How to Thrive in a Fast World – by Slowing Down

If the pandemic has turned your life upside down, here’s a GAME-CHANGING question:

What if you could use this moment to master the art of living more slowly?

What if there were a clear, step-by-step guide to slowing down in order to enjoy more calm, focus, energy, love, meaning, creativity, pleasure and joy?

And what if you could embrace a slower pace without the usual fear, shame or guilt?

Would you be ready to make living more slowly your #1 priority?

If the answer is Yes, then you've come to the right place!

THE VIRUS OF HURRY IS EVERYWHERE

Before the pandemic, we lived in a fast world where the pressure was always on to speed up, to cram more and more into less and less time. It was all about walking fast, talking fast, reading fast, working fast, eating fast, making love fast, thinking fast.

This is the age of speed yoga and drive-thru funerals, of “just in time” this and “on demand” that. Surrounded by gadgets that perform minor miracles at the touch of a screen, we expect everything to happen RIGHT NOW.

As Carrie Fisher once mused: “Even instant gratification takes too long.”

Let me guess what your average day before Covid-19 looked like:

Crawl out of bed in the morning feeling tired.

Spend hours staring at your smartphone.

Multitask your way through a jam-packed schedule.

Feel anxious, rushed and stressed even when you’re supposed to be relaxing.

Arrive late at least once.

Eat like you’re on a deadline, even when you're not.

Fail to connect with other people.

Complain that there is never enough time for, well, anything.

Struggle to focus and remember things.

Have trouble falling asleep at night.

Sleep badly.

RINSE and REPEAT ….

Am I right? Of course I am. Such is life in the 21st century and that’s the way it has to be, right?

WRONG.

No one has to live like a roadrunner on steroids. The Covid lockdown is the perfect time to reset your metronome. You can choose right NOW to live better by dialling down the speed.

My course will teach you how to do just that.

WHAT SLOWING DOWN ACTUALLY MEANS

Let’s put one worry to bed right up front: my course is not about doing everything slowly. That would be absurd. I am not an extremist or a fundamentalist of slowness. I love speed! We all know that faster is often better.

But not always. Sometimes slower is the best option. The Economist magazine hit the nail on the head when it told its high-achieving readers:

And that’s the power and beauty of my course. You will master the art of living at the RIGHT SPEED. Fast, slow, whatever works best for you in the moment.

Let’s put that another way: there is BAD SLOW and GOOD SLOW.

Bad Slow is missing a big deadline at work.Bad Slow is driving so far under the speed limit that you become a danger to yourself and other motorists.

Bad Slow is spending 45 minutes on hold waiting to speak to your broadband provider.

Bad Slow is swinging your racket too late in tennis.

Bad Slow is being locked down at home, unable to work, go outside or visit loved ones.

You don’t want any of that, do you? Of course not. What you want is GOOD SLOW.

Good Slow is turning away from your phone to give your full attention to what’s around you.

Good Slow is pausing to savour a sunset.

Good Slow is lingering over a meal with people you love.

Good Slow is taking the time to avoid silly mistakes or come up with a breakthrough idea at work.

Good Slow is waiting for the ball to reach the perfect height to hit a winner in tennis.

Good Slow is reading a bedtime story to your child at a gentle pace.

Good Slow is having the patience and calm to navigate daily life without stressing out or losing your temper.

Good Slow is building memories that last a lifetime.

Good Slow is doing one thing at a time so that you do everything better and it enjoy it more.

Good Slow is having the time and the tranquility to reflect on the big questions, such as: Who am I? What's my purpose here? How can I be a better friend, parent, partner, boss, neighbour, employee, citizen?

My course will make you a virtuoso of GOOD SLOW.

AND IF YOU DON'T SLOW DOWN ....

Of course, when the pandemic passes, you can always carry on as you did before, chasing your tail faster and faster, going nowhere in a hurry. But, trust me, you'll pay a heavy price.

You will be less intelligent. Hewlett-Packard found that too many electronic interruptions can cause our IQ to fall 10 points – that’s double the effect of smoking marijuana!

You will be less healthy. Too much stress and rushing leads to emotional, mental and physical burnout. A major study in the Lancet medical journal linked excessive working hours to a higher risk of stroke.

You will be more stressed. Being over-busy makes your body produce too much cortisol. Take it from Lily Tomlin: "For fast-acting relief from stress, try slowing down."

You will be less happy. Studies show that being in the moment boosts pleasure and emotional well-being. Or, as Mae West put it: "Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly."

You will be less creative. When you slip into a relaxed, unhurried state, your brain shifts into a richer, more creative mode of thought that psychologists actually call – surprise, surprise – SLOW THINKING.

You will be more lonely. Relationships thrive on two things that fast living takes away from us: time and attention.

You will be less present. Being busy, stressed and distracted is the surest way to ruin a moment.

WE CAN FIX THIS

The good news is that all this is fixable. How? By learning the art of GOOD SLOW.

When you live at the right rhythm for you, you come alive and so does the world around you. Think of it this way:

Before slowing down, your life is a silent, grainy, jerky home video shot in black and white. After slowing down, it's a high-definition blockbuster with full Technicolour and Dolby surround sound.

That is the magic of GOOD SLOW. And that is what my course will give you.

“I cannot thank Carl enough for this course! It has completely CHANGED my way of seeing, doing, thinking, feeling, working, focussing, breathing and just enjoying life. What I learned from Carl is always with me now and INSPIRES every facet of my life. I’ve RECOMMENDED the course to all my friends and family!”

M. Pérez Sánchez (39), La Coruña, Spain

"Thank you for making me realise that I should NEVER BE ASHAMED OF SLOWING DOWN. Now I am PROUD of it! Because it's made me realise what is really important in my life."

T. Braun (33), London, UK

YOUR FEARS

Okay, you have doubts. I understand that, I get it. I have felt those very same doubts.

In a world that worships speed, the very idea of slowing down kicks up a lot of dark feelings. Fear. Shame. Guilt.

You're probably asking yourself, if I slow down:

Will I lose my job?

Will others disapprove or make fun of me?

Will I become a couch potato?

Will I be a Luddite?

Will I let down the important people in my life?

Will life pass me by?

Spoiler alert: No, no and no to all of the above!

On the contrary.

If you slow down, you won't lose your job; you'll do it better. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that, on average, companies that embraced Good Slow boosted sales by 40% and operating profits by 52%.

If you slow down, people won't laugh at you; they'll envy your new calm, focus and joy – and want to follow suit.

If you slow down, you won't morph into a lazy layabout; you'll have more energy to grab the day with both hands.

If you slow down, you won't give up your smartphone; you'll get more out of it by ending your screen addiction and using technology on your terms.

If you slow down, you won’t disappoint people who matter to you; you’ll give them the gift of becoming a better friend, partner, parent, child, sibling, neighbour, boss and employee.

BOTTOM LINE: Life will not pass you by if you slow down because life is what is happening right here, right now. And the only way to make the most of it is to live at the right speed.

My course will help you find the right rhythm and tempo for you. Together we will transform your life into an adventure packed with GOOD SLOW.

"Thanks to Carl I am stepping back to a slower rhythm and the sky has never seemed so BEAUTIFULLY BLUE before."

J. Liu (27), San Francisco, USA

"I was so HUNGRY FOR A CHANGE of pace in my life and Carl has shown me how to slow things down into more of a balance with my own NATURAL RHYTHM. The end result is that I feel like a light has been switched on and all MY SENSES ARE ON FIRE!”

S. Booker (51), Toronto, Canada

WHAT MAKES ME THE MAN FOR THIS JOB

Why am I teaching this course? Because I used to be you.

My life was once a never-ending race against the clock. I was stuck in fast forward. Always rushing, always busy, always distracted. Never really there.

Full disclosure: When I read bedtime stories to my son, Snow White was so fast it only had three dwarves in it!

And you know what? All that rushing took a toll. On everything from my health and diet to my relationships and work.

But there's a happy ending here. Because I changed. I slowed down. I learned how to live life rather than rush through it.

And along the way something else happened. Something quite unexpected: I became the WORLD'S #1 EXPERT on living more slowly.

As The Sunday Edition (CBC, Canada) put it, “Carl Honoré is inarguably the world's LEADING EVANGELIST for…the Slow Movement."

After fifteen years of teaching others (on TV, radio and in the real world) how to put on the brakes, I know everything there is to know about slowing down in a fast world. How to do it. How not to do it. The pitfalls and rewards. The pain points and easy wins. I know how hard it can be to slow down and how to keep motivated along the way.

Which makes me the perfect guide to help you reconnect with your INNER TORTOISE

Translation: if you yearn to slow down your life in any way at all, you've come to the right place!

"This course has given me confidence to change a lot of my behaviors, to start napping at work, TAKING MY TIME with creative thinking and taking time to REFLECT on who I am, where I am going and what I want to do."

P. Lehti (44), Chicago, USA

"Thanks to you, Carl, I am now embarking on my own slow journey. I realise now that this will require patience, perseverance and persistence but you’ve taught me that it will be WORTH IT!"

S. Lal (48) Mumbai, India

"After doing the course I just feel A LOT CALMER in general. With more time for SAVOURING LIFE rather than gulping it down."

S. Williams (24), Seattle, USA

HOW THE COURSE IS STRUCTURED

Packed with audio, video and PDF slides, my course is made for busy people like you. Made so you can learn and transform your life at your own pace.

There are more than 20 exercises plus loads of quick tips and tricks you can put into action right away.

The FIRST part of the course focusses on harnessing the power of GOOD SLOW at work. You will learn how to:

1. Find the right balance between work and rest

2. Get the most from your work breaks

3. Kick screen addiction to become master of your technology rather than a slave to it

4. Use the powerful alternative to multitasking

5. Listen to and build relationships with colleagues and clients

6. Take control of your work schedule

7. Use your time more wisely by learning tricks used by business titans ranging from Bezos to Buffett

8. Engineer eureka moments (it's easier than you think)

9. Make meetings super productive

10. Reduce stress and boost your health and happiness

The SECOND part of the course teaches you how to channel GOOD SLOW to enrich your personal life. You will learn to:

1. Connect more with the people who matter most to you

2. Master the art of conversation

3. Find your why in life

4. Boost your health

5. Make more time for play, pleasure and fun

6. Use your technology better

7. Build a healthy relationship with social media

8. Eat more like an Italian

9. Listen better

10. Enjoy life to the full

No matter your learning style, my course will fit around – and transform – your life. You can do every module or just focus on those that resonate with you right now. You can mix it up and work through the exercises in the order that suits you best.

However you approach it, my course will not only inspire you to slow down. It will give you the tools and techniques to start your own Slow Revolution!

"Carl's message rang home to me straight away, far louder and clearer than any self-help manual. And because of that I have been able to make REAL CHANGES in my life. You've plucked my HEARTSTRINGS!"

A. Bukowski (31), Melbourne, Australia

"My life felt just far too full and far too fast, like I couldn't keep up and didn't want to either. Carl has helped me realise that it's possible to slow down and work at another pace, one that FEELS RIGHT, and get even BETTER RESULTS."

J. Fischer (42), Sydney, Australia

MY GOLDEN GUARANTEE

Though my course is about mastering the art of slowing down, the payoff is never slow in coming! On the contrary, you will start seeing real and tangible results right away.

Feeling overwhelmed by your smartphone? Use the simple tools in the course to take back control.

Struggling to concentrate at work? Deploy my quick breathing technique to regain your focus.

Stuck in deadline mode even when there's no deadline? Use my Speed Check manoeuvre to shift into a calmer gear.

However you use the course, you will find moments every day to put my advice into action – and reap the rewards.

And if, after 30 days, you feel like you're no closer to living the slower, calmer life you dream of, then just send an email to [email protected] and I'll refund the full value of the course. No questions asked.

NB: This course was created before the Covid-19 pandemic.

PRICE

My course usually costs $99. But now, for a limited time, you can access all of it for just $49.

So, what are you waiting for? Let's get started!

WHAT THE WORLD MEDIA SAYS ABOUT CARL:

“An in-demand spokesman on slowness.” (Wall Street Journal)

“The global guru on the Slow Movement." (The Globe and Mail)

“The unofficial godfather of a growing cultural shift toward slowing down.” (Huffington Post)

"The godfather of the Slow Movement." (ABC News)

"Inarguably the world's leading evangelist for what has become known as the Slow Movement." (CBC, The Sunday Edition)

“An international spokesman for the concept of leisure." (Newsweek)

“A verbal magician, conjuring concepts with no new idea too complex to capture.” (The Sydney Morning Herald)