/ SUPERBRAIN MASTERCLASS NOTES NOTES FROM JIM KWIK’S MASTERCLASS https://www.mindvalley.com/superbrain/ / INDEX OF CONTENTS DAY / EPISODE TITLE NOTES 1 MOM Helps You Remember Better 2 The Sun Is Up 3 10 Keys To Unlock Your Superbrain 4 Implementation Day: Spaced Repetition 5 Nutrition & Body Folders 6 Environments & Killings ANTs 7 Sleep & Stress Management 8 Implementation Day: Morning Routine 8 Q&A Video 9 Chain Linking (Part 1 and 2) 11 The Peg Memory Method 12 Implementation Day: Juggling Exercise 13 Be SUAVE: Remembering Names 14 Memory Is Easy As PIE 15 The FDR Technique 16 Implementation Day: Superbrain Yoga 17 The Ultimate TIP To Remember Anything 18 Keyword Substitution Method 19 Learn Foreign Languages 20 Counting To 10 In Japanese 21 How To Give A Speech Without Notes 22 The Location Method 23 Memorize Word For Word / 24 Implementation Day: Cross Overs 25 Numbers: The Basics 26 The Ancient Alphanumeric Code Of Memory - Part 1: The Sounds 27 The Ancient Alphanumeric Code Of Memory - Part 2: Application 28 Implementation Day: Phonetic Number Code 29 The 5 Levels Of Transformation 30 The 5 Levels Of Learning 31 Overcoming Procrastination 32 Your 8 C’s To Muscle Memory 33 Remembering Your Dreams 34 Speed Reading / 1) MOM Helps You Remember Better FAST : Forget - learn with a beginners mind Active - learning is not a spectator sport, engage State - all learning is state dependent, the better your state the better the learning (examples of states: sleepy, happy, sad, energetic, motivated, etc.) Teach - when you teach you learn twice, learn things so you can teach them Also: you forget stuff, so take notes so you can teach yourself again when this happens MOM : Motivation - (example, remembering someone’s name) if you’d win 1M$ for Remembering a name, you would definitely remember that person’s name Observation - memory is attention before being retention Be powerfully present to have a powerful presence Be silent inside and don't multitask on the outside Mechanics - use techniques (such as these) / 2) The Sun Is Up Don't look for perfection, look for progress No such thing as failure, just failure to learn In order to manage something, you need to start by measuring it SUN LIST: memorize the following (utility of this is explained later on) (Green is made up by me) Basic association = connecting two things using logical association N° Image Association N° Image Association 1 Sun We have 1 sun 16 Candles Sweet 16 birthday 2 Socks A pair of socks 17 Magazine 17 is a magazine for little girls 3 Traffic light Has 3 lights 18 Truck 18 wheeler truck 4 Car 4 doors 4 wheels 19 Golf 19th hole in golf is the bar 5 Star Star has 5 points 5 star hotel 20 Fox 20th Century Fox 6 Soda 6 pack 21 Cards Black jack 21 cards 7 Rainbow Has 7 colours 22 Swans Looks like 2 swans 8 Octopus Has 8 tentacles 23 9 Cat Has 9 lives 24 Clock 24 hours 10 Toes You have 10 toes 25 Quarter coin 25 cents 11 Skis They look like 11 (visual association) 26 12 Roses 12 roses 27 13 Witch Friday 13 unlucky 13 28 14 Gold 14 carat gold 29 15 Money You’re paid on the 15th 30 / 3) 10 Keys To Unlock Your Superbrain Common sense is not common practice Consistency is power INCLUDE THESE 10 FACTORS INTO DAILY LIFE 1 Good Brain Diet Blueberries, avocado, wild salmon, dark chocolate 6 Clean Environment Clean and organized house, office, etc 2 Killing ANTs Automatic Negative Thoughts , recognize and kill negative self talk 7 Sleep Sleep consolidates short-term memory to long-term memories 3 Exercise Anything good for the heart is good for the brain 8 Brain Protection Avoid physical harm, wear helmets, etc 4 Brain nutrients B vitamins, Omega 3 Take tests to see your general nutrition levels and deficiencies 9 New Learnings Keep learning every day to have an active brain 5 Positive Peer Group Spend time with people that have “batteries included” (that arent gonna drain your energy) 10 Stress Management Find ways to wind down, meditate, be in the moment (mindfulness) / 4) Implementation Day: Spaced Repetition (Go over previous lessons) Success breeds success (snowball effect) Be kind to yourself to be more likely to follow through on choirs (ex: also schedule hours for watching movies, etc.) Spaced repetition consolidates from short-term to long-term memory / 5) Nutrition & Body Folders To remember better, make information: silly, shocking, different (emotional) Use visualization and emotion when remembering (what do you see? How does it make you feel?) Information + emotion = long term memory We are good at remembering locations, the context helps you remember the content We are not computers, raw data is lost, our memory comes from the evolutionary need to remember places (food sources, water, enemy territory, etc.) Remember the following list of ingredients by placing them (using visualization) in your “ body folders ” (places on your body where you can place items of a list you want to remember) INCLUDE THESE 10 ITEMS IN YOUR DIET, they are all good brain nutrients N° Folder Item N° Folder Item 1 Top (of head) Avocado 6 Throat Green leafy veggies (collard greens, kale, spinach, etc.) 2 Nose Blueberries 7 Chest (collar bones) Wild caught Salmon, Sardines 3 Mouth Broccoli 8 Fingers Turmeric 4 Ears Coconut oil 9 Stomach Walnuts 5 Shoulders Eggs 10 Butt (seat) Dark chocolate Number 11 is water, always drink lots of water / 6) Environments & Killings ANTs When you fight for your limitations you get to keep them On automatic negative thoughts (ANTs), negative self-talk: ABRA Acknowledge - what you resist, persists (be sensible to thoughts, listen to them) Breathe - (breathe in) possibility, power, potential - to where the ANT is in you (use visualization and meditation) Release - the negative thoughts, negativity, limitation (B&R points: turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts, invert their value) Align - (reset) align with the truth about yourself Who you spend time with is who you become (seek positive peer group) Your brain is like a computer, your self talk is the program it will run Your mind is always eavesdropping on your self talk / 7) Sleep & Stress Management Sleep consolidates short-term memory to long-term memory Sleep clears plaque in the brain that can cause dementia You need dreams! It facilitates ideas and solutions Dreams organise and consolidate ideas, images, memories and bits of information that you gather up when you’re awake throughout the day. Letting your mind wander during sleep can lead to greater creativity Fun facts: Google, the sewing machine, DNA, Einstein’s theory of relativity, Frankenstein, the structure of the atom, Salvador Dali’s Persistence of Memory, the Terminator film, the Periodic Table - are things we have because they were dreamed! Writing in his diary, Mendeleev (inventor of the Periodic Table) said, “I saw in a dream a table where all the elements fell into place as required. Awakening, I immediately wrote it down on a piece of paper” - he had been previously trying for 10 years without success When you wake up every morning, before any distractions set in, close your eyes and remember your dreams RULES FOR BETTER SLEEPING - Invest in a good mattress and bed - Darkness: have blackout curtains, light disturbs sleep (not only on eyes) - Keep bedroom (sleep environment) free from work and tech (tv, pc, etc) - Exercise in the morning - Meditate (20 mins?) and journal (gratitude?) before going to bed - Don't use screens 1 hour before sleep (avoid blue light) - Have set hours (that’s also a routine) - No caffeine after 2 PM - No food 3 hours before sleep - No exercise 4 hours before sleep - Keep temperature low - Wake up with the sun / get up at sun up (Lookup books “ Sleep Smarter ” and “ The Power of When ”) / 8) Implementation Day: Morning Routine (Go over previous lessons) First you create your habits, then your habits create you Routines avoid decision fatigue - we only have a certain amount of willpower before this gets used up and we become mentally weak/fragile - use routines to avoid this If you have the same breakfast every morning you can make it on autopilot and not have to think Win the first hour and win the day - start with success & excellence Make morning, day and evening schedules (for routines): 1st hour of the day = activate brain & body, last hour = decompress & reax Aim for nutrition & novelty (exercise and learning) JIM KWIK’S MORNING ROUTINE MY MORNING ROUTINE 1 Remember dreams 1 Remember dreams 2 Make bed 2 Push ups to wake up 3 Hydrate (at night we burn water) 3 Make bed 4 Brush teeth with opposite hand 4 Make breakfast (smoothie & oats) 5 Deep breathing techniques 5 Eat breakfast / read emails 6 Brain tea: herbs and omega 3 6 Meditate 7 Exercise, get blood & oxygen flowing 7 Journal + plan day 8 Mental exercises 8 (Optional) running 9 Power smoothie (brain nutrients) 9 Wash + get dressed / 8) Q&A Video You always get more information from something, rather than from nothing You grow in difficult times (or at least you do if you’re pro-active) You become complacent in good times Eggs as metaphor for life: when it breaks from inside it’s life, when it breaks from outside it’s death ON THE PARETO PRINCIPLE The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Example: approximately 80% of the land in Italy is owned by 20% of the population. What 20% is going to give you 80%? (Work smarter not harder), examples: - Foods: go for nutrient rich ingredients - Exercises: go for efficient activities like HIIT (high intensity interval training) - Knowledge (books, condensed courses, etc.) - People (networking, etc.) - Words used - Etc ON MEMORIZING SCRIPTS (EX. FOR ACTORS): - Use synesthesia - Reflect on it (what’s it’s meaning?) - Repetition (spaced repetition) - Resources (ex. Use the app “rehearsal”) - Run (your lines with people listening for practice) ON REMEMBERING THINGS IN A MEETING: - Take notes (during or after), use body folders (or similar, could even be your suitcase) - ENCODE - make it memorable - STORE - put it somewhere - RETRIEVE - after a while it becomes a long term memory / ON VISUAL MEMORY - Write something (you want to remember) down, or have it in front of you - Move it up and to the left (with your eyes looking the the corner of sight) - Look and close eyes (repeat) ON FOCUSING - Meditate (mindfulness) - Exercise the mind, read, ask questions - Focus on 3 things around yourself to be present ON LEARNING TECHNICAL INFORMATION - Make a generic map (you always need a map before navigating!) - Write down technical terms you need to learn about - Write down questions - Organize map (mind map), main ideas, sub ideas, etc. - Skim information - Define terms, answer questions, define map / 9) Chain Linking AKA “HOW I LEARNT THE PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS IN 15 MINUTES” This technique can be used to memorize long lists of things, even technical information PRINCIPLES OF MEMORY , attributes that make things easier to remember: - Primacy or First - first things - Recency or Last - last things - Organized or Chunked - things grouped by principle, letter, etc. - Emotional - things that have an emotional value (example: “Carbon” = diamond = your wedding) - Different or Unique - things that don’t fit it with the rest - Familiar - things you are familiar with - Visual - things that have a strong visual element - Connected or Associated - things that are connected to something you remember / PICTURE DATA Fire hydrant The one under my apartment Hidrogen Balloons Are tied to the fire hydrant Helium Batteries Are fired into the sky, they burst the balloons Lithium Barrel Was holding the batteries Beryllium Surf board Is standing up, leaning on the barrel Boron Diamond Rolls off the surfboard (diamonds are made from Carbon) Carbon Sir Lancelot Is hit on the head by the diamond and faints (Sir Lancelot is a Knight, acoustic association to Nitrogen) Nitrogen Oxygen mask Is used to revive Sir Lancelot Oxygen Toothpaste The oxygen mask is dirty, so you use toothpaste to clean it (Toothpaste often has fluoride, acoustic association again) Fluorine Neon sign You throw the toothpaste and smash a neon sign Neon Soda You put out the fire from the sign with some soda Sodium People gathering (attraction) All this causes people nearby to gather (attraction = magnets = magnesium) Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon / Learning is linking things together If you want to learn a subject, learn it’s context - example: if you want to learn about the Roman empire and the Napoleonic wars, learn about European history first: what happened before, after and at the same time - this way you can connect things instead of having them isolated TIP (Turn Into Picture) Encode data (information) by making into a picture, using: - Basic association - connecting two things using logical association - Visual association - connecting two things using visual cues - Sound association - connecting two things using acoustic cues Be sure to include plenty of: - Emotion - Visualization - Action (make it move or do something! The more action the better) - Exaggeration (caricaturize it, make fun of it, like children do) Chain linking: - Turn each element into a picture - Connect each picture to the next / 11) The Peg Memory Method Associate two or more (visual) items from different lists to create a new combined list, it can be useful to quickly memorize a long list of new items, that are maybe difficult to visualize by themselves, or that you want to be able to recall in order (one after another) or by itself but knowing it’s position (item number 23 is: ...) Example, need to memorize this list (in order): - 1) Fast - 3) Curiosity - 2) Impatience - 4) Pause Sun list New list Peg method list 1 The sun Fast The sun coming up really fast in the morning 2 Pair of socks Impatience Impatience in trying to put on small socks 3 Traffic light Curiosity Blocking traffic by staring curiously at the t.l. 4 Car Pause Putting the cars behind you on pause Pegs = where you hang your coats, you can in the same way hang your information! Sun list = (numbered) pegs. You can also use chain linking to associate each element and make it even more memorable, example: Peg method list Peg method list + Chain linking The sun coming up really fast in the morning Getting up in the morning and seeing the sun move fast across the sky Impatience in trying to put on small socks First thing you do after getting up is try to put on small socks, and get impatient Blocking traffic by staring curiously at the traffic light You go out and try and get your mind off things by trying to figure out how a traffic light works (curiosity) - blocking the traffic Putting the cars behind you on pause You put the cars behind you on pause by using a magic remote / 12) Implementation Day: Juggling Exercise (Go over previous lessons) Practice juggling, it will help with many things Soften your sight (don't look at the single balls, look at everything to see them all): look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on the details, otherwise things won't work / 13) BE SUAVE: Remembering Names People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care People will forget what you said, and forget what you did, but they won't forget how you made them feel 6 second syndrome: you have 6 seconds to apply technique before forgetting a name Remember MOM : - Motivation - you need at least 1 motive to remember names (think of it) - Observation - listen, pay attention (de present) - Mechanics - use techniques, in this case BE SUAVE : - Believe - if you believe you can do something, or you believe you can't, either way you're right (H. Ford), kill Ants ! Eliminate negative self-talk - Exercise - practice make progress - Say - the person’s name (repeat it) “Hi Emily” - Use - it 3/4 times in conversation (but don't abuse it) - Ask - about the name, about the person, be interested - Visualize - use association techniques, TIP (Turn Into Picture) - OR - associate the person to another person you know with the same name - End - say goodbye using their name Examples of visualization: NAME ASSOCIATION IMAGE Emily Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights book Has book on head, a very strong wind nearly blows (Emily) over Julie My friend Julie from school Julie (new) + Julie (old) Mary Lamb, Mary had a little lamb (Mary) is holding a lamb / 14) Memory Is Easy As PIE We tend to remember what we see, and try to see what we want to remember We usually think & remember in pictures (visual thought) Our visual cortex is very large Remembering names: use the PIE technique to make images stick better - Place - like a caricature artist picks features, choose a feature to focus on and remember the person by it - this should be a visual cue - Imagine - what is the image used to remember the name? - Entwine (place + image) - put the image on the place (feature) Example: NAME PLACE (examples) IMAGE ENTWINED IMAGE Emily Emily has very long hair (Emily Bronte, author of Wuthering Heights) Book on head, a very strong wind nearly blows her over Her hair is blowing all over and it has eaves in it, a book is caught up in it Mary Mary has a bag Holding a lamb The bag is a butcher's bag, Mary is gonna butcher the lamb Lucas Lucas has a big tie Jedi sword (George Lucas) He’s hiding his Jedi sword on a necklace behind his tie The place should be a visual cue that jumps out at you, this cue should recall the image used to recall the name (so the name should instantly come back)