Limitless

Highlights

378

Content

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Full Title

Limitless

Author

Jim Kwik

Samenvatting

"Limitless" by Jim Kwik explores the concept of unlocking human potential through effective learning techniques, mindset shifts, and practical strategies for memory enhancement, speed reading, and critical thinking. The book emphasizes that limitations are often self-imposed and can be transcended by adopting a growth mindset and integrating innovative learning methods into daily life.

While there are benefits to having a supercomputer in your pocket, think of it like an electric bicycle. It’s fun and easy but doesn’t get you in shape. (Location 229)

In many cases, we have outsourced our memory to our detriment. (Location 231)

We would never let another person do our thinking for us, but we’ve gotten far too comfortable with letting devices have that very power. (Location 234)

you must first ask: Where is the limit? Most likely, you’re experiencing a limit in your mindset, motivation, or methods—which means that it’s not a personal shortcoming or failure pointing to any perceived lack of ability. (Location 247)

If our mindset is not aligned with our desires or goals, we will never achieve them. (Location 250)

five key methods to achieve whatever we want: Focus, Study, Memory Enhancement, Speed Reading, and Critical Thinking. (Location 263)

If you really knew how to learn smarter, faster, and better, then you could apply that to everything. (Location 289)

The nature of this book is transcending—ending the trance: the mass hypnosis and lies that we learned from our parents, programing, media, or marketing, that suggests we are limited. (Location 299)

none of your beliefs truly constrain who you are. (Location 302)

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The hero then hears the call to adventure. They have a choice—to ignore and stay in the ordinary world, where nothing will change, or heed the call and enter the new world of the unknown. (Location 314)

human potential is one of the only infinite resources we have in the world. (Location 322)

Yet this resource is also among the least tapped. (Location 324)

Those stories gave me hope that one person could overcome impossible odds. (Location 369)

They were mutants, they didn’t fit into society, and people who didn’t understand them shunned them. (Location 371)

Often when you put a label on someone or something, you create a limit—the label becomes the limitation. (Location 385)

My mind didn’t work like everyone else’s. (Location 389)

Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci each struggled with alleged learning difficulties. (Location 399)

“Don’t let school interfere with your education.” (Location 449)

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” (Location 469)

following the hero’s journey, I couldn’t help but share the treasure and lessons I learned. (Location 491)

if knowledge is power, then learning is our superpower. (Location 497)

For so much of my life, I allowed myself to be defined by my perceived restrictions. (Location 543)

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being limitless is not about being perfect. It’s about progressing beyond what you currently believe is possible. (Location 547)

most everyone limits and shrinks their dreams to fit their current reality. (Location 550)

When you do what others won’t, you can live how others can’t. (Location 552)

A limit in your Mindset—you entertain a low belief in yourself, your capabilities, what you deserve, or what is possible. A limit in your Motivation—you lack the drive, purpose, or energy to take action. A limit in your Methods—you were taught and are acting on a process that is not effective to create the results you desire. (Location 561)

Mindset (the WHAT): deeply held beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions we create about who we are, how the world works, what we are capable of and deserve, and what is possible. Motivation (the WHY): the purpose one has for taking action. The energy required for someone to behave in a particular way. Method (the HOW): a specific process for accomplishing something, especially an orderly, logical, or systematic way of instruction. (Location 567)

You’ll see that where mindset crosses over with motivation, I have the word inspiration. You’re inspired, but you don’t know which methods to employ or where to channel your energy. Where motivation and method intersect, you have implementation. In this case, your results are going to be limited to what you feel you deserve, what you feel you are capable of, and what you believe is possible because you lack the proper mindset. Where mindset and method intersect, you have ideation. Your ambitions stay in your mind, because you lack the energy to do anything about them. Where all three intersect, you have the limitless state. You then have the fourth I, which is integration. (Location 571)

“four horsemen” of our age: digital deluge, digital distraction, digital dementia, and digital deduction. (Location 612)

In this age of connectivity, ignorance is a choice. (Location 618)

With downtime, the neurons made their way from the gateway of memory to the rest of the brain, (Location 628)

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that if we never let our mind wander or be bored for a moment, we pay a price—poor memory, mental fog, and fatigue. (Location 631)

You can study to your heart’s content; the information you process now will be outdated sooner than you think. (Location 640)

Take a moment and schedule 30 minutes of white space in your calendar for this week. (Location 649)

“Asking the brain to shift attention from one activity to another causes the prefrontal cortex and striatum to burn up oxygenated glucose, the same fuel they need to stay on task,” (Location 669)

“And the kind of rapid, continual shifting we do with multitasking causes the brain to burn through fuel so quickly that we feel exhausted and disoriented after even a short time. We’ve literally depleted the nutrients in our brain. This leads to compromises in both cognitive and physical performance.” (Location 672)

Neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer uses the term digital dementia to describe how overuse of digital technology results in the breakdown of cognitive abilities. He argues that short-term memory pathways will start to deteriorate from underuse if we overuse technology. (Location 686)

With tools like GPS, we don’t give our minds the chance to work. We rely on technology to do the memorization for us. This reliance may be hurting our long-term memory. (Location 690)

“Our brain appears to strengthen a memory each time we recall it, and at the same time forget irrelevant memories that are distracting us,” (Location 696)

Forcing yourself to recall information instead of relying on an outside source to supply it for you is a way of creating and strengthening a permanent memory. (Location 698)

The argument goes that by outsourcing some menial tasks like memorizing phone numbers or doing basic math or getting directions to a restaurant we’ve visited before, we’re saving brain space for something that matters more to us. (Location 701)

Our brains are the ultimate adaptation machines, capable of seemingly endless levels of evolution. And yet we often forget to give it the exercise it needs. (Location 705)

DIGITAL DEDUCTION “In a digital-first world, where millennials obtain all their answers to problems at the click of a mouse or swipe of a finger, the reliance on technology to solve every question confuses people’s perception of their own knowledge and intelligence. And that reliance may well lead to overconfidence and poor decision-making,” (Location 712)

The ubiquity of information about everything also means that there’s a ubiquity of opinion about everything. (Location 716)

deduction—an amalgam of critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity that is an essential skill for being limitless—is becoming automated. (Location 718)

we tend to identify a handful of sources with which we align and then give those sources extreme influence over our thinking and decision-making. (Location 722)

digital depression, a result of the comparison culture that emerges when we let the highlight reels of the social media feeds of others cause us to perceive ourselves as less than. (Location 754)

Think about a decision you need to make. Schedule some time to work on that decision without the use of any digital devices. (Location 762)

The challenges from trials and rivals make us grow and become better. (Location 765)

Neuroplasticity, also referred to as brain plasticity, means that every time you learn something new, your brain makes a new synaptic connection. And each time this happens, your brain physically changes–it upgrades its hardware to reflect a new level of the mind. (Location 846)

Our brain is malleable. We have the incredible ability to change its structure and organization over time by forming new neural pathways as we experience, learn something new, and adapt. (Location 851)

Just as there are people who have suffered strokes and have been able to rebuild and regain their brain functions, those that procrastinate, think excessive negative thoughts, or can’t stop eating junk food may also rewire and change their behaviors and transform their lives. (Location 854)

If learning is making new connections, then remembering is maintaining and sustaining those connections. (Location 856)

In learning, when you fail to remember something, view it as a failure to make a connection between what you’ve learned and what you already know, and with how you will use it in life. (Location 858)

Plasticity means that you can mold and shape your brain to suit your desires. (Location 866)

Hidden in the walls of the digestive system, this “brain in your gut” is revolutionizing medicine’s understanding of the links between digestion, mood, health, and even the way you think. (Location 876)

While our brains take up very little of our total body weight, they use 20 percent of the energy we take in, so nutrients make a huge difference in the way our brains function on a day-to-day basis. (Location 885)

The little brain in conjunction with the big one partly determines our mental state. (Location 901)

When you have a gut feeling that something isn’t right, or conversely that you should follow a hunch, it’s not just superstition—your gut has its own way of interpreting events and giving your brain signals. (Location 901)

when you feed your gut with subpar food, you’re also feeding your brain with subpar fuel. (Location 903)

Give a person an idea, and you enrich their day. Teach a person how to learn, and they can enrich their entire life. (Location 916)

We must take charge of our own learning. If schools tell us what to learn, but not how to learn, then we need to do the rest of the work ourselves. (Location 942)

only by taking complete control of our learning can we truly be prepared for an unknowable future. (Location 945)

We’ve entered an expert economy in which brain power trumps brute strength. (Location 958)

There are those who know and those who don’t know. And that applied knowledge is not just power, it’s profit. (Location 959)

The faster you can learn, the faster you can earn. (Location 961)

elite mental performers filter and focus for those handful of “screws” that make all the difference and turn everything else on. (Location 963)

How do you install new software into your brain? One of my favorite ways is what you’re doing right now. It’s called reading. (Location 971)

Research suggests that our natural ability to concentrate wanes between 10 to 40 minutes. If we spend any longer on a given task, we get diminishing returns on our investment of time because our attention starts to wander. (Location 985)

When it comes to learning, the Pomodoro technique works for reasons related to memory, specifically the effect of primacy and recency. (Location 990)

The effect of primacy is that you’re more likely to remember what you learn in the beginning of a learning session, a class, a presentation, or even a social interaction. (Location 991)

The effect of recency is that you’re also likely to remember the last thing you learned (Location 994)

by taking breaks, you create more beginnings and endings, and you retain far more of what you’re learning. (Location 998)

take this book one Pomodoro at a time so you get the most out of what you read. (Location 1002)

When you read any book, you have the opportunity to stretch the range of your mind, and it will never be the same. (Location 1010)

The acronym FASTER stands for: Forget, Act, State, Teach, Enter, Review. Here’s the breakdown: (Location 1016)

What we think we know about the topic can stand in the way of our ability to absorb new information. (Location 1019)

Some people who claim to have twenty years of experience have one year of experience that they’ve repeated twenty times. (Location 1021)

To learn beyond your present sense of restraints, I want you to temporarily suspend what you already know or think you know about the topic and approach it with what Zen philosophy calls “a beginner’s mind.” Remember that your mind is like a parachute—it only works when it’s open. (Location 1022)

The second thing is to forget what’s not urgent or important. Contrary to popular belief, your brain doesn’t multitask (more on this later). If you’re not fully present, it will be difficult for you to learn when your focus is split. (Location 1024)

And finally, forget about your limitations. These are the preconceived notions you believe about yourself, such as that your memory isn’t good or that you’re a slow learner. (Location 1031)

The human brain does not learn as much by consumption as it does by creation. (Location 1037)

I recommend you highlight key ideas, but don’t become one of those highlight junkies who make every page glow in the dark. (Location 1040)

All learning is state-dependent. (Location 1046)

Information times emotion helps create long-term memories. (Location 1049)

If you want to cut your learning curve dramatically, learn with the intention of teaching the information to someone else. (Location 1061)

What is the simplest and most powerful personal performance tool? Your calendar. (Location 1071)

One of the best ways to reduce the effects of the forgetting curve is to actively recall what you learned with spaced repetition. (Location 1079)

The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre noted that, “Life is C between B and D,” meaning that the life we live is the choices we make between the “B” of birth and the “D” of death. (Location 1086)

When we write something down, we’re more likely to do what we promise. (Location 1095)

commit to reading this book in 10- to 25-minute increments until it is finished. (Location 1099)

THE QUESTIONS ARE THE ANSWER (Location 1110)

Every second, your senses gather up to 11 million bits of information from the world around you. Obviously, if you tried to interpret and decipher all of them at once, you’d be immediately overwhelmed. That’s why the brain is primarily a deletion device; it’s designed to keep information out. The conscious mind typically processes only 50 bits per second. (Location 1113)

One of the ways to guide the RAS are the questions we ask ourselves. These tell that part of our brain what is important to us. (Location 1119)

Once pugs broke through my awareness, I started seeing them all over the place. (Location 1129)

Your RAS is like that site’s algorithm. It shows you more of what you express interest in, and it hides the things you don’t engage in. (Location 1132)

The human mind is always generalizing in order to make sense of the world. Here, there, and everywhere, we can find evidence to confirm our beliefs. (Location 1137)

Thinking is a process of reasoning through something, during which we ask and answer questions. (Location 1138)

While we have tens of thousands of thoughts a day, we have one, maybe two dominant questions we ask more than others. As you can imagine, these questions direct our focus, which directs how we feel, and how we consequently spend our lives. (Location 1139)

Questions direct your focus, so they play into everything in life—even reading comprehension. (Location 1169)

Because people typically don’t ask enough questions when they read, they compromise their focus, understanding, and retention. If you prep your mind with the right kinds of questions before you read, you’ll see answers (pug dogs) everywhere. (Location 1169)

To start you off, here are the three dominant questions to ask on our journey together. They will help you to take action on what you learn and turn the knowledge into power. How can I use this? Why must I use this? When will I use this? (Location 1172)

Note: Voor refernce notes

Study the questions before you read each chapter, and you’ll be better prepared to understand and remember what you learn. (Location 1180)

Remember the power of neuroplasticity: Every time you answer a question and do a new activity, you rewire your brain. (Location 1183)

mindset mind·set  (noun) The deeply held beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions we create about who we are, how the world works, what we are capable of and deserve, and what is possible. (Location 1191)

All behavior is driven by belief, so before we address how to learn, we must first address the underlying beliefs we hold about what is possible. (Location 1196)

But just as helplessness is learned, it’s just as possible to learn to be limitless. (Location 1204)

I use the term LIE intentionally. In this case, LIE is an acronym for Limited Idea Entertained. (Location 1205)

When we take responsibility for something, we are imbued with great power to make things better. (Location 1222)

Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we must be accountable for who we become. (Location 1223)

It was impossible for me to buy into the notion that I could expect to accomplish only a modest amount with my brain when I knew that others could achieve so much more. I just needed to find a method. (Location 1280)

Parents are our first teachers, and although they probably meant us no harm, we still come away from our childhoods with the limiting beliefs they unconsciously instilled in us. (Location 1294)

Limiting beliefs can stop you in your tracks even when you’re doing something at which you normally excel. Have you ever had the experience of being in a pressure situation where you need to do something that typically comes easily to you—writing a memo or doing a quick calculation, for example—but the intensity causes you to doubt yourself so much that you fail at this task? That’s a limiting belief setting you back. (Location 1296)

“The inner critic isn’t harmless. It inhibits you, limits you, and stops you from pursuing the life you truly want to live. It robs you of peace of mind and emotional well-being and, if left unchecked long enough, it can even lead to serious mental health problems like depression or anxiety.” (Location 1351)

There are multiple forms of genius. Various experts differ on the number, but it is commonly agreed that genius expresses itself in one of four manners. Here’s a way of looking at it that has been around for thousands of years: Dynamo genius: Those who express their genius through creativity and ideas. Shakespeare was a dynamo genius because of his brilliance at inventing stories that told us so much about ourselves. Galileo was a dynamo genius because of the way he could see things that others couldn’t see when he looked up at the skies. Dynamo geniuses are those we most commonly think of when we think of geniuses. Blaze genius: Those whose genius becomes clear through their interaction with others. Oprah Winfrey is a blaze genius because of her extraordinary ability to connect with the hearts, minds, and souls of a wide range of individuals. Malala Yousafzai’s blaze genius expresses itself through her ability to make her story relatable to people all around the globe. Blaze geniuses tend to be master communicators. Tempo genius: Those whose genius expresses itself through their ability to see the big picture and stay the course. Nelson Mandela was a tempo genius because he was capable of seeing the wisdom of his vision even in the face of overwhelming odds. Mother Teresa’s tempo genius allowed her to imagine better circumstances for those around her even at the darkest times. Tempo geniuses tend to understand the long view in ways that most of those around them cannot. Steel genius: Those who are brilliant at sweating the small stuff and doing something with the details that others missed or couldn’t envision. Sergey Brin used his genius at seeing the potential of large amounts of data to co-found Google. If you read the book Moneyball, then you know that Billy Beane and his staff redefined baseball through their genius at crunching data. Steel geniuses love getting all the information they can get and have a vision for doing something with that information that most others miss. (Location 1370)

Note: Tempo

What would you say is your genius? Write it down. (Location 1388)

There’s a metaphor I’ve always found useful when helping people to move away from limiting beliefs. I tell them that the difference between limiting beliefs and a limitless mindset is like the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat. A thermometer has only one function: to react to the environment. It reads the temperature and nothing more. This is similar to how people commonly react to limiting beliefs. They read their sense of restriction, react in a constrained way to that, and conduct their lives in a limited way. On the other hand, a thermostat gauges the environment and makes the environment react to it. If a thermostat notices that a room is too cold or too hot, it changes the environment to fit the ideal for which it is set. Similarly, if you encounter external or internal attempts to put constraints on you, you can act like a thermostat to reject those limiting beliefs and create an environment that aligns with your most ambitious goals. (Location 1406)

Key 1: Name Your Limiting Beliefs (Location 1415)

Being aware of how you’re holding yourself back with your self-talk and spending some time to get to the source of these beliefs is extremely liberating, because once you’re aware, you can begin to realize that these aren’t facts about you, but rather opinions. (Location 1429)

Key 2: Get to the Facts (Location 1434)

Key 3: Create a New Belief (Location 1455)

Many of us even use phrases like, “I know myself, and . . .” before announcing a limiting belief. (Location 1468)

But if you can create a separate persona for your inner critic—one that is different from the true you—you’ll be considerably more successful at quieting it. (Location 1469)

The point that Clear is making is that negative emotions drive us to narrow the range of what we are capable of doing. (Location 1483)

What’s also essential to note is that the benefits of a positive mindset extend well beyond the experience of a positive emotion. Clear offers this example: A child who runs around outside, swinging on branches and playing with friends, develops the ability to move athletically (physical skills), the ability to play with others and communicate with a team (social skills), and the ability to explore and examine the world around them (creative skills). In this way, the positive emotions of play and joy prompt the child to build skills that are useful and valuable in everyday life. . . . The happiness that promoted the exploration and creation of new skills has long since ended, but the skills themselves live on.8 Fredrickson refers to this as the “broaden and build” theory because positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open your mind, which in turn allows you to build new skills and resources that can provide value in other areas of your life. (Location 1493)

The theory, together with the research reviewed here, suggests that positive emotions: (i) broaden people’s attention and thinking; (ii) undo lingering negative emotional arousal; (iii) fuel psychological resilience; (iv) build consequential personal resources; (v) trigger upward spirals towards greater well-being in the future; and (vi) seed human flourishing. The theory also carries an important prescriptive message. People should cultivate positive emotions in their own lives and in the lives of those around them, not just because doing so makes them feel good in the moment, but also because doing so transforms people for the better and sets them on paths toward flourishing and healthy longevity.9 The new mindset that comes from silencing your inner critic presents you with a world of possibility. (Location 1502)

If we believe that it’s not possible to improve, then in reality it won’t be possible to improve. It’s extremely difficult to accomplish something when you don’t believe it can be done in the first place. (Location 1546)

We tend to think of IQ scores as a fixed reflection of our intelligence, but this isn’t the case. The IQ test actually measures current academic capabilities, not innate intelligence. (Location 1572)

Your intelligence is not only malleable but dependent on your ability to cultivate a growth mindset. Start looking at your attitude. Listen to the way you talk; a fixed mindset usually shows up in your language. (Location 1585)

Instead, try saying something like “This is something I’m not good at yet.” (Location 1587)

Here’s the truth: It’s not how smart you are; it’s how you are smart. (Location 1590)

Studies of damaged brains show that there is no single area of the brain that can sustain damage without a loss of ability, contrary to earlier theories. Brain scans have shown that all brain areas are active, no matter what the activity. Even while we sleep, all parts of our brains show activity. (Location 1619)

Our brains are energy-hogs. The brain takes up only 2 percent of space by weight, and yet accounts for 20 percent of energy consumption, more than any other organ. (Location 1621)

Scientists have also determined that the brain’s regions have distinct functions that work together. After extensively mapping the brain over decades, they’ve concluded that there are no functionless areas of the brain. (Location 1623)

Finally, as we’ve learned, the brain uses a process called synaptic pruning. If we didn’t use a large portion of our brains, we would expect to see large areas of degeneration (we don’t—unless brain diseases are present). (Location 1625)

Here’s the truth: What I want you to take from this is that you have all the power of your brain available to you now. (Location 1630)

While we use all of our brain, some people use their brain better than others. (Location 1631)

To begin with, his development was described as “slow,” and he was considered to be a below-average student.16 It was apparent from an early age that his way of thinking and learning was different from the rest of the students in his class. He liked working out the more complicated problems in math, for example, but wasn’t very good at the “easy” problems. (Location 1640)

Unfortunately, mistakes are not often used as a tool for learning; they are used as a way of measuring one’s capabilities. (Location 1652)

Too many of us don’t come close to our capacities because we are too afraid of making a mistake. (Location 1653)

Here’s the truth: Mistakes don’t mean failure. Mistakes are a sign that you are trying something new. (Location 1660)

When you learn from your mistakes, they have the power to turn you into something better than you were before. (Location 1662)

Unfortunately, Hobbes’s original sentiments have been cut short over the years. In the original, Hobbes says: “The end of knowledge is power; and the use of theorems is for the construction of problems; and, lastly, the scope of all speculation is the performing of some action, or thing to be done.” [Emphasis added.]21 Put another way, knowledge is important, but it is “the performing of some action” that is required to make it powerful. (Location 1673)

Here’s the truth: Knowledge is not power. It only has the potential to be power. (Location 1682)

It’s easy to talk about what we learn, but I want to challenge you not to talk about it, but to show what you learned. (Location 1685)

Don’t promise, prove. Your results will speak for themselves. (Location 1686)

After all, it’s not how smart you are, but how you are smart. (Location 1709)

The key is taking small, simple steps. Think about a stonecutter. The stonecutter may sit there and hammer away at his block of stone for what feels like an eternity, making only small chips and dents here and there. But in one moment, the stone will crack open. Was it the one time that did it? No—it was all the sustained effort that prepared the stone to split. (Location 1715)

Know that it won’t be hard, but it will require effort—though perhaps not as much as you think. The key is consistency. You must have the patience to consistently come back at it again and again. (Location 1721)

Jim said, “I act that way because I want to give the people who are watching permission to be themselves. The biggest travesty in the world is people preventing and limiting themselves from expressing who they really are because they’re afraid of what other people think.” (Location 1733)

The purpose of my life had always been to free people from concern. (Location 1737)

The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is. Everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart, and all that will be left of you is what was in your heart.26 (Location 1739)

The fastest learners on the planet are children, and that’s partly because they don’t care what others think of them. They have no shame around failing. (Location 1741)

Part of being limitless is learning to let go of the fear of criticism from other people. (Location 1744)

Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from. (Location 1761)

You will never know your true potential until you break the unfair judgements you place on yourself. (Location 1762)

In The Talent Code, author Daniel Coyle delves into whether talent is innate or whether it can be developed. He argues “greatness isn’t born, it’s grown.” Through deep practice, ignition, and master coaching, anyone can develop a talent so deep that it looks like genius. (Location 1805)

Genius is not born; it’s made through deep practice. (Location 1818)

While these seven are among the most common, keep your radar up for any “conventional wisdom” that has the effect of putting constraints on your potential and examine that wisdom very carefully. (Location 1824)

mo·ti·va·tion  (noun) The purpose one has for taking action. The energy required for someone to behave in a particular way. (Location 1840)

Contrary to popular belief, like your mindset, motivation is not fixed. No one has a set level of motivation. (Location 1845)

Motivation is not something you have; it’s something you do. And it’s entirely sustainable. (Location 1850)

Motivation isn’t derived from a seminar that temporarily pumps you up. It’s a process. And since it’s a strategy, you have control over it and can create it consistently by following the right recipe. (Location 1852)

Here’s the formula: Motivation = Purpose × Energy × S3 When you combine purpose, energy, and small simple steps (S3), you get sustainable motivation. And the ultimate form of motivation is the state of flow. (Location 1854)

Think about it as energy management. Creating it, investing it, and not wasting it. A clear purpose or reason gives you energy. Practices you employ will cultivate energy for your brain and the rest of your body, and small simple steps require little energy. (Location 1856)

Purpose drives us to act, and our purpose must be clear enough that we know why we’re acting and what we’re hoping to gain. (Location 1861)

Generating sufficient energy is vital—if you’re tired or sleepy, or if your brain is foggy, then you won’t have the fuel to take action. (Location 1861)

Small simple steps take minimal effort and keep you from being paralyzed with overwhelm. (Location 1862)

The longer you go without sleep, the harder it becomes to maintain a sense of reality—or motivation, for that matter. (Location 1874)

Lack of sleep compromises all of your cognitive skills, your focus, your memory, and your overall brain health. A common contributing factor for depression and many mood disorders is lack of sleep. (Location 1875)

Why struggle when I could easily tell myself I don’t have the energy for this? (Location 1885)

Often our greatest struggles lead to our greatest strengths. (Location 1890)

Second, I’ve had to become really clear on my purpose, my identity, my values, and my reasons for doing what I do every day. When you don’t sleep, and you have a very limited amount of energy and focus, you don’t waste it. You prioritize and get crystal clear about your commitments and why you are making them. (Location 1897)

The challenge for many people is that this process, while logical, is very heady. To get your goals out of your head and into your hands, make sure they fit with your emotions—with your HEART: H is for Healthy: How can you make sure your goals support your greater well-being? Your goals should contribute to your mental, physical, and emotional health. E is for Enduring: Your goals should inspire and sustain you during the difficult times when you want to quit. A is for Alluring: You shouldn’t always have to push yourself to work on your goals. They should be so exciting, enticing, and engaging that you’re pulled toward them. R is for Relevant: Don’t set a goal without knowing why you’re setting it. Ideally, your goals should relate to a challenge you’re having, your life’s purpose, or your core values. T is for Truth: Don’t set a goal just because your neighbor is doing it or your parents expect it of you. Make sure your goal is something you want, something that remains true to you. If your goal isn’t true to you, you’re far more likely to procrastinate and sabotage yourself. (Location 1919)

Note: True

Knowing your purpose in life helps you live with integrity. (Location 1930)

Purpose, however, is about how you relate to other people. Purpose is what you’re here to share with the world. It’s how you use your passion. (Location 1954)

When you get down to it, we all have the same purpose: to help other people through our passion. The greatest task we have in life is to share the knowledge and skills we accumulate. It doesn’t have to be more complex than that. (Location 1955)

The key is finding the underlying meaning in your passions to find a new way of channeling your expression. (Location 1963)

What often isn’t discussed in the quest for motivation is identity —who you are . . . and who you think you are at your core. They say the two most powerful words in the English language are the shortest: “I am.” Whatever you put after those two words determines your destiny. (Location 1967)

When you consciously decide to identify with the habit or goal you want to create or achieve, or consciously un-identify with a habit you no longer want, you will experience enormous power. (Location 1981)

The highest drive we have is to act consistently with how we perceive ourselves—it is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. Use it to your benefit. (Location 1983)

Note: Drive

You can set up the most well-thought-out habits, but if your values are not in alignment with the ultimate goal, you’re not going to do it. (Location 1988)

When we’re unaware of our values and the values of the people closest to us, it creates a space for conflict to arise; discord usually results from values conflicting. (Location 1997)

Reasons that are tied to your purpose, identity, and values will sufficiently motivate you to act, even in the face of all of the daily obstacles that life puts in your way. (Location 2007)

If you’re struggling to find motivation to learn, or to accomplish anything else in your life, there is a good chance you haven’t uncovered the why of the task. (Location 2016)

Having reasons has helped me become crystal clear when it comes to commitments. (Location 2026)

If I don’t feel completely aligned with something, I don’t do it, because I don’t have the energy to spare. (Location 2029)

I’d love for you to join me in celebrating JOMO—the joy of missing out. (Location 2032)

The key is to make sure you feel the emotions. Don’t make this an intellectual thing. We make decisions based on how we feel. Really feel the pain that you will have if you don’t do something about it. This is the only way for you to make a change last and to get you to follow through. (Location 2042)

The reality is that you do motivation. (Location 2069)

Resiliency expert Dr. Eva Selhub often likens the brain to a high-performance vehicle. “Like an expensive car,” she writes, “your brain functions best when it gets only premium fuel. (Location 2093)

when your brain is forced to run on inferior fuel, it can’t possibly do everything it was built to do. (Location 2096)

THE TOP 10 BRAIN FOODS Avocados: They provide monounsaturated fat, which helps to maintain healthy blood flow. Blueberries: They protect your brain from oxidative stress and reduce the effects of brain aging. There have also been studies that show they can help with memory. Broccoli: A great source of vitamin K, which is known to improve cognitive function and memory. Dark chocolate: This helps your focus and your concentration and stimulates endorphins. Chocolate also has flavonoids, which have been shown to improve cognitive function. The darker here the better, as the darkest chocolate has the least sugar, and we’ve already talked about how sugar is something to eat sparingly. Eggs: They provide memory-improving and brain-boosting choline. Green leafy vegetables: These are good sources of vitamin E, which reduces the effects of brain aging, and folate, which has been shown to improve memory. Salmon, Sardines, Caviar: They’re rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids, which help reduce the effects of brain aging. Turmeric: It helps reduce inflammation and boost antioxidant levels while also improving your brain’s oxygen intake. There’s also some indication that turmeric helps reduce cognitive decay. Walnuts: These nuts provide high levels of antioxidants and vitamin E that protect your neurons and protect against brain aging. They also contain high levels of zinc and magnesium, which are really good for your mood. Water: Your brain is about 80 percent water. Dehydration can cause brain fog, fatigue, and slower reaction and thinking speed. Studies show that well-hydrated people score better on brainpower tests. (Location 2111)

The air you breathe is critical to the way your brain functions. (Location 2249)

Your brain potential is not just related to your biological networks or your neurological networks; it is also related to your social networks. (Location 2259)

By increasing the ways you use your brain, you increase the capabilities of your brain. (Location 2286)

With such clear evidence that stress can be debilitating to your brain, finding ways to reduce or avoid stress becomes critical. (Location 2300)

If you want better focus, you need to get good sleep. If you want to be a clearer thinker, you need to get good sleep. If you want to make better decisions or have a better memory, you need to get good sleep. (Location 2304)

Quality sleep—and getting enough of it at the right times—is as essential to survival as food and water. Without sleep you can’t form or maintain the pathways in your brain that let you learn and create new memories, and it’s harder to concentrate and respond quickly. (Location 2307)

“When the brain is awake and is at its most busy, it puts off clearing away the waste from the spaces between its cells until later, and then, when it goes to sleep and doesn’t have to be as busy, it shifts into a kind of cleaning mode to clear away the waste from the spaces between its cells, the waste that’s accumulated throughout the day.” (Location 2325)

One of the many reasons why people have trouble sleeping, is not being able to get your mind to turn off. (Location 2357)

You have a reason or purpose to do something. You have the necessary energy to do it. What is missing? A small simple step (S3). The tiniest action you can take to get you closer to your goal. One that requires minimal effort or energy. Over time, these become habits. That’s the reason I’ve filled this book with the small simple steps called Kwik Starts. Back in the 1920s, a Russian psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik, was sitting in a Viennese restaurant when she noticed that the waiters swirling around her in the busy eatery were highly efficient at remembering customer orders while they were in process but tended to forget who had what as soon as the orders were filled. Intrigued by this, she ran a study where she had people perform simple tasks while they were sometimes interrupted. Afterward, she queried participants about which tasks they remembered and which they did not, finding that those who’d been interrupted were twice as likely to remember the things they’d been doing when they’d been interrupted than the things they’d been able to complete without interruption. She came to the conclusion—subsequently known as the Zeigarnik effect—that uncompleted tasks created a level of tension that keeps that task at the front of our minds until it is completed. (Location 2401)

In all likelihood, you’re familiar with this tension from your experience with procrastination. When you have something you know you need to do and you keep putting it off, it weighs on you, even making it more difficult to do anything else well as long as this task goes uncompleted. (Location 2411)

We still struggle to complete tasks when we are clear on our vision for our lives and… (Location 2415)

Note: Dit

One of the most significant reasons that people fail to act is that we feel overwhelmed by what we need to do. A project or a chore might seem so big and time-consuming that you can’t imagine how you’re ever going to get it done. We look at the project in its entirety and… (Location 2416)

“Incomplete tasks and procrastinating often lead to frequent and unhelpful thought patterns,” says psychologist Hadassah Lipszyc. “These thoughts can impact on sleep, trigger anxiety symptoms, and further… (Location 2419)

If you struggle to get something done with some amount of regularity, there’s a good chance that you feel guilty about this and you beat yourself up over it. It’s likely you give yourself a much harder time about it than is helpful. We already know that unfinished tasks create tension in your brain. If you layer guilt and shame on top of this,… (Location 2422)

There is evidence that people will explicitly procrastinate to avoid shame. Feeling shame about work you have not completed is likely to make the problem worse, not better,… (Location 2429)

Feeling bad about your lack of progress is likely to make it more difficult for you to stop procrastinating. So, give yourself a break. Beating yourself up isn’t going to improve anything, and, since you’re reading this book now, you’re… (Location 2431)

In my experience, the best way to deal with this is to find a way to break the task into bite-size pieces, which lead to… (Location 2433)

Circling back to the Zeigarnik effect, every time you complete one of these smaller tasks, you get to take that weight off your mind. And as each of these subtasks is finished, you’re… (Location 2434)

Podcast guest Dr. B. J. Fogg, the founder and director of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University and the author of Tiny Habits, has been studying human behavior for more than two decades. What he’s learned is that only three things can change a person’s behavior long term. One is to have an epiphany, which very few people can summon on demand. Another is to change your environment, which is possible for nearly… (Location 2437)

Note: BAby steps

One of the only things that is likely to change your behavior is to make incremental progress. (Location 2458)

Like the wise counselor, you must take it one step at a time, one day at a time. (Location 2462)

What you’ll notice in all of these scenarios is two things. One is that they present you with something achievable—a win on the way to reaching the championship of getting this job done. The other is that they all put you in a situation where you’re likely to get even more accomplished. (Location 2463)

By breaking a task that you’re procrastinating about into smaller pieces, the path to getting it done becomes clear. (Location 2467)

You’re not going to be able to ease your mind about this task until you complete it, so get yourself moving toward completion. (Location 2469)

Start somewhere. Anywhere. Even if you don’t have the energy or the motivation to get the entire thing done, get started on getting it done. You’ll be thankful for the relief. (Location 2470)

Small simple steps repeated lead to habits. Our habits are a core part of who we are. Various studies have shown that somewhere between 40 and 50 percent of what we do every day is the product of a habit. (Location 2475)

“Without habit loops, our brains would shut down, overwhelmed by the minutiae of daily life,” writes Charles Duhigg in his best-selling book, The Power of Habit. (Location 2484)

It is also widely assumed that breaking a bad habit isn’t about ending that habit, but rather about replacing it with a different, more constructive, habit. (Location 2520)

“It’s much easier to start doing something new than to stop doing something habitual without a replacement behavior. (Location 2522)

Fogg equates ability with simplicity, noting that when something is simple for us, we are considerably more likely to do it. (Location 2555)

Before I even get out of bed, I spend some time reflecting on my dreams. (Location 2612)

Then I brush my teeth with my opposite hand. I do this to train my brain to do difficult things, because it stimulates a different part of your brain, and because it forces me to be present. (Location 2636)

Then I do a three-minute workout. This is not my full workout, but I want to get my heart rate up first thing in the morning, as it helps with sleep and weight management, and with oxygenation to the brain. (Location 2638)

Once I’m finished with that, I take a cold shower. I’m sure some of you will cringe at the idea of starting the day pummeling yourself with cold water, but cold therapies of this type do a great job of resetting the nervous system and have the added benefit of helping manage any inflammation. (Location 2640)

My goal in any given day is to accomplish three things for work and three things personally, and I set this agenda now. I follow this with about a half hour of reading. I set a goal to read a minimum of one book a week and making this a part of my morning routine to keep me on course. (Location 2648)

Check in on your dreams before you get out of bed. There’s so much gold to mine here, so I strongly recommend that you not skip this step. Get yourself hydrated and oxygenated. Nourish yourself with some of the brain foods mentioned in this chapter. Set a plan for the day. (Location 2654)

In his groundbreaking book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.” (Location 2681)

Dr. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as having eight characteristics:2 Absolute concentration Total focus on goals The sense that time is either speeding up or slowing down A feeling of reward from the experience A sense of effortlessness The experience is challenging, but not overly so Your actions almost seem to be happening on their own You feel comfort with what you are doing (Location 2685)

Reports have suggested that flow can make you as much as five times more productive. (Location 2691)

THE FOUR STAGES OF FLOW The flow state has a predictable arc to it. Our podcast guest, Steven Kotler, founder of the Flow Research Collective and the author of The Rise of Superman, has identified the four stages of flow:4 Stage 1: Struggle This is when you’re digging deep to access whatever it is that you need to reach the flow state. It could be a workout regimen, extensive research, an intense bout of brainstorming, or anything else that you are focusing on. Warning: This often feels like a struggle and, in fact, the opposite of flow. Stage 2: Relaxation This is the break you take before fully diving into flow. It is an essential step, as it keeps you from burning out over the struggle you’ve just been through. This break—a walk, some breathing, anything that helps you relax—is decidedly different from a distraction such as moving on to another task or checking sports scores. Stage 3: Flow This is the stage that Kotler describes as “the superman experience.” This is that flow state that hopefully you’ve experienced at various points in your life, where you’re doing your absolute best work and it almost seems to be happening automatically. Stage 4: Consolidation In this final stage you pull together everything you accomplished during the flow stage. Often, this is accompanied by feeling somewhat let down. All kinds of positive chemicals have been running through your brain while you’re in flow, and now that high is ending. But another cycle can be waiting just around the corner. Kotler believes that finding flow is the “source code” of motivation. When you find flow, you get “maybe the most potent dose of reward chemistry” your brain can give you—which is the reason he believes flow is the most addictive state on Earth. Once we start to feel flow in an experience, we are motivated to do what it takes to get more. But it’s a circular relationship—if you have motivation to accomplish a task but you have no flow, you will eventually burn out. Motivation and flow need to work together, and they must be coupled with a solid recovery protocol, like good sleep and nutrition. (Location 2712)

If you’re going to become limitless, you’re going to want to get yourself into a flow state as often as possible. So how do you do this? I can offer five ways: 1. Eliminate Distractions Earlier, we talked about the importance of keeping distractions to a minimum. (Location 2736)

2. Give Yourself Enough Time Make sure you have a block of time set aside to get into flow. It’s commonly believed that, when conditions are right, it takes about 15 minutes to achieve a flow state and that you don’t really hit your peak for closer to 45 minutes. Clearing out only half an hour or so isn’t going to allow you to accomplish much. Plan to set aside at least 90 minutes, and ideally a full two hours. (Location 2742)

3. Do Something You Love When we think of flow, we tend to think of people achieving at extremely high levels: (Location 2746)

What’s common among all of these people is that they are doing something that matters to them a great deal. (Location 2748)

If you find certain annoyances in something you’re doing, or if you find it to be dull much of the time, these negatives are going to prevent you from truly getting into the flow. (Location 2754)

Have Clear Goals One of the most efficient flow preventers is a lack of clarity. If you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s likely that casting around for a mission will keep flow at bay. A novelist friend of mine separates the plotting of his novels from the actual writing for precisely this reason. (Location 2755)

5. Challenge Yourself . . . A Little When I talk to people about flow, I consistently hear that they are most likely to achieve flow when they’re doing something that is a little bit of a challenge. (Location 2763)

Being a “master multitasker” is not synonymous with being limitless. In fact, research repeatedly shows that people who multitask are considerably less productive than those who focus on one task at a time. (Location 2776)

The only way to vanquish the supervillain Multitask is to ignore him completely. (Location 2780)

Make your space impenetrable by outside stressors so you can concentrate completely on the task at hand. (Location 2790)

Lack of Conviction Nearly as devilish a supervillain as perfectionism is a lack of belief in what you’re doing. (Location 2802)

Focus allows us to train our brain power on a particular task to burn through that task. It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we’re focused. (Location 2858)

Your concentration is like a muscle. You can train to become stronger with practice. (Location 2863)

“Concentration is at the crux of all human success and endeavor,” Hindu priest, entrepreneur, and former monk Dandapani told me during one of my podcasts. “If you can’t concentrate, you can’t manifest.” (Location 2865)

Dandapani points out that concentration is like a muscle that gets stronger the more you exercise it. “Concentration is something you can learn and something you can practice to get better at,” he said.2 However, what most of us practice instead is distraction. We allow our minds to jump from thought to thought, often using technology to help us practice distraction until we’re experts at it—and we should be, because we often get a dozen or more hours of practice a day. Just imagine what it would be like if we practiced concentration for even a fraction of that time. Dandapani has a remarkably clear way of looking at this. “I define concentration as my ability to keep my awareness on one thing for an extended period of time. Every time my concentration drifts, I use my will power to bring my awareness back.”3 Most of us think of lack of concentration as a function of our mind bouncing from place to place. Dandapani has a different—and more helpful—metaphor. To him, it isn’t your mind that’s moving; it’s your awareness. He sees awareness as a glowing ball of light that moves to different parts of your mind. (Location 2870)

If you notice your awareness drifting away from the conversation, refocus your glowing ball of light. (Location 2883)

If you make the commitment to practice concentration an hour or so a day, it will soon become second nature. (Location 2885)

Whenever possible, try to do one thing at a time. (Location 2886)

By doing one thing at a time, your concentration “muscle” will become incredibly strong, and your focus will reach limitless levels. (Location 2890)

Another key to boosting your concentration is de-cluttering your environment. A Princeton University study found that, “Multiple stimuli present in the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation by mutually suppressing their evoked activity throughout the visual cortex, providing a neural correlate for the limited processing capacity of the visual system.” (Location 2891)

So, if you want to become a master at concentration, divest yourself of the potential for distraction whenever concentration is critical. (Location 2895)

Unlimiting your focus requires more than just getting to the tasks at hand. As we’ve already discussed, focus requires an ability to set aside distractions and give all your attention to what you’re doing. (Location 2902)

You might not even realize it, but all the input you’re getting on any given day is causing you a considerable amount of stress. (Location 2906)

“Anxiety can also lead to overthinking, which makes you more anxious, which leads to more overthinking, and so on. (Location 2911)

Juliet Funt is the CEO of the consulting firm WhiteSpace at Work. She describes whitespace as “the thinking time, the strategic pause that’s in between the busyness.” (Location 2913)

“We found about 82 percent of all interrupted work is resumed on the same day. But here’s the bad news—it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task.”8 That’s more than 20 minutes every time you’re distracted—and how often are you distracted every (Location 2925)

If you’re having trouble focusing or if your mind is operating on a dozen planes at the same time, it’s very possible the reason this is happening is because there’s something that you need to do that you’ve been avoiding doing. If that’s the case, do a little 4–7–8 breathing, deal with the stressful task, and then you can get back to everything else you want to do with increased focus. (Location 2940)

When your mind is truly focused, when you’re completely throwing yourself at a task, you achieve at levels that are impossible when you’re distracted or divided in your thoughts. (Location 2956)

The most successful people in the world are lifelong students. (Location 3027)

Concentrating on one subject for many, many hours makes it less likely that you’re going to retain the information. (Location 3057)

Active recall is a process through which you review material and then immediately check to determine how much of it you’ve remembered. (Location 3065)

To employ active recall, do this: Review the material you are studying. Then close the book, turn off the video or lecture, and write down or recite everything you remember from what you just reviewed. Now, look at the material again. How much did you remember? Make sure you have enough study time to allow yourself to go through this process multiple times. (Location 3072)

Alternatively, if you space out your reviews of the material, focusing more heavily on information that you haven’t retained in the past, you’re using your brain to the best of its abilities. (Location 3082)

As we talked about earlier in this book, the state you’re in when you perform any activity will have the greatest impact on your success. (Location 3093)

The more positive and resourceful your state, the greater the results you’ll produce. Studying is no different. (Location 3096)

Your posture also controls the state of your mind. Sit as if you’re about to learn the most crucial life-changing information. Did you just have to move? If you did, then notice how you feel more focused after you’ve changed your posture. (Location 3097)

The scent of rosemary has been shown to improve memory. Peppermint and lemon promotes concentration. (Location 3110)

If you’re studying for a big test, put a bit of a particular essential oil on your wrist while you’re studying and then make sure you do the same thing before you take the test. (Location 3117)

Baroque music seems to have some particularly valuable qualities. “Music stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of deep concentration and focus in which large amounts of content information can be processed and learned,” (Location 3127)

“Baroque music, such as that composed by Bach, Handel or Telemann that is 50 to 80 beats per minute creates an atmosphere of focus that leads students into deep concentration in the alpha brain wave state. Learning vocabulary, memorizing facts, or reading to this music is highly effective.” (Location 3129)

If you are going to unlimit your learning, you’re going to want to make sure your listening skills are fully tuned up. (Location 3137)

R is for Review: If you have the opportunity to directly engage with the speaker, do so. (Location 3163)

If you’re in the position to take notes, do so. And afterward, reflect on what the speaker said. Paraphrase it in your mind and imagine yourself teaching it to someone else. Doing so will solidify it in your mind. (Location 3164)

I have a friend who is a writer and insists on transcribing every interview he does even though it would be more time-efficient to have a transcription service do it for him. The reason, he says, is that by doing it himself he only transcribes the parts of the interview that he knows he’s going to be able to use, therefore eliminating the possibility that these quotes will get lost among all the other conversation that might not be relevant to the book he’s writing. What he’s left with is nearly pure content. (Location 3178)

Once you’re clear on your goals, take an active approach to note-taking. Listen with the intention of getting exactly what you need, and write your notes in ways that will benefit your recall later. (Location 3183)

Equally important is making sure that you use your own words wherever possible. (Location 3185)

But most importantly, writing by hand requires you to start processing the material immediately, and that has proven to be more effective. (Location 3195)

“The present research suggests that even when laptops are used solely to take notes, they may still be impairing learning because their use results in shallower processing,” (Location 3196)

Most importantly, make sure you are really listening. You’re not there as a secretary; you’re there as someone who is receiving information for later use. (Location 3201)

While you’re taking notes, use a method that I call “capture and create.” On the left side of the paper, you’re capturing, you’re taking notes; on the right side, you’re creating, you’re making notes. You’re writing your impression of what you’re capturing. (Location 3205)

After your note-taking session is over, review your notes immediately. (Location 3208)

Our brains stay fit only when we make a concerted effort to keep them fit. (Location 3258)

There’s no such thing as a good memory or a bad memory; there is only a trained memory and an untrained memory. (Location 3278)

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. (Location 3289)

Why is memory so important if you’re going to unlimit yourself? Because your memory serves as the foundation for every action you take now and every one you will take in the future. (Location 3289)

The process of reasoning requires us to shift through our rich store of memories, using tools that have proven useful in the past to make informed and productive decisions. (Location 3297)

“It is impossible to think creatively into the future without a sense of what is known,” writes Dr. Eve Marder, professor of neuroscience at Brandeis University. “We commonly say that we are looking for interdisciplinary and synthetic thinkers who can make connections between disparate fields and see new paths for discovery. I cannot imagine finding those creative leaders for the future among the legions of students who forget everything they have learned because they can ‘just look it up.’ How does one know what to look up if one has forgotten so much?” (Location 3298)

Memorization is discipline for the mind. Much needed in an age when so many minds are lazy, distracted, have little to think about, or think sloppily. Memorization helps train the mind to focus and be industrious. (Location 3304)

Memorization creates the repertoire of what we think about. Nobody can think in a vacuum of information. To be an expert in any field requires knowledge that you already have. (Location 3309)

We think with the ideas held in working memory, which can only be accessed at high speed from the brain’s stored memory. Understanding is nourished by the information you hold in working memory as you think. Without such knowledge, we have a mind full of mush. (Location 3310)

The exercise of the memory develops learning and memory schema that promote improved ability to learn. The more you remember, the more you can learn.2 (Location 3313)

Most of the time, when we fail to remember something, the issue isn’t retention but rather attention. If you’re serious about boosting your memory, condition yourself to be truly present in any situation where you want to remember something. (Location 3329)

The chances of remembering something increase dramatically if people can attach a reference point to the thing they are trying to remember. (Location 3334)

What the Baker/baker Paradox illustrates for us is that creating associations for ourselves is likely to boost our memories dramatically. (Location 3349)

One of the reasons rote learning is inefficient is because it only involves a small part of your brain. (Location 3381)

As you may be aware, we turned your list into a story. (Location 3411)

By taking a more active approach to learning, you will have greater results and the satisfaction that comes from involvement and personal awareness. (Location 3422)

Thinking is done through the use of pictures. (Location 3427)

Association This is the key to memory and all of learning: In order to learn any new piece of information, it must be associated with something you already know. (Location 3431)

Your mind is constantly making countless associations every minute, most of them without your conscious awareness. This is how you learn. (Location 3437)

Emotion Adding emotion makes something memorable. Information by itself is forgettable, but information combined with emotion becomes a long-term memory. (Location 3442)

Location We are really good at recalling places because as hunter-gatherers, we didn’t need to remember numbers and words, but we needed to remember where things were. (Location 3445)

Identify the 10 major talking points from your presentation. These can be keywords or phrases or perhaps quotations that you want to incorporate. They should not, however, be multiple paragraphs long, as that will make this process cumbersome and your presentation feel stiff and overly rehearsed. The assumption here is that you know your topic well and that you have some facility with the material. This method is designed to help bring each of the key points to the forefront of your mind when you need them. Now imagine a place that you know well. This can be a part of your home, a street that you walk often, a nearby park, or anything else with which you have a great deal of familiarity and that you can easily recall vividly. Now consider a path through that location. If it’s a room in your house, for example, imagine walking into that room and traveling through it. Identify 10 spots in this room that you can quickly see in your mind. Maybe one is the lamp in the corner that you see as you enter the room. Perhaps another is the chair just to the left of that lamp. The next might be the side table next to that chair, and so on. Make this path as procedural as possible. Zig-zagging around the space is likely to be less productive. Just see yourself walking through this space clockwise noticing what you always notice as you pass each item. Once you’ve picked out your 10 locations, assign a major talking point to each of these locations. Be sure to make the order of your talking points match the order in which you walk through the room. For example, using the room we just described, if the first thing you want to say is the keynote message to your entire presentation, assign that to the lamp. If the next major talking point is an essential product detail or a key historical fact, assign that to the chair, and so on. Now practice your presentation, using your walk through the location as a tool for remembering each of the primary messages in the presentation. Each component of the presentation should come to you as you need it. (Location 3499)

Try to attach an image to a person’s name. (Location 3530)

The main idea behind word substitution is coming up with a picture (or series of linked pictures) that sounds similar enough to remind you of the original word. (Location 3540)

For example, if you want to remember whether a word is masculine or feminine, simply add the picture of a top hat for masculine words and a dress for feminine words. (Location 3569)

When your memory is finely tuned, you’re exponentially stronger than if you’re trying to get by with an untrained memory. (Location 3576)

Leaders are readers. (Location 3593)

Studies show that there is a direct relationship between your ability to read and your success in life. (Location 3598)

Any plan to make your learning limitless needs to include reading. Just as memory is foundational to nearly all brain function, reading is foundational to nearly all learning. (Location 3625)

Reading kicks your brain into gear. When you read, you’re using your brain for many functions at once—which is a vigorous and rewarding workout. (Location 3629)

Ken Pugh, president and director of research at Haskins Laboratories, points out, “Parts of the brain that have evolved for other functions—such as vision, language, and associative learning—connect in a specific neural circuit for reading, which is very challenging. (Location 3630)

A sentence is shorthand for a lot of information that must be inferred by the brain.” (Location 3632)

In other words, reading gives you an incomparable level of mental exercise, and the brain is always a “muscle” that gets stronger the more you challenge it. (Location 3633)

Reading improves your memory. Because you’re giving your brain such a great workout when you read, your brain functions at a higher level. One significant benefit of this is with regard to memory. (Location 3635)

Reading improves your focus. One of the things we do when we sit down with a book or even spend some dedicated time with a newspaper is train our focus on this one thing. (Location 3641)

People who sound smart tend to have access to and a facility with a wider vocabulary than the average person. Reading allows you to build vocabulary organically. (Location 3645)

Reading improves your imagination. If you were ever given a story prompt at school or at work, you know that it is often easier to think creatively when using a tool to get started. (Location 3648)

Reading exposes you to lives you’d never known before, experiences you’d never imagined, and modes of thinking far different from your own. (Location 3654)

People tend to read slowly for a few reasons. One is that they stopped learning to read relatively early—maybe second or third grade—and their reading level (and, more importantly, their reading technique) never increased much beyond this, even as they continued to learn in spite of this constraint. The other is that they don’t allow themselves to focus when they’re reading. (Location 3683)

Your reading efficiency is made up of two main parts: Your reading rate (speed) and reading comprehension (understanding). (Location 3688)

By regressing, or back-skipping, it is very easy to lose the meaning and essence of your reading. (Location 3695)

We know that President John F. Kennedy was a very fast reader, reading somewhere between 500 and 1200 words per minute. (Location 3711)

As you are reading, you can greatly increase both your speed and comprehension by visualizing the material. (Location 3719)

In fact, faster readers often have better comprehension than slower readers. (Location 3729)

The key to better reading comprehension is focus and concentration. (Location 3734)

A bored mind doesn’t concentrate well. (Location 3735)

If you don’t give your brain the stimulus it needs, it’ll seek entertainment elsewhere in the form of distraction. (Location 3737)

By reading faster, you keep your mind stimulated, find yourself more focused, and have better comprehension. (Location 3740)

Reading faster requires less effort, primarily because trained readers tend not to back-skip as much as slower readers. (Location 3742)

You don’t have to study the individual brushstrokes of a work of art in order to appreciate it. (Location 3747)

Faster readers have the option of speeding through boring/nonessential material and slowing down or even rereading the exciting/important information. (Location 3749)

Studies show that the use of the finger while reading can increase your reading rate anywhere from 25 percent to 100 percent. (Location 3760)

Practice reading with your finger, this tool alone will significantly increase your speed and comprehension and will revolutionize your learning. (Location 3769)

You can read faster, simply by training yourself to read faster. Those of you who run know this. (Location 3775)

If you push yourself to read two or three times faster than what you are used to, when you finally decrease your rate to a comfortable speed, your original rate feels slow. (Location 3792)

Schedule your reading. Just as with exercising, you cannot expect to work out only one time and be done for life. (Location 3794)

Most people were taught to read only one word at a time. But in fact, you are capable of reading more than that. (Location 3798)

The process of reading faster naturally makes it more difficult to say all the words, even inside your head. (Location 3808)

People tend to remember and understand what they see, more than what they hear. (Location 3815)

Read for only 20 to 25 minutes at a time. (Location 3838)

Make reading a habit. Those who have reached a high degree of success in life are almost always avid readers. (Location 3840)

As our memory program taught him how to absorb the material he was reading, he began to take a little more time to visualize words as he read them, and he used his left hand as a pacer to help stimulate the right side of his brain. (Location 3847)

People who make the most of their capacity to learn find themselves experiencing the world with a sense of mastery and with the confidence that no task or challenge will intimidate them. (Location 3853)

Practice reading with a visual pacer each day. Schedule your reading, for even 10 minutes each day, to build your “reading muscle.” (Location 3858)

Accomplishing something big often requires new approaches to thinking. (Location 3869)

One is that all perspectives should be challenged on a regular basis to confirm that they are still viable. (Location 3872)

The second problem a fixed perspective faces is that challenges are often the product of a particular type of thinking, and the answer can be found only by bringing a fresh approach to the table. (Location 3875)

Dr. Edward de Bono devised the concept of the “six thinking hats” as a tool for getting out of whatever rut of thinking one might be mired in. (Location 3880)

The core notion is to separate thinking into six distinctly defined functions by progressively donning a series of metaphorical hats: You put on a white hat when you’re in information-gathering mode. At this point, your focus is on collecting details and getting all the facts you’ll need to address whatever issue you’re trying to address. To help you remember this, think of a white lab coat. You switch to a yellow hat to bring optimism to your thinking. Here, you’re trying to identify the positives in any problem or challenge you’re facing, highlighting the value inherently in place. As your memory tip here, think of the yellow sun. Next, you’ll wear a black hat to pivot from looking at the good side of the challenge to facing its difficulties and pitfalls. This is where you’ll come face to face with the consequences of failing to successfully address a problem. Memory tip: Think about a judge’s robe. Once you’ve done that, don your red hat to allow emotion to come into play. This is the point where you can let your feelings about the problem come to the surface, and maybe even express fears. This is also where you can allow speculation and intuition to enter into the conversation. To remember this, think about a red heart. Now it’s time for the green hat. When you’re wearing this hat, you’re in creativity mode. You’ve looked at the problem analytically and you’ve looked at it emotionally. Now ask yourself, what new ideas can you bring to what you already know about the problem? How can you come at it in a way you haven’t considered before? Memory tip: Think about green grass. Finally, wear the blue hat to be in management mode, and make sure you’ve addressed your agenda productively and gone through the process in a way that benefits from all the other hats you’ve worn. Often, organizations will start with the blue hat to set goals for a meeting and then put it on again at the end. Even if you’re using the six hats by yourself, this is something you might want to consider. To remember this, think about blue skies. (Location 3882)

First, you make sure you’re clear on what you need to address. (Location 3901)

Why is it important for us to have tools to help us think in different ways? Because people usually have a dominant way of using their intelligence. (Location 3913)

Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has studied intelligence extensively and has identified eight distinct forms of intelligence:2 Spatial : This is someone who usually thinks from the perspective of the space around them. Airline pilots tend to be spatial thinkers, but so do people who excel at playing chess, as both require an innate understanding of how things fit into space. The artist Claude Monet comes to mind as another example because of his remarkable use of space in his paintings. Bodily-Kinesthetic: Someone with a dominance of this form of intelligence uses their body as a form of expression or problem-solving. Gymnasts have refined bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, as do drummers. The first name that jumps into my head when I think of this form of intelligence is Venus Williams, who expressed her genius with her body on a tennis court in ways that very few ever have. Musical : This is a person with a strong “sensitivity to rhythm, pitch, meter, tone, melody and timbre.”3 Musicians obviously have a dominance in musical intelligence, but you’ll also find it in poets, who often use meter and rhythm as effectively as they use words. My poster child for musical intelligence is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Linguistic: Someone with a dominance in linguistic intelligence is particularly attuned to all the implications of words, not just their strict dictionary definition. Writers of course have this trait, but so do great orators and lawyers. The first person I think of with linguistic intelligence is William Shakespeare. Logical-Mathematical: This is a strength in seeing the “logical relations among actions or symbols.”4 Mathematicians find themselves very comfortable seeing or seeking the connections between different numbers. Scientists likewise draw connections between physical objects or the forces acting on objects. Our friend Albert Einstein immediately leaps to mind as a prime example. Interpersonal : Someone with a dominance in interpersonal intelligence has a deep innate ability to connect with other people and a rich understanding of how others might be feeling at any given moment. Therapists tend to have strong interpersonal intelligence, as do schoolteachers. When I think of interpersonal intelligence, I think of Oprah Winfrey, because of her amazing ability to relate to whomever she is speaking with. Intrapersonal : If you have dominance in intrapersonal intelligence, you have a particularly refined sense of what is going on inside of you. People with strong intrapersonal intelligence do a great job of “taking their own temperature.” They’re in touch with their feelings, they know what triggers them, and they have a good sense of how to manage this. If you know someone who is cool under even difficult circumstances, it’s likely that this person has strong intrapersonal intelligence. Mahatma Gandhi is an exemplar of this form of genius. Naturalistic: This kind of… (Location 3914)

Do you see yourself in one of these descriptions? There’s a good chance you’ll relate to more than one, because people rarely… (Location 3942)

Note: Linguistic intrapersonal

Models can act as shortcuts that save you valuable energy and time when you’re evaluating an idea, making a decision, or problem-solving. (Location 4024)

Colin Powell, former secretary of state, addresses this with his 40/70 rule.6 His rule is to never make a decision with less than 40 percent of the information you are likely to get, and to gather no more than 70 percent of the information available. (Location 4029)

Productivity: Create a Not-to-Do List This one might seem counterintuitive, but sometimes it’s just as important to know what not to do as what to do. This tactic is used best for directing your attention to the essentials and avoiding what doesn’t matter in the moment. (Location 4036)

Problem-Solving: Study Your Errors When we take the time to study the mistakes we make, especially those that have a lasting effect on our lives, we turn every mistake into a learning opportunity. (Location 4060)

Strategy: Second-Order Thinking Most of us think about the consequences of our actions, but few of us think even two steps beyond the immediate effects our actions will have on our lives. (Location 4081)

Always ask yourself, “And then what?” Think in increments of time. What do the consequences look like in five days? Five months? Five years? Draw out the possible courses of action you might take using columns to organize consequences. (Location 4090)

First-order thinking is easy, but it’s second-order thinking that allows us to go deeper through time and consequences. Best of all, it allows us to see what others can’t see. (Location 4093)

As Jain explains, linear thinking (the kind of thinking most of us employ) causes us to look at a problem and seek a solution. (Location 4103)

But what if we looked at the root cause of the problem and solved that instead? This would lead to exponential progress, world-changing progress. (Location 4106)

How can thinking less linearly and more exponentially make dramatic changes in your life? (Location 4126)

“The incremental mindset focuses on making something better, while the exponential mindset is focused on making something different,” (Location 4133)

“The incremental mindset draws a straight line from the present to the future,” Bonchek continues. “A ‘good’ incremental business plan enables you to see exactly how you will get from here to there. But exponential models are not straight. They are like a bend in the road that prevents you from seeing around the corner, except in this case the curve goes up.” (Location 4135)

Step 1: Get to the Underlying Problem (Location 4148)

Step 2: Posit a New Approach (Location 4158)

One of the keys to exponential thinking is filling your thoughts with what-if statements. (Location 4158)

Step 3: Read about It (Location 4168)

So, now that you’ve gone through the what-if exercise, read up on alternatives. (Location 4170)

Step 4: Extrapolate (Location 4175)

You’ve now identified the underlying problem, posed questions that allow you to imagine a world without the problem, and done your research. Now, it’s time to try out a scenario. (Location 4176)

A superhero is not just someone who has discovered and developed their superpowers. Every superhero must eventually return to their world and serve. (Location 4217)

Start with one thing, but start somewhere. Anywhere. (Location 4239)