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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 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. We've talked about this throughout the programa, consolidation before expansion. And this is something that a lot of people don't like and they go "Oh my god, l'm bored. I don't want to listen to this again. I don't want to do this again and again and again."
l'll give you a small example. I started taking singing lessons a while ago and every lesson we did the same thing. We did these scales, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.
Every single time. Every day, same scales, same exercises. And anyone who wants to get really good at singing has to do this.
You have to repeat. You can't just say "Oh, I already know this. I did it 10 times so l'm finished and let's do something new."
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 again and again and again. If you want to be great at basketball, you probably know 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 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 emotion, practicing with power, practicing with energy, every day for 20 years or more. 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 years.
So why, when we're learning English or learning a language, do we say "Oh, I don't 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." What, maybe you listened toit 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 learn so quickly and so well, that's why I'm can speak Spanish he way I do, because every single day, for a very long time, I've been listening to
Spanish, the same Spanish over and over again.
Same for you! When you were 5 years old you didn't tell your mom "Mom, I already know the past tense so stop using it. Let's learn something more difficult now. l'm bored with the past tense."
Of course, that's ridiculous, right? You're still hearing the past tense used correctly in Spanish constantly, every single day of your life. And that's why you canuse the past tense without thinking, totally effortlessly. Because it's something you hear again and again and again and again and again and you have since you were born until right now and you need to decide that you're going to do this with English, 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 worry about the past tense anymore. Oh, I already know the present tense, l'm an advanced speaker."
Well bullshit! lt'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 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've always wanted to learn. But that stuff is just extra. Always, the core, main focus of your learning must be the fundamentals, the high frequency words, the most common
grammar structures that you've heard in Chapter 4 and that you constantly revise for a few minutes in reversa.net, and the basic pronunciation of the language by shadowing, imitating, recording yourself and comparing. You never stop practicing those. You never stop improving them. Every day you continue to focus on them.
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 like "Oh, I don't want to doit again." And this is a problem that everybody has.
Everyone who wants to be a master has this same exact problem. l' m sure Michael Jordan at sometime said "l' m sick of shooting free throws." Free throws are the basic, same shot, all basketball players practice them every day for all their life. Probably at some time he decided, "Oh man, l've already clone this 20,000 times, I don't want to do it again." But then he said, oh, I need to. He realized that he could never stop.
How does Tiger Woods keep going? How does he continue to practice the same things every day when he's already a master? It's an emotional problem, right? It's a mental problem. It's nota physical problem. It's easy to do, the problem is we stop wanting to doit. 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, continue to have energy and intensity. That's the trick. That's the secret.
We've already talked about some ways to do this. So one way you do this is to manage your emotions. Manage your peak states.
You get in that peak state. That's why I keep 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 because it's important. It will keep your energy high. lt will help you repeat again and again and again without getting bored. When your body, when your physiology is strong, you get bored less easily, you focus more. You concentrate more.
You can do more 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. lmagining yourself as a successful English speaker. AU 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 clone. It's a key point to using repetition most powerfully. Because if you just repeat and do the same thing, if you doit 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. So here's what you're going to do.
First, of course, you're going to get yourself in that peak state again. Always, every time 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 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 English. And you're going to do your incantations. You're going to say "l'm a great English speaker" or "l'm getting better and better with English every day." And now you're feeling great. And you start to repeat. You say "Okay, now, l'm going to listen to that story again. Again, 7 times, 12 times, 20 times, 50 times, 100 times."
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 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 the same thing, maybe you're listening to the same story, for example. But you, with 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 the first time. The first time you probably want to focus on just understanding.
You need to understand all the words I'm using. You need to understand my 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. 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, maybe 10 times, it depends, everybody's different. But eventually you start to feel 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 new lesson "I' m bored, I already know this vocabulary, time for a new lesson." That's what most people do.
But someone who is focused on being a master will not do that. They will stay with the same lesson. What they will dois find a new distinction, an important difference, a new way to focus. For example, you know now all of the vocabulary. You understand easily. So next you change your focus, a new distinction. Next, you don't focus on just understanding. Next, you focus on speed.
You decide "l'm going to answer those mini-story questions very fast." And it becomes agame.
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 understanding. Now, you're focused on speed, the speed of your
response, faster and faster and faster. And that's kind of agame, it
keeps your brain awake. It keeps your brain alive. It keeps you learning with this same repetition.
Now eventually that will become boring. You'll get really fast.
You'll become faster than 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 do that. You will continue repeating the same lesson but, what do you need now? A 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, to my pronunciation. What do I mean
by that? I mean you listen carefully, how do I 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 clown. lt' s when I stretch a word or say a word very quickly. AU of those things are important. If you want to improve your pronunciation you've got to first listen very carefully. Not like a normal persan, just listening and hearing it.
You have to really focus on the sounds. You want to hear the emotion in my voice. You 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 carefully. Not so much for meaning, you already know that, you're going to focus this 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. 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 mini-story lesson and the repeated mini-story lesson with the questions. This time you're focused on pronunciation, listening, listening, listening super carefully. Very detailed listening.
What's going to happen eventually? You're eventually going to get bored. 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 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?
W ell, of course, you're a master so you're going to find a new distinction, yet again, a new focus, a small difference, 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 "Hey, how's it going!?" You pause "Hey, how's it going..."" 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 Kale. So when I say imitate, I 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 sentence, that's easy, that's just the beginning. l'm talking about my intonation, the exact music. You were listening toit before, now you're going to do it.
So when I go up, you're going to go up. And when I go clown, you're going to go clown. When l'm loud, you will speak loudly. When l'm quiet, you will speak quietly. You want to sound like me, just like an actor. You want to copy my emotion. So when you speak 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 l'm speaking. My hands are moving. My face is moving.
You should do that, too. That's the final distinction, imitation. You can do this with anybody, not just me. You can watch a movie and copy the actor or actress, remember the movie strategy? And this is great because you have a picture to look at, so you can definitely, you can copy how they're moving their
body, how they're moving as they 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 copy everything. And that's an even deeper distinction, a deeper level of repetition.
So this is very important. This is how the masters doit. This is how Michael Jordan 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 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, but now he's focusing on something even higher or something even deeper.
And when that became easy, he found something else, something else that was new and he went higher still. And he kept doing that endlessly. Same with Tiger Woods, 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, 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 something new, you got something new.
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 staries 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?
For understanding, basically, that's the first level of repetition. Listen for understanding. Focus on the meaning, the general and specific meaning of what l'm saying. And do that for as long as you can, until you can hear it and instantly know the meaning, no problem, no effort. When that becomes super easy, then you go to the next level, the 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 beat me. What's next? What's the next distinction?
That becomes easy, then what do you do? Well then maybe after 50 or 100 repetitions with the mini-staries going fast, then maybe you decide "W ell, now l' m going to listen very, very carefully and deeply to Kale's pronunciation." Every tiny detail of pronunciation, the intonation, the individual sounds, the loudness, the pauses, the emotion. Everything, carefully, carefully
listening to the music of English, the music of my speech. 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 easy, you will go on to imitate me perfectly. You will try to copy exactly my pronunciation. Be me when you speak.
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 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 remember it. I promise you but you have to follow this system.
Okay, then. Good luck. Keep finding those new distinctions, always, again and again and again. Increase your repetition.
Increase the intensity. And always go deeper, deeper, deeper to a deeper level.
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Alright! The mini-story for "Repetition." Are you ready? Are you standing strong, shoulders back, good posture? Deep breathing? Big smile, moving your body? If not, doit right now. Because if you don't, I will kick you out of Familia RAIO, onto the street to cry and have a terrible life for the rest of your life. You don't want
that, so you better doit. So stand up, smile, peak state. Let's go!
It's time for English again. Let's Rock!
Alright, our mini-story today is about Seth.
*****
Seth had a dream. He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world.
He wanted to be a rock'n'roll god.
The problem is he doesn't play the guitar. He didn't play the guitar. He has never played the guitar. No guitar at all...
So, of course, he decided to find the best guitar coach in the world.
Kale was the best guitar coach in the world. Seth went to Kale and he said "Kale, teach me to be a rock god."
Kale said "My student, you must look good to be good."
Kale said "lmitate 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 go.d "
Seth said "But don't I have to practice the guitar?"
Kale said "No, just look good."
So, for one year every day Seth imitated Kale. He walked like Kale. He moved like Kale. He dressed like Kale. He tried to be cool like Kale, although that's very difficult.
But unfortunately, after one year Seth still could not play the guitar. ln fact, he was terrible.
Seth said "You're fired."
Next, he went to his friend, Heather. He said "Heather, how can I become the best guitarist in the world? I tried to study with Kale but he sucked."
Well Heather said "It's vital to find a great player to model. Seek out Slash from Guns N' Roses. He' s the best."
So he did. He went looking for Slash. And finally he found him in Los Angeles.
He asked Slash "Slash will you please teach me to be a great guitarist? I want to be a rock god." Slash said "Okay." So every
day Slash showed Seth new key distinctions on the guitar. He showed him key differences, key new things to learn.
Finally, three years later Seth became a great guitar player. He became a rock god. Everywhere he went women loved him.
When he was in Israel, the women 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 loved him. African women loved him. Asian women loved him. He was a rock'n'roll god.
The end.
*****
That is the end of the mini-story for "Repetition". Be sure to repeat this mini-story with intensity and emotion!
OO·OO 0 0 :0 D lllil))-
Alright! The mini-story for "Repetition." Are you ready? Are you standing strong, shoulders back, good posture? Deep breathing? Big smile, moving your body? If not, doit right now. Because if you don't, I will kick you out of Familia RAIO, onto the street to cry and have a terrible life for the rest of your life. You don't want that, so you better doit. So stand up, smile, peak state. Let's go!
It's time for English again. Let's Rock!
Alright, our mini-story today is about Seth.
*****
Seth had a dream. He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world.
He wanted to be a rock'n'roll god.
Hm, interesting. Who wanted to be a rock'n'roll god?
Seth did, Seth wanted to be a rock'n'roll god.
What did he want to play? The drums?
No, not the drums, he wanted to play the guitar.
Did he want to be a good guitarist?
Hell, no, he didn't want to be a good guitarist. He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world, a rock god.
What did he want?
He wanted to be the best guitarist in the world. He wanted to be a rock god.
Who wanted that?
Seth, Seth wanted that. Seth wanted to be the best guitarist in the world. Seth 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 has never played the guitar. No guitar at all...
That's a small problem.
So, of course, he decided to find the best guitar coach in the world.
Who did he find?
He found the best guitar coach in the world.
Who was the best guitar coach in the world?
W ell, Kale of course.
Kale was the best guitar coach in the world. Seth went to Kale and he said "Kale, teach me to be a rock god."
What did Seth say?
He said "Teach me to be a rock god."
Who did he say that to?
He said that to Kale. He said to Kale "Teach me to be a rock god, Kale."
Why did he say that to Kale?
Obviously, because Kale is the best guitar coach in the world.
Everybody knows that.
Kale said "My student, you must look good to be good."
Hm. What did Kale say?
He said "You must look good to be good." Hm.
Kale said "lmitate 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?
Kale said "lmitate me. Dress like me. Look cool like me. Then you'll be the best guitarist in the world."
What did Kale want Seth to do?
He wanted Seth to imitate him, imitate him.
Who did he want Seth to imitate?
Him, Kale, Kale wanted Seth to imitate him.
Did he want him to imitate Carlos Santana?
No, not Carlos Santana, he wanted Seth to imitate him, Kale.
Did he want him to copy him a little bit?
No, nota little bit, he wanted him to imitate him, perfectly copy him.
Did he want him to imitate his dress, how he dressed?
Yes, he said imitate how I dress.
Did he want him to imitate how he moved?
Yes, he said imitate how I move. Look cool like me.
Seth said "But don't I have to practice the guitar?"
What did Seth ask?
He asked "Don't I have to practice the guitar?" Don't I have to practice the guitar?
Did Seth think he needed to practice the guitar?
Yes, Seth thought that he needed to practice the guitar. He said "Don't I have to practice the guitar?"
Kale said "No, just look good."
Did Kale want Seth to practice the guitar?
No, no, he didn't want Seth to practice the guitar.
Why not?
Because Kale said "You must look good to be good." Looking good is the only important distinction.
So, for one year every day Seth imitated Kale. He walked like Kale. He moved like Kale. He dressed like Kale. He tried to be cool like Kale, although that's very difficult.
How long, for how long did Seth imitate Kale?
One year, for one year Seth imitated Kale perfectly, almost perfectly.
How often did he imitate Kale?
Well, every day, every day he imitated Kale for one full year.
Who did he imitate for one year?
Kale, he imitated Kale for one year.
Who imitated Kale for one year, every day?
Seth, Seth imitated Kale every day for one year.
But unfortunately, after one year Seth still could not play the guitar. ln fact, he was terrible.
After one year, could Seth play the guitar?
No, he couldn't. After one year he could not play the guitar, still could not play the guitar.
How good was he after one year?
W ell, he was terrible. After one year he was still terrible at the guitar.
Did Kale help Seth?
No, no, no. No, he didn't, he did not help Seth. Seth was still terrible at the guitar. He was nota rock god. He could not play.
Seth said "You're fired."
Did Seth fire Kale?
Yes, he did. He fired Kale. He eut Kale, stopped paying Kale. Oh no.
Next, he went to his friend, Heather. He said "Heather, how can I become the best guitarist in the world? I tried to study with Kale but he sucked."
And remember, to suck means to be very bad at something. So was Kale a great guitar coach or a terrible guitar coach?
Kale was a terrible guitar coach. He sucked at teaching and coaching guitar.
Well Heather said "It's vital to find a great player to model. Seek out Slash from Guns N' Roses. He' s the best."
What?
Heather said "It's vital to find a great player."
Is it a little bit important to find a great player?
No, it's nota little bit important. It's vital, very important, necessary.
What's vital?
Finding a great guitar player is vital.
Vital for who?
Vital for Seth, important for Seth.
Why is it vital for Seth to find a great guitar player?
Well, it's vital, it's important because he needs to learn from the best.
What's vital for Seth to do?
Well, it's vital for him to find a great guitar player.
Who should Seth seek out?
He should seek out Slash, the guitar player from Guns N' Roses. He should find Slash. To seek out means to find, to look for and find. It really means to look for.
Should he look for Slash or should he look for Kale?
He should look for Slash. He should not seek out Kale.
Who is Slash?
Slash is the guitar player of Guns N' Roses. He's super famous and really good at guitar.
What does Seth need to do?
He needs to seek out Slash. It's vital, in fact. It's vital that he seek out Slash.
So he did. He went looking for Slash. And finally he found him in Los Angeles.
Where was Slash?
ln Los Angeles, Slash was in Los Angeles.
Why was Slash in Los Angeles?
Well, it's obvious, because he likes to rock n roll, party and do crazy stuff. Slash likes to rock n roll, party and do crazy stuff so he was in Los Angeles.
Who found Slash?
Seth, Seth found Slash.
He asked Slash "Slash will you please teach me to be a great guitarist? I want to be a rock god." Slash said "Okay." So every day Slash showed Seth new key distinctions on the guitar. He showed him key differences, key new things to learn.
Who showed Seth key distinctions on the guitar?
Slash, of course. Slash showed him a new key distinction on the guitar every day, a new thing to focus on, an important difference to learn.
He told him how to hold the guitar, how to play the guitar, how to move his fingers quickly.
Did he learn new distinctions?
Yes, he did, Seth learned a lot of new distinctions.
Who did he learn new distinctions from?
He learned new distinctions from Slash, of course, the guitarist from Guns N Roses.
Did he learn new distinctions about the piano?
No, not about the piano.
Aboutwhat?
About the guitar, he learned new distinctions about playing the guitar, about the guitar.
And every day he practiced. Every day a lot of repetition but repetition with new distinctions.
Who practiced every day with new distinctions and repetition?
Seth did, of course. Seth practiced the guitar every day, a lot of repetitions, a lot of new distinctions.
Finally, three years later Seth became a great guitar player. He became a rock god. Everywhere he went women loved him.
When he was in Israel, the women 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 loved him. African women loved him. Asian women loved him. He was a rock'n'roll god.
The end.
*****
That is the end of the mini-story for "Repetition". Be sure to repeat this mini-story with intensity and emotion!