Power English Power English
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Power English
Intro Main Text
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Hi, this is AJ Hoge, Director of the Effortless English Club. Welcome to our new set of
lessons, these are called the Power English Lessons. The reason they're called Power
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 ou
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Hi, this is AJ, welcome to our next lesson. This one is called "Excitement." We're going to talk about excitement and I'm going to read a little section from a book called The 4-Hour Work Week, which
Excitement Main Text
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to our next lesson. This one is called "Excitement." We're
going to talk about excitement and I'm going to read a little section from a book called
The 4-Hour Work Week, which is a fantastic book. I love this book.
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
looking at life and work and enjoying yourself.
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-
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.
So let me read what Tim has to say about excitement and then l'll talk more about it.
So here we go.
"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
next five months for language learning, on the other hand, I do know. It's a matter of
specificity. What do you want is too imprecise to produce a meaningful and actionable
answer. Forget about it.
What are your goals is similarly fated for confusion and guesswork. To rephrase the
question we need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Let's assume we
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
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.
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
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,
so are happiness and sadness. Crying out of happiness is a perfect illustration of this
idea. -
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for "Excitement." Let's start. Our first word is specificity, specificity, a little difficult to pronounce, specificity. In fact,
Excitement Vocabulary Text
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to the vocabulary lesson for "Excitement." Let's start.
Our first word is specificity, specificity, a little difficult to pronounce, specificity. In fact,
many native speakers have trouble pronouncing this word, especially if you say it fast
in a sentence, specificity, specificity, specificity. Sometimes have trouble
pronouncing it, too, but I'm doing it correctly now, specificity.
Specificity is the noun. Specificity means, um...specific-ness is what it really means,
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
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
detail. It has specific-ness, so that's specificity.
Our next word is imprecise. Imprecise is an adjective. And, in fact, it's the opposite of
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,
that's detailed.
The opposite is imprecise, meaning not detailed, not precise. Imprecise means "I'd
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.
It's not a specific question, it's too general. It's too imprecise.
Our next word is fated, to be fated. He says the question "what are your goals", that
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.
So to be fated for confusion, it means it absolutely will create confusion in the near
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
cause confusion.
Next is the word worthwhile. So he's saying "What is the purpose of goals? Why are
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? -
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the point of view mini-stories for "Excitement." Let's get started.
Automatic English For The People
Excitement POV Text
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the point of view mini-stories for "Excitement." Let's get
started.
Since last year Brad has needed money for school. He has been very poor since last
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
worthwhile reason for needing money, during this whole time from last year up until
recently.
So Brad has needed money for school since last year and since last year he has had a
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
recently, he has failed to get more money, so he has not been able to go to school.
Well one day he got a great idea, he got a gun and he went to a convenience store.
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
specificity? Don't be ambiguous. Tell me exactly how much you want."
Well Brad was surprised and he was silent for a while. And then finally he said "I don't
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
request.
He thought for seventeen and a half hours and then, finally, after seventeen and a half
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
to school with the money. He paid for school and he started to study again. Of
course, Brad was very, very happy. What a happy story.
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?
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.
EffortlessEnglishClub.com
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There was a guy named Brad. Brad was a student. Brad was a poor student, he needed money for school.
Automatic English For The People
Excitement Mini-Story Text
Hi, this is AJ, welcome to the mini-story for "Excitement."
* * * **
There was a guy named Brad. Brad was a student. Brad was a poor student, he
needed money for school.
What was Brad?
A student, Brad was a student.
What did he need?
He needed money, Brad needed money.
What did he need money for?
For school, Brad needed money for school.
What kind of student was Brad?
Well, he was a poor student. Brad was a poor student and he needed money for
school.
Was he a rich student?
No, of course not, he was not a rich student. He was a poor student. Brad was a poor
student who needed money for school.
So he needed money and he had a worthwhile purpose.
Was his purpose worthwhile? Was it good, beneficial, useful?
Well, yes, it was, it was worthwhile. It was a good, beneficial, purpose.
What was his purpose? Why did he need money? -
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for "The Art of Power." Let's get started right away, here we go.
Automatic English For The People
The Art of Power Vocabulary Text
Hello, this is AJ. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for "The Art of Power." Let's get
started right away, here we go.
Our first word is subconscious. We've talked about this word already several times, so
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
about them. You don't realize that they are there, they're deep down.
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
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
subconscious.
Our next word is dormant, dormant. So Thich Nhat Hanh said that often these seeds
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,
dormant. If the seeds are dormant it means they're sleeping. They're not growing,
they're not active. They're not awake they are sleeping, so dormant means sleeping.
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
volcano it's a sleeping volcano. It's not exploding, there's nothing happening, it's
asleep. Okay, so dormant, again, dormant means sleeping or asleep.
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
mental formations. So a formation is just a thing, an organized thing. So, in other
words, they become real things. They become alive, they become awake, they
become real things.
So before you had this seed of anger, but you weren't angry. It's down there, it's
asleep, nothing is happening. But then maybe you watched the news or you're around
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. -
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to our next lesson. This lesson is called "The Art of Power" and it comes from a book. The topic comes from a book with the same name. The book is called The Art of Power by
The Art of Power Main Text
Hello, this is AJ, welcome to our next lesson. This lesson is called "The Art of Power"
and it comes from a book. The topic comes from a book with the same name. The
book is called The Art of Power by Thich Nhat Hanh.
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
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.
Thich Nhat Hanh, again, he's Vietnamese, a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk, and during
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
side. He was not supporting the Communist North. He was not supporting the United
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
were just trying to help people and trying to stop the War, stop the killing.
Well, unfortunately, as happens in the world, because he would not join either side
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
Communists, they didn't like him either because he was trying to stop the killing and
the fighting.
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
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.
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
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
Hindus, it doesn't matter. He's not like a strict Buddhist like you must be a Buddhist,
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