Anthony Metivier's Blog, page 14

How to Increase IQ: 7 Actionable Activities

If you want to know how to increase IQ, the answer is simple.

Create and complete goals.

Sounds like a sweeping statement, doesn’t it?

I’ll explain why it’s true on this page.

And rest assured, the main reason why intelligence goes stagnant in the first place is also simple to explain.

It comes from the absence of goals, or the bad habit of not completing the ones you set for yourself.

Think of it this way:

Failing to continually fuel yourself with goals leads to feelings of worthlessness and shame on a downward spiral to rock bottom.

But once you understand that intelligence requires goals in order to grow, there are endless self-directed missions you can create that are scientifically proven to make you smarter. 

And to help you even more, I’ll give you a list of suggested activities that improve cognitive function quickly.

Ready to boost your IQ in ways that are easy and fun?

Let’s get started.

Can You Increase Your IQ?

In a word, yes. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXl_s...

The only catch is that there are multiple kinds of intelligence.

Now, I’m not asking you to understand the difference between crystal and fluid intelligence. But if you want to increase your understanding of psychology and memory, you should learn about such matters.

You should also look into the science of IQ testing, which remains divided. But testing and retesting assumptions is what science is all about. Richard Haeir is one of the more progressive scientists working on intelligence, and in this interview suggests that treatments to help people improve their IQ scores may be coming in the near future.

For now, I see every reason to believe you can increase your intelligence and it comes down to how you definite it. I also see no reason to limit the understanding of your “intelligence quotient” to a test that may not reflect the kinds of problems you tackle in your everyday life.

So how should the lifelong learner craft a personal definition of intelligence that can be worked on scientifically as an individual? Here’s an attempt:

Intelligence is the ability to learn new information.

And since there are many kinds of information, it’s important that you are specific. That’s where proper goal-setting comes in.

As you’ll discover today, you can pick individual kinds of information to focus on and get incredible boosts as a result.

Think of choosing specific goals like riding in a single lane. Instead of weaving around, you stick within the chosen framework. This fixity itself creates more focus, leading to boosts in intelligence.

How To Increase Intelligence:
An Important Nuance You Need To Know

Of course, some readers might be thinking:

“That’s my problem! I can’t learn new things!”

If that’s the case, don’t worry. Learning how to learn is the first goal you’ll want to set. 

You can do that quite readily by learning related skills that will increase your meta-learning intelligence.

For example, you can focus on how to:

Read fasterUse objective reasoningPractice reflective thinkingThink more logicallyImprove your memory using a Memory Palace

The point is to be goal-oriented. Pick one goal at a time. Master it thoroughly.

This nuance really matters because when people fail to complete a learning project, their intelligence about how to learn is lacking.

People who do not learn how to learn always remain frustrated with their inability to increase their intelligence.

But when you bolster up on how to learn, your intelligence can grow predictably. 

What Increases IQ?

The big picture for some quick wins boils down to common sense.

For example:

Regular exercise has been shown to boost your intelligence Meditation increases your attention span so you can learn moreSleep the appropriate number of hoursProper nutrition removes inflammation that creates brain fogWell-formed brain exercises increase cognitive reserve Learning a language boosts memory and multiple levels of intelligenceLong term learning projects that don’t involve skimming or scanning

But the big kicker when it comes to how to improve your IQ is this:

Base your learning projects and goals on existing competence. 

This is an idea I picked up from Jordan Peterson’s Maps of Meaning which has an excellent section on how Freud’s “existing competence” enabled him to spot psychological trends in literature like Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

When you base your goals on what you are already capable of achieving, you can more readily move to the next level of difficulty. Let’s explore this point in greater detail.

Why Goals Based On Existing Competence Boost Intelligence

A lot of people want to shoot straight to the top. They want the Mensa membership without having to play the games and complete the puzzles. 

Or they want the millions in sales commissions without learning how to make a dollar.

I’m sorry, but that’s not intelligence. That’s human vanity interfering with the smarts you need to succeed.

When you visualize clearly, however, you’ll look at the current situation and what your intelligence is like now.

Next, you’ll set a goal based on what your current intelligence can actually achieve. 

Rest assured, everyone is smart enough right now to do this. Here’s a simple exercise that will help.

The Want Vs. Need Exercise

As we’ve already seen, it’s possible to increase your IQ because intelligence is simply defined as the ability to learn new things.

But that means we all need to continually improve how we learn.

In other words, we “want” better intelligence, but we need to improve how we learn.

Do this:

On a sheet of paper, create two columns: The Want Column and the Need Column.

Next, write out all the things you want in life. For example, if you want to become a doctor, write that down under “want.”

Then, list what you need to do in order to achieve that goal. For example, you might list:

Research medical schoolsBook an information interview with my doctor to ask about this careerWatch videos about the learning journeyTake qualifying example tests online

This exercise is a very simple way to calibrate your attention on exactly how to increase your intelligence in a specific field.

How To Increase Intelligence: 7 IQ Boosting Activities

Now that you know how to separate your wants from your needs, let’s look at additional activities you can start practicing today. 

One: Boost Your Cardio

I try to get to the gym at least once a week. The benefits to intelligence are too large to miss.

As published in the journal Neuroscience, regular cardio exercise is incredibly important from cognition.

One study in particular found that exercise improves “synaptic plasticity and neuronal excitability.” In other words, your brain is like a garden and exercise makes your brain wake up like flowers opening to the sun.

Two: Meditate Daily

There are a lot of reasons to meditate, and reducing mind wandering is one of them.

As reported in Psychological Science, people prone to distraction are especially helped by even just a simple meditation practice. 

One reason meditation works so well is because meditation increases memory capacity. Because meditation trains you to continually bring your awareness back to a basic level of consciousness, your procedural memory improves.

In other words, coming back to a state of focus becomes an autopilot procedure. That way you can learn a lot more, faster. Your intelligence will increase naturally as a result.

For more on both simple and robust meditation techniques, I suggest reading The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being.

Three: Read In 90-Day Knowledge Missions

People get interested in topics, but then give up too easily. 

But the trick to increasing your knowledge and ability to learn intelligently is persistence. 

Rather than getting interested in reading just one book on a topic, you want to read several. That way you develop what is called “pattern recognition.”

So why 90-days of reading on a particular topic? 

Well, a lot of numbers around positive habit formation get tossed around: 21 days, 66 days, etc. 

But as Richard Wiseman reports based on research in his book 59 Seconds, 90 days is the closest number.

And if you commit yourself to 90-day reading missions, you’ll not only learn enough about a topic to legitimately know a decent amount about it. You’ll instill the habit of reading for depth. 

As a result, you’ll develop more pattern recognition, spot more patterns and connect the dots in the future with much greater ease.

Four: Learn a Musical Instrument

Musicians enjoy many benefits. 

For one thing, it’s been proven that they can pull details out of conversations better in noisy crowds. This finding probably relates to the pattern recognition benefits you’ll get from mission-oriented reading. 

Music also helps with language acquisition because musicians become expert at handling a variety of sonic input sources. It’s like they can juggle sounds with their minds. 

The best part? Musicians are able to speak a language of their own with other instrumentalists. That’s why I have always kept up my own musical abilities, and often take on 90-day music memorization challenges.

Five: Create New Things

I’ll never forget when my fellow memory expert Mark Channon told me about how his son created a game.

He went through everything from initial planning to product design. 

Not only did this set the stage for learning about game design, but also enabled him to learn better during the second iteration. 

Likewise when I write new books. Because the new goals I set are based on the existing competence I already have, I’m able to quickly discover industry practices, learn them and put them to use.

As reported by Science Daily, the brain literally changes itself as we create. The existing neural networks become stronger and new ones form.

Note: creating new things should not become a game of perfectionism. After all, perfectionists aren’t even perfect at being perfect. 

Instead, like Mark’s son, understand that just about everything is in beta and you can always improve on the second iteration. Basic intelligence involves allowing yourself to make mistakes or miss critical details so that you can improve later.

Six: Explore Historical IQ-Boosting Practices

A lot of people think IQ began with Alfred Binet in the early 1900s. Although he might have designed the first IQ test, he was hardly the first person to think about how intelligence could be boosted.

For example, many people practiced Pythagoreanism and actively promoted intelligence-boosting activities. Although many of their practices were based around math, they debated, meditated and trained their memories.

Simonides of Ceos, another Greek, is considered one of the first teachers of memory techniques.

But it was Ramon Llull with his ars combinatoria that many people attribute to the early origins of formal logic. Llull’s influence on Leibniz, for example, is well known.

Later, in the 1600s, Giordano Bruno would revise ars combinatoria in a big way, and you can use a memory wheel in a simple way to think better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cYDm...

There are many more thinking tools like this that will increase your intelligence if you explore them. What makes them stand out in my mind is that these tools help you think categorically and see the world as organized by genres of information.

By doing so, you rapidly help yourself reduce complexity and see the connections between things. You’re also able to mentally organize them in much more structured ways.

To learn more about such older techniques, I suggest you enrol in this:

Seven: Get Proper Brain Exercise

By proper brain exercise, I mean activities that you conduct in your brain, not with an app. 

Or if you’re going to use an app, follow Dr. Christine Till’s research. As she found, people get barely any results from playing brain games unless they follow-up with a personal trainer.

What counts as proper brain exercise?

It must incorporate new learningIt must be reasonably complex with increasing challengesIt must be varied and interestingIt must be engaged in frequently

Here’s one such brain exercise you can try:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJbRK...

How to Improve Cognitive Function Over the Long Haul

The most important thing to realize is that keeping mentally sharp is a marathon, not a race.

It’s one you must be intimately involved in. No one can improve your intelligence for you.

And as I hope to have demonstrated, all you have to do is start by improving your ability to learn new things.

Everyone can work on this. In fact, doing so is the hallmark of intelligence.

This is the reason why people flock to know what intelligent people are reading. Reading is one of the major ways to develop and maintain your ability to learn.

As is persistence and taking steps to develop the mental strength we all need to be consistent. By focusing on both creating and completing goals, you will rapidly become smarter. 

As I often like to say, S.M.A.R.T.E.R. = Serious, mature and ready to embrace reality. And the reality is, the world needs as many reality-embracing people as possible.

So what do you say?

Are you ready to increase your intelligence and join the ranks of those working to improve the world?

How to Remember Conversations (4 Secret Tricks)

Do you wish you knew how to remember everything you hear?

If so, you might feel like you’re a poor listener because you forget so many details.

Worse, you wind up losing out on so many opportunities to participate in the present and take action in the future. 

For example, let’s say someone mentions a book. 

You know you just have to read it because it’s going to help you conquer an important goal. 

But after you leave your meeting, you not only forget what the book is called. You even forget that anyone mentioned the perfect path existed for you in the first place. 

Good news:

There’s a way to eliminate this problem from your life forever. 

On this page, I’ll show you how to remember all the important details in any conversation from now on.

You’re about to become a “Warrior of the Mind” who never forgets important details again. 

Let’s get started. 

How to Remember Conversations Better In 4 Steps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iuqf...

The steps you’re about to learn begin with a meta-step. You need to do this first in order to see any improvement in your memory for remembering everything you hear. 

Commit .

I know, I know.

Some people are already clicking the “back” button because some crazy teacher on the Internet is trying to hold you accountable to your goals. 

But we all know it’s true. 

Those who succeed at anything are committed to learning skills and practicing.

And that’s all that I ask in the conversation we’re having now:

Remember the need to commit so that you can improve in life. 

With that in mind, here’s what I want you to commit to first:

One: The Spatial Memory Hack That Makes Every Bad Listener Good

The first thing you need to do is start becoming more aware of the details as they fly past your ears.Then you need to grab ho

ld of them and pin them into place.

To do this, you’ll want to learn a special technique called the Memory Palace. 

There are a few ways to use this technique for conversations and we’ll get into them. 

The first thing to understand is that you can use rooms to “place” ideas that you want to memorize.

For example, let’s say the friends Janet and Tina are hanging out in a cafe. 

Janet tells Tina about a book that will help her improve her memory. The book is called The Victorious Mind, by Anthony Metivier.

To use a Memory Palace, Tina takes the difficult new title and connects it with information she already knows. She then mentally places this familiar association in the corner of the cafe.

By focusing on a location in a room and placing an association, you have a reference point you can return to later.

Let’s say Tina’s a fan of the show Victor Frankenstein. The book is by Anthony Metivier, so she imagines Victor handing his mind to an ant after a battle. He’s feeling victorious when he does it.

Now, this association is not a one-to-one correspondence. But later when Tina searches for the book on Google, she’s going to think back to the corner of that cafe and remember the key words: Victorious, mind and Anthony based on the associative-imagery. 

These are the basics of the Memory Palace technique. 

Two: Elaborate Everything Your Hear

Now that you know about using the space around you, exaggerate and elaborate everything about the association you just made. 

Instead of just having Victor Frankenstein hand his mind to an ant, imagine his mind exploding like a bomb.

Make sure to make your associations multi sensory. That way, they’ll be even easier to remember later.

Hearing the sound of the explosion and feeling its force in your imagination will make the memory much stickier when you think back to that corner in the cafe. 

This kind of elaborative encoding can feel difficult when you’re new to using these techniques.

Don’t fret.

These visualization exercises will help you develop the skills in no time at all.

The trick is to have a system for adding the exaggerations. I use the KAVE COGS formula:

KinestheticAuditoryVisualEmotionalConceptualOlfactoryGustatorySpatial

One way to practice running through each of these is to run through them all while developing your first pegword method.

Three: Practice Scaling

By this point, you’re probably thinking…

“Great. 

I know how to memorize just one detail. 

What about the thousands of details I encounter in conversations every week?”

Well, we all start somewhere. If you can’t memorize one detail, there’s no point in worrying about how to memorize thousands of them, right?

Scaling up to multiple details is easy, but you need the basics mastered first.

Then, to scale is easy, provided you follow this simple recommendation:

Know how to turn any room into a Memory Palace with at least 8 Magnetic Stations in it.

Using a simple number system, you can turn any room into a Memory Palace that will help you recall every important detail in any conversation.

This is what we call a “Magnetic Square” in the MMM Masterclass. It’s one of several different ways to use the Memory Palace technique. 

I like this for cafe meetings because it makes it easy to turn any room into a powerful memory tool.

You can also learn how to expand it into a “Magnetic Cube,” and if you’d like all the details on more variations, this free course should do the trick:

The point is to build your skills gradually. Learn to memorize a few details from conversations first. Then scale.

And remember:

You don’t actually have to be in the room you’re using to remember the details of any given conversation. You can think about any building or location around the world. You just need to prepare the Memory Palaces you want to use first. 

Four: Practice With News Videos And Podcasts

Now that you know how to retain information when listening, let’s give you some practice drills. 

When listening to remember, using the news and podcasts makes for great practice. One is visual and audio where the other is purely auditory. 

When watching news, you can use the screen as a Memory Palace to encode details as they emerge.

Practice memorizing conversations in real time by turning your TV into a small Memory Palace.

This small space might allow you to memorize only four details, but it keeps you focused on the practice. If you get really good, you can also learn ways to reuse Memory Palaces.

You can also use the body of the reporter to capture and pin details:

Practice turning the body into a Memory Palace by using news anchors. Then use the bodies of your friends or people at meetings to remember what they say during conversations.

Then, when you’re used to doing this with people on TV, you can transfer linking details to the bodies of people with whom you hold conversations. 

When it comes to podcasts, you can use your smartphone, or even try using objects, like I talk about in this video about my memory practice habits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyUsL...

How To Retain Information When Listening

So far, you’ve learned how to use rooms, objects like TVs and human bodies to encode information you hear during conversations.

When it comes to retention, you’ll want to do a small amount of repetition that fires off the KAVE COGS we talked about previously.

For example, I recently met with a private coaching client named Michael.

Within the first few minutes of speaking, Michael told me about a friend named Kerry, a math teacher named Igor and talked about Naples, Harvard, studying chemistry for a Regents exam and Upstate New York. 

Using the association technique you learned above, I placed all of these details around the screen of my computer as we Skyped. But I also quickly revisited each and went through the KAVE COGS.

To take just one example, when he mentioned he had a friend named Kerry, I used KAVE COGS to associate that name with Kerry King, the guitarist in Slayer. 

I felt Kerry’s guitar as if I was holding it myself, heard a Slayer song, felt emotions associated with it, and so on. 

Hearing music, feeling the sensation of a guitar and feeling emotions help memories stick very quickly.

You might think it’s a lot of heavy lifting to go through 8 “Magnetic Modes” so quickly, but with a small amount of practice, it’s more than easy. It’s incredibly fun. 

Remembering For The Long Term

If you want to hang onto the information from conversations for the long haul, please make sure to use the Recall Rehearsal patterns taught in the MMM Masterclass.

You’ll also do very well to: 

Write down what you heard laterSpeak about the key details to verbalize the info in your own wordsDo any follow up readingListen to any podcasts or videos that will deepen the information

Also, understand that there’s nothing wrong with taking notes during conversations. 

Although I can memorize in real time, I still sometimes jot things down. In fact, it’s hard to test if you were correct about certain details if you don’t write the info down.

For example, a friend of mine suggested that I visit Mt. Nebo.

Memorizing the name of this location was easy.

But I wanted to make sure what I memorized was accurate later, and we were in a noisy cafe and I wasn’t sure if I’d heard the correct pronunciation.

That’s why I wrote it down.

It’s perfectly okay to take notes during conversations. Sometimes you need to in order to make sure you have pronunciations correct.

Remembering Things You Want Or Need To Do In The Future

Sometimes people tell you things that involve the future, like something you want to look up or visit. 

This taps into what scientists call prospective memory.

To remember future things, you have at least two options:

Mnemonic CalendarSpatial labelling 

Using a Mnemonic Calendar involves learning the Major System. This lets you create images for every number. 

For example, when I wanted to remember that my friend Nick’s birthday is October 25th, I imagined a nail going through a pumpkin. Nail is the image for 25 and pumpkin is the image for October. 

When it comes to spatial labelling, I’ll give you an example.

As I discussed in this TEDx Talk, my friend Ben told me the title of a book I absolutely needed to read. 

I usually don’t carry the Internet with me (to protect my memory). I remembered to order it when I got back home by placing an associative image of Happiness Beyond Thought at my desk. 

Then, when I got home, I literally walked into a Memory Palace and was reminded to look the book up and order it. 

You can do this with all kinds of things you need to remember, from groceries for a recipe, making a dentist appointment or memorizing your credit card so you don’t have to pull it out every time you shop online. 

Remember Everything You Hear?

Frankly, I’m not sure anyone needs to remember everything.

The trick is being able to remember the information that matters. 

Knowing exactly what that information might be is its own skill, and it involves developing pattern recognition and discernment. 

Being able to memorize will naturally guide you to developing these meta-skills. 

And that means that the best time to get started was yesterday.

The second best time is now.

So what do you say?

Are you ready to remember more from the conversations you hold? 

Get some Memory Palaces created, learn to associate and please keep me posted on your progress updates along the way!

How to Memorize 70 Decks of Playing Cards For Charity: A Memory Training Convo with Braden Adams

Imagine memorizing 70 decks of playing cards to raise money for Alzheimer’s. 

Not just to fund research into curing the disease, but also to support front line workers who help care for the victims of this cruel disease. 

Well, that’s the goal memory athlete Braden Adams set for himself. 

Think about this for a second: That’s 70 times 52…

3640 cards, all shuffled up.

That’s a lot of Memory Palace prep and Braden and I dig into that topic, including the “Shadow” technique used for encoding the cards – a powerful way of applying mnemonic tacts you’re not going to miss. 

I haven’t developed the Shadow for myself (yet), but rest assured it’s much more robust than this technique for memorizing a deck of playing cards.

But it’s the meaning of Braden’s mission I want to focus on above all.

It is incredible.

Why?

Because memorizing cards is a perfectly aligned symbol for the battle against conditions like Alzheimer’s.

After all, the disease mixes up your thoughts and memories, but when you have the kind of memory skills Braden has developed for yourself, no matter how shuffled those cards get, you can still lay everything out in perfect order. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIO1Z...

To train, Braden has been using the International Association of Memory software and live streaming the journey to 70 decks on Twitch. 

I wanted to learn more about this training journey and help spread the word about his mission.

His tips on creating a proper Memory Palace are golden.

And as we speak, people have already been donating to the cause! 

If you’d like to toss in a few Magnetic clams, as I’ve done myself, you’ll find the donation link in the description or can simply type this handy link I’ve created for the cause.

But you can also consider donating to any Alzheimer’s charity near you during this drive. 

You can also watch Braden memorize and recall the decks live on August 28th on his stream by visiting his Twitch page.

Until the event takes place, if you like digging deep into the nitty gritty about how memory techniques work and how you can use them to complete MASSIVE memory projects like memorizing 70 decks of cards, I think you’re going to love this discussion.

For another interview with Braden, here’s the last time he was on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.

It’s also a great conversation packed with valuable info!

For more on Braden, follow him on:

Braden’s Twitter

Braden on Instagram

 

Black Belt Memory Review: Is Ron White’s Course Good?

If you’ve spent any amount of time looking into memory improvement courses, you’ve come across the name Ron White. 

But you might be wondering…

Is his Black Belt Memory course any good?

In a word:

Yes. 

And if you’ve struggled with other memory improvement books and courses, his approach might just be the ticket. 

One reason why is because the course makes you earn your future lessons. You don’t just get to the next level by skimming and skipping around. 

You have to actually complete tests in order to progress. 

And in case you’re wondering, I know this from experience. I’ve completed the course myself. Here’s my Black Belt certificate:

Receiving my Black Belt in memory after taking Ron White’s training was a great feeling!

Although I already know a fair amount about memory techniques, I still learned new things. 

The best part?

I had a lot of fun going through the program too.

And on this page, I’ll tell you more about what I learned and what you can expect. 

But first, let’s talk about the man who created the course before digging into a full Black Belt Memory Review.

Who Is Ron White?

Ron White is an author, speaker, seminar leader, course creator and talented YouTube personality. 

He has also served as a soldier and won several national memory competitions.

For example, he won the USA Memory Championship twice, in 2009 and 2010. 

When it comes to the World Memory Championships, his records are also impressive.

 

He’s also completed incredible memory demonstrations, such as the 7000 pieces of information involved in the Afghanistan Memory Wall project. 

I wanted to learn more about these experiences, which is why I’m so glad Ron sat down with me for a long form conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1JcM...

I hope by now it’s obvious to you that Ron White’s memory training course is more than legit. 

And the man is not only a memorizing machine when it comes to using mnemonic strategies. 

He’s a great teacher and provides tons of inspiration. 

Ron also knows his history, so it was fun talking with him about some of the old memory books that contain powerful tips and tactics you won’t want to miss. 

Black Belt Memory Review: What You Need To Know

As I mentioned before, this course is unique in that it requires you to earn your progress. 

To be honest, I initially thought this was a little annoying. I really just wanted to check things out.

But that’s the problem isn’t it?

We get courses, skip around and then throw our hands up in the air and say… “Nothing new here.”

That’s wrong in nearly every case, and when you go through this program as Ron has designed it, there’s a lot new to learn. 

Keep in mind too that “new” means a few different things:

It can be completely new to you because you’ve never heard of something like the Memory Palace or the Major SystemIt can be new because you’ve not thought about classic techniques through the lens of someone else’s experienceIt can be new because you’ve never deployed a classic technique in quite the same way as Ron has

So when Ron gets you to go through the training sequentially, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a complete beginner or an old master. You’re going to learn something new from the program. 

The Filing System

Ron approaches the arrangement and encoding of information through what he calls files. 

These can be used in different ways. 

For example, you can have files that serve as numbers and images at the same time. 

It’s kind of like the pegword method, but with more possible uses. You can use the filing approach to easily make any Memory Palace much more robust, for example. 

Unique Approaches to the Major System

As Ron shared in the conversation we recorded, he combines the body Memory Palace with the Major System in a way that stems from Mega Memory.

I think it’s a brilliant adaptation. I wish I would have thought about it myself!

The coolest thing about it is that you can apply it to other bodies and use those bodies as files distributed throughout a Memory Palace.

In this way, any figure you place can instantly have ten individual stations instead of just one.

Review Tips

Ron’s Black Belt Memory is one of those rare memory training courses that goes through what matters most in memory: review.

You see, so many people treat techniques like the method of loci as if it were meant to be some kind of “eternal” treasure chest.

But that’s not the way it works.

Rather, these tools give us a solid means for reviewing information in a way that triggers what memory scientists call active recall. 

If you aren’t following these patterns in an optimal way, your brain simply won’t form memories reliably.

And since reliable memory is what we want, Ron makes sure you know about it. 

Holistic Memory Health

As if all that weren’t enough, Ron makes sure you know about diet, hydration and fitness. 

Face it:

We’re all getting older by the minute and we need to keep both our bodies and our brains as fit as possible. 

The program doesn’t go as deep into this topic as it could, but I’m glad the basics are touched upon. 

Memory Expert Ron White with Dr. Oz

And there’s even a cameo with Dr. Oz!

Will You Earn A Blackbelt For Your Memory?

As I hope you can tell, I definitely think you should take this course. 

And you might find that a bit confusing. After all, I’ve got courses of my own to offer, like the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. 

The answer is simple:

When I taught philosophy as a professor, I never once said, “Only read Plato. Forget all about Aristotle.”

That would be foolish. 

The reality is that you only get a full understanding by going through as many programs as you can.

Of course, there are some out there you can definitely skip. 

But I’m very glad that I went through Black Belt Memory and grateful Ron took some time to have a detailed chat. 

So if you want more benefits from his experience and some of the “next level” ways you can improve your memory, give Black Belt Memory a try. 

I think you’ll be glad you did!

 

Why Teaching And Teachers Fail You: A Conversation With John Danaher

Don’t you hate it when you learn NOTHING from a course?

Me too. I can’t stand it.

And it’s the teacher’s fault right?

Well… not so fast.

It’s entirely possible that even the best teacher is fighting a tradition and system that’s rigged to fail.

Not only that, but there’s the question of what makes an experience “meaningful” in the first place, let alone educational.

That’s my I’m glad John Danaher had some time to chat about a compelling article he wrote.

It’s called:

“The Trouble with Teaching: Is Teaching a Meaningful Job?”

What I love about this article, and John’s blog overall, is the deep analytical thinking about the topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiCaq...

I also really like his book “Automation and Utopia,” but it was this first article that got me hooked on his writing style.

It’s very clean, clear and direct. Sometimes VERY direct at how it demolishes some of our ideals about things like teachers and teaching.

Sure, eschewing the romantic can be painful.

But Radical Honesty is what the MMM Initiative is all about.

So do as I’ve done and follow John on Twitter so you don’t miss a thing he shares.

And please read Automation and Utopia. It’s clear and thought-provoking.

You won’t regret it!

Photo Credit: Aengus McMahon

How to Memorize Paragraphs, Sentences, and Passages Fast

Want to know how to memorize a paragraph fast? 

Tired of the standard advice about using linking and rote repetition? 

I hope so, because it’s bad advice.

Why?

Because linking and “chunking” are often more overwhelming than repeating sentences over and over again.

Well, you’re in luck. 

I’ve memorized many paragraphs and on this page will show you how to do it.

You’ll learn the technique progressively and exactly how the old memory masters used to memorize entire books.

Back then, they had to carry entire books in their heads. Books were rare and expensive back then. And they were too heavy to carry on their backs. That’s why they needed the techniques you’re about to learn. 

And those techniques still work today.

So let’s dive in. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9aep...

How To Memorize Sentences Fast

Before you can memorize an entire sentence, you need to be able to memorize words. 

The ancient memory master who wrote Rhetorica ad Herennium circa 90 BCE made this point very clear.

To paraphrase, the author says:

Those who wish to memorize more difficult things must first learn to memorize words. 

Learning how to memorize vocabulary is very good advice. It is the path to being able to memorize more than one word at a time.

So how do you do it? 

Develop skills with association. You need to be able to look at the letters that form a word and connect them to other words. 

Developing Associations Quickly

To do this quickly, you want to develop your skills by learning the pegword method

Let’s say the sentence you want to memorize is from Plato’s apology: 

Someone will say: Yes, Socrates, but cannot you hold your tongue, and then you may go into a foreign city, and no one will interfere with you?

Later, you’ll be able to compress “Someone will say” into a single image. But for now, just focus on “Someone.”

If you have your tools ready, maybe a famous actress like Suzanne Somers has already come to mind. Maybe she has a sum of gold in her hand. She may even be under the summer sun. 

Use Dynamic And Gripping Associations

By making alphabetical-sound associations between like-sounding words that evoke dynamic images, it’s easy to make associations.

I highly recommend you develop parts of your pegword system based on celebrities so that these associations can be richly evocative. 

I sometimes refer to this as a “Celebrity List.” You can also build them from:

PoliticiansFriendsFamilyTeachersMusiciansArtistsAuthors

The point here is this:

It’s easier to imagine a familiar association doing something that triggers back the target words when you’re memorizing sentences.

For example, to add “will say,” you can have Suzanne Somers with a character from the movie Good Will Hunting, or Will Smith. She can be saying something to Will Smith, or even to Tom Sayers.

From there, move on to the next word. And as you go, I highly suggest you place these associations in a Memory Palace. That way they’re not floating in the void of your mind. It will also help with recalling the sentences word-for-word later. 

How To Memorize A Paragraph Quickly

First, count how many sentences you’re dealing with. Read it aloud and get a sense of its general tone. 

Notice any words that leap out at you or that you don’t understand. If you need to look something up, now is the time so that you’re not slowed down later.

This point is important: 

If you truly want the best way to memorize a paragraph, you need to remove all obstacles first.

(This also means that you’ll want to have at least one “Celebrity List.”)

Once you know how many sentences are in the paragraph, create or identify a Memory Palace. It should have enough space to accommodate the amount you need to memorize.

If you don’t know how to create a Memory Palace, register for this:

You want your Memory Palace design to have some structure based on the paragraph. 

For example, I prefer to mentally “paint” my sentences in rooms from top to bottom. In the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass, we call this the “Pillar Technique.” 

With this approach, I’ve been able to memorize up to 17 words on a single Pillar. 

Usually, you can get 4-8 sentences in a single room when you’re using the walls and the corners (8 Pillars per room). 

In the beginning, you might be be able to memorize only around 1-3 words per station. Don’t stress it: We all start somewhere.

How To Memorize A Passage Fast

Let’s say that you’ve mastered paragraphs.

What about how to memorize a long passage? 

That’s exactly what I faced when I had to memorize and then deliver a speech at a TEDx event. 

The talk was 1506 words divided over 60 paragraphs!

Luckily, I had no problem memorizing it quickly with this as the result:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvtYj...

Now, there are different Memory Palace examples you can explore. In this case, I used an entire neighborhood. It started in a building, but then moved out over several streets. 

All you have to do is start preparing Memory Palaces like these in advance. With a general estimation, you should be able to accommodate any passage of any size in most neighborhoods.

And if you need more space, just add more buildings and neighborhoods. 

One of the benefits of using neighborhoods is that you can then walk “through” the passage you’ve memorized.

Walking was one of the tips my speaking mentor Thomas Krafft suggested for instilling how I memorized this long passage of text. 

I almost ignored the suggestion, but am glad I gave it a try. It’s not only good exercise, but does seem to deepen the associations and speed up the process.

Getting Sentences, Paragraphs And Passages Into Long Term Memory

So far we’ve talked about making associations. Memory scientists call this elaborative encoding.

However, to make the content we memorize stick, we also need active recall.

In brief, this means making the brain work a little to recall the associations and the target paragraphs. 

To do this, you simply call back to mind the Memory Palace, then the association, then the information.

With training, you’ll find that the paragraph comes back to your memory faster than either the Memory Palace or the associations. 

There are a few more ins-and-outs when it comes to using active recall for paragraph memorization. I call these my “repetition rules.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nOwZ...

Advanced: How to Memorize Numbered Paragraphs

Let’s say you not only want to memorize a paragraph. You also want to know exactly which sentence is 5th into the paragraph.

Or perhaps you need to know the Bekker numbers of a philosophical text. Scripture memorization often also involves memorizing numbered paragraphs.

In this case, you’ll want to employ an additional mnemonic device called the Major System. You use this to create a full 00-99 PAO. This means that you have an image for each number from 00-99.

That way, you can number every station in a Memory Palace in advance. Each station will have a pre-assigned association that you can trigger any time. 

Although ambitious, this advanced approach to memorizing paragraphs is tremendously useful.

For example, it can help you compare two passages in two different books. 

You Really Can Conquer Paragraphs

So long as you’re willing to set yourself up with the needed memory techniques, memorizing any paragraph will be a breeze.

Make sure that you go one step further, however. Effective learning is not just about regurgitating entire sentences, paragraphs or entire passages.

You also need to be able to understand the key points. 

And to do that, I suggest you:

Write your own summaries of the materialMind mapping key ideasHave discussions with others about the facts and conceptsFollow-up with more reading from multiple sourcesSeek video and audio supplements to experience similar content in different media

If you’re memorizing the paragraphs for an exam, taking practice tests is highly recommended as well.

The more you include variety, the more opportunities for different levels of active recall you’ll get. And that means more memory benefits.

So what do you say?

Are you ready to get out there and start memorizing some paragraphs? If you have any questions, please just pop them below. I’ll get back to you a.s.a.p.

How To Learn The Law: A Discussion With David Freiheit (a.k.a. Viva Frei)

Are you struggling to learn the law? 

If so, you might be excited to learn that even the world’s top professionals and legal experts never stop learning it. 

After all, it’s always changing. And there’s a ton to keep up with.

Or maybe you, like me, just find the law fascinating.

The logic – or sometimes, lack of logic – stretches your mind. It keeps you sharp, and there are always tons of new names and terms to learn. 

Well, I find the law fascinating, and have been interested in it for many years. 

I’ll save the strange and mysterious story of how I once almost went to law school after making a court appearance of my own.

That’s because today I want to share with you a conversation I had with my favorite online legal vlogger… or Vlawger as David Freiheit likes to call his incredible legal analysis vlawgs on a channel called VivaFrei.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wUdm...

I’ve been following David for a few years now, and it’s been amazing to watch how his channel has grown to include multiple platforms, including a collaborative community I belong to myself called Viva Barnes Law with Robert Barnes.

In this conversation, you’ll learn about the importance of:

HistoryTheoryAnalysisPracticeBalance

I find the work David’s doing education, inspirational and something well worth paying attention to, especially in our day and age.

Enjoy this episode and let us know if you have any question about learning the law!

Rote Learning: The Last Guide You’ll Need to Read

Are you confused about rote learning? 

Some people swear by it. 

Others who use memory techniques worry about “falling back on rote” despite having better tools for learning.

They even get dramatic about this worry, calling rote repetition…

“Drill and kill.”

What gives? 

And how specifically is learning by this deadly form of repetition defined? 

We’ll get into everything on this page so that you can make an informed decision about how to learn based on science, not opinion.

What Is Rote Learning?

At its core, rote learning is defined as repeated exposure to information you want to learn without thinking about what you’re repeating. 

It is almost the direct opposite of what scientists call active recall, a technique that engages all the senses. 

(I’ll give you a detailed example of how to conduct multi-sensory learning at the end of this article.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL8Rh...

You’ll see people caught in a rut of lifeless repetition when they:

Flip through flashcardsUse spaced repetition softwareMentally repeat the same information

You may have engaged in some of these behaviors yourself.

What makes the behaviors “rote” is literally going through the repetitions without any further level of engagement.

According to Carla Hannaford in Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head, part of the success of the drug ritalin is easily explained. It helps students put up with the tedious nature of repeating information without any kind of multi-sensory engagement.

In other words, societies have preferred drugging children instead of tackling the real problem of making learning fun.

Rote Learning Examples

But is repetition itself bad? 

Absolutely not.

For example, you can repeat prayers and engage deeply with their meaning. I’ve done this myself with Sanskrit text drawn from the Ribhu Gita for years. Each time I practice is deeply rewarding. In fact, it gets better and better the more I repeat the same material.

I also repeated my TEDx Talk several times for practice giving the speech. This is a great example of when rote repetition makes sense. 

Finally, it’s really important to repeat songs if you want to commit lyrics to memory. Repetition is also a huge part of ear training, and general instrumentation a form of rehearsal musicians sometimes call “dedicated practice.”

Rote repetition can be good for ear training.

The examples of rote learning that give it a bad name include things like:

Spelling drillsMultiplication tablesCramming for examsMentally repeating names, dates or factsFlashcards for learning foreign languagesUsing apps

Because these forms of repetition can be quite brutal in how they create boredom, I.C. McManus and Peter Richards call any memory gains they create “incidental learning.”

In each case, there are alternatives. For example, you can use the pegword method to assign a dynamic shape or figure to each letter of the alphabet. This simple set of associations makes learning spelling much more fun and interesting. 

When it comes to the multiplication tables, you can combine something like the Major System with rhyming or story and the method of loci to make learning the entire set engaging and immersive.

In language learning, Dr. Richard Atkinson has shown just how poorly rote learning works in comparison to the mnemonic strategies shared on this blog. 

Rote repetition is normally a source of frustration. It doesn’t work well because the lack of multi-sensory engagement with personalized points of reference fails to stimulate enough of the brain.

Here’s something interesting: In experiments that have been successfully repeated by scientists around the world, Atkinson demonstrated that rote learners were successfully able to recall vocabulary from lists at a rate of 28%.

By contrast, those who used techniques like the Memory Palace showed a retention rate of 88% or better. Dr. David Reser and Tyson Yunkaporta recently showed even better results by incorporating some Aboriginal memory techniques into a follow-up experiment.

What would you prefer?

Sticking with rote learning and recalling only around 28% of what you learned correctly?

Or do you prefer what more meaningful learning and comprehension techniques offer?

Rote Learning Vs. Meaningful Learning

You might be wondering why these success rates matter so much. After all, it sounds like it really only comes down to time spent. 

Looking only through the lens of time, you might conclude that if you only get 28% correct, all you have to do is go back and spend more time on the material.

Not so.

You’re also losing out on critical thinking benefits by doubling-down on rote memorization. 

As Linda Jakobson has shown in her book, Innovation with Chinese Characteristics: High-Tech Research in China, societies that grow up with rote recall tend to have poor critical thinking skills.

Although it’s common for children to learn Chinese characters by rote, this learning practice has been shown to stunt critical thinking abilities.

This is tragic because problem solving requires the ability to “mentally rotate” information through multiple angles. 

The absence of rote repetition in other cultures may be one reason why places like parts of Europe and the United States thrive and promote individualism and freedom. 

Historically, a learning technique called Ars Combinatoria was much more prevalent. This approach promoted a form of learning sometimes called “inner writing,” a means of “creative repetition” that relied upon deep and meaningful engagement for the learner.

Meaningful learning might include tactics like:

Guided discoverySensory learningPhysical engagement with learning materials (such as through mind mapping)Social experiencesCombining writing with speakingCombining listening with speaking, such as through debateDeveloping highly personalized learning plansBenefits Of Rote Learning

So far, everything we’ve said makes rote learning look pretty bad. 

However, we’ve already seen that rote practice is a must in areas of learning like music, giving speeches and spiritual goals.

When used in the correct context, rote can help learners achieve incredible goals. Playing a musical instrument is one such example.

Although rote learning reduces critical thinking when required of children, there may be some contexts where it can be helpful for certain types of adults. 

For example, Po Li Tan’s research has suggested that adults who grew up as rote learners might still benefit from it.

Other research has shown that individualized learning plans can themselves fall into rote that has not benefited students in places like Sweden.

At the end of the day, each individual has to decide what is right for them and cultivate radical honesty. Sometimes engaging in rote learning gives you the benefit that you’re engaged in some kind of activity. 

But if the activity of what some people call “over-learning” doesn’t actually lead to accomplishment, then the benefit of doing something for the sake of doing something is an illusion. 

Disadvantages of Rote Learning

There are many disadvantages, most of which are easily avoided. 

First, rote learning usually does not ask you to think about what you’re learning. It’s focused entirely on repetition itself. 

This focus not only makes it boring, but you lose out on the benefits of thinking you could receive by engaging with the information in a deeper way.

Line rote also treats the brain like a “linear library.” You miss the benefits of what I often call the “rhizomatic effect” you experience when using a Memory Palace Network to produce new knowledge based on information you’ve engaged with deeply.

Your mind is not a library. Avoid treating your memory in a linear fashion.

You also lose tons of time that could have been spent enjoying using your mind and imagination.

Finally, rote repetition prevents you from experiencing the benefits of having memorable conversations with others.

The Alternative To Rote Learning

Is rote learning effective?

To a certain extent, yes. 

And in some areas, rote rehearsal is absolutely necessary, including when you’re using memory techniques.

However, repetition should always be “creative repetition.” 

A simple way to reduce the amount of repetition needed and always ensure that you deeply immerse yourself in what you’re learning is to use KAVE COGS or what we call the Magnetic Modes in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass.

To take a simple example of how I learned something very quickly with a minimum of repetition, let me refer to my Sanskrit meditation project. 

In learning a word pronounced like “tesham,” which means “unto them” or “for those,” I didn’t repeat it over and over again.

No.

Instead I looked at the “tes” part of the word and imagined Nikola Tesla driving a Tesla over a Christmas ham. He did it for those who are always devoted to reality itself, which is the main meaning of the entire line I was learning. 

A simple, but engaging mnemonic image like a Tesla driving over ham makes memorizing a word fast, easy and less likely to need rote repetition.

Then, I went through KAVE COGS to drive home the sound and meaning:

Kinesthetic – Feeling myself driving the car as if I were TeslaAuditory – Hearing the sound of the engine roaringVisual – Imagining what this scene looked likeEmotional – Experiencing Tesla’s intention to help the devotedConceptual – Reflecting on the meaning of the text and who Tesla wasOlfactory – Smelling the hamGustatory – Tasting the hamSpatial – Thinking about the size of the car and the ham

By engaging deeply with the word in this way, I learned it immediately and never forgot it after one pass. 

I’ve memorized more Sanskrit than I ever thought possible doing this, the same technique I learned to use when memorizing the names of all my students within minutes when I was a professor. 

So if you’re sick of boring, old and uninteresting methods of rote memorization, why not give this free course a try?

Memory techniques are scientifically proven and indescribably fun. All you have to do is get started.

So what do you say?

Are you ready to rev the engine of your mind and get some real learning done for a change? 

How to Learn Something New in 6 Easy Steps

Let me compliment you on wanting to learn something new. 

In a world of indifference, so few people take action, let alone search for how to take action.

Then there’s the question of what to learn. This can itself be quite challenging because there are so many options out there. 

Well, on this page we’ll simplify everything by talking about how to learn a variety of things. Not all skills are learned the same way, after all. 

And to start eliminating the confusion about how to learn, let’s boil things down to a simple formula:

S.I.P. 

StudyImplement Practice

Once you pick what you want to learn, you study to find out the steps involved. Then you implement those steps, followed by practice to improve your execution. 

With this process in mind, let’s get started.

Why You Should Learn Something New

One word:

Longevity. 

Learning things literally promotes cellular growth in your brain. It also strengthens the neural connections you already have. 

If you go the language learning route, some studies in bilingualism report up to 32 years in brain fortification. This benefit means that your brain gets protected from diseases like Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Other reasons you’re right to say, “I want to learn something” include:

Getting a raise or promotion (like Jesse Villalobos)Winning a competition (like James Gerwing)Speaking a language in another countryStudying effectively so you can pass an examSpending time offline to fend off digital amnesiaImprove your reasoning abilities

To put it another way:

If you want to continue learning for the rest of your life, always learning something new is the best way to keep your mind and memory short. 

And the more you know, the more you can know.

How to Learn Something New: A Proven 6-Step Process

Now, we’ve seen that to learn we need to take it one S.I.P. at a time.

But what are the exact steps?

There will always be nuances for different things you want to learn. But generally, here’s what you need:

Step One: A Vision

Before planning anything or buying books, it’s useful to sit down and imagine the desired outcome.

For example, if you want to learn how to improve your memory, you can craft a memory improvement vision statement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFz31...

The reason it’s important to do this is that it helps you know your “why.” That way, when certain parts of the journey get tough, you’re able to keep pushing through. 

And never give up when you’re challenged. No doubt, obstacles can create resistance. But it’s when we push through challenges that growth occurs. This cannot happen if you quit. 

Crafting a vision statement also helps you test through your conviction. There’s often a difference between what we want and what we’re actually willing to do. 

When spending some time on your vision, you can dodge a lot of speeding bullets. You can also think through various alternatives. 

Pro tip: If you don’t like linear prose, one great way to craft your vision statement is through mind mapping.

Step Two: Plan Wisely

After testing your conviction by crafting a vision statement, it’s time to plan. 

In this step, you’ll set aside time to research what you want to learn. 

During this phase, you’ll identify books, courses and key experts who can help you achieve your vision or desired learning outcome. 

Then, you’ll chart out when you’re going to go through those materials or meet with the expert trainers who can help you. 

Pro tip: If you struggle to plan and schedule your time, getting help from a coach can be a game changer. There’s no shame in lacking discipline and knowledge in this area. 

So if you have a vision but struggle to plan and implement, find someone who can help you make it happen. Life Coach Spotter has a great guide that can help you find the perfect person.

Step Three: Define The Project

I’ve already talked about spending some time identifying your books and courses. 

This should help you define the scope of the project.

To do this, state how much time you’re going to spend and how much material you want to get through. 

For example, when I started my Art of Memory learning project, I devoted six months to it. I committed to reading one book on the topic per week and at least two articles. 

By giving your learning commitments definition in terms of both scope and duration, it’s so much easier to achieve specific goals. 

You can even create certain milestones. For example, if you’re learning about a topic that has multiple authors writing about it, pick one author. Read just their major works as a milestone before moving on to the next author. 

Step Four: Plan To Fail

Sounds weird right? 

Not at all. 

As I mentioned, there will be challenges when learning anything. And that’s why we need to have a plan for what to do when those challenges arise. 

The choices you make can be quite simple. For example, when I reach a point of frustration, I almost always take a walk. “Go for a walk,” is my auto-pilot mantra and it helps refresh the mind.

I also like to have “attitude adjusters.” Many of my journals come with motivational quotes printed on each page. I follow lots of positive quote Twitter and Instagram accounts and motivational speakers. Constantly fueling positivity helps so much. 

Step Five: Take Effective Notes And Keep A Learning Journal

There are so many approaches to note taking. It can be frustrating trying to find the best option.

At the end of the day, I suggest you experiment with a few different styles. Combine what you find works best with the Memory Palace technique for best results. 

Keeping a journal is important too. Here’s why:

Learning is a lot like art.

And artists always sketch in journals.

They do this not just to practice. They do it so they can look back and see just how far they’ve come. 

Instead of always filling your journal with notes about what you’re learning, try this instead: 

Fill your journal with the questions you have along the way. Then work at answering them. 

When you look back, you’ll find that you’ve grown incredible, and the Q&A process with yourself will have paid many dividends. 

By the way, this process of asking yourself questions and working to answer them is called The Feynman Technique. It’s just one of 28 ways I’ve compiled in How to Study Effectively.

Step Six: The Big Five Of Learning

Finally, it’s important to integrate everything. For that, we pull all the big guns together:

ReadingWritingListeningSpeakingMemorization

Basically, this process means that you deeply integrate what you’re learning through ample discussion and follow-up in multiple ways. 

For example, to integrate what you’re learning, a discussion group helps you reflect on your own thoughts while appreciating the varying viewpoints of others.

Writing, as we’ve seen through journaling, helps you identify and answer any questions you have. 

And memorizing makes sure that everything you learn remains for the long term. 

What New Things Should You Learn?

If you’re not sure what to learn, here’s a master list of suggestions. It’s possible to pick up skills in each of these in a single lifetime. 

But as always, it helps to focus on just one skill at a time. Keep the lesson above about scope and definition in mind when choosing what you want to learn.

Typing

“All wealth comes from writing.” 

That’s a quote I heard a long time ago, and I believe it’s true.

Whether it’s writing books and articles or just an effective networking email, it helps if you can do it quickly. 

If you don’t know how to type, I’d suggest starting with this foundational skill.

Languages

I’m a big believer that everyone should speak at least one other language. It’s not only good for your brain, but hugely beneficial for your wallet. 

As reported in the BBC, knowing at least one other language can add more than six figures to your wealth every four years.

The best part is that it’s incredibly easy to learn any language, even without leaving your home.

Economics

Understanding exactly how money makes the world go round is hugely beneficial.

It not only helps you earn and save more. It helps you avoid mistakes and reduces your stress about market changes.

Marginal Revolution is a leading blog that aggregates links from around the net relating to economics. You can learn a ton just from following its links and book recommendations. 

Numeracy

If you’ve ever wanted to start a business, you’ll need to know at least something about math. 

Knowing your numbers is also useful for: 

AccountingInvestingStatisticsProgramming

And that’s just to name a few areas. 

One fun and easy way to make math fun and exciting is to learn Chisanbop.

Music

What can be more pleasing than being able to pick up an instrument and accompany yourself as you sing a song? 

There’s another benefit:

When you know how to memorize a song, singing produces healing chemicals in your body. Playing an instrument exercises your brain, which means that bringing them together is even more beneficial. 

Drawing

I used to hold the limiting belief that I could not draw. 

But I wanted to and within a year was stunned by the progress I’d made. 

Riven Phoenix has a great course on drawing the human figure I highly recommend. It’s helped a lot with my visualization skills tool.

Psychology

Learning how and why your mind operates helps you enjoy life a lot more. 

There are many mental models to discover, not to mention sorting out your cognitive biases.

Knowing about psychology also boosts your ability to think in a reflective way. Mulling over topics is fine, but doing so with knowledge of how your mind functions boosts the entire process. 

Survival Skills And Bushcraft

Sure, few of us will wind up lost in a forest or stranded in the desert.

But you never know, do you?

If you’re casting about for something to learn, these skills will keep you prepared for even the most unlikeliest of events. 

Podcasting And Video Course Creation

Everyone has to run errands and most of those people are listening to either music or podcasts while doing them. 

Why aren’t you the one in their ears?

Simple:

You haven’t learned podcasting yet. 

I’ve been running a podcast since 2014 and have hardly missed a week. If you want to learn from me about how to do it, check out my course, Branding You. It’s been a bestseller on Udemy since it was released in 2015. 

SEO And Blogging

Learning how to rank posts on page one of Google is an art, craft and science. 

You can turn it into a career or just do it for fun. 

But the name of the game either way is to have an audience. 

And that’s where learning to write for both humans and the search engines come in. It’s a great learning project and one I highly recommend.

Here’s why:

It makes you a better writer overall. When you can learn to reach people through both search engines and peaking their interest once they’ve found you, those skills apply to: 

BooksSpeechesPodcast episodesYouTube video scriptsOnline course content

Give this skill a try!

Public Speaking

When I wrote this TEDx Talk, I had no idea it would reach over one million people. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvtYj...

But it did, and having taken a course on public speaking helped. 

I’m not the greatest speaker, but I’m glad I spent the time learning how to present. 

If you’re worried you’ll forget your presentation, please don’t be. Here’s how to memorize a speech (and deliver it without sounding like a robot).

The Law

The vast majority of people can’t read the law that governs them. That means they can’t participate in shaping the rules they follow.

But even just a little knowledge of the law can go a long way. It helps you communicate with your representatives better, for one thing. And you can keep them more accountable in the first place, something obviously not enough people do. 

It sounds cliche, but we all need to be the change we want to see in the world. Remember: Gandhi was a lawyer first. This background was a key part of his civil rights activism. 

Logic

If you do start learning the law, you’re going to get logic as part of the package. 

But you can also learn it as a topic and skill on its own. 

Why bother?

A few reasons:

Reasoning through whether arguments are objective or subjective is a valuable skillYou can persuade others more effectivelyLearning logic is a major intellectual achievementYou’ll spot fallacies fast and avoid devastating problemsYou’ll become clear and precise in many areas of your lifeThe media becomes easier to interpret, freeing you from irrational beliefs

And that’s just for starters. I highly recommend learning all that you can about logic. Here are some critical thinking exercises to help you get started.

Networking

Of course, all of the above suggestions will be of limited use if you don’t have anyone to share your skills with. 

That’s why learning to become a well-connected person is an important skill to learn. 

Of course, “networking” isn’t necessarily the right word for it. Often people associate it with business-types trying to find new clients.

As Jennie Gorman puts it, “netweaving” is the alternative. In this approach, you’re there to give to others, not to figure out how you can benefit. 

And when you’ve learned something new, being in a position to give is exactly where you’ll be. 

Best Websites to Visit to Learn Something New

Now that you have some ideas in mind, here are a few suggested websites for learning new skills. 

Obviously, there are thousands of choices out there. To help narrow it all down, don’t forget to craft your vision, define your plan and take some notes on which resources you want to investigate further. 

Learning How To Learn ResourcesLearning How to LearnHow to Study EffectivelyLanguage Learning ResourcesI Will Teach You A LanguageFluent in 3 MonthsBest language learning softwareInternet Writing, Podcasting And Course Creation ResourcesSmart BloggerNeil PatelCreating Valuable Video Content That SellsMusic ResourcesMusic theoryFret Fury (guitar)PianoCourse Aggregators (Various Resources)UdemySkillshareLinkedIn LearningThis Free Masterclass Can Help You Learn New Things Fast

At the end of the day, every learning goal places huge demands on your memory.

But that doesn’t mean you have to struggle.

In fact, there’s a special way to approach learning using an ancient tool. We’ve already mentioned it above.

If you’d like a free course that takes you through the fundamentals, learning to master your memory first is a great idea. 

To get started, just let me know where to send you Memory Palace Mastery. It’s four free videos with three worksheets in the form of a Memory Improvement Kit:

So now, what do you say?

Are you ready to go out there and learn something new? 

I hope you feel more empowered and focused now than just casting about to learn stuff. 

I hope you have the tools to bring laser focus to the learning topics you choose so that you can truly soar.

 

What Is Active Recall and Does It Help You Remember?

Have you heard the hype about active recall, but still feel skeptical?

Or maybe you’ve heard the latest “learning guru” say that this recall method is better than the Memory Palace technique. 

If that statement has gotten your hackles up, I can’t blame you.

After all, the Memory Palace, when used correctly, is active recall and self testing all rolled into one. 

So where does the confusion come from? 

Should you use Anki instead of one of the ancient memory techniques? 

Are there exercises for improving active recall?

Well, if you want information to “stick” permanently, then stick around. We’ll get into the answers to these questions in-depth on this page. 

What Is Active Recall? 

Here’s the best scientific definition I’ve found so far:

Active recall is a personalized recall strategy that involves variety. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um9S6...

 

In other words, spaced repetition software might help you use active recall. But it can only help you and pales in comparison to what personalization with variety can do for you.

And that’s where the memory techniques taught on this blog come in.

Here’s what I mean with an example:

This morning I learned 态度 (tàidu). It’s Mandarin for “attitude” or “manner.” 

To use active recall and spaced repetition to rapidly place the sound and meaning of this word into my long term memory, I followed these steps:

Memory PalaceElaborative encodingRevisiting the Memory PalaceElaborative decodingSpeaking practice in a sentenceWritingReadingListening

Technically, the “active recall” part happens only during the attempt to recall the information. 

However, we know from memory athletes like Boris Konrad, that active recall is a lot easier when you use personal associations to “encode” information. He’s a neuroscientist too, so his views are very valuable.

If you have difficulties with coming up with associations, consider learning how to image stream the Magnetic Memory Method way.

Retrieval Practice

Another way of looking at the recall part is to use the term “retrieval practice.” When I recall the association I made in the Memory Palace for this word, I’m practicing one level of retrieval. Speaking and writing the word are other levels. Pulling up the meaning when hearing the word through listening is yet another level. 

The reason retrieval practice at multiple levels helps your brain form memories faster is simple. The more levels of recall you engage, the faster your brain makes multiple connections.  

This has been called the “levels of processing model” and works for just about everyone. People with schizophrenia may struggle, however, no matter how much active recall they perform.

Does Active Recall Really Work?

In a word:

Yes. 

The real question is:

Are you doing it?

And if you’re doing it, are you doing it in a deep or shallow way?

If you’re using Anki or some other flashcard app and not using elaborative encoding, then that is a passive and shallow way to engage with what you’re learning. 

But if you at least make personalized associations for each and every piece of information, your recall rates will soar. 

In order for active recall to work, your associations need to be personalized and varied. You are a living being, not a programmable computer, so if you use software, always personalize how you use it.

(Side note: There is a place for passive memory training, and it is shared by Dr. Gary Small. It’s very powerful for its intended purpose.)

Why Active Recall Works In Any Language

One of the key researchers to know about is Dr. Richard Atkinson. He has shown 88% retention rates for those who use elaborative encoding. That’s compared to 28% recall for those who don’t. 

Here’s more on retaining information efficiently.

You can also learn more about why features of human language make this process work, and see it reproduced for students with different mother tongues. For example, Dr. Horst Sperber has reproduced these research findings for German speakers with ease.

In other words, the language you speak doesn’t matter. It’s your strategy with this recall method that makes all the difference.

So the question isn’t really whether or not these techniques work. The question is:

How do you make sure you are always using active recall in a deep way? 

Active Recall Strategies While Studying

The trick is to learn how to encode quickly, place the associations you make into Memory Palaces and then remember to decode using active recall. 

Luckily, all of this can be “automated” through habit formation. 

Step One: Have Your “Palette” Prepared

The first habit to develop is having enough Memory Palaces and then thinking of them as you learn.

To get started with this, make sure you have enough of them. My free course will help you:

When I’m encoding, it takes just a second to think of the Memory Palace for a word like 态度 (tàidu). 

Since its core meaning is “attitude,” I thought about a lecture hall where I’d seen Margaret Atwood give a lecture. 

Attitude and Atwood share a core sound. And if you’ve ever seen her speak, you know that she’s definitely a woman with an interesting attitude about many topics. 

Step Two: Have Your Encoding Materials Prepared

A word like 态度 (tàidu) can be broken down into pieces: tài and du.

If you use the Magnetic Memory Method, you’ll have associations ready to go based on the alphabet. I just thought about Attwood wearing a tie made of doodoo. 

Here’s more on using a “Magnetic Alphabet” to rapidly encode information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caCUF...

Step Three: Elaborate All Of Your Associations

Fast associations generally aren’t enough. You need to elaborate on them in a multi-sensory way.

We do this through a process called KAVE COGS. Each of the letters stand for one of the “Magnetic Modes.”  

Let me take you through the process with 态度 (tàidu) as an example.

Kinesthetic: Physically feeling the weight of this tie on Atwood’s neck.Auditory: Hearing the sound of her voice having a bad attitude about the situation.Visual: Thinking about what the scene looks like.Emotional: Experiencing her disgust at having a tie made of doodoo.Conceptual: The fact that Atwood is an author is a concept itself, but I add on the idea that her next book is called “Attitude” and is about someone forced to wear a tie made out of doodoo.Olfactory: The smell of the tie is all too easy to imagine.Gustatory: So is the taste – yuck!Spatial: This is where you spend a second thinking about the sizes of things involved in the association. In my imagination, this tie is rather tiny. 

With practice, using KAVE COGS should take only seconds. 

For a simple exercise, try to remember that a sound like tai (as in Thai food) and du mean attitude in Mandarin Chinese. 

Encoding with highly personal experiences like eating particular kinds of foods makes active recall much easier.

Come up with your own multi sensory associations and then after five minutes, see if you can bring each association back to your mind.

Step Four: Purposefully Bring Back The Association

There’s no cookie cutter answer for how to do this. 

Memory expert Dominic O’Brien suggests the Rule of Five, but I’ve never found a specific description of how he does it.

Myself, I make sure to just start recalling the information. 

When I’m learning Chinese, I use new words and phrases in conversations with my wife.When I’m learning history, I pepper the facts into my writing and conversations.I recall in the shower.I practice active recall while walking. I apply the recall method in a journal I use for testing. I keep using active reading to instil the source material of the information.I continue listening to relevant audio and visual programs.Etc. 

The important point is that recall happens in multiple formats and locations. It really helps that some of the active recall takes place out on walks, for example.

Step Five: Use Recall Rehearsal

The absolute best way to use active recall is by following patterns that maximize the primacy and recency effects. These are the laws of memory that help us build mental connections faster and ensure that they last. 

This process also harnesses the serial position effect and the Von Restorff Effect. 

There are 5 key patterns for using active recall with a Memory Palace. Please make sure you use them all.

To use it, you mentally travel in your Memory Palace using different patterns. On each station of the Memory Palace, you use active recall to decode your associations and bring back the target information. 

Here are the patterns:

Beginning to endEnd to beginningMiddle to endMiddle to beginningSkip the stations

If you keep your Memory Palaces small, or at least segment them, you’ll find this process easy and fun to do. And it’s incredibly effective too. 

Step Six: Use Questions

When revisiting the Memory Palaces, exactly how to trigger recall can be a silent process. You can simply bring the location to mind and let the association you created replay.

But sometimes things don’t start up so smoothly. 

And that’s where I suggest you learn to use a simple “decoding” question.

What was happening there? 

If this question doesn’t help you start recalling the information, then you can start self testing using KAVE COGS. 

What was the kinesthetic association I made?What was the auditory association? What was the visual association? Etc. 

Usually, you won’t have to ask many of these questions. And the questions are a great “cheat detector” that expose when you’ve tried to take shortcuts by not using all of the Magnetic Modes built into KAVE COGS.

When that happens, just add them in. This will probably fix the problem and improve your rate of recall quickly. 

Step Seven: Develop More Advanced Approaches

As you develop with these skills, you’ll want to be able to encode while reading. 

Usually, I extract the information from books I’m studying onto cards. I taught this process in How to Memorize a Textbook.

But if you want to practice a skill that releases you from this, you can turn each page into a mini-Memory Palace on its own. 

You can do this by developing a 00-99 PAO, which is a variation on the pegword method.

Let’s say that you encounter a fact. For example, I’m currently reading Adam Zamoyski’s Napoleon: The Man Behind the Myth. 

To remember that Napoleon was born in Corsica, I use 09 because it’s on page 9 that I encounter this fact. 

My image for 09 is Brad Zupp driving a Saab. To elaborate this image to recall “Corsica” I imagine him throwing an apple core about the window. I place this image not in a traditional Memory Palace, but at the top of the page.

Later, when I want to remember that Napoleon was born in 1769 and died in Longwood in 1821, I can add these facts to the middle and the bottom of the page. 

Using mnemonic devices to help with active recall is great for facts like historical dates, people and locations.

Then, when performing active recall, I have page 9 to easily refer back to as the “palette” where I “painted” the associations.

Although this technique is a bit more advanced, it does not mean you can skip Recall Rehearsal. You just wind up using it a different way as you mentally revisit the pages of the books and your associations in them.

Why Mastering Active Recall Is A Must

As we’ve seen, the Memory Palace technique is a great way to use Active Recall. 

To call it an alternative to flash cards and spaced repetition software would be a mistake.

Or better said, it’s the other way around. Leitner boxes, Anki, Quizlet and other programs are the modern alternatives to this ancient technique.

But do they work as well?

They certainly can, provided you engage deeply with the elaborative encoding steps I’ve shared with you today. However, I’m confident you’ll find they work even better if you strengthen your spatial memory using the Memory Palace technique.

In sum, here’s the takeaway to remember:

Active recall studying throughout the day is totally possible. You just need to set up your memory systems. 

But it’s technically not to be called “active recall” if you’re not making highly personal associations that help you recall. 

And you need to be reading, writing, speaking and listening in ample doses to make sure you’re actively recalling through multiple channels of your mind. 

So what do you say? Are you ready to approach active recall and spaced repetition in a new way?