Zach sits down with Howard Berg, the Guinness World Record holder for fastest reading at 80 pages a minute, to unpack why "leaders are readers" is more than a slogan in a knowledge-based economy. Berg argues that reading and learning are two different skills, and that schools teach what to learn but never how to learn. He walks Zach (and listeners) through concrete, do-it-tonight techniques: a hand-pacing drill that can boost reading speed 20–40% in one sitting, the concept of "schema" to comprehend confusing material, a three-column note-taking system that triples retention, and a 3,000-year-old number-peg memory system he teaches live on the podcast. The throughline: learn new skills, read ten books on a subject to become an expert, and you can multiply your income instead of just trading more hours for marginal pay.
You can read something slowly, memorize it, and still fail because you don't know how to use it. Learning is a separate skill set: deciding what to learn, comprehending the confusing parts, remembering it, and staying in the right mental state to apply it.
Most people "hear" a book one word at a time at speaking speed (~200 wpm). Vision is instant and analog; pace your reading with your hand line-by-line to force your eyes to take in information faster — good for a 20–40% speed jump on the first try.
A passage with no context is baffling; add a one-word title ("Laundry") and it instantly makes sense. Learn to spot the context clues on a page and you comprehend 3–4x faster.
Column 1 = facts/keywords (what most people write). Column 2 = what the speaker did that made it interesting/memorable. Column 3 = exactly how you'll use it — then do 1–3 of those actions daily.
In a knowledge-based economy you get paid for what you know. Pick a skill you want, read 10 books on it, find the pattern of what successful people did in common, and do that. This is how you go from $20–30/hour work to high-value work.
Using the ancient number-peg method (1=pole, 2=shoes, etc.), you can turn abstract numbers into pictures and movies and recall lists — and things like hotel room numbers — forwards and backwards.
Learn more so you can earn more.
Pick a nonfiction book you already understand, time yourself reading for one minute, and mark where you stopped. Then reread for five minutes pacing each line with your hand — as fast as you can still comprehend — and re-test to measure your 20–40% speed gain.
Set up a three-column note system (Facts / Insight / Application) for your next book, podcast, or seminar. On a paper pad use F, I, A labels instead of columns.
Each day, pick 1–3 items from your "Application" column and actually do them — don't just reread the notes.
Choose one skill you want to level up in (career, marriage, fitness, finances) and commit to reading 10 books on it; look for the pattern of what successful people did in common.
Practice the number-peg memory system (1=pole through 10=bowling pins) with your kids as a family activity, then use it to remember real numbers like hotel rooms or PINs.
Practical skills, real stories, and one thing to actually do this week with your family. Written by a dad in the trenches, not a marketing department.
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