The Magnetic Memory Method Podcast

Don't you hate that sinking feeling? You know the one. You crack open another memory improvement book. You're excited to take your memory training to the next level. You're hungry for the next-level techniques that no one has ever shown you before. And yet there it is again … Another Useless Memory Improvement Exercise! Seriously. I can't tell you the number of times I've read a memory trainer promising the world only to start things off with something like this: "Now that you know how to use your memory, practice with your shopping list." Yawn. But … I get why they do it. It's called giving the student a "quick victory." But there's a problem with quick victories. Especially when they're attached to gains that simply don't connect. To your heart. Your soul. That part of your mind that craves conquering even the toughest information in the world. For achieving that, I recommend these books instead: In other words, you want memory improvement books that give you the ability to … Remember Information That Instantly Improves Your Life! And unless you're memorizing the shopping list in another language for developing fluency or helping your brain thrive … life improvement is unlikely to happen. That's why you need to forget every memory exercise you've ever encountered and try the following instead. Instead of applying the memory skills you've developed to meaningless information or meaningless brain games … Apply them to information that will make an immediate difference! How To Perform The Magnetic Memory Method LifeBlood Test Chances are that the shopping list exercise isn't going to go away anytime soon. For that reason, let me teach you how to replace it with practice material that actually matters. The first thing you want to ask yourself is … What's the number one thing I could add to my memory today that would make my life better tomorrow? Think seriously about this. Go through all your problems and pains and find the ones where memory is the culprit. When I first learned memory techniques, it was loud and clear: Philosophical concepts and specific terms. Things like … Pregnans constructio Architectonic tautology Anagnorisis and peripeteia Then there was Biblical Hebrew. The alphabet, vocabulary, phrases. And I was real bad with remembering the names of authors and information like historical dates. And I remember one of my professors hated when said, "back then" or "in the past." And she was right to hate that. So I determined to be more specific when speaking about yesteryear in my seminar contributions. All These Improvements Make Life Instantly Better! And I don't use the word "lifeblood" loosely. It make my heart pump with pride, accomplishment and inspiration to learn even more. Because it's no longer about half-remembered facts clouded by opinions and beliefs. It's absolute historically scientific certainty that I knew what the hell I was talking about. And it's so great to know the dates of philosophers and when their books appeared. Your brain makes more connections. Even without the memory techniques, these mental and Magnetic links help fortify memories further. And the more you learn, the more you can learn. And the coolest thing of all is that the brain feels so much clearer. The fog dissipates. A laser intensity emerges. Magnetic Memory Method Lifeblood (TM) = 100% Pure & Concentrated Focus For you, it might not be any of these things. Your life might improve by appearing at work by knowing more about SQL for an IT certification. Or you're a medical student who needs to know both specific terms about the body, information about side effects and number-based data. You have to be able to look at a person and cross-reference their age, height and weight against dosage guidelines. Wouldn't it be great to process and … Remember And Access Information Faster Than The Speed Of Light! Or you might just want to cultivate greater awareness of the world around you by improving your memory. Maybe you'd like to give presentations better or you're a salesperson dying to remember those smooth patterns of persuasion your competition knows so well. You might be a Mason or an actor looking to remember and recall long lines of text. Or you're a perpetual student, tired of forgetting. You want to decipher the information you're studying, but you can't process the logic of it all. Why? Because you haven't got enough information in memory to contemplate the topic. And that's, frankly, what most of us need. Contemplation. The contemplation of connections. The deep connections. Because when you look at a genius like Elon Musk or Einstein or Frank Zappa or Da Vinci, you see balance. The balance of the tiny details with the bigger picture. You need the ability to process both and that level of processing only happens if you've got your memory abilities intact. Take some time and think this through. Your Most Sincere Desire To Improve Will Guide You If you really want to accomplish your life's most important goals,

Have you ever heard the phrase, "writing is re-writing"? It's an important principle for people learning to write. Why? Because there's a destructive fantasy going around: The fantasy that the first draft is good enough. The truth: The First Draft Usually Stinks! It needs revision. Often lots of it. Believe it or not, it's the same thing with reading books. Yes, you can use the Magnetic Memory Method to memorize a textbook. It's an incredible skill to have. But often enough … one read just doesn't cut it. And there are reasons why. Here are 11 of them. #1: Context Is King Get this: Once upon a time, I could only afford to take one course at university. I had to work three jobs just to afford the tuition! Looked at ironically, I was lucky I could afford to take just one course. Why? Because all those jobs left me with time enough to complete the reading requirements of only the one course! All joking aside, I read Plato's Republic that year while walking up and down the hill to the university. It was all the time I had. But it was fitting because many of the dialogues that make up The Republic take place outdoors. And although it's Aristotle who belongs more closely to the Peripatetic School of philosophy, walking around is … walking around. And because I'm a diligent reader who enjoys the slower process of MMM Bibliomancy as taught in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterplan or briefly here, I let the books I need to read absorb me based on the context of reading. The second time I read The Republic was as a professor living in Saarbrücken, Germany. This time I read The Republic as an audiobook, also while walking up and down a hill. But even though the mechanical operation of walking from place to place was the same, I was reading The Republic this time as an educator, not a student. And instead of reading The Republic in the context of other philosophers (like St. Augustine and Hobbes), I was re-reading it during a period when I was dialed deep into Eckhart Tolle and Wayne Dyer. Context changes everything and that means the same book was actually very different. The result? Context unlocked thoughts about its contents and "unhid" more interesting details to remember. Alethia for unhiding is a fancy ancient Greek word you're going to want to add to your collection, by the way. Keep it and context in mind as your go-to rereading strategy. You'll be delighted by what happens! #2: The Organic Source Of New Ideas Re-generates Itself You know that many of your cells regenerate, right? Not all of them, but enough that you can make the claim that we have a chronological age and a cellular age. And if you wait long enough to re-read a book, you're technically not the same the person as the first time you read the book. Sure, your heart, brain and bones are pretty much the same, but the rest? A whole new you. And that means completely new arms, hands and eyes that deliver the book to your brain. Isn't that exciting to think about? #3: Why Something Most People Dread Is Really The Icing On The Cake Most people regret getting older. I've never understood why, but I guess it's because they don't value the power of re-reading books. Think about it: As you age, you collect more Memory Palaces to help you remember information. Plus, your pool of imagery and associations to use within a Memory Palace gets larger year after year. And as you work with your memory, you discover so many resources set in stone that you never discover unless you're re-reading books. Put simply, age is a currency. It is traded on the strength of connections. The older you are, the more connections you make on autopilot and can engineer deliberately. Better be doing some brain exercises, though. You're always in danger of losing what you're not using, after all … #4: How Location, Location, Location Will Save The Life Of Your Memory Think about this: When you re-read a book, you can enter a multi-dimensional time-zone portal. For example, I'm about the re-read The Republic for the third time. This upcoming re-read is inspired by a conversation I had on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast with Brad Zupp. We got deep into the weeds on matters of memory and philosophy in that one! And as I re-read it, I can use Memory Palaces related to the university where I studied when I read The Republic for the first time. Likewise, I can use Memory Palaces related to the university where I taught when I read it the second time with this rereading strategy. That will save me a ton of memory loss from stress. And oh yes, you'd better believe I'll be using Memory Palaces right here on the campus of QUT in Brisbane where I live to lock and load details I want to remember from my third read. But without re-reading this monumental book from my past, all that Location, Location, Location juice goes untapped. That would be tragic, sad and a complete waste of the constantly renewing cellular matter throughout my body. What are you doing with your past, present and future u

Go ahead and admit it. You're skeptical that memory techniques will work for you. You might even be skeptical that memory techniques work at all. I mean … those memory champions could be using mirrors or some kind of technology, right? They're absolutely not, but … who hasn't given it a thought when you hear the incredible results of memory improvement training. Hundreds of words! Thousands of digits! Countless decks of playing cards! All under the pressure of time, cameras and competition. Here's the thing: As scientifically proven as the memory techniques are … Your Skepticism Is Good! In fact … It turns out that the more skeptical you are about memory techniques, the better they work! And over the years, I've discovered 3 reasons why skeptics succeed with memory techniques better than anyone else. Buckle in because if you've been sitting on the fence when it comes to using memory techniques … … or if you've been suffering less than stellar results every time you give them a try … The problem could be that you're just not skeptical enough. #1 Skeptics Are Ethical Kind of a weird place to start, right? But it's true. Because skeptics tend to follow, in one way or another, the laws of a universal rule: The responsibility for demonstrating the validity of a claim falls on the person making the claim. In other words: If YOU say something outlandish like, "Memory techniques won't work for me" … … AND you're an ethical person … YOU Will Do Something To Prove That You're Right! And that's where the fun begins. Why? Because it's almost impossible NOT to succeed with memory techniques if you're ethical. And you have to be seriously getting in your own way to make failure even a remote possibility. #2 Skepticism Comes Packed With Determination People anxious to prove that they can't use memory techniques bring truckloads of determination. So much so that they're able to quickly overcome the objections that people with only a passing interest in training their memory allow to disrupt them. What are these objections? I'm not creative … I'm not visual … I don't have the energy … It's too hard … … and a slew of other negative self-talkisms that no true skeptic would ever let stand in their way. No, skeptics want badly to get at the truth. So they tackle the training with all the due diligence it deserves. Aren't you starting to wish that you were a skeptic too? #3 Skepticism Creates Multiple Levels Of Energy Think about it this way: The fact that the skeptic motors in with all guns blazing to prove that they can't do it is one level of energy. But then when they begin to see that they're absolutely wrong … A new energy appears. The energy of total surprise and excitement from getting results! Because lo and behold, these skeptics discover … the memory techniques do perform with ease after all! And when that second level of energy doubles back to the memory of their skepticism … it grows even bigger! Why? Because they've returned to their ethical core and accomplished something profound. They didn't sit around whining and crying about their doubt. They went out and investigated. They picked the purportedly miraculous skill apart and learned it in the process. And, of course, to really learn memory techniques, you've got to also use them. And when that happens … You're Hooked For Life! Isn't that exciting? You bet it is. Just like it was for Tom, who attended one of the live Magnetic Memory Method trainings I give around the world. On this particular occasion … Guilin, China. At the end of the second session, Tom came to me and exclaimed, "You changed my life!" To be honest, that bold claim made me a bit skeptical! So we chatted a bit and I understood he was sincere. But it wasn't until the third day that he told me just how skeptical he'd been. Listening to me talk … … even before he took action … … the clarity that the Magnetic Memory Method brings to authentic memory improvement wasn't opening his mind or melting his heart … It was creating a plan of attack! And even in the planning, Tom could see that … He Would Fail To Prove That Memory Techniques Don't Work! Although … here's the ugly truth. It's easy to repeat the good news that "memory techniques work." But that's semantics. The truth is that memory techniques don't work. Oh no. Not at all. It's YOU who work the techniques. Never the other way around. You don't ask a skipping rope to fly in circles in the air, do you? No! You pick it up and twirl it around your body as you jump up and down. It's not magic – it's exercise! And the benefits of doing so? Immense! But for some reason, many people expect to buy a memory improvement book or course and have some kind of otherworldly, spellbinding transformation. Well … that's not so far off the mark. If you work the memory techniques, you absolutely can experience an entrancing metamorphosis of memory ability most people only dream of! But you've got to understand that all memory improvement begins and ends with picking

Ever feel frustrated by people with strong memory abilities? You know the kind. They rattle off names. They know all their credit card numbers. They say, "April 10th, 1972," not "back then" or "in the past." They're specific. And make no mistake: Specificity Makes Your Life Better They feel good when they call restaurant staff by name. They seem to know everyone in a deeper way. Their capacity for human interaction shines. And when they have to do something with numbers, they do it with confidence. They're in control. They've got it together. Even better: When it comes to conversation, they know how to hold their own. They don't mess around with loose generalities. They don't waver on the facts. They're detailed. Specific. Precise. And let's face it: It Annoys You To Your Core That You're Not Like This! It's a real problem too. All that time you're losing at work. Looking up the same procedural information again and again. Nothing you do solves the problem. You're trapped in a prison of repetition, and nothing ever seems to sink in. In conversations, you continue to flounder. You can't remember the names of actors, authors, even the titles of books you know you read. And the brain fog crushing your memory every time you sit down to do some math … It's downright, depressing, isn't it? Of course it is. The Simple Memory Improvement Solution Even A 10-Year Old Can Master Good news: You don't need memory championship training to remove these pains from your life. You just need these 5 brain exercises and a little bit of meta-level understanding of just what makes memory techniques so powerful. Here are a few reasons. 1) Memory techniques are diplomatic. Seriously. If you look up the meaning of diplomacy, you get a definition like this: Diplomacy is the conduct by government officials of negotiations and other relations between nations. That's all memory techniques are: An understanding of the official parts of your memory and getting them to negotiate with one another. For example, when you use the Magnetic Memory Method, you're learning a completely new way to think about spatial memory. And then you harness the power of spatial memory and get it to talk diplomatically with your episodic memory. There are other "nations" of memory in your brain that the Magnetic Memory Method taps into, but it's all about getting them to negotiate. 2) There's no discrimination. It doesn't matter if you're 8 years old or 88. The memory techniques simply don't care. If you learn how to use them so the different parts of your memory can discuss diplomatically, you'll amaze yourself. And if you need any convincing, check out Tap The Mind Of A 10-Year Old Memory Master. 3. They're Honest. There's no better art in the world than the art of memory. Why? Because there's no wiggle room. You either remembered the information, or you didn't. And the Magnetic Memory Method helps you embrace the power of that radical honesty. And to do so in comfort while you learn faster and remember more. Because there are only three things that stand in the way of you and getting amazing results from your memory. Efficiency Is Doing Things Right. Effectiveness Is Doing The Right Things. That's a quote from Peter Drucker. And it applies directly to the biggest mistake that even the best memory champions make. They don't practice as well as they could. Now, you don't have to aspire to memory competition to enjoy benefits from these techniques. In fact, as much as I love all the memory competitions out there … I sometimes worry that they discourage people who stand to gain the most from memory techniques. After all, if you're struggling with passing math exams in school … What's More Likely To Help Both Memory Champions And… Anyone? Images of a kid just like you rapidly memorizing complicated formulas … … or someone wrangling long lists of numbers from the depths of a Memory Palace. Same skills – same diplomacy – but it can be hard for some people to see the connection. But there is a connection. And if you buckle down and practice with real information you might actually use in the world, your memory will transform into the most powerful asset in the world. Take language learning. It's not only a great way to use memory techniques. Bilingualism also makes for a healthier brain. And You Will Be The One Who Owns The Asset! Of course, having great power leads to great responsibility. And there's no question that this can make you nervous. After all … Once you've spent a bit of time learning and practicing memory techniques … You Actually Have To Use Them! Seriously. There are lots of parallels between memory improvement and martial arts. But unlike a lot of martial arts where you learn "fight to the death" techniques you never want to ever use in real life … When it comes to memory improvement … Not a day will pass without an opportunity to win! And that can lead to the third big mistake: Lack of Faith In Your Memory As The Most Perfect And Beautiful Possess

Home is where the heart is, right? Judging by my inbox and all the pains and frustrations with memory I hear … Maybe not. I mean, think about it: You pour all that hard-earned money into rent or your mortgage, and yet … You're Living In A Memory-Toxic Dump! It really doesn't matter how much you like your home. If you don't set it up for memory success and sufficient memory care home solutions, you're leading yourself down a path of mental destruction. And yes, there are things worse than Alzheimer's. Such as letting another moment slip by without the extraordinary powers available to you now for improving your memory based on Memory Palace Science. In addition to all the memory techniques you can learn here on the site, here are 15 more ways that your home is crushing your memory. Avoid these issues and your memory abilities will soar. 1. Your Fridge Is Filled With Memory Destroying Foods Here's a rule of thumb you must not forget: If it comes with a list of ingredients, it's probably wrecking your brain. I know it's hard these days. Almost everything comes wrapped in plastic and there are additives in everything. Heck, you can't even trust your local farmer's market. But sticking with foods that improve memory isn't hard. In fact, it's one of the easiest things you can do. And yes, it's the one time Magnetic Memory Method fans know I think it's okay to memorize your shopping list. So drop the sauces and start eating well. Your brain and memory will thank you for it. 2. No Mat, No Enlightenment, No Memory Improvement Getting sick of hearing about meditation? Don't. In study after study, scientists keeps piling on all the benefits of meditation for your memory. And the good news is that memory is good for all kinds of other life areas too. Don't believe me? Just listen: https://youtu.be/zP20eBfp2oM 3. No Dedicated Study And Memory Location People say they want to get smarter, but do they act like it? Just take a look around your own home and point to all the places you go to FOCUS. If you can't even come up with one, then you and your memory are in trouble. Don't you think it's time to fix it? 4. How Scribbling Can Save The Life Of Your Memory Once you have a place to focus in, it's good to have rituals. My morning rituals for Mandarin have changed a bit since I first shared them, but the basics are the same. And a huge part of getting my language learning done involves having an if-this-then-that chain of events. To help, I'm currently using The Mastery Journal, which is John Lee Dumas' follow-up to the excellent Freedom Journal. Why not just use an app? Digital amnesia, for one thing. It's killing your memory and your brain. Kind of like reading from screens is sucking your brain dry of the life it used to have. 5. Not Enough Dead Weight Two words. More books. Real books. It's true: People can't remember nearly as much of what they read from a digital device as they can from physical books. Why? I have a lot of pet theories, but the important thing is that you make sure you've got physical books in your home. Even if it's just a couple, so long as you actually read them, you'll be doing your memory and brain a favor. 6. Not Enough Playful Romance (And Yes, Sex) If you want to keep your brain and memory healthy, you've got to do it. Often. But more than just get physical with your partner, you've got to be romantic and make love in memorable ways. How? Ask questions. Tease. Remind your lover of the things you remember and prove that the past of your relationship matters. Because it does matter, doesn't it? And if you can't imagine it mattering, maybe you need to get checked out for aphantasia. 7. Too Much Idiot Box Okay, everybody knows the truth here: TV has gotten better. And you can improve your memory by watching long form series and making a network of Memory Palaces from them. But here's the thing: No matter how good TV gets, it's still twitchy. Instead of helping you extend your attention span, it's constantly shrinking it. Not only that, you're continually being exposed to bad news that create the perception of a negative world. Well, guess what? That world doesn't actually exist. And if you don't believe me, just read The Better Angels Of Our Nature by Stephen Pinker. 'nuff said. 8. Too Many Interruptions From Mobile Devices If the TV isn't interrupting your attention, instant notifications from a dozen or more less than useful apps are probably yapping at you. Seriously, does the latest post on Facebook really matter that much to you? Wouldn't you rather be experiencing the benefits of learning a new language instead? Listen, I use social media too, but there's a time and place for it and the home isn't one of them. Try digital fasting and use social media only when you're out at a cafe or some other place. My prediction: You'll enjoy where you live more than you ever imagined possible. 9. No Wheels, No Memory Skills Crazy, but true. I know all kinds of people who prefer driving to work when they

Hey, it happens. We've all forgotten a name. Where we left our keys. Whether or not we locked the front door. But there's a difference between mild forgetfulness and more serious memory problems like memory loss. And mild forgetfulness is particularly vicious because it can creep up on you. In fact, it could be biting up parts of your brain as we speak. But it's not the same as memory loss, which is what we really need to focus on curing. And to help you out, here are five signs of serious memory loss problems you need to take seriously: 1. Asking The Same Questions Over And Over Again This is a big warning sign that you have memory loss problems. You might even be suffering from one of the big memory loss diseases like Alzheimer's or Dementia. It's not just that you've forgotten the answers to the questions. You've even forgotten that you asked the question before. If this happens to you or someone points out that you've been asking the same question multiple times, please get it checked out. No shame in having the problem. Just something that needs attention. 2. Getting Lost In Well-Known Places This problem can occur at any age. It's not necessarily a sign of Alzheimer's or dementia, either. It could be a sign of fatigue, dietary problems or thyroid issues. But if you find yourself getting lost in places you've been in many times before (including your home), you know that it's more than well-warranted to get yourself to the doctor. 3. Inability To Follow Directions No, I'm not talking about rebellion. I'm talking about literally not being able to understand and execute. We all have this from time to time. Sometimes, the instructions are to blame. But other times, it's a sign of serious memory loss. 4. Experiencing Confusion About Time It's normal to forget the day of the week every once in awhile. But if it becomes a common occurrence, you need to do something about it. Not only that, but you can use a Memory Palace to help ensure that you always know what day of the week it is. Here's how: Look at the wall nearest your bed. Imagine it has seven quadrants. In each quadrant, place an image. For example: Monday = the moon Tuesday = a can of Tuna Wednesday = a weathervane Etc … Having a mnemonic calendar like this will make the days of the week more memorable for you as such. But to know for sure, you can imagine crossing out a huge X over the can of tuna before going to bed on a Tuesday. Or you can do something even more imaginative, like seeing it smashed by the weathervane that represents Wednesday. In this way, when you wake up, you can think of what happened before you went to sleep on your mnemonic calendar. That will instantly remind you of the current day. And this works just as well for young people as it does for people coping with age related memory loss. Having a mnemonic calendar is also one of many great brain exercises that will help you keep sharp. 5. Not Taking Care Of Yourself Seriously. Some people forget to eat, bathe and otherwise take care of themselves. I know this problem well from the periods when depression has crushed my memory so heavily my hygiene went down the drain. It sucks and if it happens to you, get it checked out. 8 Simple Cures For Memory Loss And Forgetfulness The good news is that people are winning the battle against memory loss and forgetfulness. Here are 8 things you can do starting today that will give you the upper edge in the battle against these critical memory problems. 1. Learn A New Skill Seriously. Juggling, piano, simple sketching. Anything you can find will help. I'm currently learning more about video production and photography while learning Chinese. The improvements to my memory are noticeable on a daily basis. 2. Volunteer It could be at a school, community service office or church. It really doesn't matter what, so long as it's with other people and you genuinely feel happy about helping others. These kinds of experiences create powerful new memories that will last a lifetime while exercising your brain. 3. Spend More Time With Friends & Family Be honest. You're not getting enough face time with the people that matter. And it's killing your memory. Get out your calendar and cell phone now. Make the call. Book a time. Your memory will thank you for it. 4. Put Your Wallet, Keys & Glasses In The Same Place Every Time Look, I can teach you how to remember where you put objects in the house. But sometimes it's good to give your memory some relief. That's why instead of imagining explosions every time you set your keys down, you can take the pressure off your memory by dedicating a spot for these easily lost items. 5. Get More Sleep Easier said than done, to be sure, except … It is easy if you set a computer curfew. Seriously: Shut the machine down at the same time every day. Read a book. Play a game. Get in bed. Rest your #memory.Click To Tweet I like to spend about 5 minutes wandering a Memory Palace and sometimes exposing myself to something new before

Ever hear that crazy phrase, "knowledge is power"? Sounds kind of cool, right? But have you ever asked yourself … What The Heck Does That Silly Cliche Mean? Well, "power," it turns out, is an interesting concept. Especially when it comes to memory and memory improvement. To begin, understand this: People have defined it thousands of different ways throughout history. Ever since I discovered it in university, I've always liked Michel Foucault's definition. He's a philosopher who you should check out sometime. Don't worry if you think philosophy is boring. Foucault didn't dally around. He gets right down to defining it in many books. For Foucault, power amounts to "the ability to conduct the conduct of others." Now, let's be honest: Who In Their Right Mind Wouldn't Want A Taste Of That? And let's be clear: When it comes to memory improvement and using memory techniques as a way of life, that's what we going for: Power. Exactly as Michel Foucault defined. Why? Because if you're using memory techniques to help you learn a language, guess what? Speaking a language "controls" what others think. Just like my words are controlling what you think now. Controlling what you're thinking, feeling, deciding to do next. And more than that … Power Is Productive It produces the next action in line. When it comes to the power that using memory techniques creates, think of it this way: If you're using memory techniques for numbers so that you can quote SKU numbers at work or cite aspects of the law, you're instantly better at controlling how your colleagues work with you. Pretty neat, huh? Well, hold on now, because it gets even better. Because there are a lot of things about memory you probably don't know. And all of them will give you more power. Which equals more control. Particularly over the most important person in your life you need better control over. You. So with all that in mind, let's get started: 1. Memory Loss Starts At A Much Younger Age Than Most People Think Sad, but true. We have this image that memory loss starts when you're forty or older. Worse, we project the idea that struggles with memory belong to the elderly or people with Alzheimer's. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Long before the age of digital amnesia, scientists knew that memory struggles begin already in our mid-20s, if not earlier. And the more people relegate their memory activities to smartphones and computers, the more younger people start experiencing memory problems. Don't Blame The Machines For Everything! Of course, we can't just blame the machines or the questionable fact that they don't teach learning and memory techniques in schools. (They do.) This is what's more important: We're exposing young people to information they don't care about. Want to help the young person in your life learn how to discover exactly what they care about to help guide their studies? Make sure you listen to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast for the link to the listener only audiobook, The Ultimate Memory Improvement Secret. I promise. That book will help. And then giddy up on improving your memory. No matter how young and spry you think you are now, memory loss is always around the corner. 2. You Change Your Memories Every Time You Remember Them I love that scene from Lost Highway. For two reasons: A) It exposes a fundamental truth about human behavior. B) The whole movie is about how memories change merely by recalling them. And it's true. Every time you remember something, you're engaging in an exchange of chemicals. You know this, right? Your mind is produced by your brain: soft, squishy material made up of all kinds of nutrients and acids. The kind of stuff that aliens probably love to eat. And in that pool of chemical substances, sit your memories. Your memories are part of that stuff, not different from it. Every time you access one of them, it's like putting bread into a toaster. Chemical change. And, as you know, bread that has been toasted ain't never going back to being bread again. It's different now, and different it shall remain. 3. Your Memory Is More Like A Neighborhood Than A Computer Not only are your memories made of physical material, they are also dispersed like multiple spheres in a pinball machine. Think of it the way Gary Small suggested when I interviewed him on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. He explains that the computer metaphor for the human brain and memory is false. Instead, your brain is like a series of neighborhoods, bigger and more complex than the biggest cities of the world. And every time new information enters your "memory city," it doesn't book a room in a hotel someplace and wait patiently to be called for a business meeting when you need it. Instead, the information is broken up and sent into many different homes in many different neighborhoods. The Businessmen Your Memory Slices And Dices Everyday Think of it like this: Say that you learn a German phrase like, "Ich möchte mir etwas kaufen, aber ich

Guest post and podcast narration by Lukas Van Vyve. Have you ever wished you had the ability to memorize information in real time? Believe it or not, you can. Interpreters do it all the time. They listen, understand, memorize, translate and speak – all at the same time. Impressive, right? Conference interpreting is certainly not for the faint-hearted. In fact, research shows that conference interpreting is one of the most stressful jobs in the world. One study put the stress levels experienced during interpreting on about the same level as those of an air traffic controller! Go figure. How To Succeed In Conference Interpreting Without All The Stress However, people who wind up with great conference interpreting jobs were not born with these skills: they developed their abilities by learning and practicing specific techniques. If you'd like to do the same, pay attention because I'm about to show you exactly how it works. 1. How One Simple Test Will Strengthen Your Memory And Boost Your Fluency Here's the single most important thing you can learn from conference interpreters: They focus a lot on flexibility. You see, no matter how good your memory is or how many words you know, sometimes you're going to forget something or wind up stuck looking for words. It even happens in your mother tongue! Interpreters know that if you want to boost your fluency, you need the flexibility to retrieve at least something to say from your memory in every situation. The good news: this ability to remember is something that can be trained! Even better, if you're already a conference interpreter, you can continue learning and potential boost your conference interpreting salary! How To Hear The Future As A Conference Interpreter Before It Happens One way interpreters go about this is by making it a habit to guess what a speaker is going to say next. That buys them time to think of a good translation. Now you know why your interpreter friends are always finishing your sentences! As annoying as that habit might be, exercises in which you anticipate words might be the key to increasing your flexibility. The most important exercise used by interpreters to train this skill is the cloze test. This exercise is fantastic, and I use it all the time. How To Close In On The Cloze Test For Maximum Memory Results So how does the cloze test work? You get a sentence with certain words blanked out. It's your job to fill in the blanks with an appropriate word (or word group). That word can be anything, as long as the sentence makes sense and is grammatically correct. An example: David wants to ____ a table for 5 tonight. Answers: David wants to book a table for 5 tonight. David wants to reserve a table for 5 tonight. David wants to make a reservation for a table for 5 tonight. David wants to make a call to the restaurant for a table for 5 tonight. David wants to ask if you've booked a table for 5 tonight. … and so on … You get the point. Try to come up with as many appropriate answers as possible. The more you can find, the more flexible you are in speaking a language! The Truth About What Really Improves Your Fluency Here's another reason I really like this exercise: It builds flexibility by teaching you how to take advantage of context. In this regard, it relies a lot on your association powers. The better certain language patterns and structures are ingrained in your brain, the easier words to fill in will come to mind. That translates to improved fluency. However, there's more. What really makes the cloze test stand out for me is that it shows how context can be a mnemonic for learning words or expressions! Context: The Ultimate Conference Interpreting Equipment That Sits In Your Awareness (Priceless!) To give you a basic example: whenever someone says "Thank you" to me, I'll immediately, without even thinking about it, respond "You're welcome!" Just hearing these words triggers my memory and gives me the appropriate response. The association between those two phrases became so strong that they act as a mnemonic for each other. If you'd like to take advantage of the cloze test to memorize vocabulary and use context as a mnemonic, I found that the easiest way to do that is by making flashcards (physically, or use an app like Anki (link)). Here are the steps: 1. Make a flashcard with sentences in the language you're learning. 2. Blank out the words you want to memorize and add them at the back of the flashcard. 3. Review your flashcards and try to guess which word would fit in the sentence. Try to experience the situation described in the sentence as vividly as possible! Read it out loud, visualize it, feel it. 4. Every time you review the flashcard, the connection between the context and the word you're learning will become stronger! My experience is that learning vocabulary this way works wonders. Incorporate this in your language learning routine, and you'll start seeing the benefits in no time. 2. Flexibility 2.0: How These 4 Improvisation

No question about learning and memory enters my inbox more often than than "why aren't these memory techniques taught in schools?" The question reeks of conspiracy. It creates pictures of entire nations hoping to keep their children in ignorance so they will become mindless slaves working for the state. But worse than all of that paranoia … The question is … Completely Irrelevant! First off, memory techniques are taught in schools. I recognize this simple fact even if once upon a time I dropped out without a high school degree (part one of this three-part series) and mercifully figured out what to go back to school for (part two). How are memory techniques already used in schools? How about the song we teach children to help them remember the alphabet? Its melody is a memory technique, loud and clear. Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge for music is a memory technique. We have simple mnemonics for astronomy, art, math, biology, geography and chemistry. Heck, just search Wikipedia for "list of mnemonics" and you'll find more than you can shake a stick at. But Are Simple Mnemonics Enough? That's the real question at hand. Because the problem is that a lot of the images and word play you'll find on that Wikipedia page are useless. Worse than useless, they create a ton of overwhelm. Why? Because they don't come with any understanding. They're not loaded with strategy … They Have No Method … And that's why the Magnetic Memory Method is such a roaring success. No, not for everyone. Not everyone wants to learn how to think about memory. Many people want formulas, gimmicks and "systems." I'm sorry, but that's not reality. And it's not what we do in the Magnetic Memory Method Family. Far from it. Instead of pretending that there's some kind of fix all system that will magically improve your memory for all things forever and ever amen … We Break Memory Techniques Down To The Basics And once that's done, we understand the how, the why and the what. So that it doesn't hurt so much to learn. Here's why you feel pain with learning, by the way (thanks to Miklós in the SuperLearner community for bringing it to our attention): It's even easier to stop the pain than the video suggests. How so? By making sure that you understand how to really get results from the techniques by aligning them with your real reasons for learning, remembering and recalling information. It's often not what it seems. Because here's the deal … At the Magnetic Memory Method Headquarters, I strive to achieve just one thing: Mastery. Mastery over your memory. Mastery over your concentration. Mastery over the rate at which you learn. Mastery over the pain of forgetfulness. So That You Never Have To Feel That Pain Again! But it's not going to happen without study. It's not going to happen without effort. It's not going to happen without creating and using Memory Palaces. Above all, it's not going to happen without consistency of effort. And that's what's so cool about the Magnetic Memory Method. If you've been following the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, you've heard the stories of success. Just one for today: These success stories with learning and memory techniques all boil down to one thing: Learning the techniques. Using the techniques. Analyzing your results and then improving your abilities using them. The best part? I've had the chance to teach the Magnetic Memory Method to some of the finest students on the planet. And guess what? Success Leaves Clues All of the most successful students share one thing in common. They don't wait around waiting for success to happen! They invest in themselves. They study the material they've invested in. They take action. They experiment, explore and when they're done, they experiment and explore some more! Having The Humility To Learn Is A Skill What I've learned from all of the Magnetic Memory Method success stories is that everything begins with a decision. It's a decision to set aside time to learn. To really learn. I've done it myself. After years of success with my own memory and as a memory trainer, I went to learn from one of the best on the planet. Not just to collect data and "spy" on the competition. To Truly Learn As a result, I'm better for it. In fact, I still buy books and courses from people. Some are from authors who help only a fraction of the audience the Magnetic Memory Method has gathered. Some are from towering figures who practically rule the memory world. I'm talking about taking some courses that cost 4x the amount of the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass and Mastermind combined. Yes! Memory improvement courses that expensive really do exist! The Best Always Invest In Themselves Here's the thing: Even when you get to the top – which is incredibly rare – you still have to keep learning. And let's not beat around the bush: The ones who sail past the obstacles in life are the ones who are in motion to begin with. Wouldn't you like to be in motion? Of course you would. You just need to get started

Did you ever fantasize about dropping out of high school? I sure did. So much so that I wound up taking the leap into the unknown. Stupid as it was, I dropped out and left Canada's free education system without a high school diploma. (Don't get distracted now … … but for the full story, right-click and open a new tab to read What To Do If You Or Someone You Love Wants To Drop Out Of High School.) The question is … Given all the amazing information I found myself learning on my own without interference of schools, boring teachers and their rules … Why On Earth Go Back To School? It's a simple story, really. I went back to graduate with my friends … even though I wasn't graduating. Actually, as cool as all my friends in high school were … There was a girl named Kelly. I had a huge crush on her! I don't remember all the circumstances, but somehow I wound up taking her to a prom to celebrate a graduation I wasn't completing! Everyone but Kelly thought it was awkward and weird. I mean … just imagine: One of the most popular girls in school was going to attend high school graduation with a dropout. It Was A Year Of Living Dangerously! In reality, I was the obvious choice. After all, I'd gone through an entire encyclopedia during my time off and listened to educational radio programming every morning. Whereas most others had sat in desks and tapped their pencils against textbooks they found exhausting, I'd left disgusted by what I saw as an epic waste of time. But as smart as that move may have been, I was still a Heavy Metal Moron with barely two nuts rolling around in my head. No one in their right mind drops out of high school. Even so, I'm glad I did. And because I did, I could make my return as a Heavy Metal Renaissance Man armored in everything but the Magnetic Memory Method. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Oh, my … Kelly … I remember her so well. Kelly wore a tight blue dress. The Kind Of Dress That Should Be Illegal … Then again, it's the illegal character of her dress that made it so memorable! For my part, I dressed like James Bond. My white Tuxedo jacket made me stick out like a sore thumb, but it was fun. Different. Totally my style. Together, Kelly and I looked like we were trying to be undercover spies in a high school espionage movie. Only Sheep Need A Leader But at some point during the evening, Kelly squirmed away from my protective grip and I found myself hanging out with Sophie. Background: Sophie and I became fast friends in Grade 10 and worked on a Western Civilization project together. It was called Only Sheep Need A Leader and involved an alternative history of Ancient Egypt. I won't get into it the entire assignment, but just imagine Moses battling aliens after discovering that the pyramids were actually interstellar space ships. Somehow we got an A on that project, even if we completely rejected factual history in our reports. Whatever. We had weird teachers … The thing is this: I wound up spending a lot of time with Sophie and often went with her on trips to her mom's place near Vancouver. Her mom was a professor and made a HUGE impression on me. After all, she was an author of a book you actually came across in bookstores in Canada and always seemed to be writing or traveling somewhere to give a speech. But that kind of future as an author and professor was beyond my imagination … Especially As A High School Dropout! That's why it must have been an act of fate when Sophie's mom found out on graduation night that I was attending only to celebrate, not walk away with a Dogwood like everyone else (Dogwood = fancy talk for "high school diploma" out in B.C.). I wasn't using memory techniques back then, so can't rattle the exact discussion off the top of my head. But it started with dismay … Then shifted to refusal … And ended with persuasion. Persuasion so strong I did exactly what Sophie's mom told me! You must finish your high school degree, Sophie's mom told me. You're exactly the kind of guy who should become a professor. Stay In School Until You've Reached The Very Top! That was her ultimate message. Get every degree you can until they won't reward you any more.Click To Tweet Even though it wasn't easy … Even though I wound up experiencing a long series of mysterious twists and turns … And even though I don't teach at a traditional university outside of the Magnetic Memory Method Online University these days … Memory Techniques Helped Me Get Every Degree You Can Get (And They Will Help You Too!) And don't think for a second that it wasn't painful. I had to go back and sit with a group of kids younger than myself for an entire semester to get that Dogwood. But here's the thing: Even though I was embarrassed and felt totally out of place when I went back to high school … I was never bored. Not anymore. You see, Sophie's mom had installed within me a picture of hope and triumph during an uncertain time. A time during which, no matter how smart a kid I may have been, without a degree I prob

Picture this: You're a bright student well on your way to completing your high school diploma, but also … You're a child of chaos. Yes, you love your parents, but … It's been a rocky road. You live an all too interesting life. And most days, school is the last thing on your mind. Plus … when you do go … School Is Utterly Boring! At least, that was almost always the case for me. I mean … seriously? What the heck is a high school diploma to a guy who just wants to play bass, write lyrics and hang out with his friends? And the teachers? Not exactly friendship material. And yet … Why You Should Never Forget Any Of Your Teachers Sure, I had some real characters for teachers. For example, there was the guy who had a fishing boat on his truck. We always saw him leaning against it and smoking a pipe before wandering off to his classroom during the breaks. Another teacher was a champion curler. He could make the trash bin stop on a dime right beside the desk of anyone chewing gum. And then there was the math teacher who always used beer in his examples because it was the only thing he could do to get anyone's attention. And you know what? Even though I forget 99.99% of everything they taught me … They still teach me because I use them as Bridging Figures in my Memory Palaces. Milk Those Teachers For All They're Worth! Advanced memory improvement tip: Go through your life history and write down the name and a description of every teacher you've ever had.Click To Tweet If you remember their names, all the better. But more importantly, focus on their classrooms. What they looked like. How they moved. Then keep these details in mind for the next time you need to remember something. If you've got the Magnetic Memory Method under your belt, those teachers will serve you very well as mnemonic tools for the rest of your life. You just have to finesse them a little by doing the simple memory exercise of "excavating" them from your past. Anyhow … … As amusing as those teachers were … I still thought grinding out the hours toward this abstract thing called a "high school diploma" was … A Complete Waste Of Time! It really felt that way. Besides, almost every teacher I spent time with obviously had other things they would rather have been doing with their time. Fishing … Curling … Drinking beer … No Wonder I Became A High School Dropout! But here's the thing … Just because I dropped out of high school doesn't mean I stopped learning. Far from it! When I took my leave from the hallowed halls of high school education … I did it in a very sneaky way. (Hi Mom, if you're reading this!) Every morning, I'd head out to the bus like usual. But instead of standing and waiting for that rusted bucket along with the other kids … I'd leave for school a little bit earlier. No one ever saw me. This was rural Canada, after all. Frosty mornings … Turkey farms … Lots and lots of trees. The True Story Of My Real High School Diploma And back then, I carried one of razzmatazz yellow Walkman cassette-radio players. You know the kind: Chunky plastic that you bolted down. Grey plastic nozzles to protect the headphone jacks from getting wet. (Oh yes, multiple headphone jacks. You just never knew when there was going to be need for a spontenous listening share. We didn't have Facebook for sharing music videos on YouTube, after all …) But instead of my fave Metallica and Megadeth or Slayer cassettes those frosty schoolday mornings … I would listen to CBC Radio. Peter Gzowski's Morningside, to be exact. I could get lost in his voice so easily. Oh! and he always had great guests. Amazing guests … People who taught the listeners about themselves … About the world … And how to think about it from a myriad of exciting angles. To hell with school! I Learned Everything I Needed To Know About My Country And Science And Literature And World Political History During Those 6 Months Just By Walking Up Into The Hills With My Walkman! To this day, I can't quite understand why they even bothered having schools! Seriously? Why bother back when Gzowksi was so good at asking important authors, musicians and politicians the right questions. And my-oh-my, the stories they would tell! Anyhow, about 10 minutes along the road, there was a path up into the mountains. Like some kind of solace-seeking samurai of the mind, I would enter the forest. And yes, it was dangerous. More than once I nearly got my head kicked off by a startled deer. I can only thank my Magnetic stars that I never encountered a bear. Not Even That Tank Of A Walkman Could Have Defended Me … Listening away, I would begin my hike. Up, up, up. And once I'd climbed to one of my favorite crests … I would stand stoic over Silver Creek and watch the road. I could monitor my mom's place from that vantage point and even see a Lego-sized version of her scraping ice from the windshield of her car. Then she'd unplug the engine from the wall, wrap up the orange cable and then motor her way up to the road. I would half-chuc

It's annoying when the memory improvement exercises on your smartphone don't help, isn't it? Your smartphone is supposed to be smart after all. But instead, it's packed full of junk you never use or apps you never get results from. And if you're like most people, you've downloaded a few brain trainers, some of which included memory improvement exercises. Don't worry. I've been there. And the good news is … Memory Improvement Exercises Make Everything Better It's true. It's not just about improving your memory. It's also about bringing a higher level of fitness to your mind. But the truth is that the science just doesn't stand in favor of apps for exercising your memory. Far from it. Worse, companies have even been punished for some of the claims they make about the memory improvement an app can make possible. Stop wasting your time on memory improvement apps. Mind you … I have discovered one that I think is worth your time and I'll be talking about it later this year after I gather some more experience with it. But for now – and even if you take up the app I'm using now in the future – you never need memory improvement apps in order to complete the best memory improvement exercises in the world. Let's dive in to my Top 5 faves. 5. The Gary Small Memory Improvement Exercise It's been awhile since I interviewed Dr. Gary Small, author of the excellent book, 2 Weeks To A Younger Brain. My favorite exercise from the book involves a simple exercise that will amaze you. You not only feel your memory improving over time, but you get a clarity boost too. All you have to do is pay attention to people in the world. Pick one of them. Notice four details. Then, later in the day, recall that person and the four details you noticed. For example, the other day I chose a man I saw on the way to the gym. He wore a red scarf, black jacket, held his key in his hands and had scuffed brown shoes. Don't Try To Memorize! This is important: I didn't try to memorize these details. Instead, I just noticed them and asked my brain to pay attention. Then, on my way home from the gym and once again later in the day, I recalled those four details. It's such a simple exercise. Better than all the memory improvement vitamins in the world. And it feels so good. I've played a lot of memory improvement games and not a single one of them created nearly as much pleasure. Best part: You don't have to stop with just one person. You can do this memory exercise all day long and really stretch yourself. For example, when I got to the gym, I made it a point to notice four things about the woman at the desk who took my card and gave me my wristband. I noticed the grooming of her eyebrows and the colors of her sweater, jogging pants and shoes. And that made me more present. Something we all need to be practicing. We know that meditation is good for the brain, and this exercise, although not a form of meditation, relates to the practice because of how it keeps you aware of your surroundings. Instead of being lost in thought, you're actively paying attention to the world and the things you encounter in it. 4. Memorize Information From A Book But not just any information. Information that matters. Information that enhances the experience or even helps you make the world a better place. For example, some of us are sloppy readers. Because character names are repeated so often, we never bother to memorize them. That, or the authors focus our attention on the meaning of names in order to ensure that we instantly remember them. But what if we made it our goal to actively practice our memory by making some memory improvement exercises from the characters? For example, you can modify the Gary Small memory improvement game. Even if the author doesn't provide visual details for you to practice remembering … You Can Simply Make Them Up! I do this all the time when reading. For example, the novel I'm reading now has a character named Stone Luckman. For obvious reasons, that name is instantly memorizable, especially since you can see the character getting stones thrown at him. (Congrats to the novelist Matt Eaton of Blank for building an amazing mnemonic into this character's name!) But I add details. Like that he's bald, has a scar on his cheek, wears a vest and knee-high military boots. Disrespectful to the author? Perhaps, but as Stephen King points out in On Writing, he tends to scrimp on physical details in his writing because he knows readers go ahead and paint their own portraits of the characters anyway. The only question is … Do Readers Remember Those Details? Probably most don't. But you most certainly can. To let this exercise show you how to improve concentration and memory, give yourself a simple test with the next character you encounter in the novel you're reading. You are reading a novel, aren't you? If not, no worries – the same exercise applies to non-fiction as well. For example, I just finished reading No Limit: The Rise And Fall Of Bob Stupak And

Annoying, isn't it? You're an attentive person and you care about people. But no matter what, the names you encounter completely slip your mind. And it happens in a flash. In one ear and out the other. Zap! It's not just the names of people either. We're talking about the names of: Pets People Places Months Days Holidays Historical periods Wars Books Vehicles Events Institutions … and even adjectives derived from proper names. The List Goes On And On! The question is … Why is information like this so darned difficult to remember? Well, you're in luck. Although some of the reasons may shock you, today you're going to learn everything you need to know about exactly why proper names of all kinds of thing challenge your memory. And as we go along, we'll solve the problem so that names become much easier for you to remember. Why The Meaning Of Names Fuels The Fire In Your Brain At the most basic level, some names are easier to remember simply because they mean something as opposed to meaning nothing. For example, The Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall are less challenging to remember than Ostkreuz and Shun Yi for most people because the names themselves come soaked in meaning. But if you hit a name cold with no base line of familiarity … It slides out of your grip like sand. Certain names also enter your memory at a younger age than others. Bugs Bunny, Marvin the Martian and Donald Duck all hold special favor in my memory because I've been encountering them for years. But in the John Grisham novel I'm reading right now, I needed to deliberately go out of my way to remember the names of the characters. Names like Troy and Nate are so bland, there's little for the mind to grab onto. Mnemonics to the rescue. How Authors Trick Your Brain Into Remembering Characters Other novelists are good at making remember character names easy, however. I'm also reading Blank at the moment. Author Matt Eaton uses names like Luckman. This naming strategy deliberately attaches meaning to the hero by reducing abstraction to a concrete signal that says this man has a relationship to luck. It tells your brain to look out for signs that confirm or disprove this, making the name instantly more memorable. On the other hand, the meaning of names spikes in value when Maxine is subtly shifted to Max. This technique asks the reader to think about her name as an object and wonder if she abbreviates it because she's fun and funky or to give her a masculine edge. The Name-Letter Effect And Your Brain's Endless Name Meaning Search The truth is that names usually have no meaning. And in the real world, there is no author in the sky using literary tricks to help you remember names or find meaning in them. But that doesn't stop your brain from seeking the meaning of names when you encounter them. For example, Jozef Nuttin has demonstrated your brain finds the alphabet letters in your name more attractive than others. Now called the Name-Letter Effect, Nuttin's discovery sheds light on why some people do better in school, gravitate towards certain cities and remember some names better than others. In the main study, Nuttin presented students ranging from elementary school to university with letter pairs. Some were given random letters. Other subjects were given lists that more closely matched the letters in their names. In either case, when asked to select the letters they preferred, all subjects showed a preference for letters that were in their own names. Although memory studies don't all agree, it is possible that the Name-Letter Effect also explains why we remember some names better than others. And It Seems To Appear In Just About Any Language! Note that this effect does not appear to be language-specific. It has been tested in Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish. Other experimenters have tried it with other alphabets like cyrillic and done experiments to see if the effect persists into adulthood when people learn a foreign language that uses a different alphabet or character-set. Also note that the Name Letter Effect might apply to numbers as well. Although I use the Major Method, I tend to find 2 and 7 easier than other numbers, and that advantage may reflect the fact that my birthday is overloaded with both of them. Sound Has Its Own Sex And Success Appeal There's no doubt about it. Some names sound nicer than others. And that appears to have a psychological effect. For example, if your name "sounds" like it belongs to a successful person, you may be motivated to fulfill the prophecy. So one cool trick for remembering names a lot better you can explore is to always associate new information with successful people. This is why the Magnetic Memory Method teaches you to create lists of celebrities. When you do this, you're not just equipped with a "crib" of associations ready to go. You also have the success effect working in your favor. How To Cut Through The Noise And Remember Names Pr

Annoying, isn't it? You say to yourself, "I'll just Google it." Then you do. Get the goods. Move on. Only problem is … Next time you need the info … Thanks to Digital Amnesia … It's Gone! Honestly, this condition called "Digital Amnesia" or "Google Amnesia" … stinks. Not only do you have a fine brain humming along in your skull … There are also a gazillion good reasons why you should be using it properly. Yes, properly. Even if you really can just look stuff up online. Because here's the VERY good news: This year is the best year ever to use your memory at the highest possible level. And this is the year you're going to make it happen, even if battles with net neutrality are starting to make the Internet we've come to love look like an endangered species. Here's how: You Can't Annihilate A Problem You Haven't Defined It's fun to throw around cool terms like "The Google Effect" and "Digital Dependence." But until you've spent some time defining the monster, you'll have a hard time setting it on fire. Or at least using your Magnetic torches to herd it out of the village. That said … what exactly is "Digital Amnesia"? Back in 2015, the Internet security company Kaspersky Lab put out an interesting report on the matter. You really should read it. To condense the report for you, Digital Amnesia occurs whenever your mind draws a blank on information you've stored on a device you trust. And as the report suggests, this outcome isn't always a bad thing. For example, do you really need to remember the thousands of website addresses you've bookedmarked (and never visited again)? Heavens No! But that doesn't mean you're off the hook. Also included is information like the phone numbers of family members and friends. And the reality is that by not remembering them anymore, we're endangering lives as we weaken our brains. Seriously. Without knowing the numbers of your loved ones, what would you do in an emergency if your phone wasn't working? Ask a good Samaritan if he remembers your spouse's number? No way, Jose. That's your job. And you've got all the tools you need to get all kinds of simple number strings done when you use the Major Method. How To Suck The Life Out Of Half Your Brain Ever heard of "deskilling"? It basically means that you become less capable over time because you're no longer using certain skills. And that can only lead to bad outcomes: * A destroyed brain * Crappy employment * No employment * … and much, much worse, including linguistic deskilling. But you're probably asking: How exactly does having Google and your devices remember everything for you destroy your brain? Simple. When you develop dependence on technology, the areas of your brain responsible for memory start to decay. Just like the muscles in your body would do if you stopped walking. The Truth About Deskilling Your Brain No, deskilling the muscles of your memory won't necessarily happen to you overnight. But one day you'll wake up and … Bam! You Can Barely Remember A Thing! And it gets worse. Because memory has a sibling. Concentration. And as long as you have the Internet at your fingertips, you don't even bother using your concentration to try and access things you might actually have in your memory. How To Put A Barrier Between Need And Action Instead of instantly searching for information you already know, pause for a second. Give your memory a bit of space. Ask and you might just receive. But when you push it away and go straight to the search engines, you're deskilling your memory every time. And that means you're also damaging your concentration. The good news is that you can improve focus fast with these tips, but there will be more work to be done. Starve The Brain To Rebuild The Brain Yes, I'm talking about destroying digital amnesia by going on an information diet. But wait! you protest. I don't want to miss out on – Miss out on what? More fake news of the impending apocalypse? Come close, my friend. I'll show you exactly how to take a powerful, memory-boosting digital detox so you can seriously improve your entire life in the process. Stop Letting The Internet Push You Around Here's a little secret for you: I have never once "allowed push notifications." So far, I don't think I've missed out on anything of any interest. I could be horribly wrong about that, but I recommend you never accept notifications of any kind in your life that you don't control. By being in control of when you're disrupted, you automatically improve your ability to concentrate. Fight Digital Amnesia Like A Magnetic Jedi For a real Jedi Mind Trick memory exercise, try setting a notification with a positive message for 12:03 p.m. every day. Then work on remembering and reminding yourself that the notification comes at that time. It's tough, but doable. Your mind really can track time and remind itself to remember. (For more cool Mind Tricks like these, check out my post on brain exercises.) Put Your Devices In The Dog House Virginia Woolf famously wrot

Entrepreneurs need a ton of skills to achieve their goals. And let's face it: The amount of material entrepreneurs need to learn can be downright discouraging. Just to stand a chance of "making it" requires so much know-how that a lot of people give up. Here's the good news: You don't have to give up on your entrepreneurial dreams. You can learn and remember everything you need to know. And you can recall it all with ease. But as they say in the entrepreneurial world, a lot of success comes from first knowing your "why." That's why in this post I'm going to talk about the 5 biggest reasons entrepreneurs need memory techniques. Don't Discount Any Of These! Each is important, and you'll find that the Magnetic Memory Method covers each. If you haven't already taken the free course I've got for you, grab the memory kit by subscribing above and get ready for an amazing memory boost that will impressive the pants off you and everyone you know. 1. Not Being Able To Remember Numbers May Be Causing More Lost Revenue Than You Can Imagine Numbers overload the average life lived in business: Conversion rates Tax percentages Statistical formulas Phone numbers Identification codes Dates and times … and many, many more. A huge part of the success of any entrepreneurial enterprise links directly with how well you can manage numbers like these. You can't wring more profit out of numbers you haven't remembered, after all. And you can't even begin to understand math concepts you haven't committed to memory. To get better at memorizing numbers, it's important that you learn the Major Method (sometimes called The Major System). What Is The Major Method? It's a way of quickly memorizing numbers by turning them into images. There are different ways of using the Major Method, but to get started, associate each number from 0-9 with a sound. Here's what I use based on a standard approach popular around the world: 0 = soft c, s, z 1 = d or t 2 = n 3 = m 4 = r 5 = l 6 = ch, j, sh 7 = g, k 8 = f, v 9 = b, p But right now, you're probably wondering … How On Earth Am I Supposed To Remember All Of That?!? It's pretty easy – if you're willing to experiment. I won't give you an example for each number, but to get you started: For zero, you could see a giant snake hissing as it eats its own tail. The shape of a snake in a circle resembles the digit 0. The sound of hissing reminds you of the 's' and soft 'c' sound options. For nine, look closely: From one perspective, it's like a 'b' standing on its head. From another perspective, it's a golf club facing the wrong direction and driven down into the ground. Check out five. If you hold out your left hand and stick out your thumb, you'll notice that you have five digits. The pointer finger and thumb make an L-shape. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy! Let's put it all together. If you wanted to remember a number like 905, the Major Method gives you several options with these letter-sounds. You'd just need to pop in a few vowels so you can make a word. For example, 905 could be: Basel (the herb) or Brazil (the country on a map or the Terry Gilliam movie). 509 could be an image of yourself speaking with a lisp. 590 could be Jennifer Lopez. Make her leaping to compound the 5 and 9 and it'll be even easier to remember. This Is Just The Beginning Of Remembering Numbers With Ease Give this memory technique a try. You'll find that it does wonders for your memory improvement. And it's fun to give your friends challenges, like Jonathan Levi and I have done. Even just a short run of numbers like the serial numbers on a dollar bill makes for great memory exercise in a restaurant. Just make sure that you're not totally exhausted – and even then the techniques can still work wonders. Here's the full story: I can't stress how important the ability to remember numbers is for an entrepreneur so please get busy and let me know how you fare. 2. A Simple Way To Remember Names That Works Even In The Noisiest Convention Halls And Business Meetings As an entrepreneur, you meet a lot of people. And there's nothing worse than forgetting someone's name. It's embarrassing. It's crude. It's unnecessary. To learn how to remember names, check out this Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and the accompanying illustrations. You'll find it useful. In brief, all you need for getting started with remembering names is the ability to make associations. You can create your Magnetic associations in advance or on the fly. Let's look at both options. I will ultimately suggest that you learn both … you'll need them! The Magnetic Memory Method Name Crib Some people who use memory techniques create databanks of celebrities in their minds. That way, whenever they meet someone new, they can make instant associations. For example, I have Tom Cruise as my instant go-to name when I meet a new person named Tom. When I meet someone named Lars, I whip out Lars Ulrich, the drummer from Metallica. New people I meet named Sarah are instantly paired with Linda Ham

Was 2016 as amazing for you as it was for me? If you did anything to experience memory improvement, I'll bet it was great. Maybe even … Magnetic. My top highlight? Getting interviewed on my own show by none other than SuperLearner Jonathan Levi. So even there though's a lot of groovy things to read on this page and year end links to explore … Scroll up and hit that play button. Jonathan helps me dig deep into the Mind of a Memorizer. And it's all kind of fascinating, because when you think about it … Who Knew You Could Still Improve The Ancient Art Of Memory Improvement? Hard to believe, but totally true. And you can do it even if you were a "delinquent youth," which is just one of the topics we touch upon in the interview. We also talk about dealing with Manic Depression without medication … The nature of truth and memory … And my top book and movie recommendations, including: Books The Republic The Nichomachean Ethics Better Never To Have Been: The Harm Of Coming Into Existence Movies Lost Highway (best memory quote in cinema history) eXistenZ The Matrix And while you're jamming your way through those great movies, I have to say that my all time favorite video course from 2016 has been SuperLearner 2.0: Thanks to my friendship with Jonathan, you can now take a free trial of the SuperLearner Academy. Thanks for that, Jonathan! Speaking of friendship … The Magnetic Memory Method 2017 Predictions For Your Memory A lot of people are making 2017 predictions about a lot of things. As far as I know, none of them involve the state of memory improvement. Here are my top predictions for how things will go with some tips about how to make memory improvement part of your 2017 adventure. Why Friendships Improve Your Memory Friendship and memory, you ask? You bet. And as more and more social groups form online, the more "real life" friendships will matter. For example, a recent memory improvement book demonstrates that we just don't remember a lot of what we experience online all that well. Of course, you can develop techniques that help (check out Jonathan's course!), but my bigger concern is that you get the memory benefits of spending time with real people. In the world. Some ways to make sure you get your memory-friendly time with people in the world include: Daily walks with a friend Weekly lunches or dinners Meeting to memorize cards together Shared language learning challenges Just getting together to shoot the breeze I know you heard me talk a lot about him in 2016, and that's because the favorite new friend I made in 2016 is Tony Buzan. I have a prediction that there will be even more amazing stuff coming out from him in 2016, and I'm going to suggest to him a quarterly feature on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast called Buzan². He reads so fast … I wouldn't be surprised if he already knows about it before I've had a chance to ask him. For now, my favorite pic of the year: Why The Pen Will Remain Mightier Than The Sword in 2017 Penmanship used to be a preoccupation of mine. I predict I'll be returning to it in 2017. Maybe I'm old school. Or maybe I just like Da Vinci. Either way, there's no arguing that there's a thing called penmanship and developing it is good for your brain. It's tempting to say to hell with it. People type, tap and swipe now. But in watching April wrangle pinyin and hanzi out of my iPad on the same day I watched some of the beautiful Chinese calligraphy in Devils on the Doorstep: As I study Chinese calligraphy a bit myself, it seems clear to me that it's not just the multiple intelligences and muscular activity we're losing. It's a kind of art. And I predict that individuals and nations that hang onto it will outpace those who do not. Journaling Will Improve Your Memory Even Better Than In The Victorian Era John Lee Dumas is an entrepreneur on fire. And The Freedom Journal is just one aspect of his genius. I'm not ready to share yet how it helped me on a massive project in 2016, but I can tell you that the The Freedom Journal has streamlined my daily journaling down to the essentials. Even better: The Freedom Journal has given me the means of tying those essentials to making huge strides toward an ambitious goal I had left dangling. Here I am using The Freedom Journal in Zürich. I carried it with me all around Europe while working on a project I predict I will tell you about in 2017. My favorite part is that The Freedom Journal is also a memory tool. So I also predict that in 2017 you'll hear me sharing more about this exciting tool in relation to memory techniques. Oh, okay, one more prediction about this: I predict that if you join me in being a Freedom Journal user, you'll massively upgrade your life while contributing to a great cause. Language Learning Will Increase In Importance It doesn't require any psychic powers to predict that knowing more than one language will be even more important in 2017 than it was in 2016. The question is … Will it be any easier in 2017? The answer is ea

Except for the threats, the sirens and the guys with guns … last night was amazing for my memory. First, April got invited to make dumplings to celebrate the last day of Autumn and the first day of Winter on the Chinese calendar. I love the Magnetic Memory Method because I was able to remember those words in Chinese … 秋天 qiūtiān (Autumn) 冬天 dōngtiān (Winter) Crazy thing is … I'd only heard them once in my life and used an impromptu Memory Palace to memorize them. Months later … They Were All Still Intact! As was this song that took really just a few minutes to memorize: Sure, I had a bit of a pronunciation problem here and there, but that's easily solved by developing muscle memory. It's understandable that words you don't use for months that you only heard once don't exactly snap into place. But what a GREAT feeling to be able to remember them! And all by doing something I really love: Using my memory. After that, we were shooting video and getting into more of the particulars about how all this works. We Got Lost! We wound up getting a bit lost and keeping warm inside the bank machine area of a building. And that's when the threats and guns appeared. Turns out, that a guy didn't like me having the camera on while April was teaching me how to say, "I'm lost" in Chinese. Good thing the Magnetic Memory Method teaches relaxation as part of the memory technique … You certainly need to be calm when a stranger starts telling you what you can and cannot do. It's hard managing your defensive instincts and memory at the same time. (You'll laugh when you see my reaction in the video and the guns that were there to keep us safe all along). So yes, April and I survived. Perfect Recall … Even Under Duress And the coolest thing is that I was still able to memorize "I am lost" in Chinese. I can still remember exactly how to say it this morning. Not to mention a couple of other words and phrases. Like, "Smells good!" And "garbage can." Instantly Memorized! No sweat. No tears. No index cards. No software. But as I was editing the video this morning … it occurred to me that not everyone learning Chinese has access to native speakers. And in the video I was talking about some solutions. They're all part of The Big Five of Language Learning. But then I remembered something really special I've been following for awhile. It's a website called MandarinHQ. And when they released a course on real spoken Chinese, I jumped at the chance yesterday to grab access to it. It's called The Real Spoken Chinese Vault. Yes, I laid down some cash even though I have a Chinese native speaker in my family. Why? Partly because I like to support awesome people out on the Internet who do good work. But also because I do memory research. Lots of it. And I also want to support because what I'm about to tell you helps solve a huge problem for people learning Chinese. It's the "Can you please repeat that?" problem. Chinese Native Speakers On Demand Imagine having a video course where you get access to vocabulary and short phrases that lets you … Instantly click a button … … and then instantly hear that phrase again. That would be cool, wouldn't it? Well, The Real Spoken Chinese Vault isn't just about audio. You Can Hear Them And See Them The Real Spoken Chinese Vault also has video. And you get strategically placed buttons so that you can see and hear 4-5 different native speakers repeat key phrases you'll need to learn. It's the kind of button I wish I had in real life when learning a language. For When You Can't Put Life On Pause Because, yes, I can memorize information in real time. But sometimes it's nice to be able to slow the world down and repeat things so I'm sure I've heard it right. In fact, most of my memorization errors from real-time memory work come from now having heard it right. What you're about to learn about solves that problem. Again, you get to SEE and HEAR native Chinese speakers. A Lot In The Form Of Important Questions And Answers Just like you'll need to know in every day speech. But there's more. Not much more, but just enough more to make this powerful package a no-brainer: Because the program really wants to help you learn Chinese without overwhelming you … Imagine a progression of exposure to the language in each lesson. You start with seeing and hearing the speaker. Progressive Exposure Reduces Cognitive Overwhelm You can repeat each one delivering the phrase as many times as you like. Then, when you're ready, you can see the pinyin. Same principle applies. Click that magic repeat button all that you like as you watch and listen. And then move on to the next stage. When You're Ready … Then, and only then will you see the Chinese characters on the screen. Your magic repeat button is right there, ready for use. This program truly is one of the only times I will support hard-repetition. It's very smartly done. It's not boring. It's not painful. And you learn in a way that doesn't waste your language learning time. I also like

In the modern world of omnipresent information access, memorization is almost a thing of the past. And this shift has occurred very quickly. Little more than a decade ago, it wasn't uncommon that a person had to memorize a sizable list of phone numbers belonging to partners, siblings, parents and close friends. Now Many Of Us Forget Our Own Cell Phone Numbers! Despite this, there are situations in the modern day that still require memorization. Perhaps phone numbers and historical facts are better left to Google, but not everything can and should be searched via a computer. A notable example which is becoming conversant is "language" – which requires that you memorize a huge amount of vocabulary and grammar. Until now, there isn't a technology effective enough to replace human ability to learn and master a language. In the past, having to memorize information was not optional because information wasn't easily accessible. Up until the 19th century, paper was expensive, especially for quantities required to make a book. To add to it was that not many people could read and write so the ability and need to memorize and recall information was critical. Why The Greeks Adored Memory Palace Science That's why a powerful memorization method was adored by the ancient Greeks. This technique is used even as at today by memory experts to commit huge amounts of information to mind. And thanks to have an abundance of Ancient Greek facts that have been handed down, anyone can learn to use a Memory Palace at any time. One such memory expert, used it to memorize Pi to over 100,000 digits. This memorization technique is called the Method of Loci, or more commonly the "Memory Palace". It is a memorization method that not only has held the test of time, but has been shown to be effective through modern-day studies. You may even have heard of the Memory Palace technique without realizing it because it has been featured in multiple books and media. The Silence Of The Memory Palace In Fiction And Movies For example, the technique was employed by the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter in the novel series "Hannibal" written by an American author Thomas Harris. In several passages of the novel, Lecter was described as mentally walking through an elaborate Memory Palace to remember facts. That's the basics of the Memory Palace technique. Although relatively unknown, this method can be a game-changing technique for people who want to improve their ability to retain large amounts of information. You might be a student trying to master information for an exam, or an aspiring polyglot trying to learn Italian. You might be aging and finding it more difficult to recall routine information. Whatever memorization challenge you face, the Memory Palace technique is a proficient way to finally help you achieve your goals. How the Memory Palace Technique Evolved The origin of the Memory Palace technique was traced to ancient Greece. As mentioned earlier, in the olden days, people had higher incentives to create effective methods of retaining information. Writing and writing materials were difficult to access. The Memory Palace technique was introduced to the ancient Romans and the world via Greek rhetorical treatises. The Roman Cicero described the Memory Palace technique in his writings on rhetoric, called De Oratore. In De Oratore, Circero claims that his Memory Palace method originated from the Greek poet Simonides. Simonides was commissioned to recite a poem praising a group of nobles at a banquet. After the recitation, Simonides left the hall and shortly after the edifice collapsed and killed all the people in the banquet. The bodies were so badly mangled that not even close relatives could identify the corpses of their own people. However, Simonides was able to identify each of the corpses by name based on their location. Based on this experience, Simonides devised the Memory Palace technique (Bower 1970). Whether this story is reality or myth, it illustrates the basic idea behind the Memory Palace technique. Luckily, you don't have to attend a tragic banquet to master the technique and start using it to improve your information retention. For a true story that will rivet you from beginning to end, check out The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. How to Create a Memory Palace The basic idea behind the Memory Palace Technique is to associate pieces of information with a location that you are very familiar with. A prime example would be of your home. If you'd like some free Memory Palace worksheets and a concise memory improvement video course, do this now: If you close your eyes right now, you can probably picture your home with a high degree of detail. You know where the furniture is found, what colors the walls are, and even where small objects are placed. The Memory Palace technique has to do with associating information with specific areas of that familiar location. As you walk through that location, you place pieces of information that

You've heard about Mind Mapping and Memory Palaces, right? Well, if you're anything like the hundreds of people who have emailed me about it, you've probably wondered … "Can I bring Mind Mapping and the Memory Palace together?" To help me answer the question, I asked the reigning World Mind Mapping champion Phil Chambers to talk about Mind Mapping and how to bring this creativity, memory and learning tool together with a Memory Palace. Turns out that we had a lot more than just that to talk about. Tune in to this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and learn all about. How To Combine Mind Mapping And Memory Palaces With Phil Chambers ⊕ The techniques Phil uses in his personal daily memory practice. ⊕ How to capture and store ideas using memory techniques – even when you're driving. ⊕ The number-rhyme technique to take action on to-do list items. (Not to be mistaken for the Major Method/Major System.) ⊕ The perfect Mind Mapping definition and where to learn more about mind mapping techniques ⊕ Why there are always new things to explore in the world of memory techniques. Once you start using them, you will never cap out on new angles to explore and increase your skills. ⊕ The difference between semantic memory and episode memory and how using the journey method capitalizes on the power of both. This is the most "natural" way to use your memory. Hanging out with Phil Chambers and Tony Buzan ⊕ The reasons why memory competition skills translate directly into every day memory needs we all face. ⊕ Why the principles behind Mind Mapping never changes, but Mind Mapping software continues bring new enhancements to the art and craft of this thinking, learning and planning tool. ⊕ Details on how to bring Mind Mapping together with the Memory Palace technique. ⊕ Why and how Mind Mapping uses all of the classic memory techniques. ⊕ The major criticism about memory techniques as regurgitation of knowledge and not learning – and why it's misguided. ⊕ Why Phil's title as a World Mind Mapping champion is up for grabs and exactly how to take his title. ⊕ The exact criteria by which world class Mind Mapping is judged. ⊕ Why you should never worry about your artistic ability when creating Mind Maps. ⊕ Phil's Mind Mapping examples of how to schedule your week and get more done. ⊕ How Mind Mapping your daily schedule gives you many more details than a to-do list. Not only that, but you'll often be able to double your efforts in ways you wouldn't have otherwise seen on a page with linear notes. Further Resources 101 Top Tips For Better Mind Maps By Phil Chambers for Kindle Phil Chamber's website (where you can subscribe to his newsletter!) Phil Chambers on Twitter Phil Chambers on YouTube Phil Chambers Talks About The Outer Limits Of Memory Skills The post How To Combine Mind Mapping And Memory Palaces With Phil Chambers appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

Remember Joanna Jast and all those tips she gave you on how to improve focus and concentration while you work on memory improvement? Good news. Joanna's back with a new book called Hack Your Habits and in this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we've got her here to talk about it. As always, I've got the interview transcript for you below and would love to hear your comments and questions in the discussion area below. Enjoy! Why You Don't Have To Have It All Mapped Out To Get A Handle On Your Habits Anthony: You go into your personal story in the introduction. Why do you think you faced so many challenges and what was the turning point? Joanna Jast: It's interesting you're asking me this question. I actually thought about it the other day on my way to work. And – I don't really have the answer. I suppose it's the combination of many factors: my temperament – which is like emotional and behavioural building blocks for personality and to large extend is hardwired, inborn, so my temperament, my upbringing, the environment I grew up in, the challenges I faced in life and the solutions to those challenges I chose to follow etc. I haven't got it all 'mapped out', but I think the key reasons why I've faced so many difficulties is my low threshold for boredom, poor ability to delay gratification, my self-compassion, which drives many of my willpower failures with: 'But you deserve it, Joanna… you've had such a bad day'. The turning points? There have been quite a few. But if I was to choose the key turning points that led me to create my own system for building better habits, it would be the following three: The first one the day when my study routine was born. It was actually accidental – I wrote about it in my book Laser-Sharp Focus. It was the moment when I decided to stop trying to study in the evening, sitting on the sofa or on the bed and start doing it in the morning, at my desk. To cut a long story short, I suddenly realised not only how much more productive and effective my study sessions became, but also how much happier I became – with better grades, more energy and time to do other things in life. Now, 20 years later, looking back at what happened, I realise that back then I created a study routine, which over the years became my productivity and now writing routine that has transformed my life. My study routine happened to be one on those keystone habits – habits that create a ripple effect throughout our life, creating space and energy for more healthy habits to emerge and grow stronger, ultimately transforming our lives. How The Secrets Of Behavioral Economics Can Improve Your Life The second turning point was the day when I heard about Behavioural Economics for the first time. It was during a lecture on marketing. I went home, did more research, read books, articles, did a course and… fall in love with the approach. I thought this could be something that would work for me. So I started experimenting with various behavioural economics strategies. Initially, I applied them to sort out my finances – so paid off my debts and started saving money. Then, I started experimenting with my exercise routine and eating habits. And the third pivotal point was, when I refined my exercise routine, my running routine to incorporate all the lessons I'd learnt about human nature and my own difficulties in forming habits, and particularly – my previous failures in establishing a reliable exercise routine. I used many of the behavioural economics strategies I'd learn about when doing it. And now I've got a running routine, where I run 3 times per week, whether I feel motivated or not (and at least once a week I don't feel motivated at all), whether is raining, or 100% humidity, or my foot is sore. I just do it. The Truth About Your Age And Your Habits Anthony: Is the problem of habits age specific? Does it apply to all ages equally? Joanna Jast: I don't know, really. I think this is a problem of our times though – so this modern age. We become more aware of the role and the impact of habits, good and bad, on our health, happiness, success, on our lives, and also we realise that motivation and willpower have limits. And that's why we think about our habits more, we become interested in strategies for improving them. You can say that 'habits are in fashion these days'. And it's nothing negative – on the contrary. I'm very happy to see that many people are turning away from relying on unreliable motivational strategies towards using more practical approaches to transforming their lives. So it's not only scientists, or health and fitness fanatics who are exploring habits. Many people, of all ages, are seeking better understanding of habits, and their own habits in particular, to improve their health, happiness, wealth, relationships and many other aspects of their personal and professional lives. Anthony: Talk about putting systems on autopilot. It sounds too good to be true. What does "autopilot" mean and how

Chinese poems thrill poetry fans around the world. They've been translated into umpteen languages and create wonderful images in the mind. Here's something even cooler: As a student of the Magnetic Memory Method, it's easy to encounter a new Chinese poem just once and memorize it with a high level of recall. We're talking 92-95% accuracy after 24 hours, with 98-100% accuracy thereafter using MMM Recall Rehearsal. And the best part is: Each Poem Is Easier To Memorize Than The Last! So by now you're probably asking … How does the Magnetic Memory Method work for memorizing Chinese poems? And how can I do it too? I'm glad you asked because the steps are clear, crisp, clever and concise. 1. Get some Chinese poems (Duh!) In this regard, I'm the luckiest man on the planet. I'm married to a woman who knows a bunch of Chinese poems by heart. But even if you don't have a Chinese speaker in your life, it's easy to find someone using a learn languages online service. The important thing is to choose poems that are short, sweet and simple. This helps reduce the cognitive overload at the beginning. Songs work too. Like this one: 2. Have More Than One Memory Palace On Hand It's no secret that I teach the Memory Palace technique as a skill of multiples. One is the most dangerous number when it comes to memory, so make sure that: 1) You always have more than one Memory Palace ready to go. 2) You have the ability to create an impromptu Memory Palace on the fly. With these two abilities, you can either use a pre-existing Memory Palace or just whip one up on the spot. In this case, each of the Chinese poems I've learned are only four lines each. I used a new Memory Palace for each. I created the first two Memory Palaces on the fly, one in a hotel room, the other in an AirBnB. The third was in my current kitchen, a Memory Palace I've been using and reusing for Chinese since I started learning the language. 3. Create Your Associative-Imagery Word For Word, Line By Line Nothing creates more fun than creating associations that let you recall information like the lines of Chinese poems. I like to get a sense for the word and let my mind do the work without force. Daily meditation helps because I'm relaxed, but I also tell April to give me a second when she feeds me the lines. In that second, I'm breathing and accessing the deepest reservoirs of relaxation I've cultivated over the years. I also do a quick body scan and squeeze all my major muscles. This calms and centers me. My ego gets out of the way and all forms of resistance slip away. Please don't laugh at the meditation and relaxation. They are key to the success of most memorizers and memory competitions incorporate a version of it into the events. The "Buttock Squeeze" Memory Technique You Should Not Dismiss I'll never forget the Amazon reviewer who dismissed one of my books because I talk about relaxation and memory – including squeezing your buttocks. It was a seriously strange review. But here's the thing: If taking a second to clear the mind and body good enough for memory competitors who demonstrate intense memory feats like memorizing a deck of cards in under 20 seconds, it's good enough for my simple goal of memorizing some Chinese poems. Don't discount the power of relaxation in your memory practice. It makes a huge difference. And yes, squeezing each muscle in your body – including your rear end – helps. Try it before you knock it. 4. Keep Your Mindset Intact As April feeds me the lines, I see Han Solo, Dee Snider and Shania Twain interacting in uncouth ways with Horton from the Dr. Suess book. I see my friend Shayne strangling Jar Jar Binks and Bruce Lee fighting a Chia pet. And that's just for starters. Are all these images a lot to juggle? Not really. I do it all the time, as you can see on my Basic Chinese Phrases and Mandarin Mnemonics playlist: And the truth is … I don't even really see the images. It's somewhere between sight and sense using all the Magnetic Modes. I made this infographic to help explain what I mean: In such, the Magnetic Modes are entities of thought that have specific locations in a Memory Palace. Like Carl Jung dumping sand on my mom's old friend Sandy. Where else could that be taking place except over the garbage can in the kitchen? That where else question is one of the most powerful tools in mnemonics you'll ever use. But even if this jumble of characters and actions were challenging to keep moving in the air, it's all a question of mindset. Think of it this way: If the people who built rollercoasters said, "Woah, that's WAY to much track to erect in the sky," there would be no amusement parks. Same thing with using a Memory Palace. If you tell yourself it's too much to handle, it will be. But if you take it just one Memory Palace Station and one word at a time, you'll have no problem memorizing Chinese poems. 5. Make Sure The Images Are Strong Enough When memorizing Chinese poems in a hurry, it's tempting to use the first images that c

Life is good, isn't it? You bet it is. But for some reason, when times get tough, without knowing a thing about the Prime Ministers of Canada, people around the world throw up their hands and say, "It's time to head to the Great White North." Here's the thing: You'll find some beautiful terrain and plenty of peace-loving citizens. But as a nation, we do not lack our own host of colorful characters. So if you're coming over for a permanent BBQ in response to US election results or some dictator who's been giving you the squeeze, it's time to learn how to memorize the Prime Ministers of Canada. It's important to know what you're getting into, after all. Beginner's Guide To Memorizing Any List The first thing to understand when memorizing the names of the Canadian Prime Ministers is that you're dealing with a list. We're talking about discrete units of information. Like, Sir John A. Macdonald (1815-1891). The best way to rapidly memorize any list is to create a Memory Palace. All Memory Palace creation takes is a simple drawing and a list of your Magnetic Stations charted out in a strategic way. Creating an effective Memory Palace reduces your cognitive load to a bare minimum. That reduction forms a huge part of the secret behind how memory techniques like a Memory Palace work: You use a location you already know to place information you'll Magnetically encode with imagery you already know onto a station so you can retrieve and decode what you want to know later. Curious about correct Memory Palace creation? Here's a Memory Palace walkthrough based on a Memory Palace submitted by a Magnetic Memory Method student: A Small Set Of Super Important Information In this case, we have just 23 names for the Prime Ministers of Canada. When it comes to memorizing them, you have options. 1. You can create one Memory Palace with 23 Magnetic Stations exclusively for remembering them. 2. You can create two Memory Palaces with 12 Magnetic Stations each. In either case, you 'll ideally use Memory Palaces with more Magnetic Stations than you need so that you can use more than one station per name if needed. Or, if you're already experienced with memory techniques, you can experiment with the Magnetic Memory Method "passing the baton" technique, which allows you to memorize more than one name per station. That's for advanced memorizers, however, and even then, it's good once in awhile to stick with the basics. And that's ultimately what I recommend so that you can add the dates of the Prime Ministers later using the Magnetic Chaining memory technique. The Art Of Embarrassing Politicians Let's assume you've got a Memory Palace with a bit more than 23 Magnetic Stations to give you wiggle room. Next, you need your list of information. The Wikipedia Prime Ministers of Canada page is as good as any. Whip that little darling open and look at the first name. The trick to memorizing anything is association, also called encoding. It's easy, fun and with a bit of practice using special exercises I've created for you, unbelievably fast. John A. Macdonald, for example, brings to mind a picture of my friend and fellow mnemonist, John McPhedrine to mind. You've heard him on the show talking about memorizing German and music before. I see John at the first station of the Memory Palace I've created with a giant letter 'A' in his hands. He's using this to smash my MACbook Pro, which is playing a video of Donald Trump singing "Old Macdonald Had A Farm." Plus, as an advanced memorizer, I've got Trump's hair as the tail of a dog swatting at a bat. Why? Because that additional imagery helps me remember the dates of this Canadian Prime Minister. How does that work? It sounds complex, but it's actually simple: Using a special memory technique for memorizing numbers, 15 is "tail" and 91 is "bat." I've got an entire course in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass about all the ways you can remember numbers, or you can just check out this post on the Major Method. It's a great way to instantly memorize any number, and not just short ones like historical dates. The Prime Minister Who Built Walls You Can Be Proud Of Wikipedia tells this story about Alexander Mackenzie: Once, while touring Fort Henry as prime minister, he asked the soldier accompanying him if he knew the thickness of the wall beside them. The embarrassed escort confessed that he didn't and Mackenzie replied, "I do. It is five feet, ten inches. I know, because I built it myself!" Little anecdotes like this can be fun to remember when memorizing a name. Plus, it's interesting that Mackenzie was three times offered knighthood, but refused each time. To encode all of this into memory, it's a simple matter of seeing Alex from A Clockwork Orange taking … certain liberties with a former high school girlfriend of mine by the last name of Mackenzie against a section of the Berlin Wall now fixed on station two of my Prime Ministers of Canada Memory Palace. (Phew … that was a mouthful.) But the Macke

Studying about boring topics you don't give a hoot about sucks, right? Especially when you're in a rush. Especially when all you want is the grade, the certification, the knowledge. Well, I can't make any promises, but there might be a way to help make any topic much more interesting to you. At the very least, we can remove the sting of boredom. At best, we can make any topic we want 100% Magnetic. 1. Warning Signs That Your Mindset Is Off I know, I know. You're tired of hearing about mindset. But let's face it. We have minds. Every day we wake up with more or less the same world outside the window. Just like we have to make our beds so that the sheets won't be sprawled all over the place, we have to set up our minds for success. But that's the problem, isn't it? Lots of people are happy to leave their beds messy all day long and then crawl into the unkempt mess at night. It's cold because the mattress has been exposed and probably a bunch of insects have settled into the dune-like patterns. Sure, you might fall asleep okay, but there's nothing like slipping into a made bed. You know it's true. It's The Same Thing With Your Mind! Sure thing, you can get through life without setting up your mind for success, but it will be cold and exposed to the elements. The bugs will crawl in and lay their eggs, and you'll never get the warmth you deserve. But take just a few moments to tidy up and you'll reduce the suffering that comes from studying things you don't like. Because that's just the thing: A lack of mindset is probably the thing that got you into a position where you're studying things you're not passionate about in the first place. You're probably studying material that produces no great excitement because you're chasing after hopes and beliefs and dreams and wishes – not what you really want. How To Set A Powerful Mindset For Learning Whether you're trapped or not, the process works the same. The best way to get your mindset in order is to set it each and every morning. As I talked about in the Mandarin Chinese Mnemonics And Morning Memory Secrets episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, having morning rituals is a killer way to conquer the day. When it comes to creating a mindset for making the material you're studying vibrant and exciting, all you have to do is write down in a journal how exciting it is to be studying and how grateful you are to have the opportunity. And it's true: Not everyone has the learning opportunities you do. A massive percentage of people in the world don't have access to the Internet, schools, books or anything even remotely related to helping them develop their knowledge. But you … You've Got Everything You Need So take a moment every day to recognize what an amazing opportunity you have. If that isn't a recipe for injecting excitement into a boring topic … I don't know what is. If all else fails, here's what to do if you or someone you love is considering not completing their high school diploma. They may have already left school, but it's not too late to go back. I dropped out of high school myself for awhile, but I'm so glad I returned. Best decision of my life. 2. Be An Info-Completionist Okay, so now that you're plump with self-hypnosis induced excitement for the privilege of study, you still have to sit down and learn the stuff. The question is … How? A lot of people ask me how I manage to read so much, and the answer is simple: Get a book. Find a place to sit. Read the book. Repeat until you're done. I don't say that to be flippant, but it's the truth. If you're trying to read in a place filled with distractions or on a device that encourages you to skip from tab to tab and answer notifications … Stop Trying To Read Like That! Seriously. It's not a recipe for success. Plus, you want to read in a way that helps you isolate the information you want to memorize. I have two posts with podcasts and videos that show you how to realistically memorize a textbook. Just check out the video for now: If you want more information, listen to How to Memorize A Textbook and study the infographic. True, my approach to realistically memorizing textbooks involves a bit of setup, but people who give it a try usually find that the process makes reading and remembering the key points of even the most difficult books much easier. The best part: By having a dedicated strategy for reading books, you make it a lot more fun. Like having a mindset, having a process you can follow without having to think about it makes everything more fun and interesting. Having operating principles and guidelines reduces cognitive load, and like Tony Buzan said when I studied with him, the rules set you free. 3. Look For The Parts That Do Interest You One thing that you'll learn from my training on (reasonable) textbook memorization is how to skip the parts that don't interest you. No, you can't always do this. There are times when you have to slog through boring stuff you don't care about. But here's the thi

Want to improve your ability to use memory techniques almost overnight? I promise it's super-easy. All you need is the willingness to support your nearest art gallery and your awareness of the following 17 reasons going to an art gallery is good for your memory. 1. Art Inspires Your Visual Imagination When you're using memory techniques, you draw upon visual imagination. Even if you're only using words in your mind when developing mnemonics, you're using visual words. The more visual iconography you've seen in your life, the more potency the visual words you use will hold. Exposure equals experience. Experience leads to substance. When you use the words "run," "hit" or any other verb, the more art you've seen, the great depth of meaning these words will have. 2. Art Depicts Words Used In Visual Ways If you've been to an art gallery lately, you've undoubtedly seen how modern artists use words. Pop artists use comic strips. Futurists made a big deal out of typefaces. You don't even have to enter an art gallery to see words used in graffiti on nearly every street in your city. Looking at art and paying attention to how artists use words is especially great for inspiring how you can use your visual imagination to memorize foreign language vocabulary and phrases. Next time you're in an art gallery, pay particular attention to how words appear in the exhibits. 3. Art Helps You Make Mental Connections Between Space And Material Objects Looking at art is never just about "looking." As your eyes meet the graphic displays, ideas emerge. In fact, "art" happens the moment that you start thinking about what you're looking at or noticing your emotional responses. You can become conscious of what you're thinking and feeling and use your awareness to become more visual. Reflect on how the visual experience has triggered your thoughts and responses. Also, journal what you've thought while at the gallery. By writing down your responses, you access your memory. Accessing your memory exercises your mind, which helps keep it fit. 4. Visiting Art Galleries Makes You Aware Of World Geography It's not just that art often depicts different parts of the world. Art galleries also exhibit art by international artists. Pay attention to the international names and locations of where the art originates. This will exercise your geographical imagination and give you more facts to remember. It's also great memory exercise to remember the names of the artists you see and include their home countries. For bonus points, you can also use the Major Method to add the dates of their lives and when they created the pieces you're admiring. The more experienced you become with memory techniques, the more information you can memorize at a single go. Plus, the location of the art itself within the gallery amounts to a Memory Palace station. Using the location gives you great practice at using your spatial memory in addition to all the other tools mnemonics draw upon, such as association, semantic memory, episodic memory and the like. 5. Art Galleries Are Depositories Of History Yes, you can memorize the raw data of dates when going to an art gallery. But you also expose your memory to information about historical periods. Artists love to reference other eras and historical events. Some artists have even made careers out of referencing history. Fluency in art equals fluency in history, which is always good for your memory. 6. Art Galleries Exercise Your Ability To Create Meaning Let's face it: A lot of art doesn't make much sense. At least, that's until you give it some thought and learn about how to interpret art. Believe me. Interpretation matters. After all, a huge part of art interpretation is creating meaning. To have created meaning, you have to remember the meaning you created. Ergo, going to art galleries and interpreting what you see is good for your memory. And if you're practicing memory techniques, handling abstract ideas your mind is perfect for practicing the art of remembering challenging and abstract ideas. Art history is loaded with them. 7. Art Galleries Give You The Experience Of Puzzlement Being puzzled by something is different than having to create meaning. To be puzzled, after all, you must have already understood something. Two (or more) things are separated and you know they go together … You just have to figure out how. Visiting art galleries gives you that experience and to fit the pieces together, you need to hold them in memory. The benefits of being puzzled are massive because it always exercises your memory as you work things out. Even if you give up before you're satisfied, your memory abilities will have grown. 8. Art Galleries Create Enigmas That Carry On Throughout Life Looking at art not only forces you to create meaning and solve puzzles. It also creates unsolvable mysteries that you will carry throughout your life. Take "The Persistence of Meaning" by Salvador Dali. What exactly does it mean? No matter how many time

Memory techniques work by dressing up information in costumes. Sound weird or confusing? No worries: One of the best ways to understand this concept is by having a system for remembering cards. Consider the following when it comes to using memory techniques in your quest for total memory improvement: Dressing information in costumes is at least 90% of what's going on when you develop a system for remembering cards (or any information). Often, this practice is called "association" or "encoding." Tim Ferriss has used the term "converting" for memorizing a deck of cards, and many other terms abound. Don't get caught up in the terminology, however. That risks missing the math, because … The other 10% of memory success belongs to the Memory Palace and how you use it to store and practice recalling information. Since you need a means that will help you get good at remembering numbers, check out this video: Since it's in the storage and recollection practice that helps you guide the information on playing cards into long-term memory, you'll want to know how to memorize numbers with letters to make the process fast and easy. When you know how to "hack" your memory, you know that it's actually in that 10% of the process where most of the memory magic happens. It's in the process that you're harnessing the power of the primacy effect and the recency affect. But the memory magic happens only … If You've Got The Skills Needed For The 90% Under Control And if you want to get that 90% humming along for yourself in record time, then there is one crazy memory exercise you can do that will completely train your brain so that your memory operates at a shockingly high level. Sounds Stupid, But Memorizing Playing Cards Is Still The Best Memory Exercise Ever I know, I know. Unless you're a magician or memory athlete, memorizing a deck of cards does sound like a meaningless skill. Yet, I can tell you with absolute certainty that all of my success with memory comes from, is maintained and continually improved by this seemingly stupid stunt. And 90% of it involves little more than dressing up each card in a costume using the Major Method. And to convince you that you should have a system for remembering cards, I'm going to show, you 13 reasons why you should memorize playing cards as part of your memory practice. 1. You Experience Overall Memory Improvement Obviously, memorizing playing cards improves your overall memory. How could such intense memory practice not improve your memory abilities? After all, the best way to improve your memory is to use it. I normally say that you should always practice your memory by using it to remember information you can use to improve your life in a substantial way, but card memorization is the one exception. And since there is ALWAYS an exception to every rule, this one is worth your close attention. The rest of the points I'm about to share explain in detail why card memory is so powerful even if it amounts to memorizing information you cannot and will not use in any immediately practical situation (outside of card magic). 2. Having A System For Remembering Cards Improves Your Memory For Numbers Not only that, but you wind up with a neat way of remembering a lot of different kinds of numbers. So long as you don't let yourself get overwhelmed with excitement by your super memory powers (like I sometimes do), you'll have the ability to memorize any number after picking up this simple memory technique. 3. You'll Get Good At Memorizing Long Lists After all, what is a deck of cards other than a list of job positions in a unique order? Learn to remember the order of 52 cards and you'll instantly know how to memorize 52 of anything. And with a few simple expansions and some practice, you can repeat the process or hundreds if not thousands of lists. It's easy and fun. 4. You'll Develop Killer Abilities With Memorizing And Managing Abstractions People find memorizing concepts amongst the most difficult information types in the world. The symbols on playing cards are downright abstract themselves, so this skill will lighten the load on other abstractions and arbitrary associations you encounter. One trick is to simply stop convincing yourself that concepts are different than any other kind of information. Training with card memory will teach you how to stop making that mistake because it levels the playing field. Just like a rose is a rose is a rose, so does all information share certain core tendencies. When we focus on the differences between information and levels of difficulty, we trick ourselves out. When we zone in on the similarities and refuse to privilege information by placing it in hierarchies of difficulty, we win. 5. Remembering Cards Improves Your Imagination Just about everyone wishes they could be more imaginative. With the ability to memorize a deck of cards, your imagination can grow on a daily basis simply by carrying a deck of cards in your pocket. Or, if you don't want your memorize

Travel is awesome, right? You bet it is. The only problem is that most people don't maximize the value of their vacations. Instead of going in prepared to remember as much as humanly possible, they accept what they can get from the default settings of the muscle sitting between their ears. Well, it doesn't have to be that way for you. Here's how to travel differently so that you remember more, enjoy more and get to take your vacations again and again with the vibrant recall of an intense dream. Infinitely Increase The Value Of Every Hotel Room With A Simple Memory Palace One of the first things to do is draw out a quick sketch of your hotel room. It's simple to chart a well-formed Memory Palace journey using such a small space. Even if the Memory Palace only has four or five stations, you're already ahead of the game because your mind is in memory mode. Here's an example of a quick hotel Memory Palace in room April and I shared on our honeymoon. We were taking the ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm: As seen in the video, you can also create a Memory Palace of the lobby, the hotel restaurant, gift shop and any other rooms you spot that look manageable. If you're comfortable using outdoor Memory Palaces, parking lots and the hotel entrance can be powerful resources. Of course, to draw Memory Palaces, you'll need a Memory Journal. How To Keep A Memory Journal Memory Journals are great for a number of purposes: Drawing Memory Palaces Describing mnemonic images Testing recall Troubleshooting Tracking results Recording thoughts and impressions When traveling, your Memory Journal will also let you make notes about what you did on each day of the trip as you make quick sketches of the places you visit. To get started, buy a simple notebook. It can be lined or unlined. I recommend that you decorate the cover and then get started listing out as many potential Memory Palaces as you can. If you need help, check out the episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast called How to Find Memory Palaces and make sure that you have the MMM Worksheets that come with my FREE Memory Improvement Kit. Gather Maps, Floor Plans And Think Strategically You're traveling to enjoy yourself, right? Who wants to sit around drawing squares all day? (Except me?) Luckily, when visiting many parks, museums and historical locations, you don't have to spend your time this way. Instead, you can grab up brochures with mockups and floor plans of museums, churches and art galleries for reference later. If your Memory Journal has a storage pack, you can bomb these inside for reference later. The important thing is that you think strategically when entering the location. Note the corners of rooms and the best areas for Memory Palace creation. You can already start constructing it in your mind. If you're experienced, you can also start using the Memory Palace right away. For example, using the Major Method, you can memorize the date of a painting along with its name. If you're learning a foreign language, this is a great way to pick up new vocabulary. Use The Memory Improvement Power Of Photography Taking photos of your loved ones and the main attractions is an important part of traveling. But you can get your camera into the Memory Game too by taking photos of building layouts. Hotel beds, for example, make excellent micro-stations in Memory Palaces. Using PowerPoint software, you can reconstruct the Memory Palace from your photos. For many people, this simple process makes their Memory Palaces much more vivid and useful. You can also use the software to impose information directly onto the Memory Palace stations for Recall Rehearsal. However, please note that although this kind of activity is acceptable at the beginning stages, it will not strengthen your memory in the same way that drawing Memory Palaces and then using them from your imagination alone achieves. Work towards creating and using tech-free Memory Palaces and your skills will soar. Think of it as the difference between doddering along with training wheels and the freedom of riding a bike assisted only by your instinctual knowledge of balance, velocity and the physics of pedaling. The only difference is that in matters of memory and the mind, you never need to work up a sweat to get the benefits. But if you do need some assistance, here's an example of a Memory Palace station and directionality I created using the Midland Hotel where I stayed during the New Media Europe convention in 2015. As you can see, it's easy to place the station number and a direction signature for later use as you scroll through the PowerPoint (I used Keynote in Mac): As a final camera tip, photograph street corners and use them as Memory Palaces for memorizing street names. It's a wonderful feeling when you can recall intersections, not just for finding your way back to places, but for giving recommendations to other travelers. Yes, it's an ego boost too when you can show off your knowledge of cities around the wo

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could create an impromptu Memory Palace on the go? I'm talking about a responsive memory tool that would let you hear a word or phrase and instantly learn, remember and then recall it forever just by thinking of that place. Here's the good news: Creating an impromptu Memory Palace is fun and easy to do. You just need to know the principles of the Magnetic Memory Method, and you're good to go. You can create an impromptu Memory Palace in a restaurant as discussed in this video: Or you can create your first impromptu Memory Palace in a park as I talked about last week with Barbara Oakley. Since park Memory Palaces are a bit more challenging here are the basics using 秋天 qiūtiān (Mandarin Chinese for "autumn") as an example. Although I struggled with the pronunciation at the beginning (and even experienced a few rare seconds of frustration), the techniques set the stage for success using the rest of The Big Five Of Language Learning. Scan The Scene For A Suitable Location If you're familiar with the method of loci, then you know that impromptu Memory Palace elements are everywhere. But you also know that not all Memory Palace stations are created equal. For example, stations in obscure and hard to measure places really don't serve as well as stations with fixed features. Corners, for example, serve as bulletproof stations because they're fixed. You can instantly zoom to them in your mind. Think of the corner of a park, for example, and BANG, your mind Magnetically zooms there. The weak memorizer, however, chooses loosey-goosey stations, like "halfway between those clumps of trees," or places even less certain. Focus On Solid And Certain Stations For Total Success Walking through a park with April discussing German phrases she's learning, 秋天 came up. My eyes instantly searched for a place to create and secure a mnemonic image. At that point, I had no idea what image I would create. But I let a sense of relaxation overcome me and trusted the process to do its work. And, of course, the Magnetic Memory Method delivered (it always does). Combine Your Impromptu Memory Palace Stations With No-Brainer Associations Of course, you've got to be willing to make mistakes, which is exactly what I did. Why? Because to memorize the sound and meaning of 秋天 qiūtiān, I saw a giant 9 and yo-yo because 九 jiǔ (nine) sounds similar to my ear. However, the similarity is a fantasy in my mind that led to one of my classic pronunciation errors. Nonetheless, by associating the tones of 秋天 with the Major Method and using the word as often as possible in sentences, the work of getting it right every time is underway. Notice too that by writing this post, making the video and the podcast episode, I'm practicing The Big Five Of Language Learning. Should you go through all these motions online just to learn a word and practice it? Not necessarily. But you should do it at a personal level to utilize all your representational systems and learn to speak your language. Finish The Impromptu Memory Palace Later The cool thing about a small impromptu Memory Palace like for 秋天 qiūtiān is that there are 3 more terms needed to complete my knowledge of the words for the seasons in Chinese. 冬天 dōngtiān for Winter 春天 chūntiān for Spring 夏天 xiàtiān for Summer In this case, I used four trees in the park. Each tree served as the station for one of the seasons. 冬天 dōngtiān. I won't tell you what's going on with this image, but let's just say I'm not using a ding dong in combination with a snowy tree. 春天 chūntiān. For this I see Chewbacca chewing on a twenty dollar bill before spitting it out as rusty springs into the tea cup with burning yen. 夏天 xiàtiān. The t-sah-ya sound makes it hard to get a clear image in play, but I have the band Twisted Sister playing Yahtzee with miniature, but blazing hot suns and that works great. In each case, the goal is to use the mnemonic imagery to bring back the sound and meaning of the words in the same stroke. The point of the impromptu Memory Palace location is to have a mental place to go for recalling the meaning and for playing around with the words in sentences. For example, "I like autumn" can be changed to, "It is now autumn" and "Tomorrow it will be autumn." There are countless variations and it's important to run through as many as you possibly can to help the key vocabulary words stick in place in the context of a sentence. After that, it's just a matter of repeating the process with new words and new Memory Palaces. Impromptu Memory Palaces Are Not For Everything At the end of the day, you need to pick your battles. Impromptu Memory Palaces serve small sets of information like the seasons or days of the week well. But for anything larger than ten pieces of information, you might struggle. Why? Because the problem with Impromptu Memory Palaces is that you have to recreate them in your mind at the same time you're recreating the images. But if you use Memory Palaces based on real locatio

Are you interested in learning how to learn at a higher level? I'm talking about mastering math, sailing through high-pressure exams and making the most of your study time. Every time you sit down to learn. If knowing how to do that sparks your interest, in this special interview, bestselling author and world famous video professor Barbara Oakley shares her best study and memory tips. Plus, as the author of some interesting works on human nature, you'll discover some of Barbara's most powerful insights about altruism and memory that you won't soon forget. Here is the transcript of the interview as a PDF for printing and future reference and you can read the text in full below. Plus, please be sure register for the next free session of Barbara's popular course, Learning How To Learn and make sure to follow her on Amazon for the latest news about her incredible books. How A Former Math Flunky Changed Her Brain And Created A Mind For Numbers Anthony: Barbara, thank you so much for being on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. One of the things that I wanted to begin with was your first memory of being interested in learning as a topic, as a subject, even at a meta level where you're aware of this as being a concern, an issue, and something that you can optimize. Barbara: Oh, it's funny because I think there are two kinds of people who are teachers. There are people who are teachers because they really love teaching. There are people who are teachers who really hate teaching. They're very shy about getting in front of a bunch of people, and they only do it because they feel it's so important to communicate what they're trying to communicate. I fall more or less into the latter category. I never envisioned myself becoming a teacher or learning about learning or anything of that nature at all. It wasn't until I was probably, well, about five years ago, four years ago, something like that, one of my students asked me. He found out that I had been a formal math flunky. I had flunked my way through elementary, middle and high school math and science. Which is really kind of ironic since I'm now a professor of engineering. He asked me, "How did you do it? How did you change your brain?" I wrote him a little a page of information about how I had been a linguist in the Army. I've always loved languages and that's all I thought I could ever do. How did I gradually shift? Well, not so gradually but with a lot of work, to being able to assimilate and master math and science. I wrote him this email, and then I thought well, you know, how did I really do that? That's a very good question. I started looking more deeply into it. A Mind for Numbers grew out of that. I thought, oh you know that's a very straightforward thing, I'll just kind of put together some of the good insightful research and talk a little bit about that. Of course, it was far more intensive than I ever might have dreamed. The Biggest And Best Permission You Can Give Yourself As A Learner I think it was just such an interesting experience to realize that I'd never really thought about learning even though I remember when I was growing up. I was like man, you know, isn't there an easier way to learn these things because I do these stupid things like reread a page over and over and over again. Then finally I would flip the page and there the answer would be. If I had just turned the page earlier, I would have kind of figured it out. Anyway, I backed into it I think. But, I do notice that when I'm in front of my classes. I think because I'm very empathetic, I'm always looking at them and going you know they didn't get that. I know they didn't get that even though I explained it very clearly. A lot of learning is just growing out of wondering about how other people learn. Anthony: That's very interesting. I think so many people they wind up getting into teaching as an art itself by having that experience of being asked how did you learn that and coming from a space where they weren't masters of something first, or that not even close to mastery, but actually flunking in that area. I wonder what lessons you might give to someone in sort of number one thing you have to realize if you're failing right now in something like math, that someone struggling with could see that turn around perhaps in the future. Barbara: Probably the biggest thing that if I had known back in the day when I was trying to retool my brain and actually learn math and science, and even before when I was just plain flunking it, the biggest thing that I could have done was to realize that it is quite all right to not understand something the first time you see it. I always thought I must be an idiot because these other people are all understanding what's going on and clearly I'm not. I'm just really slow. It is quite all right to not understand something the first time you see it.Click To Tweet If anything, the only reason I persevered was I would just kind of say well I don't care even if I'm

It sucks to think about death, doesn't it? You're busy enjoying life, after all. Or are you? Admit it. It's not always fun and games. Sometimes life really gets you down. That's where thinking about death can be strangely uplifting. In fact, there are powerfully positive and empowering things that can happen when you put time into the notion that one day, you're not going to be here anymore. For example, by putting your affairs into order, you can live better now because you're free from worrying about what will happen after you die. Not enough people put time into this, leaving chaos after their demise that tears families apart. And that can make the memory of your life a bitter pill to swallow for years to come. But that's not the direction I want to take us in. Rather, these three simple activities will make your life more memorable starting now. All you have to do is give them a try and you'll be amazed by how they help. 1. Imagine Your Funeral Sounds grim, I know. But once you get into it, seeing and hearing your friends, family and colleagues acknowledge your passing creates perspective and insight that can improve your happiness. This brain game is best played with pen and paper. Make a list of two friends, two family members and two colleagues (or fellow students if you're still in school). Next, write down in their voices one positive memory each person will share about you at your funeral. It could be a story or just a description of an attribute. Focus on the positive. Don't invite haters to your funeral. Really feel the positive sentiments and enjoy the warmth they create. I read this weird little exercise in Richard Wiseman's 59 Seconds. It's highly recommended if you'd like some of the scientific background behind this positivity technique. 2. All Life's Profoundest Pleasures Are Found Here You probably already know The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost: TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. There's Mathematical Truth To Frost's Claim: You're much more likely to live a more interesting life simply by taking alternative paths. And the sooner the better. As we age, many of us grow more conservative. Not because getting old switches on some kind of political gene. It's because the more assets we gather, the more protective we become of them. And the biological need to protect the status quo can be irrationally strong. So strong that people have refused to flee volcanic danger zones driven by conservative inertia (this problem relates to social inertia, which is well worth learning about). Live Life Like It's A Gameshow The Road Not Taken principle relates to something called The Monty Hall Problem. It refers to situations of choice in which it is counterintuitively beneficial to change your mind. The core issue isn't the math, however. The real point of interest is that most people will stick with their original decision despite the benefits of traveling the road not taken. I've seen this play out hundreds of times as a magician with a simple question that leads over 90% of people to stick with their original decision. Merely by asking people if they'd like to change their mind and even offering them handsome sums of money if they do, I create the illusion of complete and utter free will because I know that the vast majority will stick with their original decision. When The Sane Choices In Life Are Actually Insane … I've seen The Monty Hall principle play out in my personal life too. During a difficult time when I couldn't find a university teaching gig, I applied to get high school teaching certification and did the necessary voluntary teaching in schools to qualify. As a former university professor, this is not what I wanted to do in life, but I felt driven to teach. And it was taking action, which was far better than sitting around and biting my fingernails. Then, out of the blue came the invitation to rejoin The Outside, record an album and go on tour. At that point in my career, doing something like that was insane. Nearly every person I talked with about the option agreed, and yet I knew the Monty Hall Problem and let it guide me. And the reality is that the traditional path was truly the insane one. Plus … The Sane Choice Would Have Been Totally, 100% Forgettable! Think about it: Had I gone the traditional route, I w

Lots of people do brain exercises, often in the form of brain games. You've probably even tried a few, right? That's all fine and dandy, but there's a catch: Playing brain exercise games on your "smart phone" is not necessarily brain exercise. Not by a long shot. Brain Exercises Or Brain Thinners? In fact, some of those brain games don't exercise your brain at all. You don't have to take my word for it either. Just check out all the people on this live call who totally agreed: Instead of helping you, those apps train your brain to get good at completing tasks within the world of those apps. The mental fitness doesn't apply to other parts of your life. And as we discussed in the video above, your memory and brain fitness exercises need to be both the dojo and the exercise. Use Concrete Brain Exercises And Avoid Abstract Ones Bottom line: If you're exercising your brain on an abstract level but not directing the fitness at specific life improvement goals, you're missing out. Your brain fitness must be targeted at specific goals so you get tangible results. And if you'd like brain exercises that do improve your mind and give you a great mental workout that matters, give the following easy exercises a try. I promise they'll be fun and give you a memory improvement boost in a short period of time. By the way, if you also want a detailed list of methods that will improve your memory and help you remember everything better, please check out: How to Remember Things: 21 Techniques For Memory Improvement. And in case you weren't aware that you can listen to me narrating this post, click play here and I'll happily speak to you as you discover these powerful brain exercises. 1. The 4-Details Observation Exercise Gary Small talks about memorizing four details of people you encounter out in public. For example, let's say someone is wearing a gray sweater, black hat, red belt and green shoes. The goal is to observe the details first and then recall them later. Some scientists call brain exercises like these "passive memory training." They're passive because you're not using any special memory techniques. You're just asking your mind to do what it was designed to do: remember. Why does this matter? It matters because we don't ask our minds to practice observation enough. For that reason, we fail to observe. We also fail to observe things that we aren't seeing, such as by making visual images of movements we hear in other rooms. I teach about how to complete this simple visualization and memory exercise in this video. If you'd like to be a better observer of the world around you, this exercise will help. It's also scalable. You can start with observing just one person per day. Once you've gotten good at recalling four details of just one person, you can add more information or more people (or both). If you like, you can also notice details about buildings, cars, movies or series, foods that improve memory, etc. But focusing on people is the more potent. Being observant of others around you is a great social skill. 2. Number Brain Exercises That Skyrocket Your Concentration I can't emphasize this enough: numeracy is a powerful skill. It's something I work on myself as often as possible, both with and without memory techniques in play. "Add 3 Minus 7" is a fun brain exercise you can try today. To get started, all you do is pick any 3-digit number. Then, add 3 to that digit 3 times. Then minus 7 from the new number 7 times. Repeat the process at least 5 times and pick a new 3-digit number the next time. You can also start with a 4-digit number and use other numbers to play with. For example, you could start with 1278 and add 12, 12 times and minus 11, 11 times. It's up to you and the amount of numbers dictate the level of challenge. This brain exercise also strengthens your working memory because of the amount of detail you need to hold in mind to complete it. 3. Repeat What People Say In Your Mind We all know in our hearts that no one is really listening when we speak. And that's sad. But here's the good news: You don't have to be another person who is just nodding your head like a puppet while actually thinking about something else. You can train yourself to focus on what people are telling you and remember everything they say. It all begins by creating presence in the moment in an easy way: Follow the words being spoken to you by repeating them in your mind. For example, imagine that someone is saying the following to you: "Tomorrow I want to go to a movie called Memory Maverick. It's about a guy who cannot forget. He's hired by a group known only as 'The Agency' to infiltrate a competitor. But once the hero learns the secrets, he doesn't want to hand them over. But since he can't forget, The Agency starts making his life miserable." All you would need to do to complete this brain exercise is repeat everything in your mind. You'll automatically remember more by doing this. Visualization Secrets Of A Memory Maverick To remem

A lack of memory training plagues every nation. It's true. And as far as I know, no country on the planet includes dedicated memory training in its educational programming. The result? We have all experienced unnecessary pain and frustration thanks to forgetting precious information. But That's Not The Biggest Problem! The biggest problem is that we don't always know the signs related to our memory problems. Without that critical insight, we can't make proper decisions about taking memory training. (Worse, you might wind up wasting time on memory training software that you really don't need if you have a solid understanding of mnemonics and other memory techniques.) Here's the good news: I know the signs that you need memory training. And I have the solutions, none of which involve wasting time on tedious memory training games or the fraud of photographic memory training. Interested? Let's go through each of the 9 signs you need memory training in detail so you have a better grip and know exactly what to do. You'll find a tip included with each sign that will help ease each problem. Work on improving just one issue per month and well within a year, you will be the owner of a superior memory you're proud to call home. Sign You Need Memory Training #1: You Can't Remember Names You know the scene: Two seconds after hearing someone's name and shaking hands, you're looking into the eyes of a stranger. And now instead of paying attention to the conversation, you're paddling around the pond of your mind … "Was his name Ross … or Roger … or Tom?" The feeling is tiring and exasperating. Most of us have grown so accustomed to it that we laugh off our forgetfulness instead of getting memory training to take care of the problem. The fix is simple: Learn and practice the simple art of association. When you meet someone named Lars, instantly see Lars Ulrich from Metallica drumming on the top of their head with drumsticks made of "lar"d. If you meet a Betty, see Betty Crocker pouring flour into her ear while midgets "bet" on how Betty is going to react. The associations don't have to be celebrities. One John you already know can help you remember the name of another. Associations are just the beginning of memory training for how to remember names, a quick tip that will serve you well. There are other memory techniques in this department of the art of memory you can use to memorize names for which you have no immediate association. Sign You Need Memory Training #2: Your Mind Goes Blank During Exams Stress and pressure cause havoc on memory. The higher the stakes, the more we quake in our boots, especially after weeks of diligent study during which we've dreamed of a great post-exam future. In addition to taking basic memory training based on the principle of association, you can add relaxation to your memory exercise. A lot of people skip this step in memory training (assuming it was included at all), but relaxation is one of the most critical tools in remembering. Meditation before studying, including progressive muscle relaxation, can be repeated before sitting for your exam. Reproducing the same calm physical state will help your memory in exams a great deal because you will have reduced fight-or-flight syndrome. In some cases, you can also get access to the examination room and study in it. That way you'll be entering a familiar environment. And as Scott Gosnell talks about in this interview about mnemonist Giordano Bruno and memory techniques, you can even use that room as a Memory Palace. Put relaxation and a Memory Palace together as part of your memory training profile and you'll never need to sweat through an exam again. And here's more info on avoiding 17 other student fails related to your memory. I got you covered. Sign You Need Memory Training #3: Your Memory Gets You In Trouble At Work There's nothing worse than having your boss mad at you because you still can't remember simple data points or you need your password reset for the umpteenth time. But countless are the ways having reliable memory skills at work can keep your boss off your back. A good memory based on solid memory training can make you the boss. Your work undoubtedly involves a lot of numbers, so you'll want to learn the Major Method. It lets you quickly associate images with numbers so that they're easy to recall. With a bit of practice, you'll be rattling off not only budgetary figures but also the complex formulas used to manage them in no time. Sign You Need Memory Training #4: You Struggle With Dates, Appointments, Birthdays & Anniversaries When you think about it, putting together the day, month, year and hour of the day is a lot of information. Sometimes we get it all together right away, but usually … not. You now have a link to the Major Method, but you'll also benefit from having a mnemonic calendar in your mind. To get started with this aspect of memory training, associate an image with each day of the week. For example, for Friday, s

Would you like to be able to give a speech directly from memory? It's an amazing skill, after all, and something many people in business need to be able to do in more than one language. Since ancient times people have been using Memory Palaces to give their speeches. In fact, as Jim Samuels has talked about, we get the convention of saying "in the first place" in a speech from the Roman orators who were using Memory Palaces. Well, let me ask you this: What If You Don't Have To Give A Speech From A Memory Palace On Its Own For Your Speech To Benefit From Using Memory Techniques? Sunil Khatri raised this question in my mind when he wrote to me after giving this speech: I was so impressed by Sunil's explanation of how he used the Magnetic Memory Method and Memory Palaces to help him with the speech, that I asked if he would record an episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. He agreed! As you'll learn, you can get great benefits from memorizing a speech in advance, even if you still recite it from the page. The same thing is true of reading from a teleprompter, which the best directors and producers always advise people giving speeches to do: Know where you're going, but don't appear like you're recalling during delivery. It looks weird. I'm super-excited by Sunil's results and look forward to hearing your stories of triumph when you use the Magnetic Memory Method to help prepare for your next big speech. Episode Transcript Anthony, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to talk about some of the things I've been doing with the Magnetic Memory Method. I just also wanted to also say thank you very much for the support that you've given me directly through email interaction has been really, really useful and amazing. I started learning Korean maybe a little over a year ago I would say and mostly for work purposes. I've been traveling back and forth to Korea, and it is a really tough language in my opinion. When I started studying, I would read things like verb conjugations. There could be up to 500 verb conjugations based on the level you are at in society, in your office, your age group, all of these different things come into play in the written language and speech. It was pretty tough. I started learning and for the 6 months it was through rote memorization, flashcards, and things like that. Then I was trying to figure out is there a better way. Because I had spent the better part of 6 to 7 years learning Japanese and it was all through rote memorialization and talking to people and so forth. I came across your website and from one link to another to another and it ended up being at your site. I took your intro classes and so forth and it was actually pretty good. Then I started reading up on Memory Palaces more and things like that. "Korean Words Just Sort Of Magically Appeared In My Brain As I Was Talking … I No Longer Use Flashcards" What happened was about 6 to 7 months ago, I think that was the first time we communicated, I basically started building a small Memory Palace and expanding that. Korean words just sort of magically appeared in my brain as I was talking, as I was remembering to the point where I gave up using flash cards. I no longer use flash cards. I put everything into an Excel spreadsheet and categorize them based on my Memory Palace. I come up with a mnemonic picture, crazy picture, whatever it is and associate the word to that crazy picture and there it is. I go through my Excel spreadsheet once a day to put it into long-term memory and it's been amazing. "Even My Teachers Are Freaking Out." Even my teachers are freaking out. How am I learning all this stuff so fast? But that was vocabulary. Then I started looking at grammar and things like that. Really in about 6 months I achieved over 500 words through the Memory Palace techniques. It was amazing. Then I was handed a request to do a speech for my office to a bunch of our clients. Essentially what happened was I said, okay and this was about a week and a half prior to me giving the speech. They said, okay you can do it in English. We'll have a translator and everything for you. I said well, that's great thank you. Then I thought about it. I said, wait a minute let me try this in Korean and see what I can do. "Actually A Lot Of This Was Beyond My Vocabulary" The speech was about 3.5 to 4 minutes, 5 minutes long. Rather than say, "Oh my god, I don't know any of these words," because actually a lot of this was beyond my vocabulary. It really focused on a lot of different types of grammars that you would use in a very formal setting. I didn't know that. I didn't know any of these structures or things. Some of the words were quite new. What I basically said was, I said all right I am going to think about doing this in Korean. Let me try and see if I can break this down. I guess when I said I think I'm going to do it, it really meant I'm going to do it and there was no looking back for me. I took the words, basically got the m

Can You Improve Your Memory At Any Age? The answer is a resounding "Yes!" and Brad Zupp's story proves it! In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Brad Zupp joins us to talk about everything from language learning and memory techniques to the philosophy of education. Brad Zupp is a wealth of information about memory, so after downloading the MP3 and reading or downloading the transcript, be sure to check out the fascinating memory improvement articles on his blog. One of the things that makes Brad so unique in the memory field is his candid revelations about using memory techniques as he ages. As you start opening multiple tabs and start absorbing all of this memory-boosting information, you can also follow Brad Zupp on Twitter and follow his author page on Amazon to be notified when the new books he mentioned on this interview appear. I'm all hooked up and as a serious student of memory improvement, you should be too. Enjoy this episode with the stellar memory athlete and educator Brad Zupp and be sure to say hello in the comments below! Will Unlocking Your Memory Begin With Names? Anthony: Brad, thank you so much for being on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. As you know, I was really enthusiastic about your book, which is incredible. It is called Unlock Your Amazing Memory: The Fun Guide That Shows Grade 5 to 8 How To Remember Better And Make School Easier. I reviewed it. You were kind enough to follow up on that with this interview. So thank you for being here. Brad: Thank you. It's my pleasure. I really appreciate both the chance to talk about memory improvement and the kind review of my book. Anthony: For people who aren't familiar with Unlock Your Amazing Memory yet, tell us a little bit about your story. Maybe, what's your first memory about being interested in memory? Brad: The first memory about being interested in memory was when I was myself in about the fourth or fifth grade I was horrible at numbers and names. Names were not helped in that we moved a lot. My dad was an executive in a company. He was he was a fixer. He was someone that they'd say well that division or that office branch is having trouble. We need someone to go fix it, so my dad would get tapped for that. So we moved a lot. I remember third grade I guess was the first time it really came to me that memory is important. It was the end of the school year, and I gone to that school for the first time in the fall. The third grade, it was at the end of the school year though the teacher asked me to hand out papers on Friday. We must have written some type of paper or book report or something. The One Memory Problem That "Freezes" Just About Everyone She said, "Okay, Brad, you can hand out papers this week." I just froze because I knew I didn't know everybody's names in class. Now as adults, we introduce each other to each other or introduce ourselves to each other. Kids don't do that. Kids will come up and say, "Hi, my name is Sally." So part of it was I had never met people. But I had a horrible memory with names and with numbers. I was up at the front of the class and I had the papers. I was going, "Oh, Sally you got a B. Way to go." You know, kind of looking up with my eyes to see who of the girls in the class was going, "Oh, I got a B," Because that's how I knew it was Sally. I didn't know people's names. That continued all my life. Numbers, I was always bad at math in large part because I couldn't remember numbers. I could do the calculations. But if it any of it involved storing a number in my head to add it or anything, I couldn't retain that number long enough to do the second step of the calculation. If I could write the first part down or use my fingers, I was fine. The calculations weren't the problem. It was remembering numbers was the problem. There was no solution for me back then. That's in part one of the reasons I wrote the book I did first instead of writing a book for adults first is that there's a lot of kids like that. They can't remember something. Maybe they're good with math, but they can't remember the spelling of their vocabulary words, or they're great with spelling but they, for whatever reason, cannot remember numbers like me. That's why I wrote the book. That's my first memory. How Do Kids Deal With Memory Problems? Anthony: This is fascinating. I wonder how do you think that kids enunciate their frustration with their memory, because you know you were aware of it and that's quite an early memory, but to what extent do you observe that young kids are aware of that as being a memory problem and how do they express it? Brad: Back when I was experiencing that, there wasn't really a way to express it. I mean I didn't go home to my parents and say, "I can't remember names. Let's get a book and help me or let's look on the Internet." We didn't have any of that back then. I think it was kind of suffer in silence. It wasn't something that traumatized me, but I remember it very clearly to this da

If You Don't Know Tony Buzan And His Mind Map Technique, Here's How To Learn Faster and Remember Everything! Actually, it's unlikely that you haven't heard of Tony Buzan before. But even if you've never heard of Tony Buzan, this is almost certainly true: Your life has been touched by someone whose creativity and intelligence was revived by the ideas, processes and incredible inspiration found only in the Buzan troposphere, stratosphere and infinite universe of imagination and inventiveness beyond. Either way, today's your lucky day, because you're about to learn: How Tony Buzan transformed himself from thinking he was stupid to knowing he is extraordinary. (You'll be modeling this simple tactic before you know it.) How to create an imagination so valuable that you would never sell it – not even for a trillion dollars! How to use your mind to deal with the dark times. No matter how deep the valleys go, with Tony Buzan's approach, they still can be fascinating and even fun. … and much, much more. In this interview, Tony Buzan also reveals one of his personal heroes and gives clues on how to maximize the power of your own. We talk about threats to the future and exactly how you are already equipped to deal with anything and everything that could ever come your way. Make sure to download the MP3 to your desktop and revisit this episode often. You can also download a PDF of the transcript and go over it using the same speed reading skills you've learned from the master himself. I recommend that you print out a copy and share it with your friends. And as you do, be sure to visit Tony Buzan on Twitter, Amazon and check out the World Memory Championships homepage for details of this years event and all of the incredible records over the past 25 years. Plus, don't forget World Mind Mapping Day. Here's a beautiful and amazing mind map about it created by Phil Chambers: Tony Buzan On The Paradise Of Multiple Intelligences Anthony: Tony, thank you so much for being on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. It's been in the making for a while. I'm really excited, actually, that we have done it after I had a chance to meet you and attend one of your trainings, which was so pivotal for me even after some time in the world of memory training. It was just a delight and an honor to learn from you directly. So thank you for being here. Tony: Well, thank you for being on my course, and thank you for having read so many of my books. Thank you for being such a good beacon really for other people who need to follow the development of their own mental literacy and the empowerment of their memories, their mind mapping skills, their reading, speed reading, their study skills, and their mind-body coordination. You are a lovely example. Anthony: Well thank you very saying that. It kind of circles back to you, because I remember in high school first just being fascinated by your name and the covers of your book, and they're really adventures to get into once you're in there. They are so unique because of that. I know that there are ideas behind how you even design your books to make them feel that way. It's just amazing how the world works and how fate puts you in certain places. "I trained myself very cleverly to become stupid, and I was very successful." Tony: It does doesn't it. It's almost odd that when I was in school I didn't like schoolwork. I didn't like homework. I didn't like taking notes. I didn't like studying. So you would think that the person who has written books on studying and thinking would have loved it, but he didn't. That is actually the beginning of my journey, because I had begun to realize that the way that I was being taught in my school, like in many other hundreds of thousands of schools, I was being taught in a way that turned me off my brain, tuned my brain out. I tuned it out very well. I trained myself very cleverly to become stupid, and I was very successful. Anthony: Talk about that. What do you define as stupid and how did that feel? Tony: I think probably stupid, which is a word that ideally should not need to be used anywhere, means being unable to use the natural skills and intelligences with which the brain is gifted. We are, i.e., we humans are astonishingly brilliant, beautifully multiply intelligent. When the brain is given misinformation, because it learns so fast and when it believes people who tell it what it is, when they are told things that are wrong and they believe them, then they train themselves to become less intelligent. I did that brilliantly. The Only Stupid Thought Tony Buzan Has Ever Had It was aggravating because I had dreamt of being bright. I had dreamt of being successful. I wanted to be. Yet I would do poorly on certain exams. I couldn't remember the dates in history. I couldn't remember the formulas in chemistry and physics. I began to think I was stupid. That perhaps was the only stupid thought I had. We are all basically naturally brilliant and it started me on the journey.

Do you struggle with concentration and memory? Maybe even because you've been labeled with manic depression or A.D.D.? I hope you don't have those conditions, but either way, there's hope for clearing up any and all brain fog from messing up your memory. And it's great honor that Rob Lawrence, host of Inspirational Creatives Podcast has allowed me to share his interview with me. In it, we talk about creativity, concentration, musicianship and how all of it ties into living a life of superior memory. Note: Quite a few things have changed since recording this interview. Olly Richards helped me fix a Spanish pronunciation problem created by the power of mnemonics and there have been a number of Magnetic Memory Method podcast episodes on Music Mnemonics For Guitar And Piano that have shown development and huge promise since recording this talk with Rob. With all that said, here's the transcript for this interview to go with the audio. Enjoy and be sure to read more about Rob Lawrence and get subscribed to the Inspirational Creatives Podcast on iTunes! Psychic Brain Surgery Rob: So do I call you Dr. Metivier or Anthony? Anthony: Well that's always a very interesting issue. I really don't know. I mean get a kick out of being called doctor, and it certainly circulates around but it's not necessary. My dad gets a kick out of it too. Actually, it's funny that you mention brain surgery. Because for years and years he didn't really quite understand what I did in my Ph.D., so he used to call me a brain surgeon, which there are some elements of that involved in what I do. It's just psychic brain surgery. Rob: Yeah, there's some technical accuracy in that. Have you always been interested in memory and imagination? Anthony: In a roundabout way. I basically wrote my first story that I remember, when I was in grade four. By story, I mean something that had a solid beginning, middle and an end. I had an ability to remember stories, as we all do, and loved to retell stories, tell jokes and retained stories in my mind. I'd often watch a movie and then try to rewrite it from memory. Yeah, I've always had this interest from a very young age. Rob: Stories are a fascinating concept, something that we tell our children and seem to be something that we've done since the beginning of time. Do you think we've lost our ability to remember in the way that we used to? Why You Have Not "Lost" Your Ability To Remember Anthony: I don't believe at all that we've lost it. But the extent to which we use it has certainly changed. There is a kind of running myth that back in the day in Ancient Greece and in Matteo Ricci's era everybody used these memory techniques that I teach. They all memorized thousands of books and this kind of thing, which isn't true. I would say that the ratio of people who use memory techniques then and in comparison with now is relatively the same per capita let's say. It's really just a growing thing. We're in a renaissance of memory techniques right now. It seems to be happening at the precise moment that technology appears to be taking over or our memory needs, which I find deeply fascinating that this renaissance is taking place now at that technological moment. There are reasons to believe that actually technology is expanding our memory abilities rather than diminishing it. That's a topic to be explored. It's very conceptual, and I don't have any hard data behind it but it's something that I feel is being enabled by technology rather than the common statement that our memories are being eroded by technology. Rob: That's fascinating, an absolutely fascinating thought there. So what are the key factors necessary to be able to succeed in improving your memory and using these Magnetic Memory Techniques that you teach? Anthony: Well there are a number of factors, but it all begins with the desire actually to improve your memory because without that there is nothing to ground it upon. Lacan, the French psychoanalyst, always said that the fantasy is better than the reality. That's not exactly true in this case because you use fantasy in order to create reality, but nonetheless, there is an effort involved. A lot of people don't have the necessary drive in order to get into it. One of my jobs is to give them that drive. So that's a key factor there. In many ways, that is what my job is. It is simply to open the door for people, give points of access and points of entry. Beyond that, there's the willingness to experiment, which is a key factor, the pleasure in imagination is a key factor and also a kind of wish or desire to have this information and to use it. Because if you're not going to use it, you can have memorize all the things in the world and it won't do anything for you. Memory champions, for example, can memorize thousands of digits that they forget half an hour later, but they have that particular use value in the competition in of itself. It's always got to have some sort of use and some sort of pay off. The mo

You've heard people throw the word serotonin around, right? But do you know what serotonin is and how it connects with the quality of your memory? Well, if you want to experience a better life, it's time to pay attention. Serotonin is not only essential to having healthy memory abilities. It also helps you feel good, sleep better and works magic on your mood when you're feeling down. In fact, as a neurotransmitter derived from tryptophan … Serotonin May Be The Most Important Anti-Depressant In The World! Actually, there's a lot of controversy about whether or not serotonin levels create depression. It's only known that many people with depression show low levels of this chemical. But here's the real question: How can you actually use the information you're about to read? Easy: If you can get your serotonin in order, you'll not only feel better, but you might not need SSRIs and whatever other pills you've been taking to regulate your mood. I've taken a lot of those pills myself, and although none of what you'll read in this post should be taken as medical advice … I can't emphasize this enough: Healthy Serotonin Levels = Better Learning And Memory Why? Because there are seven distinct receptors with different densities. When things get messed up with your serotonin, you're much more likely to experience the aging of your memory and fall into risk for Alzheimer's and other issues. In order to understand exactly how serotonin is connected with memory, we need to look at how it interacts with other neurotransmitters. These include: Acetylcholine Dopamine Glutamate y-aminobutyric acid (GABA) Basically, all of these elements hang together and require precious balancing in order for you to be able to learn and remember. When it comes to serotonin, scientists have found that by using serotonin reuptake inhibitors like alaproclate and oxotremorine, they can improve memory retrieval. Moreover, its believed that with more research, they'll be able to use related chemicals to suppress the retrieval of addiction-primed memories. Sounds Like A Mouthful, Right? It's actually easy to understand: When it becomes possible to treat addiction-associated memories, that drug addicts might experience decreased cravings. That means fewer destructive behaviors to themselves and others in society. The reason serotonin plays such a huge role in this area of memory is that its connection to different receptors involve reward-based learning, something that can be helpful, so long as negative drugs like tobacco aren't involved. (By the way, stop smoking.) But it's not just all about addiction memory. Serotonin is also involved in: Boosting Spatial Memory If you're serotonin levels are in check, you have much better chances of remembering locations and the relative distance between objects. This means that you can use a new place you visit as a Memory Palace with greater ease. Mastering Emotional Memory It's well known that we tend to remember things with greater accuracy and vividness when emotions are involved. But if you're low on serotonin, you might not be experiencing emotions properly. Lower emotional capacity also means that you may not be paying attention properly. You cannot encode information into memory that you haven't registered either in part or whole. This explains why depression and other mental illnesses are so devastating for memory, especially since emotions are often so short-lived. Luckily, however, we can generate emotions at will. By using mnemonics, we can supercharge every piece of information we meet so that it is more memorable. But it sure helps if we have healthy serotonin levels. You Can Forget About Fearful Memory Fear can either create new memories or inhibit their formation. Either way, if your serotonin is out of whack, your brain can't properly manage fear to any advantage. Having your serotonin out of balance leads to memory errors and contributes to the fearful part of depression. With certain mental illness, for example, you can learn to be afraid when there's nothing fearful in the environment. Proper serotonin levels can correct this problem, however. But … What Exactly Does Serotonin Do? Research shows that serotonin influences memory by increasing the ability of different neurons to get excited by various kinds of stimulation. Too little response to stumili and you're depressed. Too much and you might go manic. Either way, without the maintenance of serotonin, it's difficult to pay attention, form new memories and learn. Poor serotonin levels messes with memory consolidation. Not being able to consolidate memories can lead to forgetting names, new information you've struggled to learn and even entire years of your life. What Interferes With Your Serotonin Levels? Unfortunately, scientists and doctors don't always know. It can be that brain lesions create issues, along with some of the mysteries that create Alzheimer's Disease. What is known with relative certainty is that serotonin levels are li

Do You Know Your Learning Duties And Obligations? Put some thought into that question. It could well change our entire life. Because, yes. YOU are obliged to learn. And even though learning takes time, energy and can even cost a bundle of bones you'll never see again … You Cannot Lose When You Learn The Right Ways Download the MP3 of this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and have a blast reading the transcript below. And if you've got something to say, we'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Anthony: This is Anthony Metivier. You're listening to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, coming to you live from Tel Aviv with my good friend Jonathan Levi. Jonathan has been on the show many, many times before. You know him from SuperLearner. This is a universe where you can learn how to learn faster with greater comprehension, greater memory of what it is that you want to learn. Every time that we speak, he's been on the Magnetic Memory Podcast so many times, it's just absolutely incredible what I learn. It is incredible what you can learn from Jonathan Levi. We're going to freewheel it a little bit. We've got some background noise and so on. But it would be a lost opportunity if we didn't just jump on the fact that we're together hanging out in Tel Aviv and have a talk about how you can learn and memorize more information, do so in a way that feels great, is a load of fun, reduces stress from your life and just makes everything better so that you can make the world better, which is what this is all about really. What would you say to that? Jonathan: Yeah, I would say that I really like – I was actually editing a video today from the last time that you were in Tel Aviv and it resonated. You said something that I often say, and I think a lot of people in our very fortunate position to help people and educate people for a living often say. I think Tony Robbins says it a lot as well. He says you have a unique gift and it is your duty and obligation (we say it in Branding You), it is your duty and obligation to figure out what that gift is a soon as possible and then arm yourself with the tools that allow you to deliver that gift. I think the sooner you do that the more quickly you realize your potential in life then you realize your purpose. I mean it ties all the way back to Viktor Frankl. Like all you need in life to be happy is a purpose, a worthwhile purpose, and then that just sets your trajectory in life of what you're going to do, skills you're going to acquire, the things are going to learn about, the people you're going to be with, it all comes from that purpose. Anthony: So then riddle me this, if I can quote the old Batman movie. Why is it that some of us know our purpose and some don't? For those of us that do, what's like an example from your own life that got you to know your purpose, and how did you take that knowledge of knowing your purpose and turn it essentially into a self-sustaining engine that just drives you towards doing what you've accomplished? It's the fire that burns itself, or you know the burning bush. We're here in the land the burning bush. Jonathan: We are in the land of the burning bush. Anthony: How does that work? Why You Need To Seek If You Want To Find Jonathan: That's a tough question. Why do some people know and some people not know? I think the first question is why do some people seek and some people do not seek? I think a lot of people go through their lives not seeking more. I call it the prefix approach when what you really want is the a la carte approach to life. I think in order to really be seeking and searching for your purpose, your mission in life, you have to take the approach that my life is a la carte in the sense that I can pick and choose from certain things. I can pick and choose if I want to have kids. I can pick and choose if I want to work in an office. I can pick and choose and so on. I think that's a big component of why people struggle to find their purpose. Why The Cost Of Stability May Be Killing You But I think the other thing is we somehow along the way through the industrial era have kind of all settled on this stability over excitement mentality. A lot of parents raise their kids go get an education, get a good stable job, and that's wonderful. Stability is great especially if you're raising a family, but I think we need to get over this mentality that stability comes at the expense of excitement. You can have both. I know a lot of people who have super stable jobs, who are working at a very stable corporate job, and they're doing their life's purpose. They're really excited about what they're doing. So I reject the idea that you have to give up on a purpose and just go to a 9:00 to 5:00 that you hate. Anthony: Right. Now let's make this even more localized to a particular memory subject because a lot of people that say they want to learn a new language right. They think well I work from 9:00 to 5:00. I am with my kids until wha

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could look at a piece of music once, instantly memorize the notes and then immediately start drilling it into muscle memory? The time you'd save using music mnemonics would be immense, and you'd experience much more pleasure learning music as a result. Here's the thing: You Can Memorize Music! But there's a catch. What I'm about to share is largely untested. I've completed some promising experiments, but haven't completed the full Memory Palace for any single instrument. That means I haven't used the approach I'll describe for you to its fullest potential. UPDATE: Since originally writing this post, I have made great strides. Here's a run down of where things currently stand with how to memorize notes on a guitar: Bottom line: I will keep exploring every nook and cranny of using mnemonics to remember music. And when I'm satisfied, I'll make a course about how you can use the method too. In the meantime, the concepts are far too exciting not to share. They're also so logical, coherent and mnemonically beautiful. It will be impossible for you not to grow in memory and mind if you choose to tinker with them. And who knows? You might come up with a cool variation that winds up in the forthcoming book and video course! Music Mnemonics: The Ground Rules First off, we need to establish some ground rules and guiding principles for music mnemonics. When talking about memorizing music, we need to be specific about what kind of music and for what instrument. Or, we need to focus on particular parts of music theory. To just throw around the term "music mnemonics" risks confusing everyone. If we're talking about musical terminology, that's easy. Just treat the terms like you would any professional material, like you would using the second edition of How to Learn and Memorize Legal Terminology. Since numbers might be involved, go in prepared with the Major Method. If you want to memorize notes on the staff, there are already well-established mnemonics for that. I don't have much to add when it comes to Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge for the treble stave and FACE for the notes between the lines. You can find lots more mnemonics for music like these all over the net, but in truth … You're Always Better Coming Up With Your Own Music Mnemonics Why does this matter? Because you're on the Magnetic Memory Method website to master music mnemonics and other memory techniques. Not goof around with yet another crutch of limited, short-term value. You're here to learn skills that will serve you for life and that means learning to make music mnemonics of your own. Here's how a thorough reading and re-reading of this material will help: What I'm going to cover in this post is the memorization of the notes on the fretboard of stringed instruments like the guitar and the keys of a piano. This material is a demonstration of what is possible if you combine a number of Magnetic Memory Method elements and see your instrument as its own kind of Memory Palace. To accomplish this, we need to know how to use instruments like guitars and pianos in terms of what note falls on which spatial position. I'll make a few suggestions about chords, but beyond that, I cannot currently say much. There are a lot of aspects to music and what I've got for you is just a piece of the puzzle. But Oh What A Piece! Let's look at guitar first. For some much earlier writing I put out on the topic, you might want to start with Memorize Bach On Bass. Or, just dive in. The fretboard of the guitar is a field that can be expressed using coordinates. In this way, the fretboard shares characteristics with the chess board (something I believe this approach will also help with when it comes to memorizing chess moves). For example, E appears several times in the fretboard. A string, 7th fret D string, 2nd fret E string, 12th fret There are several more appearances, including the open string noted and 12th fret positions on the E strings themselves. If we say that each open note is represented by 0, as it is in guitar tablature, then we can agree that each note has a numerically expressible geographical coordinates. This May Be The Simplest Unused Technique In All Of Music Learning Next, let's try and make each string more concrete. For example, I play primarily 5-string bass, so my strings all have an associated character: B = Bob (Played by Bill Murray in What About Bob?) E = Ernie from Sesame Street A = Al Pacino D = Dracula (As played by Bela Lugosi) G = Grover from Sesame Street Coming up with these figures took approximately 2 minutes. Probably less, but I didn't have a timer running. If you play any stringed instrument, be it a 4-stringed violin or a 21-string sitar, I recommend you name each string. It makes for great mental exercise. Next, since you're a clever fan of the Magnetic Memory Method, you already know the Major Method. You're set to get started. You'd Be Crazy Not To Have This Math Memory Weapon In Your Arsenal In case you don't

You're probably sick to death with the adult coloring books craze, right? I was too. Until I realized one thing. Adult Coloring Books Are A Great Way To Practice Memory Improvement! But before we get into the magic of that … There are a few huge problems people who use the Magnetic Memory Method and other mnemonics face. 1. Not enough time. 2. Not enough creativity. 3. Not enough relaxation. Let's deal with each of these in order and see how adult coloring books can help. How To Wrestle Time Into Submission And Win Every Time The problem of time is easily solved. Stop telling yourself you don't have enough time! That's the first step and an important one. The more you tell yourself that time is running out, moving too fast and not on your side, the more you're pushing it away. Please understand one thing: Time is your servant, and you are its master. You just have to take the reigns and maintain control. How? Well, as I talked about in Mandarin Chinese Mnemonics and Morning Memory Secrets, you need to let go out of the concept of discipline. Seriously. People constantly tell me I'm such a disciplined person, but the truth is that I'm not any more or less disciplined than your average Manic Depressive alcoholic heroin-addict gutted with debt living in the gutter. The difference is that I use rituals and systems. And I do so in a way that minimizes the need to be disciplined. Such as not acting like a person who already has a memory implant. Can You Use My Daily Productivity Systems? Maybe. Maybe not. I don't believe you can carbon copy what another person does, which is why when it comes to mnemonics, memory improvement and creating your first rock-solid Memory Palace I teach you the Magnetic Memory Method. It's a method that teaches you how to create your own system of Memory Palaces. The same thing goes for learning how to control your time. You're never going to reproduce what anyone else does. But you can emulate their methods to create your own system. If adult coloring books become part of that, awesome. But it all begins with saying "Yes!" to making a change and replacing discipline with systems. Once you've got that under control, create an If-this-then-that sequence. How To Fire Off The Perfect Time Control Sequence Rules, as Tony Buzan said at a recent training I attended, set you free. Poets have known this for years. When Shakespeare submitted himself to the rules of the sonnet, for example, he managed to write X NUMBER of the most beautiful poems history has ever seen. That's not to mention the glorious theatre he produced following other rules and guidelines at the level of dramatic structure and the sentence. When it comes right down to it, constraints are not restrictive. They're productive. So my method is to chain together a number of "ifs" and then tie those to follow-up sequences to ensure that I'm living the life of my dreams. (Crazy, but yes, playing with adult coloring books while using memory techniques is part of my dream lifestyle.) My "If-This-Then-That" Revealed … Here's a sample morning ritual sequence: If I get up in the morning (which I always do), I meditate for 9 minutes. If I meditate for 9 minutes, then I start the day off on solid footing with The Freedom Journal. If I write in The Freedom Journal, then I study Chinese and learn 3 new words. If I study Chinese and learn 3 new words, I write a minimum of 1000 words on a new book project. If I write, I eat breakfast. If I eat breakfast, then I memorized some playing cards. If I memorize some playing cards, then the computer goes on. Does It Always Work Out That Way? Close, but not always exactly. For example, sometimes I eat before I meditate. Other times, I write before I study Chinese. The actual elements of the chain are interchangeable except for the last one. It's the last one that matters the most because the computer is the great destroyer. Why? Because … We All Have Limited Discipline Once the machine goes on, emails blast into my eyes. Friends and family Skype text me. Uploads fail. Shiny new objects glitter and grab my attention. That's why the important things must get done first. Why I Grab Adult Coloring Books Last Thing In The Day The evening ritual unpacks and reinforces a lot of what the morning ritual established and follows the same pattern. Although I've painted a picture of constant interruptions while the machine is on, I'm still quite productive. I make videos, write email, work on editing books and do all kinds of things during the day. But everything proceeds towards a final computer curfew. That curfew rule states that the computer should go off at 9 p.m., but can stay on until 10 p.m. at the latest. I leave that window open because I'm a Realist and know that sometimes I'll need the slack. Plus, being draconian with the rules often just paves the path for breaking them. As I once heard it put, all too often, it is the law that creates the crime. States of exception are necessary and trying to fight

Be honest about your experience with mnemonics. You've read a book or two, maybe even taken a video course. And yet … You're Still Scrambling To Recall Information! If that sounds like you, then here's the sad truth: You're suffering from "memory improvement randomness." That's what happens when people read a book on mnemonics, take a stab at the techniques and then … give up … only to pick up another book by someone else and try all over again. Fortunately, there's a cure. In fact, there are 7 of them. Why Most People Are Allergic To Mnemonics First off, let's look at one big problem. The word "mnemonics" isn't all that sexy, is it? And it sounds an awful lot like "pneumonic," in the singular "mnemonic" form, which makes it sound even more like this beautiful art relates to pneumonia. "Mnemotechnics" is nicer, and definitely won't make you sick. But the "technics" part makes the whole thing sound like hard work. That's no good. Because the truth is that mnemonics are not only easy, but they're the most exciting activity in the world. And that's the key to falling in love with this special field of personal improvement. How To Find Excitement In The World's Oldest Mental Art To locate and embrace the excitement of using mnemonics and memory techniques, you first need to get rid of the notion that any of this is "hard work." It isn't. Never has been. Never will be. Unless you decide that it must be. That's all mindset and this podcast on developing better mindset will help you with that. Bookmark those resources for later as we dive into the 7 Eternal Laws Of Memory Improvement. Follow each of these laws of mnemonics and you will quickly find the fun in using memory techniques and never forget what a wild ride the art of memory can be. 1. You Have The Duty To Go Insane With Your Mnemonics The trick to remembering anything is association. You take a piece of information you don't know and associate it with something you do. For example, I had no idea the word 感到 (gǎn dào) meant to feel. But I do know of a character named Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. And in my imagination, I know how to hurt his feelings. So that's what I did. In the craziest way possible. Then, using the drawing skills I have, I got it down on paper to make the learning process even faster and easier. Of course, the trouble with teaching mnemonics is that I can't exactly show you exactly what the imagery looks like in my mind. I would need a Hollywood film crew and a Spielberg-sized budget for that. But rest assured that what happens when Gandalf feeds the Tao Te Ching to that black horse isn't pretty. But it helps me remember not only the sound and the meaning of the word, but also its tones in Mandarin. If you'd like to get better at making crazy imagery in your imagination, check out the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast episode called Mindshock: How To Make Amazing Visual Imagery And Memorize More Stuff. 2. Every Building You've Ever Been In Is Infinitely Valuable To get the most from mnemonics, you need to locate the crazy images you come up with in a Memory Palace. Unfortunately, a lot of people think that Memory Palaces take too much work, and that's probably my fault. You see, I've used the phrase "build Memory Palaces" when talking about mnemonics thousands of times. What I really mean is "create" Memory Palaces – or whatever word you need that involves spending 2-5 minutes creating a fantastic tool you can use to organize and store your mnemonics. If you don't already know how to build create a Memory Palace, I suggest you register for my Free Memory Improvement Kit right away. If you're already a pro when it comes to this realm of mnemonics, then kudos to you. Send me a scan or picture of one of your Memory Palaces by email. I'd love to see it. The important point is that you have learned the Memory Palace skill. It is the ultimate form of mnemonics because it lets you use every other kind of memory technique inside its walls. And since the most efficient Memory Palaces tend to be based on actual buildings you've visited, that means you can increase the real estate value of them all. Instead of just handing over your rent or paying down a mortgage so you can store your stuff while working, why not store your memories their too? It's a great way to make every building you've ever known invaluable using mnemonics. 3. Always Begin With A Clear Picture Of The End In Mind One thing that trips up just about every beginner with memory techniques is planning. Each memory project is unique, which means you need to take stock of the situation and work out a few things in advance. For example, if you like to learn languages online as opposed to from a textbook, you'll have different amounts and kinds of material to memorize. When I work with a Chinese teacher, for example, I have different Memory Palaces than I do for Spanish. When I'm memorizing music, my use of mnemonics differs a great deal, and in that case, the Memory Palace is the instr

You've thought about getting fluent in at least one other language, right? In fact, you've already imagined yourself speaking fluently with native speakers. You even feel a wave of pride wash over you. And you want to feel that wave of pride wash over you. But you can't travel at the moment and the idea of commuting to a class and sitting with strangers horrifies you. The good news is that you know you can learn languages online. You're just not sure how. 3 Rock Solid Reasons To Learn Languages Online Before I tell you about how to use Skill Silo, let's take a quick look at why learning language is a smart move. 1. Learning a language is the king of all brain games. A lot of people look for mental exercise, but nothing pays off more than packing your mind full of foreign language vocabulary and phrases. 2. You make back your investment in droves. Learning a language costs three things: time, money and energy. As you develop fluency, over time you get an amazing return on your investment. Memories that last forever. Greater chances at meaningful employment. Boosts of energy-creating confidence. 3. You make new friends. People love it when you can speak their language. Not only that, but you can be a better friend. You can teach your monolingual friends cool words, phrases and elements of another culture. You also get to introduce the friends you meet in your new language to aspects of your mother tongue and culture. It's win-win and you get to be the hero. And if you're a parent searching for ways to learn languages online for kids, your children will not only make friends through language learning online programs. They'll also find mentors who teach them how to learn. Plus, language learning is great memory exercise and you can use the language learning environment as an opportunity to teach your kids memory techniques. There are many more reasons why you should learn a language. You'll find another 15 Reasons Why Learning A Foreign Language Is Good For Your Brain here. Why Most Online Language Platforms Are Distressingly Bad There are dozens of places you can learn languages online. Some are really awesome and I still use them. Italki.com, for example, has oodles of great features. With some sift-sort-and-screen skills under your belt, you can find really great teachers. But a lot of places have confusing payment plans. It's not clear why their teachers have the privilege of teaching online and there seems to be no standard. Plus, you get a wash of language learning materials that you always have to hunt for. 3 Things I Love About Skill Silo Skill Silo solves a lot of the problems I've just mentioned. I'm a big boy, for example, so I like when I see the cost of my language learning sessions clearly expressed in a real currency. I don't have to translate money in my head so I know exactly what I'm paying. This transparency helps me evaluate the value of the teacher I'm learning from as well because it feels like real cash I'm spending, not Monopoly money. On other platforms, I've felt like the payment structures are deliberately obscure so that I don't really know how much I'm spending or how much I'm getting for my investment. I also like that I can choose whether I want one hour or 30-minute sessions. On some other platforms, it's up to the instructor what length of classes they offer. However, I like to vary the session lengths each time depending on my goals with different teachers. When I do "vocab-en-masse" blitzes, then an hour is great. But for theme-based lessons for developing skills with a verb and some nouns, 30-minutes is plenty to get the jist and do the homework myself. One Textbook In One Place Skill Silo also has the advantage of providing you with a textbook. This feature has saved me a lot of time. Yes, I'm a memory expert, but I work sometimes with dozens of language teachers in the space of a year and when each one has their own worksheets and file-naming styles … It can be a real mess. I love that Skill Silo offers a central textbook. When the teachers do offer supplementary worksheets, they are just that: supplements to a core textbook I can access anytime online through my Skill Silo account. Having access to the textbook in full also means I can pace ahead and think about what I would like to focus on during the next session. This feature helps maximize the value of the time, energy and money invested because the best learners are self-directed learners. But on some other platforms I've used, it feels like the teachers use their learning materials like a gateway drug. It's as if they imagine that if they dole it out once dose at a time, you'll keep coming back for more. Not necessarily. Mistakes To Avoid When You Learn Languages Online At the end of the day, no matter what platform you use, the teacher can only be as good as the student. That means you need to come prepared to your lessons. The question is … how do you do this? It's a bit of a puzzle to figure out because when you l

Before you dump another moment of your life into searching for brain games that improve your memory, please realize one thing: Your Brain Exercises Need To Be About Something … Here's the deal: A lot of memory games and other brain-enhancing apps try to help improve your memory by giving you abstract or arbitrary memory tasks. For example, you might be asked to remember the locations of a detective's cap, magnifying glass and a detection kit behind a set of tiles. The Sherlock Holmes theme is certainly clever, but exactly what kind of memory skills does this exercise train? The answer is easy: General memory skills. That's it and nothing more. Or … … maybe even less. After all, general brain games help you get good at remembering the location of imaginary objects hidden behind squares on a tiny computer screen. And you have to ask yourself … Does That Sound Like A Useful Skill To You? Is there anything wrong with this kind general of brain exercise? Not necessarily. This Scientific American article finds no harm in playing them (few demonstrable benefits either). But if you want to get better at remembering the information that matters … Play Games With Information That Matters! Seriously. If you want to harness the power of neuroplasticity, give your neurons toys that are congruent with your end goal. Yes, a basketball player completes some training drills that don't involve a basketball for general fitness. But when it comes to developing skills and having the REAL fun basketball offers as a game, you need the ball itself in your hands. You need to practice navigating it around the court and sinking it through the hoop. The Benefits Of Brain Games Do Not Last First off, have you looked into any of the studies to which many of these software companies refer? Chances are you won't even find any because they often don't exist. This was the finding of one major FTC case that led to a $2 million lawsuit again sellers of a popular brain training program. Look: No one is saying that these games don't have some effect. But exactly how they provide measurable benefits is far from clear. Nor can it be clear. The skills one develops in the games, apart from concentration, rarely, if ever, appear in real life. This lack of necessity for the "skills" supposedly developed by brain games again brings us to one important fact. To get long lasting effects, we need more than games. We need to link the brain games we play with the information we want to get better at handling. Which Of These Information Types Do You Tend To Forget Most? Foreign language vocabulary Names and faces Facts Numbers Equations Lyrics Dates Recipes If you want to get good in any of these areas, the best thing is to play brain games that involve these kinds of information. That way, you associate the information with fun while you get better at learning, memorizing and using it in practical situations. If you're finding you still struggle, please consider understanding the most important difference between memory loss and forgetfulness. Plus, you'll get long-lasting effects because the more you know about a particular topic, the more you can know. For example, if you're studying history, knowing that the important memory artist Giordano Bruno died in 1600 creates a hook upon which you can hang other pieces of information. Would you like to know that Hamlet was (probably) written or being in written in 1600? No problem. Just imagine Kenneth Branaugh or another actor you associate with the role of Hamlet strangling the Bruno statue in Rome. Would you like to know that the Bruno statue in Rome is specifically located at Campo de' Fiori? Again, no problem: Just add an image like a Ferrari digging ore from beneath the statue using a camping tent. In this fascinating brain game, we're compounding information by linking one thing with another. You can make a tower of knowledge using just that one location in Rome. There's so much more you can add because knowing one thing enables you to know yet another. Here's How To Make Your Own Brain Games I get it: You look to software and apps so you can instantly download games to your device. You want to immediately start enjoying the benefits of memory improvement right away. You're probably also looking to improve focus and concentration too. But here's the thing: You're just creating digital amnesia. Worse: If the brain games on the market only improve your memory on a general level (if at all), then you're only going to get general results. And if the game doesn't involve information that's even remotely interesting to you, finding hats and magnifying glasses behind rotating tiles is going to get boring fast. To create your own games, ones that will make an impact on specific areas where you're weak, you may have to create your own. Let's say you're learning a language and keep forgetting words and phrases. To make a game that will help you improve, you need only a goal, some rules and an antagonistic force. Go

Zoning out sucks, doesn't it? You're sitting there, wishing you can concentrate, wishing you knew how to improve focus … and yet … your mind is just dancing all over the darn place. Well, if you want to know how to improve focus and concentration so you can finally get those important things in your life done, these ultra-fast tips from Joanna Jast will give you exactly what you need to succeed. Make sure to read the entire post and download the audio she narrated for your convenience. Enjoy this game-changing focus training! Everything You Need To Know About Focus Guest post and podcast guest host narration by Joanna Jast. How would you like to skyrocket the effectiveness of your favorite memory techniques? Or, if you're having trouble getting started, how would you like to develop rock-solid focus that will allow you to learn, memorize and recall anything? Here's the deal: Without good focus, no matter how much time you spend using mnemonics or walking through Memory Palaces, very little will stick. Why? Because focus is to memory what a key is to a lock. Yes, you can always force-open a lock. But it's easier and smoother and faster with a key, don't you think? Most people get this point about focus wrong, but … Here's Exactly How To Stop Making Such A Focus-Killing Mistake Most people get the whole focus improvement idea wrong. They think focus is a matter of motivation – and they keep digging into their 'whys', reading inspirational quotes and hiring accountability coaches. Look: These efforts all have their time and place. But they all take time, effort and cost money. Worse, they only work until the next motivational low crashes down on your head. And then … You Have To Start Over Again! Yes, motivation fluctuates and it's not your fault – that's just the way it is. But no matter what your motivation for improving your focus is, making some simple changes in your environment and the way you work can dramatically improve your concentration and your ability to memorize information fast. The Fastest Way To Improve Your Focus Meditation is great. Don't get me wrong. Its benefits are multiple and well proven. It helps improve concentration, mental and physical health. Even better, meditation keeps you young and happy. There is a downside to meditation though. It takes time to see the benefits. Plus, you need to commit to at least 4, 15-minute sessions per week. Well worth it, but not instantaneous. You have more pressing questions: What about that neuroanatomy revision for the exam tomorrow? Or the German phrases you need to memorize for your trip next week? Meditation is great and you should continue practicing it if you're already doing it, but for all those moments when you need a quick focus fix, here's my trick: How To Increase Focus With These Quick Environmental Hacks I admit, I don't meditate – I've tried many times and abandoned my efforts. Between my inner wriggler, uncomfortable back, tendency to fall asleep immediately when still and relaxed and a number of other effective strategies I use for my 'mental powers' – I've never been able to experience enough benefits of meditation to keep doing it. Making changes to my environment, on the other hand, has been the quickest way to make an impact and offered the most bang for my buck. What can you do with your environment to maximise your ability to focus? First, check if your workspace is ergonomic. Make sure your desk and chair are at a comfortable height so you don't strain your back. Often a simple thing such as a small cushion or a rolled-up towel to support your lower back is enough to fend off that back soreness interrupting your workflow. Adjust the position of your computer and any other work tools you use. The optimal set-up for your desk space includes your monitor being at arm's lengths away from your eyes and your wrists and hands on the keyboard straight at or below elbow level. These little tweaks will help your body stay comfortable at work. Check out this Mayo Clinic article for more info on office ergonomics. Cut Your Brain Some Slack! Noise is another vital element of work environment many people don't appreciate the effects of. Noise is not only a powerful distractor, but also forces your brain to do additional work by ignoring it. If you've ever worked in a noisy environment, you know how tiring this can be. Eliminating or minimizing noise in your environment can reap immediate benefits for your focus and memory. You don't need complete silence, but at least try to minimize/eliminate conversations and anything that resembles conversations around you. These are real focus killers, because our brain is wired to tune in to conversations (in case there are some survival benefits to it). Conversations and fragments of conversations come from many sources, For example: Colleagues Friends Family Passers-by Radio Whether these tidbits of gossip and other verbal diarrhea float in through the window, an open door or thin walls, they will k

Tired Of Struggling To Learn Memory Techniques For Language Learning On Your Own? Sometimes all it takes is a powwow with a good friend. I know, I know … Your friends think you're weird when you talk about your favorite Memory Palace and the crazy images that you use to memorize information like German phrases or other parts of language learning. That's why I was so excited when John McPhedran and I started hanging out to talk about our shared passions: Heavy Metal … Movies … … & Mnemonics! You Don't Have To Memorize Vocabulary And Phrases Alone! At least two cool things happen when you share your adventures in memory: 1) You learn how to use the techniques better yourself. 2) You come up with completely new approaches. Or you learn to use the Major System for memorizing notes: All of those things happened when John and I started hanging out, and so I'm excited to share with you our wide-ranging conversation about memorizing German, music and even a bit of Mandarin. (It's funny to listen back to this interview because since then, my approach to Chinese and how much Chinese I now know has thoroughly grown!) Here's the full transcript of our discussion. To make it concrete for you, I've extracted 16 principles from the discussion you can start using right away. We're confident that you'll learn a lot and urge you to find a person to chat about your memory projects with. For starters, you can join the Magnetic Memory Method Facebook Group after downloading and listening to this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. Method Number One: Invest In Memory Training Anthony: This is Anthony Metivier. You're listening to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and today we have a real special treat John McPhedran. Did I pronounce that right? John: Yeah. Anthony: It's pronounced just the way it's spelled which is awesome. Well John, how do we know each other? John: It's quite a funny story. About just over a year ago, I'll tell the whole story. Anthony: Yeah, tell it all from the beginning. John: Just over a year ago, I'm from New Zealand, and I have married a lovely German woman. I was in Germany last year, so this is my third time now, but I was here last year and I was about to fly home to New Zealand. Me and my wife, we were in a hotel in Prague, and I was just looking on my Kindle for stuff to buy on Amazon. I was always looking at German language books, things to learn German and better ways to do it, and I came across the Magnetic Memory Method mnemonics system for learning vocab. I bought that and started reading. It just sounded really cool. It wasn't something I dove into straight away. I knew that it would take a while before I got around to doing it because I had some other priorities, but I always kept it on the back of my mind. Six months after that, I came back to Germany to live, and I knew that I had to sharpen up my German skills, so I looked further into the Magnetic Memory Method and ended up buying the product on Udemy. Through the message system there, I just start typing Anthony just questions that I had. From reading his books, I knew he lived in Berlin, which is where I've moved to, and I knew that he also was a heavy metal bass player. So I thought it would be cool if I just put it out there just to you know just poke the fire I guess you could say. Just to see if he was close to where I was and just make the first step into maybe meeting because he seemed like an interesting guy. We just started talking back and forth and I kind of dropped that I was a heavy metal guitarist. That kind of sparked Anthony's interest. Basically, from there we just kind of messaged back and forth and ended up jamming together. Then the real funny part of the story I guess was that we ended up living a fifteen minute walk apart from each other. So coming from the other end of the world, from New Zealand to Berlin, to actually live fifteen minutes apart from this dude that I was learning all this cool stuff from was you know pretty awesome. So we've kind of just been friends since and have been recording music together and just talking about memory stuff. I've kind of come out with some memory things that sparked Anthony's interest. So it's why I'm here today doing this. Anthony: Yeah, and not any kind of memory stuff, but grammar and music which is, well, some very rich and detailed things to be memorizing. I'm really glad that you did email me and now you're coming to my birthday party. So things are getting real serious. John: Yeah, I'm looking forward to that. Anthony: So that's the end of the week. But in any case, one thing that I really admire is that you're actually taking these approaches and doing what I have suggested, and we're trading notes. We've both got Excel files open or documents, and we were looking at our process. It's so exciting to see and hear what you're doing, and how you explain your mnemonic images just put so many pictures in my mind, which I can tell why they're so memorable for yo

How I Memorized German Phrases Every Day For A Year Guest post by Richard Gilzean Note: What follows is a deconstruction of the steps I took (and continue to take) to improve my German. But rest assured, these same steps will work for memorizing phrases in any language. Sound good? Regardless of whether you've been learning a second or third language for a while, or just starting out, this approach to memorizing foreign languages will help you. In the beginning was the Word SENTENCE. You might be wondering: Why learn German phrases and not just individual words? Good question. The answer is that we all read, write, listen and speak in sentences, or fragments thereof. The sentence is at the core of any language and learning to master the sentence should be considered. Even the most basic language guide book for travelers teach simple German phrases that follow syntax. Don't get me wrong. Words are beautiful in their own right. We all should invest in the time to learn what a word means and how to best use it. And this is achieved by working those words into sentences as you work on your bilingualism. How I Built My "Internal GPS" (And You Can Too) Before launching into memorizing my first German phrase, I designed the Memory Palace system that would store them. I've been interested in the art and craft of memory training and self-improvement for a couple of years. But I only really started to study it closely after coming across Anthony's book How to Learn and Memorize German Vocabulary which, in turn, led me to the Magnetic Memory Method website. Recommended resource: The Magnetic Memory Method Masterplan. Anthony's approach to teaching anyone how to learn, memorize and recall vocabulary, names, mathematical formulas and pretty much anything that can be memorized is both well-structured and comprehensive. So I'll just highlight the essential components as they relate to learning languages and all of you who have been following Anthony's site will be familiar. Have a store of real locations to house your sentences. Imagine real concrete / tangible objects or people that are creative, vivid, colorful and zany. Therefore, not just an elephant, but a pink pygmy elephant with Dumbo-like ears and with a runny trunk. Schedule time for practice so the sentence can work its way into your long-term memory. You'll need to draw from your own personal memory bank a real location in which to store your sentences. It can be a place you know well, like the house you live in, or the place where you grew up that holds its own strong memories. It can be a route you follow regularly, such as a park or your daily commute from home to work. With a little practice you can come up with more than enough Memory Palaces. While there are some general guidelines about how to make your Memory Palace effective, there is a lot of divergent opinion on how to make best use of your own Memory Palaces because no two thought processes are alike. Because I knew I would need a large location to hold my expanding sentences, I chose a route that ran from the front door of my house, along the street, through a local park and over to my son's local primary school – some 400 meters in total. From AA to ZZ: Where I Keep My Memorized German Phrases But before you set off on your journey, you'll need to figure out your memory anchors. Think of the process like mental orienteering where you go for a jog in your mind along a set trail and arrive at control points along the way. To help, I created an excel spreadsheet with an index of initials for names of famous people, friends and cartoon characters, running all the way from AA to ZZ. This process took a little time to work through and I made some compromises along the way. In particular, I left out the letters Q – X – Y (just too hard to come up with names). I ended up with a list of 600 names running from Andre Agassi to the bearded rockers from the band ZZ Top. Six hundred names means, in theory, I am able to memorize at least 600 foreign language sentences. Running alongside my list of names I also have a separate list of 100 what I refer to as my memory tag words. These words use the well-established mnemonic Major Method which is a technique used to aid in memorizing numbers and has been used in memorize shopping lists, the sequence of a shuffled pack of card and memory competitions. The Major Method works by converting numbers into consonant sounds, then into words by adding vowels. How To Choose Which Phrases To Memorize Armed with my list of 600 names and 100 Major System tag words, I now have the memory anchors in place to hold my German sentences. I also have the memory route from my house to my son's primary school. There is a smorgasbord of foreign language sites out there to choose from, but the question is, which phrases should I memorize in order to get the best results for building fluency in German. I subscribe to the German Flashcards section of a website run by Learn With Oliver for c

Wish you could remember names? I know I've often wished that memorizing names was easier (it is). After all … Forgetting names sucks, especially at events where you're meeting important new contacts. Business cards are fine and dandy, but you want to be looking that new person in the eyes and connecting, not constantly peeking at the sweaty lump of cardboard stuck to your palm. Instead, you want to hold each person's name with the certainty that can only come from mastering your memory. Or You Can Keep Living The Nightmare You know the one. You hear a name and then just a few seconds later … it's gone. The good news is, it's not your fault. There's a reason your brain doesn't grasp onto names and hold onto them like treasure. (Yes, treasure. Every name is as valuable as a rare coin.) The better news is that, even if it isn't your fault that you can't remember names, you can eliminate the problem. With practice, you can remember the names of as many people as you want. Even if you make a mistake from time to time, even slip-ups can become powerful assets. 3 Key Reasons We All Forget Names (Including Memory Champions) You can help yourself stop forgetting names by understanding why it happens. First, names are abstract. Unless you're a philologist, most names will hold zero meaning for you. Though there are some ways that the meaning of names can be manufactured to help your memory. Despite the fact that names are often abstract, however, get this: As Lynne Kelly demonstrates in The Memory Code, memorizing even the most abstract names is a skill that has helped the human species survive for thousands of years. We wouldn't be here without memory skills. Second, when we meet people, we might hear names, but we're not paying attention. We're either dazzled by their good looks or horrified by the food dangling off their faces. Worse, we're thinking about what we're going to say next. Our concentration is directed inward instead of outward. Finally, we're bombarded by stimuli. The room is filled with noises, we may be drinking alcohol, suffering jet-lag. or moving around the meeting space. All of these elements distract us. You know how you sometimes go into the kitchen from the living room and then forget why you're in the kitchen? This problem happens because the instant you leave the living room, the movement and change of locations floods all of your senses. Your intention isn't so much forgotten as it is suddenly pushed out to sea like a message in a bottle. The same thing happens when you're introduced to a person. You hear the name, but then you ask where they're from and what they do. In combination with all the activity in the room, it's the same effect. Waves of information push that bottle out to the margins of your mind and the new name you just learned falls out your ear. The Super-Simple Mechanics Of Memorizing Names Let me tell you a story. A few weeks ago, my friend Max Breckbill of Starting From Zero held one of his great entrepreneur dinners in Berlin. A bunch of people get together to network and just chill out in a relaxed restaurant. His dinners are amazing. Max always begins the evening with a round of introductions. As each person said their name, I created a crazy image to help me recall their names. For example, there was a guy named Lars, so I saw Lars from Metallica playing drums on his head. For Lukas, I saw Luke Skywalker using his Light Sabre to carve an S onto Lukas's chest so I would remember it was Lukas with an S instead of Luke as in Skywalker. A bit later, I saw a guy named Jeremy in a fistfight with Eddie Vedder with the Pearl Jam song of the same name playing on the soundtrack. There were 20 other names and in a very short period, I created a wildly explosive image for each. I did not connect the names in any particular way with a story, however. For me, the linking method would not be helpful because Max rotates the tables. Plus, at many events, you won't see people in the same place twice. The constant shifting means that each individual needs their own vignette, a mini-story that requires no connection with any other name. This doesn't mean that you can't use the building as a Memory Palace and store that image with the location of the person when you first encountered them. You most certainly should. What you don't want to do is be looking at a person and trying to see where their imagery fits in with Mickey Mouse time bombs as Taylor Swift razors through Wolverine's dandelion claws in a showdown. You just want one clear and distinct vignette per person that can travel with them wherever they go. And this is important: These vignettes must be INSANE. The good news is, it's easy make images that really pop in your memory. Just … Make Them Brighter Than The SunAnd More Colorful Than The Joker When I saw Lars, it wasn't just a humdrum image I thought about. The Metallica drummer was exploding with light and color, almost like a neon sign wrapped around a disco ball. Keep in m

Do you hate that slump you get after flying? How about that dumpy feeling that comes when winter takes hold? Not the greatest of friends, is it? But just stop and ask yourself … What If Suffering Like This Could Be Reduced Or Eliminated? In my brief experience with an amazing new invention, I believe that it can. It's called Human Charger and this is my story using it. As a Canadian currently living in Germany, I've spent more than a few days in the miserable dark. Winter temperatures rarely stand a chance, but gray days take a lot out of me, especially since I have Bipolar Disorder. But no matter where a person lives or what conditions they might face, there are solutions to the winter blahs. And if you're a frequent flyer, the very same solution applies to jet lag too. All you need is light. As always, the science is divided. In general, light is essential to the creation of Vitamin D, though it's not entirely clear that Vitamin D plays the role we think it does. Nonetheless, light definitely affects mood and energy. And since it takes a feeling of well-being to tolerate long, dark winters, arguably, more exposure to light will ease that burden. The 3 Best Ways To Get More Healing Light I've tried a number of ways to get more sun during the winter in Berlin. Travel is the simplest: Pick a sunny place and go. Travel is great because you not only get more light, but you can challenge your mind by learning a language and enjoying the culture. In addition to getting more "happy rays," here are another 15 Reasons Why Learning A Foreign Language Is Good For Your Brain. Definitely chase the sun if you can. I've enjoyed warmer temperatures, boosts in fluency and warm sun in places like Greece, Spain and most recently in China where I shot a video course and did some research on the great mnemonist Matteo Ricci. While at home, my trainer Lars Rosenbaum at Ignite Fit recommended one 15-minute session per week in what he called the "assi-toaster." That's a Denglish (German/English) word that combines asocial with toaster to joke about the anti-social activity of laying in a tanning bed. I've found that he's right. That small blast of light once a week helps keep the blues away. It's not enough to create much of a tan, but a sufficient amount for creating the desired effect. Just Like Storing The Sun In Your Pocket? Even before the package arrived, I was skeptical. After all, the idea of shooting light into your ears sounds a bit fantastical. I also worried about burning holes in my eardrum or developing tinnitus. Not only that, but I had no upcoming trips with flights long enough to merit trying the Human Charger. So I let one of the most miraculous technologies I would ever use just sit there. Then Jari got in touch to ask if I'd given the Human Charger a try. I told him that I had no reason to do so but might the following year. He suggested giving it a try, citing its use for dealing with Seasonal Effective Disorder (SAD). My interest peaked and so I finally opened the package and gave it a try. It's simple to use. About the size of an iPod, it comes with two earbuds that you pop into your ears before switching it on. It makes a beep and soon after you feel warmth inside your head. Eureka … It Works! After the session, I immediately felt different. I felt better. And of course I figured it was probably a placebo. Nonetheless, I stuck with the device and still use it every day during my meditation sessions. The device is set at 100% power when you get it for a 12 minute session. That felt too much for me so I reduced it to 75% for 9 minutes. The 9 minutes matches almost exactly how long I like to meditate and gives my meditations a frame without having to set an alarm. It's also pleasant to meditate with the warmth in my head, something definitely worth experiencing. I also enjoy using Humancharger when completing The Freedom Journal, which is another great Memory Improvement Tool. Imagine Flying Halfway Around The World Without A Shred Of Jet Lag For me, the real test would be an international flight. So when I finally went to China, I followed the instructions precisely and flew with anticipation of a jet lag free experience. To my pleasant surprise, I got it. More precisely, I felt like my body wanted to go into jet lag, but it couldn't. There was just a whisper of that holiday-destroying condition that didn't disrupt a thing. I wasn't the only one surprised either. People kept asking me why I was so chipper, which gave me the opportunity to share the good news about the Human Charger. Like others, I too felt skeptical. Nonetheless, both during and after my visit to China, the post-flight experiences created amazement in myself and others as I strutted around with my usual impenetrable energy. The Best Meditation Hardware On The Market With respect to overall well-being, the best part of using the Human Charger apart from solving jet lag is the experience of using it during meditation. Many people use apps to h

You know all about the dangers of smoking, right? Bronchitis, emphysema, vascular disease … Heck, the Demon Nicotine has even been linked to cancer. But did you know that smoking also poses risks to your intelligence and memory? Some experts disagree, but common sense in combination with evidence tells us that … Smoking Murders Your Memory! Never fear. If this post doesn't spook smokers out of lighting up ever again (it probably won't), it'll at least educate them. Plus, I'll give you some ideas for how to quit with minimum suffering in record time. If you're not a smoker yourself, you can at least pass the tactics on. But if you're one of those who prefer cocktails of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen cyanide, abandon this post right away because it's basically a rant from a guy who cares for both you as a person AND for your mental abilities. So buckle up if you're going to stick around, because here comes some tough love from your friendly neighborhood Warrior of the Mind. A Brief History Of The World's Stupidest And Stinkiest Habit There may be earlier accounts, but history tells us that Columbus witnessed Native Americans huffing and puffing on rolled dried leaves starting in 1492. They "drank the smoke" as he put it. Later, ships brought some of those Natives with them to Europe, leading to tobacco seeds being left at each and every port of call. The Dutch brought tobacco home from the Hottentots, the Portuguese introduced it to the Polynesians and people soon planted nicotine anywhere and everywhere it would grow. Even Kings Failed To Stop The Spread Of Smoking Across Their Kingdoms We often think of royalty from the 1600s as slovenly pigs stuffing their faces with mutton and mead, but not King James. When he wasn't busy developing the Bible, he was writing hate mail to smokers. Check out this rant in which he says smoking is … "… A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and the black stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible stygian of the pit that is bottomless." King James wrote those words in 1604, but his rage was nothing compared to the Russian czar who banned smoking and said that "offenders will be sentenced to slitting of nostrils." Ouch! Nonetheless, demand exceeded supply all over Europe, and tobacco prices soared. As a result, some people got mighty wealthy. How Smoking Formed A Global Superpower … Almost Overnight! By the 17th Century, smokers had become aware of nicotine's addictive powers. But it was already too late, and, much worse, tobacco had become central to the development of an emerging economic and political powerhouse. For example, the tobacco industry bolstered the success of the Virginia Settlement. Farming the plant became the backbone of slavery and the southern plantation practices overall. The weed stood behind the Louisiana Purchase and is still considered America's oldest industry (not to be mistaken with prostitution, which belongs to the entire world). By the 1930s, smoking had entered the world of advertising. Printed images of sexy women and dapper men enticed people around the world, not to mention Hollywood movies, which were entering the era of sound. Now you could even hear the sounds of beloved celebrities puffing their way into early graves. If You Think Trump Is An Idiot, Get A Load Of This Some people admire Theodore Roosevelt and perhaps for good reason. But he's the same dude who classified tobacco as an essential crop and had the stuff shipped overseas to America's servicemen. Thanks to him, they could get their limbs blown off and memory-destroying pulmonary diseases too. Not only that, but in 1945 alone over 267 BILLION cigarettes were sold domestically in the US. The military draft legislation was changed so that enough people could stay home to work on the tobacco farms to supply the domestic and overseas markets. Science Fails To Come To The Rescue Although people had long been aware of tobacco's addictive properties, medical research didn't pick up the issue in earnest until the 1940s. But it wouldn't be until 1957 that a Public Health Service report called for sales restrictions, health warnings and advertising regulations. Those not afraid to speak out against smoking gained some traction, but the tobacco industry retaliated by introducing filtered cigarettes to allay the fears of current and future smokers. Congress continued to favor the industry and to this day, celebrities romanticize the disgusting habit by either smoking themselves or pretending too. (Some actors even pick up the habit after playing the role of smokers!) Smoking Destroys Your Body And Mind At The Same Time Despite different conclusions, most studies link smoking to diseases that involve the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. Tamper with these and your ability to concentrate and remember plummets. Why? It's because smoking: Causes peripheral blood vessels to restrict Reduces capillary flow

Remember when you were in middle school? How boring it was? Wouldn't it have been great if you had not only the ability to make it the most exciting time of your life, but also memorize everything you learned? Here's The VERY Good News About Helping Middle School Students Remember More Even if it's too late for you, it doesn't have to be for your kids or any young person for whom you buy books in your family or social circles. US Memory Bronze Medal Champion Brad Zupp has an exciting training book just for youth. The book is called Unlock Your Amazing Memory: The Fun Guide That Shows Grades 5 To 8 How To Remember Better And Make School Easier. Unlock Your Amazing Memory is a great book and in this post, I'm going to try and sell you on buying and reading it. Heck, even if school is far behind you and your hair has gone gray, you're going to learn a lot from Zupp's book. Not Being Able To Remember Does Not Make You Dumb Unfortunately, schools tend to set things up so that we think intelligence is linked to performance on tests and exams. But this couldn't be further from the truth and Zupp shows how any student can break the pattern of institutionally-forced failure. Zupp's book is easy to read for the advertised grade level, as well as anyone. This aspect of Unlock Your Amazing Memory really makes it shine because all too often, books on technical skills like mnemonics can also make you feel stupid. Zupp's clear writing style and progressive organization of the basics makes it impossible to misunderstand the techniques. The More You Practice Your Memory, The Better It will Be Learning memory techniques can take time, but the payoff later is incredible speed that MORE than pays off the initial investment. The best part is that it pays off for life. To motivate readers, Zupp recommends visualizing yourself impressing friends. This is okay, but I would add visualizing just taking the first steps. For example, research has shown that people who visualize themselves putting on their running shoes get more fit in a six-month period than those who see themselves with an excellent physique. When it comes to memory techniques, you can start by visualizing yourself creating a Memory Palace. To make that even simpler, picture yourself getting a memory journal and picking out a special pen or pencil that you will use exclusively for that journal. Taking this small step is more likely to lead to actually creating a Memory Palace than visualizing yourself as a memory hero in front of your friends. Heck, just picturing yourself reading the book from beginning to end and then actually reading it will already make you a modern Hercules amongst your Internet-addled friends. Remembering Involves 3 Steps So Simple You'll Wonder Why Schools Don't Save The Alphabet For Later Zupp breaks his approach to memory techniques into three distinct movements. The first seems obvious, but how many people actually do it? For Zupp, it's called remembering to "get" the info, or what Harry Lorayne often calls "paying attention to it in the first place." You Can't Remember What You Haven't Learned So if "paying attention" to the target information is the first key to "getting" it into memory, how do you accomplish this feat? First up, Zupp says you've got to sit up straight. I remember this principle well from learning music. Slumping not only breaks the flow of oxygen. It also reduces concentration. You're going to need focus if you want to learn well over the long haul. Speaking of air, breathing is an incredible stimulant for memory. An oxygenated brain has more resources for creating the physical connections needed to form memories. Guessing Games Make Memories Fast Another of Zupp's suggestions involves thinking ahead. For example, when you're listening to a lecture, try figuring out where the lecturer is headed in advance of his current line of thought. By doing this, you increase the attention you're paying to the speaker. The intensified focus makes the material more memorable almost by default, even if your assumptions are wrong. In fact, the information becomes more memorable when you are wrong because your mind loops back to the part of the thread where you took your wayward turn. The game of guessing "what's next" reminds me of a meditation approach suggest by Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now. When meditating, Tolle suggests pretending you are a cat perched in front of a mouse hole. But instead of waiting for a mouse, you wonder instead, "What thought will I think of next?" This activity keeps you focused both on the present moment and ready to capture new thoughts when they appear. In the case of meditation, the thoughts don't distract you. Instead, they create even more focus because you've attuned yourself to their appearance. The same applies to keeping your mind on what the professor might say next. You'll be wide awake to the present moment and carefully attuned to whatever comes next. Counting Uhms, Ahems And Other Human He

You've read about browser control software, right? You know. The kind that blocks ads or logs you out after you've procrastinated too long. All fine and dandy, but not the solution. Here are some low-tech things to try instead: Get The Important Stuff Done Before You Switch The DumbPhone On "Yeah right," I hear you say. "My computer IS the important stuff!" Really? What about learning a language, or even just developing motivation for learning one? Believe it or not, people have learned languages for a long time without the aid of machines. But even if you still need software, you can model what I'm doing for Mandarin Chinese. Technically, it still involves using a machine, but I use it like an ugly old Walkman. Which leads us to: Stop Carrying The Internet With You Everywhere Sometimes I worry about becoming a Luddite. I do not have a single device that accesses the Internet unless I find wireless in a cafe. And even then, I've designed my life in a way that I rarely need it. Friends and strangers alike ask me how I survive without it, a question that perplexes me. From ages four to twenty-four, I managed to meet people all over the world without having an email address or a cellphone. Heck, I even used to arrange meetings by post. The point being is that if you can't figure out why you're not achieving your goals, look to the roaming Internet first. And then consider the following life-changing activities: * Use an app like Plain Text to write a book, blog post or article (like I'm doing right now) instead of scrolling through Facebook and clicking the Like button. That's a fast path to nowhere. But all wealth comes from writing, including social, intellectual and financial wealth. I guess the occasional "LOL" might add to the pool, but I'm certainly not counting on it. * Create a mind map with (gasp!) pen and paper while using your spayed or neutered DumbPhone to listen to a podcast or lecture. You'll remember more and come up with incredible ideas as you work. * Meet a human being and have a conversation with no devices on or near the table. Switch it off so it doesn't buzz, beep or otherwise bang its way into your attention from within a bag or pocket. And above all, learn and love this phrase: "I'll look it up later." Then use your to-do list to create a Memory Palace that helps you do so. Speaking of which: If You Create Them, Use Them Many people tell me they've created one or more Memory Palaces. They even send me excellent drawings that demonstrate substantial knowledge of the Magnetic Memory Method. The only problem is … They never use them. Regarding today's topic, failing to use your inner mental technology opens you to more information pollution because you're not spending time massaging the right stuff into your memory. Stuff like: * Facts that build general knowledge. * Names and dates of historical figures and events that develop your understanding of how and why we got here. * Critical Information from a textbook so that you can ace exams. * Poems, quotes, plots and jokes so that you always have something interesting to say. Heck, if you've got good poems, stories or philosophical ideas memorized, you'll always have something fascinating to think about even when you're on your own. * Passwords and credit card numbers so that you're not pouring time down the drain looking stuff up. Memorizing These Things Could Make The Difference Between Being A Mouse Or A Millionaire But if you're tootling your time away consuming and creating blasts of info pollution, good luck making it to the top. But … How? How do we avoid all this nonsense and the digital amnesia it brings? Frame Your Day With Time Boundaries It's not just about doing the important stuff before you switch on the computer. It's about spacing out time across the day. Luckily, this is easy to do. It's called "setting a timer." How it works is this: 1. Decide how long you want to work on a high margin task. When it comes to your memory work, that might mean the design, memorization or recall parts, as described in this video: 2. Set the timer. 3. Work until it rings. 4. Take a computer-free break to avoid noise pollution. Do push ups, take a walk or, dip into a Memory Palace. If you can't develop the discipline needed to do this on your own, find a co-working team. My friend Max Breckbill hosts the most amazing group sessions and serves as the MC. He starts and ends each session and manages a spreadsheet that lists the activities of each attendee to help create accountability. Set Activity Boundaries And Hold To Them At the beginning of 2016, I performed a life assessment with the help of my friend Jonathan Levi. One of the huge gaps I found involved the withering of my music life. Somehow I just wasn't playing bass often enough anymore. Same thing with my language learning and memory experiments. So then I did a severe time analysis and found that I'd unconsciously slid away from my tried and true time-tracking technique. Once I got tha