kept working anyway.”
ai
He said “I worked until a meltdown forced me to stop working.” A meltdown, what’s a

Li
meltdown? A meltdown is an emotional crisis. It means you totally lose control of your
eu
emotions, usually because of stress. So you’re working, more pressure, more stress,
more stress, more stress, you’re trying to control, you’re trying to control and suddenly,
On
aaahhh, meltdown! You lose all your control. You lose all your emotional control.
You just go crazy, basically.
Th
iD
So this happened to Tim Ferriss. He built this company and he was making more
money, more money, and more money. He was working harder, harder, harder, more,
ai
more, more, more, more stress, more stress, more stress, more busy, more busy,
more busy. Finally, his mind and body broke. A meltdown, he lost control, aaaahhh, I
Ho
can’t do this, too much stress! He totally lost control, he had a meltdown.
c0
And when he lost control of his feelings he just kind of went crazy for a while. He
1
finally stopped, he realized, oh my God, what am I doing? Why am I working so

much? I don’t need to, I have plenty of money. Why am I still working, working,
working? Why am I so stressed? I have enough money. My money can be
automated. Why am I doing this? Why am I making my life unhappy? Why am I
making my life so stressed? That’s what he asked himself after the meltdown, after
the emotional crisis.
And he realized the reason was that he did not have alternate activities, other activities
to replace the workload. Workload means amount of work, very simple. It’s the
amount of work you have. You can say “I have a heavy workload.” A heavy workload
ww
means you have a lot of work to do, you’re super busy.

w.
Or you can say “I have a light workload.” It means you don’t have much to do. You’re
fa
not busy. Your job is quite easy. Or you could even talk about it just temporarily, you
can say “This week I have a very light workload. But next week, wow, next week I
ce
have a very heavy workload.” So it’s just the amount of work you have.
bo
So he’s saying his problem was he had this heavy workload and he could stop, but the
ok
problem was he had nothing to replace it with. He didn’t have something else to do,
so he was afraid. “If I stop working I’ll be totally bored and that will be even more
.
horrible. It will make me even more unhappy.” So that’s why he kept working,
co
working, working, working, working, he didn’t have an exciting alternative to work.

m/
And then, finally, of course he had a meltdown, ah, he kind of went crazy because of
gr
all the stress. And then he realized, wow, I need more exciting, more meaningful
alternatives. I don’t want to be a slave to my business.
ou
And then, finally, we have the word inducing, fear-inducing. He said “We work and
ps
work and work more and more and more to avoid the fear-inducing uncertainty.” Fear-
/T
inducing uncertainty. Inducing means causing, so it’s fear-causing uncertainty, the

uncertainly causes fear. That’s what the phrase means.
ai
So he’s saying we want to avoid uncertainly that causes fear. We don’t like
Li
uncertainty. We don’t want to be uncertain because it causes fear, it induces fear. So

eu
here we’re using it as an adjective, fear-inducing uncertainty. What kind of certainty?

Fear-causing uncertainty, fear-inducing uncertainty.
On
So he’s saying if you don’t have other big dreams you’ll be afraid, you’ll be uncertain. I
Th
don’t know what to do. What will I do? There’s nothing there. That’s very scary, so
iD
you keep working, working, working.

ai
So he’s saying if you have big dreams, other activities outside work then you will have
certainty and you will not be afraid. No fear-inducing uncertainty or fear-causing
Ho
uncertainty.
c0
All right, well, that’s the end of our vocabulary lesson for “Adventure.”
1
Let’s move on to the mini-story.
ww
Plateaus Main Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the next lesson. This one is called “Plateaus.”
fa
ce
Now this is a subject we’ve talked about a little bit, but I want to talk more about it, this
idea of plateaus. A plateau is a flat area that usually is kind of up on top of a
bo
mountain. So, for example, you go up a big hill and you’re going up, up, up and then
suddenly it’s flat and it’s a big long flat area that’s kind of high up.
ok
.
Now a plateau in learning is something that all of you have experienced. Because it’s
co
normal when we learn that we learn a lot suddenly and then we have a plateau, a flat
spot. It feels like we’re not learning, right? We’re studying, we’re studying, we’re
m/
studying, but we feel like we’re not improving.

gr
And that happens for a while and then suddenly, boom, we go up again. We start
ou
learning fast, fast, fast and then another plateau, right? We’re trying to learn and we’re
studying and we’re studying, but nothing seems to be happening, another flat part.
ps
And then, boom, we go up again and we start learning very fast.

/T
And that’s the normal process of learning. We have these times where we seem to be
ai
improving very quickly and then we have plateaus where everything feels flat. It feels
like nothing’s happening. Even though we may be working very hard, we may be
Li
studying very hard, but it feels like nothing’s happening.

eu
This happens in sports a lot. So if you’re a runner and you’re training to run a race,
On
well when you first start to run, of course you improve very quickly. We always feel
like we’re improving fastest in the beginning when we’re just starting. Because we
Th
know nothing so, of course, any improvement feels very big.

iD
But then, later, we start getting to an intermediate level and we hit a plateau, a flat
ai
area. It feels like nothing’s happening, so we keep trying. We’re trying and we’re
trying, but it feels like nothing is happening.
Ho
But if we’re patient, if we keep practicing and we keep studying then, boom, we will
c0
have another fast period of growing and improving. And, again, this happens in
1
sports, it happens in language in language learning, it happens in all kinds of learning.
And a man named George Leonard wrote about this experience in his book Mastery,
so the book is Mastery and the writer, George Leonard. And I’ve mentioned him
before, but I’m going to read a section again. And I want to talk about this again
because plateaus can be very frustrating. It’s one of the difficult things that most
English students -- and, really, most students for any subject – encounter because it
can be frustrating, it can make you feel like you’re, you know, not improving. It can
ww
hurt your motivation.

w.
So you need to be ready for plateaus. You need to know need to know how to solve
fa
this problem: How should you feel when you have a plateau in your English learning.
Because a lot of people get frustrated and then they quit and so they never become
ce
masters, they never have English mastery, they never speak excellent English.
bo
So it’s a very important topic and I want to talk about it some more, so let me read a
ok
little more from Mastery by George Leonard and then I will talk more about this topic.
Here we go.
. co
“In preparing an Esquire Magazine special on the topic of ‘Mastery’ I decided to see if I
could find a series of pictures that would illustrate the idea of mastery. So I went
m/
through hundreds of pictures from major photo agencies and there, scattered among
gr
the usual thrill of victory, agony of defeat shots, was just what I was looking for,
pictures of athletes that showed the idea of mastery.
ou
“For example, Stephen Scott making the last turn in a mile race. His face serene, his
ps
body relaxed. Or, Greg Louganis at the edge of the diving board, his face in calm
/T
concentration. Or, Peter Vidmar doing floor exercises, his body in an impossibly
strenuous position, his face composed. Or, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar launching his sky-
ai
hook basketball shot over the head of an opposing player, his face a picture of inner
delight. Now, Abdul-Jabbar is not a man of small ego and I’m sure he loved the
Li
money, the fame and the privileges his career brought him, but he loved the sky-hook
eu
more.
On
“Goals, as I have said, are important, but they exist in the future and in the past,
beyond the senses. Practice, the path of mastery, exists only in the present. You can
Th
see it, hear it, smell it, feel it. To love the plateaus is to love the eternal now, to enjoy
iD
the inevitable spurts of progress and the fruits of accomplishment then serenely accept
the next plateau that waits just beyond them. To love the plateau is to love what is
ai
most essential and enduring in your life.”

Ho
Okay, very interesting. So that’s plateaus by George Leonard from his book Mastery.
c0
And what he’s saying is that it’s fun to have a big spurt of learning, right, to learn
something very quickly, but we must also learn to enjoy the plateaus. It’s good to have
1
goals, but we have to learn to enjoy the plateaus. We have to learn to enjoy the times
when we’re just studying, just practicing and we feel like we’re not improving…we’re
not improving quickly.
Now some people get frustrated during those times. If you get frustrated eventually
you will quit. You just won’t learn fast. Because actually, during plateaus research
has shown -- during these plateaus -- you are actually learning very quickly. Your
brain is learning so much…so much new information, but your brain is not ready to
show it yet.
ww
Inside your brain many new connections are happening. You’re actually learning very,
very quickly, but it’s happening subconsciously. During the plateaus you are learning
w.
subconsciously. So you can’t really talk about what you’ve learned and maybe you
fa
can’t use it yet.

ce
So, for example, with English, during a plateau you feel like you’re not learning, but if
you’re listening and listening and listening, actually you are learning. Subconsciously
bo
your brain is understanding the grammar more and more, your brain is understanding
ok
more and more vocabulary, your brain is learning better and better pronunciation, but
there’s a gap. There’s a delay between understanding and using.
. co
So, for example, your listening will be improving very fast, but your speaking…
nothing’s happening. You feel like nothing’s happening. “I still can’t speak well” and
m/
you get frustrated. This happens with a lot of students, but the problem is they give up
gr
or they go back and they start to use old methods and they try to force themselves to
speak and that only makes you learn more slowly.
ou
You have to trust the plateaus. If you use the correct methods, if you follow the
ps
Effortless English System and you listen and you listen and you listen and you read,
/T
read, read, subconsciously you will be learning very quickly. You’ll be understanding
more and more and more, but there will be a gap. There will be a delay between your
ai
subconscious learning and then your speaking improvement.

Li
That’s why we have a six-month guarantee, not a one-month guarantee. Because it

eu
takes about six months for all of this subconscious learning to suddenly, boom, create
better speech. It will happen automatically, it will happen effortlessly. The speaking
On
part happens automatically, you don’t need to worry about it. So it’s very important to
enjoy the process.
Th
iD
That’s what George Leonard is talking about. You must enjoy the process of learning,
not just the final goal. We’ve talked about having very strong, powerful goals, that’s
ai
very important. It’s equally important to enjoy the process of learning. Because if you
have a great goal, but you hate the process, if you just hate studying, you hate
Ho
listening, you’re not going to succeed, you’ll quit.

c0
Every day you have to just love listening to English. You have to enjoy the process
1
every day, every minute. That’s why you change your physiology. That’s why I give
you interesting topics. Not just boring dialogues, not just boring textbook stuff, I’m
trying to give you ideas and information that will be useful and interesting to you.
Why? So you will enjoy the process of learning English. So you will focus on the
content, so you will focus on the information, not on learning the language because
learning the language happens automatically. If you listen, if you follow our system,
you will learn English automatically, you will speak better automatically.
So my job, as the teacher, is to make the process as interesting and fun and enjoyable
ww
as possible for you. That’s why I yell and scream. That’s why I have these crazy
stories. That’s why I pick topics that are meaningful that will help your life, not just
w.
your English. Because I know the more you find the content interesting, the more
fa
interesting and useful the topics are funnier, more crazy or loud or entertaining the
stories are, the more you will enjoy the process of learning. You’ll want to listen just
ce
because it’s fun, just because it’s interesting.

bo
So that’s what you must do, you must find English that’s fun and interesting or useful
ok
to you. You’ve got to enjoy it every day. You must be smiling as you listen to English,
as you read English. That’s what George Leonard is talking about, enjoying the
.
plateaus, enjoying the process of your life. Not just learning English, everything you
co
do you’ve got to learn to enjoy the process because right now this is your life. Not in
the future, not in the past, right now, this is your life.
m/
gr
So you should be smiling now, you should be standing tall now. You should be
breathing deeply now, you should be enjoying yourself now. You should be interested
ou
now, you should be excited now. You should be moving your body now, now is when
the learning happens.
ps
/T
Okay. Well I hope you are enjoying this process step by step with effortless English.
And I hope when you go and you find reading material that you’re finding interesting
ai
reading materials, fun, easy novels not boring textbooks. Please, this is so important,
make sure…be sure…to enjoy the process of learning every minute, every day.
Li
eu
All right, I will see you next time.

On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Plateaus Mini-Story Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the mini-story for “Plateaus.” Let’s get started.

fa
ce
*****
bo
Allen was in agony. His back hurt all the time.

ok
Did Allen feel good?

. co
No, no, no, he felt terrible. He was in agony. He was in terrible pain. He felt terrible
pain.
m/
He was in what?
gr
ou
He was in agony.
ps
Who was in agony?

/T
Allen, Allen was in agony.

ai
So, did Allen feel great or was Allen in pain?

Li
He was in pain. He was in agony. He felt terrible pain.

eu
On
Why as Allen in agony?

Th
Well, because his back hurt. His back was in agony, it hurt so much, “Oooh!”
iD
What hurt?
ai
Allen’s back. Allen’s back hurt. In fact, Allen was in agony.

Ho
Who was in agony?

c0
1
Allen, Allen was in agony.
Why?
Because his back hurt all the time.
Did his back hurt a little bit?

ww
No, not a little bit. He was in agony, terrible, horrible pain. His back didn’t hurt a little
bit his back hurt a lot. He was in agony “Oooh, terrible, every day.”
w.
fa
So, Allen went to a doctor in Los Angeles. He said “Doctor, I’m in agony! Help
me!” The doctor said “Allen, don’t do any strenuous exercise, stay in bed.”
ce
What did the doctor say?

bo
ok
The doctor said “Don’t do any strenuous exercise, stay in bed.”

.
Did the doctor want Allen to do strenuous exercise?

co
No. No, he didn’t. He said “Don’t do any strenuous exercise.” Don’t do any tough,
m/
difficult exercise.
gr
Who said “Don’t do any strenuous exercise, stay in bed?”

ou
The doctor. The doctor in Los Angeles.

ps
/T

ai
To Allen. He said to Allen “Don’t do any strenuous exercise.”

Li
What kind of exercise did he want Allen to avoid?

eu
He wanted him to avoid strenuous exercise. He said “Don’t do any strenuous

On
exercise, stay in bed.”

Th
Why did he want Allen to avoid strenuous exercise?

iD
Well, to help his back, to help his back pain. He wanted to help Allen heal his back
ai
pain, so he said “Don’t do any strenuous exercise, stay in bed.”

Ho
And so Allen did not do any strenuous exercise, he stayed in bed for 11 months.
c0
He ate in bed. He drank in bed. He worked from his bed. But, still, after 11
months he was still in agony. “Oooh, my back, oooh!” Allen was still in agony
1
after 11 months of avoiding strenuous exercise.
And so he went to Monterey, California to another doctor. He said “Doctor, I’m

in agony. My back, oh, it’s killing me. It hurts!” This doctor said “Allen, if you
are lazy and you stay in bed all day back pain is inevitable. You must exercise.”
Hum…he said if you are lazy and you stay in bed all day back pain is inevitable.
Did the Monterey doctor want Allen to exercise?

ww
Yes, he did. He said “You must exercise.” He said “If you don’t exercise back pain is
w.
inevitable.” Back pain will not be avoided. Back pain is 100% sure to happen if you
fa
don’t exercise.
ce
If you don’t exercise what is inevitable?

bo
Back pain. Back pain is inevitable if you don’t exercise.

ok
If you don’t exercise is back pain inevitable?

. co
That’s right. It’s inevitable, unavoidable. Back pain is inevitable if you don’t exercise.
m/
Is a headache inevitable if you don’t exercise?

gr
No, not a headache. A headache isn’t inevitable if you don’t exercise. Maybe you
ou
won’t get a headache, but back pain is inevitable if you don’t exercise. If you don’t
exercise you will surely, 100%, definitely, have back pain. That’s what the Monterey
ps
doctor said to Allen. He said “Back pain is inevitable if you are lazy and you stay in
/T
bed all day. You must exercise!”

ai
So Allen began to exercise every day. He trained for a marathon. Every day he
ran more and more and more. The back pain was terrible and enduring.
Li
eu
Did his back pain continue for a long time?

On
Yes, it did. It was enduring.

Th
Was his back pain short term, temporary or long term, lasting a long time?
iD
Well, it was long term. It was enduring back pain. It continued to happen for a long
ai
time.
Ho
What was enduring?

c0
Allen’s back pain. Allen’s back pain was enduring. It continued for a long time.
1
Whose back pain was enduring?
Allen’s, Allen’s back pain was enduring. It continued for a very long time.
Was it temporary or was it enduring?

ww
It was enduring. It was enduring back pain, but, still, Allen continued to run every day.
He trained for a marathon every day.
w.
fa
Finally, his pain started to improve, but it did not improve steadily.
ce
Did Allen’s pain improve steadily?

bo
No, it did not. It did not improve steadily.

ok
How did his pain improve?

. co
His pain improved in spurts, suddenly, in short spurts.

m/
Did his pain improve steadily or did his pain improve in spurts?
gr
His pain improved in spurts. Suddenly it improved and then again suddenly it
ou
improved and then again suddenly it improved. It improved in spurts.

ps
What improved in spurts?

/T
Allen’s pain. Allen’s pain improved in spurts.

ai
How did it improve?

Li
eu
In spurts. His pain improved in spurts. So it would improve suddenly and then nothing
and then later improve again suddenly and then nothing and then later improve again
On
suddenly and then nothing.

Th
Until one day, finally, Allen ran a complete marathon and he felt great! No pain,
iD
no back pain. In fact, Allen felt serene during the entire race.
ai
Was Allen in agony during the marathon?

Ho
No, no, he was not in agony. He felt serene, he felt calm and relaxed.
c0
Did Allen feel serene during the race or was he in agony during the race?
1
He felt serene during the race, very calm.
Who felt serene during the marathon?
Allen did. Allen felt serene during the marathon.
Why did he feel serene?

ww
Well, because he had no pain. He had no back pain, so he felt very serene.
w.
When did Allen feel serene?

fa
During the marathon race. During the marathon he felt serene, very calm. He was not
ce
in agony anymore. He finished the race and after that he never had back pain again.
Allen was serene, calm and very, very happy.
bo
ok
*****
.
And that is the end of the mini-story for “Plateaus.” I hope you are feeling serene,
co
calm and happy. I hope you’re smiling with a big smile, your shoulders are back,
you’re breathing deeply and you’re moving your body.
m/
gr
I hope you do this every time you listen to my lessons, every time you listen to English,
every time you speak English. Control your physiology to control your emotions.
ou
See you next time, bye-bye.

ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Plateaus POV Text

w.
Hello, this is the point of view lesson for “Plateaus.” Let’s begin.
fa
ce
*****
bo
Since he was 20 Allen has had terrible back pain. He has been in agony every
day. It started when he was 20 years old and it has continued and so he has
ok
been in agony every single day. He has been in agony because his back has
.
hurt. Terrible pain, he has had terrible, terrible back pain.

co
When did his pain begin?

m/
Well, when he was 20. When he was 20 he began to have back pain. It has
gr
continued every day after that time. So his back pain has continued; he has been in
ou
agony this entire time, during this entire time, from 20 until recently.
ps
Well, because he has been in agony all the time he needed help. So one day he
went to a doctor in Los Angeles. He went to the doctor and he said “Please help
/T
me. My back is killing me! I am in agony.” And the doctor said “Don’t do any
ai
strenuous exercise, stay in bed.”

Li
Allen followed the doctor’s advice. He stayed in bed for 11 months, but after 11
months he was still in agony. So next he went to a doctor in Monterey,
eu
California and the Monterey doctor said “If you are lazy and you stay in bed all
On
day back pain is inevitable. You must exercise.”

Th
Well, Allen was in agony, he needed help and so he followed the Monterey
doctor’s advice. Allen trained for a marathon, every day he ran and he ran and
iD
he ran. Now the back pain was enduring. It continued for a long time. But,
ai
finally, the pain improved. It didn’t improve steadily. No, it improved in spurts,
suddenly. Suddenly the pain improved a lot and then nothing, nothing, nothing
Ho
and then again suddenly the pain improved a lot, it improved in spurts.
c0
Finally, one day, Allen ran a marathon and he felt great. He had no pain. In fact,
1
Allen felt serene during the entire race and he remained serene, calm and happy
for the rest of his life.
Okay, that is the end of our first point of view story.
The next one goes into the future, let’s begin.
Next year there will be a guy named Allen. He’s going to be in agony. His back
will hurt all the time. He will constantly feel pain. He’ll be in total, complete
agony.
ww
Well, finally, one day, he’s going to go to a doctor in Los Angeles and the doctor
will say “Allen, don’t do any strenuous exercise, stay in bed.” Allen will follow
w.
the doctor’s advice. He’ll say in bed for 11 months, but after 11 months he’ll still
fa
be in agony.
ce
So, next, he’s going to go to a doctor in Monterey, California. That doctor will
say “Allen, if you are lazy and you stay in bed all day back pain is inevitable.
bo
You must exercise.” Allen will follow the Monterey doctor’s advice. He’ll train
ok
for a marathon every day. Every day he’s going to run and run and run, but the
back pain will be enduring. It will continue for a long, long time.
. co
Until one day, finally, it will improve, but it won’t improve steadily. It will
improve in spurts, suddenly and then nothing and then another spurt. It will
m/
improve suddenly.
gr
Finally the day will come and Allen will run a marathon race. During the
ou
marathon race he’s going to feel fantastic. He’s going to feel great. He’ll have
no pain. He’ll feel serene during the entire race. And afterwards he will remain
ps
serene and calm because he will never be in agony again.

/T
*****
ai
And that is the end of our point of view stories for “Plateaus.” Again, listen carefully,
Li
hear the changes and notice what’s happening, but don’t think about grammar rules,
eu
please. That will make you learn more slowly, just listen, notice, listen, notice. That’s
all you need to do.
On
All right, I hope you enjoy these lessons and I will see you next time.
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Plateaus Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Plateaus.” Let’s get started.
fa
ce
We’ve got a few vocabulary words here in this article. Let’s start with the phrase
“scattered among”, scattered among. So George Leonard wrote, he said that he found
bo
some good pictures scattered among a big group of pictures. So he said, “I found a
few good pictures scattered among a pile of pictures”, so again, scattered among
ok
means mixed in with.

. co
So you have a big pile, a big group of pictures, lots and lots of them, let’s say 500
pictures and then in that group of pictures, just mixed in with it are a few good ones.
m/
So, oh, over here, ah, there’s one and then somewhere else there’s another good one
and then somewhere else there’s another one. So kind of randomly mixed is what that
gr
means scattered among.

ou
And he said “They were scattered among the thrill of victory, agony of defeat shots.”
ps
So this is a common phrase, it comes from an old sports TV show The Thrill of Victory
and the Agony of Defeat. Again, it was an old sports show and they always talked
/T
about the thrill of victory. And they showed a picture of an athlete, you know, very
ai
happy, smiling, jumping, “Yeah, I won!” That’s the excitement of victory, the
excitement of winning. Thrill means excitement.
Li
And then other times they showed pictures or videos of the agony of defeat. Agony
eu
means pain. It means strong pain, terrible pain. It’s a very powerful word. So agony
On
is more powerful than just normal pain. It’s terrible, terrible pain, agony. So they
showed athletes who were losing or who lost a big game or they lost something. And,
Th
of course, they look really unhappy, they’re crying, they look horrible. “Oh, pain”, the
agony of defeat, the pain of defeat.
iD
ai
So most of the pictures that George Leonard was looking at were these kinds of
pictures, they were pictures either of the thrill of victory or of the agony of defeat. And
Ho
he did not want that kind of picture. He wanted a different kind of picture. He wanted
a picture that showed mastery and so he found a few pictures there were not thrill of
c0
victory, not agony of defeat, they were something different.

1
They showed mastery and they showed athletes with serene faces which, is our next
word, serene.
So, he talked about a runner named Stephen Scott, had a picture of Stephen Scott
finishing a mile race and his face was serene, serene. Serene means calm, very
relaxed and clam. So very serene and calm, not emotional, not “Yeah, I won!” and
excited and not in agony “Oh, terrible”, no pain, just calm, very, very calm, serene,
serene. So these athletes had serene faces. The masters had serene faces, calm
faces.
ww
And then next he uses the word strenuous. So another master, a gymnast, named
w.
Peter Vidmar. He found a picture of Peter Vidmar doing floor exercises – gymnastics -
fa
- and his body was in an impossibly strenuous position. Strenuous means difficult,
very tough something that requires a lot of effort. So it’s the opposite of easy and lazy,
ce
right? Strenuous means, “Ah”, you’ve got to work very hard. Usually we’re talking
about physically working hard, so we talk about, for example, strenuous exercise.
bo
ok
So, for example, walking slowly is not strenuous exercise, it’s kind of easy exercise.
The opposite would be sprinting, running as fast as you can. That’s strenuous. You’re
.
going to sweat and you’re going to “ha-ha-ha-ha” breath hard. It’s very tough exercise,
co
right? It requires a lot of effort, strenuous, meaning very difficult, physically difficult.
So strenuous, again, strenuous means physically difficult, strenuous.
m/
gr
So this gymnast, his body was in a strenuous position, a very difficult position, but his
face was composed, composed. Now, again, here composed means in control and
ou
calm, calm and in control. So it’s the opposite of panic. It’s the opposite of crazy. It’s
the opposite of out of control; composed means very calm, controlled and composed.
ps
/T
So this gymnast, his face again, was very calm and controlled. His face did not look
like it was in pain. He wasn’t “Oooh”, it was just calm, relaxed, in control, composed.
ai
So we can talk about someone’s face being composed. It means their face looks very
clam. They look like they’re in control of their emotions.
Li
eu
We can also just talk about someone, in general, being composed. “He’s very
composed.” It means he’s very controlled and calm, especially when something is
On
difficult or stressful. So we have a problem, most people, “Oh my God! Oh my God!”

they kind of get crazy, they get worried, they get excited, they get upset. But if
Th
someone is composed they remain calm, they remain controlled. They don’t get
iD
upset, they are composed.

ai
All right, our next word is delight, delight. He described Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who
was a basketball player. Not now, but he used to be a basketball player. And when
Ho
he was playing his face was a picture of delight. It means you could see delight on his
c0
face and delight just means happiness, happiness. So delight means happiness,
delight, delight, happiness.
1
Our next word is privilege or privileges. So he said “I’m sure Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
loved the money and the privileges of his career.” So in the…I guess it was the ‘80s,
maybe…1980s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a big famous basketball player and he had
a lot of money. He had a lot of privileges. Privileges are benefits, they’re benefits.
So his money gave him a lot of benefits. His fame gave him benefits. Right? He
ww
could go to expensive restaurants. He could stay in expensive hotels. He could fly

first class. Everybody knew him. He was famous. These are benefits, the benefits of
w.
his career, the privileges, and the privileges of his career.

fa
So he’s saying “I know that Abdul-Jabbar loved the benefits of his career.” He loved
ce
the privileges. He loved the money, the nice food, the nice hotels, the privileges, the
privileges. But Leonard said “He loved playing basketball more.” He did love the
bo
money, he did love the fame, he did love the benefits, the privileges, but more than
ok
that he just loved playing basketball because when he played you could see on his
face he was happy.
. co
All right, our next word is plateau. I explained plateau a little bit, I’ll explain it really
quickly again. A plateau has a physical meaning and it has a kind of general meaning.
m/
So the physical meaning, it’s an actual place. It’s a flat area on top of a hill or a
gr
mountain. So you go up a hill, up a mountain and then you have a big flat area like a
table. That’s a plateau.
ou
And plateau also has a very general meaning -- especially in learning -- that means a
ps
time of little or no progress. And so you’re learning fast, you’re going up, up, up and
/T
then you hit a time where you feel like you’re not making fast progress. That’s a
plateau, it feels flat.
ai
All right, our next word is inevitable, in-evitable. And Leonard says that “Of course you
Li
will enjoy the inevitable spurts of progress, but you must also enjoy the plateaus.”
eu
Okay, first, inevitable. Inevitable means unavoidable; cannot be avoided. Inevitable

means something absolutely will happen, it’s automatic. Can’t be avoided, can’t be
On
stopped.
Th
So what he’s saying here is that fast learning is automatic, you can’t avoid it. So if
iD
you’re learning, if you continue trying to learn, if you continue to practice, you
absolutely will have progress, it’s inevitable. It’s absolutely, 100%, sure. So, again,
ai
inevitable means 100% sure, cannot be avoided, cannot be stopped, will happen
automatically. All of those ideas together mean inevitable, inevitable.
Ho
c0
Progress is inevitable. It means progress cannot be avoided, progress cannot be

stopped, progress absolutely will happen, 100%, definitely, sure, inevitable. Progress
1
is inevitable. And then he says “spurts of progress are inevitable”, so not just
progress, but spurts of progress. A spurt is a sudden improvement or a sudden
increase.
So, for example, we can use it with running. We say “a spurt of speed.” It means
someone’s running slowly, kind of normal rate, da-da-da, they’re running, they’re
running, they’re running and then suddenly they run faster for 10 seconds, whoosh,
very, very fast and then they slow down back to normal speed again. So it was a short
increase in speed. That’s a spurt, a spurt of speed.
ww
We could talk about a spurt of energy. So you have a normal level of energy, normal,
normal, normal and then suddenly “Yeah! Woo-who! Yeah, yeah, yeah!” and then
w.
back to normal again, back to normal again. Well that was a spurt of energy. It was a
fa
sudden increase of energy for a short time. So that’s what spurt means. It’s this idea
of a sudden increase for a short time.
ce
So he’s saying you have spurts of progress. You’re learning, learning, learning, kind
bo
of normal speed, normal speed, little by little, little by little, then suddenly, boom, a big
ok
fast improvement. You learn very quickly, you improve very fast, but it happens for a
short time and then you go back to the plateau, back to learning little by little, step by
.
step and then, again, another spurt and then another plateau, another spurt and
co
another plateau. This is the normal process of learning.

m/
Our next word is serenely. We’ve already talked about serene, so serenely obviously
gr
means calmly. Leonard says “You need to serenely accept every plateau.” You must
calmly accept the plateaus. They are normal, they are inevitable, cannot be avoided.
ou
You absolutely will have plateaus in your learning and during the plateaus you’ll learn
little by little, step by step. It will feel slow, but actually, subconsciously, you are
ps
learning very quickly.

/T
That’s why the spurts will happen. Because your brain is learning, learning, learning
ai
subconsciously and suddenly the brain puts everything together and suddenly a big
new improvement, a big new understanding and you feel like “Wow! I’m going so
Li
fast!” And then back to the plateau that’s serenely. You must calmly accept the
eu
plateaus, serenely accept.

On
And finally, is the word enduring. He says “To love the plateau is to love what is most
enduring in your life.” Enduring means lasting. Enduring means happening for a long
Th
time, not temporary. It’s the opposite of temporary, right? Temporary is something
iD
that happens only for a short time and then it’s gone.
ai
Enduring continues to happen again and again. It stays. It does not disappear. It’s
not temporary. It’s similar to permanent. Not quite as strong. Permanent is stronger,
Ho
permanent means always and forever. Enduring means for a very long time;
c0
happening for a very long time.

1
This process of plateaus and spurts, plateaus and spurts, it’s enduring. It means it
continues happening for a long time, again and again and again. It’s not a temporary
situation, it’s enduring. It lasts for a long time. It continues happening for a long time.
It does not disappear quickly. That is the word enduring.
And that is the end of the vocabulary lesson for “Plateaus.”

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Next is the mini-story.

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Search for Meaning Main Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the next lesson. This lesson is called “Search for
fa
Meaning.”
ce
And I’m going to read a small section from a book called Man’s Search for Meaning by
bo
Viktor Frankl. This is a quite powerful book. Viktor Frankl was a psychologist in
Germany before World War II. And he and all of his family were taken by the Nazis
ok
and they were put in concentration camps. Viktor Frankl survived, his entire family
.
was killed.
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Now he survived, but he suffered terribly in the concentration camps. And I’m sure all
m/
of you have seen movies or are familiar with all the horrible terrible things that
happened in the German Nazi concentration camps.
gr
ou
But what’s amazing about Viktor Frankl is that he took these terrible experiences and
he created a meaningful life from them. He did not quit. He did not become angry and
ps
bitter. He did not learn to hate people. Instead, he learned to love and to help people
and he wrote this incredible book called Man’s Search for Meaning.
/T
ai
Because what he learned in the concentration camp was that our experiences are not
the most important thing, it’s the meaning we create from our experiences. That’s
Li
what gives our lives power or what destroy us. And so in this book he talks about all
the different prisoners that were in the concentration camp with him and he talks about
eu
which ones remained strong and which ones eventually gave up, quit and they died,
On
which ones became depressed, which ones lost all hope and which ones continued to
have strong minds and to still have hope.
Th
So, really, he looked at this experience to learn more about human nature in this
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terrible, terrible situation. And he decided that the difference was the meaning that
ai
people gave to their experiences. And a lot of coaches, a lot of psychologists, talk
about this experience, this idea. That the meaning we give something is more
Ho
important than the experience itself.

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For example, you can have a child that is abused by its parents, treated terribly and
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you can have another child that’s abused by its parents, treated terribly and they grow
up and they have totally different lives. One child starts to drink or becomes an
alcoholic or a drug addict and they have a terrible life. The other child becomes very
successful and caring and loving and helps people and grows and heals the pain.
What’s the difference, they both had the same situation, the same kinds of
experiences? Well the difference is the meaning that they gave to their experience.
Some people have a terrible experience and they decide that all people are bad.
That’s the meaning they give.
Now Viktor Frankl… That would be an easy conclusion, right? You’re in a

ww
concentration camp in Germany and you’re seeing the worst possible behavior from
human beings. They’re murdering and killing people. They’re torturing them. If you’re
w.
a prisoner it would be very easy to decide the meaning of this is all people are terrible.
fa
Humanity is horrible. And, indeed, many people did decide that and they became
bitter and angry and they lost hope.
ce
Viktor Frankl decided the opposite. The meaning he gave was that human beings are
bo
powerful and strong, they can survive anything. He focused on the prisoners who
ok
survived, who continued to love and to help people. That’s what he saw in this
experience. Same experience, but he focused on something different. He found a
.
different meaning. He found hope. He found courage. He found love in this terrible
co
situation.
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And this is something we do in every part of our lives. Not just these big terrible
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things, but everything in our life we always decide the meaning. Any experience you
have you will choose a meaning for it, consciously or subconsciously, usually
ou
subconsciously, right? Usually we are not aware of the meaning we’re giving it at the
time, but we have to be careful about that.
ps
/T
For example, let’s talk about something much less serious than concentration camps
and death in Germany. Let’s just talk about English learning. Now most of you had
ai
rather negative experiences learning English in school. You had probably very boring
teachers. I’m sure you had terrible, terrible textbooks.
Li
eu
Maybe some of you did very badly on tests in your English classes. Most of you
probably had bad experiences trying to speak English. You studied and you felt like
On
you should be able to speak English, but you had trouble. It’s difficult for you or it as
difficult for you.
Th
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So what’s the meaning of these experiences? Many, many students decided that the
meaning is this “Ah, English is so hard, it’s impossible.” Some students decide the
ai
meaning is “Ah, I’m not good at English. I’m terrible at English.” Right? That’s the
meaning that a lot of students, a lot of learners, give to the experience. But other
Ho
students decide a different meaning. They decide “Well, those methods were not
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powerful. Those methods didn’t work, so I’ll find a different way to learn.”
1
Same experience, right? Both groups of students had the same terrible experiences in
school. One group decides “English is too hard. I’m not good at English.” A different
group decides “It’s not me, it’s just the method. I just need to find a different method.”
So they keep trying different methods, different methods and then they succeed.
They succeed because they gave the bad experience a different meaning. They
decided “It’s just the method. It’s not me. It’s not English. It’s just the learning method
in school, so I will find a better way.”
So you need to look at these meaning and decide on your meanings. Decide and
choose positive meaning. Decide and choose meanings that are real and accurate,
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don’t make something worse than it is.

w.
Let me read a quick section from Viktor Frankl’s book. And in this section he’s talking
fa
about the meaning of success and how to find success. Here it is.
ce
“Again and again, I admonish my students, both in Europe and in America, don’t aim
at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target the more you’re going to miss
bo
it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued, it must ensue and it only does so
ok
as the unintended side effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than one’s self or
as the byproduct of one’s surrender to a person other than one’s self.
. co
“Happiness must happen and the same holds true for success. You have to let it
happen by not caring too much about it. I want you to listen to your conscience and do
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what your conscience commands and to do this with the best of your knowledge and
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ability. Then you will live to see that in the long run…in the long run…success will
follow you precisely because you had forgotten about it, precisely because you
ou
focused on something bigger than yourself.”

ps
Okay, that’s a nice little paragraph there. So what’s he’s saying is he’s talking about
/T
meaning again. And he says you need to find a meaning bigger than just you. If you
just focus on your personal success, like getting a good score on a test or getting a
ai
better job, you will actually find it difficult to succeed. You will not get that success
easily.
Li
eu
But if you find a different meaning, if you focus on a goal that’s bigger than you, bigger
than just you, if you focus on contributing and connecting to other people and helping
On
other people and using your success to help people and to do something bigger than
just you, you will actually succeed more.
Th
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So what’s he’s saying is if you choose a goal bigger than just yourself, if you choose to
help more than just yourself, you will also benefit more and that, in fact, you’ll get more
ai
success than if you’re selfish. So that’s a nice idea -- and we’ve talked a little bit about
it in past lessons, but I want to talk about it again -- finding a bigger meaning for your
Ho
life, not just you. And that goes for everything you do, so when you’re learning
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English, again, finding a meaning for your English learning that’s bigger than just you.
1
Yes, absolutely, think of all the great reasons that you will benefit, personally, from
improved English. Sure. Those are great goals, those are great reasons, but you
must also find reasons bigger than just you. How will you use your English ability to
help other people, to help your company and your coworkers, to help your family, to
help your friends, to help other people who are learning English?
ww
That’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to find a bigger meaning. That bigger
meaning will guarantee your success. You’ll succeed faster if you have a bigger
w.
meaning. If you only have small, personal, selfish goals you might succeed, but you’ll
fa
succeed more slowly.

ce
And this is true in all areas of life, not just learning English. The more you can find a
bigger meaning for your life beyond just yourself the more power and passion and
bo
success you will have. It’s kind of strange, it’s a paradox. A paradox is something that
ok
seems to be opposite. It means to opposite things that are true at the same time,
paradox. So the more you think about other people the more you will benefit yourself.
. co
So, for example, in business, if you think more about your customers and helping them
and helping their lives you will benefit more. You will get more customers and more
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money and you’ll become richer and richer by helping other people, by thinking about
gr
other people. If you think only about money for yourself then customers will not trust
you and you’ll actually make less money, so it’s the same idea.
ou
So that’s why I focus so much as a teacher and as a businessperson on helping my

ps
members, helping my students. That’s what excites me. It’s a bigger purpose than
/T
just me and that gives me the energy and the drive and it helps me succeed at a much
higher level. So I hope you’ll do the same with your English learning, with your career,
ai
with everything in your life. Try to find a bigger, deeper meaning beyond just yourself.
Li
Well, that’s the end of our lesson “Search for Meaning.” I hope you enjoyed it. And, if
eu
you get a chance, absolutely, please, read the book Man’s Search for Meaning by
Viktor Frankl. It’s a powerful book.
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I will see you next time.

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Search for Meaning Mini-Story Text

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Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the mini-story for “Search for Meaning.” Let’s start.
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*****
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There was a boy named Chris and Chris hated vegetables. He only liked to eat
steak.
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Did Chris vegetables or did he hate vegetables?

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Well, Chris hated vegetables. He never ate vegetables.

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What did Chris eat?

gr
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Steak. Chris only ate steak.

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Did he eat vegetables or did he eat steak?

/T
He ate steak. He only ate steak.

ai
Now, of course, Chris’ mother was not happy. Every day she admonished him
Li
to eat vegetables. She said “Chris, eat your vegetables. You must eat your
vegetables.”
eu
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What did his mother do?

Th
She admonished Chris.

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Who did she admonish?

ai
She admonished Chris.

Ho
Who admonished Chris?

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His mother. His mother admonished him.
How did she admonish him?
Well, she said “Eat your vegetables. You must eat your vegetables.” She
admonished him every day to eat his vegetables.
What did she admonish him to do?

ww
To eat vegetables. She admonished him to eat his vegetables.

w.
fa
Did she admonish him to eat more steak?

ce
No, no, no, no, she didn’t admonish him to eat more steak. She admonished him to
eat vegetables.
bo
ok
Did Chris eat vegetables every day?

.
No, no, no, he never ate vegetables. He never ate vegetables. He only ate steak
co
every day. Steak for breakfast, steak for lunch, steak for dinner, steak for snacks,
Chris only ate steak. He never ever, ever ate vegetables. And so every day his
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mother admonished him. She admonished him strongly, she said, “Eat your
gr
vegetables! You must eat your vegetables!” But Chris never did.
ou
Now an unintended consequence of his eating choices was that Chris became
fat very quickly.
ps
/T
Did Chris want to become fat?

ai
No, no, no, he didn’t. It was an unintended consequence, an unintended result. He

did not want to become fat, but he did become fat.
Li
eu
Why did Chris become fat?

On
Well, because he only ate steak every day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, steak, steak,
steak. An unintended consequence of this was that he became fat.
Th
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Was it an intended consequence or an unintended consequence?

ai
Well, it was unintended. He didn’t want it, he wasn’t planning to become fat, but it still
happened. It was an unintended consequence.
Ho
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What was an unintended consequence of his eating?

1
Well, fatness, becoming fat. Becoming fat was an unintended consequence of eating
steak every day.
What kind of consequence as it?
Unintended. It was an unintended consequence.
So he ate steak every day and an unintended consequence of this was that he
quickly became very fat. Chris was a fat little boy. Of course his mom was
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worried. She was very worried about Chris. He kept getting fatter and fatter and
fatter. He became hugely obese, 725 pounds.
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fa
How much did Chris weigh?

ce
He weighed 725 pounds.

bo
How old was Chris?

ok
Well, Chris was five years old. Chris was five years old and he weighted 725 pounds.
.
He was terribly, hugely obese.

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His mom was very worried, so she pursued a new strategy.

m/
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What did she do?

ou
She pursued a new strategy. She followed, she tried, a new strategy.
ps
What did she pursue?

/T
She pursued a new strategy.

ai
Why did she pursue a new strategy?

Li
eu
Well, because Chris was getting fatter and fatter and she was worried.
On
Who pursued a new strategy with Chris?

Th
Well, his mother. His mother pursued a new strategy.

iD
What did she do?

ai
Well, she said “Chris, they kill poor little nice cows to make steak and you love
Ho
animals, so you should follow your conscience.

c0
1
What did she want Chris to follow?
His conscience. His feelings about right and wrong; good and bad. His ideas about
right and wrong, good and bad. She wanted him to follow his conscience, follow his
good ideas, his good feelings, his good values, his good morals, his conscience.
ww
Did she want him to follow his conscience or his craving for steak?
w.
Well, she wanted him to follow his conscience. She did not want him to follow his
fa
craving for steak she wanted him to follow his conscience.

ce
What did she want him to follow?

bo
His conscience. She said “They kill little small nice cows to make steak and you love
ok
animals, so follow your conscience.”

.
Whose conscience did she want him to follow?

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Well, his conscience, his own conscience. She wanted him to follow his own
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conscience, his own feelings of right and wrong, good and bad.
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Did she want him to eat more steak?

ou
No, she wanted him to stop eating steak.

ps
/T
Why did she want him to stop eating steak?

ai
Well, because he was obese. He weighted 725 pounds and he was only five years
old. So she tried a new strategy, she said “Follow your conscience. You love animals.
Li
You don’t want them to die. Follow your conscience.”

eu
Well what ensured, next, was that Chris stopped eating steak.
On
What happened next?

Th
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He stopped eating steak.

ai
What ensured next?

Ho
He stopped eating steak.

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Did he stop eating vegetables?

1
No, no, no, no, that didn’t ensue. That didn’t happen. What ensued was that he
stopped eating steak.
What ensued?
Well, he stopped eating steak. Next, what happened next, what ensured, was that
Chris stopped eating steak.
So what ensured was that Chris stopped eating vegetables, right?

ww
No, no, no, that didn’t ensue. He didn’t stop eating vegetables. What ensued was that
w.
he stopped eating steak. Chris stopped eating steak. In fact, he learned to love
fa
vegetables and over time he became thinner and thinner and healthier and healthier.
And one day when he was seven years old he was super healthy, super thin and he
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looked great. His mom was very, very happy.

bo
*****
ok
Okay, that is the end of the mini-story for “Search for Meaning.”
. co
As always, listen to this story with a big smile, with your shoulders back, with your
eyes up, your chin up, nice deep breaths and be moving your body while you listen. If
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you’re alone pause and shout the answers to every question. Be strong when you
gr
answer. You want to build strong emotions every time you speak English. You want
to speak English with power, with confidence, so practice it now.
ou
Practice power and confidence every time you answer a mini-story question.
ps
/T
All right, I will see you next time, bye-bye.

ai
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Search for Meaning POV Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the POV (point of view) stories for “Search for Meaning.” Same
fa
story, let’s start.

ce
Chris has always hated vegetables. He has only liked steak. He has only eaten
bo
steak, always, since he was a little baby. Since he was a little baby Chris has hated
vegetables. Since he was a little baby he has only eaten steak. He has only liked
ok
steak.
. co
Of course his mother has been worried about him. She has been worried about him
because he never ate vegetables. His mother has admonished him every day. Every
m/
day since he was a baby, until recently, his mother has admonished him. She has
admonished him and she has said “Chris, eat your vegetables. You must eat your
gr
vegetables.”
ou
Well, she has admonished him every day, but Chris has ignored her every day. He
ps
has never eaten his vegetables. He has never listened to her. He has continued to
eat steak and only steak. He has eaten steak for breakfast, he has eaten steak for
/T
lunch, he has eaten steak for dinner every day since he was a baby. He has been a
ai
steak eatin’ baby all his life.

Li
Of course this has had unintended consequences. Because he has eaten only steak
he has become fat very quickly. He has become very, very fat. In fact, each year he
eu
has gotten fatter and fatter and fatter very, very fast until, finally, he weighed 725
On
pounds when he was five years old. Of course this was terrible.
Th
And at that time, when he became five, his mother became very worried and so she
iD
decided to pursue a new strategy. She pursued a new strategy with Chris. She said
ai
to Chris one day, “Chris, you know they kill poor kind little cows to make steak and you
love animals, so Chris, follow your conscience.”
Ho
Oh, Chris became upset. He thought about the little poor cows being killed! Well,
c0
what ensured, next, was that Chris stopped eating steak. He completely stopped and
1
he learned to love vegetables. He ate vegetables every day. And, of course, because
he ate vegetables every day he became thin and healthy and strong. He was a happy
little boy.
And that is the end of our first point of view story for “Search for Meaning.” Next, let’s
go to the future. In the future, 100 years from now, in space or something, I don’t
know, into the future.
There will be a boy named Chris. This boy will hate vegetables. He’s going to hate
them. He’ll never eat vegetables. He’ll only like steak and he’ll only eat steak. Of
ww
course his mother is going to admonish him every day to eat vegetables. She’ll say
“Chris, eat your vegetables. You must eat your vegetables!”
w.
fa
There will be unintended consequences. He will become fatter and fatter and fatter.
He won’t want to be fat, but it will be an unintended consequence of eating steak and
ce
only steak. So he’ll become a very fat little boy. In fat, he’ll become super fat, obese.
He’ll weight 725 pounds. He’ll only be five years old.
bo
ok
Now, of course, his mom is going to be very worried and she’ll decide to pursue a new
strategy. One day she’s going to say to him “Chris, they kill poor kind little cows to
.
make steak and you love animals, so Chris, follow your conscience.”
co
And Chris will become very upset, of course, and he’ll decide to stop eating steak. In
m/
fact, what will ensue is that he’ll stop eating steak completely. He’ll learn to love
gr
vegetables and he’ll become thin and super healthy and very strong. Chris will
become a happy, healthy, thin little boy.
ou
And that is the end of our point of view stories for “Search for Meaning.” I hope you
ps
enjoy them. Always enjoy your learning, enjoy your listening, smile, big, deep breaths,
/T
move your body, strong physiology, always.

ai

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Search for Meaning Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Search for Meaning.”
fa
ce
Our first word is admonished, to admonish. And Viktor Frankl said “He admonished
his students.” To admonish means to command or to ask someone to do something
bo
very strongly.
ok
So, for example, I say “Don’t study grammar! Don’t study grammar!” I am
.
admonishing you, right? I’m telling you to do something. I’m commanding you. So to
co
admonish, again, is to tell someone to do something kind of strongly or to ask very

strongly. “Please, don’t study grammar! Please, don’t study grammar! Please, don’t
m/
do it!” I am admonishing you. I’m asking very strongly. It’s kind of between and
commanding, to admonish.
gr
ou
Our next word is to pursue or pursued. You probably know this word already, but very
quickly. To pursue means to chase, to try to get something; to follow it and try to catch
ps
it. So Viktor Frankl says that “Happiness cannot be pursued.” You cannot chase it.
You cannot grab it. He said “it must ensue.” To ensure means to happen, to happen.
/T
It means to happen next, to come after, so it’s the opposite.

ai
So he’s saying that you cannot grab happiness, you must let happiness come to you.
Li
Happiness happens automatically. To ensue means to happen. Happiness happens.

You can’t get it. It’s not a thing you can grab. It’s something that just happens. It’s a
eu
result, it’s a consequence. It happens after something else, so to ensure means,

On
again, to happen, to happen next, to happen after, to ensure.

Th
Our next word is unintended. He said that “Happiness and success are the
unintended side effects of focusing on a cause greater than one’s self.” Unintended
iD
means, obviously, not intended. To intend means to want something consciously, to

ai
try to do something consciously, so unintended means by accident, by accident.

Ho
He’s saying happiness happens accidentally. Success happens accidentally. You

don’t focus on it, you’re not trying to do it, but it happens. It’s a side effect. It’s not the
c0
direct effect it’s a small effect, it’s an accidental effect.

1
So he’s saying that if you focus on something bigger than yourself, helping other
people, happiness will come automatically. You’re not trying to get happiness, it’s
unintended, but it will happen. So, again, unintended means something you’re not
trying to do or something that happens accidentally.
And our next word is byproduct. Happiness is the byproduct of helping other people.
Again, byproduct is very similar to side effect. It’s an extra product, is what it means.
A byproduct means an extra product, it’s something extra.
So the main thing is helping people. That’s your main focus. It’s the main thing you’re
doing. But then there’s something extra, the extra thing is happiness. So you focus
ww
on helping other people, but you get a byproduct, you get something extra. The extra
thing is happiness, the extra thing is success. Success is a byproduct of helping other
w.
people. It’s an extra thing, an extra result. Again, byproduct- byproduct- byproduct.
fa
And, finally -- this is a quick vocabulary lesson, just one more word -- conscience,
ce
conscience. Now this is spelled differently than conscious. They sound very, very
close. They’re very, very close in pronunciation. The difference is there’s a little bit of
bo
an “en”, “en” sound at the end of this word…con-science, con-science, conscience,

ok
conscience. Hear the little “ah, ah, en, en, en” sound at the end? Conscience.
.
Conscience means your morals. It’s your ideas of right and wrong. It’s the part of
co
your mind that tells you something is right, good or something is wrong, bad. That’s
your conscience.
m/
gr
So Viktor Frankl says “You must listen to and follow your conscience, always.” You
must always follow your feelings of right and wrong. If something is right you must do
ou
it, even if it’s difficult, even if you are criticized, even if you lose your job. You must
always do what you think is right, what is good. Follow your conscience; follow your
ps
feeling of goodness. All right, so conscience, that’s our last word.

/T
So that is the end of the vocabulary lesson for “Search for Meaning.” I hope you
ai
enjoyed it. I hope you will find your own meaning for learning English and for your life,
something bigger than just yourself, so that you can feel excited, happy and
Li
passionate about your life.

eu
All right, I will see you next time.

On
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Be a Champion Main Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the next lesson. Here we go. This one is called “Be a
fa
Champion.”
ce
Now champion has a couple different meanings. One meaning of champion is winner,
bo
a winner. So a champion is someone who wins a game or wins a fight or is number

one, number one. So we talk about a champion team, so they’re the number one
ok
team. But we’re not using that meaning in this lesson; we’re using a different
.
meaning.
co
Another meaning of champion is somebody that fights for a good cause; someone who
m/
fights for something good, someone who defends something good. And that’s what
we’re talking about here, be a champion. Be somebody that fights for good things,
gr
that’s not afraid, that you will fight for what is right, you will fight for what is good.
ou
That’s the idea here, be a champion.

ps
And I’m going to read a small section from a book called Free Prize Inside and it’s by
Seth Godin. Seth Godin is an Internet Marketing expert. He was a member of Yahoo,
/T
the Internet Company. Back in the beginning, when Yahoo was first starting, he
ai
helped their marketing. And then, later, he sold his own company, he made a lot of
money and now he just writes about Internet Marketing and he’s got a lot of great
Li
books about business.

eu
But, you know he also talks about just life in general. A lot of his advice about careers,
On
about business, is just good advice, in general. It’s good advice for life, in general.
And this is one of the nicest sections of his book, where he talks about being a
Th
champion in your career, in your job.

iD
And what he means is that in your job you should fight for what is right, what is good,
ai
what is interesting, what will help the company most and, usually, you have to break
rules to do that. Usually you have to be different. Usually you have to be kind of
Ho
strong to do that. You can’t just be the same as everybody else.

c0
So let me read this section and then we’ll talk about it more. Here we go, be a
1
champion.
“Go ahead, do something great! Champion an innovation, I dare you! Because the
choice is between following the rules or doing the right thing. Everyone’s got great
ideas. You have great ideas. The difference between success and failure, most
definitely, is not about a shortage of ideas that are good. Instead, success is about
overcoming the status quo and inertia and working within your organization to make
things happen.
ww
“The good news is that this is exactly what your company wants you to do, it’s fun, it’s
w.
rewarding and once you learn how to do it you are guaranteed a good job for the rest
fa
of your life. The bad news is that it’s difficult and it’s sometimes lonely.
ce
“Whoever you wish to be you have to make a choice, a conscious decision to be that
person. Will you be a champion? Will you be remarkable? Will you be outstanding in
bo
your career, in your life or will you be careful and normal and mediocre? Choose. And
ok
by embracing this choice, by announcing your choice to yourself and, eventually, to

other people, you will make this process far more likely to succeed.”
. co
Okay, interesting, interesting. Nice section from Seth Godin. I really like him. And, of
course, again, this advice is great for all of your life, not just your career, but he
m/
specifically writes about business and career.

gr
So here’s what he’s saying, he says you have a choice. You have two choices, really,
ou
in your career. You can decide to be normal, follow the rules, be mediocre, do the
same thing that everyone else is doing or you can decide to be a champion, to fight for
ps
new things, to fight for innovations, to fight for improvement, to fight for what is right, to
/T
fight for creative, interesting projects, to go against what is normal and boring. That’s
your choice.
ai
And he’s right; it’s scary in the beginning because we all went through normal schools.
Li
And in normal schools, in almost every country in the world, you’re taught to be
eu
normal, average, follow the rules. That’s what you learned in school. Follow the rules.
Do what you are told.
On
That is great advice for succeeding in school. It’s terrible advice for succeeding in
Th
your career or life. Seth Godin is correct, the people with the best careers, with the
iD
best jobs, with the most money, are champions. They don’t just follow the rules, they
do new interesting things. They innovate in their companies. They find new ideas that
ai
will benefit the company. If they find something that’s wrong they fix it. They don’t
wait to ask permission. These are the people who have the best careers.
Ho
c0
Now I went through this process myself. So, you know, I’m not yelling at you because
I also, one time in the past, I was just, ah, following the rules, doing what everyone
1
else was doing as a teacher.
So in my first few jobs I just did the same thing as every other teacher. I used the
textbooks that the school required and I used the same drills, the same activities. And
I thought, well, this is the smart way to improve my career. Right? Follow the rules.
Do what you’re told to do, what everyone else is doing.
It didn’t work. I continued to get paid very badly, made very little money…ha-ha…and
ww
I didn’t enjoy my job. And the worse thing, for me, was that my students didn’t improve
and this bothered me a lot. And, in fact, I focused a lot more on my students and the
w.
more I focused on my students the less I cared about my boss or my school.

fa
And I became a champion for my students. I decided I’m going to fight for my students.
ce
I will do anything and everything to help them. I will break the rules. I will use different
methods. I will throw away the textbooks. I don’t care. My job is to be a champion for
bo
my students, my customers, my real customers, right?

ok
And so that’s what I did. I stopped using the normal textbooks. I started to find
.
different methods. I went back to school and got a Masters Degree and I learned a lot
co
of incredibly cool, interesting teaching methods and I began to use those. And every
job I got I was always a champion for my students.
m/
gr
As a result, I became more and more popular with my students, with the real
customers. They really started to like my class. I got more attention. I started to get
ou
more money and better positions. My career improved.

ps
Now sometimes I got in trouble because I broke the rules, right? I was a champion,
/T
not a rule follower. I got fired from one job because I didn’t use the required textbooks
and I didn’t follow the required procedures and rules and I refused to use the same
ai
grading system that every other teacher used, so I got fired. And many people think,
“Oh, that’s terrible. It was terrible.” I was not terrible! It was fantastic! Because the
Li
next job I got was even better.

eu
And as a result of getting fired I began to think about starting my own company. I
On
began to realize if I really want to be a champion and do what is right then I need to be
in control. I need to be the boss. Because I’m always going to have problems if I am
Th
just fighting against traditional schools all the time.

iD
And so I started my own company and my company has grown and I’m making more
ai
money than I ever did as a teacher and I’m happier than I ever was as an employee.
And so my career has gotten better and better and better because I have been a
Ho
champion for my customers, for my students.

c0
By focusing on being a champion I have made much, much more money, I have
1
improved my position, I am now the owner of my own company, everything is better.

I’m a better teacher, my students are even happier, everything improved because of
that. That has been the key.
Even if I decided to close my business and just look for jobs I could get a job very fast,
very easily. Why? Because now I am a much, much, much better teacher. I’m very
confident. I have a lot of experience now as the owner of my own business.
So as Seth Godin says, “You’re guaranteed a good job for the rest of your life if you
learn how to be a champion.” Because there are always companies who are looking
ww
for champions, even when the economy is bad, even when times are tough, there’s
always a job for a true champion.
w.
fa
The people who lose their jobs are the people who are normal and average. They can
be replaced easily. You can cut their job and hire a new person and pay them less or
ce
just cut their job because they’re not doing anything interesting or new or different,
they’re replaceable. Normal people are replaceable. People who follow the rules are
bo
replaceable. They’re easy to cut.

ok
Champions are unique. Champions are special. They’re remarkable, they’re

.
outstanding. Companies don’t usually cut them. And if you do get fired, if you do get
co
cut, another company will hire you very quickly.

m/
When I got fired from my job in Thailand I easily found a job in San Francisco. I could
gr
have gotten another job in Thailand very easily, no problem, because at that point I
was a champion. I had a passion. I had a mission. I had my own unique methods. I
ou
was not the same as every other teacher. I made myself a champion. I made myself
different, special and because of that it was very easy for me to get another job, very,
ps
very, easy.
/T
It’s the same with you in your career. It doesn’t matter what you do in life, if you
ai
become a champion, if you fight for what is good, what is interesting, what is new, if
you’re always trying to innovate, you’re going to have a much better career then if you
Li
just follow the rules and do what everyone else does.

eu
So that’s my mission to you, be a champion. Try new things. Fight for new ideas.
On
Fight for creative, cool, interesting projects at your job and in your life. Do this, you’re
guaranteed to always have a good job, with your same company or with a new
Th
company.
iD
All right, well I will see you next time.

ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Be a Champion Mini-Story Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the mini-story for “Be a Champion.” Let’s begin.
fa
ce
*****
bo
Inca wanted to help homeless people. She was a champion for poor people.
ok
Did she help poor people? Did she fight for poor people? Did she defend poor
.
people?
co
Yes, that’s right. She was a champion for poor people.

m/
What was she?

gr
ou
She was a champion.

ps
She was a champion for whom?

/T
For poor people, Inca was a champion for poor people.

ai
Who did she help?

Li
Poor people, she helped poor people. She fought for and helped poor people.
eu
On
Who was a champion for poor people?

Th
Inca, Inca was a champion for poor people.

iD
Was she a champion for the rich and powerful?

ai
No, no, no, no, no, she was not a champion for the rich and powerful. She was a
Ho
champion for poor people.

c0
Who was she a champion for?

1
Poor people, she was a champion for poor people.
What was she?
A champion, a champion for poor people; for homeless people.
In fact, she wanted to build houses for all the homeless people in San Francisco.
What did she want to do?

ww
She wanted to build houses for all the homeless people in San Francisco.
w.
Which homeless people did she want to help?

fa
The homeless people in San Francisco. The homeless people in San Francisco, that’s
ce
who she wanted to help.

bo
What did she want to do for them?

ok
She wanted to build houses for them, right? She was a champion for homeless
.
people, she was a champion for poor people and she wanted to build houses for all
co
the homeless people in San Francisco.

m/
Where? Where did she want to build houses for homeless people?
gr
In San Francisco. She wanted to build houses for homeless people in San Francisco.
ou
Who was a champion for the poor? Who wanted to build houses for homeless
ps
people?
/T
Inca, Inca was a champion for the poor. Inca wanted to build houses for all the
ai
homeless people. Where?

Li
In San Francisco.
eu
So she talked to rich people. She talked to middleclass people. She talked to
On
them about her idea.

Th
What was her idea?

iD
Her idea was to build small cheap houses for every homeless person in San
ai
Francisco.
Ho
What kind of houses did she want to build?

c0
Small cheap houses. She wanted to build small cheap houses.

1
For whom?
For homeless people. She wanted to build small cheap houses for homeless people,
all the homeless people in San Francisco.
She talked to rich people about this idea, she wanted money from them. She
talked to middleclass people, she wanted them to help.
ww
What did most people think about her idea?

w.
They thought she was crazy. Most people thought that Inca was crazy.
fa
In fact, most people said “The status quo is fine. Homeless people deserve to
ce
be poor. They deserve to be homeless.”

bo
What did most people say?

ok
Most people said “The status quo is fine.”

. co
What was fine?

m/
The status quo, the current situation. The normal, traditional situation was fine. They
gr
said “The status quo is fine.”

ou
Where most people happy with the status quo?

ps
Yes. Most people – most rich people, most middleclass people – were happy with the
/T
status quo. They were happy with the current situation. They were happy with the
normal, traditional situation.
ai
Who was happy with the status quo?

Li
eu
Rich people and middleclass people were happy with the status quo. They were
happy with the existing situation.
On
Were homeless people happy with the status quo?

Th
iD
No, no, of course not. They weren’t happy with the status quo, they didn’t like the
situation. They didn’t like to be poor. They didn’t like to be hungry. But most people
ai
were happy with the status quo.

Ho
So did they like Inca’s idea?

c0
No, they didn’t. They didn’t like her idea. They thought she was crazy and they said
1
“The status quo is fine. Homeless people deserve to be homeless. Homeless people
deserve to be poor and hungry.”
Well, Inca dared to be different.
Was she courageous? Was she brave? Was she strong?
Yes. She dared to be different.
What did she dare to do?

ww
To be different. She dared to be different.

w.
fa
Who dared to be different?

ce
Inca, Inca dared to be different.

bo
Did she dare to be different or was she safe and normal?

ok
She wasn’t safe and normal, she dated to be different.

. co
And she started to build houses using plastic bottles. She built small cheap
houses out of plastic bottles.
m/
gr
What did she build houses out of?

ou
Out of plastic bottles. She built houses out of plastic bottles.

ps
Did she build big houses out of plastic bottles or did she build small houses out of
/T
plastic bottles?
ai
Well, they were small. She built small houses out of plastic bottles.
Li
What were the houses made of?

eu
They were made of plastic bottles. She built them out of plastic bottles.
On
What kind of bottles did she use to build the houses?

Th
iD
Plastic, plastic bottles. She used plastic bottles to build the houses.
ai
Were they expensive houses?

Ho
No, no, no, very cheap. They were very cheap, small houses built from plastic bottles;
c0
built out of plastic bottles.

1
Who built small cheap houses out of plastic bottles?
Inca, Inca built small cheap houses out of plastic bottles. She dared to be different.
In fact, this was a great innovation.
Was this a small improvement and change?
No, it wasn’t small. It was a big, sudden improvement. It was a big change, a big
improvement, it was an innovation. It was a great innovation, a great idea.
ww
What kind of change was this?

w.
fa
It was an innovation, a big change, a sudden change, a great improvement. It was an

innovation.
ce
What was an innovation?

bo
ok
Well, building houses out of plastic bottles. Building houses out of plastic bottles was
a great innovation.
. co
Why was it a great innovation?

m/
Because it was very cheap and easy to do. It was cheap and easy to build houses out
gr
of plastic bottles. It was a great change, a great innovation.

ou
Whose innovation was it?

ps
It was Inca’s innovation. It was her great idea, her great improvement. It was Inca’s
/T
innovation.
ai
What was Inca’s innovation?

Li
Well, her innovation was to build small cheap houses out of plastic bottles.
eu
So she had this great innovation. She was building more and more houses out
On
of plastic bottles and soon every rich person in San Francisco embraced her
idea.
Th
iD
Did they finally accept her idea?

ai
Yes, they did. They finally embraced her idea. They accepted it. They were happy
about it.
Ho
c0
Who embraced Inca’s idea, Inca’s innovation?

1
The rich people.
The rich people where?
The rich people in San Francisco. The rich people in San Francisco embraced Inca’s
innovation, her idea, her great idea.
Did they accept it a little bit?
No, not a little bit. They embraced it. They loved the idea. They accept it and they
ww
loved it. They embraced her idea.

w.
Which idea did they embrace?

fa
They embraced her idea of building small cheap houses out of plastic bottles. They
ce
embraced her great innovation. They accepted it and they loved it.
bo
Was her innovation eventually embraced?

ok
Yes, it was. Her innovation was eventually embraced by all the rich people in San
.
Francisco.
co
So they gave her lots of money to build more and more and more plastic bottle
m/
houses. And then after two years all the poor homeless people in San Francisco
gr
had a house. There were no more homeless people in the city. The homeless
people were happy and the rich people were happy and Inca was very, very
ou
happy.
ps
*****
/T
And that is the end of our mini-story for “Be a Campion.” I will see you next time.
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Be a Champion POV Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the POV stories for “Be a Champion.” Let’s begin.
fa
ce
Inca has always wanted to help homeless people. In fact, she has always been a
champion for the poor starting in the far past and then up until now. During this entire
bo
time she has been a champion for poor people. She has been a champion for
homeless people. She has always wanted to help them during this entire time. In fact,
ok
she has wanted to build houses for every homeless person in San Francisco, every
.
one. That has been her dream.

co
Now most people have thought that she was crazy. Every time she talked to someone
m/
about it they have thought she was crazy. They have said “The status quo is fine.
Homeless people deserve to be poor. They deserve to be homeless and they deserve
gr
to be hungry.” This is what they said. They have always said this.
ou
Well, luckily, Inca has always dared to be different. Since she was young, until now,
ps
the entire time, she has always dared to be different. And a few years ago she started
to build small cheap houses out of plastic bottles. So about two years ago she started
/T
to build small cheap houses out of plastic bottles. She started two years ago and she
ai
has continued until recently. So starting two years ago she started to build houses out
of plastic bottles and she has continued building them for two years.
Li
Now this was a great innovation. In fact, soon, every rich person in San Francisco
eu
embraced her idea. And after two years all the poor people in San Francisco had a
On
home. Every homeless person had a new house made of plastic bottles. The
homeless people were happy, the rich people were happy and Inca was very, very
Th
happy.
iD
That is the end of our first story. Next we’ll go to the future, so imagine this story
ai
happening in the future.

Ho
There will be a woman named Inca and she’ll want to help all the homeless people.
She’s going to be a champion for poor people. She’s going to be a champion for
c0
homeless people. She’ll want to build houses for all the homeless people in San
1
Francisco.
Of course most people will think she’s crazy, especially the rich people. They’ll say
“The status quo is fine. Homeless people deserve to be hungry, poor and homeless.”
But Inca will dare to be different. She’ll dare to be different. She’ll build small cheap
houses from used plastic bottles. This is going to be a great innovation.
And, in fact, soon, every rich person in San Francisco will embrace her idea. They’ll
ww
give her more and more money and she’ll build more and more and more plastic bottle
houses.
w.
fa
Until finally, eventually, after two years, all the poor people in San Francisco will have
a home. They’ll all have a house made of plastic bottles. The rich people will be
ce
happy, the poor people will be happy, Inca will be happy, too.
bo
And that is the end of our point of view stories and the end of our “Be a Champion”
ok
lessons. Listen carefully, notice the changes. Listen, listen, listen, relax, relax, relax,
that’s all you need to do. See you next time, bye-bye.
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Be a Champion Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Be a Champion.”
fa
ce
We’ve already talked about the word champion and, of course, in this article, in this
lesson, champion means a person who fights for what is good, a person who fights for
bo
what is right, a person who defends what is good. That is a champion, a champion.
ok
Our next word is innovation and Seth Godin says “Champion an innovation.” Here
.
he’s using champion as a verb, as an action. To champion means to fight for

co
something good or to defend something good. So you can use that as a verb, too.
m/
So he’s saying fight for an innovation. Do something great at your job. Do something
great. Not good, not so-so, great! Champion an innovation. Fight for an inn-o-va-tion.
gr
Innovation means a sudden, big improvement…a new, sudden, big improvement.

ou
That’s innovation, innovation.

ps
He says “Fight for innovations at your job. Fight for innovations at your company.
Don’t do something boring, do something great! Fight for innovations.” And he says “I
/T
dare you!” I dare you to do something great. To dare means to challenge. It means
ai
do it. Come on. I’m telling you to do it. I’m challenging you. So he says “I dare you”,
I challenge you to do something great. I encourage you to do something great. Dare;
Li
to dare.
eu
Our next word…phrase…is “status quo.” He says “Being a champion is about

On
overcoming the status quo.” It’s about fighting against the status quo. Status quo is a
very common word…words…and status quo means the traditional system, the
Th
traditional situation. It’s the current normal situation, status quo.

iD
So it’s kind of the opposite of new. It’s the old way, the traditional way, the average
ai
mediocre way, status quo. So he says “Fight against the status quo.” It means fight
against what is normal. Fight against the normal old way. Fight against the traditional
Ho
way. Status quo means the traditional way, the normal way, the old way, status quo.
c0
So if you’re a champion you have to fight against the status quo. You’re trying to
1
make improvements, you’re trying to do something better. To do something better you

have to destroy the old system. To create a new system you must destroy the old
one; the status quo, the old way.
He says “You also have to fight against inertia.” Inertia. Fight against inertia. Inertia
means resistance to change or resistance to moving. Now it actually has a scientific
meaning from physics, which is more specific than that, which is different. But I’m not
talking about the scientific meaning. I’m not talking about the physics meaning here.
I’m talking about a more general, conversational meaning.
ww
And in general conversation inertia means resistance to change. It means that people
are used to doing the same thing again and again and again. So if you want them to
w.
change it’s hard, right? They sort of resist it. Or if there’s a big, heavy object…let’s
fa
say there’s a big rock. You want to move the rock. Well, in the beginning, you start to
push. It’s hard to move it in the beginning, right? It’s very hard. That’s inertia. It’s
ce
that initial resistance to movement, the initial resistance to change.

bo
Now, eventually, you start pushing that rock. It starts to move. Then it becomes
ok
easier and easier. You get momentum, right? So once it starts moving then you keep
going move, move, move and then it moves more easily, but in the very beginning
.
there’s a lot of inertia. It’s kind of stuck, right? It’s hard to move it in the beginning. It
co
resists change, it resists movement.

m/
And people have this same inertia, right? People generally resist change in the
gr
beginning. If you try to change them, you try to do something new, in the beginning
they will fight against your change. They will resist your change. They have inertia.
ou
Now, later, if you can make them change, the change becomes easier, easier, faster,
faster, you have momentum. But, in the beginning there’s this strong inertia.
ps
/T
Remember, if you’re talking about science inertia has a somewhat different meaning, a
similar meaning, but there’s more. But for our meaning here in this article it means
ai
resistance to change.
Li
Okay, finally, we have the word to embrace or embracing. To embrace has two
eu
meanings, one is a very direct meaning, which means to hug or hold somebody. It
means you put your arms around them. I embraced my friend. It means I hugged my
On
friend. I held my friend. I put my arms around my friend.

Th
But there’s a more general meaning for the word embrace. To embrace means to
iD
accept something happily; to accept it and to be happy about accepting it. So, for
example, we can embrace ideas. If we embrace an idea then we accept the idea and
ai
we accept it very happily. We’re happy to accept it. We like it. We’re saying “Yes,
this idea is great! I embrace it.”
Ho
c0
So Seth Godin is saying “You must embrace being a champion.” You must embrace
that choice. You must embrace that role. Embrace being a champion. Accept it for
1
yourself. Be happy to be a champion. Be happy to be different. Be happy to be great

and remarkable. Embrace this idea, embrace this choice. Accept it and be happy
about it.
And that is all for our vocabulary for “Be a Champion”, a short, easy vocabulary lesson
this time. So, as always, listen to the vocabulary a few times and then go to the mini-
story and listen, listen, listen to the mini-story, answer the questions, be strong, be
happy, be smiling. See you next time, bye-bye.
ww
w.
fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
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iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
No Failure Main Text

w.
Welcome to the next lesson. This one is called “No Failure.” Nice title, I like it.
fa
ce
And this comes from a website, actually. The website is LifeCoachesBlog.com and
the title of the article is “There is No Failure, Only Learning Experience.” And this is
bo
one of my core beliefs, one of my central beliefs. It’s a very powerful belief and I
recommend that you decide to have this belief, also, because this belief will give you
ok
so much power and strength in your life. It’s a vital, core belief, a vital fundamental
.
belief.
co
By having this belief you will learn faster and faster. You will succeed more and more.
m/
You will get everything you want in your life, just by believing this, this simple thing.
Let me read it and then I’ll talk more about it. Here we go.
gr
ou
“There is no failure, only feed back. We say that there is no such thing as success,
failure, happiness or depression. Not that people don’t feel these things, but that
ps
they’re labels that we tack on to things afterwards.

/T
“Your subjective experience of happiness is quite different from mine. All these
ai
emotional states are subjective processes. They’re not things; they are things that we
do. We don’t have happiness, we do happiness. Happiness is not a thing like an
Li
apple is a thing. Happiness is a process. Failure is the same. There is no such thing
as failure until we label something as failure.
eu
On
“For example, contrast two different boys, boy one and boy two. They’re both learning
how to ride their bicycles and they’re both fumbling about and falling down. Boy one
Th
says ‘I keep failing and failing at this again. Maybe I can’t do this. Maybe I’m just a
failure.’ Say this enough and he starts feeling like a total failure and he’s not going to
iD
continue very long.

ai
“By two thinks differently. He thinks “Hum, the last two times I fell down I was holding
Ho
my handlebar with only one hand. Maybe there’s something to learn? After all, there
was also one time I almost did not fall. So, hum, I must be able to do it eventually. I
c0
just need to learn more.’

1
“Boy one just doesn’t get it because he treats his experience as failure and he doesn’t
get anything out of his experience. Boy two develops his bicycle riding experience and
skill because he doesn’t beat himself up. He doesn’t label himself as a failure; rather,
he sees every experience as learning.
“Now imagine the opposite idea. Imagine how terrible and crazy the opposite idea
ww
would be. Imagine there is only failure and no learning experiences. Sounds kind of
stupid, doesn’t it? Well it is stupid. The opposite is much more powerful and true. For
w.
if there is no failure, only learning experience, what would be different for you? How
fa
would that change your life if you had that belief?

ce
“For example, when a missile is launched it doesn’t go in a perfect straight line to its
target. Along the way it bumps into problems that cause it to go off course. But an
bo
accurate missile takes these experiences as feedback, as learning experiences. And

ok
it corrects its course along the way until it finally hits its target.
.
“You might be facing the same situation in different areas of your life. Some things are
co
cruising along to their target very smoothly, while others are in the process of course
correcting. If there was no failure in your life, only learning experience, how would
m/
your life be different emotionally, mentally, socially, physically and spiritually?”

gr
Okay, interesting little article and very powerful and very simple, really. But this simple
ou
idea has so much power, if you will adopt this idea, if you will have this idea as your
own and make it stronger and stronger and stronger so that every time in your life,
ps
every experience, is only a learning experience. There is no failure, no failure, only

/T
results, only learning experiences, only feedback.

ai
So if you had with trouble with English in the past you didn’t fail and you’re not a
failure, you learned something. What did you learn? Maybe you learned that
Li
grammar and translation are not effective learning methods. That’s an important
eu
lesson to learn. A lot of people never understand that. So, wow, that’s a powerful
thing that you learned.
On
Maybe you have learned, since then, that you can improve your English if you use the
Th
correct methods. That’s an important lesson to learn. Maybe you learned that schools
iD
are not effective and so maybe you can try something different like learning
independently, which is what you’re doing right now.
ai
The point is you don’t label yourself as a failure. You don’t say “I failed.” You didn’t
Ho
fail. You learned something from those experiences. Or you can learn something if
c0
you will think differently.

1
Every experience in your life can be seen this way. If you get fired from your job, well,
you have some choices. You can decide that you’re a failure. “I’m a failure in my
career. Something’s wrong with me.” That’s one meaning you can give it. You can
decide there’s a failure. “I have failed.” Or you can decide there is no failure there’s
only learning and you can think “What have I learned? What have I learned? What
did I learn from my job? What have I learned from being fired?”
ww
And I went through this experience myself in my life and being fired was a great
w.
learning experience, fantastic. I learned a lot of great things. I learned things about
fa
myself. I realized that, for me, the students were more important than a school or a
boss and I knew that would always be true.
ce
I learned that I like to be independent and make my own choices. I learned that I
bo
needed to be my own boss; that I needed to be independent. I learned that I had a

ok
great teaching system that students loved, but the status quo, the traditional teachers
and administrators did not like.
. co
I learned a lot of lessons from that experience. I don’t think it was a failure I think it
was a huge success, in fact. It was a great learning experience. In fact, when I look
m/
back in my life it’s usually the tough times, the difficult times that were the best
gr
learning experiences that changed my life the most and helped me grow the most, not
the easy times.
ou
And this is true for most people. Most people learn the most when times are tough.
ps
It’s a great opportunity, but only if you see it as a learning experience, only if you have
/T
this belief. If you decide “I’m a failure, I failed, I failed,” you learn nothing. You just get
sad and depressed and weak. There is no failure, there’s only learning.
ai
Any time you have a tough situation ask the same question, “What have I learned?
Li
What can I learn? What can I learn from this? What can I learn from this?” No failure.
eu
You will never fail at English, you’ll just learn. You’ll learn which methods are best and
which methods don’t work. You’ll learn what you like and what you don’t like. You’ll
On
never fail.
Th
Okay. Well I hope you will think very deeply and seriously about this topic. It’s a very
iD
important topic. It’s so simple, but this small change can totally change your life.
Never again use the word failure or fail, especially for yourself, never. Speak only
ai
about learning. Speak only about results. Speak only about feedback. Never use the
word failure for yourself.
Ho
c0
All right, well that is the end of this lesson. I will see you next time, bye-bye.
1
ww
No Failure Mini-Story Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the mini-story for “No Failure.”

fa
ce
*****
bo
There was a guy named Watt. Watt wanted to build his own motorcycle.
ok
Hum, who wanted to build his own motorcycle? Watt

. co
Watt wanted to build his own motorcycle.

m/
What did he want to build?

gr
He wanted to build his own motorcycle.

ou
Did he want to buy his own motorcycle?

ps
No, he didn’t. He didn’t want to buy one he wanted to build his own motorcycle. He
/T
wanted to create his own motorcycle.

ai
So, first, he tried to build a motorcycle. The first time he tried the motorcycle
Li
exploded! (POW!)
eu
What happened the first time?

On
It exploded. The first time he tried to build a motorcycle it exploded, boom!

Th
Was he successful the first time?

iD
ai
No, he wasn’t. He was not successful. The first motorcycle exploded.

Ho
What exploded?
c0
His first motorcycle. Watt’s first motorcycle exploded, boom!

1
Watt felt bad. He beat himself up about it.
Did Watt criticize himself after the motorcycle exploded?
Yes, he did. He criticized himself. He beat himself up about the motorcycle’s

explosion. He beat himself up and he said to himself “Watt, damn it! You’re so damn
stupid! You’re a failure!”
ww
What did Watt do?

w.
Watt beat himself up. He criticized himself. He said bad things to himself. He beat
fa
himself up.
ce
Why did Watt beat himself up?

bo
Well, because his first motorcycle exploded. His first motorcycle exploded, so he beat
ok
himself up. He beat himself up about it and he said “Watt, damn it. You’re so damn
stupid. You’re a failure.”
. co
Who beat himself up?

m/
Watt, Watt beat himself up.

gr
He beat himself up about what?

ou
He beat himself up about the motorcycle exploding. He beat himself up and he said to
ps
himself “Damn it, Watt, you’re so stupid. You’re such a failure.”

/T
So he beat himself up for a while, he criticized himself for a while, but after he
ai
beat himself up he decided to try again. The next time he tried, but he dropped
his tools and he fumbled around and he made a lot of mistakes and the next bike
Li
would not start.

eu
Was he clumsy the second time?

On
Yes, he was clumsy. He fumbled around.

Th
iD
Did he drop his tools?

ai
Yes, he fumbled around. He fumbled his tools. He dropped his tools. He was clumsy.
He made a lot of mistakes. Watt fumbled around the second time.
Ho
c0
When did Watt fumble around a lot?

1
Well, the second time, while building the second motorcycle. The second time he
fumbled around. He made mistakes. He dropped his tools.
Who fumbled around?
Watt did. Watt fumbled around. Watt made a lot of mistakes. Watt dropped his tools
constantly.
What did he do?

ww
He fumbled around. He fumbled his tools. He made mistakes.

w.
fa
Because he fumbled around a lot what happened?

ce
Well, the second bike would not start. The second motorcycle would not start.
bo
Did Watt beat himself up again?

ok
No, he didn’t. The second time he did not beat himself up. The second time he got
.
something out of it.

co
Did he learn something after the second time?

m/
gr
Yes, that’s right. He learned something. He got something out of it. He got
something out of the experience. He learned something from the experience.
ou
What happened after the second time?

ps
/T
Well, he got something out of it. He learned.

ai
Who got something out of it? Who learned?

Li
Watt, Watt got something out of it. Watt learned.

eu
He got something out of what?

On
He got something out of building the second bike. He learned from building the
Th
second bike.
iD
So did he get something out of it or did he learn nothing?

ai
He got something out of it. He learned something.

Ho
c0
Who got something out of it?

1
Watt, Watt got something out of it. Watt learned something from the experience and
so he tried again.
In fact, he built 108 more motorcycles. None of them would start. But each time
he got something out of it. Each time he learned something new. He got
something new out of it.
Did he learn from each new attempt?

ww
Yes, he did. He learned from each new attempt. He got something out of each new
attempt. Each time he learned something more, learned something more. He got
w.
more out of it and more out of it. And finally one day he said “I get it! I get it! I know
fa
how to do it!”
ce
Did he finally understand how to succeed?

bo
Yes, he did. He said “I get it! I understand!”

ok
Did Watt get it?

. co
Yes, Watt got it. Watt understood.

m/
What did he get?

gr
Well, he got, he understood how to build a working motorcycle.

ou
What did he get?

ps
/T
He got, he understood how to build a motorcycle that works, that starts, and runs.
ai
Who got it, finally?

Li
Watt did. Watt finally got it. Watt finally understood.

eu
And what did he say?

On
He said “I get it! I understand! I get it! I know how to do it now!”

Th
iD
So he said “I get it. I understand.” And he finally built a big, fast, red and black
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.
ai
What kind of motorcycle did he finally build?

Ho
c0
A big, fast, red and black Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.

1
Who finally built a big, fast, red and black Harley-Davidson Motorcycle?
Watt did. Watt finally built a big, fast, red and black Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.
He was successful. He was happy. And so every day he cruised along the
street with a huge smile.
Did he drive along the street smoothly every day?
Oh, yeah. He cruised along the street. He moved on the street smoothly without
ww
problems, no problems. His motorcycle worked perfectly. He cruised along the street
every day. He moved smoothly. He drove smoothly along the street every day.
w.
fa
Who cruised along the street every day with a big smile?
ce
Watt did. Watt cruised along the street every day with a big smile.
bo
Why did he cruise along the street every day with a big smile?
ok
Well, because he was happy. He was happy that he had a big, fast, red and black
.
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle. He was happy, so when he cruised along the street he

co
had a big smile.

m/
What did he do every day?

gr
He cruised along the street. He cruised along the street every day.
ou
On what? What did he cruise along the street on?

ps
/T
Well, on his motorcycle. He cruised along the street every day on his big, fast, Harley-
Davidson Motorcycle. And every day when he cruised along the street he had a big,
ai
huge smile on his face. He was very, very happy.

Li
*****
eu
And that is the end of our mini-story for “No Failure.”

On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
No Failure POV Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the point of view stores for “No Failure.” Let’s begin.
fa
ce
Watt has always wanted to build his own motorcycle, right, for a long, long time, since
he was quite young. So since he was very, very young he has wanted to build his own
bo
motorcycle. And he has thought about it constantly, each day, for a long time. He’s
thought about it and he’s thought about it. In fact, he has tried and tried and tried
ok
again. He has tried many times to build his own motorcycle.

. co
Now the first time he tried the motorcycle exploded, boom! And after that happened
he beat himself up about it. He criticized himself and he said “Watt, damn it. You’re
m/
so damn stupid, you failure!” And he beat himself up. But, of course, you know he
has tied and tried and tried again.
gr
ou
And so the next time he tried he dropped his tools, he fumbled around, he made a lot
of mistakes and the next bike – the second bike – would not start. However, that time,
ps
after the second bike, he got something out of it. He learned something. And he
thought and he learned and then he tried again. He tried 108 more times.
/T
ai
And, finally, after the 110th time he said “I get it! I get it! I know how to do it!” He
learned. He understood. And then, finally, he built a big, fast, read and black Harley-
Li
Davidson Motorcycle and he cruised along the street. He cruised along the street
every day with a big, huge smile on his face. He was really happy.
eu
On
Okay. Next let’s go into the future! Fifty years from now there will be a guy named
Watt. Watt will want to build his own motorcycle. Now, he’ll try. And the first time he
Th
tries the bike will explode, boom! It’s going to explode and after it explodes he’ll beat
himself up about it. He’ll say “Watt, damn it. You’re so damn stupid. You’re a failure.”
iD
He’ll really beat himself up about it, but he’ll try again.
ai
And the next time he’s going to drop his tools and he’ll fumble around and he’ll make a
Ho
lot of mistakes. And the second bike won’t start, it won’t start. But the second time he
won’t beat himself up about it. He won’t. No. He’ll get something out of it. He’ll learn.
c0
He’ll learn and he’ll try again. He’ll try 108 more times. Until finally one day he’ll say “I
1
get it! I know how to do it!”
And then he’s going to build a big, fast, red and black Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.
And he’ll cruise along the street every day, zoom, zoom, zoom, with a big, huge smile
on his face. He’ll be very, very happy.
And that is the end of our point of view stories for “No Failure.” I hope you’re very
happy, too. I hope you’re always happy, strong, smiling and breathing deeply with
ww
strong physiology every time you listen to my lessons.

w.

fa
ce
bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
No Failure Vocabulary Text

w.
Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “No Failure.” Let’s begin.

fa
ce
Our first word is feedback, feedback. There is on failure there is only feedback.
Feedback just means information that comes to you after an action. Whoa, that’s a bit
bo
of a long explanation. What does that mean? It means you do something and then
something happens, right? There’s a reaction. There’s a consequence. So that’s
ok
what feedback is. Feedback is a consequence or a reaction.

. co
For example, if I try to memorize 10,000 new words, I study a vocabulary book and I
do this for five days, I will get feedback. There will be results. So maybe one month
m/
later I forget all the words, well that information, that reaction, that result, is feedback.
It means it’s something I can learn from. It’s information that comes back to you,
gr
right?
ou
You do something and then information comes back. A result comes back. A reaction
ps
comes back. Something happens. There’s some kind of information after you do
something, after you say something. We call that feedback. It’s the information that
/T
comes back to you. It’s how you learn. You learn from feedback.
ai
You do something and then something happens. Maybe something good happens,
Li
maybe something bad happens, whatever happens that result…that result is feedback.
It’s information that comes back to you and then you can change what you’re doing. If
eu
you like the feedback, if you like the result, well, keep doing it more, if you don’t like it
On
then you try something else.

Th
All right, our next phrase is “to tack on.” So in this article he says “We tack on a label.”
Right? It’s not the event that’s important it’s the label we tack on to it. So he’s saying
iD
something happens then we tack on the label “failure” or “failing.” To tack on means to
ai
put on; to put on something. So if you tack on a label you tack on a name. It means
you put the name onto the experience.
Ho
Something happens and then you decide “This is a failure.” Right? You’re putting the
c0
name onto it, you’re tacking it on. So, again, tack on means to put on something or to
1
stick onto something.
Our next word is process or processes, processes. And a process, really, it’s an
event. It’s something that happens. It’s a series of actions. So it’s not a one-time
thing, it’s something that happens over time, a process. So we talk about a learning
process.
That means the learning happens over time. It’s not just suddenly it happens and it’s
ww
gone. A process happens over time, it continues over some time. That’s a process,
something that continues over time, some action that continues over time, process; a
w.
process.
fa
Our next word is to contrast. This can be a noun, also, but we’re using it as a verb.
ce
So he says “Contrast two boys.” So when you contrast something…you’re contrasting

two boys. To contrast two boys means to compare them. Compare them. Look at the
bo
differences. When you contrast you’re looking at the differences. You’re comparing
ok
differences.
.
So let’s contrast these two shirts. It means we’re looking at the two shirts and we’re
co
trying to find what’s different. We’re comparing and finding what’s different. To
contrast, to contrast. So we’re looking at the two boys, we’re looking, how are they
m/
different? We’re comparing them to see how they’re different. We’re contrasting
gr
them.
ou
He says “Boy one and boy two, they’re both learning how to ride bicycles and they’re
both fumbling and falling down.” To fumble means to drop something or to be clumsy,
ps
to be clumsy. So when you fumble it means you drop something or you almost drop it.
/T
So if you’re on a bike it means you almost fall on the bike or you actually do fall on the
bike.
ai
So, again, fumbling has this idea of dropping, dropping something accidently or almost
Li
dropping it. Maybe you’re “Oh my God, oh!” Right? I’ve got a pen in my hand and
eu
“Oh, oh, oh, it’s going to fall!” But it doesn’t fall, I’m fumbling it. It’s almost falling. Or
even if it does fall you can say “I fumbled it.” It fell out of my hands or it fell down.
On
That’s to fumble.
Th
Then later in the article he says that “Boy one decides that’s he’s failing. He says ‘I’m
iD
a failure.” And boy one just doesn’t get it. To get it means to understand. So to get it,
to get something, means to understand it. If you say, “Ahhh I get it!” that means,
ai
“Ahhh I understand it.” Or “I don’t get it!” that’s another common phrase. “I don’t get it!
I don’t get it!” It means I don’t understand it. I don’t understand it. So to get it or to
Ho
get something means to understand it, to understand something.

c0
And then we have another phrase a little bit similar, but a different meaning, “to get
1
something out of it”, so to get out of it or to get anything out of it or to get something
out of it. It means an experience.
So, for example, you say “I didn’t get anything out of that class. I did not get anything
out of that class.” To get something out of it means to get a benefit, to get a benefit; a
learning experience or something else. So if you say “I didn’t get anything out of the
class”, it means I didn’t learn anything from the class. So, again, to get something out
of an experience means to learn something from the experience.
ww
Or you could say the opposite, “I got a lot out of that class. I got a lot out of that class.”
It means I learned a lot from that class. So I got a lot out of it, I learned a lot from it,
w.
same meaning.
fa
Our next phrase is “to beat yourself up”, to beat yourself up. And he says “Boy two
ce
develops his bicycle riding skill because he doesn’t beat himself up. He doesn’t label
himself as a failure.” To beat yourself up means to criticize yourself, quite simple. It
bo
means you say negative things about yourself. You criticize yourself. You beat
ok
yourself up.
.
So if I beat myself up I say “Oh, AJ you’re a failure. AJ you’re so stupid! AJ you suck,
co
you’re a bad teacher!” Right? I’m beating myself up. I’m saying bad things to myself,
beating myself up.
m/
gr
So he’s saying “Smart people do not beat themselves up. Smart people do not say
bad things to themselves. They don’t say ‘I’m a failure.’ They don’t beat themselves
ou
up.” They don’t criticize themselves.

ps
All right and, finally, one more word, one more phrase, actually, “cruising along.” He
/T
says “Sometimes in your life things are cruising along.” Parts of your life are cruising
along. Cruising along means going well, going smoothly, happening easily, and doing
ai
very well. You can say “Oh, wow, my business is cruising along.” It means my
business is having no problems. It’s moving forward with no problems, so cruising
Li
along.
eu
If something is cruising along it means it’s going steadily, it’s moving forward and there
On
are no problems. You can say “Oh, my relationship with my girlfriend or wife or
husband or boyfriend” you could say “my relationship is cruising along.” It means
Th
there are no problems, everything this is fine and everything is moving forward,
iD
smoothly, steadily. So that’s cruising along, to be cruising along.

ai
And that is the end of our vocabulary lesson for “No Failure.”
Ho

c0
1
ww
Break Rules Main Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to our next lesson. I like this lesson a lot. This topic is one
fa
of my favorites it’s called “Break Rules.” Break Rules…it’s kind of my motto in life.
ce
Let’s begin.
bo
Now this comes from Seth Godin again; another section of Seth Godin’s book. And, if
you remember, Seth Godin is an Internet Marketing expert. He started his own
ok
Internet Marketing Company. He became very, very successful, super rich and
.
famous and all that. And then he sold his company and now he writes books about
co
Internet Marketing.
m/
More importantly, he writes books about success, especially success in business,

success in your career. And I absolutely love his books, I love his attitude and I follow
gr
his same approach. I have his same values and this is one of the big ones, break
ou
rules!
ps
I like to break rules. In fact, a lot of the members on our Effortless English Club Forum
call me “Rebel Number One”. It’s kind of my nickname on the Forums. Maybe I
/T
should make that my official title, not Director of Effortless English, but Rebel Number
ai
One.
Li
I like it because, in fact, our Effortless English Club is a club of rebels. We don’t like to
follow the rules. We don’t like to do things the normal way. We don’t continue doing
eu
stupid things again and again. We don’t follow the old, boring, traditional methods of
On
learning, we break the rules.

Th
We follow a new method, a new way. We succeed because we are rebels and now
it’s your turn to join us. It is your turn to become a rebel, just like us, a rebel English
iD
learner, a rebel in your job, a rebel in your life. All right, I’m going to read from Seth
ai
Godin’s book and then I’ll come back and talk a little more about this idea of being a
rebel. Here we go.
Ho
“Obedience works fine on the well-organized, standardized, factory floor. But what
c0
happens when we start using our heads not our hands? What happens when our
1
colors change from blue to white? White-collar workers don’t get paid to follow the
rules.
“The big difference between today and the old factory economy is that instead of
working with a drill or a machine we work with laptops and telephones. What’s neat
about this work is that it’s different every day. We actually get a lot of freedom to
decide what to do next and our skill in making that decision has a lot to do with our
productivity and our success.
ww
“That’s why your boss allows you the time to read this book, to shop online or to go to
lunch meetings because she’s waiting for you to break the rules. She’s waiting for you
w.
to create big gains in productivity by using your head.

fa
“Yes, there are exceptions. There are clerks who have every keystroke measured, but
ce
that’s not really a white-collar job that’s a factory job where you don’t get dirty, instead
you get carpel tunnel syndrome.
bo
ok
“I’m talking about the vast majority of jobs in our organizations, schools, governments
and corporations. You don’t have to wear a factory uniform and you’re expected to
.
contribute more than what’s being asked. The thing is white-collar workers, deep
co
down, are petrified to do exactly what it is they actually got hired to do. They are
petrified to be different.
m/
gr
“We all know that we could get replaced tomorrow by someone else, almost as good
as us, who is willing to work for half as much money. We don’t want to blow it. We
ou
want to be given instructions, not to invent them. After all, we know how to follow
instructions. That’s what we learned in school.
ps
/T
“We invented the myth that doing what your boss says is the best way to keep your
job, but in a white-collar setting this isn’t the right answer. Nine times out of ten a
ai
white-collar worker’s reflex is to ask ‘What do you think I should do?’ The easiest way
to avoid pain, it seems, is to follow someone else’s instructions, but that is a recipe for
Li
failure. To succeed in your career, to really succeed, you have to break the rules.”
eu
Okay, that’s a nice little section from Seth Godin’s book. And I love it because the
On
Effortless English Club is all about breaking the rules. We break every traditional
English learning rule. We don’t do anything normally.
Th
iD
Traditional schools teach grammar, grammar, grammar, grammar, grammar. You

memorize grammar, terms, the past progressive, possessives blah- blah- blah. We
ai
break that rule. We don’t do that, absolutely never.

Ho
In traditional schools with the traditional rules they always use textbooks. You’ve got
c0
to have a textbook. You must have a textbook and we have to have tests and grades
and scores. Well, we break those rules, too.
1
We never give you a test and we never use textbooks. We use only real English, the
real spontaneous English that I’m speaking right now. Real English books that were
written for native speakers, they weren’t written for English students. We never use
textbooks.
We never memorize and study hard with a lot of effort, not vocabulary, not grammar.
No, we listen easily and relax. We listen repeatedly again and again and we learn
intuitively, subconsciously, effortlessly.
ww
We don’t do boring drills and exercises, right? You get in a pair with another student
w.
and you practice saying some speech or some sentence or some dialogue. Hell, no,
fa
we never do that. No, we listen and we listen and we listen and then we get on the
Forums and we write to each other and communicate – real communication – and then
ce
you get on Skype and you talk to each other. Real communication focused on
meaning.
bo
ok
In regular schools they always follow the rules. They tell you your mistakes all the
time. They’re very worried about mistakes in normal schools. We never worry about
.
mistakes, never! We worry about communication. We want to be understood. We

co
want to communicate clearly. We worry about meaning, but never do we worry about
mistakes. We know mistakes are necessary. We love mistakes. That’s how we learn.
m/
We love ‘em. So I never correct your mistakes, never, never, never.

gr
We’re always breaking the rules. I, as a teacher, always break these rules. You, as
ou
an English learner -- and especially as a new member of the Effortless English Club --
you must break the rules. And you’re already doing it by listening to these lessons,
ps
you rebel. You’re a rebel, too. You need to accept it.

/T
I may be Rebel Number One, but you’re one of our rebels, too. You’re an Effortless
ai
English Club rebel. Accept it! Celebrate it! Be happy about it! Because you’re going
to speak excellent English and all the people following the rules, all the people going to
Li
the normal schools, memorizing grammar, taking tests, they’re never going to do it.
eu
Or maybe they will, but it’s going to take them years and years and years, much longer
On
than you. And they’re going to suffer and they’re going to hate it. They’re going to be
bored and tired and upset and frustrated and you’re going to be smiling and moving
Th
and jumping around and laughing while you learn English. You’re going to speak
iD
better than they do, your vocabulary is going to be better, your fluency will be better,
your pronunciation will be better, because you break the rules.
ai
It’s time for you to do this in other parts of your life, too, especially your job or career.
Ho
In tough economic times the people who break the rules do the best. They get
c0
noticed, they have something special. If you follow the rules you’re like everybody
else. That means it’s easy to cut your job. It’s easy to say goodbye to you, it’s easy to
1
fire you, because you’re not special. Why should they keep you?
But if you break the rules, you do something great, you do something different and you
are different because most people are afraid to do that. So you want to be
remarkable, outstanding, you want to have a great career, you want to do anything
well, more than well, you want to do it fantastically well, you want to be great at it, you
have to break the rules. What are the rules? The rules in any area of life are what
most people do. It’s the normal, acceptable thing to do.
ww
So if you follow the rules you will be normal and acceptable, just like everyone else.
w.
Which means you will get the same results as everyone else. You’ll be paid an
fa
average amount of money. You’ll be kind of bored at your job because most people
are kind of bored at their job. You’ll improve, slowly, because that’s what most people
ce
do.
bo
If you want more you’ve got to break the rules. You have to do what other people
ok
don’t do. You have to do what other people are afraid to do. That’s how you improve
faster and succeed more, in your job, in your career, in your business, in English
.
learning, in anything. Don’t be a cow. Don’t follow the herd. Don’t do what everyone
co
else is doing. Break the rules. Be a rebel. Join us. Join the rebellion at Effortless
English.
m/
gr
All right, I hope I have convinced you, at least for English learning. I hope you will join
us at the Effortless English Club and proudly be a rebel in your English learning. I
ou
hope you’ll do it in other parts of your life, too, but you can start with English learning.
ps
All right, I will see you on the Forums and I will see you next time.
/T
ai
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Break Rules Mini-Story Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the mini-story for “Break Rules.” Let’s begin.

fa
ce
*****
bo
There was a guy names Andre. Andre was an obedient white-collar worker.
ok
What kind of worker was he?

. co
He was an obedient white-collar worker.

m/
Did Andre work in an office?

gr
Yes, he was a white-collar worker. He was an office worker.

ou
Was Andre a blue-collar worker or a white-collar worker?

ps
Well, he was a white-collar worker. He worked in an office.

/T
ai
Who was a white-collar worker?

Li
Andre, Andre was a white-collar worker.

eu
Did Andre break the rules?

On
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, he never broke the rules. He was an obedient worker.
Th
So did he follow the rules or did he break the rules?

iD
ai
He followed the rules. He was obedient.

Ho
What kind of white-collar worker was he?

c0
An obedient white-collar worker.

1
So he was obedient or he broke the rules?
He was obedient. Andre was an obedient white-collar worker.
Who was obedient?
Andre, Andre was obedient. He always, always followed the rules. He was an
obedient white-collar worker.
In fact, he was petrified to try anything new.

ww
How did he feel about trying new things?

w.
fa
He was scared. He was afraid. He was petrified.

ce
He was petrified of what?

bo
Of trying new things. He was petrified of trying new things. He was petrified to try
ok
anything new. He was very afraid, very scared to try anything new.
.
Who was petrified?

co
Andre, Andre was petrified.

m/
gr
Petrified of doing what?

ou
Of trying something new. He was petrified of trying anything new. He would never try
anything new. He was scared. He was petrified.
ps
/T
So was he brave or was he petrified?

ai
He was petrified, of course. Andre was petrified to try anything new.

Li
As a result, his productivity was very low.

eu
Did Andre do a lot of work in a short time?

On
No, he did not. No, his productivity was low. He did very little work.
Th
iD
Did he get great results in his job?

ai
No, no, his productivity was low. He did not get great results. He got poor results, he
had poor productivity.
Ho
c0
What was low?

1
Andre’s productivity. Andre’s productivity was very low. His results, the amount of
work he did, they were both very low. His productivity was low.
Was his productivity high or low?
His productivity was very low.
Whose productivity was very low?

ww
Andre’s, Andre’s productivity was very, very low. He followed the rules. He did the
normal thing, nothing special. His productivity was mediocre. His productivity was
w.
low.
fa
And so, one day, he was fired. Andre was fired from his job.
ce
Why was he fired?

bo
ok
Well, because his productivity was low and because he was a boring worker.
.
Why was he fired?

co
Because his productivity was low and because he was a boring worker.
m/
gr
Who was fired?

ou
Andre, Andre was fired. Andre lost his job.

ps
Did he keep his job or was he fired?

/T
He was fired.
ai
Who?
Li
eu
Andre, Andre was fired because his productivity was low and because he was a boring
worker.
On
How did Andre feel after he was fired?

Th
iD
Well, he felt terrible.

ai
In fact, he beat himself up about it. He beat himself up about being fired. He
said “Damn it! I blew it! I was stupid!”
Ho
c0
Did he make a big mistake?

1
Yes. He said he blew it. He said “I blew it! I made a big mistake.”
Did Andre blow it?
Yes, he did. He blew it. He made a big mistake.
Who blew it?

ww
Andre, Andre blew it. Andre made a big mistake.

w.
Did he blow it or was he successful?

fa
He blew it. He made a big mistake. He blew it.

ce
He blew what?
bo
ok
Well, he blew his job, all right. He made a big mistake at his job.
.
So he blew it or he was successful?

co
He blew it. Andrew blew it. He said “Damn it! I blew it! I was stupid!”
m/
gr
How did he blow it?

ou
Well, he blew it; he made a big mistake, by following the rules. He blew it by following
the rules. He made a mistake by following the rules.
ps
/T
So he beat himself up for a while, he criticized himself, but then he decided to

change. He decided to become a rebel!
ai
What did he become?

Li
eu
A rebel!
On
Who became a rebel?

Th
Andre, Andre became a rebel! He became a rebel, he constantly tried new things. He
iD
decided to do everything new, everything differently. He decided to break all the rules.
ai
What did Andre become?

Ho
He became a rebel. He became a rebel in his work. He became a rebel in his home
c0
life. He became a rebel in every part of his life. He constantly tried new things.
1
And one day he tried something really amazing, one day he invented an amazing
new toothbrush.
What did he do?
He invented an amazing new toothbrush.
Did he create a new toothbrush?

ww
Yes, he did. He invented…he invented, he created…an amazing new toothbrush.

w.
Who created an amazing new toothbrush?

fa
Andre, Andre created an amazing new toothbrush.

ce
He invented what?
bo
ok
He invented an amazing new toothbrush.

.
What kind of an amazing new toothbrush did he invent?

co
Well, he invented a nuclear-powered toothbrush.

m/
gr
What kind of toothbrush did he invent?

ou
He invented a nuclear-powered toothbrush. It was a nuclear toothbrush, super

powerful.
ps
/T
Who invented a nuclear-powered toothbrush?

ai
Andre, Andre invented a nuclear-powered toothbrush. It was an amazing invention.

Li
He invented a new nuclear-powered toothbrush and he sold it to millions of

eu
people. Andre became super rich. In fact, he became the richest man in the
world.
On
Why did he become the richest man in the world?

Th
iD
Because he invented an amazing new toothbrush and he sold it millions of people. He

became super rich. He became the richest man in the world because he became a
ai
rebel!
Ho
*****
c0
And that is the end of our mini-story for “Break Rules.”

1
See you next time.
ww
Break Rules POV Text

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the point of view stories for “Break Rules.” Let’s begin.
fa
ce
*****
bo
Andre has been an obedient white-collar worker for most of his life.
ok
What has he been?

. co
He has been an obedient white-collar worker.

m/
Has he been a rebel most of his life?

gr
No, he has not been a rebel most of his life, he has been an obedient white-collar
ou
worker.
ps
In fact, he has been petrified to try anything new.

/T
Has he been scared?

ai
Yes, he has. He has been petrified. He has been petrified most of his life. He’s been
Li
very scared most of his life. He has been petrified to try anything new. And, in fact,
his productivity has been very low. He has not been productive most of his life. His
eu
productivity has been very, very low.

On
And so, as a result, one day he was fired. He was fired from his job and he felt
Th
terrible. In fact, he beat himself up about it. He said to himself “Damn it! I blew
it! I blew it! I was so stupid! I really blew it.” But he decided to change. He
iD
decided to become a rebel. He totally changed. He decided to constantly try

ai
new things. And he did, he constantly tried new things in every part of his life.
He became a super rebel.
Ho
And one day he invented an amazing new toothbrush. He invented a nuclear-

c0
powered toothbrush and then he sold that amazing nuclear-powered toothbrush

1
to millions of people. He became super rich. In fact, he became the richest man
in the world. Why? All became he became a rebel.
All right, our next story happens in the future. Imagine this will happen in the future.
We’re going to think about the future and imagine it. Here it goes.
In the future there’ll be a guy named Andre. He’ll be an obedient white-collar

worker, a normal guy. In fact, he’s going to be petrified to try anything new.
He’ll always be afraid, all the time. And, ah, his productivity will be very low.
ww
He’ll have very low productivity.

w.
And so, one day, he’s going to be fired. He’ll be fired from his job because he’s
fa
boring and because his productivity is so low. And, at first, of course, he’s
going to beat himself up about it. He’s going to feel terrible. He’ll say to himself
ce
“Damn it! I blew it! I blew it! I blew it! I was so stupid, I really blew it!”
bo
But, then, he’ll stop beating himself up and he’ll decide to change. He’ll decide
ok
to become a rebel. He’ll become a super rebel! He’s going to constantly try new
things every day in every part of his life, all the time, breaking the rules, trying
.
new things.
co
And one day he’ll invent something amazing, he’ll invent an amazing new
m/
toothbrush. He’s going to invent a nuclear-powered toothbrush and then he’ll

gr
sell that toothbrush to millions of people. He’ll become super rich. In fact, he’s
going to become the richest man in the world. And why, why will he be the
ou
richest man in the world? All because he became a rebel.

ps
*****
/T
And that is the end of our point of view stories for “Break Rules.” I hope you will start
ai
breaking rules in your life. Break those old rules of learning English. Break them!
Destroy them! You’re a new person now. You’re a rebel in the Effortless English
Li
Club.
eu
Welcome, we’re happy to have you here. See you next time, bye-bye.
On
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Break Rules Vocabulary Text

w.
Hello, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Break Rules.” Let’s begin.
fa
ce
First is the word obedience. Obedience means following the rules, right? The verb is
obey. To obey means to follow rules; to do what you are told to do. So obedience is
bo
the noun. It’s the action; it’s the situation of following rules.
ok
So he says “Obedience works fine, if you work in a factory.” So following the rules
.
works fine, if you work in a factory. If you work in a factory you need to have
co
obedience. You need to follow the rules because you have to do an exact little job,
again, again, again, again. If you change it then it can destroy everything. So
m/
obedience, following the rules, doing what you’re told is good, if you work in a factory.
gr
He says “Obedience works fine in a standardized factory.” Stan-dar-dized,

ou
standardized means organized. It means everything is the same. So standardized

means everything is standard, everything is the same.
ps
For example, we have standardized tests. A standardized test means a test that is
/T
always the same. It always is the same. It means if I take it or you take it or someone
ai
else takes it, it’s the same result, the same test. It measures the same thing. It’s
always a very similar test or always exactly the same test, a standardized test.
Li
Next he talks about collars. He talks about blue collars and white collars, blue-collar
eu
and white-collar. And this is in idiom in English and it describes a kind of work. It
On
describes a kind of job. So we have blue-collar jobs and white-collar jobs. A blue-
collar job is a factory job, okay, so blue collar means factory.
Th
Why do we say blue collar? Well, it’s because in the past a lot of factory workers they
iD
wore blue uniforms, all right, so we say a blue-collar job. It’s a factory job. You’re
ai
using your hands, your using your body in the job, a blue-collar job.
Ho
Then we have white-collar jobs. White-collar jobs are office jobs. They’re intellectual
jobs, mental jobs, you’re using your head, mostly, your mind. And, again, of course,
c0
it’s because, you know, most businesspeople who work in an office they have white
1
shirts, right? They wear white shirts.
The collar – the part around the neck – is white, so a white-collar job is an office job or
a business job. It’s a job where you use your brain, mostly, not your hands. You’re
not building stuff, you’re not in a factory, you’re thinking. It’s your brain that’s most
important, that’s a white-collar job.
Okay, so he’s talking about white-collar jobs. For a white-collar job you need to break
ww
the rules, it’s the opposite of a blue-collar job. A blue-collar job, you must follow the
rules because factories need everything to be the same.
w.
fa
But a white-collar job, usually the company wants you to do something new,
something great, to make improvements, to do better and better and better, to be more
ce
productive, which is our next word, productive or productivity. Productivity is the noun,
productive is the adjective. Productive means efficient. It means doing more work
bo
with less effort or less time, so doing more with less effort. That’s productive.
ok
So, for example, let’s say you’re building a car or building cars and we have two
.
teams. One team builds five cars in one day. Another team builds 10 cars in one day.
co
The second team is more productive, right? Same time, but they did more work, so
that’s productivity.
m/
gr
Productivity is the amount of work you do in a certain time or with a certain amount of
effort. So more productivity means you do more in less time or with fewer people or
ou
with less effort. So more for less, that’s productivity. And that’s what most companies
what for white-collar workers, they want more productivity. More results for less effort
ps
or less time.
/T
Next he talks about examples of “clerks who have every keystroke measured.” What
ai
he’s saying is that in some white-collar jobs, in some offices, it’s like a factory, right?
They measure every keystroke. It means you’re typing on your computer and the
Li
computer has keys, right? Keystroke means every time you hit a key on your
eu
computer.
On
He’s exaggerating, but he’s saying that some jobs, even office jobs, it’s like a factory.
The company is measuring everything you do. They’re watching you all the time. He
Th
said “That’s not really a white-collar job, that’s just a factory job where you stay clean.”
iD
It’s just a factory job where you’re in an office, but the mentality is still like a factory.
They’re watching you. They’re measuring everything you do. You don’t have
ai
freedom. You don’t have creativity. You’re not really using your brain.
Ho
White-collar jobs require you to use your brain, require you to be creative, require you
c0
to make decisions. So he’s saying “These jobs they’re just factory jobs in an office
and you can get carpel tunnel syndrome” at that job. Carpel tunnel is a problem with
1
your wrist, right, in your hand. It means you get pain, a lot of pain in your wrist and
your hand because you’re typing too much on a computer.
So people who just type, type, type on the computer a lot, sometimes they have this
problem where they get terrible pain in their hands because they never rest, they’re
just typing, typing, typing all day, every day. So that pain is called carpel tunnel
syndrome or just carpel tunnel. It’s that pain it’s that problem that people get from
typing too much.
ww
Our next word is petrified, petrified. He said “Most workers are petrified to break the
rules.” To be petrified means to be very scared, to be super scared. They’re scared to
w.
break the rules. They’re super scared, they are petrified, so to be petrified means to
fa
be very, very scared, to be very, very, very afraid. To be petrified, petrified, very
afraid, very scared, petrified.
ce
He said “Most workers are afraid to blow it.” They’re afraid to blow it. To blow it
bo
means to fail or make a big mistake. So if we’re talking about the past you say “Man, I
ok
blew it! I really blew it.” It means I really made a mistake. I made a big mistake. I
made a big mistake, I blew it. So “to blow it”, that phrase, that whole phrase means to
.
make a mistake and really to make a big mistake.

co
So he says most workers are afraid to blow it. They’re afraid to make a big mistake.
m/
Most people, in general, are afraid to blow it, they’re afraid to make mistakes. So
gr
they’re careful, so they follow the rules because they’re afraid, because they’re
petrified.
ou
He said “Most workers want to be given instructions. They don’t want to invent
ps
instructions.” And, of course, invent means to create something new. So to invent

/T
means to create something new, to make something that’s totally new. So if you
invent instructions you make new instructions, so he says that’s what you need to do.
ai
Don’t follow the old rules make new rules. Invent new ways of doing things. Invent,
create something new, to invent. So, again, to invent is to create something new, to
Li
invent.
eu
Next we have the word myth, myth. He said “We, we workers, we invented the myth.
On
We created the myth that doing what your boss says is the best way to keep your job.”
A myth is a story that’s not true. That’s one meaning, it actually has several meanings.
Th
It has other meanings, also, but in this situation it means an untrue story. It’s not real,
iD
it’s a story or a belief that’s not true, that’s not real.

ai
So he says “We believe that we should follow the rules. We should follow our boss to
keep our job. We believe that that’s the best way to keep a job, but it’s a myth.” It’s an
Ho
untrue story. It’s an untrue idea. It’s not true. It’s not the best way to keep your job.
c0
It’s not the best way to improve in your career. It’s a myth, a myth. It’s an untrue
story, it is a myth. So, again, a myth is an untrue story or an untrue belief, a myth.
1
Our next word is reflex. He said “Nine times out of ten,” so 90% of the time, “a white-
collar worker’s reflex is to ask ‘What do you think I should do?’” A reflex is an
automatic reaction. It’s a fast, automatic reaction. No thinking about it, it’s automatic.
It happens automatically. So it’s a reaction, right? Something happens and then you
react, you do something. It’s a reaction that’s automatic, a reflex, a reflex.
ww
So he’s saying most workers’ reflex is just to ask “What do you think? Tell me what to
do.” That’s their natural reflex. It’s their first automatic reaction. So, for example, their
w.
boss says “Well, what should we do?” Most workers’ reflex, most of them will react
fa
and they’ll say “Ah, I don’t know. What do you think we should do?”
ce
They ask the boss. That’s their reflex, it’s their first reaction. It’s their first action that
they do automatically. They’re afraid to give their opinion. They’re afraid to just do
bo
something without asking. So that’s a reflex, an automatic reaction; your first

ok
automatic reaction, reflex.

.
And that’s all. That is all of our vocabulary for “Break Rules.”
co
Next is the mini-story. I will see you next time, bye-bye.

m/
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ou
ps
/T
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Tribes Main Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to our next and final lesson. Are you ready? This is it! So
fa
you’ve got to be strong for this one, this is our last week. Remember, keep your body
ce
strong. We’ve got to get this English, get this learning, deep into your body not just
your brain. So I want you moving. I want you smiling. I want those shoulders back. I
bo
want you to use all the tools for this one, okay? Let’s go.
ok
This one is called “Tribes.” This comes from a book called Tribes by Seth Godin, so
.
Seth Godin again; a different book. And in this book Seth Godin talks about modern
co
tribes. What’s a tribe? A tribe is basically a family, a big extended family. So it’s not
just a mother and father and sister/brother, not just grandparents. It’s really a whole
m/
collection of families that are connected together, so a collection of families that create
one big group called a tribe.
gr
ou
Now, of course, there’s sort of an old historical meaning to this. We talk about Native
American Tribes, African Tribes, but there’s also a modern meaning and that’s what
ps
Seth Godin is writing about. He’s writing about modern tribes. Now a modern tribe is
not based on family. It’s just a group of people that are connected by some common
/T
purpose, some common meaning.

ai
And, of course, the Internet makes it possible for us to have international tribes. We
Li
can connect with people all over the world who share the same purpose, the same
meaning or similar purposes, similar meanings, as ourselves.
eu
On
Seth Godin, again, is a business writer, so he writes a lot about this phenomenon, this
experience of tribes on the Internet from a business perspective. But, really, it’s also a
Th
phenomenon, an experience that is very general. People are connecting with each
other all over the world for learning, for social purposes, for dating, for business, of
iD
course, for many different purposes.

ai
And at Effortless English this is one of my big goals for Effortless English is to create a
Ho
tribe of enthusiastic, passionate, positive, English learners and really more than just
English learners. The meaning of Effortless English, the purpose of Effortless English,
c0
is not just learning English. Have you noticed? It’s about living better lives, happier
1
lives, more passionate lives, more energetic lives, healthier lives.
We’re just using English to connect with each other. We’re using English to find other
people who want these same things, so we can encourage each other, so we can
learn together. English is our tool. It’s the way we can all share together. It doesn’t
matter if we’re from the United States or from Mexico or from somewhere in South
America or from Spain or Germany or Japan or Thailand, anywhere in the world, we
can share together. We can connect using English as our tool. But English is not our
ww
final purpose. It is not the final meaning or purpose of our tribe.

w.
So let me read a little bit from Seth Godin’s book Tribes, which is an excellent book, by
fa
the way, and then I’ll talk more about it. So here we go.
ce
“The Opportunity -- It’s simple, there are tribes everywhere now. Inside and outside of
organizations, in public and in private, in nonprofits, in classrooms, across the planet,
bo
every one of these tribes is yearning for leadership and connection. This is an
ok
opportunity for you, an opportunity to find or assemble a tribe and lead it. The
question isn’t ‘Is it possible for me to do this?’ Now the question is ‘Will I choose to do
.
it?’
co
“For a long time I’ve been writing about the fact that everyone is now a connector; a
m/
member. The explosion in media channels, combined with the increased leverage of
gr
individuals within organizations, means that just about anyone can influence just about
anyone else.
ou
“This book says something new, something even better, more exciting. Everyone is
ps
not just a connector, not just a member, everyone is now a leader. The explosion in
/T
tribes, groups and circles of interest means that anyone who wants to make a
difference can. Without leaders there are no followers. You’re a leader. We need
ai
you.
Li
“Something to Believe In – Tribes are about faith; they are about something to believe
eu
in. Tribes are about belief in an idea and in a community and they are grounded in
respect and admiration for the leader of the tribe and for the other members, as well.
On
Do you believe in what you do every day? It turns out that belief happens to be a
brilliant strategy.”
Th
iD
Okay. That’s a nice, interesting section from Seth Godin’s book Tribes. And what I
like about this is that phrase “that everyone is now a leader.” And I want you to think
ai
about that. Everyone is now a leader. We’re all members too, but we’re also all
leaders and I want you to be a leader in our Effortless English Club. I want you to be a
Ho
leader. I want you to inspire and help other people, not just yourself.
c0
For example, we have excellent leaders already in our club. Many of the mini-stories
1
in these lessons have characters with names of Effortless English leaders. For
example, Inca, Inca is one of our fantastic leaders. She is from the Czech Republic, I
believe, and she is just amazing. She’s always helping other members in our club.
She’s always answering their questions. She’s always encouraging them. She is a
true leader.
There’s Big Jan, who’s another one of our fantastic leaders. There’s Vanilla. There
are so many great leaders in our group and I want you to be one of them.
ww
Since you have finished all of these lessons I know that you have a very good level of
English and I know that you can now, very easily, go onto our Forums or our Master
w.
Member Site or both and you can be a leader now. You have done something
fa
amazing. You completed all of these lessons. You did all of the mini-stories. Your
English ability has increased and improved so quickly, so well, I know you can do it.
ce
So I want you to get on those Forums, I want you to get on the Master Member Site
bo
and I want you to communicate with our other members. Help them. Because some
ok
of those people are just starting and maybe, like you, maybe they have some doubts,
maybe they have some worries and maybe they need someone to encourage them.
.
Maybe they need someone to say something kind to them or nice to them. Maybe
co
they need someone to help them feel stronger and more confident or to show them an
example of leadership.
m/
gr
You can do that now. So, please, now is the time where you can share, you can give
to other people now. You can now be the teacher. And that is my true purpose in the
ou
Effortless English Club. Not to be the big leader and the big teacher, just me, but to
create more teachers, more leaders. I want you to do that now. I want you to feel that
ps
same happiness and gift when you help another person. When you help them feel
/T
better, feel stronger, feel happier.

ai
So, please, get on our Forums, join our Master Member Site and do that for someone
else now. Just a kind word, just a little encouragement, just answer one question and
Li
you’ll make a big difference for someone else. You’ll help someone else. I hope you’ll
eu
do it.
On
So now is the time for the final step. The final step is to use everything you have
learned. Number one, that means to use the actual English you have learned, the
Th
vocabulary, you’re new speaking ability, all of that. And that means connection with
iD
people and speaking to them and writing to them. It means real communication, not
just studying. You can’t just be a student only, you’ve got to get out there and use it.
ai
Well, you can do that now. You’ve completed all these lessons, you now have the
Ho
ability. You probably already had the ability before; you definitely have the ability now.
c0
So get on Skype and talk to other members. Get on the Forums. Find somebody.
Make an appointment with them. Talk to them on Skype. Or talk to them on the
1
phone. Or just get on the Forums and write in English. Write your story. Write about
your emotions. Help other people connect. Use it.
The second thing you must do, this final step, is to lead, as I’ve been saying and I’m
going to say it again. You’re last and final step is to share the strength, the
confidence, the ability you now have with other people. Inspire them, lead them.
You’re a leader. We need you.
I will see you next time. I will see you on the Master Member Site where I will be
ww
giving you videos every month. I’ll see you on the forums. Take care. Thank you so
much for listening to these lessons. I hope you have grown happier, stronger and, of
w.
course, I hope you have become a much more confident English speaker. It’s been
fa
my privilege and my honor to teach you and to help you.

ce
Thank you so much.

bo
ok
. co
m/
gr
ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Tribes Mini-Story Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the mini-story for “Tribes.” Our last mini-story for these
fa
lessons, but don’t worry, I’ll make more lessons in the future, but, for now, our last
ce
mini-story.
bo
So in this mini-story what are you going to do? You are going to use your body, your
voice, stronger than ever before! This is the last one, so I want you to use it all! When
ok
you answer I want you to yell your answers!

. co
I want you to move your arms and your hands! I want you to move your face! Make
crazy faces for this story! I want you to use your body. Shoulders back, of course;
m/
breathing deeply, of course; moving, of course. Jump! Shout! Move! This is it! The
last one! Are you ready? Are you ready? Let’s begin!
gr
ou
*****
ps
Tony hated his life. He worked in an office every day.

/T
Who hated his life?

ai
Tony, Tony hated his life.

Li
He hated his what?

eu
On
He hated his life.

Th
Did he hate his wife?

iD
No. Not his wife, his life. Tony hated his life.
ai
What did Tony do? How did Tony feel?

Ho
Well, he hated his life.

c0
1
Every day what did Tony do?
Worked in an office. Every day Tony worked in an office.
Where did Tony work?
In an office. Every day he worked in an office.
What did he do in the office?

ww
He worked. He worked in an office.

w.
And how often did he work in an office?

fa
Every day.
ce
Did Tony work on Saturday?

bo
ok
Yes, he did. He worked every day. He worked on Saturday. He worked on Sunday.

Seven days a week. He worked every day.
. co
Did he love it?

m/
Oh, no. Hell no! He didn’t love it, he hated it! Tony hated his job. Tony hated his life.
gr
If fact, Tony yearned to make a difference.

ou
What did he want?

ps
/T
He wanted to make a difference. He wanted to help people. He wanted to improve

people’s lives. He wanted to make a difference.
ai
Did he want to help people or did he want to hurt people?

Li
eu
Well, he wanted to help people. He wanted to make a difference.

On
Who wanted to make a difference?

Th
Tony, of course. Tony wanted to make a difference. He wanted to help people.

iD
Did he want to make a difference or did he want to do nothing?

ai
Obviously, he wanted to make a difference. Tony wanted to make a difference. In

Ho
fact, Tony yearned to make a difference.

c0
Did he want to make a difference a little or did he really want to make a difference?
1
He really, really wanted to make a difference. He yearned to make a difference.
What did he yearn to do?
He yearned to make a difference.
Did he yearn to make a difference or did he not yearn to make a difference?

ww
Well that’s easy, he yearned, he yearned to make a difference. He wanted to make a

difference. He desired to make a difference, to help.
w.
fa
Who? Who yearned to make a difference?

ce
Tony, Tony yearned. And he yearned and he yearned to make a difference.

bo
Did AJ yearn to make a difference?

ok
No. Not AJ. AJ was an asshole. But Tony, Tony yearned to make a difference. He
.
really, really wanted to make a difference! He yearned to make a difference!

co
Did AJ yearn to make a difference or did Tony yearn to make a difference?

m/
gr
Tony, Tony yearned to make a difference. He really wanted to make a difference.

ou
And AJ?
ps
No- no, he didn’t want to make a difference. He didn’t want to help. He was selfish.
/T
He didn’t care.
ai
AJ did not yearn to make a difference, but Tony did. He yearned to make a
difference. So first he went to Africa and he thought “I will make people happy.”
Li
eu
What did he want to do?

On
He wanted to make people happy.

Th
How did he try to make people happy? What did he do in Africa?

iD
Well, of course, obviously, he gave golf clubs to tribes in Rwanda.

ai
Oh, of course, of course. What did he do?

Ho
c0
He gave golf clubs to tribes in Rwanda, to poor tribes in Rwanda.

1
Who did he give golf clubs to?
He gave golf clubs to tribes in Rwanda.
Where?
In Rwanda, the Country of Rwanda, which is in Africa.
Who gave golf clubs and golf balls to tribes in Rwanda?

ww
Tony did. Tony gave golf clubs to tribes in Rwanda.

w.
Why? Why did he give golf clubs and golf balls to tribes in Rwanda?
fa
Well, to make them happy, of course. He gave golf clubs and golf balls to tribes in
ce
Rwanda to make them happy.

bo
Oh, that’s very nice.

ok
What kind of tribes did he give golf clubs and golf balls to? What kind of tribes?
. co
Poor tribes. Poor tribes in Rwanda. He gave golf clubs and golf balls to poor tribes in
Rwanda, poor groups of people in Rwanda to make them happy.
m/
gr
Were the people in the poor tribes happy when they got the golf clubs and the golf
balls? Were they happy when Tony gave them the golf clubs and the golf balls?
ou
No, they weren’t. They were not happy. In fact they got angry! They said “We don’t
ps
need these damn golf clubs! We don’t play golf! We don’t like golf! Go away!”
/T
Oh, no, poor Tony. Poor old Tony, poor Tony, he was very sad.
ai
How did the people in the tribes in Rwanda feel about the golf clubs? How did they
Li
feel?
eu
They were angry. They were angry. They didn’t like golf. They were angry. They
On
said “Go away!” to Tony.

Th
How did Tony feel?

iD
Tony was sad. Tony was sad. He wanted to help, but the people in Rwanda, the
ai
tribes in Rwanda, all got angry. They were angry with Tony.
Ho
Who were they angry with? Who were they angry at?
c0
Well, they were angry with Tony. They were angry at Tony.
1
Why were they angry at Tony?
Well, because they didn’t like golf, obviously. The people in the tribes in Rwanda
didn’t like golf, so they were angry at Tony. They said “Go away!”
So Tony left Africa and he went to New York City. And next he tried to help
ww
homeless people in New York City. But he thought “Hum, I need to help them
learn. I need to help them go to school and make their lives better.” So Tony
w.
tried to get leverage on the homeless people. He said “I’ll give you food if you
fa
go to school.” He said “I’ll give you food if you go to school.”

ce
Who did he say this to?

bo
He said it homeless people in New York City.

ok
What did he say to homeless people in New York City?

. co
He said “I’ll give you food if you go to school.”

m/
Why did Tony say “I’ll give you food if, only if, you go to school?” Why?
gr
Because he wanted to get leverage on the homeless people. He wanted to get

ou
leverage on them.
ps
He wanted to get what?

/T
Leverage. He wanted to get leverage on the homeless people or over the homeless
ai
people. He wanted to get power over them or power to influence, power to change
them. He wanted power over them. He wanted to get leverage over them. He
Li
wanted to push them to go to school. He wanted to have power to change them. So

eu
Tony tried to get leverage on them by giving food, only if they went to school.
On
What was Tony’s leverage? What was Tony’s power over the homeless people?
Th
Food, food was his power; his way of power, his means of power.
iD
Was food leverage? (I’m using it as a noun now.) Was food leverage? Was it power
ai
for Tony?
Ho
Yes, it was. It was power over the homeless. Food was leverage for Tony. Food
c0
gave Tony power over the homeless people.

1
Did Tony try to get leverage on the homeless people, over the homeless people?
Yes, he did. He tried to get leverage over them. He tried to force them. He tried to
push them to go to school.
What did Tony try to get on the homeless people?
Leverage. Tony tried to get leverage on the homeless people.
How? How did Tony try to get leverage on the homeless people?
ww
Well, by giving them food or with food. Tony tried to get leverage with food. He said
“I’ll give you food, but only if you go to school.” Food was Tony’s leverage.
w.
fa
What was his leverage?

ce
Food, food was his leverage.

bo
Whose leverage was food?

ok
Well it was Tony’s leverage. It was Tony’s power over the homeless people or on the
.
homeless people. And so Tony tried to get leverage on the homeless people by
co
saying “I’ll give you food if, only if, you go to school.”
m/
Were the homeless people happy with Tony?

gr
No, they were not! They were very angry! They said “Go away you asshole!”
ou
Whoa…
ps
/T
How did they feel about Tony?

ai
They were angry, very angry. They said…they said “Go away you asshole!”
Li
Did they like Tony?

eu
No, obviously. They did not like Tony. They called him an asshole, a jerk, a bad
On
person.
Th
Why were they angry with Tony?

iD
Well, because he tried to get leverage over them. He tried to have power over them.
ai
Tony tried to get leverage with food. And the homeless people were very, very, very
angry. They yelled at Tony, they said “Go away you asshole!”
Ho
c0
How did Tony feel?

1
Ah, poor Tony, he was sad again. He just wanted to help.
Ahhh, so he left New York. And finally one day he realized “Ah-ha!” He realized
that he must ground his efforts to help in love. He realized that he must ground
his efforts in love.
He realized that he must ground his efforts in what?

ww
In love. He must begin with the feeling of love. He must start his efforts he must start
his ideas to help people with love. He realized “I must start with love. I must ground
w.
my efforts in love.”
fa
He must ground his what in love?

ce
His efforts. His efforts to help people, his attempts to help people, he realized that he
bo
must ground them in love. Start his efforts with love. Begin with love. Always stay
ok
connected to love first. He realized that love was most important, it must come first.
.
Who realized that he had to ground his efforts in love?

co
Tony did, of course, Tony. Tony realized, “Ah, I must ground my efforts in love.” He
m/
realized that he must ground his efforts in love.

gr
He had to what his efforts in love?

ou
Ground. He realized that he must ground his efforts in love, connect and begin his
ps
efforts in love, with love.

/T
And so he realized “Ah, I must ground my efforts in love. I must start with love.
ai
I must always have love first.” And so he decided to connect orphans with new
parents. An orphan is a child with no parents; no father, no mother, no family.
Li
So an orphan is a child that has no family, all alone. Tony decided “I will help
eu
orphans. I will connect orphans with new parents. I will find parents…fathers
and mothers…for orphans.” Tony decided to connect orphans with new
On
parents.
Th
How did Tony feel when he helped the orphans? How did he feel?
iD
Well he felt love, right? His efforts were grounded in love. He felt love when he was
ai
helping.
Ho
When he helped the tribes in Africa…when he tried to help the tribes in Africa…were
c0
his efforts grounded in love?

1
No-no, they weren’t. He was not thinking about love. He was not feeling love when he
gave the golf clubs and the golf balls.
When he tried to help the homeless people were his efforts grounded in love? Did he
begin with love? Did he feel love all the time?
No. His efforts were not grounded in love with the homeless people.
But when he helped the orphans find new parents were his efforts grounded in love?
ww
Yes, they were. When he helped the orphans and the new parents his efforts were
w.
grounded in love. He started first with the feeling of love then he helped.
fa
And, of course, Tony and the children and the new parents were all very, very
ce
happy.
bo
*****
ok
And that is the end of our final mini-story for these lessons. I hope you have enjoyed
.
all of the mini-stories. I hope you’ve laughed during the mini-stories. You probably
co
realize, they’re not supposed to be serious. So you should be smiling when you listen
to these mini-stories. You should be shouting your answers! You should be moving
m/
your arms and your hands like a crazy person. You should be jumping. Moving your
gr
body, shoulders back, moving your face. All of this helps you learn more deeply.
ou
If you stand quietly and you don’t move and you just listen, passively, you don’t learn
deeply. There’s a reason I’m shouting. There’s a reason I’m jumping right now as I
ps
tell you this story. There’s a reason the stories are crazy and funny and strange. It’s
/T
because all of these things help you remember and learn more deeply.
ai
The more you use your body while learning the faster you learn. If you use your body
a lot and your voice strongly a lot you learn faster. You’ll speak better. So, please,
Li
when you review all the old lessons that you’ve done already, when you listen to this
eu
one again, when you listen to any English, anything, always remember use your body.
Use your energy. Use that big smile. Use your eyes big and open. Jump, shout and
On
enjoy it. You’ll have more fun and you’ll learn so much faster.
Th
I will see you again. I hope to see you on the Master Member Site where I can
iD
connect with you through video. You can see my face, you can see my eyes and
you’ll see that I move a lot when I speak. So I’ll see you on the Master Member Site. I
ai
will see you on the Forums.

Ho
I’ve had a great time with these lessons. I hope you have enjoyed them, too.
c0
1
ww
Tribes POV Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the point of view stories for “Tribes”. Our final point of view
fa
stories and you know that to do. You’ve got to move that body, especially with the
ce
mini-stories and the point-of-view stories.

bo
You will get this grammar. And that’s what the point of view stories teach, they teach
grammar. You will get it into your body if you move with the stories. If you really move
ok
your body and smile and all these crazy things I tell you to do, it will help you learn the
.
grammar faster, better and more deeply. You have to trust me about that, so please
co
do it. Do it whenever you review the other lessons. Do it with this lesson. Do it with
any lesson, any time you’re listening to English.
m/
Let’s begin.
gr
ou
*****
ps
Since five years ago Tony has hated his life. Five years ago Tony got a new
office job. Since then he has hated his life. Since then he has worked in an
/T
office every day.

ai
Has he worked on Saturdays and Sundays?

Li
Oh, yeah, he’s worked on Saturdays and he has worked on Sundays. He has worked
eu
every day since five years ago, since he got his new office job.
On
And since then how has he felt about his life and his job?
Th
Well, he has hated his life. He has hated his job. Since that time he has hated
iD
everything. He has been miserable. He has been unhappy.

ai
Since when has Tony been unhappy?

Ho
Since five years ago.

c0
1
What happened five years ago?
He got a new job. He got a new job and since then he has been very, very unhappy.
Has he been unhappy from then until recently?
That’s right. He has been unhappy since then until recently. During the whole time he
has been unhappy. During that whole time he has hated his life. He’s hated his job.
In fact, for all of his life he has yearned to make a difference. Since he was a
ww
small child Tony has yearned to make a difference.

w.
Since when has he yearned to make a difference?

fa
Well, since he was a child. Beginning when he was a child, continuing all his life until
ce
now, he has yearned to make a difference.

bo
What has he yearned to do?

ok
He has yearned to make a difference.

. co
And who has yearned to make a difference?

m/
Tony, of course, Tony has yearned to make a difference.

gr
But, unfortunately five years ago he got a terrible job. And since five years ago
ou
he has hated his life. Since five years ago he has worked in an office every day
and he has hated his job. Finally, one day, he quit his job and he went to Africa.
ps
He wanted to help tribes in Africa. In face, he wanted to help tribes in Rwanda.

/T
So, of course, obviously, naturally, he gave golf clubs and golf balls to poor
ai
tribes in Africa, in Rwanda. But no one wanted the golf clubs. No one in the
poor tribes wanted the golf balls. In fact, they got very, very angry. The said
Li
“Go away! We don’t want these golf clubs. We hate golf!” Poor Tony, Tony was
eu
sad.
On
Well, he still wanted to make a difference, so next he went to New York City. He
decided to help homeless people, but he tried to get leverage on the homeless
Th
people. He tried to get power over them. He tried to get leverage on the
iD
homeless people by saying “I’ll give you food if, only if, you go to school.”
ai
Well, the homeless people also got angry. They said “Go away you asshole!”
Ah, poor Tony, he was sad again. But then one day he finally realized “Ah…”
Ho
He realized that he must ground his efforts to help in love. He realized “Ah, I
c0
must ground my efforts in love. I must begin with love.”

1
And so he helped orphans. He helped connect orphans with new parents and he
grounded his efforts in love. He began with the feeling of love and he always felt
the feeling of love while helping them. Because of this Tony, the children and
the parents were all very, very happy.
All right. Into the future I have this idea. I have this idea for a story and it will happen
in the future.
There will be a guy, his name will be Tony. A big, tall guy named Tony. But,
unfortunately, Tony is going to hate his life. He’ll hate it. Why? Well, because
ww
he’s going to work in an office every day. I mean he will work every day. He’ll
work on Saturdays. He’ll work on Sundays. He’ll always work every day and
w.
he’ll hate it. He’ll hate his job. He’ll hate his life.
fa
And Tony will yearn to make a difference. In fact, he’ll have always wanted to
ce
make a difference. It’s something that will have always been something he
wanted. Since he was a child he’ll have wanted to do this. So he’ll yearn to
bo
make a difference, but he’ll hate his life.

ok
Well one day he will finally quit his job and he’ll go to Africa. And, of course,
.
he’ll decide to give golf clubs and golf balls to poor tribes in Rwanda, to people
co
in poor tribes in Rwanda.

m/
He’ll give the golf clubs and the golf balls to the poor tribes of people in
gr
Rwanda. But they’re not going to be happy. They’re going to be angry with
Tony. They’ll yell “Go away. We hate golf!” And Tony will be very, very sad.
ou
He’ll be super sad, poor Tony.

ps
But he’ll still want to make a difference. Ah, so next he’ll go to New York City.
/T
He’ll decide to help homeless people. But there’s a problem because he’s going
to try to get leverage on them. He’ll say to them “I’ll give you food, but only if
ai
you go to school.”
Li
And the homeless people will be angry with him, too. They’re going to get really
eu
angry! They’ll say “Go away you asshole!” And Tony will be really, really sad.
He’ll be so sad because he just wants to help.
On
Well, finally, he’ll realize that he must ground his efforts in love. He’ll realize
Th
“Ah, I must ground my efforts in love.” And so next he’ll help connect orphans
iD
with new parents and he’ll feel love when he does this. He’ll always feel love.
He’ll begin with love and he’ll continue to feel love while he helps the orphans
ai
and the new parents. And because of this Tony and the children and the parents
are all going to be very, very happy.
Ho
c0
*****
And that is the end of our point of view stories for “Tribes.” It’s the end of our lessons.
1
Yee-haw! So next we have a few commentaries, you can listen to those. It’s just me
talking and you’ll have some text. No lessons, just talking about some topics. But,
basically, you are finished with the lessons. Yeah!
Remember listen to these lessons every day for at least one week, seven days, more
is fine. Remember to move your body, smile, jump and shout while you do it!
Remember to always enjoy your English learning.

ww
These lessons are sold only on our website, EffortlessEnglishClub.com. If you

bought these lessons somewhere else you have an illegal copy. Please notify
w.
us and we will take immediate legal action against the seller.

fa
ce
bo
ok
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m/
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ps
/T
ai
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On
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ww
Tribes Vocabulary Text

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for “Tribes.” Let’s start.
fa
ce
I already talked about the word tribe, but let me talk about it again. So, again, a
tribe…the original meaning of tribe was really a collection of families that were
bo
grouped together. So, for example, we had African Tribes, Native American Tribes.
So you would have many different families and they are connected to each other and
ok
they form one big group and that group is called a tribe.
. co
But now we have a much more general meaning of the word tribe. And a tribe is a
collection of people who share a meaning or a purpose or an interest in life. So now
m/
we use it in this very general way.

gr
You might talk about a tribe of computer users, for example. So you might have a
ou
group, a club, of Apple users, people who love Apple Computers. And then you have
another group, another club, let’s say in San Francisco of Apple users. And you have
ps
another group, another club, of Apple users in Chicago. And then, somehow, they all
connect to each other.
/T
ai
So the group in New York and the group in Chicago and the group in San Francisco,
maybe they meet one time every year. They have a big seminar or a convention and
Li
they all connect with each other and now we might call them a tribe. We might call
them the Apple Users Tribe because you’ve got all these different groups and now
eu
they’re connected to each other. They have formed a larger group of people.
On
And the Effortless English Club, I think of it as a tribe, right? We have people in all
Th
different parts of the world and we have little small groups within our club. So we
might have a bunch of students from Vietnam and we might have a bunch of students
iD
from Brazil. But then these groups connect with each other and then they also
ai
connect with people from other countries, so all together we form a big tribe.
Ho
Our next word is yearning or to yearn. It’s a verb; to yearn for or to yearn to. To yearn
means to really want. It means to desire, to strongly desire. It’s a strong word. So if
c0
you say, “I yearn for her”, all right, it means I want her so much. I desire her. I need
1
her so much. It’s a very strong word. So it’s to desire very strongly.
So, Seth Godin says, “Every tribe is yearning for leadership and connection.” So he
means that everybody in a group really, really wants leadership and they really, really
want connection. They desire leadership. They desire connection. So he’s saying
people in groups, they want a meaning. They want to share a meaning with each
other and with a leader. So, to yearn means to want a lot or to really, really, really
desire.
ww
Our next word is assemble, to assemble. He says that “Right now everybody has an
w.
opportunity to find or assemble a tribe.” To assemble means to create or to put

fa
together. It means you have different pieces; you put them together in one big whole,
w-h-o-l-e, whole. So assemble means just put parts together to create a whole thing,
ce
to assemble.
bo
Our next word is leverage. He said “Now individuals have increased leverage within
ok
organizations.” And leverage just means an increased power or a way to get more
power.
. co
So, for example, normally, in a normal company, maybe I could have influence or I
could have power with my small group, my department, here in San Francisco. I go to
m/
work, to my office, I can influence the people in my office, maybe 10 people. So I have
gr
this amount of power, this small amount of power.

ou
But using the Internet with a website, with email, with phones, I can connect with
people in the same company in New York, in Chicago, in Texas and in other countries.
ps
I have more leverage. It means I have more ways to influence or more ways to have
/T
power. So leverage just kind of has this idea of increased power, increased power or
an increased way to get power or ways to get power.
ai
So he’s saying now in any group, any organization, individual people have much more
Li
power because they can influence people in other places, in other countries using the
eu
Internet, using phones, using video, whatever. They have more ways to influence
people, more ways to get power or to lead. And that is leverage.
On
Our next phrase is “circles of interest.” He said, “Right now because of the Internet we
Th
have an explosion of tribes, an explosion of groups, an explosion of circles of interest.”

iD
Circles of interest. It’s really similar to tribes, but it’s a weaker phrase. It has a weaker
feeling.
ai
Circles of interest just means groups of people who share the same interest, maybe a
Ho
hobby, maybe people who all love Brad Pitt. You know it’s like a Brad Pitt Fan Club.
c0
You might say that’s a circle of interest. So they don’t have a big purpose in life that
they all share, but they share something they’re all interested in.
1
So, for example, again the Apple Computer example is a good example of a circle of
interest. If you just have, you know, 20 people and they all like Apple Computers and
maybe they meet once a month, you might call that a circle of interest. So, again, it’s
like of like a club, really, circle of interest; a club, a little, small organization.
And tribe has just a stronger feeling. That’s the only difference. Circle of interest just
ww
feels less emotional. A tribe is a circle of interest that has a strong meaning, a strong
purpose; very emotional connections to each other.
w.
fa
Our next phrase is “to make a difference.” Seth Godin says that “Everyone wants to
make a difference. Everyone can make a difference.” To make a difference means to
ce
improve a situation or to improve someone’s life. It means to contribute. It means to

help.
bo
ok
If you said “Wow, he really made a difference”, it means he really helped people. He
really improved something. You can make a difference at your job. It means you go
.
to work and you actually improve the company, for example. You say “Oh, they made
co
a difference. They improved the company.”

m/
Or you could say the opposite, “I didn’t make a difference at my company.” It means I
gr
didn’t help anything. I didn’t improve anything. I went to work and then I went home,
nothing changed. Things were not different. Everything stayed the same.
ou
So it has a very positive meaning. To make a difference means to change something

ps
in a better way. It means to improve something or to help, so it’s a very positive word.
/T
So if say “You can make a difference”, it means you can help. You can improve
people’s lives. You can improve something. You can help. You can contribute.
ai
Our next word is faith. I think we’ve had this word before; we’ll talk about it again.
Li
Faith is just a strong confidence and belief in something. So Seth Godin says “Tribes
eu
are about faith. They’re about belief in an idea. They’re about belief in a community.”
So he’s just saying tribes are about faith. It means to have a tribe, a real tribe. It
On
means the members and the leader they need to have a strong belief. They need to
have strong confidence in some purpose or in each other or both.
Th
iD
So it means they have to really, really believe in each other. They have to really feel a
strong confidence, belief, emotion about some idea, some purpose, some meaning or
ai
some people or person. And that is faith. Faith, faith, a very strong belief, a very
strong confidence in something; faith in something or faith about something.
Ho
c0
Our next phrase is “grounded in.” He said “Tribes are grounded in respect and
admiration for the leader of the tribe and for the other members of the tribe.”
1
Grounded in really means connected to or created from, so if something is grounded in

respect it means it starts from respect. It’s created from respect. It really means that
respect is the first thing. That everything else starts with respect.
Think of a plant, a small plant. The little plant is growing from the ground, right? A
plant starts in the ground, it starts in the earth, and then it grows up, up, up, up, up and
it becomes a big tree, maybe. But we say it is grounded, right? It is connected to the
earth. It must start in the earth. It must start in the ground. It starts from the ground
from the seed and it must always stay connected to the earth. So the tree is grounded
in the earth, right? It starts from the earth, connected to the earth first.
ww
So it’s that same idea, so it means a tribe is grounded in respect. It means respect is
w.
first. Respect and admiration are first. And the tribe must always stay connected to
fa
and always begin with respect. It’s the most important value. Respect for the leader,
respect for other members.
ce
It’s the first value, the first purpose and it’s the most important one and it’s the one that
bo
the members must always stay connected to. So, again, think of that plant idea for
ok
grounded in, grounded in respect. Tribes are grounded in respect. It means that’s
where they start. It’s the most important idea.
. co
And our last word is brilliant. Most of you probably know this word already, but brilliant
means great, fantastic. It also has an idea of very intelligent. So you can say “She is
m/
brilliant.” It means she is very, very intelligent, very, very smart. So Seth Godin says
gr
that “Faith in a tribe is a brilliant strategy.” It’s a very intelligent strategy. It’s a very
intelligent plan.
ou
All right, well that is the end of our vocabulary for “Tribes.”
ps
/T
I will see you in the mini-story.

ai
Li
eu
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Body and Mind Commentary

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to our second commentary. This one is called “Body and
fa
Mind.”
ce
As you might guess it’s about body and mind. Interesting... Specifically what I want to
bo
talk about is something that I have been yelling at you and talking to you about during
most of these lessons, which is the connection between our body and our mind.
ok
.
And one of the biggest problems…I won’t say the biggest, but it’s certainly one of the
co
biggest problems with our schools now is that we’ve separated body and mind. We
have this idea that learning is something we do sitting down, sitting still, not moving.
m/
That we just sit, we passively listen to some teacher talking and that’s learning. That’s
what happens in most of our schools in most countries of the world.
gr
ou
Well, in fact, that is a very, very inefficient way to learn. It is not very effective. Do you
learn something that way? Sure. You do learn something, but you learn more slowly,
ps
less deeply, less powerfully than if you can combine your body and mind; if you can
learn through your mind and your body at the same time.
/T
ai
Now I’ve had a couple of very interesting experiences and have learned from a couple
people about this idea and it’s helped me develop this sort of idea and this teaching
Li
style. And one of the first persons I learned from was Dr. James Asher and Dr. Asher
is a language teacher and a professor at San Jose University in California. And he
eu
developed a language-learning method called TPR, TPR.

On
TPR stands for Total Physical Response, Total Physical Response. It’s a teaching
Th
method that works especially well with beginners. It’s a great, great method for
teaching beginners. In fact, if I ever develop English lessons for beginners I will use
iD
TPR to teach beginning English because it is a very, very powerful method. In TPR
ai
students learn a language, not from translation, not by sitting passively in a chair, but
through movement. They learn the basic core of the language with movement.
Ho
How does this work. Well, for example, pretend that I have a class and it’s a
c0
beginning class. Zero English, right? Everyone in the class has zero English. They
1
don’t know anything, not one word of English. Well how would I teach them? What’s
the best way to teach them? Well, normally, in a normal class, they would be taught
with translation, right.
The teacher would say, for example, if they want to teach the word stand, stand up,
well they would write stand up on the board and then they would translate that phrase
into their native language.
So if imagine, let’s say, in Japan, so we have Japanese students. The Japanese

teacher – the teacher in Japan – would write stand up on the board and then the
ww
teacher would translate that into Japanese and that’s how the students would learn the
word or the phrase stand up. They would learn it by translation. They would write in
w.
their notebook and then they would try to memorize it again and again. Stand up
fa
equals this, stand up equals this, translation, translation, memorize, memorize.

ce
Well that is purely mental, right? They’re just sitting in their chair, there’s nothing
happening with their body, it’s just a mental exercise. Yes, they do eventually learn
bo
the phrase stand up, but they don’t learn it deeply. And that’s why most Japanese
ok
students, for example, cannot speak English very well and they don’t understand
spoken English very well.
. co
Written English is different because written English is more of a mental process, you
can go slowly if you need to. But spoken English requires fast, instant understanding
m/
and you really need to learn it in your body. It needs to go deep into your mind and
gr
body if you’re going to understand and speak fast at native speeds.

ou
How would Dr. Asher teach it, because, really, it’s his method originally? Well, Dr.
Asher developed a completely different way to teach this, which is with movement and
ps
without translation. So what he would do he’d sit in a chair and then he would stand
/T
up and as he stood up at the same time he would say the phrase “stand up.” Then he
would sit down, physically, in front of the class he would sit down. As he sat down he
ai
would say the phrase “sit down.”

Li
Then he would stand up and as he stood up, of course, he would stand up with his
eu
body, physically. Then he would sit down and he would say the phrase “sit down”,
over and over again. And, you know, pretty soon the students, “Ahhh”, they
On
understand. “I see, yes. He’s standing and he’s saying this phrase it must mean
stand up and then when he sits he says a different phrase that must mean sit down,
Th
ahhh…” You know? They have some mental understanding, but at that level it’s still
iD
just mental.
ai
There’s no translation so that’s better than the old method, but it’s still only mental. It’s
not so deep.
Ho
c0
So, next, Dr. Asher picks a couple students, maybe some students who learn very
quickly. He brings them to the front of the class and they have chairs. They all sit
1
together in the chairs, Dr. Asher in the middle and maybe one student on his left and
one student on his right. They’re all sitting.
And then he looks at the students and he stands up and then he looks at these
students with him and he kind of uses his hands to…you know, “stand up, stand up”,
right? And the students look at him and they copy his movement, so they stand up.
And then Dr. Asher says “sit down” and then he sits and they look at him and they
copy his movements and they sit down. He repeats this many times.
ww
Next, Dr. Asher walks over to the corner of the room, maybe. The students in the front
of the class, the model students, are still sitting in the chairs. And this time he just
w.
says it. He doesn’t demonstrate this time. No demonstration he just says it. He says
fa
“stand up” and he looks at the students. And what happens? Well they’re smart
students, right? So they just stand up. They’re starting to understand. They stand up
ce
and then he says “Ah, good.” He claps “Yeah! Good job, yeah, yeah!” Everybody in
the class claps “Yeah!” And then he says “sit down” and the students in front of the
bo
class – the two students – they sit down. Everybody claps “Yeah, very good job!” But
ok
it’s not finished.

.
So these students are now models, they’re examples, they’re role models and all of
co
the class is learning from them. They say “Ahhh, I know what to do.” So, of course, at
this point, mentally, everybody understands. They know what’s happening, they
m/
understand the two phrases, but it’s still not deep enough yet because they’ve got to
gr
get it into their own bodies.

ou
So, next, Dr. Asher says “Okay, thank you.” The students go and they sit down. And
now all of the class follows Dr. Asher. So he sits in his chair again and he says “stand
ps
up” and then he stands up and he points to the class and everybody in the class
/T
stands up with him. Then he claps “Yeah, good job!” and then he says “sit down.” He
sits down and all of the class sits down with him.
ai
Now they’re getting it in their bodies, it’s not just intellectual it’s becoming physical.
Li
They are learning with their mind and their body at the same time. And he repeats this
eu
again and again and again. And then what he does is he stops demonstrating, so he
stands in the corner of the class and he just says “stand up.” All the students stand.
On
He says “sit down.” All the students sit down.

Th
They’re not copying him anymore, now they’re just responding to his words. Stand up,
iD
sit down. Stand up, sit down. The class is standing up physically, sitting down
physically, standing up physically and sitting down physically again and again. By
ai
doing this process what happens is the language goes deep, deep, deep into the
unconscious, into the physical body. As a result, the students learn these phrases
Ho
much more deeply. How do we know this? Because we give them tests.
c0
All right, so he continues. Of course this is a very basic example; it would be the first
1
class. But this process gets more complicated very quickly so that later in the class,
maybe two weeks later, Dr. Asher is saying something like “Go to the corner, pick up
the red book, bring it to Susan and then sit down.” Wow, right? So now we have a
very long, complicated command. What happens? Well, the students actually do it.
They stand up, they go to the corner, they pick up the red book, they give it to Susan
who’s another student and then they sit down. All these physical actions, they have
learned all of this. They have learned the verb “go”, they have learned the location
“corner”, they have learned the verb “pick up”, they’ve learned the word “book”, they’ve
learned the word “blue”, the adjective “blue”, etc.
ww
So in this way they’re learning all these nouns and verbs and adjectives and
prepositions, but they’re learning it with their bodies, their physical bodies. There’s no
w.
translation happening and it’s not just intellectual they are doing all of these things.
fa
They’re getting it deep, deep, deep because they’re using mind and body at the same
time.
ce
So what’s really great about this is the final result. Here’s what happens. We have a
bo
class with a Dr. Asher or with me using TPR, using this physical way of learning. And
ok
then we have another normal class, you know, using translation and grammar and
textbooks. We start them at zero. They’re both zero level and we teach them for six
.
months, one class using the physical method -- body and mind – the other class just
co
mental.
m/
At the end of six months we give them tests. We test their vocabulary. We test their
gr
grammar. We test their listening ability. We test their speaking ability, their writing
ability. We test everything and this is the amazing part. The class that learned with
ou
their bodies has learned four or five times more. They have learned not just a little
more, a lot more than the traditional normal class. Their understanding is much better.
ps
Their vocabulary is much larger. Their speaking ability is better. Everything is better
/T
and not just a little better a lot better.

ai
Here’s another thing we found with research. Over a long time, let’s say one year, two
years, we look at both groups and we see which group continues to learn English and
Li
which group, you know, quits. Because really the biggest problem with language
eu
learning, with English learning, I think, the number one problem is people quit, they
just stop, you know? They get frustrated, they’re depressed. They think “Ah, I can’t
On
do it” and they quit. You can’t learn if you’re not trying.
Th
And so they compare the rates, they compare how many people eventually quit from
iD
the physical class and how many eventually quit from the traditional classes. And this
is another big advantage. The people who use the physical method stay with English,
ai
they continue studying. Why? Because they enjoy it. Why? Because they’re
successful. They feel successful, they feel confident, they’re learning faster, they’re
Ho
doing better and it’s fun.

c0
They’re using their mind and their body at the same time. They’re moving and they’re
1
laughing. It’s great. The other class, they’re bored and they feel like failures. So, their
dropout rate, their quitting rate, is much, much higher in the traditional classes over
time one year, two years, four years or five years.
Most people in the traditional classes just quit. If they’re not forced to learn, if they
have a choice, eventually they just leave the classes. They stop studying English as
soon as they can. Most people, like 80 or 90%, it’s a really high level. But the people
in the physical classes, many more of them continue learning English, they stay in the
class. And, as a result, many more of them actually become fluent.
ww
So another person I learned from about this idea of body and mind connected and
learning with both is Tony Robbins. Now I’ve mentioned Tony before, especially in the
w.
beginning lessons. Tony is a…he doesn’t like to be called a motivational speaker. He

fa
teaches people how to, you know, take control of their lives, how to live the kind of life
they want. And a lot of those beginning lessons talk about many of Tony’s ideas.
ce
And, Tony, in his seminars, especially in his seminars, he uses body and mind at the
bo
same time. You don’t go to a Tony Robbins seminar and sit in a chair for 12 hours
ok
and do nothing and just listen to him and take notes. No. He has you jumping and
shouting and yelling. You’re always using your body to learn from him.
. co
And he has this phrase, he says, “Get it into your body.” He’s like “You don’t really
know something, anything, until it’s in your body, until your mind and body have
m/
learned it together.” That’s when you really know something deeply, any idea, any
gr
belief, anything. When it’s in your body that’s when it’s effortless, that’s when it’s easy.
That’s when you are a master, when you get English into your body. When it’s not,
ou
just understanding the word “run”, you know, run, run and then you translate it to your
language. That’s mental. That’s nothing.
ps
/T
But if you say the English word “run” and then you run in place, you’re running with
your body, you’re moving your legs up and down – like I am right now – there’s a much
ai
deeper connection in your mind, in your nervous system, in your physical body. And
then when you get that and you do it again and again and again, body and mind, body
Li
and mind, that word becomes part of you. You’ll never forget it and you will use it
eu
quickly, easily, effortlessly, like a native speaker. That’s why native speakers speak
their language so effortlessly. It’s not just in their head it’s in their body, their whole
On
body.
Th
So that’s why I talk so much and I’m always reminding you and telling you, you know,
iD
move while you do these lessons. Move your hands, move your arms, shout loudly.
Move your face, big smiles, big facial expressions. Exaggerate everything. I have one
ai
more example of this and that comes from a time in my past when I studied Italian for
a little bit. And a little bit, I mean very little, I studied Italian for one month because,
Ho
actually, my sister won a free trip to Italy, just to Rome. Go to Rome and Florence for
c0
one week, basically. Ten days, I think it was.

1
So I was excited. She said “Oh, you can come with me.” Because it was two people,
it was a free trip to Italy for two people, so my sister and I were going to go. And, you
know, I’d never studied Italian before, but I thought, oh, it might be fun just to learn a
little Italian, just for this one week. I’m not going to become fluent, I don’t care about
becoming fluent in Italian and speaking perfectly, I’ll just study a little bit, just for one
month. Maybe I can, you know, talk to somebody at a bar or, you know, just order
something in a restaurant, very simple.
So I studied Italian. I had these CDs, it was actually Pimsleur CDs, and I listened to
them in my car when I went to work. But I did something different when I learned
ww
Italian, different from other languages I have studied. What I did is I moved my body
like crazy when I was learning Italian.
w.
fa
I’m driving in the car…and I think it’s because I’ve seen a lot of movies with Italian
people or Italian-Americans and they’re always like moving their arms and they’re very
ce
passionate when they’re speaking. And I don’t know if that’s true of all Italian
people…of course it’s not true of all Italian people, but it’s certainly this image you get
bo
from movies. And it’s really fun, you know, I like it. I love that image of Italians, you
ok
know, very passionate and moving their hands and speaking with passion.
.
So I don’t know why, but it just was fun. As I listened to these tapes and I would
co
repeat, you know it was just normal repeat the phrase, I would move my arms. So I’m
driving with one hand on the wheel in my car and I’m moving my arms and my body
m/
and I have these big facial expressions and I’m saying “Buon Giorno!” Right!? I didn’t
gr
say it quietly I would say it really loud.

ou
And I even had this fake, exaggerated Italian accent when I spoke. It wasn’t a real
Italian accent because I didn’t know any Italian, but I tried. It was just a normal
ps
American plain, flat accent. I remembered the accents I’ve heard in movies and I
/T
thought oh, this is fun “Buon Giorno! Buon Giorno!” And I moved my arms when I
said it. I was screaming it in my car.
ai
So I didn’t know at the time what I was doing, really, but something interesting
Li
happened. When we went on our trip, when we finally went to Italy, I found myself
eu
speaking Italian. I had a tiny vocabulary. I mean just one month of studying, so my
vocabulary was tiny, tiny. I didn’t know grammar at all, nothing. I didn’t know the past
On
tense. Present tense that was it and a tiny vocabulary, but because the little bit I
learned I had it in my body it just came out! I mean I don’t know what happened.
Th
iD
For example, I got on a bus with my sister and some other people. And we made a
mistake we did not pay for the bus. There was a machine at the back of the bus. You
ai
had to get a ticket and pay. I didn’t know about this. And, ah, so we got in trouble.
These little like bus police pulled us off the bus and said, “You didn’t pay. You don’t
Ho
have a ticket” and they wanted us to pay this big amount of money, like a big penalty,
c0
a big fee.
1
And nobody in the little group I was with…they’re all Americans…nobody spoke any
Italian, zero, so I was the only one. I had a tiny bit of Italian. So the police were telling
me “Oh, you guys didn’t pay.” I don’t know how, I have no idea how, but I understood
what they were saying, the basic idea. Not every word, but I basically understood
what they were saying and I just started speaking Italian. I have no idea how I did it.
And I’m using some English words, too, because anytime I didn’t know the Italian I
would just say it in English. So I’m mixing Italian and English, but I’m just speaking
really fast and my arms are moving and my hands are moving, just like in my car as I
ww
was listening to those CDs before. It was amazing. It was the most fluent I have ever
spoken another language and, yet, I was a total, total beginner. Maybe I knew 100
w.
words in Italian, maybe less than that, but the words I learned where in my body and it
fa
just came out because I learned physically, it wasn’t just mental.

ce
And I said “Ah-ha, this is interesting. Maybe we should do this all the time.” Maybe
when I teach English I should get my students moving their arms and jumping around
bo
and exaggerating their accent so they sound like cowboys or they sound like crazy
ok
Americans, like me.

.
So this is something to think about. I promise you, this works. This works and it works
co
powerfully. So anytime you listen to English, whether it’s my lessons or you’re

listening to something on the Internet or you’re watching an English movie, it doesn’t
m/
matter, when you listen move that body. And when you speak, when you’re practicing
gr
speaking, I mean, come out of it with emotion. Exaggerate everything. Move your
body like an American, whatever that means to you.
ou
Just imagine it like an exaggerated American, like Jim Carrey the actor, the comedian
ps
Jim Carrey, you know, John Wayne, the old cowboy, or Clint Eastwood, somebody,
/T
you’re idea of an American, an exaggerated, typical American or British person if

you’re learning British English. Move like them, speak like them, you know,
ai
exaggerate their accent, exaggerate the facial expressions and when you speak do it
really loudly. Get your whole body into it. Use your whole body as you do it and
Li
you’re going to connect that mind and body together and it’s so powerful.
eu
When you do that again and again and again every time, every day, every lesson,
On
everything you listen to, every time you speak English or practice it, you will create
amazing fluency. You’re going to be shocked and surprised. You won’t believe it.
Th
Because one day some American person or some native speaker is going to talk to
iD
you in English and you’re just going to start speaking. It’s going to come out of your
mouth. You won’t know…”Wow! Where did it come from? This is amazing! I’m not
ai
thinking. I’m not translating. This is just coming out of my mouth!”

Ho
It’s possible. Not only is it possible it will definitely happen, but you’ve got to use your
c0
body very powerfully to get this result. You can’t just a little bit, “Ah, yeah, well…”
move your body a little, smile a little, shoulders back a little “ah-ah-ah,” weak voice.
1
That won’t work. That will get you weak results.
The more powerfully you move your body as you listen to and speak English the more
fluency you will develop. You wire it in. You put it into your body, into your nervous
system, mind and body are connected. It is so powerful. You won’t believe the
fluency, it’s amazing, but you’ve got to do it with all of that energy, all of that passion.
You really have got to do it strongly and powerfully every time. Not one time, not one
week, not sometimes, every single time you listen to or speak English use all of your
ww
body, all of your voice and you will create just amazing fluency. I promise you.
w.
We’ll give you your money back. I’ll give you all of your money back. I’ll give you two
fa
times your money back if you do this and you get no result. Why do I promise you
that? Because I know it works. It’s 100% guaranteed. I have no question about it. I
ce
know it works, it works every time, but it only works if you do what I’m telling you. You
know some students say “Oh, I’m shy. I can’t do that.” Bullshit! Do it alone in your
bo
apartment or in your car where nobody’s watching you, nobody’s looking, if necessary.
ok
Some of you are crazy, like me, you’ll do it on the street. But if you’re shy or
.
something, fine, do it at home. Lock the door so your, you know, husband or wife or
co
kids or roommates can’t see you and just get in there and start shouting and jumping
and moving as you’re doing your English lessons, as you’re listening to English, as
m/
you’re speaking English, moving your body, pouring your body into every single time.
gr
And then after you do this for one month, two months, six months, write on the Forums
your results. I promise you, the results are going to be amazing.
ou
All right, so this has been kind of a long commentary, but it’s so important. It’s so
ps
powerful and it’s damn fun, too. It’s really the center of my system. This is the
/T
Effortless English System. This is the most important part, the central part. Without
this nothing else works. This is the fuel. This is the energy for all of it. All right, so do
ai
it.
Li
Okay, good. Do you understand that I feel strongly about this? I hope you do. All
eu
right, I will see you next time for the next commentary. Meanwhile, move that body!
On
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Connection Commentary
w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to our first commentary. This one is called “Connection.”
fa
ce
In the commentaries I am going to talk about a specific topic. Now these are not
lessons, so there will be no mini-story lessons, no vocabulary lessons. It’s just an
bo
extra bonus listening material for you.

ok
Now these commentaries are all spontaneous. So there’s no script, I’m not reading
.
from anything, I’m just talking freely and spontaneously about the topic. So this is a
co
very natural conversational style, just a little extra bonus, fun, material for you.
m/
So just listen to these freely and there’s some text so you can read them if you don’t
understand some part or some word. You can use a dictionary or just read so you
gr
understand. But it’s just some fun, free, easy listening for you. So let’s start.
ou
The first commentary is about the topic of “Connection.” And, in fact, the full title is
ps
“Connection, Not Communication.” What do I mean by that? Well, I want to talk about
the purpose of English. Why you are learning this damn language. Why are you
/T
doing it? Why am I teaching English?

ai
That’s the question I started with and I’ve been asking myself that question for a while.
Li
Why do I teach English? I mean, in fact, I’ve been asking that question for a couple of
years, but, especially recently, I’ve been thinking, you know, why am I an English
eu
teacher? What is my purpose? And I thought about it for a long time. I’ve written in
On
my journal about it and I keep asking myself this question. Why am I really teaching
English? I mean what is my purpose? What am I really trying to do with the Effortless
Th
English Club, with these lessons?

iD
And you know I thought about it and I thought you know it’s not because I love the
ai
English language, specifically. I don’t think English is better than another language.
You know English is no better than Spanish or Japanese or Portuguese or Chinese or
Ho
Thai or anything else. And, you know, I’m interested in linguistics and language
learning, but it’s not my passion. It’s not my focus in life. It’s not my deepest meaning
c0
or purpose.
1
And, honestly, I don’t believe that everybody must learn English. Most people in the
world can have a great life without English, so why am I doing this? I kept asking
myself, why? Why am I doing this? Why do we learn languages and especially, why
English?
Maybe you need to ask yourself this question, I mean really think about it because a
lot of people start learning English for some outside reason. It’s not a very emotional
reason. It’s not a very powerful reason. They start learning English because their
teacher tells them “You must learn English, no choice.” Or they have some very, you
know, weak reason like, you know, they want to get a better job or they want to pass
some test. But that’s not a very deep reason either, it’s not very powerful.
ww
Well, for my own purposes my own answer was that connection was really the reason.
w.
I want to connect with people. What do I mean by that? It means that I want to have a
fa
deeper, emotional, intellectual, mental connection with other people. I want to learn
from their feelings and I want them to learn from me.
ce
I want to learn from their minds, I want to learn their ideas, I want to be inspired by
bo
them and I want to do the same for them. I want to share my emotions, my feelings,
ok
my ideas with other people all around the world and I want that from them. I want to
share their emotions, their ideas, their feelings.
. co
I don’t really care about the specific vocabulary or pronunciation, not really. Those are
just tools. They’re just a way to get what I really want. What I really want is that
m/
connection with other people. I’m guessing that’s what you really want. And right
gr
now, in this time in the history of the world, English is one of the best languages for
that because English is a language that connects so many countries in Science, in
ou
business, in our social lives, in travel.

ps
Right now English is really the most useful, the most practical language for connecting
/T
people from many different cultures, many different religions, many different nations,
many different social groups, it’s just great too. But it’s a tool for what? It’s a tool for
ai
connection. And, for me, the word connection is a much stronger word than
communication.
Li
eu
Communication, for me, is kind of weak. You know I talk blah- blah- blah you listen,
blah- blah- blah it’s only about information. You know, for me, when I think of this
On
word communication I think that I’m giving and getting information, but I want more
than just information.
Th
iD
If you only want information you can just read English and you can read books. You
know that’s really enough, to be honest. If you just want to learn facts, well learn to
ai
read. You can learn to read and read lots of great books and websites and everything.
Ho
But, if you want to connect with another human being, you want to feel their emotions
c0
and you want them to feel yours, you want to share that heart-to-heart connection, that
human-to-human connection, a real connection between human beings, between a
1
group, a tribe, a family; well that requires speaking.
Because speaking is how we communicate emotion, you can hear it in my voice and I
can hear it in yours. That’s why we want to speak English well and understand
English well; we want to connect with other human beings. That’s why I’m teaching
English, that’s why I love it. Because I love going to Thailand, for example, and
meeting Thai people and connecting with them and making friends and hearing their
ideas and feeling their emotions and I love to share my own with them.
ww
And it’s the same. I can do that with people in Japan or people in Europe or people in
w.
Latin America. It’s amazing. I love it. That’s why I teach English because I want to
fa
connect with people everywhere in the world. I’ve learned so much from doing that,
from that amazing experience. And that’s why I’m so energetic about it and that’s why
ce
I really, really love it, that’s why it’s my passion.

bo
So I want you to think about this yourself as an English learner and really think about
ok
this idea of connection, connecting with other human beings. Not just sharing
information, connecting with them, learning about them, their lives, their emotions at a
.
much deeper level.

co
If you do that you’ll realize, oh, this is why I’m learning. And you’ll realize you don’t
m/
need to be perfect. You can connect with somebody with really bad English. Even if
gr
you’re kind of a beginner you can connect with them because you can share your
feelings and your thoughts by being open, by being honest. You don’t need to be
ou
perfect.
ps
How do you do that? For example, you can get on our Forums. This is an easy way
/T
to do it, it’s so, so easy. Even if you feel oh, my English sucks, it’s okay. Get on the
Forums and just write a little bit about yourself, share something about yourself. Share
ai
some of your feelings, share something about your life, share your dreams, share your
goals, your fears, I don’t know, anything, just something honest and real.
Li
eu
If you do that I know -- because I’ve seen it happen again and again and again on our
Forums and in life -- other people will connect with you. And they’ll do the same with
On
you and you will create real connections. You will create real friendships with people
in other parts of the world, just by writing a little bit on the Forums, but your focus in on
Th
connection, not on English. You’re using English as a tool, as a way to connect.

iD
Always remember that. English is not your final goal, connection is your goal.
ai
If connection is your goal you can start immediately, right now. You don’t need great
English you just need to be honest and open. And then at the next level you can get
Ho
on the Forums. You can share your Skype or some other chat ID. You can actually
c0
talk to people. It’s doesn’t matter.

1
Maybe your pronunciation is terrible, maybe it’s great, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.
As long as you’re honest and real and open you will connect with other people. Share
your feelings. Share your ideas. And in that way you will make even stronger friends,
stronger connections around the world. You will learn from other people who are from
other countries, other cultures, other religions and you will grow as a human being and
by sharing you will help them grow as human beings.
That is our deepest purpose for learning English or any other language. That is my
deepest purpose for teaching English. It is the deepest purpose of the Effortless
English Club. So it’s absolutely necessary, important, vital, to use the Forums and to
ww
use the Master Member Site, to connect. If you don’t connect why learn English,
what’s the point? You’re just studying for no reason. You’re just working and working
w.
and working and there’s really no deeper purpose to it.

fa
So you’ve got to connect, it is the most important thing to do. More important than the
ce
lessons, more important than vocabulary, more important than the mini-stories, more
important than pronunciation, is just being open, honest and connecting with other
bo
people. You can do that as a beginner, it does not matter. Your level or your ability
ok
does not matter.

.
So think about this and then just do it. It’s a little scary. I know it’s scary. I’ve had to
co
do it myself. My Spanish is terrible, because I just don’t have a lot of time and I just
don’t spend much time studying it, to be honest. But, you know, still I went to
m/
Guatemala and I used it a little bit and I connected with a few people and it felt great.
gr
And I’ll tell a story later in another commentary about an experience I had in Italy with
ou
Italian. And I know almost zero Italian, but I used the little bit I had and I connected
with some people and it felt fantastic. And that’s much more important than passing a
ps
test.
/T
All right, I hope I have convinced you. I hope that as you go forward, as you keep
ai
learning English, keep growing, I hope that you will always remember this central
purpose, this final, ultimate goal of connection. Never forget that this is the reason
Li
you’re learning English, to connect with human beings. That’s why we’re doing it.
eu
That’s the purpose of any language.

On
Well I will see you for the next commentary, until then have a great time. I hope
you’ve enjoyed this and have a great day.
Th
iD
ai
Ho
c0
1
ww
Effortless Success Commentary

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to our next commentary. In this commentary I’m just going to
fa
talk briefly about another set of lesson that we have called Success or Business
English Success.
ce
bo
Now these lessons are not for everybody, I’ll be honest. They’re not for everybody
because, you know, not everybody is interested in this topic, but it was one of the most
ok
common requests that I got from members. They would say “AJ, please make some
.
Business English lessons.” And for a long time I thought, ah, I don’t want to do
co
Business English that’s boring. Business English is boring, boring, boring and so I
avoided it.
m/
I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. Because I kept thinking, you know if I do
gr
Business English lessons I have to do something different. Because that’s just me, I
ou
don’t want to do something normal. I don’t want to do something boring. There’s no

point. You can go find boring, normal, Business English lessons anywhere. There’s a
ps
lot of them, they’re on the Internet, you know, podcasts.

/T
So if you’re just wanting a lot of business vocabulary, I’ll be honest, don’t get my
ai
lessons. If you’re just wanting to, you know, memorize Business English vocabulary,
you know, you can get that anywhere. You can get it from the Internet or from CDs or
Li
textbooks in a normal, boring, kind of way. So I didn’t want to do that.

eu
So I thought about it a long time and then, finally, you know, I started thinking about,
On
you know, what would I like to teach or communicate besides just, you know, a bunch
of vocabulary? And I started thinking about my own business and I thought, well, you
Th
know this might be an interesting topic.

iD
I started the Effortless English Company with $200, I think it was or maybe a little less
ai
than that. So I had no money, I was poor, broke. So I started it with no money and I
built this company by myself, just slowly, slowly, slowly, just on the Internet using
Ho
cheap and free tools on the Internet and, you know, of course, eventually other people
started helping.
c0
1
But I thought, wow, maybe this is something other people might be interested in -- how
to do this. Or maybe people don’t want to start their own company, but they would be
interested in some of the marketing tools and techniques that I used or some of the
philosophies that I used to build my company and keep growing it.
And there are a lot of great tools that I found, a lot of great information that I found that
could benefit people’s careers or if they’re, you know, working independently or if they,
indeed, want to start their own company or already have their own company. And so I
decided, well, that’s what I want to do. I want to help people succeed. I want to teach
valuable information, not just the English.
ww
Because the English can be found anywhere, but the kind of information, the kind of
tools, the kind of strategies, the kind of plans that I use to build the company, those are
w.
unique and different because I did it in a very different way. So, you know, just like my
teaching technique is quite different, well, my business philosophy is also quite
fa
different. It’s not for everybody, but it can help a lot of people.
ce
And so with that idea I created what I call the Success Business English Lessons.
bo
And it’s a mini set, so it’s only $37. It’s kind of small. I’m trying to think…I think it’s
ok
eight lesson sets, full lesson sets and then you’ve got a little audio book in there, very
long, extended commentaries and of course it all has text.
. co
And in these Success Lessons I teach you the tools, strategies, plans and techniques
for developing a powerful career or a powerful business. So I talk, for example, about
m/
the general attitude and philosophy that I have in business, in business life. It will help
gr
your career and -- especially if you have your own business -- it will help you grow
your own business.
ou
Or if you don’t have your own business yet, if you want to start one, even if you want to
ps
start a little business part time, it will teach you how. These lessons will teach you
/T
exactly how step by step by step. It will teach you the mental philosophy, the attitude
you need to have and it will give you specific tools exactly how to do it.
ai
I tell you exactly how you can use my marketing system, for example. There are
Li
several lessons about that. How do you find customers, how do you connect with
eu
customers, how do you get them to buy and how do you keep them so that they love
what you’re doing and they continue to buy from you. And that’s really the most
On
important part.
Th
And it’s not just a normal way of, ah…just do a bunch of advertising. That doesn’t
iD
really work anymore. That’s getting less and less effective. You need better systems.
And I especially talk about online marketing, Internet Marketing, because Internet
ai
Marketing, in my opinion, is really the best way to reach a lot of people cheaply.
Ho
If you have a lot of money, if you’re already rich, advertise on TV or the radio or
c0
newspapers or magazines. But if you’re starting with very little money or if you just
want to reach people all over the world use the Internet. So I teach you exactly how to
1
use the Internet to find customers and keep them. I also recommend several great
business books that I’ve used to teach myself how to do this, so you can get those
books and you can learn even more.
So I give you all the tools you need to build your career or business from where it is
now, even if it’s nothing now, and to grow it step by step very quickly, very effectively,
very powerfully.
And this will work, again, if you’re in a company and you just want to get higher in the
company or if you’re a freelancer -- a freelancer is an independent worker. So you
ww
have kind of a job, but you’re not working for a company. You do jobs for different
people or different companies, we call that a freelancer -- or if you’re an entrepreneur.
w.
An entrepreneur is a person who owns their own company, they started their own
company. So these lessons, again, are for people really in those three categories.
fa
ce
And, of course, you’ll still learn English. Of course you’ll keep practicing and improving
your English, especially your English speaking because these lessons, like all my
bo
lessons, use the same system. You’re going to get vocabulary. You’re going to get
ok
mini-stories, etc.
.
So if you’re interested, if you’d like to get some Business English input and especially
co
if you’d like to learn more about different business ideas and a different way of doing
business then get my Success Business Lessons. If you’re not a businessperson and
m/
you don’t care, well then, don’t get them.

gr
All right, well, I will see you next time.

ou
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
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ai
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ww
Learn Real English Commentary

w.
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to our next commentary. This commentary is called “Learn
fa
Real English” and I’m going to tell you about Learn Real English.
ce
Learn Real English is another website, it’s a set of lessons that I did with two of my
bo
good friends. And, you know, frequently students, members, they ask me “Okay, AJ, I
bought your lessons, but I’d like more. I’d like more stuff. What can I do next? What’s
ok
next?” Well this is one possible answer. Learn Real English lessons are very
.
interesting, very unique and I really like them.

co
What we did is Kristen, Joe and I – Kristen and Joe are my good friends who made
m/
most of these lessons, I made some of them, too – we got together and we decided,
let’s make lessons using real English, I mean real, real conversations. So we decided
gr
to do this, we decided to record conversations with our family, with our friends and,
ou
you know, between ourselves. And we decided to record real conversations.

ps
What does that mean, real? Well it means there would be no scripts. There would be
no plan. We’re not going to be reading, you know? That’s what you find in most
/T
textbooks, two actors reading a script. “Hi, how are you?” “I’m fine and you?” Well
ai
nobody says that, actually, almost nobody. Very rarely will you hear that kind of
conversation and they certainly never say it with that kind of pronunciation or emotion.
Li
So we decided, you know, forget actors, forget planning and writing some kind of
eu
“conversation” because real conversations are spontaneous. There’s no plan they just
On
come out. And in real conversations, you know, we speak differently. For one thing
we speak faster. We also use a different kind of pronunciation, often. You’re certainly
Th
going to hear different kinds of emotions. We pause in different places. In real

conversations we almost never use complete sentences. It’s very rare to hear a
iD
complete sentence in a real conversation between two native speakers. We also use
ai
a lot of slang and a lot of idioms.

Ho
And so we thought, you know, we want to teach people the real English. If they came
to America, to the United States or Canada for that matter or England, but especially
c0
North America since we’re North Americans, if they came here and they, you know,
1
went to a party or they met some native speakers they should be able to understand
them. We want them to understand the kind of casual, regular, everyday
conversations that we use, not formal English that’s taught in schools.
So what we did, again, is that we recorded real conversations. So, for example, I
might call my mom and record the conversation with my mom. Many times the other
person didn’t know we were recording. We told them after because we wanted them
to be totally natural, right? Just speak how you normally do.
So that was the first step, we recorded all these conversations, Kristen and Joe and I.
ww
And especially Kristen and Joe, I have to admit. They did most of the lessons. They
did most of the work. Thank you, Kristen and Joe.
w.
fa
Kristen, Joe and I recorded all of these conversations. Next, we got the transcripts.
So, in other words, we got text for these conversations. Because for most people,
ce
most students, it’s really quite difficult to understand native speakers who are speaking
to each other. So we give you the text for those conversations so that you can read.
bo
It’s much, much easier to understand when you can read at the same time, in the
ok
beginning.
.
You know, eventually, you can stop reading and you just listen, but in the beginning it’s
co
vey helpful if you can read and listen at the same time. Because these are not actors,
they’re not going slow. They’re not trying to make it easy for you this is the real thing,
m/
so you’ve got text for that. In fact, you’ve got text for everything.
gr
And then, next, of course, we used the whole Effortless System, so we did vocabulary
ou
lessons and we especially focused on the idioms and the slang because you can’t use
a dictionary to find those. So if we say “What’s up?” you know what’s up means how
ps
are you, how’s it going or hello. But if you look in a dictionary you often will not find
/T
that phrase.
ai
And, of course, there are a lot more idioms that are a lot more difficult than that. Most
of you might know that one, but there are a lot of them that you don’t know and you
Li
can’t find it in a dictionary. Oh no, that’s tough. So what we did is we looked at the
eu
transcripts, we looked at the text and we listened to the real conversation and we
found all the idioms and the slang and the difficult vocabulary and we did normal
On
vocabulary lessons, just like I’ve done in all these lessons here.
Th
So you learn this vocabulary, these idioms, the slang, very deeply using the mini-
iD
stories. And so in this way you learn the casual conversational English that native
speakers use every day with each other and you learn it using our system. And you
ai
learn it using, you know, real people, not actors and real conversations, not planned,
not written first.
Ho
c0
So if you’re wondering, if you’re thinking, you know, what should I do next? What’s the
next step for me after using these power English lessons, well that’s a possible next
1
step for you. There are many things you can do. You can join the Master Member
Site and get, you know, new videos each month.
If you don’t already have the Learn Real English lessons, well, it’s a nice step. It’s
something else you might want to do because if you like our system you’re going to
find the same system and you’re going to learn a different kind of English, a little more
casual and definitely more focused on idioms and slang.
So if you’re thinking, you know, what should I do next? Well that’s a good start. Go
ww
and get those Learn Real English lessons and keep learning, keep practicing, keep
using our system.
w.
fa
You can also get my old original lessons and these are the first lessons that I made. I
think you get about…I’m trying to think…I think it’s about 32 full lesson sets in those.
ce
These are the first ones that I ever made and you’re going to find they’re the same
kind of main story or article, mini-stories, point of view stories and commentaries,
bo
same system.
ok
So, again, if you just want more material, if you really want to continue using this same
.
system and especially using the mini-story lessons, then you have two choices, really,
co
get the Learn Real English lessons or get my old original lessons. And if you just want
to get some more input and you want to get something new every month then try the
m/
Master Member Site. So that gives you three choices there, three new things you can
gr
try out, if you’re really, “I want more. I want more.”

ou
All right, well that’s for me right now. I will see you next time.
ps
/T
ai
Li
eu
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ww
Master Membership Commentary

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to our next commentary. This one is called “Master
fa
Membership” and I’m just going to talk a little bit about our Master Member Site
ce
because this is really the next step for you.

bo
The Master Member Site was created to provide more input, more Effortless English
material for people who have finished the lessons or even people who have started the
ok
lessons, but they would like some extra stuff.

. co
And it came out of a request from our members. Our members were saying “Well, AJ,
you know, the lessons are great. I love ‘em. I’m listening to them now, but I would
m/
love to, you know, get some more material, especially something that would come
maybe, you know, every week or every month, something extra.”
gr
ou
And another thing that people were requesting all the time were videos. People were
saying, you know, “AJ, oh, we’d like to have some videos of you. Because you sound
ps
like you’re really energetic, we’d like to see your face.”

/T
And so I thought about this for a long time, “Oh, what should we do? I don’t know.
ai
Well, what do you think? I don’t know.” We talked about it and, ah, finally decided
let’s make a Membership Site, it’d be a subscription site and it’s a site where I would
Li
add videos, you know, every month. Every month there would be some new videos on
different topics related to Effortless English.
eu
On
And that’s what we created. We call it the Master Member Site. And the idea is this is
the site for people who are, you know, really passionate, really motivated, really
Th
energetic and happy about learning English. These are really our top members.
These are the members that want to keep going. They want more. They want more.
iD
They want more!

ai
And so what I do is I just…using my little web camera on my computer I just record

Ho
videos and I talk about different topics, so you get these video commentaries on
various topics. Very similar to the commentaries that you’re getting right now, but
c0
they’re on video so you can actually see my face and you can see me moving around
1
and jumping around and acting crazy.
And these are videos on four different topics. We have four very general categories
within the Master Member Site. Four types of videos, four topics and the first one is
the Learning Channel. I call them Channels. It’s the group, the area, the topic, of
learning. And in the Learning Channel I talk about the topic of Learning. How
interesting. I don’t know how I came up with that name, but anyway…
ww
So I talk about the topic of Learning and I talk about strategies for learning…learning
English, learning anything. I talk about some of the research. I talk about some of our
w.
success stories, things that other members are doing to learn faster, better, more.
fa
Another thing I do in the Learning Channel is I provide, I give, extra commentaries

ce
about specific lessons, so I pick one lesson and I talk more about that topic. And I
might pick a lesson from my original lessons, my old lessons or I might pick on specific
bo
lesson from these lessons, these Power English Lessons and I talk more about it.
ok
So it may be the topic of Tribe and I’ll talk more about this idea of tribe and tribes or
.
more about Seth Godin, the writer of that book. Or I pick another one of the lessons
co
and I give more detail, more information, more of my ideas, etc. And that’s the
Learning Channel. I call it the Learning Channel. And so you have videos on this
m/
topic or these topics.

gr
The next channel, the next general category, is called Community. In the Community
ou
Channel I do a couple things. It’s really the People Channel, I talk about people. And
that means, number one, I talk about myself and I talk a little more about my personal
ps
life, what I’m doing in my personal life.

/T
For example, I travel a lot. You know I talked in these lessons about The 4-Hour Work
ai
Week and well, I try to live that book. So I am not stuck in one place all the time. I am
based in San Francisco, I live mostly in San Francisco, but I spent three or four
Li
months every year in Thailand or Southeast Asia and I travel to Latin America, Europe
eu
and other parts of the world all the time and I keep running the Effortless English
Company while doing that.
On
And, so, a lot of members they’re kind of curious. They’re interested in the places I’m
Th
visiting and what I’m learning and what I’m doing and so in the Community Channel I
iD
talk about that. So I’ll do a short video telling you what am I doing now, what am I
learning now, what new ideas do I have now, what’s happening in my life, where am I.
ai
Another thing that happens in the Community Channel is that I interview interesting
Ho
people. So as I’m traveling around the world and meeting all these cool people I’ll talk
c0
to some of them. So you can see some conversations with other people in English, of
course, and you can see me chatting with them about all kinds of topics. Anything that
1
I think is interesting, that’s what you’re going to see.
And, finally, another thing I do is I talk about members, our members, and I talk about
members who are doing cool, interesting, things. So I might pick one member and I
might, you know, chat about something cool and interesting they’re doing, so a new
technique they’re using or what they’re writing about on their blog or how they’re
helping people or what they’re doing in their life. So I give these member profiles, I
talk more about cool, interesting, members.
ww
And, finally, in this channel and sometimes in the Learning Channel, but especially in
w.
the Community Channel, I answer questions. And, maybe, that’s probably the most
fa
interesting and most useful for a lot of members, is that members email their questions
to me or, actually, more commonly on the Forums, on the Master Member Forums,
ce
which are special Forums. They’re not our normal Forums for everybody. It’s just for
the Master Members and on the Master Member Site.
bo
ok
And on those Forums people just write questions. They write questions about specific
lessons, they write questions about general learning strategies or ideas or just about
.
my life or just about anything. And sometimes I pick a question, if I think it’s
co
interesting, if I think this question will help a lot of our members and I’ll answer the
question in the video, so I’ll chat.
m/
gr
Some says, “Hey, AJ, in this lesson you talked about…” You know…something. “How
can I use this?” And then I’ll answer the question and I’ll give more information or
ou
more advice or more suggestions. And all that happens on the Community Channel.
ps
The next category of videos that you’ll find on the Master Member Site is called Power,
/T
the Power Channel. And I kind of like this one. The Power Channel is about
motivation, it’s about really making your life fantastic, extraordinary. And that means,
ai
of course, your English learning, but it really means your life in general.
Li
In the Power Channel I’m talking about emotion, I’m talking about psychology, the
eu
psychology of success, of achieving, of getting what you want, how to get your energy
higher, your motivation higher, how to reach your goals, how to connect with other
On
people and help other people. And, you know, generally I’m talking about the topic of
English related to these things, but you know sometimes just general life, how can you
Th
have a feeling of more personal power in you life. And so I do videos on those topics
iD
and I put them in this category called the Power Channel.

ai
Finally, the final category is called Success. It’s the Success Channel. And the
Success Channel has videos on the topic of business, career, finances, money, etc.,
Ho
things like that. And it really comes from my Success English Lessons, which are
c0
Business English Lessons. But they’re not normal Business English Lessons because
those are boring and I don’t want to do anything boring.
1
My Success Business English Lessons talk about how to improve your career or how
to create a freelance career, which just means you’re an independent worker, you’re
not working for a company or how to create your own business, your own company,
how to be an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is a person who creates their own
company.
ww
And so in this Success Channel, this Success Category on the Master Member Site, in
videos I talk about, you more, more ideas for businesses, for your career, for your
w.
finances, for your money. I talk about the strategies I’m using with the Effortless
fa
English Company. You know, what do I do to market, what do I do to advertise, how

do I find more members, how do I connect with more people, how do I manage my
ce
finances more so that the company keeps growing and increasing and doing well.
bo
And, you know, sometimes I answer questions again about these topics. And, in
ok
general, we’re talking about the idea of Success. And here we’re talking about
success, really, from kind of the normal perspective, really. We’re talking about
.
finances, business and money those topics.

co
And so those are the four categories, the four channels, the four kinds of videos that
m/
you will find on the Master Member Site. And it gives you more input, more material,
gr
more supplemental audio/video and of course we have text for everything, so…
ou
There are no lessons. You don’t find lessons there. You won’t get mini-story lessons
there. But you get a lot of videos with a lot of extra English input to listen to, you get to
ps
see me on video and then everything, every video, has text. So any time you don’t
/T
understand something you can read along, you can use a dictionary if you don’t
understand a word or something, so it gives you a lot of extra English material on the
ai
same very positive, energetic, enthusiastic topics. So it’s all going to be very positive.
It’s not going to boring. It’s going to be energetic, positive and fun, just like you found
Li
with these lessons, I hope.

eu
And so if you’re interested, if you’d like more, go to our Master Membership Site. Join
On
our Master Member Site and you can connect with our Master Members there.
Because on that site we have one more thing, which is our Master Member Forums.
Th
These are special Forums. They’re not the general Forums that everybody who buys
iD
my lessons gets to go on the general Forums.

ai
But these are special Forums only for Master Members, only people who are
subscribing to that site. And this is where you’re going to find the most motivated,
Ho
really the best of the best, because that’s what the Master Member Site is for. It’s for
c0
the best of the best, it’s for our top members and by top I don’t mean speaking ability.
It’s not your English ability.
1
By top and best I mean the most motivated, the most positive, the most energetic, the
members who are having the most fun, those are the members I believe are the best.
That’s my definition of best; best members, best students. And they’re the ones you’re
going to find on the Master Member Site. You’re going to connect with them, you’re
going to learn from them, you’re going to be encouraged from them and you’re going
to be one of them.
ww
And so you’re going to create this great peer group, this amazing group of people who
w.
are just so super motivated and happy and energetic. Wow. That’s going to help your
fa
life and it’s going to help your English learning, too.

ce
So I hope that you’ll check out our Master Member Site. I hope you’ll try it, I hope
you’ll join it and I hope to see you there. And I hope you’ll enjoy those videos, I know
bo
you will. And I know you’re going to continue learning and growing as a person and
ok
also as an English learner.

.

co
m/
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ou
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/T
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1
ww
Our Story Commentary

w.
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to our last commentary, our last one, oh no. Well, this is it.
fa
In this last commentary I’m just going to tell you our story: How did the Effortless
English Club Start? How did I do it? What happened? Why did I do it?
ce
bo
Well it all began long ago. My first teaching job -- English teaching job – was actually
in Korea and I had a Masters Degree in Social Work, in fact. And I finished my
ok
Masters Degree in Social Work and I didn’t want to get a Social Work job immediately.
.
I really wanted to travel and see the world, so I got on the Internet and I found this job
co
teaching English in Korea. “No experience necessary.” And that was great because I
had no experience.
m/
And so I went to Korea. I went to Korea and taught. I taught for a year and I taught
gr
English to small children, which was a very interesting experience, a very difficult
ou
experience because, again, I had no idea what I was doing. I had no teaching
experience, I didn’t know anything about teaching English or the English language
ps
and, in fact, I knew nothing about teaching children.

/T
And after a year I learned that teaching children is very tough, ha-ha-ha, it’s difficult
ai
and I respect people who can do it well because it’s not an easy thing to do. But, still, I
enjoyed the experience. I really enjoyed just the experience of living in a new country
Li
and a new culture and, for me, that was the greatest learning experience.
eu
And then I went back home. I went back home to Georgia in the United States and I
On
got some Social Work jobs and I was a Social Worker for many years. But I found that
I always…I really missed traveling. I missed living in another country and learning
Th
from other people and other cultures and I really missed that experience of teaching.
Like, just emotionally, it was just so much fun.
iD
ai
And so, actually, next I went to Japan and I got a job in Japan teaching English, again.
I was in a tiny little place in the state, the prefecture called Aomori. It’s in the far north
Ho
of Japan. I was in a tiny, little village called Shiura. Shiura Village in Japan, in the
middle of nowhere, I think there are 2,000 people in this village.
c0
1
And I was a Teaching Assistant, which means I just helped the Japanese teacher. So
there was an English teacher who was Japanese and then I was kind of the assistant.
My job was just to be the assistant and we were teaching middle school students,
mostly.
And this was a very interesting experience. It was quite difficult for me, actually,
because I spoke zero Japanese and I’d never lived in such a tiny little place before.
So, actually, I struggled. It was a very tough experience for me. The students were
fantastic, the Japanese people, fantastic, but it was very, very tough.
But something else I learned was that, wow, the English teaching system, the
ww
traditional system in Japan and really everywhere, every country, really doesn’t work.
I mean I could see that. I could see that after three years of studying, for example,
w.
these poor Japanese students still could not speak English and they couldn’t
understand it.
fa
ce
And it just got me thinking. I was like, wow, why? What’s wrong with this?
Something’s wrong…I just realized something’s wrong. And, you know, the Japanese
bo
teacher used mostly translation. In fact, the thing I realized most from that experience,
ok
watching the teacher teach, was that, well, she’s speaking Japanese more than she’s
speaking English. So in a one-hour class she spoke Japanese for 45 minutes or 50
.
minutes and only spoke English for maybe five or 10 minutes.

co
And I just, you know, I just thought something’s wrong. That doesn’t make sense to
m/
me. That seems like a bad idea. If you’re trying to learn English shouldn’t you be
gr
listening to English? And I’m not blaming, you know, this Japanese teacher. There’s
nothing wrong with her, that’s how she was taught to teach. You know that’s what she
ou
learned and that was the system. Even if she wanted to do something different they
system would not let her, because the whole school system was designed that way.
ps
/T
So she really had no choice. So I’m not blaming the individual teacher, she wasn’t
doing anything wrong or bad, but the whole system, clearly, was bad. There was
ai
something wrong with it. You know I was like “Oh my God, this is terrible.” And I
really felt bad for these students because they were so wonderful, you know? They
Li
were these happy kids and, you know, they really wanted to learn. And they worked
eu
so hard and, yet, they were so frustrated. They were so bored. I could just see it in
their face and I just felt terrible. I was like “Oh, man, this is horrible these poor kids.”
On
So after that I went back to the United States again, back to America, back to Georgia
Th
and I got a job teaching immigrants. So I got a job teaching immigrants mostly from
iD
Latin America, so South Americans and people from Mexico, mostly. And they were
adults, so this time I’m teaching adults. And, you know, still, at this point I had no idea
ai
what I was doing. I didn’t know about, you know, any other methods or techniques, so
I just used a textbook, just like every other teacher. I was using the same drills, the
Ho
same methods, as everybody.

c0
But one thing I did do differently was that I tried to entertain my students. I wanted
1
them to laugh and to smile. Because I could see…in Japan I saw those students and
they were so unhappy. And I thought, well, you know, I don’t know what to do exactly,
but at least I can make them happy, at least I want them to enjoy the process.
And I used a lot of, you know, normal, traditional methods, but I did have a lot of
energy, so I jumped around and I screamed, I yelled, I ran around the class and they
were always laughing. And so, you know, they really enjoyed it. They loved my class.
My class got bigger and bigger and bigger. More students were coming. They really
loved coming.
ww
You know in most of the other classes the students would quit very quickly, because
they’re so bored and unhappy. But all these students they were coming to my class
w.
and everyone is laughing and having a good time and it was great, except they didn’t
improve very fast.
fa
ce
I mean I felt good, emotionally they were happy, but I thought, man, something’s still
wrong, because they’re learning so slowly. I mean they’re improving, but, still, very
bo
slowly. It’s just not working. I still realized there’s still something wrong. The methods
ok
I’m using, there’s something wrong. It’s great they’re having fun, but I need to learn
more.
. co
And so at that point I decided to go back to school again and get another Masters
Degree. Not really very excited about it in the beginning because I didn’t really want to
m/
go back to school, but I thought, you know, I need to learn. I need to learn a new way
gr
to teach.
ou
And so I was really careful about the school I went to, because you know most school
teach traditional methods. So you get a Masters Degree in teaching English, but what
ps
do you learn? You learn the same boring, ineffective methods. So most teachers who
/T
teach English who have Masters Degrees, unfortunately, are still using boring methods
that don’t work. They have a degree, they can get better jobs, but they’re teaching
ai
methods suck, they’re terrible. I’m not blaming them as individual people, but it’s just
the truth.
Li
eu
And, so, I was very careful when I chose this interesting small school in Virginia in the
United States called Shenandoah University that really used a lot of unique, different,
On
methods. And I thought okay, well why not? I’m going to try this. So for what, I guess
about two years, I studied at Shenandoah University. I did a lot of distance learning, in
Th
fact, and I learned completely new methods, completely new ways of teaching English.
iD
And I learned the research and, for me, this was the most important thing. Oh it’s not
ai
just learning new methods, I learned what really worked. There’s actually research out
there that compares different methods and they can actually show you which method
Ho
is the best, which methods produce the best results and that changed everything in my
c0
teaching.
1
That’s when I learned about story-telling techniques and this questioning technique,
about using the physical body to learn at the same time that you’re listening and
learning in with your mind, so I took these new methods, these new techniques. Then
I lived in Thailand and I started teaching at a university there called Thammasat
University and I started using these methods and I started to get results. It was
amazing. It was like wow!
My students started to learn faster. Number one, they enjoyed the class a lot more,
even more than my immigrants did in Georgia. These guys were having a lot of fun.
They loved the class. They’re laughing, they’re moving, they had a great time and, I
ww
also saw, they got better results. And by better results I mean they actually
understood me more and more and they were speaking more. They were more
w.
confident.
fa
I realized, well, this is it. I’m on the right track. I’m doing the right things. You know I
ce
still was, you know, I was not a great teacher at that time. I’m not a great teacher now.
I am always trying to get better. But, you know, I was trying these things for the first
bo
time, so I made a lot of mistakes, still, I did a lot of things that didn’t work, but it was
ok
much, much better.

.
It was much better than anything I had done in the past, much better than anything I
co
had seen before and my students loved it, I loved it. There was one problem however,
my school didn’t like it. I was breaking the rules. I was breaking the rules a lot,
m/
because my school had a lot of very tough rules.

gr
That you must use this textbook, you must follow these methods exactly, when you
ou
test somebody you must use this exact method and when you give grades, you know
A, B, C, D, you’re supposed to only give a couple A’s and a few B’s and a lot of C’s
ps
and you must give D’s and you absolutely must fail some people. That was the rule at
/T
Thammasat University.
ai
And I didn’t like those rules and so I made a decision I decided I can serve my
students or I can serve my boss and my school, which one? And, for me, it was an
Li
easy answer…I decided I will serve the students.

eu
Screw the rules. I don’t care about the rules. I’m going to break the rules. I’m not
On
going to tell them I’m breaking the rules because they’ll fire me, so I’m just going to
break the rules. I’m going to teach from my heart, I’m going to use what I know is the
Th
best way to teach, at that time. I mean now I have better methods, but, at the time, I
iD
will use what I know that is best.

ai
And I did it and I got great results. The students were very happy. I was very happy.
They were learning much faster, much better and everything was great. But then I had
Ho
a problem. At the end of the semester I had to give grades to my students and I gave
c0
a lot of A's, B's and zero- F's. I didn’t fail anybody, no F’s. I think, maybe, no D’s,
actually. I think I only gave A's, B's and C's.
1
And why did I do this? Because I know, number one, from an emotional level I want to
encourage people, right? If you give somebody an F does it help them learn better?
Will it make them a better student? No. If you give someone an F what does it do? It
makes them feel like a failure. You kill their motivation. You destroy it.
If you give somebody an F or a couple F’s in English they think “I’m not good in
ww
English. I’m a failure.” They will never learn English well. They’ll just quit. They’ll
stop. That’s what usually happens and I decided I’m not going to do that to somebody.
w.
I absolutely will not do it.

fa
I want to encourage my students. I want to build them up. I want them to feel happier
ce
and more confident, so they will continue learning, so they’ll feel good about speaking
English and they’ll keep learning and growing more and more and more, faster and
bo
faster. So, I gave a lot of A's, a lot of B's and a few C's and then my boss called me to
ok
the office.
.
Hum…he didn’t like that. He said “There’s a problem. We have a very tough rule
co
here, you must not give a lot of As. It’s against the rules, you cannot do it. You must
give most students C’s. That’s our rule. It’s in the middle. Therefore, most students
m/
must have C’s. And then you must give a few B’s and a few D’s. They must be equal.
gr
And then you must give only a very few A's and you absolutely must give a few F's.”
ou
That’s called a curve. That system is called a curve, a lot of C's, a few B's and D's and
then a few A's and F's. And he said “You must do this. That is our rule.” And I
ps
thought about it and I said, no, I won’t do it. I will not change these grades and so they
/T
fired me. And that was the end of my job at Thammasat University.
ai
And you know at first, of course, I was really upset. I was angry and sad and I felt, “Oh
my God, this is terrible. What have I done?” But very quickly I decided I’m going to
Li
change my state, I’m going to change my beliefs, I’m going to change my attitude and I
eu
decided you know what? This is not bad this is good, I’ve learned something. I’ve
learned that working inside a system like that, working inside a traditional school, is not
On
the best way to help students.

Th
Because I know if I go to another school I’m going to have the same problem, because
iD
most schools have these same kinds of rules. That’s when I really decided to think
about students first and to think about starting my own company. And I didn’t do it
ai
immediately, but I started thinking about it. Maybe I could start my own school.
Maybe I could start my own company. I didn’t know exactly what to do or how to do it,
Ho
but I started thinking about it. I want to develop my own system.

c0
And that’s when I really started thinking about my teaching methods even more. How
1
can I improve them? How can I make them better? How can I make an even stronger
system than what I learned in school from my Masters Program? So I kept improving
it.
And I moved to San Francisco and I got a job at a really cool school, actually, a really
great place called IIC, IIC School in San Francisco. The reason it was cool is that I
had a lot of freedom. They said “You can teach any way you want. Total freedom, do
anything you want to do. We trust you. We think you’re a good teacher. You have a
Masters Degree. You have good experience.” So, you know, I have to say my boss
was really cool, really great, the school was fantastic and I was teaching adults, again,
ww
from many different countries. They come to San Francisco to improve their English.
w.
And that’s when I started to test different methods, because I had all this freedom. It
was great. So I started using the story-telling system more and the question system
fa
more. I started using movies to teach and I would stop the move and I would ask all
ce
these questions about the movie and review and show the same scene many times. I
started using little short articles and I’d ask lots of questions about it.
bo
ok
So that’s how I developed the Effortless English System. I developed it working at the
IIC School where I had all this freedom. And I developed it, but just testing stuff. I
.
would try something new or I tried a method I’d learned about or read about and I’d try
co
it for a few times and I’d see. What happened?

m/
And sometimes it worked, it was great, the students really improved, they learned fast,
gr
they loved it and sometimes it didn’t work, sometimes it failed. If it failed I got rid of it
and I tried something else and I tried something else and that’s how, eventually, I
ou
developed this system. And so then I finally decided, wow, I have a system, I think it’s
great, it’s time to start my own company.
ps
/T
And so while I was still working at IIC I would come home and I would record my
lessons. So I’d be working at IIC and I would teach some lesson and if it was
ai
successful, if it went well, I would come home and then I would get on the computer
with my little microphone and I would record that same lesson or lessons, really,
Li
because it was more than one.

eu
And after some time I had a bunch of lessons and I decided to create a website. And I
On
started with just a really cheap website, $200. I started my company with $200 and I
uploaded all my lesson files, my mp3 files and then I waited. And I was really afraid.
Th
I’ll be honest, I was very afraid. I thought no one’s going to buy my lessons. I thought,
iD
not one person.

ai
That was my fear. My fear was I won’t get a single customer, not one. And I’m going
to be embarrassed because I told everybody about this company I’m starting and
Ho
everybody is going to laugh at me and I’ll cry and my life will be over, ha-ha-ha-ha,
c0
right? That was my crazy stupid fear.

1
And luckily it didn’t happen, because somebody did buy my lessons. In fact, a few
people bought my lesson, not many, but a few, but that was enough. That was
enough to encourage me. I said “Yes! Woo-who! It’s possible! It’s going to happen!”
And that’s when I started learning about business, because then I realized I know how
to teach English, but I don’t know anything about business.
So that’s when I started going and reading every business book I could find and talking
to people who had their own online Internet businesses and learning, learning,
learning and learning. And I used the same exact approach that I did as a teacher, I
ww
just tried stuff. I tried something and I waited. If it was successful I kept it and I kept
using it. If it failed then I got rid of it and I tried something else. And I just kept doing
w.
that, testing, testing, try something, try something, try something, try something.
fa
And over time the business grew and developed, it changed quite a lot, actually, and,
ce
finally, we developed a nice business system that’s working very well, which is what
we have now. But, of course, this never ends. I’ll always keep trying stuff with my
bo
teaching and trying to improve it. I’ll always continue to try new stuff with the business
ok
and, again, keep the stuff that works. It’s a never-ending process.
.
And that’s where we are today. Now we have our Master Member Site with our
co
videos. That’s something new. We’ve got a whole bunch of different lesson sets.
We’ve got Learn Real English. We’ve got these Power English Lessons that you’re
m/
listening to now. We’ve got out original lessons. We’ve got our Business Success
gr
English Lessons. In the future we hope to develop more.

ou
We hope to start developing live seminars so that you can actually meet me in person.
We’ll go to different countries and I’ll teach you, maybe over three days or five days or
ps
seven days, intensive seminars. That’s an idea we have.

/T
We have an idea to maybe create a resort, I think probably somewhere in Thailand.

ai
You could go to this beautiful island, Tropical Island, and stay for maybe a week or two
weeks or more and get intensive English classes from me. Four, five, six hours a day
Li
learning intensely, but in a really fun way and in a beautiful place.

eu
And then after you finish studying and learning English with me you can go swim in the
On
water or go scuba diving or just sit on the beach or something. So that’s another
dream I have, another idea. I don’t know if we’ll do it or not, but we might. It’s
Th
something that will continue growing, something that will continue to develop forever,
iD
for all of my life, I hope.

ai
That’s our story. That is the Effortless English story, up until now. It will continue and
you can help it continue. You’re going to continue it by joining our community, by
Ho
growing it together. Because now this is no longer just me or just Tamoi and I or even
c0
just Kristen, Joe, Tamoi and I or other partners or friends that we have, this is now a
tribe, a family of learners that includes you.
1
You are now a part of Effortless English, so now you are a part of growing it. You will
determine what we’re going to do in the future. Get on the Forums. Tell me your
ideas. You think we should do something, something sounds cool, interesting? Get
on the Forums and tell me. You have a suggestion? I want to hear it. Or tell the other
members or help the other members.
You are now a leader. You are now sharing this movement together. You are helping
us go into the future. You’re helping us choose our direction. So I hope you will be
active on our general Forums and also as a Master Member.
ww
Be active, be a leader, join us so that all of us together can create this amazing
w.
community, this amazing tribe of international people all over the world connecting with
each other, sharing with each other, learning from each other, helping each other grow
fa
as learners and teachers, but more importantly, as human beings.

ce
That is our true mission together. That is our true purpose here at the Effortless
bo
English Club. I hope you will join it and contribute to it. And I will see you again.
ok
Have a great day. Have a great life.

. co
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1

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Intro Main Text

what you learned in school.

you need to to look up new words.

relaxed and just listening.

Intro Mini-Story Text

relax, that’s okay too. Okay, let’s start.

golf in just one month.

Who had to play Tiger Woods in golf in just one month?

What kind of woman was Sophie?

Sophie was a beautiful woman.

Who did she have to play?

Tiger Woods, she had to play Tiger Woods.

Who had to play Tiger Woods?

Sophie, Sophie had to play Tiger Woods.

When did Sophie have to play Tiger Woods in golf?

Was Sophie worried or was Sophie happy?

Sophie was worried.

Why was she worried?

Was Sophie a good golfer?

Was Tiger Woods a good golfer?

So Sophie went to Japan.

Where did she go?

Japan, Sophie went to Japan.

Who went to Japan?

That’s right, Sophie. Sophie went to Japan.

Why did she go to Japan?

To find a golf coach, of course.

She went to Japan to find a golf coach.

Where did she go to find a golf coach?

To Japan, she went to Japan to find a golf coach.

A golf coach, she went to Japan to find a golf coach.

She found a coach named Yoda.

What was the coach’s name?

Yoda, the coach’s name was Yoda.

Was the coach’s name Bob?

Whose name was Yoda?

Well, the coach’s name was Yoda.

What was Yoda?

Yoda was a golf coach.

subconscious, you will become a golf master.”

What did Yoda say?

What did Sophie need to use?

So if she used her subconscious, what would she become?

What did she have to use?

Who said this to Sophie?

Yoda, Yoda said this to Sophie.

What did he say?

Did Sophie become a golf master?

No, she didn’t. She did not.

Did Sophie try to use her subconscious?

When she tried to use her subconscious, was she successful?

So Sophie went to Hawaii.

Who went to Hawaii? Yoda?

Not Yoda, Sophie. Sophie went to Hawaii.

Why did she go to Hawaii.

To find another golf coach.

Why did she go?

To find another golf coach.

Did Tiger Woods go to Hawaii?

No, no, no. Tiger Woods didn’t go to Hawaii.

Where did Tiger Woods go?

Tiger Woods went to South Carolina.

Where did Sophie go?