The Golden Mailbox
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     This past week I listened to someone interview Donna Cercone. She has written a book called Opti-Learning. As I listened to the interview I was struck with the profoundness of what she said, but even more amazing to me was how I suddenly realized that I had learned those same principles when I was very young and had never knew why I was doing it.

     One of the key things that she has discovered after over 20 years of research is that she can help children with learning disabilities by helping them see what they are doing in different colors. When she helps them read books, she does it through what she calls colored gels. They are just plastic sheets she puts over the book they are reading or the music they are tying to play. Just changing the color can trigger their memory and learning skills. She just has to learn what color helps them in what subject. She has hundreds of testimonials from people who it has totally changed their learning ability. She has proven this with tests on 1000's of people, not just children with learning disabilities.

     As I listened to the interview, the first thing I though about was church. For years and years I have joked about how I only know where a scripture is in my bible by where about where it is in the book, where it is on the page and what color I marked it in. I have to thumb through the bible looking for that color of marking on that side of the page. I am looking for the colored in square on the page not the reference. Have you ever done that? Have you ever remembered what you marked in some book because it was on the right hand column and you marked it in yellow? Little did I know what a key learning tool that was until I heard this interview.

     I also realized as I listened to the interview that I had discovered that principle as a tool in getting organized. I use colors all the time to help me recognize things I file away. I still do that today. In my file cabernet I organize not only by subject but by color. Color is more important to me that tabs on those subjects. So when I open the drawer I know that banking things are in red folders and research things are in blue folders. Isn't that amazing. I had already learned that years ago and used it but did not even know what I was doing until I heard this interview. Color is a very key element in our learning and remembering process.

     If you look on the Internet you will find that almost all web pages are now blue and white. WHY? Have the big corporations learned something about the color blue?

     I challenge you to test this out. Go to the store and buy some colored plastic. Most office supply stores have many colors to choose from for 3 ring binders. Get as many different colors as you can find. Now.... when you sit down to read a book, start putting the different colors of plastic over the book and keep changing the color as you read until you feel it is right. You will feel it when you hit the right color. After you have experimented around some, you will find that when you read certain subjects in certain colors you will be able to understand that subject better. The color helps you. That color will trigger your brain and learning abilities as you see the words in the color that matches your feelings for that subject. SOUND CRAZY? I dare you to try it before you laugh too much here.

     As I listened to the interview I just said, ummm "been there, done that" but I did not know why. Isn't that amazing that I would have learned the power of color to help me learn and get organized, as a teen age student, and not have even realized why I was doing it all these years.

     Color. Use it to help you get organized and improve your learning skills and you will be pleased that you tried it.

Your millionaire making friend

Cordell Vail, W.B.