Ep. 28: The Father of Modern Memory Improvement Harry Lorayne: 60 Years of Mnemonics

Today, we’ve managed to book, without exaggeration, the world’s foremost expert on memory and memory training: Harry Lorayne. He’s a living legend. Since the late 1950’s, he has sold over 17 MILLION copies of over 40 books on memory and magic. He’s been on every major television show you can imagine at least once - and generally starts off by memorizing the names of everyone in the up to 1500 person audience. He’s been in Forbes, coached a long list of Fortune 500 companies and their executives… Honestly, there’s no way I can possible do justice by just listing off his many accomplishments.

More important than these accomplishments is the fact that today’s guest is generally credited with bringing Memory training and mnemonics back into the public sphere. Long before the world memory championships, and long before both myself and my co-authors of Become a SuperLearner were even born, he was putting in the hours to rediscover and improve upon ancient memory techniques that have helped tens of millions of people change every aspect of their lives through improved mental faculties.

This interview might just be our biggest and most important yet. There’s so much value here, I don’t even know where to start. At 89 years old, Harry Lorayne pulls no punches and makes no apologies. He shares heartbreaking stories of physical abuse and overcoming dyslexia, but also some incredibly inspiring tales of how he became the world’s most respected authority on memory… which, by the way, he did with nothing more than a middle school education.

You’ll notice right away that Harry is clearly very practiced, having spent literally 60 years in the public spotlight. He’s an incredible storyteller, and has an incredible way of answering questions with vivid stories and examples that will leave you wanting more.

I just know you’re going to love this episode, so please take a moment to drop us a tweet or an email or a comment below with your thoughts.