The Magnetic Memory Method Podcast

Entrepreneurs need a ton of skills to achieve their goals. And let's face it: The amount of material entrepreneurs need to learn can be downright discouraging. Just to stand a chance of "making it" requires so much know-how that a lot of people give up. Here's the good news: You don't have to give up on your entrepreneurial dreams. You can learn and remember everything you need to know. And you can recall it all with ease. But as they say in the entrepreneurial world, a lot of success comes from first knowing your "why." That's why in this post I'm going to talk about the 5 biggest reasons entrepreneurs need memory techniques. Don't Discount Any Of These! Each is important, and you'll find that the Magnetic Memory Method covers each. If you haven't already taken the free course I've got for you, grab the memory kit by subscribing above and get ready for an amazing memory boost that will impressive the pants off you and everyone you know. 1. Not Being Able To Remember Numbers May Be Causing More Lost Revenue Than You Can Imagine Numbers overload the average life lived in business: Conversion rates Tax percentages Statistical formulas Phone numbers Identification codes Dates and times … and many, many more. A huge part of the success of any entrepreneurial enterprise links directly with how well you can manage numbers like these. You can't wring more profit out of numbers you haven't remembered, after all. And you can't even begin to understand math concepts you haven't committed to memory. To get better at memorizing numbers, it's important that you learn the Major Method (sometimes called The Major System). What Is The Major Method? It's a way of quickly memorizing numbers by turning them into images. There are different ways of using the Major Method, but to get started, associate each number from 0-9 with a sound. Here's what I use based on a standard approach popular around the world: 0 = soft c, s, z 1 = d or t 2 = n 3 = m 4 = r 5 = l 6 = ch, j, sh 7 = g, k 8 = f, v 9 = b, p But right now, you're probably wondering … How On Earth Am I Supposed To Remember All Of That?!? It's pretty easy – if you're willing to experiment. I won't give you an example for each number, but to get you started: For zero, you could see a giant snake hissing as it eats its own tail. The shape of a snake in a circle resembles the digit 0. The sound of hissing reminds you of the 's' and soft 'c' sound options. For nine, look closely: From one perspective, it's like a 'b' standing on its head. From another perspective, it's a golf club facing the wrong direction and driven down into the ground. Check out five. If you hold out your left hand and stick out your thumb, you'll notice that you have five digits. The pointer finger and thumb make an L-shape. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy! Let's put it all together. If you wanted to remember a number like 905, the Major Method gives you several options with these letter-sounds. You'd just need to pop in a few vowels so you can make a word. For example, 905 could be: Basel (the herb) or Brazil (the country on a map or the Terry Gilliam movie). 509 could be an image of yourself speaking with a lisp. 590 could be Jennifer Lopez. Make her leaping to compound the 5 and 9 and it'll be even easier to remember. This Is Just The Beginning Of Remembering Numbers With Ease Give this memory technique a try. You'll find that it does wonders for your memory improvement. And it's fun to give your friends challenges, like Jonathan Levi and I have done. Even just a short run of numbers like the serial numbers on a dollar bill makes for great memory exercise in a restaurant. Just make sure that you're not totally exhausted – and even then the techniques can still work wonders. Here's the full story: I can't stress how important the ability to remember numbers is for an entrepreneur so please get busy and let me know how you fare. 2. A Simple Way To Remember Names That Works Even In The Noisiest Convention Halls And Business Meetings As an entrepreneur, you meet a lot of people. And there's nothing worse than forgetting someone's name. It's embarrassing. It's crude. It's unnecessary. To learn how to remember names, check out this Magnetic Memory Method Podcast and the accompanying illustrations. You'll find it useful. In brief, all you need for getting started with remembering names is the ability to make associations. You can create your Magnetic associations in advance or on the fly. Let's look at both options. I will ultimately suggest that you learn both … you'll need them! The Magnetic Memory Method Name Crib Some people who use memory techniques create databanks of celebrities in their minds. That way, whenever they meet someone new, they can make instant associations. For example, I have Tom Cruise as my instant go-to name when I meet a new person named Tom. When I meet someone named Lars, I whip out Lars Ulrich, the drummer from Metallica. New people I meet named Sarah are instantly paired with Linda Hamilton, who played Sarah Connor in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The great thing about having predetermined celebrities and fictional characters is that the associations require zero thought. You meet the new person and then – BAM! – you can instantly see your new pal Tom in a fistfight with Tom Cruise. The Martial Art Of Remembering Names Method But what happens when you meet someone with a name from another culture? It's not that the name "Gangador Dianand" is unusual – it's just not one you'd expect to come across every day. Yet, it is a real name and if you're serious about memory techniques, you're going to want the ability to memorize it as quickly as you can memorize a name like Tom. In this case, you need to be able to chop the name into pieces and use Magnetic Memory Method Word Division. This mnemonic tool helps with associating images to just the "gang" part of "Gangador" and another image with the "ador" part. Also super-easy. All you need is to see something like a gang bursting through a door. If the gang "adores" the door they're banging through, all the better. Just think about how you can make that "adoration" visual in your mind's eye. What about "Dianand"? Also not a problem. Remember Princess Diana? I sure do. And I also know what an ampersand is. All that's needed after that is a way of getting Diana and the ampersand interacting in a strange way. And when you put it all together, you can make a little story: A gang who adores a door bust through and catch Princess Diana smooching with an ampersand. But Wait! I'm Not That Creative! I hear this excuse often. Here's the thing: You don't have to be creative to get started. As Benny Lewis points out in Fluent in 3 Months, using these techniques makes you more creative. And the more you practice creating associations, the easier and faster it gets. Just give it a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how practicing memory techniques rewires your mind and memory for entrepreneurial success at many levels. 3. Join The Elite Crew Of Entrepreneurs Who Can Quote The Facts Right Every Time There's nothing more impressive than an entrepreneur who has a handle on the facts. Let's face it. Consumers are more skeptical than ever. If you haven't got your details in order and wind up stumbling all over the place to communicate your business knowledge, you have no reason to expect anyone will take you seriously. The only question is … how do you remember facts? You've got options, but the number one technique to learn is how to create and use a Memory Palace. What's A Memory Palace? A Memory Palace is a mental construct based on a real building. It can also be an imaginary, "Virtual Memory Palace," but for beginners, taking something simple like your childhood home works the best. Remember how we were just talking about Jennifer Lopez and 590? Well, the way a Memory Palace works is that you would place an image of her leaping all over the place on the desk in your study. Or you would have her leaping in the clothes washer. You can place images like Jennifer Lopez anywhere you like, but it's best to have a strategic way of creating your Memory Palace so that you're not just placing her any old place and hoping and praying you'll find your way back to her. Make sure you've taken my free course to ensure that you know the best ways to create a Memory Palace and avoid all problems. Then, when you have some facts you want to memorize, create images that help trigger those facts back to you. For example, a few weeks back, I memorized some information about Canada's second-ever Prime Minister. You can model this approach for any facts that you'd like to memorize. It's easy, fun and will rapidly increase your expertise. 4. The Ability To Remember Quotes That Will Get Everyone Talking About You If there's one thing that binds entrepreneurs together, it's the love of quotes. You've probably heard this famous line from Zig Ziglar, to take one example: "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that's why we recommend it daily." As cool as Ziglar's quote is, it really means nothing if you can't remember and pull it out at the right time. Entrepreneurs equipped with memory techniques have no problems, however. They can simply use the tools of the Magnetic Memory Method and zip any motivational quote they want into memory and recall it with ease. The Memory Palace is also the go-to technique in this case. Once you know how to use it, you just need to prepare and organize the quotes you want to memorize. When you hear a good one, you can also memorize it on the fly with ease so long as you have a solid understanding of how to use the ground beneath your feet as a Memory Palace. Wisdom Is Just One Vertical (Or Horizontal) Pillar Away When memorizing poetry using a Memory Palace, the temptation is to work horizontally. Nothing wrong with that. It works gangbusters. But for shorter pieces of information, like quotes, the entrepreneur can also try memorizing the words in vertical pillars. I recommend starting from the top corner of a room and then working your way down. For example, if you want to memorize the Ziglar quote, you can try seeing Pippi Longstocking in the ceiling corner attacking a jury with a vicious motive. "Pippi" basically sounds like "people" and her having a motive for the attack will help recall the notion of "motivation." Beneath that, you can see her bathing in a huge bathtub full of calendars. That will help you remember the core idea of bathing and the calendars will help you remembering that bathing, like motivation, is something entrepreneurs require daily. Heck, everybody could use a dose of both daily hygiene and continually renewing impetus … don't you think? 5. The Ability To Conceive Of And See Large Systems Full Of Moving Parts At the meta-level, perhaps the most powerful reason entrepreneurs would do well to use memory techniques is how they get you working with macroscopic and microscopic pieces of information at the same time. Think about it: If you're going to be an entrepreneur, you've got to have a handle on multiple processes all at the same time. And you've got to be able to see them in your mind at a glance. What better way to prepare the mind for this need than working with a system of Memory Palaces and information that will make you a better entrepreneur? Memory techniques not only help you with the skill of seeing the big picture and the granular details at the same time. Having a strong memory distinguishes you as a professional. If you aren't already using memory techniques, I strongly encourage you to get on board with them. They will not only change your life, but help you do much bigger things for the people you serve in your business. That's the desire that drives you every day and the next level is right around the corner. All you need to get started is a bit of training. Subscribe for my free Magnetic Memory Method training using the "Start Here" registration form above. The post The 5 Biggest Reasons Entrepreneurs Need Memory Techniques appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

Was 2016 as amazing for you as it was for me? If you did anything to experience memory improvement, I'll bet it was great. Maybe even … Magnetic. My top highlight? Getting interviewed on my own show by none other than SuperLearner Jonathan Levi. So even there though's a lot of groovy things to read on this page and year end links to explore … Scroll up and hit that play button. Jonathan helps me dig deep into the Mind of a Memorizer. And it's all kind of fascinating, because when you think about it … Who Knew You Could Still Improve The Ancient Art Of Memory Improvement? Hard to believe, but totally true. And you can do it even if you were a "delinquent youth," which is just one of the topics we touch upon in the interview. We also talk about dealing with Manic Depression without medication … The nature of truth and memory … And my top book and movie recommendations, including: Books The Republic The Nichomachean Ethics Better Never To Have Been: The Harm Of Coming Into Existence Movies Lost Highway (best memory quote in cinema history) eXistenZ The Matrix And while you're jamming your way through those great movies, I have to say that my all time favorite video course from 2016 has been SuperLearner 2.0: Thanks to my friendship with Jonathan, you can now take a free trial of the SuperLearner Academy. Thanks for that, Jonathan! Speaking of friendship … The Magnetic Memory Method 2017 Predictions For Your Memory A lot of people are making 2017 predictions about a lot of things. As far as I know, none of them involve the state of memory improvement. Here are my top predictions for how things will go with some tips about how to make memory improvement part of your 2017 adventure. Why Friendships Improve Your Memory Friendship and memory, you ask? You bet. And as more and more social groups form online, the more "real life" friendships will matter. For example, a recent memory improvement book demonstrates that we just don't remember a lot of what we experience online all that well. Of course, you can develop techniques that help (check out Jonathan's course!), but my bigger concern is that you get the memory benefits of spending time with real people. In the world. Some ways to make sure you get your memory-friendly time with people in the world include: Daily walks with a friend Weekly lunches or dinners Meeting to memorize cards together Shared language learning challenges Just getting together to shoot the breeze I know you heard me talk a lot about him in 2016, and that's because the favorite new friend I made in 2016 is Tony Buzan. I have a prediction that there will be even more amazing stuff coming out from him in 2016, and I'm going to suggest to him a quarterly feature on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast called Buzan². He reads so fast … I wouldn't be surprised if he already knows about it before I've had a chance to ask him. For now, my favorite pic of the year: Why The Pen Will Remain Mightier Than The Sword in 2017 Penmanship used to be a preoccupation of mine. I predict I'll be returning to it in 2017. Maybe I'm old school. Or maybe I just like Da Vinci. Either way, there's no arguing that there's a thing called penmanship and developing it is good for your brain. It's tempting to say to hell with it. People type, tap and swipe now. But in watching April wrangle pinyin and hanzi out of my iPad on the same day I watched some of the beautiful Chinese calligraphy in Devils on the Doorstep: As I study Chinese calligraphy a bit myself, it seems clear to me that it's not just the multiple intelligences and muscular activity we're losing. It's a kind of art. And I predict that individuals and nations that hang onto it will outpace those who do not. Journaling Will Improve Your Memory Even Better Than In The Victorian Era John Lee Dumas is an entrepreneur on fire. And The Freedom Journal is just one aspect of his genius. I'm not ready to share yet how it helped me on a massive project in 2016, but I can tell you that the The Freedom Journal has streamlined my daily journaling down to the essentials. Even better: The Freedom Journal has given me the means of tying those essentials to making huge strides toward an ambitious goal I had left dangling. Here I am using The Freedom Journal in Zürich. I carried it with me all around Europe while working on a project I predict I will tell you about in 2017. My favorite part is that The Freedom Journal is also a memory tool. So I also predict that in 2017 you'll hear me sharing more about this exciting tool in relation to memory techniques. Oh, okay, one more prediction about this: I predict that if you join me in being a Freedom Journal user, you'll massively upgrade your life while contributing to a great cause. Language Learning Will Increase In Importance It doesn't require any psychic powers to predict that knowing more than one language will be even more important in 2017 than it was in 2016. The question is … Will it be any easier in 2017? The answer is easy, but … The ease of that answer depends. It depends on the decisions you make and the tools you use. My 2016 recommendations won't change: 1. Know and use The Big Five of Language Learning Use your memory Read Write Speak Listen Every day. 2. If you're going to use apps, use them intelligently. Olly Richards is definitely your man for figuring out how to do that. Make Words Stick gives you some cool insights and I predict there will be many more interesting language learning and memory insights coming from Olly in 2017. 3. Speak with native speakers. My biggest recommendations for finding great speaking partners boil down to italki and Skill Silo. I'm expecting great things from both, but liked Skill Silo the best in 2016 thanks to a streamlined process that puts only one core language learning text on the screen with your teacher. But you still need to teach your teacher. Olly again has lots of ideas to help you get the most from that. N=1 Experiments And Competition Alex Mullen continues proving that human memory moves at least as fast as the human hand and eye. I've spoken with him and his results clearly come from the same processes all memory athletes and experts use. The real difference is in how you apply the techniques to your memory improvement goals. It could be winning the World Memory Championships. Or it could be learning a massive topic related to science, computing, philosophy or some interesting combination you make in a course of study of your own. How To Design A Learning Project That Works In 2017 To get the most out of any learning project, four elements will be key: 1. Use Magnetic Memory Method Memory Palaces. This is kind of a no-brainer, but if your Memory Palace strategy isn't bulletproof, you risk wasting time and energy. 2. Dive in and go all the way. The map is never the territory, so action is key. (Note: Getting yourself into the picture can and most likely will involve making changes to the map as you go along.) 3. Track your results. Stay tuned for some more information about tracking your results in 2017, particularly in combination with The Freedom Journal. 4. Refine Your Approach Once you have data on what's working and what isn't, I predict that all people serious about using memory techniques will be capable of learning faster, remembering more and having an amazing 2017. 2017 Will Be The Year Of Memory And Sleep Research My biggest memory improvement surprises in 2016 came from experiencing great memory wins despite way too much sleep deprivation. As the author of The Ultimate Sleep Remedy, I still stand behind everything I taught in that book. However, I also wrote the book during a period of time when I took lamictal every day. I had also done a huge course of research in sleeping 12 hour days and dream recall. But since becoming an entrepreneur and giving up the pretty pink pills as part of "Project Wolverine" … Things Have Been Different! I don't think the pretty pink pill ever helped me sleep any better. But I think it did give my like a machinic quality. And that consistency has been replaced with something more akin to the classic and cliche Bipolar Rollercoaster described in psychology textbooks. To combat the suffering that comes from Manic Depression, I've been experimenting with raw cacao and coffee, sometimes Bulletproof Coffee. There is no doubt in my mind that the swapping of these substances in for lamictal has changed the nature of my sleep. But overall, despite tons of exhaustion, my mnemonic memory has never been better. I find this amazing, especially since recent research has shown that the older you get, the less likely you are to get memory consolidation during sleep. My Mnemonic Calendar Will Come Back Into Use That said, the tasks to which I direct my mnemonic memory need refinement. I have a mnemonic calendar, for example, but need to use it more often so that I don't forget appointments. Or even better, remember when appointments have been cancelled. Sometimes the ghost impression of an appointment made can override the attempt to remember that it has been canceled. This is The Ugly Sister Effect in full force as too much competes for your attention. There is also the pressure of absentmindedness on memory. For this reason, it is important to place as many things on autopilot as possible so that remembering is unnecessary. Funny, right? But it's important to note that a great way to improve your memory is to remove things from it that stress it out. HumanCharger Light Therapy And Memory? Light is an increasingly important topic to me. In fact, light exposure has become a way of life. Since February of 2016, I've been using a unique light-therapy device to explore the topic. The benefits of using the HumanCharger have been clear, measurable and amazing. Basically, the device addresses a simple reality: The human brain is sensitive and receptive to light. There's a lot to that statement. Especially if you can find a way to let light reach more of your brain. Of course, your eyes have a means of doing that. But what if your ears were a pathway light could use to reach your brain too. I predict that I'll be part of spreading the good news about exactly how you can use the HumanCharger to bring light to your brain. I'm also excited to explore the relationship between memory and light as well. My initial n=1 conclusions are that feeling more alert and in a brighter mood definitely adds to the arsenal when you're living the art of memory improvement. The Magnetic Memory Method Will Be Enshrined As The Martial Art Of Memory Improvement I predict that I will continue extending my feeling that mnemonics are a kind of Martial Art. I've long felt that my background with Systema has helped my memory. Apart from meditation techniques derived from Alan Watts and Eckart Tolle, Systema continues to provide the basis for how I connect relaxation to memory. Ego-depletion will also remain important. Yet, ego is so crucial to memory techniques because you draw on what you know based on what you know about yourself. You tap into what you like, what makes you emotional, sometimes even what makes you mad. Case in point: I was filming myself learning some Chinese in a bank when I got some attitude from a guy. He basically told me I shouldn't get him on camera (a camera that was in no way pointing at him). But he did it so indirectly that I wasn't sure if he worked for the bank, was representing the bank's interest or … trying to audition for my YouTube channel … Anyhow, I was trying to remember how to say, "I am lost" using memory techniques in real time. But in the moment of conflict, I not only had to maintain calm to avoid getting into a fistfight. I needed calm to make sure I could create Magnetic Imagery to attach to the Magnetic Station I'd created on the fly in the impromptu Memory Palace. My images were Mini-me from Austin Powers and Jennifer Lopez. No, the phrase isn't epic in length. No is it particularly difficult. But neither is it extraordinary. And in a field of Chinese words and phrases, I needed to make it stand out. So while I'm managing my ego in the face of a potential attacker, running the camera and thinking about how I'll edit it, AND memorizing this useful Chinese phrase so I can get it into long term memory … It really does require Martial Arts-level memory to manage all of these elements and not forget the core information. Physical Fitness And Memory Will Remain Mutually Supportive In 2016, I dropped a lot of weight and built a lot of muscle. My trainer, Lars at Ignite.Fit, taught me a lot about my body, discipline and the nature of life. We also became friends and talked a lot about education, technology, business and how all three intersect. As I worked to heal my body in the gym, I started drafting "Project Wolverine." I can't say much about it now, but I predict that memory and physical fitness will remain important to me and all who care about the quality of their memory. Brad Zupp agrees on the connection between health and memory in this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. I can't wait to speak with him again on the matter and predict that I will. My Year Two Of Chinese Prediction It's one year since I started learning Chinese. Fluent? Hardly. And I know for a fact that I've got a long way to go. But it raises the question of how exactly I define fluency. Context decides. When I asked my father-in-law permission to marry his daughter, he understood my request. I was fluent. When I sang her a Chinese love song I'd memorized on our wedding day, I was fluent. When I got an email from one of her friends expressing his amazement with my Chinese and memory techniques, I was fluent. But … … When I went to make dumplings during the 冬至 Dongzhi Festival … I was in the limbo every language learner knows so well. It feels like you must have been studying all the wrong things. Although you recognize dozens of words … It's still hard to penetrate even 10% of what's going on around you. But I am fluent in memory. I zone in on what I do recognize. I isolate what I want to memorize. Then, provided I follow the MMM to the letter … I'm on the road to fluency, which is the present moment, the only place anything is to be found. The Toughest 2017 Prediction To Uphold … Tough, but I still predict that I will maintain my love affair with German. It's actually kind of easy. All it will take is dedication to The Big Five of language learning to maintain my current level. Yes, even as an upper-level student of German, maximum attention must be paid to reading, writing, speaking, hearing and continuing to memorize German. I know, because I remember just how quickly it faded the last time I left Germany. I don't want to feel the fade of disuse ever again. What Are Your Predictions For Your 2017 State Of Memory Address? So that's my 2016 in a nutshell. I'm grateful to everyone who contributed comments here, left reviews on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast or joined the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. It's been an honor and delight to improve the ability of people around the world to learn, remember and recall anything with greater ease, fun, passion and high levels of accuracy in their recall. Like how about this amazing win from a Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass member: Or this wonderful lesson from an action-taker with the Magnetic Memory Method: And then there's this short note from a great MMM Masterclasser: I received hundreds of emails and messages just like these in 2016. So when it comes to 2017 predictions and the state of your memory, tell me … Are you in? Have a great New Year and talk soon! Sincerely, P.S. If you think you don't have time for memory improvement in 2017, here's how to memorize things fast from my friend Tor. Have fun! The post The 2016 MMM State Of Your Memory Address appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

Except for the threats, the sirens and the guys with guns … last night was amazing for my memory. First, April got invited to make dumplings to celebrate the last day of Autumn and the first day of Winter on the Chinese calendar. I love the Magnetic Memory Method because I was able to remember those words in Chinese … 秋天 qiūtiān (Autumn) 冬天 dōngtiān (Winter) Crazy thing is … I'd only heard them once in my life and used an impromptu Memory Palace to memorize them. Months later … They Were All Still Intact! As was this song that took really just a few minutes to memorize: Sure, I had a bit of a pronunciation problem here and there, but that's easily solved by developing muscle memory. It's understandable that words you don't use for months that you only heard once don't exactly snap into place. But what a GREAT feeling to be able to remember them! And all by doing something I really love: Using my memory. After that, we were shooting video and getting into more of the particulars about how all this works. We Got Lost! We wound up getting a bit lost and keeping warm inside the bank machine area of a building. And that's when the threats and guns appeared. Turns out, that a guy didn't like me having the camera on while April was teaching me how to say, "I'm lost" in Chinese. Good thing the Magnetic Memory Method teaches relaxation as part of the memory technique … You certainly need to be calm when a stranger starts telling you what you can and cannot do. It's hard managing your defensive instincts and memory at the same time. (You'll laugh when you see my reaction in the video and the guns that were there to keep us safe all along). So yes, April and I survived. Perfect Recall … Even Under Duress And the coolest thing is that I was still able to memorize "I am lost" in Chinese. I can still remember exactly how to say it this morning. Not to mention a couple of other words and phrases. Like, "Smells good!" And "garbage can." Instantly Memorized! No sweat. No tears. No index cards. No software. But as I was editing the video this morning … it occurred to me that not everyone learning Chinese has access to native speakers. And in the video I was talking about some solutions. They're all part of The Big Five of Language Learning. But then I remembered something really special I've been following for awhile. It's a website called MandarinHQ. And when they released a course on real spoken Chinese, I jumped at the chance yesterday to grab access to it. It's called The Real Spoken Chinese Vault. Yes, I laid down some cash even though I have a Chinese native speaker in my family. Why? Partly because I like to support awesome people out on the Internet who do good work. But also because I do memory research. Lots of it. And I also want to support because what I'm about to tell you helps solve a huge problem for people learning Chinese. It's the "Can you please repeat that?" problem. Chinese Native Speakers On Demand Imagine having a video course where you get access to vocabulary and short phrases that lets you … Instantly click a button … … and then instantly hear that phrase again. That would be cool, wouldn't it? Well, The Real Spoken Chinese Vault isn't just about audio. You Can Hear Them And See Them The Real Spoken Chinese Vault also has video. And you get strategically placed buttons so that you can see and hear 4-5 different native speakers repeat key phrases you'll need to learn. It's the kind of button I wish I had in real life when learning a language. For When You Can't Put Life On Pause Because, yes, I can memorize information in real time. But sometimes it's nice to be able to slow the world down and repeat things so I'm sure I've heard it right. In fact, most of my memorization errors from real-time memory work come from now having heard it right. What you're about to learn about solves that problem. Again, you get to SEE and HEAR native Chinese speakers. A Lot In The Form Of Important Questions And Answers Just like you'll need to know in every day speech. But there's more. Not much more, but just enough more to make this powerful package a no-brainer: Because the program really wants to help you learn Chinese without overwhelming you … Imagine a progression of exposure to the language in each lesson. You start with seeing and hearing the speaker. Progressive Exposure Reduces Cognitive Overwhelm You can repeat each one delivering the phrase as many times as you like. Then, when you're ready, you can see the pinyin. Same principle applies. Click that magic repeat button all that you like as you watch and listen. And then move on to the next stage. When You're Ready … Then, and only then will you see the Chinese characters on the screen. Your magic repeat button is right there, ready for use. This program truly is one of the only times I will support hard-repetition. It's very smartly done. It's not boring. It's not painful. And you learn in a way that doesn't waste your language learning time. I also like that each module ends in a quiz. You Get To Test Yourself So far, I've done really well and LOVE this program. Here are some Basic Chinese examples with my own tailor-made (and Magnetic) Mandarin Mnemonics: And you can get lifetime access now at a HUGE discount (time is running out, though!) (Note: The following offer expired at 11:59 p.m., December 26th, 2016. To let me know that you're interested in studying Chinese using memory techniques, please get in contact.) Let me introduce you to my friend Angel to explain her "listening framework" in detail. If you want to join me in the course, before the deadline … I'm going to do you even one better: I'm going to make you a short video course of what I'm doing to memorize the material I need from the course using the Magnetic Memory Method. But here's the thing: This bonus is only for people who take Angel's course and keep it. She's being VERY generous with this discount for early adopters on LIFETIME ACCESS. And I only want to reward people who take it for 30-days along with me. So that means I'll be sending you your access to the MMM Chinese Vault Supplemental 30-days after you grab The Real Spoken Chinese Vault before the deadline. Can't wait to share more of my Chinese memory journey with you soon! Sincerely, Anthony P.S. Remember: This amazing opportunity for LIFETIME access to Angel's The Real Chinese Vault with its unique listening and viewing framework closes soon. You should at least look it over. P.P.S. You're right. One bonus from me isn't enough. I'm also going to throw in a video I've already made about how that I quickly memorize Chinese poetry. The poems are usually only 4 lines long, but I only need to hear them once. Recall is so strong that I am delighted by the response of native Chinese speakers. Just check out this email I received after dinner the other night: "Dear Anthony, It was definitely happy time having dinner with you. Especially, I checked out your website, that's amazing. Those techniques, please forgive me that I call them techniques, help people memorize things. Actually, I was shocked that day, with your Mandarin. As you know, not even all of real Chinese people speak 100% correct mandarin. And the way you were trying to memorize the few Chinese poems is cool. When I was trying to memorize the same poem at very young age, I don't know what those words/characters mean. I just repeat it again and again. Those are ancient/classical Chinese words and very different from nowadays." ​If you'd like to get emails like that yourself from native Chinese speakers, don't miss out on my bonus. Scroll and click that link for The Real Chinese Vault now. P.P.P.S. Oh, okay, yes after 30-days in The Real Chinese Vault, you can also get access to my Secret Chinese Vocabulary Facebook Group. Unlike some of the other FB groups I run, this one isn't free and the fun for language learners who use memory techniques is only getting started …​​​​ Scroll up, click the link and check out The Real Spoken Chinese Vault now. Bonus Update For Action-Takers: How To Use The Real Spoken Chinese Vault With The Magnetic Memory Method If you joined us for the Chinese Vault special offer, here is your first bonus video: Your password will have been delivered to you via email, so please be sure to check your spam and/or promotion folder if you haven't received it. Tone Control The Ultimate Language Learning Secret Also, be sure to have requested access to the Secret Facebook group for access to the 30-day Chinese Vault MMM Challenge. Can't wait to share my mnemonic images with you! The post An Easy Way To Learn Chinese That Works For People Bored By Mindless Repetition appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

In the modern world of omnipresent information access, memorization is almost a thing of the past. And this shift has occurred very quickly. Little more than a decade ago, it wasn't uncommon that a person had to memorize a sizable list of phone numbers belonging to partners, siblings, parents and close friends. Now Many Of Us Forget Our Own Cell Phone Numbers! Despite this, there are situations in the modern day that still require memorization. Perhaps phone numbers and historical facts are better left to Google, but not everything can and should be searched via a computer. A notable example which is becoming conversant is "language" – which requires that you memorize a huge amount of vocabulary and grammar. Until now, there isn't a technology effective enough to replace human ability to learn and master a language. In the past, having to memorize information was not optional because information wasn't easily accessible. Up until the 19th century, paper was expensive, especially for quantities required to make a book. To add to it was that not many people could read and write so the ability and need to memorize and recall information was critical. Why The Greeks Adored Memory Palace Science That's why a powerful memorization method was adored by the ancient Greeks. This technique is used even as at today by memory experts to commit huge amounts of information to mind. And thanks to have an abundance of Ancient Greek facts that have been handed down, anyone can learn to use a Memory Palace at any time. One such memory expert, used it to memorize Pi to over 100,000 digits. This memorization technique is called the Method of Loci, or more commonly the "Memory Palace". It is a memorization method that not only has held the test of time, but has been shown to be effective through modern-day studies. You may even have heard of the Memory Palace technique without realizing it because it has been featured in multiple books and media. The Silence Of The Memory Palace In Fiction And Movies For example, the technique was employed by the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter in the novel series "Hannibal" written by an American author Thomas Harris. In several passages of the novel, Lecter was described as mentally walking through an elaborate Memory Palace to remember facts. That's the basics of the Memory Palace technique. Although relatively unknown, this method can be a game-changing technique for people who want to improve their ability to retain large amounts of information. You might be a student trying to master information for an exam, or an aspiring polyglot trying to learn Italian. You might be aging and finding it more difficult to recall routine information. Whatever memorization challenge you face, the Memory Palace technique is a proficient way to finally help you achieve your goals. How the Memory Palace Technique Evolved The origin of the Memory Palace technique was traced to ancient Greece. As mentioned earlier, in the olden days, people had higher incentives to create effective methods of retaining information. Writing and writing materials were difficult to access. The Memory Palace technique was introduced to the ancient Romans and the world via Greek rhetorical treatises. The Roman Cicero described the Memory Palace technique in his writings on rhetoric, called De Oratore. In De Oratore, Circero claims that his Memory Palace method originated from the Greek poet Simonides. Simonides was commissioned to recite a poem praising a group of nobles at a banquet. After the recitation, Simonides left the hall and shortly after the edifice collapsed and killed all the people in the banquet. The bodies were so badly mangled that not even close relatives could identify the corpses of their own people. However, Simonides was able to identify each of the corpses by name based on their location. Based on this experience, Simonides devised the Memory Palace technique (Bower 1970). Whether this story is reality or myth, it illustrates the basic idea behind the Memory Palace technique. Luckily, you don't have to attend a tragic banquet to master the technique and start using it to improve your information retention. For a true story that will rivet you from beginning to end, check out The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci. How to Create a Memory Palace The basic idea behind the Memory Palace Technique is to associate pieces of information with a location that you are very familiar with. A prime example would be of your home. If you'd like some free Memory Palace worksheets and a concise memory improvement video course, do this now: If you close your eyes right now, you can probably picture your home with a high degree of detail. You know where the furniture is found, what colors the walls are, and even where small objects are placed. The Memory Palace technique has to do with associating information with specific areas of that familiar location. As you walk through that location, you place pieces of information that you wish to memorize in specific areas. When you want to recall the information, you go through that mental route, and the information will be easily accessible. The technique is made more effective when you add surprising or out-of-the normal features to the information. For example, assuming you would like to memorize this sequence of words: hero drill spacecraft music You could imagine yourself at your front door, with a hero standing next to you. Here you've made an association between your door and a hero. You can increase your ability to memorize and retain this by making the memory more distinctive or unusual. For example, you could imagine the hero opening the door for you, or banging on it before you enter. You then walk down your hall, and before your feet is a drill. To increase the power of this imagery, imagine that it is turned on and you have to leap to avoid being hurt. You then turn the corner and see a spacecraft flying out of the window leaving behind itself a trail of glitter. Finally, you sat down on the couch, and as your bottom touches the cushion, your favorite song starts playing. You might even imagine the word "music" written on the cushion before you sit. The Memory Palace Technique Is Not Necessarily Visual As you can see, the technique seems to require a vivid visual imagination. However, when done correctly using all of the Magnetic Modes, you can memorize a very large amount of information relatively quickly without necessarily seeing the Memory Palace in your mind. Here's an infographic to teach you all about the different ways that your brain perceives information: Keeping the full range of your Magnetic Modes in mind, you can use any home or location with which you are familiar. You can even use small areas, such as the inside of a broom closet. You can even use your own body, attaching information to different limbs. Just keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to see the Memory Palace. You can feel it, hear it, taste it, smell it and even just think about it. If any of this seems odd, continue reading to be convinced of how seriously well the Memory Palace technique works. You might want to see just how well the Memory Palace can work in combination with Mind Mapping too. The Science behind the Memory Palace Technique Many studies have been conducted to analyze the effectiveness of the Memory Palace technique. It's all based on the scientific fact that your brain and spatial memory perceive space as a kind of image. Check out this lecture for more information about how that works: Cool, right? The answer is a resounding "yes!" Even better: In a study conducted by J. Ross and K. A. Lawrence in 1968, the Memory Palace technique was tested on a group of 40 students. The students were asked to memorize a list of 40 items. They were given only a few minutes to do so, yet were able to recall an average of 38 out of 40 items upon immediate recall. The next day, the average recall rate dropped to 34 out of 40 items – still very impressive! Nature Magazine did an investigation of so-called superior memorizers (SM) in a 2002 paper (Maguire et al). They studied a group of 10 champions who had competed in the World Memory Championships. The researchers first wanted to know if these SMs had some special natural advantages that other people do not have, such as a higher IQ. They first found out that SMs did not have exceptional cognitive abilities. In fact, they did not even show superior performance on visual memory tasks (for example, the recall of faces). The paper further investigated the brain structure of these SMs, and found out that their brains were not significantly different from average brains (Maguire et al 2002). The scientists also performed functional MRI scans to see if the SMs brains were activated differently when actively memorizing. Here the SMs brains differed from normal brains – SM's brains activated particularly when memorizing (Maguire et al 2002). Significantly, scientists found out that SMs all used mnemonic techniques to aid in their memorization. Nine out of ten of these subjects were specifically using the Memory Palace technique (Maguire et al 2002). Note: Some of people call it the Mind Palace method, but the basics are the same. Plus, the different activation patterns observed were associated to the fact that SMs used mnemonic techniques, namely the Memory Palace technique, to memorize information (Maguire et al 2002). No Need For A Huge IQ To Use A Memory Palace! It's not that SMs are smarter or have bigger brains than the rest of us. It's that they use mnemonics, and specifically the Memory Palace technique to memorize information. That is the secret behind their impressive abilities. And because these SMs had been practicing the technique for a little over 11 years on average, they were really good (Maguire et al 2002). This suggests that anyone with average abilities can use this technique to improve his/her memory. And once you know the drill, it's really just a matter of spending some time with a few solid Memory Palace training exercises. Like these: Even if you are not seeking to learn large amounts of information, the Memory Palace technique still has something to offer. There is evidence that the Memory Palace technique can help maintain a healthy brain during old age. Benefits of the Memory Palace Technique for the Aging Brain As we age, our memories become weaker. In elderly people, this might lead to a frustrating situation where they are struggling to recall routine information. There has been much study on age-related memory loss, but so far not many effective solutions to this problem. Happily, the Memory Palace technique holds promise in aiding the enhancement of memory in the aging brain. One study conducted in Norway in 2010 employed expert instructors, who taught the Memory Palace technique to 23 volunteers. The average age of these volunteers was 61 (Engvig et al 2010). After training, these volunteers were able to memorize a list of 30 words in sequential order in under 10 minutes – impressive! A control group, a set of volunteers of the same average age, sex and education was included in the study. They were not trained in the Memory Palace technique, and were instructed to memorize the list as well (Engvig et al 2010). Afterwards, both groups were released into the world to live normally for eight weeks. When they returned to the study, researchers challenged both groups to a recall task. They first flashed a list of 15 unrelated words, each for only a second. The volunteers were then instructed to recall the words in order. Researchers then showed them a list of 30 words. Half of these words had been displayed in the initial 15 word list while the other half was completely new. The volunteers were asked to pick out words that had previously appeared and also identify their correct position in the first list (Engvig et al 2010). Volunteers trained in the Memory Palace technique outperformed the non-trained volunteers for recognizing the position of the words (Engvig et al 2010). The study also measured the amount of brain thinning that occurred in the trained versus untrained groups of volunteers. Normal age causes the brain to shrink. The brain of the individuals showed thickening in areas of the brain which were key for visual abstract memory (Engvig et al 2010). Why The Memory Palace Technique Is Not Snake Oil This research and others like it have shown that the Memory Palace technique is not snake oil. Sadly, most adults in the modern world are not encouraged to use their imagination. It might therefore be slightly challenging for someone newly using the technique to really get into it, especially if they don't have the kind of Memory Palace example you can get when you take my free memory improvement course. However, after practice, many find out that this memory technique is not only effective in memorization, but is also very engaging. Certainly more engaging than the traditional rote memorization technique. With some practice, you'll be impressing all of your friends and family with how good your memorization has gotten in no time. References & Further Resources Bower, G. H., "Analysis of a Mnemonic Device: Modern psychology uncovers the powerful components of an ancient system for improving memory" American Scientist, Vol. 58, No. 5, pp. 496-510, September–October 1970 Web. 21 Jan. 2016.. Engvig, Andreas, Anders M. Fjell, Lars T. Westlye, Torgeir Moberget, Øyvind Sundseth, Vivi Agnete Larsen, and Kristine B. Walhovd. "Effects of Memory Training on Cortical Thickness in the Elderly." NeuroImage 52.4 (2010): 1667-676. 1 Oct. 2010. Web. 22 Jan. 2016. Fan, Shelley. "Can a Mnemonic Slow Memory Loss with Age?" Scientific American Blog Network. 20 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Jan. 2016. Maguire, Eleanor A., Elizabeth R. Valentine, John M. Wilding, and Narinder Kapur. "Routes to Remembering: The Brains behind Superior Memory." Nature Neuroscience Nat Neurosci 6.1 (2002): 90-95. Web. 22 Jan. 2016. The post Memory Palace Science: Proof That This Memory Technique Works appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

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

Remember Joanna Jast and all those tips she gave you on how to improve focus and concentration while you work on memory improvement? Good news. Joanna's back with a new book called Hack Your Habits and in this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, we've got her here to talk about it. As always, I've got the interview transcript for you below and would love to hear your comments and questions in the discussion area below. Enjoy! Why You Don't Have To Have It All Mapped Out To Get A Handle On Your Habits Anthony: You go into your personal story in the introduction. Why do you think you faced so many challenges and what was the turning point? Joanna Jast: It's interesting you're asking me this question. I actually thought about it the other day on my way to work. And – I don't really have the answer. I suppose it's the combination of many factors: my temperament – which is like emotional and behavioural building blocks for personality and to large extend is hardwired, inborn, so my temperament, my upbringing, the environment I grew up in, the challenges I faced in life and the solutions to those challenges I chose to follow etc. I haven't got it all 'mapped out', but I think the key reasons why I've faced so many difficulties is my low threshold for boredom, poor ability to delay gratification, my self-compassion, which drives many of my willpower failures with: 'But you deserve it, Joanna… you've had such a bad day'. The turning points? There have been quite a few. But if I was to choose the key turning points that led me to create my own system for building better habits, it would be the following three: The first one the day when my study routine was born. It was actually accidental – I wrote about it in my book Laser-Sharp Focus. It was the moment when I decided to stop trying to study in the evening, sitting on the sofa or on the bed and start doing it in the morning, at my desk. To cut a long story short, I suddenly realised not only how much more productive and effective my study sessions became, but also how much happier I became – with better grades, more energy and time to do other things in life. Now, 20 years later, looking back at what happened, I realise that back then I created a study routine, which over the years became my productivity and now writing routine that has transformed my life. My study routine happened to be one on those keystone habits – habits that create a ripple effect throughout our life, creating space and energy for more healthy habits to emerge and grow stronger, ultimately transforming our lives. How The Secrets Of Behavioral Economics Can Improve Your Life The second turning point was the day when I heard about Behavioural Economics for the first time. It was during a lecture on marketing. I went home, did more research, read books, articles, did a course and… fall in love with the approach. I thought this could be something that would work for me. So I started experimenting with various behavioural economics strategies. Initially, I applied them to sort out my finances – so paid off my debts and started saving money. Then, I started experimenting with my exercise routine and eating habits. And the third pivotal point was, when I refined my exercise routine, my running routine to incorporate all the lessons I'd learnt about human nature and my own difficulties in forming habits, and particularly – my previous failures in establishing a reliable exercise routine. I used many of the behavioural economics strategies I'd learn about when doing it. And now I've got a running routine, where I run 3 times per week, whether I feel motivated or not (and at least once a week I don't feel motivated at all), whether is raining, or 100% humidity, or my foot is sore. I just do it. The Truth About Your Age And Your Habits Anthony: Is the problem of habits age specific? Does it apply to all ages equally? Joanna Jast: I don't know, really. I think this is a problem of our times though – so this modern age. We become more aware of the role and the impact of habits, good and bad, on our health, happiness, success, on our lives, and also we realise that motivation and willpower have limits. And that's why we think about our habits more, we become interested in strategies for improving them. You can say that 'habits are in fashion these days'. And it's nothing negative – on the contrary. I'm very happy to see that many people are turning away from relying on unreliable motivational strategies towards using more practical approaches to transforming their lives. So it's not only scientists, or health and fitness fanatics who are exploring habits. Many people, of all ages, are seeking better understanding of habits, and their own habits in particular, to improve their health, happiness, wealth, relationships and many other aspects of their personal and professional lives. Anthony: Talk about putting systems on autopilot. It sounds too good to be true. What does "autopilot" mean and how can a person get started? Joanna Jast: Putting a system on autopilot is about creating a system that makes you perform certain behaviour, or a sequence of behaviours without thinking much about it, without putting much energy into it. It's like getting up in the morning and washing your face or brushing your teeth. Most of us do it automatically, without thinking: Oh, geeesh, first, I need to wash my face, then, I need to brush my teeth, and then – I comb my hair. These are things that most healthy adults would do automatically every morning. These are habitual behaviours – well engrained in our brains, within the neural pathways. For me putting a system, say an exercise routine, on autopilot is about creating a system that kicks in as if with a push of a button, and makes you go out and run three times per week, rain or shine, whatever your motivation level, or the mood of the day. How To Harvest The Power Of Your Desired Outcome Anthony: How can you get started? Joanna Jast: I suggest you start with the end result in mind. Start with what you want to achieve. You need to understand what problem you are trying to solve, but more importantly, what you are trying to achieve. I like the concept of Desired Outcome, which I've borrowed from user experience design field. Desired Outcome is what we really want. Not what we think we want. Not what other people are telling us we should want. But what we're really really want. In my new book, Hack Your Habits, I write about my own struggle to cut down on my carbohydrate intake. I've got a sweet tooth and sadly, also use sweets as a reward and a way to boost my 'motivation' or willpower to carry on with tasks I don't really want to do, tasks that are too difficult, too complex, etc. There was a time I was eating a lot of sweets. I was going through a stressful time personally and professionally, and this was my way of dealing with stress. So I wanted to cut down on my carbs. So initially, I thought about this task as a cutting on my carbs task, a diet-changing task. I was all motivated to do that, and all. But it didn't work. So I looked at the whole issue again and really wanted to zoom in on what I cared about. And don't get me wrong, I do care about my health, but the instant gratification monkey that lives in my brain always tells me that I can start again tomorrow, and now – I can have that biscuit. So I had to start with the Desired Outcome. Yes, I wanted to eat less carbs, but what I really wanted out of it was to be able to resist sweets and toast with jam. So I reframed my goal, taking into consideration my personality, my temperament, my weaknesses and strengths. I've got a competitive streak, I'm an achievement junkie, and I get excited with new ideas and testing them. So this ended up as an exercise in self-control and I did really well. 2 Of The Most Powerful Questions You'll Ever Ask Yourself So the Desired Outcome is where you need to start. What do you want out of it? Do you really care about it? And it has to be something you really care about, you care about. If you don't care about it truly and deeply, it won't really happen. Anthony: You talk about getting the diagnosis right when tackling a problem. What does this mean and how does one get started? Joanna Jast: I really like this quote from Albert Einstein: 'If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute solving it'. And I would do the same. If you're trying and trying and trying to solve a problem, say of your unhealthy diet, or an unproductive study routine, and you're constantly failing, it may be that you're using an ineffective strategy, but it may also be that you're trying to solve the wrong problem. In medicine, getting the diagnosis right is crucial to an effective treatment plan. And getting it wrong can really result in people dying. This is not as serious as that with habits, but in the end, if you don't understand, if you don't define your problem correctly, you can waste a lot of time, energy, and even money on trying to fix something that is not the reason for your struggles. Let me reiterate it: the better you understand what's wrong, what's not working, the more targeted your solutions, your treatment will be. How to go about diagnosing your problem? Unfortunately, it's not as simple as doing an X-ray or a blood test, but it is doable. Start with self-reflection, and be honest with yourself. For me there are two major components to understand any problem you have: you – how you operate, your personality, motivation, strengths and weaknesses and your context. The context is the external environment, your internal environment and your social environment. And they all come with their own limitations – what's possible and constraints – what's appropriate. Why It's Never Mind Over Matter And it's important to include that context -your physical environment, and your social environment as well. The power of those external systems that force us into behaving in certain ways is really undermined by many people. We think it's all mind over matter – but if your physical environment or social context, is not conducing to exercising, or a healthier diet – it makes the change much, much more difficult. So don't underestimate that. And once you've got a good understanding how you and your problem or your habits goals sit within you and your context, you are in a good position to start tackling it. So self-reflection if used with a healthy dose of honesty, is a great tool for discovering, diagnosing your problem. You can ask other people for their opinion what they think is not working for you. But then, they will be biased and what's more important – they may not have access to some of your hidden motivations, or aspects of your personality or life you don't share with others. How To Get Started Fixing Persistent Problems To get a really good grip on what's wrong when fixing persisting problems, I ask myself two questions: The first question is: What is this for? What is this doing for me? What purpose does it serve? What need does it meet? And this works really well with habits, because every habit serves a purpose. And most bad habits, such as overeating, procrastination, or shouting at your kids usually either helps either deal with boredom or with stress. And the other questions I ask myself is: why have I failed at addressing it so far? And once you've got it figured out, it will fall into those categories I've just talked about – you and your context. It should give you a better understanding of what it is and why you're struggling to address it. And from this point, finding the best solution is quite straightforward really. Exactly When You Should Run From S.M.A.R.T. Goals Kicking And Screaming Anthony: Talk about SMART goals. What's your major concern with this popular approach to goal setting? Joanna Jast: The SMART goal setting framework is very popular, and it does work for most things, but in my opinion it does not work for habit goals, and for a number of reasons. First of all, let's look at the last letter of this acronym: T – time-bound. Setting a habit-based goal with a deadline for achieving it is not a good strategy. Why? Because habits take as much time as they take to develop. Some of it is in your control, but let's not forget we're talking about creating or rearranging neural pathways in your brain. That takes time to shift. Studies shows that habit formation depends on many factors, and most importantly on the person working on it – their motivation, personality, their context, as well as on the complexity of the habit itself. A simple habit can take a few days to develop, a more complex one, such as exercise – up to several months. So if you give yourself a deadline for your habit goal, you may be bitterly disappointed if you don't achieve it before it. That's just setting yourself up to fail. So when setting habit based goals, don't give yourself a deadline, but rather create a schedule for your new routine. Then, there is the matter of measurability , so the letter M- how do you measure your success in a achieving your habit. In my opinion, it's important to look at it carefully and measure what you want to achieve. And my advice is to link it with your desired outcome. So if you, like me, testing your ability to resist marshmallows, you measure your ability to resist marshmallows, not the side effect, the healthy eating side effect of it, or weight loss. When I'm building a new habit, I'm not interested in performance measures – I don't care how far or how fast I run (I try not to at least), but I'm focused on getting it done every time I'm supposed to do it. So practice is more important than performance when working on developing a new habit, and we should measure accordingly. Why You Need To Be Realistic With Your Habits And there are two more aspects of the SMART framework I have an issue with it's the A and R – achievable and realistic. Call me cynical, call me a party pooper but I am not a big fan of being aspirational when setting your habit goals. It's great to feel inspired and motivated to achieve greater things in life, but in the end the reality of my life is what It is, and no matter how hard I try to refrain from eating sweets by the sheer power of my willpower and my desire to be slim and beautiful, it's going to collapse on day 3 or 4. That's what the 30 years of my experience in doing it tells me. So being realistic and setting habit goals that are achievable again refer to you and your context – your personality, your motivation, your inner world, your physical environment, your social environment and all these things that affect us with all their limitations and constraints. Anthony: You mentioned two kinds of environment, internal and external. What are these and why is understanding the difference important? Joanna Jast: The difference isn't really that important. I just like having things organised in my head. I also like to make that distinction because it makes it easier to you look for solutions later on. And that's how I look at difficulties in addressing habit problems. It's again the same thing: the better you understand where your challenges come from, the easier it will be to find a solution to your problem. So we're back to the importance of correctly diagnosing the problem. Your external environment is what surrounds you – your physical environment, your house, workplace, the gym you go to, the supermarket where you shop; your financial situation, even the weather. Your internal environment is the environment you create for yourself – your thoughts, your emotions, your motivation, your values, what happens with your body. How To Use Cues To Hack Your Habits Anthony: What are some of the "cues" you talk about? Which is the most important in your opinion? Joanna Jast: Cues are very important. Cues remind us that we need to do something. They prompt us, trigger us to do what we're suppose to do. They whole idea of a habit as a repetitive action in response to a cue, really relies on the cue being enough of a trigger. So if you want to have an effective trigger, effective cue, find one that stands out in your environment. There is little point in putting your cue on a sticky note, and pinning it up on a corkboard full of similar sticky notes. You won't see it. I say: choose something that disrupts the fabric of your reality. Just like the sound of a notification 'time to go for a run' popping up on your screen. And it disrupts what you're doing, right? But that may be not enough. If then instead of going for the run, you just snooze or close the notification, it's just doesn't work, does it? So once again, it's very important that the cue you choose stands out in your environment and is hard to ignore. The best cues are those that have a cost of ignoring involved. The Cost Of Ignoring Your Cues I'll give you an example of what I mean by having the cost of ignoring the cue. So I run three times per week. And my cue is seeing my greasy hair in the mirror in the morning – I run on days when I need to wash my hair. This is how I know it's my running day. And the cost of ignoring this cue is that I'd have to go to work with my hair unwashed. That's unacceptable. Or that I have to jump in the shower and wash my hair. I don't like washing my hair in the morning. So if I wanted to back off and don't go for a run – there is a cost involved. And it's just so much easier to just go for a run. Anthony: Talk about checklists. What's the most important thing people need to know about them when building habits? Joanna Jast: Checklists are fantastic tools. Checklists help saving lives, prevent infections and industrial accidents. Checklists are simple, effective, they lower your cognitive load, they have high reliability. Research shows that if you follow a checklist, you're 75% less likely to miss any of the steps required – and reduce the likelihood of failure to carry out your desired behaviour from 23% to 6% . I use checklists particularly early in the process of establishing new habit, when I'm still learning what to do, when, in what sequence. I can't rely on my memory anymore and I don't want to add any more cognitive load to it. The best way of creating a checklist is to: Focus on critical steps and use as few steps as possible (the more steps you have, the more intimidating the checklist looks and the less likely you are to follow the steps – that's just human nature Ideally, you want it to fit on one page (my checklists need to fit on a standard size post-it note – no room for writing novels!) Make sure the sequence of steps fits the flow of your behaviour (e.g. Don't turn your fitness tracked on before you put your running shoes on) Use simple sentences and basic language Have it visible and ideally where you will be carrying out your new habit. So if you're trying to create a productivity or a focus routine – have your checklist somewhere in your workspace; highly visible to you of course. If you have a checklist for working out – keep it either with your workout gear, on your phone if you use your phone for tracking your workouts, or maybe even in the pocket of your running jacket. How To Make Your Habits Perpetuate Themselves Anthony: What is a habit loop? Habit loop is the secret formula for creating and remodelling habits. It's a three-element self-perpetuating cycle that is behind any automatic behaviour. It consists of three key elements: Cue (also called reminder or trigger) – which we've just talked about Routine (sometimes called Behaviour, Action) Reward Every habit rests on these three pillars: Cue that prompts you to carry out the Behaviour, which is then reinforced by the Reward. The more of those habit cycles you go through, the more often the behaviour gets reinforced, the stronger the habit is ingrained in your brain, and the stronger the neural pathway that is created in your brain. What To Do If You Fall Off The Wagon Anthony: What should someone do if they miss a day on their habits? How about a week? A month? A year? Is there a difference when it comes to getting back on the wagon? Joanna Jast: There are habit building strategies that rely on performing your action every day – for example 'don't break the chain' but actually, research shows that missing on a day in your habit routine does not make a difference to our habit formation process, but psychologically it may. I wouldn't worry too much about missing a day. I do it sometimes, not very often and only for very good reasons. Because life does get in the way of best-laid plans, so I just accept that. Sometimes you will be just too busy or too tired, or maybe sick, or you may have something super-important to do. Don't beat yourself up about not 'turning up' one day. But get back on track as soon as possible. Don't let the not turning up become a pattern, because this is when it becomes a problem. When it becomes a pattern? You may have your own individual 'definition' of pattern, for me it goes like that: once can happenstance, twice is a coincidence, three is a pattern. The more days you miss, the harder it will be to return to your routine. If you notice that you miss your routine are more and more often, you need to look at your system again. Because it means your system is not working as well as it could or should. And for me, it's going back to the beginning – maybe not necessarily to the desired outcome, but at least going over all those limitations and constraints that come from within me, or from my environment. Because it my system is not delivering as well as it used to, it means that something has changed. And sometimes those changes are temporary. For example you are on holidays and working away and you're struggling to keep your exercise routine up because your environment is different. And sometimes the change may be more permanent. For example if you just had a baby your productivity or sleep routine may be affected in a way you've never experienced before. Things like that will happen, because that's part of life. For me, it's always about being mindful that your habit system will also be affected. So it is crucial that you recognise when it happens and adjust your system to cater for your changed needs, or changed life circumstances. The key thing is to realise when a temporary change has become more permanent, and make appropriate adjustments in your system. Or redesign it completely. Why Your Willpower Resources Are Limited Anthony: You talk about how willpower needs to replenish itself. What's this all about? Joanna Jast: This is about the concept of willpower or ego depletion – the theory that the amount if willpower we have is limited. We have like a willpower tank, where only so much willpower can be stored. And every time you use some of that willpower from your tank, there is less left for later. The amount of willpower will not increase, until you are able to replenish it. And that goes back to the studies done by Roy Baumeister, who is a social psychologist and one of the key researches in the field of self-control and willpower. However, newer research challenges this belief about willpower depletion, suggesting that we have as much willpower as we perceive it. So again, it's all in the mind. Personally, it's not a scientific argument, I know, but personally I experience those willpower outages quite often, and I'm aware of typical situations that are likely to cause it. I'm also very conscious that I don't have much willpower and need to be careful in how I use it. I make sure that I'm able to recover safely before I make any silly decision when my willpower tank is on zero. What helps with the process of replenishing willpower is rest, and sadly, something sugary, or at least of a sweet taste in your mouth. How To Experience A Miracle Every Morning Anthony: What is scribing? Joanna Jast: Scribing is one of life SAVERs, as Hal Elrod calls them. One of the key elements of the morning routine he recommends in his bestselling book the Miracle Morning. (Silence, Affirmations, Visualisation, Scribing, reading, Exercise) In a nutshell scribing is about taking a minute out of your time, in the morning, to write down what you're grateful for, what you're proud of, and the results you're committed to creating for that day. Doing so, you put yourself in an empowered, inspired, and confident state of mind. It's scribing is journaling that encompasses gratitude – one of the key factors in creating the sense of happiness and fulfilment in life, positive affirmations, stock-taking, reminding yourself of your goals. It's an excellent to start your day. One Of The Most Powerful Principles You Can Ever Live By Anthony: You have a bonus section in the book. What habits did you use to get in contact with all those high-profile authors and convince them to contribute to the book? Joanna Jast: It's not really about me or my habits. The people who contributed to my book, Steve SJ Scott, Hal Elrod, Stephen Guise and Martin Meadows – they are amazing people, who are very generous, humble, and have fantastic knowledge and experience to share and they desire to use it to help other people. And that's really what it is about – collaborating in helping people become happier, live more fulfilling lives. But from the practical point of view, what helped me in reaching out to them, it's not a habit, but more a principle I live by – it's about building relationships with people; it takes time and you need to invest upfront. Anthony: What's coming up next for you and where can people get in touch? Joanna Jast: At the moment I'm very excited with the launch of my new book: Hack Your Habits. 9-steps to finally break bad habits and start thriving. I've been also getting a lot of emails and messages form people asking me to help them transform their habits, speed up the learning and adaptation curve. I'm not providing individual support at the moment, but I've been thinking about it. So watch this space. Early next year, my previous book Laser-Sharp Focus will be published as an audiobook and I'm really excited about it, too. I'm also thinking about translating the into other languages, as people have been asking me about it. For now, if you want to stay in touch – visit my website www.shapeshiftersclub.com and subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date and get some insider tips on habit hacking, focus sharpening and faster learning. You can also try to catch me on Twitter and on Quora – which is the only site I allow myself to browse when procrastinating. Further Resources Joanna Jast on Quora Not Another Motivation Book: A Pragmatist's Guide to Nailing Your Motivation, Keeping It, and Effortlessly Achieving Your Goals Joanna Jast on Twitter The post Joanna Jast On How To Hack Your Habits appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

Chinese poems thrill poetry fans around the world. They've been translated into umpteen languages and create wonderful images in the mind. Here's something even cooler: As a student of the Magnetic Memory Method, it's easy to encounter a new Chinese poem just once and memorize it with a high level of recall. We're talking 92-95% accuracy after 24 hours, with 98-100% accuracy thereafter using MMM Recall Rehearsal. And the best part is: Each Poem Is Easier To Memorize Than The Last! So by now you're probably asking … How does the Magnetic Memory Method work for memorizing Chinese poems? And how can I do it too? I'm glad you asked because the steps are clear, crisp, clever and concise. 1. Get some Chinese poems (Duh!) In this regard, I'm the luckiest man on the planet. I'm married to a woman who knows a bunch of Chinese poems by heart. But even if you don't have a Chinese speaker in your life, it's easy to find someone using a learn languages online service. The important thing is to choose poems that are short, sweet and simple. This helps reduce the cognitive overload at the beginning. Songs work too. Like this one: 2. Have More Than One Memory Palace On Hand It's no secret that I teach the Memory Palace technique as a skill of multiples. One is the most dangerous number when it comes to memory, so make sure that: 1) You always have more than one Memory Palace ready to go. 2) You have the ability to create an impromptu Memory Palace on the fly. With these two abilities, you can either use a pre-existing Memory Palace or just whip one up on the spot. In this case, each of the Chinese poems I've learned are only four lines each. I used a new Memory Palace for each. I created the first two Memory Palaces on the fly, one in a hotel room, the other in an AirBnB. The third was in my current kitchen, a Memory Palace I've been using and reusing for Chinese since I started learning the language. 3. Create Your Associative-Imagery Word For Word, Line By Line Nothing creates more fun than creating associations that let you recall information like the lines of Chinese poems. I like to get a sense for the word and let my mind do the work without force. Daily meditation helps because I'm relaxed, but I also tell April to give me a second when she feeds me the lines. In that second, I'm breathing and accessing the deepest reservoirs of relaxation I've cultivated over the years. I also do a quick body scan and squeeze all my major muscles. This calms and centers me. My ego gets out of the way and all forms of resistance slip away. Please don't laugh at the meditation and relaxation. They are key to the success of most memorizers and memory competitions incorporate a version of it into the events. The "Buttock Squeeze" Memory Technique You Should Not Dismiss I'll never forget the Amazon reviewer who dismissed one of my books because I talk about relaxation and memory – including squeezing your buttocks. It was a seriously strange review. But here's the thing: If taking a second to clear the mind and body good enough for memory competitors who demonstrate intense memory feats like memorizing a deck of cards in under 20 seconds, it's good enough for my simple goal of memorizing some Chinese poems. Don't discount the power of relaxation in your memory practice. It makes a huge difference. And yes, squeezing each muscle in your body – including your rear end – helps. Try it before you knock it. 4. Keep Your Mindset Intact As April feeds me the lines, I see Han Solo, Dee Snider and Shania Twain interacting in uncouth ways with Horton from the Dr. Suess book. I see my friend Shayne strangling Jar Jar Binks and Bruce Lee fighting a Chia pet. And that's just for starters. Are all these images a lot to juggle? Not really. I do it all the time, as you can see on my Basic Chinese Phrases and Mandarin Mnemonics playlist: And the truth is … I don't even really see the images. It's somewhere between sight and sense using all the Magnetic Modes. I made this infographic to help explain what I mean: In such, the Magnetic Modes are entities of thought that have specific locations in a Memory Palace. Like Carl Jung dumping sand on my mom's old friend Sandy. Where else could that be taking place except over the garbage can in the kitchen? That where else question is one of the most powerful tools in mnemonics you'll ever use. But even if this jumble of characters and actions were challenging to keep moving in the air, it's all a question of mindset. Think of it this way: If the people who built rollercoasters said, "Woah, that's WAY to much track to erect in the sky," there would be no amusement parks. Same thing with using a Memory Palace. If you tell yourself it's too much to handle, it will be. But if you take it just one Memory Palace Station and one word at a time, you'll have no problem memorizing Chinese poems. 5. Make Sure The Images Are Strong Enough When memorizing Chinese poems in a hurry, it's tempting to use the first images that come to mind. But that's not always a good policy. For example, in one line I saw a guy I used to know named Dan doing … … something. The reason I couldn't see what that something was? Because the image wasn't strong enough. I had to crank up the volume on whatever forgettable image I'd seen before and see him stomping on a record from The Who with Roger Daltrey and crew screaming in protest. Yes, screaming. It's the exaggeration that makes it more memorable. Plus, Dan's a big music fan, which makes the image incongruous. Because he would never actually destroy music, the image of him harming an album is that much more memorable. 6. Rehearse According To A Plan Sometimes I can get away with just encoding the Chinese words and leaving it at that. But usually not and it's stupid to take the risk. Instead, I rehearse the words of the poems according to a plan. In the Magnetic Memory Method, it's called Recall Rehearsal. Recall Rehearsal is based on a few things: 1) The Primacy Effect 2) The Recency Effect 3) Von Restorff effect 4) Dominic O'Brien's Rule Of Five 5) My stubborn insistence on using internal repetition cues rather than SRS to learn.* * The exception is that, in the spirit of Ebbinghaus, I sometimes complete n=1 experiments with various software as part of my memory research. So far, none compare to the power and the glory of memory techniques – at least not for me. 7. Speak And Write The Chinese Poems Although I rehearse the Chinese poems quietly several times, nothing beats reciting them. Getting them out through the mouth creates muscle memory and helps with general pronunciation practice. Likewise, writing puts the words into the muscles of the hands, arms and eyes as you see the words. Together, you are giving your memory the highest possible chance to succeed. 8. Memorize More I also memorized Chinese phrases, individual words, some numbers and an English poem during the same period. This extra activity is not necessary, but I like to do it. Why? Because it's like being a chef. Normally, I'm an expert with cooking eggs, but to get better at cooking eggs, I also need to make the occasional soup or steak or some other complimentary dish. Variety enriches and enlivens the core skills. And that's important for all of us as we live our lives using memory techniques. Memory improvement is the most critical activity in the world, especially now that we're relegating so much of our memory needs to machines. Be it math, Chinese poems or some other information that will make a difference in your life, following steps like the ones I outlined above will keep you in good stead. Memory improvement is fun, easy and you can use it to recite Chinese poems – or anything you like – at any time. Isn't that exciting? The post The Steps I Took To Memorize 3 Chinese Poems In 2.3 Weeks appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

Life is good, isn't it? You bet it is. But for some reason, when times get tough, without knowing a thing about the Prime Ministers of Canada, people around the world throw up their hands and say, "It's time to head to the Great White North." Here's the thing: You'll find some beautiful terrain and plenty of peace-loving citizens. But as a nation, we do not lack our own host of colorful characters. So if you're coming over for a permanent BBQ in response to US election results or some dictator who's been giving you the squeeze, it's time to learn how to memorize the Prime Ministers of Canada. It's important to know what you're getting into, after all. Beginner's Guide To Memorizing Any List The first thing to understand when memorizing the names of the Canadian Prime Ministers is that you're dealing with a list. We're talking about discrete units of information. Like, Sir John A. Macdonald (1815-1891). The best way to rapidly memorize any list is to create a Memory Palace. All Memory Palace creation takes is a simple drawing and a list of your Magnetic Stations charted out in a strategic way. Creating an effective Memory Palace reduces your cognitive load to a bare minimum. That reduction forms a huge part of the secret behind how memory techniques like a Memory Palace work: You use a location you already know to place information you'll Magnetically encode with imagery you already know onto a station so you can retrieve and decode what you want to know later. Curious about correct Memory Palace creation? Here's a Memory Palace walkthrough based on a Memory Palace submitted by a Magnetic Memory Method student: A Small Set Of Super Important Information In this case, we have just 23 names for the Prime Ministers of Canada. When it comes to memorizing them, you have options. 1. You can create one Memory Palace with 23 Magnetic Stations exclusively for remembering them. 2. You can create two Memory Palaces with 12 Magnetic Stations each. In either case, you 'll ideally use Memory Palaces with more Magnetic Stations than you need so that you can use more than one station per name if needed. Or, if you're already experienced with memory techniques, you can experiment with the Magnetic Memory Method "passing the baton" technique, which allows you to memorize more than one name per station. That's for advanced memorizers, however, and even then, it's good once in awhile to stick with the basics. And that's ultimately what I recommend so that you can add the dates of the Prime Ministers later using the Magnetic Chaining memory technique. The Art Of Embarrassing Politicians Let's assume you've got a Memory Palace with a bit more than 23 Magnetic Stations to give you wiggle room. Next, you need your list of information. The Wikipedia Prime Ministers of Canada page is as good as any. Whip that little darling open and look at the first name. The trick to memorizing anything is association, also called encoding. It's easy, fun and with a bit of practice using special exercises I've created for you, unbelievably fast. John A. Macdonald, for example, brings to mind a picture of my friend and fellow mnemonist, John McPhedrine to mind. You've heard him on the show talking about memorizing German and music before. I see John at the first station of the Memory Palace I've created with a giant letter 'A' in his hands. He's using this to smash my MACbook Pro, which is playing a video of Donald Trump singing "Old Macdonald Had A Farm." Plus, as an advanced memorizer, I've got Trump's hair as the tail of a dog swatting at a bat. Why? Because that additional imagery helps me remember the dates of this Canadian Prime Minister. How does that work? It sounds complex, but it's actually simple: Using a special memory technique for memorizing numbers, 15 is "tail" and 91 is "bat." I've got an entire course in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass about all the ways you can remember numbers, or you can just check out this post on the Major Method. It's a great way to instantly memorize any number, and not just short ones like historical dates. The Prime Minister Who Built Walls You Can Be Proud Of Wikipedia tells this story about Alexander Mackenzie: Once, while touring Fort Henry as prime minister, he asked the soldier accompanying him if he knew the thickness of the wall beside them. The embarrassed escort confessed that he didn't and Mackenzie replied, "I do. It is five feet, ten inches. I know, because I built it myself!" Little anecdotes like this can be fun to remember when memorizing a name. Plus, it's interesting that Mackenzie was three times offered knighthood, but refused each time. To encode all of this into memory, it's a simple matter of seeing Alex from A Clockwork Orange taking … certain liberties with a former high school girlfriend of mine by the last name of Mackenzie against a section of the Berlin Wall now fixed on station two of my Prime Ministers of Canada Memory Palace. (Phew … that was a mouthful.) But the Mackenzie I used to kiss so gently in high school fights back by trying to knight him with a giant camera that he beats away with a pamphlet printout of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Why a camera and this bizarre retaliation with an ancient allegory? You've probably already guessed it by now. It's our old friend the Major Method, which tells me that "cam" decodes to 73 and "cave" to 78, the same years Alexander Mackenzie served as one of the Prime Ministers of Canada. Isn't That Just Too Simple? It really is, and that fun simplicity explains why so many people who get into memory techniques email and ask me … Isn't this … cheating? Absolutely not. And here's why: It's one thing to create the Memory Palaces and have fun dreaming up weird images and vignettes. Long Term Memory Requires Recall Rehearsal But you've also got to replay these stories and decode them in your mind over time. Skip this step and the information might still get into long term memory, but I wouldn't bet on it. Luckily, setting up a Magnetic Memory Method Recall Rehearsal routine is easy. Just go over the information you've memorized about 5 times before the day is through. Make one of those times right before bed to help consolidation. But here's a warning: Some recent research evidence suggests that older people don't get the same memory consolidation benefits as younger people do. It's good to keep that evidence in mind, but also be your own scientist. As you can see in this video on making boring information more interesting, I got away with a high recall rate after far fewer Recall Rehearsal sessions. But I would have done better if I'd repeated the poem more often. The Rule Of Five That's what World Memory Champion Dominic O'Brien calls it and The Rule Of Five holds great power. If you're feeling overwhelmed or wondering where you're going to find the time, don't stress it. The important thing is just to get started. Memory techniques are a skill you'll want to use for life and the Prime Ministers of Canada is just the beginning. I hope you've seen how you can not only memorize a long list of names, but also add historical dates and facts. When I look at station two of my Memory Palace of Canadian Prime Ministers, it's easy to see a movie character and person from my past interacting with a few select symbols that help recall an interesting scenario and numbers. Wrapping It All Up With A Magnetic Little Bow Here's a summary of all you have to do to experience great success: 1. Create a Memory Palace for the Prime Ministers of Canada. Remember to pad out your Memory Palace so that you have a few extra stations in case you need them. 2. Have the names prepared. You can do it directly from a Wikipedia page, but you're better off printing the list out and encoding the names to your Magnetic Stations somewhere you won't be bothered by notifications. Being tempted to skip around on your browser isn't helpful either. Like I said last time about boring information … Instead of taking it in small doses, make it exciting for yourself. It's not that hard! 3. Practice Recall Rehearsal diligently. The Rule of Five is great, but take it on principle, not as dogma. Always test and never hope that five repetitions is enough. It might become more than necessary once you get good with mnemonics, but it will never be too much. Every time you enter a Memory Palace and practice the beautiful art of memory, you get better and better with the best asset you've got: The ability to learn, remember and recall anything. Now then … How about that Canadian anthem? The post Prime Ministers Of Canada: How To Memorize Them All appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

Studying about boring topics you don't give a hoot about sucks, right? Especially when you're in a rush. Especially when all you want is the grade, the certification, the knowledge. Well, I can't make any promises, but there might be a way to help make any topic much more interesting to you. At the very least, we can remove the sting of boredom. At best, we can make any topic we want 100% Magnetic. 1. Warning Signs That Your Mindset Is Off I know, I know. You're tired of hearing about mindset. But let's face it. We have minds. Every day we wake up with more or less the same world outside the window. Just like we have to make our beds so that the sheets won't be sprawled all over the place, we have to set up our minds for success. But that's the problem, isn't it? Lots of people are happy to leave their beds messy all day long and then crawl into the unkempt mess at night. It's cold because the mattress has been exposed and probably a bunch of insects have settled into the dune-like patterns. Sure, you might fall asleep okay, but there's nothing like slipping into a made bed. You know it's true. It's The Same Thing With Your Mind! Sure thing, you can get through life without setting up your mind for success, but it will be cold and exposed to the elements. The bugs will crawl in and lay their eggs, and you'll never get the warmth you deserve. But take just a few moments to tidy up and you'll reduce the suffering that comes from studying things you don't like. Because that's just the thing: A lack of mindset is probably the thing that got you into a position where you're studying things you're not passionate about in the first place. You're probably studying material that produces no great excitement because you're chasing after hopes and beliefs and dreams and wishes – not what you really want. How To Set A Powerful Mindset For Learning Whether you're trapped or not, the process works the same. The best way to get your mindset in order is to set it each and every morning. As I talked about in the Mandarin Chinese Mnemonics And Morning Memory Secrets episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, having morning rituals is a killer way to conquer the day. When it comes to creating a mindset for making the material you're studying vibrant and exciting, all you have to do is write down in a journal how exciting it is to be studying and how grateful you are to have the opportunity. And it's true: Not everyone has the learning opportunities you do. A massive percentage of people in the world don't have access to the Internet, schools, books or anything even remotely related to helping them develop their knowledge. But you … You've Got Everything You Need So take a moment every day to recognize what an amazing opportunity you have. If that isn't a recipe for injecting excitement into a boring topic … I don't know what is. If all else fails, here's what to do if you or someone you love is considering not completing their high school diploma. They may have already left school, but it's not too late to go back. I dropped out of high school myself for awhile, but I'm so glad I returned. Best decision of my life. 2. Be An Info-Completionist Okay, so now that you're plump with self-hypnosis induced excitement for the privilege of study, you still have to sit down and learn the stuff. The question is … How? A lot of people ask me how I manage to read so much, and the answer is simple: Get a book. Find a place to sit. Read the book. Repeat until you're done. I don't say that to be flippant, but it's the truth. If you're trying to read in a place filled with distractions or on a device that encourages you to skip from tab to tab and answer notifications … Stop Trying To Read Like That! Seriously. It's not a recipe for success. Plus, you want to read in a way that helps you isolate the information you want to memorize. I have two posts with podcasts and videos that show you how to realistically memorize a textbook. Just check out the video for now: If you want more information, listen to How to Memorize A Textbook and study the infographic. True, my approach to realistically memorizing textbooks involves a bit of setup, but people who give it a try usually find that the process makes reading and remembering the key points of even the most difficult books much easier. The best part: By having a dedicated strategy for reading books, you make it a lot more fun. Like having a mindset, having a process you can follow without having to think about it makes everything more fun and interesting. Having operating principles and guidelines reduces cognitive load, and like Tony Buzan said when I studied with him, the rules set you free. 3. Look For The Parts That Do Interest You One thing that you'll learn from my training on (reasonable) textbook memorization is how to skip the parts that don't interest you. No, you can't always do this. There are times when you have to slog through boring stuff you don't care about. But here's the thing: by knowing what you do care about, you get more interested in things that connect with it. It happens automatically. And when interest doesn't spontaneously erupt, you at least get a clearer picture of why those other elements are necessary. The more you know about a topic changes the nature of what you don't know. It makes it more attractive, more Magnetic. And that which becomes more Magnetic is easier to attach to memory because you're simply more interested in it. 4. Invite Information Into Your Memory In other words, use memory techniques. You knew this was coming, didn't you? Let's face it: The best way to make dry and boring information more interesting is to make it part of your memory improvement lifestyle. That means organizing the information so that you can rapidly absorb it into a Memory Palace. To do that, you get to invite the information into a place you've created in your mind. I don't want to sound woo-woo, but there's something ritualistic about this. It's like anointing information, blessing it or touching its shoulder with the edge of your sword as if you were knighting it. Once anointed, you start looking at the information through mnemonic eyes. You're looking for how you can attach it to associative-imagery and place these images on your Memory Palace stations. You're already getting excited about revisiting your Magnetic Stations and decoding the imagery to ease it into long term memory. And before you know it … The information isn't boring any more. Far from it! That information has become … The Most Interesting Information In The World! This is without a doubt the finest thing you can do for the life of your memory and overall intelligence. When you privilege information and stop demonizing it by framing it in negative ways, it will want to enter your mind. Even better: If you've invited the information in just the right way, it will want to stay. 5. Bore Others To Death With Your Boring Topic Just kidding. By the time you've made the information interesting to yourself, you'll be excited to talk about it and to do that, you should have something already in place: Community. Remember how I told you should be grateful for having the opportunity to learn in the first place? And how you can use your gratitude as a tool for generating excitement in even the most boring topic? Well, you also have the Internet and thousands of groups people have created for discussing topics that they either find really exciting, challenging or want to kvetch about. You can find these groups meeting on forums, on Facebook, G+ or just shooting the breeze in YouTube comments. Maybe there will be some interesting discussion on this video I put together to accompany this post, for example: Let's say you're studying cognitive therapy, something I've recently gotten interested in studying. The first thing is to show some gratitude for having the time and opportunity even to do so. Write that down in your daily gratitude journal. Then, hop on to Facebook and search for groups that are already discussing this topic. Ask to join. For example, you can ask to join my Learn German Memory Hacks group, or even the Magnetic Memory Method Private Facebook Group. Have fun once you're inside! But Proceed With Caution! Don't overwhelm yourself with this. Just pick one or two that looks like it has enough members for finding a decent amount of discussion in process. Introduce yourself once you've been admitted. Tell them a bit about who you are and why you're interested in the topic. Make friends with the group admins and shoot them a note to thank them for taking time to put the group together. Probably no one else is doing that so you'll be on their radar and recognize your name later. Why would that matter? Easy. Because when you get bored or stuck somewhere in your reading, you have a place to go and post where at least a few people are going to know your name. Knowing that you have a place to go and share ideas in advance is a great way of making sure a topic never becomes boring to you. Of course, the dark side of this technique is that you'll get swept away doing a thousand other things online, but we all need to learn how to balance these things. I'm writing this post now in a library where getting online is too much of a pain – deliberately so that I have no distractions. Because here's the core of the matter: If You Really Want To Get Ahead, You Will Find A Way And with that monster of a headline, we've circled back to mindset, something you can get started crafting or refining right now. Exciting, isn't it? Now get out there and tackle some uninteresting information you using these tools. I dare you to be bored! Oh, and if you're still skeptical, check out these 3 Reasons Why Skeptics Succeed With Memory Techniques Better Than Anyone Else. The post 5 Ways To Get More Interested In Boring Topics You Have To Study appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.

Want to improve your ability to use memory techniques almost overnight? I promise it's super-easy. All you need is the willingness to support your nearest art gallery and your awareness of the following 17 reasons going to an art gallery is good for your memory. 1. Art Inspires Your Visual Imagination When you're using memory techniques, you draw upon visual imagination. Even if you're only using words in your mind when developing mnemonics, you're using visual words. The more visual iconography you've seen in your life, the more potency the visual words you use will hold. Exposure equals experience. Experience leads to substance. When you use the words "run," "hit" or any other verb, the more art you've seen, the great depth of meaning these words will have. 2. Art Depicts Words Used In Visual Ways If you've been to an art gallery lately, you've undoubtedly seen how modern artists use words. Pop artists use comic strips. Futurists made a big deal out of typefaces. You don't even have to enter an art gallery to see words used in graffiti on nearly every street in your city. Looking at art and paying attention to how artists use words is especially great for inspiring how you can use your visual imagination to memorize foreign language vocabulary and phrases. Next time you're in an art gallery, pay particular attention to how words appear in the exhibits. 3. Art Helps You Make Mental Connections Between Space And Material Objects Looking at art is never just about "looking." As your eyes meet the graphic displays, ideas emerge. In fact, "art" happens the moment that you start thinking about what you're looking at or noticing your emotional responses. You can become conscious of what you're thinking and feeling and use your awareness to become more visual. Reflect on how the visual experience has triggered your thoughts and responses. Also, journal what you've thought while at the gallery. By writing down your responses, you access your memory. Accessing your memory exercises your mind, which helps keep it fit. 4. Visiting Art Galleries Makes You Aware Of World Geography It's not just that art often depicts different parts of the world. Art galleries also exhibit art by international artists. Pay attention to the international names and locations of where the art originates. This will exercise your geographical imagination and give you more facts to remember. It's also great memory exercise to remember the names of the artists you see and include their home countries. For bonus points, you can also use the Major Method to add the dates of their lives and when they created the pieces you're admiring. The more experienced you become with memory techniques, the more information you can memorize at a single go. Plus, the location of the art itself within the gallery amounts to a Memory Palace station. Using the location gives you great practice at using your spatial memory in addition to all the other tools mnemonics draw upon, such as association, semantic memory, episodic memory and the like. 5. Art Galleries Are Depositories Of History Yes, you can memorize the raw data of dates when going to an art gallery. But you also expose your memory to information about historical periods. Artists love to reference other eras and historical events. Some artists have even made careers out of referencing history. Fluency in art equals fluency in history, which is always good for your memory. 6. Art Galleries Exercise Your Ability To Create Meaning Let's face it: A lot of art doesn't make much sense. At least, that's until you give it some thought and learn about how to interpret art. Believe me. Interpretation matters. After all, a huge part of art interpretation is creating meaning. To have created meaning, you have to remember the meaning you created. Ergo, going to art galleries and interpreting what you see is good for your memory. And if you're practicing memory techniques, handling abstract ideas your mind is perfect for practicing the art of remembering challenging and abstract ideas. Art history is loaded with them. 7. Art Galleries Give You The Experience Of Puzzlement Being puzzled by something is different than having to create meaning. To be puzzled, after all, you must have already understood something. Two (or more) things are separated and you know they go together … You just have to figure out how. Visiting art galleries gives you that experience and to fit the pieces together, you need to hold them in memory. The benefits of being puzzled are massive because it always exercises your memory as you work things out. Even if you give up before you're satisfied, your memory abilities will have grown. 8. Art Galleries Create Enigmas That Carry On Throughout Life Looking at art not only forces you to create meaning and solve puzzles. It also creates unsolvable mysteries that you will carry throughout your life. Take "The Persistence of Meaning" by Salvador Dali. What exactly does it mean? No matter how many times you see this painting, it still mystifies. The enigma of surrealism persists precisely because it resists meaning. And yet, we can continuously connect to the enigma and try puzzling out new meanings even if we know we'll never come to a conclusion. In Critical Theory, this is called "indeterminacy" and it is a powerful tool in art, cinema, theatre and literature. Try This Simple Memory Exercise For a cool memory exercise, take a painting like "The Persistence of Meaning" and try to remember the first time you saw it. Even if you're wrong, right down your earliest memory. For me, my earliest memory is in Collier's Encyclopedia. I believe it was in black and white. My next memory is seeing it in a book in high school. After that, I remember buying an art book, cutting it out and hanging it on my wall. Although I surely saw it countless times after that, my next memory is seeing the painting itself in Manhattan. My most recent memory is in seeing watch sculptures in Zürich-based on the melting timepiece in the painting. And that triggers my memory of hearing Alejandro Jodorowsky tell me about the time he met Dali as a boy and the story of finding a watch in the desert. You don't have to use "The Persistence of Time" when you do the exercise, but give it a try. List as many exposures to the artwork as you can and then free associate. You'll find that your memory expands the more you use it, and all the more so as you engage in memory games of this sort. 9. Looking At Art In Galleries Creates Conflicting Opinions Even if you go to art galleries alone, you'll often find yourself in disagreement. Many artists go out of the way to polarize audiences, and using tools like "indeterminacy," they often pull your heartstrings in opposing directions. Conflicts like these are perfect for memory because you'll remember how you felt looking at the painting at a deeper level. You'll have more interesting inner dialogs which also encodes longer term memories. If you want to help yourself remember more, keep a journal of the conflicting opinions you experience while looking at art just before you sleep after visiting a gallery. The reason to do this before you go to sleep is that memories consolidate during the night. Some studies have shown that the closer to sleep that you review information, the more likely your brain is to consolidate it into long term memory. 10. Art Gallery Gift Shops Have Memory-Inducing Books After you've looked at the art in the gallery, you wind up seeing a lot of it over again in the bookstore. Don't get annoyed at the upselling. It's good for your memory. Plus, there are often cool books you can buy and read to learn more about the art you've encountered. Interview books with the artists themselves appeal because you find out more about their personal stories, theories and opinions at the same time. It's a very cool way to make sometimes difficult information more concrete. One of the reasons interviews with artists makes the ideas easier to remember is because you get stories and examples, but also the questions of the interviewers. Interviewers bring particular perspectives. If you pay attention to them and absorb their character, their attitudes instantly make the ideas under discussion more memorable. 11. Art Galleries Make You Look At The Outside World Differently Often artists use everyday objects within the art gallery to change our perspective of the outside world. But when you deliberately remember more of what you've seen inside the gallery, you will find that you also see the outside world differently. For example, I just saw "Michael Jackson and Bubbles" by Jeff Koons for the first time in Oslo. You often read about the effect that it has in art criticism, but it's not until you've seen it with your own eyes that the kitschy art in stories takes on the intended effect. 12. Visiting Art Galleries Inspires New Ideas Art galleries are idea-generating machines. After all, every piece of art started with an idea – even if it was just the idea to throw paint at the wall. The more ideas you encounter and the more you play with those ideas in your mind, the more likely you are to come up with ideas of your own. Plus, you might walk away with the idea of actually creating some art. If you do follow through, that might be the best idea of all. No matter what happens to the art you create, you learn so much just by taking action. 13. Visiting Art Galleries Gives You More To Talk About Be honest: You wish you were a more interesting person. I know I do, and the secret is in always feeding yourself new and exciting things to discuss. "Hey, did you see the new exhibit at our local gallery?" is a powerful conversation starter, for example. Plus, you'll be supporting art in your community by inspiring others to see art and helping them experience a better memory in the process. 14. You Can Make A Memory Palace From Each Art Gallery You Visit Art galleries don't always make the best Memory Palaces, but you can still use them for the exercise. Plus, as I mentioned, each piece of art automatically provides its own station. As with historical sites you encounter while on vacation, I recommend that you make your art gallery Memory Palaces as simple as possible. Use the entrance, one or two simple rooms and the exit only. You don't want to overwhelm yourself with multiple floors, stairways and those weird nooks and crannies. Unless they're crucial to your success, skip the complicated parts of art galleries and focus on the parts that are dead simple to remember. 15. You Can Take A Guided Tour And Develop Your Concentration All of us struggle with not having enough FOCUS. So if the art gallery you visit offers a guided tour – take it. One of the best ways to extend your concentration is to focus on lectures filled with data. I like to repeat the information I'm hearing in my own voice to help extend my focus. It's perfectly fine if your attention wanders. Just gently bring it back and enjoy how with practice you can extend the amount of time you hold focus during the tours you take. For another kind of memory exercise, you can record the audio presentation and later use the How To Memorize A Textbook training to get the key points rapidly into long-term memory. You might even want to give tours or your own by taking friends to see the art gallery later. You can practice your memory in a substantial way by telling others what you've learned and sharing your conflicting opinions. Listening to their responses is another great way of practicing focus and developing your memory. You cannot lose by taking and giving art gallery tours. 16. You Might Even Meet Artists During a recent art gallery visit in Helsinki, I met an interesting landscape artist. She gave me a personal tour of her works in the gallery, explaining her thoughts about color and telling me where exactly she was when creating the art. Not only did this make the visit to the gallery more memorable to me, but I had the chance to ask her about her own memory. She said that she can paint from memory, but prefers to compose in the environment so that she can respond to the present moment. Fascinating ideas like these make living a life devoted to memory even more interesting. 17. You Can Experience Fear In Art Galleries And Still Be Safe At the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo, I almost crapped my pants when I saw Zhou Tao's ""Chicken speak to duck, pig speak to dog." It's a video installation with a weird dude yelling and squealing while up in a tree. I had a hard time figuring out what it was all about until I read the title and description, but the combination of emotion, enigma and solving the riddle by reading the information consolidated the experience in memory. Even better, I'm practicing what I preach right now by writing about the experience as my last job before going to bed, all of which will help consolidate the memory of this experience. For Memory's Sake, Visit An Art Gallery Soon There are loads more reasons why going to art galleries can improve your memory. You see so much art in so many different mediums that it gives you an incredible amount of exposure to vibrant information that you'll want to remember. Are some of the pieces you'll see meaningless fluff? Perhaps. But it's all part of experiencing the world of art and expanding as a visual person. And the more visual you become, the easier it is to use memory techniques. Give yourself the gift of visual exposure and plan to visit an art gallery today. Seriously. In most cities, it doesn't have to cost a dime. Usually, art galleries open their doors once a week for free. Plus, your city might have local galleries featuring independent artists. Restaurants often feature works by local artists. You can even arrange viewings of private collections in the homes of collectors with a simple Google search. Trust me. It's worth it and will make your life more memorable. The post 17 Reasons Going To Art Galleries Will Improve Your Memory appeared first on Magnetic Memory Method - How to Memorize With A Memory Palace.